‘Inaugural Address,’ Mount Allison Wesleyan College, 1888

W.M. TWEEDIE 'Inaugural Address,' Mount Allison Wesleyan College, 1888 Edited by Alistair Tilson ITweedie begins with pleasantries, and praises Mount Allison for making greater provision for the teaching of English. He alludes to the utilitarian tenor of the times.] ... although the present position of English in colleges and universities is due somewhat to a reaction against the classics, I am far from wishing to see the classics thrust out of their proper place. All periods of transition when opinions and ideas are unsettled are times of debating, and wrangling, and c0I1:£11sion, and this century is to the history of education something as the reformation period of the church. But there is a danger that in the race after the practical and the useful, our view may not be wide enough, that what lies immediately before us may obstruct the view of what is distant, that we may forget the motto of the ancients to give up some present good, for the sake of a greater one in future. In education as in morals, there are many subtle influences which are among the most powerful and we need to guard against overlooking them for the sake of those which show themselves immediately in getting gain and power. There is little doubt that the position and favour which English has won within the past few years will be permanent, and I hope to show that it is worthy of this position, and favour, but there is nothing to be gained in exalting it to a false eminence by degrading other studies in comparison with it. Truth and fairness will prevail in the end and rather than ignore the objections of opponents, we should seek to understand them and give them their full weight; if we can then make good our position it will be doubly strong. The case against the study of English literature is summed up in one great objection ,- and a radical objection it would be, if it were unconquerable, viz., the difficulty of getting students to take the study of English literature seriously, and of preventing slipshod work, and the rehearsal of second-hand opinions. In many subjects we are compelled by their own nature to work hard or we know nothing whatever of them. In English literature - at least of more modern datewe start with the power of reading the work. But it does not follow we make much more progress toward understanding thoroughly the piece of literature, than we do toward comprehending the problem of mathematics , and it is good teaching to show our defects in the one as in the UNlVERS1TY OF TORONTO QUARTERLY, VOLUME 64, NUMBER 3, SUMMER 1995 450 W.M. TWEEDIE other. But this objection is throughout largely the legacy of the old idea, that learning literature so called consisted in acquiring a body of names and dates and relating the criticisms of some editor, capable or otherwise, often without having even seen the work criticized. That idea is passing away, but unfortunately is not yet dead. For instance to a very recent book which contains some admirable pages respecting our language, I find some Tables of English Literature added. They are excellent for purposes of reference giving the names of all the English writers of any importance from the earliest time downward, the date of birth and death of each, the names of their principal works with dates, and in a separate column 'contemporary events' and their dates. If the compilation had stopped there it might have been useful, but an occasional sentence shows that it was meant to serve a wider and less meritorious purpose. For example, I read after the barest facts respecting Carlyle - 'With the gift of song Carlyle would have been the greatest epic poet since Homer,' and on Keats - 'Had Keats lived to the ordinary age of man, he would have been one of the greatest of all poets.' John Stuart Mill has a slightly larger note - 'For judicial calmness, elevation of tone, and freedom from personality, Mill is unrivalled among the writers of his time.' I am not denying that all this may be very true, but that is certainly not the way for...