Ithasbeen，andis，agreatpleasuretometoseeyoungmenjoininginreligiouseffort;andIfeelproudofthefactthatfromthisassociationatCornellmanystrongandearnestmenhavegoneforthtogoodworkasclergymeninourowncountryandinothers。
Intheerectionofthenewgroupofbuildingssouthoftheupperuniversityquadrangle，aswellasinbuildingthepresident’shousehardby，anopportunitywasofferedforthedevelopmentofsomeminorideasregardingtheevolutionofuniversitylifeatCornellwhichIhaddeeplyatheart。DuringmylifeatYale，aswellasduringvisitstovariousotherAmericancolleges，Ihadbeenpainfullyimpressedbythelackofanydevelopmentofthatwhichmaybecalledthecommemorativeorpoeticalelement。InthelongrowofbarracksatYaleonelongedforsomelittlebitofbeauty，andhungeredandthirstedforsomethingwhichconnectedthepresentwiththepast;but，withtheexceptionoftheportraitsintheAlumniHall，therewaslittlemoretofeedthesenseofbeautyortomeetone’scravingforcommemorationofthepastthaninacotton—
factory。OnemightfrequentthebuildingsatYaleorHarvardorBrown，astheythenwere，foryears，andseenothingofanarchitecturalsortwhichhadbeenputinitsplaceforanyotherreasonthanbareutility。
HencecameanefforttopromoteatCornellsomedevelopmentofabetterkind。AmongthefirstthingsIorderedwereportraitsbycompetentartistsoftheleadingnon—
residentprofessors，Agassiz，Lowell，Curtis，andGoldwinSmith。Thisexamplewas，fromtimetotime，followedbythefacultyandtrustees，theformercommemoratingbyportraitssomeoftheirmoreeminentmembers，andthelatterorderingportraitsofsomeofthosewhohadconnectedtheirnameswiththeuniversitybybenefactionsorotherwise，suchasMr。Cornell，SenatorMorrill，Mr。Sage，Mr。McGraw，andothers。Thealumniandundergradu—
atesalsoaddedportraitsofprofessors。Thiscustomhasprovedverysatisfactory;andthelineofportraitshanginginthelibrarycannotfailtohaveanennoblinginfluenceonmanyofthosewho，dayafterday，sitbeneaththem。
Buttheerectionofthesenewbuildings——SageCollege，SageChapel，BarnesHall，and，finally，theuniversitylibrary——affordedanopportunitytodosomethingofadifferentsort。Therewasachanceforsomeefforttopromotebeautyofdetailinconstruction，and，fortunately，theforethoughtofGoldwinSmithhelpedusgreatlyinthis。OnhisarrivalinIthaca，justaftertheopeningoftheuniversity，hehadseenthatweespeciallyneededthoroughlytrainedartisans;andhehadwrittentohisfriendAuberonHerbert，askinghimtoselectandsendfromEnglandanumberofthebesthecouldfind。Nearlyallprovedofvalue，andoneofthemgavehimselftotheworkinawaywhichwonmyheart。ThiswasRobertRichardson，astone—carver。Iatfirstemployedhimtocarvesundrycapitals，corbels，andspandrelsforthepresident’shouse，whichIwasthenbuildingontheuniversitygrounds;andthisworkwassobeautifullydonethat，intheerectionofSageCollege，anotheropportunitywasgivenhim。Anyonewho，to—day，studiesthecapitalsofthevariouscolumns，especiallythoseintheporch，intheloggiaofthenortherntower，andinsomeofthefrontwindows，willfeelthatheputhisheartintothework。Hewroughtthefloraoftheregionintothesecreationsofhis，andmostbeautifully。Butbestofallwashisworkinthechapel。Thetraceryofthewindows，thecapitalsofthecolumns，andthecorbelssupportingthebeamsoftheroofweremasterpieces;and，inmyopinion，noinvestmentofequalamounthasprovedtobeofmorevaluetous，evenforthemoralandintellectualinstructionofourstudents，thantheseexamplesofaconscientiousdevotionofgeniusandtalentwhichhethusgaveus。
ThedeathofMr。Cornellaffordedanopportunityforafurtherdevelopmentinthesamedirection。Itwasfeltthathisremainsoughttorestonthatbeautifulsite，inthemidstoftheinstitutionhelovedsowell;andIproposedthatamemorialchapelbeerected，beneathwhichhisremainsandthoseofotherbenefactorsoftheuniversitymightrest，andthatitshouldbemadebeautiful。Thiswasdone。Thestonevaulting，thetracery，andotherdecorativework，plannedbyourprofessorofarchitecture，andcarriedoutasalaboroflovebyRichardson，wereallthatIcoulddesire。Thetrustees，enteringheartilyintotheplan，authorizedmetomakeanarrangementwithStory，theAmericansculptoratRome，toexecutearecliningstatueofMr。Cornellabovethecryptwhereresthisremains;andcitizensofIthacaalsoauthorizedmetosecureinLondonthememorialwindowbeneathwhichthestatueisplaced。Othermemorialsfollowed，intheshapeofstatues，busts，andtablets，asotherswhohadbeenlovedandlostwerelaidtorestinthechapelcrypt，untilthelittlebuildinghasbecomeaplaceofpilgrimage。Inthelargerchapel，also，tabletsandwindowswereerectedfromtimetotime;andthemosaicandotherdecorationsofthememorialapse，recentlyerectedasaplaceofreposefortheremainsofMr。andMrs。HenrySage，areabeautifuldevelopmentofthesameidea。
So，too，uponthegrounds，someeffortwasmadetoconnectthepresentwiththepast。Here，aselsewhereinourwork，itseemedtomewelltoimpress，uponthemorethinkingstudentsatleast，theideathatalltheysawhadnot``happenedso，’’withouttheearnestagencyofhumanbeings;butthatithadbeentheresultoftheearnestlife—workofmenandwomen，andthatnolife—worktowhichastudentmightaspirecouldbemoreworthy。Incarryingoutthisideauponthe``campus’’GoldwinSmithtooktheleadbyerectingthestoneseatwhichhasnowstoodthereforoverthirtyyears。Othermemorialsfollowed，amongthemadrinking—fountain，thestonebridgeacrosstheCascadilla，thememorialseatbackofthelibrary，theentrancegateway，andthelike;and，atthelamenteddeathofRichardson，anotherEnglishstonecarverputhisheartintosomeofthedetailsofthenewlyerectedlibrary。
Meanwhile，thegroundsthemselvesbecamemoreandmorebeautiful。Therewasindeedonesadmistake;andIfeelbound，inself—defense，tostatethatitwasmadeduringanabsenceofmineinEurope:thiswastheerectionofthechemicallaboratoryuponthepromontorynorthwestoftheupperquadrangle。Thatsiteaffordedoneofthemostbeautifulviewsinourownoranyothercountry。AveryeminentAmericanmanofletters，whohadtraveledmuchinothercountries，saidtome，aswestooduponit，``IhavetraveledhundredsofmilesinEuropetoobtainviewsnothalfsobeautifulasthis。’’ItwastheplacetowhichMr。CornelltookthetrusteesattheirfirstmeetinginIthaca，whentheirviewfromitledthemtochoosetheuppersitefortheuniversitybuildingsratherthanthelower。OnthisspotIrememberonceseeingPhillipsBrooksevidentlyoverawedbytheamazingbeautyofthescenespreadoutathisfeet——thegreatamphitheatertothesouthandsouthwest，thehillsbeyond，andCayugaLakestretchingtothenorthandnorthwest。
Butthoughthispartofthegroundshasbeencoveredbyalaboratorywhichmightbetterhavebeenplacedelsewhere，muchisstillleft，andthishasbeentreatedsoastoaddtothenaturalcharmofthesurroundings。WiththeexceptionofthegroundsoftheStateUniversityofWisconsinandoftheStateUniversityandStanfordUniversityinCalifornia，IknowofnoneapproachinginbeautythoseofCornell。Ifeelboundtosay，however，thatthereisadanger。Thusfar，thoughmistakeshavebeenmadehereandthere，littleharmhasbeendonewhichisirremediable。
Butthismaynotalwaysbethecase。Inmyview，oneofthemostimportantthingstobedonebythetrusteesistohaveageneralplanmostcarefullydecideduponwhichshallbestrictlyconformedtointheerectionofallfuturebuildings，nomatterwhattheirsizeorcharactermaybe。Thishasbeenurgedfromtimetotime，butdeferred。[9]TheexperienceofotheruniversitiesintheUnitedStatesismostinstructiveinthisrespect。Nearlyeveryoneofthemhassufferedgreatlyfromthewantofsomesuchgeneralplan。Onehasbuttovisitalmostanyoneofthemtoseebuildingsofdifferentmaterialsandstyles——classical，Renaissance，Gothic，andnondescript——throwntogetherinawayattimesfairlyludicrous。
ThomasJefferson，infoundingtheUniversityofVirginia，waswiser;andhisbeautifulplanwascarriedoutsofully，underhisowneyes，thatithasneverbeenseriouslydepartedfrom。AtStanfordUniversity，thankstothewisdomofitsfounders，amostbeautifulplanwasadopted，towhichthebuildingshavebeensoconformedthatnothingcouldbemoresatisfactory;andrecentlyanothernobleCalifornian——Mrs。Hearst——hasdevotedaqueenlygifttosecuringaplanworthyoftheUniversityofCalifornia。AttheopeningofCornell，asIhavealreadysaid，ageneralplanwasdeterminedupon，withanupperquadrangleofstone，plainbutdignified，tobeatsomefuturetimearchitecturallyenriched，andwithafreertreatmentofbuildingsonotherpartsofthegrounds;butthereisalwaysdanger，andItrustthatImaybeallowedtoremindmyassociatesandsuccessorsintheboardoftrustees，ofthenecessity，inthefuturedevelopmentoftheuniversity，forasatisfactoryplan，suitabletothesite，tobesteadilykeptinmind。
[9]Ithasnow——1904——beenveryintelligentlydeveloped。
CHAPTERXXIV
ROCKS，STORMS，ANDPERIL——1868—1874
ThusfarIhavedweltespeciallyuponthesteadydevelopmentoftheuniversityinitsgeneralsystemofinstruction，itsfaculty，itsequipment，anditsdailylife;
butitmustnotbesupposedthatallwasplainsailing。Onthecontrary，thereweremanydifficulties，somediscouragements，andattimeswepassedthroughverydeepwaters。Therewereperiodswhenruinstaredusintheface——whenIfearedthatmynextmovemustbetocloseourdoorsandannouncethesuspensionofinstruction。
Themostseriousofthesedifficultieswerefinancial。Mr。
Cornellhadindeedendowedtheinstitutionmunificently，andothersfollowedhisexample:thenumberofmenandwomenwhocameforwardtodosomethingforitwasastonishing。InadditiontothegreatendowmentsmadebyMr。Cornell，Mr。Sage，Mr。McGraw，Mr。Sibley，andothers，whichaggregatedmillions，thereweresmallergiftsnolessencouraging:GoldwinSmith’sgiftofhisservices，ofhislibrary，andofvarioussumstoincreaseit，rejoicedusall;andmanyotherevidencesofconfidence，intheshapeoflargecollectionsofbooksandmaterial，cheeredusinthatdarkestperiod;andfromthatdaytothissuchgiftshavecontinued。
Someoftheminorgiftswereespeciallyinspiring，asshowingthebreadthofinterestinourwork。Oneofthemwarmedmyheartwhenitwasmade，andformanyyearsafterwardcheeredmeamidmanycares。AsMr。Sageandmyselfwereonedaylookingovermattersuponthegrounds，therecamealong，inhisroughwagon，aplainfarmerfromadistantpartofthecounty，ahard—workingmanofverysmallmeans，whohadclearlysomethinguponhismind。Presentlyhesaid:``IwouldverymuchliketodosomethingfortheuniversityifIcould。Ihavenomoneytogive;butIhavethoughtthatpossiblysomegoodelm—treesgrowingonmyfarmmightbeofusetoyou，andifyouwishthemIwillputtheminthebestconditionandbringthemtoyou。’’Thisofferwegladlyaccepted;thefarmerbroughtthetrees;theywerecarefullyplanted;theyhavenow，forovertwentyyears，givenanincreasingandevermorebeautifulshadetooneofthemainuniversityavenues;andinthelineofthemstandsastoneonwhichareengravedthewords，``OstranderElms。’’
Butwhileallthisencouragedus，therewerethingsofaverydifferentsort。Couldtheuniversityhavebeendevelopedgradually，normally，andinobediencetoapolicydeterminedsolelybyitspresident，trustees，andf...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：