Page:Convocation Addresses of the Universities of Bombay and Madras.djvu/240

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1889.―Lord Reay.
225

the highest constructive talent to build up this great structure in India. Every ignoble feature must be excluded, and only such architects as command a pure and noble style can be entrusted with the design. We have only laid the bare foundations, and in many respects they are weak. I am not quite sure that the architects themselves have a very clear idea of even the mere outlines of the building. Some of the architects however are aware that the materials with which they have to work are extremely brittle. But in Mr. Wordsworth we have had a brilliant instance of real academic influence. He did not find it an impossible task to guide the aspirations of the educated youth of India to a higher plane.

I may perhaps be permitted to address a few words of encouragement to the undergraduates and the young graduates. Obligations of Graduates. If their University career is to answer its object, they must also be deeply penetrated with the obligations it entails. It is to them the starting point of a new life. It is not complete in itself, it is a mere beginning. The seed sown at a University can only fructify in a receptive soil—a soil which has been carefully prepared. Whether it will produce a rich harvest or tares depends on a combination of circumstances. Here I need only point out that assimilation is the principal desideratum. In the quickness of perception of Indians we have a formidable antagonism to depth and breadth of conception, and to originality. The educated youth of India, as well as of all other countries, must dive deep into the inner recesses of the science with which they are dealing if they wish to master it authoritatively. That is what I ventured to call assimilation, and it is only thus that they can hope to contribute to the building their mite of co-operation. There is no short cut in this domain; there is only one royal road. The new discoveries can only be made by those who ascend carefully and cautiously. A real student does not wander into the bypaths of self-sufficiency in which he is met by no obstacles. It is only by constant research and inquiry that he can lead himself and others. He will shun contact with the fanciful catch- words which are fashionable and welcome to the uneducated. In this case supply should always be of a higher quality than demand. The student must be in advance of his generation, in order to earn a title to its gratitude. To be a University man is a distinction only if the University man is a man of high character and of intellectual independence.

I deplore that among our undergraduates and graduates we Advice to Indian Noblemen. have so few sons of Native Chiefs. Whatever may be the cause, it is a matter which I deeply regret. My relations with all the Chiefs with whom I have