XXXVII. Commentary on that work, was commenced and com- CHAPTER pleted in the years 1814-1817.* Considering the nature and magnitude of the work, and his other occupations at the time when it was executed, it is an extraordinary developement of intellectual power. It was denominated "gigantic" by a great contemporaneous philosopher; † a term which justly expresses its character, as the product of some mighty energy, above the usual standard of man's comprehension and capacity. In 1823, Dr. Bowditch removed to Boston, and, during the last fifteen years of his life, held the highly important and responsible station of Actuary of the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Company; an institution formed and established under his auspices. Almost every important literary and charitable institution of which he was a member contains durable monuments of his efficiency and fidelity. Great as were his literary and scientific attainments, the influence he exercised in Boston and its vicinity was the result of his energy, his disinterestedness, his independence of spirit, and his integrity. In the intercourse of business, and in the interchange of opinions in private life, he attempted no display, claimed no preeminence, evinced no consciousness of superiority, even when light, beaming from his mind, was unfolding the true, the useful, and the suitable. Order, method, punctuality, and exactness were, in his esteem, cardinal virtues; the want of which, in men of official station, he regarded not so much a fault as a crime. His moral standard was, perhaps, somewhat too lofty for general attainment; and the rigor with * See Memoir, p. 60. Sir John F. Herschell. lbid. p. 67. XXXVII. CHAPTER which he acted up to it himself, he exacted from others. He moved right onward in the path of his duty, and to its perfect fulfilment he ever advanced with a step firm and fearless. His temperament being naturally ardent, his sense of rectitude keen, and his perception of deviation from it clear and vivid, when he saw, or thought he saw, a want of principle or failure in duty, his thought and language would descend on the object of his animadversion with the quickness and scorching severity of lightning. But, the occasion being past, and the first excitement over, no man was more placable, more conciliatory, more ready to be just, or more willing to ask or to receive whatever explanations circumstances might require. The universal confidence Dr. Bowditch commanded, and the great weight of character he sustained, led the Corporation of Harvard University, in a critical state of its affairs, to elect him one of its members. He accepted the appointment with reluctance, as, except persons holding the office of Treasurer of the College, he was the first individual, not an alumnus, who had received this distinction since the earliest period of its existence. Yielding, however, to the urgency of the friends of the institution, he entered on the station, and thenceforth fulfilled its duties with characteristic ardor, intelligence, and fidelity.* During his last illness, a week before his death, he expressed his gratification, that the publication of his Translation of the first four volumes of the "Mécanique Céleste" was so nearly completed, and observed, "There are only about ten pages wanting; perhaps I may live to finish them. I have been to-day correct * See above, p. 363. XXXVII. ing the proofs." The manuscript copy of this work, CHAPTER Dr. Bowditch bequeathed to Harvard College, and also the bust of La Place, presented to him by the widow of that great philosopher. Amidst pain and suffering, and in view of the near approach of death, Dr. Bowditch expressed an unwavering belief and trust in the goodness and wise providence of God, and recalled with thankfulness the blessings he had enjoyed in life. Supported to the last by the spirit of a philosopher and the assured hope of a Christian, he expired on the 6th of March, 1838. When apprized of his decease, the Corporation met and passed votes expressing their regret at his loss, and their high sense of his services and character. CHAPTER CHAPTER XXXVIII. Influence and Claims of the Age on Seminaries of Learning. — Education, its Nature and Power. -The Principles on which it has been conducted in successive Periods of Society. - Improvements and Enlargement of its Modes and Facilities at the present Day. - These Advantages not unqualified. Interests of Society in Relation to the Number and Endowments of Seminaries of Learning. Duties and Responsibilities of their Conductors. - The Wisdom of the Founders of Massachusetts and of Harvard College, illustrated and confirmed by the Experience of two Centuries.- Conclusion. THE close of the second century from the foundation of Harvard University was commemorated by a solemn celebration, which forms one of the most impressive incidents in its annals.* In the course of this History, which owes its origin to that celebration, the circumstances affecting the character and prosperity of the seminary have been traced; the religious, political, and literary influences, to which the institution has been subjected, have been indicated, its finances,† organization, and the causes of the degree of success it now enjoys, have been stated and explained. At the present day, its condition and prospects are not materially affected by either religious sects or political parties, but are chiefly influenced by the spirit of improvement which prevails in the civilized world, and by the attention and efforts now directed to the general diffusion of knowledge, and the intellectual advancement of the human race. The laws, principles of discipline, and methods of instruc * See Appendix, No. LXIV. † Ibid., No. LX. ‡ Ibid., No. LXI. XXXVIII. tion in seminaries of learning, and the means of com- CHAPTER bining their powers, in aid of the great cause of virtue and religion, have become subjects of intense thought and investigation. At the conclusion of this History, therefore, it seems appropriate to take a general view of the claims of the present age on the powers, and of its influences on the character, of this seminary and of similar institutions. In connexion with the great subject of education, we hear daily of "the spirit of the age," of "the wants of the age," and of the duty of seminaries of learning to keep pace with that spirit, and to supply those wants. The spirit of the age takes its chief characteristic from the abundance and general diffusion of the intelligence which exists, or is supposed to exist, in it. The intellectual principle, in its early state, is but a germ, the feeblest and most indistinct of all man's endowments; and, if left to chance, without instruction or example, it is scarcely to be distinguished from the instinct of brutes, and is often inferior to it. But, when combined with moral strength and purity, and unfolded under the auspices of Christian institutions, the powers of the human intellect spread around, upwards, and beneath, with an energy which proves that height, and depth, and extent have no limits for its progress; that external nature itself is but a pathway, which hope and faith tread and spurn as they press onwards beyond its bounds, to regions in which alone the mind seeks, and is content to find, its home. The great truth, that the real glory and happiness of man consist in the right culture of the intellectual principle, in connexion with his moral and religious nature, has never been so generally acknowledged as |