"In discussing the various subjects which customarily came before the senior class, especially those connected with the decision of disputed questions, it was usual for the President to assume a considerable range of statement and argument; and all those who have had the happiness to attend on his instructions, will remember, that not on a few occasions, his mind was kindled with his subject; till, excited by the re-acting stimulus of his own thoughts and communications, he has spoken even more eloquently, and with a more finished touch of feeling, than was usual in his regular written discourses.

"It was never any part of his plan merely to discharge his duty: he did it with his whole mind and heart; and thought nothing adequately done, till all was done that the case admitted of. Till the increase of professorships rendered it unnecessary, he heard the senior class recite twice as often as had been customary, and on most occasions his recitations were of double the length that would have been required."

In the year 1795, when President Dwight entered upon the duties of his office in the College, the whole number of students was one hundred and ten. Almost immediately after his accession, they began to increase, and in the course of his presidency amounted to three hundred and thirteen; an increase unexampled in any similar institution in this country.

It has been remarked, that at the time of his accession to the presidency, infidelity was fashionable and prevalent in the College. To extirpate a spirit so pernicious and fatal, he availed himself of an early and decisive opportunity. Forensic disputation was an important exercise of the senior class. For this purpose they were formed into a convenient number of divisions; two of which disputed before him every week, in the presence of the other members of the class, and of the resident graduates. It was the practice for each division to agree upon several questions, and then refer them to the President to select which he thought proper. At that time infidelity was extensively prevalent in the state, and in the country; and an impression existed generally among the students, that Christianity was supported by authority, and not by argument; and that their instructers were afraid to investigate the question respecting the Divine inspiration of the Scriptures, in the field of open and fair discussion. One of the questions presented by the first division was this: "Are the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament the Word of God?" To their surprise the President selected it for discussion; told them to write on which side they pleased, as he should not impute to them any sentiments which they advanced as their own; and requested those who should write on the negative side of the question to collect and bring forward all the facts and arguments which they could produce: enjoining it upon them, however, to treat the subject with becoming respect and reverence. Most if not all the members of the division came forward

as the champions of Infidelity. When they had finished the discussion, he first examined the ground they had taken; triumphantly refuted their arguments; proved to them that their statement of facts was mistaken or irrelevant; and, to their astonishment, convinced them that their acquaintance with the subject was wholly superficial. After this, he entered into a direct defence of the divine origin of Christianity, in a strain of powerful argument and animated eloquence which nothing could resist. The effect upon the students was electrical. From that moment Infidelity was not only without a strong hold, but without a lurking place. To espouse her cause was now as unpopular as before it had been to profess a belief in Christianity. Unable to endure the exposure of argument, she fled from the retreats of learning, ashamed and disgraced.

His system of discipline was peculiarly his own; and has from its success commanded entire and universal approbation. The College laws, in force when he entered on the Presidency, were the same which were generally in being before his admission to College as a student. They were compiled by President Clap from the statutes of the English Universities; were made for other times, and for a very different state of society. Without proposing in the outset any serious alterations in the written code of laws, he effectually changed the whole system of administration. The government of College became as really new, as if every statute had been altered. A single clause at the end of the chapter on "Crimes and Misdemeanors," furnished him and his companions with authority to introduce and to justify this change, and became, in a sense, the only written law in force. The purport of this clause was, that, as the laws of the College were few and general, the Faculty might proceed, in all cases not expressly provided for, according to their best discretion. The intercourse between the officers and the students was placed on a new footing the latter were addressed and treated as young gentlemen, and no other marks of respect were demanded of them, than those which gentlemen of course render to each other. The distinctions between the classes, so far as they were unnecessary and odious, were prevented. That degrading servility to which, under the authority of long established usage, the freshman class had been subjected, was abolished. The practice of inflicting fines for infractions of the laws, was abrogated; and it is not known that resort was ever had to that species of punishment for absence from prayers or recitation, or for any other offence of a character not more heinous. Instead of pursuing a course which seemed only calculated to inflict a penalty on the parent, he wished to adopt one which should prevent the necessity of every kind of penalty, by preventing offences. In the room of pecuniary exactions for neglect of study, and other violations of duty, he substituted private remonstrance. Appeals were made to the conscience of the delinquent, as well as

to his hopes and fears: appeals founded on the guilt of his conduct, on his love of reputation, the happiness of his parents, and his prospects in life. These appeals were almost always successful. When they failed, early notice of this fact was given to the parent. If their united remonstrances were unavailing, the offender was privately informed that his connexion with College had ceased. This course was principally pursued during the freshman year; at the close of which, the class was regularly relieved of those who had manifested a settled disposition to be idle and vicious. It was his sincere endeavour to save the character of the young offender. If an offence was private, its punishment, if possible, was private; and this, whether the delinquent was permitted to remain a member of College or not. Many of his pupils can remember how kindly and honourably he conducted towards them when he had discovered their misconduct.

The system of matriculation, which he introduced, has proved highly efficacious and salutary. According to this system, those who are found, upon examination, to possess the requisite literary attainments, do not at once become members of College. To be members in full standing, their names must be entered in the "Matriculation Book ;" and this cannot be done until they have established a fair character for correct moral deportment and application to study. Before this takes place, they are liable to be sent home at any moment. An important favour, also, was conferred on parents living at a distance, by requiring their children to have guardians to regulate their expenses.

He encouraged the students, especially those of the senior class, in all their difficulties and troubles, to come to him for advice and assistance. In every such case, the instructer was forgotten in the friend and father. He entered into their interests and feelings, just as if they were his own; and while he yielded the necessary relief, he endeared himself to them permanently by his kindness. The members of the senior class, who wished to engage for a season, after leaving College, in the business of instruction, applied to him regularly to procure them eligible situations. So lively was the interest which he took in their welfare, and so willing and active his exertions in their behalf, that few such applications failed of being successful. He remembered the feelings of a young man just leaving College, without a profession, without property, and with no means of support but the blessing of God and his own exertions. Nothing gave him higher pleasure than to encourage the heart of every youth so situated, to save him from despondence, and to open to him the road to property, to usefulness, and to honour. The number of his students whom he thus essentially befriended, if stated, would almost exceed belief. With others, who were in more affluent circumstances, he would enter into a free and confidential conversation on their plan of life, explain to them their peculiar dangers, and lead them to aim at eminence in their profes

sions, and to form for themselves a high standard of moral excellence. The respect and affection manifested towards him by his pupils, (after leaving College) whenever they visited New-Haven, as well as when they met him abroad, was a sufficient reward for all his efforts to serve them, if he had not found a still higher reward in doing good. We will only add, that his pupils familiarly spoke of him, with reference to this subject, by the most honourable appellation, "THE YOUNG MAN'S FRIEND."

There can be no higher evidence of his qualifications for the important place which he filled, than is furnished by the effects of his presidency. Yale College was founded by a number of pious clergymen without property, who had little to bestow upon it but a few books on theology. It has always struggled forward through great difficulties and embarrassments for the want of those funds which are indispensably necessary to its highest prosperity. Those at a distance, who know nothing of the Institution but its extensive reputation, would indeed be astonished were they told how small is the amount of benefactions which it has received. The men of wealth, in the state where it is situated, have not sufficiently realized its importance to bestow upon it their bounty. The state, also, though at times she has assisted it, has not yet rivalled the munificence of her neighbours on the North and West towards their seminaries of learning. In her public funds, she is, in proportion to her population, the richest state in the Union; yet the College, emphatically her ornament and her glory, has but too sparingly enjoyed her patronage. We have already seen its situation, when Dr. Dwight was inducted into the presidency. Under all these disadvantages, in his hands, and by his unwearied assiduity and exertions, and those of his companions in office, it assumed a new appearance. Its numbers increased, its discipline was revived and invigorated, its morals were purified, and its relative character greatly elevated.

The period during which he presided over the College was attended with peculiar difficulties. A general sentiment of insubordination, growing out of the political situation of the civilized world, had seized the minds of the young as well as the old. High notions of freedom and personal independence prevailed among all ages. And the first impulse, to which in many instances the minds of youths as well as of men were disposed to yield, was resistance to authority. Many of our higher seminaries of learning have witnessed its effects in scenes of riot and insurrection, which have, for the time, subverted their authority, and destroyed their usefulness. Yale College wholly escaped these evils. No general combination of the students to resist its government, ever occurred during his presidency. This fact is to be ascribed to the wisdom and firmness of the President and his associates in office. He well knew that the tranquillity of such an institution must depend on the respect and affection of the students, and the steady watchfulness VOL. I.

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of its officers. Deeply read in the human character, and emphatically so in the character of young men, he foresaw the approaches of the storm which so extensively prevailed, and provided in season the means of defence and security. On every occasion of this kind, he derived the utmost benefit from one trait of his character, his energy; a trait which no man ever possessed in a more eminent degree. His decision and inflexibility to his purpose cannot be surpassed.

At the commencement of his presidency, the professorship of theology was vacant. The Corporation proposed to appoint him, in form, to the office. For the first ten years, he would consent to none but an annual appointment. In 1805, it was made permanent. During the whole period, he preached twice every Sabbath, with almost no assistance from his brethren, and very rarely having an opportunity to exchange with the neighbouring clergy. Early in the year following his induction, he commenced the delivery of a series of lectures on the Evidences of Divine Revelation. This was no part of the duties of either office; but, owing to the extensive prevalence of infidelity in the country at that period, he viewed it as necessary to guard his pupils against the contagion. These lectures were not written out; the weak state of his eyes forbad his employing them for such a purpose. After collecting materials for about fifty, the same difficulty compelled him to desist, and prevented him from delivering even the whole of that number. They were on a plan entirely new, and were listened to with great interest. Had not the battle with Infidelity been fought, and the victory won, we should regret, still more than we now do, that they were left unfinished. No one, not personally acquainted with the facts, can realize how great, at this period, were his sufferings from weakness of sight. For years it was with extreme difficulty that he could read or write even a sentence. He was greatly. alarmed, for a long period, with the symptoms of an approaching gutta serena. Repeatedly the pressure on the brain was so great as to produce momentary blindness, and obviously to threaten apoplexy. Occasionally, for weeks together, the anguish of his eyes was so intense that it required powerful exertion to draw off his mind to any other object. And often, after attempting in vain to sleep, he has risen from his bed, and, to promote a free perspiration, has walked for miles in the middle of the night.

In the prosecution of his duties as professor of divinity, he early began to deliver the lectures in these volumes. His practice was to preach one on the morning of each Sabbath in term time. By. this arrangement he finished the course once in four years. Thus each student, who completed his regular collegiate period, had an opportunity to hear the whole series. He first conceived the plan of the work at Greenfield. While there, he completed it in short notes in about one hundred sermons, and delivered them twice to his people before his removal. At New-Haven, he twice went