英语演讲稿英语演讲稿《The Social Value of the.docx

英语演讲稿英语演讲稿《The Social Value of the.docx

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英语演讲稿英语演讲稿《TheSocialValueofthe

XX（XX）/演讲稿范文/英语演讲稿

〔英语演讲稿《TheSocialValueofthe〕

OFWHATUSEisacollegetraining?

Wewhohavehaditseldomhearthequestionraisedmightbealittlenonplussedtoansweritoffhand.AcertainamountofmeditationhasbroughtmetothisasthepithiestreplywhichImyselfcangive:

Thebestclaimthatacollegeeducationcanpossiblymakeonyourrespect,thebestthingitcanaspiretoaccomplishforyou,isthis:

thatitshouldhelpyoutoknowagoodmanwhenyouseehim.Thisisastrueofwomen'sasofmen'scolleges;butthatitisneitherajokenoraone-sidedabstractionIshallnowendeavortoshow.

Whattalkdowecommonlyhearaboutthecontrastbetweencollegeeducationandtheeducationwhichbusinessortechnicalorprofessionalschoolsconfer?

Thecollegeeducationiscalledhigherbecauseitissupposedtobesogeneralandsodisinterested.Attheschoolsyougetarelativelynarrowpracticalskill,youaretold,whereasthecollegesgiveyouthemoreliberalculture,thebroaderoutlook,thehistoricalperspective,thephilosophicatmosphere,orsomethingwhichphrasesofthatsorttrytoexpress.Youaremadeintoanefficientinstrumentfordoingadefinitething,youhear,attheschools;but,apartfromthat,youmayremainacrudeandsmokykindofpetroleum,incapableofspreadinglight.Theuniversitiesandcolleges,ontheotherhand,althoughtheymayleaveyoulessefficientforthisorthatpracticaltask,suffuseyourwholementalitywithsomethingmoreimportantthanskill.Theyredeemyou,makeyouwell-bred;theymakegoodcompanyofyoumentally.Iftheyfindyouwithanaturallyboorishorcaddishmind,theycannotleaveyouso,asatechnicalschoolmayleaveyou.This,atleast,ispretended;thisiswhatwehearamongcollege-trainedpeoplewhentheycomparetheireducationwitheveryothersort.Now,exactlyhowmuchdoesthissignify?

Itiscertain,tobeginwith,thatthenarrowesttradeorprofessionaltrainingdoessomethingmoreforamanthantomakeaskilfulpracticaltoolofhim鈥攊tmakeshimalsoajudgeofothermen'sskill.Whetherhistradebepleadingatthebarorsurgeryorplasteringorplumbing,itdevelopsacriticalsenseinhimforthatsortofoccupation.Heunderstandsthedifferencebetweensecond-rateandfirst-rateworkinhiswholebranchofindustry;hegetstoknowagoodjobinhisownlineassoonasheseesit;andgettingtoknowthisinhisownline,hegetsafaintsenseofwhatgoodworkmaymeananyhow,thatmay,ifcircumstancesfavor,spreadintohisjudgmentselsewhere.Soundwork,cleanwork,finishedwork;feeblework,slackwork,shamwork鈥攖hesewordsexpressanidenticalcontrastinmanydifferentdepartmentsofactivity.Insofarforth,then,eventhehumblestmanualtrademaybegetinoneacertainsmalldegreeofpowertojudgeofgoodworkgenerally.

Now,whatissupposedtobethelineofuswhohavethehighercollegetraining?

Isthereanybroaderline鈥攕inceoureducationclaimsprimarilynottobenarrow鈥攊nwhichwealsoaremadegoodjudgesbetweenwhatisfirst-rateandwhatissecond-rateonly?

Whatisespeciallytaughtinthecollegeshaslongbeenknownbythenameofthehumanities,andtheseareoftenidentifiedwithGreekandLatin.Butitisonlyasliteratures,notaslanguages,thatGreekandLatinhaveanygeneralhumanity-value;sothatinabroadsensethehumanitiesmeanliteratureprimarily,andinastillbroadersensethestudyofmasterpiecesinalmostanyfieldofhumanendeavor.Literaturekeepstheprimacy;foritnotonlyconsistsofmasterpiecesbutislargelyaboutmasterpieces,beinglittlemorethananappreciativechronicleofhumanmaster-strokes,sofarasittakestheformofcriticismandhistory.Youcangivehumanisticvaluetoalmostanythingbyreachingithistorically.Geology,economics,mechanics,arehumanitieswhentaughtwithreferencetothesuccessiveachievementsofthegeniusestowhichthesesciencesowetheirbeing.Nottaughtthus,literatureremainsgrammar,artacatalogue,historyalistofdates,andnaturalscienceasheetofformulasandweightsandmeasures.

Thesiftingofhumancreations!

鈥攏othinglessthanthisiswhatweoughttomeanbythehumanities.Essentiallythismeansbiography;whatourcollegesshouldteachis,therefore,biographicalhistory,thatnotofpoliticsmerely,butofanythingandeverythingsofarashumaneffortsandconquestsarefactorsthathaveplayedtheirpart.Studyinginthisway,welearnwhattypesofactivityhavestoodthetestoftime;weacquirestandardsoftheexcellentanddurable.Allourartsandsciencesandinstitutionsarebutsomanyquestsofperfectiononthepartofmen;andwhenweseehowdiversethetypesofexcellencemaybe,howvariousthetests,howflexibletheadaptations,wegainarichersenseofwhatthetermsbetterandworsemaysignifyingeneral.Ourcriticalsensibilitiesgrowbothmoreacuteandlessfanatical.Wesympathizewithmen'smistakesevenintheactofpenetratingthem;wefeelthepathosoflostcausesandmisguidedepochsevenwhileweapplaudwhatovercamethem.

Suchwordsarevagueandsuchideasareinadequate,buttheirmeaningisunmistakable.Whatthecolleges鈥攖eachinghumanitiesbyexampleswhichmaybespecial,butwhichmustbetypicalandpregnant鈥攕houldatleasttrytogiveus,isageneralsenseofwhat,undervariousdisguises,superiorityhasalwayssignifiedandmaystillsignify.Thefeelingforagoodhumanjobanywhere,theadmirationofthereallyadmirablethedisesteemofwhatischeapandtrashyandimpermanent鈥攖hisiswhatwecallthecriticalsense,thesenseforidealvalues.Itisthebetterpartofwhatmenknowaswisdom.Someofusarewiseinthiswaynaturallyandbygenius;someofusneverbecomeso.Buttohavespentone'syouthatcollege,incontactwiththechoiceandrareandprecious,andyetstilltobeablindprigorvulgarian,unabletoscentouthumanexcellenceortodivineitamiditsaccidents,toknowitonlywhenticketedandlabeledandforcedonusbyothers,thisindeedshouldbeaccountedtheverycalamityandshipwreckofahighereducation.

Thesenseforhumansuperiorityought,then,tobeconsideredourline,asboringsubwaysistheengineer'slineandthesurgeon'sisappendicitis.Ourcollegesoughttohavelitupinusalastingrelishforthebetterkindofman,alossofappetiteformediocrities,andadisgustforcheapjacks.Weoughttosmell,asitwere,thedifferenceofqualityinmenandtheirproposalswhenweentertheworldofaffairsaboutus.Expertnessinthismightwellatoneforsomeofourignoranceofdynamos.Thebestclaimwecanmakeforthehighereducation,thebestsinglephraseinwhichwecantellwhatitoughttodoforus,isthen,exactlywhatIsaid:

itshouldenableustoknowagoodmanwhenweseehim.

Thatthephraseisanythingbutanemptyepigramfollows,fromthefactthatifyouaskinwhatlineitismostimportantthatademocracylikeoursshouldhaveitssonsanddaughtersskilful,youseethatitisthislinemorethananyother.Thepeopleintheirwisdom鈥攖hisisthekindofwisdommostneededbythepeople.Democracyisonitstrial,andnooneknowshowitwillstandtheordeal.Aboundingaboutusarepessimisticprophets.Ficklenessandviolenceusedtobe,butarenolonger,theviceswhichtheychargetodemocracy.Whatitscriticsnowaffirmisthatitspreferencesareinveteratelyfortheinferior.Soitwasinthebeginning,theysay,andsoitwillbeworldwithoutend.Vulgarityenthronedandinstitutionalized,elbowingeverythingsuperiorfromthehighway,this,theytellus,isourirremediabledestiny;andpicture-papersofEuropeancontinentarealreadydrawingUncleSamwithhoginsteadoftheeagleforhisheraldicemblem.Theprivilegedaristocraciesoftheforetime,withalltheiriniquities,didatleastpreservesometasteforhigherhumanqualityandhonorcertainformsofrefinementbytheirenduringtraditions.Butwhendemocracyissovereign,itsdoubterssay,nobilitywillformasortofinvisiblechurch,andsincerityandrefinement,strippedofhonor,precedence,andfavor,willhavetovegetateonsufferanceinprivatecorners.Theywillhavenogeneralinfluence.Theywillbeharmlesseccentricities.

Now,whocanbeabsolutelycertainthatthismaynotbethecareerofdemocracy?

Nothingfutureisquitesecure;statesenoughhaveinwardlyrotted鈥攁nddemocracyasawholemayundergoself-poisoning.But,ontheotherhand,democracyisakindofreligion,andweareboundnottoadmititsfailure.Faithsandutopiasarethenoblestexerciseofhumanreason,andnoonewithasparkofreasoninhimwillsitdownfatalisticallybeforethecroaker'spicture.Thebestofusarefilledwiththecontraryvisionofademocracystumblingthrougheveryerrortillitsinstitutionsglowwithjusticeanditscustomsshinewithbeauty.Ourbettermenshallshowthewayandweshallfollowthem;sowearebroughtroundagaintothemissionofthehighereducationinhelpingustoknowthebetterkindofmanwheneverweseehim.

Thenotionthatapeoplecanrunitselfanditsaffairsanonymouslyisnowwellknowntobethesilliestofabsurdities.Mankinddoesnothingsavethroughinitiativesonthepartofinventors,greatorsmall,andimitationbytherestofus鈥攖hesearethesolefactorsactiveinhumanprogress.Individualsofgeniusshowtheway,andsetthepatterns,whichcommonpeoplethenadoptandfollow.Therivalryofthepatternsisthehistoryoftheworld.Ourdemocraticproblemthusisstatableinultra-simpleterms:

Whoarethekindofmenfromwhomourmajoritiesshalltaketheircue?

Whomshalltheytreatasrightfulleaders?

Weandourleadersarethexand