University of the South Papers Series A, No1

32

God, from whom cometh every good and perfect gift, to direct us with His most gracious favour, and further us with His continual help. Especially, therefore, when we are gathered together to lay the foundation of a house which is to be erected to His honour, and consecrated to the promotion of true Religion, virtue and learning among men, let us humbly ask the foregiveness of our sins, and implore His merciful protection and blessings.

Then shall be said the following prayers:

Almighty and Everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sin of all those who are penitent: create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness: through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, by whose holy inspiration we think those things that are good, and by whose merciful guiding we perform the same: look graciously upon thy humble servants here assembled in thy name and presence, and vouchsafe to us thy protection in the work in which we are about to engage. Grant to all who shall be employed in the furtherance of this undertaking, wisdom to plan, and strength and skill to execute, every part of it, till the whole structure rise in due proportions and finished beauty, an offering which thou wilt be pleased to accept at our hands, to the honor of Thy Eternal Majesty, and by Thy blessing be instrumental forever in enlarging the knowledge and promoting the peace and happiness of mankind: through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Stir up, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people, that they giving cheerfully and liberally of the abundance with which thou hast blessed them, may set forward this good work, and by thee be plenteously rewarded: through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Then shall be sung the 79th selection, being the 100th Psalm of David. After which, the Bishop appointed

33

shall read the list of articles to be deposited in the Corner-stone, among which shall be a copy of the Holy Scriptures, and, holding it up in the sight of the people, he shall say:--

This Holy volume is here deposited among other memorials, that it may testify to future ages that the "University of the South" recognizes the Word of God as the foundation of all true learning, and as teaching the knowledge that maketh wise unto salvation.

And then, in like manner, holding up to view a copy of the Book of Common Prayer, he shall say:--

This copy of the Book of Common Prayer is deposited along with the Holy Scriptures in the Corner-stone, to be presently laid, to show that this University is founded also upon the Church of God, as practically exhibiting the truth of God in its ministry, doctrines and sacraments.

In naming the other articles deposited, the Bishop may make such remarks respecting each as he may deem suitable and proper. Then shall the Bishop appointed proceed to lay the Corner-stone as follows: He shall first see that the stone be properly adjusted in its place, and then say:--

A Corner-stone is that which unites the walls of a building, and may symbolize strength and stability--the union of the intellectual and spiritual natures of man-the emblem of Christ--the sure and tried corner-stone the wisdom of God and the power of God!

Then striking the sstone three times with a hammer, he shall say:--

In the name of the Holy and Undivided Trinity! Father! Son! and Holy Ghost! three Persons--one God, Blessed forever! Amen. I, Leonidas Polk, D. D., Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Louisiana, on this tenth day of October, in the year of Grace 1860, do lay this corner-stone of an edifice to be here erected as the principal building of the "University of the South," and Insti-

34

tution established by the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Dioceses of Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, for the cultivation of true Religion, learning and virtue, that thereby God may be glorified, and the happiness of man be advanced.

Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ; the same yesterday, to-day and forever. God is all, blessed forever in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins; for there is none other name under Heaven among men whereby we must be saved."

Here shall be said or sung the "Benedicite," and after shall follow the address. After the address is finished, shall be sung Gloria in Excelsia. Then shall be said the following prayer:--

Blessed be thy name, O Lord that it hath pleased thee to put into the hearts of thy servants to establish here an Institution of learning recognizing the principles of the Christian Faith, and offering to all the free enjoyment of its privileges. Grant that it may ever "show forth the glory of Thy Kingdom, that thy power, thy glory and mightiness of thy Kingdom may be known unto men--thy saving health unto all nation! We give Thee thanks that we have been permitted in Thy good Providence to see the foundation of this house laid under so many tokens of thy love and favor. Continue to prosper us, O Lord, O prosper Thou our handy work. Give to those who have the direction of the affairs of the Institution here established, the spirit of wisdom and understanding--the spirit of knowledge and of a sound mind, that unity of counsel may mark their proceedings, and purity of intention guide all their aims. Guard by thy gracious providence every thing which may appertain to the building which is now begun in thy fear and in dependence on thy blessing. Inspire the master-workmen and all under their direction with the love of order, peace and ready submission to authority--with skill to devise and diligence to execute, and protect them from all accidents and dangers, that each faithfully fulfilling, in his proper measure and sta-

35

tion, his appointed task, may contribute as Thou shalt give him ability to bring this work to a prosperous and happy conclusion; and at last receive the reward of fidelity and diligence which Thou hast promised to all who love and fear thee: even Thy blessing and commendation, O Lord God! Amen.

O Eternal God, the shield of our help, beneath whose sovereign defence thy people dwell in peace and safety, we bless and praise, we laud and magnify thy glorious name for all thy goodness to the people of this land. Inspire our rulers with the spirit of justice, fidelity and vigilance in the management of the trusts committed to their charge. Make the people orderly, sober, moderate and obedient to the lawful authority, that by humility and watchfulness in prosperity, patience, courage and steadfastness in our trials, we may always enjoy the confidence and blessed assurance of that people whose God is the Lord.

And grant, O Lord! that the course of this world may be so peacebly ordered by thy governance that thy church may joyfully serve thee in all godly quietness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Then shall follow the Lord's Prayer, and after that the Benediction.

-------------------------------

INTRODUCTION BY BISHOP OTEY.

------------

Brethren and Fellow-Citizens:

I have the honor of announcing to you as the Orator of the day, a name--"clarum et venerabile"--illustrious in the annals of our country, and in this instance designating a gentleman who has always shown himself zealous and liberal in promoting the interests of all institu-

36

tions designed for the honor of our country and the welfare of mankind. I introduce to you the Hon. John S. Preston, of South Carolina.

COL. PRESTON'S ORATION.

Fellow-Citizens, Ladies and Gentlemen:

Surely American History is an anomaly; there is no record which furnishes an example for it, or even a fair analogy. On the surface, the details of our order of Civilization seem the same with those which have marked the incipient progress of nations in all ages, as the fundamental principles of human action seem ever to be the same. We have certainly like physical necessities, supplied by like labour, with like fruits; we have similar civil regulations, and we worship the same God by the same name and with the same tongue and hope that other people have. Yet what people before us have based their civil regulations on the "equality of man"? What people, in all time before us, have deemed it an essential necessity and acted on it as such, and assimilated it to their whole being, to worship God according to each man's conscience, and freed absolutely from all human rule, on the assumption that the true worship of God is inconsistent with human dictation?

We have thus taken the great fundamental principles of human economy, and infused into them--informed them--vitalized them, by a new Genuis, a new Spirit, unknown before us. We will search in vain for it through the histories of Antiquity. It was not known to Moses or the prophets. Egypt, nor Assyria, nor Persia, nor Babylon, dreamed of it. It may have glimmered on the mind of Greece, in whose prolific thought all things seemed to grow. But Rome and Arabia knew it not. Later ages began to feel its yearnings, but grve it no birth. It is alone--our heaven-born heritage. In practical socialism, in civilism, in Religion, we have adopted new and untried forms, and worked from them new and unknown results! We have not created--man does not that--but we have worked the Divine essences into strange and wonderful shapes.

37

How this is, why it is, and what is to come of it, seems appropriate to our consideration at the moment we are inaugurating one of the most glorious, hopeful, and, as we fondly believe, heaven-blessed results. Let us then, spend this hour in the contemplation, and I dare pray you be not startled from its gravity by the rude, unpolished words of your speaker. Let us see how we are here, and why we are here, amid these "manyfolded mountains," where nature still sits in virgin purity and primeval grandeur--here within this boundless temple, not built by hands--offering these gorgeous and solemn ceremonies, and invoking God's own presence with us. How and why are we here, my countrymen, gilding the front of Autumn with our banners, convoked by God's own chosen messengers, and bowing our heads as they raise their reverent hands to ask His blessing on our deeds? Oh for a tongue that could recite the holy Epic of these good men's acts! Oh for a Muse that could record in swelling symphonies the resounding tread with which His people have marched forward, out of their bondage, to this crowning deed of Christian patriotism! Listen to the story, told in humblest of words, and let your hearts compass, and be exalted by, the theme.

The Protestant Church of England is the witness to us of Divine truth; American civilization comes of the Protestant Church, and is to us the witness of the highest human truth, and causes this University to be founded; therefore, this University is founded in Truth. I shall prove these assumptions, and deduce from them that Faith and Wisdom demand of us to rear this structure, and that it is well for us to be here to-day.

When the dark ages settled over all Greek and Roman civilization, when papal aggression had blasted every form of Liberty, Learning, as well as Religion, shrunk away in terror, and sought shelter in the cavernous cloisters of the monkish convents. Here for centuries they suffered a feeble and distorted existence, but the Spirit of Truth, always the companion and guardian of knowledge, gave them enduring vigor, and added to them gradually new fountains of living waters, until they rose and swelled, and, overleaping the walls and

38

iron gates of monasteries, began again to irrigate and fertilize the desolated wastes of Western Europe. In their course they met the currents of Oriental Science, borne westward by the Crusader--his only recompense, save earthly misery and his eternal hope, and with this learning was mingled the Saracenic refinement and knowledge which illuminated the Universities of Spain, all the South of Europe, and Northern Africa. From these mingled waters there grew teachings and schools, and free thought in Philosophy, and new hope in Religion. Rulers and Statesmen began to study Plato and Aristotle, and Cicero and Seneca, and good men began to rescue the Christian law from the imprisonment of forgotten tongues. Even as early as the beginning of the 9th century, the venerable Bede had translated a portion of the holy gospels for the Church service in England, thus early marking--what you will observe to the end--the essential difference between the English and Roman Churches in the diffusion of liberal knowledge. The latter part of this, the 9th century, witnessed a growing zeal for learning, as manifested by educational lectures in the town of Oxford--lectures, or free and public discourses, which formed the beginning of that educational system finally to be developed into the College, and then into the University. The same period, embracing the discussions of Paschasius Radbert and his cotemporary opponents, presents the scene of an English King befriending an Irish scholar--whose liberal philosophy had opposed the Romanist application of scholastic logic to the Sacraments of the Church: A scholar--John Scotus Eregena--whose tendency to rationalism is counterbalanced by his endeavor, made equally in Roman Paris and Anglican Oxford, to refute that interpretation of the Eucharist which finally developed--in the 12th century--into the name and doctrine of Transubstantiation; a King--Alfred--who did his part in the progressive work of English Philosophy and Faith by the translation of Boethius--a Christian Philosopher of the purest type.

Thus early, then, while the earth was almost a barbaric wilderness, and ferocious ignorance over-hung, like a storm-cloud, the institutions of men, the Church

39

of England was nurturing a pure and lambent flame, and lighting the fires of true philosophy at the altar of Christianity, as she is doing here to-day. To King Alfred--that "king to justice dear." who,

"Though small his kingdom as spark or gem, Of Alfred boasts remote Jerusalem; And Christian India, through her wide-spread clime, In sacred converse, gifts with Alfre shares"--

To his conjunction of science with religion may justly be attributed the undying glory of having placed the Church of England in such relation to the Church of Rome, as forever, even down to their final separation, and, to this day, to mark their just distinction. Rome sought to restrict Science and Christian knowledge to the Church--England from the first conjoined them and sent them abroad among the people. Rome kept her science in the monasteries, and her Bible in a dead tongue. Alfred translated parts of the Bible into the common, living language; and besides thus working for the intellectual enlightenment and freedom of the people, he began that recognition--by personal acts and partially by legislation--of the political rights of man which finally led the people to demand and secure a Magna Charta. Thus Liberty, Learning and True Religion were the offspring of one birth from the teeming womb of the English Church. It is true that for centuries, amid the savage gloom of Danish invasions, and beneath the grinding yoke, and fierce, hard tyranny of the Norman conquest, we scarcely recognize this offspring; but still, as you will see, it lived and grew beneath the genial shelter of that Church, which even then, as now and ever, "was engaged in ascending up to Heaven to fetch down blessings, and descending to scatter them among men"; and these are the blessings which, living and active, are dwelling with us, equally, on the banks of the Mississippi, the Thames, and the Ganges.

As early as 1085, the "Sarum Use," a collected and complete Anglican "Book of Prayer," provided for the people a complete Church-Service, independent of Roman authority. This "Use," as well as others more

40

imperfect but equally native, drew mainly upon Saxon materials--largely in the popular tongue, composed and transmitted by the people, and hence such Saxon, or Anglican data, form still not only the basis, but large portions of the extra Scriptural services in the various forms of prayer now in use by the different Protestant sects.

Near one hundred "homilies" of the "fathers" were translated for the use of the people. The doctrines of these homilies go to prove for what end they were selected, and is conclusive testimony that the same doctrinal differences existed between Rome and England 500 years before the Reformation, which all Protestant Churches do insist upon, 300 years after that event. In fact, from the moment of the establishment of the Church, by Augustine--long before this period, the Clergy of the Ancient Saxon Church--the Apostolic Remnant--protested against the doctrines, the forms, and the restrictions of the Roman Church, and the petty kings joined with them in protecting the lives, the liberties, the property, and the consciences of their people, from the grasp and tyranny of Rome.

Along, too, with this, the schools of Oxford united to keep alive, and arouse that spirit which resulted in the great charters of English liberty. They lectured on and taught the "Saxon Customs," which are the foundation of all English law--the almost sacred "lex non scripta" of the English Constitution--and to the power and justice of which even William the Conqueror, and Henry and Stephen, yielded a grudging assent, and which forced from a reluctant tyrant the "magna charta." It was, however, the last Saxon, and the first Norman king, who first began to infuse into these laws something of the elements of Papal Rome. As a legitimate sequence to the rule of a brutal soldierly, and not less brutal priesthood, there ensued a long, sad era of confusion, ignorance, wrong and corruption in the Church, and among the people. Bishops of the Holy Church became warlike Barons, and draggled the cross through fields of blood--and Barons became rapacious Bishops, devastating churches and monasteries, and converting Universtities into barracks for a rude soldiery. Of course

41

religious turpitude was aided by the iron and bloody hand in enforcing civil subjection and repressing all knowledge. And yet, as you have seen in some sultry summer's night, the little glow-worm flickering beneath the lurid darkness--so, under this dread pall of gloom, there still shone the feeble rays of that pure light the Apostle brought from the Star of Bethlehem. At times it flashed into the seared consciences of those who seemed most remorseless, or hovered over the gateway of some remote monastery. The stern Baron, in the terror and agony of death, desired the prayers of the pure and faithful, and would terminate a life of brutish ferocity by an act of genial benevolence--or away, in some deep forest shelter, might be heard the low, sweet voice of the Dove of Peace, murmuring her gentle melody with the songs of Galilee, by the pallet of the dying and repentant sinner. Rome had driven him to rapine and despair; England wooed him to repentance and hope. The power of Rome, however, spread wide and deep over the land; while learning and hopeful patriotism and pure religion were hiding within stony cells or unnoticed schools. The turbulent and rapacious Kings, Barons and Bishops, joined to crush out all civil liberty, and convert it into feudal servitude--to debauch all religion into buffoonery, and demean all learning into silly scholasticism. The simplicity of Scriptural faith was corrupted into fantastic and impious allegory, the lore of classical philosophy into subtle verbiage; the mendicant preacher howled like a vagabond charlatan from a cart-tail, the friars of many systems served credulous sinners with "pardons to and from Rome; Prayer became a mechanical invention, justice to God disappeared before the Right of Man, and the hope of the race was turned from Divine Grace to the Roman treasury of human merit."

I desire, fellow-citizens, here to say, that I am profoundly, philosophically, religiously, with all the faith of my sould, a protestant against the Roman Catholic Church. But at the same time I declare that I cannot recognize one particle of fanaticism or bitterness in my estimate of historical Papal Rome. I read history, and form my judgment; I look around me as a christian and citizen,

6