Se OQ LAK A SRN AN QQ. AO AK OO AS AC \ \ QQ SN WY RQ We SSS \ x AN XX SN \ . S SON WN WS AN \X NN SS VQ RQ WS SS NY LAAN AN WSS \N WY LIFE OF HENRY B. WRIGHT Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2022 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library https://archive.org/details/lifeofhenryowrigdOstew Henry B. Wright Hh m Lai Ni ei Oye (ty i te Ti’ , i yi Ye vip Me al ‘ ¥ Rte | ‘ i Rta tee Vn ey T fasts a MAN, y 4 i py by ey ' : ar ie 4 a t fi ick & by aie a iNew ated i NO te EL LR [ yey i KA fa te nlget LIFE OF HENRY B. WRIGHT CHAPTER I THE MAN WE KNEW If, in the paths of the world, Stones might have wounded thy feet, Toil or dejection have tried Thy spirit, of that we saw Nothing—to us thou wast still Cheerful, and helpful, and firm! Therefore to thee it was given Many to save with thyself; And, at the end of thy day, O, faithful shepherd! to come Bringing thy sheep in thy hand. —MartrHew ArNoxp. ENRY WRIGHT was, by appointment of the Yale Corporation, in succession a tutor in Greek and Latin, an assistant professor of Ancient History, and a professor of Christian Methods in Yale University. Not in these aspects, however, would I introduce him, but rather as one who for twenty-four years was the strongest influence for Christian living of any man of his day among the under- graduates of Yale. His influence for good was due first to the fact that he was a man of complete consecration. Every man who knew him, from the president of the university to the last janitor and policeman, knew that he was a man of a prior allegiance. D. L. Moody’s biographer tells us that on the occasion when the great evangelist heard the words, “The world has yet to see what God will do with and for and through and in and 1 2 Life of Henry B. Wright by the man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him,” he thought to himself, “He said a man. He did not say a great man, nor a learned man, nor a rich man, nor a wise man, nor an eloquent man, nor a smart man. I am a man and it lies within the man himself whether he will or will not make that entire and full consecration. I will try my utmost to be that man.” That Henry Wright had in like manner consecrated himself completely to work for Christ was plain to all who came in touch with him. And in addition to this he had the genius of making religion attractive, and clean living more desirable than audacity and indiscretion. Not only students but men from all ranks of life realized that here was a man who could be trusted to understand and help in trouble and perplexity. They came to him with their problems and made him their father confessor—farmers, scientists, ex-convicts, soldiers, students, college janitors, busi- ness men. No demands were made before he gave his friend- ship. ‘You know Jesus took twelve men without college training,” he wrote to a friend, “and taught them, and they went out and made a new world.” Men, rough-hewn, were his chief interest, with their marks and scars upon them. Among his friends were men with blisters and paint upon their hands, and black finger-nails smashed by hammers. His mail was always heavy with letters asking his advice in real or imagined dilemmas. Answering such letters and meeting men for per- sonal talks took large amounts of time and effort, but to do this was his chief joy. His short, unstilted letters glowing with friendliness and spiritual fire found their way to the remotest corners of the earth. A few months before his death he issued from his study after two hours’ steady writing with a bundle of letters in his hand, remarking, “I have seventeen of them here.” Any man at Yale was welcome to his office or to his house and could be sure of a quiet interview. Almost literally he employed the phrase, “Every man who knocks at my door is sent of God.” He often remarked, “Man’s inter- ruptions are God’s opportunities.” The Man We Knew 3 One of the secrets of his power over the hearts of men was his willingness to share his experience and ideas. ‘How was it that men came to know of the temptation of Jesus?” he asked a group. ‘‘Because He told them. He shared His life with them.” Bible and discussion classes were made vivid and interesting because they were illustrated with stories of his own experience when face to face with acute problems. In these quiet hours he often told the men at New Haven or in the Army of his defeats and triumphs, of answers to prayer, of unfulfilled hopes. He revealed his life like an open book, with a total absence of self-consciousness, not as showing his own treasured possessions, but as if he were wholly detached from his words, his deeds, himself. This gift of self-revelation had something of the frankness of a love letter and was a constant source of power. It broke down all walls of division and created that atmosphere of genuine understanding in which alone men can reveal the secrets of their hearts. Men loved him because he gave to them abundantly of all he had to give—time, thought, affection, money, and some- times personal care. The unselfishness with which he and his wife gave up their quarters to students who were ill, paid debts of friends in need, and contributed sacrificially to many Christian enterprises was an illuminating example to many who had less ample ideas of generosity. The number of colored and foreign students who counted them as friends re- vealed the breadth of their interests and affection. The stead- fastness with which Henry Wright continued to pour out his devotion on apparently unresponsive men ran true to the de- scription of love in Holy Writ—it suffered long and was kind, it was not easily provoked, it hoped all things. The sheer creative power of his affection produced the likeness of its hope in other human hearts. A veteran newspaper man said of him: We shall never know his like again—he walked among us and was in the flesh. Hero worship, which I resent, should have little place in religious work; we should love and honor and 4 Life of Henry B. Wright thank God for true leaders, as the anti-slavery group did for Garrison and Phillips, but our homage should be almost unspoken, felt rather than expressed; living is too serious a business for earnest men to stop to cheer poor mortals. But you cannot make too clear that Henry was the nearest to Jesus that our generation has known. He believed that a complete surrender and an unquestion- ing obedience to the will of God was the only source of real power in a man’s life and the only way in which his heart could find satisfaction and peace. He believed this so abso- lutely that it was the underlying message in all his Bible-study courses, in all his public addresses, in all his personal inter- views. He was constantly presenting the claims of Christ to men, for he was a born evangelist, but his method was so kindly and his solicitous affection for the man with whom he was working so apparent, that all were touched and none could take offense, even if they could not accept his teachings. When men came to him with problems to be solved, he would listen thoughtfully, his dark eyes filled with dignified concern, quickly lighting up with sympathy when the narra- tion of events became difficult or embarrassing for his visitors. He suffered and groped with his friends for solutions to their difficulties, but he was as eager before a vexed moral tangle as the scientist in unraveling one of the mysteries of nature. Once when he was cleaning up a pile of rubbish in closing up his Oakham house at the end of the summer, he exclaimed, ‘“‘I love to clean up situations. There is great satisfaction in bringing cleanness out of a mess.” At another time he wrote to a friend who was in trouble, ‘Every man loves a scrap. I love to give the devil a solar plexus blow.” His solution for most problems was not an easy one. Once he quoted Henry Ward Beecher to a graduate student troubled about the amount of work necessary to clean up a certain situation: Religion means work. Religion means work in a dirty world. Religion means peril; blows given, but blows taken as well. Re- The Man We Knew 5 ligion means transformation. The world is to be cleaned by somebody, and you are not called of God if you are ashamed to scour and scrub. One ethical principle which stood out in his teachings and in his work of evangelism was that restitution should be made for past wrongs as far as that was humanly possible. He pointed out that if wrong-doing had been against an in- dividual, recompense should be made to the sufferer individ- ually; if an offense had been committed against several per- sons collectively, an appropriate restitution should be made to the group. The necessity of acting upon such teaching regarding sin, retribution, and reconciliation caused some to turn away, but those who understood the nature of moral law and the importance of finality in dealing with transgression. never ceased to thank him. Honesty was the condition prece- dent in his code for greater spiritual power. At Yale and in the Army and in the dozens of student conferences that he attended, there were many men under his teaching who re- stored that which had been taken dishonestly, and experienced spiritual renewal. Diplomas were returned, lies were recti- fied, money was paid to its rightful owners. No Puritan in old New England was more uncompromising in the face of injustice or moral turpitude. But the iron discipline of his nature was tempered by rich, abundant, understanding love. Men were arrested by his rugged honesty, and bound to him by his overflowing compassion. Such was the friend we knew. In the pages which follow an attempt is made to paint a portrait of a very human saint and to let that picture make its own appeal. CHAPTER II EARLY LIFE We are all nobly born; fortunate those who know it; blessed those who remember. —Rosert Lovis STEVENSON T takes more than one generation to make a consummate individual, and the life that leaps upon the world like a cataract is often fed from some remote and lonely tarn of which the world never hears the name.” ‘Thus spoke George Adam Smith of one of the great souls of a generation just passed. The mind and heart of Henry Wright came from no lonely tarn but did reveal the abundant stream of New England moral earnestness which was their source. It would have been strange if his immediate forbears, disciplined teachers and scholars, had not communicated to him a tradi- tion of accuracy in scholarship coupled with ideals of per- sonal sacrifice and dedication to the public service. From his parents he received rich gifts of ability, character, and spiritual vision. Henry Parks Wright, his father, was a well- known educator, for twenty-five years Dean of Yale College; his mother, Martha Elizabeth Burt, a woman of unusual in- tellect and lovable character, had received a sound classical training in a day when such an education for women was almost unknown. At the time of Henry’s birth, on January 29, 1877, his father was a professor of Latin at Yale. Professor Wright was a graduate of that institution, having taken his degree in 1868 with a rank in scholarship so high that it established a record which remained unbroken for twenty-five years. He was the first Dean of Yale College, the position being created by President Porter in 1884, and held that office till, in 1909, he had reached the age at which, by act of the Corporation, 6 Early Life 7 all officers of the University are retired. As Dean of Yale, Professor Wright had a high reputation as an administrator, and he was respected and beloved by the students themselves. He was a keen judge of character. Students found difficulty in lying to him, so impressed were they by his reputation for an almost omniscient insight. . In the judgments which he passed on young men’s problems he often recognized, the stern necessity of regeneration by pain, for he had a deep under- standing of human weakness, but he combined in a rare man- ner the qualities of justice and mercy. A student was asked once, ‘‘How is it that you are all so fond of the Dean, when he is such a strict disciplinarian?” and the answer was given, **We know we deserve whatever he gives us.” The household in which Henry Burt Wright grew to manhood represented Puritanism at its best. The Christian religion and its teachings in regard to conduct were the foun- dations on which life was built. Daily private devotions were never omitted, nor grace at table, nor the church services on Sunday at Battell Chapel. Cultural pursuits were encour- aged, but no work was done on the Sabbath Day. In sum- mer vacation the Dean often taught Sunday school and he took part regularly in the prayer meetings in the little church in Oakham. When his children were small, he was accustomed to open the big family Bible on Sundays and read the Old Testament stories. Mrs. Wright made a practice of instructing them in the Bible from both the Old and the New Testament. Quiet conversations with the younger mem- bers of the family upon conduct prepared them for what they were to meet in mature life. Henry and his brother Alfred at the proper time were informed about a young man’s tempta- tions and how to meet them. Old-fashioned virtues of obedi- ence, honesty, and respect for authority were emphasized. Punishment was meted out in due proportion, but the children were never left with a feeling of resentment, “but cleansed and regenerated,” as one of them since remarked. Neither the Dean nor his wife had confidence in education divorced 8 Life of Henry B. Wright from discipline. Great achievement could be expected from the children of such parents. Although the heads of the household were faithful in church observances and practices, religion was never forced upon the children, but was made a vital part of their life, the object of their unquestioning, unceasing and enthusiastic de- votion. Ushered thus naturally and joyously into the Christian life, Henry, with a brother and sister, united with the Church of Christ in Yale College on February 2, 1894. All the children began their studies at home, the Dean instructing the young family in Latin and mathematics, his wife carrying them forward in grammar school subjects. Scholarship, according to the Dean’s ideas, depended not only on keenness of mind, but even more on a habit of thoroughness, and he never accepted from his children work that was not painstakingly done. Henry began the study of Latin at an early age and had read both Cesar and Cicero before he entered high school. The chief and almost the only playmates of the Wright children were the children of Professor Thomas Day Seymour, and those of the missionary, Robert A. Hume, of India. With these they formed societies to raise money for charitable pur- poses, produced plays and entertainments, made collections of stamps and stones and butterflies, and had altogether a very happy childhood. Summers were spent in Oakham, where the children played in the fields and fished in the ponds. Picnic suppers on high hills, long rides, and explorations for Indian relics delighted the heart of eager youth. During the month of September, until the Dean took up his duties at Yale, the Wrights sent their children to Oakham village school—a pleasant experience for the city-bred youngsters during the years when they were tutored by their parents in New Haven. Henry entered the New Haven high school at the begin- ning of the second year of the course. Here he formed many firm friendships. That the moral earnestness which was char- Early Life 9 acteristic of him even at this early age did not shut him off in any way from the social life of the class is shown by the fact that the only fraternity, Gamma Delta Psi, elected him to membership. One who knew him well in high school said: He would never compromise his principles in the smallest detail. He was a leader in the class both intellectually and socially. I remember that he and Herbert Fisher were fellow- editors on the high school paper, the Crescent. They wrote a play together called “A World’s Fair Comedy of Errors,” which was acted before a high school audience and highly approved. He was also a member of the Webster Debating Club and took part in at least one public debate. He was chairman of the Class Day Committee at graduation and had the Scientific Essay at the graduating exercises. His high school principal remarked of him: “He seemed always to have had with me a place apart among those whom it has been a high privilege to teach.” Another one of his high school teachers observed : I recall the first day that he came into my classes in the Hill- house High School. He was so noble in his bearing and so scholarly in his work in Greek that he was always an inspiring influence in my life. Herbert Fisher, a classmate in Hillhouse High School said: I was one of those who were fortunate enough to have enjoyed much good fellowship with Henry. He was as good then as he always remained. He was more spiritually natured than other boys, but there must be something preservative in that, for he did not seem to outgrow the boyhood of school life, and he was always what Mr. Brown called him—an evangelist without con- scious effort. It was so natural for him to choose always the better way whenever the paths divided that it became more diffi- cult for any one who knew him to choose the worse way. What better evangelism could there be? Years in high school quickly fled and in September of 1894 he entered Yale to claim those shining rewards which college holds for keen minds and courageous hearts. CHAPTER III YALE—STUDENT DAYS Mother of men, grown strong in giving, Honor to them, thy lights have led; Rich in the toil of thousands living, Proud of the deeds of thousands dead. We who have felt thy power and known thee, We in whose work thy gifts avail, High in our hearts enshrined, enthrone thee, Mother of men, old Yale. Spirit of Youth, alive, unchanging, Under whose feet the years are cast— Heir to an ageless empire, ranging Over the future and the past: Thee, whom our fathers loved before us, Thee, whom our sons unborn shall hail, Praise we today in sturdy chorus, Mother of men, old Yale. —Brian Hooker, Yale ’02. ALE had always been a part of Henry Wright’s life. Having been reared in the shadow of her ancient halls, he early gave her his whole-hearted allegiance. fall of 1894 found him matriculated in the University where he spent the months of term time in undergraduate and gradu- ate study until June of 1903. The preparation in the classics which he had received at home under Dean Wright fitted him for a record of achieve- ment in a day when Greek and Latin occupied a larger place in the course of study than they do now. In Freshman year he was awarded the Woolsey Scholarship and also a first Berkeley Premium. The Lucius F. Robinson Latin Prize fell 10 Yale—Student Days Bs to him in Sophomore year, and during the following winter he won the first Winthrop Prize. In his third year in college he spoke at the Junior Exhibition, and received a Ten Eyck Prize. Professor Charles Sears Baldwin of Columbia Uni- versity, one of his Yale teachers and later a colleague on the Yale Faculty, said of him: Henry was one of my first Yale students, and gave me even as a pupil—much more later as a friend—that response which is a teacher’s dearest reward. His handwriting, which I turned up a few days ago, was firmly expressive of that integrity which steadied and heartened his associates. Notable qualities of self-denial and self-discipline were evident in him even in undergraduate days. In later years Henry often told men in Bible-study groups and in personal interviews that he attributed much of his success as a student to an ancient volume which had fallen into his father’s hands before he came to Yale in 1864. It was called the “‘Student’s Manual,” and its author was John Todd, a preacher in Jonathan Edwards’ church at Northampton. Todd was a mixture of Puritan and Spartan, the kind of man who always chooses the most difficult method when there are alternatives. Henry Wright based his method of study on the exacting plan laid down in this book, which called for the careful scheduling of time, self-denial in regard to amusements, and unremitting labor, as the prerequisites of success. He was willing to undergo the severest discipline in order to equip himself ade- quately for his life’s work. According to “Todd’s Manual”: Nothing is so much coveted by a young man as the reputation of being a genius; and many seem to feel that the want of patience for laborious application and deep research is such a mark of genius as cannot be mistaken. . . . You may have a good mind, a sound judgment, or a vivid imagination, or a wide reach of thought and of views; but believe me, you probably are not a genius, and can never become distinguished without severe appli- cation. Hence, all that you ever have must be the result of 12 Life of Henry B. Wright labor—hard, untiring labor. You have friends to cheer you on; you have books and teachers to aid you and multitudes of helps, but after all, disciplining and educating your mind must be your own work. Set it down as a fact, to which there are no exceptions, that we must labor for all that we have, and that nothing is worth possessing or offering to others, which costs us nothing. Gilbert Wakefield tells us that he wrote his own memoirs (a large octavo) in six or eight days. It cost him nothing; and, which is very natural, it is worth nothing. You might yawn scores of such books into existence, but who would be the wiser or the better? We all like gold, but dread the digging. The cat loves the fish, but will not wade to catch them:—amat ptsces, sed non vult tingere plantas... . The first and great object of education is to discipline the mind. It is naturally, like the colt, wild and ungoverned. .. . Make it the first object to be able to fix and hold your atten- tion upon your studies. He who can do this, has mastered many and great difficulties; and he who cannot do it, will in vain look for success in any department of study. ... Why has that Latin or Greek word so puzzled you to remember, that you have to look for it in your dictionary some ten or a dozen times? And why do you now look at it as a stranger, whose name you ought to know, but which you cannot recall? Because you have not yet acquired fully the power of fixing your attention. ... Patience is a virtue kindred to attention, and without it the mind cannot be said to be disciplined. . . . Did not Patrick Henry burst upon the world at once, and at once exhibit the strength of a giant? If he did, he is no specimen of ordinary minds, and no man has a right to presume upon any thing more than an intellect of ordinary dimensions, as his own. What mul- titudes of men lie still, and never lift the pen, because the time is not come! When they come out, it must be in a “great book,” a splendid address, or some great effort. The tree must not be allowed to grow by inches; no, at once the sapling must be loaded with the fruit of the tree of three score years. Alas! trees planted and watered by such expectations will never be more than dwarfs. . The great instrument of affecting the world is the mind: Yale—Student Days 13 and no instrument is so decidedly and continually improved by exercise and use, as the mind. Many seem to feel as if it were not safe to put forth all their powers at one effort. You must reserve your strength for great occasions, but give him the spur on occasions of great emergency. This might be well, were the mind, in any aspect like the bones and muscles of the horse. Some, when they are contriving to see how little mental effort will answer, and how far and wide a few feeble thoughts may be spread, seem more like students than at any other time—as if it were dangerous to task the mind too often, lest her stores be exhausted, or her faculties become weakened. The bow may be but half bent, lest it be overstrained, and lose its power. But you need have no such fears. You may call upon your mind, today, for its highest efforts, and stretch it to the utmost of your power, and you have done yourself a kindness. The mind will be all the better for it. Tomorrow you may do it again; and each time it will answer more readily to your calls. Such spiritual milk for intellectual babes was bound to re- sult in a hardy character. A part of Henry’s preparation for daily classroom work was done in the early morning from half-past four until eight o’clock. At this period he would seclude himself in his small bedroom, shut the door, and concentrate. Thursday and Saturday evenings of Senior year were spent at his Senior society, Skull and Bones, until after midnight. On Friday evenings he made a practice of retiring at half-past seven o’clock in order to be up at four-thirty on Saturday for study. His love for the classics led him to specialize in these sub- jects during his college course. As he looked back in later life on these early years, he felt that he owed a deep debt of gratitude for stimulus and inspiration to Professor Berna- dotte Perrin of the Greek Department. Stirring to the mind, the imagination, and the soul, he told us, were the hours spent under the inspired tutelage of this master-mind. He wrote: I have never forgotten that first fall term, and the hush that used to fall over the lecture room when, now and then, to quicken 18 The Campaign of Plataea otus. Several authors whose names are significant in the chronological order of the extant evidence, assume no further importance when traced back to their sources, being simply repositories of earlier testimony and contributing neither variant, accretion nor inferential addition to the tradition. Finally, if the evidence be compared with that for Marathon as collected by Macan, there are several important differences. We possess the entire account of Ephorus-Diodorus for Plataea, while the account for Mara- thon in that author is fragmentary. The references to Plataea in the Orators, in Aristotle and in Nepos are meagre and general. There is not a single reference in the comedies of Aristophanes to the campaign. Aside from the direct and restorable testimonies in the existing records, there is another body of evidence not to-day accessible, but none the less a force to.be reckoned with in an attempt to reconstruct the successive stages through which the tradition passed. There are certain writers of whom not even fragments relating to Plataea remain, to whom we can with reasonable assurance assign a place in the development of the literary tradition of the campaign.? For example, although we do not possess a *Xenophon, Aeneas Tacticus, Aristotle, Isocrates, Dicaearchus, Cicero, Diodorus, Polyaenus, Athenaeus, Helladius, Theon, Photius, Palatine Anthology, and all lexicographers and scholiasts except Schol. Ael. Arist., Vol. 3, p. 191 (Dind.). Evidence of value concerning Plataea probably existed in the following lost works: ; (a) Charon of Lampsacus, Persica, composed in the first half of the fifth century. (b) Phrynichus, Phoenician Women, produced in 476 B.C. This drama dealt with the battle of Salamis and exalted the services of Themistocles. It undoubtedly had some reference to Plataea, cer- tainly to the motives of the king’s retreat (Grote, p. 138 n. 1). (c) Aeschylus, Glaucus Potnieus and Prometheus Pyrcaeus, pro- duced in 472 B.C. The first of these plays may have dealt with Plataea. Wecklein connects the second with the Euchidas incident in Plutarch, Aristides 20 (Teuffel-Wecklein, Aesch. Pers., pp. 39-40). (d) Stesimbrotus of Thasos wrote a slanderous pamphlet at Athens about 431 B.C., which was directed especially against Facsimile Page from Henry Wright’s Thesis for Doctor of Philosophy, The Campaign of Plataea 14 The Campaign of Plataea 19 single fragment of Hellanicus bearing on Plataea we cart safely infer that he touched upon the battle, inasmuch.as he discussed with some detail certain phases of the battle of Salamis, and other existing fragments prove that his work extended as far down as the Peloponnesian War. What the specific influence of these’writers upon the tradi- tion was, cannot now of course be ascertained. But in a thorough study of the campaign, the fact that it may have been of weight must not be overlooked. In the introductory chapter an attempt was made. to show the unfairness of taking the account of Herodotus as it stands as the starting point and frame-work for a discussion of the campaign. In justice to Sparta it was insisted that we start from documents which preceded the bitterness of the Peloponnesian War.? A review of the extant testimonies at once suggests a difficulty. Five at the most of these remain—the serpent-column fragment, Themistocles and Pericles. The Periclean tinge of the Herodotean narrative may have been heightened by this pamphlet. (e) Hellanicus wrote annalistic records of Athens during the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides’ estimate of his review of the Pentekontaétia (Thuc. 1. 97) is probably correct for the Persian War history which he is known to have recorded (see above). (f) Choerilus of Samos wrote in hexameter the story of Athens’ part in the Persian Wars during the last half of the fifth century. Tradition ascribes to him great success with the poem, hence it was probably intensely Athenian. Niebuhr (p. 372) regards this poem as a chief source of Herodotus. (g) Ion of Chios, prominent at Athens during the age of Pericles and the Archidamian War, recorded the conversations of the great men of his day. His influence is possible in one or two personal anecdotes preserved in the tradition. | (h) Old Athenian comedy outside of Aristophanes, possibly Chionides and Pherecrates (Teuffel-Wecklein, Aesch. Pers., p. 38) may have touched upon the battle. (i) The Atthides and Periegetes are probably responsible for much late material. Aside from those mentioned by Plutarch, however, it is impossible to be more definite. *Cf. Plut., Mor. 869 A. *I cannot agree with Rudolph (p. 7) that ‘no writer before Herod- otus has described the battle through whom we can control him.’ Facsimile Page from Henry Wright’s Thesis for Doctor of Philosophy, The Campaign of Plataea 15 16 Life of Henry B. Wright and inspire our earnest but faltering efforts, Professor Perrin would gather up the results of the hour’s work with his own translation, which was in itself an adequate interpretation. First there would come a reverent, dignified pause, and then, as we sat enraptured, the lines of the “Prometheus Bound” would fall upon our ears with a pathos in their majestic beauty and a manliness in their scornful defiance which only he could have interpreted to us who was himself warrior and poet of the truth. It was by that course in the Attic Drama, with its four plays by the four great playwrights, A’schylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes—moral sublimity, artistic perfection, human sympathy, matchless wit—following one another in their histor- ical sequence, that Professor Perrin will be longest remembered by the majority of recent graduates of Yale. For eleven suc- cessive years he poured forth out of his abundance into the vacuity of his successive Sophomore divisions, until each year the great thoughts that were his became in some measure theirs also, and they began to love Greece and to long to know more about her. Neither the greater familiarity with the subject matter which the repetition of the same course year after year (the three tragedies only varying) brought to him, nor the many calls of committee work upon his time and strength, ever led him to give to a succeeding class anything ‘short of his best. And when each recitation was finished with the stamp of com- pleteness upon it, we all instinctively knew that we had been in the presence of one who had not begrudged us the personal sacrifice of letting power go forth from him, and who recognized as fundamental in his creed that the cost of all real teaching is life. Fraternities and athletics occupied a large place in student life then, as now. Henry was taken into Delta Kappa Epsilon, and on Tap Day in May of 1897 he was elected to Skull and Bones. ‘The comradeship which he found in fraternity and senior society was one of the richest of his undergraduate experiences. Election of new members was often a cause of great grief to him. For two decades he battled for a more ethical standard, frequently facing defeat. The general posi- tion which he held on fraternities was that men must learn to measure up to standards all through life. There are hurdles Yale—Student Days 17 to be jumped, and college is a first-rate place to practice one’s abilities. Self-selected social groups, if ethically elected, could be effective units for the conservation of valuable tradition and noble purpose. The fact that secret societies were exclusive bodies, he never blinked. But he felt that men should be selected always and solely for their outstanding excellencies of mind, heart, and character, never for social prestige or wealth, or because brothers had preceded them in the Society. The religious life of his class and that of the college were matters of deep concern to him from the beginning of his career at Yale. He was a member of Ninety-eight’s Freshman Religious Committee together with Enoch Bell, M. J. Dodge, Herbert Gallaudet, E. B. King, T. S. McLane, Mandeville Mullally, J. S. Rogers, Forsyth Wickes, and A. B. Williams. These men held office until the beginning of Sophomore year, when Gallaudet, Williams, Wright, and David Twichell were elected permanent class deacons. During Sophomore year Wright and Wickes conducted the Freshman Bible Class, which averaged over thirty-five men in attendance throughout the year. The chairmanship of the Bible-study Committee fell to Henry in Junior year and he carried through effectively a large program of classes. Among other class leaders were Henry Sloane Coffin, E. T. Ware, Hiram Bingham, Forsyth Wickes, W. F. B. Berger, Dwight H. Day, N. C. Holland, G. B. Rich, Jr., F. W. Cochrane, W. H. Sallmon, Herbert D. Gallaudet, A. B. Williams, and Professor G. M. Duncan. The average weekly attendance at all these classes was two hundred and thirty. In Senior year Henry was president of the Christian Association. During his undergraduate years Henry Wright had lived the life of an earnest, faithful student, giving his college work precedence over all other activities. His reward came at the close of Senior year, when it was found that he was on the Philosophical Oration list and stood second in his class in scholarship. His only other outstanding interest in college had been the Dwight Hall work. Yet when, in Senior year, 18 Life of Henry B. Wright his classmates put on record in the class book their estimates of one another, it was discovered that there were few mem- bers of Yale °98 who had won more admiration and respect than this earnest, lovable fellow, who had followed not at all the paths which are wont to lead to popularity. The vote for the man most to be admired was, in order: E. C. Perkins, cap- tain of the track team; J. O. Rodgers, football captain; A. B. Williams, and Henry Wright. For the man who had done the most for Yale the class gave J. O. Rodgers first place, E. C. Perkins second, and Henry Wright third. The class secre- taryship was also given to him. A crisis occurred shortly after his graduation from Yale College which was a determining factor throughout his life. He attended the Northfield Student Conference in June with the Yale delegation and there heard the evangelist Dwight L. Moody, who was then at the height of his power. On one occa- sion after an address in the auditorium Mr. Moody announced an after-meeting in Stone Hall. A little reluctantly Henry went in, after the room was thronged with students. He said: I was afraid that I should be asked to go as a foreign mission- ary, but I went down. There, seated in a large armchair at one end of the room, was the greatest human I have ever known, Dwight L. Moody. He spoke to us simply and briefly about the issues of life, using John 7:17 as his theme: “If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it be of God, or whether I speak from myself.” There in the quiet, without any one knowing what was going on, I gave myself to God, my whole mind, heart, and body; and I meant it. It was the initial dedication, a prior allegiance. He came to test all things by it, his life work, his course of study, his marriage, his advice to others, his gifts—all were measured by this primary loyalty. There is no doubt that the secret of his signal power with men from first to last was his initial dedication at Northfield, which clarified, simplified, and uni- fied life for him. CHAPTER IV YALE—AS SECRETARY OF THE YOUNG MEN’S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION “When manhood totters, and success wrestles with honor, I am haunted by the memories of gentle, firm and strong men—: old teachers and college-mates who never lost the vision of virtue and culture, and in my darkest hour their shadowing hands seem to beckon me upward.”—Amos P. Wiper, Yale ’84. HE Christian Student Movement provided Henry Wright an opportunity for expressing his religious life from his first days in college. At Northfield, Robert P. Wilder, John R. Mott, Robert E. Speer, Lyman Abbott, Richard C. Morse, Fletcher Brockman, Robert McBurney, and others brought to his life, confined otherwise within academic circles, the larger air of the outside world. The needs of students of other nations, the stirrings of youth in Europe and in Asia, made a profound impression upon him. The organization of Christian youth in thirty-seven countries he believed to be the world’s brightest promise. With his love for study, he might have lived an obscure life as a patient, hard-working scholar, had not this movement fired his imagina- tion and claimed him as its own. In his service on various student committees and during his term as President of the Christian Association he had given promise of future power as a spiritual leader. In the spring of his Senior year the Graduate Advisory Committee of the Yale Y.M.C.A. invited him to return as General Secretary with the privilege of doing part-time work in the Graduate School. William Sloane, Richard C. Morse, and James B. Reynolds—three men who, throughout life, had a special in- 19 20 Life of Henry B. Wright terest in the spiritual life of the University—were then serving on the committee. The invitation was accepted and he gave himself to the double task of leading the voluntary religious forces at Yale and studying for his doctorate in Greek and Latin. During his first year as Secretary a series of Sunday eve- ning talks to undergraduates was arranged, including ad- dresses by Rev. John Watson (Ian MacLaren) of Liverpool on “Faith and Works,” and one by Professor George Adam Smith, then of Glasgow, on “Prayer.” Rev. Alexander McKenzie, D.D., of Cambridge, spoke on “Forgiveness” ; Dwight L. Moody on “Herod and John the Baptist”; Pro- fessor Bernadotte Perrin of Yale University on “Experiment vs. Experience”; Rev. George B. Cutten of Yale University on “Salvation, What Is It?”?; Rev. Charles E. Jefferson, D.D., of New York City, on ‘‘College Men and the Church”; and Rev. Samuel E. Herrick, D.D., of Boston, on ‘‘Foundation and Fabric.” ‘These addresses were subsequently published by Henry Wright in a cheap edition for students. In April, 1899, a series of evangelistic meetings was con- ducted under Dwight L. Moody and Professor George Adam Smith which aroused deep interest but was not adequately fol- lowed up by Bible-study groups and other opportunities for spiritual fellowship—a defect which the General Secretary was quick to discover and correct. Largely as a result of his activity and that of his associates, the Yale delegation to the Northfield Student Conference the following summer included over seventy-five undergraduates. The question arose in the early winter of 1899 as to whether he should continue as Secretary in the academic year 1899-1900. William Sloane, 95, chairman of the Advisory Committee, approached him on the matter by letter, to which he wrote the following reply dated December 28: I have delayed some days in answering your kind note of December 15 because I felt that I ought again to consult, as I did last year, those who are my advisors in regard to my studies. Secretary of the Yale Christian Association 21 I rejoice to say that they feel, as I do, that the Secretaryship offers an exceptional field for service, and that I can well afford the loss of another year of entire study. Of the priceless experience which I am gaining from the work at Dwight Hall there can be no doubt. Mr. Morse spoke very kindly the other evening on our return from Mr. Moody’s funeral of the work which we have tried to do and which the ready and efficent cooperation of men like Mills, Coffin, Hopkins, Adams, and a score of others has rendered possible. If I could only feel as sure of what he said as I am of the value of the experience to myself, I should not hesitate to allow you to Brepose my name at the meeting of the Graduate Committee. If you feel that I can do the work of the next year more acceptably than any one else who is available, then I shall be glad to be considered. I thank you for your own kind words and wish you all success in your work. Activities in the Association were expanding constantly in these years. During the late winter and spring of 1900 there was some agitation among the undergraduates of the Sheffield Scientific School for a Y.M.C.A. building on their campus similar to Dwight Hall in Yale College. When re- porting on other matters in February, Henry mentioned this fact to Richard C. Morse, then General Secretary of the In- ternational Committee of the Y.M.C.A. I write especially to tell you about the noon meeting at Sheff. There were one hundred Sheff. undergraduates present, one-fifth of the total registration of the School. Men had to sit on the stairs and stand in the entry way. Is not this a cry from Macedonia for that $15,000 which we need to complete the amount necessary for a new building? Do you not think it would be possible to get three men in New York to give $5,000 apiece toward such a building? I wish we might start work on it in July. These efforts were consummated when Mr. and Mrs. Byers made to the University a gift of Byers Hall, the second floor of which was devoted to the interests of the Association. 22 Life of Henry B. Wright The outstanding event of the second year of Henry Wright’s secretaryship was a series of evangelistic meetings under the leadership of John R. Mott. On March 12, 1900, a few days after the campaign, he wrote to Dr. Mott: I write to thank you on behalf of the Association for the pamphlets which arrived so promptly and which have been in large part not only delivered, but—as I have occasion to know— read. We have gone at the campaign of following up the men just as systematically as we organized the preparation for your visit. We are trying to have each man fight his particular sin Biblically, making Bible study for each man an individual matter. To express it otherwise, each man is reading through parts of the New Testament and writing out those verses that apply to his particular weakness. I had nineteen of the twenty-two Freshmen who took a stand in my room the other night, telling them how to make Bible study practical. Paul Moody has the Juniors in a little group meeting Tuesday and Friday. In the Sophomore class the four deacons each took a small number of men apiece, for whom they are personally responsible. The Seniors have been given to individual work, as have also the Sheffield men. I am looking after the men in the Medical School. You can’t know, Mr. Mott, what good your visit has done Yale. I have yet to find a man who really disapproves of your methods. Men everywhere talk freely on religious subjects. I can’t help thinking what a lot it will mean for the Church of Christ to have five hundred men graduate from Yale this year who not only have heard but who know by experience that a religious awakening among educated men is not only possible, but more than that, necessary. This last week has been one of supreme happiness to me—the happiest in all my secretaryship. Not a night has passed but some man has come in to tell me of a new man who took a stand in the meetings or who has made things right with the folks at home. The real number is nearer one hundred than eighty-eight. Men come to my room and say that they only wish that this opportunity to lead another man into the Kingdom, which is their experience for the first time and for which they are now on fire, had been given to them in Freshman year. Secretary of the Yale Christian Association 238 The prayer groups all continue as before with the ultimate object of helping the men who were affected. The motto we have taken is this: “that of all those which Christ has given us through you we should lose none.” Edwards and I are going down to Princeton for Thursday evening at the invitation of Evans, to speak before the Associa- tion. It is with the distinct understanding that we come simply as witnesses; otherwise we would not dare undertake the work. We shall witness of the power of God’s Spirit at Yale and we ask your prayers that we may let God speak through us. P.S.—10:30 p.m. As I finish this letter another entirely new man has just stepped in to tell me that he smashed up a picture after your meeting Sunday, began a systematic study in the Bible, and feels the power of Christ. The account which he wrote for the Association Record at Yale gives a vivid picture of a remarkable stirring of spiritual life among the students: The visit of John R. Mott to Yale, from March 4 to 6, re- sulted in a spiritual awakening among the students of the Uni- versity unparalleled since the visit of Henry Drummond, in 1887. Indeed, it is an open question whether there has ever been a series of meetings more heartily approved by all classes of men, and more thorough-going in its results, than this series of addresses in Dwight Hall... . Earnest prayer at Northfield, and during the summer months, increased in volume as men came together in little bands during the fall and winter terms to pray for the success of the meetings. The one aim and purpose of Mr. Mott’s coming was kept before the men’s minds by the visit of the Secretary to each group, week after week. The other religious society of the College—the Berkeley Association—generously gave up its Lenten services during the series and united with the Christian Association in preparation for the campaign. An Attendance Committee of one hundred Christian men was appointed, and an additional committee of twenty-five was added to look after advertising, music, and other details. Robert E. Speer came to Yale on February 11, and his talks 24 Life of Henry B. Wright —in the morning at Battell Chapel, and in the evening at Dwight Hall—were no small factor in preparing the way for the subse- quent meetings. The visit of F. M. Gilbert and D. B. Eddy, primarily in the interest of the Student Volunteer Movement, but with the added result of deepening the spiritual lives of all the Christian workers with whom they came in contact, also aided materially. ‘The meetings were fully advertised by posters, _ by slips placed in the hands of every student, and by announce- ments in Chapel and in the College daily. ... : In all, Mr. Mott conducted five services and three after- meetings. It is estimated that, outside of the Sunday morning service, when he addressed twelve hundred men, he spoke to nearly seven hundred different students in voluntary gather- ings. . . . The marked increase in numbers each night furnished striking testimony to the approval of Mr. Mott’s methods by the students. As a result of the five services, eighty-eight men ex- pressed their purpose to accept Christ as personal Saviour and Lord. Between meetings, Mr. Mott’s time was almost entirely consumed by personal interviews, and fifty men embraced the opportunity of talking with him on questions of personal religion. The most remarkable feature of the campaign was the frank- ness and openness with which men of all beliefs discussed the great themes which Mr. Mott presented. ‘There was a spirit of earnest inquiry abroad, which seemed to permeate every corner of the University. In eating clubs, in walks with one an- other, and in the campus rooms, men everywhere broke through the unnatural barrier which often keeps the best of friends from talking on religious matters. Such a campaign, wholly devoid of sensational or professional methods, and appealing to the intellect and will rather than to the emotions, could not fail to bring about a definite cutting with sin by many men, and a desire to live a truly surrendered life on the part of many others. Systematic and thorough attempts were made to conserve the results of the meetings. The Association had learned from its experience of the year before an unmistakable lesson on the neces- sity of this. At the close of the meetings, Mr. Mott presented three pamphlets, by himself, on “Bible Study,” “Prayer,”’ and the “Morning Watch,” to every man who had expressed his intention of accepting Christ as Saviour and Lord. An attempt was made Secretary of the Yale Christian Association 25 at once to get every man to study his own particular sin Bibli- cally. In order that men might not be tempted to trust in their own strength, after having cut with sin, Mr. Speer was called upon to address the University, on Friday night after Mr. Mott had left, on the subject of the necessity of something more than the so-called merely moral life. Over five hundred students were present to hear him. The results of these meetings, in their effect on student morals, and in their stimulating power to more active Christian effort, have been great. A number of men have already joined the Church on profession of faith. Mr. Mott’s purpose was to make Christianity a practical and reasonable thing. His appeal was logical and sincere, and the men of Yale, with equal sincerity, responded. After a six weeks’ interval which followed the meetings under Dr. Mott, Henry Wright was offered a position on the staff of the International Committee of the Y.M.C.A. as Bible- study Secretary. Because of family reasons and because he felt that the will of God for him was university teaching, he declined. He wrote Dr. Mott, May 2, 1900: After a prayerful and thorough consideration of the Bible- study Secretaryship and its claims, I have finally come to a definite and final decision. It has occupied a large part of my time for the past few weeks, since we met in New Haven. I have studied the work from all standpoints, have consulted with my best friends and the family, and then have withdrawn from all outside influences and worked the thing out alone. I am con- vinced that I ought not to undertake the work. Developments in my family shortly after you left convinced me that the thought of taking up the work in connection with the Secretaryship at Yale were entirely out of the question, but I delayed letting you know about next year until I should decide the question once and for all. You know personally, Mr. Mott, how much I value my asso- ciations with you, and I am sure you will be convinced that I have acted sincerely, deliberately, and prayerfully. 26 Life of Henry B. Wright After the initial dedication of himself to God, which he made in Senior year at Northfield, the next great crisis in Henry Wright’s life occurred in the illness and death of his brilliant younger brother, Alfred, of the class of 1901. This promising boy was stricken with tuberculosis in 1898 and died on May 20, 1901. Alfred Wright stood first in his class in scholarship and had won many prizes. From boyhood the two brothers had a great affection for each other, unusual even in well-regulated and happy homes. Alfred’s failing health was a grievous blow to Henry. On May 26, 1901, he wrote Wil- liam Sloane in answer to a letter of sympathy: Your kind note, together with Mr. Morse’s, has been of especial help to me in these last few days because I felt that we three had been confidants in Alfred’s illness, and I think that you two alone knew how ill he really was. I did not know that death could be such a wonderful experi- ence and have in it such beautiful lessons. God granted us a special token of His love in the special revelation of Christ’s presence during all the last hours. I never saw such a peaceful and trustful spirit as Alfred had. His illness and death have proved to be the greatest apologetic I could hope to have for Christianity. It will give me a new message for men and a new power for work. Henry looked upon his brother’s passing as a time of en- largement of his own attitude toward sorrow and pain and the problem of evil. From this time his letters to people in be- reavement contained a note of assurance uncommon even in those of robust faith. One such letter follows: I know how hard it must be for you all these days, especially you. Your tender love for your mother was always so apparent that even the firmest faith cannot keep you from being lonely. But there is an unseen fellowship which you will realize and prize as years go by. It becomes richer every year to me and it is so precious that I know it must be real, and it is given only to those who have, as it were, ambassadors in the other land. The force comes slowly, but it deepens with every year and it abides. Secretary of the Yale Christian Association 27 Henry Wright was General Secretary of the Yale Y.M.C.A. from the fall of 1898 to the fall of 1901. In that year a significant development occurred in the Christian work of the University, when branches of the Association were organized in the different professional schools. In the re- adjustment necessary to make this new work successful, Henry Wright was made Graduate Secretary, while R. H. Edwards took his place as General Secretary. During the college year 1902-1903 J. F. Ferry and G. W. Butts were added to the staff of secretaries to work in the Scientific School, and E. A. Stebbins to work in Yale College. In the city, at conferences, and in Yale, Henry Wright held Bible classes which were always well attended and very often crowded with listeners. On November 1, 1901, he wrote to Mr. Morse concerning one class: “Things are in magnifi- cent shape. I have nearly forty men in the Senior Bible Class.””> On March 9, 1902, he wrote to another friend: I tried to get my Bible Class to stop at Easter, but they would not hear of it and have forced me to go on into May. So my last hope of being able to get off for my Sundays is gone. We had been in the habit of meeting for three Sundays in the month and then omitting the class on Communion Sunday, and that was the reason why I could not get off to come up to Taunton when you joined the Church. But last month they came to me with the request to meet as usual on Communion Sundays. I demurred at first, for it cut off my only chance to get away for a Sunday, but I finally consented. I never was so rewarded for anything in my life. At the close of the lesson on this new Sunday a man came up and asked if I would see him that afternoon. Wholly unsolicited, and as a result of it, he accepted Christ as Saviour and Lord. He is a happy fellow now. I have been out walking with him twice and he is a new man. I shall never hesitate about a humanly possible chance to preach the Gospel again. Yale celebrated her Bicentennial in 1901. Henry Wright was asked to be co-editor with Samuel H. Fisher, ’89, James B. 28 Life of Henry B. Wright Reynolds, °84, and William H. Sallmon, 94, of a volume entitled Two Centuries of Christian Activity at Yale, one of a series of books commemorating the history and achievements of the University. This publication was an admirable volume to place in the hands of interested undergraduates, giving them a glimpse of the price paid to create and perpetuate Christian traditions in the University. On November 1, 1901, he remarked in a letter to Richard C. Morse: Nothing but the kindest words have reached us so far about the book. Mr. Dexter wrote very commendatory words in a recent letter. Anson [Stokes] has just had ten copies sent to the ten leading preparatory schools of the United States at his own expense. I have sent copies to Mrs. Byers, D. Stebbins, and Mrs. Cochran. William Sloane, James B. Reynolds, and Samuel H. Fisher underwrote nearly all of the initial expense of publishing this volume. Henry’s absolute honesty in returning this money to them is typical of his method in all money matters and his carefulness about details. He accounted to Mr. Sloane regu- larly over a period of years until the funds which they ad- vanced to underwrite the book were repaid in full. He wrote to Mr. Sloane on February 15, 1905: The royalty and receipts on “Two Centuries of Christian Activity at Yale” to date are as follows: Royalty January 31, 61904) 0 oi ies. nd bios Royalim daly L904 tc ec ee aa Lie le La RoyaltyrJanuary Sir O0R ee eer. 8 7.86 N. 2 receipts pine hie. “he SSL) a as 8.54 $22.84 Your share (one-third) is $7.61. I enclose check for that amount. This reduces your loan to $74.30. We have sold thirty-five copies to the Freshmen this fall. In February of 1906 he wrote again: Secretary of the Yale Christian Association 29 This is St. Valentine’s Day and I send you a Valentine in the shape of a check for $8.18, being one-third of the royalty on the Bicentennial Book since February 15, 1905. We had a good sale this year and look forward to a better one next fall. The following year, in April, he made another accounting: I enclose check for $4.93, your share of the royalty on the Bicentennial Book for this year. In the course of a note to Mr. Sloane in July of 1907, he stated : I enclose 80¢ more royalty on the Bicentennial Book, which brings the balance down to $155.27. We had a remarkable con- ference at Northfield—with about one hundred and seventy-five Yale men present. The deficit on the book was not fully paid until January of 1911. On the thirtieth of that month Professor Wright wrote to Mr. Sloane: It gives me great pleasure and satisfaction—how much I cannot tell you—to send to you and Jim Reynolds this week a final payment on “T'wo Centuries of Christian Activity at Yale.” I have now disposed of the entire edition and the account is all cleaned up square. I cannot thank you enough for your great kindness in making this loan for all these ten years, but I know the book has done something to establish Yale’s religious leadership in the country ; and if it had not been for you and Jim, it would never have been possible. He was constantly searching for heroic examples of men who overcame handicaps, or who in their day stood for and created traditions of honesty and clean living, and this volume offered an opportunity in a field very close to his heart. As head of the Christian Association work he had a special relation to the services in Battell Chapel, which were con- 30 Life of Henry B. Wright ducted by the foremost religious leaders of the country, each of whom occupied the pulpit for one Sunday. ‘The evening meeting in Dwight Hall was generally conducted by the Chapel speaker of the morning. Interviews were arranged and other facilities provided for the greatest possible number of helpful contacts. He wrote to Richard C. Morse in February, 1901, concerning one of John R. Mott’s services: ‘The evening meet- ing in Dwight Hall was probably the largest ever held in the building, over five hundred being present.” Dr. Mott was on the College list of preachers again in 1903, and Henry wrote of a recent visit in January of that year: “John R. Mott was here yesterday and gave us two fine talks, one on the argument for Christ’s divinity and the other on prayer.” It was probably regarding this visit on January 18, 1903, that he wrote to the New York office of the Student Depart- ment: Profound impression was made both at the morning service in Chapel and at the Sheffield Scientific building, which was packed to the doors, men standing in the hallway. At the evening ser- vice in Dwight Hall 450 were present ; 350 remained to the after- meeting; 80 tarried to a second after-meeting, and 48 expressed a desire to know Christ as their Saviour. Among the latter were some of our prominent men. Mr. Mott was occupied with inter- views until midnight and had filled every hour allotted for Mon- day with appointments for interviews with others. ‘This is the most thoroughgoing work of the Spirit in my generation at Yale. Please accept all this note as confidential for the present. The campaign is only begun—there is much fighting ahead. As a friend at large of the Yale undergraduate he was confronted with a varied list of perplexities. Scores of students sought him out on all phases of the society and fra- ternity question. ‘T’o the man on the outside he always said: “Be worthy to be elected to the best and you will not be crushed though you are elected to none.” 'Towards members of fraternities and societies he was relentless in insisting on an Secretary of the Yale Christian Association 31 ethical basis for judging men. Many came to him each year before Tap Day. Should one accept the first society that tapped him, or should he wait? Henry Wright had moral fiber. He always advised men to wait for the choice of their hearts, no matter if they walked off the campus defeated in the eyes of the world, or if in their waiting they refused other societies and in the end faced election to none. It was not necessary that a man should be elected—it was essential that he should be worthy of the best. To those who asked his opinion as to how far one would be justified in calling attention to his own good points, he often quoted the epigram of General Horace Porter: ‘Never underestimate yourself in action, never over- estimate yourself in your official report.” There were also many queries regarding social problems. Some men attending the University came from communities where few Christian people danced; they did not wish to be narrow, and at the same time they desired to be true to their principles. In the period of adjustment to more liberal social ideas, many students suffered no little mental anguish. The Secretary in Dwight Hall had danced fairly well, but he was aware that dancing was not helpful to all men in their adoles- cent years. He had himself stopped dancing and advised others to do the same if dancing made more difficult their fight for character. Here, as in the case of smoking, he employed I Corinthians 6:12: “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful for me but I will not be brought under the power of any.” Another favor- ite passage was I Corinthians 9:19: “For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.” To some campus social problems there was no easy solu- tion; restraint in liberty should be the principle. Often he employed I Corinthians 8:13 in discussion on these matters: “Tf meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth.” For twenty years he preached the doc- trine of eternal vigilance as the price of safety. A university 32 Life of Henry B. Wright could be wholesome only when a large group of determined men set their faces in that direction. Because of his deep and vital prayer life, many talked with him about their personal devotions. How could the sense of God’s presence become more vivid? How could Jesus Christ be a real and vital part of life for them? Once a friend asked him about reading the Bible openly and kneel- ing to pray in a room which was occupied jointly with others. He replied in a sentence which Mr. Moody had given at Northfield: “Hide when tempted to show, and show when tempted to hide.” The little room on the top floor of Dwight Hall became a center for groups and a haven for students in trouble. Dis- appointed and defeated men found sympathy and encourage- ment. Doubters received help in philosophical difficulties. Men with troubled consciences discovered the way to restitu- tion and victory. Not a few very wealthy students, who were coming into positions of power and influence, came there with theoretical questions on their minds and went away with moral questions on their hands about the investment of life and treasure. Men poor in talents and in material resources were encouraged by a friend who took no account of externals. One of the outstanding secrets of Henry Wright’s power with men was his willingness to confront them with their mis- deeds. No business was made of telling lazy men that they were good fellows, or moral laggards that they were decent. During these busy years of study and of service in Dwight Hall, he grew to be a campus figure. Dignified, kindly, a trifle shy at times, always eager to be of use, he grew into the hearts of faculty and students alike. “In connection with my own undergraduate days,” said Professor B. W. Kunkel of Lafayette College, “I look upon Henry’s smile of greeting at the head of the stairs in Dwight Hall, as we came to the meetings, as one of the benedictions which helped me through the week.” In what lay the secret of the charm that endeared him to so Secretary of the Yale Christian Association 33 many? ‘To begin with, he was a born gentleman. Often he quoted a remark of Mr. Moody, that Paul did not list dignity as one of the fruits of the spirit, and yet he was dignified in the finest sense, as Mr. Moody was. In all those genuine acts of thoughtfulness and delicacy becoming one of gentle birth, in his honesty and ideas of honor, his early training manifested itself and revealed a man of culture and refinement. 'Tender- ness in the presence of sorrow, understanding when confronted with weakness or indecision, gentleness towards the absurd, loving kindness even to those in outbreaking sin—these were some of the marks of this quiet gentleman. There clung about him when dealing with the darkest problems what might have been mistaken for a lenient tolerance: it was rather a love for the man, wholly apart from the flaming hatred that he felt for his moral delinquency. He believed as Drum- mond did, in the recoverableness of the human soul at its worst. It might be said that he was a creative listener, an invalu- able quality in dealing with young men in a communicative period of life. A subtle and nameless gift of sympathy and magnetism created confidence in his understanding and wis- dom. God seems hampered sometimes for want of delicate, sensitive souls through which to express the Divine compassion. Abiding until the end of some protracted tale helped him to solve many problems impossible of settlement without the knowledge gained by these lengthy narrations. There was a keen desire to get at the whole situation before offering a. solution. This came partly by nature and to some extent from his study of Plato. He came to know that he who will aid must understand, and learned to listen and to wait. Another secret of his power in his secretaryship and in after years was the transparent directness and simplicity of his methods and his use of effective illustration. He employed few tricks to reveal the treasures of his mind. But after talking over a problem in the simplest of English, he would often illustrate the vice or the virtue wrapped up in the situa- 34 Life of Henry B. Wright tion by references to Greek and Latin authors as well as to modern works. Then one knew that he had read widely and with pencil in hand. When it came to the Cross, he would pick out incident after incident to parallel this experience in human life. William James’s serial method of employing many similar illustrations, until a point was perfectly clear, was one of his favorite teaching devices. Sometimes he would quote from four or five novels, a Greek play, and a book or two from the Bible in making a point incisive. Honest scholarship on the part of the leader in Christian service on the campus did much to commend the Association to both faculty and students. One who was as thoroughgoing in his studies would be apt to be genuine in his spiritual life. A cardinal principle existed in the Association while he was at its head that students who occupied positions of leadership should stand well in their studies. Henry Wright would have concurred with Aaron Burr’s remark in that unfortunate man’s last speech to the Senate: “On full investigation it will be discovered that there is scarce a departure from order but leads to or is indissolubly connected with a departure from morality.””. The low-stand Christian received little comfort from the Secretary in Dwight Hall when a warning arrived from the Dean’s office! Good work was even more necessary than good works. As General Secretary of the Y.M.C.A. from 1898 to 1901 and as Graduate School Secretary from 1901 to 1903 Henry Wright was the leader and genius of Christian activity at Yale. Mr. Mott said of him: “He is, of all the men I know, the ideal student secretary.” As he donned the gown of a tutor in Greek and Latin, he carried the same mood of fearless honesty and love into that position which he manifested in the work of Dwight and Byers Halls. CHAPTER V AS A TEACHER IN YALE COLLEGE AND A WINNER OF SOULS For more than a score of years the Yale spirit has been a classic in the realms of sport. It is a byword wherever athletes assemble in stern endeavor or sportsmen gather to tell a brave tale. It is a lighthouse on the shore, and many a faltering and discouraged athlete has seen the gleam and nerved himself for one more try that should be the best try of all. This spirit must be in the air they breathe in New Haven, or is it tradition? Is the old university haunted by the shades of the mighty men of the past? Do they come back in the Fall twilights every year and whisper in young ears and touch young bodies with invisible hands? Who can say? Anyway, a Yale team is never beaten until the game has come to anend. The Yale spirit never shone any brighter than that which many Pennsylvania and Princeton and Pittsburgh and other college teams have carried through a season of victory like a lighted lamp, but broken, battered, beaten Yale teams have it, and the shadows of defeat can never get dark and heavy enough to smother this light. —Quoted by H. B. W. from Philadelphia Public Ledger. T is the five years after college which are the most decisive in a man’s career,” said Phillips Brooks. ‘‘Any event which happens then has its full influence. The years which come before are too fluid. The years which come after are too solid.” Henry Wright had studied for a Doctor’s degree in the Classical Department of the Yale Graduate School, with the full intention of making the teaching of the classics his life work, and he entered upon his teaching career as a tutor of Greek and Latin at Yale. But the higher allegiance to which he had dedicated himself in 1898 was to cause his chief de- 35 THE RECOVERY OF Of the one hundred or more Roman tragedies of the period of the republic known to us by name, not one has survived entire. Only eight can be surely recognized from external evidence as Fabulae Praetextae or National Dramas;' and of these eight we have scarcely over thirty fragments of afew words each. That, however, the remains of many more must be hidden beneath the surface of such repositories of earlier testimony as Livy, Dionysius, Plutarch, and Ovid, has long been recognized. As early as 1859, Otto Jahn suggested that the story of the death of Sophoniba (Livy, ~ XXX, 12-16), which is depicted also on the famous Pompeian wall painting, owes many of its dramatic features to such a source.? Reiffer- scheid’s review of Ribbeck* in 1880 urged that Livy in several of the most vivid scenes was directly under the influence of the Praeteztae. Ribbeck in 1881 called attention to the strong internal evidence in favor of such a source for Livy’s-account of the siege of Veii (V, 21: 8 ff.),* which is confirmed by the explicit statement of the writer himself. It was not till 1887, however, 1 It is impossible to draw any hard and fast line between a tragedy and a historical drama from the point of view of the ancients. To the Greek mind, for example, the characters in the Agamemnon of Aeschylus were as truly historical as those in the Persians. 2 Jahn, Der Tod der Sophoniba auf einem Wandgemiilde (Bonn, 1859), p. 12. 3 Bursian’s Jahresbericht, XXIII (1880), p. 265. ‘ Rhein. Mus., XXXVI (1881), p. 321. 5 haec ad ostentationem scenae gaudentis miraculis aptiora: quam ad finem (V, 21:9). [26] Facsimile Page of The Recovery of a Lost Roman Tragedy, By Henry B. Wright 36 As a Teacher in Yale College and a Winner of Souls 37 velopment to come along entirely different lines and to result in a life work which he had not anticipated. A formal offer to teach at Yale came to him in January of 1903. ‘As a compromise between the Greek and Latin departments I am to teach six hours of each next year, rank- ing as tutor in Greek and Latin. It will, of course, be much harder for me, but it is a rare opportunity.” His work began in October, 1903. One month later he wrote: I have enjoyed my teaching very much and I am astounded every day at the perfect courtesy of the men. I haven’t had a single case of intentional disorder so far from any one of my one hundred men. The preparation is very hard. I have my two Bible classes and Division Officer work besides. But of course this very fact makes me accessible for either department. My work keeps me almost entirely localized here. I don’t get away to speak at all except on Thursday evenings at Bridgeport. Last night John R. Mott visited me and gave me a formal in- vitation to be one of five men with himself to go to Japan for a month’s visit next September to talk to practically all the stu- dents of Japan on Christianity. It would have been a rare opportunity—expenses paid both ways and a part in probably the greatest student campaign ever held. Japan is just ready; government opposition is broken down and the nation is willing to give a fair ear. But of course I couldn’t go. I had already told Professor Perrin I would do his work for him next year. It was the biggest call I ever had from the standpoint of ex- ternals. From the beginning his courtesy, honesty, and cordial manner in the classroom drew to him the hearts of the students. He never had large classes, for men do not flock to study Plato or Tacitus as they do to courses with a somewhat more obvious immediate value; but his classes were well attended and he took a personal interest in every man in them. In the fields of Latin and Greek he was soon engaged in teaching Livy, Tacitus, and Horace, with Assistant Profes- sors Ingersoll and Clark and Mr. Van Buren and Mr. Rea 38 Life of Henry B. Wright as colleagues. Livy, Books I and II, were studied, and the Agricola and Germania of Tacitus, with the Satires of Horace. In a course in Homer, Herodotus, and Plato, he was associated with his old master, Professor Perrin, and Dr. W. H. Thomp- son. Selections were studied from the Odyssey XIII-X XIV, from Herodotus VI and VII, from Plato’s Apology and parts of the Crito and Phedo, and other Greek authors were also read in translation. But Henry Wright was a historian, as well as a philologist, and he was given a course in the History Department entitled “The Roman Republic,” which included the history of Rome from the beginning of the Republic to the accession of Octavius. This course consisted of a manual study of the rise and fall of the Republic, supplemented by lectures, with a detached study of a single leader or period from the sources. An idea of a course in Roman private life was developed by him, which was put into the curriculum as a study in Juvenal and Martial and Pliny’s Letters. In this class literary and social conditions were investigated, numerous classroom helps being employed, such as busts, weapons, parchments, manikins, costumes, and _ reflectoscope views. Associated with him in this course was Clarence Mendell. Gradually a larger share of history teaching was placed upon him, and in 1908 he was made Assistant Professor of Roman History and Literature. By 1909 he was teaching an outline survey of ancient history from the earliest civilization on the Euphrates to the decline of the Roman Empire. Special attention was given in this course to aspects which would be most helpful for the study of medieval history. He also conducted a course on the historians of ancient Rome, which was a systematic analysis and evaluation of all im- portant historical material, ancient and modern, bearing upon the Republic and the Empire. This study was practically a guide to the sources and bibliography of Roman history. In addition, a study of Hannibal was developed until it became a course on his campaigns against Rome. 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Zhe Qt tiger! ufo mete Me sy Te Ce seondel Amon Rane 2 pert Zam) Maplerr - & mation 4 Matin, Corre 2 man 9 OMe sho sins tat fn xa Dee one ( Ren, M6) Ph is tf Meanieetnad Are 4 Cow tpawinnch - He D i re eae Tie: 26 ed Ca Abwtchod wen bcc, LO 2baet. ant Le Anne "Ate on Cerne Ol 1G ~ ts, 09 aber OE, oe Ere ait ee Ae qerrmi ch Orne Granl PfackeceLer acance Aa Alrole” & Faat— ( tee Bore 4 Gernrtend) The Dragan Wor, NaNO NMR ( Rand Gown 153-167 : paomioned Count J Ar Toe ITY MEAL to stor acc arama) ee oo) Gerth © ferretek Proton Homere Ofree Qe ~ Manuscript Notes on Ancient History 40 As a Teacher in Yale College and a Winner of Souls 41 1911 he was associated with several other members of the Faculty in a course in European history—a general survey of European history from the fourth through the nineteenth century. In the same year he taught an outline survey of ancient history to the Empire of Charlemagne, touching on oriental history only as it furnished a background and source for Greek and Roman history. By 1911 he was doing all his work in the History Department. Although he had ceased to hold office in the Yale Y.M.C.A. when he began his work as tutor in Greek and Latin, the work of that organization continued to hold a larger and larger place in his heart. The able young men who served as secretaries during these years looked to him con- stantly for advice, new ideas, and inspiration. He kept in touch with Mr. Mott and other leaders of the World’s Student Christian Federation, sharing their problems and praying day by day for the success of their work. But his work for Christ was not limited to Yale nor to the student movement. The following letter written to Mr. Mott in December, dur- ing his second year as tutor in Yale College, 1905, reveals the catholicity of his interests and also the number of religious undertakings to which hé had put his hand and his head: © Your two notes of December 5 and 10, together with the copy of The Pastor and Modern Missions, reached me safely. I have waited before replying to finish the book, which has been of absorbing interest and of real help. It has already decided me to make one of my studies in the Life of Christ course which I teach to the Freshmen and at Waterbury and Bridgeport a distinctively missionary appeal each year. It is to be the one on the Mission of the Twelve and the Death of John the Baptist. I can take it as a point of departure, at least, for inculcating some good missionary principles. Yale is going to put more men, money, and prayer into China, and through China into all Foreign Missions, than she has in the past. ‘The China educa- tional work is taking hold of our men here as no general appeal could have been expected to. Prd fpeeh. 9 ahal& Come cbs PMI es Sah Wd Poel