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SWARTIrMORE COL
DImErS0ioNs.-Entire front, 348 feet; depth of center building, excluding kitch
I 
AN
ESSAY ON EDUCATION
IN
THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS.
BY
EDWARD PARRISH.
WITH AN
ACCOUNT  OF THE PROCEEDINGS ON THE QCCASION  OF  LAYING
THE CORNER-STONE OF SWARTHORE  COLLEGE.
'Tis education forms the common mind;
Just as the twig is bent the tree's inclined.
PoPE.
PHILADELPIIA:
J. B. LIPPINCOTT & Co.
1866.  
AN
ESSAY ON EDUCATION
ESSAY ON EDUCATION
IN
THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS.
BY
EDWA.RD PARRISH.
WITH AN
ACCOUT  OF THE PROCEEDINGS ON THE __CCASION OF LAYING
THE CORNER-STONE OF SWARTHMORE  COILEGE.
'Tis education forms the common mind;
Just as the twig is bent the tree's inclined.
POPE.
PHILADELPHIA:
J. 13. LIPPINCOTT  & CO.
1866.  
EDUCATION
IN THE
SOCIETY OF FRIENDS.
INTRODUCTORY.
THIs essay is addressed to the members of
the Religious Society of Friends, and to that
numerous class who are descended from or
affiliated with them.
A portion of it will be found especially applicable to those who, having inherited estates
or prospered in business, have incurred the
responsibilities attendant on the possession of
means beyond their own needs.
Many such are free from the cares and expenses of a family, and hence naturally seek
channels of beneficence into which to direct
their surplus means.   Others, having children, are sensible of the risks and responsi                    1*            (5) 
INTRODUCTORY.
bilities connected with their education, increased by the prospect of an estate sufficient
to remove from them the necessity of active
industry and thrift. Such are especially interested in providing facilities for guarded education, thus raising the standard of moral
and intellectual culture in the community,
while securing opportunities for their own
immediate descendants.
The general extension of an elementary education among the masses is justly regarded
as an essential element of the republican system. Its universal application has proved an
inestimable boon to the Northern Statesthe absence of it, a prolific cause of evil in
the South; and yet, is there not danger of
our ideas being limited in regard to the education of our children by acquiescence in the
comparatively low standard generally prevalent in the public schools?
Every one must feel that without that
moral culture and restraint which home education is supposed to supply, the Common
School, as provided by the State, falls far
6 
MENTAL STIMULUS.
short of fitting the pupil for the duties of life,
or even qualifying him as a good citizen; even
in the matter of intellectual culture, these
schools, as a class, fall far short of furnishing a good education.
The child is by nature absolutely ignorant
of the laws of its physical, intellectual, and
moral being and of the world into which it is
born; and the extent to which it will acquire
a full and complete development will be greatly dependent upon the bent given to its early
aspirations and the advantages with which it is
surrounded. In a few exceptional instances
what men call genius gleams out from obscurity, and overcoming every obstacle asserts a
pre-eminence which the world is brought to
feel and acknowledge; but this is far from
the ordinary history of the human mind.
It is by the stimulus of contact with active
minds that the powers of the young are most
obviously called forth, and, in general, in
proportion to the talent and culture of those
with whom it is early associated will be the
progress of the forming and growing intellect.
7 
INTRODUOTORY.
The same remarks apply in a degree to the
moral sense of children.   Born negatively
innocent, they sometimes display remarkable
aptitude for appreciating and embracing truth.
As in the one case genius may gleam forth
with unexpected brilliancy from the least
promising surroundings, so in the other the
warmth of Divine love and the light of inspiration may be kindled in hearts least prepared by human culture. Yet the principle
holds good, that the influence of the loving
parent or teacher, full of affectionate counsel
and admonition, and displaying daily and
hourly fruits of righteousness and purity, is
by far the strongest agency in promoting
the moral and religious advancement of the
young. Who cannot trace to such an influence much of the good existing in himself?
The simultaneous and complete development of the moral and intellectual nature of
his offspring, not forgetting a due regard to
physical culture, is the great object of every
intelligent and conscientious parent, and as
8 
MORAL CULTURE.
he looks to the means at his disposal to promote it, his thoughts most naturally turn to
the Religious Society with which he is connected. It is indeed one of the highest and
most important objects of religious organization to furnish those facilities for moral and
intellectual improvement which are beyond
the range of the family circle.
Friends have peculiarities, not of manners
and forms only, but of principle, which are
especially obvious in the moral training of
their children. Without stating these in detail, it may serve our purpose to refer to a
single feature in the faith of our Society,
which all will recognize. It is that of the
innate innocence of children, as contradistinguished from the dogma of original sin, as
held by most orthodox churches.
This furnishes the key to that method of
development which is beginning to be recognized by enlightened educators in and out of
the Society,-the method which encourages
and cultivates the best traits of character in
the child, rather than attacks violently what
9 
INTRODUCTORY.
may seem its unfavorable features of disposition. Caution, admonition, restraint, and
even punishment, are occasionally necessary
in dealing with the inexperienced and sometimes perverse, but to secure the affection and
confidence of youth, to call into activity good
motives and high aims, is by far the most
easy and radical process of culture and development. It is a method peculiarly in accordance with the genius of Quakerism,peculiarly favorable to the growth of that
peaceable spirit which should distinguish the
Society of Friends.
The sense of right and wrong present in
the child from the early dawn of intelligence
-the feeling which brings happiness for good
and pain for wrong-doing-the swift witness
-the light within-is pre-eminently recognized by Friends, and constitutes the basis of
their moral teaching. If communicated to
children in its simplicity, unincumbered by
forms of expression which they cannot understand, it will answer to their experience,
and furnish a means of moral training before
10 
DYMOND'S VIEWS.
which all external restraints and physical
punishments fade into insignificance.
Strengthened by faith and enlightened by
sound reason, this principle becomes a controlling influence through life, and the firm
basis of a pure and indwelling piety.
The present tendency of reform in intellectual culture is peculiarly in harmony with
the views of Friends. The question, "What
knowledge is of most worth?" so ably answered
in the recent popular essays of Herbert Spencer and others, was discussed forty years
ago by Jonathan Dymond, a standard writer
among Friends, whose "Essays on the Principles of Morality" should be in the hands of
every student, and much the same conclusions were arrived at by him. Although in
his days education, which had so long lain
undisturbed on "the dregs of time," was the
same as " before England had a literature of
its own, and when Greek and Latin contained
almost the sum of human knowledge," yet
he forcibly advocated the idea that, "in general, science is preferable to literature,-the
11 
INTRODUCTORY.
knowledge of things to tile knowledge of
words," and sketched a practical system qf
education adapted to the "middle ranks of
society; that is, to the ranks in which the
greatest sumin of talent and virtue reside, and
by which the business of the world is principally carried on."
There is doubtless some ultraism in the
advocacy of modern schemes of educational
reform; the ancient system of classical instruction must be admitted to have merits as
a means of cultivating the memory and exercising the reasoning powers, which commend
it to the favor of experienced teachers; but
it is certainly out of the reach of the masses;
and it seems to me the more liberal education
is popularized, the more the classics must give
way to the natural and physical sciences,
which are calculated to furnish inexhaustible
objects of profitable study and contemplation,
besides being applicable to innumerable uses
in practical life.
Nothing need be said in this connection in
advocacy of liberal education for women.
12 
ADDRESSED TO FRIENDS.
Friends, of all sects, should be foremost, not
only in throwing open the facilities at their
command equally to both sexes, but in associating young men and girls in the lectureroom, the class-room, the lyceum, and, under
proper supervision, in all appropriate plays
and sports.  It is fitting that they should grow
up together in natural and mutually profitable
intercourse, and ample experience shows that
many of the evils of boarding-school and college life are thus materially lessened or entirely obviated.
It is not the purpose of this essay to appeal
to any purely sectarian feeling-the matter in
hand is of public and practical importance;
but the author cannot ignore the force of those
considerations which address themselves peculiarly to those connected with the Society
of Friends.
To such as sincerely love and cherish the
Society, and adhere intelligently to the spirituality of its faith and the simplicity of its
forms, the object of the present essay cannot
fail to commend itself; but there is a large
2
13 
INTRODUCTORY.
class of nominal members and adherents of
the Society, cherishing it through respect for
its past history and its present high charac   ter, who yet feel little interest in its testimo   nies and little qualification for participating
in its work. Such are invited to an examin   ation of the subject of this essay. Its writer
does not believe that the Society of Friends
has outlived its usefulness, but, on the con.
trary, he maintains that in the matter of the
education of youth, if in no other particular,
it has an important sphere of usefulness and
of duty.
More than two hundred years have passed
since George Fox charged those who had
been gathered chiefly through his ministry, to
mind the light in their consciences. During
most of this long period, those drawn into re   ligious fellowship as Friends have exercised
an influence for good which few of the pres   ent generation will gainsay. Mainly through
their instrumentality the great doctrine that
[~ "God has come to teach his people himself,"
has been infused into religious teaching gen
14 
THE SPIRIT OF SCISM.
erally; through faithfulness to their enlightened convictions, liberty of conscience has been
acknowledged, both in our own country and
Great Britain, and powerful testimonies have
been maintained against priestcraft and all
oppression of the bodies and souls of men;
against war with its barbarous  and sinful
concomitants; against intemperance, oaths,
and many of the evils which afflict mankind.
Both in Europe, where the organization of society at large was in direct antagonism to that
Christian democracy which they preached,
and in the Colonies of America, where their
liberal institutions early developed a vigorous
growth, these revivers of primitive Christianity gave a powerful impulse to enlightened
and humane principles, the value of which is
now recognized by many in all the Protestant
sects.
It cannot be denied that this once powerful and united body, the representative of
great and vital truths, has fallen a prey to the
spirit of scism, and now exhibits the weakness which is an inevitable result. With a
15 
INTRODUCTORY.
basis broad enough to take in every degree of
Christian growth and experience, and an organization designed to secure perfect equality
of rights among its members, it has not failed
to illustrate the wickedness of intemperate
zeal and proscriptive intolerance; the result,
in great measure, of ignorance and prejudice
-of a traditional rather than an intelligent
appreciation of its principles. May we not
hope that this last half of the nineteenth century will yet see the several fragments of the
Society of Friends honestly burying past differences, rising above mere verbal standards
of belief, and moving earnestly forward in the
practical work of our day; each seeking its
appropriate sphere of duty, and all willing to
co-operate in the great labor of elevating the
standard of morals and religion in the community?
16 
THE PAST.
The Early Friends.
NOTWITHSTANDING the generally low state
of education among the masses in England,
at the period of the first rise of the Society of
Friends, there are evidences that the early
Friends generally were not deficient in respect for liberal learning, while there were
many conspicuous instances among them of
great literary and scholastic attainments.
It has been often remarked that the mission of George Fox, himself an illiterate man,
was rendered more widely useful through the
men of enlarged education who were among
the early converts to his faith. This is doubtless equally true of the labors of those earnest
and eloquent reformers by whom he was surrounded,-men who shook all England with
their preaching, but many of whom have left
2*             (17) 
THE PAST.
to posterity no direct record of their views and
opinions. It is mainly through Robert Barclay, Isaac Penington, and William Penn, all
men of deep erudition, and each representing a
somewhat different phase of religious opinion,
that we are made acquainted with the principles and tenets of Friends in their day, and
their works have even come to be regarded
in our time in the light of standards of doctrine and practice.
Of these eminent characters, Robert Barclay was conspicuous for "great talents highly
improved by education and seasoned by Divine grace;" and, although his life was cut
short in his forty-second year, his services
in establishing and strengthening the foundations of the sect to which he was an early
convert, and the extensive research displayed
in his works, and the great learning with
which he elucidated his views of Christian
doctrine, have gained him a high place in
the history of the stirring times in which he
lived.
Isaac Penington was distinguished from
18 
THOMAS ELLWOOD.
childhood for remarkable piety and spirituality, and having been very early converted
to Quakerism, became an eminent instrument
in advancing the great work to which he was
called. As an evidence of the educational
condition of the circle in which he moved,
the experience of Thomas Ellwood, who, when
quite young, was intimate in his family, possesses considerable interest.
Deploring his own want of learning, through
neglect of early opportunities, of which want
he was not rightly sensible until he came
among Friends, Thomas Ellwood says: "' But
I then both saw my loss and lamented it, and
applied myself with the utmost diligence at
all leisure times to recover it, so false I found
that charge to be, which in these times was
cast as a reproach upon the Quakers that they
despised and derided all human learning."
This was said " because they denied it to be
essentially necessary to a Gospel Ministry,
which was one of the controversies of the
times."
Desiring to pursue his classical studies,
19 
THE  PAST.
Thomas Ellwood, through his friend Isaac
Penington, was introduced to the poet Milton, who, then wholly blind, received him at
his apartments in London to read to him in
such of the classics as he should appoint.
After greatly improving himself, he became
competent to instruct the children of Isaac
Penington, by whom he was employed as
tutor. He became one of the best writers
among his contemporaries.
The biography of William Penn, which we
have not space to dwell upon in this essay,
should be studied, not only by every young
man in the religious society in which he was
an eminent member, and in the great Commonwealth he founded, but by all who would
contemplate an example of unsullied purity
of character combined with great talents, liberal education, and a sphere of usefulness
such as has opened to few men in history.
In direct relation to our subject, a single
paragraph may be quoted from his wellknown letter to his wife in regard to the education of their children: "For their learning,
20 
ENGLISH SCHOOLS.
be liberal, spare no cost, for by such parsimony all is lost that is saved; but let it be
useful knowledge, such as is consistent with
truth and godliness, not cherishing a vain
conversation or idle mind, but ingenuity
mixed with industry is good for the body
and mind too."
English Schools.
As early as 1667, we find George Fox recommending the establishment of two boarding schools,-one for boys and one for girls;
and in 1680, he mentions visiting them. At
the boys' school, at Waltham Abbey, both
ancient and modern languages were taught,
as recommended during successive years by
the London Yearly Meeting. Advice was
further extended, "that young men of genius
in low circumstances be furnished with means
to procure requisite education; and in forming
the character, the social animal being must
not be overlooked, but the arts and sciences,
which might fit him to perform his duties,
2! 
THE PAST.
better his condition, and supply his wants,
must be included." The Shacklewell School
for young men and girls, which was nearly
contemporaneous, was established "for the
teaching of whatsoever things were civil and
useful in creation."
Somewhat in accordance with this is the
design so quaintly expressed in the bequest
by which George Fox conveyed to Friends
the property at Fair Hill, Philadelphia, now
associated with tender memories as the resting-place of many of our departed-"for a
meeting-house and school-house and a burying-place, and for a play-ground for the children of the town to play on, and for a garden
to plant with physical plants for lads and
lasses to know siniples and learn to make
oils and ointments."
Among the earliest Friends' schools in
England were the one at Gildersome in Yorkshire, and "Friends' School-house and Workhouse," at C]erkenwell, an out-parish of the
City of London, the latter supported almost
entirely by Friends of London Quarterly
12 
ACKWORTH SCHOOL.
Meeting. This was connected with a kind of
alms-house for the accommodation of Friends
in necessitous circumstances, which is mentioned by the eminent Dr. John Fothergill,
in a publication issued by him, as one of the
reasons of its want of entire success.
It was in the London Yearly Meeting of
1778, that the establishment of one central
school to meet the wants of the Society was
determined upon, and the property was purchased at Ackworth, in Yorkshire, about one
hundred and eighty miles from London, where
the school still so widely known and valued
was established. In 1779, Ackworth School
was opened with seventy male and fifty-three
female pupils; the number was afterward increased to near three hundred; and, according to the report for 1862, was in that year
two hundred and ninety-six. Although the
branches taught were originally only the
English language, writing, and arithmetic,
the grade of instruction has been gradually
elevated to meet the demands of the times,
and there can be no doubt that the influence
23 
THE PAST.
of this institution has been of incalculable advantage, not only to individuals, but to the
Society by which it has been fostered and
endowed.
American Schools.
The founder of Pennsylvania, during the
year after his arrival in his province, engaged
the services of a teacher to open a school in
Philadelphia, and in 1697 he founded the
school, still in existence, though removed
from its former well-known locality in Fourth
Street below Chestnut, under care of' The
Overseers of the Public School founded by
Charter in the Town and County of Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania."  In this school Latin
and Greek and mathematics were early taught.
Through a long course of years not a few of
the eminent citizens of Philadelphia have in
it realized the truth inscribed upon its corporate seal-"Good instruction is better than
riches."
It has been often observed that the meeting-houses erected by our forefathers through
24 
WEST-TOWN PROJECTED.
out the agricultural sections of Pennsylvania
and New Jersey are connected, in many conspicuous instances, with ample school-houses,
-monuments of the zeal of those pioneers in
this new land to associate with the religious
element in their polity suitable provision for
intellectual training.
The example set by English Friends in the
establishment and endowment of Ackworth
School was soon followed in the infant States
of America. A pamphlet by Owen Biddle,
printed in Philadelphia in 1790, was specially
devoted to the advocacy of a school, to be established "within the limits of the Yearly
Meeting for Pennsylvania and New Jersey."
Already a Friends' school of limited extent
had been maintained at Nottingham, Chester
County; but the views advocated in this publication were comprehensive, and with "a just
sense of the importance of some such establishment," and of the ability of the Society to
erect and maintain it, the author zealously
bespeaks the aid of the wealthy in large donations, and of all, according to their means,
3
25 
THE PAST.
to build up an institution which would be
"extensively useful, attract the attention of
the Society at large, and add a reputation
to it."
A long and persistent labor was necessary
to awaken the minds of Friends to the subject, and it was not until 1799 that WestTown Boarding School was opened. The history of this concern, as gathered from the
unpublished correspondence* of those who carried it through, would occupy more space
than comports with the scope of this essay;
but the result accomplished is full of encouragement to those who would now seek to disturb the apathy and overcome the opposition
toward an institution aiming at the improvement and elevation of thousands yet unborn.
During the sixty-six years which have
elapsed since West-Town was opened, about
five thousand one hundred and fifty girls and
three thousand nine hundred and fifty boys
* Some of these letters, now in the hands of a Friend, are
of considerable interest, and it is hoped they will at some
future time be made public.
26 
PROVIDENCE SCHOOL.
have participated in its advantages,-an a,ggregate of nine thousand members of the Society of Friends. Who can estimate its influence in furnishing the minds and forming the
characters of these?
The history of the establishment of the
"New England Yearly Meeting Boarding
School" is closely connected with the biography of Moses Brown, of Providence, R. I., described by his contemporaries as "a judge, a
counsellor, an elder, worthy of double honor."
As early as 1780, it appears a subscription
was opened, to which he was a liberal con tributor, "for the establishment of a school
for the more select and guarded education of
Friends' children;" but the means of Friends
being generally limited, and the sums sub scribed mostly small, it was not until 1784
that the school was opened. After four years,
it was discontinued on account of the inade quacy of its funds, and what remained of the
principal was invested and increased by some
additional contributions until in 1814 Moses
Brown offered to the Yearly Meeting forty
27 
THE PAST.
three acres of ground at Providence, since
augmented by a bequest in his will of another
lot of land near the premises; an additional
effort being now made to increase the interest and active co-operation of Friends, the
buildings were erected, and in 1819 the school
was opened. Its venerable patron died in
1836, aged nearly a century, and the institution has grown and prospered, continuing to
diffuse its benefits to large numbers to the
present time, and its numerous alumni, at
their annual meetings attest their love and
gratitude to their Alma Mater.
Among those in former generations with
whom the subject of the literary and religious
education of children was one of life-long interest, was Joseph Tallcot, of Dutchess County, New York, who, while at times engaged
as a teacher from a sense of duty, was a zealous advocate of associated action to extend
the blessings of education among Friends
generally. From Nine Partners' Preparative
Meeting, of which he was a member, a proposition went up, through the regular channels,
28 
FAIRHILL SCHOOL.
to the Yearly Meeting of New York, in 1794,
as a result of which the Nine Partners' Board ing School was opened in 1797: it was soon
filled with children from various parts of New
York, and from a few places more remote.
The reminiscences of this institution as re lated by some of its early pupils, still living,
while they exhibit in a striking manner the
vast improvements in literary and scientific
education during sixty years, show the happy results of the religious care and concern
of those having Friends' schools in charge in
those primitive times.
"Fairhill Boarding School," established by
subscription about the year 1820, by Baltimore Yearly Meeting, was in successful operation as a "Yearly Meeting School" about ten
years; it has been, of late, in private hands,
somewhat under the auspices of the Society.
With these brief notices, we conclude the
sketch of the more ancient Friends' schools,
and come down to our own times, in search
of evidences of zeal for the culture and advancement of the young.
3*
29 
THiE PRESENT.
TURNING from the efforts of our forefathers
to surround their children with educational
advantages, we are compelled, at the outset,
to acknowledge that the rapid strides which
have been made by the community at large
have left the Society of Friends, as a whole,
far in the background.
Since the unhappy division in 1827, which
has been characterized by a leading statesman of Pennsylvania as "the greatest misfortune which ever happened to the City of
Philadelphia," that portion of the Society
which embraces much the largest number of
members within the limits of Philadelphia,
New York, and Baltimore Yearly Meetings,
has not a single institution calculated to centralize the learning and science of the Society,
and to foster and encourage liberal education
-not one in which our children can obtain
the advantages of a really liberal education
(30) 
ORTHODOX FRIENDS' SCHOOLS.
under circumstances favorable to their becoming attached to the religious organization
of which they are members.
The inquiry as to what Friends' schools
within the reach of our members  are best
adapted to impart a liberal education, brings
into view several of the ancient seats of
learning already referred to; these,. with
several others established in our time, may
be mentioned under the following head:
Schools of Orthodox Friends.
Tile doors of West-Town" are closed, on
purely technical grounds, against many of
those who are sincerely desirous to acquit
themselves worthily as Friends, and whose
ancestors contributed largely to its establishment and endowment, entitling them, in
equity, to its benefits.
" Friends' Yearly Meeting School" at Providence, R. I., is not so restricted, and continues
to receive some of the Friends' children excluded from West-Town; though remote
81 
THE PRESENT.
from the largest settlements of Friends, it
is worthy the attention of parents who de sire to place their children, of either sex,
under sound instructions in a healthful and
pleasant location.
"Friends' Academy," at Union Springs,
Cayuga County, N. Y., established in 1858,
chiefly through the energy of John J.
Thomas, of that place, and since taken in
charge by the New York Yearly Meeting of
Orthodox Friends, is a young and growing
institution, open to all who are willing to
conform to its rules.
"The  Howland Institute," of the same
place, is confined to young women and girls;
it is yet in its infancy, but, from the liberality
displayed in its endowment and the excellent
auspices under which it has been commenced,
we may anticipate for it a career of extended
usefulness in the future.
For some years past a limited number of
our young men have resorted to Haverford 
College, which, though originally established
as a "select school," was found to require
32 
HAVERFORD AND EARLHAM.
support from outside the pale of that part of
the Society by whose members it was erected.
This institution is a monument to the zeal
and liberality of its founders, and, during
near thirty years in which it has been in operation, has sent forth many young men of
solid classical and mathematical attainments.
It is, however, too expensive an institution,
and too limited in its scope, to meet the
views of the great mass of Friends, besides,
being confined only to one sex.
Earlham  College, located  at Richmond,
Indiana, is another and more recent evidence
of the enterprise of that portion of the Society, which, perhaps partly from retaining
its connection with English Friends, and enjoying their counsel and assistance,* has
sought to bring some, among the generations
to come, under friendly influences, while imparting to them the blessings of liberal
learning.
* Joseph John Gurney, during his tour in the Western
States, aided the establishment of this institution, which
bears the name of his estate in England, by a liberal donation.
33
. I
:   -.1.  -.,I'.'.
"I 
THE PRESENT.
Though controversies have embittered the
past, and different forms of expression, and
even different modes of faith, which have
existed in the Society from its rise, have,
through the divergence caused by the spirit
of controversy, put barriers between those
once united as Friends, surely all can rejoice when the zeal of the Society takes a
practical direction toward the development
of the intellectual powers, and the consequent diffusion of more enlarged and liberal
views among those who are to come after us.
Private Boarding and Neighborhood Schools.
In this review of educational advantages
-past and present —we must not overlook
the private boarding schools kept by Friends,
some of which have a high reputation far beyond the limits of the Society, or the day
schools under the care of Monthly Meetings,
of which those in the Cities of New York,
Philadelphia, Baltimore, Wilnington, Del.,
West Chester, Pa., and a few other places,
are especially worthy of mention.
.         s,,..
34 
FRIENDS' DAY SCHOOLS.
The policy of confining these schools to
members of the Society has generally, of
latter years, been superseded by that of excluding no pupils of good character who are
willing to conform to the rules.  While this,
without due care, may produce overcrowding
in Friends' schools, it has the advantage of
securing larger remuneration to the teachers
and improved facilities for instruction; the
benefits are also diffused and good feeling promoted on the part of those of other denominations. It has been found, under this liberal
policy, that Friends' schools, when well conducted, overflow with pupils, notwithstanding
there are plenty of free schools near at hand.
The eminent success of these day schools
in the cities is cause of encouragement to the
Society to improve and extend the educational advantages furnished in smaller towns
and in agricultural districts,-to secure the
very best of teachers, and to pay these well
in view of the onerous duties of their calling, the high moral and intellectual qualities
it requires, and the responsibilities it imposes.
35 
THE PRESENT.
Viewed with reference to the opportunities
they afford for moral and religious instruction, and to their possible influence in perpetuating and extending the Society, these
schools can hardly be overestimated. The
spectacle of so large a number of intelligent
and bright countenances as are assembled
from these schools at meetings for worship,
has been the occasion for many fitting words
of counsel from Friends in the ministry, and
has frequently been remarked upon as most
inspiring to such as are advancing in life, and
naturally look with emotion upon those who
in their turn must follow them.
Culture of the Soil versus Mental Culture,
It is deplorable that many in the agricultural communities which constitute so
large a portion of the membership of the
Society of Friends in America, evince quite
as much interest in the cultivation of the
soil, and in realizing its products, as in the
development of the minds of their children.
36 
PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.
Such are satisfied with the elementary schools
maintained at public expense, none of which
reach a high ideal of school education. In
these the children are often thrown into unprofitable associations without any adequate
advantages in the way of intellectual training. The public school system, in the establishment of which Friends had so large a
share, is, undoubtedly, to the State at large,
an inestimable blessing: yet it has had a
tendency to satisfy many people in good circumstances with comparatively careless and
inadequate instruction, and to lessen the
zeal formerly felt among Friends to be in
advance of the community in the moral and
intellectual grade of their schools.
Of the large number of "Monthly Meeting
Schools,"* mostly established at much sacrifice by Friends of former generations, some of
them so endowed as to be free of expense, or
nearly so, to members of the Society, many
* Of these there were in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, in
1864, forty-three, thirty-seven of which are taught by members of the Society —1867 children were comprised in these.
4
37 
THE PRESENT.
suffer from want of intelligence and active
interest on the part of committees to whom
they are intrusted; it is a common complaint
that the teachers employed are frequently
inadequately paid and lack the qualifications
to make the schools efficient. The capacities
of the pupils are thus but poorly developed
from lack of that stimulus which a thorough
and pervading interest in intellectual advancement can alone bring into action.
Thus it happens that a large proportion of
the talent of the Society lies undeveloped,
the few whose minds have been awakened to
the contemplation of the facts of science,who have been brought into converse with the
great intellects who have explored the secrets
of the universe, find but little interest in
such ennobling pursuits among the great
mass of their Friends. Some of these constantly regret that the circumstances of
their early life were unfavorable to the
awaking of their intellectual powers, while
others are even too ignorant to value the advantages they have failed to realize, and busy
38 
EDUCATION FOR ALL.
themselves in decrying that which they do
not appreciate, because they cannot understand.
The history of the Society shows that
there have always been some among its
members who, in their opposition to an educated class, such as the clergy in other denominations, have ceased to value learning
properly as the right of all, failing to see that
the absence of a distinct profession, embodying the learning of the Society and monopolizing the power which learning brings, should
constitute a strong motive for the general
diffusion of knowledge and the multiplication of facilities for imparting it. As each
individual undoubtedly has some place to occupy in the Society, and in the community
at large, there should be, it would seemn, such
a system of development that each should
find his place and be qualified to fill it.
How widely different from this is the ac tual state of things! We sometimes find
the farmer wedded to his land, fearing lest
some of his sons may perhaps seek other
39 
TIIE PRESENT.
employment-lest, if educated beyond the
supposed requirements of a manual occupation, they may leave it and be found among
the haunts of men, busy with affairs which
call forth their faculties and exercise the talents which the all-wise Creator has implanted
in them.
It is mournful to see, in the thriving agri
cultural communities of Friends, how the
services of the whole family are often taxed
to the utmost upon the drudgery of the farm
-how the lad of sixteen, each winter enjoys
but a few months' schooling in the neighborhood school; his sister, a talented young
woman, perhaps the future mother of a family of immortal beings, who are to draw from
her their first ideas of truth and duty and
take the mould of their mental characters
from her own, is found laboring early and late
in the dairy and household, cumbered with
cares which should come only with mature
years, and debarred from the glorious light of
knowledge which can alone expand her faculties and fit her for the exalted position to
which she is called.
40 
FALSE ECONOMY.
In these strictures no invidious distinction
is intended between persons devoted to agriculture and those engaged in mechanical and
commercial  pursuits.   It is believed that
there are those among all classes who fail to
appreciate the undoubted right of their children, not only to the knowledge for which
they so often crave, but also to opportunities
calculated to create desires for improvement,
and to foster high and worthy aims.
It is the experience of some that " necessity knows no law," but where there is abundance of the good things of this life there is
no excuse for neglecting the full development
of the faculties of our children. In no branch
of domestic expenditure is parsimony so mis placed, in nothing is it so inexcusable as in
the matter of education-better that the chil dren should grow up without a dollar to be gin life with, than that they should come to
manhood and womanhood without their facul ties being awakened and their intellects ex panded by liberal learning.
4*
41 
THE PRESENT.
Cause and Effect.
Viewed in its relations to the perpetuity of
the Society of Friends and the spread of its
principles, indifference to the subject of education may be regarded both as an effect and
a cause-an effect of lukewarmness in regard
to religious duties, and as a propagating cause
of the same evil.
In strong contrast to the zeal of our early
predecessors in contending for their principles
in the midst of persecution and even death,
we find the Society now quietly resting in its
traditions and forms, its members generally
illustrating in private life the virtues which
have grown out of its discipline and teaching, but almost devoid of that animus which
made their early predecessors a great power
in the earth. Toleration, secured by the
faithfulness of our forefathers finds most of
us at ease in the pursuit of our private interests, but little concerned to maintain our
organization, and almost tempted to chime in
with the sentiment of those modern writers
42 
UNWARRANTABLE INDIFFERENCE.
who have maintained that the usefulness and
the influence of the Society are at an end.
Too many of our children are brought up
in ignorance of the instructive history of the
Society, and of its instrumentality in promoting human rights and spreading practical
views of Christianity; they are strangers to
the examples presented in the biography of
the great and good men who have illustrated
its principles and borne its testimonies before
the world, and they fail from lack of instruction, to appreciate those principles and testimonies, and to gain that thorough acquaintance with their meaning and scope which
call alone make them efficient instruments in
their maintenance and diffusion.
Do we not here recognize a leading cause
of the weakness which concerned members of
the Society mourn? As this is a direct effect of
unwarrantable indifference to one of the most
obvious duties incumbent on individuals and
religious organizations, is it not also an obvious  cause of increasing declension  and
weakness?
43 
THE PRESENT.
Five Years' Review.
Those who appreciate the state of facts
exhibited in the foregoing pages, and desire
the welfare of the children of our own and
succeeding generations, will be prepared to
rejoice that measures are now in progress
to provide an institution adapted to the
educational wants of the Society of Friends.
In the autumn of 1860, a company collected socially at the house of a much
esteemed Friend in Baltimore, became interested in conversing upon the state of education, and a desire was expressed that means
should be adopted which would lead to a
higher appreciation of scientific and classical learning and its more general diffusion
throughout the Society. Accordingly on the
second of Tenth Month, 1860, a meeting was
convened, at which the venerable Benjamin
Hallowell, a veteran teacher, presented the
plan which had lain many years near his
heart of establishing a school, under the care
of Friends, at which an education may be
44 
ADDRESS ISSUED.
obtained equal to that of the best institutions
of learning in our country, and adapted especially to qualify Friends of both sexes for the
charge of family and neighborhood schools
heretofore languishing for lack of efficiency
in their teachers.
The idea entered into this concern of elevating, as well the moral as the intellectual
standard of education, and of promoting the
growth and influence of the Society of
Friends, beginning where such labor can
alone be effectual with the young, the receptive, growing, and expanding. Such a design
could not fail to be appreciated by those to
whom it was explained, and a committee was
chosen to prepare an address setting forth the
objects in view, and to solicit the co-operation
of the larger bodies of Friends in Philadelphia
and New York.
An address was prepared forthwith, and
read at Conferences, held in Philadelphia on
the 28th of Eleventh Month, and in New
York on the 10th of Twelfth Month fol lowing. Committees were appointed at each
45 
THE PRESENT.
of these to co-operate with Baltimore Friends
in the prosecution of the concern. It is yet
too soon to write the history of this most important movement, but if the measures then
inaugurated should be crowned with the
promised success, the names of those who
were thus foremost in it will go down to
posterity as worthy of double honor.
The printing and distribution of this address was so soon followed by those startling
events which shook the nation to its center
and have but recently culminated, that the
efforts toward enlisting the great body of
Friends on behalf of this undertaking, may
be said to have been inaugurated during the
most anxious time of the great rebellion.
When many citizens doubted if they or
their posterity would again enjoy the blessings of free government-when men of wealth
held their possessions by so feeble a tenure
that soon they might not command enough
of this world's goods to feed and clothe their
families-when parents, not a few, trembled
lest their sons, swept into the current that
46 
CONFERENCES HELD.
carried  so many  thousands  to untimely
graves, would never return to comfort their
declining years-when darkness, discouragement, and uncertainty hung over everything
in the future, it seemed, to some, out of place
to be planning great improvements or seeking to found beneficent institutions.
It was in the darkest hour that a voice was
raised in our councils, which had many times
before been heard in the midst of discouragements and even obloquy in defense of progress and principle,-the voice of one who had
herself realized in early life the value of a
Friends' school,-showing the pressing import
ance of those educational interests which must
influence the welfare of society in any event
and under all circumstances. So fully were
these views realized, that it was resolved to
persevere, presenting the subject in every
community of Friends, where there,was an
ear to hear, and invoking the moral support
and pecuniary aid of all.
Conferences were appointed in Friends'
meeting-houses in city and country; some
47 
THE PRESENT.
times these were largely attended; the subject was earnestly presented and subscriptions
solicited in aid of the undertaking. A committee for promoting subscriptions to the fund
met monthly at Race Street Meeting-house,
Philadelphia, generally attended by some
from the country; thus the interest was kept
alive and the subscription extended.
The preliminary organization, under the
name of Friends' Educational Association,
passed through some difficulties in forming a
constitution; unavoidable differences of sentiiment upon technical points alienated a few
whose influence has since been missed, but,
to use the peculiar term so familiar to
Friends, the concern continued to grow and
increase.
At the Annual Meeting in Twelfth Month,
1862, fifty thousand dollars were reported
as having been subscribed,-a sum which
has since been nearly doubled. A Board of
Managers was selected, consisting of Friends
of both sexes from various sections Of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Mary
48 
SUBSCRIPTIONS OBTAINED.
land. This Board, which has been continued with little alteration, has moved in
great harmony in the several measures rendered necessary by the progress of the movement, and when questions have arisen prematurely, the ground of confidence has been
maintained, not only by the officers toward
each other, but by the great body of subscribers toward the Board. The selection of
a location for the proposed institution called
forth a zealous advocacy of different sites, and
was followed by corresponding disappointment among those whose advocacy was unsuccessful, but the expression by vote of a
large majority of the stock, as provided by
the constitution, was a final settlement of the
question.
In the course of this work, members of the
Board, and others interested, have attended
conferences in nearly all the Monthly Meetings within the compass of Philadelphia
Yearly Meeting, numbering fifty, obtaining
subscriptions from Friends; besides addressing conferences in several sections of New
5
49 
THIE PRESENT.
York and Baltimore Yearly Meetings, and
one at Farmington, within the limits of Genesee Yearly Meeting.
In all these they have found some to respond cordially to their appeals. The young,
who, in many sections in the midst of indifference and apathy are impatiently thirsting
for knowledge; parents who begin to appreciate the imperative duty they owe to their
rising families, to supply them with the highest possible culture and development; and
lastly, the elders and fathers in the church,
who in looking for a succession of standardbearers, begin to suspect that to the neglect
of the great interests of education under the
guarded care of the Society, may be attributed much of the weakness which they deplore.
50 
P R 0 SPE CT IV E.
Swarthmore College,
IT is proposed, under this head, to present
to the reader a succinct account of the present
condition, the objects, and plans of the corporation which has grown out of the Friends'
Educational Association. In accordance with
the original design, to furnish a complete
course of study in the higher branches of
knowledge, especially with a view to qualify
teachers, it was early determined to give to
the proposed institution the fiull grade of a
college, under an act of incorporation from
the State of Pennsylvania.
While this does not preclude an Academical
Department, a Normal School, and a Model
School, all of which are included in the plan,
it requires the managers to supply instruction
in the higher branches of knowledge which
are not thoroughly taught in ordinary private
institutions.
By means of the act of incorporation the
(51) 
PROSPECTIVE.
title to the property is defined and secured to
those who contribute to purchase and build
it; and in case of future controversies, it cannot be unfairly diverted from them.   The
name Swarthmore College is derived from the
home of George Fox, after his marriage to
Margaret Fell.  At Swarthmore, near Ulverstone, in England, he himself owned a plot of
ground, on which he erected a meeting-house,
which is still standing.
The stockholders are not necessarily members of the Society of Friends,-a very considerable number of our fellow-citizens, and
several in membership and by profession connected with the orthodox division of the Society, have, without solicitation, testified their
interest in the spread of education by subscribing to the stock.  The managers, how-,
ever, are restricted by the charter to members of the Society of Friends; they are to be
elected at the Annual Meeting, each stockholder having one vote. In all questions affecting the disposition of the property of the
corporation, a stock vote is provided for.
52 
THE WEST-DALE PROPERTY.
The Site.
The property procured for the location of
Swarthmore College is composed of a portion
of that known as West-Dale, from having
been the birth-place of Benjamin West, with
contiguous land; it is located in Delaware -
County, Pennsylvania, about ten miles from.
Philadelphia, with which city it connects by
the West Chester and Philadelphia Railroad,
passing through the place, and furnishing a
station at a convenient distance from the
building site. It contains ninety-four acres
and five perches of land, and is bounded on
one side by the Springfield and Chester road,
and on the other by Crum Creek, a winding
and rapid stream. After a thorough examination of the rural districts surrounding Philadelphia, the managers were generally agreed
that a more eligible location for such a purpose could scarcely be found. The land is
high, commanding an extensive prospect of
variegated scenery, and a distant view of the
Delaware River, the ancient town of Chester,
5*
53 
PROSPECTIVE.
the first landing-place of William Penn in his
Province, and Media, the county town, distant
one and a half miles, in which, it may be
remarked, the sale of liquor is prohibited by
law, in all time to come. There are several
springs contiguous to each other on the high
ground, sufficient to furnish an abundant supply of pure water, and water-power to pump
it to the required elevation. -On the northwest the land is covered with an abundant
growth of trees, adapted to afford protection
to the grounds in winter; the wood-land is
ample for shaded walks, and the banks of
the stream afford a feature of romantic beauty  rarely  surpassed.   The  property  cost
$21,446.96.
The Building.
The Managers are not insensible to the
mistake which has so often been made in
carrying out such undertakings, of regarding
the building as the paramount feature of the
institution; in all their plans utility has been
considered before elegance, and economy has
54 
THE BUILDING.
constituted a leading motive. On the other
hand, however, so much depends upon the
convenient arrangement of a large establishment in securing its economical management,
and so important is it to provide in the proposed institution for a large number of the
several classes it is intended to accommodate,
that a commodious building, capable of still
further extension, seems quite necessary.
The original idea of separate buildings, in
which something like the family relation
might be maintained among the inmates, was
found to require an outlay much beyond the
cost of a single structure appropriately divided.  The necessity of connecting corridors and adequate means of conveyance for
the supplies when cooked, and other requiremients of this plan, determined its abandonment and the union of its desirable features,
as far as practicable, in a single stone
structure.
This, as far as the plans have been matured,
will consist of a center College huilding, containing dining-rooms, kitchen, lecture-room,
55 
PROSPECTIVE.
library reception-room, office, and dwelling
for the resident officer; two wings parallel to
this, each  containing  the  residence of  a
teacher and his family, and dormitories for
about fifty pupils, and, between these and the
center building, connecting wings, containing
class-rooms and dormitories, each wing accommodating about fifty pupils.  The dormitories will be in size about 10 by 15 feet, designed to accommodate two single beds. The
building thus projected will contain about
one hundred and ten pupils of each sex,
all under appropriate supervision, virtually
separated in different houses, but so readily
communicating with the central College building as that all may resort there to meals, to
the morning and evening collections, to lectures, and for other purposes, without exposure to the weather.
Especial attention will be given to the
ventilation, heating, and lighting of the establishment, and to provision against danger
from fire; the stairways will be ample and
partly fire-proof, and the isolation of each
5 t) 
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
division will be such that it is hardly possible
a fire could become general.
As it is designed to accommodate at least
four hundred pupils, when the buildings are
completed, the center building is planned
with reference to that number, and additions
are projected which will not interfere with
the symmetry of the structure. An advantage anticipated from providing for so large
a number of pupils is, that instruction can be
proportionably cheapened as the number is
extended. From all that can be learned in
advance, and, from the estimate of an experienced teacher now engaged in a similar
institution, it is believed that there will be
enough to occupy all the  accommodations
provided, as soon as they are ready.
Several Departments.
It is proposed to include in Swarthmore
College-First. An academical or preliminary
department. Second. A normal department,
with model school. Thtird. A collegiate department.
57
4. *.  1.          1.. I 
PROSPECTIVE.
The Academical department is regarded as
of least necessity, as the demand for common school education is already partly supplied by neighborhood schools, and by private boarding schools, which it is no part of
the plan of this institution to supersede; and
yet it is intended that this department shall
be the first to be opened as a necessary preparation for the Collegiate. As private schools
adapt their teaching to prepare pupils for the
Collegiate department, this may have less importance in the general scheme of instruction; yet the experience of other institutions
would indicate that a much larger number of
pupils will avail themselves of the academical
than of the full Collegiate course.
The Normal department will probably be a
leading feature as soon as established; the
demand for teachers, already everywhere apparent, must greatly increase, as the vast
Southern country is opened to their labors;
moreover, the spread of educational reform
is bringing about a higher appreciation of
the profession of teaching, and must call for
58 
NORMAL AND MODEL SCHOOL.
a better class, both of talents and attainments, in this, which Anthony Benezet
justly characterized as "the  most exalted
duty a Christian mind can be engaged in."
Teaching has only recently been studied as
a science; yet the normal school begins to be
regarded as essential to the teacher for the
same reason as a medical school is to the
physician. He who would guide the child
needs to be acquainted not only with the
knowledge to be imparted, but how to impart it. He should make the faculties of the
mind his study, and should know how to
read not only the capacity of his pupil, but
those secret springs-the affections, the passions, and ruling desires-which supply the
motive-power to the intellect and give direction to the forming character.
For the exercise of the more advanced
pupils in normal schools in the practice of
teaching, model schools are maintained.
These usually consist of classes engaged in
acquiring the rudiments of learning, whose
tuition is furnished them gratuitously, or at
59 
PROSPECTIVE.
a moderate cost. By the establishment of
such a department, a certain number of orphan children and others whose circumstances render it necessary that they should
be placed from home when quite young, may
be economically educated up to the point of
entering the academical department. How
far it may accord with the future policy of
Swarthmore College to extend this department, will depend upon circumstances. May
it not happen that some benevolently-disposed
Friend will, out of his abundance, provide a
home upon the delightful grounds of this
College for a suitable number of orphans,-so
generally recognized as objects of Christian
charity,-thus promoting, at the same time,
the efficiency of the Normal department?
The Collegiate department may be admirably connected with the Normal-the branches
taught, with the exception of the theory and
practice of teaching, which might or might
not be included in the College curriculum,
may be the same in both, though it would
not, perhaps, be required of all graduates in
60 
INSTRUCTION FOR MOTHERS.
the Normal, to go through the complete course
in the Collegiate. Experience and a mature
consideration of the subject, by those engaged
as professors and teachers, when the institution is organized, will doubtless develop a
policy which cannot now be foreshadowed.
It is, however, to be desired that all students
who carry from this college its diploma, will
have learned so much of the art of teaching
as to make them more useful in communicating the knowledge they have acquired than
is the case with young men generally, who
graduate at our colleges. "To do good and
communicate" should ever be the pleasure,
as it is duty, of those who have enjoyed the
advantages of a liberal education.
The peculiar advantage of such a course as
a well-directed Normal School would furnish
to young women, is obvious from the fact
that the large majority of these are destined
to rear children, and, in the exercise of this
highest duty, the knowledge of how to teach
removes them in a degree from the necessity
of sending away their offspring at a tender
6
61 
PROSPECTIVE.
age to be trained by others who, whatever
qualifications they may possess, cannot be animated by the tenderness and earnestness of
a mother,-the guardian and teacher appointed by Providence, in the order of nature,
to rear the coming generation.
Relation of the Sexes at School.
It is confidently believed that the expe rience of Swarthmore College will be simnilar
to that of other institutions in which young
men and young women, at the age in which
they are pursuing the higher branches of
knowledge, are advantageously associated in
the lecture-room, the class-room, the lyceum,
at the table, and, with proper restrictions, in
the ordinary sports appropriate to college life.
The impression, with some, that such association would distract the mind from a due
attention to study, and lead to the frivolity
so deplored in ordinary society, is not justified
by the facts.   The  mental attrition of the
class-room is especially favorable to students
62 
PHYSICAL SCIENCES.
forming a just estimate of each other's capacity, and thus losing false ideas of perfection
in each other, the frequent source of romantic
attachments.  Constantly subjected to artless
association and competition, they seldom
exhibit that unnatural constraint and coyness which distinguish the unaccustomed intercourse of boys and girls, when first thrown
together in what is called society; while, under the constant supervision of teachers, any
exceptional instances of undue intimacy soon
become the subject of observation, and it may
be, of suitable admonition and interference.
The Scheme of Instruction,
It would be premature to sketch a plan of
instruction in the present stage of this enterprise, and it is only in answer to repeated
inquiries that I shall venture to state the
views of the managers as far as they have
been matured and found expression. It is
proposed to give greater prominence to the
physical, natural, and chemical sciences than
63 
PROSPECTIVE.
is common in ordinary colleges. Science is
the key that unlocks the world we live in,
and unfolds to us the philosophy of our daily
pursuits. Our food, our clothing, our houses,
the methods of warming and ventilating,
the drainage and improvement of the land,
the cultivation of crops, the preservation of
health of ourselves and of the animals under
our care-are all legitimate scientific studies,
ministering to our comfort through life, and
guarding us against many popular errors
founded in ignorance and superstition. It is,
moreover, a direct result of scientific studies
to enlarge our conception of the wisdom and
goodness of the Creator, and to furnish innumerable and instructive parallels from the external universe illustrative of those sublime
spiritual truths, which are so admirably conveyed to the mind by comparison with objects
which are visible and tangible.
Oral and experimental instruction are especially aimed at in this connection. Nothing
so fastens the attention and impresses the
memory as a direct demonstration of a great
64 
NATURAL HISTORY.
truth by experiment. Every lecturer must
have observed how the most sluggish student,
who will fall asleep over books, and even
wander from a subject eloquently and cogently presented in words, will instantly
seize upon an experimental illustration, and
often comprehend it more fully than others
who might be considered far more appreciative. Hence the importance of ample apparatus for illustrating the facts of chemical
and physical science, which are opening to
philosophers, in our day, richer fields for discovery than any heretofore presented in the
history of science. With a view, also, to
thorough acquaintance with practical chemistry, it is designed to establish a laboratory
in which the chemical class can be carried
through a course of analysis.
Natural history is also proposed to be
taught, and an extensive cabinet aimed at,
illustrative of every department of this study.
It is a subject of profound regret to many
thinkers in our country, that there is so little
for the people to see of the works of creation,
6*
65 
PROSPECTIVE.
classified scientifically, and giving an idea of
the gradations by which every created thing
is linked into
"..... One stupendous whole,
Whose body Nature is, and God the soul."
The beautiful grounds belonging to the
College will, it is hoped, be planted with a
great variety of trees, furnishing a study of
practical interest to those especially who are
so favored as to enjoy future opportunities
for country life. A garden of classified plants
would be quite practicable, and would be a
rare attraction in our country, besides furnishing to the pupils an opportunity to become
practical botanists with a facility enjoyed by
none of their predecessors. It may be thought
that the managers are laying out plans which
none of them will probably live to execute,
but this should not discourage them from
working "while it is called day," trusting
that others may enter into their labors, and
that so desirable a consummation may be realized by those who may come after them.
66 
THE PRINCIPLES OF MORALITY.
It is not deemed necessary to speak at large
of the higher mathematics, the ground-work
of so much that is practical in science, and
a means of mental discipline universally regarded as in the highest degree important.
Nor of language, which, viewed as a science,
is one of the most profound that can claim
the attention of the human intellect. There
are capacities and tastes especially suited to
this study, and, as a means of disciplining
the mind, exercising the memory, and forming
the judgment, it is a necessary element in
our scheme of education; besides, the practical application of Latin and Greek to the nomenclature of the sciences, and to a thorough
understanding of our own and the other modern languages, makes an acquaintance with
them essential to a thorough student,-especially to one who is to teach others.
Hiistory, intellectual philosophy, the prin-,,
ciples of morality, as maintained by Friends,
which are confidently believed to be far in
advance of those ordinarily taught, will all be
subjects to be introduced into the course of
67 
PROSPECTIVE.
instruction at Swarthmore College, as its
means increase, and the properly qualified
teachers are found. A caution rests on the
minds of the members of the Board to introduce no unprofitable subjects of controversy
into this institution; and it is their firm belief
that as solid and substantial learning is imparted upon subjects of practical interest, less
importance will be attached to visionary ideas,
and less interest felt in useless speculations.
Systems of education are now somewhat
in a transition state. Allusion has been made
in the Introduction to this essay to views
which have obtained among enlightened
Friends in the past, and which are advocated by numerous writers in our time, looking toward the introduction of the practical
element more prominently into advanced
systems of education. Our Government has
acted upon this idea in appropriating a large
amount of the public domain to the maintenance of schools in which theoretical and
practical science must be leading features.
The testing of the capacity of these to develop
68 
RATIONAL ENJOYMENTS.
a high intellectual culture fitted to the conditions and requirements of American life, is peculiarly a work of our day. In parting with
the aristocratic idea of an educated class,
should we not adopt the democratic idea of
an education open to all who have the talent
to avail themselves of it and adapted to prepare men and women for the higher walks in
agriculture, the mechanic arts, trade, and
business of every kind, as well as for what
have been termed the learned professions?
Far be it from me to restrict the idea of an
education to mere preparation for business;
no scheme of teaching deserves that name
which does not aim to prepare the pupil for
mental employments beyond the range of
practical life, to open channels of profitable
reflection and study leading to pure and rational enjoyment, embellishing and refining
the whole character and the life. Such an
education should be kept in view by every
parent who would qualify his children for
active usefulness and rational  enjoyment,
and such, it is confidently believed, will be
69 
PROSPECTIVE.
aimed at by those intrusted with framing the
future policy and superintending the management of Swarthmore College.
Finanoial
Various estimates have been made of the
cost of the required college buildings, but the
uncertainty in regard to the price of material
and labor makes it impossible to determine
this in advance. With a view to avail ourselves of the anticipated decline in prices,
the contracts will, for the present, include
only portions of the building at a time, the
digging of cellars and laying foundations
during the present autumn, the erection of a
portion of the walls above ground in the
spring, and so forth, the intention being to
build such parts first as will avail for the
purposes of the Academical department. In
no event are all the buildings likely to cost
less than $200,000, and their furniture and
apparatus $50,000. Of this'aggregate, about
$70,000 is now in hand.
70 
FUTURE SUBSCRIPTIONS.
There will be pressing necessity to push
the subscriptions vigorously to enable the
work to go on to speedy completion, but we
are encouraged by the experience of similar
institutions to believe that when built, Swarthmore College will be a nucleus around which
much of the benevolence and public spirit of
the Society will gather,-that future donations and bequests will enable the managers
to enlarge the facilities for instruction at the
same time that they lower its cost and extend
its blessings to many who would otherwise be
deprived of it from want of means.
We necessarily postpone to the future the
opening of subscriptions toward the establishment of scholarships, giving education
and subsistence to meritorious pupils; toward the creation and augmentation of an
ample library, to which valuable contributions of books have already been promised;
toward the collection of a museum of natural
history and art, and the purchase of astronomical apparatus, none of which are iiicluded in our present estimates. Our aim is
71 
PROSPECTIVE.
to build and open thi8 College with the gecessary means of instruction as soon as possible.
We cannot doubt the abundant means
in the Society of Friends to erect and maintain any institution which the interests of
their children or of the Society demand.
There is wealth enough. Some individual
members could erect and endow this college
without abridging a single comfort of life,
and there are many who could well afford
subscriptions of such amounts as rapidly to
make up the fund required; and it may be
safely stated of Friends generally, that there
are few who could not afford to take one or
more shares in the stock. Add to this the
assistance proffered by some not in membership, who desire an opportunity of aiding in
the good work, and anticipate sharing its
advantages, and we have every reason to
expect that success will attend the effort.
Friends have fewer calls upon their liberality in connection with the support of their religious institutions than others; they have no
clergy to support-no missionary enterprises
72 
TRIUE VALUE OF MONEY.
-their meeting-houses are plain, and require
little expenditure-their habits, as individuals, are generally economical-their industry and thrift almost proverbial, so that they
rarely fail to accumulate property. It is, indeed, in this habit of accumulation that one
of their chief snares lies hidden; "habit is
second nature," and it is often hard to unlearn in later life what in youth was properly
held up as a virtue the habit of saving. On
the other hand, no one who has not accustomed himself to it knows the luxury of giving, and especially of seeing the fruits of his
bounty.
The uselessness of money to its possessor,
except to the extent of providing comforts
and means of rational enjoyment, and its
immense value when appropriated toward
the advancement and happiness of others, are
only fully apparent to such as have learned
how to administer their own estates for objects of real utility and beneficence. May it
not be said with truth, that only such realize
73
7 
PROSPECTIVE.
the fullest enjoyment from wealth, or find it
promotive of their highest interests?
It is a common observation that many men
of large means have left estates to purposes of
public utility, whose benevolent intentions
have been inadequately carried out by those
intrusted with the disposal of their bequests;
and it seems to be a growing determination of
the benevolent to give, during their lifetime,
toward such objects as present themselves in
the light of public benefactions, discrimina ting according to their own judgment, and
themselves sharing in the pleasurable occu pation of appropriating their means.
The munificent donation of Matthew Vas sar for the establishment of a Female College
at Poughkeepsie, New York, already amount ing to several hundred thousands of dollars&the recent offer of Ezra Cornell, of Ithaca, New
York, of half a million dollars and about 200
acres of land, for the establishment, with the
aid of funds appropriated to the State by the
U. S. Government, of a college to provide
instruction in such branches of learning as
74 
DUPLICATION OF SUBSCRIPTIONS.
are related to agriculture and the mechanical
arts; and the still more recent offer of a like
sum, by Asa Packer, a wealthy citizen of
Pennsylvania, toward a college to be located
in this State, all show an appreciation of the
value of education, and offer noble examples
to those who, as stewards over abundance
of this world's goods, must feel the responlsi
bility of giving an account of their stewardships.
While these considerations are respectfully
offered to the wealthy, with a cordial invitation to consider the claims of Swarthmore
College to their liberal contributions and bequests, the writer of this would close his appeal by asking those who, like himself, are
still struggling toward a competence, to iden tify themselves with a movement promising
such permanent benefits to the children of
the present and future generations. Of the
money thus far subscribed, much the largest
part has come in subscriptions of less than
one hundred dollars. The managers look for
a yeieral du?plication of these subscriptions, and
75 
PRPOSPECTIVE.
ask that every individual interested in the
perpetuity of the Society of Friends, and in
the welfare of the children growing up under
its influence, shall become a stockholder in
Swarthmore College-the rich contributing
from their abundance-those in moderate circumstances in less amount-all according
to their means-to establish what we confidently believe will be a great and obvious
blessing for ages to come.
An association embracing the young and
old, the farmer and citizen, the rich and those
in moderate circumstances, the progressive
and conservative, interesting all in an institution of real utility and practical advantage,
must of itself, have an important influence in
consolidating and perpetuating the Society in
whose interest it was organized, and creating
and diffusing a wholesome public spirit among
its members.
76 
ir F
m oL
..    92........
I.
x
x
6
0
-i
Cc:
0:
x
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c;
'o
a:
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i-.:
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It:
6
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x 
DESCRIPTION OF THE GROUND PLAN.
First Storyj.-The center building will be 60 feet front by 110 feet
6 inches deep, divided, in front of the corridor which runs from end
to end of the entire building, into a hall, parlor or library, office and
stairway. The dining-room, in the rear of the corridor, which is 55
by 62 feet, has a carving-room attached, which, with the kitchen, is
in a two-storied back building, 40 by 50 feet, containing also closet
and pantries, a private dining-room for the domestics, and stairs
leading to their chambers above.
On either side of the center building is a fire-proof alcove, 15 feet
wide, containing iron stairways in the rear, and adapted to secure
light and ventilation to the adjoining parts of the building, while it
cuts off the connection between the center building and wings in case
of fire. The wings, extending on either side, are each 100 feet long,
including the alcoves, by 44 feet wide. On the first story they con
tain 4 class-rooms and 2 cloak-rooms adjoining the alcoves and stair ways, 2 wash-rooms, and 18 chambers, each 10 by 15 feet.
The return wings, extending north and south, 44 by 92 feet, each
contains, in front of the corridor, a parlor and living room, and pri vate stairway, designed for the use of a resident professor or matron
with their families; back of the corridor are commodious stairways,
and 16 chambers, 10 by 15 feet. The water towers, marked w c, are
built on a line with the rear wall adjoining the wash-rooms; they
are 11 feet square in the clear. 
0    u
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i\\F
0
Ilp
C,
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C) C,
cc
LU
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E 
DESCRIPTION OF TIlE GROUND PLAN.
Second Story.-The center building contains 4 apartments, marked
c, which may be appropriated as class-rooms, lyceum-room, offices,
cabinets, etc., as may be required. In the rear of this is the lecture
and collecting room, of the same size as the dining-room, but with a
ceiling 30 feet high, and a gallery reached from the level of the third
story; a laboratory and apparatus rooms communicate with this;
while the sleeping accommodations, for the domestics, which adjoin
them, are reached exclusively by the private stairs from below. The
arrangement of the wings in the second story is nearly the same as
in the first, omitting cloak-rooms and adding two nurseries, marked
N, which communicate with the private apartments, marked c, be
longing to the resident professors or matrons. Nurseries designed
for any cases of contagious disease which may need complete isola
tion, are provided in the front attics, which are commodious and
thoroughly ventilated. Some of the chambers, each of which is de
signed to accommodate two students, have complete closets, super
seding the necessity of bureau and wardrobe. In others these ar
ticles of furniture may be preferred. It is impossible to exhibit all
the details of arrangement in a drawing of this size.
Third Story and Attics.-The third story is appropriated exclu
sively to sleeping apartments, some of which are large. The attics,
which are high and contain dormer-windows, except upon the front,
will furnish trunk-rooms, and, if needed, extra sleeping accommo
dations.
The building, as thus projected, will accQmmodate about 225 pu
pils, with the necessary teachers and attendants.
Descriptions more in detail are printed in the form of specifica
tions. 
PROCEEDINGS
ON THE
Ottsil o'f  aging t           ort r-Ion
OF
SWARTHMORE COLLEGE,
ON THE
10TH OF FIFTH MONTH, 1866.
PUBLISHED BY DIRECTION OF THE BOARD OF MANAGERS OF THIE CORPORATION.
The Opening.
ON fifth day, afternoon, the tenth of fifth {
month, 1866, under a clear sky, and surrounded by a genial atmosphere, a company
assembled on the grounds of Swarthmore
College to commemorate the laying of the
corner-stone of the structure about to be
erected. Of those thus collected some were
from New York and its vicinity, some from'in
New Jersey, a few from Baltimore, and many
from Philadelphia and the surrounding country, especially the counties of Delaware and
8 
78       LAYING THE CORNER-STONE OF
Chester. On a commodious platform erected
at the easternmost corner of the foundations
of the center building, the company were
seated, or standing in groups, when the meeting was called to order by Samuel Willets, of
New York, who had been selected to preside.
Letters Received.
Edward Parrish, President of the College,
produced several letters received by him
from individuals invited to be present, among
whom were Mary S. Lippincott and Sarah
Hunt, Moorestown, New Jersey; Dr. Thomas
11. Kirkbride, of the Pennsylvania Hospital
for the Insane; Samuel M. Janney, of Loudon
County, Virginia; and Edward H. Magill, of
the Boston Public Latin School, all expressive of regret at the necessity of being absent.* Portions of these were read, and the
following are selected for publication:
* A letter has been since received from J. P. Wickersham,
Principal of the State Normal School at Millersville, PIennsylvania, and President of the American  Teacher's Association, 
SWARTHMORE COLLEGE.
FROM SAMUEL M. JANNEY, dated Lincoln, Va.,
5th Mo. 6, 1866.
EDWARD PARRISH,
PRESIDENT OF SWARTHI3IORE COLLEGE.
MY DEAR FRIEND:
Last evening I received thy kind letter, with a card
of invitation to attend the laying of the corner-stone of
the College edifice.
I regret that I cannot be present on that interesting
occasion; but my heart is with you in the cause of education, which the College is intended to promote. I
trust that the institution will be founded on the immutable principles of truth and love, and that it will be a
blessing to the youth of our Society, and others who
may share its benefits, not only in our day, but in future
generations.
The improvement of the talents conferred by a bountiful Creator is a duty incumbent upon all, and in rearing the superstructure of knowledge each generation
must avail itself of the labors and discoveries of its predecessors. When we look over our widely extended
country and behold the products of art and industry in
the form of cities and cultivated farms, in manufactures,
railroads, canals, and telegraphs, we are Impressed with
the vast amount of accumulated wealth; but we should
bear in mind that the treasures of literature and science
are far more valuable and enduring, for in these are
contained the elements of all improvement in the arts
that minister to individual comfort or national great ness.
regretting his unexpected absence, which arose from circumstances beyond his control. Also one from Professor Thomas
Chase, of Haverford College, who, through an accident, did not
receive an invitation to attend until too late, but expresses cor
dial good wishes for the success of the enterprise, and desires
that the cause of sound education may be promoted by it.
79 
80       LAYING THE CORNER-STONE OF
In view of these magnificent results, we are ready
to exclaim, in the language of the poet,
"What cannot art and industry perform
When science plans the progress of their toil."
It is the purpose of our higher schools and colleges
to place within the reach of the student the stores of
knowledge accumulated by the wise and good of former
ages, and to assist in developing the intellectual powers
and moral principles. In executing this great trust, the
teacher of youth should ever remember that the development of the intellect, though highly important, is of
far less value than the cultivation of moral excellence,
and that the benign principles of Christianity can alone
secure happiness here and prepare the soul for eternal
felicity hereafter.
With sincere desires for the success of the institution,
I remain thy cordial friend,
SAMUEL M. JANNEY.
FROM EDWARD R. MAGILL, dated Boston,
5th Mo. 3, 1866.
DEAR FRIEND EDWARD PARRISH:
Thy kind letter, inviting me to be present at the
laying of the corner-stone of Swarthmore, was received
a few days since, and 1 embrace my earliest opportunity
to express my deep regret that my duties here absolutely forbid me to think of being with you on that
very interesting occasion.  It would be an event to
look back upon with great satisfaction all my life long
if I could enjoy the privilege of taking part in these
ceremonies, which are to constitute the first public step
in one of the greatest educational works yet undertaken,
I will not say by Friends alone, but in this country.
Is that too much to say?  If it seems extravagant
now, the results, in time to come, will prove the reasonableness of nay words to-day. I see in this work the 
SWAITIfMORE COLLEGE.
inception of a movement which is to prove, what has
never yet been fully proven, although tried to some
extent, that it is feasible and desirable to give to woman
equal educational facilities with man, not in the earlier
stages of education merely, but to carry them together,
pari passu, to the heights of literature and science,
and to prepare them alike to use to the best advantage,
to themselves and the world, the talents with which
they are endowed. How appropriate that the movement should take place among Friends, who recognize
more fully than others the equality of the sexes, and
among whom  it is not considered "a shame for  a
women to speak in the church."  When I reflect upon
the great advance in public sentiment in this regard
during the present century, that here in Boston, which
claims, justly or unjustly, to be the fountain-head of
progress in educational, as in other matters, it was not
deemed necessary to give girls the benefit of public
school instruction till 1780, that from 1780 until 1820
they were allowed to occupy in the grammar schools
the vacant seats of the boys in summer only, and that
until 1852 no high school for girls was established
here, except one which lived for but two years, but
which was suppressed as an unnecessary expenditure
of the public money by the efforts of Mayor Quincy;
when I reflect, I say, upon these changes, I can but
feel encouraged to hope that another half century will
see every college in our country accessible to both
sexes alike. I say a half century, that I may be wholly
within the limit of probability; I wish I could reasonably say less, but I know too well the conservative
tendency of old-established literary institutions.  As
creeds are but dead beliefs, named, numbered, and
labeled, so it is too true of our great universities, that
they are the sacred depositaries of the ideas of former
generations instead of organized bodies of learned men
adapting themselves readily to the progress of the
race.  The result of this mingling of the sexes upon the
scholarship of our colleges cannot be prejudicial, and I
feel confident that it will have an opposite effect; while
8*
81 
82        LAYING TTIE CORNER-SONE OF
the influence of such a change upon the morals and
manners of the young men  must be highly advantageous.  In this great work of popularizing education,
in the truest sense of that word, I trust Swarthmore is
destined to take the lead.
I regret to learn that some Friends who have the
means to place this College at once upon a firm foundation are lukewarm and inactive in this movement. Do
they not see that the time has fully come when such
an institution among Friends is demanded by the advancing spirit of the age? Would they see the best
minds in the Society gradually alienated from it by
seeking outside of its limits that culture which-they
cannot obtain within its fold? Do they not know that
it is inevitable, if young Friends obtain their education
among others, that they should very frequently become
estranged from the principles and practices of the Society, and attach themselves to other religious organizations? Such has been the case in the past, to a
greater or less extent, and it must be increasingly so
in the future, as the demand increases for that culture
which Friends are not in a condition to give. How
many there are with growing families who would
gladly keep their children wholly under the influence
of Friends, but who wish to give them a more comprehensive education and a more liberal culture than can
at present be obtained in the Society!
A graduate of Harvard recently died in Boston at
an advanced age, leaving a large estate to be divided
among his childi'en. Among other bequests was one
of $5000 to his Alma Mater. This having been mentioned as an act of generosity worthy of imitation, a
writer in one of our dailies has recently shown very
clearly that it was scarcely more than simple honesty,
for it was but the partial payment of a debt which was
justly due to an institution which, at a trifling expense
to himself, gave him that for which money could be no
adequate return, and by four years of careful training,
laid the sure foundation for his future career of success
and usefulness in this commnunity. One of his sons, at 
SWARTHMORE COLLEGE.
least, has since acknowledged the justice of the claim
by adding $20,000 to the benefaction of his father.
Cannot those Friends who are blessed with an abundance of this world's goods be made to feel that, if they
value the Society of their fathers, and esteem it a privilege above all price that their lot has been cast where
they could enjoy the communion of kindred spirits in
that Society, it is a sacred duty which they owe to the
rising generation to see that ample and sure provision
is made for the continuance of this privilege unimpaired
to them during the period devoted to acquiring an education?
I need scarcely remind you, as you are laying the
corner-stone of the College building, that, noble as will
be the structure of stone and brick and mortar piled
upon it, it is not the building which the College occu pies that is to give it character, as compared with other
institutions of learning. If, as you lay the solid granite
of its corner-stone, you firmly resolve that you-its
founders-will never -rest satisfied, or feel that your
work is accomplished, while, in respect to the organiza tion, to the arrangement of the course of study, or to
aught that goes to make up the real and not the merely
maternal college, anything remains undone which un tiring energy and perseverance on your part can accom plish, then indeed will this significant act be no useless
form.
Let us hope that in the future Swarthmore College
will not be allowed to turn aside from the course marked
out for it, thus early, by its far-sighted and beneficent
originators, as an institution for general and liberal cul ture, and become a mere practical school, so called, for
the preparation for the special duties of life.  It must
not be allowed to make one-sided men and women, cul  tivating only such faculties as are already, perhaps, too
prominent, and need repression instead of cultivation;
but its course of studies should be so arranged as to
provide a broad and generous culture for all, whatever
their career in life may be destined to be. The most
zealous advocates for a "limited education" admit that
83 
84       LAYING THE CORNER-STONE OF
the preliminary course of instruction should be the same
for all Of course, the question arises, where this general preliminary education should end and special education commence? I trust that in this regard we do
not intend to imitate, in the new College, the example
of those who ignore whatever does not bear very directly
upon the practical duties of life. That special training
for a particular occupation or profession is essential, we
certainly all admit; but do not let us encourage the
strong bias of the present generation toward. materialistic views by admitting, either by word or deed, that
education is valuable only as it tends, directly or indirectly, toward the production of creature comforts,
the accumulation of wealth, or the promotion of our
individual or national outward prosperity.
Deeply impressed with these views, and resting my
belief in their ultimate realization upon the fact that
Friends aim to be a peculiarly spiritually-minded
people, I anticipate a bright future for Swarthmore,
confidently believing that some of us will live to see
the day when our new College will compare favorably
with the best in the land, nobly pursuing an independent
course, yet not disdaining to imitate the excellences of
all, while scrupulously avoiding their defects and errors.
Very truly, thy friend,
E. H. MAGILL.
After the reading of the letters, the follow
ing address was read by the President of the
College:
Address of Edward Parrish.
About five years and a half have passed since the inceptionr of the project which has taken form in Swarthmore College; about two, since we became possessed 
SWARTHMORE COLLEGE.
of this beautiful site: and now we meet to take the first
formal step toward the erection of the edifice which is
to embody our well-considered plans of building. We
begin the erection on this elevated plateau of a stone
structure 348 feet long, consisting of a center building
60 by 138 feet, and two return wings 44 by 92 feet,
connected by intermediate wings 44 by 100 feet. The
whole will be three stories high, and the center building will be surmounted by an observatory, from which
the eye will take in an extended panorama of Delaware
County, with its fertile farms, busy mills, and peaceful
villages, while the Counties of Gloucester and Camden,
in New Jersey, will skirt the horizon on the east, with
the broad Delaware and its shipping intervening.
With a view to make this building worthy of the
site and the noble object to which it is to be appropriated, it is designed to be complete in all its arrangements for the accommodation of the extensive family
of inmates and for the illustration of all the branches
of knowledge in which they are to be instructed.
The most substantial materials will be used in its
construction, the extensive corridors being of brick
work to the roof, which will be of slate, and the five
sections of the building being separated by solid fireproof divisions, the whole will constitute a remarkably
enduring monument to the far-seeing liberality of its
founders.
In accordance with a time-honored custom, we propose to deposit in this most eastern corner of the center
building a corner-stone, containing a receptacle, to be
tightly inclosed, in which we shall place fitting memorials of the times in which we live, to the end that
when, centuries hence, these massive walls shall be de
85 
86      LAYING THE CORNER-STONE OF
molished or rebuilt, the antiquarian who with eager
curiosity shall explore our work, shall find something
to add to that chain of facts by which men instinctively
love to trace the progress of the ages. Before these walls
shall have crumbled, every one of us, with our plans of
domestic enjoyment and of personal aggrandizement,
all our family and social interests and concernments,
will be forgotten. The absorbing political questions
which now so tax the mind of the nation will then have
been solved by the lapse of time. No one living can
predict, except with the eye of faith, that future which
shall become the present before the tokens which we
now deposit are removed.
It may teach us a lesson of humility to think that
even our sectarian theories and prejudices-the faiths
many and the forms many about which men contend
and with which they build up partitions in societyare transient, even when compared with the stones and
mortar which the stalwart mason cements into his
solid walls.
Many of the set phrases in which the theologian
would confine the universal truths of God will cease to
have their present conventional meaning,- some of
our most cherished words will become obsolete,-the
finest passages in our literature will sound quaint to
those who in some far distant time will exhume this
corner-stone, and with curious interest seek to lay
open its mysteries.
Let none accuse us of personal vanity in depositing
our photographs and autographs in this box; the comments they may elicit from those who next will look
upon them will be harmless to excite our vanity or to
wound our self-love; and in transmitting to posterity 
SWARTHMORE COLLEGE.
the lineaments of some who have shared in this work,
we do but gratify in our successors what we all recognize as a harmless curiosity in ourselves.
This occasion marks another step toward the organization of Swarthmore College, with a full corps of professors and teachers, and complete facilities for imparting sound and liberal learning, and it may be thought
appropriate that a concise statement should be given
of the educational views which have influenced its
originators.
Called by the unanimous choice of the Managers,
and without my own solicitation, to preside over its
organization, I bring to the work one leading qualification of which I am conscious: a thorough conviction
of the utility, not to say necessity, of the establishment
of our college, coupled with a high ideal of what such
an institution ought to be.
That the result will fall short of this ideal is of course
inevitable, but our ideal is not the less valuable that
we cannot expect in our time to realize its complete
attainment.
1. We aim to educate the sexes together, each wing
of our building will be separately allotted to one or
the other, the collecting-room,  dining-room,  library
and class-rooms are for their joint occupancy.  The
grounds will doubtless be in some degree divided and
appropriated for their separate use, while in many
sports they will participate together.
Impressed with the great loss resulting to society
from estranging young men and women from each
other during the years that are especially devoted to
moral and intellectual development, we mean to seek
after and follow the natural law of social and domestic
87 
88       LAYING THE CORNER-STONE OF
intercourse, and to strip their converse as far as possible of any glowing halo of romance, to clothe it with
an investment of friendship and good sense.
2. We shall propose a high grade of intellectual attainment for those who seek our diploma. The idea
incorporated into the first draft of our plan was that of
an institution in which an education could be obtained
equal to that furnished by the best colleges in the land.
While it is obvious that this standard can only be attained as the result of maturity in the institution, yet
this high aim is essential to be kept in view from the
very start.
An Academical department will necessarily precede
the opening of the college classes, and will probably be
a permanent feature of the institution. The standard
of admission to this will be advanced as opportunity
allows, and all the studies will be adapted to prepare
the students for the collegiate course.
Instruction in the art of teaching will be a desideratum, and in the future a model school will probably be
opened to facilitate this important practical branch.
3. The relative importance to be attached in our College to the three main departments of Mathematics, Language, and Science has already been somewhat discussed
among those interested in its establishment.
While these considerations can only be fully determined when the faculty shall be organized, it has
been generally understood among us that the study of
those branches of science pertaining to the physical
universe, which have been so rapidly advanced by
modern investigations, and are so wonderfully adapted
to develop the intellect and to increase our appreciation of the wisdom and goodness of the Creator, will 
SWARTHMORE COLLEGE.
here have a place not yet conceded to them in colleges
established before they had reached their present magnitude and importance.
Yet I trust none of us will be disposed to undervalue those abstract studies which are so remarkably
adapted to train the reasoning powers, nor language,
the study of which, as a means of mental discipline,
has been so long esteemed, and the importance of
which, as an aid to the appreciation and expression of
great truths, none will dispute.
It is a false idea of education which limits it to any
one class of studies or degrades it to a mere utilitarian
basis. Nothing is deserving the name which does not
enlarge man's nature and fit him for the enjoyment of
elevating thoughts and ideas out of the range of business. And yet there is no honorable pursuit in life
for which a man is not better fitted by that accumulation of knowledge, that power of classifying facts and
ideas and of deducing principles from them, which it
is the object of a liberal education to impart.
We claim a higher mission for Swarthmore College
than that of fitting men and women for business-it
should fit them for life, with all its possibilities. May
those who shall hereafter guide its destinies be inspired
with a love of learning for its own sake, and for the in estimable advantages it is capable of conferring, and
may they never cease to couple in their system of train ing the highest intellectual culture with the develop mnent of the moral and religious elements of character.
4. The leading motive of those who have originated
this movement has been what in the familiar phrase of
Friends is called a guarded education. It is our desire
to give its proper place to that feature of moral training
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-almost distinctive of the Society of Friends-which
rests upon a recognition of the intuitive sense of right
and wrong implanted by the Creator in every rational
soul. This, recognized in its full force, supersedes much
of the religious instruction which is considered essential in most of the Christian churches. With it, the
precepts of Christianity become vital and saving. Without it, they are liable to lead into formality,-into a
verbal and ceremonial faith.
It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of education in its connection with the moral attributes of
our nature —born on the confines of two boundless
worlds, a world of infinite joy and a world of immeasurable sorrow, obligations reaching through all eternity
attach themselves to the human soul from very infancy.
Great is the responsibility of the parent who essays
to guide the infant mind in its first efforts to exercise
that free agency which is the high prerogative of its
nature, and scarcely less, that of the teacher who is to
pilot the intellect as it sets sail into the vast ocean of
conflicting thoughts and opinions. Let both see to it
that through no fault of theirs a cloud shall obscure
"that light which lighteth every man that cometh into
the world." "For," says the wise man, "the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light, and the reproofs
of instruction are the way of life."
Let me remind our fellow-citizens not of the Society
of Friends, who from interest in the cause of education
or from nmotives of a personal or local character, have
given us their presence to-day, that although the Society has long been identified with certain testimonies
which have led many of its members into peculiarities
by which they are known in the community, it is in 
SWARTHMORE COLLEGE.
no offensive sense sectarian; nor are Friends propagandists.
The founders of the Society were among the foremost advocates of the most enlarged civil and religious
liberty, not for themselves only, but for all; and while
they have sometimes advocated their views with considerable zeal, they have not aimed to proselyte to
their own peculiar forms and organization.
Content to spread their principles among all religious
sects and civil communities, they have witnessed their
partial incorporation into the prevailing sentiment of
most Protestant communities, and their introduction
into the civil polity of almost every State in this vast
Union of Commonwealths.
Is it not cause of general congratulation that here in
Delaware County, within sight of the first landing-place
of William Penn in his Province, his successors in re ligious communion should erect a capacious and perma nent institution in which the principles and even the
forms to which he was conscientiously bound, and for
which he sacrificed so much of worldly preferment, will
obtain favorable consideration and encouragement?
An institution in which the glorious testimony to a
free gospel ministry, exercised equally by men and
women without the necessity of special education,
shall be held up before the youth whose characters are
forming under the influence of teachers of talent and
learning.  In which the inconsistency of war with pure
Christianity shall be made a matter of careful and con  scientious examination, to the end that the promised
day may be hastened when "nation shall not lift up a
sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any
more." In which truth and duty shall be set far above
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expediency, and obedience to law be taught as limited
only by the paramount obligations of conscience. In
which the Christian democracy of early Friends shall
be so far maintained as to abolish within its domain
all precedence founded on birth or riches, bringing all
under the equalizing and elevating influence of intelligence and culture.
As Pennsylvanians, we may well hold up to our
children the early history of this Commnonwealth as an
illustration of the predominance of moral over physical
force even in conducting the affairs of a State; and as
Friends, we may present to their view the example of
a long line of worthy ancestors who illustrated, by consistent lives, the power of pure morality and Christian
principle.
Our efforts to establish and maintain Swarthmore
College can only be successful by the blessing of Divine
Providence; and in proportion as those selected to conduct it seek and obtain this blessing, the College will
diffuse an influence for good, not to those alone who
may participate directly in its benefits, but to the whole
Society of Friends and the community at large.
Laying of the Corner-Stone.
At the close of this address, a metallic box
was produced, into which were introduced
the following articles:
Silver and copper coins, fractional currency, and postage stamps, of the current
year. 
SWARTHMORE COLLEGE.
Newspapers of Philadelphia and New
York, and of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Friends' Intelligencer and Friends'
Review, and The Children's Friend, West
Chester, Pennsylvania.
Relics of Swarthinore Hall and MeetingHouse, near Ulverstone, England, contributed
by Samuel Smedley.
"Address of Some Members of the Religious Society of Friends to their Fellow
Members - on Education,  issued in  1860;
"Education in the Society of Friends, Past,
Present, and Prospective, by Edward Parrish," 1865; Annual Reports and other papers issued by the Managers of Swarthmore
College.
Subscription papers of  1861  and 1866,
proof impression of the corporate seal, and a
certificate of stock.
Photographs of original and present plans
of the prospective buildings, photographs of
the Architects and of the Managers of the
College, and numerous other Friends, coun tersigned with their respective autographs;
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also a few additional mementoes contributed
by those present.
The box was then tightly soldered up and
deposited by the Chairman in the cornerstone, in which an excavation had been made
to receive it.
The corner-stone was then laid in its place
in a bed of mortar by George Diemer, the
contractor for the masonry of the building.
After the company had  resumed  their
seats, Dr. J. Thomas, of Philadelphia, was introduced, and addressed those assembled as
follows:
Remarks of Dr. Joseph Thomas.
In the very brief remarks which I propose to offer
on the present occasion, I wish it to be understood that
I am an "outsider," and consequently, though I feel a
deep interest in the object which has brought us together, the originators of this great enterprise are in
nowise responsible for anything that I may happen
to say.
I need scarcely observe that I am far from desiring
in any way to strengthen the barriers which divide the
various denominations of Christians, yet so long as
there are different sects, I rejoice that all are to be represented in the great cause of liberal education. 
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It is doubtless a good and glorious thing for our
country, that we have everywhere elementary schools
in which all, even the humblest, may acquire the rudiments of an English education; but what would society
be if we had nothing higher than these?
In my opinion, what we Americans have most to
fear, is a dead level of mediocrity in the education of
our people. In the economy of nature it is important
'that some portions of the earth's surface should be more
elevated than the rest; for a country wholly destitute
of mountains or hills can have in itself neither fertility
nor beauty-all the fertility of Egypt is derived through
the Nile from the mountains of central Africa-and I
believe the influence of a superior class of educated
men serves to give life and spirit, and efficiency to the
knowledge of the masses.
Many persons seem to suppose that a moderate edu cation, if joined with good common sense, is sufficient
for all the purposes of life. It may be all that is needed
for ordinary occasions, but not for the higher objects of
our existence.
It is undeniably true, that while education in the
United States is perhaps more generally diffused than
in any other part of the world, there are in proportion
to the whole number of our people fewer thoroughly
educated men than, I will not say in any other country
in Christendom, but certainly fewer than in any of the
more enlightened countries of Europe, including, I
might say, France and all the Protestant nations.
Hence it has sometimes happened that works profess edly of a learned or scientific character, but of the
merest pretension, have  met with great favor even
among the most intelligent of our people. A single
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example may suffice.  The principal doctrines of " Nott
and Gliddon's Types of Mankind" were a few years
ago accepted as undoubted truth by many of our most
intelligent citizens and scientific men, and indeed were
so accepted by the editor of Putnam's Magazine, one
of the most respectable critical journals published in
the United States; but I think no instance can be presented of a single scientific man or scientific journal of
any standing in Europe having been taken in by the
shallow learning and loose science of the work above
named.
I trust I shall not be understood as seeking to disparage my country, for I am very proud of her,-I
admit that she excels in many things; what I desire is
that she should excel in everything.
We ought, I think, to be especially on our guard,
that we be not deceived by the cry of utility which we
hear on every hand.  True, in its largest sense, the
useful may include all that is most desirable for the
human race, but it is too often limited to merely providing for our physical wants and necessities. In this
sense it excludes the love of the beautiful and the cultivation of all those sentiments which constitute the
chief glory of man. Such views if carried out would
paralyze or destroy all that is noblest and most beautiful in the human character; they would in fact reduce
the race of man to the condition of two-legged beavers
-animals ingenious, sagacious, industrious, but nothing
more. Happily the Creator has given us instincts that
render it impossible for any people to carry such a system of utilitarianism to its ultimate results, but it may
easily be carried much farther than would be consistent
with the highest interest or happiness of mankind. 
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Those who pursue science and truth for their own
sake, really do far more to promote the useful in the
best sense of the word than those whose sole object
begins and ends with utility. Does any one suppose
that Sir Isaac Newton was influenced by mere  considerations of utility when he made his immortal discovery of the laws which govern the universe?
I am one of those who believe that the importance
of education in its truest and highest sense has never
yet been overestimated.
We  should, my friends, I am convinced, commit a
great mistake were we to suppose that the influence of
such an institution as we are founding to-day will be
limited to those only or chiefly who shall be educated
within its halls. On the contrary, it will extend to the
whole community-to the entire country. The founding of such an institution is indeed a distinct and emphatic annunciation to the world of our belief in the
great importance of a high and liberal culture. It is
a declaration of eternal war against the realms of ignorance and darkness; it is a proclamation to all mankind that we for our part have faith in light and science
and truth, and do not fear to follow them whithersoever
they may lead us.
In concluding, I would say that, although an alum nus of next to the oldest college in the United States,
I do not on that account the less sincerely or less cor dially wish a God-speed to this young institution,
whose existence may be said to date from to-day. May
its success be complete; may its career be long and
glorious; may it prove to be a true and faithful foster mother to those committed to its care'; and may it be
instrumental in diffusing among its children and others
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the light, not only of true learning and science, but,
what is of far higher importance, of moral and religious
truth.
Treasurer's Statement.
William Canby Biddle, Treasurer of the
Corporation, followed upon the pecuniary
aspects of the enterprise, inviting a liberal
response to the call for additional funds
which would necessarily be made before the
work could be complete.
Besides the subscriptions previously made,
amounting to about $65,000, in sums varying
from $25 to $1000, a special subscription has
been started, during the past year, of sums
of $1000 and upwards, now reaching $35,000,
designed to reach an aggregate of $100,000.
If this can be accomplished, through the
liberality of those blessed with large means
and a general duplication made of the original subscriptions and new subscriptions obtained from all interested, according to their
means, a sum will be realized which will
enable the Managers to complete the buildings now commenced, and to furnish and 
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equip them with every facility for the objects
in view.
Although this occasion was not deemed
appropriate to enlarge upon this subject, it
was thought due to some now present at one
of our meetings for the first time, that a
statement should be made of the financial
condition and prospects of the concern.
The Close,
The importance of this occasion, as inaugurating a work of such magnitude, and the
feeling that it can only prosper through the
favor of Omnipotence, led the company assemnbled to appropriate a few moments to
solemn silence, during which, though no voice
was raised, many hearts were drawn into
earnest prayer that the Divine blessing may
rest upon Swarthmore College, not only during its incipient stages, but throughout all
the future that may be before it.
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