LORD AVEBURY AND THE LIVING OF LIFE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2817, 11 March 1908, Page 79

LORD AVEBURY AND THE LIVING OF LIFE.

HE DISCUSSES THE IMPORTANT THINGS. Lord Avebury (Sir John Lubbock), as Lord Rector of St. Andrew's University, delivered a charming address on January 16 to the students, which the Glasgow Herald thus reports : — Lord Avebury said he had considered how best lie couM in some measure repay and justify the confidence they had placed in him. It must, indeed, he continued, be a wasted and ill-spent life which does not afford any experiences which may be useful to those entering the world, and enabling an~ old man to offer some suggestions to those embarking on the glorious career of life. The French have a melancholy saving, "Si jeunesse savait, si -vieillesEe pouvait," which we cannot put into good terse English, but which, of course, means, "If youth only knew, if age oaiy could." I claim no right to give advice, but you, gentlemen, have conferred on me the pleasantest privilege of making some suggestions for your consideration. — Despondent Poets. — As I look around this room it is, indeed, delightful to think of, the happy years ia store for you if you will only let them come. Many will tell you that life is misery. Poets especially are very despondent. "Vanity of vanities," saith . the preacher, "all is vanity." It may, no doubt, be said that Solomon lived a long while ago, but coming down to more recent times I might quote many as lugubrious deliverances. Lamartine, for instance, tells us that "The earth and sky, spirit and matter, all groan ; and the voi«e of Nature is one long sigh." If this is true, life is no boon. But is it so? Sarely what we hear in Nature is not a sigh, of despair, but rather a song of love and joy. I sincerely trust that 'you may all be happy. Why not? You begin life jyith great advantages. You ere receiving your education in the original and traditional home of Scottish learning. Moreover, there never was a time when St. Andrew's was more adequately equippd, bad a, mote distinguished list of teachers, and a dnrriculum more generous, wider, and less one-sided. — Fascination of Science. — < You have ppea to you the whole en- ; chanted palace of thought. The question, ! may I say in passing, is not, as is some- J times alleged, between a scientific and a classical education. No scientific man wishes to exclude classics. No degree should, in our opinion, be given without . demanding some classical knowledge. A man who is entirely ignorant of the classics, even if he be a profound mathe- ' matician, biologist, chemist, or geologist, is but a half-educated man. That we admit ; but we say the same even of the . profoundeat .classical scholar who knows , nothing of science. Science is of vital j (importance in our life ; it is more fascinating than a fairy tale, more brilliant than A novel, and anyone who neglects to Hollow the triumphant march of discovery ■ —so startling in its marvellous and un- j texpected surprises, 6O inspiring in its ( jnoral influence and its relevations of the beauties and wonders of the world in (Which we live, and the universe of which ißre form an infinitesimal, but, to ourselves ; jit any rate, an all-important part — is deliberately rejecting one of the greatest gifts with which we have been endowed |>y Providence. In life, sunshine and shadow succeed Ke another as quickly as in an April j. If we turn our backs on our bless- •

ings and magnify our troubles we make ourselves miserable ; if we look to the suns-bine and leave the shadows behind us we shall find that we have much to be thankful for, and in most cases that the pood things are real, 'while what seem evils are but blessings in disguise — are warnings, or trials, or difficulties, which make the value of victory. In further detailing his "map of life," Lord Avebury gave utterance to the following maxims : — When a young man earnestly wishes for the happiness of others, when he never 'parses a day without some act of kindness, how can he be ! otherwise than happy? A mistake, if it be an honourable mistake, need not neccs- ; sarily be a misfortune ; it may be a useful j lesson, one that can be turned to good j account. In experimental science so-called failures, if they do not lead directly to discovery, at lea^t destroy one form of error. The darkest shadows in life are those which a man makes when he stands in his own light. We cannot all be great or powerful, rich or clever, but we may all be happy and good ; we can all make our lives bright and beautiful if we choose. — Golf Maxima and Life.— I have often thought how closely the maxims of golf apply to real life : — Keep your eye on the ball. Keep straight. Keep in the course. Take time. Do not press. Not up, not in. Do not lose heart. \ Be temperate in all things, and keep your temper or you will lose your game. Tha ! danger of drink is due to its insidious- j ness. "In vino veritas." Wine at first I seems to promote truth, conversation, and \ good fellowship ; it relieves duln-css, and j in doing so has led millions to ruin, j Education, however, ought to banish dulness, which is one of t(be great dangers j of life. Happiness ajid prosperity do not necessarily or always go together. These who are "born in the purple" have indeed j many advantages, but they pay dearly for them. They have little to win arid much to lose, little to wish for, and much to fear. The most important things in the world are good air, good water, rood food, good health, and a good conscience. The millionaire can have no more o; these than, if so much as, an artisan. The worst things are pain, worry, and sin, and these money not only cannot take away, but may even bring. The spendthrift of i to-day is the pauper of to-morrow. Time is said to be money, but it is more, much more : it is life. — Greatness Can Be Chosen. — In the best sense everyone may be sgreat if he chooses. In fact, he is great unless he chooses to make himself small. He is great in his powers, great in his opportunities, in his privileges, in his blessings ; he is small if he gives way to his passions, to prejudices, to temptation. Those who make trouble are unhappy themselves, and a fountain of unhappiness to others, while those who take trouble are not only a source of happiness to others, but to themselves also. A little thing, a little help, at the right moment, a little good advice sometimes, a kind word still oftener may have a great effect. We live in an exciting, busy, beautiful, and delightful world, full of interest and j promise ; beyond and all around in the j far distance lies a vast, silent, and shadowy region, awful and mysterious, and to which we can imagine no limits, but as long as we keep the mind active, the heart pure, and the home bright and happy with confidence and love, the mystery of the universe will have no terrors, and the spirit of peace will dwell with us. I hope that this may be your lot in life, so that you may all have the satisfaction of repaying in some measure the debt we owe to St. Andrew's and to your teachers — that you may each of you add something to the science, the happi- j ness, and the civilisation of the world. ' i