A League of Learning 299
municating it I may possess it all the more clear and full.
The influence that a good character sheds—that beauty
which is radiated outwards constantly from the conduct and
character of a gentleman—is not lost in being imparted. It
does not exhaust us to give away any of our spiritual pos-
sessions. On the contrary, at every stage, and with every
step we take in the spiritual world, to give is to get; to die
is to live. To give ourselves to a great cause is to make that
great cause beat like a pulse in our veins—the life of our life.
The application of all this to the universities is obvious.
Entering into this spiritual league, you throw open your
treasures to us in America, and we throw open our treas-
ures of learning to you in Britain, and we enrich ourselves
to the measure of our generosity. All virtues and all truths,
all spiritual phenomena, have this character. They enrich
and they unite men at the same time. And the more we
know and dwell on these truths, the more fully we shall
work together. I entertain a strong faith in the value and
power of learning, especially of learning in this domain of
the humanities. And I believe the world would gain if the
devotees of learning more consciously leagued themselves
together, and more deliberately exercised their influence on
the practical affairs of the nation. For one thing, the uni-
versities should take upon themselves frankly the responsi-
bility for the better education of the nation. The medical
profession in Great Britain, united in one body, holds itself
responsible for public health, thinks out the problems, insists
on getting means to solve these problems, and dictates to the
community. Its authority in sanitary matters is not opposed
or questioned. But education has to go on its knees to local
councils for means of mental health. “Will you please add
a penny to the rates, so that we may save your children’s
minds from the distortion and maladies of ignorance?”
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