Thiruvarur Muthuswamy Iyer

“ You will find soon, if you do not already know, that the time in which you live is the transitional period, or what I have already characterized as the anxious interval in the history of progress, How long it will continue, and which of you will come to the front, is more than I can say, but I may state that it is incumbent on you all at such a time to aid the diffusion of knowledge and the revival of literature which must precede the inauguration of lasting reform in every progressive society. ”

“ The light of knowledge imparted to you is not intended for your personal benefit merely, but for diffusion all around, and the Government to whom is committed the gigantic task of providing elementary instruction for millions of people expect to accomplish that object quite as much by creating a body of men such as you, who by virtue of superior intelligence and culture, will take the position of natural leaders of the people and afford material help in dispelling their ignorance and securing to them the light and guidance of knowledge, as by direct efforts towards that end. ”

“ It should always endeavour to guard and preserve the supremacy of law in the country, and realize the fact that the empire of law is the keystone of liberty, of intellectual and material wealth, and of whatever is dear and precious to man in this life- To those of you who may enter the Government service, I shall say a word. ”

“ The prizes you have to seek consist no longer in books, medals and scholarships, but consist in the gains and honors of literary and professional merit, in the pleasures of an enlightened home; in the rewards of a virtuous and an honorable career in life, and, above all, in the distinction and fame which await those who seek to raise the level of their country in intellectual and moral advancement. ”

“ All success in relation to national advancement will depend, in the present state of the country, not so much on desultory individual efforts, as on the steady co-operation of various mental energies. In the gown and hood which you have been authorized to wear, you should recognize a badge of common service in the cause of your country, and a bond of brotherhood between you and those who advance the interests of civilization, and you should forget all differences in caste or creed, in social position, rank or wealth. ”

“ Remember that you represent a profession which presents to the public view the triumphs which Art gains over Nature, and which often strike the imagination and excite admiration, and that your career in life should, therefore, some time or other, leave a mark on your country worthy of the profession to which you belong. ”

“ To avoid the danger it is necessary to examine anew the whole body of what has descended to you from the past, and to question and trace each element to its origin. The proper spirit in which such work should be undertaken, is, to borrow from a philosophic jurist, one of intellectual freedom, of independence of all authority, but this sense of freedom should not degenerate into arrogant dogmatism, but should be tempered by that feeling of humility which would result from an unbiased contemplation of your limited individual powers. ”

“ If you will only rise equal to the occasion, and add to culture persevering industry and a constant desire to learn and improve, I may say that you will find that there is nothing in this life which is beyond the reach of cultivated intelligence, well-directed industry and honest devotion to duty. ”

“ It is your good fortune that you live under a Government which offers several brilliant prizes to those of you who may prove themselves capable of sustaining great responsibilities and in the extended sphere of usefulness which is year after year being widened by our Gracious Sovereign, you may have to work side by side with men of English culture who combine in them whatever is great and good in English society, literature and philosophy. ”

“ It is to be regretted that from a desire to secure University honors at a comparatively early age, Hindu parents at times allow the energies of their children to be taxed beyond their strength, and you should, therefore, not only set a better example in this respect in after-life, but also take good care that your own growth into the prime of life is like the growth of a healthy plant into a tree which is rich in its blossoms and fruits. ”

“ Rely on yourselves for success in life. Let constant industry, honest devotion to duty, simplicity of character, and unflinching integrity of conduct and a modest estimate of your worth be your ladder to eminence. ”

“ You should never heed any appeal to your passion or frailty, and never allow your attention to stray from the legal points of a case either amidst violent declamation or pathetic appeals, and always see before you pronounce your decision that the responsibility rests not with you individually, but either with the Law-giver or with the science of jurisprudence. You should not Continue to learn Hindu Law, as is usually the case, solely from English translations. ”

“ The Court of Justice, says Manu, is a sacred temple, the Judges presiding over it are, though men, humble instruments in the hands of an unseen deity who influences their judgments in the interests of truth, and those who enter this holy edifice with unholy thoughts or desecrate it with unworthy actions, are traitors to their God and country. ”

“ In the great mass of general principles underlying the social system in this country, and many of which are the products of exigencies felt in archaic and other stirring times of which we can now have but an imperfect notion, there will assuredly be a mixture of error which may operate on men's minds with the traditional power of immemorial prescription, and may, from the very reverence due to their age, easily obtain dominion over you. ”

“ There is no other profession in which professional skill is so readily and generally appreciated and professional service so gratefully remembered. There is an impression in certain quarters of Hindu society that the medicinal properties of Indian plants are not either fully studied or utilized in the treatment of Hindu patients, and you will, perhaps, do well to refute this impression by a careful study of Indian Botany, and, if necessary, also of indigenous treatises in Sanscrit, on medicine, and I am sure that your labours in this direction, if any, will meet with substantial reward. ”

“ But as you examine the structure of Sanscrit as a language, its capacity for brevity and expansion, the facilities it affords for translating new notions into idioms suited to the country, and the classic modes in which it has been handled by such men as Yalmeeki, Kalidas and Bhava Buti and others, you will cease to ridicule the tradition which speaks of it as the language of the Gods. Again, social progress is, and must be, if I may so call it, a continuous development. The development in the past offers to you a rich inheritance, though it is also attended with peculiar dangers. ”

“ While there are some who regard the system as a failure, there are others again who admit its success and make that very success the reason for Government disconnecting themselves with it. If the system has taken such a firm root in the country, say they, and is throughly appreciated by the people, why then should not Government leave it to be supported by the spontaneous efforts of indigenous agencies, and confine their attention to providing elementary instruction for the masses. ”

“ You should compare yourselves not with such of your countrymen as have not had the advantages which you have, but with men of culture in progressive societies. Whilst you thus endeavour to improve and enrich your mind by observation and study, you should also remember that the capacity for sustained mental energy varies with the attention which you pay to your physique, and that bodily health and strength, add in no small measure to the usefulness of a vigorous and well-furnished mind. ”

“ The art you have to practise is one of the noblest ; its object is the protection of human interest in all the relations of life, and the methods by which rules of decision are deduced must satisfy at once the requirements of legal science and of substantial justice. ”

“ Several of you will doubtless enter the profession of teachers, and as such, will be directly engaged in carrying on that noble work ; but whatever may be the walk of life you may find yourselves in, there will be no lack of means and opportunities for ameliorating, so far as intelligence and knowledge can do, the condition of the lower classes of people, coming within your influence. ”

“ In identifying yourselves with your clients for purposes of advocacy, you should never lose sight of the fact, even in the heat of debate and amidst the prospect of defeat, that you belong to an honourable profession, and that you should never say or do aught that is inconsistent with its dignity. ”

“ Those of you who may rise to the Bench should recollect that the power you may be called upon to exercise in the name of your Sovereign is, according to another of your ancestors, a power divine. You should never be hasty or impulsive, and thereby shut out even the faintest ray of light from forensic discussion. ”

“ Without it the education of the women of this country cannot be sufficiently liberal, for, from one cause or another girls are withdrawn from schools a little too soon. All of you should endeavour to secure the benefit of home- teaching to such young women as may come under your protection and guardianship, and I have no doubt that the prejudice against it will wear away in the same manner in which it was worn away in relation to girls receiving any education at all. ”

“ Unless you learn to subordinate what is personal to what is due to the public, and to sacrifice individual idiosyncrasies to the requirements of your country, you will never succeed in materially aiding progress. ”

“ That the State should help those who cannot help themselves, and that those who help themselves should do so, are propositions, the truth of which cannot be denied ; and you will fail in your duty to your- selves and your countrymen if you do not steadily keep them in view and do not prepare gradually to find ways and means for giving a permanency to the system of higher education in this country, and to rest it eventually on the basis of national endowments. ”

“ Eemember through life your teachers to whom you owe so much. Let your thought and action be always guided by a profound feeling of loyalty to our gracious Sovereign and to the British nation to whom you owe a debt of gratitude, which you can never adequately repay. ”

“ Some of you should also publish treatises on the relations of life and on their aims and scope as recognized at different periods, carefully noting the successive changes due to new social necessities, and thus compile an authentic history of the past as supplied by legal literature. Before the bar becomes a power in India, you will have to divide yourselves into two classes of labourers, and bring into existence two schools of thought, the historic and the critical school. ”

“ Take care, whether you are rich or poor, whether you are fortunate or otherwise, that you are always gentlemen, and remember for the sake of your own happiness both in prosperity and adversity that it is mind that makes " a Heaven of hell and a hell of Heaven." ”

“ During that anxious interval of time which must exist between the commencement of progress, and the introduction of practical reforms, it is no small gain for men whose views are liberal and who are anxious to do something for their country, to be sustained and encouraged by enlightened home-influences. After the close of your college career, you should travel at least through India and acquire some practical knowledge of the country in which you live and of the various peoples that inhabit it. ”