IF we look into the Story of the most renown'd States and Kingdoms, that have subsisted in the different Ages of the World, we will find that they were indebted for their Rise, Grandeur, and Happiness, to the early Provision made by their first Founders, for the public Institution of Youth.

The great Sages and Legislators of Antiquity, were so sensible of this, that they always made it their prime Care to plant Seminaries, and regulate the Method of Education; and many of them even deign'd, in Per­son, to be the immediate Superintendants of the Man­ners of Youth, whom they justly reckoned the rising Hopes of their Country.

Numa, is the only great Lawgiver, we read of, w [...] was faulty in this Respect; and to this capital Erro of his, in the Foundation of the Roman State, has been ascribed, that turbulent and seditious Spirit of the People, which all their future Worthies cou'd never thoro'ly tame; and which, in the End, occasioned the Downfal of that mighty Empire.—Of this Opinion was Plutarch, who, comparing him with Lycurgus, [Page 2] says, that no sooner was the Breath out of Numa's Body, than the whole Aim of his Life and Govern­ment was revers'd; the Temple of Janus was thrown open, and Italy became one Scene of Havoc and De­solation; so that the finest and justest Constitution in the World could not subsist, even the smallest Moment, because it wanted that Cement in it, which should have kept all firm together; namely, good Rules for the Education of Youth. However this be, certain it is, that those Societies, whose first Lawgivers included Education in the Idea of Government, and thought it the Basis and very Soul of their Work, to contrive good Laws or Plans for this Purpose, always grew up quickest, and flourished longest in a State of Liberty and glorious Independency.

Hence I have often wondered, that this Province should have been near a whole Century, in the Hands of a civilized and enlightned People; and yet, not one public Seminary of Learning planted in it; where the Taste and Manners of our Youth may be formed; where they may be taught ( quid Verum atque Decus) the Knowledge and Practice of Virtue; and where, without being beholden to our Neighbours, the first and strongest Advances may be made, towards the rendering them honest, virtuous, and social Creatures. We are the more inexcusable, because, in this Infancy of our Province, we are not condemned to grope our Way in the Dark, as those Heathens were, but have the Experience of all Mankind for our Guide, and the Advantage of seeing by what Steps others have toil'd, slowly to the Summit of GLORY and EMPIRE; and therefore cannot be ignorant, that Foundations of this Kind are of the last Consequence, to the Being and Well being of SOCIETY.

Surely we are not inferior to our Neighbours in good Sense, and the Refinements of civil Life, and superior to many of them in Situation, Trade and Riches; yet [Page 3] so it is, that they have long got the Start of us in several laudable and public spirited Undertakings, par­ticularly, in this the most interesting of all.

What must an unconcern'd Spectator think; (I speak it with Deference, and Nothing but a sincere Zeal for our Honor, cou'd induce me to make the Reflection) I say, what must the impartial World think, to see one City among us arriv'd to such a Pitch of Luxury and Riches, as often to have entertain'd a Set of dull, sorry, strolling COMEDIANS, at the Expence of near a Thousand Pounds yearly, and yet the whole Province have never thought themselves in a Capacity to set apart One-half of that yearly Sum, for the Entertain­ment of three or four Men of Learning and Virtue, to initiate our Youth in the Sciences; and, as Horace happily expresses it, to teach them such Things as come home to Life, and which it is culpable and shameful not to know; namely, what renders them fittest for the Purposes of Society; what is the great End of their Being; wherein consists their chief Good and Happi­ness; and what Actions are most worthy of human Nature:

As such Thoughts as these have often occurr'd to me, it gives me Pleasure to understand that the Founding a College in this Province, begins now to be seriously consider'd; and as this great Work seems chiefly re­tarded, by the Difficulty of agreeing on a proper Place for fixing it, I beg leave to submit my impartial Thoughts on this Head, to the Consideration of the Public.—

As to the Situation then, I can't help being surpris'd to hear it disputed; some retir'd Corner, either within, or close by the City of New-York, being certainly the only proper Place in this Province for erecting a College.

[Page 4] There is (and I think can be) but the following Ob­jection against this Situation, viz. That here the Morals of the Scholars, will not be so safe as in the Country; and that there will be too many Amusements to divert them from their Studies.

Now near One-half of the Scholars, which, at first, will be young Gentlemen of the City of New York itself, are no Way affected by this Objection; since, if there is any Force in it, it wou'd be equally an Argument against their learning Grammar, or spending any Part of their Youth in their native City. I shall then turn my Thoughts wholly to the other Half, which will be young Gentlemen from the Country; and if I can shew their Parents, that New-York is no more affected by this Objection than any other Place they can fix on, I can easily superadd such Arguments as will induce them to prefer this Situation to all others.

They admit, that the Conversation of polish'd Citizens, would be of great Advantage to their Sons; but, say they, in such a large Place, there never fails to be worthless rakish Persons, to debauch unwary Youth, and lead them into what (to oblige delicate Ears) is call'd the polite Vices: And therefore, ‘ If Knowledge of the World must taint Men's Morals, — may our Sons ever live in Ignorance!—’

Before I proceed to answer this Objection, I might observe that it is wholly grounded on false Suppositions: For it is not true, that Youth wou'd never learn Vice without seeing it, especially the Vices here meant, which arise from the irregular Exercise of our best and strongest natural Passions, I mean the Social: No more is it true that they will always learn Vice by seeing it; on the Contrary, as Plato imagined the Vision of Virtue (if pure Virtue could be seen) would render all Men virtu­ous; so, perhaps the Vision of Vice, in all its odious Colors, is the strongest Preservative against Vice. However, I don't say, with some, that it would be [Page 5] prudent to lead Youth into unnecessary Temptation, and shew them Evil in order to make them Good; nor do I deny, that to preserve the Morals found, ought to be the chief Aim of Education; but

And in a State where Evil, being permitted, is con­stantly blended with Good, we cannot shew them the One without the Other, if we would ever have them behold an original Character, or aught that is real in Life; so that were the Force of this Objection once admitted, it will conclude equally against collegiate Education at New-York and all Places; and Nothing will be left for those who adhere to it, but to shut their Sons up in Cloisters to be entertain'd apart from So­ciety, with the Dreams of Visionaries, and the imagi­nary Virtues of Utopian Characters: There they must sleep away their whole Lives, without daring to act, lest they act, wrong, or look into the World, lest they see Evil, which is the same as if one should die of the Fear of Death▪—Nay, by this Rule, they must never know themselves, or look into their own Hearts, be­cause there they would see a Medley of Good and Evil, or the WORLD in Miniature; and I believe no one would give the Name of Virtue to the mechanical, or rather negative Goodness of such passive Creatures, as may well be said never to have existed or awak'd into Life, since they deny themselves all Opportunity of Choice, or of exerting the Freedom of their Nature, which is their Dignity, and the noblest Gift of GOD; and refuse to act in Society, because Plato's Republic and More's Utopia have no real Existence.

But as I know the Gentlemen, who make this Ob­jection, intend their Sons for Society; and only make it from a very laudable Concern for their Morals; I shall not push its Consequences farther, but return to the main Point, and endeavour to convince them that [Page 6] New-York is, perhaps, the safest Place in this Respect.

First then, Nothing is easier than to prevent the Scholars from associating with any idle Persons, that do not belong to their College, by proper Regulations, and laying the Plan of it, so as they may all lodge with­in its Walls: It is seldom they shew any Inclination to this; and every One knows that, in the largest Cities, the Danger complain'd of never arises from this, but from Clubs or Associations among the Scholars them­selves, which are always more extravagant in a pitiful Village, than in a large and well governed City.

As upon the Truth of this seeming Parodox, depends the whole Dispute; I beg Leave to appeal to incon­testable Facts and Experience, which is the best Way of clearing up a Truth of this Nature.

I ask any One that knows England, whether the Scholars are not far more extravagant and debauched at the Academies in the small Towns there, than at the public Universities of Oxford or Cambridge?—And, indeed the Reason is obvious: Nature is the same, in the same Persons, every where;—at Oxford, &c. the Scholars are under the Eye of the public Magistrate, and a great many Gentlemen whose Characters they re­vere; so that if they are not less vicious, they are at least more prudent in managing all their Intrigues, so as to give no public Offence, and in keeping within the Bounds of Decorum and good Manners in all their Clubs and Frolics: But, at the Village-Academies, the Scholars, with equal Propensities to Vice, are not under equal Restraints; they only see a few illiterate Artificers, whom they soon learn to look upon as tasteless unpolish'd Clowns, and whose Censure they wholly disregard: And thus being uncontrol'd, either by Shame or the Authority of the civil Power, they sometimes run into the wildest Riots, in the Face of Day, and in Defiance of the whole Village, of which they are so far Masters that none dare resist, or prefer [Page 7] a Complaint against them. Add to this, that, in such sorry Places, they contract a Desire for mean Company, and a Taste for low Vices, which easily distinguishes them from People of a genteel Education, all their Lives.

To say the Temptations are fewer in a Village than in a City, however spacious, is saying no more to the Purpose, than that a Man (if the Comparison may be allow'd) should rather quench his Thirst in a Brook than a River, when there is more than enough in either; for wherever there are Purchasers, there will be found Venders or Disposers.—

To say that in the distant Village, there will be no Fellow-Rakes to lead them into Vice, is also saying Nothing: For if we could suppose the Country Youth, when first admitted to the College, so entirely unpol­luted, and of a Make so frigid and passionless, as never to think of Vice without being driven into it; (which, as I observ'd above, is a very groundless Supposition;) yet there will be the other Half of the Scholars from New-York, to be their Masters in this, whom the Country Gentlemen cannot suppose so untainted as their own Sons, without destroying the Force of their own Ob­jection; and whom surely they would not exclude from the public Benefit.

But above all, if we should allow that a Village is the best Situation of a College, (which few will allow) yet I deny that any Place, where a College is fixt, can continue long in the Nature of a Village, but must soon grow into a considerable Town; and thus with­out any of the Advantages of New-York, the fixing our College elsewhere, would, in a few Years, be attended with all the Inconveniences we meant to shun; besides struggling with innumerable Difficulties at first, and risquing the Success of the whole Scheme.

There is still less Force in the other Part of the Ob­jection, that the Scholars will not apply so closely to [Page 8] their Studies at New-York, as in a more retir'd Place. Is it not Emulation, or a Sense of Shame and Honor, that can alone render Youth industrious, especially such as are become capable of Reflection? And will not this Emulation always exert itself in Proportion to the Notions they entertain of those in whose Sight they act? Will it not be stronger in the City of New-York, where the polished and learned Part of the Province are their Judges, and frequently visit them, than in any other Place, where the People know nothing of the Matter? For this Reason it was, that some Nations not only fixed their Colleges or public Schools in their chief Cities, but even made choice of Porticos or open Halls for this Purpose, in the most frequented Places of those Cities; that thus, in an Affair of such general Concern, every Person might be an Eye-Witness, both of the Fidelity of the Master and Industry of the Scholar: And that this Method begot the most ardent Emu­lation, Reason as well as Experience may inform us. However, it is not absolutely necessary, that we should imitate them too closely in this: Perhaps, for several obvious Reasons, some well air'd Place quite without the City, might be our most prudent Choice;—but if there was no other Reason, I should think this one strong enough, for fixing the College at least contiguous to New-York: For, if ever we expect to see it flourishing, there must be a few Gentlemen of the best Character, both for Learning and Probity, chosen as Visitors and even Directors at first, Now, tho' there may be Gen­tlemen very well qualified for this in the Country, yet there would be no Possibility of finding a Quorum of them near one another; and if they were chosen from different Counties, they could never meet so often, or so conveniently, as to answer the Design: And there­fore the Majority at least of these Visitors, must be chosen from New-York, who likewise can be of little Service unless the College is near them.

[Page 9] In short, in whatever Light I consider this Matter, I am still the more of Opinion, that unless we chuse this Situation, the Scheme will never succeed.—Where can we find sufficient Accommodations for Diet, &c. but in New-York? Are there not many Gentlemen who would send their Sons to a College in New-York, who wou'd not send them to a Village, where they must be provided with Diet, &c. perhaps, in the House of some poor Artificer? And are not such Circumstances likely to ruin the Undertaking, since the Success of all Schemes depends much on the Notions first entertain'd of them.

But further, the Knowledge of Languages, Philoso­phy and Mathematicks, is but a small Part of the Edu­cation of such as are design'd to be useful in Society: Those ought to know Men and the World. For this Reason, our European Countrymen, tho' educated in the most refin'd Cities, travel into foreign Countries; but as our Youth can have no Opportunity of travel­ling, we should make up that Loss to them as well as we can, by sending them a few Years to the politest Part of our Province. Now such is the State of our Affairs, that the Generality of them must be Farmers of their own Estates, and therefore, can allot but a small Part of their Time to the Purposes of Education, which ought to be well husbanded, by fixing the Col­lege in a Place where, at one and the same Time, they can learn the Belles Lettres, Breeding, and some Know­ledge of Men and Things: And thus, that Frugality and Industry, so necessary in the Infancy of States, pleads strongly for fixing the College at New-York, since the Circumstances of our Country Youth, will not admit of their spending any Part of their Time (after their Collegiate Education is finish'd) in visiting polite Cities, in order to shake off that aukward Bluntness, which they must contract, if immur'd at Schools and Colleges apart from the Sight of Men, for the first Twenty Years of their Life: And if they could afford the Ex­pence [Page 10] and Time necessary to this, then indeed would they run a hundred Times more Danger of Corruption, when living at large, as their own Masters, than when under the Tuition of others:—Besides, such as have not acquir'd the Air of the Gentleman when young, find it too late when grown up.

I know there are some who talk very lightly of this, and think it no necessary Part of Education:—But of a very different Opinion was the noble Author of the Characteristicks; than whom, none ever scan'd human Nature with a more piercing or more candid Eye. In his Advice to an Author he speaks thus; ‘It seems improbable, that according to modern Erudition, and as Science is now distributed, our ingenious Youths should obtain the full Advantage of a just and liberal Education, by uniting the Scholar Part, with that of the real Gentleman and a Man of Breeding:—Letters are banish'd, I know not where, into distant Cloisters and unpractis'd Cells, confin'd to the mean Fellow­ship of bearded Boys.—The sprightly Arts and Scien­ces are sever'd from Philosophy, which consequently must grow dronish, insipid, pedantic, useless, and directly opposite to the real Knowledge and Practice of the World and Mankind. Our Youth accordingly seem to have their Chance between two widely different Roads; either that of Pedantry and School-Learning, which lies amidst the Dregs of ancient Literature; or that of the fashionable illiterate World, which aims merely at the Character of the fine Gentleman:’ But why not find the middle Road, and unite the Scholar with the Gentleman? ‘Why might not a Homer, a Xenophon, a Tully, &c. be study'd as well in a CA­PITAL City and amid the World, as in a Country Town?’—Thus far this great Writer: And if he thought it a Defect in our famous English Universities, that there were no Schools in them for the polite and manly Exercises, as in ancient Greece;—if he thought [Page 11] the Fellowship of bearded Boys, as he calls them, even in the polish'd Cities of Oxford and Cambridge, unlikely to form a Man for Society, without a farther Com­merce with the World: What would he have thought had one told him; that in half a Century after his Death, a Society of his Countrymen, in a remote Pro­vince of the World, would be so little concerned to give their Youth the few Advantages of this Kind, which are in their Power (by fixing their first Seminary in their most polish'd City) as to propose banishing them and Learning together, into, I know not what, lonely Corner of a half settled Country?—Who that knows the Method of Education practis'd among the Romans, and how careful they were to accustom their Youth betimes to stand the Sight of Men, unabash'd, by making them as early as the Age of Sixteen, (often sooner) declaim publicly; "not on fanciful Theses, but Cases that might really be brought into their Courts of Judicature;" I say, who that knows this, could help being surpris'd it should ever enter into our Thoughts, to send our Youth into the Depths of Woods, to perform their Collegiate Exercises, in the unambitious Presence of inanimate Trees?—What a sorry Figure is a young Man like to make thus educated, in a four Retreat from the World, when he obtains the Honor of a Seat in our Assembly, or is nominated a Judge in any of our Counties? How thoroughly ignorant must he be of the Heart of Man, and how incapable to trace Villainy thro' its various Mazes, in order to reach Truth? Of what avail will his Learning be, but to render him so much the more a narrow-soul'd and con­ceited Pedant? And what his boasted Innocence, but to make him so much the more an ignorant Dupe.—

I am far from thinking it necessary, that our Youth should be Masters of all the insipid Punctilios of French Politesse, nor is there any Danger of this in our Country; but there is an artificial Manner of softning our natural [Page 12] Roughness, which distinguishes the Man from the Savage; and a certain Easiness of Behaviour, which is the Characteristic of the Gentleman;—this I could wish to see every one Master of, who acts in any higher Sphere, it being the peculiar Ornament of a public Station. Now I hope no one will think it any Re­flection to say, this so necessary Air of the Gentleman, is not to be acquir'd in any Part of this Country but our capital City. Whoever knows the general Cha­racter of an English Squire, that has been buried all his Days in the Country without the Benefit of a public Education, will own the Truth of this. It is well indeed, if we have one City that is arrived at this ne­cessary Pitch of Politeness; and, if She is, I hope never to see her go farther.—

It may be objected by some, that Education will be more expensive at New-York, than in the Country: But this Objection, like all the Others, arise wholly from our not considering how Things must be some Years hence.—Even at present, I don't see that Provisions are much cheaper in the Country than in New-York; and I'm sure, were there a College fix'd at any of our Villages, where there is no regular Market, there would be such a Difficulty of Ending Provisions at first, and the Country People would know so well how to take the Advantage of this, that every Thing would for some Time be dearer than at New-York; and it is seldom that the Prices of Things, when once raised in a Place, are suffered to fall again, especially where the Number of People would probably be increas'd yearly.

But the main Expence is apprehended from the Ar­ticle of Fuel for Fire: To this I answer, that Firewood in a few Years, must be cheaper at New-York than in any Inland Place; for, fix our College where we will, the Woods near it must soon fail, and then, it must be much more expensive to be supplied by Land than Water Carriages. Besides, 'tis the Opinion of [Page 13] many, that in less perhaps than a half a Century, Coal will be the cheapest Fuel that can be used in most Pla­ces of this Province; and in that Case▪ I need not add that a College at New-York, can more easily be supplied with that Commodity, than in any other Place of this Country.

As to incident Expences, it ought to be reckon'd a happy Circumstance, when a young Man has the Taste and Spirit to be ambitious of spending what Pocket-Money is allow'd him, in the best Company he can find; and it entirely depends on the Parents themselves how great this Expence shall be: For Youth, at Colleges any where, always find the Way to the Bottom of their Purses, and they can go no farther at New-York:—Besides, I hope I have said enough above, to convince any impartial Parent, that it is absolutely necessary, their Sons should pass some Part of their younger Years at New-York; and therefore, that the fixing our College there, will be so far from being more expensive, that some Years of Time and a very considerable Sum of Money must thereby be saved to Them.

Upon the Whole then, I flatter myself, the impar­tial Part of the Country Gentlemen, are fully persuaded, by this Time, that to place the College at New-York, must be much to their Advantage, tho' it be pretty indif­ferent to the People of that City.—I have made it as probable as the NATURE of the Thing will admit, that the Morals of their Sons will, at least, be as safe there, as at a public College any where else:—That they will be far more alert, industrious and emulous of Improvement:—That in any other Situation, the Meaness of Company, &c. must make them contract a Lowness of Taste; and instead of this noble Emulation, beget a lifeless Stupi­dity and Languor, which must hurt the Character of our College at first, and, probably, soon prove its Ruin:—That as there is as yet but one Place in this Province, where the Breeding of the Gentleman can [Page 14] be acquir'd, and our Youth can spare no Part of their Time for this Purpose but when at College; we ought, for the Sake of saving Time and Money, to fix our College in this ONE Place, otherwise we deny them all Chance of uniting the Gentleman with the Scholar, or ever arriving at that Politeness which is the Bond of [...]ocial Life,—the Ornament of human Nature.

I can see no Way of eluding the Force of these Argu­ments, but by saying, that the Politeness, which I have all along been contending for, is to be acquir'd by conversing with inanimate Nature, or is altogether unnecessary; and this would discover such a Barbarity of Taste and Sentiment, that I am far from expecting to hear that any One, who assumes the Name of a Gentleman, will henceforth shew himself a Stickler for the rural Situation; and I am bound in Charity to be­lieve, those who formerly have been such, have suffered themselves to be hurried away by the popular Objection concerning the Corruption of Morals, without examin­ing the Dispute in all its Consequences.

Indeed, were the Objection admitted in its full Force, the Evil would be overbalanc'd by numberless Advan­tages. At New-York, our Youth will, at least, obtain as much Knowledge of the World, as will, in ordinary Occurrences, enable them to understand their own and Country's Interest, without any Danger of being mis­led or duped by designing Men: And if they should run into some more of the Extravagancies of Youth here than elsewhere, (which I flatly deny,) yet wou'd it have no bad Effect upon them, when they return to the Scenes of still Life, and a laborious Industry in the Country:—

All I shall add, is to beg my Countrymen, to consider well the Whole of what I here submit to them, before [Page 15] they pronounce upon any Part of it. I have no Aim, but to see my Country polish'd, florishing and happy, which depends not a little upon this very Matter in Question. It is very possible I may be wrong in some of my Opinions; but, if I did not firmly believe them right, I should not have dared to publish them in an Affair of so general Importance: And therefore, where I am wrong, I hope to be forgiven with the same Candor, with which unask'd, I have endeavour'd to set this Matter in its true Light.—

The Question is indeed quite new to me, which per­haps, has made me handle it in a different Manner from what otherwise I should have done.—It is true, it has been disputed, whether mere Boys should learn Gram­mar at private Schools, or public Ones in large Cities: Quintilian, the best of Judges, prefers a public School from the very first; so doth a fine Writer in the Spec­tator, (N ^o. 313, 337. &c.)—The great Mr. Locke is indeed of the other Opinion, but then he speaks warmly of the Advantages of public Education, and tells us the Method he proposes, is only calculated for GENTLEMEN's Sons of large Fortunes, when they are very young, and may be considered as white Paper, besides he makes Travelling an express Condition:—I say this has been disputed; but whether a College for finishing the Education of such as are grown up to be Men, should be in a polish'd City, was never perhaps disputed before; especially when design'd, for such as can have no other Opportunity to know any Thing of polite Life. I am sure, we have no Instance of any European Nations, that did not plant their first Semi­naries in their best Cities; and if any of them had been so romantic, as to chuse a desert Corner for this Purpose, it wou'd soon, as I said before, have fall'n into all the In­conveniences of a populous Place, tho' perhaps in many Centuries it would not have had the Advantages of a polite ONE.—

[Page 16] After all, if I might presume to advise, I can't help saying we begin at the wrong End, if we apply the Money already rais'd, to the immediate Rearing of a Building. I submit it to the better Judgment of those concerned, whether it were not the better Method, to apply the Interest of the £ 3443: 18 s. forthwith, as Salaries for two sufficient Men, each to teach two Classes at first; viz. the One GREEK and LATIN, with the most useful Branches of the MATHEMATICS; and the Other moral PHILOSOPHY, and what is comprehended under the general Name of PHYSICS. Two such Men, no Doubt, may be found in this or some of the neigh­bouring Provinces; and the Interest of said Principal, together with what may be paid by the Scholars, will make tolerable Encouragment for them, even after deducting as much as Rent Apartments to teach in, if the Town cannot furnish them gratis.—Thus wou'd our Youth immediately have most of the Advantages of Collegiate Education, till the Wisdom of the Legi­slature, shall find Ways and Means of raising a com­petent Sum, for erecting and endowing a College, providing for a greater Number of Teachers, and 'till some future Circumstances, shall fix their Choice of a fit Situation, if these Arguments shall not have that Effect. And would not this be better, to see our Youth in the mean Time reaping the Benefit, while our Edifice rises by Degrees, and with the Conveniency of the Country, than to expend the Money already rais'd in rearing a Building, which, when finish'd, must stand several Years perhaps, as a Monument of our Poverty, or something worse, before we are able to raise a Fund for endowing it and providing for Tea­chers, which is the main Point:—In this Case it would at least be a dozen Years e're our Youth can be ad­vantag'd by it, tho' the Country were much more in the Humor of contributing to this laudable Work than they seem to be;—and therefore

[Page 17] I submit it to the Wisdom of the ASSEMBLY, whether they ought not immediately to order a Bill to be brought in, for applying the Interest of the £. 3443. 18s. as above propos'd:—And moreover, in order to do the Whole at once, whether it where not absolutely necessary, if possible, to agree at the same Time, upon the Site and Plan of the Building, that so by a Clause in the same Bill, the Gentlemen already empower'd to put out the present Principal at Interest, and receive private Donations, (with any others that shall be judg'd proper) may be farther empower'd, and by an annual Lottery, not exceeding a certain moderate Sum, to carry on a Building 'till it is finish'd, according to said PLAN; and to receive, and let out at Interest, all pri­vate Donations, which ought to be kept untouch'd, for endowing the College when the Work is compleated: Thus, as I observ'd above, we should see our Youth, in the Interim, improving in polite Literature: our Edifice rising gradually by an easy Lottery: and by the Time it can be finished, the Generosity of many pious Donors, will, no Doubt, supply us with a very consi­derable Sum for Endowment.—If this Method is fol­low'd, I dare assert, we shall in a few Years see a Work accomplished, which will be a lasting Honor to our Memory, and Benefit to our Country; and that too with much greater Ease, than by any Method our Neighbours have hit upon, or perhaps we ourselves would otherwise ever think of.—

Having, in the first Part, been too prolix, I could only hint at these Things; but a Hint can be easily im­prov'd by the Judgment of those to whom I chiefly ad­dress. I must also supersede what I intended to say of the OEconomy and Regulations that might be observed: I shall only add that Oxford, Leyden, &c. are too com­plex and large to be any Model for us; the neighbour­ing Colleges of New-England, Pennsylvania, &c. may be kept chiefly in our Eye; but tho' the People of these [Page 18] Provinces have the Honor to set us an Example in this truly noble WORK, we have the Advantage of seeing where they have been deficient, and of being sensible that Something might be contriv'd more com­modious than any of their Schemes: But it will be soon enough to speak of this, if the Assembly shall think the Proposals here laid down worthy their Attention; and then, tho' I'm far from pretending to direct, I shall always be ready to offer any further Hint that occurs to me, as every honest Man ought frankly to do on such an Occasion.—

Mean Time, permit me, with a sincere and well-meant Zeal, to intreat my Countrymen, particularly those at the Helm of Affairs, to think seriously of the vast Importance of the great Undertaking, and to proceed, without losing one Moment more, to bring it, some-how, to a speedy Issue.—Let us think how much the so doing is incumbent on us, and how much it will redound to our GLORY:—Let the distant Pros­pect distend every Heart with Patriot-Views, and fire every Bosom with active Zeal, 'till no Contention re­main, but who shall bear the first and greatest Part in such a glorious WORK!—Happy he! whose Pen can be any Way instrumental in raising such a noble Spirit among us!—Those who have the same Idea of its Consequences, with me, will never cease to contri­bute their Mite for this good Purpose, however fruit­less their Labours may be: And those who reflect on the surprising Turns and Instability of human Affairs, cannot but ardently wish to see an early Foundation laid for propagating among us a Spirit of INDUSTRY, LIBERTY, LEARNING and TRUTH; with a thoro' Contempt of Sloth, Slavery, Ignorance and religious IMPOSTURE; since 'tis this, next to the auspicious Protection of HEAVEN, and our Mother Country; which can alone make our Government live out its full Period of political Life.—And as we can never be [Page 19] too much, or too oft, arrous'd to think of this; I beg still to be indulg'd in summing up all I have said, with a few Reflections more on this Head; which, for various Reasons, I have thrown into the following,