The  school  has  its  distinctive  type.  As  it  grows  from  youth  to
maturity,  it  will  follow  the  idea  and  the  law  of  its  own  life.  Its  gen-
ius is  indicated  in  the  close  union  of  culture  and  of  religion.  Open
to  all,  impartial  in  its  dealings  with  all,  and  offering  to  all  a  gener-
ous course  of  study,  the  University  is  yet  a  child,  and  so  a  representa-
tive of  the  Baptist  faith.  "We  ought  not  to  disguise  from  ourselves,
or  from  the  public,  that  we  have  fixed  religious  opinions,  and  that
these  opinions  are  in  full  accord  with  the  denomination  to  which  we
belong.  They  are  not  voiced  in  the  lecture-room ;  but,  as  cpnvic-
tions,  they  will  find  utterance  in  the  privacy  of  domestic  life,  in  the
freedom  of  social  intercourse,  and  often  on  occasions  incident  to  a
public  position.  In  these  ways  the  religious  faith  of  a  faculty  tells
for  that  branch  of  the  Christian  church  which  it  represents.  But,
besides  all  this,  and  better  than  all  this,  there  is  the  unconscious  in-
fluence of  a  body  of  men  who,  however  they  may  differ  on  other
points,  are  one  and  the  same  in  their  churchly  relations.  Their  char-
acters are  a  standing  witness  to  the  truth.  Their  united  profession
constitutes  a  moral  force,  silent,  continuous,  and  potential.  All  this
is  secured  when  the  unity  of  the  denominational  life  of  an  Institution
is  unbroken.     Such  is  the  case  with  your  Alma  Mater.
