n, of whatever rank, who could be more acceptable to the
society, and none whose appointment as the reward of excellent deportment,
diligence, and right-mindedness, would do more good among the young men.'

A letter written about this time to his father shows that the young
student, with a sagacity beyond his years, discerned the germs of an evil
which has since grown to a great height, and now lies at the root of some
of the most troublesome questions connected with University Education.

In my own mind I confess I am much of opinion, that college is put off
in general till too late;[4] and the gaining of _honours_
therefore, becomes too severe to be useful to men who are to enter
into professions. It was certainly originally intended that the
degrees which require only a knowledge of the classics should be taken
at an earlier age, in order to admit of a residence after they were
taken, during which the student might devote himself to science or
composition, and those habits of reflection by which the mind might be
formed, and a practical advantage drawn from the stores of knowledge
already acquired. By putting them off to so late an age, the
consequence has been, that it has been necessary proportionably to
increase the difficulty of their attainment, and to mix up in college
examinations (which were supposed to depend upon study alone) essays
in many cases of a nature that demands the most prolonged and deep
reflection. The effect of this is evident. Those who, from
circumstances, have neither opportunity nor leisure thus to reflect,
must, in order to secure their success, acquire that kind of
superficial information which may enable them to draw sufficiently
plausible conclusions, upon very slight grounds; and [of] many who
have this _form_ of knowledge, most will eventually be proved (if
this system is carried to an excess) to have but little of the
_substance_ of it.

He had meant to read for double honours, but illness, brought on by over-
work, obliged him to confine himself to classics. All who know Oxford are
aware, that the term 'Classics,' as there used, embraces not only Greek
and Latin scholarship, but also Ancient History and Philosophy. In these
latter studies the natural taste and previous education of James Bruce led
him to take a special interest, and he threw himself into the work in no
niggard spirit.[5] At the