Phillips Exeter Academy - PEAN Yearbook (Exeter, NH)

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40 ' l ' 5 f eases-fear-sazexzezzez zesx-K A'r 0 J A 'r Qs 0 o N I-llstorlcal Dedlcatlon HE history of The Phrllrps Exeter Academy rs closely connected with that of our country It was incorporated rn the year which saw the surrender of Comwallrs rt was organized when the statesmen of England and America were arranging peace, and rt was opened during the ratification of the treaty which freed the lrnrted qtates from the domrnatron of Great Brrtarn Our constitution 117811 antedates that of the United States 417875 and many of Exeter s graduates played important parts rn the early history of our country Both were founded on the same principles of freedom and toleratron The Founder John Phrllrps whose ancestors for three generations out of four had been ministers, was himself prepared for that office, but having a weak voice and possessing natural skill rn business he devoted himself to secular pursuits Yet relrgron was ever the kevnote of hrs lrfe, and thus rn 1781 he founded a school for boys rn Exeter to learn them the great busrness of lrvrng ' He made provision that the doors of the Academy ever be open to vouth of requisite quahficatlon from every quarter In 1783 the Academy was formally opened with an enrollment of fifty srx students under the guide of William Woodbridge, the first Preceptor In the first five years of the school the unwearred exertions of Woodbridge were baflied by hrs poor health Drscouraged and rn low health he desparred of ever making a great school In 1788, the year the people of the United States adopted their constitution, Fxeter found its great leader rn Benjamln Abbot who served the Academy well for half a century He was a scholar and a master of boys He taught with rnterest and enthusiasm and knew how to impart what he had learned Hrs education did not stop with hrs graduation from college but he Joined the procession and kept pace with the times Dr Abbot firmly believed the student should bear the laboring oar, and he never farled to put this belief into practice Perhaps the secret of hrs success as a teacher was due to the fact that he had the student prepare the lesson and the stu dent not the instructor had to answer the questions He won the esteem and respect of all by hrs genurne kindness and dignity He was always a gentleman, even to the youngest of his pupils msprrrng them with high mrndedness and courage to do right Under his leadershnp the school prospered The second Academy Building was erected and the hr ad master was vested wrth the trtle of Pnncrpal To Bemamrn Abbot must be attributed the character of the Academy as it rs known today On the lists of any American school there are no more illustrious names than for scholarship and the devotion of its graduates to church and state When Dr Abbot retired rn 1838 he was succeeded by Gideon I ane Souls who had alre ady been professor for sixteen years before he was advanced to the prrncrpalshrp As a ttacher he was neither original nor progressive, he merely accepted standards as he found them and held generations of school boys to their tasks At the opening of school each vear ht made a set spef ch meant to cover all forms of conduct without mentioning any special offences After urging the boys to remember at all times that they were Exeter gentlemen he would say 'l he Academy has no rules untrl they are broken But there rs one rule I wrsh to make whoever crosses the threshold of a brllrard saloon crosses the threshold of the Academy for the last time H was at his best rn the school room Hrs methods of government were Judrcrous calm and de crded Although a conservative himself he readily agreed to reforms suggested by others D Qoule was emrnently drstrngurshed as a drscrplrnarran Active but gentle, sympathetic and help ful, he was never underhanded, but always vigilant Always kind and approachable he yet never allowed any rnfrrngement of hrs dignity He had not any sympathv for the shrrker, but he was always a frrend of those who tried Hrs admrrustratron was uniformly prosperous Under his drrectlon Abbot Hall and the new Academy Building were erected, and the principal and the rn structors were made a regular faculty, with the usual powers of such a body Thus this first cen tury of the Academy history rs the story of two great men, and rn this period the school flourished and established itself as one of the best institutions of leamrng rn America The history of the Academy during the latter part of Principal Soule s life and for thirty years after his death, becomes the story of the lives and actrvrtres of two men, Professor Went- Sur qaszsuuuuu uzszauuuuuzaw' 1 ', . 0 0 Q 0 X Y . 3 . . . , , 3 ' , . . , . 1 3 I ' I u n I u . ll f U V I . . . , . . ,, . .I - - rr ' . . ,, . . . . . r I rl 1. ll fl , , ,. . . , , , . , . , , , 1 , sn , . v ' , , , . 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