A history of the University of South Carolina online

medal was won by James Allen, Jr., in 1912. The societies
also have representatives at the State Oratorical contest and
in debating leagues, in which they have taken a foremost
position.

The centennial of the two societies was fittingly celebrated
on the 5th and 6th of February, 1906. On the evening of
the first day there were addresses, among them centennial
orations by J. J. Me Swain, 1897, for the Clariosophics and
Robert W. Shand, 1859, for the Euphradians, in the
Columbia theatre, after which the centennial ball was
danced. Representatives from the literary societies in the
other institutions of the State delivered greetings on the
evening of the second day. These were followed by a
banquet.

CLARIOSOPHIC SOCIETY.

The Clariosophic Society received its name, so it is said,
from "Clarius", god of eloquence, and "sophos", wise. As
there is no evidence for this god, and the Greek word, klarios,
"distributing by lot", suits the occasion, so that Clariosophic
means "wise distributing by lot", which accords with the
story of the division by the two Lowry brothers, this
derivation is to be preferred.

At the meeting of February 21, 1806, a badge was chosen,
a band of blue ribbon on the arm between the elbow and
the wrist. In 1808 the society adopted a seal: "Hope the
soother of the various distresses of life, represented as a
goddess with a bud just opening in her hand, promising
something blooming and pleasing after the gloom and chill-
ness of winter. The bud opening with the morn promises
to display its luxuriant beauty gradually as the sun rises
higher in the Heavens."

The diploma written in Latin was adopted in 1810 and is
still bestowed on graduates at the annual celebration of the
two societies. But according to a section of the constitution
as it appears in a copy made apparently in 1828, "a member
shall receive a diploma from this society, after having



270 HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY

finished his collegiate course, altho he may not receive his
degrees from the Faculty." It sometimes happened that a
student who had completed all his work refused to perform
on commencement day, for which the authorities did not
grant him the diploma ; or he might engage in some escapade
that would cause his expulsion between the time of the final
examination and the commencement.

A loose leaf inserted among the pages of the copy of the
constitution referred to in the preceding paragraph describes
the medal of the society as follows : "The form of a diamond
with M. 2. <. engraved in the middle encircled by a wreath ;
two hearts and the knot of Union above the circle; below
C. S. 1806, the year in which the society was established.
On the opposite side, the wreath, hearts, & knot the same
as the former enclosing ACO-/AO? 3>iAias: below S. C. C."
This medal it was necessary for every member to own, and
he could not get his society diploma unless he had paid for
the medal. The medal was worn as a key [before 1821].

In 1813 the Clariosophic Society began to maintain one
indigent member, who had to be at least seventeen years
old and able to enter the junior class. This was done as
far as possible out of the treasury, and where that failed
by subscription from the membership. The minutes show
that money was lent to members, sometimes in considerable
amounts. The sum of |200 was considered sufficient for
all collegiate expenses. A committee was appointed to make
the selection of the beneficiary.

The place of meeting of the society was changed in 1820
to a room over the chapel, and the meetings took place there-
after regularly after supper on Saturday. The new hall
was lighted by candles. Each member was assigned a seat,
which he retained.

A charter of incorporation was secured from the legisla-
ture in December, 1820.

After the death of Dr. Maxcy, who had been an honorary
member of this society, it was decided that the society should
erect a monument to his memory and should canvass for
contributions for the purpose. George McDuffie wrote the



OP SOUTH CAROLINA 271

inscription in English, which Professor Robert Henry
turned into Latin. Robert Mills, who was at that time
commissioner of public works for the State, and who was
one of the architects of the South Carolina College in its
infancy, designed the monument, which was of white Italian
marble. After much delay the monument was unveiled
Saturday, December 15, 1827.

In 1821 the society had a new stand made in the form of
a key, which according to the description recorded in the
minutes was the same as that now used.

The custom arose about 1829 of inviting some distin-
guished gentleman to address the society at its annual cele-
bration. A like custom was begun among the Euphradians.
Addresses were also delivered before both societies. These
addresses were often published at the expense of the societies
and can be found in the libraries of collectors. As late as
1871 Henry W. Hilliard delivered the annual address before
the two societies.

When Legare College was completed, the third story was
turned over to the Clariosophic Society as its permanent
home. The cost of furnishing it was borne by the society.
On the 10th of February, 1849, the new hall was dedicated.
Professor Robert Henry delivered the address of the
occasion.

The disturbing conditions of 1862 caused the cessation
of society duties in the early part of that year. On the
13th of January, 1866, the Clariosophic Society was revived
with a very small membership: the offices of vice-president,
secretary, treasurer, recorder and reader were united, only
nine votes being cast for candidates, of which five were
received by John Sloan, Jr. Mr. N. B. Barnwell was elected
first president.

When the white people withdrew from the University
after the admission of negroes in 1873, the Clariosophic
Society was continued under the new conditions. Its
records and library, it must be said, were well kept. The
closing of the institution in 1877 closed the society.

In the fall of 1882 the South Carolina College was again



272 HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY

organized, and the society resumed its existence. W. W.
Robinson was elected to the presidency by the few who made
up the membership. Since then the society has gathered
strength from year to year, although under changed times
the membership has not numbered fifty per cent, of that of
ante-bellum days in proportion to the whole student body.

In 1892 the society bestowed diplomas on those of her
members who had been prevented by the exigencies of the
War Between the States from graduating. Mr. David H.
Means eloquently portrayed the heroism of the men of the
college who had gone to the field of battle.

EUPHRADIAN SOCIETY.

The name Euphradian means "correctness of speech"
or "eloquence". As the early minutes of the society have
been lost, nothing is known of its selection.

William Harper of Newberry, the first matriculate of the
college, was the first president. Under the first constitution
the officers were: president, vice-president, secretary, treas-
urer, recorder and four critics; the other society had the
same officers, except that the critics were three.

The badge was a six-pointed golden star, with the year
1806, the Greek letters Phi Alpha Epsilon and the motto,
"Amicitiae Sacrum." The mystic stand which is said to
be still in possession of the society, was adopted in 1815.

Like its sister the Euphradian supported beneficiaries
in the ante-bellum days.

When the society gave up its meetings in the chapel and
moved in 1820 into a hall of its own, it occupied part of the
upper floor of the center of DeSaussure College. Twenty-
eight years later the upper floor of the newly erected Harper
College was given by the trustees to the Euphradian Society.
This was fitted up by the society and dedicated December
7, 1848. Dr. James H. Thornwell, Professor of Christian
Evidences, a distinguished alumnus of the society, delivered
a suitable address.

"The hall was then," remarks Judge Hudson of his first
entrance into the society, "newly furnished and equipped



OF SOUTH CAROLINA 273

and presented a beautiful, attractive, brilliant and imposing
appearance. The impression upon a boy from the back
country upon beholding the gaudy and dazzling spectacle
on being conducted into the hall was simply overwhelming."
Closed because of the war on February 25, 1862, the
Euphradian Society was reorganized January 13, 1866. A
page of the minute book was inscribed to the memory of the
Euphradians who had given up their lives for their State
with the Latin inscription :

IN MEMORIAM

Societatis Euphradianae

Sociis qui pro patria

Mortui.

Professor J. L. Reynolds had taken charge of the society's
hall and property during the years the college was turned
over to the Confederate authorities.

"Fearing the disruption of the college," writes Mr. J. Rion
McKissick, "the society in May, 1869, selected a committee
of seven members, three honorary and four regular, called
the Lambda Delta Epsilon committee, whose duty it was to
keep negroes from becoming members, to keep the constitu-
tion and other books safe and to sell the furniture of the
society, if necessary. It was 'vested with the full power of
the society/ This action was taken in view of the imminent
probability of the entrance of negroes into the college. The
constitution was given to Dr. Reynolds. Col. F. W. McMaster
was one of the honorary members of this committee." This
last named gentleman secured the constitution and records
and concealed them when it became evident that the negroes
would enter the University. He returned them on February
19, 1882, at which time the Euphradian Society resumed
its existence.

During the radical regime another society, the Ciceronian,
was organized to take the place of the Euphradian.

From its rebirth in 1882 to the present there has been
nothing of remarkable interest in the history of the society.

18 H. U.



274 HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY

"The brotherly spirit," says Dr. LaBorde of the two
societies, "in which they originated has never been forgotten,
and they present the high example of a noble and generous
rivalry. There can be no doubt that they have accomplished
a vast amount of good; and it has been an unmixed good.
They have stimulated the mental energies in a certain direc-
tion far more than is done in the Collegiate course of instruc-
tion; and that without interfering in any way with the
proper demands made upon the students by the Faculty.
It is, perhaps, not saying too much to add, that in our edu-
cational system they are the nursery of eloquence, and they
gave the first impulse to many of the distinguished men of
Carolina, who have added so much to her renown in the
halls of the State and National Legislatures."



OF SOUTH CAROLINA 275



CHAPTER XXL



THE LIBRARY.

The legislature of 1802 provided by enactment, "That
until the salaries of the Faculty of the said College shall
commence, the Comptroller be authorized and empowered
upon application of the said Trustees, to pay to them or
their order, towards purchasing a philosophical and mathe-
matical apparatus and library for the said College, the
annual sum appropriated by law for said College." Judge
William Johnson, General Pinckney, H. W. DeSaussure,
Judge Waties, and William Falconer, Esq., were appointed,
April 26, 1803, a committee to make the purchases. When
the college was opened in 1805, it was estimated that about
$3,000 had been spent on the library. Edward Hooker, who
visited the campus in November, 1805, records in his diary
that about 5,000 books had been bought, but that only 3,000
had arrived. He remarks further that while many of the
volumes had an elegant appearance it was thought that the
selection had not been judicious, an undue proportion of
modern works, many of them of the ephemeral class. "There
are large piles," to use his own words, "of periodical works,
such as the Gentleman's Magazine, European Magazine,
Annual Register, and others of no more solid worth than
these. Some handsome editions of the Greek and Latin
Classics and translations A few books written in the
Oriental languages."

The original plans of the college called for a room over
the chapel to be used as a library. Edward Hooker describes
it as "supported by four stately Tuscan columns, which rise
from the area of the chapel with considerable majesty, and
give to the room an appearance of grandeur." Dr. LaBorde
speaks of the library in 1814 as in DeSaussure College,
evidently an error. In 1816 it was removed to the new
building erected where Legare College now stands, the



276 HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY

lower floor of which served as a science hall, the upper
held the books. Most of the books were entirely out of reach
without laborious climbing. A committee of the board
reported, December 8, 1836, that in its opinion "the present
building used for the Library is unfit for that purpose
entirely out of repair, the sleepers and partitions in the
lower part of the house being entirely decayed and ready
to fall; the roof leaks and the floors are rotten. The com-
mittee recommend that a new building entirely separate
from the other buildings be erected for the use of the
Library." The attention bestowed on the library at this
time was due to the efforts of the president, Hon. Robert W.
Barnwell. Professors like Stephen D. Elliott and Francis
Lieber must also have had great influence in determining
the action of the board.

According to the minutes of the trustees for December
2, 1837, it seems that the South Carolina Society for the
Promotion of Education had offered |10,000 towards a
library building and on the faith of this offer the legislature
had granted f 15,000 to make up the amount regarded as
necessary for a suitable structure. The society failed to
keep its promise; but the trustees had gone ahead and pur-
chased bricks to the amount of |3,600 from Colonel J. G.
Brown at the same time they had bought for two new
dormitories. Permission was obtained from the legislature
to use the balance of the f 15,000 and other unused balances
from appropriations to be expended on a building "respecta-
ble in style of architecture and as secure as possible from
fire." The plans were prepared by the professors; a certain
Mr. Beck was the contractor. The president reported to
the board on the 6th of May, 1840, that the library building
had been completed. The cost was $23,491.50.

In his report to the Board of Trustees in 1836, President
Barnwell said: "I cannot permit this occasion of address-
ing the Board to pass without pressing upon their consid-
eration the wants of the College Library. So long a time
has elapsed since any important addition has been made
to the number of our books, and so rapid has been the



OF SOUTH CAROLINA 277

advance of modern literature, that those who have access
only to the information which our library furnishes, are
almost entirely excluded from the existing commonwealth
of learning, and are left in profound ignorance of the very
commonplaces of modern science. I trust that the subject
will receive from the Board the attention which its import-
ance merits." Shortly after this the Committee on Educa-
tion of the House of Representatives recommended the
following resolution, which was adopted:

"That the sum of two thousand dollars, together with the
surplus of the tuition fund, be annually appropriated for
the increase of the College Library."

After 1838 the legislature made an annual appropriation
for the library of $2,000, which with the tuition fund
amounted to nearly $4,000 spent each year for books. This
rate of expenditure continued over twenty years, until the
war closed the college. The library was one of the first
parts of the college to be affected by the disturbed condition
incident on the approach of the war. After the close of
the war no appropriations were made for the purchase of
new books until two thousand dollars was granted for this
purpose in 1872. After the college was reopened in 1880,
the first specific appropriation for books, the sum of f 1,000,
was made in 1889, which was given again in 1891. Very
little was spent on the library until President Woodward's
administration, when more interest was taken in this
important arm of the college. About f 500 was spent yearly
for books and magazines. At the present time the annual
appropriation for books, magazines and binding is f 1,200.
To this should be added the sum spent by the different
departments, about f 300 each year, for books to be kept in
the separate department libraries, notably, ancient and
modern languages, chemistry, geology and pedagogy. The
library of works relating to pedagogy has been carefully
prepared by the professors in charge and numbers some
1,200 volumes. The books in these libraries form a part of
the general library, i. e., they are accessioned and will be
all catalogued at the main library.



278 HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY

The Duke of Saxe- Weimar, who traveled through North
America during the years 1825 and 1826, said of the library
of the South Carolina College, which he visited, that it
"was not considerable, and did not contain anything remark-
able." However, during Dr. Cooper's time (1820-1834) the
library was gaining reputation throughout the South; but
it was only with the reorganization in 1835 that effort was
made to create a scholar's library. Edwards, Memoirs of
Libraries, 1859, Vol ii, p. 180, speaks of this library as
noticeable for the care with which the books have been
selected. "Professor Lieber," he adds, "has rendered great
assistance in the selection of books, and the collection is
said to be more valuable than many twice its size,"

It was said that the books purchased during President
Barnwell's administration by Reverend Stephen Elliott was
perhaps the most elegant assortment of books "ever brought
to the United States." The professors often purchased for
the library when they were in Europe. Books were obtained
also from private libraries offered for sale; the largest pur-
chase of this kind was from the library of a Mr. Binda of
Sumter District. Dr. Cooper's library was offered to the
trustees for purchase, but was not bought. Some of
Dr. Henry's books are on the shelves of the library. Dr.
Thornwell caused the purchase of most of the volumes
relating to theology, many of them rare and costly. Valu-
able additions continued to be made to the library during
the presidencies of Dr. Henry, Hon. W. C. Preston and
Dr. Thornwell. Henry Stevens of London was at one time
the English agent for the library. Wiley of New York and
Russell of Charleston were also agents at different times.

At various times donations have been received from the
General Assembly and from private individuals. Among
the first, if not the first, to give books to the library was
Governor John Drayton, whose message to the General
Assembly in 1801 is considered the germ of the College. In
1807 he presented his own publications and a number of
other works; among them was a manuscript Botany of
South Carolina. The General Assembly presented a copy




LIBRARY.




PRESIDENT'S HOUSE.



OF SOUTH CAROLINA 279

of the American Archives in 1841, and in the following year
made a present of the Acts and Resolutions of the General
Assembly from 1790. Since then the Acts and Resolutions
have been annually received. In 1865 the General Assembly
removed back to its library the Acts and Resolutions prior
to that year. In 1844 the same body gave the library a
set of Audubon's Birds of America, the cost of which was
$925.50. This is one of the copies of the original London
edition and is an object of special interest to visitors. In
the year 1846 General James H. Adams and Colonel
John Lawrence Manning made valuable gifts of books, the
former presenting a copy of Audubon and Bachman's "Vivi-
parous Quadrupeds of America," which cost f 350. Among
the more recent gifts is the large number of works on polit-
ical economy purchased by a fund provided in 1906 by Pro-
fessor Henry Farnam of Yale.

Three catalogues of the books in the library have been
published the first in 1807, the second in 1836, and the
third in 1849. Only two copies of the 1836 edition are known
to exist, of which one is to be found in the library of the
University, the other in the library of the University of
New York. This edition was so inexact and so badly con-
structed that the Faculty offered to compile another at
their own expense, to which the Board of Trustees agreed;
but though it was begun, it was never completed, as at this
time began the great additions to the library, and it was
thought best to wait. A fourth catalogue was completed
by the librarian, Rev. C. Bruce Walker, in 1867, which has
not been published. The recataloguing of the books accord-
ing to the modern card system is well advanced towards
completion. A comparison of the old published catalogue
with the present one shows that valuable books have in one
way or another been lost. When Sherman's army laid
Columbia in ashes on the 17th of February, 1865, ninety-
seven volumes were lost, according to the librarian's report,
burned in the houses of the borrowers.

During the period from 1861 to 1865 the building began
badly to need repairs; the roof leaked, causing no small



280 HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY

damage. When the Confederate authorities took possession
of the college buildings for a hospital, the library was
exempted. On the 25th of October, 1865, the General Assem-
bly met in the chapel (the gymnasium) of the South
Carolina College; but at the end of a week the senate was
removed to the library, which it continued to use for two
years.

The annual appropriation for the library is not large
enough to meet all the needs of the various departments;
but in spite of this by careful selection and good judgment
in buying an excellent working library of modern books has
been secured. Each department is represented by periodi-
cals both foreign and American. Complete sets of many of
the best magazines are on the shelves. The older portion of
the library contains rare and costly works notably in his-
tory and travel, classics and theology. The newspapers of
South Carolina and all other material relating to the State
receive special emphasis, so that the "South Caroliniana"
now forms an important collection for the study of the his-
tory of South Carolina.

The list of the Incunabula belonging to the library is a
very respectable one. "The first copy of RosellinFs great
work on the Antiquities of Egypt brought to the United
States was imported for this library." Here are also
Champollion's Monuments de FEgypte, 4 vols. fol. ; Descrip-
tion de FEgypte, published by order of His Majesty the
Emperor Napoleon the Great, 22 vols. ; Vyse and Perring's
Pyramids of Gizeh; and Horeau's Panorama de FEgypte.
Among the other collections pertaining to antiquities are
the 27 folio volumes of PiranesFs Opere, describing the ruins
of Rome; the Antichita di Ercolano in nine folios;
InghiramFs Monumenti Etruschi; Archseologia, or Miscel-
laneous Tracts published by the Society of Antiquaries of
London; and Lord Kingsborough's Antiquities of Mexico.
Silvestre's Universal Palaeography, 2 vols. folio (Eng.
Edit.), and Montfaucon's Palseographia Graeca deserve
mention. The BoydelFs Shakespeare and Illustrations in
eleven folio volumes is worthy of more than passing notice.



OF SOUTH CAROLINA 281

Of note also are the Transactions of the Linnaean Society
and the Histoire Naturelle, by Buffon and others, in 127
vols. ; the Iconographia della Fauna Italica, by Bonaparte
(cost flOO) ; and Oliver's Entomologie and Reeve's Concho-
logia Iconica, each of which cost $200. Two costly sets are
the Works of Muratori, $600, 67 vols., and the Works of
Chrysostom, $300, in 13 quartos. Migne's Patrologia are
here, a set of books now hard to find. Among the rare and
curious works on History and Travel, are Travels in the
Interior of North America (cost $150), by Maximilian,
Emperor of Mexico; Purchas, His Pilgrimes; De Bry's
America, Parts I.- VI. (cost $55) ; Richard Hakluyt's Collec-
tion of Voyages; S. D. Langtree's Collection of American
Pamphlets, 90 vols : ; Terneaux-Compans' Recueil des Pieces,
relating to America; Barcia's Ensayo Cronologica, Torque-
mada's Rituale y Monarquia Indiana, Herrera's Descripcion
de las Indias, the Inca's Historia del Peru, and numerous
other Spanish histories relating to early America.

The Library Hall is a peculiarly attractive building with