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The first number of the Advocate, which appeared on Saturday, was unusually interesting. It showed a determination to awake, if possible, the sleeping energies of this college; to make Harvard represented in athletic contests, and no longer maintain a position which must indicate a lack of thoroughness and intensity in all the work here. If we fail in athletics we should fail also in our literary enterprise, unless they happen to reach beyond the pale of college opinion. Is not the law of compensation less powerful here than elsewhere? Cannot this be the reason why there is less performance? There is little here to make a man sacrifice his personal affairs and take up the cause of his college. He gains but little popularity if successful, but receives a due share of odium if he fails.

The Advocate says that our failure can in one instance be laid at our own door; in another at the faculty's but does not say what the mistakes are. We would say that the error of the students lies in the toleration of an unwise state of college opinion. What the Advocate thinks we do not know, but it seems likely that it must believe as we do in the matter, since the root of our misfortunes is admitted generally to be this same false and evil point of view. We look forward with interest to the next number of the Advocate.