I'm actually unsure if I understand this sentence completely, but from what I am gleaning is quite surprising. "French is the language of general intercourse among nations." I didn't quite realize how many people spoke French for such a statement to be made, how popular it was (but that it was also "unsurpassed by any other language living or dead"). I would presume Latin to be of high importance, although dead, has many words derived from it. Latin was a foundation for meaning and language, but how does French compare? I do know that TJ was quite a popular diplomat when it came to the French, which is the only explanation I can come up with for such high admirations displayed here.

I find myself agreeing with this concept, and actually encouraging it. It reminds me of that phrase "Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed Him for a Day. Teach a Man To Fish, and You Feed Him for a Lifetime." This idea of "enabl[ing]" one to "calculate for himself" and to "preserve" and progress the information given to them, is important for a sustained education. Similar to the quote with the fish, the university aims it's education to give and keep giving for a life time. If they equip their students correctly, this will enable them to this with the right resources. (The repeated use of "him" is a bit off putting, but surely we have progressed since then with our inclusion of more communities).

It is by this sentence that I have noticed the continued use of male pronouns. I wish I was more surprised, but I'm not. Women were not accepted into the University until 1970, which is well over a hundred years after the school was founded. It was even later than when the University had started to "integrate" other races, which was a very slow process. It seems they only ever intended for men to attend, at least some things have changed since then.

When I first read this, I assumed by the sentence "centrality to the white population" meant that their intended audience and who they envisioned at the school were white students. Which I don't doubt is what they meant, but I also am thinking this could just be a weird way of them just saying the centrality of the "general" population. What they counted as a "whole person" was different in the past, and the complete disregard to the African American population was "normal." I still believe the wording is racially charged, but unfortunately that was the way it was.