President usually added some remarks in Latin. After these
exercises the President conferred the degrees. This, I think, may
be considered as the summary of the public performances on a
Commencement Day. I do not recollect any Forensic Disputation, or
a Poem or Oration spoken in English, whilst I was in
College."--_Peirce's Hist. Harv. Univ._, pp. 307, 308.

As far back as the year 1685, it was customary for the President
to deliver an address near the close of the exercises. Under this
date, in the MS. Diary of Judge Sewall, are these words: "Mr.
President after giving ye Degrees made an Oration in Praise of
Academical Studies and Degrees, Hebrew tongue." In 1688, at the
Commencement, according to the same gentleman, Mr. William
Hubbard, then acting as President under the appointment of Sir
Edmund Andros, "made an oration."

The disputations were always in Latin, and continued to be a part
of the exercises of Commencement until the year 1820. The orations
were in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and sometimes French; in 1818 a
Spanish oration was delivered at the Commencement for that year by
Mr. George Osborne. The first English oration was made by Mr.
Jedidiah Huntington, in the year 1763, and the first English poem
by Mr. John Davis, in 1781. The last Latin syllogisms were in
1792, on the subjects, "Materia cogitare non potest," and "Nil
nisi ignis naturâ est fluidum." The first year in which the
performers spoke without a prompter was 1837. There were no
Master's exercises for the first time in 1844. To prevent
improprieties, in the year 1760, "the duty of inspecting the
performances on the day," says Quincy, "and expunging all
exceptionable parts, was assigned to the President; on whom it was