Acta

Approval of Graces submitted to the Regent House on 12 June 2024

Of the Graces submitted to the Regent House on 12 June 2024 (Reporter, 6745, 2023–24, p. 696), a ballot has been called on Grace 2 on which an amendment has also been received (see p. 706); Graces 1, 3 and 4 were approved at 4 p.m. on Friday, 21 June 2024.

Congregation of the Regent House on 19 June 2024: Honorary Degrees

A Congregation of the Regent House was held at 2.45 p.m., at which the Chancellor was present. Before the Congregation, processions formed and walked around Senate-House Yard before entering the House by the East Door. The train of the Chancellor’s robe was carried by Mr Noah Chamberlain, of Queens’ College. Music was performed by the Cambridge University Brass Ensemble, by Ms Hebe Kan, of Trinity College, and by the choirs of Queens’ College and of Selwyn College. The programme of music was arranged by the University Organist, Ms Sarah MacDonald, of Selwyn College, and the choirs were directed by Ms MacDonald and by Mr Nicholas Morris, Director of Music of Queens’ College.

The following titular degrees were conferred:

Doctor of Medical Science (honoris causa):

Carol Black, g.b.e., m.a., f.med.sci.,
Honorary Fellow and former Principal of Newnham College, Honorary Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College, Fellow and sometime President of the Royal College of Physicians, formerly National Director for Health and Work and Independent Reviewer of Policy on Drugs for HM Government, rheumatologist and adviser on public health policy

Doctor of Medical Science (honoris causa):

Stephen Stahl,
sometime Visiting Fellow of Clare Hall and Honorary Visiting Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry, Clinical Professor of Health Sciences, University of California Riverside, psychiatrist and psychopharmacologist

Doctor of Science (honoris causa):

Adele Diamond, f.r.s.c.,
Tier 1 Canada Research Chair and Professor of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, University of British Columbia, neuroscientist and developmental psychologist

Doctor of Science (honoris causa):

Carol Robinson, d.b.e., ph.d., f.r.s., f.med.sci.,
Honorary Fellow of Churchill College and sometime Royal Society Professor of Chemical Biology, sometime President of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Dr Lee’s Professor of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry and Director of the Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, University of Oxford, chemist

Doctor of Science (honoris causa):

Kip Thorne,
Richard P. Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics Emeritus, California Institute of Technology, Nobel Laureate, theoretical physicist

Doctor of Letters (honoris causa):

Michael Ignatieff, p.c., c.m., m.a.,
sometime Fellow of King’s College, Professor of History and Rector Emeritus, Central European University, historian, writer and politician

Doctor of Music (honoris causa):

Murray Perahia, k.b.e., f.r.c.m., (hon.) r.a.m.,
Honorary Fellow of Jesus College, Principal Guest Conductor, the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, pianist and conductor

The Orator made the following speeches when presenting the Honorands to the Chancellor:

QVAE agmen ducit ab oppidulo quodam Coritanorum oriunda et infimo loco nata ‘nullam sustinebam exspectationem,’ inquit, ‘nisi illic in taberna laborandi aut apud sutorem desudandi: attamen obstinato animo maiora mihi sperabam.’ causam patrem fuisse. quem eximia uocis suauitate praeditum, quia Musas colendi locus denegatus esset, ad pantopolium exercendum remissum uitam umbratilem amissam iniquo tulisse animo. itaque magistro ludi hortante apud Bristoliensis ad rerum gestarum studium se adhibuit. sed Hippocratem potius quam Clio assectari mox cupiebat. deficiente tamen re familiari et recusantibus aerario Ratano praefectis, serius tandem et eo acrius in artem medendi incubuit.


accidit ut illis diebus puellam curaret cutis aliorumque corporis membrorum conspissatione quadam et quasi callositate uexatam, quam cum sanare nequiret, ad illum morbum adhuc ignotum intellegendum se deuouit. quid plura? pallio Hippocratico pileoque doctoris assumpto, mox inter omnis qui in talium rerum causis uestigandis elaborant ita excellit ut nemo elegantiore scientia eminuisse uideatur. sunt quidem qui tantum dignitatis adepti satis superque se habere iudicent; hospes tamen haec nostra, quae semper ad altiora spectat, consociorum suffragiis designata medicorum collegio praefuit. iam uero eadem diligentia, eadem humanitate qua aegrotis assidere solebat, iis quos penes est respublica de rebus maximi momenti consulentibus usu docta sapienter respondet. neque id mirum, magistri, quod tot et tantis impedimentis superatis, alias iam feminas ut in summis honoribus persequendis periclitari uelint strenue cohortatur.

dignissime domine, domine Cancellarie, et tota academia, praesento uobis egregiam hanc mulierem, excellentissimi ordinis Imperi Britannici magnae crucis dominam, magistram in artibus, Regii Collegi Medicorum sodalem et quondam praesidem, Academiae Scientiarum Medicarum sodalem, Collegio Newnhamensi quondam praefectam et eodem Collegio necnon Collegio Luciae Cauendish honoris causa sociam adscriptam, consiliorum publicorum de operariorum ualetudine et de uenenis narcoticis consultam auctorem,

CAROL BLACK,

ut honoris causa habeat titulum gradus Doctoris in Scientiis Medicinis.

OUR first guest was born in a village in Leicestershire to a working-class family. ‘I was meant to stay living in my home town and work in a shoe factory,’ she says, ‘or a shop, but I had a stubborn belief that more was possible.’ She attributes this sense of aspiration to her father. Blessed with a fine singing voice he had won a place to study at the Royal Academy of Music, but he had been unable to take it up, and staying at home to run the local Co-Op had become resentful about the life denied him. And so, with the encouragement of her headmaster, our honorand went to Bristol to read history, but she soon realised that she was a devotee not of Clio but of Hippocrates. Leicestershire Education Authority would not fund a second degree, however, and her family could not afford it, and thus it was somewhat late that she came to the study of medicine—and she was eager to make up for lost time.

During her training she happened to come across a young girl suffering from a poorly understood ailment called scleroderma, which causes the skin and other tissues to thicken and become hard. When the patient could not be helped, our outraged honorand vowed that she would one day understand this terrible disease, and, to cut a long story short, she became one of the world’s leading experts in its causes and treatment. For many people this would be a satisfactory pinnacle of achievement, but our honorand always had her sights on higher things. She was elected to preside over the Royal College of Physicians, and she went on to advise governments on matters of the greatest importance—always with the same care and humanity which she showed in her medical practice, and always guided by evidence. Nor is it any wonder that having had to surmount so many and so great obstacles in her own career, she has been tireless in mentoring women to dare to pursue the highest positions in theirs.

Distinguished Chancellor, members of the University, I present to you

CAROL BLACK, g.b.e., m.a., f.med.sci.,

Honorary Fellow and former Principal of Newnham College
Honorary Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College
Fellow and sometime President of the Royal College of Physicians
formerly National Director for Health and Work and Independent Reviewer of Policy on Drugs for H.M. Government
rheumatologist and adviser on public health policy,

that she may receive the title of the degree of Doctor of Medical Science, honoris causa.

ΜΕΓΑ δὲ μέρος τῆς τέχνης τὸ δύνασθαι κατασκοπέεσθαι περὶ τῶν γεγραμμένων ὀρθῶς· ὁ γὰρ γνοὺς καὶ χρεόμενος τούτοισιν οὐκ ἄν μοι δοκέοι μεγάλα σφάλλεσθαι.1 ita ille praeclarus non medendi tantum uerum etiam scribendi magister, qui totam artem medicam, quae antea longa superstitione imbuta ne omnino obligata dicam erat, ad rationem reuocatam litteris idcirco mandauit ut posteri praeceptis certis ducti quae remedia cuique corporis uitio essent adhibenda cognoscerent. quod si de infirmitate non corporis sed animi disputatur, haud scio an Cous ille reuerendissimus auctor Ohiensi cuidam homini sit cessurus. initio in neruorum potius quam mentis peruestigationem incubuit, quippe quod studium a nonnullis adhuc ambiguo quodam colore fucatum esse haberetur. sed cursu apud Stanfordianos deflecto sine mora et in elaboratorio summa gloria florebat et in primo medicorum ordine numeratus est. magnum quoque nomen adeptus est in aliis instruendis. cum omnia Principia Psychopharmacologica in unum collecta eleganter illustrauit, tum longa serie librorum tanto uigore quanta eruditione repleta doctrinam multos per an-nos comparatam minoribus tradidit. sed forsitan poeta melius dicatur, qui (ut hoc exemplum afferam) moleculam quandam ait in alterius cellulae extrema parte contineri dum interuallum transgressa in alterius fines coniciatur tamquam telo tormentum instruatur. nec litteris contentus sublimis figuris uerba ornat et omnia quae protulit haec aetas commoda ad profundas res explicandas applicat. ecce iam


παντίμου στεφάνῳ δάφνης Στέφανος στεφανοῦται,

Φοίβου ἀπὸ ῥίζης ἀθανάτου γεγαώς,

πλεῖστα τρόπαια νόσων στήσας ὅπλοις Ὑγιείης,

δόξαν ἑλὼν πολλῶν οὐ τύχῃ ἄλλα τέχνῃ.2

dignissime domine, domine Cancellarie, et tota academia, praesento uobis egregium hunc uirum, Aulae de Clare et Scholae Psychiatrices hospitis iure socium quondam adscriptum, in Vniuersitate Californiensi Potamopolitana scientiarum medicarum professorem, humani animi necnon disciplinae medicamentorum inquisitorem acerrimum,

STEPHEN STAHL

ut honoris causa habeat titulum gradus Doctoris in Scientiis Medicinis.

‘A LARGE part of the art of medicine is being able correctly to examine its writings, for one who knows what has been written and makes use of it would not be likely to go astray.’ These are the words of Hippocrates, that great physician and author, who not only established the scientific basis of medicine, which had previously been tainted and even shackled by superstition, but also wrote it down, so that future generations of doctors, guided by sure precepts, might know which treatment to apply to which disease. Now if we consider infirmities not of the body but of the mind, I have no doubt that the master of Cos would cede his place to a certain son of Ohio. At first he devoted himself to neurology rather than psychiatry, which was then still widely regarded with a certain suspicion, but at Stanford he changed his course, and soon excelled in both the research laboratory and in the consulting room. In the lecture hall, too, he has won renown: first he collected and clearly explained the principles of Essential Psychopharmacology, and then in a vast corpus of books celebrated for their clarity as well as their rigour he has passed on the knowledge garnered throughout his long career. Perhaps he should be called a poet, who (to use one example) has described the way ‘a neurotransmitter is packaged in the presynaptic nerve terminal like ammunition in a loaded gun, and then fired at the post-synaptic nerve to target its receptors.’ Nor is he content to paint with words alone, for his textbooks are lavishly illustrated. He has even written an app—for he embraces all the advantages that modern technology can offer the teacher. Behold our honorand, crowned with Apollo’s holy laurel, sprung from the immortal stock of Phoebus. Armed with the weapons of Health he has gained many victories over Disease, and great is the glory he has won, not by luck but by science.

Distinguished Chancellor, members of the University, I present to you

STEPHEN STAHL,

sometime Visiting Fellow of Clare Hall and Honorary Visiting Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry
Clinical Professor of Health Sciences, University of California Riverside
psychiatrist and psychopharmacologist,

that he may receive the title of the degree of Doctor of Medical Science, honoris causa.

IN OMNIBVS qui ubique sunt pueri—nihil enim patria, nihil gens ad rem pertinet—eaedem naturae et ingeni mutationes quaeque suo tempore et uno ordine seruato insequuntur, ex quo efficitur ut non solum ab usu et doctrina repetenda sit causa—nam haud potest fieri quin alius aliis rebus usus sit—sed principium in nobis insit naturale et insitum quo dirigente puerili menti uis et acumen augescat. quam rem ad detegendam incubuit haec mulier, neque inanem laborem suscepit sed disciplinam nouam earum rationum quibus adolescit facultas cognoscendi non fundaduit modo uerum etiam exstruxit. de summis ingeni uiribus percontatur quae alia mentis officia ita gubernant atque moderantur ut uitiorum illecebris repugnemus neque in diuersa studia animum temere distrahi patiamur, ut iam a certiore ratione profecti argumenta petamus atque refutemus, iam liberatam mentem ad astra uolare sinamus, ut denique omnibus naturae et ingeni muneribus prospere utemur. quantum ex sanguine atque hereditate pendeant hae uires docet, quantum e condicione cerebri humorum, quo pacto aliis artificiis et tuis, Terpsichore, sororisque Euterpes artibus acuantur aut angore, inopia, ceterisque obstantibus impedimentis retardentur. qui tandem eius opera contemplatur non potest facere quin admiretur quo et quam late doctrina peruagetur: ea enim est quae quicquid ad crescentis infantis mentem pertineat quaerendi materiam sibi proposuisse uideatur.


dignissime domine, domine Cancellarie, et tota academia, praesento uobis egregiam hanc mulierem, Regiae Societatis Canadensis sodalem, neruorum et res cognoscendi facultatis disciplinae in Vniuersitate Columbiae Britannicae professorem, cerebri et humani animi conformationis primi ordinis indagatricem,

ADELE DIAMOND,

ut honoris causa habeat titulum gradus Doctoris in Scientiis.

ALL children the world over—race and place of birth matter not one iota—undergo the same changes in their cognitive abilities in the same order and at the same stages of childhood. From this it follows that the cause of those changes lies not just in learning or experience—for it cannot be but that their experiences must differ widely—but there must be some natural and, as it were, innate principle which guides the development of the maturing intellect. It is to the discovery of this principle that our honorand has dedicated her life. Nor was this undertaking in vain, for in its pursuit she has founded and developed a new discipline of developmental neuroscience. Hers is the science of executive functions, those higher powers of the mind which direct and control its other faculties so that, for example, we are able to resist temptations and stop our attention from being distracted. It is executive functions which allow us to engage in logical reasoning, but also to free our minds and to think, as the saying is, outside the box. It is executive functions, in short, which allow us to make profitable use of all the natural abilities with which the human brain is endowed. She has shown to what extent these powers depend on heredity and genetics and to what extent they are affected by the chemistry of the brain, and she has revealed how they can be enhanced by various interventions, by dance and by music, and how, conversely, they can be impaired by stress, poverty and other environmental factors. To read her work is to marvel at the breadth and reach of her scholarship: whatever is relevant to child development falls within the scope of her interest.


Distinguished Chancellor, members of the University, I present to you

ADELE DIAMOND, f.r.s.c.,

Tier 1 Canada Research Chair and Professor of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, University of British Columbia
neuroscientist and developmental psychologist,

that she may receive the title of the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa.

‘RERVM naturae studio,’ inquit hospes haec nostra, ‘semper accensa sum. quanta mi puellae admiratio mota erat elementorum gradus seriatim instructos uidenti!’ sed angusta uia et difficultatibus uersata ad scientiam ducit. impediunt parentes. non adiuuat magister, qui ‘caue,’ inquit, ‘ne extra cancellos egrediaris. haud facile sine pennis uolare.’ puerili igitur instructione perfecta ad uictum quaerendum se contulit in officinam uicinam quo facile erat iter. iterum obstitit magister: fore ut in pauimento uerrendo desudaret aut in pocillis replendis. sed sternuit fortuna. ibi enim instrumentis iis utebatur quae moleculae semina electronica ui disiuncta dispergunt ut quidque suum pro momento cursum secutum facile decernatur. et ingenio statim recognito—hoc loco, magistri, ‘nec mora’ dicerem nisi mora ad rem attineret—consociis hortantibus nec labore umquam intermisso cum scholam frequentat tum baccalaurei, postea magistri pallium assequitur. apud nos denique biennium modo morata doctoris purpuream togam assumit et iam iam ianuis academiae tandem apertis—ad liberos educendos se remouit. sero igitur nec sine labore cursum honorum academicorum persecuta prima est femina apud nos, prima denique apud Oxonienses quae summam inter chemiae peritos sedem occupauerit. et merito. satis enim constat haec instrumenta tantum ad simpliciores moleculas apta esse neque maiora concreta quae πρωτεῖα dicuntur in uaporem redigi posse, aut si possint subtili scilicet sinu dissoluto omni ui potestateque caritura. sed nil infectum Metello. machinamentis iam callidissime immutatis non modo πρωτεῖα uerum etiam perparuulas ex iis compositas cellulae machinas integras uolare coegit, quarum signa remissa et omnes quouis medicamento iniecto mutationes assidue speculari possumus. quo pacto haec mirabilia perfecerit explicare, magistri, uolo non ualeo. hoc tantum dicam: haud scio an elephanto alas addidisse uideatur.


dignissime domine, domine Cancellarie, et tota academia, praesento uobis egregiam hanc mulierem chemiae studiosam, excellentissimi ordinis Imperi Britannici dominam commendatricem, doctorem in philosophia, Regiae Societatis sodalem, Academiae Scientiarum Medicarum sodalem, Collegio Churchilliano honoris causa sociam adscriptam, Regiae Societatis Chemiae quondam praesidem, physicae et contemplatiuae chemiae apud Oxonienses professorem et Instituti Kavliani ad res perpusillas inuestigandas rectricem,

CAROL ROBINSON,

ut honoris causa habeat titulum gradus Doctoris in Scientiis.

‘I HAVE always been interested in nature,’ says our next honorand. ‘When I first saw the periodic table, I thought, Wow, that’s perfectly arranged!’ But the road to science was narrow and difficult. Her parents were not encouraging, her teacher unhelpful: ‘Don’t go beyond what I’ve taught you,’ he said. ‘Don’t try to be too clever.’ So she left school at sixteen and went to work at Pfizer—it was nearby, and her commute would be easy. Again her teacher tried to stop her: ‘They’ll have you sweeping the floor,’ he warned, ‘or making the tea.’ But fortune was smiling. For here she first encountered mass spectrometers—clever machines which ionise molecules and scatter them so that their constituents, each following a path according to its mass, might be discerned. Her talent was at once recognised. At this point in an oration, I would usually say, ‘And without delay…’; but in the present case the delay is rather the point. With her colleagues’ encouragement she studied for her A-levels on day-release, and then for a degree, and then for a postgraduate degree, and finally she completed her doctorate here in Cambridge, taking just two years to do so. And now, with the Academy at last opened to her—she put everything on hold to raise a family. So her academic career began late, but soon she became the first woman to hold a chair in Chemistry here, and thereafter the first to do so at Oxford. Deservedly so. You see, it was accepted as fact that mass spectrometry was perfectly suited to simpler molecules, but macromolecules such as proteins could never be coerced into the necessary gaseous state, and even if they could, their delicate structure would unfold and their essential properties would be lost. But nothing is impossible if you know how. She cleverly redesigned her machines and was able to turn into a gas not only intact proteins but even the tiny cellular machines made from them, so that at last we are able to see them signalling to one another and reacting to medications in real time. I wish I could explain in detail, but let me just say this: it was as if she had given an elephant wings.


Distinguished Chancellor, members of the University, I present to you

CAROL ROBINSON, d.b.e., ph.d., f.r.s., f.med.sci.,

Honorary Fellow of Churchill College and sometime Royal Society Professor of Chemical Biology
sometime President of the Royal Society of Chemistry
Dr Lee’s Professor of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry and Director of the Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, University of Oxford, chemist,

that she may receive the title of the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa.

NVPER, magistri, mihi in somnis mirabilis obiecta est species, earum rerum similis quas Scipioni apparuisse memorat Tullius, uel potius quae in fabulis ludicris actae per cuneos populi perducunt plausum. in intermundiis enim uaganti mihi adstabat dux barbatus cui tempora nobilissima palmis erant cincta. ille ‘ades,’ inquit, ‘animo et omitte timorem et quae dicam trade memoriae.’ orationem eius insolitam, verbis modo sesquipedalibus modo barbaro more abruptis redundantem, non totam intellegebam, neque omnia quae intellegere poteram patrii sermonis egestate facile continentur, sed quae mihi ostendit miracula pro mea parte uobis enarrare conabor.


‘uidesne’, inquit, ‘nigra haec sidera in turbinem uersata, qua inuoluta saltatione concurrant? tanto sunt pondere ut ipsum inane contorto eorum motu detorqueatur. sed aspice—omnia, mihi crede, quae nunc uisuri sumus alio sub caelo et abhinc permulta saecula fiebant—’ et duas quasi caeli lacunas immensas magno impetu concussas in unam confundi uidimus. ‘tantam uim effudit haec concursio quantam omnes quae undique sunt stellae, si quinquagiens multiplicatae sint, aequare non possint.’ ‘sed quo fit’, inquam, ‘ut tantam uim non sentiamus?’ et ille ‘neque luce neque ullis radiis quos sensibus percipimus uehitur haec uis sed undis in ea subtilissima materia e tempore spatioque contexta conuectis et antehac ratione modo adumbratis.’

dixerat et in nostram aetatem regressi molem immanem conspeximus cuius membra litterae Γ formam describebant. ‘haec intra specula,’ inquit, ‘certo interuallo distantia incensae lucis tela cursum reduplicatum continuo sequuntur, cuius si transeat illius generis unda longitudinem extensam uel minutam esse uideamus.’ respicio et ante oculos speculorum distantia aliquantulum contrahitur et contracta iterum dilatatur. et ego ‘εὖγε,’ inquam—nam admiratione uicto omnis mihi defuit latinitas—‘ὀλίγῳ δή σοι διαστήματι, ὦνερ, κλέος ἄφιτον ἔσται.’

dignissime domine, domine Cancellarie, et tota academia, praesento uobis egregium hunc uirum palmis Nobelianis coronatum, in Instituto Technologiae Californiensi physicorum scientiae contemplatiuae professorem Feynmanianum emeritum, rerum naturae indagatorem callidissimum,

KIP THORNE,

ut honoris causa habeat titulum gradus Doctoris in Scientiis.

RECENTLY there came to me in a dream a wonderful vision, similar to that which Cicero says appeared to Scipio Aemilianus, or rather to one of those blockbuster movies which you have doubtless seen. It seemed that I was travelling in interstellar space. My guide had a beard, and on his head he wore a noble crown. ‘Come,’ he said. ‘Put aside your fear and remember what I am about to show you.’ His language was curious, full of long words and strange abbreviations. I did not understand the half of it, and what I did understand is not easily expressed in the idiom of this Senate-House, but I shall do my best to relate to you the wonders which he showed me.


‘Do you see those spinning black stars,’ he asked, ‘how they rush towards one another locked in a whirling dance? So massive are they that space itself is distorted by their spiral motion. Now watch—everything we are about to see, believe me, took place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away—’ and as we looked we saw the two dark holes in the sky collide with immense force and merge into one. ‘That collision,’ he said, ‘was so powerful that all the stars in the universe could not match it, even if they were multiplied fifty times over.’ ‘But how can it be,’ I asked, ‘that we cannot see so much energy?’ And he replied, ‘It is not carried by light nor by any other rays which we can perceive with our senses, but by waves in the subtle fabric of space and time which, until now, have only been described in theory.’

He had spoken. We returned to our own time and world, and we saw a vast L‑shaped machine. ‘In here,’ he said, ‘a laser beam bounces back and forth between two mirrors separated by a precise distance. If one of those waves were to pass through, we would see the mirrors move ever so slightly closer together or farther apart.’ I watched, and before my eyes the space between the mirrors seemed to stretch and contract by the tiniest amount.’ ‘Bravo!’ I exclaimed, for I was overcome with admiration and quite forgot the proper form of speech, ‘Surely with such a small deflection you have won undying fame!’

Distinguished Chancellor, members of the University, I present to you

KIP THORNE,

Richard P. Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics Emeritus, California Institute of Technology,
Nobel Laureate, theoretical physicist,

that he may receive the title of the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa.

QVALEM hominem nunc adducam si requiritis, magistri, quid respondeam? rerum gestarum scriptorem doctissimum? quamuis non mentiar si hoc dicam, non tamen satis eius uim et industriam laudibus ornem. historiarum commenticiarum fabellarumque ludicrarum etiam est creator, inter eos homines litterarum studiosos olim adscriptus qui uocibus per aethera transmissis ad artium cultum nos hortarentur. summum magistratum petens a populo olim repulsus, consili publici iam auctor sapienter de summis nostrae aetatis quaestionibus disserit: quae iura ciuibus debeantur, quae officia iis sint praestanda qui ob rem pecuniariam non minus quam uim militarem gentium moderatoris nomen sibi arrogent, quo denique fiat ut amore patriae commmoti alii consocios sedule foueant, alii ad peregrinorum odium et ad fratrum sanguinem effundendum deducantur. academiae ducem eum dicam, nisi hoc nomen crebriore usu minoris iam habendum uideretur. nam qui liberam Mineruam contra uenalem contionatorem et uulgi turbatorem igni ferroque minantem defendit, eum dignum iudico qui non dux tantum sed propugnator libertatis nuncupetur. 


quae cum ita sint animos attendere debemus cum monet hanc condicionem et statum gentium quo per hos octaginta fere annos pace et rebus prosperis plerumque fruamur haud multum abesse quin labefactetur et in summum discrimen uocetur: peruagari eos qui libertatem euertere cupiant, qui eam adhuc defendant num in defensione permansuri sint haud certum. pessima igitur praeuidenda si praeusia prohibeantur. attamen spem non omnino reicit, sed nobis qui uigilantes et acuti uelimus esse ciues confidendum esse censet singulos ad res efficiendas aliquantulum ualere; non enim sic ignaros a maximis uiris moueri ut latrunculi a lusore instruantur, sed penes nos, quorum suffragiis ciuitatis principes designati sint innumerabilium hominum commodis aut succurrendi aut damnum inferendi esse potestatem.


dignissime domine, domine Cancellarie, et tota academia, praesento uobis honorabilem hunc uirum excellentissimo ordini Canadae adscriptum, regiae maiestatis intimo concilio apud Canadenses adscriptum, magistrum in artibus, Collegi Regalis quondam socium adscitum, in Vniuersitate Mediae Europae rectorem emeritum et historiae professorem, scriptorem rerum ciuilium peritum,


MICHAEL IGNATIEFF,

ut honoris causa habeat titulum gradus Doctoris in Litteris.

HOW should I introduce our next guest? As an academic historian? That would be no lie, but it would not do justice to his talents and energy. He is also a novelist and a writer of screenplays, and was once numbered amongst those public intellectuals whose Voices were beamed into our living rooms to inspire in us the cultivation of the arts. As a politician he once sought the highest office in his native Canada, and now offers sage advice on the greatest questions of our time—what rights are owed to citizens? What duties fall on the shoulders of those who, thanks to their economic as well as their military superiority, take on the mantle of leaders of the free world? Why is it that love of one’s country inspires some to foster a sense of community but drives others to xenophobia and violence? I would call him an academic leader, were that name not now devalued by over-use—for one who has fiercely defended academic freedom from the attacks of a populist demagogue deserves to be hailed not just as a leader but as a champion of liberty.


We should listen, then, when he warns us that the international order which has, for the most part, given us peace and prosperity for the past eighty years, now hangs by a thread. The enemies of Freedom are ranged against her, and there is no guarantee that her erstwhile protectors will remain steadfast in her defence. ‘If a pessimist is someone who imagines the worst in order to forestall it,’ he says, ‘we should all be pessimists.’ And yet he urges that we should not despair entirely: ‘The rest of us observant and engaged citizens must reaffirm our faith in human agency. Individuals do matter. We are not pawns in some great historical chess match. The leadership choices we make can shape the lives of millions for better or worse.’

Distinguished Chancellor, members of the University, I present to you

MICHAEL IGNATIEFF, p.c., c.m., m.a.,

sometime Fellow of King’s College
Professor of History and Rector Emeritus, Central European University
historian, writer and politician,

that he may receive the title of the degree of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa.

APICVLA quaedam est, magistri, ex huius uiri nomine nuncupata sed, ut opinor, eponymi admodum dispar. illa enim nullam uocem edere solet nisi uno et rauco tenore bombitat, spretaque omni consociarum familiaritate solitariam uitam agit: hic tamen miranti auscultantium corona stipatus pulsis plectrocymbali neruis sonorum seriem diuina quadam anima imbutam profundit quibus ne Phoebum quidem Ausonia lyra canentem aemulare posse audeo dicere.


duo summo ingenio clauicinum ferunt esse genera, quorum alteri, ostentatae Musae arguti interpretes, iudiciis artificiose factis admirationem ne reuerentiam dicam excitent nostram; alteros tamen—quos inter hospitem hunc nostrum numerandum affirmo—subtiliore quadam arte sonos sublime compensatos in ordines inter se respondentes ita instruere ut recondito omni artificio eximiae pulchritudinis imago non ex industria et humano consilio sed sponte et ab ipsius naturae impetu oriunda inuenta potius quam confecta esse uideatur. sed qua facilitate melliti numeri profunduntur, qua luce clarissima compago ab iis contexta resplendet, qua denique eloquentia reserata Camenae uox resonat, quantum laboris, quantum doctrinae, quantum assiduitatis ea obtegit! nam tuis, Henrice, elegantissime magister, praeceptis doctus, quam uim ad animi motus pertinentem intus habeat carmen non nisi numerorum forma sedulo exquisita intellegi posse dicit. hoc enim et musicae et uitae esse propositum, ut ea elementa et principia rerum quae auribus non percipiantur ratione tandem complectari queamus.

haud scio, numerosissime domine, an haec palla multis coloribus insignis minus polleat quam decora entomologica accepta; ne tamen eam contempseris, obsecro: quantum maximum possumus enim praebemus.

dignissime domine, domine Cancellarie, et tota academia, praesento uobis egregium hunc uirum, excellentissimi ordinis Imperi Britannici honoris causa equitem commendatorem adscitum, Regii Collegi Musicae sodalem, Regiae Academiae Musicae honoris causa adscriptum, Collegi Iesu honoris causa socium adscitum, Academiae S. Martini principem inter ductores hospitis iure adscriptum, plectrocymbali pulsatorem nec non mesochorum,

MURRAY PERAHIA,

ut honoris causa habeat titulum gradus Doctoris in Musica.

THERE is a certain species of bee which takes its name from our final honorand, but which is, I think, rather unlike him. The bee makes no sound except for a monotonous and raucous buzzing, and shunning all company lives a solitary life. Him you are likely to find surrounded by an admiring audience as he sends forth from his piano scales of such wondrous beauty that not even Apollo could rival with his Ausonian lyre.


There are, it is said, two kinds of great pianist: one excites our admiration and respect with an ostentatious show of interpretive skill and technical judgement; the other so perfectly weighs each note against every other and balances them so subtly that all artifice disappears, and the beauty of the music seems not to be contrived by human effort but fashioned by nature herself, to be not made but discovered. Our honorand is of this second kind. But the fluency with which the strains pour forth, the lucidity of their texture, the eloquence of the voice he releases from the music conceal a lifetime of careful and diligent study. For he is a follower of Heinrich Schenke, who taught that the emotional meaning of a piece of music could be understood only after a close examination of its form, and in music as in life our aim should be at last to comprehend those deeper elements and patterns of which we are unaware when we listen only to the surface.

I am sure, sir, that this colourful gown cannot compare to entomological honours; but do not, I ask you, think less of it—we offer you what we can.

Distinguished Chancellor, members of the University, I present to you

MURRAY PERAHIA, k.b.e., f.r.c.m., (hon.) r.a.m.,

Honorary Fellow of Jesus College
Principal Guest Conductor, the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields
pianist and conductor,

that he may receive the title of the degree of Doctor of Music, honoris causa.

After presenting the Honorands, the Orator, Dr Rupert Thompson, of Selwyn College, addressed the Chancellor as follows:

QVAMQVAM uereor, magistri, ne patientia uestra diutius abusus sim, paulo longius, obsecro, aures atque animos attendite. Cancellarius enim hic noster aureo pallio indutus sibi in animo esse officio abire affirmauit, nec, ut opinor, talis mihi iterum se praebebit occasio. mos erat maiorum gladiatorem ab harena recessurum gladio ligneo donare. rudem nullam habeo, domine, quam tibi donem, nec, ut arbitror, lictor βουτυρόμετρον uelit tradere. eo igitur sine me te honestare quo modo licet oratori:


dignissime ac nobilissime domine, domine noster carissime Cancellarie, nobis diu est decori, nec tibi longa nobis amicitia coniuncto displicuit, alumnum, consocium, ducem tandem te nuncupare. quod duodecim his annis summa gratia nobis congregatis praefuisti, summa diligentia Vniuersitati bene consuluisti, omnia etiam officia tibi mandata sedulo obiisti, nos Procancellaria, Magistri, Scholaresque huius Vniuersitatis maximas tibi agimus gratias, speramusque fore ut de tua erga nos fide, constantia, benignitate optime meriti esse uideamur.

DAVID, BARO SAINSBURY DE TURVILLE,

Vniuersitatis Cantabrigiensis Cancellarium, te salutamus.

ALTHOUGH I fear I have tried your patience enough already, Masters, I beg your attention yet a little longer, for our Chancellor, who presides over us in his golden robe, has indicated his wish to retire from office, and so this opportunity may not present itself again. It was the practice in ancient Rome to gift a retiring gladiator with a wooden sword. I have no rudis to offer you, Sir, nor, I think, will the Constable willingly give up his butter measure. Allow me, therefore, to honour you in the only way an Orator can.


Distinguished and most noble Sir, our beloved Chancellor, throughout the long time we have been joined in friendship it has been our honour to call you, and you have consented to be called by us, alumnus, colleague and now Chancellor. That for these past twelve years you have presided over our congregations with grace, that you have tirelessly defended the interests of the University, that you have most diligently fulfilled all the duties entrusted to you, we, the Vice‑Chancellor, the Masters and the Scholars of this University give you thanks, and we earnestly hope that we have deserved the sturdy and generous confidence you have placed in us.

DAVID, BARON SAINSBURY OF TURVILLE,

Chancellor of this University of Cambridge, we salute you.

E. M. C. RAMPTON, Registrary

END OF THE OFFICIAL PART OF THE ‘REPORTER’