In this lecture, delivered upon the establishment of the Dean Ireland's Professorship at the University of Oxford in 1847, Edward Hawkins pays tribute to the founder and provides a brief overview of the new professorship's purpose and scope. With its elegant prose and learned exposition, this lecture remains an eloquent expression of the ideals of scholarship and learning that have animated Oxford for centuries.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.