"Auri sacra fames!" (manuscript essay), 1798 June 8

Three-page handwritten essay in English by Buckminster on wealth, greed, and economy. The essay is titled with a quote from Virgil that can be translated, "The accursed greed for gold." The essay begins, "The passion for wealth is, like every other passion, often carried to an extreme." The document has edits and struck-through words.

"Ingenuas didicisse fideliter artes Emollit mores, nec sinit esse seros" (manuscript essay), 1798 December 6

Three-page handwritten essay in English by Buckminster on the role of the arts in humanity's progress. The essay is titled with a quote from Ovid that can be translated, "A faithful study of the liberal arts refines the manners and corrects their harshness." The essay begins, "To a philosophic mind it is highly interesting to mark the progress of refinement."

"A competence is vital to content; Much wealth is corpulence, if not disease" (manuscript essay), 1799 March 30

Three-page handwritten essay in English by Buckminster with a story about a wealthy young Englishman named Francis who discovers that money is not the source of happiness. The essay is titled with a quote from Edward Young's poem, "The Complaint." Buckminster's essay begins, "Francis was the son of a rich English nobleman."

"Conscience is the best casuist" (manuscript essay), 1799 September 10

Three-page handwritten essay in English by Buckminster on the subject of conscience told through a story about a young man named Henry who saves a starving woman. The essay begins, "The disquisitions of the metaphysical world upon the origin and nature of conscience are quite unnecessary to a complete comprehension of the significancy of our motto." The essay is titled with a quote from Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Emile, Or on Education.

"Procrastination is the thief of time" (manuscript essay), 1799 November 26

Four-page handwritten essay in English by Buckminster on the consequences of procrastination. The essay begins, "Moralists of every age & nation, from wise, proverbial Solomon to 'poor Richard' of our own times, have united in recommending industry, as one of the most necessary virtues." The essay is titled with a quote from Edward Young's poem, "The Complaint," and ends with two lines from Horace beginning, "Est modus in rebus ; sunt certi denique fines..."

Student compositions of Washington Allston, 1799

Handwritten essay about procrastination and a poem celebrating spring composed by Washington Allston while he was an undergraduate at Harvard. The essay uses a story about a young Italian named Bernardo to discuss the consequences of procrastination. The essay is labeled “Allston Novem. ’99" and is titled with a quote from Edward Young's poem "The Complaint," “Procrastination is Theif [sic] of time.” Allston’s poem celebrates spring and incorporates Phillida and Corydon, two characters from Nicholas Breton’s poem “Phillida and Cordion.” The poem is titled with the verses, “Chief, lovely spring, in thee, and thy soft scenes, / The smiling God is seen” from James Thompson's poem “Spring.” The poem is labeled "Allston July 10, 1799."

Oratio salutatoria et oratio valedictoria, ca. 1763

Undated and unattributed handwritten Latin salutatory and valedictory orations composed for the Harvard College Commencement. A modern note with the materials suggests Nathaniel Sparhawk (Harvard AB 1765) as the author, but the author was more likely Joseph Hooper (Harvard AB 1763), who delivered the orations for the 1763 Harvard Commencement. While the documents are undated, textual clues include mention of the command of George III in recent war against France and Spain, suggesting the speech was written soon after the Treaty of Paris which was signed in February 1763 to end the Seven Years' War. The speech also celebrates Harvard Tutor William Kneeland, who resigned from his position in July 1763, and mentions the illness of Professor Edward Wigglesworth (who died before the 1765 Commencement). The text also mentions Professor John Winthrop and Massachusetts Governor Francis Bernard.