If this is the real feeling of the speaker, I can only say that I am sorry he should have so low an opinion of me.
I do not believe the scholars generally entertain any such suspicion.
Though I may err in judgment, I think that most of you will not charge me with anything more serious.

If you ask me whether a teacher has favorites, I say that he cannot help having them.

He cannot help making a difference between the studious on the one hand, and the indolent and neglectful on the other.

But in a matter like this I ask you to believe me when I say that no consideration except that of merit is permitted to weigh.

The boy who made this charge is one of my most advanced scholars, and has no reason to believe that he would be treated with unfairness.
I do not choose to say any more on this subject, except that I have decided to offer two similar prizes for the two best compositions submitted within the next four weeks.