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studies and habits of tbougbt wholly unfit me for the task, and I should 

 make myself ridiculous to attempt it. Eural life and industry as a school 

 of manhood, is the topic I have selected, and I trust you will find it in 

 some degree not unrelated to the occasion. Labor, like everything else, 

 has an end in view. Its first and lowest aim is to make a living. Man 

 is a feeding animal, and that want is the spur that quickens his latent 

 energies. Hunger drives the savage to hunting, fishing, grubbing for 

 roots or planting a patch of corn and potatoes. Inclement weather 

 compels him to clean out a cave, thatch a hut and seek the rude mate- 

 rials he needs for clothing. 



As Christianity was cradled in a manger, so our proud branching 

 material civilization was born of a sensation, received its first impulse 

 from the thrill of a nerve, the imperious cry of a physical want. But 

 he who toils merely to eat and drink, to pick bed and board out of 

 nature, pastures upon the surface of things, and is not far removed 

 from the instinct that prompts the animal to crop the grass, or the hawk 

 to pursue its prey. His firmament is a mud sky, and no bright ideals of 

 a better condition sing to him from the future. And yet how many there 

 are, even in the most enlightened community, who barely live from hand 

 to mouth, to wear out the dreary day, mere plodders and drudgers that 

 never arise above the circumstances in which the}* were born. And he 

 who lives solety for material gain, to add lot to lot, acre to acre, dollar 

 to dollar, is very little better off, in soul force and moral power, than the 

 groundling who lives to tickle a few nerves on the tip of the tongue. I 

 heard of a man, the other day, so completely materialized that the Asses- 

 sor was compelled to tax him as real estate. Could 3-011 look through 

 the body as a transparent glass case, and read the interior motives, 

 thoughts and purposes of the soul, you would be astonished to see how 

 many people there are happily lifted above pressing physical necessities 

 that are only half emerged from the earth, and not even "pawing to get 

 free," like Milton's lion, but are content to absorb, bloat and die. 



But labor has still a higher end than merely to feed and clothe the 

 body or add to our possessions, and that is to idolize and perfect our 

 work. Through diversified agencies and with varied talent one is called 

 to work out his mission as a sculptor, another to paint, another to sing, 

 another to plough, another to plead law, another to preach, and another 

 to practice medicine Now, it is a duty we owe to ourselves and to 

 humanity to do thoroughly whatever task is assigned to us. It is a noble, 

 manly ambition to make the best of our calling, though it be to shape a 

 horse shoe, drive a stage or sew a welt. The ambition is the spring of 

 all progress in the practical utilities, arts and inventions. It is the 

 healthy enthusiasm and emulation that gives us such wonderful improve- 

 ments in machinery, model farms, tasteful gardens, charming varieties of 

 fruits and flowers, and fine breeds of horses, cattle and sheep. Your 

 agricultural associations are helping to foster this spirit of generous 

 rivalry by the premiums, medals and public honor given to the most suc- 

 cessful competitor. Only so far as the farmer is possessed by the ambi- 

 tion to excel in his special calling will he rise above the drudgery and 

 routine of a mere plodder. 



But there is a still higher end to labor than merely to excel in one's 

 calling, and wear the red and blue ribbons of honor. To live merely 

 to excel in one's special art and vocation is good, but not the best 

 thing a man can do for himself. Labor must do more than feed and 

 clothe, take out patents, and smirk and grin for an hour's applause. It 

 should ennoble the worker, enrich his mind, sharpen his perceptions 



