Forty-fifth Ayinual Meeting. 13 



womanhood. There are ideas, sentiments, aims and hopes which 

 are held to be true and good by all; they lie at the root of human 

 life and human character. He who awakens and confirms this 

 priceless work of intellectual and moral power will turn all ener- 

 gies to the life work of education. There can be no higher aim. 

 That man who is active in learning and doing what is true and 

 good and beautiful in private and public life has not only educa- 

 tion, but he will continue to educate along a higher and purer life. 

 In the teachings of our great educators, poets and sages we find 

 that they are the source from which has come the inspiration es- 

 sential to the highest development and usefulness of mankind. 

 Death will come to a nation if the home, the church and the school 

 fail in their purpose of education and instruction. These institu- 

 tions are the nursery of American patriotism, In fact, the nursery 

 of absolute patriotism in every land, in every age and under every 

 tiag has and will continue to be the true Christian home. 



True education, then, demands unity as its fundamental ideal. 

 Each human power" must receive special training, but not a de- 

 velopment for itself alone. We find two basal elements in character 

 — a well-balanced mind and a strong, fully nourished, responsive 

 body. Correct physical training aids in the development of both; 

 while it does not increase the number of brain cells, it develops 

 and increases their energy and activity. Mental and spiritual 

 forces are now to be the great controlling agents in shaping the 

 history and directing the destinies of men and nations. In earlier 

 ages the thoughtful mind was a power among men. The monarch 

 of Egypt trembled as the youthful Hebrew read his dream, and 

 silence and fear came upon the Babylonish king as the gifted 

 Daniel unlocked for him the dark secrets of the future. If Marius 

 had been able to have wielded the same power in the senate which 

 he did on the battle-field, he would never, in fact could never, have 

 sat among the ruins of Carthage an exile in disgrace. But in the 

 coming ages the thoughtful mind is to be the greatest power among 

 men. Those whose vocation is to train and furnish mind, they are 

 the men who are to shape and color the destinies of the world. 

 To that class I would say, go forth to the noble, the honorable, 

 the responsible work that is before you. The state confides much 

 to you; in return she expects much from you. You are furnished 

 with the elements of power over youthful minds, and the state 

 looks to you to so use those elements that they shall add to her 

 strength and make permanent her glory. 



You are to demonstrate that peculiarity of American institu- 



