13 



which YOU are to succeed or fail. Your education thus far has been 

 utilitarian. You have been studying the practical, the useful, the 

 material. You have been learning how to think, and to think prac- 

 tically. You have been acquiring knowledge, the power of which 

 you are to exemplify in your future li\es. Your acquisitions here 

 have been such as will best fit you for those avocations of life which 

 you intend to pursue. 1 have already indicated my opinion of their 

 high character and great usef ulnesa, as well as the necessity for a 

 thorough system of training and education for those who intend to 

 engage in them. You will compose the first Alumni of this Col- 

 lege and the first exemplars of the benefits to be derived from the 

 special course of instruction here pursued. As such you may con- 

 tribute largely to the future success of your Alma Mater. Aft 

 " a tree is known by the fruit it bears," so the character and stand- 

 ing of a College are often determined by the character of its gra- 

 duates. Permit me to express the hope that your future will be 

 such as to reflect honor upon yourselves and credit upon this Insti- 

 tution. Recollect that 



"Honor and shame from no condition rise; 

 Act well your part : there all the honor lies." 



It lias been said that there are but three ways of making a living, 

 viz : by working, by begging, and by stealing ; and, disguise it as 

 we may, there is much of truth in the expression. Work is the 

 common destiny of man. In the great hive of humanity there can 

 be no drones. He who does not earn his bread by the sweat of hi& 

 brow violates the divine anathema. No matter what one's sphere in 

 life may be, honorable success is attainable only by work. The 

 humblest artisan as well as the highest statesman bows to this inex- 

 orable law of our being. 



You will assume the active duties of life at an interesting and 

 trying period. A great change has been wrought in our social and 

 political system, and the demoralization incident to a great war has 

 not been fully overcome. Fraud and peculation have stained the 

 characters of some high in authority, and its infection has not been 

 altogether absent from the people. Although a healthier tone of 

 public sentiment seems to prevail, it will require the efforts of good 

 men and Christians everywhere to elevate it to that standard wliich 

 alone insures safety and stability. 



Judging from past experience, well may the poet exclaim : 



" God give u- men a time like this demands 



Strong minds, great hearts, true faith, and ready hands ; 

 M-n whom the lust of office does not kill; 



Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy ; 

 MeiKwho have opinions and a will ; 



Men who have honor; men who will not lie; 

 Men who can stand before a demagogue, 



And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking ; 

 Tail men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog 



In public duty and in private thinking; 

 For, while the rabble in their thumb-worn creeds, 

 Their large professions and their little deeds, 

 Mingle in selfish strife, lo! Freedom weeps, 

 Wrong rules the land, and waiting justice lepe!" 



