524 
 
 l£5 
 
 \ 
 
 (, 
 
 
 BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE 
 
 TO THE 
 
 GRADUATING CLASS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 iitbtera JIMe itmijeratg, 
 
 DELIVERED 
 
 ) 
 
 ON THE SABBATH PRECEDING THE COMMENCEMENT, JCLY 19, 1859. 
 
 BY T. A. WYLIE, 
 
 Acting President. 
 
 f 
 
 INDIANAPOLIS: 
 
 INDIANAPOLIS JOURNAL COMPANY, PRINTERS. 
 1859. 
 
 
BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE 
 
 TO THE 
 
 GRADUATING CLASS 
 
 OP THE 
 
 Mmu J&tate Unikratj), 
 
 DELIVERED 
 
 ON THE SABBATH PRECEDING THE COMMENCEMENT, JULY 10, 1859. 
 
 BY T. A. WYLIE, 
 
 Acting President. 
 
 j 
 
 / 
 
 
 
 
 INDIANAPOLIS: 
 
 INDIANAPOLIS JOURNAL COMPANY, PRINTERS. 
 1859. 
 
L 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 } 
 
 INDIANA UNIVERSITY 
 July 15th, 1859. 
 
 PROF. T. A. WYLIE: 
 
 Dear Sir — We earnestly request for pub- 
 lication, a copy of the Baccalaureate Sermon, delivered by 
 you to the Graduating Class, on last Sabbath. 
 
 Very truly, 
 
 CHAS. M. CAMPBELL, ) M , f 
 
 THOS. DIGGS THARP, [ 
 
 JOHN MULLANY, 
 
 ' ("the Class. 
 
 INDIANA UNIVERSITY, | 
 July 20th, 1859. / 
 
 Gentlemen: — I have been urged by the solicitation of 
 several highly respected friends and citizens to comply with 
 the request you have made for the publication of the Bacca- 
 laureate Discourse, delivered the Sabbath before last. The 
 manuscript is at your disposal. 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 T. A. WYLIE. 
 Messrs. Campbell, Tharp and Mullany. 
 
BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 
 
 <<«»> 
 
 Young Gentlemen: — I appear before you in a position, 
 not of my own seeking, in a place which I had hoped would 
 have been filled by one more used, and therefore more compe- 
 tent for the discharge of such duties as this than I am; but 
 in this I have been disappointed. And though, doubtless, 
 there are many who might have been prevailed upon to 
 relieve me of this task, both more able and willing, I have 
 long since come to the conclusion, without however always 
 acting upon it, that it is always best for every one in the 
 situation in which he is placed, to endeavor, to the best of his 
 ability, to perform all the work, belonging to it, unless some 
 how or other providentially incapacitated. We think this, in 
 the main, a good rule for young men entering upon life to 
 follow, qualified, of course by circumstances. Cases often 
 occur when it would be highly proper to entrust to others the 
 performance of that work which has been, in the course of 
 events, thrown in our path. Thus, a physician, in the course 
 of his practice, may have a surgical case, the life of the 
 patient may be at stake, he knows some brother physician, of 
 more experience and greater manual dexterity, who can per- 
 form the operation more skilfully than he ; he may regret his 
 own want of skill, but if he is the right kind of a man, he will 
 not suffer his pride to interfere with the best interests of the 
 patient. But we have not here a matter of life and death, it 
 is simply to present to you who are now about to leave these 
 halls, a few words of advice and encouragement, in accordance 
 with the duties of the office, and the custom of the institution. 
 
4 BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 
 
 With these preliminary remarks, let me direct your attention 
 to an excellent piece of advice, given by the Apostle Paul in 
 the fifteenth and sixteenth verses of the fifth chapter of his 
 epistle to the Ephesians. 
 
 "See that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 
 redeeming the time, because the days are evil." 
 
 These words suit our times as well as they did the times in 
 which they were written by the inspired author of the epistle. 
 We, as well as Paul, can say, we live in an evil world, our 
 days are evil, we have to make our way through the world, in 
 which difficulties and dangers meet us on every hand, we 
 would need to have our eyes, those watchful sentinels, about 
 us, and to walk (axpi(3^g-) with precision, in an orderly 
 manner, taking care as to where we step, and how we step, 
 exercising all the sense we have, not carelessly or heedlessly, 
 as the foolish child or blundering fool, but redeeming the time, 
 making amends for any former delinquencies and follies, or 
 perhaps, as the expression, (rov xaipov ggayopa£ojxsvo» } ) has been 
 otherwise rendered, forestalling the opportunity, exercising 
 prudence, anticipating the time, and thus, as forestallers do, 
 making the most profit of it, and preparing ourselves for 
 emergencies as they may arise. 
 
 We might consider here the duty enjoined, and the manner 
 in which it should be done, viz.: circumspectly, wisely, profitably, 
 and in the next place, to the reason given showing the neces- 
 sity for this care, because our days are evil. But we prefer to 
 direct your attention rather to that which is implied, than to 
 that which is directly expressed. If our days are evil, it is 
 because of the depravity of our natures, and the difficulties 
 and dangers which are continually presenting themselves. 
 We will, then, in the first place, mention some of these hard- 
 ships and perils of life in these evil days in which we live; 
 and, in the second place, speak of the preparation necessary 
 for meeting them, and the safeguards we may have at command. 
 Not only does the Bible, but the experience of men in all 
 ages, and of all races, and of all conditions in life, teach that 
 a life of ease and unalloyed happiness is not to be expected 
 
BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 5 
 
 in this world — a world that lieth in wickedness* — a world that 
 hateth the followers of Jesusf — a world whose wisdom is 
 foolishness with God.| The inspired writer tells us that, 
 man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upwards. || These 
 troubles, and trials, and vexations, in life are partly depend- 
 ent on external circumstances, and partly on the individual ; 
 they depend on the object to be attained, and the mental 
 constitution of him who strives to attain. Where one man 
 finds a mountain, another finds only a mole-hill. Impossibili- 
 ties to some, are trifles light as air to others. 
 
 There are dangers and hardships in the way, not only of 
 him who aims to achieve great things, and of him who pur- 
 sues the course for which nature seems specially to have 
 designed him ; but also in the way of him who tries to take 
 the world easy, and attempts to let himself glide smoothly 
 down the stream of time. Those who aim at great things, 
 may expect, of course, to encounter the greatest difficulties. 
 There are, it is true, some in the world, often indeed the 
 objects of our envy, who blessed with affluence, and, one 
 would think, all that their hearts could desire, who do not 
 seem to be in trouble as other men, neither are they plagued 
 like other men, § who to all appearance pass easily through 
 life. Let us suppose that their enjoyment of the present life 
 is a reality, and not a mere appearance ; may it not be the 
 case that, like Dives in the parable, they enjoy their good 
 things in the present, while misery awaits them in the future. 
 
 Suppose a laudable desire to excel excites a youth; that he 
 covets earnestly the best gifts the world has to give. He 
 makes his arrangements to possess himself of the glittering 
 prize, and determines to fight his way manfully through. 
 Every eminent politician, every distinguished general, can tell 
 of the troubles and vexations their high positions have cost 
 them. But there may, after all, be a failure, and the prize 
 may not be won. It may not be from want of talents, or 
 energy, or zeal, but from — we know not what. David tells 
 
 * 1 John v. 19. t John xv. 18. J 1 Cor. iii. 19. || Job v. 5. § Ps. lxxiii. 5. 
 
6 BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 
 
 us that, "Promotion cometh neither from the east nor the 
 west, nor from the south; but God is Judge, He putteth down 
 one and setteth up another."* And further, suppose that 
 this prize sought after, merely for the sake of worldly fame and 
 glory, has been attained, does it pay for the labor and trouble? 
 Those who are best able, from their own personal experience, 
 to answer, have answered — no! This is very much like 
 spending one's money for that which satisfieth not. And 
 with respect to those who have failed, they, perhaps, can, in 
 their old age, look back on their past toils, with some compla- 
 cency, and rejoice perhaps that they have come safely through 
 them, but if this is all their reward, it is something, it is true, 
 but not much. We have always thought, that the stork who 
 extracted the bone from the wolf's throat, without being 
 injured, was very poorly paid in the happiness it felt in 
 having made so narrow an escape. Here is an interesting 
 fact that we may mention in this connection, many of the 
 greatest men, the truly great men, the world has ever seen, 
 seemed to have never thought of their greatness. Shakspeare 
 appears never to have thought that he was writing for poster- 
 ity and the world. So with Newton; his friends seem to have 
 taken a great deal more trouble than he did himself to present 
 to the world his great and important discoveries. So with 
 Washington; the great name that he has was not sought for 
 by him, but it was the consequence of faithfulness, and the 
 ability with which he acted in all the responsible positions in 
 which he had been placed, by the importunity of his country- 
 men. The same may be said of Paul. Self and glory, glory 
 among men, were never thought of by him ; and of the prophet 
 Jeremiah, when God informed him that he was ordained to be 
 a prophet, he excused himself, saying: "Ah, Lord God! 
 behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child."f So also with 
 Moses, who refused, when grown up, to be called the son of 
 Pharaoh's daughter, but chose rather to suffer affliction with 
 the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasure of sin for a 
 
 * Psalm lxxv. G. | Jcr. i. G. 
 
BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 7 
 
 season. With what reluctance, not that he despised the great 
 honor that was placed before him, did he accept the commis- 
 sion; "And Moses said unto God, who am I that I should go 
 to Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of 
 Israel out of Egypt."* "0 my Lord, I am not eloquent, 
 neither heretofore nor since then hast spoken to thy servant : 
 But I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue." f Preemi- 
 nence among men, was never thought of by these worthies ; 
 nor does ambition appear to have been any stimulus to their 
 exertions. When, on the other hand, we are told that, "Once 
 on a time the trees went forth to anoint a king over them, and 
 they said to the olive tree, Reign thou over us; But the olive 
 tree said to them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me 
 they honor God and man, and go and be promoted over the 
 trees? And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and 
 reign over us. But the fig tree said unto them, Should I 
 forsake my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to be pro- 
 moted over the trees? Then said the trees to the vine, Come 
 thou and reign over us, And the vine said to them, Should I 
 leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be 
 promoted over the trees? Then said all the trees to the 
 bramble, Come thou, and reign over us, And the bramble said 
 unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king, then come and 
 put your trust in my shadow : and if not let fire come out of 
 the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon." J We find no 
 hesitation, no diffidence on the part of the worthless bramble 
 or thistle as to undertaking this high honor, and there was no 
 suspicion, on its part, of the utter worthlessness of its shadow. 
 We may learn from all this that mere greatness and preemi- 
 nence should not be the great object of our lives. As in 
 making a journey, so in life. The traveler sets out, for some 
 distant place, he may have a perilous journey before him, he 
 may have, too, some business to transact by the way. If he 
 is wise, he will not neglect his business for the sake of pleas- 
 ure, he will not let the dangers of the road deter him, he must 
 
 * Exod. iii. 18. t Exod. iv. 10. % Judges ix. 8. 
 
8 BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 
 
 go onward; but if he falls in with agreeable company which 
 does not interfere with his duties, if he is commended by some, 
 to whom he has been of service, if he finds some of the difficul- 
 ties of the road less than he anticipated, he views these 
 things as so much gain, as incidental blessings, while he looks 
 for rest and the reward of his toil at his journey's end. Let 
 us suppose then that it is your aim not to aspire after this 
 worldly greatness, that you are not fired with that zeal which 
 makes you desire "monstrari digito et dicier hie est" to be 
 pointed at as you are passing along, as a distinguished char- 
 acter, but wish simply to act your part well in that sphere in 
 which God has placed you, you must still in these evil days 
 meet with difficulties. 
 
 To act well one's part, is to do one's duty to himself, his 
 family, his country, and his God, and this must always be a 
 hard undertaking in a world that lieth in wickedness. The 
 notoriously wicked, for Satan is a hard master, have many 
 troubles and often suffer for their misdeeds, sometimes through 
 their own excesses, and sometimes they are punished as crim- 
 inals by their fellow men. We are generally inclined to think 
 that this is all as it ought to be ; they gather where they have 
 strewed, they reap as they have sowed. But when one is 
 made to suffer when conscious of doing no wrong, and con- 
 scious of endeavoring to benefit his fellow men, he will often 
 be discouraged, and feel that he is undergoing toil and vexa- 
 tion to no purpose. 
 
 We will mention now, a little more particularly, some of 
 these sources of trouble, and anxiety, which render it neces- 
 sary for us to walk circumspectly. 
 
 Many difficulties arise from the constitution of society. 
 There is a diversity among men, in natural endowments and 
 in accidental circumstances, differences in pursuits, differences 
 in tastes, in family connections, in language, and in religion, 
 which have existed among men from the remotest antiquity, 
 and which are the cause of the grouping together of men in 
 different classes, forming, as it were, different circles more or 
 less distinct, some larger and some smaller, intersecting each 
 
BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 9 
 
 other, resembling somewhat the intersecting circles formed on 
 a still surface of water when the falling drops of rain first 
 disturb it. In the days of Job there were the high and the 
 low, the rich and the poor, the bond and the free; there were 
 also then the same feelings of pride, and disposition to oppress, 
 the same feelings of hatred and envy, and the same spirit of 
 discontent, as we find in our own day. We find the same 
 feelings and the same differences in rank, not only in those 
 lands where kings rule, but also in republics, where all are 
 born free and equal, and where the words liberty, fraternity, 
 and equality, are in every mouth. There is a general feeling 
 prevailing, particularly among those of the so called lower 
 ranks, that such distinctions should not exist; but this is an 
 error, they must exist, and will exist as long as the nature of 
 man remains as it is. Society is a complicated machine, all 
 parts are not equally conspicuous or important, but each part, 
 in its proper place, is the very thing for the harmonious action 
 of the whole. Sometimes, however, on an emergency, a 
 wooden pin may be substituted for an iron bolt, but it does not 
 answer as well. A fence rail has been made to take the place 
 in a carriage of a disabled wheel, and the vehicle has reached 
 its destination with this awkward substitute, but four fence 
 rails could hardly take the place of the four wheels. Just so 
 is it in society. We find that the Creator has endowed men 
 with different talents, and has fitted them for filling different 
 positions with advantage to themselves and benefit of the 
 community. He bestows his gifts on no particular class, the 
 fool is born in the palace, and the genius in the hovel, and 
 where conventional law prevails, where a system of caste is 
 established, the fool must reign, and manage the affairs of 
 state, and the genius beg his bread. Thus the machinery of 
 society is deranged, and the easy movement of the whole 
 prevented. Christianity presents to us the proper constitution 
 of society. A time is coming when it will unite all ranks and 
 conditions in one brotherhood. "For," says Paul, "By one 
 Spirit we are all baptised into one body, whether we be Jews 
 or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all 
 
10 BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 
 
 made to drink into one Spirit."* Here is the unity. But he 
 tells us immediately afterward that, "the body to which he 
 compares this brotherhood, is not one member, but many, and 
 that if they were all one member, he asks very pertinently, 
 "where were the body?" The eye cannot say to the hand, I 
 have no need of thee, nor again, the head to the feet, I have 
 no need of you. Nay, much more those members of the body 
 
 which seem to be more feeble are necessary If one 
 
 member suffers, all the members suffer with it, and if one 
 member be honored, all the members rejoice with it." Here 
 we have presented to us, the diversity, here the sympathy, 
 here the mutual cooperation, and the harmonious and healthful 
 action of the whole, and all its parts. We have been thus 
 particular in referring to the constitution of society, as we 
 regard it, as, at present, organized, as a source of many diffi- 
 culties and dangers. 
 
 We merely mention here, that there are difficulties which 
 depend on the course of life you may pursue. Some pursuits 
 have inherently in them much more difficulties than others. 
 Thus the life of the soldier is generally a life of hardship. 
 The life of a mariner is full of toil and trouble. Of still 
 greater toil and trial is the life of the statesman. So, too, the 
 lawyer, the physician,. and the divine, each one could make a 
 volume of the vexations incident to his profession. So, also, 
 the farmer, and the tradesman, and the laborer, and the 
 lounger. But as these hardships depend not only on the 
 absolute difficulty of the labor to be performed, but also on 
 the mental constitution of the agent, and sometimes the whole 
 trouble is in this. We may pass on to the consideration of the 
 difficulties depending on the person. 
 
 Before undertaking to carry a heavy burden, we ought to 
 consider "quid valeant humeri" what our shoulders are able 
 to bear. Samson carried off the gates of Gaza, we presume 
 with no great difficulty. It was one of the labors of Hercules 
 to cleanse the Augean stables, which he did by turning the 
 
 • 1 Cor. xii. 13. 
 
BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. H 
 
 river Alpheus into them. It was a labor. It was done with 
 hard work. It was however successfully accomplished. For 
 another to have attempted it, it would have proved to have 
 been an impossibility. Just so we may sometimes aim to 
 perform a work far beyond our strength, and of course there 
 will be difficulty in the way. It was an easy thing for the 
 eagle to carry off the sheep, and for the sheep to carry off the 
 crow attempting to rival the eagle; it was impossible for the 
 crow to do the work of the eagle, though easy to make himself 
 ridiculous by attempting it. So sometimes a youth, stimulated 
 by the saying, that what one man can do another can; and. 
 captivated by the glare that is thrown around those who have 
 become famous, will aim to do that which belongs to the one 
 who has prepared himself for the work by long years of 
 patient labor, and has been blessed by his maker with talents 
 of a high order, and will thus by leaving a sphere in which he 
 might have excelled, place himself in a situation where he will 
 find the barriers insurmountable. It is hard to show the truth 
 of this by examples, for, as a general thing, those who have 
 thus aspired, have left no trace and made no mark. The 
 aerial castles, which still remain castles in the air, that some 
 in the decline of life could tell us about, would illustrate this 
 point, and the unread epics and the ponderous tomes in all 
 departments of literature and science, which are sometimes 
 exhumed in old libraries, are a more tangible evidence of labor 
 expended in vain. 
 
 Difficulties often arise, not from any want of talent, but 
 from some peculiarity of disposition. 
 
 Sometimes a disposition to be too censorious throws obsta- 
 cles in the way of success and usefulness. Every one has his 
 faults, u nemo vitiis sine nascitur" It is no hard matter for 
 me or you to take up the character of any person with whom 
 we are well acquainted, or who has been long before the 
 public, and find and present prominently to view a great many 
 faults, real faults, and often too, with little trouble we can so 
 rub them up, and burnish them, that when presented to the 
 view of others, they will be called glaring. Perhaps this may 
 
12 BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 
 
 be the reason why, in the political world, it often happens 
 that one comparatively unknown to fame is preferred to 
 another, who has been long before the public, and upon the 
 whole has done well, but who has a biography, and whose 
 faults and failings it is easy to bring to light and exaggerate. 
 The finest work of art will not bear examination with a lens, 
 nor will the best men we know, stand an examination under 
 the microscope of censoriousness. The purest water from the 
 fountain presents innumerable motes in it, when viewed in the 
 sunbeam. This spirit of censoriousness will never gain the 
 affections, it chills the warm emotions of the heart, and 
 represses the kindlier feelings. It invites indeed all with 
 whom we have anything to do to oppose us, and throw all the 
 obstacles they can in our way. He must be a rare genius 
 indeed who is able to surmount them, and a strange genius 
 who would desire to encounter such difficulties as these. We 
 must remember too, that with what measure we mete it will 
 be measured to us again, and the operation of removing the 
 beam from our eye, will be performed for us, with rather more 
 roughness than scientific skill. We must not infer from what 
 has just been said that our doctrine is, that sin should not be 
 reproved, or that we must wait for our own perfection, before 
 Ave raise up our voices against, or try to repress evil. What 
 we condemn is, that disposition to search after the faults of 
 others, bring to light their peccadilloes, and thus, by forget- 
 ting our own faults, to exalt ourselves by this unfair compari- 
 son with others. We find none of this censorious spirit in 
 that perfect specimen of human nature, the man Jesus. He, 
 it is true, did denounce with extreme severity the hypocritical 
 Scribes and Pharisees, he had authority to do so, and he 
 condemned them for their wicked acts, and the injury they 
 were doing to the community; exposing and condemning at 
 the same time their vain glorious spirit. But with respect to 
 the poor and degraded, the publicans and sinners, in whom 
 his omniscient eye could see so many blemishes, and faults and 
 sins, with what kindness and consideration does he always 
 address them, and do for them the favors that they sought. 
 
BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 13 
 
 We might mention also, bodily and mental indolence as 
 putting imaginary mountains of difficulty in the way, which 
 are often as hard to surmount as if they were real. "The 
 slothful man saith, there is a lion without, I will be slain in 
 the streets/'* "The way of the slothful man — the same wise 
 man tells us — is as a hedge of thorns," that is, as there is no 
 getting through a hedge of thorns without great pain and 
 trouble, so the indolent find the way they have to walk 
 difficult in the extreme. 
 
 We have been hitherto speaking of the hardships you may 
 be called upon to encounter in life; these often imply and 
 involve danger, but not always; a person may try to walk on 
 a narrow edge, he may find it hard to do, but not dangerous. 
 Let us then say a word on the dangers which frequently 
 present themselves on the way that lies before us. We need 
 hardly here refer to physical dangers, if we may so call them, 
 serious enough indeed, by which life is put in jeopardy at 
 every step, and against which no foresight can always guard. 
 The pious and the impious, the wise man and the fool, are 
 indiscriminately sunk to the bottom of the ocean with the 
 foundering ship. The desolating pestilence spares neither sex 
 nor age, neither high or low, or rich or poor. "All things 
 come alike to all ; there is one event to the righteous and to 
 the wicked; to the good and to the clean and to the unclean; 
 to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not; as is 
 the good, so is the sinner, and he that sweareth as he that 
 feareth an oath."f But there are evils against which we may 
 guard, and against which it is worth while, particularly for 
 those about to enter into active life, to put themselves on their 
 guard, as the ruined hopes and blasted prospects of thousands 
 show, whose future was to them once as hopeful and cheering as 
 yours is to you. Not more plainly do the bleaching bones of 
 camels and of men, which the traveler through the desert 
 sands meets with, tell him of she perils of his journey, than 
 the ruined condition of many whose life was once full of hope, 
 
 • Prov. xxii. 13. f Eccl. ix. 2. 
 
14 BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 
 
 point out to us the perils of life's journey. Look at the 
 myriads whom intemperance has ruined, who were once as 
 able to resist the temptation as any of you. Look, too, at the 
 ruin that the spirit of covetousness has brought on many a 
 one, who seem to have thought that life consisted in the 
 abundance of the things that they possessed. Look at the 
 numberless temptations presented to men in power, to betray 
 the confidence reposed in them, who through a spirit of 
 extravagance or covetousness, appropriate to themselves the 
 treasure with which they may be entrusted, or by false pre- 
 tences make public funds their own. Well would it be for the 
 community if the evil consisted only in the pecuniary loss it 
 sustains, or if the evil consisted only in the loss of self-respect 
 or character, or the utter ruin of the individual ! But those 
 who are set on high places are examples, their conduct is 
 authority, and if the system of peculation can only be carried 
 on successfully, that is, so as to have the appearance of being 
 done according to law, a host of imitators will arise in every 
 inferior grade of life. Even the robber will find an argument 
 to justify himself, and will say, if these great men may with 
 impunity rob a rich public treasury, why may not I appropri- 
 ate to myself the contents of some rich man's purse. If, too, 
 those who are set up to make laws, break them, or make the 
 administration of justice a farce in the higher courts, what 
 may we not expect in the lower. 
 
 Human nature is much alike wherever we find it. All men 
 have their failings, their appetites and desires. The world is 
 full of temptations to excessive indulgence — full of induce- 
 ments to gratify ourselves altogether irrespective of the rights 
 of others. The great tempter himself is always busy, operat- 
 ing on the weakness and depravity of human nature, seeking 
 the ruin of all. There are dangers on every side against 
 which we must guard, and for which we must prepare. 
 
 Banger attends lofty aspirations. Even those who are best 
 prepared to scale the rugged mount of fame, are in continual 
 peril. A brave heart, energy, and self-reliance arc necessary 
 for one who would scale these steep ascents. But more is 
 
BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE 15 
 
 necessary than confidence and assurance. Of these two qual- 
 ities the aspiring Phaeton had a superabundance. His young 
 and inexperienced heart beat high, at the thought of the glory 
 he would derive from driving the chariot of the sun for a 
 single day. His father presented to him the great difficulty 
 and danger of the undertaking, but all in vain. He held his 
 parent to his rashly made promise. He made the attempt, 
 and brought ruin on himself, and disaster to the world. He 
 had the consolation, perhaps, in his dying hour arising from 
 the reflection that he had failed in a mighty undertaking. 
 Icarus, too, raising himself on wings, which his skilfull father 
 Diedalus had made for him, by flying too high, soaring too 
 near the sun, his wax-united pinions felt its influence, and he 
 lost his life, and had the honor of giving his name to the 
 Icarian sea. These are dangers to which the ambitious, who 
 undertake tasks for which they are not competent, are contin- 
 ually exposed. 
 
 We now turn to the Preparations for, and safeguards 
 against difficulties and dangers. 
 
 If a journey must be made through a dangerous country; 
 if the company of travelers is large; if they are well armed; 
 if they are vigilant and courageous; we will not feel very 
 apprehensive as to their safety. We will speak of them as 
 being a strong band. Their strength, which consists in their 
 courage and their preparation, is their safeguard. If an 
 enemy makes an attack on a well built and well garrisoned 
 fortress, the safety of those within depends on its strength, 
 and their remaining within the enclosure. Those that are 
 weak are thus virtually made strong by the situation in which 
 they are placed. If the large vessel lying at anchor is 
 exposed to the sudden gale of wind, should its cable part, ruin 
 awaits it. Its safety depends on the fibre of the well twisted 
 hemp, or on the tenacity of the noble metal iron. So, my 
 young friends, in the journey of life, in the great battle of life, 
 there is need constantly of strength. Of strength to resist, 
 strength to attack, strength to hold on to what we have 
 attained, strength to reach forward and grasp more, strength 
 
1(3 BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 
 
 to stand and maintain our standing, strength to go, to walk, 
 to mount up, and fly, strength in our individual capacity, and 
 strength in our connections with others. We will sometimes 
 speak of a person, as a strong man, who has the ability to 
 control men, manage and direct affairs, present important 
 truths either with the mouth or pen, in such a way as to con- 
 vince the doubting or counteract the efforts of the designing. 
 We never, in this connection, think of the brawny sinews, or 
 the strength of arm. Paul the great Apostle to the Gentiles, 
 was a strong man, judging by the power he exerted when 
 living, and has exerted and still exerts by his writings. Yet, 
 according to all tradition, he was small in stature, and no 
 doubt his enemies were not far wrong when they said of him, 
 "his bodily presence is weak."* He speaks of himself, 
 indeed, "as being mean in outward appearance," f and of the 
 kindness of the Galatians for not scorning or loathing him on 
 account of his bodily infirmity .J We might refer to the 
 emaciated Calvin, and call him a strong man, when we reflect 
 on the power he wielded in his own day, and the influence of 
 his writings at the present time. Compared with these men, 
 Samson and Hercules and Milo were weak. The wise man is 
 strong. So says Solomon. Knowledge is poiver. So says 
 Lord Bacon. The same sentiment is expressed by both, by 
 the former concretely and the latter abstractly. Wisdom, 
 true wisdom, is the great desideratum in making what may be 
 called a prosperous voyage on the ocean of life. The expe- 
 rienced navigator who knows of the hidden rocks, and has 
 prepared his vessel for the storm, and for the prosperous gale, 
 rides safely into port. So he who has that wisdom which is 
 profitable to direct, can avoid the dangers and grapple success- 
 fully with the difficulties and dangers he may meet with in 
 life. 
 
 The wise man readily perceives the relations of things. 
 "Wisdom indeed consists in the choice of proper ends and 
 proper means." Ingenuity, skill, design, are terms which 
 
 * 2 Cor. x. 10. | 2 Cor. x. 1. J Gal. iv. 14. 
 
BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 17 
 
 imply the perception of these relations, the adaptation of 
 
 means to ends, and are certainly implied in the term wisdom. 
 
 But there may be evidences of ingenuity, skill, and design, 
 
 and still the person who presents these evidences could hardly 
 
 be regarded as wise. If a person should spend his time and 
 
 labor in contriving a machine for accomplishing some object 
 
 which could be done better by more simple means, we would 
 
 hardly call him wise, though we might praise him for his 
 
 ingenuity. The counterfeiter, the gambler, knaves of various 
 
 kinds, often display more skill and exercise more prudence in 
 
 their nefarious occupations, than the honest man does in the 
 
 successful pursuit of his business. We may call these knaves 
 
 shrewd, long-headed, skilfull and ingenious, but we would 
 
 hardly call them wise. Still the world calls "him intelligent, 
 
 who manages his affairs well, who by his sagacity remunerates 
 
 himself well, and who elevates himself among his fellow men; 
 
 while perhaps the only object he had in view, was his own 
 
 personal aggrandizement. So that we find the term wisdom 
 
 sometimes used when there is a choice of means for improper 
 
 ends : and we must determine the character or the quality of 
 
 the wisdom — whether it is praiseworthy or desirable, or 
 
 whether to be condemned and rejected — by the object to which 
 
 it has reference. Thus we are told that the children of this 
 
 world are, in their generation, wiser than the children of 
 
 light.* And we are also told that, "the wisdom of this world 
 
 is foolishness with God."f 
 
 The term knowledge is sometimes confounded with wisdom, 
 but they are easily distinguished. In the words of Dr. Dick : 
 "Knowledge is the simple apprehension of things as they are, 
 as the eye perceives the objects presented to it; wisdom is 
 the arrangement of our ideas in proper order, and in such a 
 train as to produce some useful practical result. The instru- 
 ment of acquiring knowledge is the understanding alone; but 
 wisdom implies volition, or a purpose to effect an end, and tl e 
 choice of the means by which it will be accomplished. In 
 
 * Luke xvi. 8. t 1 Cor. iii. 19. 
 
18 BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 
 
 creatures they are often separated. Wisdom cannot exist 
 without knowledge, but knowledge may exist without wisdom, 
 and accordingly there are men possessing very extensive 
 information, who in their conduct give many proofs of thought- 
 lessness and folly.''* 
 
 The merely learned man, who has much knowledge, but 
 little wisdom, is like a man who keeps his library in a box, 
 the books thrown in without any arrangement. The wise 
 man, on the other hand, keeps his well arranged on shelves ; 
 the former has the same knowledge, or perhaps a great deal 
 more knowledge than the latter, but he seldom has it at com- 
 mand, and were it not for the gratification it gives himself, he 
 might as well have no knowledge at all. The other can use 
 what he has to the advantage both of himself and others. 
 Learning or knowledge is like the stock of goods, and wisdom 
 the ability to arrange and display it, and dispose of it. In 
 education it is of importance to acquire the stock of ideas, but 
 of more importance to acquire skill in the arrangement and 
 use of them. And as the prudent business man is continually 
 adding to his stock and extending his business, so will the 
 professional man be always a learner, and will thus be adding 
 to his strength and usefulness, and will prepare himself for 
 the difficulties he may have to encounter. We may also see 
 from this, the propriety of the Apostle's exhortation, not to 
 act as fools, but to walk with precision, with accuracy, as wise 
 men do. 
 
 In the different professions there is a stock of knowledge 
 which is peculiar to each, which should be laid up in prepar- 
 ing for that particular walk in life. The Physician has to 
 direct his attention to subjects very different from those that 
 the Lawyer studies; while, at the same time, there is a certain 
 sort of knowledge common to and necessary for all, which 
 every one should have in order to enable him to maintain a 
 high standing in the community. In whatever pursuit, then, 
 you may engage, your success in life, your ability to meet its 
 
 * Dick, Vol. 1, Sec. xxii. 
 
BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 19 
 
 hardships and encounter its dangers, depends on this God-given 
 wisdom, and the ability that it gives you, to use to advantage 
 the talents entrusted to your care. It is true, that in some of 
 the walks of life, it requires, at least as far as this world is 
 concerned, but little wisdom in directing one's course. Take, 
 for example, the life of him who, born to affluence, has 
 nothing to do, and who does it faithfully, and lives to eat, and 
 to furnish the tailor with a walking advertisement; even this 
 fop will find some wisdom necessary for him, not much 
 indeed, but a little — a very little. He knows how to put on 
 his clothes with taste; he knows how to walk with grace, not 
 circumspectly however, for his eyes are in the ends of the 
 earth ; he knows, too, when he is hungry, and how and what 
 to eat; he needs some wisdom to direct and control this 
 knowledge. The small stock of knowledge he has proves 
 sufficient for his purpose; his chief end being to glide 
 smoothly through life, and so he often does, until in old age 
 he may come to the rapids, the existence of which he did not 
 know, and at last the cataract receives him, and there we 
 leave him. 
 
 If the great and only object of your life is popularity 
 among men, or to get in some office of honor and profit, it 
 will require a much greater amount of wisdom, both in 
 preparing yourselves for the place, and in overcoming the 
 obstacles in your path. As to the quality of this wisdom, as 
 things are now-a-days, we have not much to say ; nor have we 
 anything to say against the desire to be popular — to be held 
 in esteem by those with whom we associate — nor do we say 
 anything against the desire to hold a responsible office, but 
 we do find fault with the overweening desire sometimes mani- 
 fested to become popular by those who care nothing for the 
 reality, if they only have the appearance of being meritorious, 
 who desire this distinction among men, so that their own 
 inordinate vanity may be gratified by the incense that is 
 offered to it. As it is our design to show how we may prepare 
 for, and avoid, and overcome, and resist, the hardships of life, 
 in this present world, it may not be amiss to give a word of 
 
20 BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 
 
 advice to the mere popularity seeker. Let him feel the 
 importance of assurance, and act accordingly. Aided by this, 
 let him become all things to all men, of course with a much 
 greater power of adaptation than the Apostle, who among the 
 Jews became a Jew, among the weak became weak, and 
 among the Athenian Philosophers, he was a Philosopher; but 
 there was a limit to his power of adaption, when at Lystra he 
 could not become a heathen God, though he might have, by so 
 doing, increased his popularity almost indefinitely among the 
 idolatrous people. No! there should be no limits of adapting 
 oneself, to him who aspires after universal popularity. Among 
 the pious, he is pious; among infidels, he scoffs at all revealed 
 religion; among the profane, he is profane. He is a gentle- 
 man among gentlemen; a rowdy among rowdies; he laughs 
 with those that laugh, and seems to weep with those who 
 weep ; and he drinks with those that drink. So that, by thus 
 becoming all things to all men, he may, peradventure, gain 
 some applause, and save some — votes. We hope better things 
 of you, young gentlemen, than that you should be satisfied 
 with these low things; you, I trust, will always aspire after 
 something that is truly ennobling, and are resolved to seek 
 for that, let the consequences, as to the present life, be 
 what they may. 
 
 There is nothing, in my judgment, that fits a man so well 
 for meeting the difficulties of life, and surmounting them, as 
 the having a conscience void of offense. That inward monitor 
 not only warns, but strengthens and inspires with confidence, 
 if its possessor will only pay attention to its friendly sugges- 
 tions. It is not to him like the rattlesnake, which warns and 
 then inflicts a deadly wound, but like the trusty watch dog, 
 whose bark gives notice of the presence of the enemy, and 
 who stands ready to defend his master with his teeth. Its 
 admonitions, we are aware, are often unheeded, and they who 
 do so, only store up for themselves wrath, against the day of 
 wrath, and this now friendly monitor will inflict the painful 
 wounds of remorse, and become itself the worm that never 
 dies. We know that the temptation is often strong to stifle 
 
BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 21 
 
 and disregard the voice of conscience, particularly in those 
 cases where its suggestions should be most scrupulously 
 attended to. Cases of this kind frequently occur to men in 
 public life, who too often think but little of the world to 
 come, when by yielding to their convictions of right, they will 
 lose caste, and put in jeopardy their fortunes and their future 
 prospects. What are such men to do? they have not lived 
 for the eternal world, but only for the present; if, then, they 
 lose their present advantage, they lose all. Hence, we find 
 if sacrifices must be made in order that conscience may be 
 satisfied, so few that are ready to make the sacrifice, so few 
 who are ready to leave all and follow the Saviour. Suppose 
 a person has toiled and struggled and labored hard for years 
 to attain those things which he esteems good, and has thought 
 of nothing more than present advantage; why should he lose 
 all these things, when a lie would save them? When, by 
 injuring some poor obscure and friendless individual, or com- 
 munity, which the world could easily spare, why hesitate to 
 do it, when a great advantage would accrue to ourselves? 
 why hesitate to do the wrong? Why should the statesman 
 care for an evil which may result from his action, when 
 posterity perhaps, will be the only sufferers? But why 
 regard posterity? Posterity never did anything for him — 
 Posterity has no existence. Perhaps he will console himself 
 with the reflection that God will bring good out of the evil he 
 is doing. Why should Pontius Pilate hesitate to scourge 
 Jesus, the humble and friendless Nazarene, and deliver him 
 into the hands of wicked men to be put to death? though he 
 knew him to be innocent, and had the power to release him, 
 though doubtless, it would have been at the risk of his com- 
 fort, and popularity among the Jews. We all, somehow or 
 other, feel that we ought always to act according to our sense 
 of right, and we feel too that, in the long run, it is best for 
 the community, that right and justice should always prevail, 
 but it is hard for us to give any reason to one who lives only 
 for the present life, why he should forego so many advantages 
 and suffer so much evil, merely for the sake of doing what 
 
22 BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 
 
 conscience approves of. The truly, upright, honest, conscien- 
 tious Christian man is often compelled in this life to spend 
 his days most wretchedly, and that too on account of his 
 integrity. Paul says : "If in this life only we have hope, we 
 are of all men most miserable;"* and in the same chapter he 
 refers to the folly of encountering difficulties in maintaining 
 the truth, if we live only for the present life; our wisdom, if 
 there is no hereafter, is to follow the epicurean direction, "to 
 eat, drink, and be merry, lor to-morrow we die." In fact, 
 young gentlemen, this innate feeling that we have, that we 
 find existing in all races of men, and in all ages, of the 
 obligation we are under to do right, and to acknowledge the 
 supremacy of conscience, taken in connection with the fact, 
 that virtue is not only not rewarded, but is often actually 
 punished as a crime, is almost a perfect demonstration of the 
 doctrine that there is a future state of rewards and punish- 
 ments. From what we have now stated, we think we have 
 the key to the explanation of the actions of two different 
 classes of eminent men the world has presented. The one 
 comprehends those who are guided in their actions by expedi- 
 ency and self interest, who are often pests to society, and 
 unhappy in their lives; the other, those of whom the world 
 was not worthy; whose aim in life was to live uprightly, and 
 to promote the best interests of mankind, and to resist the 
 evil and tyranny of the former class, in their selfish efforts to 
 elevate themselves among their fellow men. We need not 
 ask which of these two classes is more worthy of our com- 
 mendation and imitation. Let then conscience, conscience 
 enlightened by God's truth, reign supreme; it will often 
 enable to avoid evils and troubles, if it do not, it will prepare 
 for encountering and conquering them; and it always, in 
 whatever situation its possessor may be placed, produces an 
 enviable state of mind. 
 
 Often it requires great zeal, and energy, and activity in 
 order to meet successfully the troubles and vexations that 
 
 * 1 Cor. xv. 10. 
 
BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 23 
 
 present themselves; but there are cases which occur when one 
 who has a good conscience, in the midst of commotion and 
 confusion, raised by evil doers, may find that his best course 
 is to do nothing — is to remain at rest, like one in an impreg- 
 nable fortress when savages are yelling around it. 
 
 When the Israelites were threatened with an invasion of 
 the Assyrians, the inhabitants of Jerusalem were in a terrible 
 perplexity, they were for sending immediately to Pharaoh for 
 help. The prophet Isaiah condemned their policy, he told 
 them, speaking in the name of Jehovah, that, "their strength 
 was to sit still." * 
 
 Many years ago there was a society, formed in the city of 
 Philadelphia, of infidels, enthusiastic admirers of Paine, whose 
 object was to put down the upholders of revealed religion, and 
 defame and abuse all that the Christian regards as most holy. 
 The clergy of the city were somewhat alarmed; how were 
 these infidels to be met? in what way restrained and pre- 
 vented from doing injury to the cause of religion? were the 
 anxious questions proposed. After various suggestions had 
 been made, it was finally agreed to let them alone. And the 
 result showed the wisdom of this course. Thus, often fanatics 
 arise, possessed, as it were, by some crotchet, some new 
 religion perhaps, or some scheme by which all evils may be, 
 in a very short time, removed from the world; many are 
 misled, and quite a commotion is produced in the community. 
 What ought to be done ? Of course a general rule cannot be 
 laid down, but this we think may be safely said, as long as 
 they write and talk, and rant and rave, and attempt to carry 
 all before them by getting up an excitement, and strive to 
 provoke retaliation, it is far better to present nothing for 
 them to work upon, but to let them run their course, keeping, 
 as far as is possible, all the children out of their way. It is in 
 vain to reason with such, they care not for reason; it is 
 useless to present the truth to their followers, who, honest 
 though they may be, are blinded by their prejudices; it would 
 
 * Isaiah xxx. 7. 
 
24 BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 
 
 hardly be worth while, if there were power to fine and im- 
 prison such, for this would give them something of the aspect 
 of persecuted sufferers, and give them some of that notoriety 
 which they covet so much. The counsel given to the Sanhe- 
 drim by Rabbi Gamaliel, when the Apostles were brought 
 before it, was sensible : "Now I say unto you, refrain from 
 these men and let them alone, for if this counsel or this work 
 be of men, it will come to nought."* Yes! let them alone, 
 for in the cases to which we have referred the work and 
 counsel is of men, let them, and those whom they have deceived 
 have full swing — let them shout, and hoot, and rave, and 
 bellow, to their heart's content, let them strain their arms in 
 beating the air, and their lungs with their vociferations, and 
 when they are tired, they will quit, and, like the infatuated 
 herd of swine we have read of, before long, they will rush 
 down some steep place into the sea of oblivion. 
 
 We would be neglecting our duty if we would not, in 
 speaking of these various safeguards, present to you religion 
 prominently and preeminently, as we have aimed to do, 
 implicitly in what we have already said, as the great safeguard. 
 We mean by religion, the religion of Jesus, as presented to us 
 in the Bible — "that acknowledgment," as the word implies, 
 "of our bond or obligation, as created beings to God our 
 Creator, .... and a strict and conscientious discharge or 
 observance of our duties or obligations to each other as fellow 
 creatures, or creatures of the same God." 
 
 Religion has not, it is true, always preserved its professors 
 against the tribulations of life^ indeed it has been the occasion 
 of great calamities, and of the severest sufferings, but it may 
 be asked, has the neglect of religion been more fortunate in 
 this respect; we think if we would look at the matter aright, 
 not referring to individual instances, but to the general influ- 
 ence of religion, and of irreligion or infidelity, we would find 
 that for the one evil that religion, in a worldly point of view, 
 has occasioned, the want of religion has occasioned ten : and 
 
 *Acta v. 38. 
 
BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 25 
 
 for the thousands of blessings, real sweeteners of life, that 
 religion has produced, infidelity, perhaps — we will try to do it 
 justice — has been the cause of one. The plain proof of this is, 
 the elevation of Christian nations over all others; and if that 
 small leaven of pure Christianity which is working in the so 
 called Christian nations of the world, can effect so much, what 
 would be the case when they are, as they certainly will be, 
 completely pervaded by its influence. This benign influence 
 on the community is of course produced by its action on the 
 individual. While he who seeks the "bubble reputation e'en in 
 the cannon's mouth," and wades through blood for crowns and 
 greatness, often committing excesses, and doing deeds of high 
 handed villainy, which can be imperfectly palliated only by 
 the terrible necessity of the occasion, is filled with anxiety 
 and fear, and is dissatisfied and unhappy, even if successful in 
 the object of his pursuit; he whose heart is filled with the 
 religion of the Son of God, has none of these peace-destroying 
 and heart-corroding cares and fears. He may be a sufferer. 
 His religion may not enable him to escape the evils, but it 
 enables him to endure. It gives its possessor a noble and 
 elevated character, which even the infidel cannot but admire. 
 About eighteen hundred years ago, the Emperor Nero sat 
 upon the throne of the Roman Empire. He was the repre- 
 sentative of the most powerful monarchy the world has ever 
 seen. He was however detested and loathed even by the 
 corrupt Romans. They despised him for his want of dignity, 
 for his insatiable desire of applause. Before him stood Paul 
 the prisoner, in fetters, accused of sedition, one of a despised 
 and persecuted sect. The one had all that an ambitious man 
 could desire, the other had none of those things that the world 
 calls good. Which character would any one in his senses 
 envy most? Who would prefer the Nero to the Apostle — the 
 Emperor to the Christian prisoner.* 
 
 It is unnecessary for me to dwell on the excellence of that 
 book of books, which contains the revealed will of God, and 
 
 * See Howson & Conybeare's Life of St. Paul, Vol. II., p. 632, &c. 
 
0(3 BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 
 
 should be our rule of faith and manners; and to which, as 
 supreme authority, we refer you for the principles of the 
 Christian Religion. We cannot commend this sacred volume 
 to you in too high terms. Look at its treasures of wisdom, its 
 sublime and its heart-touching poetry, its deep philosophy, its 
 simplicity of style, its adaptation to all ages, to all ranks and 
 races and conditions; it is a book for the king — for all in 
 authority — for the deep-thinking metaphysician, and for those 
 in the very humblest walks of life; presenting precepts and 
 principles invaluable to all, even as regards the present life. 
 It is true, it records some things hard to be believed, but it 
 seems to us that there could be no miracle greater than^ this, 
 that we should find persons living in ages so remote from each 
 other as the sacred writers lived, speaking different languages, 
 as many of them did, of pursuits and conditions in life so 
 different, as we know many of them to have been, all with one 
 united voice testifying to the great truths of the Christian 
 Religion. They all declare the unity of God; they all teach 
 us his absolute sovereignty; they all teach man's depravity; 
 and that there is but one way of salvation, viz. : that by the 
 atoning blood of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the 
 world. If in the days of the author of the cxixth Psalm, the 
 reply to the question: "By what means shall a young man 
 cleanse his way?" could be given in this language, "by taking 
 heed thereto according to thy word," with how much more 
 force, when we have the complete canon, when we have the 
 utterances of Him who spake as never man spake, can we 
 commend to you, and all young men, this sacred volume as 
 their moral law, as the book of books, as the fountain of 
 wisdom for the living and the dying! 
 
 Would 'st live? The path of life 
 
 This book prescribes pursue. 
 Is death at hand? It telleth thee 
 
 How death thou may 'st subdue. 
 
 What noble examples have we in the sacred volume of great 
 and good men. Men, it is true, with imperfections and infirm- 
 
BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 27 
 
 ities like ourselves. They gained favor with God, we need 
 not therefore be discouraged. But we want a perfect model, 
 and that the sacred volume furnishes. 
 
 The sculptor, who has a desire to excel, and feels within 
 himself the stirring of genius, will not content himself with 
 inferior models, he will leave his native land and go to Italy, 
 where the art has almost reached perfection. His beau ideal 
 of the human form is not found in any single individual, but 
 the perfections of many are grouped together into his one 
 faultless image. Let me then commend to you who desire to 
 form as nearly as possible a perfect character, Jesus, the son 
 of Mary, the brightness of His Father's glory, and the express 
 image of his person, as the model man. In Him, in whom is 
 united both the divine and human natures, we have a character 
 of sinless perfection; in whom and by whom human nature is 
 exalted, and the sinful children of Adam may be prepared for 
 an elevation, and for a condition high and holy beyond any- 
 thing we can imagine. 
 
 While thus having endeavored to show the necessity of 
 walking circumspectly, by presenting some few of the dangers 
 and hardships which we are most likely to encounter, and also 
 the preparation necessary for meeting them, and of some of 
 the safeguards which we may have at command, let us now, in 
 closing, direct your attention to the expression, contained in 
 the text, "redeeming the time." 
 
 There is no one, we may safely say, who has thought at all 
 on the subject, who has not at some period or other of his life, 
 regretted opportunities lost, time wasted, or badly used. 
 Time past can never be recalled, it is one of the absolute 
 impossibilities, impossible even for Deity himself, to undo 
 what has been done, to roll back the wheels of time, so that 
 we may gather up some of the precious moments we have lost. 
 Hence the unavailing regrets of many in their old age, If they 
 only could live their lives over again, how differently they 
 would have acted, they will blame themselves for their folly 
 in not taking advice of the experienced; of their stupidity in 
 not seeing the evil consequences of many of their own vain 
 
28 BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 
 
 notions; and in despising the means once within their power 
 of guarding against the evil day. Their opportunity is forever 
 gone. The harvest is past, the summer is ended and they are 
 not saved! While to these and to you the past is irretrievably 
 gone, to you, however, there is this difference: they are 
 ending their days, to them the night is coming in which no 
 man can work ; for you, we trust, there is a bright future, 
 and we have not much reason to believe that any of you 
 have much misspent time to regret, but whatever it may be, it 
 may be redeemed, though it cannot be recalled. He who has 
 trifled away his time, may sometimes avoid the evil conse- 
 quences of his folly, he may run and reach the train just as it 
 is starting. He redeems his time, but far better would it be 
 to improve the precious moments as they pass, and save one's 
 self the trouble and the vexation and risk of this extra exer- 
 tion. By doing the right thing in the right way, at the right 
 time and in the right place, much trouble will be avoided, and 
 there will be none of that remorse which so embitters the 
 years of those who look back on a life of wasted, or worse 
 than wasted time. 
 
 It will be unnecessary for me to detain you by endeavoring 
 to enforce what has already been said by referring to the 
 profit resulting from pursuing such a course as we have 
 suggested. As far as the enjoyment of the blessings of this 
 world is concerned, the honest and honorable course required 
 by Christianity, is in no wise inconsistent with the accumula- 
 tion and enjoyment of wealth. In fact it gives a peculiar zest 
 to the luxuries of the wealthy, and makes the little that a just 
 man hath more and far better than the wealth of those who 
 are lewd and wicked. Neither is a religious profession incon- 
 sistent with being in high esteem in the community. The 
 truly conscientious Christian man scorns to court the favor of 
 any class by cringing sycophancy. He commands respect, 
 and even should he, by his opposition to evil, incur the ill 
 will of a majority, the esteem that he retains and commands, 
 small as it may be, is worth far more than that which is 
 purchased by the popularity seeker, who so anxiously hunts 
 
BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 29 
 
 after it, and who flatters in order to gain it, and is often 
 despised by those who profess to praise him and support him. 
 Further, can we value sufficiently an approving conscience? 
 Certainly that man is not to be envied who dreads nothing so 
 much as communion with himself, who plunges into all 
 excesses in order that he may escape the uneasiness his 
 conscience would give him. And suppose that the battle of 
 life has been fought, and you can say, as was said by a hero 
 of old, that you had fought a good fight, that you had kept 
 the faith, and that you were ready to receive that crown which 
 God the righteous Judge had laid up for you. Is not this 
 worth something? Certainly he is much to be pitied who does 
 not think that a happy eternity is worth his seeking and his 
 winning, and to be preferred to all that the world can give, 
 yes, to the whole world itself! 
 
 It will do no harm to you, young gentlemen, not to be too 
 sanguine in your expectations, as to the ease and success you 
 may have in the future. If God in his good providence gives 
 you peace and prosperity, regard it as it really is, a gift — as 
 so much clear gain. If hardships and dangers present them- 
 selves, meet them and overcome them; and remember, for no 
 one likes to make a bad bargain, not to spend your labor for 
 that which profiteth not, not to wear away your life for that 
 which, at the close of it, you yourselves will pronounce vain 
 and altogether worthless, at the same time sacrificing an 
 eternity of happiness. Should a life of ease and pleasure and 
 worldly honor, and a life of hardship and suffering, be pre- 
 sented to your choice, on the supposition that these conditions 
 should be reversed in the eternal world, choose, by all means, 
 the evil that will end in good, not the good that will end in 
 misery. This thought is prettily expressed in a Latin epigram 
 I have met with, on a crown of gold and a crown of thorns : 
 
 "Behold two crowns! the one, a crown of thorns, 
 
 The other crown, of gold. 
 That one with jagging prickles, rough, while this 
 
 Full many a gem adorns. 
 
30 BACCALAUREATE DISCOURSE. 
 
 Thou see 'st, ! man, the thorns, those piercing thorns 
 
 Do heaven call to mind; 
 Proofs are they of high heaven's boundless love — 
 
 Of Christ's love for mankind. 
 
 If thou art wise, and when the chance is given, 
 
 The thorns choose for thy head. 
 The crown now bearing thorns, in after time 
 
 Will rays of glory shed. 
 
 Beware of that which shines with dazzling light 
 
 Of gold, deceitful gold! 
 Now sending forth its rays, in after time 
 
 Death's stings it will unfold. 
 
 Come then! who e'er thou art, or young or old, 
 
 Desiring to pursue 
 The thorny path of right, attend these words, 
 
 And thou will find them true. 
 
 Within the crown of gold a crown of thorns lies hid, 
 
 Within the thorns is gold. 
 Choose not that good which ends in ill; but choose 
 
 Those ills which good enfold." 
 
 With this good counsel we close, and I now, in my own 
 name, and that of my colleagues, express our best wishes for 
 the prosperity of you, with whom we have spent many pleas- 
 ant hours, and have had so little to mar the comfort of that 
 interesting relation in which we have been placed for a few 
 years past, and our prayer is that God the Saviour would have 
 you constantly in His holy keeping, and would guard you 
 against the evils of life, and would prepare you for a life of 
 activity in His service, in His own heavenly kingdom. 
 
HON • 3, 
 
 ik. 
 
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