Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1853-09-02
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Pres. Malcom's Baccalaureate Address
LEwIsBURG UNIVERSITY, AUG. l., 1853.

LEwIsBURG UNIVERSITY, AUG. l., 1858.
GENTLEMEN You have now passed
through the curriculum of liberal educa
tion, and received the honors to which
your diligence and proficiency entitlc you
In addressing you now for the last time as
your President, it is not with the hope to
make up my manifold Deficiencies as a tea
cher, nor for the mere purpose of perform
ing an appropriate ceremony, but in order
to avail myself of the last opportunity of
suggesting useful hints, and to express, on
behalf of the Faculty, in this public man.
ner, our sentiments of affecticnate regard.
A host of topics present themselves as
suitable for parting words, but the occasion
limits me to two or three, and in choosing
these am led not by the opportunity they
afford of exhibiting my rhetoric, nor even
by their pre-eminent Importance above all
other counsels but l limit myself to these
because l can not say much, and these
hints comport with my present mood.
I. Tie Importance Of PRoMrTITuDE an
action. Already have you seen evidences
of this in the recitation room, where the
effect of neglecting one lesson may remain
perceptible through the course of that
study. Just so have you seen the effect of
want of promptitudc on the play ground,
and so will you see it in the operations Of
life. The actual and immediate loss is
never the whole result of postponed act.
Every day and every act has numerous,
though often not Obvious relations to COM
ing events, and one negligence by chain
of sequences which no human power can
control, involves confusion, embarrassment
and possibly defeat.
Want of promptitudc is waste of time,
for either the duty must at last be discharged
under tenfold embarrassment, and to the
neglect of duties then encumbent, or it is
utterly irretrievable, and ones whole life
perhaps eternity-must feel the conse-
quence.
But beside all losses and embarrassments
growing out of want of promptitudc,
there is a still greater penalty, the enfcc-
bling of the mind itself TO allow our
selves to neglect an action at its right mo-
ment, is to introduce lassitude and anarchy
among our faculties The subordination
which should exist among our several pow
ers can not be maintained, if dictates OF
love, duty, or interest are wantonly set
aside either through cowardice, Incidence,
or indecision.
Not unfrequcntly we are kept from an
act at its proper juncture by anxious and
prolonged delibcration-unable to decide .
till the use of deciding has passed away. |
| am no enemy to full deliberation;
but the arrival Of the crisis must
foreclose it. Deliberation is a means
to an end, and when unrcasonably !
prolonged, is nothing but painful and per-
nicious hesitancy. Better is it to act, II
We are not quite sure, for life is action,
earnest, laborious action.
"Nf, sine magno
Vita Lahore, dctt mnTtahhus.
IIoE. SAT. LIE. Q, g. |
Fastcn your mind on the question, and
if it be an important one, fast, pray, seek
advice, reflect, bring before you every cir
cumstance and consequent, then determine,
and, after such decision, let the matter
stay decided. Treat every doubt, which
docs not grow out Of some new considera'
ton, as temptation of the devil, or
weakness of your own judgment. Let the
worst come, you will be secure Of having
the consciousness of having cndeavored to
do right, and this, after all, is mans high
est reward, next to the appreciation of God.
H. Another consideration which l
would now urge upon you is Ac import
ance Of harmony Of character. The
longer you live, the more will you see
the consequence Of proportion and adjust
ment in your preferences and pursuits, de-
termined by comprehensive recognition
OF what is good and true. Splendid geni-
uses have flashed their brilliancy on aston
ished communities, but the glory Of their |
talents was dimmcd by the faults Of their
lives; and while they dazzled, they led
astray. Even the benevolent apostle Of |
some prominent form of charity, has on
the whole made his life damage by his
exclusiveness and has driven himself into
Scme frctful retirement, where both his