Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-06-05


after life, however higli you may rise.
however great you MAY become, or
however low you may fall, the Judgment
formed Of You in the life just closing. will
abide and be q constant reference with
your fellows.
Some persons think there is something
in college life which fills the minds Of
young men with wisdom and knowledge:
that they are sent simply as empty vessels,
TO be filled and stored with priceless
treasures, and that when young man has
entered college, and completed his course.
the work of an education is finished. This
is indeed a sad mistake. The process of
an education is simple enough to be sure,
hut you may rely upon it, it is not spon-
taneous and suddenly accomplish
ed one. Mental toll and exercise.
continuous and hard mental toll and exer-
else, are the necessary elements--the indis-
pensable elements in the acquisition of an
education and Of knowledge. You iiias
rely upon 1t, nothing more certain, Young
en'lemen, than that there is no excellence.
no real excellence, without great labor.
I "a, kings highways may conduct YOU in
ease and safety to all parts of his kingdom,
but royal road to learning and knowledge
has never been and never can be devised by
kings or colleges.
There are some among you, doubtless, to
whom the palm Of genius has been awarded
by bis fellows. To such l beg TO say, there
is no exemption from labor if he or or they
desire to arrive at high and happy excel
lence in life. And to those of you not so
blessed, suffer me to say, man without
genius, without eminent talents, may be
both useful and happy. There is place-a
place of honor, place Of usefulness, a place
essential for every young graduate now be-
fore me. And when you are gone from
these walls and are succeeded by others
by untold thousands Of others, as | trust
may be the case-for them, too, each and
every one, in the grand economies of this
life, places will be found.
Young gentl".ileI, YOU, each and all, owe
your country debt OF patriotism, and a
work that none Of you can escape. DR..
Johnson is reported to have once said that
patriotism is the last refuge of a scoun-
drel." By this forcible apotheem he did
not mean to say that there is no such gen
uine virtue, but possibly that in ninety
nine cases out of every hundred, its most
forward and noisy claimants were su-
anu uloutECoAlN cCAlol1 anu
really seeking their own aggrandize-
ment, not their cOuntTy's welfare. Most
of those before me will cast their
destiny in the Southern States. The late
war has left us with broken crests and
sted substance. If ever an afflicted
land dare call upon its children to raise it
from the dust-re- establish il in honor,
wealth and prosperity-our beloved South
ern land has the right to make such call
on you, its children. just before the break
ing out Of the war, recOllect 10 have
read speech from Hon. W. II. Seward, in
which, among other things, he run paral-
lei between New York State and Virginia,
ndput them in contrast. He spoke of the
fact that at the close of the Revolutionary
war Washington, the son Of Virginia,
was by all odds the greatest man on the
cOntinent-that the noble old State was
filed with the prOudest intellects-and fol-
lowed up the Presidential line for a series
Of succersiOns; and showed how, in fact,
the State Outranked New York. He then
puts the cOntrast-in 1850 between the
States. lie said one of the chiefest
causes why the odds we're so largely then
in favor of New York, was because the in
tellect Of Virginia, and the South gener-
ally, had been devoted TO the study and
practice Of national politics, while State
industries and home interests had been
neglected and ignored. Aud now, young
gentlemen, the picture drawn by Mr..
Seward is truer to-day than when he did
his first etchings. The power, numerical
and otherwise Of the South, has been
broken ard shattered, and can never be re-
stored until vast change is wrought at
home by faithful and intelligent develop
ment Of home interests. With far greater
territory than all the Eastern and older
Western States, capable of a larger pOpula-
tiOn, with greater water courses and coasts,
with a land rich in hope, fertility, and
promise, and cline more prOpitiOus, You
should each and all set about the resurec-
ton and elevation of the South. Make her
industrial, her commercial, her financial,
her educational, her every interest, the
theme Of your study and your lab,rs. En-
deayOr in every way TO develop her hopes
and prospects, and seek not her glory and
your Advancement, on national theatre
of politics, where almost certain weakness
and failure awaits you now and for time
to come, or in the preparation Of your be
loved country by a grand development of
and wealth; and when the time arrives Of
her complete dev. lOpment, the penOns
of glory, which were planted by
her Washington, jefferson, Madison,
Clay, and others of her illustrious |
sons, will be restored to the mai iOnal flag |
staff. The noble crest Of the Southron will |
again lead the national glory, with states
manship broad and bOundleSs as the inter |
\ !. Il, rt.ffs
yate then the interests of your beloved |
land. Nurse no rebellion to destroy |
or drench the land in frater- |
nal blood, but rather nurse the greatness |
and glory of the country from one extreme |
70 the other, by advancing the more than |
'emi-circle Ofthe national shield. Nurse |
he arts Of peace, industry and commerce,
constituted by the South. These are
solemn and hopeful duties deyOlved upon
very graduate before me, and let no one
iecline to do his duty, in this respect. Let
/ not be sung ofyou, as was done of Others,
who failed in such duty, i'll another land,
md in another time:
His wing shall the eagle flap
Ger the false hearted;
His warm blood the wolf shall lap
Ere life be parted.
Shame and dishonor sit
BY his grave ever;
Blessings shall hallOw il
Never, D, neveri
After a tribute TO Cumberland Universe
y-Alma Mater-and the illustrious alum
ii who had spread her in every pursuit of
ife, Col. GOlladay concluded as follows:
T. 1t only remains, young gentlemen, that
thank you for your kind attention, and
/ do sincerely-blessings
md success upon the heads Of each and all
# YOU. in this and in the life to come.
id you farewell.
Judge Caruthers said he had promised to
make an acceptable speech. The trouble
With him was that when he commenced
alIsing, he hardly knew where to leave of:
o. he thought the most acceptable speech
re could make under the circumstances
vas to say it in one word. ''DittO"-to
he views expressed by the able and young
a hit at DIR. Beard and Hon. Ed. L. Cola
Law. Rep.) coadjutOrs, who had preceded
lin daughter and applause).
Chancellor Green then introduced Hon.
:. NJ. Gibbs, Secretary of State, who said
hat, in the absence of Gov. Brown, he felt
allied upon 10 thank the officers Of the Uni
-ersitv for inviting the State officials to be
resent on the occasion. He had received
telegram from the Governor express
nc his deep regret in not being