The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-06-25
EDUCATION.
ADDRESS OF w. .. ROGERS, ESQ.
Delivered at the C9nns ncement Exercises
or the sylvester Larned Institute.

The following eloquent address was delivered
ON Thursday evening last at The First Pres
byterian Church. by Mr.. w. o. Rogers, on the
occasion Of the commencement exercises OF the
Sylvester Larned Institute, of this city:
When person OF cultivated tastes studies
some masterpiece Of genius and art, the emotion
which he experiences are doubtless varied and
complex. With critical skill he examines the
several details, their proportion and complete
pesa the grace ana beauty Of the figures, the
delicate blending of oolors, the correct applica-
tion OF established principles 10 the general de-
sign. But behind. beyond all these particulars
there lies the soul of the artist, the ideal con
ceptipn uf which the painting, or the statue, are
but the concrete embodiment Then the uuess
tion naturally ar,sss the test question, What was
the design and purpose Of the master mind how
far has he worked out that design, and revealed
that purpose In the polished marble or on the
glowing canvass.
30, my young friends, standing as | now
do in response to YOUR sffactionate request
upon the outer edge of your school life, with
the past behind yo1, and the future stretch
ing like summer eea to your eager gaze,
in the possession OF intellect and heart, more
responsive, capable Of more perfect development
than any product of human skill we may well
ask, What has been the real work, what the tfue
aim a1d underlying purpose OF your school days2
First of all you may be sure that only one form
of results have been accomplished by the daily
lessons Of The school-foom, however well and
faithfully the duty may have been performed.
They served rs means to the acquisition OF
knowledge. or aided In the formation Of correct
habits Of study and by their friction the various
faculties Of the mind were brought into exercise.
These results have been secured with varying
degree OF success. and the means are no longer
available. You will probably not object TO let
them clip quietly. peacefully, without sigh or
murmur on your part, into oblivion.
II will be in accordance with amelancboly fate OF
school books il these companions Of your labors
are haneeforth consigned to undsturbed repose,
Az you turn from the drill and daily task to fix your
gaze upon future so full of promise you will
say that grateful for the privileges mindful of the
obigstiona you are yet willing that The dead past
shall bury its dead
With the growing power of introapeotion in the
exercise OF sell. knowledge without which allNtber
forms Of knowledge are but as idle clatter, the
conviction must have dawned upon yon that af-
ter all the real work Of your school life has been
q silent work.
It is 40 everywhere. Nature in her manifold
forms OF activity tells us no secrets OF her
work. unless the movements Of her forces are
revealed by some disturbing agents or expend
themselves in the development Of some form of
physical organization. Wherever science with
her adventurous hand seeks to unlock the cham
bers where are stored The treasures of the mate
rial universe, silence reigns supreme. The
voices which are borne to the listening ear, re-
verberatipg from the arches and alses. from the
deep vaults and he overhanging roof, are but the
echoes of the human soul in it's strong cry and
earnest call for truth. When Eolus sets free the
imprisoned winds they speak TO us only in the
rhythm OF friotion now murmuring with gentle
wbispeIings among the violets and bnttercups of
The valley, anon roaring among The tottering
trees Of the forest, or shrieking in the ears Of
the shipwrecked mariner. The insects weave
their webs. the lower animals build their cells
in forms SO beautiful in shape so symmetrical. in
adaptation so complete, yet in labor go silent,
s,tV tfts,v tl,I bat -
wand of enohantnient had been summoned TO
aid in their creation. The blood courses through
the veins, the sap obeys the same law and flows
through flower and tree, and We are permitted TO
see their Effects In conditions Of health and the
multiplied forms of activty-yet how silently and
wonderfully the work has been done.
Travellers in the arctic regiors tell us that
amid the desolation and sterility of the long and
dreary winter night the mind ia appalled, by the
silence which everywhere prevails-a silence uu-
broken by the flight Of bird or the cry of beast.
while all around mighty forces are at work. rear
ing hill and glacier, influencing the formation of
continents and the harvest season of the tenn
perate zones.
What is more wonderful than the solemn
silence with which suns and planets move IN
their allotted spheres in obedience to an irresist-
able power, and with velocity inJonoeivable
by human experience. There are wonderful |
analogies and correspondepcieS between the
material and the immaterial, between the
operations of mind and matter. When the
hu nan eoul has started upon it's long journey; |
when the intellectual powers have begun to put
forth their strength under wholesome exercise
and wise restraint. when the affections have be. |
gun TO expand under generous culture and kind |
ly influences tho progress is ever from within,
as noiseess rs the football of the years "a silent
as the growth OF the physical body.
Ii follows, them in the second place. that the |
real work OF your school life has been progress |
sive work. Ia every enterprise, in any form Of
undertaking, we a1e to consider first, the end to |
be attained, and then the mems best adapted |
for securing that end The labor which tends
most directly, most simply, and with least resist
ance to the objective point, Ia the real work. All
else il force wasted, creates additional obstacle
to be overcome, retareiDg, instead of advancing
the desired result
1t is no new thing for you to hear that all which
pssses for work in the school room is not work |
in the true meaning OF the term. Work calls
iuto exercise all the dormant powers and energies
of body or mind. Physical work transforms the
soft flesh, the tender sinewH, into the
brawpy ann aud iron frame of the me-
chanic. Night aud dsy. over all the earth,
the mighty warfare goes on-human strength
against the combined elemental forces OF nature Q.
You can her the tokens Of the conflict ringing
from the workshop by the side of the river and
from the depths OF the forest.
Work changes the wilderness into the fruitful
field spans the rivers, tunnels the mountains,
covers the face Of the earth with the products OF
skill and the refinements OF civilization. The
sohuub VI lAuueHy Ilee uou tue hDtues vi
men, everywhere, to mipgle with the hum IL the
nsects, the song OF the birds, the dash OF the
the great choral hymn Of nature. The
notes which it lends to swell the volume OF the
song are borne from grateful hearts-grateful
hat labor commands its own peculiar and sppro-
pirate recompense-that it gives bread to the
hungry, sweetens the sleep and repose Of the
weary; lmparts dignity and self respect to the
nau or woman, who feels its ennobling influence.
But If the strong arm or cunning hand of in
lustry has won victories over the material uni
7eree, how great have been the conquests Of the
Intellect, and how powerless the means of labor
Fhen undrected by skill and intelligence. What
8 more wonderful than the human mind under
Tork2 Silent AMI solitary in its own individuali-
y, no plummet may sound its depths, reed
nay measure its dimensions, no skill of the
may reveal to Us Its dwellIng-plac or
ay open to our inspection lts secret chambf rs.
n it's imperial sway it lays all forms Of matter
lnder contribution. All the senses pour into It's
their wealth Of knowledge, from which
cience deduces it's grand conclusions, and from
which the arts draw their resources OF skill for
he comfort and happiness Of men.
The mind under work has steady, constant
,rowth The text books OF the school room and