The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1884-06-12
THE FRUITS OF PATIENCE.
The Baccalaureats Sermon of Rev,
Dr.. COrdley =
To the Graduating Class of the State
Normal.
A DISCOURSE ABOUNDINo IN COL
DEN WORDS o. COUNSEL
AND CHEER.

Or. CordleY for saying just the night
thing ct the right time was meyer more
happily exemplified than In his Bacca-
laureate discourse to the graduating
class Of the State Normal at the ConRre-
gational church Sunday morning. It
b this faculty for suIting his words TO
the OCCASION and for always apprehend.
ing with the incest degree of accuracy
the significance Of the event, that has
invested the work of DIR. Cordley with
such potency, and has enabled him
70 impress himself SO distinctly not
only upon the minds and condolences of
the people Of this community, but
which has given him an influence which
extends far beyond the bounds of q state
whose civilization he has enjoyed an
honorable share in fashioning.
The morning was rainy and the
weather at the hour for assembling was
very threatening. but notwithstanding
this fact the church was filed with stu.
dents and citizens. The faculty and grad
Mating class occupied seatsin the audito-
rum and entered the church to the mu-
sio Of an organ voluntary rendered by
Mime. SVendsen.
The scripture lesson was read BY e.
der Lott, OF the Christian church, and
ReY. Mr.. Dudley made the opening
prayer. The choir was composed of
Messrs. Chas. Holmes and G. Fletcher
and Mrs. Prof. Fowler and Miss Rosa
BArtch, and the music which they fur.
nished did credit TO the occasion.
Then followed the discourse, which
we take sincere pleasure in furnishing TO
our readers. We are satisfied that its
perusal will be general, and we know
that no one can read 1t without being
bettored by Its helpful words:
Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the
precious fruits OF the eaFth.-JAmes 81
This whole book is an announcement
to patience under trial. There runs
through 1t q conception that the VARYING
discipline OF life 10 like the changing sea
sons OF the year, and is the process by
which we are mAtuTed and ripened for
the kingdom. The husbandman
waiteth, with long patience, for the
precious fruits of the earth, till they
spring up, and grow and mature and
ripen. 80 do ye count It all Joy when
ye fall into divers trials. For the trial
OF your faith Worketh patience. Let pa
tience DO her full work, that ye may be
perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
Let the whole range of Gods season
pass over you, that there may be com
pleteness and Tipeness. You can have
fruit in o partial season. You may
shut out the sun and still have fruit.
You may gather when half green and
still have fruit. But If you want perfect
truit, perfect and entire, wanting moth
ing you must give 1t the full season.
You must give it the sunshine and rain,
storm and dew, winter and summer, day
and night and the full time. You must
have long patience for it.
Growth in grace follows the same
law. The fruits of character ripen slow
ly like the fruits of the field. If we
would have them perfect and entire we
must endure the changes of the
season.
LIST. We must be patient in waiting
for our growth. In this rushing age
there Is an eagerness tor shortening the
j process OF growth and saving time.
There Is great clamOr tor short cuts to
learning as there Is for air line railroads.
II ANY "NoAN wv OA N4C oARAnOCb LuC
word system; they would cut off the
spelling book by the phonetic system
they would cut off the mathematical
tables by the metric system. We cross
the continent now by rail instead
of going round Cape Horn.
Why must culture still double the cape ?
As we have condensed meat, why not
condense learning? Why not give our
boys the results of learning and leave
out the processesP Why spend so much
time in solving the problem Of the suns
distance when it has already been
solved, and boy may commit the re-
suit 60 memory in five minutes? Why
must our boys climb up the hill Of
they can haYe their fathers pony and
ride?
But "there Is no, royal road to learn.
ing" Men may reach it in q great
many ways. Men may reach it through
school, academy or college, or by what
Noble Prentis calls knocking around
IN the great school of the world. One
man may gain 1t by the light of the
forge, like Elihu Burritt, another by the
light of the fire like Henry Wilson; one
may gain 1t on the shoe bench, like
Roger Sherman; another may gain it al
his case IN the printing Office, like
Horace Greeley. But In any case there
is long. persistent, patient application.
A man may gain a great many things
without much application. He may
gam reputation for learning; he may
gain diploma; he may 90 through
college and take the prize at commence.
ment. But the high calling of God, the
high calling of true manhood, can be
reached only by those who press toward
the mark. We cannot cheat nature.
and nature has stamped her
laws on the mind. We
may cheat the teacher and secure a
higher record than we deserve; we NAV
cheat the public and secure a higher
reputation than We deserve, or even a
higher place than we deserve or can
we'll ill, but We cannot cheat nature and
get better education than we deserve
It is true We do quicken
ways with the best results
We have steam-dried lumber, but il Il
dried without seasoning; We have steam
bleached linen, but 1t Is whitened by de.
stroying the fibre; we have leather made
in as many weeks as 1t once took years
but what We gain in time we lose in
quality. When Oliver Wendell Holmes
deacon built his zone Hoss Shay" In
which there was TO be mo weakest spot, >
and hence no breaking, he made
BOOT. top, dasher. OF tough old hide,
rhAt was found in the vat when the tanner
|. died.
More emphatically still does nature
resent any hurrying in the process oil
growth. She knows how to do her
work, and proposes TO take her time TO IL
i A great many expedients have been
devised for saving time IN education. A
series OF double actisn school readers was
devised few years since which, in the
selections lwere lessons In natural histo
~ and science, instead of gems of liter
allure. The pupils were to acquire q
knowledge of science while they were
learning 70 read. knew of q club OF
students who always had one of theil
number read from some work on meta.
physics while the rest were eating. At
the old time boarding schools some one
always read te, the young ladies while
they were taking their morning walks
On the same idea q man l knew pla nted
fruit trees In his front yard that he might
have fruit as we'll as shade. Another
heard of, made the fountain which orna
mented his grounds, serve also as the
watering place for his stock. At Tone
ks, where high art has taken I'D her
abode, another man made the statue a,
his gate Of ebony hue and put q ring in
his hand TO hold the horses of his visit
ors. These attempts to economic by
doing two things at once have USUALLY
resulted in doing neither we'll, and has
worked no better in mind than In mat.
ter.
Learning and culture, manhood and
virtue, grace and goodness are growths
They grow now in our experience a.
they always did. There are no new
paths to these essential things. Wha
gave culture in the days OF Aristotle
gives culture now. What gave spiritual
victory In the days of Paul, gives sDiritn
al victory now. No patent Of pedapogut
or priest can give q man learning with
out labor. . religion without sacrifice
The good old way of the Kingdom ha,
: not been changed nor shortened. ri
the OFT told tale OF work and WEAKNESS
=. Il No wider Il the raha M sAo...- 4. a. -