The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-06-11
co,..rGr COMMANDMENTS.

College CoMMENCEMENrs.
This ia the season for college commence
,non,s and for several weeks to come Tue
columns OF the daily press VIII ~ '"is'''
,,,on nm 20 reports of the closing exercises
ef,,o,,r;ons institutions Of learning VI
this state. and the United states IN g'nei''''
10 tho season when thousand seriiiohe
,,,.o, tho practical demands OF life VIII DC
nreacbed from college Platforms
orators with hardly trace oil down upo"
the upper lip, will inculcate the wises'
bomilies and impart the most senslole "u-
,,o. unsurpassed in soundness ana
gravity by the utterances of the grey halreo
orators who will follow them upon the same
n,atform. 1t is the season when myriaus VI
Youthful minds, justly and naturaIi! prou"
Of recent achievements represeh'e" III
d;ploma and certificate, will labor uhuer
tho honest but mistaken impression, thai
they possess the open sesame that VIII
cause the most secret chambers of life 10
Weld up their most valuable treasures.
The road of life appears TO the you'hiui
graduate to have no hills, and the voyage u
he free from Instructions. Reflection amer
reflection. more or less apt and common
place. might be passed upon the confidence
of the young men who to-day stand upon
the threshold Of active life, crowned Win
collegiate bays and laurels. This confidence
NAV raise a smile in those who have longer
span of years and rIper experience, Dut the
smile is not without an element oil envy
and regret that the illusion in which this
confidence has its root, is gone. Phiiosoph!'
born Of disappointment, is but poor suDs'-
int for those all conquering emotions "hich
illuminate the countenance Of the young
graduate as he gazes into the shining faces
of his comrades, dwelling in thought upon
their mutual achievements in classroom
and in debating hall, and anticipating stlii
more glorious achievements upon the vast
stage of the life to follow.
IL seems almost like a sacrilege TO enforce
upon the attention Of men in this intoXi-
Gated mood the strong probability OF iaii-
IRE. il not permanent, then at least tenn
p,rary. but not the less bitter in its taste
for that reason; to remind them that they
are blinded by that light which the poet de-
clares was never yet on sea or land, or that
they are walking in brilliant dream. 1t
would be easy enough for the least eloquent
of gray-haired mortals TO indulge in this
strain Of warning to those who are just
dropping the academic gown and putting
ON the toga yirilis. but its ACCESSIBILITY
would be questionable.
Where ignorance is bliss, It's folly to be
wise. Let the shining dream of the ease
with which fortune is won remain undis-
pelled. Let the commencement orator dwell
rather upon the triumphs than upon the
failures Of life, upon its sunshine rather
than upon its storms, upon its light rather
than upon its darkness. Failure and storm
and darkness will all come in time, but let
the sense of triumph and sunshine and light
be so deeply impressed upon the spirit OF
the Young graduate that it will do much to
obliterate the impressions which their oppc-
sites will create.
The graduates from our Southern colleges
have every reason to regard their future
with more than usual confidence If they
shall he wise enough to decide To identity
their careers with the destiny Of the south
ern States. These states stand Ike the
young graduates themselves upon the very
threshold Of a new life, a life that is to be
crowned with all the noblest achievements
of industrial greatness. To all intents,
there is in these States field that is almost
virgin in its undevelopment, and yet pre-
senting such opportunities for the attain
ment of all the rewards Of skill and assidu-
ity and practical sagacity and shrewdness
as can be found nowhere else in the Union
There is not graduate OF our col
leges this year who should not spe-
cially congratulate himself that he
is entering upon the period OF his
active life Just at this time when there Il
every evidence thar the South will be, long
before he reaches his prime, the very centre
of the industrial enterprise and activity OF
the western hemisphere. Her prosperity is
hardly yet in it, dawn. Coming upon tie
stage now, the Southern graduate takes a
place that he will find will grow more and
more to his personal advantage with every
graduation in the rapid progress which the
South is only beginning AS yet to make in
wealth and population.
The tide of prosperity has just begun tc
flow in the Southern States. Happy are
those who, full Of energy, hope, and deter
mination, are just entering upon active life
10 reap in time that abundant harvest OF
fortune which this section will extend to
all more and more literally as the years
pass on. -