Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1890-06-20
CURRENT AFFAIRS.
How to Make the Most of Life.
rHB BAccALAUREATE SERMON

THE BACCALAUREATE SERMON
Preached before the Brattleboro High
School Graduating Glass of 30, Sun
day, June is, by Rev. F. l.. Phalen.
Now the days Of David drew nigh that he
| should die; aud he charged Solomon, his son,
| saying, 20 the way Of all the earth; be tnou
strong therefore and show thyself man. ~
| Kings, II, IL
This text is the Alpha and Omega of this
sermon. If when l am done you can re-
member nothing else, remember that my
first and last word was, 'Be thou strong
and show thyself man"
The Hebrew king was about 10 die. His
hold on this world was slipping away. Sol
omon, his son, was 10 inherit the kingdom
and the parting charge Of the monarch 10
the young prince was an injunction 10 be
manly and to make the most Of life.
Life is a trust God gives it. He gives
it but once. Some men make life "a splen-
did success. Others make it one long path
Of sin and shame. Some make it a tri-
umphant song. Others turn it into mel
ancholy moan Paul made his life divine
epic. Judas made his a bitter tragedy.
Paul was strong, Judas was weak. Paul
was manly, Judas was traitor Paul
made the most Of life, aud that | take il,
is what we want to do.
| The world needs strong men. | don't
mean physical giants, although the health
of the body is almost an Indispensable con
| ditiOn Of success. But man may pos
sess as strong AN arm as John l.. Sullivan
and be ON the moral level of the brutes.
True strength is moral, true manliness aud
and wumanllness is not measured 10y pounds
aud inches, but by qualities of character
and loftiness of AIMS The patient mother,
the thoughtful son, the sweet fuced invalid
battling with trials, temptations aud pain,
and keeping noble spirit through it all, is
Il stronger hero in the sight Of good men
and Of God than the brutal champion of
the prize ring pummelllng his antagonist
amid the coarse plaudits of vulgar crowd
! am not ~ be understood as discouraging
athletic sports aud harmless games ! be
lieve in the culture aud exercise Of the
whole body, mind aud soul. A sound mind
in sound body was what Plato aimed at
in his ideal republic, and that is what we
must have if we would make the most of
life. But take 1t for granted that we all
| appreciate the value aud need of physical
culture and that our morality and religion
are Of that robust and healthy sort which
believes in and signs for manly Christian
ity. IL Is good sign of the times that the
ascetic idea of religion is becoming obsolete
and that the church of God no longer
frOwns at, but smiles upon every pure and
wholesome sport and AMUSEMENT Tor the cul-
ture Of body aud mind The Jelly fish type
of Christianity is passing away and the
high tide Of a strong, manly, straight for.
ward religious life Is welcomed on every
hand. Since Thomas Hughes wrote his lit
tie book ON The Manliness Of Christ, we
have come to see clearly that Christianity
is the science of manhood aud Of woman
hood and that young man or woman who
wishes 10 make the most Of the life that
now is and that which is to come, - will steer
his course by the pole star of Gods truth
Lord Beaconstield once said, Youth is a
blunder, manhood a struggle, old age a re
gret. Too often this is true. How many
wrecks are rotting all about us How ma
ny lives seem tO be wasted. How many
young men and young women are starting
out toward certain defeat because they are
cherishing false ideas Of what life is and
how they can make the most Of it, There
is beautiful classical myth Of a legendary
king of Cyprus, called Pygmalion, who
carved in stone his ideal of what a pure
and beautiful woman should be- And when
the statue was done, and it stood before
him in all its beseeching loveliness, he fell
in love with it and prayed the gods it might
be made to live. His prayer was answer
ed. Embracing it he perceived that it be-
came sensible by degrees, and at last a liv-
ing maid whom he married
Young ladies and gentlemen Of the grad
uating class, yon and are sculptors. We
stand hammer aud chisel in hand before
the rough block of life, and whether we
make much or little of it depends first upon
the ideal We have placed before US, and
second upon the faithfulness with which we
use our talents to turn the hard marble of
experience into the fadeless beauty of
noble character If, like Pygmalion, we
have AN ideal so pure and holy that we can
love it and desire To make it part of our
selves there can be no doubt that we shall
win success and he crowned with Il laurel
Of glory that will never fade
There are many qualities essential in the
make up of a strong character. Many vir-
tues and graces are required ~ show ones
self true man or woman under all cir
cumstHuces. Good men may differ as To
what Is necessary 10 make the most of life.
But no one can doubt that the four virtues,
Courage, Perseverance, Neracity and Faith
are fundamental ask YOU then To con.
sider with me the Importance and power Of
each Que of these qualities.
First, courage. Life is a warfare from
which there is no discharge From youth
till old age We are in continual danger from
foes within aud without. No one can
go through tins world and keep himself
pure and unspotted without courage. To
make the most of life We need spirit of
courage which Will carry us forward in the
right path and IL. the way of truth IN the
face Of rid.cule aud opposition. Genius
| ~. a..
nothing unless they are reinforced by a cour
| age that will not finch before the call of
duty, Courage is true heroism, and the
world always admres and applauds tine he
70. But We are apt 10 accept Il false idea
of courage. We think Of Greeley fight
ing with snow and ice at the north pole,
and of Stanley beneath the burning sun
and in the wilds of Africa as splendid types
Of true courage and they are. But II is
not necessary to go to the north pole or to
Africa 10 be a hero Every young man
aud woman finds as broad field for cour-
RgeOus action in the everyday life of the
home circle, the school and the street as
any famous hero ever found
Courage, or moral bravery, is not to be
measured by the applause we win OF the
publicity of the theatre upon which it is
manifested, but by the spirit of the hero in
| whose noble heart II burns. There are
those who think they could play the hero if
they had a chance. They envy Hannibal
and Caesar. They mourn for an opportun-
ity to show what sterling stuff they are
made Of What folly Now is the time
and here is the place for courage. 1t may
sound harsh, but must frankly say that
probably none of us are likely to become
world-famous heroes The sooner we make
| up our minds that we are not born for
great things, but are here 10 do our duty
aud to be strong, manly and Christlike,
the sooner we shall burst the bubble of
foolish illusion aud see the world and life
as it is. There ID u tendency TO long for
other days and other circumstances in
which TO show our powers. Today seems
prOsaic and unheroc; our companions
aud neighbors commonplace our tasks
and duties necessary evils. That view is
uttely false. Let us put it quickly and
firmly away. No day was ever more di-
vine than this one. No day ever needed
the moral courage of brave young men and
pure young women more imperatively than