Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1895-06-21


raised. The unity of purpose o.
these forces is proof Of their divine
origin, for purpose, Implying as Il
does, balancing of possible altera
tIves ana the selection of one As NOR,
suited TO tie end in view, is poss ibl,
only 10 an intelligent being
Nh. a. W. Beckurr's fine tenor vs. al.
heard To best advantage when hc San.
He OF all the best, the noblest," tSchu.
MANN. Miss Bushnell was the accom-
PIANIST.
The subject of the Grafton 10y
Arthur l.. Toner the valedictorian OF
his class, was "Progress Of Morals. 81
lie began by saying than an emf
rent author has said that men carry
their minds as for the most part they
carry their watches, content TO be IL
nOrant of their constitution and IN
ternal action, and attentive only 10
the little external circle of things to
which the passions, ike indices, are
pointing. Notwithstanding this, We
are compelled to recognize an an
deniable progress along lines TO
which self-study seems indispens-
able. The maxim, "Know Thyself,"
which Socrates made a prime req
uisite to moral Development, has
not been regarded by the majority
of men, yet there has been a growth
since his time which is unquestion-
able. That man must be either
densely ignorant or hopelessly pes
slmistlc who would say that men are
today upon the same plane Of NOR
ality they occupied in the days of Soc.
rates. The reason that in spite of a
lack of adherence to this maxim men
have made progress is to be found i'm
the fact that this progress is natural
and not always the result Of con
scious effort. The process is ac.
cumulative. Man begins with
certain fundamental, intuitional
notions of duty, and to these are
added the various deductions which
are demanded aud accepted as the
sphere of life Is enlarged and the or
ganization of society becomes more
complex. The suggestion of yester-
day becomes the ideal of today; the
ideal of today will be the realized
life tomorrow. The development
may be accelerated, but ii cannot be
supplanted 1t must be develop
ment. Truth is eternal and un-
changeable, and the known prinCi-
pies OF morals are substantially TO-.
day what they were at the beginning
of the christian era. If it were
otherwise, morality might come by
investigation, and virtue would be
the reward OF the discoverer In
every age of moral uplift there have
been certain distinguishing features,
prominent among which are the in
tellectual. 1t is certainly not mere
chance that improvement in the
moral condition of mankind is
almost uniformly accompanied by a
revival of learning. The moral
and intellectual in man are so
closely related that neither can suffer
alone, and whatever impulses one
receives is sooner or later commu-
nicated to the other. With the
rise of intelligence and virtue a
strong indiyidualism appears. As
sertinG himself as distinct person.
ality, the Individual claims recogni-
tion as such. To this We are in
debted for the enlightened conscience
operating with such potent energy
among the better element of society,
and also for the establishment and
of those public safe
guards intended to repress and
counteract the tendencies of the
lower element. The fact that this
development is natural is not in
consistent with the fact that TO mans !
eye has been more or less spasmodic. /
The human record, in its moral as in |
It's literary aspect has It's dark ages,
and there have been times when for
it would seem that the /
streams were destined to remain stag
nant forever. Issuing from them
nave been periods bright with the
glow of moral effort, when the light
IF truth bursts forth and overthrows
Evil with a violent hand. To the stu
lent who traces the evolution in NOR
his through all its stages from genera
ion to generation, by all the land
marks OF progress along the ascend
ng pathway whose terminus lies in
he unrevealed future of the race,
here is inspiration and prophecy.
Mr.. Toner then addressed the mem
'ers of his class, the trustees and fac
lily, in the well chosen words of the
rue yaledictorian.
After a piano selection 10y Miss Bush
ell, the degree of Bachelor of Arts was
onferred upon the graduates by Pres
lent Bruske, and the exercises closed
With singing by the chorus, Let the
Ieavens Rejoice" (Gaul)
President Bruskp smoke briefly La the |,