The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1897-06-18

clergymen, Tor example, having Delthe
money nor lands to bestow, gave tn,
college two cows, valued at o pounds
? A gentleman presented nine shilling
} worth of cotton cloth. A farmer wh'
: lived in Hartford, bequeathed To-
pounds to be paid in corn and meal, tn,
} college to defray the cost of transporta
ton. One of the Bahama Islands, TO
; which at time of famine, collection
had been made in New England, now
, in turn made a collection for the col
lege, "out of their poverty" as they said
and sent 124 pounds. Now you go dowI
to Harvard College and pay you tut
ton, have you paid these people for theil
self-sacrifices, and more than all how
about the knowledge itself digged as ore
from the mine by men who toiled anG
suffered that they might bring it to YOU
Pay for it? No! You have not, and you
can not pay for it. Perhaps there.is one
way in which you can pay for it. You
can accept it as trust, and as creating
an obligation to men, and then 60 into
the world to use it for the good of men
and the glory of God, and in that way
you may in part pay for it. Besides you
know there is christian principle which
says that all we have we must use for
God and man. That God never gives
anything to be appropriated selfishly.
And so from whatever point you view it,
what you have of an education must APP
pear to you as sacred trust View it as
such, accept it as such tonight, my young
friend, and you will go out of this room
with great, strong resolve in your heart
to make the most of life. You will then
be in state of mind where God can take
you as he did Joseph and make of you
pioneer in some great world encompass
ing movement. If you refuse to regard
your education as trust, it will become
a dead and useless possession. Your di-
ploma may be sacredly kept in your
drawer, but that for which the diploma
stood will become a memory instead of
an abiding and growing power. Use it
or lose it is the law or life.
3. But now let me go on once more. to
say that possibly the very best thing that
you have as result of your years of
training in the schools of Owosso is per.
sonal influence. You have been coming
into contact with these teachers. You
have the touch of life and character upon
you given you by them. You have
learned principles of uprightness, of hon.
or from them; and will you pardon me if
tell you that this is the largest and best
part of your education. 1t is not how
much mathematics, or science, or philos-
ophy you have learned, but how much of
real manhood and womanhood you have
taken on. Let us never under rate the
knowledge for the mere knowledge's sake
but let us remember also that mere
knowledge is a dead thing. knowledge
to come to you Alright needs first to be in
carnate in living teacher. Abstract
truths of science are dead truths until
they are taken up into, and given life by,
a personality. While l am talking to
you at this moment there comes to mind
one of my teachers in mathematics. l
can see again the twinkle in his eye as
he caught some member Of the class nap
ping. Across the years which have inter-
vened l can yet feel the glow of his splen-
did enthusiasm. That whitening scon
and burning indignation for the tricks
and cheats of the drone of the class who
was too lazy to- do honest and faithful
work. That tender and patient spirit
which brooded over and helped the less
gifted but plodding student That full
man, how be stands ont before
me tonight How bis face is mingled
in all my memory of logavithms and
quadratics. The very blackboard before
which he stood and the whole surround
ings of the room with its bueiness-like
are all living and real to me
tonight, while the whole internal condi-
tons of other recitation rooms where D
sat have faded out Of mind. And why
this difference except in the men who
taught in the rooms. And almost everY
man who looks back upon his tpaining IN
school or college holds in his Wand like
memories, and.in his heart like gratitude
for one or two such teachers. They were
the men who taught more than was in
the books. 1t was my good fortune Ssst
summer to visit both Elton and Rugby,
and from almost every point of compare
son Eton surpasses her rival school.
Elton is hoary with age and filled with
memories and traditions. Located near
by Windsor and within an hours run OF
London, she, like Mount Zion, is beauti-
full for situation. Her buildings are tri-
umphs OF old architecture, while her
grounds breathe az atmosphere of learn
ing. But as you make your way in and
about Rugby there is something of a dis
appointment. Here is kind of open
ooron,ona for q NAV pround and wonder