The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-06-20

4
| laureate service to the class of 49, A change
made four years ago. advancing the stand
ard of the curriculum one year reduced the
| class of 9S to none, but since that time five
| young men have done the required amount
! of work and will be graduated next Thurs
| day. Their favorite class yell has been
| Were here. we're here
| In spite of fate
| Hurrah for the class
| OF Ninety-eight."
| The graduates are Mr.. Arson Washburn
| Mr.. Virgil Dalrymple, Mr.. Ezra c. Roberts
Mr.. Errett Mcleod Graham and Mr. David
| Rioch.
| The chapel platform was adorned with
| palms and plants and the cool afternoon
| rendered the hall especially pleasant A
number of the college board and faculty oc-
| cupied seats on the platform. After the
| singing of the doxology. DIR. Allen r. Ben
| ton pronounced the invocation and Rev.
| Jabez Hall read the scripture lesson. Mr.
Joseph T. Sweeney, of the class of 1901, then
| sang solo, Behold 1 Stand at the Door
and Knock which was followed by pray
er by Rev. Burris A. Jenkins. After the sing
| ing of the coronation hymn by the audience,
| President Scot Butler delivered the bacca-
| laureate address on Patriotism" He said
| in part:
| The PRESIDENTS SERMON.
| The subject announced for this occasion
1 desire to commend to you, not, indeed, as
| something new, for, as we we'll know, dur
| ing the past few months it has been the one
theme that has enga ged the popular heart,
| but recognize the fact that these annual
occasions wherein 1 am expected to ad-
dress the graduating class have a certain
significance in our academic history, and
| f1a 4IoA 7
should fail of my office should / omit to
say to the class of 9S something about pa
| triotism.
want to tell you what think patriotism
means for you, who are young men--young
American men-in these closing years of
the nineteenth century. First, however. it
BELTS the occasion that should find justi-
| hcation of my subject in Christian senti-
ment and basis for it in philosophic thought.
| Am l to quote a text from scripture to
| show that loyalty to country is in a sense
| loyalty to God? l could quote many such.
Let this serve: Christ said Render unto
| Caesar the things that be Caesars and unto
| God the things that be Gods" He said it
| in answer to question whereby it was
| thought to entangle him. He had been
| asked to reconcile certain duties that by
| some in then existing circumstances were
thought to be in direct conflict. 1t was a
| difficult question The answer given was
| sufficient then, as in any circumstances it
/
| tons have changed and the probability of
| such conflict of duties is, to say the least,
sar and God is your own enlightened con-
| science. 1t is not, then, especially with this
| phase of the question that 1 have to do; but
| l read in our text besides plain teaching
| on the duty of loyalty. When Christ says
| Render unto Caesar the things that be
Caesars" he enjoins loyalty to society, to
government, to country.
| There is deep reason in it, There is in
volved what we are calling in these days
sociological question, and one that rests on
| philosophic principles touching the very
| foundations of society. Now, society,
| though made. up of innumerable atoms. is
one whole. Civilization, through the chang
| ing product Of changing conditions, is not
| some wild swirl. of star dust drawn in err
| ratio course through interstellar spaces.
| of truth and answers to universal law.
| There is a moving. a Transforming force,
| in day; scarcely in a thousand years shall
| men be able to note its progress. What
Wonder if there be those that doubt?
| Of life SENS to hold so little, and that little
| so weak so purposeless, SO futile. But this
| thought saves: We are part. not of the
all the past, and of the future years how
| many soever Gods purposes contain. In
resting rest m"y march Men fall by the way and
| other men are born to take their places,
| and these, too die, and others and yet
| others succeed them, and no man that lives
knows the beginning. nor shall any see the
| end And yet, because humanity is one, be-
cause the life of the individual is INSOFAR
able from the life of the race because the
souls breath is in the universal world
spirit. therefore, he that is false to the
social instinct. that rejects society that that
| separates himself in unbelief from the
struggles and the hopes and aspirations of
crime he sins against himself, he violates
his own nature he assails his own soul.
Disloyalty to society is, therefore, disioy-
progress of humanity is denial of determi-
native destiny for ones own SOUL
LIFE AND DESTINY.
Rest assured the worlds life is your
life, the worlds destiny is your destiny.
Every man born into the world is possible
unit of power for the furtherance of the
common interest, and to the worlds work
every man owes allegiance. But it may be
said in objection to this. that movement
that seeks a common center ends in rest.
All progressive movement, it may be urged,
means separation; it is away from start
ing point. The magnet gathers to itself the
iron filings and holds them motionless, I'M
changing. Would it not be so in the world
Of human atoms? Should there be univer-
sal agreement genera oint craving W,,g Ioge t
be an end of progress? Progress means
protest; it means disloyalty to the past.
All this is true; but when speak of society,
l mean not this social institution, that.
I mean not the civilization of to-day, nor
| that of thousand years ago. / mean faith
in human destiny, loyalty to the idea of
| society.
Do we speak of the past as persisted and
| say of it's civilization that it was corrupt,
| that it had in it the seeds of inevitable de-
| cay? That its movement was ever death
ward? So far true The sands of the
| desert have buried ancient Egypt; Phoeni-
| clan cities in undiStinguished ruins are
covered by the UNDERTAKING sea- or over
grown with the rank verdure of neglect.
| Greece is dead. Rome's treasures are
| sunk in Theirs muddy bed, or laboriously
| collected and conjecturally labeled, are ex-
hibited in antiquarian museums to namely
| if it never had been. But this is not CIV
| lization. Civilization is not pyramid; it is
not Parthenon. No more is civilization
steam or electricity, or bessemer steel, or
product of electro-chemistry. Neither is
civilization a microbe. Civilization is
thought-the same from the beginning-it
sleeps; it never dies. Spiritual force it is
| me explain myself in terms of the nine
tenth century. In the realm of morals, too,
prevails the principle of survival of the
| fittest Achievement destitute of high
! moral quality is shortlived; it perishes from
| the earth and from the memory of man
That survives that is OF the nature of high
airy age mems conceptions and acts are
their own thus does God rule in history
thus does His spirit rule through mans
spirit This spiritual survival is the
worlds possession, and 1t unifies humanity
| to the end of time.
Is then 1t may be asked, this universal
social bond which you say connects the ages
| lis it. after ALL but some vague spiritual
| afnTlC ~ r.