The evening times., 1899-06-12
DIR. PATTON TO PRINCETON MEN
Points in His Sermon to the Gradu-
atinE Class.

Princeton, N. j., June 12.-President
Patton, of Princeton University, in his bac-
calaureate sermon to the graduating class
yesterday, touched upon the Dreyfus case.
and also, in an indirect way. upon recent
theological controversies.
The sermon was preached in Alexander
Hall on the second day of Princeton's one
hundred and fifty-second annual COM
mencement Two thousand persons were
present. Admission was only by ticket.
Shortly before the hour for the sermon the
university trustees, the faculty. and the
81 nior class. all in academic costume form
ed at the rear OF the university and march
ed to Alexander Hall. The trustees and
faculty occupied seats on the rostrum. and
the graduating class filled the body of the
ground floor. The relatives and friends of
the students occupied the galleries.
The Rev. DR.. Patton preached with his
characteristic force and eloquence. His
theme was that Christianity is worthy of
the attention of men, and especially of ed
ucated men.
THE ordinary man." said Dr. Patton, 'is
born; he lives, goes into business, gets
married and is satisfied IL, at the end of
the year, he has met pecunary gain. But
the educated man cannot be satisfied with
this Here are questions regarding socie-
ty which you. as educated men. must an
state an individual? If the individual ex-
lists for the state and II the function OF
the state is to be strong and TO consider
the interests of its citizens and TO look for
open doors and new spheres of influence
or conquest, and to defend these interests
by force. the soldier is the hero of the ma
ton, and the army is its idol.
Il do not take this view of the function
of the state. and because l do not l say,
oil hA,y ITsN1 81.
give her favoring winds that carries back.
/ trust to a more righteous verdict. that
lonely prisoner whose unjust and cruel
treatment deserves the eXecration OF the
civilized world. They say that Z5ia's nov
els are not nice. ! don't know: don't
read them. But he has made splendid
fight for justice, and thank him for it.
The greatest intellectual battle that the
world has ever seen, or that can ever
come" DR.. Patton continued. lis here. Is
Christianity, of heaven or of men? That
is the issue of the conflict. The day that
man decides by majority vote in favor
of the latter view, the darkest hour of
history will be at hand. You may think
that the educated man wants something
more than mere tradition, and on that
ground rejects Christianity. But if you
study Christ you cannot for a moment en-
tertain this view"
SssiuS tut Vi Tue graz
uating class, DR.. Patton said, in part:
Gentlemen, l realize the Importance to
you of this hour of your life. You are
about to enter upon a lifelong warfare
against the evils that assert themselves in
your own soul. You are to subjugate your
passions and appetites and hold them as
the vassals of your reason. That struggle
will continue as long as you live. The
enemies of which l speak will not sue for
peace or come to terms. You have enlist
ed for life. and there is no discharge in
that war. You will have need of courage,
and you will not easily resist temptation
to achieve the victory of self-control, but
remember that he who ruleth his spirit
is greater than he who taketh a city.
And you will have need of patience.
1t will be hard to plod on with bare recog-
milton of your honest work when men
through crooked methods win success. 1t
is for you to do your duty without COM
plant and to endure hardship as good SOL
diers of Jesus Christ.
In the second place you are to go out
to war against evil in the world. Besides
the task of suppressing rebellion within
the empire OF your own selfhood, lou are
charged with the responsibility of re-en-
forcing the moral forces of the world. The
weapons Of your warfare are not carnal.
but, wisely used, and with the skill which
your training should have given you. they
are mighty to the pulling down Of strong
hclds''