Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1902-06-27
COMM ENC EMENT T WEE K

especially those that we enjoy the most,
commencement week at MiddlebuTy for
1902 has passed into history and only
tender and dear recollections remain In
the minds of all those who we're fOrtu
nate enough to participate in the exer-
cises.
1t was a success in every particular,
and all those who were in any way re-
sponsible for the programme have Just
reason to feel pleased with the results.
The class that graduated was one of the
best in the long line of classes that have
gone out into the world to win fame and
fortune and to add new glory to the
name of their Alma Mater. In the years
to come these young men and women
will give good account of themselves,
as have their predecessors before them.
4 most important announcement was
made by President Brainerd that cannot
fail to still further increase the growing
popularity of Middlebury College
among that great class of students who
are looking for thorough and substan-
tial education. and value that more than
the mere name of any college. no matter
how great or famous.
The story in detail follows, as con-
tributed by the reporters of the REG
IsTER:
The Bacculaurate Sermon.
The bacculaurate sermon before the
graduating class was delivered at the
Congregational church Sunday morning
by Ezra Brainard, LID.
The church was filled with a large and
appreciative audience who listened with
the closest attention to one of the best
sermons ever heard from this pulpit, fa-
nous for so many able speakers. His
text was taken from St. John xii 25,
''He that loveth his life shall lose it, and
he that hateth his life in this world shall
keep 1t into life eternal" He said In
part:
The law of the souls wel-being may be
summed up in the one word, unselhshness.
The very nature of the soul is such that the
more it is centered on itself, the worse off it
is. If we would make the most of ourselves,
we must have the welfare OF others upper
most in our hearts. Only by largely losing
sight Of self do we attain to the greatest hap
pness and the highest intrinsic worth.
Look over the list Of qualities which give to
the soul nobility and you will find that they
are all opposed to selhshness. What is pa
triotism but willingness to give up wealth and
ease and life for the good of country? What
is heroism but contempt Of personal danger in
/. L.. l.
is generosity but the setting aside OF self for
the good of others?
One of the practical methods by which God
would wean US from thoughts of self and en-
large the sphere of our sympathies and labors,
is by the life of the family. 1t is the school
Of the nature in which we learn the first and
easiest lessons of self-forgetfulness and devo-
ton to others. God has ever ordained that
the ties of an afectionate family shall be the
symbol and the revelation to us of the grand
est relation, His own fatherhood and the
brotherhood of the human race. The golden
age Of usefulness shall have indeed come when
"Ihe family in heaven and earth" is acknowl-
edged, and all look up to God with chid-like
affection and upon each other with brotherly
love.
We may also accomplish much by cultivat-
ing our interests in the various concerns of
social and public life. The more time and
thought and money we give to social reforms,
to objects of charity, to the business of the
community, the more do we become emanci-
pated from self. Even when engaged in our
proper business, we may do much towards
quenching the spirit of selishness by getting
to regard our work as done for others, rather
than for self The economy of social life is
beautifully arranged SO that the best way to
get our living is to work for others,
In closing DR.. Brainard addressed the Sc
nior class. lie said;
During the years Of your education we trust
that higher ambitions have been awakened
than those that center in self; that you have
learned to sympathize with the wise and good
of all ages who consecrated themselves to the
furtherance among men Of truth and right
eousness. In the strife and stress of modern
life there is strong temptation to advance self
even al the expense OF others. The prizes of
public office too often seem to 60, not to the
most deserving, but to the most importunate;
reputation at times seems to be the result of
ingenious advertisement; wealth often see ms
to fall most readily into hands that are not
over-scrupulous
| would remind you today of the lesson of
the worlds Great Teacher, that there are
higher possibilities for the human soul than
the attainment of selfish ambition at the cost
Of honor and generous sentiment There is a
homage and affection that men finally pay to
character which is of infinitely more value than
place and position bought with money or
gained by strategy. There is peace of con-
science and a sense Of self-respect that is
worth vastly more to its possessor than the
qualification of avarce and personal ambi-
tions. The highest ideals of manhood are to
be reached, both for this life and for the life
to come, not through selfassertion, but
through sef-surrender.
In the evening large audience heard
an excellent address bv Rev. Rufus Cush-
man Flagg, DID, IL ID. of Berlin. n. H.,
on the occasion of the anniversary of the
Christian associations. Rev. Mr.. Flagg
graduated from Mddlebury in the class
of 1863. He was president of Ripon Col
lege, Ripon, Wis, from 1892 to 1900.
Glass Day Exercises, Monday.
large number of the prominent