Waterbury Democrat., 1902-06-18
vALEDICTORY. (Ben.i amin Webster.)

(Bani iamin Webster.)
 Parents and Friends:-
 The tenor of my remarks this after noon will be slightly different from that of my classmates who have so ably entertained you from this plat form. I will quote a few words from Solomon and 1 crave your indulgence to a few boyish ideas upon them: ''How much better it is to get wisdom than gold and to get understanding is rather to be chosen than silver.'
 Tn America, the land of trusts and combinations, these words seem strange entirely antithical to the na ure of the American heart. All eyes are turned upon Morgan, Schwab, Carnegie; and this would lead Us to think that money is the best that this earth hath. But pause. let us consid- CT a moment. Are the honored names in the history of our country those of great capitalists, of powerful bankers? With the names on our lips of Wash ington, Franklin, Grant, Lincoln, Lowell, Longfellow, Emerson, we must give negative reply. Time proves all things It proves that the American heart is still untarnished.
 There are a great number of people
 
 sicaI education for young men of mod crate means. They wish for finan- cial return. The mother anxiously watches the growth of her boy and looks forward to the time when he will become a source of income for the fam fly. She watches for beauty and grace in her daughter. who is brought up with Accomplishments" in the hope of ''big catch" and little does she stop to consider the character and manliness of the suitor.
 First and foremost an education is a practical preparation for life. The training in solving the knotty prob lem, in Interpreting Virgil, in master ing the Greek verb, is by no means detrimental to a business career. To- day we have reached stage in the progress of enlightenment where it is practically impossible for a man to rise without an education. The world demands more than mere strength in mind and body; there must be ex- pansion and development. There may be and there are exceptions, but when a man forces himself as did Lincoln, from poverty and the back woods to the position of guardian of the most beautiful flag that ever foated to the breeze, he is almost more than human-he is a genius.
 From the earliest conceptions of the human mind to their extended growth in our day, the supremacy of mind over matter has been unqueStioned. By this I mean that the mind is eter- nal. Amid the numerous cares of life the mind must have some recreation in the form of pleasure. Our educa- tion points out the highest forms of pleasure, it teaches us to distinguish the noble from the base, the wealth of from the poverty of the vaudeville. If we would profit from our short sojourn on earth and be SUI perior, we must choose for our amuse ment the best literature. the best in art. and the best in men.
 The studies of the classics gives the scholar well that never becomes dry. Tired with his labors, always he can come and draw out cup after cup of pure and refreshing water, not for him. self alone but for host of friends as well.
 The sight of gayly plumaged birds enrolling in the air recalls the fair virgins or vigorous youths of the Metamorphoses. In every sparkling spring we see some fair nymph turk ing These things give poetic charm to life which raises and ennobles thought and act. They rouse an in- tarest in nature. and, as the universe is God, they lead us to the best under standing of Him and His works.
 The words of Andrew Carnegie are of the utmost significance in regard to the life of the moneyed man. Speak ing of millionaires, he said, "Ah, how few have anything to retire to-" They have grasped and saved the mighty dollar. They have million. They have spent their lives in toll: their heads are grey with care The goal of their ambition is reached but what have they to retire to?
 "The boast of heraldry, the pomp of
 power.
 All that beauty, all that wealth e'er
 gave,
 Await alike the inevitable hour, Their path of glory leads but to the
 grave"
 In what contrast is the man with the true education as it has been most fittingly described in the morals of Clarke: "Education is not mere in struction in Latin. English, French or history. It is the unfolding of the whole human nature. It is the grow ing up in all things to our highest possibility" The growth of the scholar struck me as being most aptly and per haps crudely exemplified by the growth of the moon. Unhampered by cloudy and stormy nights, by the glare of day, progressing ill growth, he at last shines forth in fullness and mildness and rOundness of his development.
 The current of his life is deep. His joys are real and his pleasures neither fitting nor fantastic. No sorrows can overcome him, and misfortune makes him stronger. Blessed are the favored ones whom he calls friends. His in- fuence is boundless and his opinion