Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1906-01-26
Cal,nase
Sermon
By Rev.
Frank De Witt Taimase. D. d.


lermon the preacher pays tribute to the
work OF those who are molding the
character and shaping the career of the
men and women of the future. to the
teachers of America. the text chosen
being Romans xii. Z, "He that teacheth.
on teaching"
The adage, Every man to his trade"
Is not child OF the nineteenth or twen-
ueth century. Its cradle was rocked by
the murmuring waters of the Pison and
the Gihon and the Hiddekel and the Eu-
pirates rivers when the world was
young. 1T comes down to us with gray
hairs, but with stout limbs OF a seWan-
dering Jew" Its voice has been heard
upon every hilltop and in every valley
since Abel became herSlsman and
cam tiller Of the soil. No sooner did
man combine with man in communities
or associations to protect himself from
Foreign foes than he became a special
ist- He said to some members OF his
community, You be our soldiers TO
protect us In time OF war" He said to
Others, you be our Legislators and
make our laws" He said to others,
You be our priests and teach US about
Cod He said to others, "You, be our
physicians or medicine men and care
for us while we are sick" He said to
Others, you be our sailors and navi-
gate our ships and bring to us our mer-
chendise from affair."" He said to the
wives and mothers. "You be our house
keepers and nurses and spinners and
rear our young and cook our food and
weave our clothing" He said to others.
lou be our farmers or our architects
ana raise our crops or build our tenn
pies and homes and aQueducts." And
everywhere the necessities of life have
compelled man not to do all things well.
Dut TO do one thing for the benefit of
ai Thus as the centuries have gone on
man has more and more become a spe-
cialist.
More than that, as the world has ad-
Vanced in its development trades and
professions have been divided and sub
divided into specialties. Once the fam
lily physicians duties were almost as
numerous as the tints of the rainbow.
he was not only doctor, but he was
surgeon and dentist and pharmacist
and oculist as well. If n man had n
toothache 1t was the village physician
who pushed in the forceps and pulled
out the decayed molar. II the patient
needed medicine the physician not only
wrote the prescription, but compound
ed the drugs. Ii the leg had to be am
putated 1t was the family physician
who drove in the knife Ii the aged
mans eyes We're in trouble it was the
FAMILY physician who cut away the
cataract or fitted on the glasses. Now
all these different duties are done by
specialists. The average family physl-
clan would no more expect to be the
surgeon or the oculist or the pharma-
cist than he would expect to do the
work OF the lawyer or the electrician
or the mining engineer. In other
words, every man to his trade" is an
adagc which has divided and subdiyid-
ed and kept on redividing the human
race into its different groups until
men by natural adaptation learn TO do
one thing well rather than a dozen
things poorly.
Every Man to His Trade.
Paul nearly 1000 years ago recog-
nized the social law, Every man to
his trade" Writing to the Romans. he
said, Having. then, gifts differing ac-
cording to the grace that is given to
U.S." That means, having special pow
ers OF brain, OF body and OF conse-
Grafton, let us do the work God has
given TO us TO do each In his own line
and In his own sphere. Then Paul goes
on TO enumerate the different lines OF
work to which God has called different
men. Among those different lines OF
work he mentions that or teaching.
BE seems TO say: 20 man, if God has
called you TO the teachers throne. give
to your work the very best energies OF
your life! Never neglect your noble
profession one Instant" And OF all
the professions and works Paul here
mentions l do not believe there is one
more important than that OF teaching.
Thus this morning l select a mighty
subject. May God help us to show the
power of 'the teachers throne" and
how we should honor its occupant and
recognise the responsibility OF the work !,
that II done there and its value! s
The nrst great reason why we send
our children to school Is to wake up
the mind and put it into touch with
the outside world. That mental awak.
ening Is no easy task to perform. The
word education" comes from the Lat.
In word "educo." meaning ito bring
out" Education means literally"
says the photographer. .'the educIng,
the leading out or drawing out OF the
latent powers Of an individual" But
In order to draw out you must first
put In. You must open the avenues Of
knowledge upon which Thoughts" as
cnarloteers can harness up their fash
Ing eyed verbal chargers and drive.
You must have the great wires con-
meeting brain with brain, as the Allan |
Tic cable connects the old world with |
the new. In other words, the school |
teacher must mold the child's mind 40 |
that 1t can read and write and multi |
ply and spell.
The well Of knowledge always seems |
to me like that great deep well on your |
rather's farm. In order to MAKE the |
work Of drawing the water from that /
Wen little easier for your mother.l
your father bought an iron pump ana |
put 1t in the shed just outside of thu
kitchen. But, though that pump We
supposed to relieve your mother, Il
was the pest Of your life. In the first
place. Inevitably the family would use
up all the water you drew before going
to bed. Then your mother In the morn
ing would call, Charley, wish you
would bring me pail of water" Then
you would go to that pump and grasp
the Iron handle and pump and pump
ond pump, and the water would not