Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1907-12-05
IHh PULPIT.
A SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON BY
DR.. IL. M. WATERS.
Subject: Choice of a Profession.

BROOKLYN, N. Y.-At the Tomp-
Kins Avenue Church, the pastor,
the Rev. Dr. N NJ. Waters,
preached the first of Series of even
ing sermons to young men. He laid
which a man should choose his life
work. He said, among other things:
In a current book college presi-
dent tells this etorv:
A traveller in Japan says that one
day as he stood on the quay in Toxic
waiting for steamer he ey.ited the
attention OF coolie doing the work
of stevedore, who knew he was
an Am erican. As the coolie went by
with his load, in his pigeon English
he said: Come buy cargo?" By
which he meant: care you in Japan
on business. Tha man shook his
head. The second time the ccoliee
Passed, he again asked: Come look
and see?" By which he meant to ask
If the American were tourist seeing
the country. Receiving a negative re-
/ ply, the next time he passed he tried
one more question: Spec die soon?"
| By which he neant to ask il the man
was there for his health.
This the writer used to describe
three different classes of people in
the world. There is the young man
! who Stems to be in the world for his
| health. He wants to be coddled.
| There is the young man who seems to
be in the world as a traveller. He
| wants to be amused. There are the
young men Who are in the world for
| business. They mean to do some
thing and be somebody. These are
the young men to whom l want to
speak on ~Fow Shall l Choose My
Life Work." The others are not
worth our time.
| TIE frst question concerns the
young liian himself. What are my
possibilities? You cannot make a
i gentleman in a single generation. 1t
was Oliver Wendell Holmes who said
that in order to make gentleman
you needed to begin two hundred
! years before he was born. BY which
he meant to state the great law of
life called heredity. This unlocks
mans birthright and shows from
what source his gifts of mind and
body come.
The second great fact is environ
ment. II am a part of all l have
met" Born in Africa, you are a saw
Age; born in this city, you are cul-
tured. We are children of our sur.
roundings.
There is third great fact. There
{ is something in You stronger thar
heredity or circumstances NEAR
the human will. when among the
. Romans do as Romans do" is the
saying of multitude who have
taken their first step toward hell
Men may control circumstances Yor
; come from the country-so did Da
vid. You are poor-so was Paul
You have no influence or friends
nor did Joseph. You have no one tt
send you to college-Garfield hat
: none, but he went. Robert Burns
had none-he was a p1owman, bu
e he became Scotland's greatest poet
y Listen! In this country any ab1e-bod
{ led boy can go through college if b.
! will work, and wait, and even with
. out college he can hacome a scholar
in the school of his daily toll.
The second question concerns tb,
: vocations of men. How shall
e choose? This is the first thing. Yoi
; shall require Of your life-work tha
= it shall gain you bread and butter
There are three ways of getting f0oe
! and clothes and roof in this world
> and but three. A man may staa
= them; he may beg for them, or b,
= may earn them. The first way make
s. him robber. he second makes hin
+ & rauper and the third makes him
:. | worker.
There are always in the worl.
: many men who steal their living
: Some OF them are very low in chac
: acter, and we know them as tramps
]: burglars, pirates. These are afrai.
. of the light and they skulk through
the world, recognized as enemies o
the social order, and for them ther
is neither rest nor respect
r But all who prey on society ar
r not SO. So great is our regard fc
a success that many men today imitat
4 / their methods. Hen there are to-da
who seized upon the strategic era g
and passes in the world Of bushes
and grew rich by leVying toll on th
n | passing rags. To hold one man u
= is highway robbery. To hold up
Eho,a city for ice, for mix, or bread