St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1908-06-10
R9ccaIaureate Sermon.

tD"~
rl.,s are some facts that become clear
q 10 thrr a gtowing experience. Every
~ If rs knows certain things at the
I t,o+ of our careers, fundamental
untbs that appear undeniably plain.
~, other things there are that only
pu. can teach us. that is, an in
Adosinq acquaintance with life. Yet
I.r are tor the most part truths or
.;s that generation after generation of
@ o who have learned them, assure us
I'r and which we who are young may
V ,,sot and give place in our living.
d ne Of these is the fact that every man
.sds sympathy and help, that no one is
Il LANE eoual to life However strong and
4 on6dent one may be at the beginning
q his career, it is nevertheless we'll for
i'm TO believe in the necessity and value
e. Ms life of spirit of fraternity, giving
4 nd receiving sympathy.
Il lnother of these truths which the uni
rsrsal and healthy experience of man has
snCht us is that which the text that |
lave quoted suggests. The words are
|tom the very peculiar book called Ec-
'lssastes. The spirit of the writer is not
me to be admired, for it is sombre and
Agloomy, somewhat jaundicedl. But the
tbot TO which he gives utterance is at
FINES undeniably strong and stimu-
RIating And one of these thots upon
d wbicb be LAYS great stress is the desira.
bifty of wisdom for a successful life.
Il Snd none of his references to this is more
strikng than that before us in the text.
I'M the iron be blunt, and one do not
NTbet the edge, then must he put to
more strength; but wisdom is profitable
M drect'-that is what he says. The
Inference here is plain to the slowest
mind. Everyone knows what waste Of
strength and what poor workmanship
results from dull tool. When saw is
&duD man begins to ride it. A dull
&rbisel calls for harder blows of the
Nmaret. A dull plane requires that the
man put more force back of it. ANY
lone who has ever handled a tool knows
#vhat that means. A man saves his
strength and can do more and better
Execution by whetting the edge of the
Mstee Even so, saws this text. a man
will save strength and be more useful if
he whet the edge of his mind. AS nee
essary as is sharpness to an implement,
even so necessary is keenness to the
#mind We can enlarge the scope of the
application and say that, as essential as
Il ID a sharp iron for easy and skillful
Z work, lust so essential are men of keen
EinteIgence for the well-being, the higher
n advantage of society. In short, one OF
the things which both the accumulated
experience of men and the truth of this
H text teach US is the great need and value
II Of intelligent living and working.
n Aswe all 60 out into the world to
take our places amongst others. to
n assume our part in the great worlds
Fl Ie we ought to realize that, by the
Fl application of intelligence, by simply
Il taking thot or taking the time to think,
H We can improve our own condition,
guarantee our success, and enhance the
n good of all men.
II It has seemed to me that there is a
peculiar appropriateness in this thot for
81 this occasion. So l invite you to con-
n slider with me for the few minutes
n allotted US the necessity and high worth
n the intelligent life.
81 Consider, in the first place, how thot
Fl lies back Of all visible things. The world
NJ in which we live and move and which we
SET, with its multitudinous forms, is but
N in a certain sense a world of show or
" suggestion. 1t shows what men of the
n past have thot. The things we handle,
NJ that are so useful to us are but the
n material expressions of the ideas that
n have emanated from some mems brains.
N What YOU employ in your work, or in
N your home is more than machine, or a
81 tool, or a pen, or a chair, or a broom.
Il When you buy it you purchase so much
material put into disable shape. But
you also buy a share in some mans in
genious thot. We often forget that,
when we wonder at the price of things,
Il why they cost so much. If it were only
h the material and labor to be reckoned
Il they might be less expensive. But they
also represent the working of human
y mind and that is the most valuable
n element Thus each thing that makes
Vi lie pleasanter or easier for us is the EN-
N bOdment of the wisdom of one OF our
tUow-men 1t is primarily an idea. So
a much Of the man, his brain power, has
gone into it. We know how, with the
N more important things, we have come to
associate certain names, because these
& persons first presented the idea to the
M world in workable form. When we see
a locomotive we think of Watts and
& Stephenson not because either made
VI that particular engine, but because II
represents ideas which they first In
uoduced. Likewise every printed book
Or paper suggest Gutenberg, and every
e loom Arkwrlght, and every photograph
DagGere BY these manifold things we
gam some idea of the men or women
who have embodied in them their thot
Regarding the world in this light, how
s alive it becomes, 1t is not so many
material objects, but is full OF individual
l'y, or personality even. We move
amongst multitudes of ideas that speak
4 "uS from every form of matter and tel
Us Of their creators. 1t is this that
makes the natural world so full OF mean
ny 1t tells Of God. For every bud ano
blossom and tree, every rock and river
and forest, every mountain-each utter: