Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-06-07
baccalaureate Sermon BY
Rev. H. E.. Dunnsck
To High School Seniors Sun
day Evening Al City Hall.
Fourth Of dut Celebration Is Now
An Assured Fact.


nall and large crowd was in attend.
ance. Rev. H. l.. Nichols, secretary OF
the School Board, presided Miss Helen
Brown was Organist. The exercises
opened with piano voluntary as the
graduates entered, followed by the
doxoiogy, in which the entire audience
joined. Rev. 3. l.. Turner then read a
Scripture lesson and Rev. ]. w. Steele
offered prayer. after which Miss Mar
garet Haines sang a solo with tender
erect. Two verses of Rock of Ages
were sung by the congregation, then
came the sermon by Rev H E. Dun
mack of Augusta. Rev. w. F. Living
ston made the closing prayer
Mr.. Dunnack's sermon received the
closest attention of the large audience:
IT was earnest in thought and created
profound impression. Following is a
synopsis:
Mr. Dunnack spoke from the text, ct
wllled, and sense was given me; l
prayed, and the spirit of wisdom came
unto me; and I set her before king
doms and thrones" Book of Wisdom.
VIII
4 speak unto you who are at the
beginning, because you desire to make
the most of life. You would possess
sanity and strength, you would be
strong in conflict with temptation; YOU
would be open to all high influences:
you would become all this, you must
have a purpose, worthy and definite
purpose that will eventually add
something to the sum of the worlds
joy and peace and final triumph. The
sole purpose of life, that is to be
sturdy, honest, erect, clear-eyed, right
minded men and women. Then unto
such lives will flow the forces out of
Which God makes immortals
"fcu must know that you are not
born into a world ready made for you.
Every life, at the start, finds ma
terials at hand out of which it may
create physical. intellectual and moral
worlds. President Hyde has we'll said,
There are no worlds ready made;
none to let Every world that we in
habit, is made of the different interests
which center in our lives. From the
very beginning, we are creating worlds
of Some sort and we shall never inhab-
1t world that is not of our own crea-
ton; the outgrowth of our willing and
praying.
you must know THAT the thing you
live for will finally dominate your
lives.
You stand, today. at the end of your
High school course. These four pre-
ceding years have been the Genesis
tomorrow will come the Exodus; but
the tomorrow is not altogether uncer-
tain, since the present is the prophecy
of the future. When one knows Plato,
Virgil. De Vinci, Lincoln and Jesus, he
can safely prOphesy 1.-The Republic"
the Aeneid. the Last Supper, the Union
saved and world redeemed. The
York takes the character of the work
er. Theoretically seize life; the life
decides,' wrote Rabbi Hillel. The life
Decides if the temple of the architect
the poem of the dreamer-the picture
OF the artist--or the book of the author
is to speak to and arouse the soul, kin
die the imagination, unbury dead
hopes, it will be because into the warp
and wool of the originator of these
things have been woven true and no.
bic ideals. The world of good and
evil are expressed in character is
clearly the outgrowth of the accumu-
lated choices of all the days that have
gone.
You must know that the life of to-
day decides largely the life of tomor-
row. Young men and women, your hope
is that you are now at the beginning.
1t is not too late to change, but to-
morrow may be too late; you must set
tie your destiny today! Why, the very
things you take into your lives tomor-
row depend upon what you take in to-
day 1t is true that we see in a thing
which corresponds to something in our
selves. and we choose that above ev-
erything else. We cannot live for one
thing and choose another: even choice
has it's limitations. Four years ago
some of YOU said: 1--WE will not take
college preparatory course" The four
years are gone. You would like to go
to a college, but it is too late. Per-
haps some of you are already fitted for
college and are deciding not to go
after all. -Four years from now such
ones will realize that it Is too late and
that the college man has 80 chances for
success to their one. Then the regrets,
the sorrow, the disappointment of a
wrong and final choice.
"Charactcr is the lnueA VI eNtiN me-
| Thouyh we possess wealth and life and
heaven itself yet with sinful charac-
ter riches shrivel into poverty. life De
comes death and heaven hell. because
a noble character creates the only
| riches, the only life, the only heaven
| worth the conservation of a human
| soul. Righteous character then. must
be your choice, by day and by night;
YOU must will it; you must pray for it.
Every moment. every thought. every
ambition must give way to this one
| thing.
| .Character, the result of all past
| choices, has or will enslave so that at
| last our freedom will be to do only
what is in accord with the past. En-
erson makes Swedenborg say: AS he
| is so he Sees To the thief another
thief is brother; to the saint, the
| thief is a devil. La Fargo, the artist
saws: If you selected 10 artists and
each painted the same. scene you
would have 10 different views. although
each mad painted the same sky, noun
tain. valley and forest. Each by force
of his character selected the scene be-
fore him, just that which was recog-