The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-30
THE SECRET OF A
SUCCESSFUL LIFE
Baccalaureate Sermon at Uni
versity BY Rev. Mcdaniel
AUDITORIUM rs PACKED
Seventy-ninth Annual Commencement
mt the University Is Opened BY
the Address of n Noted Viz
ginia Divine

| Univ ersity, May Especial THE
seventy ninth annual commencement of
the University of Alabama began today
with the baccaaureate sermon, which
ing at Clark hall by the Rev. George w.
Mcdaniel of Richmond
The day was ideal and the attendance
was very large.
Mrs Harry N. Eddins sang THE Lord
Is Ny Light" as a solo. This was a
beautiful fea ture of the mornings exer-
cises
| The Rev. Mr. Mcdaniel said:
| "Aeschylus, the Grecian, said, Success
is mans Cod A Frenchman wrote,
Most people judge men only by sue
cess or fortune Each of us desires to
succeed IT'S a laudable ambition. The
How may be learned from one who
| has achieved renown. He can speak
from experience and hence with auth or
ity. This person is the Apostle Paul,
and the secret is In our text.
| I'm any classification of great men
and minds, Paul must be given high
rank. He would have been an eminent
success in any avocation of life.
think his place is next to that of Jesus
"As logician he is without a peer.
| His thought is as clear as a sunbeam,
his argument as ponderous as the down
ward stroke of Richard Occur de I~n,
as sharp and incisive as the scimiter of
Saladin, and as invincible as the old
Ironsides
"As an orator his periods are round
ed as Burke's, his sentences as stately
as Everett's. while the climax in the
eighth chapter of Romans surpasses
Webster's peroratlon in his reply to
Hayne.
"As an author his letters are many
Oh ristians' favorites. In volume his
writings are larger than those of any
other New Testament author. In my
hand bible Paufs Epistles counting
Hebrews as his occupy IS pages,
Luke's two books Sc pages and Johns
| five books AZ pages.
1T must be borne in mind also that
Luke's writings in the Acts are largely
consumed in narrating the deeds and
recording the addresses of Paul
portant truth when he said, The secret
of success is constancy of purpose
That is only part of larger truth.
Paul's analysis is more discriminating
and his definition more accurate. He
| is auth GRITTY upon every subject on
| which he speaks. He gives the secret
| of a happy life in the sixth and seventh
verses of the fourth chapter of Phil
lipians. That secret is found In free
dom from worldly care, in a life of
prayer, in q spirit of thanksgiving and
trust. Whoever lives such life is kept
in the peace of God which passeth all
understanding.
HE gives the secret of a sinless life
| in the eighth verse of the same chap
ter. Whatsoever things are true.
wha tsoever things are honest, whatso-
| ever things are just, whatsoever
things are pure, whatsoever things are
lovely, whatsoever things are of good
report; If there be any virtue and If
there be any praise, think of these
things The secret of an upright life
consists in upright thinking. Who
guards his heart with all diligence need
give little concern to his life.
'rhe secret of successful life is
found in the verse announced In the
text which may be called Paurs method
OF living
| Right Estimate of Himself
"If anyone could claim perfection, 1t
was Paul yet he says, count not my
self to have apprehended.' If anyone
could boast of his ancestry, it was he,
If any other man thinketh to have
confidence in the flesh yet more:
Circumsized the eighth day, of the stock
of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin.
Hebrew of Hebrews; as touching the
l. law a pharisee; as touching zeal, per-
scouting the church; is touching the
righteousness which is in the law, found
blameless. Howbeit what things were
gain to me, these have / counted lost
for Christ At the basis of all en-
deayor is a proper understanding of
ones ability and limitations. noble
ancestry is not to be despised. Indeed,
1t is something of which one may be
pardonably proud. But the virtues OF
| long genealogy cannot atone for the
| sins of a descendant. The achievements
| of the father do not suffice for the son.
History has too often recorded the fail
IRE Of one who rested in the victories
| or boasted over the fame of his fore
| fathers In such cases that which
| should be an incentive to endeavor be-
comes a handicap to success. History
| also AFFORDS striking examples of those
who nv industry and ability have risen
! from low estate to high position. The
| two characters who exerted the widest
| influence and left the most abiding Inn
preston upon Europe, were oliver
| Cromwell and Napoleon Bonaparte.
| Neither belonged to the titled nobility
| One was the great commoner OF Eng
| land and the other the little corporal
| from Corsica.
".Pride goeth before destruction and
naughty spirit before a fall Pride is
the enemy of success and the murderer
of genius. No truly great man was ever
an eEotist Ignorance Is conceited
Conceit is incipient insanity. Give me
the Young man who, while not ashamed
of his fathers. properly estimates his
own resources and knows that the
world demands that he shall expend
them literally and wisely for the good
| OF humanity. Modern civilization is
asking less and less Who was your
father?' and more and more, Who are
YOU and what can you do? Oh. for
spiritual sobriety. for becoming mod
| esty among the young! IT'S the edu-
Gated man who understands the limita
tions of his own knowledge and is hum
| bled g. he looks upon the boundless
field or UNEMPLOYED truth. 1t requires a
Newton to say. I am but child playing
| with pebbles on the seashore. while the
,t,,;tIa9- oceau of truth lies before M -