The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1915-05-31
COMMENCEMENT SERMON
III. C. PACKHAM)

1t is certainly compliment to the
officers and scholars of the Ocala
high school that the largest audience
ever gathered together in our city to
hear sermon preached, was the one
In the Temple theater yesterday when
the Rev. j. M. Gross delivered an in
spring sermon to the graduating
class and friends. Before commence
ing his sermon however he paid
we.i merited compliment to the mus
ic. He said he had preached great
many commencement sermons but
rendering of the world famous songs
Ehan had been sung today; and indeed
the orchestra of IA pieces backed by
"a chorus of twice that number GER
tainly emphasized the article in the
Star of Saturday in regard to the
musical talent of Ocala.
DR.. Gross advised the graduates
not to think that their education was
finished and complete, that two or
three thousand years ago the Greeks
conferred on their graduating classes
the degree of A. B., which he claim
0ed stood for beginner; that the
class of today were also beginners;
that the more they learned the more
would be still to learn, as education
was one everlasting fight and at the
present moment they had only acquir-
ed the alphabet of education.
For his text the preacher selected
the words to be found in Hosea 1912,
1fSow to yourselves in righteousness"
The development of character leads
to the highest civilization; when
character is made subordinate to
wealth the end is destruction. When
Egypt, Greece, Babylon became ex-
cessively wealthy they were soon on
the road to decay These countries
had each a higher civilization than is
to be found anywhere in this world
today. Scientists of today are spend
ing their lives trying to re-discover
things that were common affairs in
Egypt 5000 years ago; Greece with
wonderful philosophy, one of the
maxims of which was that a thing
not useful in itself should be ban
ished from the face of the earth and
the preacher lamented that we hadn't
that philosophy with US today.
It is individual life that makes
nation. A nations wealth is not its
navy, neither is it the orange grove,
or the phosphate or the climate, but
its boys and girls-they are our con-
tribution to the civilization of the
next generation.
When we go into a family and find
chat the dollar, or a bird dog or
baby, that family is going down. Any
type of society, any kind of business
or amusement that initiates against
mental development is an outlaw and
has no right to exist. For country
to become great it must develop to
the highest degree the human mind.
We may have a thousand pianos and
shelves full of sheet music, but unless
we have men or women to develop
them, and people to enjoy the songs,
there will be no music.
The mother developing the mind
Uf her child fixes impressions on that
mind that are never forgotten. Thou
sands of things are lost to the mem
cry of the man or woman, but never
those learned at mothers knee.
The preacher paid his respects to
the moral corruption found in many
branches of society today, also to the
literary garbage" of many books the
authors apology for writing which
being that people demand and are
willing to pay for same. A Kelly
Institute and our prisons are a dis
grace TO community and a standing
proof that our civilization has not
developed to the standard of efficiency
that it should be, tho under present
conditions the one may accomplish
same. good and the other be a neces-
sity. He tried to enforce the idea