Smyrna times., 1936-06-18

terms of that title; but mere the
comparison ends. AS an intel
ligent critic has remarked, it was
Characteristic of Hardy's stories
that his personages could expect
no favors. If it was possible for
anything to go wrong with them,
it went wrong; and, if things had
gone right, his novels would never
have ben written. In the story
Just mentioned the principal char
acter, whom the critic describes as
"an idealist and dreamer" return
ed from Paris disillusioned, only to
fall a victim to a succession of dis
illusionments in the place of his
nativity. Neither at home nor
abroad could he find anything to
satisfy his hopes or to justify his
efforts. 1t seems not to have oc-
Cured to him that the fault lay
with himself rather than with the
world about him.
My experience Of life has been
precisely the reverse. Perhaps
this is because I am not an idealist
Of the type depicted in Hardy's
story. Idealism is term as vague
as it is comprehensive, and the
types of idealists are correspond
ingly various and uncertain. Of a
very considerable proportion of
them it might be said that they in
dulge the illusion that a short and
easy way may be found to the at
tainment of felicity, and that their
activities, having no definite and
attainable objective, often end in
failure, if not in harm to them
selves and to others.
This type of idealism was not
characteristic of the people of Del
aware, nor of the people of the
peninsula, taken as a whole, of
which Delaware forms a part; and
if anyone should expect me to
bring, or to profess to bring, from
the outside today a new solution
of the problem of life, he must re-
main grievously disappointed. Dur
ing the past three weeks I have
scanned, after fashion, the many
columns of commencement ad-
dresses that have been delivered in
all parts of the country; and it
would be difficult to- find a topic
which they do rot embrace, rang
ing all the way from materialism,
idealism, capitalism, socialism,
communism, religious freedom, die
tatorships and democracy to that
sublime and jocund acme of sup
posed bliss, the full and abundant
life! But today bring nothing
from the outside. On the con-
trary, I am only returning with
what, fifty-one years ago, when /
first went to live at the seat of the
national government, / took with
me; and I should be lacking in
candor if I did not confess that 1
am deeply moved by the enduring
testimonial, in the form of the be-
stowal of my name on this splen-
did public building, dedicated to
/ the cause OF public education, that,
! in the judgment OF the people
from whom / received so much, I
have tried to make god use of
that which was given to me. 1t is,
feel, the greatest personal honor
ever bestowed upon me.
Education Received in Delaware
With the exception of the three
years I spent at the University of
Virginia, my entire education was
received in the State of Delaware; I;
and, when I speak of education, 1
mean not only what i learned from
books but also what / learned from
the example of those, living and
dead, whom 1 was taught to
revere. was born in a studious
tradition, one of my most valued
treasures being my mothers
Greek distionary, which is copy
of the unabridged Liddell and
Scott that was published in the
United States, under the editorship
OF DR.. Henry Drisler. Besides
reading to me great deal from
works of current literature as well
as from the Bible, my mother, the
daughter Of Bassett Ferguson, who
migrated from Kent County,
Maryland, to Delaware, used often
to speak to me of her fathers
uncle, the Reverend Colin Fergu-
son, d. D., a graduate Of the Uni
versity of Edinburgh and a great
classical scholar, who succeeded
DR.. William Smith as principal of
Washington College, at Chester
town, Maryland, and who con-
ferred on George Washington the
degree Of Doctor of Laws, when he
honored that institution with a
visit. On the other hand, my faith
er, DR.. John A. Moore, was excep-
tionally versed in our political his
lI~a-