Amherst, June 18.—The baccalaureate sermon before the graduating class of the Mass. Agricultural College was delivered to-day by Prof. C. S. Walker, Ph. D., from John xviii. 37. The preacher said: "The scientist is one who knows in its relations, that which is. His first essential characteristic is faith, in himself, in human testimony, in the unseen. The intensity of his faith equals its extent. Another trait is love of truth. To this he adds obedience to what the truth involves. His great incentive to action, the benefit of science, upon analysis proves to be love of humanity. Every true scientist is impelled to make discoveries that he may give them to the world; to conceal knowledge and hide invention is to commit an unpardonable sin. Thus characterized by faith, love of truth, obedience, and love of humanity, the scientist comes inevitably to add self-sacrifice to his other magnanimous traits. Out of all these, hope is evolved.
"There is a most intimate connection between Jesus of Nazareth, who planted in human nature faith, love of truth, obedience, love of humanity, self-sacrifice, and hope, and made these traits so common, and the scientist of the 19th century; without the first there never could have been the latter. The scientist of the 19th century is thus revealed to be the Christian scientist.
Forgetfulness of self and humility, accompanied by service to humanity, are some among many marks which prove the genuine scientist of to-day to be in reality the Christian scientist, whoso life and beauty, like the perennial flow of the springs of the desert oasis, have their source in distant fountains distilled from heaven-kissed heights."
Dr. Lyman Abbott in the course of his baccalaureate sermon delivered at Mt. Holyoke College, had this to say concerning a personal God:—
The other day a young man from a New York paper came to interview me on theology. He wanted me to give him a system on theology. I declined. Then he asked me at least to give an answer to this question: "Do you believe in a personal God? "What do you mean," I asked, "by a personal God"? "I mean," he said, "a big man who sits in the centre of the universe and runs things." I said, "No." He was not very intelligent, but I fear that a great many people have just that conception. The conception of a great big man sitting in the centre of the universe and ruling by a sort of telephonic communication, is a subtle, delicate, refined kind of idolatry. What we call laws of nature are only acts of divine power. Is this a meaner, smaller conception of the divine being than to say that he woke up one morning and said: "Go to, we will make a world"? It is a larger conception. And so we are coming to see what sin is. It is going against the best in our nature. It is violating God's law.
