Page:Convocation Addresses of the Universities of Bombay and Madras.djvu/564

 to tliem with all the power which eloquence and sympathy can give to prove themselves worthy sons of an ancient people. In tlje years that have come and gone since then, the newly admit- ted giaduntes have had the privilege of listening to addresses some of them aglow with the fire of eloquence, some of them laden with that practical wisdom which the observation and reflection of years briug to the philosophic mind. If my remarks are characterized neither by the eloquence of the orator, nor by the wisdom of the sage, I may at least hope that they will afford you some encouragement, stimulus, and guidance at this impor- tant period of your lives.

I am charged, ladies and gentlemen, with the pleasing duty of offering you, in the name of the Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, and Fellows, a cordial welcome as members of the University of Madras. We hold out to you the right hand of fellowship in no grudging spirit. The dignity you have this day attained unto has been honourably won after long-continued and arduous toil. It has been won in a field in which wealth and birth confer no privileges, where each man has to depend on himself, where intellectual force, controlled by a resolute will and a lofty conception of duty is the principal factor of success. Looking back on the years of study that have had their fitting consummation to-day, many of you will think with regret of much that has been left undone, of mistakes made, of precious hours and days wasted, of energies misapplied. And it is most fitting that you should at this important stage of your lives lay to heart the lessons of experience. But do not allow regrets for the past to shut out from your view the possibilities of the future. Brooding too much over past failures is apt to weaken the knees of action, leading one to the fatal conclusion that, because the best has not been made of the years gone by, it is useless to prolong the contest. At no time of life should men, reflecting on the past, give way to despair, and least of all when, like you, they have just got beyond the threshold of it. If, notwithstanding mistakes and failures, yon have been able to secure the position you occupy for the first time to-day, let that be to you a ground of hope that your future achievements will be honourable to yourselves, beneficial to your fellow-countrymen, and a source of pride to the University which this day receives you into its membership.

And this reminds me that I must put yon on your guard against the too common misconception that the crowning of graduation ceremonial is the crowning of the edifice the edifice of knowledge and culture. Hitherto you have only been laying the foundation, to-morrow you begin