Address to the First Graduating Class of Rutgers Female College

by Henry M. Pierce

In the very spirit of the first divine word as to woman—"It is not good for man to be alone"—it is here written; "She shall do him good and not evil all the days of her life."

Again, at the close of the description, it is written, "Give her of the fruit of her hands"—that is, deal justly with her—yield not to the mean spirit, that thinks that whatever is conceded to woman, is so much taken from the birthright of man. The writer goes beyond the proverb of the French: "A good wife is half the battle;" and, though the husband is "known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land," his prosperity seems wholly attributed to her. Indeed, he is reduced to such insignificance, that all he can do is to stand still and praise her. This he does with hearty good will; saying, as good husbands always say to good wives—common excellence in woman always affecting a man with uncommon surprise—"Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all."

Young Ladies of the First Graduating Class of Rutgers Female College.

In this portraiture of a woman of another country and of a distant age, to which, for various reasons I have called the attention of the general audience, there are inwrought characteristics, the excellence of which I would, in this hour of parting, hold up to you for imitation.

"She worketh willingly:"—"in her tongue is the law of kindness:"—in her heart is the fear of the Lord.

Of the many things that I would gladly impress on your hearts, as I address you, as my pupils, for the last time, I can select but few, and perhaps none more appropriate than the virtues and excellencies which this portrait suggests.

One characteristic of this woman is energy: "She riseth while it is yet night":—"She eateth not the bread of idleness." She exemplifies the spirit of the truly Scriptural precept: "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." Her example, then, is one of habitual industry, a habit which has much more to do with a truly virtuous life than is generally supposed. Labor strengthens all the virtues; idleness weakens them all:—idleness is the fruitful source of vice.

In every sphere in which you may be placed, there will be work to be done;—to be done religiously—that is, faithfully as unto God;—to be accepted by you as His manifest will, and to be done willingly as unto Him.

One of the chief ends of your education has been, to give you the trained intellect, that you may quickly and correctly discern, in each relation and circumstance of life—from day to day, and from hour to hour—what is the work that you are called upon to do. Another chief aim has been to give you that disciplined self-command that will enable you—not lazily putting it off till a more convenient season—to do it at once, and to do it thoroughly and well.

If you have here gained or strengthened the habit of industry, preserve it to the end. Without labor, there is no excellence and no happiness. It is the most vulgar of all vulgar errors, that a lady is a person who does nothing. Such a person would be good for nothing, and miserable indeed. Work, however, is of many kinds; work of the brain, and work of the heart, as well as work of the hands; and the humblest kind is not the hardest.