en down by the tens of thousands, his command was: 'On to
Richmond.' He received letters and telegrams by the thousands saying:
'My God, General, are you going to kill all of our husbands, all of our
sons, our brothers? Are you going to make all of the North a land of
widows and orphans?' His reply was: 'On to Richmond.' When rivers of
blood were before him, flames of fire swept over his forces, his command
was: 'On to Richmond.' And the command never ceased until Lee
surrendered his sword to Grant at Appomattox Court House. We repeat,
that for the work that lies before us, we need young men and women with
a purpose.

"A third warning is, that we must not mistake the aim and end of
education. You will find somewhere in the Bible a sentence like this:
'And the word was made flesh and it dwelled among us.' The word had been
spoken by Abraham; Moses thundered it from Mt. Sinai's ragged brow;
Ezekiel preached it; David sang it; Solomon proclaimed it; Jeremiah
prophesied it; Elijah saw it in the whirlwind; Moses saw it in the
burning bush, and Isaiah saw it and in amazement cried: 'Who is this
that cometh from Edom with dyed garments from Bazroh? this that is
glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of His strength?'
But my friends, none of this would do. Speaking the word would not
atone; hearing it would not redeem; and seeing it would not save. The
word had to be made flesh and blood in the person of Jesus Christ, the
Son of God, and then come down on earth and live, move, and dwell among
us.

"As with the word, so with education. You have been here a number of
years trying to obtain it. You have heard education from your teachers;
you have heard it in the class-rooms; you have heard it from the
platform; you have heard it in the Sunday-School; you have gleaned it
from your text-books; you have sung it; you have prayed it; you have
spoken it; you have walked it; you have assumed it. But none of these
will suffice. Education, in order to be real, must be applied; in order
to be effective, it must be digested and assimilated. It must become a
part of your flesh and blood; it must transform you into a new creature
and then go out and move, live and dwell among us.

"And now a final word for the class of '93. What of its loyalty to
Tuskegee, our Alma Mater? It is true that at times our purposes and aims
have been misunderstood and misconstructed; at times your attitude
towards us has been misinterpreted, but not