Classic Poem

(Slater Manual Training Building, Claflin University.)

'Twas the angel of Eden, to Adam he said,
" By the sweat of your brow shall your body be fed " ;
In the palmiest days of the Hebrews they made
It a law for the boys each to master a trade.

In the time of the Saviour this mandate as true,
And He sanctioned it all as the Son of a Jew,
Even Paul, the apostle, was the maker of tents,
With his own bright example made labor's defence.

'Twas by work of the hands that the black Washington
Rose to eminent heights and the victory won
Over prejudice dark, and in gold wrote a name
That forever will shine on the pages of fame.

Now in Africa, England and schools of the North,
They've adopted his methods because of their worth,
Giving Negroes a weapon stern prejudice to kill —
How the world to them bows when they labor with skill!

Tell me, why do we meet on this hallowed spot?
'Tis a tribute to labor we pay, is it not?
Yea, for this we have come and the day celebrate;
Slater building completed we now dedicate.

Time will give to the race from this building so grand,
Workmen equal in skill to the first of the land.
Make the most of it, boys, tell it out, prove it true,
And the eyes of the nations will open to you.

Ne'er a king on his throne in his glory was found,
In the hearts of the people more truly was crowned
Than the workman, who toils in the strength of his might,
From the dawn of the day till the coming of night.

No, the mandate of Eden has ne'er been repealed,
But with each generation its force is revealed;
It has lived through the ages of time up to now,
That your bread must be earned by the sweat of your brow.

Education complete that forever will stand,
Must embody the head and the heart and the hand,
Making workmen, indeed, who approach the sublime,
In a work that will live o'er the river of time