THE VICTORY THAT OVERCOMETH THE WORLD

REV¹. E. A. WATKINS, A.B., A.M., D.D. PRESIDENT PALMER COLLEGE

I have been asked to tell the young people of to-day how I planned to meet college expenses without money with which to start. In the hope that some young man may be encouraged to undertake the task of securing a good preparation for life, whether he has any money or not, I am giving a brief outline of the struggle I had to secure what little training I happen to have for life’s responsible duties.

I was born and reared on the farm. From my childhood, I had impressions that God wanted me to be a minister of the Gospel, and had always expected to make the necessary preparation, and give my life to the task of this kind of special Christian² work. I had finished the graded school of my neighborhood, and had done one year’s work in high school, when, in the following summer, I injured my spine³ permanently⁴ by riding on a harvesting machine over some very rough ground. This occurred when I was seventeen years of age, and for nearly ten years I suffered intensely from this misfortune; the 172 greater part of the time unable to earn a dollar. During this period, I became discouraged and decided⁵ to give up the idea of ever being able to secure the training that would fit me for my chosen work, and finally decided to turn my attention to some other pursuit. At this time I married the woman who must be given the credit for the greater part of what little success I may have had.

After I had spent nearly ten years casting about to adjust myself to my surroundings, I somewhat recovered from my injury and again turned my thoughts to the ministry⁶. “There is a divinity that shapes our ends,” after all; a Siamese missionary⁷ came to Old Charity Chapel⁸, in Shelby County, Ohio, my home church, and told the story of the Cross. I do not remember a word he said, but I do know that he inspired me with a new vision and a new determination to undertake the task for which I felt that God had endowed me; and out in the barn, on the old home farm, I settled the question and decided that God would have to lead the way. I had spent practically all the money that had come into my hands, seeking to recover from the harvester accident. That summer I earned a little money and on the first of September I had just $33 saved up, with which to start to college. I lived 125 miles from Merom, Ind., but I had decided the matter, and the limited amount of money could play no important part in my purposes. I had entered a little partnership⁹ with God, as the senior member of the 173 firm, and I was only to furnish the effort, consecration¹⁰, application, toil¹¹ and faith, and He was to furnish the balance. How well He played His part, subsequent events have told. On the fourth of September, 1898, with this small sum of money, $33, in my pocket, my wife and I went to Merom, Ind., where I entered union Christian College. Tuition must be paid, room rent must be provided for, and we must both be provided with board. Dr. L. J. Aldrich, the president of the college, assisted us in finding suitable quarters, and also assisted us in finding some suitable employment for the wife. She secured employment at the Harper House, where several of the students boarded, I boarding at the College Club, which was much cheaper. She earned enough to pay her own board and mine. Thus we were able to live very comfortably for a while. But after a little, several of the boarders left the Harper House, and she lost her place. Nothing opened for us then, and it seemed for a time that we would have to return home. These were dark days and our faith was tried. At last I went to President Aldrich and laid the matter before him. After going into the details of the situation, he thrust his hand in his pocket and gave me a $20 bill. I never saw $20 look as big as it did that night. He told me to take it and make it go as far as possible, and pay it back when I was able. Arrangements were made by which we could pay tuition and room rent the next summer and the good wife secured a place where we 174 roomed, earning her board by assisting the family with household duties. I earned a little supplying for some of the ministers then at Merom and by holding a revival¹² during the vacation. But this was not sufficient to pay necessary expenses. I borrowed $20 of my brother, and then, to make ends meet, I reduced the number of meals at the club and ate only breakfast and dinner, in order to reduce the cost of board to $1.10 per week. During the remainder of the year, I did not eat supper, and because I was denied this luxury, the wife also refused to eat supper, and thus we passed away the evening hours, just over the kitchen, where the tempting¹³ flavors from the supper table below came up through our room, to add to our hunger.

The following summer I canvassed¹⁴ for a magazine in Piqua, Ohio, and sold nearly 500 subscriptions¹⁵, and earned enough to pay all the debts I had contracted during my year at union Christian College.

During this summer vacation I was called to preach at Houston, Ohio, where my father had preached forty years before. This was within 100 miles of Antioch College, and in the fall we went to Antioch, Yellow Springs, took up our abode¹⁶ in two of the old south dormitory rooms, and I entered the Academy for a course of study. Our income was small and a large part of that must be spent for car-fare. Again the good wife proved a helpmeet indeed, by very materially assisting in taking care 175 of the expenses. However, we had to live without meat and other luxuries. I continued at Antioch three years, at which time I went to Muncie, Ind., and entered the New Palmer University, and remained there until Mr. Palmer’s death, two years later, which made necessary the closing of the school. During this time I went out and preached on Sunday and returned to my work on Monday. We then went to Defiance¹⁷, Ohio, and entered Defiance College and continued there two years and graduated in the class of ’07, after which we went to Cincinnati University, where I entered the Graduate School and in the spring of 1908 received the Master of Arts degree, receiving the honor of being one out of four who carried an average grade of “A” in five courses out of six.

During my course of study in these institutions I received in gifts from friends not more than $25. I suppose that during this period we spent not less than $300 for doctor bills. But through it all God has opened the way. There were times when it seemed that we would have to give up the quest, times when we did not know whether we could make ends meet longer or not. It was not smooth sailing nor was it an open sea. But it has been worth while. As I see it now, it developed those elements of character that serve one best when obstacles mountain-high appear before him. Those years are the best investment of my life. If I had it to do over again, I would be willing to sail the same choppy sea, rather 176 than face life without that little I succeeded in gathering¹⁸ up during those years of struggle. Humbly¹⁹ submitted for the good of “somebody’s boy.”

Albany, Mo.

1 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

4 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

7 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

8 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

9 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

10 consecration   

n.供献，奉献，献祭仪式

参考例句：

• "What we did had a consecration of its own. “我们的所作所为其本身是一种神圣的贡献。 来自英汉文学 - 红字
• If you do add Consecration or healing, your mana drop down lower. 如果你用了奉献或者治疗，你的蓝将会慢慢下降。 来自互联网

11 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。

12 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

13 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

14 canvassed   

v.（在政治方面）游说( canvass的过去式和过去分词 )；调查（如选举前选民的）意见；为讨论而提出（意见等）；详细检查

参考例句：

• He canvassed the papers, hunting for notices of jobs. 他仔细查阅报纸，寻找招工广告。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The stirring event was well canvassed. 那桩惊人的事情已经是满城风雨。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

15 subscriptions   

n.（报刊等的）订阅费( subscription的名词复数 )；捐款；（俱乐部的）会员费；捐助

参考例句：

• Subscriptions to these magazines can be paid in at the post office. 这些杂志的订阅费可以在邮局缴纳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Payment of subscriptions should be made to the club secretary. 会费应交给俱乐部秘书。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 abode   

n.住处，住所

参考例句：

• It was ten months before my father discovered his abode.父亲花了十个月的功夫，才好不容易打听到他的住处。
• Welcome to our humble abode!欢迎光临寒舍！

17 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

18 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

19 humbly   

adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地

参考例句：

• We humbly beg Your Majesty to show mercy. 我们恳请陛下发发慈悲。
• "You must be right, Sir,'said John humbly. “你一定是对的，先生，”约翰恭顺地说道。