ATHENS — U.S. Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas, the commencement speaker before the 2008 graduating class of the University of Georgia, said when he graduated from high school 41 years ago, attending UGA "was not an option" because schools in the state were still largely segregated.

But then Thomas, who grew up in the town of Pin Point, Ga., outside Savannah, told the approximately 3,500 graduating students gathered on the field at Stanford Stadium Saturday, that he was happy to be back at the school, where he gave the law school commencement address in 2003. "Georgia is my home," he said. "Georgia is where I belong."

Johnny Crawford / AJC (ENLARGE)

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was the commencement speaker.

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In recent weeks the UGA administration had come under criticism from some faculty members for inviting Thomas as a speaker because of allegations of sexual harassment brought against him 17 years ago during his Supreme Court appointment confirmation hearings before the U.S. Senate.

There were no such fireworks Saturday, either outside the ceremony — where there were no protests — nor in the text of his address, which was heavy on chestnuts of wisdom such as "I urge you to do the best to be your best."

Thomas, who seldom gives interviews, and has been criticized for not asking questions from the bench — at one point he went two years, and sat in on 142 cases in the Supreme Court without speaking in the courtroom — seemed uncomfortable straying from his prepared text.

At least twice he misread what was written, and doubled back to correct himself. But he was offering wisdom, not inspiration. "The rewards of self-indulgence are not nearly as great as the rewards of self-discipline," he told students.

He spoke highly of the lessons his grandparents taught him and how, only in his later years, has he come to realize the value of those lessons. He recalled how 30 years ago a janitor who worked in the U.S. Senate saw Thomas was troubled and pulled him aside to tell him he needed to be strong and unselfish to benefit others.

"He told me 'Son, you cannot give what you do not have," said Thomas.

When he left the podium, Thomas, who spoke for 22 minutes, received a standing ovation.