Beaumont High School - Caduceus Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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T l l if H lg T I-I E. C A D U C E U S CADUCEUS By PETER BRAROE ll the advisory period, on March 17, Beaumont selected by bal- lot a name for the semi-annual -7 publication. The decision was overwhelmingly in favor of Caduceus. The record of voting was as follows: Ca- duceus, 1244: Mercury, 185: Record l72: Beaumonter, ll6. The qualities which commended the name to the stu- dents are several and evident. First among them is its appropriateness. That-as does the word itself-needs explanation to all. or nearly all: there, forthwith, is another excellence, a flavor of the mysterious. Back in the halcyon days when Apollo, Hermes Calias Mercuryj, and others of their ilk enjoyed a sportive existence, there we must inquire for the origin. Mount Olympus was once the scene of a very modern transaction, The mentioned representatives of the gods exchanged two gifts, one to the other: both for the con- sequent benefit of mankind. Mercury gave Apollo the lyre, the beginning of musical instruments, Apollo gave Mercury the caduceus, which was in its original form an olive branch with two shoots. The presentations were each suitable: to the god of music, the lyre: to the mes- senger of the gods, the symbol of his of- fice. Mercury, it appears, was of a pacific and conciliatory disposition. He used his staff to separate a pair of fighting snakes, and the belligerents twined themselves about it, unwillingly held in check. Thereafter, the snakes were substituted for the original fork. Two wings were later afflxed to the head of the rod to designate the swiftness of Mercury. In general, Caduceus came to be the appellation of a herald's staff, but its use by the gods was believed to have these attributes. Mercury awoke the dead and conducted them to Hades with it. It was the magic wand which was the means of granting wealth and prosperity: it turned whatever it touched into gold. Here, now, is the significance of this myth to us. At one time in its history the medical profession took for its symbol the caduceus, particularly in the army, where it is the official emblem of the medical corps fpresumably because of its reputed pow- ers over life and death of humanityj. Wil- liam Beaumont, in whose honor the school was named. was Surgeon-General of the United States Army. Thus the connection is entirely fitting. In passing, I might say something about the word itself. Undoubtedly its plural will be in colloquial use. The correct form, of course, is Caducei, since the word is a Latin adaptation of the Greek, but not- withstanding, I am certain that on the days of publication, in however distant years. the cry will be heard. The Caduceuses are coming out. Twenty-three

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G'TlJ i af fi ft Vaseeco i eafffa fl if ei i tiluj e if ijt gt T H E C A D U C E U S turafforeign languages. Latin, Greek, German, Frcnchgancient and modern historyufthe sciences, physical geography, natural philosophy, physics, physiology. Zoology, botany, geology, chemistry, as- tronomy, mental and moral sciencef mathematics, algebra, geometry, trigonom- etry. analytical geometry, calculus, men- suration. mechanics, engineering, book- keeping. A comparison of these subjects with those now taught in the high schools will show the absence of manual arts subjects and stenography which were of later intro- duction, By the opening of the Beaumont High School with its admirable accommodations designed to facilitate in every way the ad- vancement of those who are so happy as to be privileged to enjoy them, a new stage in the realization of the vision of the far- sighted. public-spirited men of 1853 and the years following has been reached. They laid broad and deep the foundations of public education, which they thought and declared should be commensurate with the needs of all children and youth seeking to develop their native endowment of body and mind and should not be excelled by institutions privately endowed and acces- sible only to a limited number of children. Pupils of the Beaumont High School, heirs of the stout-hearted, far-seeing. broad-minded men who have planned and established and directed the public school system of St. Louis, I congratulate you and invoke your aid in carrying forward the work by them begun. So use your opportunities and influence that your debt of gratitude may be repaid many times over to those who come after you. V X , ,..,,.., .... . .. V Y xl 'C A D UC E U S I 1 1 .LL V' 'J' ' L L l ' ,Sk -iii 7'iut-nie-iitwi

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