Beloit College - Codex Yearbook (Beloit, WI)

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JOSEPH EMERSON

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IDI'Of6550I' ffosepb lElTl6I'5Ol1 1In lnbemoliam The great Greek passes on 111s homevx ard may No lo11ger may the vmrs on 11111111 s shore Detani this man 111 whom wx ere bred once more The yearnlngb for a Golden Ouest the lay Of Homer P1ndar s hymn the deep toned play Of Aeschylus, old Sparta s 11111 the lore Of Attlc Plato and the seers of yore These WE16 111 h1n1 th1s Nestor of our day Mount Athos Pelion and ye crags of Thrace Let all Aegaean blaze The playel 1S dOllS At last O111 Captain resteth from lns flghts 1VfOVlDg serer1el3 Westvx 21161 to his place For, lo the lonff SISQG endeth T1Oy IS 11 on J XMLS ARNOLD BLAISDELL S8 ' 7 . Give hail! At length l1e goes. Lift up your lights , 6 ' Q . 4 D T .

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3osepb Emerson TII1 !ID6m0I2iEllTl HERE was a man of large gifts and of rare beauty and strength of character, who put his life into the building of Beloit College. He was apicked man, set apart, in the beautiful plan of God, as by the laying 011 of hands for a divine mission. He had heard the Master's voice, bidding him give his life to the building of a college which should stand for all that was deepest and most genuine in Christian character. And joseph Emerson obeyed the call. The work to which he gave his life was worthy of the offering made. It was large enough to take in and put to the finest uses his largest possi- bilities of growth and of service, for all his years of life on earth. And of the students in his classes-what shall we say? Did such a teacher attract only such scholars, or did he make them such by the transforming power of his own life? Of the early students, there was not one who did not feel the uplifting power of this 1.nan's life, not one who had not caught something of the enthusiasm of his high purpose. If there were exceptions they were rare. Altogether the relationship of teacher and scholar had never been more beau- tifully exemplified. Perhaps Professor Emerson gave to President Chapin and Professor Bushnell and the first Trustees of the College-grand men they were-a little deeper,warmer place in his heart than he could give to any that came after. They and he stood together at the beginning of the life of the college, had shared great thoughts of heart as they planned great things, and, as they talked with God in prayer, had caught the wider outlook of the Kingdom of Christ, of which they were a part. But for everyone there was room and a welcome in his great heart. He loved the college and everyone in it. He took the interests of the students deep into his heart. He believed in them, and trusted them for the best things. He saw the largest and finest possibilities in each life. He expected that each life would be lifted up to a higher plane, from contact with his own riper experience and clearer vision. Those who gathered in his class room were to be trained for great service, some- where in the Kingdom of Christ. The Master had need of them, a place for each one to nll, a place large enough to call for each one's best, a place that none other could nll so well. It was a joy to him to help them. It was a joy to see mind and heart open under his teaching, and from his outlook get the clearer and broader vision of the great things of God. From the serene heights where he dwelt he had this vision, and he wanted them to have it too. Trained and disciplined and polished they must be for highest beauty and highest use, in the Temple of God, and he must help them. The loved and honored teacher saw it all so clearly, and felt it all so deeply, and he could help his scholars to attain it, asrfew teachers can. W'as it not in part, at least, because he loved them all so well, and loved the Kingdom of his Lord with a love so loyal and so true? , WII,I,IAM PORTER. 35