Columbus School for Girls - Topknot Yearbook (Columbus, OH)

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TOP-KNOT, 1930 read the classics, even though the older classical literature does not conform to our modern standards of writing, but contains the principles and ideals of other ages? Who are we to ridicule these ideals and standards because they are not ours? Can we say that they are not as good as those of today, that they inspired the writers of other eras any less than our modern writers are inspired? Surely the very best literature of all ages is- not being written today. VVho has not gained something by having read the exquisitely realistic novels of Jane Austin, wondered at the philosophic pessimism of Thomas Hardy, and revelled in the delicious humor of Dickens? These are but three novelists out of hundreds. If you read their works you will wonder why you were never tempted to do so before. Far more than enjoyment is to be derived from a reading of the classics, for even the most casual study of them gives one a feeling of having obtained a bit of culture. From fine literature we gain the Wisdom that makes culture, and that is assuredly a large reward for reading books. This is just a plea-read good books! Don't read just anything that the woman next door says is just zoo divine . Use judgment and you will never be sorry, will never feel that your time has been wasted. Read a number of worthwhile books each year and at the end of five, you will have gained something immeasurably precious. You will have a definite knowledge, a culture, an ability to discuss books, a,feeling of being in the know , that you would not give up for twice the amount of time spent in reading the books. Just a plea-if you haven't tried it, read good books! GRACEUPOSTONQ 1930 . ASCENT I climb an endless hill, despairing, To something that rests Among the quivering pines. I plod along in grief and sorrow, unheeding nature's joys, When the steady insinuous beauty of the night Steals into my heart And I thrill with the romance of the rising moon A last birdis call. The whistling of the wind, All echo in my ear As with trembling hands and racing heart I clasp a star to my breast And continue upwards. CAROL Rirvnsroos, 1930 l23l

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COLUMBUS SCHOOL for GIRLS READING HE reading of good books is a diversion which all of us can enjoy if we but choose to do so. Everyone of us has the opportunity to delve into literature that has been written from the earliest times to the present day. If a little discrimination is used in the choosing of our books, reading will always be a source of the greatest pleasure to us, for all of the wisdom, the emotions, and the philosophy of the greatest men and women of all ages is bequeathed to us in literature. Any emotion we may have felt, any problem we may have had to meet, another has experienced and discussed for the enlightenment of posterity. We might sometime come across our own life written in a book, perhaps not word for word, but often the resemblence is so striking that we feel a little resentful that the book is public property. Human beings possess different personalities, different physical appearances, but they are essentially the same, their thoughts, emotions, and experiences coincide. Literature gives us a much broader outlook on life, because we realize that others have experienced our adven- tures, have thought our thoughts, have faced our problems, in short, have almost lived our lives. Reading has a tendency to make us less intro- spective, for we realize that our own troubles, our philosophies, our experiences are not unique in the world. VVhat a wide field the modern reader has to choose from! Never before were authors more prolific than now. The brightly-colored jackets of scores of new books greet our eyes from the shop windows every day. It is bewildering to imagine the vast number of people who must be engaged in literary labors to turn out the immense number of books on sale today. Out of all of these hundreds of books it would not be rash to say that no more than half are worth even afuirsorylpferusal. It is quite the fashion now to make frantic attempts to read every new book that appears on the market. People are heard to speak glibly of this and that new book, so glibly in fact that one begins to doubt if they have more than peeked beneath the cover. To attempt to read even one-third of the books that appear in such abundance today is a futile undertaking at best, and one from which the reader ' ' gains little. How much more We would gain if we would turn to some of the old and tried literature which has retained its glamour and power to interest throughout many generations. Who can be said to be less rich for having l22l

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ACKN OVVLEDGMEN T The Top-Knot staff Wishes to express its appreciation to the members of the art department for the Wood blocks designed by them which appear in this pub- lication. We Wish to thank especially the following girls: hlargaret Frazer, 19305 Barbara Ball, 19303 Natalie Howard, 19315 Ruth Penhorwood, 19313 Jean Herbert, 1932g Nlargaret Marquart, 19345 Betty Neff, 1935g and Helen Hanford, 1936. The block for the slip cover was cut by Annabel Dunlop, 1930, and the four title pages that head each section were made by Virginia Schueller, 1931.