Denison University - Adytum Yearbook (Granville, OH)

Page 11 text:

PREFACE. After a silence of six years the i DYTUM again appears before the students of D. U. The vohime of 1882, the only one ever issued before, was edited and published by the fraternities then existing in the University, name- ly : Sigma Chi and Beta Theta Pi. It was then their intention to miake the Annual a permanent publication, but for reasons which seemed sufficient to those wha inaugurated the movement it was not repeated. Often,, however, the wish has been expressed that the publica- tion be started anew. Almost every year it has been talked of among the fraternities, but the diffi.culties irk the way of its publication seemed too great. Last Fall,, however, thinking that the increased prosperity of every- thing connected with the University Vv ould justify the revival of the Annual, a movement was started among- the different chapters here, looking to this end. A joint committee was appointed which drew up articles of association to regulate its publication ; but upon more mature consideration, two of the chapters thought it unwise to proceed, believing that it could not be made a financial success. Here the matter was dropped for the time being. But the present editors, realizing that.

Page 10 text:

In learned Greece of long ago, When maid or man his fate would know. A god or goddess ' shrine he ' d seek And there with blanched lip and cheek, Before the priest, on tripod placed. In inmost room with horrors cased, He ' d ask the god a sign to give — How, to prosper, he should live. The god would show in riddles dark — But clear to one in whom the spark Of genius burned — where were the rocks He should avoid, and where the walks And pleasant fields which life would cheer And make still sweeter year to year. If they were sought. The temples now Are laid in dust ; yet ever, how To make their lives one round of joys. Consult their stars, both maids and boys. To aid these seekers after bliss. To keep their steps from going amiss, To point out where their dangers lie. To save them many a future sigh, To help them on the road to fame, To win for ourselves some of the same ; We, the Eds., with a bow and a scrape, Present our work in the present shape, Hoping that some from its pages may glean Hints which will help to cleanse of their green. Its name is classic Greek, you know. For classic men we made it so. Now, D. U. Students, ' ' goody, dig, and ' ' bum, Hear the oracles from the Adytum.

Page 12 text:

8 THE AD YTUM. what an organization may fail in, may often be success- fully conducted by private enterprise, and knowing no reason why a College Annual should not be edited as well by a self-selected corps of editors as by the secret societies, determined to make the trial on their own re- sponsibility. The result of our labor lies before you. We do not desire to continue the publication as a pri- vate enterprise, but, by showing that it can be made a success financially, at least, to remove the only hindrance which has stood in the way of its regular issue. We hope that hereafter the fraternities will unite in its pub- lication and make it one of the regular features of the year. You may ask, is an Annual necessary to a college in good standing? We unhesitatingly answer yes. Dur- ing the year events transpire, organizations are formed, and other matters of interest to the students take place, which, unless put into a form adapted to preservation, will soon be forgotten. Then, again, there are many organizations of deepest interest to the students, but not of enough general interest to find a place in the college catalogue, which should be duly recorded as a part of the college life. These and other reasons make the Annual, if not an absolute necessity, at least, a valuable addition to the college literature. The present editors have had no experience in such work. Looking back over our work we see many places where improvements could be made. But let those who follow us profit by our mistakes and coming years will produce Adytums which for wit, wisdom, truth and fic- tion, will stand alone in their majesty.