Goshen College - Maple Leaf Yearbook (Goshen, IN)

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GOSHEN COLLEGE RECORD UNL 12111 Wl1at 1S needed 15 an educatxon wh1ch w1ll recogmze bofth these phases and VVll1Cl'L w1ll endeavor t st11ke a happy 1'1'1CCl1l.lH1 by mak1ng p10 V1blOl1 for the pract1cal and ut1l1tar1an but wh1ch w1ll never sacrnice the lllgllel to tl1e lower but more than ev er w1ll endeavor to keep al1ve those cultuxal and moral elements, w1h1c1'h make for a strong character and a l1fe that 1S really worth l1v1ng But the CHTCICHCY of educatlon to produce men of CL1ltL11C and strong 111Cl1V1Cll1E1l cha1acter may be curtaxled 11ot only by placmg too much empha RIS upon the ut1l1tar11an but also by a IIHTIOYVHCSS and prejuchce wh1ch w1ll not perm11t the prese1ntat1on of the whole truth fa1rly and open m1ndedly lh1s IS a COI1Cl1t1011 to w1h1ch the small college may too eas1ly become subject l:Cll1C21t'101'1 should g1VC freedom and 1ndependence 1n thought and act1on lt 1nust put one upon h1s own feet and enable l'11l'l1 to th1nk and act for lnmsclf It 1S not enough merely t1o th1nk the thoughts of g1eat 1T11I'1ClS afte1 them, lt IS not enlough merely to mutate the deeds of noble men and women lt IS only as we thmk and '1c1t fO1 Ol11S6lVCS that we can come 1l'l'EO the lnghest good for ourselves and render the most genume and ef l'lL1C1'1t soc1al serv1ce EClllCat101l should 10'1VC that freedom wlhlch lb to be found 1n the order1ng of one s 1111161 l1fe 111 such a Way that the hrgh cst poss1b11l1t1es 'md potent1al1t1es of the 111Cl1X1ClLl3l shall be able to express lhemselx es An CClL1CE:1ll1011 to do tlus must be 111016 th1an 11'lblf1'LlC'E1011 made to SQUHIC w1th prec1once1ved 1deas The mtellectual stagnat1on of the m1ddle ages caused by SCl1Ol3b'C1C1S1'1'1 and the ClOg'ITlH.l11S1T1 of the church of Rome stands as a perpetual warnmff agamst any such procedure Educa l11011 must be 1based upon a fearless Ll11llJ1HS6Cl presen1tat1on of the whole tru1th as lt IS found m sc1ence 1n h1s toly 111 l1terature Only as the truth lb thus presented can educat1on 'uve a man power to Judge the relat1ve val ues of hfe VV'l'l1Cl1 alone can place hrm 111 POSSCSSIOH of hnnself and g'1VC l'111Tl 1I'1Cl1V1ClL1El.l fxeedom and a strong mdependent, x1r1le character Whatever CClLlCEl.t1lO112l.l standards we may set up It must always be remem bered that the most magmncent thnn1g about lxfe IS cha1acter The educa H011 Wl'l1Cl1 w1ll accomphsh the most for the 11'1Cl1Vl1ClL12ll and for SOCIETY 1S that educatuon 'Vvllluh teaches not merely to know and to do but also to be The college wh1ch performs the h1ghest 1T11SS1OlH IS not the one VVl11Cl'l stands only for the 1ntens1ty pract1cal H.1'lClLllI1l1lZ3.1'13.1l H01 the one VVl'11Cl1 places emphas1s upon scholarslnp for mere scl1olarsh1ps sake nor yet the one wh1ch on account of narrowness and b1gotry w1ll not present the whole truth but the one wh1ch bel1ev1ng equallx 111 the p1act1cal and placmg just as lngh an 6Sl111'I'1dt6 upon scholar Slllp can at the same l1l'1lC see beyond these thmgs and employ them VV1ll'l openness and W1'EllOL1ll 1D1'CjL1Cl1CC O1 lJ1gOtI'y as stepp1ng stones to a luoher accomphshment the ordermof of hfc 1n 'che paths of excellence and beauty and the attamment of a character cultured broadm1nded sympathetn' actxve 1nd encur1nU cultured enough to see beauty 1n hoemg Conn and wash mg d1shes as well as 1n play1ng golf or the p1ano cultured enough to see SLlI'1Sl'l11'lC not only 1n VIVCTS l2'l13.t move fContmuecl on page l74 , Q I 150 . J . . I . I -I I I I I . . I 1 1 1 1 b I I. . . I , I -I I 1 1 1 I I1 I .O . 1 I .III - 1 1 1 1 1 1 - I 1 1 '1 I 1 . . F . . . . . . . . . . T l ' ' l I - 1 , I .I '1 1' - 1 ' . ' ' 1 1 1 ' . , . ' - ' I : ' 1 I ' ' 1 'l , 6 1 1 1 1 1 ' 1 I ' - - I I 1 U . . . . ' 5 I I I 1 I I I . . ' 1 1 1 . ' I 1I I I - I- I. . I. .I I I. II I ' . a Y 1 1 ' 1 1 1 7 I 1 ' 1 ' 1 1 ' 1 1 1 - 1 1 . . . - I . I I , I I I 1 1 1 - 1 1 1 Ig Q1 1 1 I 1 11 1 1 I 1 1 - 1 I - . . . 1 . I , , , . I 1 I I I 1 1 I ' 1 '1 1 1 I- . I ' '1 ' 1 ' 1 1 I 1 1 1 ' ' , 1 I I' ' - I 1 1 1 ,, . . . . . ' ' ' 1 1. 1 ' 1 1 1 ' 1 1 I 1 I I ' I I ' . . : . I . I I I I I I . .I . 1 . '1 1 ' 1 'A . 1 ,1 c l ' c ' I ' ' X A I 1 - 1 I 1 1 ' 1 I 1 ' 71 I 1 . . D1 1 I 1 1 1 - ' ' 1 1 c ' ' 1 I 1 1 ' 1 1' 1 . 1 1 I , I I I . . . 1, 1 1 Ik . . . . i1 I I C ' ' 1 1 1 ' 1 1 1'1 . 1 I - 1 ' 1 1 ' 1 ' . I 1 1 , C . 1 I I - I . I I I . ' . 1 1' 1 1 ' 1 .1 ' I. 5 I ' V1 I. I I . .I I ' .5 ' , ' ' 1 ' . 1 . . 1 I I 1 1 I 1 1 1 15 1 V A . ' 1 ' -1 I 4 1 1 1 A . . . . I 1 . .I . I - 1 . c 1 1 1 1 1 ' - s 1 7 f 1 . ' ' 1 I J 1 -1 2 ' 7 I I A I 1 . ' , 1 ' .T c . 6 , L . . , 1 ' .1 - rc . . ' l 1 1 l 1 ' ' - . ' 1 '1 ' U . . . . 1 X 1 I I 1 I 1 1 1 '1 1 1 '. 1 U ' 1 . c ' -I I 1 1 1 '

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1910 GOSHEN COLLEGE RECORD. 149 only by an intense specialization.. The field is S0 large, and the q11e51t'i'0ni5 in- volved so great that t-he individual must devote himself to one small problem,--to the length of light waves or the arrangement of atoms in mole- cules. The marvelous advance in sci- entific knowledge during recent years has been due to men who have labor- ed witli untiring energy in such small fields. These tendencies toward the prac- tical, utilitarian and specialized are commendable and good in themselves. They meet the demands of the day and have assisted in developing our resources and advancing our civiliza- tion. Wfe owe an immense debt of gratitude to the scientists and special- ists who have wrested from nature manzy of the secrets which have made possible our ,great material develop-- ment. But at the same time these tenden- cies have detracted from the cultural phases of our education. This is felt not only in the technical sc-hool, the university and the post graduate school, but also in the small college whose function should be primarily one of cultural and moral development. In this neglect of the cultural and moral which will tend to make for a less refined civilization lies the chief danger of the intensely practical and entirely vocational education. It places emphasis upon-the means rather than the ends of life. True edu- cation is more than a mere vocational preparationg it is an enrichment of the whole life. True education is a humanizing process. It is not mere minid buildingg it is character build- ing . The education which d-oes not gi-ve an appreciation of the good, the true and the beautiful, which does not result in a kind and helpful spirit, a wiser toleranzce of one's fellows, a broader and more intelligent view of God and a better knowledge of service is in a large sense a failure. A man, judged by the criterion o-f things that are really wortlh wlhile, rises or falls not so much by what he knows as by what 'he is.T'he education-which mere- ly increases vocational efficiency and earning capacity, thus emancipating from continual drudgery in securing a livelihood and giving more time for leisure, but which at the same time does not develop culture and character is a dangerous acquisition, and uniits rather than fits for tihe highest attain- ments. ' Bu-t this view can also be made too extreme. In the endeavor to save education from the baneful effects of a too intensely practical, professional and specialized character, it must not be cut off from contact with the act- ual. VVe must remember that after all cultural education is only one phase of an entire education. It is good to be an. idealist, but not an idealist who igneores the realities of life. We are living in an extremely practical world. Life makes of us many practical demands. We must have, as some one has said, bread and butter, meat and potatoes and occa- sionally a piece of pie. One of the first elements of success must always be the abil-ity to earn a competence for -oursellves and those dependent upon us. The education which is so devot- ed to the purely ideal and cultural that it will not acknowledge the facts of life is as much of a failure as the edu- ca-tionswihich neglects these phases for the practical, vocational and utilitar-

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1910 GOSHEN COLLEGE RECORD. 151 PROPHETS IN JOSEPHUS W. SHANK, A. B. flVlajor Subject Englishl The moving spirit of all civilization has its rise in the minds of noble human characters. Every line of progress Whether it be in religion, science or in any movement of worth must be planned in the im.agin,ation of a few individuals before it can become a part of civilized life. The man who feels the throbbing pulse of humanity and interprets her needs into living thoughts, becomes the true prophet of inspiration to the world. Such a man lives in a superior atmosphere, above the petty concerns of ordinary men, and gives to his fellows loftier ideals for human life. He is to his own, gen- eration, in an intellectual and moral sense, what the prophets of sacred lit- erature were to their people in the mysterious secrets of religion. Among no class of thinkers is the prophetc spirit more strongly develop- ed than among the literary masters of LITERATURE all ages. Every generation produces her rare geniuses tlo whom we may give the disinctive title Prophets of Literature . They produce literature which contains nobler ideals for hu- manity ,keener percepntions regarding human life and more perfect interpretations of God and the uni- verse than the World 'has even known. They open to humanity a new uni- verse, which is beautiful and satisfy- ing to the aspiring nature of souls. In thought, in character and in life they are superior to men of their own times. for this reason we Consider their mes- sages pr0p'hetie in, nature. These in- spired thinkers are not those who pos- sess a narrow horizon of interests and toil for the satisfaction of selfish de- sires but tlhose who are urged to ex-- press themselves by a purer motive from within-a motive, whose origin can not be fully interpreted which. in the words of the poet, are related to a 'Sense sublime of something far more deeply interfused Whose dwelling is the light of setting sunsu. The true prophet of literature can not, Cnor does he wish toj discover the. exact origin of his message. It comes to him during his best moments in a garb of mistery when the great throbbing world is pressing upon his soul, when his mortal being is blended with the living spirit of the universe, when his strongest desire is for the betterment of his brother man and for the purifi- cation of his own soul. His message Hows into expression because it is a part of himself. lt becomes blendefl with every thought and every longing