Goshen College - Maple Leaf Yearbook (Goshen, IN)

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FRED N. BURKEY, A.B. Major. English Ohio, Ill. Some have guiding stars. Mr. Burkey has many, for his sympathies are innumerableg has taken a whiff from the flower of lifeg always ready to share his ripe Wisdom. This adjustability is due to his knowledge and thorough acquaintance with men and Women. From such a background burst forth melodies of music and occasional ori- ginal sketches of poetry. In short there is a serious nature hidden within the jovial. JOHN J. FISHER, AB. Major. Philosophy Kalona, lswa. John Fisher, an Iowan, somewhat adven- turous. The details of his youth are num- erous and complicated, but they have mould- ed in him such a character of which the class of 1913 may Well be proud. His life while in school has been discussed from many standpoints and, although being hard to fathom, he wears. His noble efforts in the various activities of the College are worthy of note. He has stood out as president of the Y. M. C. A., a leader in thought and a marvel in origin- ality. He has become a scientist of no lit- tle note and promises to become a star in his chosen iield. His past achievements and successes form a sure foundation for a bril- liant future. SILAS HERTZLER, A.B. Major. Bible Glenarm, Md. Mr. Hertzler is apparently the most quiet and unassuming of our number, neverthe- less he heartily appreciates the various phases of College life. His integrity and success as a student bear evidence that Where there is a Will there is a Way . He has caught the vision of the need of the World and We bespeak for him a successful career as a medical missionary.

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GOSHEN COLLEGE RECORD. 17 ward the thought and activity of the age J! It is constructive or destructive? Will it maintain itself or end in disas- ter? And finally shall l ally myself with it or shall l hold myself aloof? We need but look about us to find those who look on the present state of affairs as portending a most disastcrous outcome. They reject everything new, hold tenaciously to the old, and absolutely refuse to keep company with the untried. They lack vision, per- spective and the ability of comprehen- sion. For them things exist only in the present, bearing relation neither to the past nor to the future. They are only acquainted with local condi- tions, they see only one thing at a time because they do not have the capacity to see things in the large and discern the relatedness of the parts. They are the extreme conservatives. Among them you will find the pessemist, and the reactionary. The progress of whole nations has been arrested be- cause of such an extreme reverence for the old. India., and China are classical illustrations. lndia has for centuries been steeped in ignorance and supersti- tio11, and is just slowly awakening. History gives no record of the beginning of C'hina's slavery to custom and tradi- tion, making her impervious to the in- fluence of tl1e rest of the world. She is just arousing from her lethargy. Such an attitude toward the thought and ac- tivity of the world is depressing, fos- ters a dejection of spirits, and is wholly unsatisfactory. There are others who take an en- tirely different attitude toward the restlessness of the present age. They are the extreme liberals, imtpractible optimists, the advocates of revolution and Sedition. To them the present age of unrest is one of stupendous achieve- ment, announcing the approach of ideal conditions. Through their fanciful, chimerical, thinking they construct a lltopia soon to be realized. Among them you will find the advocates of the impracticable reforms, and those who look forward to an impossible state of perfection in society. They reject everything that bears thc stamp of oldness, seize eagerly everything that is new, and gladly accept every pro- duct of the modern age whether it be tried or untried. They make no contri- bution to the world 's progress. Either they are too tickle to complete a11y un- dertaking or else the project becomes top heavy and tumbles of its own ill proportions. We are no more tolerant toward the extreme liberal than to- ward him who dogmatically abides by the old. These are the extreme attitudes which the individual may take toward the larger group. But man seems to be inclined to extremes. lt is a difficult task to think independently o11 a sub- ject and be entirely free from the in- iiuence of the radical views. Careful deflnitition and a. proper use of rela- tives terms requires effort. It is al- ways easier to accept or reject the whole than select the good from the bad. The individual finds that he must apply himself strenuously and be willing to expend energy if he is to select the elements from his environ- ment, which he wishes to make his own, hence he is inclined lazily to pass judgment on things collectively, and thus takes an extreme attitude toward life rather tha11 investigate. The individual does not develope his powers by calmly allowing himself to drift with one or two extremes, but by exercising his capacity on compre- hension, descernment, discrimination

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GOSHEN COLLEGE RECORD. 19 a11d choice. A man develops his phy- sical strength by doing tasks that are difficult. He increases the powers of his intellect by engaging in mental discipline, by applying himself inde- pendently to the solution of problems. The chief source of power in the indi- vidual is the development of these pow- ers which are potentially within him. Strength and stability of character are increased by taking a comprehensive view of the larger mass of humanityg by penetrating deep beneath the sur- face and discerning the Very motives which are impelling mankindg by keen- ly discriminating between the various elements, and deliberately selecting the elements which have value. Moses spent forty years reflecting on the laws of the great nations of l1is time. He controls our jurists today. Milton tells us that he spent thirty- four years accumulating and selecting material for his great heroic poem. Welmster' and Lincoln spent years in the forests and fields reflecting, brood- ing, analyzing and comparing. It is said that when Starr King first saw the great trees of California, standing twenty-five feet in diameter and lifting their crowns three hundred feet into the sunshine he was moved to tears. The cause of his emotion was the thought of the latent powers, the reserve ener- gies that had been compacted into these giants because of their capacity to select the right materials from their environment. Their roots had pene- trated the mountains and select- ed from their mineral deposits, they had pierced the hills and selected rich stimulants from their soilg their strong limbs had lifted their leaves high into the atmosphere where they gathered the sunshine and the invigorating ele- mentsg a thousand summers and win- ters had poured forth their treasure. From all these they selected the ele- ments which formed their mighty trunks. Thus the author, the states- man, the plain man who will help this and the next generation must busily engage in selecting the various elements of worth from the complex life about him, in that way compaeting within himself a thousand knowledges and virtues. The progress of the world depends on the individual. lf the individual de- generates, progress will be arrestedg if the individual developes the world will move forward accordingly. Some are continually mislead, either by their feverish enthusiasms, which tempt them to overlook the immediately im- possible, or by a spiritless submission to discouragement and despair, in which they fail to make a true estimate of the present situation. To vascilate between these two attitudes is exhaust- ing, and disasterous to progress. This is the chief source of retarded develop- ment and stagnation. lt is no doubt true that we learn through failure and disappointment. But such a process of acquiring knowledge is very painful and involves a stupendous waste of en- ergy and loss of time. Those who hold themselves constantly between these extreme moods are not tossed to and fro by passions and circumstances un- til they are finally driven forward. They are the individuals who make even the great mass of humanity move slowly but steadily to higher and no- bler achievements. Much of the progress in the past has been only temporary. Progress has al- ways been irregular and unsustained. It is only through alternating stages of advance and retreat, action and re- action, suceess and failure, progress