Lisgar Collegiate Institute - Vox Lycei Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

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VOX LYCEI 47 the object of literature in education is to open the mind, to correct it, to refine it, to enable it to comprehend and digest its knowledge, to give it power over its own faculties, application, Hexibility, method, critical exactness, address and ex- pression. May I stress, for just a moment, the word 'expressionl? As a journalist, I am often asked by young men how they may learn to write. Frankly, I am not sure just what should be done. But I do beg leave to doubt, with all respect to those who are your teachers, the excellence and utility of the practice of over-much essay-writing. I have very little faith in rules of style, though I have an unbounded faith in the virtue of cultivating direct and precise expres- sion. But you must carry on the operation inside the mind, and not merely bv practising literary deportment on paper. It is not everybody who can command the mighty rhythm of the great masters of human speech, who can equal a Macaulay or a Gibbon. But everyone can make reasonably sure that he knows what he means, and whether he has found the right word. These are things that cannot be gained by writing for writings sake. They can be found only in thought, in a true love for the glories of our English speech. It is something we should all try to cultivate. For we Canadians are notoriously deficient in our use of English. XVe are prone to sneer at oratory and eloquence, to ignore the value of correct expression, to extol the virtues of the strong silent man . It is all a profound mistake. Vkfords, after all, are what distinguish man from the animal, and they have been the great agency through which liberty and civilization and all mighty human causes have pro- gressed down through the centuries. XVhenever I dwell upon these things, I think of what was once said by Mr. Rudyard Kipling at a Royal Academy banquet in London in 1906. It was then that Kipling used his immortal phrase describing the beginning of human speech, how a 'masterless man' arose and discovered words that 'became alive and walked up and down in the hearts of all his hearers'. And continuing, this great English phrase-maker said: 'The magic of literature lies in words, and not in any man. XYit- ness, a thousand excellent strenuous words can leave us quite cold or put us to sleep, while a bare half hundreds words breathed by some man in his agony, in his exultation, or in his idleness. genera- tions ago, can still lead whole nations into captivity, can still open to us the doors of three worlds, can stir us so intolerably that we can scarcely bear the look of our soulsf And two years later Kipling used equally inspiring words in an address to the Royal Literary Society: 'Gut of letters, and letters only, have proceeded, since history be- gan, those words which have gained men single or in mass-those phases by which the world has striven to live-for which the world has sometimes been content to die. After all, the phrase-the naked phrase-is the power which makes or umnakes the king- doms and the glories'. And so my advice to you young men and women this morning is to culti- vate and sustain a love for good books. They will teach you more of life and truth and beauty. They will give to you a deeper appreciation and understand- ing of the majesty and the glory of the heritage of our English speech. They will encourage you in victory, be your consolation in defeat: be your truest friends and companions when you yield to the conquering years.

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VOX LYCEI 49 21.9 . fi Cv T- T X. f 9 ' in if it 1 I 1 E ZF -U:-7 ' Cadet Corps . The- Cadet Corps, the medium through which our school is directlv 'tsso ,X ' 1 . ,- ciated with our Federal Government, is an extremely valuable organization. By Joining the Corps, a student shows that he has the right school spirit, and that he wishes to learn how to work with his fellow students in har- mony and with precision. The old slogan, join the Cadets is having effect, and we are proud to say that this year's enrolment is considerably greater than that of last year. This increased interest in the Corps gives the officers renewed hopes that Lisgar will distinguish herself in the coming inspection early in May. 1Ve were unfortunate to lose Mr. XY. D. T. Atkinson. our Cadet Administra- tor, who did such fine work in managing the Corps. In June, last year, Mr. Atkinson by accepting the principalship of the Collingwood Collegiate Institute, was forced to leave us. XVe, the members of the 94th Corps, wish him every success in his new office. Mr. Atkinson's place has since been ably hlled by Mr. L. H. Meng, who is well known to all of us, having been associated with the school for many years. Knowing Mr. Meng's ability as administrator, the school may rest assured that he will do everything in his power for the improvement of the old 94th. G. S. Ogilvie-Yth. The 1929 Cadet Inspection The increased freedom of movement gained in having the 1928 inspection on Cartier Square was a deciding factor in having the 1929 inspection at l.ans- downe Park, where there was still more room for the Brigade movements. The Brigade consisting of Lisgar 94th, Technical 775th, and the Cwlebe lO7Oth formed up on the Glebe School campus on the afternoon of May 17th. It was then taken over by Brigadier S. Stanyar and marched to Lansdowne Park, where it was formally inspected by Lt. Col. B. E. Boak, D.S.O. The procedure of the inspection was an exact replica of previous years and thus does not need further description. After the- inspection the Brigade formed a hollow square and the McGuire Cup. emblematic of the best company on par- ade was presented. The Glebe A Company showed its superiority on the March Past to win this coveted trophy. Silver medals were also presented to