Mississippi College - Tribesman Yearbook (Clinton, MS)

Page 25 text:

Algernon Jasper Aven, B. A., M. A. Professor of Latin |3l0j|AD he been horn in the time when the ancient bards sang their lays, accom- I Si! P an ed y x e ty re he wou l d have sung sweeter than them all. Had he lived PJliyi in the daVS Catuilus or or Ovid, to the poetry of the Latins would have been added rich gems of thought and rhythm. Had he lived when the blood of of our savage ancestors moved to wild and passionate poetry and yet wilder, more daring deeds, his voice would have been heard above the din, gentle and restraining, its ring of truth and sincerity calling men back to the good, the beautiful, the true. For Algernon Jasper Aven rises above time and place and age; he would have been what he is any time, anywhere. Yet are we immeasurably glad that his lot has been cast, not in the past, but in the present, when the world, surfeited with song and poetry and daring deeds, stands in sore need of something infinitely better — pure, noble, unselfish, manly lives. However, there had to be a time and place — August 25, 1858, near Graysport, Grenada County, Mississippi, the third child of Mr. and Mrs. R. G. Aven. His early education was in the rural schools of that county, and in 1880 he entered the University of Mississippi, from which he was graduated in 1884 with B. A. degree, fourth in a class of sixteen, and was member of the Delta Psi fraternity. He then immediately began teaching. From 1884 to 1885 he was principal of Cole’s Creek Academy; principal Winona Male Academy 1885-89; came to Mississippi College in 1889, where he filled the chair of English till 1890, when, at his own request, he was transferred to the chair of Latin. He was also instructor in French during this time. A year’s work in the University of Chicago, 1894-95, gave him his Master’s degree. February 24, 1887, he was married to Miss Mary Catherine Bailey, of Winona, Mississippi, to whom he owes the inspiration and happiness of his service in all his work. Professor Aven fulfills the measure of a man. True, he is neither so rich nor so famous as he deserves to be. An aspirant for fame of any sort he is not. But there are many who know him and wish that others did, and all who know him are better for the acquaintance. If it be the measure of a man to know a noble purpose, to pursue it, to embody it, and so inspire others with it, this is he. Not many aims, but one he holds, that other lives may be richer, better, fuller, gladder by his own. Ask the hoys for a model of courtly kindness, and where the treasure-house of friendship is, and you will hear a chorus that sounds like “Ajax!” Ask many of them who gave them a word of greeting at a critical time, who came to them when their souls were in the throes of travail and they needed someone to guide them to the real meaning of life and how to join this life to the next and make them one, who led them to the light when they were in darkness and brought brightness out of confusion, and memory kindles a new sense of gratitude, and with voice subdued to be the vehicle of most sacred experience they refer you to Prof. Aven. Tall enough to command attention anywhere, handsome enough to make a favorable impression, unselfish enough to preserve it, conscientious enough to make good use of it and faithful in the performance of the duties of friendship and his office, may his character be reproduced in many brought into the circle of his influence. Already having the record of the longest continuous service in the College, may he continue all his days “the noblest Roman cf them all”! “Poet, more poet for beauty than for fame; Sage for the sake of being not for seeming wise; Preacher of truth, and not of praise nor blame; Critic, whose law inspires as well as tries— You, who have deepened and enlarged your day, You shall remain when it has passed away.” 21

Page 27 text:

Pat Henry Eager, A. B., M. A. Professor of English and Literature |MONG its noble and brave Baptist ministers in the pioneer days of Mississippi, I Rev. Dr F.. C. Lager lather of Pat Henry Eager, takes a place as one of the truest and strongest, both as a preacher and as a citizen. To him, as a man charactenzed by s.mphcity of hvmg and steadfastness of purpose and service perhaps no encomium could be more pleasing than to say that his children have all become most worthy sons and daughters of their father. And so, when we seek for the foundation upon which is built the success and great worthiness of Prof. Eager, we find it in the heritage of such a father and such a mother as were his. ® A high ideal is the groundwork on which all the noble qualities as a student are built 1° awaken a high ideal, to foster it, to enlarge it, and broaden it, and to make it so strong that it will itself arouse every latent energy in the man, is, perhaps, the greatest work of an educational leader. Some men are great teachers because they have the power to incite this high ideal, whatever the subject matter in hand may be; but some branches of instruction in a college curriculum afford greater opportunity and lend themselves more readily to awaking and fostering the ideal, and of these none offers greater opportunity than our mother tongue, p f pPP ' v . ,n Mississippi College a great teacher and this most prolific subject are combined. rot. Eager is an unexcelled teacher of our world-wide parent speech. Perhaps no teacher in the College— indeed, few anywhere— does more to create this high ideal in his own depart- ment, and, incidentally, all others, than he. He does it in part by laying emphasis on the value »t English in every conceivable sphere and activity of life. “Young men, you need to use good English in every phase of life— you need to express yourselves well in good, forceful English wherever you are, and whatever you do.” This is practically the text of his first ecture to his Sophomores, and the spirit of the last to his Seniors. Few, indeed, are the bovs even those much inclined to indifference, that he does not reach. Professor Eager, possessing the tact of a good teacher, has prepared himself well for the pos.tion he holds. Starting out in the College work in the department of mathematics, after several years of splendid teaching in several academies, he has held since the presidency of ° colle g es and filled the chair of Psychology and Ethics of our State University Eleven of a Enghsh he WaS CallCd baCk t0 h ' S alma later fr ° m Ba y lorColle g e - Texas to fill the chair , In fi ' gfier classes he strives to give men a wide vie w of the subject. He presupposes orough knowledge of grammar, rhetoric, and sentence-building, and working from this iypothes;s he accepts no excuse for previous lack of preparation. No man possesses a kindlier disposition, no man has a greater spirit of forbearance -,„,l none a greater regard for diversity of opinion. But alas for that boy who havTnT T dozen pages of Thackeray, sets himself up as a judge unfavorable! His t’eache’r at Xr t mild, shows the other side of his character, and in a moment be become” nerfl u ' a :xpr“° n ’ an J Sh ° WS Unmistakab ' y that he wil! not countenance hasty and Tm manure Prof. Eager ' s habit of thought is that of a thorough scholar I,:, aa j l that of a cultured gentleman, his life is the exemplification of home life and the spirit and influence of his home is ideal, made so no more by him than” y tribute tT ' his ' n W ' fe ’ wh °. Calls him “% Lord,” which is her naive way of paying ributc to his many manly virtues and his exalted admiration for her.