Momence High School - Monesse Yearbook (Momence, IL)

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.1 l) N I () II Y K A It MOO K . show he honored Caesar, even though he had he!lied to kill him? On the other hand, look at the character of Cassius. He was shrewd, ambitious and disloyal. His part in the conspiracy was wholly for the motive of gain for himself, and not because he hoped to better the conditions of his country. By his wily talk he persuaded Brutus to .enter into a plan which was distasteful to such a nature, and led the other members of the plot to believe that Brutus, and not himself was the leader, so that the blame might not fall upon him. Cassius formed the plot with the idea of success, and he worked for this without one thought as to whether it was right or wrong. He took men for what they were, Brutus, for what they ought to be. These two men had at one time stood for praetership of Rome, and Brutus was elected through Cassius’ influence. Thus Cassius held a private hatred for Caesar and constantly thought of this while planning to take his life. After the assassination, Brutus was a changed man, and brooded much over his part in the cruel deed; but Cassius was unaffected and apparently as happp as ever, until Antony’s army attacked them. The fact that Brutus was the better and greater man was recognized at the time of the tragedy, for after his death, Antony said of him: “This was the noblest Roman of them all: All the conspirators save only he, Did that they did in envy of great Caesar; lie only in a general honest thought And common good to all, made one of them. His life was gentle; and the elements So mixed in him, that nature might stand up And say to all the world, This is a man!” Thus we see that two great and wise men made a seri¬ ous mistake; the one for what he thought to be the best thing for his country; the other, to satisfy his own am¬ bition. Who sits and waits for dead men’s shoes, In which to make his climb, Will leave no footprints of his own Upon the sands of time.

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JUNIOR YEAR BOOK. HARACTERS OF SHAKESPEARE’S BRU¬ TUS AND CASSIUS. ORATION, BY IRENE BUCKNER. Anyone who reads Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, will have a vivid impression remaining in mind of the differ¬ ence in character of the leaders of the conspiracy, Brutus and Cassius; the one a brave soldier, loving friend, and noble man; the other, a selfish man, working only for his own welfare. The character of Brutus is full of beauty and sweet¬ ness. In his home life he was gentle, upright and pure, always solicitous for the welfare of others. Take for ex¬ ample of this, his gentle and loving devotion to his wife, Portia, and how he considered her his superior, for after his conversation with her during the formation of the plot to kill Caesar, he said: “O, ye Gods! Render me worthy this noble wife.” This was certainly an unusual remark to be made in an age when women were considered as mere ornaments or slaves of men. Then, also, in his camp a short time before the final battle, he spoke gently, almost affectionately to his servant Lucius, who had played for his master until he had fallen asleep. When Brutus saw that the boy was asleep he said: “This is a sleepy tune. [my boy 0 murderous slumber, lays’t thou thy leaden mace upon That plays the music? Gentle knave good night! I will not do thee so much wrong to wake thee; I f thou dos’t nod, thou break’st thy instrument. I’ll take it from thee; and, good boy, good night!” In his political life Brutus worked for the interest of his state. No thought of reward for himself, no spirit of revenge entered his mind. It was simply because he be¬ lieved lie was working for the good of his beloved Rome, that lie entered the conspiracy, and in fact, he hesitated a long time before he could be persuaded by the wily Cas¬ sius to enter it at all. Caesar was one of his dearest friends, his most trusted companion; then could it have been that he who detested dishonor so thoroughly would have plotted against the most noble ruler of Rome for any reason but that he thought he was benefiting his country? Of course, we now think that it was a mean and dis¬ honorable act which Brutus did, but would not any really true patriot do the same under the same circumstances? Would not any man who loves his country do that which he truly believes to be the only thing that will save it from destruction? Brutus was a firm believer in the free repub¬ lic of his forefathers, the grand old Rome “glorified with the high virtues which had grown under her cherishing.” He always spoke of Caesar with respect and almost rever¬ ence, and it was only his ambition which Brutus disliked. After the ghost of Caesar had appeared to him, he said: “O, Julius Caesar, thou art mighty yet!” Does not this

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JUNIOR YEAR BOOK. THE LEGEND OF THE HOLY GRAIL. 1st PRIZE —BY VIRGINIA C. TABLER. The Legend of the Holy Grail! How many tales of unequaled adventures do the words bring to mind? Such terrible and unheard of dangers as the knights of old underwent in search of this holy vessel, one can scarcely imagine! What then was this Holy Grail, which was so much sought after? According to the mythology of the Romancers, the Holy Grail, or San Greal, was a cup supposed to possess powers of in¬ suring chastity and prolonging life to those who held it in keeping. It was believed to be made of one great precious stone, prob¬ ably an emerald. It was first brought from Heaven by angels, and was the cup used by Christ at the supper in the upper room, when for the last time before His crucifixion, He and his apostles sat at meat together, and later it was used to catch the last drops of His sacred blood as He hung dying upon the cross. This thrice blessed vessel was preserved and guarded carefully by angels, and knights, whose lives were chaste and pure. Later, Joseph, of Arimathea, became the keeper, and it remained among his lineal descendants for a long time, an object of pilgrimage and adoration. It was incumbent upon whoever had it in keeping, to live a life both chaste and pure, and one of Joseph’s descendants having bro¬ ken this condition, the cup disappeared. From that time until Sir Galahad, after many trials and tribulations, found the sacred ob¬ ject, it was the favorite entertainment of the knights to search for it. The adventures of ‘ ‘ King Arthur and his Knights of the Table Round, ’’ while in search of the Holy Grail, have for many years been the favorite subjects with the poets, and we now find many beautiful poems in all languages commemorating these events. From Walter Map who, in 1200, wrote the original story of Lancelot and Elaine, we learn as much of the search and finding of the sacred vessel as from any other author. He portrays Lancelot, the son of King Pillimore, as being brought out of retirement and introduced to King Arthur and by him made a knight of an infe¬ rior degree. The young man was a great favorite of both Arthur and his wife, Queen Guinevere, and in turn was deeply devoted to both. But in time, he came to have treasonable meetings with the Queen. He did not, however, lose any of his respect for the King, and was continually doing penance for his great sin against his benefactor. At first he was one of the knights who sought the Holy Grail, but because of the requirements of pureness and chas¬ tity of life and character, he gave up the quest. From this one act, it would appear that he had not become entirely degraded. He would not pretend to be what in reality he was not. Later, Lancelot became deeply in love with the maiden Elaine. They were, afterwards married and one son, Galahad, blessed their union. After the death of Lancelot, which occurred while in exile, Galahad took up the quest of the Holy Grail. In King Arthur’s court when his knights were all seated around the Round Table, there was one vacant chair, and this seat was reserved for the knight who should be successful in his quest of the sacred vessel. On Pentecost eve an old man clothed in white brought a young man to the court, and signified that the young hero should occupy the vacant seat. Very soon the Holy Grail appeared, and the room was filled with divine light and fra¬ grance. But it soon disappeared again, and the next day the knights all started out in search of it. As had been designated by the old man the night before, Sir Galahad was the successful one. He became King of the Holy City, and guarded the sacred gift well until his death, when it passed into the hands of Joseph of Arimathea. From this legend Tennyson drew his poem, ‘ ‘Elaine. ” Oh, that there was today some object to keep the knights of modern times chaste and pure in their lives. But alas! they, too often, as Sir Launfal, of whom Lowell wrote, spend their lives in searching far and wide for that which may be found at their own