Princeton University - Nassau Herald Yearbook (Princeton, NJ)

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QTIE NASSA U HERALD. 9 critical periods. These periods have ever marked the history of humanity. Even in the persons of our first parents it stood in Eden , and there, future destiny hinged upon personal choice. And that old story is lived over againi in every man, s experience , for 'C every man is an Adam, and Ries are just as plentiful as apples, and sometimes quite as tempting. ' , , Just as we choose, then, when the choice is put to us, and 'live lives of obedience or disobedience, can we make our pathway bloom with flowers or bristle with thorns. Standing, as we do, on the dividing line between college work and life work , look- ing back with tender memories and forward with apprehension, let us see that we are prepared for the conquests we must make. To each one, in accordance with his circumstances and disposition, is given a work, forthe accomplishment of which he is held responsiblep WVe must realize that we live for something, that by seeking ease and comfort we cheat ourselves and defraud the world. Alas, how many men we have seen who waste their lives in strenuous idleness , forever working, yet never achiev- ing. If we could but realize the importance of an active life- its effects upon ourselves and upon others, we would think the span of life too short, and complain that we had not time to do more. There is- room for all, from the highest to thelowest. The work of the past has been great, but it has not by any means yet been completed-for humanity has a course to run, a destiny to accomplish. , 'We, then, have something more to live for than a name, more to strive for than riches, and more to long for than power. We have our fellow-men to serve and defend, their sufferings to allay, our religionto support, our God to glorify. Grand questions, which in their issue and solution stretch out into the ages of an unwasting eternity, will press upon our attention. There will be periods in our life when the interests of two worlds-this and the next-will seem to come into collision, times when princi- ple and policy, or even passion, will wage war upon our spirit's battle-field ,T times when we must be outspoken for truth, stern in our detestation of all that is false or base, times when we must know that success' gained at the expense of principle is in

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s THE NA ss.4 U HERA LD. And when to the class of good old '80 the solemn hour of sep- aration comes, when on the mind crowd all the memories of our college days-our common toil, or sports and merry songs-the thought that these will ne' er be more, causes us to stop and think, andregret that we cannot live them over again. Our vacations are over. Soon we part, never all to meet here again. The partingto some will be joyful, but will there not be a little sor- row mingled with that joy? Is it not a hard thing to part with friends with whom you have spent the happiest and freest years that we will ever experience '? The best of us, we think, are but beginning to iind out how little We know-to appreciate the vast- ness of the work beforerus-andwe are yet to learn by expe- rience how this duty must be done. Heretofore, life has been but a dream ,T now we see it coming upon us with all its reality. We are about to go forth into the world. May she deal With us gently and kindly. AJ oy and sorrow, success and adversity will not be meted out to all alike, nor can any one of us hope toex- perience joy unmingled with sorrow. Whether we are prepared, depends much on our faithfulness here. We have been told that what we have acquired here we may exchange for things' needed in life, that what we have gone through with here is typical of that which We shall experience hereafter in life. This little world of ours, to which we are now saying good-bye, has been a lively one to us 5 it has taught us to think and act for ourselves. And to those of us who have not taken. advantage of our every op- portunity, we would say, now is a 'last chance for us. If we have not done right, is that any reason why we shall never do right? Shall we thus permit our manhood to mope and decay ? Not so I Let us now make resolves, and thus continue to strive. This, then, is the most critical time of our lives. Much of future character and destiny is wrapped in decisions now made. As Shakspere has it, f A H There is a tide in the aifairs of men, Whicli, taken at the fiood, leads on to fortune' , Omitted, all the voyage of life Is bound in shallows and in iniserie-S. I.i.fefS character, then, must be determined by the passage ot 'I

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10 THE NASSA U HERALD. e reality failure, and failure, while maintaining the right, is in very deed success. And then, when you have entrusted your soul to its Maker, look not in upon yourself, but outward toward your kin. Be honest and kindly toward your fellow-men. You have received, to them impart, for to have is to lose, while to give is to gain. This is the dilference between the higher and the lower manhood. 4 . Influences which are thrown around us in the years of our college life are vital, almost critical, in their power over the fu- ture of our being. We look upon a classmate, he may be unconscious of his solemn stewardship 5 you have sat by his side in the class-room for four happy years, and looked into those eyes and yet saw nothing. Look again, a fewyears after. The life-work has been chosen, and there is going on that steady struggle for its accomplishment. This classmateiis becoming a. power among his fellow-men. He has learned with full heart to labor for others. He has learned tobe useful in that position in life in which his Maker has placed, him. And who shall say how much we are indebted to early associations, the philosophy of parental rule, and to that retinue of circumstances which guards us, just as we are emerging from the dreamland of college life into the actual experiences of every-day life? Can you tell what fortunes await you, classmates? The interpreting years willrishow them to you. What is the secret of their power? Just this, the consecration of their every energy to the one pur- pose upon which their life was offered a sacrifice. And for this cause they have labored without ceasing. n , Your life-path may be toilsome and gloomy, but it will grow brighter at every step you take. The road that leads onward and upward maybe steep, but it is a starry one, too. Climb the steeps bravely, and stars shall yet flash upon your brows. g Urge on thy way with dauntless hearts, for faith in the right upholds and cheers you. U Keep pushing. ' Tis wiser than standing aside, And dreaming, and waiting, and watching the tide, ln lifels earnest battle they only prevail Who bravely press onward, and never say fail H ff I I a ii .1 4 5 . P , 5 5 l -...Q-0-. ew ..-,..-.-n- li