Princeton University - Nassau Herald Yearbook (Princeton, NJ)

Page 22 text:

Class Poem O gracious mother grant that we May gain the simple faith again And strength, that blessed the fishermen Below the hills of Galilee. We turn to leave, and feel the thrill Of all the life that lies before, The sun-lit lands we may explore, The youth, the health, the strength, the will We turn to leave, our feet are set In parting ways-our hearts confess That all their joy and eagerness Are mingled in one pure regret. Be near us, Alma Mater, when We breast the fight where strength is born, And by thy memory, may we scorn To yield, but rise and strive again. Be near us when the lights are grown Dim, and tremble in each gust, And would go out-then give the trust That makes Death proud to claim his own. The ship in the ofling sets her sails, The snow-white drift of canvas fills, The dark hull swings and keels and veers And the shouts of our comrades fill our ears, In the early dawn Of a misty morn As we drive for the open sea. Behind-the following harbor swell, The twinkling lights, a distant bell, Beyond-the great, grey, buffeting sea, And the broken gleams of a star. 21

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Class Poem WILFRED J. FUNK The campus now lies clad in green About us, and is sweet with spring, And our sober senses bring A softened beauty to the scene. The sultry, slow-winged days of June Are fragrant with the scent of flowers: One by one the golden hours Are stealing from us, all too soon. Arm in arm the seniors pass Along the walks beneath the trees, And feel the blessing of the breeze, And speak of Princeton and their class. Like some fair maid each blue-eyed day Comes bearing gifts to us again And gracious memories, and then With sweet reluctance steals away. The twilight fills a heart with ease, The quiet elms content the mindg ' Strange messages steal down the wind And whispered answers stir the trees. The soft-blown airs of Fancy stir Among old days-the God-sent throng Of days-the dreams-the vagrant song- The memories time cannot blur. Our careless, curious eyes have scanned The giant ruins of the past, And now, with beating hearts, at last, Within the mighty shop we stand. The massive, quarried shafts rough-hewed By that titanic century Now gone, are given to us that we May raise a citadel to God. 20

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Senior Class Omtion history of the human race, which only the educated man can properly perceive. Dr. Lyman Abbott has said that a citizen must know lan- guages, that he may converse with men about himg life, that he may understand meng literature, that he may know the thoughts of the men of the pastg and especially that he must know and understand the laws that govern society. But he also said that education must train men not only to know but to will, to purpose, and to pursue as well. For four years we have been learning to know and have not infrequently asked ourselves why we havepbeen learning so much that seemed re- mote from the practical business of buying and selling, of min- ing and engineering, of practicing law and medicine. The an- swer to this question will be found in the application which we make of knowledge to things wider than our personal and private interestsg to the affairs of the nation and humanity. Henceforth we are to will, to purpose, and to pursue as well as to know. And it is not more activity in the administration of the gov- ernment that the nation just at present needs, but rather a more intelligent direction of this activity. Here the college graduate will ind his obligations. After all it is not so hard to die for one's country-anyone can do that,-a college man no bet- ter than another. It is hard to find men who will and are able to live for their countryg to carry on its government wisely and well. The nation must look to the college graduates for such men. We have received exceptional advantages, and must expect to carry exceptional responsibilities. No liner illustration can we give of our deep devotion to our Alma Mater than to strive courageously to fill our place in the world wisely and as would become Princeton men. We cannot to-day know what we have got from 'this place. It is only in the future that the true sig- nificance of the past four years may be seen. T9