Princeton University - Nassau Herald Yearbook (Princeton, NJ)

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Ivy Oration NATHANIEL EWING, JR. Friends and Fellow Classmates: The planting of the Class Ivy is merely symbolical of the fact that we are gladdened in the brightness of our Alma Mater's glory. It stands as a memorial of a class which has honestly done its best and which will endeavor to continue to do its best to the honor and glory of its Alma Mater. The traditions of Princeton we have long cherished 3 her ideals we have always maintained to the best of our abilityg and her president we honor and revere as a man whose first and only thought is the welfare of Princeton, and who is a representative of the highest type of enlightened patriotic citizen. H Amid these scenes we love so well, we have been afforded a training which is the best any American University can give. But as the time comes for departing on our several ways, we must realize that this education is as nothing unless we use what has been given us for the benefit of our fellow men. The fundamental idea of education is to train men for citizenship. At the present time we are living under a legal regime, and every question becomes in its last analysis a political one. As college bred men there are two fundamental things to which we must always adhere: the first is our responsibilityg the second our duty. Proportionally speaking, the number of col- lege men is few, and it is to the college man that the masses are looking for guidance and light in the great public questions of the day. We stand to-day on the threshold of opportunity, and our op- portunities are vast and varied. In our four years at Prince- ton we have been enabled to look beyond the hills of mater- ialism down over the valley where things are worth while from an altruistic point of view. There is a cry of reform to-day 22

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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

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I 'oy Omtion by which we must not be deceived. We should not allow our- selves to become subject to the demagogue who is swayed by every passing wind. We must be careful in a period of such agitation, as that through. which we are passing, that we sharp- ly distinguish between reform for progression, and reform for reform's sake. Probably the greatest force with which we have to deal is public opinion, and we, in our station of life, are most influen- tial in the formation of public opinion. Upon our shoulders must rest the burdens of the commonwealth. In this age, when a man's influence may be so great, both through the power of personal contact and through the press, it behooves us, that what influence We exert, shall be for the best. In as much as we are so influential in the formation of public opin- ion, which is the greatest force of all in the solution of the problems which confront us, it is our paramount obligation that we should see to it that public opinion be formed upon sound and rational lines. Doubtless we shall find the tasks of the larger world, into which we are soon to step, harder and more exacting, and times will come when what little confidence we have acquired will seem to fade away into the dim distance. It is easy for a man to iight for his ideals when the trumpets of victory are sounding in his ears, but it is a test of true manhood when we carry a point although all forces seem to be opposed. Our duty, not only as Princeton men, but as men trained to the high- est efiiciency is that we should put in practice what we have ob- tained through our experience for the betterment of mankind. There is a cry to-day for men who have an intelligent under- standing of values as well as of great public questions, and in- telligence is the key to success. This duty we owe not only to ourselves and to our Alma Mater, but to our country. Those of us who may enter the public service in some capac- ity or other, must rise above the average man of the day and not consider only the localities but look beyond and take to heart the welfare of our country as a whole. Those of us who will be engaged in business or professions other than those bor- dering on the public service must realize that if we take no ac- 23