Salisbury High School - Pillar Yearbook (Salisbury, CT)

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Ye Sarum Booke 15 local high school was good enough for his father. They cannot understand why a person would like to read German or French. Their's is a life of contentment which neither adds to, or takes from progress. When, however, satisfaction comes to a young doctor who could have a brilliant future, and causes him to settle down in a small town to practise, there is a tragedy. He should be in a medical institute, but a year of association with the solemnly satisfied denizens of the town drenched his ambition. His sole desire is to become one of the folks. Here progress is dead. The same is true of a lawyer. A person with artistic talents should never live there. Satisfaction kills genius. That is why I think it is a sin for any man to be contented. His soul should torment him, drive him on, on, on. With a turbulent soul he will progress. His soul at ease, he will be contented and never wish to strive for anything. One should remember that the weary will rest when they are dead. That is time enough. No one should be satisfied to stand back and look fondly on one's work. There will be time for that later, but now strive on. Satisfaction will kill your soul, too. EDITORIAL NOTES AT A RECENT meeting of the Editorial Board of Ye Sarum Booke the following were chosen as members of next year's board: Bushnell Smith, Editor, Daniel Riker and George Mudge, Associate Editors, Frederick Capen, Business Manager. THE Rt. Reverend F. G. Budlong, Bishop of Connecticut, made his annual visit to the school on Sunday, May 23, when he confirmed two boys, Daniel Riker and George White. THE FOLLOWING boys were chosen for next year's Dance Committee: Robert Cole, Chairmang Daniel Riker and Bushnell Smith.

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I4 Ye Sarum Booke an increase in pay or position. They only ask to be left alone. Such people are the satisfied. Satisfaction is happiness. It is not the full happiness, however. Full happiness demands that one be constantly active, one cannot stop and gaze fondly on what one has ac- complished and be really happy. There is something lacking when one is merely satisfied. This state of satisfaction is to be found most predominately in small towns. It is hardly as noticeable in a city, at least. People are content to drift and live the same routine. They are perfectly happy in what they are doing. No one wants any more. It is too much of an effort to exert oneself for the sake of a bigger house or better education for one's children. The happiness they have is not worth the breaking up. Satisfaction is a type of defense. It is an excuse for not being daring enough to attempt the future. It is an excuse for a brilliant man's settling down to drudgery as a clerk when he could be the head of the company. Laziness is strongly an alloy of satisfaction. There are causes for this in small towns. In the first place it is traditional. Always, since the early settlement days, the town has been slow and easy going. The town founders were so, progress has not speeded life up a great deal. Many people shrug their shoulders and say why should we do something our fathers never did? Then, since life is so easy going, it casts a spell of indolence over the individual. It makes him feel that life is good as it is. Why change? Happiness is worth more than striving mightily in the uncertain hope of greatness and maybe bitter unhappiness. The life of contentment is the true life-for the mentally stultilied. The third reason is, that to the average small town citizens there is not much of a goal to strive for anyway. At least it is not tangible. Higher education is not the most important thing in the world-when one has to sweat and suffer in at- taining it. People seem just as happy without that, too, so why bother-that is their way of reasoning. Now satisfaction perhaps is all right for the masses. But in a small town it is practically universal. The weight of it is so heavy that it wears down anyone who professes his desire to be great. Shocked matrons do the rest. Anyone who is dis- contented is unorthodox. It so dominates men's minds that they are unable to under- stand why young so-and-so wants to go away to school. The

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16 Ye Sarum Booke THE LIBRARY IT HAS been the Librarian's very great pleasure to announce in each issue of Ye Sarum Booke the new volumes which the gifts and interest of Old Boys and Friends of the school have made possible during the year. Since last fall it has been our good fortune to add to the Library 122 volumes on various sub- jects and consequently to increase very notably the usefulness of our collection. Already the shelves are beginning to show on first glance the improvement which has come to the Library during the last two yearsg old and damaged volumes have been removed, rebound, or repaired: shelf space has been increased and the number of new books has removed the appearance of stagnation which marks a dead school library. We can no longer admit that criticism for each month brings some new book and often a number of new books. The school hopes that every old boy on a return visit to Salisbury will be pleased to observe the changes and additions which have been made and will capture some of the interest which has made possible these improvements. To have a growing library is a great asset to a school and one of our most signiiicant claims to the advancement of education. It is also true that gifts made to such an enterprise are of the most perm- anent source of benefit to the school. Books are not quite imperishable but they last for years and the donor could never regret that his gifts were worn out with use. Again we thank all our kind benefactors and express our gratitude that the Library has been enabled to renew its life. The Library is glad to acknowledge the acquisition of the following books: From a gift of the Class of 1936 the following volumes were purchased: Aksakoff: Year: ey Childhood Aksakoffz A Russian Sehoolboy Aksakoff: A Rursian Gentleman Carlyle: On Heroes and Hero-Worship Carlyle: Sartor Rerartus A. E. Housman: Introductory Lecture Nicolson: Some People Redman: Reading at Random Robinson: Collected Poems Sumner: Folkways