University of Maryland School of Pharmacy - Terra Mariae Yearbook (Baltimore, MD)

Page 25 text:

qTcatiicss lies not in wealth and station, as the vulsjar believe, nor yet in his intellectual capacity, which is often associated with the meanest moral character, the most abject servility to those in high places, and arrogance to tlie poor and lowly : but a man s true greatness lies in the con- sciousness of an honest pur])ose in life, founded on a just estimate of himself and evervthing else, on frequent self-examinafion, and a steady obedience to the rule which he knows to be right, without troubling himself, as the emperor says lie should not, about what others may think or sav, or whether thev do or do not do that which he thinks and savs and does. fti lflsof-

Page 24 text:

If thou workest at that which is before thee. fi ll(i viiif, ' right reason seriously, vigorously, calmly, without allowing anything else to distract thee, but keeping thy divine part pure, as if thou shouldst be bound to give it back immediately ; if thou boldest to this expecting nothing, fearing nothing, but satisfied with thy present activity, according to nature, and witli heroic truth in every word and sound which tliou utterest, thou wilt live happy. And there is no man who is able to prevent this. Remember Antoninus Pius, and his efforts to understand things ; and how he would never let anything pass without having first most carefully examined it and clearly understood it. ' ■ ' riiat w liicli does nf t make a man worse than he was, also does not make his life worse. Look within. itliiu is the fountain of good and it will ever bubble up if thou wilt ever dig. It is thy duty to order thy life well in every single act ; and if every act does its duty as far as possible, be content : and no one is able to hinder thee so that each act shall not do its duty. Practice thyself even in the things which thou despairest of accomplishing, for even the left hand wliicli is ineffectual for all other things for want of practice, holds the bridle more effcct- iiali - than tlie right hand : fur it has been practicrd in this. EitluT tlure is a fatal necessity and invincible order, or a kind providence, or a confusion without a purpose, and without a director. If then there is an invincible necessity, why dost thou resist? I ' .ut if there is a providence which allows itself to be propitiated, make thyself worthy of the help f the divinity. P)Ut if there is a confusion without a governor, be content that in such a tempest thou hast in thyself a certain ruling intelligence. And even if the tempest carry thee awMy. let it carry away the poor flesh, the poor breath, everything else; for the intelligence at least it will not carry away. .Man thou hast been a citizen in this great state, the world; what difference does it make to thee whether for five years or three? For that which is conformable to the laws is just for all. Where is the hardship then if no tyrant nor yet an unjust judge sends thee away from the state, but nature, who brought thee into it? The same as if a praetor, who has employed an actor dis- misses him from the stage — ' But I have not finished the five acts, but only three of them ' — Thou sayest well, but in life the three acts are the whole drama; for what shall be a complete drama is determined 1) him who was once the cause of its composition, and now of its dissolution; but thou art the cause of neitlur. Depart then satisfied, for he also who releases thee is satisfied. It would be unjust to the author of the Meditations to forget that they arc the innermost thoughts of a man who made no pretension to ]ierfection ; who was describing his aspirations rather than his attaimnents ; and who, amid ])erplexitics and perils, such as few of us will be called upon to encounter, never turned the back upfui his ideals. The lessons of self-examination, self-control and self-reliance and self-reverence, which the Meditations breathe, are not easy to practice : but the mere effort will, at least, enalile a man to keep his face in the right direction. . nd this, after all, is the main thing. For, quoting again the words of the Translator, a man ' s 20

Page 26 text:

TO THE CLASS OF NINETEEN FIVE C ' diiK-, I ' ll! u|) yuur giasscs, and drink with me ' I ' ll tlic llealtli of the Class of- Xinelcen Imvc, Till ' l ' riiu ' of Classes, the Peer of all That ha i ' i;iiik ' before, or yet that thri e. Collie 1 )oetors, eoiue Dentists, come Lawvers all ! W e ' ll pledsiie (Hir troth in this foaiiiin t: brew. W liile the heart heats warm, and the pnlse runs high. With a hearty and cheery Here ' s to vmi ! To the I ' ast, its follies and escapades, ' i ' he girls we ha e loved — and lost, alas! To the Present — bright, tlie Future— glowing ; To each of these let lis (|naff ;i glass. To the Doctor ' s skill, the Lawyer ' s logic. The Dentist ' s alleviating art: To Mich ])owers as these for wiekling good We ' ll drink a Toast with all onr heart. ( )ur lives are before us. Ambition calls: ' i ' he ultimate outcome who can I ' oretell? De;ir Alma Mater to thee adieu. iva! D.l).. ' .. M.])., I ' har.l).. I ' -.l,.