University of the South - Cap and Gown Yearbook (Sewanee, TN)

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Having stumbled in my youth upon certain paths . The Dean usually has a few words to say. Sometimes a lecture is only the beginning. have more intelligence and more seriousness than most. But for the most part, there are all kinds: the gentleman, the boor; the scholar, the bum; the romantic, the cynic; the Christian, the pagan. You ' ll find them anywhere and you ' ll find them there. If you let them continue, they will tell you it ' s a place for study: hours of painful toil spent for nought, cheap suc- cess, genuine accomplishment. They will tell you of the slow

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imagined the challenge and intensity of the experience, but I find that I must rely on the words of Descartes when he said: ... I do not hesitate to claim the good fortune of having stumbled in my youth, upon paths which led me to certain considerations and maxims from which I formed a method of gradually increasing my knowledge and of im- proving my abilities as much as the mediocrity of my talents and the shortness of my life will permit. But the thought — Sewanee — lingered on. I have wondered about the people and about Sewanee, and I recall having talked to a fellow about the life there. He said, If you want to know about Sewanee, ask the people who work there, teach there, study there. Let them talk about themselves. What will they reveal of their nature? A unique and distinct group, like no other? Well, in a way; you will find that they Wrestling with books Registration: The longest morning. In an opening formality, the task is restated. FAR FROM THE WORLD, UPON A MOUNTAINS CREST 18

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% m IV, During eight fine games we watched drudgery of learning, and its quick exhilaration, too. They will say there ' s an eagerness in it, but also a dread some- times. Some march through stolidly, unyielding, unchanging, some sneak through, others wrestle with it. still others exalt in it. But one thing stands out sharply: it ' s there for the taking. They will tell you of the life they lead — how it ' s hard sometimes when the lurking grey fog steals out to smother them and when raw wretched cold smacks them down. Work to be done, when is there time? For sure, there ' s no relief inside. It ' s damn hard, then. But wait until the springtime. Pale green and the best weather under the sun. You walk and everyone celebrated. t ' . ' -- . HORSF - -LLftJ KT v S « S t¥-y r - 1 .Wi d «Hp?aHP ' f? ■ i ' ' — ■ y V-. ■ - i k ivf ; ? ' ktj --N ' : M ■Wff and they watched