Walton High School - Periwinkle Yearbook (Bronx, NY)

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uTl'ie Qomonce ol LQOFIGPCIO DG Vinciw bu Dmiliai A'4QPQjLOWSLi . Against a background of superstition and fanaticism, of court intrigue, and of widespread ignorance, Leonardo Da Vinci shines forth. Master artist, mathematician, philosopher, anatomist, and architect, he is the lone glowing ember amidst the ashes of the fifteenth century. ln The Romance of Leonardo Da Vinci, Dmitri lVlerejkovvski has divined the true character of this hitherto mysterious genius. For truly vvas Da Vinci a man unfathomable-in thought, centuries ahead of his contemporaries, yet innocent in politics, denounced as an atheist, yet possessing a profound understanding and love of Cod, derided for his delaying nature, yet having completed the most beau- tiful painting of all time, the lVlona Lisa. Better to portray human emotions, he accompanied prisoners on their journey to the gallovvs to watch the last tvvitchings of fear upon their faces, yet he saved the humble grasshopper from being trampled underfoot. The author understands him to have spent his happiest hours vvhen surrounded by little children or by the simple beauties of nature. l-le believes him to have been kind alvvays, and tolerant, and forgiving, even to his enemies and opponents. The vvriter thinks that, because of possessing an analytical mind, the godly artist vvas considered atheistic-that, because he was not satisfied to believe in facts unscientifically established, he was accused of conspiring with the devill ln this biography, lvlr, lvlerejkovvski has written a little master- piece, a book that deserves to be ranked among the classics of the vvorld. With infinite delicacy, accentuated by strong, bold strokes, the author has painted a brilliant picture of a brilliant personality. The man he has shown us is one vvho belonged to a civilization far more advanced than the one in which he lived, one, in truth, vvho vvas centuries ahead of his times. l-le has taken out the human qualities, the things which endear one man to another, and he has placed them in so strong a light that they may not be ignored, or deemed less important than the superhuman attributes. With his loving and comprehending pen, the biographer has perpetuated with lauding, glovving, living vvords the soul of Leonardo Da Vinci, the immortal. CERTRUDE DOUNN. O C 5 l Q 1 0 f 0 at K

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'l O 5 J 9 5 I I l s iff and moving, hovv express and admirable! ln action how like an angell ln apprehension hovv like a godl The beauty of the vvorldl The paragon of animalslm lt is true that development proceeds more rapidly with the ages, but Shakespeare had thousands of years to look back upon vvith pride in the creation of man, Long before the Renaissance, in the arts, sciences, and general freedom, the establishment of schools and universities, the development of art and literature in Constan- tinople, the Roman Empire that handed dovvn to us its carefully established lavv and order and its stately buildings and vvell-built aqueducts and baths, and the great teachings of Confucius, Aristotle, Plato, Archimedes, and Hipparchus, early man made his first attempts to construct vehicles and buildings and to provide himself with the three necessities, food, clothing, and shelter, That last task vvas essentially more difficult and complicated to man at that time than is the forming of the theory of relativity to an Einstein, todayl l-lovvever, no matter, Shakespeare, vvhether you would regard us unfavorably or vvith high esteem land the opinion of the foremost genius of literature vvould be greatly valuedl, there is little doubt that after having seen all the advantages and disadvantages of this modern age, you vvould not remain here, but vvould return to dvvell peacefully and happily across the sea in a little home in Stratford- on-Avon. VIOLA l-IORPEL

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SEQ o 5 I vm , 9 .1 6 m I Q I 1 12? Compensolion There are a number of unwritten but universal laws, as fixed and unchangeable as the laws of the lvledes and Persians, that govern in their subtle way the lives of men and kingdoms, and regulate the comings and goings of men and women. Some people live through the entire course of their lives without once waking up to a consciousness of the existence of these laws. They stumble almost blindly, wafted hither and thither by every passing breeze of circumstance, drifting idly here and there through an aimless existence, knowing not why they do this, that, or the other, and having no idea why certain experiences should come to them, nor why they should be forced to endure many apparently unjust diffi- culties and disasters. All the time, however, they are moving in obedience to probably the most powerful and invincible of all these laws-the great Law of Compensation-which was first put into words by the holy lvlan of Nazareth, centuries ago, when l-le said, With whatsoever ye mete, it shall be measured unto you again. We may not even be dimly conscious of the workings of this great law. We may not even guess why this or that joy or sorrow should suddenly come upon us. We may not have even begun to realize that for whatever harvest we reap, we ourselves must cer- tainly some time or other have sown the seeds. lt may never have even vaguely occurred to us that for every effect there must necessarily have been somewhere behind it the primary cause. But it is none the less a vital truth in the life of every individual, and day by day, hour by hour, as we enjoy the benefits of every passing experience, we are consciously or unconsciously signing our name to life's same old promissory note, for in those few words, commonplace and ordinary as they have come to seem to us through continual and thoughtless usage, lies the real keynote of all human life. As we linger upon the threshold of active life, the doors of our school and its educational and protective advantages swinging behind us, the question naturally arises, just what are we going to get out of life? and we feel that you have a right to ask and expect a full and frank reply. But indeed, there is only the one sureand satisfactory answer, We are going to get out of life just exactly what we pay for, just exactly what we put into it, just exactly what we wish to buy from the world at the figure the ages have placed upon all life's gifts. lt all rests with us. Every-