Washington and Lee University - Calyx Yearbook (Lexington, VA)

Page 17 text:

: ' HEN a man has passed along life ' s lii ;h vay to the mile- stone which records the farthest point, it is difficult for those who come after him to look back over the road which he travelled and estimate the worth of iiis achieve- ments, even if his journey has embraced the allotted maxi- mum of three score and ten years and has been marked by ceaseless strug ;le and high endeavor. A man ' s life-work cf)nsists not only of those things which are visible to the eye, which can be handled by the hands, and which may even be approximately measured by the intellect. The results are both tangible and intangible. In the case of our large industrial corporations it is their intangible possessions or assets which are the most remunerative and which yield the largest return. So it is with a man ' s life. The intangible features of his work, which are exceedingly hard to estimate, are probably the most |)rofitable and the most valuable of his benefactions to the generations which follow him. If the demand were made for a critical estimate of Gen- eral Robert E. Lee ' s work as President of Washington and Lee University, surely a conclusion would not be reached by ascertaining how the enroll- ment of students or the money endowment of the University increased dur- ing (lencral Lee ' s administration or as a result of his efforts. Likewise, if a jmlgment was to be formcfl of President Wilson ' s administration, it would not be sufficient to inquire how many new buildings were erected, what additions were made to the equipment of the chemical and physical labora- tories, and what were the accessories to the library during President Wil- son ' s term of office. The truth-seeking investigator would not merely col- laborate these tangible expressions of a man ' s life, and declare Such was the man ' s work, such was the man, such was his value to the University. He would review these tangible evidences, but he would go further. He y )| w