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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
<em>ἱστρία (Istoria) </em>
Description
An account of the resource
Student publication that includes interviews with faculty on subject matters related to the St. John's Program and student-submitted original works.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
St. John's College Greenfield Library
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Page numeration
Number of pages in the original item.
43 pages
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Lee, Seung Eun (Editor-in-Chief)
Title
A name given to the resource
ἱστρία, Volume III, Issue 3
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-03
Description
An account of the resource
Volume III, Issue 3 of the Istoria. Published March 2018.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Istoria_Volume3_Issue3_March2018
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Annapolis, MD
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
St. John's College
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
text
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
St. John's College owns the rights to this publication.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
pdf
Historia
Istoria
Student publication
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
<em>ἱστρία (Istoria) </em>
Description
An account of the resource
Student publication that includes interviews with faculty on subject matters related to the St. John's Program and student-submitted original works.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
St. John's College Greenfield Library
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Page numeration
Number of pages in the original item.
39 pages
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Lee, Seung Eun (Editor-in-Chief)
Title
A name given to the resource
ἱστρία, Volume III, Issue 2
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-01
Description
An account of the resource
Volume III, Issue 2 of the Istoria. Published January 2018.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Istoria_Volume3_Issue2_January2018
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Annapolis, MD
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
St. John's College
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
text
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
St. John's College owns the rights to this publication.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
pdf
Historia
Istoria
Student publication
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
<em>ἱστρία (Istoria) </em>
Description
An account of the resource
Student publication that includes interviews with faculty on subject matters related to the St. John's Program and student-submitted original works.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
St. John's College Greenfield Library
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Page numeration
Number of pages in the original item.
51 pages
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Lee, Seung Eun (Editor-in-Chief)
Title
A name given to the resource
ἱστρία, Volume III, Issue 1
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-10
Description
An account of the resource
Volume III, Issue 1 of the Istoria. Published October 2017.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Istoria_Volume3_Issue1_October2017
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Annapolis, MD
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
St. John's College
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
text
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
St. John's College owns the rights to this publication.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
pdf
Historia
Istoria
Student publication
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
<em>ἱστρία (Istoria) </em>
Description
An account of the resource
Student publication that includes interviews with faculty on subject matters related to the St. John's Program and student-submitted original works.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
St. John's College Greenfield Library
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Page numeration
Number of pages in the original item.
67 pages
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Zhang, Xiuyuan (Editor-in-Chief)
Title
A name given to the resource
ἱστρία, Volume II, Issue 4
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-05
Description
An account of the resource
Volume II, Issue 4 of the Istoria. Published May 2017.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Istoria_Volume2_Issue4_May2017
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Annapolis, MD
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
St. John's College
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
text
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
St. John's College owns the rights to this publication.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
pdf
Historia
Istoria
Student publication
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
<em>ἱστρία (Istoria) </em>
Description
An account of the resource
Student publication that includes interviews with faculty on subject matters related to the St. John's Program and student-submitted original works.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
St. John's College Greenfield Library
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Page numeration
Number of pages in the original item.
47 pages
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Zhang, Xiuyuan (Editor-in-Chief)
Title
A name given to the resource
ἱστρία, Volume II, Issue 3
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-04
Description
An account of the resource
Volume II, Issue 3 of the Istoria. Published April 2017.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Istoria_Volume2_Issue3_April2017
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Annapolis, MD
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
St. John's College
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
text
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
St. John's College owns the rights to this publication.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
pdf
Historia
Istoria
Student publication
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
<em>ἱστρία (Istoria) </em>
Description
An account of the resource
Student publication that includes interviews with faculty on subject matters related to the St. John's Program and student-submitted original works.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
St. John's College Greenfield Library
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Page numeration
Number of pages in the original item.
43 pages
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Zhang, Xiuyuan (Editor-in-Chief)
Title
A name given to the resource
ἱστρία, Volume II, Issue 2
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-01
Description
An account of the resource
Volume II, Issue 2 of the Istoria. Published January 2017.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Istoria_Volume2_Issue2_January2017
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Annapolis, MD
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
St. John's College
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
text
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
St. John's College owns the rights to this publication.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
pdf
Historia
Istoria
Student publication
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
<em>ἱστρία (Istoria) </em>
Description
An account of the resource
Student publication that includes interviews with faculty on subject matters related to the St. John's Program and student-submitted original works.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
St. John's College Greenfield Library
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Page numeration
Number of pages in the original item.
37 pages
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Zhang, Xiuyuan (Editor-in-Chief)
Title
A name given to the resource
ἱστρία, Volume II, Issue 1
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-11
Description
An account of the resource
Volume II, Issue 1 of the Istoria. Published November 2016.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Istoria_Volume2_Issue1_November2016
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Annapolis, MD
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
St. John's College
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
text
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
St. John's College owns the rights to this publication.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
pdf
Historia
Istoria
Student publication
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
<em>ἱστρία (Istoria) </em>
Description
An account of the resource
Student publication that includes interviews with faculty on subject matters related to the St. John's Program and student-submitted original works.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
St. John's College Greenfield Library
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Page numeration
Number of pages in the original item.
43 pages
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Zhang, Xiuyuan (Editor-in-Chief)
Title
A name given to the resource
ἱστρία, Volume I, Issue 4
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-05
Description
An account of the resource
Volume I, Issue 4 of the Istoria. Published May 2016.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Istoria_Volume1_Issue4_May2016
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Annapolis, MD
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
St. John's College
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
text
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
St. John's College owns the rights to this publication.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
pdf
Historia
Istoria
Student publication
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
<em>ἱστρία (Istoria) </em>
Description
An account of the resource
Student publication that includes interviews with faculty on subject matters related to the St. John's Program and student-submitted original works.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
St. John's College Greenfield Library
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Zhang, Xiuyuan (Editor-in-Chief)
Title
A name given to the resource
ἱστρία, Volume I, Issue 3
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-04
Description
An account of the resource
Volume I, Issue 3 of the Istoria. Published April 2016.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Istoria_Volume1_Issue3_April 2016
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Annapolis, MD
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
St. John's College
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
text
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
St. John's College owns the rights to this publication.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
pdf
Historia
Istoria
Student publication
-
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
<em>ἱστρία (Istoria) </em>
Description
An account of the resource
Student publication that includes interviews with faculty on subject matters related to the St. John's Program and student-submitted original works.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
St. John's College Greenfield Library
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Page numeration
Number of pages in the original item.
38 pages
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Zhang, Xiuyuan (Editor-in-Chief)
Title
A name given to the resource
ἱστρία, Volume I, Issue 2
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-01
Description
An account of the resource
Volume I, Issue 2 of the Istoria. Published January 2016.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Istoria_Volume1_Issue2_January 2016
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Annapolis, MD
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
St. John's College
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
text
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
St. John's College owns the rights to this publication.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
pdf
Historia
Istoria
Student publication
-
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
<em>ἱστρία (Istoria) </em>
Description
An account of the resource
Student publication that includes interviews with faculty on subject matters related to the St. John's Program and student-submitted original works.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
St. John's College Greenfield Library
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Page numeration
Number of pages in the original item.
42 pages
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Zhang, Xiuyuan (Editor-in-Chief)
Title
A name given to the resource
ἱστρία, Volume I, [Issue 1]
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-10
Description
An account of the resource
Volume I of the Istoria. Published Autumn 2015.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Istoria_Volume1_Autumn2015
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Annapolis, MD
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
St. John's College
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
text
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
St. John's College owns the rights to this publication.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
pdf
Historia
Istoria
Student publication
-
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Photographic Archive—Annapolis
Description
An account of the resource
<p>The Greenfield Library photographic archive houses over 5,000 photographs. The photographs in the collection document the history, academic, and community life of St. John’s College. The Library’s mission is to organize and preserve these unique visual materials, and to provide access to this collection. </p>
To learn more about our photographic use policy or to obtain high resolution images, please see the <strong><a title="Photographic Archive Use Policy" href="http://www.sjc.edu/academic-programs/libraries/greenfield-library/policies/#photographicarchivepolicy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Library’s Photographic Archive Use Policy</a></strong>.<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="Photographic Archives" href="http://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=7">Items in the Photographic Archive—Annapolis Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
St. John's College
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
St. John's College Greenfield Library
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Annapolis, MD
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
photographicarchiveannapolis
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
photograph
Physical Dimensions
The actual physical size of the original image
14.5 x 13.5 cm.
Resolution
Resolution of the image in dpi.
600 dpi
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Unknown
Title
A name given to the resource
Zenith Brown Seated outside Having Tea and Petting her Dog Lauralei
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1970-1980 [circa]
Description
An account of the resource
1 photographic print : b&w
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SJC-P-0034
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Annapolis, MD
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
St. John's College owns the rights to this photograph.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Brown, Zenith.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
jpeg
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
still image
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Continuing the Conversation
Description
An account of the resource
Continuing the Conversation is a web and podcast series produced by St. John's College. Episodes 1-20 were released in 2023. <br /><br />More information about the series is available on the Continuing the Conversation page of the St. John's College website: <a href="https://www.sjc.edu/continuing-conversation">https://www.sjc.edu/continuing-conversation</a>.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
St. John's College
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2023
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
moving image
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Zena Hitz + David Townsend: What Is Freedom & How Do We Cultivate It?
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Zena Hitz + David Townsend: What Is Freedom & How Do We Cultivate It? is episode 6 of the Continuing the Conversation series and podcast. The episode was published on February 15, 2023.
Liberal education is education for freedom. What kind of freedom does it or should it cultivate? Freedom without discipline is anarchy, and life without freedom is tyranny—or so says Annapolis tutor David Townsend, who joins host Zena Hitz in this probing conversation into the nature of freedom, the ways in which individuals and communities can cultivate it, and the need for self-discipline in tempering our freedoms. The two also discuss how a liberal education can free minds from the prejudices connatural to all human communities, and how the St. John’s education strives to do just that.
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Townsend, David L., 1947-
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Freedom
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CtC_ep6_Townsend_ac
Tutors
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<p>The Greenfield Library photographic archive houses over 5,000 photographs. The photographs in the collection document the history, academic, and community life of St. John’s College. The Library’s mission is to organize and preserve these unique visual materials, and to provide access to this collection. </p>
To learn more about our photographic use policy or to obtain high resolution images, please see the <strong><a title="Photographic Archive Use Policy" href="http://www.sjc.edu/academic-programs/libraries/greenfield-library/policies/#photographicarchivepolicy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Library’s Photographic Archive Use Policy</a></strong>.<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="Photographic Archives" href="http://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=7">Items in the Photographic Archive—Annapolis Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection.
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photographicarchiveannapolis
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Young Boy at Exhibit Booth of the St. John's College Laboratory Curriculum at a Science Fair
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1968
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1 photographic print : b&w
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Speeches, presentations, and other lectures given at St. John's College. These include convocation addresses delivered in both Annapolis, MD and Santa Fe, NM.<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="Speeches, presentations, and other lectures" href="http://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=15">Items in the Speeches, presentations, and other lectures Collection</a></strong> to <span>view and sort all items in the collection.</span>
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You too have read Newton!
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Transcript of the commencement address given on May 20, 2006 by David Levine in Santa Fe, NM.
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Levine, David Lawrence
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2006-05-20
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Education, Higher
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24003171
Commencement
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1
"YOU ARE THAT!"
The Upanishads Read Through Western Eyes1
© Robert Druecker, February, 2008
The original title of this lecture-"'You Are That! "'-was a quotation, from the
Chandogya Upanishad, of an exclamation made several times by a man named "Uddalaka" to
his son Svetaketu. The "That" refers to a realm or state of being, known as "Brahman." One
who experiences it is called a "knower of Brahman" (brahmavid). Uddfilaka was a knower of
Brahman, speaking to his son out of his direct experience.
The classical Upanishads are expressions of and invitations to this direct experiencing.
So, understanding them is a matter of understanding what that experiencing is like, not a matter
of believing or knowing some truths about the world. Thus, the lecture, in elucidating the
meaning of its title, will convey a sense of the experience of Brahman, which is what the
Upanishads as a whole are about.
But, of course, their ultimate aim is not simply to produce understanding in this sense, but
rather to eventuate in the actual experiencing of the Brahman-realm. Even Sankara, the most
highly esteemed expositor of the Upanishads, a man noted for his theoretical acumen, wrote: .
One should consider theoretical reflection as 100 times more efficacious than
oral instruction, and meditation as 100,000 , times more efficacious than
theoretical reflection. As for [the direct experiencing of the Brahman-realm],
it has consequences which defy all comparison. ·
The revised title of the lecture is: '"You Are That!': The Upanishads Read Through
Western Eyes." For I have followed Aristotle's recorrimendation to begin with the things .best
.
.
.
.
known to us; where 'us,' in this case, ~efers to the St John's community. Thus,Part One will
give a sense of what the Brahman-realm is like by elaborating on an analogous experience in
Homer and Aristotle. Part Two, much of which will be delivered on Tuesday afternoon in the
Conversation Room, will elucidate the experiencing of Brahman in a more direct way.
�2
Finally, many of the writings in the Upanishads are dialogues involving a knower of
Brahman. Yajfiavalkya is the central figure in the conversations in the oldest Upanishad. In
working on this lecture, I have asked him, as a knower of Brahman, for some help. So, during
the lecture Yajfiavalkya will be providing us with his sense of what it is in Homer or Aristotle
that is analogous to the Brahman-realm.
�3
Part One: vos1v and Jl.w:iul (Conjunction)
A.Homer
Homer frequently refers to human beings or gods waking up to, or realizing, the full
significance of a situation (voEtv) or to their ability to do so (v6oc; in some uses). 2
Paradigmatically the verb in the aorist expresses an individual's sudden flash of insight.
Resisting his parents' entreaties, Hektor has held his position, as he watches Achilleus coming
toward him. He is pondering what might happen should he retreat or should he offer to return
Helen; but then Achilleus closes upon him: "And trembling took hold of Hektor when the
realization suddenly struck him [what single combat against Achilleus really meant], and he
could no longer stand his ground there, but ... fled, frightened ... " (I, 22.136-37). 3 When the
progressive aspect is used, it conveys the process of pieces gradually fitting together to form a
wholly new picture, as when Theoklymenos tells the suitors that the ·realization is dawning upon
him that there is an evil on the way which they will not be able to avoid (0, 20.367-70).
Because of the intensity of the character's involvement in the situation, the experienced
shift in significance is often accompanied by strong emotion, as seen in the Hektor-example
earlier. When the insight concerns an individual object, instead of a situation, then the
realization is always accompanied by such emotion; it is as if the shift in the meaning of the
situation were compressed into a single thing or person. So, Menelaos, having caught sight of
Paris, leaps down from his chariot. Then "when [Paris] realized the full significance of
· Menelaus standing there among the champions, the heart was shaken within him'~ (I, 3 .29-31~
the full significance being that Menelaus is drawing near, full of an overwhelming desire to kill
Paris.
�4
'Realization of significance' has a variety of meanings that spread over a directional arc. 4
A character begins in a situation in which he has already seemingly recognized (ytyvrocnct::tv) the
surrounding things or people as definite individuals that are familiar. Then their real significance
is awakened to, a corresponding emotional impact is experienced, and a way of dealing with the
newly perceived situation comes to light and the will to do so arises. Thus, the present naturally
extends itself into the future. When the primary meaning is at either end of this arc, the other
parts of the arc are co-present. Thus, when the emphasis is on present clarity of mind, as when
Kirke tells Odysseus that no magic can work on his ability always to realize what is the real
meaning of the situation in which he finds himself, the insightful character of his future aims,
plans, and actions is also on her mind (0, 10.329). Or when the accent is on willing an action in
the future, it iilVolves a clear vision in the present (e.g., I, 144-49).
The realization of significance may or may not be prepared for by a thought process. But
when it is, it itself is distinct from the preceding reasoning, in the same way as 'seeing' one of
Euclid's proofs is different from figuring out how it is justified in terms of previous propositions.
Yajfiavalkya now observed to me that realizing Brahman, too, could be characterized as
including an emotional response, joy (ananda), and a way of acting, calm responsiveness to the
whole situation.
The realization may penetrate to great depth and extend {ar in space and time, like
Theoklymenonos's referred to earlier or like that involving Athena when she speaks to Achilleus
as he is drawing his sword to kill Aga.inemnon-the breadth and depth of which took a whole
Dean's Lecture to elucidate a couple of years ago.
The more intense the situation and the deeper and broader the realization, the more likely
it is that the characters are raised above their ordinary abilities, so that they are able to see almost
�5
all the implications and consequences of the situation with unusual clarity and to act with
extraordinary foresight. This experience of being raised above the ordinary is a divine
manifestation. 5
Homer most often mentions Athena and Apollo in such moments. For instance,
Odysseus's sudden realization of the true meaning of return-its being the right time to reveal
himself to Telemachos-is the presencing of Athena (0, 16.155ff). And Hektor's sudden
waking up to danger when he was about to oppose Achilleus is Apollo's manifesting himself (I,
20.375ff). These two examples point to the difference between the two gods. Athena remains
untroubled and serene in the midst of action while she is discerning at every juncture what the
instant requires, is planning the deed with precision, and is poised and ready to bring it about
energetically. Apollo, on the other hand, is associated with a cognitive attitude of stately
objectivity and a ranging gaze, distance and freedom, clarity and good form. He is the god of the
saving, or preserving, awareness (crcocppocruvri) expressed in the Delphic dictum, "Know
thyself," meaning, 'Realize what human beings really are, that is, how great a distance separates
them from the omnitemporal gods' (HG, 216-17, 215, 52, 57, 59, 78-79, 66). Yajiiavalkya
remarked that such traits as serenity in the midst of action, the freedom of a ranging gaze, and
saving, or preserving, awareness pertain to the Brahman-realm as well.
In a manifestation of Athena or Apollo, the god is revealed as the very essence of the
realization. That is, the realization's ultimate meaning is that it is a ray of the divine illumining
· human life. Homer realizes that the complete lucidity in which we sometimes act Is a connection
. with something superior to us, even though we think of it as a quality of our own minds. In
decisive moments what a warrior realizes is both himself and the deity together (HG, 7, 247, 174,
184-85) . .Yajiiavalkya commented that in the Upanishads, this non-separateness of the human
�6
and 'divine' is known as "non-duality" (advaita; BU, N.3,32): "Whoever meditates on a
divinity that is other (anyiim) [than himself], thinking, 'This [god] is one (anyah), I am another
(anyah),' does not know ['I am Brahman']." (BU, 1.4.10).
Homer's recognition of moments in which the divine and the human are non-dual is
sharply opposed to a view that would see Athena and Apollo as external 'causes' of the events he
is narrating (HG, 213). Yajiiavalkya said that, somewhat similarly, we are invited to awaken to
Brahman not as an external cause but rather as what is most profound in our experience.
When the god is present in moments of non-duality, the warrior's ego and personality
recede into the background (HG, 241f). That sort of impersonality, which also characterizes our
moments of experiencing the truth of a Euclidean proposition, is inherent in the Brahman-realm,
according to Yajiiavalkya.
The divine coming-to-presence has been said to occur at "the critical moment when
human powers suddenly converge, as if charged by electric contact, on some insight, some
resolution, some deed." Lightning comes forth from the clouds to strike buildings or trees which
have risen from the earth; so, too, the divine suddenly emerges from the background to shock an
individual only when the individual has gone forth from himself toward the background (HG, 6,
210, 195). Yajiiavalkya noted that the instant1of recognition of the Brahman realm is _also
compared to "a sudden flash oflightning" (BU, 11.3.6; cp. KeU, IV.4). Moreover, he thought
that the going-forth toward the background might be, in some way, analogous to a 'movingtowards' Brahman, going-forth involved either in practicing meditation or in coming to wonder,
'Who aml?'
While, in the examples given so far, the divine manifestation has come _in an awakening
to significance or in an elaborating of a plan, this should not lead us to think that deity is
�7
encountered in the inward turn. The appearance of the goddess is not, for instance, Achilleus' s
pondering whether to kill Agamemnon or to check his anger (I, 1.193 ), but rather the resolution
of his introspection in a flash of certitude (HG, 174, 48). Yajfiavalkya agreed that introspection
neither characterizes the Brahman-realm nor is a means thereto. However, there is, he said, a
different sort of inward turn which can facilitate its realization.
There are many instances in which a god is there, at a moment when none of the
characters is aware of it. But at times, when awakening to the full significance of his situation, a
warrior may realize that his very awakening is itself the manifestation of a god. An interesting
example occurs when Poseidon appears to the Aiantes in the likeness ofKalkas. At first neither
brother is aware of the presence of a god; but, after Poseidon departs like a hawk, Aias son of
Oi:leus realizes that some god, whom he does not recognize, has addressed them, while
Telemonian Aias notices only his own increased strength and energy (I, 13.43-80). On other
occasions the human being recognizes the god by name--sometimes only after the encounter, but
sometimes already at its inception (HG, 207-08).
A god may be especially 'close' to a particular individual in that the human being
regularly displays the qualities of the particular god, as Athena acknowledges Odysseus does (0,
13.330-32; HG, 192-95). There is even one person who seems to be fully awake to
divin~
presence-Homer himself, who
sees events through and through even when the participants see only the
surface. And often when the participants sense only that a divine hand is
touching them the poet is able to name the god concerned and knows the
·
secret of his purpose. (HG, 195-96)
According to Yajiiavalkya this variation, .among human beings, in the frequency with which, and
degree to which, they notice the divine presence in moments of waking up to meaning matches a
corresponding variation in noticing Brahman.
�8
So far in Homer we have emphasized cognition. This is appropriate in that cognition in a
broad sense is the way in which we come to realize Brahman. However, it gives a distorted
picture of the world as Homer depicts it. For there are many gods-Ares, Aphrodite, Poseidon,
Hera, and others-who manifest themselves in the world in addition to the two who are
especially associated with realizing significance. Moreover, the appearance of a deity often
involves an inner phenomenon other than awakening, as when Hektor's body is "packed full of
force arid fighting strength" (I, 17.211-12) or when Athena puts "courage into the heart" of
Nausikaa (0, 6.140). Yajfiavalkya said that these phenomena of enlivening, energizing, and
strengthening were included, along with realization, in what the Upanishads call the "Inner
Controller" (antaryamin; BU, III.7.1). 6 Also, that Homer realized that they, too, were divine
manifestations shows that he did not think of non-duality as limited to cognition.
Second, a deity often manifests itself by affecting a character from outside. Most
notably, Patroklos's aristeia was put to an end by Apollo, who "stood behind him, and struck his
back and his broad shoulders with a flat
~troke
of the hand so that his eyes spun" (I, 16.791-92).
Yajfiavalkya pointed out that events like this might be echoes of Brahman as "pouring forth," or
"emitting," all things (MuU, I.1. 7). He added that just as Homer recognizes the one Apollo both
in his striking of Patrdclus and in Hektor's realization referred to earlier, so the Upanishads
express the realization that the inner controlling and the outer emitting are one, in stating: "This
Self is ... Brahman" (BU, II.5.19).
�9
B. Aristotle and Averroes
Now for help in thinking through the experiences highlighted by Homer, we turn to
Aristotle. In moments ofrealization, we are in a state of what he called "being-at-work," what
I'll call 'activity.' Activity is "complete over any time whatever"; it is not a temporal
phenomenon. In distinction from it, a motion "is in time and directed at some end ... and is
complete when it brings about that at which it aims" (NE, 1174a15-21). For example, whereas
the activity of dancing is 'all there' at each moment, the motion of learning to dance is complete
only when you've actually become a dancer.
Homer's gods Athena and Apollo are manifested in activities of ours which would be
"choiceworthy in themselves" (NE, 1144al) even if they didn't make anything in addition. The
active state of our ability to awaken to significance is what is best and most powerful in us and is
"either divine itself or the most divine of the things in us." When it is directed toward the most
divine, timeless things, it is a pure beholding (NE, 1177a13-21).
One living in this state of activity would be living a life that "is divine as compared with
a human life." Hence, Aristotle said, "one ought to immortalize" (NE, 1177b25-34). That is,
one ought to be as much as possible in this best state of activity, that of the immortals, like
Athena, in Homer or that of the impersonal divine in Aristotle. Wlien we are in that state, we are
for a period of time in the same state as the divine itself is in, over the whole oftime. 7 Moreover,
"each person would even seem to be_this [best state of activity]" (NE, 1178al). "[A]nd so the
person who loves and gratifies this is most a lover of self' (NE, l 168b33).
Yajfiavalkya commented that the Brahman-realm, too, has the characteristics of not being
a temporal phenomenon, of being a sort of pure beholding, and of being our true self. Moreover,
it, too, is impersonal, not divided up into essentially different Athena-moments and Apollo-
�10
moments. Finally, knowers of Brahman, living the life of their true self, are leading a life that
transcends the human. Thus, most of us live in ignorance of our true self.
But whereas Aristotle agrees formally with the implication of Apollo's "Know thyself,"
that we are ignorant of our true self, yet Aristotle's recognition of the true self as divine seems to
contradict Apollo's insistence on the separation between the human and the divine. Yaj:fiavalkya
said that when a similar contradiction is voiced in his tradition, the response offered is that the
contradiction is only apparent. Someone who took the "You" in "You are That!" to refer to his
ordinary sense of self, would be engaging in self-inflation. Students are encouraged to ponder
'Who am I?' as a practice, in order to shift them from the ordinary to the true sense of self. So,
Yaj:fiavalkya said, he and Aristotle could both take "Know thyself' in a double sense: 'With
respect to your ordinary sense of self, think mortal thoughts, but recognize that the true you is
divine activity.'
In On the Soul Aristotle began to sketch what might be entailed in realizing the
Aristotelian analogue to "You are That!" namely, the immortalizing involvement in the best
activity. One of Aristotle's foremost interpreters, Averroes has worked out a detailed portrait in
color, which fills in Aristotle's black-and-white sketch in a way that has interesting parallels to
'the Upanishadic picture. To that portrait'we now turn.8
We shall now refer to this best state of activity by its customary name in philosophical
texts, "intellection." In Aristotelian fashion Averroes began his account of intellection with what
is clearer to us and ended it with what is clearer by nature. There are three main figures in his
initial portrait-the "material intellect," the "disposed intellect," and the "agent intellect."
Averroes followed Aristotle's comparison of intellection to the action of a craft, in which
some material, like clay, receives a form, say, that of a bowl (OS, 430al0-14). When I acquire a
�11
simple intelligible, such as, 'straight line,' it is received as form by the material intellect-which,
not being corporeal, is material only in the sense that it serves as material-for. My disposed
intellect, 9 now having the acquired intelligible as an active disposition ('€~t~), is in what Aristotle
calls a first state of maintaining itself(' sxciv) in (' f,\I) its completed condition (r€A.o~), with
respect to this intelligible. Henceforth, we shall misleadingly say that it is 'in first actuality.'
The accomplished dancer, when not actually dancing, is a dancer in first actuality. When she is
actually dancing, she said to be a dancer 'in second actuality.' So, too, when I am actively
contemplating the intelligible 'straight line,' perhaps in the course of a demonstration, my
intellect is in second actuality.
According to Aristotle, "the soul never engages in intellection without an appearance"
(43 la24), which Averroes takes to mean imaginative appearance. 10 Thus, when I am led up to
(' cnayroyft) a particularly suggestive instance, say a good image of a straight line, that image is
what specifies that the material intellect will receive the intelligible 'straight line.' Averroes said
that the material intellect, as so determined by my imagination, 11 is "conjoined" with it and that
my disposed intellect is precisely this conjunction of the material intellect with my imagination.
One of the unusual features of Averroes's interpretation is that according to him there is
only one material intellect. My disposed intellect and your disposed intellect are the results of its
conjunctions with the different images in our respective imaginations; we actualize it differently.
In this way the one material intellect is said to be incidentally many. 12 Moreover, since my
imagination is corporeal, therefore, the intelligibles of mundane things in me and, consequently,
my disposed intellect itself are generable and corruptible. 13 Yajiiavalkya observed that one
might also say that the one Brahman is incidentally many individual selves (jfvatman).
�12
Now, before the intelligible 'straight line' can be received by the material intellect, what
is irrelevant in the image in which it is 'embodied' must be taken away ('acpmpsro). This
abstraction brings it into the state of actual intelligibility. To elucidate this act of abstraction,
Averroes referred to another of Aristotle's comparisons: The passage from potential to actual
intelligibility is like a color's transition from potential visibility to actual visibility when the
lights in a room are turned on. The 'light' that illumines the darkness of the image, producing
the abstraction of the latent intelligible, is the agent intellect.
However, this picture of the agent intellect as shining from the outside onto a potential
intelligible embedded in an image is only the way it first appears to us. Averroes said that if we
consider its role in the intellectual insights we have when we draw conclusions from the
intelligibles that we have acquired-perhaps, that one and only one straight line may be drawn
between two points-we come to a deeper view. In reality the agent intellect is related to the
intelligibles of my disposed intellect as form to material. It is somewhat as though the agent
intellect were a light 'full' of Color itself. What really happens when it shines on an image is
that the image's conjunction with Color itself draws out of the latter a particular color, one which
)
had been potentially within Color itself. Then that particular color is received by the material
intellect. Even in my acts of intellecting simple intelligibles in the world, the agent intellect is
incidentally in partial conjunction with my imagination. 14 I am to a degree intellecting it, so that
it, then, is at work as the form of my disposed intellect. 15
For Averroes this understanding of the agent intellect meant that it is itself the source of
the intelligibility of the corporeal world. For since the image arose on the basis of sense
perception of things in the world, the potential intelligibles in my imagination are due to the
potential intelligibles in the things in the world. Consequently, he took the agent intellect to be
�13
Aristotle's unmoved mover from the Metaphysics (1072b18-30; 1075a5-11). Hence, there is
only one agent intellect; and it is its very activity of unchanging, eternal self-intellection.
Correlatively the potential intelligibles of things in the world are their actualities, their being-atwork maintaining themselves in their respective states of completeness. The agent intellect is
responsible for their potential intelligibility in the following sense. For each of them its state of
completeness is the closest state to the agent intellect's self-intellection that its materials are
capable of attaining. 16 Yajiiavalkya noted that the agent intellect as responsible for all
intelligible being is somewhat analogous to the one source of all existence in his tradition.
But how can the self-directed intellection of the agent intellect be responsible for our
intellection of the intelligibles in things outside of itself in the world, when it and the object of its
intellection are absolutely one? As reflexively turned toward itself, it is not aware of the
multiplicity of the potential intelligibles of mundane things as such. Yet it nevertheless does
comprehend them, somewhat in the way that the craft of pottery-making, in a sense,
comprehends the forms of all the bowls for which it could be responsible. But to be actively
responsible for the intellection of this intelligible on this occasion, the agent intellect must also
be 'turned outwards,' as it were, away from itself, in order to shine on the appearances of
mundane things, in hu'man beings' imaginations.
As outward-turned, prior to illuminating the appearance, it seems to be lacking any
intelligible. And yet any one of them can be brought into focus from itself by an image. Thus,
surprisingly, the agent-intellect-as-turned-outward is pure potentiality, pure material-for; it is the
material intellect.
Ill order to appear as such, that is, as empty of intelligibles of mundane things,
it must become "temporarily ignorant of itself." 17
�14
This self-forgetfulness is concretely realized by its conjunction with our imaginations.
By virtue of that conjunction, the agent intellect becomes 'ignorant' of being the self-intellecting
source of all intelligibility; it appears, instead, in each of us in a double form-first, as our
partially actualized receptivities for intelligibles (our disposed intellects) and, second, as light
eliciting those intelligibles by abstraction from our images. At this point Yajfiavalkya interjected
that the agent intellect's ignorance of itself seems to be in amazing agreement with the role of
ignorance in the Upanishads: A knower of Brahman "knows knowledge and ignorance, both of
them, together" (IU, 11). For Brahman, too, turns outward, so that ignorance, that is, awareness
of multiplicity, is one of its aspects. 18 But Brahman is both knowledge and ignorance; the two
are inseparable. 19
From the human point of view, as I learn more, the agent intellect becomes the form of
my disposed intellect to an ever greater degree. In this way my three principal differences from
it will decrease. First, in acquiring more intelligibles, my disposed intellect becomes less and
less a partial view of the agent intellect. Second, in advancing to intelligibles which are less and
less referred to the corporeal world, my disposed intellect becomes more pure.
20
Third, in
coming to ever more encompassing intelligibles, it approaches the agent intellect's unitary
VlSIOn.
Ultimately, while still "in this life,"21 I may arrive at the point where I have acquired all
the intelligibles. 22 Then I will have achieved a state of complete conjunction23 with the agent
intellect. My disposed intellect will have lost all traces of individuality, 24 which are what made
it my disposed intellect; it will have perished as such. All of me that is not intellect is "cut off'
from my intellect, which is identical with the agent intellect. 25 In this sense the state of complete
conjunction has been said to involve an "existential break" from the world.
26
Once again
�15
Yajfiavalk:ya was surprised to recognize in this existential break an analogue in the Aristotelian
tradition, at such a deep experiential level, to a prominent feature of the realization of Brahman.
In complete conjunction I experience myself permanently27 as shining forth intelligibility,
but this 'myself is not the self! used to think I was. For the conjunction removes what had been
preventing my recognition of the ag~nt intellect as being my form. 28 Averroes said that then the
agent intellect, united with us as our form, functions as our sole operative principle. 29
We
might wonder what life in this state of conjunction would be like. One suggestion is that I might
experience it as "a wakeful loss of rationality," a loss of consciousness of my humanity. 30 I
would not be engaged in thinking things out; I would not be conscious of myself as an
individual, as a member of the human species.
Alternatively, guided somewhat by his own experience, Yajfiavalkya proposed that
perhaps I might be aware of myself (what Aristotle in the Ethics poi.rited to as my true self)
engaged in self-intellection, while simultaneously being aware of experiencing my ordinary self
involved in its everyday activities against this backdrop. Yajfiavalkya mentioned two
possibilities, the second of which was not analogous to his own experience. First, in each
instance of intellection, I could perhaps experience the agent intellect as transitioning from
unitary self-intellection to the offering of an aspect of itself to my imagination. Second,
analogous to the end of the path outlined in the Yoga-Sutras (that is, kaivalya), 31 it could be that
engaged in self-intellection I ignore and desist from everyday activities, and so, ultimately,
wither away and die_. 32
�16
1
NEH-supported lectures given at St. John's College, Annopolis, on February 15 and 19, 2008 and
dedicated to the memory of Ralph Swentzell, who did so much to further the study of Eastern Classics at St. John's
College.
2
This and the following few paragraphs are based on K. von Fritz, "NOO:E and NOEIN in the Homeric
Poems," Classical Philology 38. (1943), 79-93.
3
The translations from Homer are based upon those listed in the bibliography.
4
This "directional arc" is analogous, at a higher level, to Merleau-Ponty's arc intentionnel on ~e level of
sensing (Merleau-Ponty, 158).
5
The following few paragraphs are based on W. Otto, The Homeric Gods: The Spiritual Significance of Greek
Religion (New York: Pantheon Books, 1954).
6
The Inner Controller is depicted mythologically as follows:
He entered in here right to the tips of the nails, as a razor slips into a razor-case ....
When he breathes he is called 'breath'; when he speaks, 'speech'; when he sees,
'eye'; when he hears, 'ear'; when he thinks, 'mind.' They are just the names of his
actions. Whoever meditates on any one of these does not know [the Self], for [the
Self] is not completely active in any one of them. One should meditate on them as
[being] simply the Self (BU, 1.4.7)
7
Aristotle, Metaphysics, 1075a7-l l: "So, the condition the human intellect .. . is in at some period of time
... is the condition the intellection that intellects itself is iii over the whole of time." Cf.: "For the gods, the
whole of life is blessed, and for human beings it is so to the extent that there is in it some likeness to such a
state of activity" (NE, l l 78b25-26).
8
I am indebted to my colleague, Michael Blaustein, for a: very fruitful recent conversation about Averroes.
This section is based upon the works of Altmann, Black, Blaustein, Hyman, Ivry, Leaman, and Zedler
listed in the bibliography. Leaman and Zedler have been particularly helpful for the early part, but I have
taken most of it from Black. In the later part I have relied heavily on Blaustein's working out of the details
of the relation between agent and material intellects and have made significant use of Altmann and lvry,
especially the latter's thoughts about conjunction while we are still alive. However, responsibility for any
.
errors that there may be in the interpretation of Averroes is mine alone.
9
OSl...11 Y ~('aql bi al-ma/aka), which means intellect in natural disposition, aptitude, faculty; intellectus
in habitu.
10
Also: "the intellective [part of the soul] intellects the [intelligible] looks in appearances" (43 lb2).
I accept Nussbaum's (1978) suggestion about the meaning of <pavwia. It is based on such
passages as the following 428al, 7, 14ff, & 29ff; b30fi), wherein the link between <pav•o"ia and <paivi::cr0at
seems compelling.
11
In fact, for Averroes the imagination or, more properly, the cogitative power-which, together with the
imagination and memory; prepares what is given in sensation, so that, when illumined by the agent
intellect, the intelligible look can appear through and in-form the material intellect-is a fourth intellect, the
passible intellect (LC, 449.174, cp. 409.640).
"The cogitative power has the following functions : it can make an absent object appear as though
present; it can compare and distinguish the re-presented_objects with each other; it can judge whether a
given re-presented object bears a relation to a directly presented sense intention" (Zedler, 1954, 441).
12
Zedler, 1951, 175.
13
Yet because the human species is eternal, the succession of human souls in which intellection ofintelligibles of
mundane things occurs ensures the continuity ofintellection in the material intellect and the omnitemporality of the
intelligible looks of mundane things as such. Through the repeated presentation of potential intelligibles in
imaginative appearances, this succession "provides a replica in time and in matter of the eternal" intellection of the
agent intellect (Zedler, 1951, 173). It is possible that the belief that souls migrate into different bodies in succession
is a reflection in the form of popular myth of the truth of the omnitemporal unity of the material intellect in the
multiplicity of disposed intellects (Altmann, 82).
14
The agentintellect in this incidental connection would be what Aristotle referred to as the intellect that enters
from outside the door": "It remains then that intellect alone enters additionally into [the seed of a human being]
from outside the door (0upa0ev) and that it alone is divine, for corporeal being-at-work has nothing in common with
its being-at-work" (De Gen. 736b27). Cf:
�17
But the intellect seems to come to be in [us] while being an independent thing, and not to be
destroyed... . [I]ntellecting or contemplating wastes away because something else in us is destroyed,
but it is itself unaffected (without attributes). But thinking things through and loving or hating are
affections (attributes) not of the intellect but of that which has intellect, insofar as it has it. For this
reason, when the latter is destroyed, the intellect neither remembers nor loves, for these acts did not
belong to it but to the composite being which has perished; the intellect is perhaps something more
divine and is unaffected (OS, 408bl8ff).
What Averroes actually says is that the incidental connection constitutes a "disposition" [ ..il~I
(Isti'dad), which means readiness, willingness, preparedness, inclination, tendency, disposition, propensity;
dispositio] of the agent intellect, but one located within human souls. It is a disposition to receive the
intelligible looks of mundane things. Thus, the material intellect is in reality the agent-intellect-as-havingsuch-a-disposition-in-human-beings.
15
"[T]he material intellect is perfected by the agent intellect and intellects if' (Blaustein, 285; italics
added).
16
Based on Aristotle, Metaphysics, 1072bl2: "[I]t is beautiful and in that way a source."
17
Blaustein, 214-15.
18
Aurobindo, 61-62 and 94.
19
Aurobindo, 58 and 72.
20
When my disposed intellect is actively engaged in intellecting an intylligible look, it is also intellecting
itself, since, as Aristotle points out, the intellect is one with what it intellects, in that the second actuality of
both is identical, as lumber's being built is one with the activity of building. In contemplating itself as
informed by the intelligible look, my intellect is also directed toward the image, which specified which
look was to be received, in the same way in which, when we look at a painting, we are directed toward the
scene which we see in it. However, since the mundane thing toward which the intellect is directed via the
image is not pure intelligibility, therefore, the disposed intellect's self-intellection is not pure selfintellection; its act ofintellection is not absolutely one with its object ofintellection (Blaustein, **). In this
way it differs from the self-intellection of the agent intellect. For the object of the agent intellect's
intellection does not point beyond itself.
21
lvry, 83.
22
What had been my intellect would now be either fully (Blaustein, 272, 283) or partly assimilated to the
agent intellect. That is, either 'I' would be engaged in intellection of everything intelligible or, having
abandoned all the contingent aspects of my intellection, I would be focusing solely on its formal aspects,
which are supplied by the agent intellect, so that I would be participating in an aspect of the formal
governing source of the whole (Leaman, 101-03).
23
Ji......wl (ittisal) = connectedness, unitedness, union; juncture, conjunction, link; connection; contact [from
J.,..._, (wasala) =to connect, join, unite, combine, link, attach]. Continuatio =a following of one thing after
another, an unbroken series, a connection, continuation, succession [from continuare =to join together in
uninterrupted succession, to make continuous]. Wasala may be a reformulation of Aristotle's 0\St~.
Altmann (83) states that the notion reflects Plotinus's cruvfut-rEtV [=(tr.) join together; II (intr.)
border on, lie next to; combine, be connected with]. Consider: "[W]e lift ourselves up by the part [of the
soul] which is not submerged in the body and by this conjoin at our own centres to something like the
Centre ofall things .... [W]e must suppose that [our souls conjoin] by other powers, in the way in which
that which is engaged in intellection naturally conjoins with that which is being thoroughly intellected and
that that which is engaged in intellection ... conjoins with what is akin to it with nothing to keep them
apart" (Plotinus, VI.9.8.19-30).
Altmann (83n) also mentions that Plotinus refers to his experience of union as a contact ('acpi]).
However, in Averroes "conjunction" is to be distinguished from "union": ..ib.wl (ittihad)= oneness,
singleness, unity; concord, unison, unanimity; combination; amalgamation, merger, fusion; union [from ..i:.._,
(wahada) =to be alone, unique; II to make into one, unite, unify; to connect, unite, bring together,
amalgamate, merge]. In Greek the corresponding word is 'tvmcru; = combination into one, union.
24
In its perfected state as engaged in intellection of the agent intellect, the disposed intellect is called the
"intellect that has arrived" (intellectus adeptus).
25
Blaustein, 272.
26
Altmann, 74, characterizing the position of Averroes' teacher.
27
Ivry, 83.
�18
28
Blaustein, 284. Cp. further: "[T]he material intellect's awareness of itself even when it is not thinking of
any intelligible form .... is itself kind of actuality, however empty. Averroes claims that this kind of selfawareness is in fact the obverse of the [agent] intellect's fully conscious awareness of itself; the material
intellect's awareness of its own potentiality is a dim awareness of its actuality as the [agent] intellect."
29
It is interesting to note that with respect to conjunction, the agent intellect exercises all four kinds of
responsibility that Aristotle describes in the Physics. It is responsible for my attainment of conjunction in
functioning as my end (tf:A.oi;). Moreover, it is responsible for the motion oflearning, by which I approach
conjunction; for my learning is really its producing intelligibles in me by revealing itself to me as the form
of my disposed intellect (Blaustein, 276-77). Since the agent intellect is what I am more and more coming
to intellect and, so, to be, it is also responsible for conjunction in the way a form is. Finally, it is also
responsible as material, since the material intellect is ultimately identical with it. The same could be said of
Brahman, with the key difference that its responsibility is not limited to the realm of intelligibility.
30
Blaustein, 272.
31
Patafijali, IV.34; see also Feuerstein's comment (p. 145). Kaivalya is "the aloneness" of seeing.
32
Finally, as far as Averroes' position with respect to individual immortality goes, there are two interesting
possibilities. He may have thought that the only immortality was the impersonal immortality of the state of
conjunction and that philosophers were orienting their lives accordingly. The belief in personal
immortality on the part of ordinary people would then be the closest approximation to the truth of which
they were capable. On the other hand, he may have held that while a few intellects may attain conjunction
of, all souls are immortal (Zedler, 1954, 451-52). There is a somewhat similar divergence in the
Upanishadic tradition between Sankara's position that the individual self is in a sense unreal and
Ramanuja's view that individual selves, while not independent, are real.
a
�19
Part Two: Cit (Pure Awareness)
To begin the final section, we return to Aristotle. In the Nichomachean Ethics, he states:
[O]ne who is seeing is aware ('mcr8cive-rat) that he is seeing, and one who is hearing
[is aware] that he is hearing, ... whenever we are perceiving [we are aware] that we
are perceiving and whenever we are engaged in intellection (vocoµev) [we are aware]
that we are engaged in intellection (l l 70a29-3 l). 1
To what aspect of experience is Aristotle pointing here? The prevalent view has been that he
means that, say, perceptual consciousness is accompanied by a reflection on, or a thought about,
that consciousness:2 'I know that I'm looking at you seated there before me.' However, this
seems to occur only intermittently. Hence, an alternative interpretation has been proposed3 that
perceptual consciousness is always selfaware, aware (of) itself,4 but not conscious of itself,
although, at any given time, we may notice selfawareness to a greater or lesser degree.
Yajfiavalkya emphasized to me that it is only through diligent practice that I could learn to
recognize the difference between reflective consciousness and selfawareness in my own
expenence.
To clarify the difference bet_ween selfawareness and reflective consciousness, we shall
draw upon some descriptions of experience by the philosopher J.-P. Sartre. 5 Consciousness is
necessarily always aware (of) itself, but precisely as being conscious of an object beyond itself.
"[T]his awareness (of) consciousness ... is not positional; that is, consciousness is not for itself
its own object. Its object is outside or'l.t by nature .... We shall call such a consciousness
'consciousness of the first degree' ... " (S, 23-14). In this lecture 'consciousness' will always
-mean positional consciousness, consciousness of ari object.
Let us take as an example of first-degree consciousness my perceptual consciousness-ofthe-microphone-on-the-lectern-say, in the mode of staring-at. 6 That perceptual consciousness
is not an object for itself, whereas the mike-on-the-lectern is an object for it. But in each such
�20
act of consciousness, there lives an attentive presence by virtue of which the consciousness is
aware (of) itself. When, as is usually the case, the attentive presence goes unnoticed, we
experience only a dim awareness (of) consciousness.
Yaj:fiavalkya interjected that in his tradition this awareness is called the "witness" (sakshz;
SU, Vl.12-14) and the selfaware quality of consciousness is called "self-luminousness"
(svajyotir). He added that this is what he was referring to when he said: "'You cannot see the
seer of seeing; you cannot hear the hearer of hearing; you cannot think of the thinker of thinking;
you cannot perceive the perceiver of perceiving'" (BU, IIl.4.2). And: "'It is the unseen seer, the
unheard hearer, the unthought thinker, the unperceived perceiver. Other than this there is no
seer, ... hearer, .. . perceiver"' (BU, 7.23). I responded that Sartre seemed to agree with him that
this awareness cannot be the object of consciousness: This sphere "is a sphere of absolute
existence, that is, of pure spontaneities, which are never objects ... " (S, 77).
As opposed to this selfaware, first-degree consciousness-of-objects, which makes up
most of our waking lives, there arises from time to time "a consciousness directed onto [the firstdegree] consciousness, [that is,] a consciousness which takes [the first-degree] consciousness as
its object." Sartre calls it a "second-degree" or "reflecting consciousness." Whereas in the
previous case there was no duality at all to synthesize, here "we are in the preserice of a synthesis
of two consciousnesses, of which one is consciousness ofthe other." When I think, 'Staring at
this mike on the lectern is wasting time,' this act of reflective consciousness involves a synthesis
of the thinking consciousness and the reflected-upon consciousness-of-the-microphone.
Moreover, just like a first degree consciousness, second-degree consciousness, here, my
thinking, is selfaware (S, 28-29).
-
When the thinking consciousness posits the previously unreflected-upon staring
consciousness as its object, it is not its own staring that it is positing. What the reflecting
�21
consciousness exclaims about the staring, concerns not itself, but the staring consciousness,
which is reflected upon. Hence, what reflecting consciousness is turns out to be selfaware
consciousness of another, prior, selfaware consciousness, which, in tum, is consciousness of an
object that is not a consciousness. It is truly re-fleeting, that is, bending backwards, to look at an
earlier moment of consciousness.
The fact that it is not its own staring that the thinking consciousness posits in reflecting
on the staring consciousness raises the question whether the I that seems to be thinking "is that of
the consciousness reflected upon" and not, in fact, an I supposed to be "common to the two
superimposed consciousnesses." Indeed, one suspects that the reason why every reflection
possesses a sense of self is that the reflective act itself gives birth to the sense of self in the
consciousness that is reflected upon (S, 28-29). 7 Sartre offers an example in order to test this
hypothesis:
... I was absorbed just now in my reading. I am going to seek to recall the
circumstances of my reading. . . . Thus I am going to revive ... also a certain thickness
. of un-reflected-upon consciousness, since the objects were able to be perceived only
by that consciousness and remain relative to it. That consciousness must not be
posited as the object of my reflection; on the contrary, I must direct my attention onto
the revived objects, but without losing sight of the un-reflected-upon consciousness,
while maintaining a sort of complicity with it and making an inventory of its content
in a non-positional way. The result is,,not in doubt. While I was reading, there was
consciousness of the book, of the heroes of the novel, but the I was not inhabiting that
consdousm;ss ... (S, 30; second set of italics added)
Here Sartre reawakens the original selfaware consciousness and dwells in the awareness.
That awareness is also a precondition for reflection. Should he reflect, 'I was absorbed in
my reading,' then, instead of dwelling in the awareness-component of the original consciousness,
he would, as it were, transform it into an act of consciousness, the object of which is the original
consciousness, (of) which the awareness was aware. An I is present to that second-order
consciousness. 8 So, we m~y call it 'self-consciousness.'
�22
Sartre goes on to propose how, based upon this I
of self as
or reflection, I go on to construct a sense
aunity, first, of states, like, for example, my hatred of Peter, then, of actions, like my
playing a piano sonata or driving to DC, and, finally, of qualities, like my spitefulness. For
instance, let us suppose a first-order consciousness of disgust and anger, together with the
perception of Peter. If the self-consciousness reflected only on what was appearing in the firstorder consciousness, it would be thinking, 'I feel disgusted with Peter.' But instead, the angry
disgust at Peter appears as a profile, or perspectival view, of a disposition, 'hatred of Peter,'
similarly to the way in which a house will show itself to me in different profiles, depending upon
where I am standing. The hatred appears to be showing a 'side' of itself through the momentary
experience of angry disgust. For the self-consciousness the angry disgust appears to be
emanating from the hatred. On a later occasion, perhaps, the hatred will itself appear to
refledion as an actualization of a quality of spitefulness, which is in Me (S, 45-46, 51, 53). But
in neither case does the self-consciousness realize that the hatred or the spitefulness is arising in
the moment of reflection; rather it supposes that the state or the quality was already there in the
first-order consciousness. 9
This process resulting in a sense of self leads me to say things like "my consciousness,"
when in fact "[t]he I is not the owner of consciousness; it is the object of consciousness" (S, 77).
Yajfiavalkya noted that a process of construction of the sense of self (aham-kara) figures
prominently in the Upanishadic tradition, too. It leads to the arising of many fears and desires,
which, in turn, function as barriers to the realization of Brahman by keeping us 'glued' to
objects. I responded that here, too, there is a remarkable agreement with Sartre, who wrote:
"But perhaps the essential role [of the sense of self] is to mask to consciousness its own
spontaneity. . . . Hence, everything happens as if consciousness ... were hypnotizing itself over
that sense of self, which it constituted" (S, 81-82).
�23
Usually we do not notice the awareness-aspect of consciousness because we are so taken
up with what is appearing to consciousness. Yet on occasion awareness may stand out in our
experience. For instance, some people are engaged in a heated discussion at an outdoor cafe. A
nearby car suddenly backfires. Several of the participants may be so caught up in the
conversation that they don't even notice the loud sound. Others may be startled and shift their
attention to the street. But someone who was anchored in awareness would notice, but not be
jarred by, the sound.
Another example: On a good day the football quarterback Joe Montana, at the top of his
game, would experience a pass play as follows. 10 He was conscious of the linemen rushing at
him, of his receivers running downfield, and so on. But instead oflooking with hurried, anxious
glances, he experienced an awareness spread over the whole unfolding scene. All the players
seemed to be moving in slow motion, and everything appeared with great clarity and
distinctness. He was keenly aware of his own body, the motions of his limbs and an overall
sense of relaxation, as his arm drew back and the ball headed toward the receiver. 11 Taken by
itself this example may mislead us into thinking that awareness is dependent on the attainment of
a certain l~vel of skill, in this case, that of an MVP quarterback. But the previous example and
the following one make it clear that this is not the case.
A third illustration: Some automobile drivers-when they are not too distracted by their
thoughts--experience freeway traffic as follows: 'First, one driver cuts me off; then a slowpoke
is holding me up. My consciousness narrows to focus on the offending driver; and, irritated, I
react by honking or suddenly changing lanes.' Another driver may perceive the same cars on the
beltway as if they were moving in a force field. She is aware of that field as calling forth the
alterations in her driving required in order to maintain a smooth flow of traffic.
�24
A fourth instance: "Surgeons say that during a difficult operation they have the sensation
that the entire operating team is a single organism, moved by the same purpose; they describe it
as a "ballet" in which the individual is subordinated to the group performance ... ~· 12
The following story shows a transition out of awareness into consciousness:
Suppose a woman is engaged in sewing something. A friend enters the room and
'begins speaking to her. As long as she listens to her friend and sews in [awareness],
she has no trouble doing both. But if she gives her 'attention to her friend's words and
·a thought arises in her mind as she thinks about what to reply, her hands stop sewing;
if she turns her attention to her sewing and thinks about that, she fails to catch
everything her friend is saying, and the conversation does not proceed smoothly. In
either case . . . . she has transformed [awareness] into thought. As her thoughts fix on
one thing, they're blank to all others, depriving the mind of its freedom. 13
This example enables us to avoid the misconception that awareness is incompatible with words.
For it was a shift in the way in which she attended to speech, or to her sewing, that led to the
woman's loss of the ability to attend to both simultaneously.
A final case, as described by Merleau-Ponty (1945): Being most of the time in the
consciousness-mode, we live in a world that "only stirs up second-hand thoughts in us." Our
mind is taken up with "thoughts, already formulated and already expressed, which we can recall
silently to ourselves and by which we give ourselves the illusion of an interior life. But this
supposed silence is in reality full of words rattling around." However, occasionally we may
"rediscover primordial silence, J.nderneath the words' rattling around." Then we pass from the
mode of consciousness-of-objects to dwell in awareness. We experience "a certain emptiness,"
"a certain lack which seeks to fill itself," to be transformed into speech (213-14). Then there can
emerge "an authentic word, one which formulates something for the first time"-such as "that of
the child who is pronouncing her first word, of the lover who is discovering his feeling" (207..,
08), or of "the writer who is saying and thinking something for the first time" (214). In the mode
of awareness, we can live through a sort of original emergence.
�25
Words usually serve to keep our thoughts moving within already formulated articulations.
They could be said to function like "preciptitates" (Niederschlage) 14 of previous 'chemical
reactions,' whether our own or others'. However, when awareness becomes prominent, it acts as
a catalyst, which facilitates a fresh chemical reaction.
All the examples manifest an awake, keen involvement in experience together with an
absence of the sense of self and of self-focused emotions and motivations from the foreground.
And each of them foregrounds a different property of awareness in turn-'unstuckness' to
objects, 'spaciousness,' not merely in the spatial and the temporal senses, responsiveness to
dynamic qualities of the surrounding field, organic connectedness with who or what 15 is in the
field, moving out of awareness with the arising of a directing I, and a sense of emptiness out of
which newness arises spontaneously.
We might say that a good seminar could give evidence of some of these signs of
increased awareness. If over time the participants have developed seminar skills, as the surgical
team developed surgical skills, it could become experienced as a ballet. Along with the
development of those skills, some of the members may have cultivated their awareness to some
degree, paralleling the range of levels of awareness in the operating team. That cultivation may
e_nable them to experience "a certain emptiness," from which an "authentic word" may emerge
with greater frequency.
Such characteristics of awareness as those listed above have-led people in certain
pursuits, such as martial arts, to seek to cultivate it, so that it will become reliably foregrounded.
In developing a painterly vision, 16 for instance, one must learn to forget what things are, in order
to see how they are actually appearing to the eye, which means, how they are coming into being
before our eyes. As Merleau-Ponty says of Cezanne: "It is the mountain that he interrogates
�26
with his gaze. What exactly does he ask of it? To unveil the means, visible and not otherwise,
by which it is making itself a mountain before our eyes." 17
We might expand on this account in the following way. As a potential painter's
awareness becomes more prominent, she no longer sees things as already 'finished off,'
but~
instead, as having a potential for greater 'aliveness.' It is as if they were calling to her to join in
their emergence. Then she may heed the appeal and begin to paint. Now it is this particular .,
piece of fruit before her that she captures "coming into being before [her] eyes" in such a way
that it can do so later before our eyes. 18
Another example of the cultivation of awareness is found in psychoanalysis. Freud, in
his recommendations on the proper attitude to be adopted by the analyst, counsels a state of mind
characterized by, first, the absence of reasoning or
deliberate attempts to select, concentrate or understand; and [second] even, equal and
impartial attention to all that occurs within the field of awareness. . . . This technique,
says Freud, " .. . consists simply in not directing one's notice to anything in particular
and in maintaining the same 'evenly suspended attention' (as I have called it) in the
face of all that one hears ... " 19
That is, the analyst deliberately withdraws from consciousness-of-objects and dwells in the
awareness component of consciousness. This open attentional attitude is to be distinguished, on
the one 1hand, from a merely passive attention, in which the mind wanders freely from object to
object, and, on the other, from a focal attentional attitude, searching for a particular meaning. 20
Partly because evenly suspended attention was criticized as unattainable,21 Freud's prescriptions
to practice it did not become integrated into psychoanalytic training programs.
However, Wilfred Bion, probably the most thoughtful psychoanalyst of the latter part of
the twentieth century, forcefully advocated this practice in the following terms:
[T]he capacity to forget, the ability to eschew desire and understanding, must be
regarded as essential discipline for the psycho-analyst. Failure to practise this
discipline will lead to a steady deterioration in the powers of observation whose
maintenance is ~ssential. The vigilant submission to such discipline will by degrees
�27
strengthen the analyst's mental powers just in proportion as lapses in this discipline
will debilitate them.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
To attain to the state of mind essential for the practice of psycho-analysis I
avoid any exercise of memory.. . . When I am tempted to remember the events of any
particular session I resist the temptation.... If I find that some half-memory is
beginning to obtrude I resist its recall.. ..
A similar procedure is followed with regard to desires: I avoid entertaining
desires and attempt to dismiss them from my mind. For example, ... it interferes with
analytic work to permit desires for the patient's cure, or well-being or future to enter
the mind. Such desires .. . lead to progressive deterioration of [the analyst's] intuition.
[There is an aspect of ultimate reality] that is _currently presenting the unknown and
unknowable [in the consulting room]. This is the 'dark spot' that must be illuminated
by 'blindness' [that is, ignorance]. Memory and desire are 'illuminations' that destroy
the value of the analyst's capacity for observation as a leakage of light into a camera
might destroy the value of the film being exposed. 22
The effect of not following this discipline is to interpret what the patient says in terms of
what the analyst wishes or already 'knows,' thus closing her off from what may be emerging for
the frrst time in the current hour. Bion's psychoanalytic state of mind is comparable to Socratic
ignorance. Both represent an opening of oneself, in a conversation, to notice possibilities
springing up that would otherwise remain unthought.
Another area in which a practice has been advocated for the enhancement of awareness is
philosophy. In the early twentieth century, Edmund Husserl proposed pursuing wisdom by
following a path that he called "phenomenology." By this he meant an account of the things
I
appearing to you precisely in the way in which they actually appear.
Philosophy students sometimes think that studying phenomenology entails mainly
reading books. However, learning to see the things appearing to you precisely in the way in
which they actually appear takes practice. Martin Heidegger, Husserl's best known student, had
great difficulty at the beginning of his study of phenomenology.
It concerned the simple question how thinking's manner of procedure which called
itself "phenomenology" was to be carried out.~ .. My perplexity decreased slowly ...
only after I met Husserl personally in his workshop .. .. Husserl's teaching took place
in a step-by-step training in phenomenological "seeing" which at the same time
demanded that one relinquish the untested use of philosophical knowledge.... I
�28
myself practiced phenomenological seeing, teaching and learning m Husserl's
proximity after 1919.23
The phenomenological seeing that one would practice is founded on an act called "the
phenomenological reduction." While it was instituted in the service of phenomenological
philosophy, Husserl was aware of the effect it could have by itself upon the person practicing it:
Perhaps it will even turn out that the total phenomenological attitude, and the
[reduction] belonging to it, essentially has, first of all, the vocation of effecting a
complete personal transformation, which would, in the first place, be comparable to a
religious conversion, but which beyond that contains within itself the significance of
being the greatest existential transformation to which humanity as humanity is
called.24
Yajiiavalkya noted that the designation "greatest existential transformation"-like the earlier
"existential break" associated with conjunction in Averroes-fits the experience of "waking up
to" (pratibodham) Brahman as well (KeU, II.4).
In characterizing the phenomenological reduction, I shall borrow the descriptions of the
later Husserl's closest collaborator, Eugen Fink, because they are vivid and strongly suggestive
of awakening to Brahman.
25
The phenomenological reduction is a two-part act (F, 41). Husserl
called the first component of that act a "disconnection" (Ausschaltung), or an "epoche," a
suspension ('s7toxft), of the "natural attitude," the attitude in which we take things for granted, or
as a matter of course (selbstverstdndlich).
Disconnection means that you deliberately abstain from all beliefs; you inhibit your
accepting of all the things you take as what 'counts' (Geltendes) for you (F, 3 9-40). You cease
living in acts of positional consciousness in Sartre's sense. As we observed Sartre doing, while
remaining disconn.ected you turn your attention from the objects of consciousness to the
consciousn~ss-of-objects.
You are not caught up with objects, but are attentively.'spread' over
the whole of consciousness~of-objects, without positing that as
an object. And you alter your
mode of attention from an active searching-for to a receptive letting-things-come. You are
�29
learning to do something involuntary, somewhat like preparing to receive "the visitation of
sleep," which comes in the way as the god Dionysus visits his followers, when they no longer are
distinct from the role they are playing. 26 You are not gradually acquiring things in the way the
disposed intellect acquires intelligibles.
The disconnection includes the "nullification" of the sense of yourself as an empirical
human being-it "un-humanizes" (entmenschlicht) you-in that it "lays bare the ... onlooker"
"already at work" in you, into which you now "fade away" (F, 40). In the terminology of this
lecture, you disidentify with your sense of self; and you pass into awareness rather than in
consciousness. Yajfiavalkya interjected that, involved in the realization of Brahman, there is a
similar correlation of the "de-construction of the sense of self' (nir-aham-kiira) with a fading
away into the onlooker, that is, the "witness," which was already at work.
You are now in a position to notice precisely what appears to you in just the way in
which it appears. As with Freud's evenly suspended attention, all the phenomena are treated
equally; none is assumed in advance to have priority over the others. As in the case of painterly
vision, you are not imposing your knowledge on your experiencing; you are operating 'prior' to
your identification of things or events. Your going backwards involves a sort of reversal of the
outward-turning action ofthe~agent intellect. For, viewed on one level, the agent intellect
elicited intelligibles from their latent state in the appearances, while the disconnection goes back
behind those intelligibles, which, due to language, are already at work in our ordinary experience
of the appearances. In its receptive attentiveness the disconnection has an 'empty' relationship
to experience, perhaps somewhat like the agent intellect in its 'empty' state as material intellect.
The second component of the phenomenological reduction is a leading-back, the reducing proper. 27 In it, "while explicitly inquiring backwards behind the acceptednesses ... with
respect to your belonging to the world," the onlooker blasts open (sprengen) with insights your
�30
"being held captive by your captivation" (Befangenheit) with the world. You experience this as
a "breakthrough" (Durchbruch; FK, 348). As a result you discover for the first time that
underlying all of your experiences has been a primordial conviction (Urdoxa in Husserl), an
unformulated, implicit acceptance of the world and of yourself as belonging to it (F, 40-41 ).
Here "world" refers, not to the collection of all things, but to what is originally given as a
universal background, i:h the way a horizon is given for vision. While particular beliefs of yours
may have occasionally broken down, that did not shake your implicit acceptance of the horizon.
You are now sharing in the onlooker's awareness of the world, which is the "universally
flowing and continuing [world-]apperception," the "underground" (Untergrund) out of which
every act of consciousness springs up.
In this sense phenomenology is said to make the
ultimate ground of the world available to an experience (FK, 349, 352, 340),28 one in which we
experience "how ... the world is coming about for us."29
Yajfiavalkya accepted that painterly vision, evenly suspended attention, and the
phenomenological reduction are at least partial Brahman-experiences, ones that go beyond the
spontaneously arising Brahman-moments on the football field or on the highway. However, he
pointed out two differences. First, they are cultivated in the service of other ends, painting,
healing patients, or pursuing wisdom, whereas realization of Brahman is the supreme end (BU,
IV.3.22), pursued for its own sake. Second, in the other contexts awareness is to be actualized
only on particular occasions, before the canvas, in the consulting room, or in the
phenomenological "workshop," whereas one remains continually in the Braliman-realm.
I responded that, according to Husserl, in going about the course of ordinary life, the
phenomenologist has the epoche as "an active-dispositional30 attitude to which we resolve
ourselves once and for all" and which "can be actualized again and again,"31 like the dancer's
repeated re-actualizing of the dancing that she has as a first actuality. I told him that this raised
�31
the question for me whether the knower of Brahman could be said to be Brahman in this
dispositional sense.
In the Upanishadic tradition you may engage in a meditative practice, in which you could
pass through several stages. At the beginning you deliberately concentrate and turn your
consciousness inward, whil~ endeavoring to dwell more and more in awareness. 32 You need to
keep reminding yourself to notice the awareness, which is always there. Initially you cannot
accomplish this while you are doing something else, because a thing or event always captures
your attention.
After a while you will be able to maintain this centering of yourself in awareness. While
· your mind gradually has become dominated by awareness, you still occasionally experience
moments of conscious reflection on the immediately preceding moment of awareness. 33 You are
now "allowing the mind to fluctuate." 34 The following analogy may convey some sense of what
that is like. "Suppose a neighbor were to ask you to look after her children .... When the
children come you could take one of three different courses of action." You could abandon
responsibility by telling them that they can do whatever they want as long as they don't bother
you. Or you could try to control them by telling them what to do and not to do. Or, finally, you
could~
allow the children to play. This "allowing" is not active, since you do not interfere. It
is not passive, since you are present with the children ... in a total way. It is like a cat
sitting at a mouse hole. It appears to be asleep, but let the mouse show but a whisker
and the cat will pounce. It is only by allowing that one truly understands what
allowing means.
'Allowing' brings awareness to the fore in a way that pushing away and controlling do not. 35
You are aware of movements from focused to unfocused consciousness, of shifts from perceptual
to thinking consciousness, of fluctuations from consciousness-of to empty awareness, and so
�32
forth, as well as of the reversals of all these. "Allowing is ... , so to say, what fluctuating
awareness is 'made of.'"
Eventually no reflection is experienced any more; this total wakefulness, completely
purifies one of the 'sleepiness' which is what the 'habit' of consciousness really is. 36 To be
aware you don't have to be conscious ofsomething; nor do you need to be someone, much less
someone special. 37
Positional consciousness-of-objects, which was first for us, here shows itself to be, in
fact, a derivative of non-positional awareness, which is what is first in itself. Initially
consciousness seemed to have the component of awareness; but now we may say that awareness
sometimes manifests itself partially in the form of consciousness-of-objects, while in itself it is
pure awareness (cit). Again, this is quite analogous to what Averroes said of the agent intellect.
In itself it is pure, having no reference to the world; but, through its outward turn, it conjoins
itself to our imaginations, resulting in the emergence from it of particular intelligibles.
Upon emerging from this absolute silence, you may be so forcefully struck by something
in the world that you consciously recognize that you are just pure awareness.3 8 You
momentarily become conscious of this objectless being "present with the children ... in a total
way" as yourself. You are now conscious of havib.g arrived in the Brahman-realm.39
Yajiiavalkya interjected that this recognition is what is expressed in the words: "I am Brahman!"
(BU, I.4.10). He added that this experiencing of pure awareness is what he was referring to
when he had said:
· "Though then he does not see [any thing], yet he does not see while seeing. There is
no cutting off of the seeing of the seer .... But there is no second (dvitfyam), no other
(anyad), separate from him, that he could see .... When there is some other (anyad),
then one can see ... the other." (BU, IV.3.23 & 31)
�33
I said to Yajfiavalkya that, according to this account, pure awareness seemed to be empty.
He responded that while it is empty of objects, it is full in the sense that it is an experiencing of
the moment-to-moment "going forth of things in different directions" (vyuccaranti), like "sparks
from a fire" (BU, 11.1.20). Alternatively it is an experiencing of the whole's springing forth
(sambhavati), which is like a spider's emitting (srjate) of a thread of its web or like plants'
springing up from the earth (MuU, 1.1.7). It is as if in pure awareness we had 'gone backwards'
to a point just 'before' things, self, and world emerge. I told him that what he'd said reminded
me of a passage in Sartre: "Thus, each instant of our conscious life reveals to us a creation ex
nihilo .. .. this inexhaustible creation of existence of which we are not the creators" (S, 79).
Yajfiavalkya continued by pointing out that what he had just said about pure awareness
being full is conveyed by the traditional name for the Brahman-realm, 'saccidananda.' The
three parts of the one word express the oneness of pure existence (sat), pure awareness (cit), and
pure joy (ananda).
Since there is no 'of,' as in 'consciousness-of,' awareness is pure sat rather
than being conscious of it. I said that Fink seemed to be giving voice to the same experience
when he referred to the unique identity of the onlooker and the universally flowing worldapperception (FK, 355). As "there is ... no other (anyad), separate from him, that he could see,"
so there are no objects to separate the onlooker from the flowing world-apperception.
Yajfiavalkya's report about the oneness of existence and awareness brought to my mind
something in the Thomistic branch of the Aristotelian tradition, which could make that oneness
partly understandable to me. I mentioned it to Yajfiavalkya: Thomas understood each of us to
·exist by virtue of a separate act of is-ing (esse), which is other than our essence, our humanity. A
human being is, not by virtue of being human, but by participation in, or reception of, is-ing
from, absolute Is-ing, just as a piece of wood that is afrre is so by participation in Fire (ST, Q.3,
A.4r). Absolute Is-ing is like the Sun, and a human being is like some part of the air. Each
�34
individual instantiation of the intelligible human essence remains illuminated, that is, continues
is-ing, only as long as absolute Is-ing is shining on it (ST, Q.8, A.Ir). That is why Thomas states
that what we ca// 'creation' is, in fact, an ongoing "flowing out, arising, springing out"
(emanatio) (ST, Q.44, A.Ir) from absolute Is-ing. This much ofThomas's view can help us to
understand how the Upanishadic experience of cit is an experience of sat.
Jacques Maritain applied Thomas' s understanding of the distinction between esse and
essence to interpret the experience of the knower of Brahman in the following way. 40 In
reflecting consciousness we experience our soul in its acts. What we experience in reflection is
not our intelligible essence but rather our self "prisoner of the mobility, of the multiplicity, of the
fugitive luxuriance of the phenomena and the operations which emerge in us from the night of
the unconscious-prisoner of the apparent self'(I45-46). But, as we have seen, the cultivation
of awareness, instead of consciousness or reflecting consciousness, enables those on the path to
realizing Brahman to pass from ordinary self-conscious experience "to an exceptional and
privileged experience, emptying into the abyss of subjectivity, ... to escape from the apparent
self, in order to reach the absolute Self'(I46). These practitioners "strip themselves of every
image, of every particular representation, and of every distinct operation to such a degree that ...
they reach not the essence df their soul but its existence, substantial1 esse itself'(I 48), "by an ...
annihilating connaturality"(I46), in the absolute silence of total wakefulness.
[F]rom the fact that existence is ... limited only by the essence that receives it ... one
can understand that this negative experience, in reaching the substantial esse of the
soul, reaches, at once, both this existence proper to the soul and existing in its
metaphysical profusion and the sources of existing, according as the existence of the
soul . . . is something that is emanating and is pervaded by an inflow from which it
holds everything.... It is the sources of being in his soul that the human being reaches
in this way." (153-54)
Thus, through practice, in experiencing pure awareness (cit), the knower of Brahman
has come to experience herself as the inflow of is-ing flowing out from abso.lute Is-ing
�35
(sat). One might say that the transition from experiencing myself as witness to
recognition of pure awareness is like going from having my finger on the pulsing of
the world to recognizing my finger as the pulsing of the world. Yajfiavalkya added
that Maritain's interpretation at least clearly distinguished the Sun of Averroes's
outward-turned self-intellection of intelligible essences from the Sun of outflowing
selfaware existence.
Now we are in a position to say that when Svetaketu realizes "You are That," he is
experiencing himself as the outflow of sat and recognizing as his true self pure awareness (of)
the moment-to-moment flying out of sparks, which are 'on the way' to becoming things-and
that this recognizing is that very going forth. Moreover, in this recognition Svetaketu is what is
recognized: "One who knows the supreme Brahman becomes that very Brahman" (MuU, IIl.2.9;
cp. BU, IV.4.13) and "becomes this All" (BU, I.4.10).
As earlier we wondered what the daily experience of the state of complete conjunction
would be like, so now the analogous question arises with respect to the Brahman-realm. In the
discussion of the phenomenological reduction, I had raised the possibility that we could acquire
pure awareness as a first actuality, in the sense of an active disposition. The knower of Brahman
would then alternate between pure awareness and consciousness-of, in the way that I can 'turn
on' my contemplation of the Pythagorean Theorem as I wish. This suggestion would parallel
Aristotle's experience that we are for intermittent periods of time in the same state as the divine
itself is in over the whole of time. The difference would be that instead of turning from one
mode of consciousness, say, perceiving or thinking, to a different one, intellecting, the knower of
Brahman would alternate at will between two different ways of total experiencing, between
consciousness and pure awareness. It would be somewhat analogous to looking at the.well. known duck-rabbit ambiguous figure and seeing it now as a duck, now as a rabbit.
�36
However, Yajfiavalkya said that living in the Brahman-realm is, instead, like a
hypothetical double seeing of both the duck and the rabbit at once, rather than like a seeing of
them in altemation. 41 The knower of Brahman is engaged with consciousness-of while
simultaneously remaining in the realm of pure awareness. The following analogy conveys
something of this:
The ordinary person only sees the reflection in the mirror but the realized person sees
the reflection as well as the mirror. "For instance you see a reflection in the mirror
and the mirror. You know the mirror to be the reality and the picture in it a mere
reflection. Is it necessary that to see the mirror we should cease to see the reflection
in it?" Similarly, the realized one continues to experience the world in his realized
state. Thus the realized person appreciates ''the distinctions" of sound, taste, form,
smell etc. "But he always perceives and experiences the one reality in all of them."42
Brahman-knowers' experiencing of the everyday world inthe mirror of purified awareness
enables their keen yet calm involvement in that world. In the analogy we could take 'seeing the
reflection' to stand for consciousness of the world, and 'seeing the mirror,' for pure awareness.
When I see the mirror along with the reflections, the latter are not being viewed 'from outside,'
as they are in the mode of consciousness, but rather as emerging out of awareness. One might
also apply the analogy to the self by saying that knowers of Brahman experience their ordinary
selves, too, as being virtual images cast by the mirror.
,
1
The mirror analogy may be applied to the modes of experiencing other than those
encountered specifically in meditative practice. Consciousness-of-objects-whether perceiving,
sensing, emoting, evaluating, thinking, and so on-and self-consciousness, too, are like a vision
of things in the virtual space of the mirror. There are two fundamentally different modes of
consciousness-of-objects, depending upon whether or not the object in question is an object in
the true sense. When it maintains itself throughout a succession of acts of consciousness of it, it
is an object in the etymological sense that it is something set or put (-jectum), before or over
against (ob-) the act of consciousness. This setting-over-against is what is meant by 'subject-
�37
object duality.' Such an object shall be referred to henceforth as an "Object." It has an identity,
to which we may return again and again.
The following example illustrates the different layers that may arise in perceptual
consciousness-of-Objects. It begins with the emergence of an hnplicit Object from the
background, continues with a prepredicative explicating of it, and goes on to various layers of
predicative development in the following way. While I am engaged in seminar, someone's
coffee cup may emerge from the margins of my consciousness and may attract my attention and
become an explicit object of consciousness. My attention may travel from its color to a figure on
the side, and then to its overall shape, and so on. 43 Then my interest may awaken sufficiently, so
that I think, 'The cup has a circular figure on the side.' This shift represents a transition from the
cup's just previously having become implicitly determined as having a circle on its side to its
being grasped in an active identification as determined by the circle on its side. 44 Then I may
think, 'The fact that the cup has that circular figure on its side is puzzling. I wonder what it
stands for.' My thought may subsequently be led to such Objects as 'the circular,' 'shape in
general,' and 'property.' 45
'Prior' to such perceptual consciousness of Objects and its developments, there is a
sensory consciousness of objects, which has beer\. vividly described by Erwin Straus. 46 We sense
objects in the same way in which we respond to the dynamic quality of a tone, which is "a state
of unrest, a tension, an urge, almost a will to move on, as if a force were acting on the tone and
pulling it in a certain direction."47 We are in a symbiotic relation (200) with the 'tones,' to which
we respond with incipient movements as we do to dance music (239). This pre-linguistic,
flowing realm is the ground from which Objects emerge (204). We live simultaneously in the
. Objective and the sensory and may experience the tension between them, as the latter resists
being fit into the former. Some people may be especially attracted to the loss of their stance
�38
over-against Objects, of their self-consciousness, and of the sharp distinctness within the
Objective realm (284, 275). Precisely because of its lack of subject-Object duality and selfconsciousness, sensory consciousness is occasionally mistaken for awareness by beginners.
However, it is just another mode of vision of the reflections in the virtual space produced by the
mrrror.
All of the above are distinctions that can be clearly seen in the vision of that virtual space.
In addition to seeing these, the knower of Brahman sees the virtual space and its reflections as
emanating from the mirror. This second sort of seeing is pure awareness. While awareness is
never totally absent from our experience, we notice it to varying degrees.
Usually the degree to which we notice it is very minimal as when we seem to be, in
Sartre's words, "hypnotized" by what we are conscious of. This is our 'default' mode of
experiencing. When we are reading, thinking, conversing in seminar, dancing, gazing at a
sunset, or "even stretching out a hand to open the door," we are absorbed in that moment's
action.
48
When we are self-conscious, we are also absorbed in the self-consciousness. In
absorption, awareness seems to have gotten lost; but it has only receded into the deep
background.
In some special moments, which have been called moments of "flow," 49 awarenes~
becomes prominent in an incidental way. We have not deliberately pursued it; it just happens.
The flow experience may be spontaneous, as in the earlier examples of the driver and the woman
sewing; or it may be skill-related, as in the examples of Joe Montana and the surgeon. One
might say that, in the case of the skill-related flow experience, through practice the body's usual
resistance to intended action is overcome. As a result consciousness as over against the body
disappears, allowing awareness to become prominent. We move out of flow when the over-
�39
againstness arises as the 'I' becomes active either in reaction-'Wow! This is so exciting!'--or
in action-' If I bear down, I can keep this going.'
As we saw in relation to painting, psychoanalysis, and phenomenology, prominence of
awareness may be deliberately cultivated in order to be able to engage in some pursuit. Here
awareness is practiced, so that the practitioner comes to experience the witness as a disposition.
Having it as a.first actuality, he or she can then activate it when engaging in the activity for the
sake of which it was developed.
Finally, in the double seeing of the knower of Brahman, pure mirror-awareness is
permanently prominent as a second actuality; and there is a 'loose,' 'unstuck,' clear
consciousness-of-objects as well. This is said to be the state of one "freed while alive"
(jfvanmukta; cp. BU, IV.4.7).
In virtue of the oneness of sat and cit, this double seeing is one with the out-flowing of
existence. Thus, the freedom manifests itself in that one's awareness is active, or creative, with
respect to the world, on the one hand, and one's action is responsive, or receptive, with respect to
it, on the other-a reversal of the usual receptivity of consciousness and activity of action. 50 In
the realm of action, this freedom is freedom to respond without a 'hitch' to the vectors in the
field of experience, wliich are analogous to the directional arc involved in realizing the full
significance of a situation mentioned in Part One. These field vectors include what Yajfiavalkya
takes Aristotle to be referring to when he speaks of feeling feelings or performing actions as
required (8c:i), in the required cases, with respect to the required people, in the required way, and
for the required reasons (NE, 1106b 17-2 7).
Another way of putting this is to say that the freedom of the knower of Brahman
manifests itself in the ability to be able to move freely through the world with grace and
effortlessness, which is called 'saving awareness,' crocppocruvri: 51
�40
For crocppocruVT) is precisely the virtue of general and unself-conscious self-possession,
of universal grace and effortless command neither specified by particular action,
which would transform it from crocppOcrUVTJ to some particular virtue, nor checked by
any opacity, which would translate it into a mode of self-control. What could work
better for its model than a pure [awareness ]?52
Knowers of Brahman have no inner barriers, which could get in the way -of their spontaneously
allowing what is called for by the current moment to emerge.
In conclusion, we note certainformal parallels between the role of Brahman in the
Upanishads and that of the agent intellect according to Averroes. First, each is the sourceBrahman, of all existence, and the agent intellect, of all being, that is, of all intelligibility.
Second, both are "self-luminous" and are responsible for 'seeing' in some sense. Third, the nondual relation between the individual self and Brahman is like that between the disposed intellect
and the agent intellect. Fourth, a 'self-forgetting' 'outward turn' 'occurs' in the case of each of
them. Fifth, both the experiencing of Brahman and the experience of intellection could be said to
involve a breaking-free from my ordinary captivation by the images on the walls of a cavelike
dwelling, an engagement in a practice, and, ultimately, an existential breakthrough to
"immortalizing." In that breakthrough, in both cases, I deconstruct my ordinary sense of self and
discover my true self as being both non-private (that is, not mine alone) and non-dual with
respect to the true self of others.
However, there are fundamental differences in other respects. Whereas in the one case
the captivation is by opinions and by the perceptual world and is broken through in becoming
free for intelligibles, involving a gradual movement of theoretical study, in the other case it is
captivation by the mundane way of experiencing objects, whether in sensory, perceptual, or
intellectual consciousness; and it is broken by a sudden shift from involvement in consciousness,
whether first-degree or reflective, to pure awareness, a shift which may be experienced on a path
of cultivation of awareness. Moreover, the nature of the one, impersonal, true self of us all, in
�41
which we share non-dually in our immortalizing, which for Averroes is the self-intellection of
the agent intellect, is pure awareness according to Yajfiavalkya. Finally, on the one hand, the
material intellect may realize conjunction with the agent intellect, which is the source of all
intelligibility in the world. On the other hand, in the Brahman-realm pure selfawareness realizes
that it is non-dual with the continual springing up of all existence, both sensory and intelligible,
of the world as a whole, including but not limited to the intelligible realm.
Yajfiavalkya thought that the following comment on Aristotle by Mr. Klein might
provide a fruitful direction to pursue in the question period: The receptive aspect of "vm:iv ... is
the state of wakefulness, a state of preparedness and alertness .... Nouc; ... when it is ... one with
the v01rr<i .... [o]nly then can be said to be wakefulness 'at work' ... " 53 Looking back to the
beginning, Yajfiavalkya wondered how Homer's realization of the full significance of a
situation, 54 Aristotle's reception of an intelligible, and Averroes's complete conjunction with the
agent intellect's self-intellection would compare, with respect to their degrees of wakefulness,
with dwelling in pure awareness.
I asked him how he would respond. He said: 'Perhaps the major difference between the
Upanishads and our three W estem thinkers might be that for the former the state of empty
"receptivity is supreme, that is, even more wakeful than "wakefulness at work."'
I rejoined: 'I'm not sure that I've really understood Averroes. But it might be that his
account of complete conjunction is a good partial depiction of Brahman. Insofar as Mr. Klein
was directing us to the experiential living-through of the moment in which the empty, receptive
intellect is one with the revelation of what is a profile of the full, unitary agent intellect, we do
seem to be pointed toward a face of Brahman, as it were, namely, the intellectual one.'
Yajfiavalkya had the last word: 'What you may be overlooking is that the empty,
receptive material intellect is an appearance of the outward turning of the full source of
�42
determinacy, the agent intellect, whereas, in the case of Brahman, the full and determinate is an
appearance of the outward turning of the empty.'
1
Compare: "Since [in all cases of seeing and hearing] we are aware ('mcr0av6µE:0a) that we are seeing and hearing,
it must either be by sight that we are aware [for example] that we are seeing or by some other [sense]" (OS, 425bl 112). "To each sense there belongs something special and something common. For example, what is special to sight
is to see, [what is special] to hearing is to hear, and similarly with the rest. But there is also a certain common power
that goes along with all of them, by which one is also aware that one is seeing and hearing (for it is not, after all, by
sight that one is seeing that one is seeing ... )." (On Sleeping and Waking, 455a12-5)
2
We may speak of self-consciousness in the sense of consciousness of myself only 'after' the construction of the
sense of self, which is discussed below.
3
By Kosman, who also made reference to Sartre's La Transcendence de !'Ego. I had been planning to use Sartre to
introduce the notion of selfawareness (seen. 4) as an alternative to anything in Aristotle. However, Kosman's
article, which I came across a couple of months ago, made it possible to cite Aristotle himself in order to introduce
this notion.
4
I write 'selfawareness' and 'awareness (of) itself' to suggest that the relationship between awareness and what it is
aware (of) is not the same as that between consciousness and the object of consciousness. I am following Sartre's
practice in L 'etre et le neant (pp. 18-20), where he writes 'conscience (de) soi' to refer to what I am calling
'selfawareness or 'awareness (of) itself'.
5
In La Transcendance de I 'Ego, from which the quotations are taken, Sartre uses only one word, 'conscience,'
which I have rendered as 'consciousness' when it is positional and as 'awareness' when it is non-positional.
Moreover, he does not here write 'conscience (de),' as he did later (see footnote 4).
Gurwitsch (1941) endorsed most of Sartre's position, to which Schiltz then objected. They debate this
issue further in Schiltz and Gurwitsch.
..
6
What is said will apply as well to consciousness that is imagining, remembering, judging, thinking, intellecting,
feeling, or evaluating.
7
See footnote 9.
8
The last two sentences represent my understanding of Gurwitsch (1985), 5, second paragraph).
9
Gurwitsch (1941) pointed out that this account of the arising of the sense of self is inconsistent with the fact that
reflection can accomplish no more than to render explicit the content of the reflected-upon consciousness (332-33).
He later (1985) offered a corrected account of the construction of the psychical empirical sense of self (15ff). It is
based on the recognition that both states and "qualities designate psychic constants, i.e., regularities of experience ...
rather than mental facts which themselves fall under direct experience" ( 15), as they do in Sartre.
10
I remember many years ago reading an article by him in The Washington Post, in which he described his
experience in somewhat these terms.
11
These characteristics are similar to those in the example of the violinist in Csikszentmihalyi: "A violinist must be
extremely aware of every movement of her fingers, as well as of the sound entering her ears, and of the total form of
the piece she is playing, both analytically, note by note, and holistically, in terms of its overall design" (64).
12
Csikszentmihalyi, 65.
13
Bankei, 58. I have substituted "awareness" first for "the Unborn" and then for "it," referring to her Buddha-mind.
14
This is Husserl's word (1964), passim.
15
It need not be living beings with respect to which we experience the connection: "The [mountain] climber,
focusing all her attention on the small irregularities of the rock wall that will have to support her weight safely,
speaks of the sense of kinship that develops between fingers and rock .. ." "This feeling is not just a fancy of the
imagination, but is based on a concrete experience of close interaction with some Other ... " (Csikszentmihalyi, 64).
16
A popular book on learning to draw, tells us of a subjective state that artists speak of, which is characterized by "a
sense of close 'connection' with the work, a sense of timelessness, difficulty in using words ... a lack of anxiety, a
sense of close attention to shapes and spaces and forms that remain nameless." It is important for the artist to
experience the shift from the ordinary state to this one. The student is encouraged to set up the proper "conditions
for this mental shift" and to become "able to recognize and foster this state in" himself (Edwards, 46). These
characteristics correspond quite well with the qualities of a consciousness in which awareness is in the foreground.
17
Merleau-Ponty (1961), 166, translation modified.
�43
18
The articulation in this paragraph emerged in a conversatibn with Nina Haigney, just a few minutes before I
delivered this lecture. It was an example of the sort of thing it attempts to articulate-a conversation, with
awareness to some degree in the foreground, allowing for the experience of"a certain emptiness," followed by the
·
emergence, in two people, of an, a least relatively, "authentic word."
19
Epstein, 194. The quotation from Freud is from "Recommendations to Physicians Practicing Psychoanalysis"
(1912).
20
Epstein, 195.
21
By Theodore Reik in 1948; see Epstein, 199-201.
22
Bion, 51-52, 55-56, 69.
23
M. Heidegger, On Time and Being, quoted in Ihde, 15; italics added and translation corrected at one point.
24
Husserl (1962), 140.27-33; to maintain consistency of terminology, I substituted "[reduction]" for epoche.
25
The same view is conveyed, in different language, by Husserl himself(l962), Sections 37-42.
26
Merleau-Ponty (1945), 191, where, however, the expression is not being used to characterize the
phenomenological reduction.
27
The distinction between disconnection and reducing proper parallels that in the Buddhist tradition between
mindfulness (sati) and seeing distinctly in detail (vi-pa§yana).
28
Cp.: "And so also must the gaze made free by the epoche be .. . an experiencing gaze" (Husserl (1962), 156.1315.
29
Husserl (1962), 147.29-32.
30
I take habituell to correspond to an adjectival form of 't~t<;.
31
Husserl (1962), 153.36-37 and 140.19-20.
32
Sekida, 62 and 93. This stage in the yogic tradition involves eight members, the last three of which are
concentration, meditation, and in-stance (samiidhi), which is opposed both to ex-stasy and to our ordinary counterstance vis-a-vis objects (Patafijali, II.29).
33
Sekida, 93; cp. Patafijali, I.42 and 44: coincidence wit hreflection (saviciirii samiipattih)
34
The quotations in this paragraph are taken from Low, 149-50; italics added.
35
When allowing the children to play, you are not caught up in their playing; so, you have a kind of distance from it.
Yet you are 'with' them, accompanying them. Thus, your distance is of a different kind than the distance that occurs
in Objectivation, where the Ob-ject is over against you (discussed below).
Moreover, while it might seem as though the Objective, perceptual world were free of captivation, when
compared to the dynamic, sensory realm (discussed below), in fact, the former is grounded in the primordial doxa of
the latter.
36
Sekida, 62 and 94. The role that this experience of pure awareness plays in the upanishadic tradition parallels that
of the "aloneness of seeing" (dr§eh kaivalyam; Patafijali, II.25) in the yogic tradition (Patafijali, III.50; IV.26 and
34).
37
Low, 40.
38
Sekida, 95.
39
This account ofrealization of Brahman is based on zen sources. However, as Shear points out, this experience of
awake, pure selfawareness lacks any empirical qualities or content. As a result differing references to it as the ·
Brahman-realm or Buddha-nature are not pointing to qualitative differences in the experience (1983, 57-59; 1990,
392).
40
The page numbers given in this paragraph all refer to Maritain, Quatre essais.
41
Carter, 54. Sekida, 91-97, also depicts the corresponding state in the zen tradition in this way.
Carter proposes the comparison with binocular vision. It is interesting that Bion, too, uses this analogy
(Grinberg, Sor, and Tabak di Bianchedi, 35-36).
42
Sharma, 43; first two sets of italics added. The quotation is from Ramana Maharshi as reported in D. Goodman,
ed., The Teachings ofSri Ramana Maharshi (NY: Arkana, 1985), pp. 42, 41.
43
Cp. the description in Husserl (1964), 124-25
44
Cp. the description in Husserl (1964), 206-08
45
Cp. the descriptions in Husserl (1964), tt#58-61, 80-82, 86-87 and in Husserl (1950), #10.
46
The page references in this paragraph are from Straus, Vom Sinn der Sinne.
47
Zuckerkandl, 19.
48
Sekida, 91. .
49
Csikszentmilalyi.
50
YUASA, 68.
�44
51
I believe that Kleist had the same phenomenon in view when he reported Herr C.'s words after two anecdotes,
one about a graceful dancer who lost his grace when self-consciousness arose and the other about a bear, who
effortlessly parried every thrust of Herr C. 's rapier with a graceful swipe of his paw:
' ... [I]n the same degree as, in the organic world, reflection becomes more obscure and
weaker, giace emerges there ever more radiant and supreme.-Yetjust as. :. the image
in a concave mirror, after withdrawing to infinity, suddenly comes right in front of us
again, so when consciousness has, as it were, passed through an infinite, grace will
again put in an appearance. Hence, it appears most purely in the human bodily
structure that has either no self-consciousness or an infinite self-consciousness ... '
(Kleist, 67)
That is, in our terms, grace emerges in the realm of animal, sensory consciousness, a realm which we can
experience, but not enter completely (Straus, 284). And it emerges again in the realm of pure self-awareness, in
which we are no longer caught up in first- or second-degree consciousness.
52
Kosman, 516; the ending in the original is "a pure, objectless knowledge."
53
Klein, 65.
54
Another question to pursue might be whether Homer's realization of full significance became narrower and more
limited in passing over into intellection.
ABREVIATIONS
BU
Brihadtiranyaka Upanishad
CU
Chtindogya Upanishad
F
Fink, E., Sixth Cartesian Meditation: The Idea of a Transcendental Theory ofMethod.
FK
"Die Phanomenologische Philosophie Edmund Husserls in der Gegenwartigen Kritik."
HG
Otto, W., The Homeric Gods: The Spiritual Significance of Greek Religion.
I
Homer, Iliad
IU
Isa Upanishad
KeU
Kena Upanishad
LC
Averroes, Long Commentary = Commentarium Magnum in Aristotelis De Anima.
MuU Mundaka Upanishad
NE
Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics; translation altered in some places.
0
Homer, Odyssey
OS
Aristotle, On the Soul; translation altered in some places.
�45
S
Sartre, J.-P., La Transcendance de /'Ego: Esquisse d'une descriptionphenomenologique.
ST
St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae, Latin text, Volume II, containing Ia, QQ.2-11.
TU
Taittitrfya Upanishad
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�46
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�47
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�
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You Are That!: The <em>Upanishads</em> Read Through Western Eyes
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Upanishads--Criticism and interpretation
Brahman
Yājñavalkya
Homer. Iliad
Homer. Odyssey
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Friday night lecture
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Staff
Editor
GEORGE B. MILLER, JR.
Assistant Editor
PAUL
T.
HEINEMAN
Photography Editor
BERNARD UDEL
�Athletics at St. J ohr~' s
THERE IS a proper place for athletics at St.
John's. However, at present thi s place is largely
empty, or filled with something which is not
really athletics at all. The back ca mpus seems
to have been an unfavorable environment for
the College tradition of self-examin ation. It is
the unfortunate case that as the pressure for
intercollegiate athletics at St. John's has in creased, the College h as been un able to
examin e honestl y the athletic program which it
has. In the Golden Age, athletics may have
taken care of itself, but now a definite athletic
problem has arisen, a problem which will n ot
b e solved by either ex trem e of h ead turnin g or
head chopping.
It is perhaps not co mpletely banal to sugges t
that a balan ced life is one whi ch includes the
exercise of both mind and bod y. The demand s
of the program on exercise of th e mind are
heavy; this is, of co urse, the prim ary fun ction
of a school. But, th e natural result of a constant struggl e with ideas which mu st inevitably
culmin ate in at least partial defea t, is the n ecessity to achieve rel ease in some activity where
greater success is possible. For man y, many
more at St. John 's than it would appear, the
choice lies with athletics.
But, while thi s is a statem ent of th e ideal,
its realization is not to b e found at St. John 's.
1
f or a la rge portion of th e stud ent bodv the
only group activity is th e semin ar. Acting as a
member of a group engaged in winning a game
is perhaps too " unintell ectual" to be becoming .
Or, still more unfortunate, risking status in
physical competition is too dangerous.
To take th e second of th ese alternatives first,
it is possible to arrive at one of th e great causes
of th e athleti c probl em : th e self-styled professional. It is thi s group which ha s filled th e
back campus with so methin g which is not
athletics at all. Failing to understand th at the
real fun ction of athletics, as opposed to professionalism , is to relax th e mind and prepare
it for the n ext assa ult on th e b ooks, these students seek perfecti on in sports for its own sake.
Thi s is an end sought for only by those who
either do not und erstand the purpose of colleges or are un certain of th eir ability to use
their minds successfull y. It is unlikely that
such a part of th e stud ent bod y would be at
St. John 's at all were th e form er the case. It
is unfortunate that th ey clo not seem to realize
that th e latter would gradu all y right itself if
th ey devoted more time to study and less to
athl eti cs, b y th eir efforts removing that which
causes th em to seek san ctuary in balls and bats
rather than fa cing books and balan ces. And ,
lest, in mournin g th e plight of these, we ignore
the damage th ey do, it must b e h ere said that
they are in part the ca use for non-participation
by other students, and the nourishm ent for
th e beli ef tha t bodi es and minds do not go
toge ther. Faced with the choi ce of playing
vvith th e athl etes and competing with th eir
professionalism m any stud ents choose not to
play at all.
However, it is unlikel y that so man y students
would choose to be sedentary were it not one
of the less laudabl e St. John 's myths that Igl ehart and :M acDowell are mutually exclusive.
Sitting clown may well b e one of the most
id eal postures for ;necli ta tion , hut an occasional
p eriod of more violent exercise does not automati cally exclud e th e individual from th e
speculative fraternity. It is not just, on th e
other hand , to impl~r that th e students who
believe in thi s myth arc without their great
model s, for the upper strata of the community,
both fa culty and aclminstration , con tribute to
th e continuation of th e belief.
The attitude of the great m en at St. John 's
toward athletics coulcl perhaps b e b est described as ac tive boredom verging frequentl y
on distaste. It is not lik ely that any ac ti vity
whi ch find s so littl e fa vor will not be rend ered
somewhat mon strous in a period of tim e. It is
possible tha t th e profession als, entering with a
propen sity toward an activity not smiled upon ,
are not without ca use in feeling that they are
by their natures rendered less likely to reach
th e sun. And, it is equally possible that those
students who tend naturally toward the
sedentary are en co uraged to in crea se their di sproportion by thi s sa me attitude.
If athl eti cs and study were actually in compatible, this apathy would, of co urse, b e wise.
But, ideally the aim of a liberal edu ca tion is
not simpl y to tea ch men to think, but it is to
teach them mastery of themselves in order that
th ey may ac t as worthwhil e members of a
group. And while th e student mu st fo cus on
mas tering his mind, h e cannot n eglect that
l~lunter interchange whi ch takes place in play.
I•ortunately, every yea r there are those who
co mbat the myth s, eith er b y continuing to
enjoy their bodi es, or, occasionally and most
praiseworthily, by learning for the first time to
enjoy them . It is a tribute to the nati ve sa nity
of the St. John 's stud ent tha t thi s group contmu es to offer th e right answer to intercollegiate sports: an active intramural athleti c
progra m .
JIM AND HELOISE FRAME
Seelig-I ligh Point Scorer
5
�Graphic
Arts
Martin and Starke hang the Glush akov Show
PERHAPS THE reason it has b een so uncommonly difficult to write a meaningful review of
WHAT HAPPENED IN THE ART WORLD OF SJC '51,
is that I have been hypnotized by the singing
unsung Song : ST.-JOI-IN'S-SEEDBED-OF-THE-AMERICAN-RENAISSANCE, and have tried to bloat a few
meager swatches of color into som ething significant; the result has been a variegated mass,
thinly covering an artistic vacuum. The school
did experience a flamboyant rebirth, (the song
is not quite yet a mockery!), but it look place
on the stage and not in the studio. (Or in the
seminar, or tutorial, or Coffee Shop. ) Th e
residual drippings exhibited in the students'
annual art show are a just representation of
what the picture-makers contributed. The only
explanation, or defense, depending upon the
intensity of one's outraged sensibilities, is that
the necessary catharsis took place during the
CRANMER production , and with such orgiastic
fury that the artists were left weak-kneed and
pallid . For many, the need for expression was
surfeited; for a few, the play was merely a m omentary bright spot in a busy year.
The H arry Martin-Ray Starke team proved to
be an example of the latter group. The simulated stain-glass windows of the CRANMER
set were only a fragment of th eir contribution
to the art of the community. Working qui etly
and conscientiously, they were responsible for
the effective operation of the Graphic Arts
Committee. The shows hung this year in the
Junior Commons Room were erratic, but generally superior in quality and certainly outstanding in number. With an absurdly meager
budget of fifty dollars, the Committee managed to hang a new show on the average of one
a month. The double problem of finding inexpensive exhibitions which promised to be
worthwhile, and finding the time and energy
to hang them and pack them up again, (a
discouragingly tedious job not sufficiently
appreciated by the community), was resolved
"in the most elegant manner": interested members of th e community were assigned dates
during whi ch they would be responsible for
an exhibition. Usually two people worked
together on this, and as one of the two seemed
almost inevitably to know an artist who
"wanted to be hung", few shows were acquired
blindly.
The most laudable exhibition was Philip
Lyman's review of how the Cranmer production developed. By showing a series of first and
fin al sketches of staging, costumes, poster
designs, and a splendid batch of Thoms-Udel
candid photography, Lyman depicted the King
\ iVilliam Players' growing understanding of the
play. It was Lyman's avant garde spirit of
presentation that literally brought gasps of
applause from everyone. The same material, in
the hands of anyone less competent, would
have been deadly.
Don Zion deserves mention for at least two
reasons: he is an ex-S t. Johnni e, and his show
was the BIGGEST we've ever had, co veri ng the
walls of the Junior Commons and th e Coffee
Shop. Generally, th e work was inferior to what
we are used to seeing. He lacked in disciplin e
of materials: there was little evidence that he
really understood what could or could not b e
attempted with oils. Further, his groping,
seemingly directionless search for style was at
times painful to observe. On e canvas would
be a Van Gogh, th e next a Matisse, and
another a Picasso. But, for all of this, there
was something in Zion 's work, (p erhaps the
search itself ), which St. Johnnies could identify and criticize with some understanding. In
a way, it was the St. John 's vocabulary on canvas. It was also th e performan ce of a sophomore talking about Christianity by means of
Platonic idiom.
Jake Glushakov hung the most professional
show of the year. His excellent draftsmanship
and disciplined control of the entire canvas
fai rly shouted, "I have stLldied art!" Certainly
all our other shows were am ateurish by comparison. But Jake lacked th e fire and freedom
often displayed in the attempts of the less
skilled, and as a result most of the canvasses
had the air of an illustration in the Saturday
Evening Post. Perhaps now that the formal
introduction is over, Jake will show us some of
the more daring canvasses h e must have
stashed away in his studio.
There was no exhibition of the works of F.
Townsend Morgan. This is not an oversight,
(although I do not know that he was ever
seriously asked to exhibit this year), but representative of Mr. Morgan's contribution to the
community; he has stayed on the periphery of
the comm unity during the three years here an d
~as made little, 'if any, headway in understa ndmg what St. John's is all about. He still talks
about " talent", courses, and credit hours, and
"giving a course in fi~ure drawing" as JXll t of
the New Program. What happened to the "a rt
classes" held every week in the studio is as
embarrassing to explain as it was di scouraging to
watch. What did happen? The official statement is in effect that while the studen ts want
a feeling of progressive ed uca tion in artistic
techniqu e they are unwilling, or unable, to
devote the time and disciplin e necessary to
gain this end . There is some truth in this, but
the fact remain s that there are enough interes ted students in the community who are willing and abl e to spend one evening a week
learn ing to dra~ to make a highly successful
group ou t of th e now defun ct Student Artists
Cooperative. The more accurate statement is
that th e quality of instru ction did not seem to
justify the hours spent in the studio. ll1e socalled classes never passed beyon d the exercise stage . Why? Time and time again students left the studio with no h elp whatsoever
from the man who is supposed to give instruction. Mr. Morgan 's feeling on this is that he
can not give in struction to students who have as
little talent as we demon strate at th e studio .
H e maintains that until a certain level of skill
is acquired, no m eaningful criticism can be
made. If I might employ a well-worn phrase,
this simply is not so. Constructive criticism is
possible on any level if th ere is a corresponding
level of und erstan ding on the part of the
critic. If Mr. Morgan cannot bring himself
clown to th e low level of our crea tive endeavours, we must eith er abandon our aspirati ons or find another artist more compatible
with our needs.
I sh ould like to say somethin g about the
growth of th e fine arts in general this past
yea r, not so much because the growth has been
particularly outstanding as compared with
other years but because th e steady, slow growth
during the past three years now demands to be
noticed. The thought occurred to me as I
walked past McDowell one evening and was
subjected to th e cacophony of simultan eous
performances of Bach, Beethoven, and JellyRoll Morton, that the Fine Arts had managed
to pervade the community with an insistence
comparable to the growth of the ivy on
McDowell. Like the ivy, it has been a quiet
process . Some would deny this, saying that
the hull abaloo raised over CRANMER dominated
campus life for two m onths or more. But this
was as the sound of wind in the leaves.
7
�Growth is as permanent as life itself. The real
growth of the Fine Arts in the community
took place when Mr. Zuckerkandl convinced us
that there was no difference between the Fine
Arts of Music and Music as a Liberal Art.
After CRANME R there was no clear understanding of the difference between fine arts and
liberal arts in any form , and some wondered
if free men were now being made by means of
books, balances, and a stage.
There are few who dislike the effects of ivy
covering a wall. It is charming. But, when one
is judging the soundness of a wall, it is
important to know what lies under the superficial charm , and, if there is a purpose beyond
the charm of the ivy, what the purpose might
be. It could be to grace the fine proportions of
classic architecture, or again, to conceal something embarrassing to the lancllord . Or perhaps,
"simple-mindedly", it is an honest bid for an
in vi tation to join th e Ivy League!
One more thing: despite a withering bombardment of bureaucratic impedimenta, these
green tendrils of creative spirit have not only
managed to survive, but grow, and for the most
part flouri sh. This analogy is more than a rhetorical foppery. While the administration has
deluged the student body with petty problems,
more students have produced more art than
when "administration" and "busin ess office"
meant the same thing. Whether there is any
connection between this more active participation in fin e arts and the saturation of neatly
spaced "crises" I shall here attempt to prove,
(it might be impossibl e), but it prompts a
tempting theory : discouraged by their failure
to und erstand The Books and / or th e Administration in any mann er sa tisfactory to themselves, the students turned to something they
could, at leas t, partially understand-their own
creations.
To summarize and conclude, the Dramatic
and Music Depar tm ents had a gala year, the
Graphi c Arts better than before, and the Artwhose-business-it-is-to-make-pictures was given
the last rites . More than anything else, the
community needs to in vestigate and understand anew th e meaning of the difference
between the Fine and Liberal Arts.
R. T.
Party in the Coffey·Martin-Brown Suite
8
CONGDON
Politics at St. John's
DisGUST, though not always beneficial in itself,
is a condition which always anticipates the
arrival of something better. It does this by
breeding a penetration that cannot be achieved
in a state of pure tranquility, leading those
overcome by it to retreat to something that
they know to be sound, and above all, unfailing. This alone guarantees a better possibility
of success in next year's polity. I say this
because in much of the forced exuberance of
the recent political activity, I don 't think there
is any one word that characterizes the inn er
attitud e of the student body as a whole other
than disgust. Nevertheless, through and because of this disgust, there was activity and, if
one is optimistic, a resolution that next year
matters will be different.
As a group, St. John's has never been much
interested in politics, even further, it has never
known how to be interested . This year was no
exception. The naked fact that many students
do not see the n eed for a polity, and that many
others see the present position (and therefore
the existence) of the polity as farcical, must in
some way be accounted for. I think the reason
is very simple. If the polity is to survive as a
unit, the results of its united strivings must be
unmistakable. This last year the confused
efforts of the polity, far from being unmistakable, were not even apparent. It is easy to see
why the morale of such a group would easily
and quickly disintegra te.
It was not only confusion that led the polity
to its fate . Many other factors, such as ignorance, hesitancy, over-caution , fear, impetuosity,
lack of direction and lack of cooperation were
plainly evident. All these togeth er spelled
failure for th e efforts of those stud ents who
took the time to attend the meetings.
Because of the compl exity of th e problem,
and the large number of " unknown factors" ,
an intricate analysis of the di verse an d diffuse
causes of the polity's failure would not succeed;-however, some attempt is necessary.
Polity meetings were in evitably long and ineffective, resulting in an almost com plete
walkout that was embarrassin g. The usual
allotm ent of speakers who think while they
speak was very much in evidence. Clarification was almost always necessary and almost
never provid ed. One even got the feelin g that
interest was not even sincere and that people
were coming to meetings because it was a good
place to see a show or to make one themselves.
Mos t of these criticisms do not apply to the
forum meetings. For some reason they were
comparatively successful. Perhaps this can be
accounted for by the fact that their main purpose seems to b e one of giving information
rather than providin g constructi ve discussion .
In these at least th ere was a clearly defined
point to b e spoken to .
Accepting th e conclusion that there is not
enough agreement or communication for any
kind of group decision, and th erefore no action
is meaningful, is not satisfactory, unless the
whole idea of polity itself is un sati sfactory.
Failure is no excuse for giving up an attempt,
unless th e attempt itself is in appropriate or
impossible. There is some qu estion about the
possibility of polity as an effective instrument
at St. John 's, since on several notable occasions
there was group decision with no action following, presumably because the administration
was not cooperatin g. Several memb ers of last
year's executive committee even voiced the
opinion that at several points the administration was not even listening. The truth of this
is qu estionabl e. What is significa nt is that at
times this attitude was prevalent. If there is
no hope of success in polity there is no possibility of success.
The most terrifying comment on the polity
is the fact that it needed opposition to create
interest and activity. The kind of opposition
it required was provided in a very real way by
arresting announ cement of the introduction of
women. In its initial indignation th e student
9
�body may have gone too far in its sharp criticism of the administration for the manner in
which the matter was handled, but the weeklong display, despite its in centive, was encouraging. It gave convincing testimony to
Mr. Kleins 'observation that- "No one can say
that the St. John 's student body is not alive."
Following this unheralded outburst there were
resolutions for more fervent activity, and more
serious consideration of the many problems
everyone felt sure would now be foisted on
the community. Circumstances showed that
most of these resolutions were hollow.
The next phase was provided by Mr. Weigle
when h e gave the polity a chance to demonstrate its renewed interest by h andling the
problem of regulations for next year. True to
its old form the polity sh elved th e problem
until just before the deadline for the solution,
so that again the polity was forced to act in
hast e. Again, after a long and confused meeting it was resolved to place before the student
body an incomplete ballot. Out of the confusion and urgency of the matter the decision
that it was the business of the administration
and not the polity to set whatever regulations
were necessary, was reached.
It is interesting to examin e this last significant act as some kind of indication of the condition of the organism of the body politic at
that time of th e year. What it may represent
to some is the compl ete nega tion of any resolution to face th e problem squarely. However, to
others it was a clear sign that however divided
in its opinion on this matter the polity was, it
was still trying to think clearly, and th e best it
could salvage out of a somewhat hopeless situation was the realization of its own hopeless
position. The problem, however clearly
defined, was simply too complex and demanding of much more mature thinkin g than the
polity was able to furni sh . This does not imply
that its seemingly most prominent sugges tion s
were without valu e, but only that they were
incompl ete, and that most were given without
assurance. The suggestion of no regulations
had its merits, and, at th e writing of this article, I am sure the administration will consider it as a serious alternative. It is certainly
the most desirable solution if it is possible. The
10
suggestion of temporary regulations is another
that is well worth considering.
One thing about political activity, which in
its present condition should be distinguished
from community activity, that was noticeable,
was that the line between "factions" became
more clearly drawn . Tension between groups
reached a very high degree at several points in
the year, so much so that people became
known by the "si de of the fen ce" they were
on. Conflict was sometimes external and
served as a guarantee that the number of parts
of the community was gradually increasing.
Not that St. John 's has ever been completely
a unit, but this kind of demonstration supports th e continuance of its divided existence.
The demonstrations, being effects, in turn become causes which bring about other effects .
It seems to me that there is no panacea for
the partial restoration of harmony, reason and
good will, except the realization of their importance, and the further realization that
creative effort must be done with and not
against anyone who shares in the general
endeavor of the College.
ROBERT H AZO
· A Year's Grace Granted
Mr. \Veigle takes the oath
H emidemisemiquavers
The Ashtray Incident: Our Second Lady's
obvious fru stration with regard to Jascha's
smoking habits . . . Randall-agape or eros? ...
The departure of '53's last Logical Positivist Cadillac, Havelock Ellis ... and all . .. "Say,
can yo u lend me your key to the bell tower a
minute, I feel like~" ... John Luber's party
. . . J. Kieffer's copy of BEAUTY ON PARADE
(15¢ at all newsstands) . . . Green hats for
"Frosh" ... At St. John 's nearly everyone is
pixillated .. . St. John 's Academy gets its lon g
sought for school song: "THE Music OF THE
SPHEREs" ... " ... but St. John's also has a
secondary faculty of tutors who act as intermediaries between the books and the students."
(G. ace. to St. J., 16) Witness the notes the
Sophomores took on Jacob Klein 's elucidations
upon the interpretation of th e E nglish meaning of the Latin marginal notes of Barocius'
translation of Proclus' commentary in the F irst
Book of Euclid's compen dium of the works of
the pre-Alexandrian Greek geometers (who got
it all from the Babylonians anyway) . . .
"Meester Yarbro-this is simply NOT a desert
island!" . . . The un explained surfeit of unwanted sleeping bags among departing Seniors
· · . Zero de Conduite and Sonia's Fall .. .
The triumph of paganism over Luth er : "Zeus
has been gracio us to us this morning!" . . .
Snobs and Slobs ... Leftover punch and the
revival of fertility rites around the Liberty
Tree .. . Croquet Unlimited .. . The year's
great disappointment : Two solid clays of "Papa-pa-pa-pa-pa-geno!" yet no revival of the lost
campus art of glockenspiel playing. Archie's
mistrust of mixing Georgian steam boilers with
Victorian heating sys tems .. . the ch eapening
of good merchandise through mass marketing:
Jawish 's call at four A.M. for twenty-five cents
bail ... Uncle Larry's Happy Time Shoppe for
busy little fingers . . . D ef. "instantaneous":
The time that elapses between the appearance
of a high school tour on front cawnpus and the
issuance of th e Assistant Dean from McDowell
with a pile of little pale-green booklets . . .
Illustration of the law of Cause and Effect:
The near ruination of the Variety Show's
scenery caused by the falling of a ceiling caused
by th e mixi ng of punch for the Senior-Faculty
Party in th e room above caused by whatever
they put in that punch that made it b elch
smoke . . . "EVEN \ VE' RE GLAD YOU
\ V ON" . . . St. John 's bulging float in the
Gubernatorial Parade .. .
11
�" I think I should understand that better,"
Alice said very politely, "if I had it written
down ; but I can't quite follow it JS you
say it."
also revived during the ten month period preceding the production of Cranmer, not selfconsciously, nor always willingly, but strongly
and effectively. More than a hundred people
studied and worked on the play, using their
talents, their imagination, the best of their
ingenuity, and in some cases most of their time.
It is hardly possible to list all who so worked,
but the measure of their community spirit and
effort was the excellence of the productionit was also measured and expressed by the
leading non-pragmatist of the college, who is
said to have told Dick Edelman, not quite in
the spirit of the Poetics, "You had no right to
make it so good."
But it was not time spent, nor was it what is
sometimes willing but nugatory community
spirit, which effected the success of Cranmer.
It was individual effort, individual excellence,
which was caught and woven by Dick Edelman
into what became the magnificent setting and
background of the play; it was the interpretation of the play which was finally agreed upon
after the weeks of reading and discussion under
the direction of Robert Bart; and it was finally
the competence of the actors, who were, in the
THERE WERE several reasons for th e success of
the play, and one was that it was never clearly
understood by the audience, or by the players
themselves- like any good seminar topic its
meanings were long discussed and controverted,
its lines could mean different things, could be
read and acted in different ways. It was this
quality of provocative unclarity which made
the play a good choice (and contributed to its
choice by Richard Edelman and the Play Reading group in the early spring of 1950 ), and
which held the interest of readers through the
weekly and semi-weekly readings and discussions to which it was subjected before the parts
were cast and the actual rehearsals began.
In its final production Thomas Cranmer of
Canterbury was a combination of two techniques-the one the technique which was
"That the King's law might run
savingl y through the land . . ."
Thomas Cranmer
of Canterbury
"Henry, Henry, Henry, make me a queen."
worked out in the Play Reading group, of reading and discussing one play over a period of
several weeks, without emphasis on the dramatic possibilities, but with emphasis on meanings and understandings, and sometimes, the
audible dramatic possibilities of the individual
parts-the other the technique employing the
visual and aural impacts and the dimensions of
a stage production .
Both techniqu es were fully utilized-in some
details perhaps by chan ce, as the Skeleton's
last appearance behind the great closing doors,
when his form gradually disappeared, leaving
only the imprint of his bones on the memory
of the audience, but in many more details as
a result of thought and argument and individual talent, talent which was largely unknown before the demands of the play and its
producer were made on the students and fac-
ulty and townspeople ultimately involved in
the production.
Cranmer may have been the Renaissance of
the dramatic art of the college. It was certainly the first production to challenge the
memory of the Golden Age of playmaking, the
Years of Landau. Its members approached the
play, not as proselytes in the face of tradition,
with the downcast eyes and murmured assurance of inferiority, but with a fresh, brash, and
untrammeled view. The result was a new tradition, and a lusty revival of the King William
Players, who, with the success of Thomas
Cranmer of Canterbury behind them, in
February of 1951, started almost immediately
with a new play, a new director, and a new
host of collaborators after another success.
Community spirit and effort, frequently
lamented as a lost art of the Golden Age, was
�words and mien-Henry flin ging back his surcote and roaring
"Keep him waiting, do yo u, am ong your boys,
in th e sc urvy noise of vour lackeys, your
run-abo uts, her?"-
th e lin es and grace of th e Skeleton-the stiff
and hum orl ess pontifical dignity of th e Bish op
and the balancing humor of th e passages and
gestures between the Lords, and the Priest and
Preach er-and Cranm er's moments of calm
an d p oetry
" 0 now
our common E nglish , whereto we were born , left
for lorn of this health, vet havi11g and mea nt to l1 ave
wea lth so great of wo rds, language of power,
tl1is h our receives its consumm ate mirade; th e V\"f ord
takes tl1 e so un d heard nativelv aroun d,
the excelling gra ce of speech .';
D. L.
Preview of t h e Preview
H AMMERSCHMIDT
The RAM Film Club
E del man and Sugg work ing out p rel iminary diffi culties
performances, to an extent inspired by the
pageantry whi ch they were th emselves crea tin g.
From th e beginnin g th e audiences were
aware that Th om as Cranm er of Ca11terbury
would be an unusual play. T he stage was uncurtained and empty before them at th e fron t
of the G reat H all, H arry Martin's stained
glass windows, "St. Jerome" and "Samuel
annointing Saul", unlighted, but even then
dominating th e scene, th e rest of the stage
strikingly simpl e, and set as it was to be
through the rest of th e play, with Henry's
throne at one side, Th omas's rostrum and desk
on the oth er side, and between them, stark and
black, the cross.
Then the lights came on, bringing out th e
colors and brilliance of th e wind ows; and James
Linsner's beautifully simpl e liturgical mus1c,
sung by clear voices, opened th e play .
And from th e ti me of th e lighting of th e
windows and th e fi rst tones of th e m usic, th e
play was characterized fi rst by richness (despi te
a production cost of less than two hu ndred fifty
14
dollars), richn ess of color, ri chn ess of costume,
achieved at times with can tops and window
sash chain, and ri chn ess of the dialogue and
mea ning of Williams' writing; and second by
th e trenchant juxtaposition of plainn ess of costum e (C ranm er, even as archbish op when h e
was most closely in fl uenced by the luxury of
Henry's court, wore a simple straight chasubl e) ,
starkness (th e executioners, th e cross ) and
simplicity of speech . And, not unexpectedly
perhaps, with thi s cont rast of richn ess and simpl icity, of flowing lin es of poetry and sh arp,
blunt words, the arrangement of persons on
the stage and their movements came close to
being choreography, and, like th e dance, lent
the expression of movement to th e total meaning of the play.
A critique of Mr. W illiams' play, and of the
skill with which it was produced and acted has
alrea dy b een written, but many scenes may be
mentioned for th eir excellent characterization
and for their pointing up of th e sharp contrasts
of M r. W illiams' play- Mary's sh arp, angry
IN MOST areas of on e's experience th ere are
certain high water marks that ever after are reference points by which one measures everything of a similar nature that happens thereafter and, not infrequently, those things that
have gone before. O ne advantage of the
movies, properly used, is that they bring within
the experience of most peopl e much that they
would not have otherwise experienced, and so
broaden their outlook b eyond what it might
ordinarily have been . One fun ction of RAM is
to bring otherwise inaccessible film s of that
order to St. John 's.
One such film is Les E nfants du Paradis
(Children of Paradise) . For whatever the deficiencies a cut-clown three h our version presented to American audiences may be (the
original runs over four ) they do not include
a wealth of characteriza tion and a sh rewd evaluation of the moral virtues. If one adheres to
the approximately C hristian id eal of fl eshly
love as exemplified by Baptiste (Jea n-Louis
Barrault ), one m ust in all h onesty and conscientiousness examine the ideal lived by Garranee ( Arletty) and certainly come off rich er
for the experience- there is m uch to b e said
for sincere spontaneity. And similarly, the
G arrance-sch ool might be secured from the
thin line between freedom and promiscuity by
cognizing an ideal someh ow b orn of and yet
above "the moment" . Both sides may feel a
certain securi ty and exaltati on in their very
capacity to feel, and to admit and live with
their feelings, wh en they note th e career of
the arch-hoodlum-whose name elud es me
now, and perhaps it is just as well since our
own names will do, there being some of his
fear of self and life in all of us- who in the
end finds his salvation through the goodn ess
and love he is forced to recogni ze in Baptiste
and G arrance. By any criterion, one must admit to b eing wiser fo r having seen L es E nfants.
Just as Les En fants is a reference point for
content and, parti cularly, for moral argum ent
in film s, John Ford 's Stagecoach becomes a reference for ph otographic technique (as clistinquishecl from cinematic techniqu e with wh ich
I shall deal shortly. Ford has sh own himself
to be one of the most origin al thinkers about
photography in H ollywood; in Stagecoach h e
revealed an appreciation of the potentialities
inh erent in the fil m emulsion itself. T he use
of bleached whites anclund etailed shadows, for
example, via exposure toward th e upper end
15
�of the film emulsion 's latitude. Compositionally, he enrich ed the screen with the liberal
use of space-the long vista shots of th e eroded
hills that stalk th e western prairies . Stagecoach
was the model for a whole rash of imitatively
stark film s like M y D arling Clementine and
contributed its share to th e mainstream of development that Flaherty had started and which
reached its most recent expression in such documentary-type film s as Panic in the City.
F ord's The Inform er stands almost on a par
with Stagecoach with respect to photographic
technique and somewh at antedates that film .
But the logical developm ent is cl ea r b etween
th em . In Th e Inform er F ord was feeling his
way about, shooting into lights, a violati on of
one of the photographic sacred cows; buildin g,
in the process, tension and foreb oding and
using the blackest thing the eye kn ows, the
shadow under a bright light, to tell much of
the story. Photographer G regg Toland and
Orson \ Veil s exploited his lead in Citizen Kan e
and, subsequently, in Wells' Mac beth . T he
Info rmer was more than a photographic milestone; it was a forerunn er of th e modern introspective film . It was also one of the first
American film s to create a charact er which
pointed up certain conditions we see around
us and to examine that character's place amidst
those conditions (society), thus examining ourselves as parts of those conditions. Quite aside
from historical considerations, Th e Informer
was a fin e film because of the excellent portrayal of that character- Geppo- by V ict or
McLaglen . Irresponsibility, irrati onal reaction,
bewilderment, inarticulateness- elements pres·
ent in some degree in all of us- were p resent
to th e nth degree in G eppo. But for a purpose:
to show the logical culmination of this type
of irrationality wh en set against its purported
anti thesis- society.
But more of cinematic technique. Of the
pictures seen this year, th ose that b est represent wh at is meant by cin ematic tech niqu e
are the French Z ero de Conduite (Zero for
Condu ct) and the America n Why W e Fight
series, of which we saw T he Battle of Britain
and Th e Battle of Ru ssia, which were clone
under the auspi ces of th e U . S. Army Signal
Corps und er F rank Capra's directi on . In these
16
are two distin ct emphases of cinematic technique. The former, Z ero de C onduite, exploited the distortions th e camera makes possible and employed them editorially; by which
we mean that the viewpoint of th e insurgent
boarding school pupils was presen ted to th e
audience not merely by their exploits per se,
but by the ca mera angle which showed towering adults as they appear to the child, by optical
grotesqueries in th e distribution of light and
shadow which sh owed the unbalance of healthy
little minds, an d by optical distortions and
camera movement which emphasized details
an d aspects of life that ch ildren's minds focus
upon . Th ese cinematic percepti ons were, of
course, supplemented by th e rest of th e nonphotographic produ cti on; the acting, the plot
development, the story itself. Z ero de Conduite was consid ered by many the b est of the
year's pictures, an opinion we inclin e to dispute.
F or despite the eloquent distortions and exag·
gerations, the whole key of the piece seemed
a trifl e too morbid and paced, too mu ch lacking in inn ocent wonder to offset the sheer
devilishn ess of the children, to quite capture
the real quality of childhood-whether sp ent
in depraved over-disciplin ed surroundings or
not. But cin ematically speaking, it does represent the best of what RAM has shown this
year.
T he Battle of Britain and T h e Battle of
Russia are perh aps the best examples of wh at
the editor of a film can accomplish, and , at
that, the latter h ad it over the former by an
edge. T hese two, of a series of seven as we
recall, were "made" in th e cutting room .
Snatches of captured film s, newsreel sh ots,
aerial gun cameras, old . feature movies, animated maps (fi rs t-born of Film 's offspring)
were interspliced to achieve an effect which
none of the components originally served (nor
were intended fo r ), an effect that was more
than any piece individually could have attained, quite apart from matters of degree. The
overwh elming pace, th e wonclerous timing, the
pounding repetiti on, the lack of sublety that
was itself a sublety moved serviceman audiences
durin g the war to a pitch just short of their
standing on th eir chairs en masse and crying,
" G ive me a gun!" Even th e more aloof and
cerebral audi ence, represented by St. Johnnies,
were at times jerked from objectivity. And
this despite the fact that policy toward Russia
has since gone from an "A" to an "0 " proposition and most of the audi ence did not receive
the pro-Russian propaganda of th e last war.
They had been, in the main, subj ected to antiReel barrages, and yet were moved as though
those barrages had never b een, or had b een a
good deal less. These two are propaganda
film at its best, and the film editor's art at its
purest.
With these then as criteria for the rest of
the year's showings: for content, Les E nfants
du Paradis; for cinematic technique, The Battle
pictures and Z ero de Cond'uite; for photographic technique, Stagecoach and Th e Inform er; let us consider th e worth of the rest.
Foreign C orrespondent was an Argosy story
set to film . A good story, but only incidentally
film. Th e O x-Bow In cident was one of Hollywood 's sin cerest efforts to deal conscientiously
with non-soap-opera problems and, happily, a
successful effort. The Lady V anisl1es is acknowledgeclly one of th e b est British mysterysuspense films ever made. Th e Quiet One, produced by a group of amateurs in New York
had an appropriate crudeness Z ero lacked and
a use of photographic technique that, for what
it intended, was quite laudable. If the psychology employed by the counselors in the
story left something to be desired, th e performance of the Thompson child certainly
compensated in large degree for that.
Of Mice and M en , with Lon Chaney, Jr.
as the demented Lenny, might be examined
in terms of T h e Informer and quite obviously
falls short of the latter's achievem ents. It had
none of the originality and little of the intelligent characterizations. Lenny was gropin gly
stupid, but so was G eppo. G eppo was a wholly
human and believabl e person; Lenny was a
grimacing H ollywood actor. G eppo was in
many ways a tragic fi gure; Lenny was at best
pitiful. Of Mice and M en was a routin e production; Th e Informer was a creative effort.
Jean-Louis Barrault's Th e Puritan also dealt
with a wa rped p ersonality. Barrault's realization of the part of a religious zealot (or as
Wilhelm Reich might put it, " the h eavily armored personality") h ad penetration, depth,
and was genuinely creative; furth er, it required
of the audience an intelligent and active participation. At no point did the picture become
obtrusively "film. " W ere it not for th e skill
and consistency of the director it might easily
have become so . As it was, each aspect of th e
production was perfectly integrated with the
production as a whole.
Probably the most significant lesson to be
learn ed from th e year's movies was the mann er
in which the E uropeans, the French in particular, and H ollywood deal with- pardon the expression- "the little man". Hollywood makes of
him a papier-mach e figure of heroic proportions;
viz., It H appened One Night with G able (the
littl e man is as goo~l as th e rich ) ; M r. D eeds
G oes to T own with Gary C ooper (th e little
man is b etter than th e rich ); and abraham
lincoln with H enry Fonda (we put ab raham
lin coln in lower case because the picture was
only in cidentally about Abraham Lin coln-it
was primarily about th e little man wh o can,
and did make it. ) The French, on the other
hand, concern themselves with unmanufactured aspects of human frailty and problems:
N ais with illegitimacy and human dignity; T he
Baker's Wife with adultery and human dignity;
Th e W ell-digger's D aughter, again , with illegitimacy and dignity. France accepts humanity
as it finds it; H ollywood, it seems, must devise
a humanity. (They also paint grass to make
it look grassier. ) This, it would appear, is the
very heart of th e difference between th e French
and American film - if not the whole culture.
The Americans must force, exaggerate, distort
until they are no longer dealin g with peopl e
but with caricatures of people. The French
seem to accept what they find-and understand
it- and report it as it is. Th e difference in
method speaks of an acceptance and respect
for oneself on th e part of th e French, and a
dissa tisfaction and self-rejection on the part of
the Hollywoocli ans.
Such exceptions as The Ox-Bow Incident,
Chaplin, and T he Informer h eighten the defect in the American product but serve as well
to encourage h ope for a change.
L AWRENCE S ANDEK
17
�The
Administration
and the
Student Body
IN RETROSPECT, the activity of the Polity seems
worthy of discussion on at least three points:
( 1) the co-education crisis, ( 2) the food committee and its report, ( 3) the temporary dormitory rules committee.
To begin with the last of these: it was felt
that with the advent of women students in the
fall of 1951 certain difficulties about the dormitories would be, not created-for women have
been visiting St. John's dorms for years-but
intensified. In a polity meeting, endured the
better part of an evening, the discussion on
"Women at St. John 's next year" quickly
moved, as everyone expected, to the implications for dormitory life and, also as everyone
expected, to moral problems. There was much
talk by all; three general points of view were
expressed.
18
One school of thought maintained that a
man's (or woman's) cell in Pinkney or cave in
Chase is his own castle. Another speculated
concerning the metaphysical or theological
principles of morals, and was advised that such
principles were based either on reason or on
revelations; we were counseled to await their
being revealed or known. This advi ce almost
put the school out of business. The third
school appealed to the laws and pleaded for
the reputation and responsibility of the college.
To learn what the problem really was, a
group volunteered to go to Antioch and Oberlin; there they encountered a greater problembureaucracy. The Temporary Rules Committee
set about to discover whether there might be
any problem "next year" and, if so what rules
might be temporarily made to avoid such a
problem.
Meanwhile, the old problem of women
guests-in-dormitories came to the forefront and
dominated the discussion of women-in-dormitories last year, this year, and next year. \.Vith
the Administration crying that th e security and
reputation of the college were at stake, the
Executive Committee presen ted the Court
with a case to test the strength of the existin g
clauses in the Constitution. The purpose was
to induce a new understanding of the problem
and to make the understanding cover, retroactively, th e case at hand . This was accomplished; the Executive Committee serenely, and
a little sm ugly, informed the Administration
that the problem was solved: there was no
need for new rules, (at least to handle past and
present problems of women in the dorms) .
The old motto of "Discretion" was to be
replaced by a new understanding "Enforced
Discretion " - enforced by one's dormitory
neighbors by means of either personal advice
or a report to official circles. However, the
Administration felt that the test indicated a
weakness in the "personal responsibility for
guests in the dormitory" clause of the Constitution and suggested an expli cit and stringent
rule against such guests.
The Dean, as every good Dean should, consolidated all schools of thought; he forced the
first to be compromised with the third and thus
integrated the two. The second he ignored.
He demanded that the consideration of public
opinion be the dominant principle in settlin g
the problem of women-i n-dormitories, whether
off-campus guests or co-eds. At this point, after
much deliberation in public and private sessions, the Temporary Rules Committee
reported itself opposed to any compromise of
the freedom of men and women to visit each
other's dormitories and recommended that the
Administration make its own dormitory rules
if it felt the lack of some rules invited the pressure of public opinion. By referendum , the
Polity approved the decision of the committee
and handed the whole problem to the
Administra bon.
The second of the three main problems with
which the Polity attempted to cope was the
quality of meals served in the dining hall. A
succession of Food Committees was appointed
\ Viniarski and Napper on the \ Vestern Tour
and everyone began to complain; students complained to the Dietitian about the food; the
Food Committee complained to the Executive
Committee about the students complaining
directly to the Dietitian and not through channels; the Chef complained to the Dietitian and
wanted to know who was boss, she or the Food
Committee. Through it all the Dietitian maintained an attitude that Epictetus himself would
have been proud of. One of the earlier Food
Committees, composed of Mr. Boyle and Mr.
Manusov, issued a revealing report in the style
of an Army G.l.; it covered the "food situation", from t 1e temperature of the eggs for
breakfast and the amount of waste in the garbage cans to the size of the pots in the kitchen
and the time Miss A. came up the front walk
in the morning. It avoided the more mundane
and controversial aspects of the food situation;
such as the number of times chili con carne
appeared on the menu, and concentrated on
the general arrangement of the dining hall. It
criticised the purchase of food, the layout of
the kitchen, management of the staff, supervision of th e cooking of the food , and lack of
imagination in making the menu.
All in all, the report represented a lot of
thought and hard work on the part of its
authors and was successful in getting at the
heart of the "food situation" . The President
acknowledged the report with a letter in Commanding Officer style, answering point for
19
�Panel Discussion on Law,
Freedom, and St. John's
point with a proposed particular remedy for
the particular criticism . Of course, this missed
the whole point of the report which was a
statement of the general inefficiency of the
Dining Hall and cited particular defects only as
examples and evidence.
Despite the persistence of one Executive
Committee member in counting the untouched plates of sausage with macroni and
cheese the last days of school, it does seem that
enough investigating of the "food situation"
has been done. However, th er~ is on e final
question-"Why did the Administration delegate to the Polity, mainly by default, the task
of conducting the investigation, and why did
the Polity concern itself so intimately with a
purely Administrative matter? "
The third great Polity problem of the year
was that of the lack of communication with the
Administration on the decision to open the college to co-education . T his problem was a crucial one for the Polity because it indicated that
th e Administration took a dim view of the
Polity's ability to keep an official secret. M ore
than that, the frank statem ent of the Administration that in this matter the student body
was merely part of the public was a rejection of
the idea of the close relation of th e Administration and student body whi ch the founders of
th e program felt possible and necessary. For
20
this reason th e rupture last D ecember between
the student body and Administration
approached the proportions of a crisis.
The claim that the decision was purely an
administrative matter was at best a weak and
confused one. N o one would ask that the student body share in making the actual decision;
only the Administration and Faculty could clo
that. But the problems to be considered in
making the decision were not solely those of
administration; they intimately involved the
student body and all campus activity.
Although there are many groups among the
-student body, there is a unity of purpose
created partly, of course, by the unity of the
program but in great part by the awareness
that St. John's is a unique school in which an
experim ent in liberal education is being conducted with the students themselves as the
material. If St. John 's is a school in revolt
against "con ventional edu cation", then every
St. Johnny who has made a conscious decision
to come to St. John's has joined in the revolt
and is a revolutionary. This decision to revolution is based on an intense faith in the program, a faith that every St. Johnny renews
when he has to tell his fri ends that he is not
majoring in anything and, when pressed, has to
try to explain just what he is studying.
The acceptance of women at St. John's is an
experiment in itself. The outburst from the
student body last D ecember could have been
avoided by granting an opportuni ty for dialectic on the two experiments to discuss
wheth er the two could really be one. It is the
nature of the problem involved, the extra
dimension that women students will add to the
St. John 's experim ent in liberal education, that
denies the statement that it was purely an
Administrative matter.
It was not the rightn ess or fitn ess of the
decision that the student body qu estion ed; nor
was there any feeling that the students should
have had their opinion considered in making
the decision; there was no qu estion of abrogation of rights which had been granted by the
Administration in th e Polity constitution . In
fact it was an argument between the Administration and the Student Body directly; the
Student Body being higher than the Polity, the
Polity was concerned only because it is the
machinery which attempts to represent the Student Body. Rather the students were stunned
that th e Administration had decided that such
a change, with the implication s for the effective
working of the program, was of no concern to
them . T h e crisis was in the relationship of
Administration and Student Body and was
caused by the arbitrary change in the relationship that had existed from the early clays of th e
program under Barr and Buchanan .
T here are two main reasons why the Administration should have discussed with the student
body the admission of women.
( 1) A great part of ]earning goes on outside
tu torials, seminars, an d labs; it takes place in
extracurricular acti vities and in private di scussions in dorm rooms, around campus, and
town. T his valu e of St. John 's campus life,
where an individual is more likely to be confron ted with himself than in seminar or tutorial
is something that no one, unless he has gone
through th e program und er similar conditions,
ca n know anything about. By discussion on
th is vital point th e Administration could have
enlarged its viewpoint.
( 2) Because of the sacrifices every St.
Johnny makes in decidin g to be libera1ly educated rath er than specially trained, he comes to
St. John 's with a partial understanding of its
purpose. H e has the desire and even the necessity of defending his choice of school; for this
reason everything that happens at St. John's in
any way affecting the program is his busin ess
and something he has th e right to know about.
On these matters the Student Body is not part
of the public.
The Executive Committee, too, is open to
criticism on the subj ect of the "crisis" . It would
seem that after several months of weekly meetin gs with the Admini stration it should have
been sensitive enough to detect, at least from
the pollings on campus, the need for a college
forum on co-education . This failure of the
Executive Committee may have been due to a
deep-seated weakness on the part of its members as representatives and as leaders. As
representatives they were charged by part of the
stud ent body with being an autonomous group
whose activities were rather hush-hush . As
leaders they were charged with being on the
one hand, too concerned with extraneous matters such as th e food situation and the public
relations office and, on the other hand, of being
unmindful of and unable to grasp the meaning
of the college forum as a means of exchange
between th e Administration and Student Body
on varied problems of th e college.
T. J. WILL lAMS
Co urtesy of th e Evening Capital
21
�F ORMAL LECT URES
1950- 195 1
T he Liberal Arts
JACOB KLEIN
P redication of Value
BERT THOMAS
Music and Language
VICTOR Zuc KERKANDL
Imagina tion
MARK VAN D o REN
Plato's Ideal C om monwealth
RoBERT L. CALHOUN
Concert
THE JUILLI ARD STRING Q UART ET
F.abda is
L EO SPITZER
\V hy th e Great Iss ues Course at D artmouth?
ARTHUR E. JENSEN
Science and Politics
ScoTT BuCHANAN
R ecital
0RFEO H rsPANICO (Choral 'vV orks)
Scientific Social Science or ti1e Distinction
Between Facts and V alues
LEO STRAUSS
M athematics and Na ture
EDwARD KASNER
Psychoanalysis
ERWIN STRAUS
Kierkegaard
p AUL T ILLICI-I
Human Rights Under tl1 e Charter and
the C onstit ution
BRUNSON MACCHESNEY
T l1e Magic Fl ute
VICTOR ZucKERKANDL
T he Reformation
J. WINFREE SMITH
Play
THOMAS CRANMER OF CANTERBURY
T he M oral Basis of F reedom
BERTRAND DE J OUVENEL
Recita l
FRANCES JA
MES
(I-Iindemith 's Marienleben)
Adam Smiti1
JOSEPH CROPSEY
Recital
RALPH KIR KPATRI CK, H arpsichord ist
Liberal Education, Labor, an d Leisure
MoRTil'I'IER J . ADLER
Mephistopi1eles
EDDA T . HANKAMER
Seventh Symphony
VICTOR ZUCKERKANDL
Chinese Thinking
H u Snm
T he F rench Revolution
PACE SMITH
On G eneral Educa tion
W ILLIAM J. BEND ER
T he Cultural H eritage, th e Historica l and
the Trans-Historical
AL EXANDER SACHS
22
Question
Periods
ST. JoHN's C oLLEGE may not be waging a crusade, but
it is proselytizing; and this was made abundantly clear in
the question periods of this year's series of lectures . T his
proselytizing, admittedly, took place in the face of a few
unfortunate situations; i.e., lecturers ill-at-ease in the dialectical situation, seemingly unaware of their assumptions,
over-awed by St. John 's reputati on, antagonistic to foreign
ideas, or unwilling to accept. the occasion as a time fo r
exploration or flights of fancy. Perhaps there was not, on
the part of th e St. John's community, th e general agreem ent which might be assumed from the silence which
greeted the promulgation of hom ogeneous opinion from
those students and fa culty members wh o held forth . Let
me be sp ecific. Plato obviously was the overlord of the
question p eriods this year. C ertainly there is no danger
or hope (which ever way you care to look at it ) of St.
John 's ever b ecoming a Christian college; T homism has
long since passed its zenith h ere. But Platonism (actually,
of course, neo-Platonism ) is another thing. It is assuming
th e stature, if not of doctrine, at least of majority opinion .
As a result, the question periods, one after another, were
spen t trying to platonize non-Platonists (witness, Adler )
or to re-examine Plato for Plato experts (witness, Calh oun ). O ver and over again Plato having been invoked,
the qu estion period left the lecturer's dominion and entered the realm, uncommonl y familiar to thi s community,
of Plato. Now it would be absurd to complain about this
in vocation except in terms of frequency of occurrence.
Too often, b efore the topic at hand had been sufficiently
investigated the conversation fo und itself discussing, not
so much the relation of Plato to the lecture topic which
in itself no one could obj ect to, but rather one of the dialogues or a point of Platonic information, on which, understandably enough, the lecturer was not infrequently rusty.
It can certainly be argued that no complai nt should be
forthcoming on this score, that St. John 's is one of the
few places wh ere these conversa tions can take place and
take the turn th ey do, and that also, after all, perhaps this
turn (toward Plato) is in evitable. W ell, granted on all
three points - possibly; but please, powers-that-be, a
change from Plato once in a whil e would b e so welcome.
Let's give the intensified consideration we b estow on Plato
to some oth er philosopher for a while-St. T h omas, St.
Augustine, Leibniz, Kant, or take-your-pickfor variety, for edificati on, or for just plain respite.
The caliber of lecturers this year, I think it
must be admitted, was consid erably more acceptabl e. T he D ean obviously had put a good
deal of th ought into the selection of lecturers,
the topi cs, and the placement; there was less
of th e sp ur-of-the-moment that has on occasion
in the past tainted this step-child of the Program . Mr. de Jouvenel's appearance on campus
was for many the happiest event of the year.
He succeeded in endearing himself to alm ost
everyone and obviously was more than fond of
St. John 's. H e is reputed to have been an impetus or at least a catalyst fo r some of the best
discussions in and out of classrooms during the
entire year. It is a most desirable si tuation to
have our lecturers stay as long as possible and
m eet informally with our students as frequently
as p ossibl e. The difficulties involved because
of the large number of lecturers coming from
other schools are manifest. H owever, a few
during the year staying for long week ends or
as much as a week at a time could be a fa vorable in flu ence on the intellectual life of th e community We all seem to like to sh ow off a bit,
and reprehensible as that may be in itself, it
does call upon us to act, thus precluding the
stagnation that effects us all occasionally. The
poin t is that what starts as sh owing off may
very well end as stimul ating discussion .
About the question periods themselves, this
final note. Still concerning ourselves with im-
" Oh, there's a way out of that one."
Bertrand de Jouvenel
petus, stimulation, or call this myst erious and
relatively unpredictable life-blood of St. John's
what you will, I sh ould like to suggest that the
question periods can supply this fire that so
many people claim has left the college. We
have b ecome more and m ore stable, yes. Life
is saner. But th e excitemen t is gravely needed.
T he question period is the only time duri ng
the week that we have one activity in which
everyone, stu dents and faculty alike, is participating- a real community in tellectual effort.
Excitemen t is con tagious. If the faculty were
to concern themselves with the examination
or re-exami nation of the ideas set forth by any
given lecturer with something m ore than restrained professorial decorum the sensitive b ody
of student opinion would, I am sure, resp ond
proportionately. \ Ve need passion. A few fights,
a few passiona te arguments, and the coffee
sh op would be buzzing with heated discussion
for clays. T he question period should b e, I
think, th e arena of th e highest and most adept
discussion of th e week with the wh ole facul ty
and th e better students as participan ts. By
this I do not mea n there should be any limi-
23
�tation of discussion, but those of us who could
perhaps carry on our learn ing in certain areas
to better avail in the seminar and tutorials
should be careful not to take up question
period tim e unn ecessarily. I suggest this by way
of a gentleman's agreement. Let's have more
faculty participation, more passion, more responsibility on th e part of students-madness,
fancy, or whimsy if it is wanted, but these can
all be responsible at the same tim e. "Vle need
to be excited again .
G.
MILLER
Freshm an Laboratory
Laboratory
" GivE HIM yer cigarettes ! Can't you see he's
got lab this afternoon?"
The value of this fragment of lunchtime
Lifedrama lies not in the touching expression
of man 's sympathy for suffering fellow man,
but rather in the hint, the clear hint given of
the position of the laboratory in the hearts of
those half-liberated artists who have been exposed to its sunshine and its shadows.
This hint brings to mind once again the
qu estion asked twice a week for fourteen years
by every student at St. John's: "Is, or is not,
th e laboratory program a mere farce? "
Why, I have heard too often of days when
only two or three students showed up for the
afternoon session . In such cases those few
automatically pushed all pretense of serious
discussion aside an d proceeded to voice complaint upon complaint concerning the poor
equipment, foggy lab manual writing, lack of
planning, unsuitability of subj ect matter, and
a host of other growls as well. In one such
lab, after a return condemnation of the lab in
general by the tutor, I have heard that it was
the fa shion for all three or four of those present to th en simply adjourn to the bookstore
for an afternoon's entertainment.
Whose fault is it? The tutor's? The student's? The instruction committee's? The lab
manual writer's? 111e laboratory assistant's?
Practically any and all of these could be ad-
24
vanced for blame with some justification, but
frankly I'm sick of talking about them. I'm
sick of talking because, after all, it must be true
that all of th em are to blame. Was that not
decided long ago in the coffee shop? Merely
finding the fault and placing such blame where
it belongs does not help us to remedy the lab
problem. I feel th ere is a more fundamental
cause: the simple fact that the school-the
students, or the Program if you wish-has
changed. Thus, we need not criticize the laboratory directly here; instead we shall take the
whole Program gently to task.
In the beginning was truly the logos . In
1937 not only were the outward motions of
Jabbing being carried out by the freshmen but
the spirit of th e experiment was there as well.
It should be obvious that now only the outward motion s remain, the spirit has somehow
departed.
Let me exemplify this by having you listen
in on Stringfellow Barr describing the first
months of the New Program to alumni and
friends by radio in 1937. See if you don't notice a certain element of excitement which has
found its way from Humphreys to Barr's
office:
merit so me comment. As stated in the publish ed
announcement of th e New Program, this first year
of laboratory work is primarily a stndy of measurement, a study fundam ental to scientific laboratories of
any sort. T he first exercise demanded that the stu·
dent constru ct a straight-edge and a ruler and thereby
devise for himself a system of linear units. He was
offered various weapons with which to enter the
fray , including a piece of string and a stick of chalk .
T his looked tempting to some, but unfortun ately
getting a straight edge with string and chalk carpenterwise offers some of th e difficulties of measuring
the length of a h orse. O ne of my friend s, a physicist,
complained to me that you couldn't reall y measure
the length of a horse: th e h orse was too soft. The
st ring turn ed ou t to be pretty soft too. Some of the
freshmen discovered h owever that you could get an
excellent straight edge by folding a piece of paper.
On that straight edge they proceeded to devise a
vernier ruler, and the unit of measure was christened
-quite naturally-a " metron " .
The second laboratory exercise was performed on
some h omemade balances with a rubber eraser in one
hand and pasteboard in th e oth er. By adding and
subtracting pieces of pasteboa rd , the freshm an developed another unit- this time a unit of weight,
which , with eq ual respect for the G reek t hey arc
stud ying, th ey christened a "baros".
T he third exercise call ed for balances too. But
now the problem was to get th e proportionality be·
tween weights and lengths, the proportionality ex·
pressed in Arch imedes lever, as well as in the scales
at th e country store. So th ey correlated weight units
and length units, or- to put it more pedanticallyba rea and metra . T h ey also had that clay to find the
center of gravity of cardboard triangles and cardboard
paraboloids, and thi s complicated th e problems raised
by the principl e of th e balance.
It is easy to see from this brief description, with out
having seen th e laboratory in action-a nd I wish you
could have seen that-th at, as a starter, the student
is learning through his hands and eyes to apply the
sort of mathematical abstracti ons that Euclid deals
with to the materials abou t him. For not b y books
alone can a New Program St. Johnni e be saved.
. .. I wish you could see some of this going on .
I have followed it just as closely as my special duties
as h ead of the College would permit. I am fi nding
St. John's Coll ege about th e most exciting place I
h ave struck yet. And, I gath er the stud ents are find ·
ing it exciting."
Perhaps you see what must have been a certain frantic interest in th e balances themselves
in th e Program's early clays. Compare this with
Freshm an Laboratory Tutorial
" I believe I have described everything except the
laboratory wo rk, which happens Saturday morning.
Mr. Comenetz is in charge . . .
There have been three laboratory exercises, and they
25
�the laboratory legend I first related and you
will agree there has been a change.
Is it not true that only the outward form has
remained while the spirit has wasted?
There have been attempts to regain the old
interest. We have had lab seminars, we have
had field trips, we have had lectures from the
Dean, the Coffee Shop has been closed until
3:30, but it must be obvious that two afternoons a week are still regarded as wasted by
most of us, tutors included I am afraid.
The only two explanations of this attitude
which are of any help in planning a remedy
are: first, the realization many of us have had
that the school has changed from an experimental sort of test case existing for the sake
of propagandizing a return to the classical education, into a somewhat ordinary college, offering what is now a less spectacular course; and,
second, that the Program itself has changed
from an ultra-inclusive synthesis of all Western
thinking to a more select course, one more interested in Plato than Aristotle, in "humanism"
more than either materialism or classical theology.
Let us elwell on particularizations of these
two changes for a moment. An example of the
first: the present lab tutor cannot depend on
having a class of starry eyed liberal artists, eager
to fight over any problem tossed them; rather,
the lab is more apt to be made up of men who
tend to need a certain amount of pushing to
get started on even the most obvious problem .
As the Program gets older and older the old
excitement dies down and a certain undesirable
sophistication sets in.
And, to illustrate the second point: seminars
that are talkative when it comes to Virgil, Job,
Chaucer, and Shakespeare, and are nearly silent
on Galen, Kepler, Gilbert, and Bacon, are not
likely to find anything interesting in Boyle's
Law or double refraction. Anything dealing
with the world of animals, vegetables, minerals
and stars, as opposed to the more humane
sphere of studies, has become distinctly unpopular on this campus, let's face it.
Deeply now, I don't think this sophistication
and this unbalance of interests should be accepted with so little challenge. If this were a
Christian college there would be no harm in
26
our confining our studies to the purely humane
sphere. The Christian divides the universe into
a Natural and a Supernatural. He may choose
to consider only the Natural, and of this he
may do without those inquiries which do not
pertain directly to man-mechanics, zoology,
and so forth. But we are not Christians; we
are called at times, and perhaps rightly so, Pantheists. Then let us be good Pantheists and
study the Cod-which-is-in-all-books- Galen as
well Mark. Goethe's study was not lined with
books alone-stuffed animals, optical equipmen, music, even smelly old chemicals existed
side by side with the richly bound works of
the divine Klopstock.
If the schedule is not too crowded with what
we study now in the polite letters it would
seem necessary that there be an honest consideration of all things which touch on the history of man in any way, whether they be unraveling Plotinos or dissecting the frog.
Yet, the lab situation, more than ever, is so
serious that I feel we can not try to make up
for all the otl1er faults of the Program during
the two afternoons a week allotted to the physical universe. The grotesque unbalance must be
made up by changes in the classes which students are at least in the habit of attending with
some serious purpose. My personal choice for
correction is the mathematics tutorial which
is so misunderstood and uninspiringly led in
most cases that it is no wonder most seniors
find they have very little preparation and even
less interest in their Courant. Others would
single out the seminar for its seeming inability
to talk about anything in the physical sciences
without feeling guilty of having left metaphysics for the moment. Still others would
condemn the lectures for their over-abundance
of vast philosophic syntheses and prattlings in
the belles-lettres. All of these are likely at fault
in undermining the laboratory program .
I would not try to load up the laboratory
with any more weight in the unpopular, profane arts to counteract this trend toward the
more sacred elements of tl1e Program. Rather,
it would be much better to lighten the propagandizing load the laboratory has to carry and
let the seminars and tutorials inculcate the respect of the material sciences in the student.
Science Discussion
I would not go so far as to say that we should
introduce the social sciences to McDowell to
acquaint the student with the ways of science
apart from lab practice-no, the planners were
right when they felt that one should learn all
he needs about the scientific method from the
physical sciences and mathematics-but certainly the reading matter we now study could
be examined with more tolerance for materialistic and positivistic ideas if only the tutors
would allow such ideas to be voiced in class
without the usual sneer. The departure of
most of the tutors with such ideas over the
period of the last few years has only encouraged
th e intolerance of things concrete by the labskipping student body.
The shift in tutors and general tutorial attitude is only more evidence of the previously
mentioned change in the Program from a broad
survey of Western thought to a narrower
course, weighted in favor of certain particular
philosophies . Unfortunately, the other change,
the alleged departure from a fa bled hyperdialectical Golden Age to a sh1dentry of sleepy,
part-time liberal artists, has only aided the
strangulation of the laboratory by the metaphysicians of McDowell. Plato really gets very
little opposition these clays, and besides there
are so many nice men on th e faculty who are
Platonists! It's mu ch easier to follow the respectable road, y'know, just be sure to give a
knowing little giggle whenever those cavedwellers Bacon and Comte and Dewey and
Ayer and those nasty, nasty Christians are
mentioned-after all, they just ain't pure!
If this laboratory sickness is to be nursed it
must start with a change in attitude on the part
of the Dean and the Instruction Committee,
followed by the members of tutorials who follow the fashions they set. Meanwhile, the
course of study in the lab must be made, superficially at least, more compatible with the
rest of the Program, diseased as that rest may
be, in order that the value of work with the
balances not be forgotten merely because of a
temporary overemphasis on the parts of the
reading list that despise the physical sciences.
After all, the liberal disciplines, which, concurrently with the books, are meant to form
the core of the Program, should be applicable
to any subject matter, whether it be different
books, different laboratory experiments, or even
films and phonograph music. To make grammarians, rhetoricians, logicians and so forth it
must certainly be possible to use different lab
exercises to present any one problem to the
student.
Now chemistry is very unpopular at present
because it deals with dirty, smelly chemicals,
because it doesn 't bring up talkable problems
as readily as other sciences, because it is an
excellent teacher of the fact that masses of
27
�The Juniors discuss " Perpetual Peace."
evidence must be tediously collected before the
experimenter has any right to draw a conclusion . It is unpopular because it is harder to
connect Lavoisier, Boyle, Dalton and Canizzaro
to the seminar reading than it is in the case of
the biologists and the physicists. It is unpopular because it doesn 't hit upon any "great
truths " that are supposedly present in all the
other reading and experimenting we do. In
short, chemistry is unpopular because it is
messy, tedious and unrewarding, and for this
the chemistry laboratory is generally empty.
If the lab is to weather the storm it must
withdraw some part of its curriculum in order
that it might be saved for calmer clays. I would
propose that chemistry be set aside in light of
the fact that the Program now emphasizes
those studies that deal with human souls and
their mechanics, rather than the rules for the
combination of certain material elements and
the origin of these rules .
Substitute with an examination of some scientific activity more sui ted to the human spirit
- something dealing with the ph ysical objects,
yet something that would touch on man's soul.
Why not cooking? Certainly the care of one's
body is humane enough an occupation. Yet
bodily health is accomplished by means of the
physical sciences-cliatetics, for example. The
medical doctor is a mind doctor as well as a
28
body doctor in modern practice. Undoubtedly
cadavers in Humphreys would involve complications, but there could be no harm in reviving
the ancient art of cookery. Think of the texts
-Hippocrates, the Gorgias, inspiration from
Homer and Rabelais-think of the experiments, unfairly attractive perhaps, but not lacking in intellectual content by any means. The
Catalog speaks of the enhancement of "manual
dexterity" by laboratory exercise. \Vhat nobler
laboratory equipment is there than spatula,
meat thermometer, and bake oven? Our laboratories in the traditional sciences are exercises
mainly of the eye, sometimes of the touch or
ear, but what laboratory deals with the tongue
and nostril? Here is a great exercise in applied
mathematics-how shall we devise units of
measurement for taste and smell? How ·shall
we evaluate one pleasurable effect of our cooking on one hand, and its effect on the health
of the individual on the other? Can there be
any more humane science?
Of course we must reali ze that this cooking
would be only a substitute for a fundamentally
more legitimate lab subject like chemistry. \Ve
must remember that the laboratory at St. John's
is set up to exercise our thoughts about the
physical universe, not to enchant us with more
of the blue air that surrounds seminar tables .
Like the contemplative religious who reads his
St. John in the morning and weeds his community's garden in the afternoon as part of one
discipline, so we make free men out of books
AND balances . \,Yhen things have changed in
the classroom and lecture ha11 to the extent
that St. John's people can show an interest in
the liberal arts as applied to ALL subject matter,
regardless of its humble origin or th e prejudices
that have been held against it by individual
philosophers; when the problems of physical
measurement, homogeneous and non-homogeneous parts, and combining weights are respectable again-when this comes about, we can drop
cookery and attack the tougher job of making
better application of the seven arts to the physical universe, through chemistry for instance,
which will be more in keeping with some of
the many promises we made in 1937.
ToM HEINEMAN
Collegian
IT WAS a midwinter clay in 1951. One more
Collegian had appeared in mail boxes the previous afternoon, and the tone of the voice was
soft and wistful: "\,Yell, I see St. John's still
turns out no poets." The speaker was George
Bingley. He put his Collegian aside and one
more math class began.
During the four years past the Collegian has
been a small paper with a concern properly
for small issues, though often that not without
a struggle. Such issues, more often than not,
it handles well. Rereading its reviews of onceforgotten lectures, for instance, is as stimulating
as the coffee shop talk of a Saturday morning
that follows a lecture, and seldom more cloying.
More simply, the Collegian 's reviewers usua11y
caught as much of a lecture as the community
as a whole caught. Expecting more is expecting too much .
All the same, rereading at a sitting, a stack
of Collegians, e.g., the past 4 yrs. worth, is,
frankl y, a seedy business, a struggle, and an
experience with embarrassments:
\ Vriting comes hard at St. John 's because the curriculum is a journ ey through criticai rapids. . . .
Immense strain . . . [this putting] ideas on paper.
.. . Poetic inspiration ... [the previous editor felt,
was] slain by the sort of intensive work in analysis
we do here . . . We [the editors of the Collegian
for that issue] bt lieve that poetic inspiration is not
of expression ... (CoLLEGIAN: LXII, 1. ) . ..
Now that one stops to consider, it has its hardto-get-at side, writing. Although it takes some
unearthing, the cause of the above editorial
was no doubt the scarcity of contributions; its
aim, to make writing easier; but its phrasing,
if not leaving one a-tremble makes one wonder
-unless one recalls-if its authors ever submitted anything else. Not to single any one
out: th e above quote typifies a segment of students whose articles and poems have always
been with the Collegian, though luckily usua11y
in minority, and one is hesitant to decide
whether to damn them outright or thank them
for keeping Collegian editors on guard. One
can feel certain, barring the possibility of a 180°
phase-shift, that members of this segment will
breathe th eir last still hoping to strengthen
their powers of anal ysis to the point of knowing what Dante, Homer, Aeschylus ( sp?) mean,
instead of attempting to discipline their perceptions, develop their awareness, to the point
where they will be able, if blessed, to keep up
with their poets, line by line, as the movement
is upward . "You can NOT pour 'Clear and
distinct ideas' into another man 's head. You
can try, but the result will surprise you." Homer never tried . Regardless of th e demands
of analytical judgement, no Iliad could begin,
'Lie clown, Goddess!'
Being an editor of the Collegian certainly
entitles one to some of the yearbook sort of
thanks . In 1947 it was John Sanborn and a
single handed job. Some of the best student
poetry appeared then.
("Goddess, did yo u l1 ave some mles of
Art, before yo u retired?
Lady, please don' t come out now,
Or a friend of mine, tran slating
Pindar, might be fired ." [LXT, 3.]) ,
but only three Collegians. An editorial of the
time read:
" I don 't
legian has
astronomy;
lectic, but
our pages.
know whether people have felt th e Colignored arithm etic, geometry, music or
perhaps even grammar, rh etoric and dia we want all the liberal arts explored on
vVe are not adverse to being beguiled. "
(LX, 12.)
A1 Frasca and Bob Goldberg fo11owed. Not a
lecture went un covered, Frasca reviewing when
no one else would, with the classic review of
the period th e one in which Jerry Cantor
(who's now in Israel ) summari zed one of Mr.
Klein 's (who was still dean, then) Cave lectures, the one on two dim ensional shadows, by
managing to get from 'Cavern' to 'Goocl', analogically, in 19 colons, three of which were
donated by the type setter, but which 3? Next
came Bernard Fleischmann, a new editorial
board, and a slightly augmented, valid policy:
"There might be some surprise . . . at the
number of outside contributors [poems by Dr.
Van Doren and Dr. Santee were included,
among others] who have, in a highly profitable
manner, in creased the volum e of this issue. We
have solicited th eir vvork so that the litera ry
ferment of th e ca mpus might have some outside standard s to set its gauges by .. ." (LX II,6.)
29
�Soon after there was some talk of St. John's
having its own 'Little Magazine', with Bernard
in charge of the time-consuming part of the
investigation, and though he remained on the
editorial board of the Collegian, he relinquished editorship to Stewart Washburn. That
was early in 1950, with the old varitype failing
rapidly. George Van Sant was printer, and for
a while, Collegians produced on campus did
come out, monthly, plus an extra, pro and contra women in the clormi tories. ( Ecli tors: Pro.)
Prizes were offered for the best contributions
and were awarded. Paul Cree succeeded Washburn about November, 1950, and Bob Hazo
followed Paul. That was near writing period
of last year. Lab sheets had the presses jammed,
and Collegian activity there for a month or so
was scanty. It has been recalled that about
that time the Collegian's budget began to be
discussed, there in the editorial meetings. That
was near June, and on that note a IV volume
epoch in the Collegian's life can close. That
there were Collegians for those four years is a
fact, and the credit for that fact belongs mainly
to the above listed people; assuredly, a varied
lot. And contrasting the one-man editorial
board meetings of 1947 with the budget discussions, editors and Executive Committee, of
last May, one can truthfully observe, that in
these 4 years, whether needed or not, the Collegian had been given a complete wash-clown,
from stem to stern, a nautical term.
Still, as long as such men as Mr. Bingley continue to glance through each issue, wistfully,
to see if in this issue, just perhaps-the Collegian will be worth the effort.
DouGLAS BoYLE
The Athletic Year
THE INTRAMURAL athletic program got under
way early in the fall with football. It looked
as though there would be a new high in the
participation in the gymnastic arts, as seven
teams were in competition to have the distinction of being the rough and tumble boys of
the campus, the football champions. The interest of incoming Freshmen started off with
a bang, but dwindled toward the end of football season, and, with the Freshman, the interest of all classes, except the Seniors, turned
from the field of friendly strife to other activities.
Although there were many close and hardfought games, it soon became evident that the
two teams to beat were Senior ABCD & Junior
CD. The Seniors were led by the passing and
general football savvy of Mike Brown and Jim
Frame. This combination improved with every
day they were in action. The Juniors, under
the leadership of Ned Lathrop, who was one
of the colleges first contributions to the armed
services, rolled over all opponents without
much trouble. The combined efforts of Lathrop, Bob Seelig, Dave Napper, and John Twigg
seemed to be enough to go through an un-
30
defeated season. But, as the season progressed,
it seemed obvious that there would be a battle
royal the afternoon the Senior and Junior teams
met. The sidelines were packed with spectators, (there must have been at least seven or
eight!) The game was just what everyone expected-a lively battle. The Seniors emerged
the winners by a 19-7 count. The victors always had what it took to stop the Juniors attack and also enough to su bclue the underclassmen's defense. The entire group of spectators
as well as the players left the game convinced
that the spirit of competition had not been
lost on the athletic fields of St. John's College.
With the outcome of that last game the
Seniors became football champions.
The Final Football Standings
Senior ABCD
Junior AB
Junior CD
Sophomore CD
Freshman CD
The Athletic Department seemed to foresee
the coming of women to the campus before
the startling news was announced two months
later. With the institution of volleyball as a
new team sport, what was considered by most
as a primarily feminine sport turned out to be
Seelig chalks up
another Victory
enjoyable for all participants. It gave some of
the students who felt the more active sports of
football and basketball too exuberant a chance
to participate. The outcome will no doubt
prove very valuable in the years to come when
the men will be in competition with the
women in the gymnasium. The title was decided by the first game of the season as Freshman EF beat Junior CD. Both teams went
through the rest of their respective schedules
undefeated, but the champions had been decided on that clay which introduced volleyball
to the campus. Five teams competed and many
nip and tuck games were recorded, which gave
evidence of the evenly balanced teams.
The Final V olleyba1l Standings
Freshman CD
Junior CD
Senior ABCD
Sophomore CD
Junior AB
After the Christmas vacation the gym turned
primarily into a basketball court. From the
over-all outlook Basketball was probably the
worst of all the team sports, especially with
respect to the number of participants and the
unevenly balanced teams. The season was divided into three rounds, and by the end of
the third round there was an all-time low in
athletics with several games being forfeited.
From the outset it was obvious ·that the team
to beat was Junior CD. This feat was not accomplished in the entire season as the high
flying Juniors went through all three rounds
with an unblemished record. Led by the trio
of Seelig, Twigg, and Napper, the Juniors
even on "off" clays could always rise to the
occasion!
In the class games which were held at the
end of the intramural season, again the Juniors
came through to win the laurels. In the final
game, a real thriller, the Juniors beat the Seniors by only two points. It was a close one
from start to finish . With only five seconds
remaining, the score was tied. At this point
Bob Seelig dribbled in to sink the winning
basket. And the Juniors had made a clean
sweep of the entire intramural basketball contest.
The Final Basketball Standing
Junior CD
Freshman CD
Senior ABCD
Seminars AB
Sophomore CD
As in previous years those members of the
college community who felt that they could
not get the sort of competition they wanted
in the intramurral games entered a team in the
Capitol City League. As they had found in
previous years the competition was a little too
great. They ended the season in undisputed
possession of last place. But, the team, captained by Bob Seelig, earned quite a bit of
respect in beating the two top teams in the
league as their only two victories . The members of the team were AI Brown, Dave Napper,
Howard Bromberg, Jim Frame, Bob Seelig,
Frank Polk, Harry Martin, John Twigg, Ray
McKane, John Wallace, Ray Cave, Dick Haberman.
With the fight for the blazers narrowing
31
�Parslow hnrling
for th e Seniors
clown to three teams (Freshm an CD, Junior
CD, and Seniors) all eyes were turn ed towards
the coming track meet, with everyone feeling
that th e t eam which won supremacy on th e
cinders would al so win th e blazers. For a
change one could see peopl e wandering clown
to the track in preparation for the big day. It
shaped up to be a battle between th e Juniors
and the Seniors with the Freshman given
strong consideration. But, wh en dawn broke
on the clay of the track meet there was a very
clisappoin ting turnout, and th e Seniors failed
to field a stron g team. This small turnout took
away most of the interest from the meet and
th e Juniors proceeded to literall y run away with
the track meet. Personal honors were garnered
by Bob Seelig who won practically every event
possibl e. On the whole it was felt that the
meet was a farce; th e reason being a lack of
gladiators which is not an un common occurrence at St. John 's. The track meet enabled
the Juniors, not to become Seniors, but to win
th e blazers.
by three out of the fi ve competin g teams being
in the playoffs. The season was climaxed by
the class gam es wh ere again th e Juniors won
the series, and proved to the school once more
their athl etic prowess. The softball season
proved most successful in all ways as sportsman ship and attendance were the best of the
year.
Tile Final Sottball Standings
FIRST ROUND
SECOND ROUND
Sophomore CD
Junior CD
Freshman CD
Junior CD
Freshman CD
Seminars AB
Seminars AB
Sophomore CD
Seniors ABCD
Seniors ABCD
Individual \V inn ers
Squash GEORGE D Avrs
Table Tennis D AVE NAPPER
Track Bon SEELIG
Badminton HowARD SHAW
Handball No TouRNAMENT
Tennis INCOMPLETE TouRNAMENT
Several new groups were seen in the gym
this yea r. Both boxin g and wrestling classes
were form ed which m et once a week. It really
was refreshin g to see th ese new groups get
started, because it gave a feeling of real importance to the athl eti c program.
The Outstanding Individual Athletic Performance Award, and with it :J college blazer,
Jim Frame set for a h omer
was given this yea r to Jim Frame.
The year was compl eted with the annual
Senior-Faculty softball game. For the first time
in man y years the faculty won by the score
of 10-7. Thus end ed another year of Athletics
at St. John 's. It proved to all that athletics
could be carried out on an intramural basis and
that it could be successful. \ \Thile at tim es the
situation looked rather dim , th e overall picture
was bright, and th e Athletic department fulfilled its purpose-that of trainin g th e body
while classes train the mind.
JOHN TwiGG AND Bon SEELIG
H arry Martin serves
The Final Track Meet Standings
Junior CD
62
Senior ABCD 13
Freshman CD 30
Sophomore CD 5
With th e com ing of th e spring term, the
fi eld of fri endl y strife turn ed to the softball
diamond . Interest picked up as it usually does
in the spring with quite a few new faces. It
was a fi ve team race th e whol e season, with
Junior CD coming through in the play-offs t o
take the champion ship. T h ere was no outstanding team in competition as is evidenced
32
Smitty, Dutton , Bob, John , and Peter
Of course throughout the year the individual
sports occupied a great deal of interest. With
han dball and squ ash in th e winter and tennis
and badminton in the spring the competition
was very keen .
And meanwh ile, in M cDowell, th e Soph omo res still discuss Shakespeare.
33
�Mrs . Lacey and
Mrs. Flood sing at
'the Library
Christmas Party
Music at St. John's
A DIVISION determines the shape of this article.
Formal music will be treated reportorially; informal music demands somewhat different
treatment.
On November 3rd, a group of musicians
rather affection ately known here as the boys
from Juilliard appeared to devote three days to
performances of string quartet music from
Bach to Schoenberg. In addition to the works
listed above, they played, in The King William
Room, Bach's Art ot the Fugue, Schubert's
A Minor Quartet, one movement from each
of the Schoenberg Quartets, and the Grosse
F ugue of Beethoven, and something else which
slips my mind at the moment. To criticize
their performance without using too many of
the old, overworked adjectives, I would say
they played as musicians of vast experience do
who yet retain their enthusiasm for what th ey
are about. Their weakness, if it can be called
one, li es in their performance of th e later Beethoven Quartets. Somehow these quartets fail
to come to life under their hands, becom ing
more sprawling, loose jointed affairs than they
should be.
34
Somewhat later in the year, a group of extraordinary singers from Majorca appeared to
give a concert of Renaissance Liturgical music
of Italy and Spain, a few folk-songs of Majorca,
and one or two native dances . In addition, this
group sang a few compositions of their director. In all fairn ess, I can only say that the
latter were examples of an odious school of
choral writing which strives for unusual vocal
sounds for no other reason than to show off
the qualities of th e chorus which happens to
be singing them. I am aware that writing of
this sort has a long and sometim es honorable
history; it is clon e well by Josquin de Pres for
instance, but under inept hands such composition becomes "cute" and extremely painful to
listen to .
As a chorus, th e group boasted an excellent
ensemble of voices, well balanced and smoothly
fun ctioning. The women's voices seemed
rather more wiry than they should have been,
but I am inform ed that this attribute is not regarded in E urope as a defect and so pass over
it. The singers were at their best in singing
th eir own folk-songs, at least when these songs
were not too much tampered with by the elirector. Ma jorca n music, clu e to th e position
of Majorca geographi cally, is sometimes a
strange and won derful mixture of ornate Moorishn ess and a more straight-forward European
style.
F rances Jam es, who sings like an angel, paid
the school a visit early in March to present,
appropriately enough, the Marienleben. This
work, by Paul Hindemith, had three virtues
recommending it to our attentions: It was a
major work of one of the greatest of modern
composers and its words were written by one
of the very few German poets whose works are
accessible to non-Teutonic ears. Fortunately
for all concern ed, this concert was the first to
be given in the Great Hall. The sound of Miss
James' voice literally filled the room so that
the listener had th e feeling .of being absorbed
into the music instead of listening to it from
a distance. If the concept of a Medieval dream
of Ma ry coming to life in the Great Hall is not
too difficult to imagin e, the evening could best
be described in that way .
Miss James demonstrated her command of a
diverse repertoire on Sunday of the week end
by singing some settings, by Faure and D ebussy, of French poetry an d some, by Hugo
Wolf, of German poetry. Most rewarding of
all, however, was h er singing of parts of the
first version of th e Marienleben along with
their equivalents in the final version in order
to give some insight into the evolution of a musical thought.
Ralph Kirkpatrick was th e last of our visiting
musicians. Over and above the works previously listed, he played during the succeeding
two clays anoth er fistful of works by Bach, including the Two-Part Inventions, some prelucles an d fugues from the Well-T empered
Clavier, and another dozen or so of those
amazing sonatas of Scarlatti. Mr. Kirkpatrick
and his playing are too well known here to
call for any comment. I will content myself
with reporting what only Mr. Zuckerkandl detected; namely, that, havin g a lapse of memory
in on e of the fugues of the Well-Tempered
Clavier, Mr. Kirkpatrick con tinued playing his
own four-par t fugue until Bach 's return ed to
him some measures later.
T he non-professionals of th e coll ege provided
the music for wha t was labell ed an "Informal"
concert. Actually almost every concert ever
given by studen ts of this college was and
should be call ed an "In formal " concert. They
cannot be any thing else. In practice, however,
th ey always turn out to be dreadfull y form al
affairs at which every one arrives as though
entering church . Messrs. McRaney, Pinsker,
Zuckerkandl, and Cree performed Mozart's
E Bat Piano Quartet; Mr. Henry Wise, Bach's
E minor Partita or Clavier; and th e Chorus,
a Motet an d a Processional H ymn by Palestrina.
T here remain only two other events of the
year to be reported. Georgianna Bannister, a
soprano, and John Gruen, a composer and
pianist, came to give a performance of some
songs written by Mr. Gruen himself. Performancewise the concert was a success. Miss
Ban nister had a clear, well-trained voice, and
was capable of using it to good effect. Mr.
Gruen though a bit h eavy hand ed at times, was
a good accompanist. T he music, however, did
not have much to recommend it. Mr. Gruen 's
compositions did not, as I recall, say anything
that had not been sai d before and said better.
There is a little point, I think, in a mid-twentieth cen tury composer writing music which
would barely have raised the eyebrow of the
middle nineteenth century.
The oth er of the two even ts mentioned
Miss James during one of her informal concerts
�1
\llr. Zuckerkandl and Mr.
K1rkpatri ck discuss Scarlatti
above was Mr. Zuckerkancll's lecture . I call
the three lectures which h e gave one event because, though th eir subj ects may have differed,
all three form part of the same lecture which
might be called, " How to Hear What's There".
The most successful of these lectures, one on
the Seventh Symphony of Beethoven was devoted to a fairl y conclusive demonstration that
Beethoven was trying to do in music what Mr.
Zuckerkandl was in words: to explicate all that
was implicit in one note, or one chord if you
will.
It is one of th e aims of St. John 's to recover and
integra te th e fine arts with the Liberal Arts. It is
to be h oped that by including mu sic in th e curriculum , intellectual light may be transmitted to th em,
and that they may make their refl ected light ava il abl e
to all the classics.
It [St. John 's] agrees wi th a mod ern math ematician who approach es the basic problems of math ematics by comparin g with each other, and distinguishing from each oth er, LangLw ge, Music, and
Mathematics as three modes of symbolic construction
which lie in th e power of th e human mind .. .
It is in the li ght of the foregoing two statements which appear in th e catalogue that one
must consid er th e state of music in th e school
during the past year. Was any intellectual light
transmitted from the Liberal Arts to Music?
If so, was any of that light refl ected? Was
36
Music properly considered as a mode of symbolic construction? In effect, was the wandering Seventh welcomed back into the fold in a
proper manner?
The an swer, of course, is, "Yes and No" . It
must b e said that in the music tutorials music
did indeed get very careful and thorough consideration as a mode of symbolic construction.
Sym bois are understood analytically, and the
music tutorial s differed from no others in the
time spent in analysis and the care taken to
exercise the method. A rather strange phenomenon took place outside the tutorial, however; a ph enomenon which, moreover, did not
take place to nearly the same extent in connection with the other tutorials. Music as a
symbolic construction or indeed as anything
at all save a pleasant vibration of air, was simply
not talked about, or in any case only rarely. It
may be asked, "why not?" I think because a
certain fashionable intellectual attitude mitigated against such discussion. That St. John 's
has towards certain skills attitudes which
change somewhat like fashions do is a proposition which has considerable truth in it. A
rather distinct hierarchy of skills can, I think,
be discern ed, of which the Mathematical is
first, the Linguistic is second, and the Musical
is a rather poor third . In fact, to be regarded
as a musician is not to be rega rded as a liberal
artist at all, but rather as a strange animal wh o
must, for some reason , be tolerated. These
attitudes, I would maintain, are sheer fashion
and rather silly, but they have reason in them .
\Ve have all read the Ion, and the spectacl e
which quite a few musician s and most "Music
Lovers" present is quite (ahem ) Ionic. The
curse of the nineteenth century still lies heavil y
upon us.
\Vhat then , specifically, are the criticisms to
be made concerning the col lege's consideration
of music during the year? First, though one
can say that a lot of music, most of it good,
was heard, one cannot say with much truth
that such music was very carefully listened to.
A certain bovine attitude towards th e musical
art held it no crime to listen to Moza rt while
reading Plato, though, in fact, that act is
roughly equivalent to reading Moliere whil e
hearing a lecture by Leo Straus.
Second, not enough tutors were involved in
the music tutorials. Surel y proper atten tion
on the part of th e tutors could have permitted
the mu sic tutorials to assume their proper relation to the other tutorials and , most importantly, to the seminars. It would certainly seem
advisable that at least as many freshman tutors as possibl e be attending music tutorials
during this period of examination of the relation between music and the liberal arts.
Third, during question periods, where an
intense an d wondering attitud e might have
been expected from the fa culty, th ere was no
sustained consideration of whatever problem
music poses for th e liberal arts. We may allow
them a certain degree of boredom with respect
to problems already di scussed with a generation
of students, but in the face of a n ew direction
of the program, it seemed rather surpri sing that
they did not rise to the occasion. In the fa ce
of this peculiar apathy, it is hard for students
to give such a problem the same consideration
which they are accustomed to give to the more
orthodox aspects of the program.
PAUL CREE
" Mr. Chairman , I present the candidate for th e degree of Bach elor of Arts, Michael
Lee Rourke, to be examined on th e th esis . .. "
37
�JuNE WEEK traditionally b egins with the Variety Show F riday night. But sin ce so many
people decided this year Jun e Week began two
weeks earli er, this account will bow to majority
opinion . T hose seniors who had passed readin g
knowledge examinati ons, orals being over and
the end in sight, decided to institute Jun e
Week two weeks earlier which th ey promptly
p roceeded to do with a party in the Gearin gWildman Pit. And for five or six nights straigh t
(I eventually lost count and gave up ), partyin g
people paraded through G eorge Case's, Jerry
Lansner's and H arry M artin 's rooms, where at
one time or another, with gin and beer fl owin g,
Doug Boyle furni shed hours and hours of high
wit and never-to-be-recovered talkin g songs,
where C offey and Martin previewed a skit that
never did appear in the Vari ety Show, where
H enry Jawish persistently p rovided bagpipe accompaniment, and where Harry and Carolyn
Banks danced the tango. These parti es had to
die and did (to my knowledge) to allow people
respite to prepare for June Week.
On Saturday the seniors tried admirably to
avoid the heat by havin g their cocktail party
outdoors in the Chase-Stone boxwood garden,
but the hea t persisted and was endured. T om
W illiams and Dick E delman worked hard and
resourcefully to concoct a pun ch no one had
ever tasted before or likely would ever taste
again; however, it did make th e occasion memorable and offered many conversa tional openin g like "Wh at are you doing with your pine-
apple?" or "May I get you some ice cream and
fruit pun ch to eat?" or "Look at hi m-h e's
using a potato chip on h is pineapple!" Everyone was well-dressed, if wilted at the collars,
the ladies were lovely in their summer dresses
and hats, the waiters were distant and p rofessional, polite con versation was heard on every
hand, and no one got drunk. T hose who did
not adjourn to the croquet green rushed t o
make supper or another party.
T he next week, to be sure, was not devoid
of parties, but the hecti c pace of the p receding
week was lackin g, and the seniors realized,
some with regret and some with relief, that
this was their last week of classes. After the
fin al seminar on T hursday evening, the juniors,
attempting to maintain the tradition, invited
T he Senior Cocktail Pa rty
the seniors and faculty to the porch of ChaseStone for the Junior-Senior beer party. Everyone came and many stayed, even in th e face of
seemingly sure party failure. T he beers were
flat, foamy, and few and far between, and no
one seemed to be able to do anythin g about
it, in spite of admirable attempts to do so.
evertheless, many stayed and sar1g whil e
others played and still others just talked . No
theses were burned. T he party was not so successful as the one last year, but it was held,
and in view of the rampan t effi ciency around
here these clays, some spontaneous disorganiFoam for the
Foaming
June
being left out of all this backstage intrigue.
M rs. Klein was celebratin g a number of anniversaries- the end of her freshman year, her
first senior class, and her first qu estion in qu estion period where she said "a mouthful"; bu t
on this occasion, no one could doubt that th e
seniors were most important. With champagne
tin gling in th eir heads and such hospitality
warmin g their hearts, th e seniors left th e
Kleins' and walked up Prince George Street.
T he smell of spring rain was everywhere, and
that balmin ess which is Annapolis in the sprin g
made one want to linger a moment. But preparations for th e festi vities of Jun e Week were
in ord er.
By th en the school year had ended. June
W eek is a coda to the life we kn ow at St. John's
the rest of the year. As soon as the parents
and girls begin to arrive, the changes are immediately noticeable. The pace quickens. Rezation hardly seems reprehensible. T o my
lationships change. And the irreversibility of
knowledge, no committee was appointed by
time becomes a brute fact. The leisure, the
the juniors for the party; a few, with fin ancial
tom orrow, the next week are irretrievable; they
have gone. T he unsaid and the undone now
support from the others, just decided that th e
party, of course, should be held, and, as I said,
can be said and done only under the duress of
time. F or some, the end was, as it is supposed
it was .
to be, a beginning; for others, who learned and
The Dean and M rs. Klein entertained th e
loved late, the moment would be stayed. For
seniors with champagne an d with love at the
deanery on F riday, and good will was exudin g
all, looking ahead or looking back, melancholy
from every corner. M rs. Klein spent considor bitter, relieved or regretful, the moment was
erable time with the Variety Show V.I.P .'s
succeeded by another moment, and the new
replaced the old .
offering suggestions, props, and inside stories,
and the Dean could hardl y contain himself,
W here all the people came from no one
seems to know, but when the doors of the
gymnasium were fin ally opened followi ng the
last rehearsal of th e Variety Show, they poured
in and fill ed Iglehart for our boys as well as
" And have you ever noticed how he ... "
th ey had fill ed it for Eleanor Roosevelt. And no
one, save a few perhaps, was sorry he had come.
T hose expert in New Program statistics were
overh eard to exclaim for the Variety Show as
th ey had for "Cranm er", "The best ever"; and
although few students now here had seen more
than one show, hardly anyone would dissent
from the opinion that to have been anywhere
but watching the show that evening would
have been un thinkable. Harry Martin and Jack
Coffey, the obvious sparkplugs of the enterprise, completed their St. John's careers as they
had begun them, as a team, and their talking
Week
At the Dean's Pa rty
�songs and ditties were among the high points
of the show. Suffice it to enumerate some of
the other high points. Milton Perlman as the
alumnus in Paris at the "Cafe Ste. Remo" (no
one seems to know how St. Remus got emasculated) , captivated by Dick Batt's moppish (and
later deflated ) Piaf-type charms, and overcome
by an atmosphere wreaking with gingham,
candles, free love, and gypsy music, Bob Richman persistently providing the latter. Doug
Boyle's "M:nch of Time" commentary, St.
John 's style (and Boyle style too ). Milton's
hilarious take-off on Cranmer; Markowitz outSugging Sugg's skeleton, rubber bones, cape,
leaps and all; Mike Brown, leggy and demure, as
Jo Thom 's Ann; Coffey, with a mouthful of hot
potatoes and a free-wheeling jaw, as Hugh
I\tlcGrath's Cranmer; and Milton, properly attentive and generous with football jerseys as
a beardless Rickolt. Markowitz and W. C. as
the president and clean, processing pompously
and circumstantially, and then Gallagher and
Sheaning one another. The president and the
colonial dames skit, with Hill 's Sinfree Stiff
handshake, handclap, front steps and all; Edel-'
man's Mrs. Kaplan, with more of Brooklyn
than Russia in his accent, immortalizing (twice)
the "less soap, more danger" story; Reilly's Mr.
Kaplan, immortalizing the "making Gretchen
at the spinning wheel" story; Tom Williams'
magnificent colonial dame; and Markowitz as
President Bagel furnishing some intoned oriental wisdom. And then the films (St. John's
seemed to be making up for Hollywood's decline, what with four-at last count-films
turned out over the year) ' risina to Eisenstein.
b
ian heights under the magic touch of Parslow,
Richman, Coffey. Martin, et al., and giving us
such memorable characters as the peasant hero,
the beclerbiecl Dean Uclelsky (hiss the villian)
and poor clone-wrong little Sonya (a little
hearts and flowers music please). It was all
over too soon. A fine evening. Almost all the
twenty thousand people adjourned to the Boat
House where the Cotillion Board provided
beer, recorded music, and no john. Many old
friends had already returned for the week end
and were seen catching up on the school and
catching the school up on them.
Saturday was ideal. Parents, wives, children ,
40
Traband, Bixby, and Mollie
faculty and faculty wives, and those students
whose alarms worked gathered beneath the liberty tree where Jack Coffey as master of ceremonies opened the Class Day exercises. There
was quite a barrage of speakers. Tom Hamilton
delivered his talk on snobs and slobs, which
later caused excitement as reported in the
"Evening Capital". Milton Perlman, deadpan,
delighted everyone with his culinary history of
St. John's, complete with maps and statistical
charts. Doug Boyle gave us an extended account of what he could have talked about and
ended by sounding a note which was being
heard on aU sides, a warning about the price
the college was paying by courting stability
and respectability. The return of Rogers Albritton was looked forward to by his friends ,
his former students, and those who have come
to listen closely to what he has to say. His talk
could hardly have disappointed anyone. He
did not speak for long. Here is what he said:
I should like to say something misleading about
the college in which you have spent four years talking,
about what I think the enterprise in which you have
been engaged, so far as it is a philosophical one,
really is, and why it seems repeatedly to fail , and why
nevertheless it is a good thing to have done and for
other people to do after you. It will have to be misleading, because one has th e choice in trying to say
what someth ing really is of saying what is false or
trivial. The true and unsa tisfying answer is that it
is what it is and not another thing. Four years in
college are four years in college. What it is really to
graduate from St. John 's is really to graduate from
St. John 's. That is the right answer, absolutely safe,
an answer to curl up with and die. The illuminating
answers are all wrong. They are metaphors . This awk-
At the Boat TTouse Beer Bust
ward situation is called being in the cave.
I remember when Scott Buchanan came back and
told us it was time to return to the cave, as if we
had all been somewh ere else. He said the metaphysical enterprise was maybe better dropped , the
historical weather being wrong for it. It seemed to
me at the time a revolting frivolity, to call off the
metaphysical enterprise as though it were a rainedout picnic. And as a matter of fact it still does, but
not because I think now, as I did vaguely then, that
"And m 1939, Roa st Beef was served on Sunday for
the first time."
41
�" I should like to say something misleading .. "
Boyle addresses Class Day Exercises
it is more grandiose and vertical than that. Becoming
wise is not a purgatorial climb, to some pure land scape, neater and more spectacular, less populous,
higher above sea level, where one might settl e clown
if the drones back home weren't in crying need of a
managerial elite.
I think now, with Mr. H amilton as I und erstand
him, that philosoph y is a round trip. The end of it
is where you begin . It is yourself and the people
you love and whatever you happen to be doing that
you want to do, not redecorated or transfigured, but
disclosed. It is like finding something lost more
than it is finding anything out. \Vhat is lost is what
you had, and it is to be found in th e obvious place,
th at is, where you left it.
People come to St. John 's rath er than elsewhere,
though people go to other colleges for this reason
too, beca use they are estranged from what is m ost
familiar, most known. It lies there in a disorderl y
heap . They want it to be togeth er, to look intelligible, to look right. They want not just information ,
but insight. They are like someone who, having
known Sylvia for years, nevertheless asks one clay,
" Who is Sylvia, what is she?" .
She is Sylvia, of course, a girl of a certain height
with eyes of a color which can be numbered in the
Ostwald color notation . And so on, until everyone
has had enough of the fa cts about Sylvia and some
might think th e question was answered, what she
was. But it wasn't that kind of ques tion, th e answer
to which one ca n offer to find out by calculation or
experim ent or looking Sylvia up in th e Social Register
or asking her. It was a philosopl1ical question, a
kind that does not invitl': any finite investiga tion . It
is meant to be talked about, like th e qu estions, "Am
42
I reall y in love?" or " Vl hat is tragedy? " . But talked
about for how long? It used to be said that St.
John 's was a talking campus. T alking was intended
to be contrasted with writing, but the remark makes
anoth er contrast too, with silence. I think many
people graduate fr om four years of the talk which
most sharply distin guishes this from other colleges
feeling that it is high time everyone shut up. Others
are apparently prepared to talk forever. T he truth
is, in lea rning as in making love, the conversa tion
ca n go on too long. How to stop it is the great
problem. Or rather-since it is easy enough to stop
a conversation, as any seminar will exemplify-how
freely to let it stop, to let it go, and turn to what
it was about, the world in which of course people
do , among other things, converse. It is in this last
ta ct, of letting the stud ent go and enabling him to
Jet go, that St. John 's has always profoundl y failed.
Grad uating is an exit and a return that is usually
made, if at all , wi thout the college's help, for it has
always been more or less und er the delusion that its
task was to transport people in some privileged direction which is customarily figured as "up".
It should not be obscured by all this imagery of
round trips that St. John's is a place where people
instruct (people, by the way, not books) and other
people are taught things th ey did not know before.
Certainly th ey ca me for that, th ough they might
have gone elsewhere, and certainl y it is important.
Or if yo u like, the liberal arts are important. But
th eir importance is enti rely contin gent on th e other
thin g happening too, which is not got by any stand ard techniqu e nor given by one, th ough it can sometim es come about by love. The other thing does
not begin here often enough. There is no reason to
expect it to get very far here, b ut it ought to begin ,
sometime toward the encl. It ought to begin to be
d ea r that th e proper object of th e philosophic eros
is not any truth about th e world, but a way of
being in th e world, this one and not another one,
and that th e point of trying to talk your way out
of th e logos, to cross by talking what F. H . Bradley
called the intolerable ga p between truth and reality,
is to find that it cannot and need not be clone.
Talking and what is talked about will not be kept
togeth er by a more inclusive talk that is about both.
vVhat includes th em is silence. It is this silence
wh ich must be reached; but it is nothing strauge,
and reaching it is easy, in th e way that after long
puzzling sudd enl y there is no puzzle. It is th e silence
in which you are aware that everything is, after all,
what it is and was all along, and that you have graduated.
How should one go about leaving this college?
I have not clone it yet, but th ere is a wonderful saying of Confu cius: "The way out is via th e door; why
is it no one will use this meth od?"
Mr. Kieffer was the main speaker of the day.
I have selected what I think is th e substance
of his speech . He said:
The Class Day speaker at St. John 's is trad itionall y
the voice of th e outside world-the town rather than
the gown. As well as I can I shall try to speak in
that tradition. \\!here th e Commencement speaker
says, " You are going into a world which . .. ," I
today must say, " You are comin g into a world, which
. .. etc." But what can I tell you of th e world you
are coming into? I haven't th e face to offer yo u inspirational generalities. \ Ve have been too long together and from th e look-o ut of our ivory tower we
have seen too well the nea r and distant landscape for
me to gloss things over attractively for you. But I
haven' t the practical knowledge to give you a fa ctual
description of yo ur world . From the beginning of
time, however, everyone has had to lea rn about the
world he lives in for himself, so that my inability to
tell you about it will do you no harm .
\\!hat I ca n do is talk to you about two activities
I am now engaged in in th e outside world; to try to
interest you in them by giving my reason for them
and also to show how they are related to each other.
These two activities are the movement for World
Government and the Adult Ed uca tion Program of
St. John 's College.
Two yea rs ago in my Commencement address, I
could point to the shattered post-war world and call
upon the graduating class to start building it anew.
The events of the last two years have dampened the
optimism we all felt th en. It seems as if we must
probe pretty deep to find again th e fou ndation on
which to build.
Neither the movement for vVorld Government nor
the Adult Educa tion program is this foundation , but
separately and together th ey point toward it. They
are directed toward a world of peace and freedom ,
of law and justice. The mom ent the people of the
world really desire to live in such a world and learn
how to do so, they will find themselves living in it.
The World Government movement acts to tell people there is such a world. Adult Education is primarily a mea ns of stud ying th e evidence for such a
world in the experience of our culture. The founda tion on which to build is the nature of man, a being
of passion capable of reason .
The world Repuhlic ca n come about in our genera·
tion if we desire it and und erstand it.
The first step to understanding is, once more, an
understanding of sovereignty. The last few centuries
have seen sovereignty so continually in what Hobbes
calls the posture of defense, that we have come to
identify the two. But this is a fall acy. Sovereignty
is essentially the ability to manage our own affairs.
And what are our own affairs? Those that we are
best fitted to manage. In human society sovereignties
merge into one another and limit each other in an
ascending scale. The free man is he who knows what
he can do for himself and when, in one of Winkie
Barr's phrases, 'To call in the neighbors.' The free
man is sovereign of himself and a participant in local
and national sovereignty where these are able to do
for men what they cannot do for th emselves . Since
in th e One World Republic we participate in affairs
in common with our fellow earthlings, there lies th e
fin al sovereingty-final in th e sense of most extensive.
But since government is of men, th e sovereignty of
th e free man as individual is final intensively and
ultimately. The art of politics, as examin ed in th e
Republic, is th e planning and crea ting of the proper
balance between these two poles of sovereignty.
Hobbes was so terribly wrong, when seeing the Leviathan as artifi cial man, he forgot that the artificer man
was its sovereign and reversed th e fundam ental relationship, while Plato, as usual, was right in showing,
through the Myth of Er th e son of Arm enius, that
43
�every man, by his eschatological choice, took part in
the making of th e Republic.
So now I may say that the building of the vVorld
Republic turns back to th e building of the free man.
You may think that you can secede from the world re·
public by ordering your life to narrow personal ends.
Some men try to forget their wo rld citizenship in
just making a living for th eir families. These people
find sooner or later th at th ey have not left the world .
They are still members of the republic, but not free
citizens of it. T hey have become slaves, efficient no
doubt, to an end th ey have not chosen and do not
understand . Such men end destroyed by th e brute
dictators their lack of vigilance let come t o power.
In their fru stration th ey lavish h ysterical adulation on
the fuehrers who rise by their enslavement. vVe see
intimations of this happening today, in our own
country.
It is to fight this happening that I welcomed th e
appointment as Director of Adult E ducation, and
I ask you to join with me in this battle. I cann ot
withdraw from th e world. I am not a mystic. Like
most America ns I am hopeful. I want to preserve
th e good that America has inherited and the good
that it has made. I believe th at the essence of this
good is individual sovereignty and that this essence
exists by educa tion and political democracy. There·
fore, I accept the St. John 's principles of adult edu·
cation and will be guided by them in th e program
I will recommend .
Let me try to state th e principles as I understand
th em, th ough th ey are familiar to you and are not
new discoveries of St. John 's.
I put first Kant's statement of an old principle, that
every man is an end in himself. T his principle is
applied in th e St. John 's seminar, as in all good
teaching. It permits th e development of a thinking
individual. It checks the intellectual pride that cor·
rupts many teachers and th e beastly arrogance of
political dictators.
The second principle, which properl y sh oul d be
put first, is th e Platonic principle that there is some·
thing to think about. I express this neutrally beca use,
as an educa tor, I must not prejudice the conclusion
to which the stud ent may come in his think ing.
D ogma is not th e business of educa tion. But I will
assert, as a man, that this thing is not our own
thinking and not the irrational flux of things.
From John D ewey I borrow a third principle.
This is that thinking goes on in a social context and
modifi es that context . I do not foll ow Dewey in his
use of this principle to deny the releva nce of Plato
or any other thinker of the past to the problems of
th e present, in th e genetic fallacy, in short. H ere I
would follow \ Vhitehead in his practice of linking
his thinking to th e past, by fashioning his technical
vocabulary from the term s of his predecessors. The
main principle, however, of the social context does
not entail th e genetic fallacy and is fund amental for
adult educa tion.
44
It is fundamental beca use adult educa tion, as we
conceive it at St. John 's, is not a mea ns to th e ac·
qu iring of cul t ural prestige. Ad ult ed uca tion in its
beginning was taken to be a means of giving t o un·
derprivileged ad ults th e educa tion t hey missed in
th eir youth in order to help th em get ahead in the
world . It had about it th e smug odor of self-improve·
ment. T o us, ad ult ed uca tion is th e opportunity for
refl ection and refreshm en t th at thinking beings need
in ord er to fun ction in society. It is a cooperative
activity of a social group and th wa rts th e se p ~ ra ti on
of thinking and acti on th at is visible today as in the
well marked division between th e unthinking adulators of M acArthur and th e edu ca ted people's support
of T ruman. Adult educa ti on is capable then of
leading to a recognition of political co rrelation be·
tweeen the self-sovereignty of th e free man and the
world sovereignty of a free world.
Awhil e ago I called this a correlation between an
ex tensive sovereignty and an intensive one. I have
so far placed it, by implication at least, in the present
and future. T he political links between the individual
and the world republic are institutions, existing and
yet to be built. But this statement leaves out of ac·
co unt th e tradition that has given us our instituti ons.
E mbodied in G rea t Books it is this rich chain of
traditions that educa tes us for th e constructive use
of our institutions and th e progressive building of
the new ones we need.
Our Adult E duca ti on Program, therefore, brings
together th inkers and things th ought abou t in th e
context of political institutions with G reat Books as
guides. As people who must live in different seg·
ments of society, peopl e differentiated by age or sex
or occupation or even language can be brought to·
gether in the comm on ground of reason . T he adult
seminar may grow into a Town Meeting, as it did
here in Annapolis a few years ago. It may become
a local forum where th e proposals of groups like th e
Uni ted \ Vorl d Federalists may be stud ied . And
always it may be an avenu e of ideas leading back to
Plato.
I hope, as I said, you will enroll as co ntinuing
members of th e St. John 's Adult Program. W herever
yo u go, you ca n start seminars or join our cousins th e
G rea t Books F oundation in th eir seminars. You can,
most certainl y, continue your ed uca tion in the ways
and with th e purposes I have outlin ed . We have
had four yea rs togeth er in what has been a happy
associati on for me. I hope through this plan we may
continue in close associati on in th e outside world
you are coming into for many years to come.
More people were arrivin g. Parents, girls,
old friends, alumni. The Jun e Week pilgrimage to Ann apolis was reaching its peak. For
the aftern oon th ere was softball, swimming,
sailing, partying, preparing. The fa culty
trimm ed th e softball-playing seni or class. There
Mr. Crawford at bat in th e
Senior-Faculty Ballgame
were the usual sore muscles, but no one got
drunk. The game this year was more of a game
an d less of a circus.
\ ,Yhil e the rest of th e college picknicked on
the back campus, th e seniors were the guests
of the President at the Open Door. Present
were th e seniors, of course, and those faculty
members who had taught the class, and two
"observers" from the press . The speaker's table
was resplendent in proper and seasonal attire.
The dinner had the appearance of any stag
dinner until the toasts began , and then it immediately assum ed its individuality. It became
a St. John 's senior dinner. Mr. Bingley and
George T hrasher were the official toasters by
common consent. Subsequently began a barage of toasts, some motivated by pure, unabashed sentimentality, some by bitterness,
T he Touchstone toasts l AB
"And in this class, we have . .. "
some by good humor and win e, some by a
feeling that something should be said and this
was th e last chance, and some by obviously
deep conviction . The D ean toasted "The student almost as old as St. John's-Perlman!"
Joe Hollywood : "On behalf of the softballplaying members of the faculty, to the senior
class, for gentlemanly and humane conduct."
Don Koontz : "To our teachers, who have
taught us what work can be." Mr. Bart's tribute : "To Winfree, who has taught us what it
really means to be a St. John's tutor and student." Tom \,Yilliams : "To the re-establishment of the Golden Age and our touchstone
with th at Age . . ... . Mr. Kieffer. " Mr. Kieffer's
toast to Seminar lAB. Dick E delman's description of "the drawin g together of the class
in the last two weeks" and toast : "To the
45
�I Jalf.l\llast Toast for '' the end of
masculinity . . . "
Great tutors at St. John 's" in which toast every
tutor joined, so Mr. Klein proposed: "To that
unknown tutor." Herman Small's toast: "To
the Way." Mike Brown's: "To Blair Kinsman's
endurance at being a tutor four years in a row
in the same seminar with me." Washburn: "To
the new heating plant." Bixby: "To the unfortunate ones who never had Mr. Kaplan as
a teacher," and ''to Winfree's mint julep garden." The evening closed, as the wine ran out,
with Mr. Klein's traditional toast to the Republic: "l) The Republic of Letters, 2) Plato's
Republic, 3) the Community of Learning, and
4) the American Republic."
The June CotiHion was no coti11ion, but
then it never was, and as far as I could see, no
Harry and Mrs. K. let loose
46
one could have cared less. \iVhat can be said
about it? I remember less than I should.
Champagne-that's what I remember. More
champagne than I have ever seen. Enough champagne! At Charley and Helen Wade's, furnished so generously by Larry Elfenbein and
Charley Lewis, at the Dean's table at the dance,
in a glass in Winfree's hand, hidden in automobiles, bringing a sparkle to my girl's eyes,
warming my heart for everyone. We aU danced,
laughed, felt sad, talked seriously, began more
sentences than ordinarily with, " I've been wanting to teH you . .. ", drove faster or more carefu11y, slept a bit, and saw the dawn . Most of
us were immoderate. But please, no apologies.
Baccalaureate services have been recently the
object of considerable soul-searching, harangue
and disagreement. Although the issue was debated at length, nevertheless, the service was
held this year, but under different circumstances from other years. It was not in town .
It was not an Episcopal service. The speaker
was not someone unfamiliar with St. John's and
St. John 's men. It was held in our Great Hall,
and the speaker was our Kyle Smith, an d, for that
matter, music was furnished by our chorus. If an
obviously non-Christian coHege is to continue
the institution of baccalaureates-and it is well
to remember that there are some Christians in
the student body and on the faculty-this
year's arrangement was clearly more satisfac-
The crowd begins to
arrive at the June
Cotillion
tory, if only from the point of view that the
sermon, in addition to its being a sermon, had
something of St. John 's in it and was directed
to St. John 's studen ts . I emphasize this particular aspect, that of the peculiarity of a St.
John 's audience-and an one had to do was
look around to see how many were listening
and how few were worshipping-because the
sermon at this school does have a didactic function to perform which, if ignored or overlooked,
can neglect or ostracize a segmen t of people
sincerely interested in or perhaps close to
Christianity. Mr. Smith did not ignore or
overlook these people. It has happened before.
At the same time, one was always aware that
he was a Christian preaching the teachings of
Jesus Christ. His texts had an appeal about
them not purely Christian but general enough
to be a plea for the religious life as opposed to
the philosophic life. (This theme was to reoccur before the week end was over.)
The New Testament furnished the two texts
he used: "But they themselves measuring
themselves by th emselves and comparing themselves with themselves are without understanding." II CoR. 10:12 and, "Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is
perfect." MATT. 5:48. Speaking of making the
command of God manageable, Mr. Smith said,
It appears ... that when one is thinking in terms
of man over against God, much that we have clone
by way of objectivity is false for it turns out to be
man looking at himself from his own standpoint.
He suggested examples of man's attempt to
manage the command: ritual, morality, and
theology:
The happiest man at the Dance
�Doug and Harry take a brea th er
Ritual can be used wrongly ... when it becomes
superstitious. It can become a most subtl e measuring
of man by him self, and this, prophets and historians
have been well aware of. Morality is another attempt
by man to manage the command . In its more naive
form , it presents itself as th e customs of a tradition
or civilization or a phase thereof under religious sa nction s. . . . Criticism ranging from papal encyclicals
to Karl Marx seems to agree that it lacks ob jectivity
and cannot be s ubs titub~cl for true perfection .
Reason alone and even revelation and the
letter rather than the spirit can all stand between Man and God.
Th e Sermon on th e Mount is the classic statemen t
of this distinction between letter and spirit and th e
ultimate condemnation of this attempt to make perfection manageable.
The systems and creeds of theology,
our recognition of the problem and our attempts
at its solution become great barriers to the obedience
required of us.
To be confronted with God in the flesh , to be
forever disturbed by this impossible criticism and
this tremendous clemancl, this man would fain escape.
And yet this is the only resolution possible for the
Christian . . . . Christ is the measure of our need if
we seek to live in the memory of his record ed life.
. .. Christ is the measure of God's love. Can there
be any more profound recogniti on of respect for us
on the part of God than to elwell among us and
make his case for himself as he did ? . . . Christ is
the measure of our worth . . . . Vanity and pride,
cyn icism and despair, however precious they may be
to us, are impossible und er this measure.
In this valley of the shadow which we are at present passing through , and I am at a loss to know
when, without God, it ca n be referred to otherwise,
(Christia n ) hope (which is the measure of possibility ) seems to be singularl y out-of-place and unrealistic. Especially since by a demonic process we
are being attracted to this darkness and are on the
verge of the awful sin of being proud of the terrible
situation which man in th e greatness of his own
spiritual blindness has brought upon him self. . . .
God has given himself to us in the fulln ess of time,
has placed us as men in an inescapable crisis, in a
crisis which has both preserved and enhanced our
dignity, a crisis beca use our need , his love, our worth
and our possibilities are its judgments; then Christ
is also the measure of our gratitude and service. If
this is our gratitude, then our service will have the
sublimity which such service always reflects. We will
not be conscious of it, and , under the grace of God,
it will be redemptive-more th an this we cannot
ask.
Monday morning, wasn't everyone, except
the parents who had just arrived, quieter, a bit
more serious? Winfree was. He had demonstrated once again the night before his superb
capacity for frolicking with the students only
to turn around commencement morning and
These three attempts may lead to
the falla cy of knowing where the Devil is or, more
accurately, of knowing that th e Devil is outside ourselves . . . We forget that evil is always and only
to be recognized in term s of what is good ... . ' Ve
must literall y ignore the D evil , leave him out of our
calculations, act with God's help as if (the Devil )
were not. . . . In direct proportion to our certainty
as to th e Devil's being outside ourselves will be our
failure to understand th e perfection of God . . .
the forces of the D evil are never more threa tening
than when we are sure we are fighting th em .
The resolution was, of course, Christ. Measure and comparison must be made in terms of
the Incarnation.
48
Mrs. Z. puts in her h alf hour
The Seniors process
teach in the way that must be harkened to .
His entire address follows.
Every St. John 's stud ent, or nea rl y every St. John 's
st ud ent, has not spen t many clays on this campus
before he und ergoes the experien ce of being and of
feeling him self lost. His stronges t opinions are chal lenged . lie has difficulty findin g reasons w ith whi ch
sons, he soon beto defend th em . Or, findin g re:1
com es aware that those reasons themselves are but
opinions. The very foundations of his though t and
action are threatened. H e is lost. The experience
that I am describing is, of co urse, th e b eginning of
edu ca tion. Immature, un considered, often wrong
opinions have to be opposed, corrected, sometimes
destroyed if they are to be replaced b y mature, consiclerecl, and perhaps right opinions. But it appears
to me that the students sense of being lost goes
deeper th an that. It would be a wond erful thing if
in each case it were simpl y a m atter of replacing a
wrong opinion wit h a right one, or even a less adequate one with a more adequate one. It wo uld b e
ind eed a wonderful thing if our teach ers from Homer
to John D ewey co uld , with th e help of th e various
ways we have devised to listen to th em, effect this
transformation of opi ni ons. l t ca nnot be doubted
that in large measure th ey do. The books that we
read h ere and on which we base our curriculum are
all so mauy glitter ing sta rs, of varying magnitude
to be sure, in a firm ament more glorious than the
one we see with our eyes. By th eir light we see things
that we never saw before. · But b ehind th eir light is
darkness. They answer some qu esti ons that th ey
ra ise, but th ere are m any more that they do n ot
answer. Together I suppose they raise nea rl y all of
the major qu estions that have confronted men. '\' e
place an extremely h eavy demand upon the St. John 's
student when we ask him in th e space of four years
to deal responsibl y with th e major questions that
have presen ted themselves to th e human race over
thousands of yea rs. That h e gets los t is no ca use
for wonder.
Moreover, th ese stars often appear as different and
mutuall y exclusive worlds or parts of wo rld s. Probably none of th em has a claim to be a whol e world.
Probabl y not all of them together can claim to be a
whole world. For, no doubt, there is something that
each of th em singly leaves out and that all of th em
together leave out. But th ere are som e which have
a better claim than oth ers to being w·hole worlds.
T he world of Plato and Aristotl e (which with som e
qualifi ca tion s is th e sa me world ), the world of the
Bible and th e traditi on \Vhich depend s on it, th e
world of T h omas Hobbes, th e wo rld of Immanuel
Kant, and perhaps oth ers, ha ve such a better claim.
These worlds have a gre<lter comprehensiveness in
relation to th e range of problems with which th ey
deal and reach a grea ter depth in the handling of
those problem s. Sometimes th e stud ent clecicles to
make him self at hom e in one of them. A man does
not like to remain in th e un comfortabl e state of
having no h ome. But th e home, in order to he a
h ome, mu st sa tisfy. A man must be able to find in
it m eaning for hi s existence; for the thinking man
this means that h e must b e able to find m ea ning
for th e whole of existence; since the thinking m an
makes th e problem s of th e whol e of existence his
own problems. T he St. John 's st ud ent seld om ch ooses
to make his home in , say, Gilbert's trea tise on th e
magnet, h owever informative it may b e with respect
to its own particular subj ect .
Unhappily, however, wh en th e student has mad e
hi s home in one of these splendid worlds and is surveying the wonderful order and harmon y of his possessions, there is inevitably someon e who is taking
a pickaxe to the foundation. Or perhaps a flood
comes and sweeps the whol e thing away. When
that happens, th e stud ent may salvage a few planks
and cling to them to save him self from drowning;
but a few planks tossed on an un certain sea are no
hom e. Once more, the stud ent is in the position of
not knowing where h e is; h e is lost.
So far, this sense of b eing lost, h owever painful
it may be, ha s been desc ribed only in t erm s of th e
growing knowledge of one's own ignorance or as the
perplexity that is a part of the process of lea rning.
But I believe that this sense of being lost is more
than that and that it is intimately connected with
th e time in which we live. The first half of th e
twentieth century has seen not only destru ction of
hum an life on a larger scale th an ever before. but
also the destruction of human traditions, human
morality, human beliefs. D estru ction of human traditions, change of human morality, correction of
human b elief can , of course, be made in the nam e
of reason. But the destruction th at h as been t aking
place has not b een mad e in the nam e of reason . It
is partly the result of circum stances but also partly
the result of deliberate choice of certain m en in the
nin eteenth century to take their stand not on reason,
and certainl y not on faith , but on nothing. This
point of view has tou ch ed our own souls so that
49
�" .. most evid ence of leadership m the service
we are not only lost but despair of seeing any meaning in "finding" or " being found ". To you who are
now leaving St. John 's let me, th en, first recommend
"conservatism" as an intellectual and moral attitude.
Lest my use of this word be misunderstood let me
hasten to say that I do not mean to recommend
th at which is happening among college youth on
so many ca mpuses, namely a withdrawal from free
discussion of controversial political and economic
issues for fear of the accusa tion of communism . I
should hope and expect that yo u would always have
minds free from such fear, free to consider without
prejudice, among other things, the argument against
capitalism to see what there is of truth or falsity
in it. It is that kind of freedom that is the tru e
meaning of "liberalism ". Such liberalism is not incompatible with the so rt of conservatism about which
I am speaking. vVhat I mea n is that it is an obligation of reason to "conserve" opinions. morality, tra clions, institutions . But while it is fulfilling its prior
obligation , it must conserve th e things that it is
considering, criticizing, and examining. Otherwise,
it will have nothing to consider, criticize, and examine; and since th e argum ents of reason are so often
inconclusive, reason, if it follows my advice, will
always continue to do quite a bit of "conserving" .
The second thing that I would like to recomm end
to you is something for which I had to do considerable arguing in my last Freshman seminar, and
that 's " madn ess". It is well known that everybody
at St. John 's is mad . I hope that you will all continue to be a little bit mad. I say, "a little bit" ,
beca use, as I think I should warn yo u, society won 't
allow yo u to be more than a little mad . vVithout
madness you will never rise above th e level of th e
accepted and the commonplace.
This madness is, of course, the second of th e two
kinds of love that Plato speaks of in th e Phaedrus .
It is th e kind of love without which philosophy
would be impossible. What I am recomm ending,
then , is a kind of love, that is to say, a passion.
W e often hear it sa id that it is the mark of an ed uca ted man to be able to transcend th e passions, to
examin e things di spassionately; and that is undoubtedly true. And yet there is a kind of dispassionateness, a kind of cold detachm ent that is as unphilosophic
as the slavery of the mind to lust or ambition. 1
hope that you will always be in love with the truth .
And by " th e truth " I don't mean necessarily any·
thing abs tract and far distant. I may illustrate m y
meaning from an old movie called "Th e Gold Rush ".
In that movie Charlie Chaplin and anoth er comedian
run out of food in the Klondike. The other man,
if l remember correctl y, begins to see Charlie Chap·
lin as a chi cken. Now, obviously, h e loves Charlie
Chaplin ; but it is a love that is on the level with
lust or ambition, a black horse love, if yo u will, which
would do violence to the object of the love. If he
had loved Charlie Chaplin for what Charlie Chaplin
is rather than for what he saw him as, th en h e would
have had what I mean by th e love of the truth. By
the love of the truth I mean the love of Charlie
Chaplin for what he is or th e love of any man for
what he is or the love of a tree or a star for what
it is.
The third thing that I have to recommend (or is
it the fourth? ) is something closely akin to the preceding, something about which I once gave a lecture,
and that's " wonder" . 'Vander has th e same sort of
respect for its object as the love that I was talking
about. Wonder wants to keep its object th e way it
is. Wonder approaches its object with awe. 'Vander
does not want to put its object to base uses. But
the main point about wonder is that it contains th e
" Now obviously h e loves Charlie Chaplin . . "
" It is well -known that everybod y at St. John 's is mad."
recognition that, no matter how much is seen in a
thing or in a word, th ere is always more to be seen .
Wonder preserves th e mystery of things at the sa me
time that it stirs us to explore th e m ystery. Modern
math ematics and math ematical ph ysics sometim es
tempt us to forget that th ere is anythi\1g other than
what's contained in their symbols and equation s.
vVond er is th e reminder th at the symbol is not th e
thing and that there's much more in th e thing than
in the symbol. May I invite you, th en , to cultiva te
wonder?
It appears that th e life that I have in mind for you is
the philosophic life. I should have to admit th at
that is the case. For in some way I am speaking to
yo u not in my own person but in th e person of St.
John 's College, and it seems to me that insofar as
St. John 's College stands for any kind of life, it
stand s for the philosophic life, where th e adj ective
" philosophic" is to be interpreted in the broadest
sense. By that I only mea n that St. John 's College
is devoted to th e end of leading yo ung men (and
hereafter young wo men ) to understanding and, if
it may be, knowledge. I do not mea n th at St. John 's
is devoted to the promul g~tio n of any particular
philosophical doctrines, wheth er th ey be th ose of
Plato or Leibniz or H egel or John D ewey. Indeed
both the age in whi ch we li ve and the principles to
which we adh ere make it impossible for us to take
fo r granted any philosoph y or philosophic sys tem.
Every philosophy is onl y a more or less coherent
bod y of opinion which has first to be und erstood
and then to take its chan ces in whatever tes ts our all
too inadequate discussions m~ y put it to. The en·
terprise is always governed by the h ope of adding to
our und erstauding or our kn owledge. And wh en I
say that l h ave th e philosophic life in mind for you,
all that I mean is that I hope that yo u will continue,
insofar as your several occupati ons may allow, to serve
the end s for which this coll ege exists, i. e. to seek
unders tanding and knowledge. It is often charged
against us that we are an ivory tower. I should
admit it; onl y I should not admit that it is a charge.
It wo uld onl y be a charge if we were under the illusion that we have none of th e political responsibility
about which Mr. Kieffer was speaking to you on Saturday. W e are responsibl e for th e world in which
we live. And this is tru e, by th e way, even if this
world has become a kind of Frankenstein over which
reason has no control. Still , th e ivo ry tower as such
is good b eca use und erstandin g and knowledge are
th emselves sweet. I h ope that, no matter h ow burdened yo u may be with th e responsibilities of the
world , you will keep something of the ivory tower
in your lives.
If I were to speak to you in m y own person, I
should h ave to talk not about th e phil osophic life
but ab out th e Christian life, beca use from m y point
of view the Christian life is til e only life; and if the
philosophic life is to have worth , it must find its
worth in relation to the Christian life. I should
speak again of the sense of being lost, of th e sense of
futility which is not just part of th e pain of lea rning,
but b elongs to th e mood of our time; and I sh ould say
that it is th e consequ ence of man 's alienation from
God. I sh ould invite you to base your lives not finall y
on reason, but on faith , and on reason onl y insofar as it
serves faith . I should speak to you of th e mighty acts
"Congratulations"
51
50
•
�But if St. John 's assists Christians or non -Christians
to such understandings, that only means that its
purpose, our common purpose, upon which we all
agree, is understanding and knowledge, if that may
be. And so I am speaking to yo u not as a Christian
minister, but as a tutor of St. John 's College who,
because he is or would like to be, a C hristian, is
particularly concerned to call Christianity to your
<
lttention. I hope that you feel that it has been good
for you to be h ere. If we who have b een yo ur
teach ers have clone you any good, we are glad. And
if we h ave clone you any harm, we hope that you will
forgive us.
The G rand Buffet ...
of God, of the creation of the world, of the giving of
th e law, of the coming of Jesus Christ, of the promises
of th e Gospel.
In saying these things I should b e saying only
what I think is true. But I would h ave to say them
only in my own person because they are not things
that are agreed upon between us. From the point
of view of St. John 's College the Christian religion
may b e all that it claims to b e, that is to say, the
one revelation exclusive of all the others. It may be
the only secure world in which man may make his
home. But on th ose questions St. John 's College cannot and does not pronounce. The Christian religion
like, for exa mple, one of its major rival s, th e Platonic
philosophy, h as to take its chances in argument.
The very great service that St. John 's can do for
a Christian, and I think has clone for me, is to bring
the Christian to a clearer understanding of what
Christianity is. T hat is an immense service, for most
people wh o today call them selves Christians for fail·
ing to und erstand Christianity confuse it with some·
thing that it is not, with , say, philosoph y or (something which should not be mentioned in the same
brea th ) th e American way of life. The Christian
way of life is certainl y not the American way of life.
Administration
l\1R. BARTON
MISS STRANGE
TREASURER
REGISTRAR
T he ceremonies over, all adjourned to the
Dining Hall for Miss Alexander's final luncheon . Introductions were heard on every hand,
and so were goodbyes. After the meal, people
began to leave and by mid-afternoon only a
few last minute packers and the summer colony
remained. Then the jungle that is Annapolis
in the summer began to close in, and all became quiet.
G . MILLER.
MR. WEIGLE
PRESIDENT
MR. ZUCKERKANDL
MR. KIEFFER
TUTOR
TUTOR
DIRECTOR OF MUSIC
DIRECTOR OF ADULT EDUCA TIO N
... to be ea ten in the Sun .
l'vl R. SLAFKOVSKY
MR. KLEIN
TUTOR
M ISS FLETCHER
DEAN
LIBRARIAN
DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS
52
MR. KRAMER
MISS ALEXANDER
BOOKSTORE AND PR INTING
•
DIETITIAN
MR. GRAFF
ASSISTANT DEAN
�MR. LOGAN
MR. SCOFIELD
THE REV. KYLE Sl\IITH
Faculty
MR. KINSMAN
MR. SATTERTHVlAITE
MR. SLOANE
Members
MR. KAPLAN
THE REV . WINFREE SMITH
MR. SHAW
MR. BI GLEY
MR. DARKEY
MR. WRA Y SMITH
MR . FAIRBANKS
MR. THOMS
54
MR. ALBA
MR . CRAWFORD
MR. HAMMERSCHMIDT
MR . HOLLYWOOD
MR. McGRATH
MR. BART
55
�THOMAS JosEPH \iVILLIAMs
I-IARRY JosEPH MARTI~
DoNALD AcKER BROWN
RoBERT NoRl\IAN RICHMAN
I JERMAN
JOHN JosEPH CoFFEY
RAYMO D PETER STARKE
56
ERNEST
\i\1 OLFRAM J
-JA
SMALL
KAMER
57
�DouGLAS GRANT BoYLE
JEROME G . LANSNER
VhLLIAM ALLE
BROWN
WILLIAM CuRWF.N DAvis
MICHAEL LEE RouRKE
PETER ANTHONY \iVHIPPLE
JAMES HARTWELL FRAME
58
GEORGE BARTON CASE
59
�ANTON GYSBERTI HARDY, JR.
RoBERT LAVERNE PARSLow
RoBERT SHERMAN HILL
GEORGE CHARLES THRASHER, JR.
THOMAS JEFFERSON I-IAMILTON
STEWART ALEXANDER WASHBURN
HuMPHREY RICHARD BrxBY
60
JoHN KENNETH LucAs
61
�ALFRED PHILIP FRANKLIN
GEORGE WEND
DAviD CoRBIN STREETT,
II
JoHN FRA cis HoRNE, JR.
RoNALD LEE SIMMONS
JAMES MICHAEL REILLy
Loms Do ALD Koo Tz
62
RicHARD JoHN BATT, JR.
63
�RrcHARD
Tom
EDELMAN
STEWART BARWICK 1\llcRANEY
MrLTON
64
PERLMAN
��
Dublin Core
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Title
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Yearbooks
Description
An account of the resource
This collection contains yearbooks from St. John's College in Annapolis, MD. Yearbooks are sometimes referred to as the "Rat Tat", "Cicerone", or "Canvas". This collection includes all published yearbooks since 1896. Please note that yearbooks were not published every year.<br /><br />Holdings: <br />1896 v. 1<br />1898 v. 2 - 1899 v. 3<br />1901 v. 4 – 1912 v. 15<br />1914 v. 17 – 1918 v. 21<br />1920 v. 22 – 1945/1946<br />1947 – 1951/1953<br />1957<br />1982<br />1986 – 1990/1991<br />1992 – 2001/2002<br />2015/2016 – 2017/2018<br />2021/2022 - 2022/2023<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="Yearbooks" href="http://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=21">Items in the Yearbooks Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Annapolis, MD
Contributor
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St. John's College Greenfield Library
Identifier
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yearbooks
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
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paper (bound book)
Page numeration
Number of pages in the original item.
64 pages
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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yearbook 1951
Description
An account of the resource
St. John's College Yearbook for the year 1951.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Miller, Jr., George B. (editor)
Heineman, Paul T. (assistant editor)
Udel, Bernard (photography editor)
Publisher
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St. John's College
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Annapolis, MD
Rights
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St. John's College owns the rights to this publication.
Type
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text
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pdf
Language
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English
Identifier
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1951
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1951
-
https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sjcdigitalarchives/original/c43849823eb015d9d0620f05f772d66f.pdf
9b47c13616bfe29854bda5966ffdd045
PDF Text
Text
�·~
·'
I
i
~~
I
~
year 00
photographs by Bernard Udel
drawings by Tom Heineman
text by many hands as
signed
•
under editorial supervision of
Robert Parslow
�· CONTENTS
The High Table ........ . .
. ..... . . . ... 5
Formal Lectures
6
The Collegian ....... . . .
8
8
The Student Polity
9
Library . . . ..... .. .... ... .
. 11
The Shop
....... . II
Concerning the Chorus
.. I2
The Bookstore
. .. . .. .. .. ... ....... I4
Athletics
22
The Boat Club
.. 23
Bible Classes
.... 24
Language
. . ..... .... . .. . . .. . . ... 25
Cotillion Board
The Graphic Arts Committee
. 26
Social Life . . . . . .
........
. . 28
. .. 29
The Folk Dance Group
·M ovies
................
. ... 3I
Concerts . . . . . . . . . .
. ... 34
Laboratory
..... . . . ... .. . . . . ..... . . . .. 37
Recherche . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 38
June Week
....... .. . . . . .. . . . . .
Student Directory
. . . . 41
. . . . . . . . 63
PICTURE CREDl TS
Listman, Evening Capital
Eric Teel
Brandon Films
. 5 (2)
... 23 (2)
.... 31
MISCELLANEA
This yearbook is in no way an official publication of St. .John's College; it is instead an independent
project of the college community. Staff writers accept individual responsibility (or their copy. To
emphasize the personal quality and source of the
articles contained herein, all writers are identified
this year with by-lines.
We wish to thank the college administration for
its customary tolerance toward and non-interference
with this activity.
Thanks are also due Roebuck and Son, our
publishers, for their vast patience and cooperation.
-ROBIORT PARSLOW
A SMITH OF S~HTHS
Since a St. John's Yearbook studiously avoids the
favored conventions of other academic annuals, the
idea and practice of dedication (a practice justified
only when a faculty is small or long lived) we must
include out of our own cleverly different tradition.
May I then be excused for offering a substitute,
which to forestall scorn I shall call an appreciation.
Our days are so taken up· with talking, listening,
and seeing, our activity so limited to our vocal organs,
ears, and eyes, it is always a pleasure to discover
somewhere on the campus someone who is capable
or proficient in the manual arts. This pleasure is
magnified by the knowledge that our beloved liberal
arts would be either non-existent or futi le without
the products of these arts of the hands. One person
in the community who has brought the manual arts
to a satisfyingly high level is Joe Smith, who is much
more than a simple machinist or skilled worker. He
is a midwife to materials (as Socrates was to souls) ,
carrying on a successful dialectic with metal, wood,
and glass and enticing from them all of their potential grace and utility. Much of the Laboratory's
best apparatus is the result of Joe's ingenious skill
and consuming interest in his work .
Despite the anonymity of his name and isolation
from the centralized frenzy of campus business, Joe
Smith ought not remain a stranger to St. Johnnies.
A visit to Joe and his shop (incidentally the tidiest
and most efficient unit 0f the en tire school plant)
is worth a few minutes of anyone's time, even if that
time is spent only in respectful contemplation of the
proprietor's factotal art.
-ROBERT PARSLOW
THE HIGH TABLE
Two "old China hands" have joined the school
.
of the ·w estern tradition · Mr · Richard W eig 1 presi· e,
1
c ent-elect, came by way of the State Department; and
Mr. Barton, .treasurer-elect, by way of far-east oil.
. Mr. vVeigle was graduated from Yale, and also
did graduate work there, obtaining· a Ph .D . In A men.
.
.
can diplomatic history . He was a member of the
fac ulty at the Yale-in-China School in Changsh
China, for two years, and at Carleton
l er·~ m Northfie~d, l'VIinnesota, for three years. 1\:fr.
~ eigle sa~ service as a member of the Air Corps
~ n the Chma-Burma-India theater of operations durIn g World War II .
Mr. Barton was graduated from Rhode Island
Sta te Coll ege as a civil engineer. After se~vice in
World War I h e b ecame assoCiated w:th Standarcl.
.
:'~cuum, a nd sp~nt the following thirty years in the
far-e~st, tw~ nty-eight of them in China a nd the other
two 111 India.
Hun~n,
.
Co~:
'Mr. Klein, who had been Acting Dean since last
years upset ' was appomte d D ean on September 17
·
( 1950) . The Dean's office is back on the first floor.
roster of tutors has been diminished by
prevwus dep artures, but augmented again by the return of Mr. Richard Scofield who had b
for tw
_.
'
een away
Roll o years , and by the addition of Messrs. Darkey
.
ywood, -:homs, and .Johnston. 1\tir. .Johnston wa~
m charge of the B. l
I f f
10 ogy department but he soon
e t or green er pastures.
Mr. Kieffer had this year of leave but could be
seen .abou t th e campus at Irregular intervals The
.
occaswn of his form l . .
.
stu l
b
a ViSit as a lecturer allowed the
ce nt ocly to de monstrate Its greeting.
.
!he
-HOWARD H E RMAN
�'
Bigongiari on Dante . . .
. . . Brown on Irony
FORMAL LECTURES
On Friday evenings at 8:00 P.M. we listen to
people, called daemons, talk. The list drawn up at
the bottom of the page tells who and what we heard
during the '49-'50 season. Some daemons act as
policemen during the week, directing seminar traffic
mostly. Others are steadily employed at just being
daemons. Still others - we don't know what they
do before they show up at lecture time.
For the most part, the listening end of the lectures runs smoothly enough. Occasionally the loudspeaking system behaves irregularly and then, likely
as not, there's Sandy, king of the canines now that
Bobby has graduated, to contend with as he pitterpatters up and down the aisles. These .are but trifles.
Usually, however, first nig·hters to the St. John's platform are unaware of the simple procedure of returning gracefully to the anteroom whence they came,
once they have spoken their piece. This makes for
difficulties. Uneasiness, for instance, on the part of
all concerned. Us especially, because sometimes we
applaud longer than we mean to - out of politeness,
that is. Perhaps now, a briefing or a steering committee-The 13th lecture season under the new program
began in the clouds. Mr. Klein claimed that our
task here a t school was primarily one of introspection :
reason must question nature not in hopes of changing
it but in hopes of making itself compatible with
nature. This goal seemed as far distant as are the
Elysian fields; sti ll on the agenda in most quarters
was the query "what made the unexamined life so
un-worth living" .
It was unfortunate that one of our best regulars,
Mr. Van Doren, sh ould have chosen to speak abou t
an author with whose works on ly the seniors at that
time were familiar. Mr. Bart, on the other hand,
touched upon a subject unanimous in its appeal.
..
Thought-provoking, if inconclusive, his inquiry into
the relation between thought and language had a
direct bearing on Winfree Smith's lecture of the following week, subtitled "What Paul said and what
Paul meant." Edgar Wind (with slides) was of
course wunderbar. Those who heard Mr. Shapiro
came away full of avant gardes, whoever they were.
Leo Strauss gave us a survey; Mr. Brown presented a
research work having to do with who has the laugh
on whom.
So it went, on through the winter months. Mr.
Lowell read us his poems; "Winkie" Barr read us
excerpts from his introduction to the new EQcyclopedia Britannica edition of the great books. Mr.
Courant had a cold and consequently couldn't be
heard beyond the first few 'rows. Then the wind
really howled and roared; in blew Mr. Schwab. Mr.
Schwab thought that poets were dangerous but necessary people to have around. It turned out in the
cross examination which followed that all .men were
poets, especially Mr. Schwab. Though quite pleased
with his own lecture, Robert Fitzgerald never did
bring himself around to the point of making it clear
to the rest of us what the tragic epiphany was. Mr.
Mollegen spoke on Faith and Reason through the
medium of the Doe family, John and Alice, and the
kids . Compared with the homey homilies he has
delivered here in the past, this year's sermon was
way below par.
The Kirkpatrick weekend, as it came to be
known, along with Mr. Kieffer's address, The Paradox
of Rationality, represent from this point of view the
high lights of the year in their respective fields. It
is hoped that copies of Mr. Kieffer's profound lecture
will be made available to the students during the
for thcoming year.
-JoHN
CoFFEY
Shapiro on Anti-Criticism . . .
Formal Lectures 1949-50
Liberal Ed ucation and the Liberal Arts Jacob Klein
Goethe
.........
. .. Mark Van Doren
Translation and Transformation
. Robert S. Bart
Pau l, Formerly Saul
.... J. Winfree Smith
Raphael's School of Athens
. Edgar Wind
What is Anti-Criticism?
.... Karl Shapiro
Nat ural Right and History
.... Leo Strauss
On Irony
.. Ford K. Brown
On Pity
... .....
Edward Stevens
Poetry Readings
. . Robert Lowell
What is a Platonic Dialogue?
. . . Jacob Klein
Moby Dick
...... Howard P. Vincent
On Oedipus . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .J. Alister Cameron
The City of Man
. . .... Stringfellow Barr
Maxima and Minima in
Mathematics and Physics
... Richard Courant
The Poet as Corrupter ...... .. .. Joseph J. Schwab
Dante and Natural Law . .... . . .. Dino Bigongiari
The Ethics and the Tragic
Epiphany ......... . .. . . .. . . Robert Fitzgeraid
Faith and Reason
..... A. T . Mollegen
The Paradox of Rationality ..... John S. Kieffer
Bible Translations
.. . ... .. Luther A. Weigle
The Fundamentals of Statistics as the Basis of
Modern Physics .. . . . .. . . . ... .. E . .J. l'vicShane
The Chinese View of the World .Arthur vV. Hummel
Alice in Wonderland
.. Blair Kinsman
�THE COLLEGIAN
"Th ere's a dance or two in the old dame yet"
and th e Collegian proved it by putting out eight
issues during the year of the sixty- third volume.
T h at's a record for the past three years. Bernard
Fleischma nn accepted the duties of editor during the
first term, an d then, in the winter, passe~ them on
to Stewart vVashburn . The p aper was act1ve enough
to be able to se ttle into a routine, which could be
varied by an extra and a one page specia_l.
T h e biggest project was the prepa~atron of the
special for the Sunday Baltimor_e A_menca~. Those
wh o went to the newspaper ofhce m Baltunore enjoyed the visit and turned out a good job. The
format was clean and n eat and the subject matter
diversified. Fleischmann's editorial explained the
issue's co nten t by stating that the function of the
Collegian was to put into print the best ideas on
campus.
Most of the ideas which have been printed in the
Collegian, however, have been criticisms of lectures
and movies. Ignoring a few exceptions, the noncritical material consisted of two short stories and a
quan tity of poems, which were at _lea~t . provoc~tive
of pro a nd con discussion . The mdrvrd_ual preces
of writing, wh a tever one's opinion of therr conte~t,
did serve as reflections of their authors . The quality
of the few exampl es of reporting (other than the
lecture-movie type) a nd discussion made one wish
the quantity were larger.
.
A wider in terest in the Collegian would certamly
produ ce a more lively "house-organ". The staff is
wil li ng' and eager to put toge ther a good sl:eet, a_nd
a lth ough the staff is responsible for the way m whrch
it handles the m aterial received, it is limited by th a t
materia l. The bounce in the Collegian is derived
from the college community.
-HOWARD H ERMAN
THE STUDENT POLITY
The Student Polity is a law-making body in some
rather unreal se nse. The boundaries of its realm
are vague and shifty, and the fin al auth~rit~-:-to
legislate, to veto, to judge-res ts always where rt nghtfully should: with the officers of th~ college.
This is said not to minimize the Importance of
the Polity, but rather to make clear ~n ~hat its importance consists. The Polity 's fun ctiOn IS t~~ t of a
medium for the expression of student opmwn, a
means of commu nica tion . Just how little weight may
be attached to student opinion on some occasions was
sh ow n by the Forum in the fall at which tl:e Dean,
exercisin g his cleanly prerogative, b ann ed hquor _
at
da nces. On the other h a nd, the p roposed Polity
Financial Plan indicated that the Administration was
prepared to g ive much force to student opinion in
regard to the proportional allotment of fun~s to student o'rganizations. It also would h ave given substa ntial execu tive power to the Polity, in the _f~rm of
responsibility for the disbursement and audrtmg of
funds to the various activities. This proposal met
wi th overwh elm ing indifference, and in balloting was
defeated, as it were, by default.
Indeed indifference was the great curse of the
Polity, as it always h as been. The Polity office~s,
Moderator R obert Goldberg and Secretary Martin
Dyer were quite energeti c lead ers, bu_t n e:e:theles:
the familar lame nt for the Polity's mactivrty wa
common at the end of the year.
Really li vely feeling on one problem, tha t of _the
scope of a thle tics, was seen in the first two meetmgs
of the year both concerned with th e ch artering of
organizatio~s. At the first meeting the Boat Club's
ch arter was approved with the undeqta ncrm g that a
Forum on inter-collegia te racing would be held sh ortly. Mr. Kinsman duly appeared to defend it, and
no further audible objec tions were raised. The second m eeting was h eld especially to consider the
chartering as the St. John's Basketball Club of a group
of students then playing in a local leagu e. It soo n
was clear tha t the team wasn 't agreed in desire for
a charter, so no action was taken on it. However,
a by-law, expl icitly sta ting the Polity's right to grant
the use of the Colleg·e n ame to ex tra-mural activities,
was p assed.
Two Forums h ave been mentioned. There were
others, the most memorable of which was the one
on the probl em of women in dorms. A differen ce
of opinion be tween the President and the Executive
Committee d eveloped, in which the Executive Commi ttee appeared con tent simply to save the a ppearances, so to speak. This difference was never reconciled, a nd remains a problem.
In other respec ts, the Executive Committee properly performed its function as a permanent means
of commun ica tion between the student body and the
Administra tion . It further carried out its administrative d uties, which in earlier years the Court h ad assumed, leaving this latter body the purely judicial
one.
--ROBERT HILL
LIBRARY
Littl e n eeds to be written a bout the Library, beca use it is much like other libraries. Libraries are
essentially collec tions of books maintained and circula ted for the use of loosely defined groups of
people. Peri odicals, reference service, and other such
ac tivi ties are all suppleme ntary to the main collection
of books. Since the college library serves as small
a group of people as it does, it can use the open
stack system, where everyone browses and finds books
for themselves, as opposed to the closed stack system,
where call ca rds and m yriads of assistants are used
to ge t the. books from stack to reader. The informality of an open stack system is carried even further
with the proximity of easy ch airs and sofas, lamps,
a nd study ch airs a nd tables to the books in the college library.
In most libraries the circ ulation of the books
is maintained by use of regulations concerning timelimits a nd ren ewals, but those regula tions are made
effec tive by the rigorous a ppli ca tion of various economic san ctions. Our library has not seen fi.t to
do more tha n make regul at io ns minus the sanctions,
a nd, as readers of Th e Federalist ma y remember,
regulations which depend on socia l conscience or
sa n ctions ·which do not affect individuals directl y
are d escribed as Utopian. Not only are no sanctions
�applied to the college libra ry 's regulations, but in
other respects also, they are Utopian . R eserve-and
N ew-ProgTa m-shelf books a re only allowed an overnight circulation, but tex t books are allowed to be
chec ked out for a term or a year barring the more
immediate n eed of a nother group of students, and
all the other books ma y be kep t for four weeks
and then be renewed .
Since these regulation s a re violated quite regularly, the Library seems to be in danger of not fulfilling its circulatory fun ctions properl y. Consider
the regulations and the books involved : Reserve books
are those from which current assignments are being
fulfilled ; violation of the over-night regulation is
a direct affront to the people who need to use the
book the follo wing clay. About the New Program
collection there is some qu es tion as to the validity
of the restriction, but the ques tion is based upon a
lack of definiti on as to the purpose of tha t collection;
perhaps the Library needs to re-d efine the fun ction
of the collection, a nd the n re-eva luate the books included. For instance, definition of the books as a
referen ce collectio n not to be removed from the Library, and reduction of the duplications in it would
be one possibl e so luti on . Conce rning the books on a
time limit of one month, there is a possible question
a bout the necessity of the limit a nd about the limitation o f the number of renewals, but I think it can be
shown tha t both t ypes of li mi t are needed . The demonstration is based upon the particular demands
made upon th e Library by the New Progra m studi es.
These have th e effect of making the Library useful
mainly in only a few of its classifica tions , that is, in
some sec tions there is very little ci rcula tion, while in
others there is very h eavy circ ula ti on. Those books
which are ve ry much in demand the readers ask for
by n a me, a nd since the readers a re, in general, mostly
interested in the same fields, it seems almost imperative that rigorous applica tion of time - and renewal limits be m ade in order that everyone have fair opportunity to read those books. In the same fields
the res t of the circulation is accounted for by the
open stack browsing· which brings to the eye so many
interes ting titles, which deal with various aspects of
the New Program; sin ce anyone may browse a nd
everyone is, again in general, interested in the same
field s, it seems only fair tha t a quick return be made
of the books so that others may have the opportunity
to discover them . Few readers who have kept a book
a month or more can cla im that they h a ve read from
the book every d ay, or every other clay, or even every
third clay of the time the book was in their possession,
and if it stands on a shelf for two clays out of three,
why shouldn't it be on the library shelf where other
interes ted me mbers of the community have a chance
at it? Experience (Oh! Nauseous '!\lord!) seems to
indica te tha t the better interests of the community
in its use of the library have not been affected by
the use of unsanctionecl regulation of circulation, so
perhaps sanctions should be introduced during the
coming yea r, if only for a trial period.
In all this comment on libraries as places concerned with books there is a tendency to overlook the
fa ct tha t our Library h as a staff of people. This is
rea lly difficult to do since Miss Fletcher, Mrs. Kaplan,
and Mrs. Fullinwider so often stop working at their
books to talk with the students or offer them tea. At
Christmas time each year it is extremely difficult to
forget they are people when they give two p arties.
L as t Christmas the party for the adult members of the
com munity suffered from the lack of intimacy, which
the gy mnasium imparts to all functions of a social
nature not included under the heading of sports, and
it is hoped that it will return to its usual headquarters
in the Libra ry next Christmas. The children's party
was the bigges t yet, and was a great success for children , p arents, and Librarians.
-DoN KooNTZ
THE SHOP
It probably ~ s n't very well kno wn, but the co ll eg~
h as a wood- workmg sh op whi ch , during the past yea r,
was the sce ne of n o t enough activity as far as the
commun ity as a whole is co ncerned.
Tak ing a casual glance, one would think the
sawdust parlor to be boa t builders' h aven. Small
craft are all over the place. The Boa t Club h ad its
Tempests (c_ompletin g three durin g- the year) , a nd
Ewe ll h as h1s ar k (which looks eager to spank the
wa ve_) · One once familiar sight h as bee n removed.
s
WI! h a ms traded his boa t for a power-cruiser.
. Th ere has been some work clon e on dryla nd furniture, though. An assortm ent of la mps a nd ashtrays
w~ re made, and a few men puttered around fixingthm~s . T here was one unfinished bookcase in the
sancl 1~g corner at the time of m y las t visit. Fra nk,
the mghtwatchman, made a ca binet, and those who
h ave seen it claim it is a beautiful · piece of work- :
m anship.
T h e shop suffers from the student-body's small
a mo un t f m terest 111 co nstruction. The eq uipment
·
·
.
.
.
IS there · Jt m a 11 0 t 1
b
'
Y
a ways be 111 serviceable co ndition
ut _deman d can make repairs. Any proj ec t, excep~
a slup, wou ld be a re I· . I Y simpl e one in ma nu a l
.
atJve
I a bor. For those ne t h
w o t e game, or old hands with
new problms ' Dick natt a ncI Tom Carn es altern a te
u
.
as assista nts · "H u t ch " Is no longer the chief ca rp enter, b u t h e ·. t"ll
·
1
.
Is s
Wit1 us as adv iser a nd "co n1
sultmg engineer " .
Work with the h d 5 · .
a b k·
.
an
IS a g-ood refresher during
oo Is1 d ie t. I t gives one a chance to apply the
1
I anguages ph . · 11
wa. t.
f
ysJCa y. The place a nd the tools are
I mg or use, but the hands are n eed ed to use them.
?
- H OWARD HERMAN
CONCERNING THE CHORUS
Students at St. John's who have heretofore sa t
in reverential awe a t the skill displayed by those
':'ho can produ ce g-ood music surrendered their passive role as the a udience to ass ume an active one _
tha t of the producers themselves. The advent of Mr.
Victor Zuckerkancll in the fall of 1918 proved the
inspira tion and the essentially musical nature of St.
Johnnies (being men) provided the material for the
org-anization in that year of the St. John's Chorus.
'!\lith a n idea that al-most a nyone who breathes
and has ears can sing a nd with a group of voices
almost :mire!~ untrained, 1\.fr. Zu ckerkandl attempted
somethmg wh1ch at the outset seemed to b e a n impossible ~as ~ - the organiza tion of th e entire college
c?mmunJty mto a choral body which could sing and
smg- well. All tha t was dema nded of the student
was that h e use his ears a nd voice. Listenin g to the
melody and having the faintest kind of knowledge of
musi cal nota tion, that is, enough to enable him to
follow the most simple melody, would do the job.
A la rge portion of the first mee tings of the
Choru~ was d~voted to singing scales and taking
brea thmg exeroses. Inasmuch as the Chorus was not
a required pa rt of the program, students who grew
�weary of these exercises dropped music from their
schedules. Those who remained faithful, however,
were soon to discover that all of this "labor" was
not to be in vain - tha t the Chorus would begin
to pay off.
In add ition to the singing of scales, the Chorus
sang folk songs which were selected by a group of
students together with Mr. Zuckerkancll, Bach choral
melodies, Schuetz psalms, a nd two, three, and four
part canons. The first year of the Chorus, as some
had predicted, was not too successful. Interest in it
slowly dwindled until at the end of the year less
tha n twenty were attending. The musical literacy
at which Mr. Zuckerkandl aimed could be only
slightly realized.
QDD
oaa
01-JQ
Those members of the community who had neglected their responsibility in a ttending the meetings
of the Chorus soon discovered that the time which
h ad been spent in singing scales and taking breathing
exercises had not been wasted, but was being put to
excellent use a nd giving remarkable results . It was
really astounding how, in such a short time, so much
could have been accomplished.
When the College String Quartet was presented
in concert at the end of the year, the Chorus once
again appeared publicly. A Beethoven creation
hym, Die Eh1·e Gottes aus deT Natw·, and a Sartorius
canon were on the program.
-MARTIN DYER
f-2\QQ
1-lQQ
r.::.JC\0
oot:S+atk:)
\Vith the matriculation of the new freshman class
the fall of 1949, interest in the Chorus appeared
to h ave reached its apogee. vVith a large number
of the faculty an d almost the entire student body present at the initial meeting, it was believed that at
last the importance of music in the libera l education
would be realized. This was apparently an illusion.
The Chorus soon shrank to thirty members. Despite
all of this, !VIr. Zuckerk and l never discontinued his
work.
Climaxing a year of vigorous activity, the St.
John's Chorus together with the N.A.W.C. Choraleers
a nd the St. Anne's Choir, made its first public performance. March 12, before a record-sized audience,
it presented Schuetz' Die Sieben Worte ]esu Christi
am K1·euz, an Easter ca ntata for soloists, chorus, and
instruments. Singing the soprano and alto solos were
Mary Lacey and Mary Alice Bassford, respe~tively.
Ted Otteson, Martin Dyer, and Glenn Yarbrough
sang respectively, bass, tenor I, and tenor II. Instrumental accompaniment was provided by the college orchestra.
111
THE BOOKSTORE
The activities of and in the bookstore this year
have kept to the traditional forms of talking, reading,
browsing, book search, play reading and Easter Egg
hunting. To these has been added finally, and perhaps properly, package and mail handling, with the
result that book discount members are ag·ain receiving
. their books through the bookstore.
The bookstore is, however, primarily and properly a sounclboard of the college community; and it
is through the influence of students and faculty that
this is effected. This year some such unlike expressions as WoTlds In Collision, An Index to A1·istotle,
a nd The Baby (not in linear progression), have
appeared on the new books' ta ble, with the English
Penguins for the delightful but less explosive notes.
The interests of the community have been as incommensurable as Sailing tn Win and Science and Sanity,
with high attention to the Putnam Don Quixote and
the republication of Norman Kemp Smith's translation and commentary to Kant. Ptolemee's
Composition Mathematique, Mw·deT in the Cathedml, Language and Philosophy, and The Size of the
Unive1·se give some indication of the directions of
thinking, but the total effect, the total interests,
perhaps even the doubts and unbeliefs of the commun~ty
(vide Mathematician's Delight), :c an be
seen only through the books which have come
and go~e through the v.;hole of the year.
Cherchex l'oeuf . . .
This appearance of the character of St. John 's,
shown by such titles a nd others more or less sober,
is, like a man's personality, not that of a particular
year or circumstance, but of this year added to the
years before. Great Books of the Golden Age are
mixed with the New - Peacock, fviaxwell and Ostwald stand against Beaver, St. Anselm, and The Commenta1y of St. Thomas Aquinas on A1·istotle's Treatise on the Soul, and lec tures and mimeographed
ma terial of earlier clays - Rhetoric, J!Vonde1 ·, Doubt
an d Belief, Concerning Transcendental P1·edicates are stacked with the new varityped and justified copy.
Thus the books which h ave been tried and discarded, the lectures which have been heard and discussed, the pamphlets which were once a part of the
program, are rediscovered by new classes, reassessed,
an d continue to make their impress upon the total
personality.
The past then can never be cut away, and the
c~llege community, through the co llege bookstore,
W t!l always have the a·wareness of its past, as well
as of all the past-an awareness which Whitehead
deemed the most important factor in the developmen t of ch aracter.
-DOROTHY HAl\•
IMERSCHMIOT
�OH . . . YOU HANG AROUND THE GYM
DON'T YOU . . .
Of all the periods of a human being's life, that
which we call adulthood generally turns out to be
the one which contains man's prime - the apex of
his a nimal power to sense, to move and to procrea te,
as well as the a pex of his strictly human power to
reason. Adults, generally adult men, have therefore
set the sty le of living in each civilization b y means of
the institutions they h ave broug·ht into being. These
always include institutions made to take care of other
hum a n beings that are temporarily in other periods
of the life cycle - nurseries for toddlers, grammar
sch ools for the pigtail set, ice cream shops for young
adolesce nts , St. Petersburg for the old folks.
Several types of institution have been devised for
ado lescen ts who are beginning to fe el the effects of
their adult powers. Usually~ these institutions h ave
been give n the job of training potential adults for
certa in jobs which the adults alread y in power feel
will mai ntain the best of the society's existing institutions. Girls are secluclecl until ready for marriage
in many parts of the world, during which time they
learn the household arts. In some tribes more primitive by our standards, boys are ta ught hunting and
warfare, while the girls receive elaborate sex education. Feudal Europe taught young men the a rts of
warfare and the practice of religion .
Today, in the United Sta tes, me n usually pro-
ceed earning a living immediately after primary educa tion, receiving their adult training by experience
as they work up to positions of higher and higher pay .
A smaller number, the Silver, go to colleges
wh ere they receive a certain amount of theoretical
training in certain jobs, enabling them to cover more
ground since they n eed not take time to experience
a ll th a t they learn . In addition, these collegians learn
through exp erience today's tricks of personality, dress,
humor a nd bearing which will be necessary to them
if they wish to go far with their fund of theore tical
knowledge in a compe titive business society.
A third a nd still smaller group, who call themselves th e Gold, go to other institutions, also called
colleges, where a ll their training for living is in
theory; so much, . in fa ct, that the time devoted in
o ther colleges to learning the "right ways" of dress,
conversation a nd en tertainmen t throu gh experience
is devoted to the learn ing of st ill more life th ro ugh
theory.
St. Johnnies, Chicagoans a nd ma n y grad uate students in our universiti es consider themselves in this
last gro up . The average university undergradua te
or high school student is of the second category.
Most m en working their way up in commerce and
indu stry after graduation from high school a re o f the
first typ e.
Our presen t stud y is of one of the ext ra-curricular ac tivities of the Silver. The activity: A thletics.
Perh aps it is not too early to ask what may be the bigges t question facin g us in thi s discuss ion . I s the present Ame1·ican co llegia te athletic system o f any use to
those of us at St . f ohn's?
Though we h ave been talking abo ut huma n
bein gs all this whil e we have viewed very few of their
ch arac teris ti cs. ' 'Ve h ave recognized tha t a t a ny
given time there are several age groups in existence
a nd we h ave realized th a t today there are three important instituti ons into which ad olesce nts a re fitted
b y the adults . It would be helpful if we could
a n alyze the human a nimal so me more before synthesizin g a little, but there is a limit to wordiness in
yearbooks, so we shall stop our examination h ere to
a rbitrarily choose only two more fac ts :
(l.) Men ea t.
(2.) Men play.
The fact tha t men ea t is one of the ma in reasons
for the everyda y efforts of the Copper a nd the Silver.
The fact that men ea t is only of nuisance value to the
Gold. vVhy this should be we a re avoiding here as
we agreed above. Also, the fact tha t men play can
be of some slight nu isance value to the Co pper and
the Silver. The fact that men play is a great nuisance to the Gold.
We mustn ' t inquire what it is that the Gold
seek which makes things like eating and playing un-
important, but knowing tha t th e Gold are the best
we ca n tell that their object of pursuit must be
some thing highly worthwhile. Now comes the job
of d etermining how we can fit eating a nd playing intc
the li ves of the preoccupied Gold without disturbing
their werk: Paren tal support, the old patronage system, university professorships, Guggenheim Fellowships a nd life in the woods h ave done much to feed
the Gold, but the difficulties of providing play h ave
only recently been a ttacked.
St. John's was one of the first to do engineering
work o n th e problem of th e h eat gen era ted b y present
clay American athletics in a college program. She
was the originator of one of the Maryland college
sport plans, for which this state is gaining some fame
now th a t the J ohns Hopkins and the Naval Academy
have put forth n ew pla ns fitted to their own aims.
' "'e a re, as newspaper reading citi zen s, quite
fam iliar with the fa ults of the sport traditions in
most U .S. colleges. For some of us the a bsence of
these errors was a m ajor reason for coming to St.
John's. Man y people not connected with the coll ege
base much of their approval of our system on our
a ttitude toward sports.
But, the only persons who are able to examine
sufficien tly the St. John's program are, a fter all, the
ones who go h ere. Even the most interested civilian,
after poring through the Catalog a nd visiting the
campus, h as little chance to scrutinize the workings
of some of the more subtle points of the system as, for example, the unusual air tha t gove rns the
0
parties and exami nations and dances and, particularly, the foggy atmosph ere surrou nding the sports program. However, there are those, probably amounting
to a majority in the Community, wh o fai l to see the
uniqueness of these camp us common-pl aces even after
h aving been in residence several years! Too often
both the novelty struck Catalog reader a nd the h arden ed semin arian with nin ety-odd books behind him
0
0
�see the much worked upon athletic program neatly
framed above one of the two most common labels :
either it is a gymnastic completely divorced of all the
evil s of present day professionalism and overemphasis,
a healthy return to the Greek or pre-Rah Rah clays;
or else the present philosophy is simply a watered
clown, poorly organized soup of the usual American
college program, somehow made less obnoxious by a
genera l disinterest on the part of both stuclentry and
admin istration. Obviously the optimist ic school is
found large ly among outsiders, the other among the
residents.
Perhaps each view describes the system with some
truth. Yet it would be an oversimplification as
well as an untruth to state that we have found a
mean between the two poles. Considering the history
of the whole program it seems more apt to say that
the structure of the average American collegiate athletic has been refounded on a philosophy that can be
taken as one somewhat like that advocated in the
R epublic, if you must bring Plato into everything.
Of course, changes in the superstru cture have been
made - too many in the opin ion of many spectators;
or too few according to some violent Bookstore Platonists.
We are familiar with the outward details of this
system as it operates now. Any member of the Community lively enough to attend Polity meetings has
an impressive store of facts and reasoned opinions
a bout vvhat goes on in gymnasium, laboratory, Junior Commons Room and dormitory. But, in spite
of what we know of the particulars of athletics now,
it is fruitful to speculate on the several courses that
must have been open to the New Program planners
in 1938 when setting up a long range policy regarding the place of sports in a community primarily
devoted to the practice of the liberal arts.
At that time we seemed willing to borrow methods of teaching from any source that had previously
shown fruit. Seminar, rote, written exam ination,
don rag, laboratory, lecture, quiz - each was the
product of a particular civilization and particu lar
education al philosophy. Now, did we not also consider the forms that sport had take n on the Continent,
in Britain, and in ancient Greece and Italy, with eye
to incorporating the best of each tradition in our
a nthology?
If we are to discuss the fitness of these several
sport forms for development into a resultant throry
convenient to our ends, it would be wise to go over
these forms carefu lly first in order that we may be
sure of thinking the sa me thing when we mention
"Turner" or "competition" hereafter.
There was little place for sport or for any sort
of planned exercise in Europe before the rise of industrial cities and the sedentary occupations made
some outlet for bodily energies a necessity to large
numbers of people. As the technological revolution
became more complete only the landed rich cou ld
hunt and race, and even these sports declined as
wood and fallowed Ia nd became scarce and democracy
cramped the feudal incomes. \Vith the organization
of the first Turnvereins in Germany after 1811 came
a major break in the crisis. This movement spread
through all Europe and even America with the help
of Jahnists, Turners and later the YMCA.
Exercise in this tradition was reduced to the
coldest possible science of making a minimum of
bodily movement account for the most in terms of
sweat and added muscle. Team sport as we know
it was nonexistent, though an element of competition
was present - but only a competition with statistics,
much as is the case in track and baseball today.
However dull the routine seems, it is quite true that
the fad for fanatical physica l training with the bare
aim of breaking records and building bodies spread
wi th spee- through urban Europe.
d
After several decades Turning became crystallized into the three forms in which we meet it today.
First, the gymnasium with its clutter of body-straining
apparatus was made a familiar sight in all our large
cities. In America this institution became largely
connected with schools a nd YMCAs as a refresher
for tired students and businessmen. The second manifestation of the Turner's system was the eventual
popularity of the m ass outdoor exhibition of calisthenics. This is the European spectacle which most
confounds the average English speaking visitor. What
possible entertainment, he asks, can be found in
wa tching a vast Turn-platz of naked men and women,
arra nged in the fashion of Illinois corn, twisting and
ben ding to a rhythm both aweless and unexciting?
Yet the near cousin of this exercise has become
popular the world over; track and field . In this third
form there is more competition - a footrace can be
ru n eith er agains t time or against an opponent. Proof
of the popularity of track lies not in the size of its
followi ng in any one country, but in the fact that
it has blossomed to the extent of causing a modern
imitation of the Olympic contests. In this sense the
Greek ideal was broug·ht back to life by the Turners.
And in a nother sense too, for the Classical enG. of
sport was not only the exhibition of physical prowess
in compe tition, but also the prerequisite building
of well ordered bodies by long, hard training.
It was obvious that St. John's was not the place
for a ny one of these three modern German interpretations of the Greek gymnastic. To us, organized
calisthenics seemed out of place anywhere else than
in a military setting. A championship track team
would require an overemphasis on physical perfection
through long practice - just the excess St. John's
was trying its hardest to fight by example. The
gymnas ium was a possible answer to the problem,
but today the training of most Americans in the use
of muscle stretching paraphernalia is negligible only around Philadelphia and York, Pennsylvania are
gymnastics clubs popular a t present.
The minds of the planners then turned to the
practices of those in Continental universities. Traditionall y, long walks have been the most popular outdoor exercise for students in European cities. One
exception: in most English speaking nations there
have long been greenswards handy for those seeking·
exercise. This tends to develop more vigorous sports
- running sports, team sports, bodily contact sports.
Naturalistic movements in English thinking during
the Georgian age acted parallel with the old AngloSaxon idea of personal freedom to cause most midd leclass Englishmen to d esire their own little estates.
Whenever possible, each home - town or country came to be surrounded by a square of lawn grass.
Only in the most congested parts of England proper
was living crowded enough to cause men in search
of exercise to turn to long walks as was always the
case in France and Germany.
For us, walking is no less healthful than the
familiar, more vigorous American grass sports - its
prime disadvantage is its heavy demand on one's time.
Walking allows the mind to remain concentrated on
the clay's work as well. This is a disadvantage to one
seeking a complete release - though we must not
forget the picture of Immanuel Kant pacing the
�"Philosopher's Walk" in Konigsberg for years before
writing the Critique. Yes, walking· could be of use
as a leavener in the Program provided time be allowed for its pursuit. Certainly it would be of minimum weight to the administration's shoulders.
But, the planners "vent on to consider, if walking
is such a perfect conditioner, why is it that the sports
requiring teamwork, competition, running and so
forth are so popular with us? Are these only bad
habits left over from idle childhoods to plague our
maturing years? What is it in boxing or football or
te nnis that captures those of us h ere at school today
in spite of th e frank lack of respectability of such
time wasters in the eyes of the Holy Cattle of McDowell basement?
There is a possibility, after all, that these America n forms of grown-up childsplay are not vicious
products of a n immature outlook on living - it is
quite reasonable to treat them as a third and entirely different way of flushing the system through
exercise.
Le t us try to separate the qualities of this American philosophy which cause it to differ from the two
E uropean ones we h ave j:.tst studied.
Obviously the setting of the sport is of no matter. Football and baseball are played on grassy fi eld s
like the English field sports. Boxing a nd weight
lifting ta ke place in gymnasiums as did the Turners'
gy mnas tics. Cross country a nd hiking hold forth in
the same elements used for centuries by university
men from Sweden to Italy.
Likewise, there are similarities in aim. Both
sides of the Atlantic seek relaxation, fresh air, muscle
strengthening, entertainment, or momentary freedom
from worry - every one of which can be effected
by careful choosing among existing sport forms .
The greatest difference betwen the Old World
and the New is in means. The means that the
E u ropean tradition lacks a nd which the American is
so fa mous for providing is that thing com petition .
For us, competition has taken the drudgery out of
gymnastics, and amning; it has taken the restraint
from the original forms of soccer and football, and
m removing these stops has caused outdoor exercise
to come to the demos, as is attested by the growth
m number of players, of teams, and even of whole
new sports. In this respect the rebirth of rivalry has
clone a fin e thing. It h as reeduca ted modern man
in the art of how to play, how to relax, how to realize
the body h e still has despite all attempts to get it out
of the way of his intellect and his money making
pursuits.
It would be of help to us if we could now elwell
at length upon the details of the nature of any
rivalry. We might be able to find the idea bound
up in it that is so strong as to set fire to quite
reasonable methods of exercise - suddenly causing
these sports to b eco me pleasurable as well as h~alth
ful. Some might care to stretch the work of a serious
thinker to bring in Spengler's idea of the Apollonian
and the Faustian types - saying that the challenge
is "what makes" the civilized man. Others would
rather talk of the biological interpretation - the
n ecess ity of a competitive element in speaking of the
will to survive, the immortality of the fittest, or some
such. Or we could ask what it is in competition
tha t causes the healthy cleaning out that is the case
when businesses are contesting for customers. These
are all suggested jumping off places for light footed
speculation. But staying clear of too much baseless
synthesis or tim e taking a nalysis, let us agree that
the fact tha t Exercise plus Competition have resulted
in impassioned Sport has been one of the salves
which h ave made mode rn man and the greedy machine compatable - la rgely by unwinding the ta ngled
coils of nerves in the master breed, of course.
Yet the psycholog-ical .s park in competition,
whatever it may be, h as burned too far for some of
us. We obviously have inhuman monsters at work
j udging by the press reports of fatal football accidents, of mass hysteria during lacrosse seasons, a nd
of the prema ture dea ths a nd disablings of overtrained
young athletes. The too easy explanation is that
ex tremes are just bad by nature - the middle road
is best. Reasons that can stand up in argument can
be shown, however. Actually the germ-that-is-in-allcompe tition is a powerful stimulant of certain passions - passions that can be as strong as any of the
u nreasoning wills to miser, to destroy, or to gain
respectabi lity. Bill Stern is not shocking when he
tells of men who h ave given up all else for the sake
of a sport they have pursued. Nor are the accounts
exagerated which record whole student bodies of
high schools traveling hundreds of miles by car to see
the basketball team play. And these are only the
excesses which occur in the more or less amateur
sports . In professionalized a thletics we find mildly
comp etitive play subordinated to exhibitions of sex,
pain, even d ea th. But upon reaching this point we
leave sport to study something else that has not even
a name to describe it. It can be said that every age
of the vVestern cultures has had its particular competitive games, and that each age has had its monstrosities of sport as well. Usually it is the dea th
possibility, the Mars complex, or the chance element
necessarily presen t in a ny athletic contest that has
carried th e game away from what we choose as the
harm.less middle way. Take your pick: gladiators,
bu_ll~t ghts, horse races, jousts, football spectacles, bear
ba1t 111~s, auto races - each is generally a vehicle for
gambhng or bloodle tting. Many attempts to bend
the sports back to the golden mean have met with
d_ifficulty or have proved totally impossible. ConSider th e B ntts l1 111 their attempt to stay near the
· ·
·
.
middle of their road; they have ruinously fettered
natu_rally competitive sports by their insistence on
mak 111 g all players adhere to a stifling code of " Good
Sportsmanship".
It was evident to us in 1938 that all classes of a
society can lose ground by being victimized by a
tradition of "spectatoritis" and "do or die". Does
such a tradition have any place at all in a college
which claims to refine that society's Gold? The planners saw the necessity of toning down the extremes
which sport had taken in the half-century just passed,
but, just as important, they were wise enough to keep
the species of the sports intact as far as possible.
Here was the change not made that gave the new
a thletic program a fighting chance from the start
against serious, and perhaps unique, practical difficulties. It would have been too easy to have thrown
away basketball and the rest and to have left the
young original thinkers to devise new sports of their
own or else go back to some of the lifeless foreign
forms .. So~etimes persons wishing to push thing~
ahead 111 spite of the slowing herd try too hard to
sever all contact with the old - "to make a fresh
start", they say. We did not break off too abruptly.
If anything, we did not adhere to the old philosophy
enough!
Remember that our planners are making their
new ath letic out of two things: existing sport forms
(like football, boxing, etc.) and a spice called competition . It is a fact that many of the critics of the
St. John 's sport policy this past year condemned the
Administration for what amounted to not breaking
away from the Old Program enough. On the contrary -we have gone too far.
First, competition is lacking. Classes, and seminars as well, are so spread out among the various
dormitories that it is hard for any individual to consider himself primarly a Junior or a member of
Semin_ r led. There is no solution to this in sight.
a
Dormitory teams would be little more coherent than
0
KE
�the present class teams . King William Players v.s.
Cotillion Boa rd would be no help either. Yet the
scattering of classes thruout the various buildings
works for the best in every other sense and certainly
should not be changed. The practice of awarding
bigger and better prizes, if it will bring anything,
will only result in purchased love. Some on campus
already object to blazer awards as being too expensive or professional-like. Intercollegia te athletics? A
possibility, but let's not get into that here. At the
moment we must simply accept a certain disinterest
on the part of much of the stuclentry - those who are
still frothing at the Old Program, those who take the
weekend hysteria at the Academy too seriously, those
who spend too much time developing a " pure" athletic in the Coffeeshop, and those who have never
had a chance to participate in many games and who
make their disappointment felt by refusing to learn
to play so late in life. Let us leave this half of the
qu es tion until a change of heart occurs - for even
though such things cannot be hurried by yearbook
a rticles, they do happen .
Now sport forms. It seeems that we have enough.
The potential, at least, for just as many as the Naval
Academy has. But is this enough? I say no, because the Navy has sports developed from on ly two
of the three traditions we explored earlier. The
walking idea is as yet unrealized on both sides of
King George Street. Remember? The walking tradition we found to be the best suited to the Procrram
b
a while ago. Walking includes hiking, camping, canoeing, picnicking and just plain sightseeing. Why
is it not a part of the Athletic Department's interest
to keeep a store of outdoors equipment on hand? Old
blankets, cooking utensils, axes, thermos jugs, a tattered Boy Scout manual. The aerial photograph that
used to be in the basement of M cDowell would be
helpful too. One long legged campus great has markeel for himself from that very picture a mile and a
quarter course which leads to a drugstore. This he
walks several days a week, relaxes for a coke, turns
a round, and comes back-bright eyed and rosy
cheeked. A little money (ahl the problem!) spent
in this direction might be the makings of a tide-
water Thoreau someday; at the very least the expenditure would brighten even more some of these
sunny weekends from March to November.
The only other kind of sport we found particularly suited to the Program was the gymnasium work of
the Turners. Many seem to have sensed the value
of this quick way of working up a sweat according
to the year long . popularity of the handball and
squash courts. Here we see the value of a sensible
sport form made into a widely followed workout
pattern by the addition of the old spark competition.
The rest of the species of sport hold their own
and are even on the upswing to a certain extent.
The equipment is in good shape and the steady influx of Freshmen who know how to play is heartening. The decision of several members of the Community to contact opponents outside the college in
such fields as basketball, boxing, sai ling and lacrosse
seems the natural end of a heathy interest in both
the particular game and in good competition which
apparently the college could not supply. There is
no reason why such individuals, or teams, should not
be given the privilege of using a moderate amount
of the school's facilities and even its name, as long as
there is no undue burden on the Athletic Department's budget allowance or on the good reputation
of the name, St. John 's.
If there is to be any revolution within the forms
of sport now practiced here it must come after there
is a universal enthusiasm on campus for a better
athletic aspect of the Program. This is the same
enthusiasm which has been awaited for thirteen years
by the musicians of the Great Hall, the balances of
Humphries, the artists of the Junior Commons Room,
and the cooks of Randall as well as the athletes of
Iglehart.
When will Miss Alexander's coke machine lose
its sleek, nickel-bloated look? Who will be the first
to forsake the Coffeeshop for the truer joys of this
sweaty, whistle-punctuated Heaven?
Tw~ distinct species of animal make Iglehart
Hall tl~e1r hom~. Since others believe the two types
to be mcompat1ble they are run in and out of the
building in shifts :-an Afternoon Shift and a Friday
Night Shift.
-ToM HEINEMAN
Below Is a partial list of the Afternoon Shift.
Individual Champions:
Handball
Irwin Hunt
Squash
Ed Lathrop
Badminton, singles
Glenn Yarbrough
Badminton, doubles
Hazo - Udel
Tennis ....... . .
Jeremy Tarcher
Track, high scorer
Bob Seelig
Winner of blazer as best all around
sportsman
Bill Kelso
T eam Championships:
Foo tball
Basketball
Basketball, interclass
Softball, lst round . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Softball, 2nd round . . . . . . . . .
Softba ll , playoffs . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Wi nners of blazers for highest point
in team competition
Senior abed
Sophomore ab
....... Juniors
Senior eel
Sophomore ab
Sophomore ab
score
Sophomore ab
More statistics for those interested :
Football
Standings
Roster
1. Senior abed
DiTullio
2. Sophomore ef
Fromme
3. Junior abed
Ga rland
4. Freshman ab
Goldberg
5. Freshman ef
Hendricks
6. Sophomore abed
Herrod
7. Freshman eel
Basketball
I. Sophomore ab
Carnes
2. Freshman ef
Gregersen
3. Sophomore eel
Haberman
4. Senior eel
Lee
5. Freshman ab
6. Junior ab
7.Junior eel
Basketball, interclass
1. Juniors
Batt
2. Seniors
Al Brown
3. Freshri1en
Mike Brown
4. Sophomores
frame
Franklin
Winning Team
Hunt
Ke lso
Meyers
Poe
Sterrett
Napper
Seelig
Wade
Martin
Parslow
Ri chm an
Small
Starke
�I. Senior cd
2. Junior cd
3. Freshman ab
4. Freshman ef
5. Sophomore ab
6. Freshman cd
7. Sophomore cd
Softball, 1st round
Fromme ·
Garland
Goldberg
Herrod
Kelso
Softball, 2nd round
Elfenbein
Carnes
Cree
Gregersen
Haberman
Lee
Softball, playoff winners
Blazer Winners
.... . . . .... .
I . Sophomore ab
2. Junior cd
2.Senior cd
4. Freshman ab
5. Freshman ef
The facilities of the boat house were exp a nded to
accomoda te the new boats and the funiishings of the
second floor were improved by the addi tion of a
heater and a record-player. ·w ith the aiel of these the
active membership of twenty did much toward furthering ca mpus activity, running two successful beer
parties and two launching gatherings at the boat
house . They sponsored a race in which any member
of the college community could participa te. 1t took
place in College Creek; the winner, Brad \!\Talker
was awarded a school blazer provided for this pur:
pose.
Konigsberg
Leffel
Poe
Sterrett
Wolbarsht
Napper
Osterhaut
Seelig
Wade
Zunser
Ten members, captained by Michael Rourke, did
some dinghy racing against other schools for the second year. They were not very successful, but their
enthusiasm was hardly lessened by this, and they all
look forward to yet another year in ·w hich they intend
to fulfi ll some of their hopes, and the hopes of Mr.
Kinsman, their ever·patient faculty adviser, by winn ing a few races.
Sophomore ab
Sophomore ab
Winners
Eve.nt
100 yd. dash
l. Seelig
2. Herrod
3. Jackson
4. ' ·Vaxman
220 yd . dash
3. Herrod
4.Hunt
I. Seelig
2. Jackson
440 yd. dash
3. Waxman
4. Sterrett
I. Seelig
2. Kelso
880 run
l. Kelso
2. Osterhaut
3. Garland
4. Gregersen
mile run
2. Cree
3. Hendri cks
4. Haberman
l. Osterhaut
mile relay
(S terrett, Garland, Ewel l, Kelso)
I. Seniors
Broad Jump
4. 'W axman
3. Kelso
2. Jackson
1. Seelig
High Jump
3. Osterhaut
3. Poe
2. Garland
l. Seelig
Discus
4. Jackson
3. Lathrop
2. W'ax man
I . Herrod
Shot Put
4. Garland
3. Lathrop
2. Carnes
I. Herrod
Jave lin
4. Kelso
3. Garland
2. Waxman
I. Fleetwood
Team Scores
l. Sophomore ab
.... 451;2
2. Senior abed
44 \12
3. Freshman ef
16
4. Sophomore cd
5
5. Junior eel
4
High Scorer - Seelig
25
No treatment of contemporary St. Johnnyism would be complete
without mention of the small group of Afternoon Shifters who,
in carrying our torch afield, bring home to us Fam e and
Respectability.
ARMA Basketba ll
Seelig
Mart in
Frame
AI Brown
Stafford
Napper
Lehmann
Englehart
Twigg
Van Sant
Midd le A tlantic States Boxing Tourney
Bill Englehart
Annapolis Lacrosse Club
Yarbrough
Traband
.-\Jexander
-RAYMOND STARKF.
THE BOAT CLUB
As everyone knows, the Boat Club IS a n organi·
za tion that provides the means by which people ol
the college ccmmunity who like to sail may do so.
·w hether this sailing is of the cruising or rac ing variety. Thre are drawbacks, however, that seem inevittably connected with this sport, and they are, aside
from the acquisition of boats, the upkeep of these
boats and their facilities, and in this case providing instructions for peopl e who would like to learn to sail.
The officers a nd members of the Boat Club and the
two club stewards, therefore, assume the responsibility
of taking care of these so that they a nd others may
be able to sail.
In continuation of last year's drive to obtain a
racing fleet, three more boats were added to the fleet
of Tempests, Taurus, Gemini, a nd Cancer. The
school and club, budget and faculty, and Carlton
Mitchell made it possible for these additions. Not
to mention the resourcefuln ess of Commodore James
Grinder whose promoting loosened many a dollar
for the club.
Mrs. Mitchell po urs
BIBLE CLASSES
Bible Class II met for a n hour weekly to discuss assigned readings in Genesis a nd Exodus, in the
light of the Hebrew tradition. That the trad ition
gave much light was largely the effect of f~Ir.
I~aplai:'s leadership. Mr. Kaplan is thoroughly fa milia r with the Oil T estament a nd 1ts mterpreta tion ,
· ·
.
.
c
Le. , With the J ewish understanding of the world, and
h e presents it WI th Wi·t a n cI a clanty tha t comes from
'
·
. .
sure m SigH mto o ther ways of understa nding. The
1 ·
group was .very sma II ; t1 · was probably a handicap
.
11s
to It a?d IS certainly difficult to und erstand. Mr.
Ka pla n s Bible C lass IS a f"me way to know the Hebrew
·
. .
faith more dee P Iy. M ore Slould take adva ntage of it.
I
l,
-ROBERT HlLL
The New Testament Bible Reading Class this
year was organized under the direction of the Reverend 't\T
infree Smith. The purpose of the group was
to make avail able to the college community an opportunity to join in a n endeavor of making a n in trica te and more diversified examination of the N ew
Testament as a great book. Because of the grav ity
of the text and the necessity for careful examination,
the program thi s year was restricted to an extensive
considera tion of St. John's Gospel and its relati on to
the synoptic gosp els.
T h e meeting of the class took place regularly on
\t\Tednesday even ings, last ing approximate ly one hour.
Beginning with a reading o( the p artic ular ch apter
under co nsideration, co upled with brief referen ces to
the original Greek text, the period would then progress to a genera l discussion of the successive events
in the ch apter.
- R OI3t::RT
G.
HAZO
�LANGUAGE
Language is the stepchild of the New Program.
The fault probably lies in ourselves, for in respect
to all of the other subjects undertaken here our
tabulae are rasae enough not to interefere with our
initial, most difficult learning as freshmen. But we
are already so long-acquainted with our mother
tongue a nd so distant from the experimental stage of
speech that we take language for granted as a useful
instrument of communication and an agreeable plaything in the nursery land of poetry. Even those of
us who a re fortunate enough to be polyglot shift
from one idiom to another without ever idling in
neutral between changes to contemplate the mechanism of the shift.
There are some other reasons for the status of
language as Program pariah, one of the more pointed
our acquired impatience with whatever preliminaries
stand in the way of exhaustive reading and discussion
of great books. It is postulated, ·w ith our sincere
acknowledgem ent, tha t familiarity with Greek is necessary to an understanding of the Bible, that Kant
should not be challenged except on his home ground
of German grammar and vocabulary. So, we applaud
the postulate, then rush through what one of last
year's anonymous dilettantes inferred were the drybones of language to get at the solid meat of the
written classics.
The faculty as well has a surpnsmg apathy toward language (I mean here, of course, as elsewhere, le langage as opposed to Ia langue) . I am
perhaps ignorant of some histories and guilty too of
factual inaccuracy, but few of the faculty apparently
have had general education in language; the same
cannot be said of mathematics, philosophy, or science
- our faculty has studied intensively in these three
fields.
I can think of one member of the tutorial staff
who did have classes with an excellent teacher of language. The latter gentleman, one of the country's
most respected linguists, lesturecl at St. John's (the
sole lecture on the subject offered here during the
past three years) . The student reaction ranged from
indifference to cynical amusement; few of them had
bothered to follow the speaker or place credence in
·w hat he said.
Our Library evidences the weak attention given
by us to language. Exemplifying the meagre recent
acquisitions in that category are two copies of "The
Loom of Language", which in quantity and importance are equivalent to, say, twenty copies of "Our
Animal Friends" on the zoology shelves. The money
wasted this year on the purchase of "A Reverse Index
of Greek Adjectives and Nouns" (will someone please
tell me who, outside of practising archeologists, would
read this volume?) could have made our language
section a trifle respectable if it had been spent on
copies of good, standard ·works like Bloomfield and
Sturtevant. Maybe a handful of students or maybe
none at all would read these over a period of time,
but we could save the appearance of adequacy in a
currently inadequate classification. It is probably
weasel practice to suggest the above to the community
rather than quietly talking with the Library Committee, but the case is available support to my critiosm .
I mean to plead for a simple tolerance and study
of language as a science. 'Ve might begin by calling
it by its proper name, linguistics, and forget the
Victorian "philogy." A second step might well be a
stern discipline over our profuse m a nufacture of etymologies. The Socrates of the Cratylus did have his
tongue in his cheek after all: the least we can do,
for one thing, is to stop pushing paschal around - it
is very happy with a Semitic genealogy. \1\Te also
would do well to imitate, though not so frequently,
one tutor's use of the ancient and honored art of
parsing. Last, we can forget everything I have said
and pay closer attention to the problems of reading,
writing, and possibly speaking the three languages
St. John's offers; this would help immeasurably in
placing language on a higher level than it now is
gtven.
-ROBERT PARSLOW
COTILLION BOARD
The Goddess of Constructive Criticism dawdled
the stick in the sand in the long pause before answering her interlocutor's query. Anyone could see that
she was deep in thought, but there was also a look
of divine tiredness, almost boredom, that worried the
smoothness of her white forehead and stole much
of the lustre from her otherwise perpetually vibrating
eyes. At last she made a flat, vee-shaped mark, and
sighing, proceeded "I dropped by your 'Spring Crisis' this ·w inter,
and I must confess my Olympian tastes were somewhat shocked by the looks of the affair, particularly
the decorations . Bright orange crepe streamers can
be pretty, even though the decorators cannot decide
whether to hang them high, low, or at any other one
of the points in between, but why, tell me, are the
only two clark purple spotlights shone through the
whole arrangement only to light on radiators and
some lumber piled at the side of your gymnasium?
You know, I asked one of your freshmen the following Monday what color the decorations were, and
surprisingly enough he knew - they were orange
because he had gone in the next clay in the sunlight
to rip a few clown. Now this mark in the sand I
have drawn to represent the quality of your decorations through the season. You started well, you
descended to the very nadir of poor taste in the
winter, though at last you ballooned out of the doldr ums in time for June \Veek. Do you follow me?"
He nodded. "So far okay, but now the ticket
p rices - what did you think of those?" inquired
the Cotillion Board representative as he jotted a
n ote on his french cuff.
The goddess, who incidentally looked amazingly
like Terpsichore, traced a mark beside the first identical in shape and size.
.
"Bad! Baclcler! Better!" exclaimed she, pointm g to the three points of the figure. (It sounded
be tter in the original Homeric Greek.) "Of course
it is impossible to throw a one dollar dance here
wi th a 'civilian' band, decorations, and lots of refre shments, but then look at what the Student Service Committee did by cutting away at the music
and decoration costs and by providing another attraction instead . If your school were only the sort
of country club where the boys expected to pull the
tux out of the closet every weekend, and if there
were a real 'social consciousness' in the air, you could
ge t away with the fancy prices - but between the
frugal Back Campus and Mrs. Hammerschmidt's high
cost of reading, a fancy dance with fancy prices just
doesn't go."
The St. Johnny scribbled away .at this, prom-
ising to pay more attention thereafter to spirit rather
than decor. Those tickets would have to come down!
"And now let's talk attendance, since this is a
function of the price - what about the attendance,
Goddess?"
But she had already made a long, deep checkmark with her nectar stirrer.
"Though people lost interest fast, you began to
get a little of your patronage back after that Foam
Festival - just in time for June Week. But how
can you expect," asked she, "two hundred students
to provide material for eight big dances a year at
three bucks a shot after you subtract the usual number
that go home weekends, study Saturday night, lack
funds, lack sex appeal, miss their stimulants, and have
junior essays and senior theses to write? And those
dances are big ones at that! Why not just a few,
more on the impromptu line - use Randall and
McDowell as well as the gym - save one or two
big ones for June and maybe Christmas - get more
blind elates, we can't just have sophomores at the
dances. By the way, mortal, why is it that the Class
of '52 is suddenly so respectable?
They have
made the local high school a closed corporation practically - what is it they have that '51 and the midshipmen haven't? And something . . . . "
. But he had to interrupt her there - after all
that handful of socially acceptable sophomores was
what had kept the board within reach of solvency
that season, and the paying customers must be protected at all costs.
�"Just one more question please, 0 Immortal One
-the bands, the orchestras - how were they?"
Euterpe and Erato were already whispering in ·
her ear at this, but she pushed them away shortly.
"In spite of the conflict of opinions, it seems the
music got just a little better as the year dragged on."
She drew a slightly inclined line below her other
figures on the ground to denote the one constant
improvement in all the year's dances.
"But," she continued, "don' t you think that Le
Jazzbancl can do as well as· some of those threepieces-for -seventy-five orchestras you have been hauling down from Baltimore?"
The note taker seemed well satisfied by now. A
right savvy girl this goddess - must get her to blind
elate one of these weekends.
"Have you anything to say about the Cotillion
Board as a whole before I go?"
"Only one thing," she replied, "it was asleep fast asleep that's all."
-PAUL
HEINEMANN
THE GRAPHIC ARTS COMMITTEE
When the New Program was set up at St. John's
m 1937 by Stringfellow Barr and Scott Buchanan,
the avowed purpose of that program of education was
a dedication to the practice of the liberal arts. While
implementa tion of this program was proceeding
under the direction of Scott Buchanan, there arose
almost immediately a stubbornly insistent problem to
harass and torment Mr. Buchanan, the problem of
determining to what extent the fine arts should be
practiced concurtently with the liberal arts, which
ones and whether as required activities. In a program
r epudiating the elective system it seemed inconsistent
to admit the fine arts on an elective basis, and yet
the fine arts could not be ignored nor admitted on
a purely laissez-faire basis. Music, which has both a
liberal art and a fine art aspect, came first under
consideration and even today its precise relation as
a fin e art to the curriculum as a whole has not
reached any ultimate form . As to the graphic and
plastic arts, the two and three dimensional forms,
respectively, of that art which the Germans so aptly
call die bildende Kunst, they found a P.lace among St.
John 's activities at an early date. It is not the in-
tention of the writer, however, to give an historical
sketch of the practice of these arts in the earlier days
of the program. Mr. Plunder's interest in sculpture,
Jack Landau's and Gene Thornton's experimental interest in painting, to name but a few out of many,
sustained an interest in these arts, an interest which
finally found expression in the appointment of Townsend Morgan as artist in residence. Here we shall
concern ourselves solely with the activities of faculty
and undergraduates during the academic year 194950, in the practice of the graphic and plastic arts.
In accordance with the St. John's predilection
for organization, a committee, known as the Graphic
Arts Committee, was chosen for the year 1949-50,
composed of the following:
Harry J. Martin-President-Treasurer
Raymond Starke-Secretary
Robert Parslow-At Large
This committee whose activities were quiescent
during the first term, planned and consummated a
rather extensive and ambitious program for the winter and spring terms . The advice and guidance of
l'vir. Morgan, Mrs. Parslow, Mrs. Thoms, Mrs. Bingley
and many others among the faculty and student wives,
made possible interesting and substantial achievement.
From January 8 until January 22, there was held
an exhibition of posters by Mrs. Pat Parslow. Mrs.
Parslow has taste and humor, and shows great skill
in this art which though seemingly a minor art,
reaches interesting heights at her hands. Her work
always exhibits good drawing and immediately sets
up a mood of vitality and movement.
From January 22 until February 12 there was
held an exhibition of photographs by the Annapolis
Camera Club. Miss Dorothy Williams, secretary to
the president, is an active member of this club and
has exhibited some excellent work.
An exhibition of a different kind was held from
February 12 until February 26, at which time reproductions from the National Gallery in Washington
were shown.
From February 26 until March 12, there was
held in the junior common room an exhibition of
sti1dents' paintings and drawings. To encourage entries, the committee awarded three prizes and appointed a committee of judges consisting of Mrs.
Parslow, Mrs. Thoms, and Mr. Bingley. Approximately twenty-five items were exhibited including
oils, water-colors, and drawings.
The following
awards were made:
First Award-Harry J. Martin
Second Award--Raymond Starke
Third Award-Theodore Hendricks
The committee of judges, although certainly
not wishing to discourage the adventuresome and
the im~gi~a ti:'e, felt that there were certain sine qua
non cn t_ena, mcluding reasonably good drawing and
some shght acquaintance at least with the fundamental ski lls of painting. The committee was not
taking sides in the current bitter quarrel between
the conservatives and the so-called moderns. No
medium or school should be disdained which is sincere and recognizes some feasible and reasonable laws
of form.
·
Du_ri~~ the spri~g ~erm the committee sponsored
exhibitiOn of pamtmgs in oil, water-colors and
other media bY M rs. J osephme Thoms. The open·
'
.
0
mg: ~ April 15, was formal with a large attendance
of mvit:d guests and was held in the Great Hall.
On Apnl 16the ex h'b It was moved to the junior comI ·
~on room and was continued until April 30. Mrs.
homs exhibited thirty or more works painted over
·
a rather short pen·o d , a b out five years. Mrs. Thoms
.
.
Is still expe ·
.
nmentmg and acquaints herself with the
work of m
any contemporary artists whose special
an
techniques and methods find reflection in her work.
There are suggestions of Matisse, Picasso, Vlaminck
and others. This eclecticism is. interesting and is
proving of incalculable value to Mrs. Thoms. One
feels_ that_ b~ continued hard work and careful study
she.~~ pamtmg her way to something important find
exotmg. When the moment arrives in which she
has something genuinely new to say, her achievement
(we venture to say) will fully justify all the hard
work and study.
From April 30 to May 14 there was held an
~xhibit of paintings (oil and water-color) and etchmgs b~ Mr. Townsend 1\tJorgan. Mr. Morgan is a
professiOnal, of vast experience, sensitive and skilled.
The writer lacks the qualifications to discuss in detail
the ~orks of Mr. Morgan and will merely say that
he himself derived immence pleasure from Mr. Morgan 's exhibit.
From May 14 until May 28, and as the final
exhibit of the year, there were shown paintings and
�drawings by Gene Thornton of the class of 1948. Mr.
Thornton's earlier work had been exhibited at St.
John's and had drawn very favorable comment. Recently Mr. Thornton has been studying painting and
it seemed to us that in the act of exercising restraint while learning skills and methods, Mr. Thornton's power of imagination had diminished. This is
probably unavoidable and when the new period of
maturation arrives, this somewhat unproductive period devoted to study will have shown itself to have
been· worthwhile. Meanwhile, during the Lehrjahre,
Mr. Thornton's work seems inhibited and uninteresting. 'tVe shall look forward to an exhibit later
which we are sure will justify the time spent in learning skills and in careful study.
The committee deserves to be congratulated on
its excellent work during the year. It is greatly
hoped that the custom of holding exhibits of student
work for which awards are made, will be continued.
There might well at some time in the future be
exhibits devoted to special media, or schools. For
instance, an exhibit devoted entirely to abstract
forms in both two dimensions and three, might profitably be held. And there might be held some informal seminars on matters of painting and sculpture .
And, further, we invite the administration not to
abandon exploration of the problem of integrating
the graphics arts with the curriculum as a whole.
-GEORl.F. BINGLEY
SOCIAL LIFE
If, among other things, St. John's endeavors to
teach a man how to live a better life with himself
as an individual, then the way in which that man
lives in relation to others will serve as a means for
determining the success or failure of that noble endeavor. But although a man's social life reflects hi~
private life, it is extremely difficult to catch this ,iistinction in act. However, social activities are manifested in some obvious ways, such as dances and
parties.
At the beginning of the year a new trend was
established for the Cotillion Board's dances when an
edict was issued prohibiting alcohol at these functions.
There is much to be said for and against this decision,
but it is not my present purpose to renew the controversy. Yet a recollection of this year's dances, in
the vast confines of the gymnasium, shows they were
not successful social functions, this being true for
those who remember similar affairs of past years . Pethaps the newly enforced temperance ruling contributed to this failure, but I am inclined to think that
there has been an over-emphasis on this as a rationale.
There are others. It is relevant to note, for example,
that not one student from the junior or senior classes
was a member of the Cotillion Board this year, yet
the criticism of those few upperclassmen was always
most acid. Then too, the Cotillion Board was hampered by the perennial problems of elates and money.
Nevertheless this organization deserves credit for its
efforts to remedy the situation. It exhibited much
wisdom in simply decreasing the number of dances
held during the latter half of the year. A more
positive idea was to hold smaller and less pretentious dances. The one such affair, held in the
cozy atmosphere of the junior common room (sans
orchestra and prohibition), still failed to woo the
ungregarious upper-classmen.
The Boat Club, however, played a more successful part in the social life of the campus over the year.
After the first "Bust" it was not necessary to lure
the students back to the following ones with additional Burma-Shaveish jingles. (It is unfortunate
that there is not better communication between the
Boat Club and the Cotillion Board.) The proposed
plans to improve the interior decorations of the Boat
House should make the future "Busts" something to
look forward to.
Any discussion of the social life at St. John's
would be incomplete if it did not mention what is
ultimately the backbone of that life, namely, the private parties held in the students' rooms.
'WOULD YOU DIRECT M£
TO TH£ BOATHOUSE., PLEASE.?
A successful party requires more than an assemb ly of people desiring to enjoy themselves . Like
a semina r, it requires direction (the less obtrusive
and more spontaneous the better), and a sense of
individua l responsibility to that function , if this be
on ly a fir m grasp on the reins of the Black Horse .
The year showed that parties could be directed toward sane enjoyment rather than wanton destruct~on
and general disorder. One of the outstanding featur.es of these parties was the group singing, the populanty of which was demonstrated by the fact that a
large n~mber of people acquired an ever expanding
repertotre.
The presence of tutors at these aHairs has always
been the ca use of favorable comment from outside
obser.vers who could immediately perceive the value
of th IS SOCia 1 rel a twnsh1p . It IS a good tradition, and
·
·
·
.
one that must certainly be maintained. Let us hope
that in the fut ure t1 sptrlt o f t h ese pnvate parties
. .
.
1e
can be ·
·
mcorporated mto the more formal functions
of the com m unity.
-HARRY MARTIN
THE FOLK DANCE GROUP
Although the group has not increased very much
111 number since its inception last year, it has increased in competence. Mr. Winiarski, who guided
the group from the start, has had less real teaching
to do, since the dancers have become acquainted with
the intricate steps of various folk dances and accustomed to the jargon of a square d a nce caller. .As
a result, the brief periods of instruction before each
dance have become more brief, and the half hour
"instructions for beginners", previously held before
the dance itself each Wednesday night, has been
eliminated.
It is unfortunate that more than half of those
who attended the dances regularly were not members
of the college community. There were many nights
when there wou ld have been no dance at all were
it not for "our friends across the street". This may
have been true partly because of the (ahem) great
amount of work St. Johnnies do on Wednesday nights.
If this were the whole story, there would be little
the Folk Dance Group could do to increase its size.
But it is a well known fact that St. Johnnies would
r~ther dance with women than with other St. .Johnmes. And here the Folk Dance Group has fallen
clown on the job. It has failed to provide the proper
incentive to bring the members of the college community in to its fold. Several weak attempts have
been made to induce high school girls, women from
the YWCA and from various sororities to come to
the dances. These attempts have borne little fruit.
It is hoped the members will be moved to make a
real effort along this line next year.
There has been a tendency of the group to concentrate on square dances rather than couple dances.
The repertoire of square dances has increased with
the acquisition of several new albums of dance records, while the .group has learned only one new
couple dance this year. Mrs. Schmidt's offer to teach
�the group a number of Scottish dances which she
learned abroad last summer has not yet been taken
up. The group seems less willing to adopt folk
dances of other countries than American or Americanized folk dances.
Members of the board which organized the dances
this year are: John Sterrett, President; James Linsner, Vice-President; Frederick Beardsley, Secretary
and Treasurer; W arren Winiarski, Instructor and Librarian; Duncan Brockway, Assistant Instructor; and
Tom Fromme, Tom Meyers, Jerry Tarcher, and vVilliam Engelhard. James Linsner was elected President
and Duncan Brockway Vice-President for the third
term.
-FREDERICK BEARDSLE Y
l\tiOVIES
Barring the freshman who quit coming to the
RAM foreign films because "Greek tutorial was all
the non-understanding" he could take and those few
severe and wise souls who are wi lling· to face the fact
that the movies, almost without exception, are a
pretty obnoxious and unrewarding pastime-even
as escapism, St. John's as audience continues to present an interesting if disturbing phenomenon; all the
more so when it is considered that that audience
represents between three and four fifths of the college regularly attending: a showing not uncomparable to the formal lecture.
Willing, for the most part, to take our escapism
raw, we reflect that schism in our intellectual lives
often referred to as "not letting the Great Books interfere with our education". That is to say, there is
little, perhaps no intellectual activity associated with
the most enthusiastically attended mass college function . We fail to bring the skills of the program to
bear upon non-program m a terial. But is that failure
solely the failure of the stude nt? a nd if not, wherein
does this schism find its origin? To some this
problem is disturbing. They are disturbed first tha t
we should indulge our intellects in escapism at all;
and second ly, having so indulged them, that we
should use so sparsely those skills, the "liberal" skills,
to the development of which the program is dedicated. They argue that we should now, while we
are daily practicing the paradigm of intellectual (not
to mention stylistic) analysis, comparison and criticism (Heave n forbid that it should be literary or
aeHhetic! ) with the books and while we yet have the
"leisure" to explore "ideas", apply these skills to all
facets of our lives - even to the movies. For it
remains a fact that we are almost always willing to
leave the gym with an easy approval if we enjoyed
the film - generally a well made one - or, if we
didn 't a visible measure of annoyance at not having
walked the three or four extra blocks and paid the
additional seven cents to the Circle or the Republic.
To others the schism is more interesting than
disturbing. It is a little more proof that the movies
are after all not worth the attention and that we as
students are displaying uncommonly good sense in
not wasting our efforts. (It wou ld, perhaps, be not
too libelous to suggest this as the possible position of
the coll ege authorities. One suspects that this is best
indexed by the catalogue which, despite the many
a nd major revisions recently, continues to list the
film club as showing "the 'classics' of cinematic art".
Such a ca reful "classicification" only sugges ts that
they are not a liberal art, but, like the circuses of
Rome, are a current cultural fact that cannot be
ignored. But, unlike the official determination of
the Roman variety, the interest of the College officials, which h as never failed to be financial - and
that with a vengeance-has rarely if ever been in the
selection of those "classics" shown. It has p'r eferred
to have the movies remain the prerogative of the
students, notwithstanding repeated suggestions that a
competent selections committee of faculty be appointeel whose task it wou ld be to utilize and develop the
interest in the films along lines more in keeping with
the rest of the program. Such a committee need not
commit films to the program, but can, however, see to
it that (in the words of the catalogue) the movie
attendance " follow as a free and natural consequence of the student's expanding abilities .... Recreational activities have to derive their vitality from
these newly developed powers which support them
. . . . Thus recreation and play become an integral
part of the student's life in this community. " It
is a thing devoutly to be hoped for . No doubt such
a course would vastly limit the number of films
shown; there just aren' t that many "classics" in the
films. But it might, at the same time as it reaffirms
the skills, enable us to recognize that first movie
which is a liberal classic should it ever come.)
And to still others this inability and lack of interest in dealing with non-program material is further
evidence of the program's weaknesses-especially
those of the Language tutorial and the seminar.
It is doubtful that it is the specific failure of anyone of these three: of the language tutorial which
has left us generally insensitive to how a thing is said;
or of the seminar to help us relate what is not
formally part of the program with what is, however
distantly, related in idea or subject; or of the film's
scanty dose of things worth seeing, l istening to,
or talking about ; which h as made the film program
such a wholesale failure as far as its being a particular
rite regula rl y observed by the overwhelming majority
of the citizens of the St. John's College community.
For, not infrequently, that Greek tutori al has failed
to break clown the wall of "non-understanding" .
An d it is there that the barriers of langu age and the
devices and conventions of style are to be met, comprehended a nd employed, ideally in the seminar. Occasionally in seminar, where the interest is almost
entirely devoted to what is said rather tha n how it is
said, a movie is referred to and what discussion does
follow is uncomfortably loaded with the feeling that
a movie just doesn't fit. Chaplin and other comedies
are, of course, most successfully employed. Perhaps
we a n d the movie makers best overcome our ineptitudes here because paradox and incongruity are
so m uch more essentially visual than literary. (Even
a_ ~on ke y can recognize when a square peg doesn't
ftt 111 a round hole .)
But these little accomplishments made by the film industry are so small tha t the
euphemism of "cinematic art" need not even embarass
the college authorities ; for all the great success of
~he M arx Brothers or Chaplin - and not necessarily
111 a ny Hollywood sense - is yet so incomplete next
to the vastness of a Cervantes who with mere words
can. con jure up in the mind's eye pictures far more
~ast111gly fun ny and far more significant to the mind
It~el£ . tha_t any specific contribution worthy of the
Ltst 1s htghly unlikely to come from this twentieth
century mecha nical purveyer of cu lture . If there are
any films that might indeeed give the lie to the complacency of the catalogue writers, they are few and
very far between.
That, des p ite the drawbacks, a successful union
?f the three - the skill, the intellect, and the film lS not entirely beyond the pale of the program seemed.
at leas_t three times to be indica ted . All three were
~xcept10na l films. The first, Grand Illusion, clone
.
m
b the gran d manner - cl' 1ogue m three languages 1a
Y a comple tely se lf-conscious and sophisticated artist
Was as fra ugh t · h · · ·
.
.
'
Wit s1gmhcan t detatl as It was vast
.
m scope If I . f'
·
t us trst purported to discuss and at-
�tempt solutions to the great world problems of
masses and classes, peace and war, Farribique, the
second, concerned itself with as unostentatious a subject as the intimate life of a French farm and its
family done with a sympathetic penetration and the
painstaking simplicity of a documentary. What little
dialogue there was, was in an almost incomprehensible dialect (at least to those of us who felt we had
come safely through the non-understanding of the
French tutorial) . And the last, which was entirely
spoken in English, save for a few sentences in Gaelic
(or was it Scotch?) was I Know WheTe I'm Going.
It was a film with as common a plot as any one of a
dozen Ginger Rogers variations on the boy-meets-girl
problem, but set in and intelligently utilizing the
beautifully photographed Scotch Hebrides.
Why lump threee such diverse films together?
A transcendant sequence in Gmnd Illusion gives a
first and most valuable key. The image is of Von
Stroheim, the Prussia,n Aristocrat, sitting impeccably
uniformed, white gloved, against the casement of the
latticed window in the medieval German castle, with
the single geranium set in the window to his right.
It has all the elements of a pel:fect renaissance portrait of the great feudal German princes. And as
such has all of the force of the magnificent renaissance
concern for human exellence, for human dignity,
which it is the especial province and achievement of
the renaissance artist to portray. All three of these
films concern themselves with human dignity and with
the accomplishment of the meaningful way of life.
No one could possibly question this as a subject
matter close to the heart of the program. But since
art, like thought, is dependent first upon symbols,
it is the element of skill - the skill of the artist
to symbolize concepts concretely - which determines
the success of the film, no matter how universal or
how steeped in the tradition the content may be.
(It is, of course, no less the tutorial skill of the
audience in recognizing and deciphering the symbol
before the dialectical process of the semi~ar can begin which also determines the success.) The symbols
in all threee were extremely successful, as was our
reading of them.
Grand Illusion has two distinct unities connected
by both the chronological sequence of the first which
makes the second h alf possible and by the immediately
insistent compa rison of the second 'with the first.
If that renaissance portrait be representative of the
first half, reflecting in its formality the concept of a
nobility once resplendantly clad in its responsibility,
culture and chivalry, but now decadent, seen against
the background of the prison castles it built, the
presumably unnecessary wars it creates, the tawdry
conversation of its amorous escapades (spoken signnificantly in English as a fence against the understanding of the lower classes) , then the second half,
the idyll of the escape of the lower cl ass heroes to
the simple happiness of the farm, is best represented
by the romantic lyricism of the sentence "Lotte hat
blaue Augen." The sentence immediately calls to
mind the picture of the blond, blue-eyed purity
of the child, the wholesome beauty of its mother, the
French mechanic learning to speak Germa n with this
phrase, a nd the richly sentimental Jew teaching it to
him with the child upon his lap. It is indeed romantic; and such symbolism when properly interpreted
cannot help but encourage the dialectical process.
The film, however, leaves us in much the same position as its heroes; setting out across an invisible
boundry into the unresolved territory of the two
competing symbols. The film has progressed no further than the creation of the conflicting symbols.
vVe are better acquainted with the symbols of
Fan·ibique. They are not as eclectic, nor as intellectual. Here they are more like those of the Iliad.
The epithets "Hector, of the gleaming helmet" or
"Hector, tamer of horses" are not entirely unlike those
of the visual variety in this film . We never fail to
see the people of the farm in some occupation. They
are similar to the Homeric characters in that they are
always associated with some quality or action : the
aunt at her sewing machine, the father kneading the
huge tub of dough, the mother pregnant or cooking,
the grandfather, Nestor like, as the prophet envisioning the better farm, praying in church. They are,
for us, their activities. Their lives are informed with
the dignity of participation in the centrally important
farm. Only the grandmother, having lost her place
to the virility of her daughter-in-law lacks this dignity.
Her life, having no sphere of action, lacks the beautifying dignity of meaningful place. She it is who
has no dream when all the others are pictured with
their visions. All the others have a "social integrity
.. . . a unity arising spontaneously out of its social
activities." She can only be pitied.
Farribique, for all the beauty and the dignity of
its people, for all its implicit assumption that "the
habit which is ennobling, penetrating to the frame
and physique as well as the souls of man is the
creative activity in all its rituals, exercises, festivities
and practical services," fails as a coherent film because it has no plot, nothing to limit its excesses and
give it form. It is rather the raw material for a film
in which such valuable symbolism can be used as a
leading component in conflict; the kind of raw
ma terial used by Tolstoy in Anna Karenina.
0
1 ... : / _
'
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0
IM1fl.CII7'T
N • ..,
Sa1-(V
....
"""'
Slighter by far than either one of the preceding
two, I Know Whae I'm Going, nevertheless, achieved,
by use of an essentially good plot (implying, in this
case, a significant conflict and its ultimate resolution) , resourceful use of minor elements of folklore
to create a frequently fairy-tale-like atmosphere, and
some excellent characterizations, a completeness and
a satisfaction common to a good yarn. And in its
telling the story of a girl who, through love, learns
of a way of life before incomprehensible, it manages
to provide a number of striking symbols. These
symbols are generally in the shape of people, all of
th em characteristic of some way of life. There is the
vacuousness of the extremely wealthy cocktail crowd
who buy their titles and rent other people's ancestral
estates; "the best people", she is told by her industrialist betrothed whose voice only do we hear
(anoth er symbol?) . There are the seamen and
farmers with values reminiscent of Farrebique. Most
important, however, are the poor landed aristocrats,
like the wonderful and admirable Katrina, who prefer
to live, not emptily, in the significant detail of their
free , good lives rather than sell out to go to the
blinding struggle of the more -lucrative cities. They
are people whose lives are significant and rich not
beca use they do only the important things, but rather
because they are those natural aristocrats - those
"grea t-souled" people - whose every act is important
beca use they do it.
The achievement of I Know Where I'm Going
is that, barely skirting slickness, it manages to present
a conflict of symbols and its ultimate resolution while
carrying the audience along with the heroine. It is
remarkable because while it enables the audience to
identify itself with her, it allows the audience to be
valuably detached.
Certainly the successful marriages of the three
elements on these three occassions are no immediate
guarantee of universal success with the films as
a contribution to the work and the play of the college.
But they do point the way to a more judicious usage
of our talents, energy, and time.
There were times, however, when some students
did rise to a kind of critical acumen not unlike that
of the seminar. A surprising number of film discussions appeared in the Collegian - frequently, in
the characteristic fashion of that journal, months late
and long after the movie had been forgotten. Bob
Parslow contributed a number of articles. One concerned itself with the Adventures of Chico, a story
of a Mexican child and his life among the animals
about him. It discussed with a just and somewhat
humorous seriousness the problems of the natural
moral order. (It would make excellent comparative
reading with such classics as "Winnie the Pooh" as
a contrast to Christopher Robin's relations with the
stuffed animals about him). Stuart McRaney's very
fine article on O'Neill's Anna Christie, which appeared only four months late, certainly deserved, at
least, to be honorably mentioned for the Collegian
prize . The play itself failed as a movie . It was more
clearly a photo-play. One wonders, noting the success of the review, if perhaps this quality (after all,
plays are on the program) accounts for its dialectical
tractability.
Financially, the RAM continues to amaze everybody, even itself. It took a loss of considerably less
than a hundred dollars last year. Considering its
value in the community as a contact with Annapolitans who are attending in ever-increasing numbers
and the service it does the administration in keeping
the Freshmen off the streets on Saturday night, it
becomes something of a bargain to the school at that
price. Happily, the administration is in a sufficiently
conciliatory mood to replace the battered screen and
the antique projector. Our only other regrets are
that Tom Fulton, our sympathetic inside man, has
left and that Pat Parslow's brilliant posters will only
continue for another year until Bob graduates.
-DICK EDELMAN
�FILMS 1949-!\0
Grand e Illusion
Room Service
Painting and Sculpture of
Tillie's Punctured Romance
Pinocchio
Henry Moore
T he Aub usson Tapestries
Citizen Kane
Crime and Punishment
Grapes of Wrath
The Seven Pearls o[ the Crown
Pattern for Peace
Top Hat
1848
Instruments oE the Orchestra
Mother's Day
T he Devil is an Empress
Laura
The Rose a nd the Mignonette
We o[ West Riding
Art Su rv ives the T imes
Ch ap lin - Five Keystone
Peter th e Grea t
Comedies
T he City
The Great Train R obbery
Stone Flower
The Last Card
Un Chi en And a lou
Nightmail
Anna Christie
Flame oE New Orleans
The Covered Wagon
The Bank Dick
Voyages Surprise
Murderers Among Us
Colonel Chabert
Berkeley Square
Chaplin - The Fireman
Dreams T ha t Money Can Buy
Vol pone
I Know 'W here I'm Going
Chaplin - The Adventurer
Torment
Fric Frac
Fiddlededee
Chap lin - L a ughing Gas
Rh ythm in Light
Farrebique
Bringing Up Baby
Chaplin - Behind th e Screen
PUT AN OTHER NICKEL IN
Music at St. John 's has always been something
of an anomaly, contesting with the laboratory sciences
for the position of family bastard. But unlike the
laboratory sciences, music is fashionable and provides
one, without being versed in its discipline, with endless opportunities for nonsense dialectic. Yet as an
art it has considerable appeal for the untutored. In
the past three years music has ceased to be just a
wonderful mystery, a relief from soporific lectures, or
an excuse for lunatic fringe aesthetics. For this
change one may thank the instruction committee,
certain local musicians, Mr. Hubbard, and the cold
war.
For several reasons it is quite difficult for me to
give any sort of judicious appraisal of the past year's
music. First, music is for me a wonderful mystery;
it does relieve an unending succession of sleep-invoking lectures, and it provides me with endless opportunities for half-b aked dialectic. Further, a very deep
intere~t in just a few works and. performances has
caused me to be quite uncritical of those, to neglect
completely others, and to be overly critical of yet
other works and performances.
The H ayd n Qu artet which formally opened the
musical year was given a completely stupid reading
by the J uilliard Qua rtet . The wonderful Schubert
Quartet tha t followed was, with the excep tion of
the magnificently read 'cello cantab ile of the slow
movement, h ardly better set up or executed tha n the
Haydn. The questiona ble Berg Lyric Suite which
closed the program was, on the other h a nd, beautifully conceived and fl awlessly performed. All of
which ma kes me furious. Admittedly the H aydn and
Schubert are more available both to the unders tanding a nd in performance, but this does not justify poor
presenta tions by a quartet which h as proved its exce llen ce in interpreting some works. Bartok, I ves,
Schoenberg, Villa-Lobos, and Webern have all made
significant contributions to quartet litera ture in areas
whe·r e the Juilliard Quarte t h as proven its ability.
1 should much rather spend a n evening with musical
st rangers or slight acquaintances th an with old friends
in poor health.
It was not until the second concert that the
ch ange mentioned earlier m a nifested itself. For many
r easons Doda Conrad was eagerly a nticipa ted. Not
u ntil I h ad overcome a violent objection to his stag·e
m a nnerisms a nd his inept singing of four Haydn
songs did I begin to appreciate his ability. It was
n ot, however, his m asterful handling of the Schubert,
especially the songs Postillion, K ronos, a nd Atlas, to
wh ich he finally warmed, that m ade the co ncert
won derf ul but the accompaniment for the Bach Canta ta No. 56. A small instrumental group with an even
smaller chorus, hesitant, insecu re, a nd with poor ense m ~le, but ours, was upon the stage a nd assisting·.
~ us1c a t St. John 's had, then, ceased to be a passive,
m troverted spectator sport. With all its faults, that
performan ce of the Canta ta No. 56 was one of the
hap p iest events of the year.
T he Philadelphia Trio augmented by lVfax Aronoff p layed for us Mozart, R avel, and Brahms. Mozart
was n o gypsy. His music will not stand up und er
sch malzie playing. The Phil adelphia Trio plus i\fr.
Aronoff are gypsies and what happened that night to
the Mozart G Minor Pia no Quartet wou ld ca use Rud y
~aron to b lush with envy. R avel's music, desp ite
Its_ soph istication, does m a ke se nse wh en well greased .
Hts A Minor Pia no Trio received relatively much
more sympa theti c treatm e nt tha n did the Mozart.
Fo~ all his ponderous intellect, perhaps even because
of H, Bra hms writes his m os t enjoyable music in the
"H ungar ian Style". The comb in a tion of the Philadel P h' T no and the Brahms I st Piano Qu artet ])ro·
Ia
d
-~
_uced wh a t was unquestion abl y the most wonderful
smgle p erformance of the year. I sin cerely hope iV[r.
Aronoff a nd the Philadelphia Trio return.
The Sunday following the superlative Brahm s,
�significant that Mr. Kirkpatrick's performances in the
past three years steadily improved, and although his
conception of most works programmed is still quite
unimaginative, pethaps because of the virtuoso nature
of these sonatas he plays Scarlatti magnificently.
The musical year ended with a two day program
of works of Sartorious, Haydn, Bach, Beethoven, and
Mozart. A diminished chorus (the Boat Club was
pouring beer over a Tempest) gave very incisive
readings of a Sartorius three-part canon and the Beethoven Elne Gottes-. Most of the faults noted earlier in the chorus had disappeared . Its singing was
precise, vigorous, and well-balanced, but definitely
inflexible and unsubtle. Cree, Pinsker, and Linsner
played the 1st Haydn Trio and demonstrated in the
last movement, the famous Gypsy Rondo, that they
too were appreciative of the "Hungarian Style" . The
St. .John's Quartet, McRaney, J\lfrs. Hefner, Cree, and
Pinsker, played the fugues 1 through 4 of the Bach
Kunst - and the Haydn Quartet Op. 76 No. 4 .
.Mrs . \Vohl and Mr. Zuckerkandl played three piano
concertos of Mozart; Mrs. Wohl the F Major K.413
and the C Major K.503, and Nir. Zuckerkandl played
the B-Flat K.595. Since the pianos available are such
only by convention, it is impossible to make any
sort of judgement of these three performances except to say that they were of necessity very muscular.
BIOLOGY: The microscope and the cell.
--STEWART WASHBURN
McRaney, Cree, Pinsker, and Wise played the Purcell
Golden Sonata . V/ith all its imperfections the group
demonstrated more sympathy for this delightful work
than our bought-and-paid-for performers have for
most of their programs. Alone, Wise, a pianist who
does not let the music stand in the way of i1is virtuosity, gave a very wooden reading of the Bach A
Minor Engl£sh Suite. The Schuetz Seven Last Words
of Christ closed the program. Performed by the
augmented St. .John's chorus with soloists and an instrumental group, it proved much too ambitious an
undertaking. Despite poor ensemble and unbalanced
chorus, the performance demonstrated at the beginning of the last chorus, We1·-Wer Gottes Marter £n
Ehren Hat, what was possible. The seven or eight
bars that set these words were most expressively sung.
Kirkpatrick, without Schneider, played here for
three days. Formally, he presented works of Gibbons,
Couper in, Rameau, Bach, and of course, Scarlatti;
informally and on the clavier he played the Bach
·w ell-Tempered Clavier, and on the harpsichord a
magnificent reading of the Italian Concerto. It 1s
FORMAL CONCERTS 1949-50
The .Juilliarrl String Quartet: Robert Mann, violin; Robert
Koff, violin; Raphael Hillyer, viola; Arthur Winograd, 'cello.
Quartet in F sharp minor
Haydn
String Quartet in G major, opus 161
Schubert
Lyric Suite
Berg
Dada Conrad, Basso.
Haydn
Four English Songs
Bach
Cantata No. 56
Ten German Songs
SchubeTt
The Philadelphia Trio: Vladimir Sokoloff, piano; .Jascha Brodsk y, violin; Orlando Cole, 'cello ; assisted by Max Aronoff, viola;
Piano Quartet in G Minor
Mozart
Trio in A Minor
..........
. . Ravel
. Brahms
Piano Quartet in G Minor . .. . . . .. .. .
Ralph Kirkpatrick, Harpsichordist.
The Lord of Salisbury His Pavin;
Gibbons
The Queene's Command
... ... .. .
Les Fastes de la grande et ancienne
Couperin
Menestrandise
Rameau
Gavotte and Doubles
Sweelinck
Soli es sein
Bach
Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue
Scarlatti
Ten Sonatas
PH YSICS: Th e Millikan apparatus and the electron
�RECHERCHE DU TEMPS FOUTU
Some of the interesting and remarkable events
at St. John 's do not fit readily into the formal text
of a yearbook. We note the following as catalysts to
future reminiscence on the enchanted aspect of higher
education:
the humor of the "Real Collegian" straining
halfway through page l, Vol. I, No. I . . . .
Sacher, the successful pyrotechnician . .
the departure of Percival Keith, who had admittedly been on campus longer than the Liberty Tree,
for the wild, blue . ...
the horrors of home movies twice inflicted .. . .
patriarch Goldwin's ominous description of the
wages of indiscretion . ...
Mr. Johnston and the elusive Tubifex . . . .
a linguistic shift unnoticed by Grimm or Verner
- -"Russian 's' to Gaelic 'g' or Vice-versa; as in the
Combination 'case-cage'"; whatever the direction of
the shift, the Golden Rectangles were hung by their
necks until solved . . . .
Mr. Toad's brief but exciting appearance; ''I'll
pop him off!" . ...
the Library's new acquisition of Havelock Ellis
to replace the old, stud~nt· abridged edition . . . .
wormwood's incompatibility with ambrosia .. .
Alice's Tea Party - one question period through
which only a dormouse slept . . . .
the siren-call of "all clear" in Elizabeth marking
the advent of the silly season . . . .
the President's Secret Vice, a trolley bell beneath
the floorboards of his car . . . .
Mr. L atouche 's never-recorded lullaby .. . .
the studied ineloquence of . our Film Club director's between-reels speeches . . . .
station WSJC . . . .
Escoffier offended by confectioner's sugar in
Junior punch .
the foamy posters' short sabbatical on visitors'
day ...
the GAC's financial surplus and the Bozart
Ball . . . .
the familiar colors of Coca-Cola modulated to
our conservative tastes ... .
lVIr. Barr made to feel at home by certain essentials of the City of Man: Sandy and a reticent light
fixture . . . .
the Great Lacrosse Scare and diminishing hopes
for another world championship.
Sterrett's brave, bright effort to revive thesis
burning . . . .
the Collegian's catharsis of freshman frustration ....
�•
JUne
week
June week was a series of sharp and turbulent
contrasts. In review, however, it .was not altogether
a jumble. A whole range of human experience was
either discussed or sampled. Philosophy, religion,
art, learning and action, war and peace, casualness
an d formality, family, friends and eros came in confus ing juxtaposition, each with its moment and place.
O nl y twice did we approach the vision of their unity .
O therwise we kept seeing them in undesigned and
ofte n ironic aggregates.
An yone coming late to the rather small knot of
people obse rving the Class-Day ceremonies would have
felt that it was too quiet, too ill-attended. The oppressive heat was silent and mostly sunless. But the
trad ition of the college showing at its best on this
occasion held firm. The humor may have been pallid
and the se ntimentality sickly, unlike the previat).,5 year,
bu t there was little of either. The grasp and developmen t of the ideas in the two major speeches was
stric t and exhilarating.
Messrs. Lincoln and Goldberg in their capacity
as senior dign itaries provided introduction and interlude. Ranny' s witticisms were topical and brief;
Bob's remarks were informed with an earnest and
obv ious emotio n about the occasion . By unanimous
conse n t of the seniors, an honorary degree B.A. was
awarded to Bobby, who had out-lasted a majority of
the members of the class, surviving freshman crisis
and sophomore d.epression.
L. Harvey Poe, joining himself to the class with
which he had come to the college, spoke out the
experience of a lawyer, practical politician and active
liberal. His exhortations had a flavor reminiscent
of the founders of the St. John's program: at our
doorstep lay a world in desperate need of being won
by the virtues of the liberal arts, even perhaps for the
liberal arts. "Legislative chaos, with only self-interest
seeming to count with our representatives, points the
need for political leaders who will follow principle.
Executive irresponsibility, led by expediency, shows us
the need of civil servants who will seek the common
good. Judicial confusion, arising from disagreement
concerning our fundamental law, among even the
judges of our highest courts, cries the need for educated jurists." This was of course an incitement to
constructive action; but at the same time one could
not escape the heightened anxiety at the imminence
of war, which in fact broke out two weeks later.
The emphasis had shifted from the conquering of
new worlds to the saving of the old.
In approaching his theme, Mr. Poe drew the
distinction, central to the weekend, between the life
of the community of learning and the life of practical
action. "Such a community must be necessarily somewhat removed from the routine, stress and strain
of the daily world, which is ever busy meeting or
avoiding its particular problems. \.Yithout this remove, a college would lose depth and perspective.
Its general aims would be endangered by thes~ urgent
particulars." In contrast, he said to the class as
graduates, "We now pass the point where we can in
conscience any longer hold aloof from the practical
affairs of this world." While Mr. Poe's awareness
of the tragedy implicit in action prepared the way
�for Mr. Scofield's later commencement address on the
habit of literature as consolation, this aspect of his
speech led immediately to the examination of the
dichotomy between learning and action given in the
following speech of Tom Simpson, "Means and Ends" :
"We seem to have come to the end of the formal
discipline we set ourselves four years ago. Can we
remember that an end in time need not be an end in
pw·pose? No one studies at St. John's for the sake
of the degree which .marks the end of his studies :
we did not enter the college community four years
ago for the purpose of leaving it next week as graduates. It is not easy, on the other hand, to dissociate
what Aristotle calls his 'causes' from a time sequence,
in which the so called 'efficient' cause or agent operates fint and the 'final' cause or goal stands as an
objective in time. When we seek the purpose of a
thing, our first inclination is to look to the future.
All things are commonly valued as preparations for
later events as means to ends for which they prepare
a way in time.
"It is in these terms that a college is most often
discussed . We speak of the college as a preparation
for a profession, or as a preparation for citizenship,
or more generally as a preparation for life. We even
attempt to evaluate our Program at St. John's in terms
of 'results'. But at St. John 's we endeavor, I think,
to remove ourselves as far as possible from the false
dichotomy this suggests: the separation of 'the college' on the one hand from 'life' on the other. There
is, certainly, a sense in which college is a preparation
for life. But in that same sense all life is a prep aration for life.
"Recognition that the college is not properly separable from life is an instance of John Dewey's insight
that life is not separable into 'means' and 'ends'.
What we call 'ends' are still means, for we have not
really reached an end; while what we call 'means'
are already ends in the sense that we must evaluate
life as a whole, not merely offering select moments
for examination while exempting others because we
have regarded them as means.
"The dissection of life into 'means' and 'ends'
leads in the extreme to the judgment of each even
exclusively in terms of its outcome, and the justification of the means by the end. This is the Machiavellian fallacy, and it is no less a fallacy when applied
to the college than it is in the realm of politics. I
think the opposite is more nearly the truth, that
every moment of our lives is in itself a moral moment,
and that it is forever the means which we must value
- that we ought to value the past four years not
primarily in terms of the future , but for their own
sakes, as good years.
"Have these years at St. John's been simply useful years, whose utility remains to be demonstrated
in the years to come, or have they been primarily
good years? Insofar as a thing is merely useful, our
interest in it is secondary in cornparison with our interest in the end which it serves, and we may leave
it behind and forget it when its utility is exhausted.
If our purpose at St. John's has really been to
acquire certain skills, liberal skills, let us say,
such as reading a:nd conversing, then insofar as we
have progressed in that purpose, and have become
better readers or better conversationalists (in the
serious sense of that word) , we might discard and
forget our years in the tutorial and seminar. But
insofar as our purpose here has been to live well
as members of a kind of community of learning, St.
John's has been good rather than merely useful, and
its goodness must immeasurably surpass its usefulness
in importance. I think this is the case with St.
John's as with all life - the past cannot be discarded
as simply a means to the present and the future, but
has been and will remain of first importance in itself.
"To turn for a minute to Plato-does the
Republic exist solely for the sake of the end, that is,
in order that the philosopher may know? Is the
process of learning, consisting of all the levels within
the state less than that of knowledge, merely useful?
If so, only the philosopher will profit from the pro·
cess, and the Republic may be discarded at the
moment of the philosopher's illumination in the light
of knowledge. But the myth tells us that there is
virtue within the state - that is, that the means have
their own goodness: that it is not merely useful, but
good, to do one's duty. In this way the myth preserves the possibility of goodness in our lives, which
never reach their goal. The Royal Lie tells us that
our lives are ordered toward an end which is supremely good, and are to that extent means, but it
also tells us that these means, which are our province,
are just, and are therefore to be valued in themselves.
St. John's occupies a very modest place in the Republic. But if our wo'r k together here has constituted any segment of the Republic, it has been
good, and we should value it for that reason.
"While we deny that Commencement is going to
divide means from ·ends, it cannot be denied that we
are experiencing a real transition - dissolution of the
community which our class has become over four
years, and the end of our participation in the unique
way of life at St. John's. We might seem this week
to be leaving a smaller community and entering a
larger. But even this is not a transition which is
occurring now for the first time - it is rather a
commemoration of a process which has been occurr ing throughout the four years, and in every phase
of the Program. For four years we have been leaving
St. John's. The Program has been the rigid and
exacting form of a community in which we have
participated; it is most often attacked by critics because of this rigidity. But while we have observed
the laws of the Program, we have by no means yielded
our individuality to it.
"A conversation is a curious process. Two people
who are talking together participate in conversation,
but do not abandon themselves to it. Their thoughts
meet for an instant, and then-without interrupting the speaking and listening-slip away again
into individual realms, relating what is being said to
highly individual experiences and pursuing independent investigations; often the results of these private
investiga tions are reported later as contributions to
the conversation. If this is true when two people converse, how much more often does the individual leave
the community during a seminar conversation with
twen ty people!
"In much the same way, reading is: a process of
leaving the text and returning, the book virtually
repelling us by the very fact that it stimulates independent speculation. Both books and conversations grow more difficult to follow as they become
more exciting, and so too the Program at its best is
so stim ulating to separate thought that it develops
centrifugal forces which have almost literally tended
~o hurl us as individuals out of the community. This
Is only to repeat that the Program has · ,no bounds,
that by its own operation it constantly leads beyond
its seeming limits into all the ramifica tions of 0ur
lives, and into all the communities of which we are
members.
"Commencement is therefore not a unique occasion . It is not as though we had been living on a
kind of floating island, hovering above reality lik~
the land of the mathematicians which Gulliver visited,
and only now at the end of four years were letting
down a ladder. On the contrary, we have been
Commencing for four years. Nothing about the Program has been more gratifying than the sense we
have had of its being, first of all, constantly relevant
to all phases of life - but further, and much more
important, really a part of life, and a way of life.
We will do well if we· can now find other ways of
life which are as good."
However, the ultimate comment on the world
outside came from Ranny Lin!;Oln, who said, with the
unction suitable to an announcer, "Do you have financial difficulties? Just go to Palestine and say
'Buchanan sent me'." This was the last echo of St.
John's Golden Age and the illusion of our simple
Messianic mission.
Certainly for the week preceding June Week any
analysis of life in the community could only bear
comparison with fairy tales, the movies, or cafe society.
Any number of parties preceded the formal opening
of festivities with the Junior-Senior beer party. The
Goldwin's party for the senior class was the first and
most prominent, perhaps because it gave us the opportunity to hear the Reverend Doctor J. Winfree
�•
I
i
I
1
~
Smith sonorously intoning Hiawatha from two till
three fifteen in the morning . The tradition of Daisy's
warmth and Bob's hospitality made this the natural
place for the seniors to begin to feel that affection
which comes with the realization that these are the
last two weeks. A more exciting event, particularly
in its introduction of the. more restrictive elements of
that outside world, was sponsored by Heloise and
Jamie Frame . At the somewhat too beery JuniorSenior party, Harry Martin smiled and smiled and
smiled all over the width of the Chase Commons
Room and down the length of the porch. He was
hosting a p a rty which sported the Dean doing business in one corner, Richard Scofield, austerely dressed
in black, perched on the arm of a sofa, sipping the
same g'lass of beer midst the same amiable patter all
evening, while the gang all sang. It was a party
filled with the discussions and apprehensions of Junior enablings. The seniors, from the va ntage point of
already granted degrees, could only look down complacently. The faculty, on its part, was filled with
the echoes of its earlier considerations of the issues at
stake in a Baccalaureate Service. Was the College
borrowing the empty trappings of an otherwise meaningful ritual, or was it proper for the College to
participate officially and as a whole in Christian
worship? As one member of the - faculty put the
ambiguity: " College Avenue runs tangent to Church
Circle." Winfree Smith could still remember preaching the Episcopal Service to a uaduating class composed solely of a Mohammedan, a Catholic, and a
Jew. All in all, it was as cosmopolitan a party as
Harry could have hoped for. The last of the major
parties was held by Myron Wolbarsht on t?at same
Chase House porch, in lieu of the traditional SeniorFaculty cocktail party. Myron absolved the entire
community of its sins against his person and soul,
inviting all the faculty and seniors indiscriminately.
The virtue of Myron's grandmother's recipe for
punch was, indeed, almost sacramental. Most of the
participants left for the President's Dinner having
achieved a complete communion of spirit.
Time was when the Senior class would go miles
out to the Log Inn for the Senior Dinner and walk,
on the following day, to the President's Garden Party.
This yea r the order was re~ersed . We walked to
the dinner at the Open Door and rode miles out to
the Weigle home in Wardour. Many of the faculty
regretted the big la wn and the magnificent view of
Chesapeake Bay while drinking beer and waiting for
dinner a t the Log Inn . There was an awkwardness
in hanging around empty-handed at the bare serving
end of the banquet room with nothing to do liut
count the knots in the Knotty Pine Panelling. But
the dinner was steak and the toasts ran hot and heavy
from the moment Claude Leffel expressed delighted
surprise at discovering wine instead of grape-juice.
T here followed his toast to the class of '50 which
included a word for the Dean in "his self-appointed
task of making everybody happy ." Of the class he
said, "Of all classes it was the most pleasant .... in
the pursuit of non-learning. If the tree has not been
overburdened with fruit, it has at least been pleasant
in the shade." He lifted his glass and said, "To the
only possible aristoc'rats, the snobbish-bourgeois class
of 1950!" :M r. Weigle paid a handsome tribute to
M r . Kieffer and made the welcome announcement
of his return in the following year. Mr. Kieffer,
visibly touched at the enthusiastic reception of this
n ews, quoted Dante: "In the middle way of life I
fou nd myself in a dark wood." He spoke of himself
as having taught for twenty years and of the welcomeness of a year of leisure. Adding that he would
p robably not have another such year for the next
twenty, he toasted the next two decades "at Saint
Joh n's and twenty years beyond." Winfree Smith's
toast took the form of an anecdote: Frank, the nightwa tchman, stopped him the day of the Faculty practice for the Senior-Faculty baseball game, and asked,
"Did you see Mr. \Neigle?" Winfree, pointing out
across the field at the bat-swinging President, answered, "Yes, he's right over there ." To which Frank
replied after an approving glance, " He's a nice boy.".
Win free toasted "the nice boy." George Hofrichter
rem em bered the seventy of the one hundred who
entered who didn't reach the end. He described
h imself as the mean between them and the twentyeight who did. Though it was more likely to benefit
their sons than the graduating class, those who had
sh ivered so valiantly through four winters rejoiced at
the P resident's announcement that the ground would
be broken in November for a new heating plant to
replace Koogle .Hall.
T h e Dean's Toast to the Republic was suitably
long a n d complicated. It distinguished four republics: the Republic of letters, our Republic, Plato's
Republic, and the Republic of the United States of
America whose responsibilites he saw, along with Mr.
Poe, as extended into the whole world. He saw a
grea t symbol in "the raised face of a young man learning . . . . his intense frown as he gazes up at something ou tside of himself, detached from himself . ..
yet seeing what is in himself. This," said Mr. Klein,
"is the m ost beautiful thing in the world. Any fruit
of the Republic of letters is apt to have a corruptible
surface wh ich is subject to decay (truth is akin to
frivoli ty, a nd art to mere elegance) but the seeds
will always nourish us." Perhaps as an affe,ctionate
commen t upon the Philosopher-King of. our Republic,
Ranny Lincoln toasted the Lady Gu:arcl,ian of the
�Dean's' realms . Recounting one time when he telephoned to the Dean, he said that Miss Strange answered. Several times · without success she called
through the wall to the Dean to pick up the phone
in his office. Finally, in desperation, she dropped
the royal lie and shouted, "Baby Duck, you're not
an swering mel"
We went back to join the ladies. The elates had
begun to arrive on Friday in time for the variety
show and the informal dance at the Boat House. The
variety show never materialized. It was a pity, since
a year before an attempt at reestablishing the tradition had been made. That attempt deserved a successor and an improvement, not neglect. RAM filled
in with a h as tily procured motion picture, " Bringing
U p Baby." The dance did materialize, and successfu lly. Notably, there was lots of dancing, and this,
no doubt, due to the efforts of Johnny Alexander,
"T he (Little) Man." He had collected, by bribing
some, blackmailing others, and simply providing the
carfare for the remaining members, a jazz "combo"
capable of turning out endless yards of the most
danceable music heard in these quarters for years. A
somewhat expanded version of the group played as
tirelessly and as well through the next night at the
Final Ball, with the aiel of a vocalist. The Gym was
buoyantly strung out with multi-colored balloons
providing a lush, if explosive background. It was
a superb finish to a crowded day. The Senior-Faculty
ball game had followed close on Class Day exercises.
T he Seniors, victorious (the President, alas, had injured his knee the day before at practice!), had only
had time to change and meet their rivals again at
Myron 's cocktail party prior to the dinner, during
wh ich the rest of the rained-out community picnicked
in the shade of the mighty columns of R andall Hall.
Saturday evening's rain cleared the air and cooled
the temperature; Sunday was brilliant and balmy.
For the first time in years, the College swam as well
as boated in its own back yard. At 3:30 PM on Sunday an unusually ample Academic Process ion formed
and proceeded down College Avenue to Church
Circle. Having entered, i~ was followed by a small
grou p of starched lower classmen as choir. The service was still Episcopal; the congregation, though more
conven tional and Protestant, was still polyglot. The
Sermon was delivered by the Right Reverend Lloyd
R. Craighill, D.D., formerly Bishop of Anking, China.
His treatment of the conflict of Communism
and Christianity in Chin a served to point up further
the d isorder of the world that faced the graduates.
On Sunday, June ll, we were as far removed (to use
Mr. Poe's word) from Chinese Communism as we
were from Korea. It seemed strange to hear the
familiar seminar theological and religious themes set
�in an alien contemporary and practical background.
Mr. Poe's exhortation to save the world took on a
deeper significance: as a Christian in the face of
cris:s, the Bishop could picture human fulfillment in
the high sacrifice which religion expects. Mr. Poe,
closer to the Philosophy of Plato's Republic, saw the
possibility of fulfillment within this life . He had said,
"A community of learning must educate men to seek
their proper ends and to seek them within the state
. . . Since he (man) wills the state, he must nurture
it, even though this duty will, in a sense, make
life more difficult and bring him added labor, pain,
and suffering."
At Commencement the next day, Mr. Scofield,
in the mode of Montaigne, set beside the fulfillments
of this life or the next Poetry as the consolation of
the active life.
"Here you have lived withdrawn and at leisure.
Your leisure has been filled, often too much filled,
perhaps, but it has not been filled with the world's
work. School means reisw·e: leisure is filled with
discussion, and a group whose common life is organized around discussion, a group living by and for discussion, is a school. You will probably never again,
until you are old, have so much leisure, never be so
free - and never be so eager - to give yourself to
theory, to seeing, with the mind's eye, all things
separately and together.
"You have not-I hope you have not-arrived
at certainty. Certainty is not required for action.
Moral certainty is not really certainty. When we say
that we are morally certain, we mean that we are
certain enough of the rightness of our opinion to act
on it, but we admit the possibility of error or incompleteness. Our mind is not closed. You have
been more interested here in understanding opinions
and in testing them than in accepting or rejecting
them. You have been, in the true sense of the word,
sceptical, - that is, you have continued to consider,
to investigate. You have not closed your mind. Your
goal, perhaps, has been knowledge and truth, but
your present concern and secure, if relative, achievement has been understanding .and light.
"If the backward glance I have cast for you is
just, the question then arises: what of this college
life you are leaving can you take with you into the
world, not as a power or a quality, but as life, as
activity? My answer is: its one best thing, literature .
"The concern of the College is with general education, and the aim of general education is the improveme~t of the mind. Great Books - that is,
literature in the wide sense and in the eminent case
- are a means to that end. For four years you
have been reading Great Books in order that by
aQalysis of *eir structure,. by imitation of their
method, and by discussion of their content you might
develop and discipline your powers. But the improvement of the mind thus achieved is actual only
in use. I shall not attempt to enumerate the uses of
intelligence. For many of you, perhaps for most of
you, the chief immediate use will be in study at
graduate and professional schools. But sooner or
la ter you will all be called to the active life, if not
by choice, by necessity, and in any case by duty.
T henceforward every step you take will limit your
range of real possibilities. Professional and business
interests and associations, family responsibilities, political ties will increasingly set the occasions for deliberation and judgment. These occasions are practical,
particular, and personal; they call for action, and
that action will have consequences. Everything will
conspire to separate you from the speculative, the
general, the impersonal.
"But here you have formed the habit of reading
Great Books. Since habit is a second nature, you
will find the time, you will take the time, to perserve.
T he habit of literature is the special and invaluable
gift of this college to you. The College prescribes
the reading of Great Books to its students with the
primary purpose, or at least the immediate purpose,
of supplying them with models and occasions and
materials . But Great Books may be read for many
purposes and in many ways. The intrinsically proper
and humane way to read them is for themselves, for
the sake of the experience of reading them. As you
have learned, this is the first way to read Great
Books, even as seminar assignments. The habit of
reading Great Books for the sake of the experience
of reading them is the habit of literature. The experience is the end, but it is not self-contained. . It
is relived in memory, it is one in an interpenetrating
series of similar experiences, and it is radiant. It
exercises a liberating, sustaining, and tranquillizing
power.
"The habit of literature implies a certain range,
a certain standard, and a certain attitude. The range
is wide: it covers history, poetry, politics, all description that is not merely statement of fact, all criticism
and all speculation that are not merely technical.
The standard is high: to exist for literature a book
must have intrinsic excellence. There are books on
the St. John's list that cannot meet the requirements
of a high standard of intrinsic excellence. Good
reasons may be given for your having been asked
to read them, but they are not reasons for reading
these books simply for the experience of reading
them. T hat is the test for literature - the value of
the experience as illuminating and enchancing apart
from any use that may be made of it. The attitude
of literature may be expressed as "the suspension of
disbelief" or more positively as the entertaining of
the idea, where by the idea is meant the idea of
whatever the author is saying whether it be concrete
or abstract, real or imaginary. The aim is to see
and to enjoy.
"The division into literary kinds or forms 111-.
dicates difference of emphasis and difference of
means, with a corresponding difference of demand on
the reader's faculties. But such distinctions are relatively unimportant. The common reader cannot
judge the accuracy of facts ; his interest is in their
interpretation. In literature it is always the idea that
is important. We have only to give our best attention to the al.lthor; he himself will tell us how
to read him.
�"I said a moment ago that the habit of literature
is the special and invaluable gift of this college to
you . It is a kind of sufficient grace to save you from
the world, - that is, from being overcome by the
world. For I do not suppose you should be saved
from the world in any other sense. It is in the world,
in economic, political, and social activity, that you
will 'find your happiness, or not at all.' And nothing
can take the place of happiness, though you may
live, may have to live, without it. I hope I am not
being a specter at this feast when I say that I think
life, however good, will not be easy for all of you,
and that for some of you it will be hard.
"The great traditional sources of consolation are
philosophy and religion. Both are 'expert beyond
experience.' The small, round, eternal world of
Aristotle, with its core of generation and decay, is as
improbable as the Creation, and the Active Intellect
that makes all things by knowing them no more
compels reason's assent than does .Jehovah. Religion
finds reasons that reason cannot know; in the delirium
of metaphysics reason itself assumes the God. Religion
and philosophy are divine madnesses - or at least
they were. I do not suppose philosophy as scientific
method or social psychology or as the revolt of common sense against metaphysics professes to console.
It is an academic subject like another, and its disciples
are as sensible and as wordly as the rest of men .
"But in any case these great traditional consolations are not in the College's power to bestow.
Religion is from God, and Philosophy, the rival of
Religion, claiming equal and opposed authority,
makes such hard conditions that she has had few
followers in any age . The philosophical life is austere,
lonely, and perhaps inhuman, - its aim is exclusively
contemplative. Lacking the supernatural virtue of
charity, Philosophy finds it more difficult than does
Religion - and is less concerned than is Religion to reconcile her demands with the demands of civil
society.
"But there is and has always been a third source
of consolation: poetry. Condemned by Religion and
scorned by Philosophy, poetry has yet found its defenders . The two classical defences of poetry in
English are those of Philip Sidney in the Renaissance
and of Shelley in the beginning of the 19th century.
Shelley considered poetry as 'the eternal source of all
intellectual, moral, and civil vitality, .... a specially
necessary corrective for times when the selfish and
mechanical principle, represented by Mammpn.
threatens to prevail.' Wordsworth, in an often
quoted p assage, calls poetry 'the impassioned expression which is in the countenance of all science,' and
aga in 'the brea th and finer spirit of all knowledge.'
M atthew Arnold, speaking more soberly, thought that
'most of what now passes with us for religion and
p hilosophy will be replaced by poetry.'
"Poetry thus conceived is again a divine madness,
a kind of contamination, perhaps, of the other two.
It is enthusiasm or inspiration, and, as such, beyond
the power of the College. But we may distinguish
be tween religion, philosophy, and poetry as activities,
as ways of life, and their expressions in literature.
It is evident that religion and philosophy are not
ide ntical with the great religious and philosophical
books, and perhaps the same distinction may be
ad mitted for poetry. Shelley, for example, held that
the true poetry of Rome was in its institutions and
its history .
"Now you have already formed the habit of religion, phi losophy, and poetry as literatw·e. Can
litera ture consqle, - that is, can it refresh, sustain,
a nd encourage? I think you know already that it can,
tha t it does, and that it will increasingly, as, immersed
in the practical, the parti cu~ar, the personal, you yet
turn to it disinterestedly and 'live beneath its habitual
sway '.
" Literature is not a substitute for the active life .
It does not ask you to renounce the world ; it only asks
you, from time to time, to close the door. It is an
invita tion, in the midst of action, to withdraw from
it a n d to look at it - but freely, as essence and as
possibility, rather than as existence. In these mome nts, as if out of time, there are no decisions that
have to be made, no sides that must be taken. 'The
falco nhood of morality ' need not be worn, though the
discourse itself were moral. The moral virtues belong
to the speculative life only as a predisposition . By
curbing the impetuosity of the passions, they preserve
for the mind the possibility of .exercising its natural
and ideal freedom . The possibility, I say, for the
calm of the passions is a void to be filled; and if
filled only with the practical, the particular, and the
personal, it is a prison-house. Indeed the classical
description of life as a burden refers not so much to
the servitude of the passions as to the servitude of
practice a nd routine, to the weight of custom, 'heavy
as frost.'
" Now as Aristotle saw so clearly, social and political life is the human condition. Those who can live
ou~side the political community are beasts or gods,
and I am speaking to neither. For men, there Is no
escape from the monotony of practice, from the weight
of custom. And therefore men have a constant need
to feel themslves one with some larger, freer, and
more enduring life, a constant need to live, along
with their own circumscribed, personal lives, a life
that is impersonal and separable. Family, friends,
the political community are necessary, but they are
not enough. We want something more - and other,
sornething not bound by time and place, not limited
by personal ties and interests, something· that will
give meaning to our fragmentary lives by bathing
them in its light and that will include them, as
meaning, in itself. This impersonal, separable, yet
human life is the very life of literature, freely offered
to all.
"It is not so much a matter of leaving the cave,
with its imitations and shadows, to see the real world
in the sunlight, as of climbing a tower for an unobstructed view. Speculation, according to some of
the Fathers, seeking reasons in etymology, is a watchtower, and Aristotle describes the contemplative life
as a holiday. If we add Milton's famous sentence that
'a g·ood book is the precious life-blood of a master
spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a
life beyond life,' we have a complete characterization
of literature.
" In the images of watch-tower, holiday, and lifeblood are expressed the distance, the freedom, and
the humanity of lite'r ature. Beatrice says to Virgil in
Hell: 'I am made such by God, in his grace, that
your misery does not touch me, nor the flame of this
burning· assail me,' - yet turns away her brig·ht eyes,
weeping. The terrible and the pitiful in tragedy are
seen as terrible and pitiful, but the serenity of the
mind that sees them is undisturbed by painful
emotion. And , in general, the idea is entertained,
the passionate conviction is entertained, but the mind
that entertains them is free. Its life is vision . But
the vision is of humanity. It has its source in the
humanity of the great writers, in the wholeness of
their human nature, and our own humanity is the
condition - and the measure ·- of our sharing it.
Because the great writers have deeper minds and hearts
than ours, literature is tonic. ·w e turn to it for confinnation and renewal of our human faith.
"The power to refresh, to liberate, to sustain is
the consolation of literature. It makes for serenity
and for confidence - not for the passionlessness of
philosophy, not for . the peace of religion. Literature may point beyond itself to superhuman and to
supernatural goods, but it does not attain to them.
�It rests in humanity, the humanity of Cicero: 'That
long time in which I shall not be moves me more
'than this brief span.' Literature does not detach us
from life, but commits us to life. Its consolation
arises out of life and is for the sake of life, the whole
of life.
"If I thought that reading gTeat books, habitually
and for themselves, would tend to separate you from
the interests and responsibilities of active social life,
would encourage you to withdraw into passivity and
dreams, I would urge you to leave gTeat books behind
you here or to read them only for immediate and
practical ends. I believe with Shaw's Caesar that you
should live your lives, not dream them away in libraries. The world has always needed its humanely
educated young men, but surely never more than now.
Let me close, then, with the words in which Croce,
in an Oxford lecture on poetry delivered some twenty
years ago, appealed to his audience as readers of
poetry: 'It may be said, in discouragement of vain
hopes and over-confidence, that the world is hard and
heavy . . . But we know that this hard and heavy
world yet moves, or rather that it only exists in
movement, and that it is moved by nothing but our
united efforts, that each of us, great or small or very
small as he may be, in his relation to all the others
is a nswerable for the world. If we . . . exert what
strength we have, we shall have done the duty of our
station."
Between the two stern considerations of the
modes of living offered by the Bishop and Mr. Scofield, the President's Garden Party was a convivial,
if slightly incongruous, interlude. If the College ever
was a cocoon, then the last wisps of silk were being
thrust aside in the long sunny June afternoon.
People 's parents were everywhere in evidence,. with
Board members and faculty and their wives, plus a
sprinkling of Juniors . The gentle punch eased us
through the aimiable formalities of a President's
reception.
Graduating was like graduating anywhere, at any
time . Black caps and gowns down the main walk in
procession, invocation, prizes, degrees, the final handshake, the benediction and the recession. It was made
personal, however, by the Liberty tree, Richard Scofield, and the inauguration of the Alumni Award of
Merit conferred by Otis Jones, for the Alumni Association, on our constant friend and mentor, Dr. Amos
Hutchins.
The President's Garden Party found an agreeable sequel in : iss Alexander's traditionally grand
M
buffet. Lunch under the magnificently sinuous elm
behind McDowell was still being served as the class
began to dissolve, with the Seniors slipping incon- .
spicuously away.
-RICHARD EDELMAN
Honors and Prizes
To the Senior who has the
highest standing, a gold
medal. Offered by the
Board of Visitors and Governors . ... .. ... ... ................. Thomas King Simpson
To the student who during
the current session has given most evidence of leadership in the service of the
College community, a prize
of $25.00 in books .................. .Robert Lawrence Goldberg
To the member of the Senior
Class who has written the
best final essay, a prize of
$27.50. Offered under the
will of the late Judge Walter I. Dawkins ... . ................. Thomas King Simpson
To the member of the Junior
or Senior Class who has
prepared the most elegant
solution of a mathematical
problem, a prize of $.25.00.
Offered by Brig. Gen. A.
W. W. Woodcock, A.U.S.,
Retired . ................................... George Wend
To the member of the Freshman or Sophomore Class
who has prepared the most
elegant solution of a mathematical problem, a prize
of $25.00 .. . ....................... . Robert Jacobus Pierot
To the member of the Freshman, Sophomore, or Junior
Class who has written the
best annual essay, the John
Martin Green prize of
$10.00 ............................ Stewart Barwick McRaney
Honorable Mention ................ . ...... Richard Tobi Edelman
To the student who has written the best original sonnet, a prize of $10.00 ....... Wolfgang B e1·narcl Fleischmann
�·~~~·-··o·,·orrr.~ ;.... ."4 ~ • ••••• · •
FRE DERICK
J.
BEARDSLE Y
JACK
L.
BERNARD
S.
CARR
G EORGE HARRIS CoLLINGwooD, JR .
MATSON G. EWE LL
i
'I
MILTON
s. CLIFT ON
CLORE TY
HERBERT
S.
F E INB E RG
''\TO L FGANG B ERNARD FL E ISCHMANN
·
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�RoBERT
D.
Fox
JOHN RoBINSON GARLAND
THOMAS G. FROMME
RoBERT
L.
GoLDBERG
RoBERT
RA LPH
J.
A.
GoLDWIN
HERROD, SR.
THEODORE
HENRY
W.
B.
HENDRICKS
HIGMAN
�t·
GEORGE HoFRICHTER
FRANCIS '"'· KELSO
IRWIN T . HUNT
JACK KONIGSBERG
CH ARLES RANLET LINCOLN
JOSEPH
L.
NADLER
THOMAS
J.
MEYERS
THOl\,IAS K. SIMPSON
�JOHN STERRET
ERIC
A.
TEEL
l'vf YRON L. W OLBARSHT
MARVIN ZETTERBAUM
BoBBY
GEORGE UsnANSKY
JoHN
L.
vVrLLIAMS
�STUDENT DIRECTORY
Evelyn
~etterbaum.;
Sheila Nadler; Ruth and Martha Sterret; Jane, Daisy, and Nancy Goldwin; Ruth and Peter Ewell; Lucinda Clifton
Denise and Alexandria Fox
Claire Lincoln; . India and Challen Williams; Ralph, Jr. and
Marion Herrod; Vivian Goldberg
Seniors
3207 Grayson Street, Baltimore, Md.
Frederick James Beardsley .. . . ... . .. ... .. . . . .
120 East Allen's Lane, Philadelphia, Pa.
Jack Ladd Carr
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... .
. . . . Bellingham, Washington
......... . . .. ... . ..... .. . . . .. .. . .
Milton Stearns Clifton
3016y2 Fanita Street, Los Angeles, Calif.
.... ,,, ..
Bernard Smith Clorety
Ontario Apts. #119, Washington, D. C.
George Harris Collingwood, Jr.
1819 G Street NW, Washington, D. C.
Patrick Darrell Davis
43-06 l\tforgan Street, Little Neck, N. Y.
Edmond Everett eli Tullio .. . . . . . ... . .... . . . ..... . . .
1666 Highland Avenue, Rochester, N. Y.
Ma tson Glenn Ewell
3423 SW 16th Street, Miami, Fla .
Herbert Selig Feinberg
1727 East 33rd Street, Baltimore, Md.
Wolfgang Bernard Fleischmann
. . . . . . . . . . . 1329 College Avenue, Bowling Green, Ky.
Ro bert Dixon Fox
309 'Vashington Avenue, Bellevue, Ky .
T homas George Fromme
67 Dunnell Road, Maplewood, N. J.
J oh n Robinson Garland
Hanover Street, Annapolis, Mel.
R obert Lawrence Goldberg
1237 East 58th Street Apt. l B, Chicago, Ill.
R obert Allen Goldwin
Calvert Court Apts ., Calvert and 31st Sts., Balto., Md.
T heodore 'Villiam Hendricks, Jr.
Institute clu Pantheon, Paris, France
R alph Jefferson Herrod, Sr.
........ . . .. . . .. .
...........
Millington, Mel.
.... . . . .. . . . .
H enry Booth Higman
. .. RFD #1 , Suffern, N . Y.
George Hofrichter .. . .... .. . . . . .... ... ....... . ..... .
390 West 87th Street, New York, N. Y.
Irwin Thomas Hunt
. . . . . .. ... ... .
333 Maple Road, Linthicum Heights, Mel .
Francis vVilliam Kelso
967 48th Street, Brooklyn, N . Y.
Jack Konigsberg . .. ........ . .. .
22 Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn Heights, N. Y.
Cha rles Ranlet Lincoln
102 ·w est Avenue, Bridgeton, N . .J.
T homas John Meyers
531 Miramonte Drive, Santa Barbara, Calif.
Joseph Louis Nadler . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . ... . . . . .
Kensington Court, Glen Falls, N. Y.
T homas King Simpson ...... . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .
33 1 West Lorraine Avenue, Baltimore, N. Y.
John StetTet ........... .
171 4 Lindberg·h Drive, Lansing, Mich.
Eric Albert Teel ....... .
40 Woodside Terrace, Springfield, Mass.
George Usdansky ............ . . .
Erwi n Herman Widder . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . .. . . .. . 8451 Beverly Road, Kew Gardens, N. Y.
Arden Farms, Harwood, Mel.
John Letcher Williams ... . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . . .... .. . . ....... .
43 13 Springdale Avenue, Baltimore, Mel.
Myron Lee 'Volbarsht
.. . .... . .. . .. .. . .
105 East 68th Stree t, Chicago, Ill.
Marvin Zetterbaum ......... . . .
Juniors
Richard John Batt, Jr.
Carl Bertolino . . .
Hu mphrey Richard Bixby
Douglas Grant Boyle
Donald Acker Brown
Wi lliam Allen Brown
George Bart0n Case
.John .Joseph Coffey
William Curwen Davis
Richard Tobi Edelman
Einar Flugum
....... . .
.James H artwe ll Frame
.. ... .. .. .
J ohn Henry Franke, Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .. . .. . . . . .
Alfred Philip Franklin . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .. .
James Andrew Grinder
... .. . . . . . . .... ... .. . . . . ..... . ... .
T homas Jefferson Hamilton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . .
Ernest W olfram Hankamer
4111 Venclome Place, New Orleans, La.
13363 Jane Street, Detroit, Mich.
Housing Unit #I , St. John's College
61 University Street, Salt Lake City, Utah
42 13 70th Avenue, Landover Hills, Mel.
323 Ninth Avenue, Salt Lake City, Utah
Box 210, c/o Hercules, Cumberland, Mel .
Iron Works Road, Brookfield, Conn.
908 Grandview Street, Scranton, Pa.
1320 East 31 Street, Brooklyn, N. Y.
. .. . . 1308 Elmwood Avenue, Evanston, Ill.
. . .... Hanover Street, Annapolis, Mel.
.......
Glen Isle, Riva, Mel.
1815 Monroe Avenue, New York, N. Y.
464 Minneforcl Avenue, New York, N. Y.
338 Barbara Avenue, Azusa, Calif.
318 Walnut Avenue, Greensburg, Pa.
�...........
. . . . . . . . . Manchester, Vt.
Anton Gysberti Hardy, Jr.
. .. ..... . . .. .. . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . RFD #2, Berlin, Md.
Howard Vernon Hern1an ....... . . . ... .
44 W. Granville Road, Worthington, Ohio
Robert Sherman Hill .. ..... . . . .
513 Hill Avenue, Wilkinsburg, Pa.
Theodore Lambert Hopkins
4701 Cooper Lane, Brookdale, Mel.
John Francis Horne, Jr. . .... . .. . . . . .
Hubhollow Road, Peapack, N. J.
Percival Cleveland Keith, Jr. .
280 N . School Avenue, Colby, Kans.
Louis Donald Koontz
619 N. Jefferson Street, Arlington, Va.
David William Lane
Housing Unit #8, St. John's College
John Kenneth Lucas
P .O. Box 37, Collins, Miss.
Stewart Barwick McRaney
241-01 Newhall Avenue, Rosedale, N . Y.
Harry Joseph Martin
Housing Unit #1 2, St. John's College
Robert Laverne Parslow
656 West 171 Street, New York, N. Y.
Marvin Leon Raeburn
... .. . 126 Lacey Street, 'N'estchester, Pa.
James Michael Reilly
...... ..
538 Enfield Road, Columbus, Ohio
Robert Norman Richman
.. . .. .... .. . . 9228 Hazen Drive, Beverly Hills, Calif.
: ichael Lee Rourke
M
RFD #2, Havre de Grace, lVIcl.
Ronald Lee Simmons
602 Avenue T, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Herman Small .
. . . . ... . . . .. ... .
6924 Barrett Lane, Bradley Hills, Bethesda, 1\iicl.
Raymond Peter Starke ...... . . . . .. .. . . .. .. .... .
412 Park Avenue, Baltimore l, Md.
David Corbin Streett, II
........
. .. . . . .. .
........ . ... ....
Rt. 7, Roanoke, Va.
George Charles Thrasher, Jr. ..
11 North Woodward Avenue, Wilmington, Del.
James Edward 'Valls
15 Bourne, 1\tiiclclleboro, Mass.
Stewart Alexander Washburn
. . . . . . . . . . . . North Sandwich, N. H.
George Wend
101 Greene Avenue, Sayville, N. Y.·
Paul Nelson 'N'estetbeke, Jr . . . . .. . ... . . .
305 Thackery Avenue, Catonsville, Mel.
Peter Anthony Whipple
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Georgetown, Del.
Thomas Joseph Williams
Sophomores
. . .. .... . . . 10 Gaston Street, Roxbury, Mass.
Alvin Abraham Aronson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 17th Avenue, San Francisco, Calif.
Henry Arrighi, Jr.
. .. . .. . ... . . .. . .
77 Halliday Avenue, Yonkers, N. Y.
Theodore Xenophon Barber
Glenwood, N. Y.
Thomas Mason Carnes
...... ...
War'renton, Ore.
Richard Tallant Carruthers, Jr.
3821 Fernhill Avenue, Baltimore, Mel.
George Robert Contos
6920 Prince George's Avenue, Takoma Park, l'vlcl .
Paul George Cree, Jr.
... ... . . .
. . . . . . . . . . ... 5106 A Street, Baltimore, l'vid.
James Oswald Dunn
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 I 0 North Durham Street, Baltimore, Mel.
Martin Appel Dyer
146 Bowers Street, Jersey City, N. J.
Laurence Stephen Elfenbein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
185 Arlington Boulevard, North Arlington, N . .J.
William Leonard Engelhard . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.... ...... ...
3 South l\tiaple Avenue, Brunswick, Md.
Charles Edward Fleetwood
... . 518 Cumberland Avenue, Chevy Chase, Md.
Peter Dougall Gordon .
........
76 Farmington Avenue, Hartford, Conn.
V!T
alter Lee Graham
........
Housing Unit # 5, St. John's College
Carl Christian Gregersen, Jr.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1 West 96th Street, New York, N. Y.
Pierre Grimes
Mt. Lake Hotel, Mt. Lake Park, Md .
William Dunnington Grimes
2707 Creston Avenue, New York, N. Y.
Richard Lee Haberman
211 Hazel Avenue, Salisbury, Mel.
Philip Heilig ....... . .. ... . .. .
1261 l'viadison Avenue, New York, N . Y.
Jacob Easton Holzman . .. .. .... . . . .. . . .. . . . ..... .
Henry Demuth Jawish
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. .. . . .. . 3701 Porter Street NW, Washington, D. C.
.1709 Pitman Avenue, New York, N . Y.
Charles Sherman Kluth
202 Audrey Lane, Congress Heights, !\tid.
Lancaster Benjamin Knott
.. . ... .
Housing Unit #10, St. John's College
Edward Michael Lee . . . . . . . . .
. ... . . . . . .. . ... .
810 Maryland Avenue, Cumberland, Md.
Clare Joseph Maguire, Jr . .. .. .. . .. . . . .... .. ... ... . .
1166 Hellerman Street, Philadelphia, Pa.
Joseph Manusov
. .. .. . ... . . .. .. . . . . . . ... . . . .
419 Broadway Avenue West, Watertown, N. Y.
George Bertram Miller, Jr. . . ... .. . .... .. .... ... .. . .
752 Mariposa Avenue, Los Angeles 1 Calif.
Mart in Moses
2122 California Street, N,N', Washington, D . C.
David Emrys Napper
Harry Morris Neumann
........
903 Chaun cey Avenue, Baltimore, l'vlcl .
Hisashi H. Oguchi
535 Wall Street, Los Angeles, Calif.
John Dirk Oosterhout . . . . . . . . . .
...... . .. .
1910 15th Street, Port Arthur, T exas
Theodore Joseph Otteson . . . . . . . . . .
... . ........ .... ...
Route 2, Pikesville, Ky.
Lawrence Gerald Peters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
........
. . . .. . New Hope, Pa.
Adam August Pinsker
...... ..
. . ..... .. . . . . .. . ... 45 East 83rd Street, New York, N. Y.
Paul Nevel Rickolt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .... . .
114 S. Main Street, Muncy, Pa.
2042 Eutaw Place, Baltimore, J\!Icl.
Vl'alter Schatzberg
. . ... . . . . . . ... ..... .. . . . . . . . . .
Robert Seelig . . . . . . . . .
. ... . .. .
2 Herrick Drive, Lawrence, N. Y.
R obert Dale Shewbridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
207 : aple Avenue, Brunswick, l'vicl.
. . .. . . . ..... . . .
M
Emory Junius Stafford, Jr. . . .. .. ..... . . . .... . .. ... . ... . . . .... . I 04 Belvedere Avenue, Cambridge, Mel .
John Hawkes Trabancl
. .. ... . . . . . . . . . ...... . . . .
505 Suclbrook Lane, Pikesville, 1\Id.
RFD #1, Cumberland, Mel.
John Milton Twigg, Jr.
Charles Francis ' 1
\Tade
.. ...... . .
26 High Street, Green Island, N. Y.
W ilmarth Bradford Walker; Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . ....... .
Cornwall, Conn .
.......... ...
Wa rren Paul Winiarski
.... .. . .. ... .. . .. . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . .
2021 Dickens Avenue, Chicago, Ill.
H enry vV ise
.............. ....... ......
69 East 14th Street, Chicago Heights, Ill.
Joel Andrew Zunser
. . . . . . . . . . . . ... . .. .. . . . . . . .
39 Douglas Street, Waldwick, N . J.
Freshmen
Eugene Brady Adkins . . . . . . . . .
. .... . .. . .............. . . .
2894 South Utica Avenue, Tulsa, Okla .
John Davis Alexander, Jr.
....... .
3125 Guilford Avenue, Baltirnore, Mel .
5203 42ncl Avenue, Hyattsville, Md.
. .... . . . . .
J ohn Jaquelin Ambler, Jr.
W illiam Money Aston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .. . . . . ... . . Housing Unit #4, St. John's College
Franklin Robert Atwell
.. . . . .. .. .. . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . .. . .
5303 Maple Avenue, Baltimore, Mel.
Edward Frank Bauer
vVooclmont Circle 210, Nashville, Tenn.
Duncan Brockway .... . . . . . .
Hebron, N. H .
Roge r Lee Brumfield
820 Belgian Avenue, Baltimore, 1\Icl.
Charles Farrell Butler
Crisfield, I\ I d .
Norman Price Chatham
490 Avenue J, Newgulf, Texas
J oseph Walthall Clark .. .. . . .. . . . . .. . .... . . . . .
Sillery Bay, Pasadena, Md.
John Rohn Cor field ....... ... . . ... .. . . . . . . . . . .. .
11 5-B Cliveclen Hall, Lincoln Drive, Phila., Pa.
William Harry Crawford
. . . . .. . . . . .
609 Green Street, Havre de Grace, Mel.
George Carlisle Davis
101 V!T
estmoreland Avenue, Montg·omery, Ala.
Cecil Eugene Dietrich
Housing Unit # 3, St. John 's College
Gerald Norton Doline . . . . ..... . .. . . .. . . . .. .. . . . . .
3918 Maine Avenue, Baltimore, Mel.
Giles Monroe Easley . .
...... ...... ..
Box 114, Calvert Texas
R icha rd MacDonough Frank
. . . . . . . . . Apt. 9A, Dartmouth Apts., Louisville, Ky.
George Kenneth Gerlach
210 Sunburst Highway, Cambridge, Mel.
Stewart Harold Greenfield
1311 East 7th Street, Brooklyn, N . Y.
R ichard Michael Hall ........ .
. ...... 653 Monroe Avenue, Washington, D. C.
R oland Lindsay Harris
Rising Sun Rd. #1, Rising Sun, Mel.
R obert George Hazo .. . . ... .
346 S. Aiken Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Paul Turner Heineman
200 Duke of Gloucester Street, Annapolis, Mel.
Michael Heller
.... . .. . .. .... · · · ·
Bradley Boulevard, Bethesda, Mel.
Gregory Hancock Hemingway
. . .... . . .. . . . . .
907 Whitehead Street, Key West, Fla.
Gilbert Herman . . . . . . . . . . . . .
·· ······
2535 Loyola Southway, Baltimore, Mel.
Allen Conard Jackson
. .. .. .. . .
8 Norwood Road, Wardour, Annapolis, Mel.
H orace Leo Johnson
3 East Patton Road, Indian Head, Mel.
J oseph Julius Kaufman
2200 Park Avenue, White Park Apts., Baltimore, Mel.
Manuel Frank Lage ........... .
The Tuinucu Sugar Co., Tuinucu, Cuba
Armand Stephen Lehman
186 29th A venue, San Francisco, Calif.
Charles Solomon Lerner ..
3915 Belview Avenue, Baltimore, Mel.
James Walter Linsner
. ... .. ... . . . . .. .
148 Florence Avenue, Highland Park, Mich.
�. . . 525 J orgen Street, Cedarhurst, N. Y.
Harry Anthony Lister
221 Joy Avenue, Webster Groves, Mo.
Paul Maury Logue
·w ild Rose Shores, Annapolis, Mel.
John Hardin Lowe
. . . . . . .. . .
Blanding, U tah
Philip H. Lyman
... , ... . ... .. ... . . . . . . . . . .
. .... Box 502, Ridgely, Md.
George Joseph McGough ..
933 Salem Avenue, Hagerstown, Mel .
R aymond Leon McKane
901 North Daniel Street, Arlington, Va.
Howard Kane Magee . ....... .. ...... . .
800 Castle Road, Harunclale, Glen Burnie, Mel.
John Paul Murray, Jr.
Richard Allen Ohlweiler
2H '1\Talter Street, Rahway, N. J.
Grace Street, St. Michaels, l\!Icl.
Philip Roman Ortt
Algirdas Romanas Ostrauskas
Langdon Grove, Kirkwood, N. Y.
. . 2424 Sta te Line, Texarkana, Ark.
Daniel Wilkes Parnell
Douglas Dennis Parsons
Ocean City Boulevard, Salisbury, Mel.
305 Riverside Drive, New York, N. Y.
Robert Jacobus Pierot
. . .. . . ......... .. .
Frank Felix Polk ... ... .. ...... .
308 Harrison Avenue, Harrison, N . Y.
Charles Robert Powleske
: ingo, Iowa
M
Thomas James Quinn
... ... . . .. . . .
1821 North ·wolfe Street, Baltimore, Mel .
.John Henderson Quirin, Jr. . ... . . . . .. . . . . .. . .. .
722 ' 'Vebster Avenue, New Rochelle, N. Y.
Andrew Clement Ramsay . . . . . . . . .
. . .. . . . . .
820 Connecticut Avenue NvV, Washington, D. C.
Merton Eugene Rice . ........... .
Doncaster, Mel.
Harold Jesse Robertson
... ... .
RFD #3, Mount Airy, Mel.
John Edgar Sacher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 69-37 Fleet Street, Forest Hills, New York, N . Y.
John Wells Sanseverino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. ...... .. ...... . 254 Gates Avenue, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Peter Grafton Street ........ . ..... . .. . ... . . . . . . .... . .
712 Park Avenue, Baltimore, J'vfcl .
Edward Joseph Stresino . . . . . . . . .
...... ... ... . . .
. ... . . .
Forest Hills, N. Y.
Jeremy Philip Tarcher
. . .. . .. . .
Stamford, Conn.
Bernard H arry U d el . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .. . .. . .. . lOIS North Charles Street, Baltimore, Mel.
George Udel
. .. . .. . .... .. .. . .. . .. . . . .. .. . . .
2331 Linden Avenue, Baltimore, i\Icl.
Ambrose John Virgo
.. .. . . .. . .. . . . . . .
1519 Lowe Avenue, Chicago Heights, Ill.
Frank Warhurst, Jr.
...... . .. . ... .. .... .. .. . .
781 Fifth Street, Lyndhurst, N . J.
Ivan Schaffer Waxman
3508 Clifton Avenue, Baltimore, l\IIcl .
Rodgers Furness ' 'Vheeler
51 Glen Byron Avenue, South N yack, N. Y.
Martin Jay Wiener ....... .
600 vVest lllst Street, New York, N.Y.
Frederick Starr Wildman, Jr. . . . .. .. . .
Stonebrook, Colebrook, Conn.
Addison '1\T orthington
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . ... .
Elkridge RFD #4, Baltimore, Md.
Glenn Robe-rtson Yarbrough
....... .
. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. .
2101 Rogers Avenue, Baltimore, Md.
��
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Title
A name given to the resource
Yearbooks
Description
An account of the resource
This collection contains yearbooks from St. John's College in Annapolis, MD. Yearbooks are sometimes referred to as the "Rat Tat", "Cicerone", or "Canvas". This collection includes all published yearbooks since 1896. Please note that yearbooks were not published every year.<br /><br />Holdings: <br />1896 v. 1<br />1898 v. 2 - 1899 v. 3<br />1901 v. 4 – 1912 v. 15<br />1914 v. 17 – 1918 v. 21<br />1920 v. 22 – 1945/1946<br />1947 – 1951/1953<br />1957<br />1982<br />1986 – 1990/1991<br />1992 – 2001/2002<br />2015/2016 – 2017/2018<br />2021/2022 - 2022/2023<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="Yearbooks" href="http://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=21">Items in the Yearbooks Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection.
Coverage
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Annapolis, MD
Contributor
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St. John's College Greenfield Library
Identifier
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yearbooks
Text
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Original Format
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paper (bound book)
Page numeration
Number of pages in the original item.
66 pages
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
yearbook 1950
Description
An account of the resource
St. John's College Yearbook for the year 1950.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Parslow, Robert (editor)
Publisher
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St. John's College
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Annapolis, MD
Date
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1950
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St. John's College owns the rights to this publication.
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text
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pdf
Language
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English
Identifier
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1950
-
https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sjcdigitalarchives/original/64106a6bef0f645217cd0a6f595e544e.pdf
966e3164ed6329b17c6422ca8b7b5003
PDF Text
Text
�..
'I'm sure I'll take you with pleasu re !' the Queen said.
'Twopence a week, and jam every other day.'
Alice couldn't help laughin g, as she said, 'I don't want
yo u to hire me- and I don't care for jam.'
'It's very good jam,' said the Queen.
'Well, I don't want any to-day, at any rate.'
'You couldn't have it if you did want it,' th e Queen said.
'The rule is, jam to-morrow and jam yesterday - but never
jam to-day.'
'It must come sometimes to "j am to-clay",' Alice objected.
'No, it can't' said the Que en. 'It's jam every other day:
to-clay isn't any other day, you know. '
'I don't understand yo u,' said Alice. 'It's clrea clfully confusing!'
LEWIS CARROLL
Through the Looking Glass
�ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE YEARBOOK
1949
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND
Table of Contents
Th e Yea rbook is publi she d
by tho Junior Class &f
St. John ' s Coll ege:
Editor
Patrick D. Davi s
Photogra phic Editor
Ch ar les D . Lewis Jr.
Bu sin ess M anag er
J erome G. Lansn er
Contributing Editors:
D ougl as G. Boyl e . Philip A.
The Electric Clock --------------------------Mathematics ----------------------------------Language ------------------------------------------La bora tory -----------------------------------------Seminar -------------------------------------------
THE DAY
Camponeschl,
Jerome
H.
Cantor, Bernard S . Cl or ety,
Edm ond E . di Tullio, Rich ·
ard T . Ed elman, Matso n G.
Ewe ll ,
Herb ert S .
Feinberg ,
W.
Bernard
Fl e isc hm a nn,
H . Fram e. Robert L.
Goldbe rg , Ri chard S. Ha rri s.
John P . Hayd e n, Th eodor e
W . He ndricks Jr .. He nry B.
Higman . L. Don ald Koontz.
Cl arenc e J . Kram er . Jerom e
Jam es
THE WEEK
Monday
Tuesday
Lans nor. Charles D. Lew is
Jr.. C. Ranl et Lincoln . L.
Stuart Linton Jr. . Th eodore
J . Otteson. P a tri cia Parslow .
L awrenc e H . Sherman . Thoma s
K. Simpson . John Sterrett.
Henry Wise
Wednesday
PhO'tog raph s by :
All e n
P.
Hoffman .
Harry
Kl s levitz . Ch a rles D. Lewis .
Rob ert
S.
Parslow ,
Jo.hn
Sterre tt
Thursday
Special Ph otogra ph s by
Marion E. Warre n
of Annapoli s
Friday
•
BOARD OF VISITORS
AND GOVERNORS
Chairman: Richard F. Cl e vela nd; Vi ce Chairm a n : Fran cis
P . Mill er: Secretary: W i lli am
Le ntz : Dr . Thoma s Parran
Jr. ; Dr. Amos F . Hutchin s ;
Edwin Wa rfi e ld Jr. : Paul L.
Banfi e ld ; C.lare nce W . Stryker;
Herv ey All e n ; Dr. Willi a m J .
Fre nch ; Mark Van
Doren ;
Ri chard
Scofi e ld : John
S.
Ki e ff er ; Brig . Ge n. William
C. Purn e ll ; Judg e Levi n C.
S alley; Ra ymond N. Wilbu rn :
John T . Harri son : Bromwell
Ault;
Robert
Oti s
Jon es;
Willi a m J . Gor man: Re ub e n
A. Hold e n : J . Vin ce nt J a mi so n Jr. ; Carl e ton M Itch e ll ;
Stewart C. Stackhouse.
•
OFFICERS OF
ADMINISTRATION
John S . Ki eff er. Pr esi d e nt :
Jac ob I( loi n. Acti n!] Dea n :
Lou is Graff. Acti ng Ass istant
D ea n ; Captain W a lte r Sharp
(S. C.. ) , U . S. N ., Rot .. Treas ur er ; Miriam S tr a ng e. Re gi s trar: Charlotte Fl etc he r . Librarian;
J oh n
G.
Gree ne,
DirectCH" of the Adult Program ;
Vict or
Zu ckerka nrtl ,
DIr ector of Mu s ic: Al exa nd e r
L.
Slafkosky,
Director
of
Athleti cs; Edward F . Lathro p
Jr .,
Alum,!
S ec r e tary ;
J.
Oliver Purvi s. M. D., College
Ph ys ici a n ;
Be ll a
Di skin ,
Di etitian : Archibald McC-ourt.
Sup erinte nd e nt of Bulldinqs
and
Grounds;
Jam es
A.
Councilor a nd Comp a ny,
A uditor .
Saturday
Sunday
THE TERMS Fall
Winter
Spring
THE YEAR
4
6
8
10
12
The Court ---------------------------- ______________
Athletics ----------------------------------------Catholic Study Group --------------~--------Bible Classes ---------------------------------~---Fine Arts ----------------------------------------------
14
14
16
16
16
18
19
Music ------------------------------------------------Folk Dance Group -------------------------------poIi ty _________________________________________________ __
Boat Club ------------------------------------------Chorus ------------- ---------------_______________ _
Concerning the Lectures ___________________
Concert Season ----------------------------------Films, Finance and the RAM ____________ _
Drama in the College _______________________ __
Cot iII ion CIub _________________________________ _
20
21
22
22
24
.25
27
27
Radio Program ------------------------------------ 28
Sunday Evening Meetings ___________________ 28
Convocation ----------------------------------------The Crisis --------------------------------------1 ne Week ----------------------------------------u
The Seniors -----------------------------------------Adult Education --------------,----------------Coli e gia n --------------------------------------------The Admin is tra tion _________________________ __
29
30
32
37
49
49
52
The Fa cuI ty ------------------------------------ 54
The Bookstore ------------------------------- 57
The Library ------------------------------------ 58
The Wood Shop _______________________________ _ 58
The Back Campus -------------.-------------The Fresh men --------------------------------The Sophomores -------------------------------The Juniors ------------------------------------Senior names and addresses ____________ __
Apology ------------------------------------------------
59
60
61
62
63
64
�The electric clock
1 H E ST. JOHN' S Progra m has fo re ver been a subj ect of
deep con ce rn to both advocate a nd c ritic. It has initiated
so und and im agin a tive disc ussions abo ut th e value an d co ntent of liberal educa tion, and provo ked violent a rgumen t
a bo ut its purpose and direc tio n . Th e essen ce of th e Progra m
has n eve r been strictl y defin ed . It has been in consta nt
m otion w ith va ryin g speed an d direc tion. D espite m a ny a n
ad ve rse circumstance, th e Program has searched fa r into t he
r ealiza tion of its o wn "con scio usn ess." It is the heart of
th e C ollege . But, like all hearts, it depends fo r its fl o urishin g existence on th e beha vior of subse rvient o rgan s. O ne of
th e m ost important of these o rga ns is th e C ollege administration a nd th a t administration's policy . It is her e th a t th e
Progra m faces its first obstacle. It is here th a t th e Prog ra m ,
thro ug h n o fa ult o f its own, is subjected to a real con t radiction between the th eo retical a nd th e prac tical coll ege.
A pa rt fr om the Program , th e administra tive prin cipl es of
Mr . Buchan an's C ollege present a chronic and o ft entim e
ac ute dilemma to th e practical college . This dilemm a is of a
subtler sort than th e usual discrepan cy between tho ug ht and
ac t . Th eo reticall y, St. J ohn's was a vigorous n ega tion of th e
convention al prin cipl es unde r which most othe r prac tica l
coll eges operated. But w hat is even more impo rtant, th e
th eo retical college w as also a n ega tion of its o wn ph ysical
co unte rpa rt. St. J ohn's had to be unde rstood not onl y as a
positive eel ucation al r eaction to atrophy and in ertia ; it had
also to be und erstood as a coll ege with a problem pa rticul a rl y
its o wn . It had also to discove r so me n ew w ay of dealin g
with th e pr<tctical con sequ ences of its o wn id ea, which in
th eo ry it see m ~ d to oppose . 'The prac tical coll ege had to he
h eld strictly in h ~ ncllest it inte rfere with th e tru e a nd idea l
purpose of th e th eo retical college . Tw o brief propositio n
r efl ectin g th e surroundin g substa nce of each of th ese colleges
will perhaps se r ve to illu stra te and distin g uish th e dil emm a.
learn . L earnin g, tho ug h a diffi cult a nd som e tim es ago niz in g
aff air, was so m ething th at had to be desired by th e stud ent.
No a m o unt of exte rnal, appa rent disc iplin e co uld substitute
fo r th e true inn er disciplin es of th e mi n d . Co nsequ entl y,
acquirin g th ese disciplin es was almost entirely th e· student's
ow n affair. A ltho ug h so m etim es un stable, th e st udent w as
n everth eless ass um ed to be a f ree and respo nsibl e individu al,
fo r fr ee dom was a n ecessary prerequisite to lea rnin g . Tim e
was n ot a se rio us problem to th e student o r th e teacher. As
a m atter of fac t, it wasn ' t a problem at all. L ea rnin g w as a n
etern al process of d iscove rin ~ clisca rclin 0 and rediscoverin b '
e:,
ooand this process had little r espect fo r con ve ntion al tim e.
W ith som e n atural an d reason able lim ita tio ns th e stu de nt
was all owed, if not en co uraged, to p ursue dog~eclly a problem until he had un ea rth ed th e spa n of its r amifi cation s, until
he had un cove red its inna te contrad iction . A nd contradictions, pa radoxes a nd dilemmas fl o w ed thick.
Such is th e th eo retical college, such th e "Gold en A ge"
revolution , th e undisciplin ed unrul y era of stimulatin g
t ho ug ht. But such a coll ege , co urageo usly con ceived as it
w~s, _co uld no t continue to exist on such ed uca tion all y n aive
pnn c1pl es. It bega n to die, slowly a t first, in 1937 .
YV_e now com e to o'ur second proposition , tha t of the
T o begin almost imm edia tely, entran ce
reqlllrem ents o£ som e so rt were n ecessa ry, despite th e nicely
s~run g toge th e r truth th at educa tion was fo r all m en , espeCially th ose w ho we re on th e low er run gs of th e education al
ladde r. Th en of co urse, th ere had to be g rad es, if only as a
sm all con cessio n to th e o utsid e wo rld a nd to those prac tical
m inded peopl e wh o th o ug ht such m atte rs co unted . H ere th e
th eore tical college face d a minute a nd pa rtic ul a r description
of th e la rger dilemm a. Th e th eoretical coll ege n ega ted
grades . T hey we re useless a nd unim po rta nt ; no m easure of
the stud ent's progress and ac hie vem ent. But there had to be
grade_s. Consequ ently, som e ela bo ra tely vag ue system of
m a rkmg was In stituted, suffi cientl y loose to satisfy everyon e
an d no one. Th e degree, thoug h a con ve ntion al stupidity,
prac ~ JCa l coll ege.
Ideally, and in its very ea rly yea rs, St. J ohn 's w as co nsid ered o nl y an occasion to begin o r co ntinu e som e se rio us
thinkin g and learnin g . It was a place yo u ca m e to, rega rdless of education al a nd social bac kg ro und , w hen you felt
yo u wanted to lea rn som ethin g, a nd left w hen yo u tho ug ht
yo u had. This, in cid entall y, was don e w ith som e degree of
regul a rity in the ea rly cl ays of " Th e G olden Age." Suc h
beha vior w as ·n ot fr ow ned upon by th e less conventio nall y
disc iplin ed fa c ulty, th e student bein g rega rd ed as a so mew hat
un sta ble learnin g anim al see kin g to acquire so m e roo ts a nd
tru e intern al disciplin e. Th e pertin ent qu estion s, to facu lty
and stud ent alike, we re ' H ad th e lea rn in g process begun 1
was it bein g stim ulated 1 ' N hat we re its o bstacles in gene ral
and w ith respect to a pa rtic ul a r stud ent ?' Acqu irin g t he discipl in es of th e respec ti ve a rts was n ot a job th at required
such questionabl e extern al stimuli as com petiti ve test. , r ul es
for a ttend ing classes a nd the like . It was co nceived to be a
r idic ulous propositio n th at one co td d fo rce a stud ent to
had to be g ranted, if not to sa tisfy the in creasin g scep ticism
of ga mblin g pa rents, th en a t least to calm th e cries of o-raclu"'
ate schools and g radu ate sc hool stud ents. Th en of co urse ,
m oney had to be raise d and intelligentl y spent. This problem
raise d a number of oth e rs. Th e g rant fr om the Sta te m ad e
it delica tely diffi cult to admit a Neg ro stud ent and althou o-h
this was n ot the tru e o bstacle to his admission, 'it neve rth el:S
had to be con sider ed. Stud ents had to be solicited and th e
alumni beca lm ed. N ew a nd va rio us reason s had to be
imagin ed to quiet the vicio usly no rm al c rav in g for a razzm a-tazz foo tball team. L est I appea r to slig ht th at n oble
and in spired institution , the Acc red ita tion Committee suffice
.
.
'
1t to m ent1on th at ties and clea n shirts we re con side red in
o rd er. Tha t on ce deliciously fruit ful in stitution , "The Crisis"
beca m e an occasion fo r de risive laug hter, fru stra tion a n d
ind ec ision , in stea d of a healthy sig n of progress. Time beca me a vital probl em; so vital a n electric cloc k n ow stands
a t th e foo t of th e first lan d in g o f steps in McD owell H all.
A wo rd for th e Boa rd o f Visito rs an d Gove rno rs.
T he prac tical college was co min g into its ow n . H eaving
occasio nal sig hs of relief and an occasional ou tbu rst of a n o-e r
.
b
'
th e th eore ti cal coll ege was slowly m ee tin g its m a ker . T he
necessa ry tra nsitio n fr om th e a rt of lea rn ing per se to t he a rt
o f at tendin g a good libe ral a rts sc hool was slow ly ta kin opl ace .
"'
Horseplay
Pinkney Hall
Stone House Conse rvatory
Th a t suc h a co nflict is n ecessa ry, n o on e can de ny. T o
reso lve th e conflict is to dissolve th e Coll ege . No am o un t of
co mpl ai nt, however appa ren tly justifi able, ca n eradicate t he
n ecessary shena nigan s th a t a college ad ministrator must
painsta kin gly obse r ve precisely beca use h e is a colleo-e ad . .
"'
llllllJStrato r. Na turall y, th e re a re "extents to which" an
ad ministratio n can go. It ca n eith e r m inimize t he impo rta nce
and power o f th e prac tical coll ege, or emph asize it. As the
adm inistra tio n chooses, so go th e fo rtun e of th e P roe: ram
~
and its fo ll owe rs.
�THE
Before and after Math
Mathematics
THE TRADITIONAL arrange m ent of the St. John's
prog ram is often portrayed with tutorials, laboratories and
lectures revolving about th e seminar as a focus. "The
Seminar is th e focus of th e liberal arts" is an oft-repeated
phrase. As both heart and hea rth of the program, the semin ar rightly occupies the central position. The seminar demands on this account t_ e greater part of th e student's inh
tellectual activity.
Y et as we know from C opernican astronomy, the ultim ate justification for placing the sun at the center rests upon
the the ory of th e planets. The seminar, likewise, if it is to be
th e focus of a liberal edu ca tion, must not only shed light on
its planetary tutorials but be sustained and upheld by them.
Mechanically speaking, th e program is a system operating
under certain laws of mutual attraction. If just proportions
of attractive force are not maintain ed betwe en the parts, th e
system becomes chaotic: an anti-system .
Simply in the n ature of its system atic arrangement, the
program is in danger of becomin g unjust: first within itself,
and second within the "student-observer." Th e first species
of injustice com es about from the original irregularity of
som e of th e planets. In tryin g to regularize its orbit, one of
the planets m ay exercise an undue influence upon th e others.
In stead of leading to further harm ony and justice, catastrophe may r esult . Th e second kind arises out of a n atural
n ecessity. Planets only show th eir brilliance an d cla rity
when th e focus is obscu re. C onversely, the planets m elt into
obscurity when th e focus is at its brightest. Thus, to work
and observe in eith er ph ase alone prevents a proper understandin g of the whole. Th e program suffers much from
Six
part-time observation, losin g its unity and system. Th e
m eans whereby the student persuades necessity is in adhering
strictly to the 'IUY. 'r'IJIJ·cpov.
.
Of these two injustices which are now present in the program and its students, the first appea rs the worst and in part
acco unts for the second.
Th e present stat_ of injustice in th e program has ca use d
e
a disturbance in th e circulations of what was probably th e
most orderly and properly adjusted planet in th e system, the
m athematics tutorial. The planetary labo ratory, in tryin g to
find its proper orbit, has encountered th e math em atics tutorial. And the m ath ematics tutorial responded to the irresistible attrac tion of the laboratory to its sorrow. Strictly, w e
cannot say th e whole laboratory has been the cause, but
rather that par t of it whose theoretical base is in mathematics.
It seems that the gr eatest intelligibiliy of the science of
modern physics is brought out with the methods of the calculus. Since th e laboratory has chosen to make a more
equitable distribution of physics within th e junior and se nior
years, the burden falls on the math em atics tutorial to supply
th e calculus-tool · in th e junior yea r. But this r esults in a
squeezing of part of th e second year in to the first, and part
of th e third into the second . This causes some editin g to
relieve the pressure of the squeeze. It is very questionable
how prudent th ese procrustean ac tivities ar e. A ce rtain
amount of editin g is reasonable onl y if ca re is taken to m aintain continuity.
W e might take several examples. Th e number books in
E uclid were badly affected . This in turn hinders a clea rer
und erstandin g of Nichom achus, wh ich further adversely a£-
DAY
fects a fru itful co mparison of Greek number theory with of the scien ce. Attention to the m eth ods involved in the
algebra and m odern number th eo ry in D ede kind. There solutions of the k ey problem s as are given in th e m ath em atica n be no doubt th at has te will r equire forego in g any care- cal classics contributes m ore tow ard th e developm en t of
fu l readin g and disc ussion of th e locus problem at th e en d analytical powers th an this hit-an d-run problem solvin g now
of th e third book of Apollonius. With out this one can easily infesting th e m ath em atics tutorials. Besides bein g bad pedaimag in e the confusion which will result when D esca rtes uses gogy, the latter species of problem solvin g points up a poor
th e loc us problem as th e crucial test of his application of alge- understandin g of analysis in general, and the proper uses to
bra to geom etry. This of course assumes th a t D escartes will which it can be put. Its present use reminds one of the
be more th an thumbed throug h. A ristarc hus' book on th e cookbook co urse in th e qualitative analytical chemistry labSizes and Distances of the Sun and Moon will go, if it has oratory.
not already gon e by the boa rd. The fact th at it is one of th e
It is comm on practice to point th e acc usin g finger at
archetypal scientifi c treatises, combinin g demonstration, obHumphries H all whenever anythin g goes wrong with th e
servation and m easurem ent, providing th e soundest appre- oth er parts of th e program. It would be foolish to deny
ciation of th e laboratory and its m ethods will probably hardly th at th e laboratory has been in bad shape. It wo uld be just
be consid ere d. This, all clone for th e sa ke of th e laboratory. as foolish to say that in making a sin ce re attempt at rectiWe could continu e to enumerate th e ha rmful effects of this fi cation th e laboratory has n ot collided with th e math em atics
sq ueeze.
tutorial. It see ms to us th at most of th e difficulty comes
The general effect of m ovin g th e calculus to th e third from a lack of any clear statement abo ut th e ultim ate aim s of
year was to crea te an in consid era te ed itin g and heighten ed
th e labo ratory and m ath em atics tutorials sepa rately, and th e
feeling for racing aga in st tim e to cover th e required material, two in combin ation. This indefiniteness can not be mainthereby ruling out necessarily tim e consumin g discussions tain ed constantly with th e oversimple answe r th at th e qu arrel
which are th e sine qua non of clarifying insig hts.
between Humphries and McDowell is one of th e perennial
To show their unbound ed zeal for th e calculus, some problem s in the infinite sc heme .
tuto rs in r ecen t yea rs have found it desirable to turn NewC ertain directiv e principles a re implicit in usin g the g reat
ton's Prin cipia into m odern analytical form for th e edifica scientifi c boo ks as textbooks in tutorial s an d laborato ries.
tion of th eir students. ' Ne adm ire this J ac k H orner feat
Th ey a re not simply goo d m aterial fo r th e attainmen t of
but feel that tim e would be m ore thoughtfull y spent if som e
operational facilities. · They are solutions in which insights
effort were m ade at elicitin g N ewton's r elation to Aristotle,
ar e precipitated. Ordinary textboo ks a re merely th e developPtolemy, Copernicus, K epler and Galileo. vVe r ealize th e
ments of th e in sig hts. They tend to obscu r e the solutions in
tediousness of th e geo metrical m ethod, but it offers no
which th e precipitation took place . To recover th e insights
serious difficulty of any amount if ca re is taken with E uclid
and precipitatin g solutions is th e rationale of r eadin g the
and Apollonius. This kind of r econversion would be acceptorigin al contribution s and perform in g th e cru cial experiab.le and make a good deal of sense if it w ere actually co upled
ments. R eadin g books like Apollonius, G alileo and D eso-e
Wlth the gr eat books in m odern analysis like Lagran b '
F oun.er and Maxwell. As it is, th ese boo ks remain un- cartes and performing experim ents like those in music and
some of th e freshman and junior laboratory exe rcises attests
touched and the reconversion goes on.
to a non-con ve ntional understanding of th e functions of th e
T l1 e old argum ents for oper ational facility see m to have
math em atics tutorials and laboratory. Th e problem is one
won th e clay over to additional pressure of th e laboratory.
of makin g th ese implicit principles quite explicit. If th ese
In. .c: rtam of th eir r elations to th e labora tory, operational
principles collide too harshly with th e facts, th ey should be
ab1llt!es of necessity have to be inculcated within th e mathehonestly dropped, and m or e intelligible principles established.
m atics tutorials. One would hardly push these particular
It is becomin g m ore and m or e difficult to see how the prescases to th e point where they affect the teac hin g in m ost of
th ~ ot~e r parts of math ematics. Oper ational facility consists ent principles are g uidin g and directin g th e m eans; the clay
pnmanly Ill the ease with which the student solves problems. to clay fun ctions of the laboratory and m athematics tutorial.
Granting th e new endeavours of th e laboratory in rightin g
We don't a rg ue against problems per se. Th e solutions of
its irregular orbit, w e still feel th e presen ce of an enervatin g
problems a re at the heart of Euclid Apollonius D esca rtes
Newton, et al. But in th ese boo ks ~h e pro blem~ have rele~ and stagnatin g hostility between the aims of the College and
vance, and are the m eans orcle rin o- th e whole dem onstrati ve th e laboratory and m athem atics tutorials. This state of ind'
b
1
scourse. vVhat pass currently for problems a re usually th e justice, unless it is r ectifi ed, leads to an in stability and disrandom gath erings from examin ations pl ace d at th e end of harm ony th at only a nother r evolution is capable of r em edy~he chapter 111 m ost textboo ks. T o say th e least, th ey are ing . In a dem ocratic system r evolutions are som etimes to be
Inno~uous and sufferabl e; to say th e most, th ey are harmful heartily welcomed . But in this case, th e turnin g would land
and Irrelevant. '_[hey have a tend en cy to be m er ely exerc ises th e C ollege back into familiar trac ks of present liberal arts
l11 formula pacldm g, and detractors fron'il- th e real problems
institutions.
Seven
�Language
A CRITIQUE o f th e teac hin g of la ng uage du rin g the
past academic ye ar is m ade very difficult for two reason s.
First, it h as ceased to be clear wh at the purpose of th e
lang ua ge tutorials is - we w ill th erefore scrap all re fe ren ce
to the catalog ue. Secondly, th e ac tual teachin g based itself
on so m any di ffe rent theories th at it wo uld be useless to
attempt a recr eation of orignal purpose from it. Criticism
of this state of affa irs is by n ecessity Aristotelian, n ot
an alytically Aristotelian because ther e is not much to an alyz e,
but of a kind w ith the " G en eration of A nimals," pure
classification by the onlooker. A fter this h as been acco mplished, th e critic will attempt to create the id ea of a on e out
of w hat was shown to th e eye . H e w ill, I predict, close with
that n ote of optimism which Plato first saw throug h and
A dam Smith has tem porarily left with us.
Th e tutors to wh ose ca res th e teac hin g o f lang uage was
confided, condu cted their classes in roug hly fi ve diffe rent
m ann ers : th e divinely m ad, th e philosophical, the phil ological,
th e th eological and th e unliter ate manner.
Of th e last category, very little should be said . H appily,
only on e or two tutors fitted into it - it is a rare avis and
mig ht die out. A tutorial of that class is a place where, after
a prelimina ry stud y of gramm a r-text, th e assig n ed rea din g of
the yea r is begun - and stays at the beginnin g . Th e students who come to such a class with the intention of applying themselves, study gr ammar with tempo and hope that
on ce th e "real r eadin g " sta rts, things mig ht look up. But
then th ey see that th e tutor in cha rge is n ot in teres ted in this
eith er - and turn s out to ha ve onl y a slig ht kn owledge of
the lan g uage to be taug ht. A t this point, eve n the best students cease to prepa re th eir work - a mutual pac t sprin gs
up between tutor and stud ents, and th e class becom es a m illpoint of gripes, parlour co nve rsation, cigare ttes and bore dom
w hich ends on th e don-rag's lyin g note o f brass. Such classes
exist everywhere. Th e only trenchant criticism of this unliterate level at St. J ohn's is that it a! ways exists in so me
fr eshman tutorials. H eterogen ous groups of un edu cated boys
are entrusted to th e ca res o f m en wh o are n ot interested in
teaching them , wh o do n ot kn ow what th ey are suppose d to
teach. This situ ation brin gs about disappointm ents and fosters
a cynicism which, fo r so me fr eshmen, dies hard.
As has bee n said, th e dan ger of such instruction is compa ratively small - even th e dullest student becomes a ware
of the inco mpetent path of th e tutorial. A much grave r
peril, on the oth er hand, is prese nted by the tutors of th e
philological school. It is probable that wh en these m en
j oin ed th e St. J ohn's faculty, th ey we re shocked by th e n ews
th at Gree k w as to be taug ht her e in two years, and Fren ch
and G erman w ere given on e yea r each. Th ey remember
that it took them very lon g to master th e intricacies of eac h
lang uage at some N ew E n glan d G erman university m any
years before. Th e student who com es to them is se rve d up
g rammatical minutiae and told that here he w ould lea rn
"just Gree k." The assign ed text is cut into fra gm ents and
submitted to an an alysis so close that the m ea ning of the
w ords is lost. Stud ents leave th e tutorial with stagge ring
loads of hom ework in w hich th ey can see n eith er rhym e n or
reaso n and are kept at by shee r pedantic pressure. As th e
year passes, howe ver, they construct a rational fr am ework of
belief for th em selves th at w ill make se nse of th eir purposeless
activity. Th ey have so mu ch to do eac h nig ht that they
cr eate a co mpensation for their hard lab; ur - th e praise and
r eward of th e philological teacher becom e real, his rebuke
is taken se riously. At th e end of th e year, by clint of disciplin e, he has won his students over. H e has m ade them see
that lan g uage is th e lifeless fl at brick ten ement th at he has
presented and th ey h ave acc ustomed them selves to living in
its squa re rooms. Their knowledge is a chec kerboard, a gam e
w hich they w ill or w on ' t fo rget - an experience with out
depth and f ull of reason. The philologist has shown th em
th e nin eteenth century r ealm of " g ramm ar" wh ose up wa rd
dialec tic is th e empty r oot of so und .
W e n ow procee d to th e th eologians. As such mig ht be
classifi ed all those lan guage tutors whose teachin g aim is
m ainly m oral. They hope to m ake th eir students .i nto better
m en ove r and above th eir knowin g G erman, G ree k and
F ren ch. In th e tutorial, all religious texts are emphasize d
and th e discussion of th e oth ers is centered on extrac tin g
m oral val ue fr om them. v\Then th e am oral laws of g ramm ar
are studied - and g ramm ar is em phasized here because th e
good man cr eates onl y secondaril y and thinks last - m emorization of th em is consid ered a m oral good. The ac tion is
made to be what the co ntent cann ot offer. The don-rag of
th e theological lan g uage tutor is a m oral se rmon, made all
th e m ore strikin g because th e student's life and his study of
lan g uage a re subj ec ted to an eth ical judgm ent on th e same
m oral plan e. Even if one we re to g rant the id entity of
ethics and aesth etics which such teachin g assumes, it is highly
doubtful wheth er any on e system of morals m ay be written
into this hig h equation. "'That th e th eological lan g uage tutor
forge ts is that he is th e most subj ective teacher of all in
allowing his subj ect-matter to be identifi ed with his person al
beliefs. Should H oly Writ or the T almud control th e true
approach to Plato, G oe th e or F laubert l
A s far as th e opinion of this critic is co nce rn ed, it is th e
philosophical lan g uage tutors who have don e the best teachin g job las t year. This g roup of m en , wh o w ere m ainly
centered in th e G erman part o f th e prog ram, all had th e
advantage of a good education with an emphasis on the
literary and historical values . Th ey w ere able to fit their
gen eral education into the lin g uistic schem es th ey attempted
to impart with out diffi culty. Th eir teaching o f th e lan guage
as such was fl awless sin ce they kn ew its intricacies and th e
brid ges th at lea d fr om it to En glish. Their r eadin g of literary
and philosophical texts was well coo rdin ated w ith se min ar
rea din gs and th ey had , at th eir disposal, en oug h inform ation
to accelerate th e process of intelligibility for the student. It
m ight be sa id, by w ay of criticism, that these philosophical
tutors we re som ew hat too well edu cated for th e purposes of
ge neral in struction, i.e . thj t they did n ot confine th emselves
to th e context of th e syllabus alon e but furnished information that only toucl1 ed it tan gentiall y. T o th e student for
wh om even th e elementary ph ases of th e wo rk to be acco mplished w ~ re unclea r, this w ealth of auxiliary in sig hts was
m or e a hmdran ce th an a help in th at it se rve d to confu se
him even m ore. E qually, th e amount of wo rk to w hich
the st_
udent wa ~ subj ected in th ese classes w as, at tim es,
excessive. But If one takes the give n probl em of teachin a
en ough G erman to r ead K ant and G oe the in a yea r int~
ac~o unt, _h e_ work of th e tutorials co nducted al on g formally
t
philosophiC lm es was th e best in th e C ollege this pas t yea r.
Th e w ork of th e divin ely m ad lang uao·e tutors is the
hard est to criticize. On th e on e hand, th e st~clen t finds himself compelled to exe rcise his intell ec t in a trem endous ra n ge
of Id eas. On th e oth er hand , th ese id eas a re alm ost n ever
f~ rmul a t~ d with th e precision and distin ction proper to th em .
Smce ~lnl oso ph y rests on lan g uage as its onl y m ea ns of
expressiOn , It should be fo rmulated, as far as it is effa bl e, in
exac t terminology. "'Then it becom es in effa bl e it should be
disc usse d in th e provin ce of relig ion or th e fin e a rts. The
divin ely mad lan g uage tutors should ta ke this distin ction into
acco unt (which th eir beloved Pl ato has m ade so many tim es)
and con vey It to th e1r stud ents. For oth erw ise, th ese will
begin to believe th at w hat th ey utter under the spell of E ros
and Bacc hu s IS really truth , even w hen it is un acco mpanied
by that bea uty which th eir divin ely mad tutor l1 as taug ht
th em to despise . Th ey will - an d have - com e to love th e
in e~a ble and sublim e and to despise th e bea utiful , a path ological pa radox which is th e specialite de La maison at St.
J ohn's. A lso it is to be criticized that th e divin ely m ad tutors
o_ften_ forgo t th e l ~a rnin g of th e pa rticul ar lang uage in qu estiOn ."1 th e1r fr antiC race towa rds th e form L ang uage . Y et,
d~sp1te th ese draw bac ks, th e divin ely m ad lang uage tutorial
still kept on e fea ture that place d it above th e oth ers. It alon e
all ows for th e pl ay of spontan eous feelin g , th e crea ti ve impulse, th e involven: ent o f th e w hole human path ology w hich
have been produ ctive 111 th e formation of th e Grea t Boo ks.
If the di vin ely m ad lan g uage tutor and his stud ents we re all
g rea t poe ts and thinkers, this tutorial w ould stand out as an
excellent teac hin g experiment. But then it wouldn't be
necessary.
If o n e . accepts th e classifi cation of lang uage tutors and
tuton a1s, 1t remains to be seen how an ideal tutorial w ould
look, providin g th at th e sa m e tutors wo uld rem ain and could
lea rn fr om one an oth er. It would seem that th ere is n o thin a
to be lea rn ed fr om th e unliterate classes except their leisure~
A ll lea rnm g must be made clea r to be und erstood an d, for
most m ortals, cl arity m eans slown ess. F rom th e ))hil oloa ists
b
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.
we ca n I ea rn g rammati ca l pr ec isen ess and be reminded th at
a rea din g kn owledge of a lang uage im plies so me substan ce ,
~l o t onl y form . The th eological tutors m ay teach us th at all
In stru cti On is f utile if it does n ot take th e en d of m an into
acco unt. The larg e fund of litera ry- historical kn owled ae
':hich th e philosophical tutors possess brin gs us to the realiz~
tiOn th at bea uty is n ot easy an d sim ple, but difficult and co mplex - a truth that is often for aotten here. A t last the
divin ely mad tutors should be imit~ ted by th eir coll eag~es in
on e way - th ey alon e ta ke into acco unt th e notion th at
!ang uage is alive, th at it is a flu id substan ce and, as all life,
IS bo rn , co nveys love, and dies .
Thu s it beco mes appa rent th at, w hile th e teachin g of
lan g uage at St. J ohn's off ered little succo ur to th e individ ual
stu~ent of 1948-4 9, it co uld improve n ext yea r if th e expe n en ces o f th e fac ulty were pooled and amalgam ated into
a co mbm ecl un1fi e_d d irec tion. Or better still, th e re-appea ran ce of an 1mposs1ble m an (o ne of a few) w ho co mbin es th e
best parts of all th e ca tego ries and elud es th em all - a aood
:eac her in oth er wo rds, mig ht brin g abo ut this re-integr; tion
111 a more forceful w ay. Th e end of th e pas t yea r has given
us so m e glim pses of such an event, and prospec ts fo r th e next
yea r see1 even mo re prop itious. Th e teachin g of lang uage
_
n
IS a main stay of CIVIli ze d existen ce- as such a 110 1 .
·
.
.
0 1we ll' s " Nm eteen E ig hty- Fo ur" oug ht to show us. veIt as
is
here at St. J ohn 's th at it should rem ain ali ve .
Kant made easy
Eight
N ine
�Laboratory
THIS H A S BEEN a yea r fo r not criticiz in g the
la boratory. We hope t his relative sil en ce on th e
subj ect does n ot m ark a decrease in th e restless
inter est w hich th at active discussion used to demonstrate. It ce rtainly does n ot mea n th at a solution has been fo und to th e ge neral probiem of
the pl ace of scien ce in th e program , although
th ere ha ve been interestin g developments in the
laboratory this year.
T he debate of a yea r ago made it clea r that th e " labo ratory" problem is really th e "scien ce" problem, and that it is
much broader than th e qu estion , "What are we to do at the
w orkbench in Humprh ey 's/" O ur aim is to brin g the li beral
arts in th eir fullest possible sco pe to bear on natural ph enomen a, and on th e ph en om en on of n atural scien ce itself. W e
ao-ree in this but to wh at extent and in wh at manner this is
b
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to be done in th ose two a ftern oon s eac h wee k re mains at
present an open question .
T he old term " laboratory arts" was misleadin g because
it suggested th at th e labo ratory was the plac~ w here we
de veloped skill s w ith our han ds and th e obser vatlonal powe rs
of our senses. \ Ve had come to think of th e laborat ory as a
place w here we contac ted nature directly, and con sequently
did n ot speculate. VIe hound ourselves to a sharp distinction
of th ought and its obj ect w hich perh aps tended to m ake our
semin ars barren , and ce rtainly cast an unn ecessary, or unn ecessarily localized, obsc urity over th e laboratory. With the
music prog ram th is year an d, in gen eral, perh aps a m ore
rece ptive attitude tow ard the fin e art of rh etoric w hich after
all r elies heavily on our observa tion al and imagin ative powe rs,
we are m ovin g aw ay from that prejudice.
T here is a n opposite danger, which eve ryon e recognizes
and som e ve ry much fea r, th at we w ill violate real distin ction s an d fo rce th e program into a co mic pattern, in which
all fits togeth er in a " grand synth esis." This con cern probably acco unts for th e ten acity o f th e opin ion th at th e laboratory is an a bsolutely unique and insc ruta ble ele ment of the
program. Both a desi re to integrate the laboratory into our
oth erwise liberal program, and a. basic mistrust of such
efforts, have influen ced recent developm ents in th e laboratory.
Those who are suspicious o f integration urge that in the
laboratory w e face the un yieldin g fac ts of m atter, w hich we
must th ere deal w ith in th eir own terms. It is of course clear
th at th e liberal arts are operati ve, but the ratios and syllogisms
an d images are out of our co.ntrol, as if th ey dictated themselves to us. Or, if n ature does n ot so simply disclose herself
Te1t
Fres hma n Bio logy -
Cat l ab
to us, we must at least accept and learn modern theo ry of
n atural scien ce , w hich has becom e a phen om enon in its own
right in our w orld . Only after we have esca ped from these
two hard m asters into th e comforta bly sterile air of th t> se min ar, w ill it be proper fo r us aga in to asse rt oursel ves.
Th e objecti ve of our six hours in Humphrey' s becom es
th at of presenting con venient n atu ral ph enom en a in the
clearest and m ost di rect way, an d of developing fr om th em
in a straig htforwa rd and logical mann er current th eo ries of
scien ce. To do this well in volves care ful plannin g, wellw ritten texts and lectures, and modern laboratory equi pmen t.
Every effo rt is bein g m ade to supply th ese for th e St . J ohn's
la boratory. T he improvem ent io equipment has been evident
durin g the past three yea rs ; th e most strikin g example is in
th e fi eld of physics, w here, fo r in stan ce , reso urce ful use of
w ar-surplus equipm ent has prov id ed du al-tube ca th ode ray
oscillogr aphs for th e stud y of alternatin g current th eo ry.
This summer a group of th e fac ulty w ill be .at wo rk rew ritin g th e texts in physics an d chemistry; th e aim w ill
probably be continuity of thought and clarity of presentation,
w ith out any m ajor chan ges in plan . The summer should also
see a n ew series of exercises in physical chemistry fo r th e
third year. It is an official hope th at n ext yea r's laboratory
tutors will be spared mornin g tutorials, leavin g th eir time
free for adva nce study of th e subj ect and the equipment, and
alleviatin g the ear - to-m outh routin e which has bee n extremely difficult for tutors n ot already trained in the science they
a re teaching . P erhaps th e best om en of all is the promised
elimination of th e tradition al h aze of poor mimeograp hin g,
w hich is to be dispelled by a n ewly acquired vrn-i-type machin e, an electrically impelled device for w ritin g good lab
m anuals.
It is fair to say that physics and chemistry a re pre tty w ell
established in this conservati ve pattern . There are usually
one or two hours o f con vention al lecture each w ee k, with
th e r em aind er of th e time spe nt at th e ben ch. It has become
axiomatic that all th e scien ce studied in the fo ur yea rs must
be swea ted out sooner or later at the wo rkbench ; possibly we
all ow th e term labor atory to tyrannize over us. This is not
to say th at th e texts n ever raise thought-provokin g questions,
or that the labo ratory exercises are n ever acco mpanied by
readings from th e great auth ors: but the burde n of attem ptin g to m ee t scien ce in its own terms, learnin g scientifi c th eory
and techniqu es, gen erally preclud es not only speculation beyo nd the imm ed iate problem , but often even refl ection on
th e immed iate problem itself, and it actually alm ost entirely
eliminates any possibility of genuin e experience in th e indu ctive m ethod . The St. J ohn 's physics and chemistry laboratories do not diffe r essentially from th e con ve ntion al college
la boratory, except in scope and possibly rigo r in reasonin g;
the objecti ve, to lea rn scien ce and labo ratory skill as well as
possibl e, is essentially th e sa me. \ V hatever is uniqu e a bout
the St. J ohn's a pproach to science is, in this view, rese r ved
fo r another part of th e program .
Ano th er attitud e, which see ks to give our minds free access
to the labo ratory, h as it th at this broa der co nsideration of
sc ientifi c meth od and n atural ph enomen a is ac tuall v not taken
up ade quately anyw here else in th e prog ram , and ~o just gets
left out. Se min a rs fail to conn ec t with th e laboratory, beca use we have fa il ed to understand th e signifi can ce of th e
laborato ry as we wo rked . Th ere is no esse ntial discontinuity;
sem in ar and labora tory oug ht to be sensitive to on e an oth er.
Som e such belief is embodied in th e new text fo r freshm <tn
biology, written by Mr. L oga n and introduce d this yea r.
The obj ecti ve of th e se ries of exe rcises is " to ena ble the student to fo rmulate, investiga te, and think intell igently abo ut
pe rennial problems in biology." To organize laboratory
work towa rd such an end, it is necessary to disco ver so me
so rt of sc heme in terms of w hich th e qu estions can be raised
and thinkin g stimulated and to so me ex tent g uided . T he
scheme w hich M r. L ogan had adopted is a statement of fo ur
broad ca tego ries, under w hic h he believes most of th e problems of biology ca n be grouped . H is catego ries:
T he biological rela tion ( 1) betwee n part and w hole ;
(2) betwee n fo rm and fun ction ; ( 3) he tween homology
Sop homore Chemist ry - Electro lysis of water
Se nior Ph ysics -
El ectro nics
and an alogy; ( 4 ) be tween indi vidu al a nd en vi ronm ent. For
exampl e, und er the first come anatomy and embryology;
un de r th e seco nd, th e organs and system s of digestion , sensa tion, etc.; under th e third, classifi catio n ; und er th e fo urth ,
adap tation. Th e term is divid ed into th ese four pa rts, and
eac h laboratory exer cise begin s with th e statement of certain
broad sub-problem s wit h which it w ill be pa rticularly conce rned. O f equal impo rtance wi th th e wo rk in th e laboratory are readin gs fr om Gree k a uthors, chiefl y A ristotle, but
in cl ud ing also G alen, Plato, and others. This tec hnique ha
g row n ou t of past experien ce in readin g D ar win , Virchow,
H a r vey, and other auth ors in conn ectio n with other biology
labo ratories, but probably neve r h as th e sa me serious effort
been made to co rrelate rea din g and class discussion w ith
ac tual laboratory wo rk. It is not expected th at any subject
will be covered with th oroug hness; r ath er , a selection has
been m ade fro m four yea rs of biology exe rcises with the intention of raisin g th e large r qu estions and stimul atin g thoug ht
an d interest in probl ems w hich w ill be examin ed in g rea ter
detail in future biology work.
Th e n ew program for freshm an biology r emind s us of th e
sort of refl ection on th e ph enomena of n ature w hich is ou r
obj ecti ve, w heth er we are to do it in Humphrey's or elsewhere. Fo r the most pa rt, it is n ot bein g clone anywhere in
the program . Th e semin a r discussions are n ot capable of
makin g th e conn ection w ith th e labo ratory un aided . If th e
laboratory is in gen eral n ot interested in laying the groundwo rk for this und erstand ing, it is diffi cult to see w here else
it ca n · be fitted into our crowded sc hedul e. Th e labo ratory
dese rves credit fo r its progress on th e level of becomin g
acqu ainted with sc ien ce, but our prim a ry con cern an d r eal
interest is with a hig her leve l o f comprehension . O rga nization of th e la boratory progra m to illumina te th ese la rge r
problems of m eth od and content of th e n atur<Jl scien ces w ill
admittedl y be ve ry diffi cul t, pe rh aps fa r m ore so in gen eral
th an in th e case o f biology, w ith which we have always been
m ost successful. N o on e, on th e oth er han d, will offer this
difficulty as our reason fo r n ot m aki ng th e attempt.
Eleven
�tions useful.
crammm g.
The eff ec t on stud ents was to sta rt them
The in cr ease d emphasis on exam s in tutorials and labs had
th is degrading influen ce: th at as one was m arked for his
wo rk in th ose parts of th e progr am and daily broug ht to
acc ou nt, and as it was see mingly easier to fak e one's way
thro ug h se min ar or just so rt of sit in, w e were tempted to
Aristotle- Alpha
sell o m on " the substantial co re of th e whole program" and
ma ke our m ark wh ere it wo uld be imm ediately record ed.
J\1a ny r ecognized this and m ade a special effort to do th eir
semin ar r eadin g well. Th ey struggled with varying success;
read in g was gener ally poor. You co uld tell if som ebody was
"gettin g everythin g don e" by how terrible he loo ked. A
demoralized and mixed up co mmunity affected th e semin ars,
as w ell as everythin g else we did .
St. J ohn's likes to think of itself as a co mmunity se t apa rt.
vVhat see ms to be se ttin g us apar t more and more may be
THE YEAR'S \VORK in se mm ar, most would say, did
G ood leaders are also a necessity in th e upper classes, less
see n m one of ou r current id eas: th e id ea th at St. J ohn's
should be a m onas tery, an intell ec tu al m onas tery, and that
all tha t was done th ere th at counted was a sin o-le-mind ed
"'
'
detac hed stud y. Tl1 e original idea, so unh ap pil y misunderstood, was, I think, th at a college should be like a m onas tery
w here so methin g like two thirds of th e tim e was spent in
stud y, th e r est in m anual labo r. And so the readers of the
C ollege catalogue are led to believe we spend the aftern oons
not differ in an y essential respect from that of previous years.
Th ere w ere som e excitin g evenings, so me dull, som e frustrating . In this sem inar or in that, some found fault. A
few had faith in semin ars for better or for worse, en joying
th e battle of words, respectin g the quality of the subj ect
to direct, chasten and temper bold spirit, th an to shock a
playin g gam es; th e co nsc ien ce of th e C oll ege bids us ge t
ce rtain smu gn ess out of our now initiated youn g minds. W e
tend after a while to lin e ourselves up with a se t of doctrines,
and payin g increasin g lip-service to th e program and a party
lin e, we no longe r wrestl e so har d with th e dog mas of th e
hack to wo rk. Sleepy, ove rtired, nervous, hurried yo un g
men attemptin g to think clearly in seminar conversation,
were a not unusual spectacle. Th e stress laid on us served
chiefl y to take away the pleasure natural to progress 1n
learnin g.
Seminar
matter and supposin g a comm on purpose.
As always, th ere was recognition of the importance to
seminars of a good leader. No long experience in seminar
is r equired to r eveal th e dan gers of dialectic among yo ung
m en first fe eling their intellectu al oats. Irritation , impatience,
and dog and cat fi ghts are our rath er natural beginnings. It
see ms to be this way, and with freshm en especially. Th e
imagination runs strong, and it has perhaps always been
und erstoo d that th e restraint of wisdom and age is a neces-
va rious arts and sciences, in th e continu al exa mination of
w hich philosophy m ay be said to consist. As soon as w e profess ourselv es w ise we becom e fools, and we depend chiefl y
on our seminar lea ders, who are not paid to give us the
wo rd, to work th e Socratic charm on us .
college in secession from the present system of fanatically
preparatory " liberal arts" coll eges, becam e progressively preparatory. The m ajor argum ent in defense of the program
w henever ove rwo rk was complain ed of, was m ention of th e
fas t-m ovin g wo rld in which w e live a nd the r equirem ents of
m erry-go-round, wer e m ostl y strangers to th em in a community of learning.
Twelve
as a drudgery in creased ; we see m ed less abl e to enjoy the
good of it th an before. Our competitiv e athletics go t to be
m ore and m or e of a joke. Youn g m en had to resign th em selves to mediocrity in sports in stea d of th e excellence the
catalogue urges : Th ere w as no tim e in the afternoons.
In short, the habit of leisure was a lost art on campus.
Som e of us were idle and talked shop, more interested in
bein g St. J ohnnies th an in doing th e work. Others becam e
dynamos and slaves to th eir work. If th er e wer e "habits not
of labor, but of ease," it took a better eye than mine to find
them. Many recognized these thin gs and made an effort to
rig ht their own habits. By and large, th ey had to fi g ht th e
influ ence of th e College community to do it.
As a whole, we were a sick bunch.
th e g raduate scl1ools. Alc;ng w ith the preparatory urge and
th e effect of the fas t-m ovin g world, th er e was an in crease d
emphasis on gr ades and exa minations. These bega n to com e
into th eir own again as fac ts of a student's intellectual life.
Th e reason advanced for th e necessity of this was that the
C ollege had gr own, and th at it was no lon ge r possible to
kn ow each student without a well stuffed fil e. M aybe the
administration found m ore emphasis on grades and examina-
Semin ars, always
wo rth it, were n evertheless affected. J\1ay be a physician was
needed, m ay be a m agician. If you th oug ht of St. J ohn's as a
place to be frequented by th e Muses, yo u loo ked for the
m agician . If yo u thoug ht of it as a college of liberal ar ts,
'~hose
m ain purpose is to turn out citizens of a free state able
to m ake decisions in practical affairs, yo u looked for a physician. E ith er way, yo u looked for th e crisis.
w ere disturbin g thin gs goin g on too . This yea r St. J ohn's, a
tread with its fee t upon the earth.
lescent upper classes, who, hurrying along on th e program's
To so me, thin gs weren ' t really so bad. Actually, th ere
w ere signs of rot. Di rty, unkempt bodies w ere a sign. In
th e Coffee Shop and common rooms, conversation was seldom excitin g, often sterile. A tend ency to loo k on our work
Th e forego in g is no m ore th an mig ht be expected; th ere
sity in disciplinin g it ; that seminar con versation , like Disco rd in H omer, may have its hea d planted in heaven, yet
This year , even with the best lead ers and wi th th e more
difficult books of the first year postpon ed till the last year , it
see med that confusion was not checked. The fres hmen, generally, never seem ed sure what seminars were drivin g at.
Th ey go t little help from th e often demoralized, often ado-
\Ve called it a year of crisis at St. J ohn's. There were'
com plaints, and th ere was criticism. There was n o crisis, for
if anything was seen, it was not seen gen er ally, and ther e
was no ass uran ce th at wh at was wrong would be se t rig nt.
W e we re muddled an d confused. \ iVhatever one found fault
w ith suggested no remedy, for m en tion of w hat was truly
goo d in th e commun ity as well as m ere lip se rvice to th e
program, enervated criticism . Th ere w as one loud noise,
called an administ rative "c risis. " Th ere was a shuffiin ()' in
th e administration; if new life should co m e of it it was"'not
for this yea r, and w e were bid to continue as befo re.
Aristotl e - Omeg a
�THE WEEK
All stud ents men tioned were awa rded Coll ege Blaze rs.
Sport
I ndividual T
!Vinners
Table T ennis
Monday luncheons witn essed th e procession of Moderator,
Judges, and College Ad ministrators, w indin g their way
through the Dinin g H all to a table rese rved for th e purpose
of establishin g better communication between administration
and stud ent body. After black coffee and bitches, the ce remony adj oin ed to th e President's offi ce where solutions and
strategy were vigorously m apped out. It was at these meetin gs also that forthcoming forum s and college m ee tin gs were
proposed and discussed .
But th e co urt did not restrict itself to a purely liaison role,
for at various tim es throughout th e year it was called upon
to perform its obvious judicial fun ction . It is one thin g to sit
in a sea t in a semin ar and dialecticize about justice, and
quite anoth er to engage in th e practical application of that
justice. This fact was forcibly brought home to the court
in smoke fiilled rooms in th e wee sm all hours of the morning,
or hasty gatherin gs between classes. P erhaps the g reatest
hindrance to these decisions was th e then existing constitution
which provided laws whose general and indefinite nature
~ight well have nullifi ed its existence. With this in mind
th e court acted in a mann er which it hoped to establish as
a precedent, nam ely in a spirit of reason and good will.
Who will ever forget th e court in those crucial days of th e
'administrative turn-ove r' when, like som e multi-h eaded
Florence Nightingale, it stood in no-m an's land comforting
the afflicted. Th e afflicted were appreciative, and this gave
the co urt its real signifi cance.
L a rry Myers
Tennis-Singles
Pierre Grimes
Pierre Grim es and
P eter Davies
Boxing-
George Cowell
ATHLETICS at St. J ohn's, like everythin g else, can be
and have been talked abo ut, ig nored or pa rticipated in. I,
135 lbs.
for one, talk abou t th em. But in order to have some inforBoxing-15 5 lbs.
Mike Brown
Boxing-1 7 5 lbs.
H enry J awish
T he all arou nd ability and
sportsmanship awa rd
Philip Camponeschi
The Boat Club's 'o utstanding ability 111 handling
sailin g craft'
M ike R ourke
th e amount of 'work to be done' but, if I may be allowed
Foo tball Championship
won by Junior ab
to generalize, I will say that this enthusias m has been on the
Baske tball Championship
won by F reshm an cdef
(combined)
Softball Championship
won by Seniors
Team Champions for th e
year
F r eshm an ef (Seelig, Fleetwood, Staffo rd, Twigg,
Maguire, Ogushi).
mation for my various tirades on th e subj ect of the G ymn astic Arts, I have, on occasion , ventured into th e Gymnasium
on nig hts when th ere was neith er a lec ture n or a m ovie.
A nd in order to make really g rand analogies and forceful
speeches against bodily laziness, I have even gone so far, once
or twice, as to walk to th e back campus wh en there was not
even th e promise of a beer or a picnic. What I have seen I
am only going to say a few words abo ut. There appears to
have been more interest th an one would expect what with
part of only two or possibly three g roups. One is that little
group of old m en who a re tryin g despe rately and futilely to
avoid the signs of age which cree p abo ut th e waist line. The
second is the g rou p of very young m en who have as yet
found nothin g of g reater interest on campus to occupy th eir
time. And the third is th at g roup who from ea rl y childhood
to the grave have a very se rious concern fo r their bodily
health, eith er in itself, or as a m eans for keeping mentally
awake. These three and possibly a fourth g roup w hom we
refer to simpl y as athl etes-all have somethin g abo ut them to
be admired, but intell ectually th e third g roup seems to he on
th e m ore solid footin g .. .. As for th e rest of us, we sit on
som ething equ ally as solid, and if our apa th y doesn't turn
to at rop hy in the next few years it neve r will. But let us not
forget the words of one of our campus 'grea ts' (equally a
In th e tru e spirit of th e C ollege, th e actions of the court
were always heavily criticized, both favorably and unfavorably, but lookin g back now almost all would agree th at for
the first tim e a community of stud ents could gove rn th em-
sitter ): " The Gymnasium is th ere for those w ho wish to use
selves .
to be given away, as th e following list will verify.
F oztt·teen
J ose ph Couch
Tennis-Doubles
SURELY CAMPUS HISTORIANS in the futur e will
classify this yea r's politics as "The G olden Age of the
Court," for never before had this organ of the stud ent government been call ed upon to fun ction so actively. Some
wise obse rve r put it nicely when he said: "The court is a
'Jack-of-all political trades'."
D avid Napper
Track
athletics
Andrew Zunzer
Badminton
the court
J ohn Williams
Squash
Monday
Handball
it." And if there are those who want som e sort of a boon
to th eir initiati ve, there is always a good deal of dry goods
�Tuesday
catholic study group
THE PAST YEAR was th e Cath olic Study Group's
seco nd . In retrospec t it is evid ent that among its signs of
life is now here to be found a clea rly ou tlined course of
study. As an extra-curricula r ac tivity its probl ems are evident. Its purpose is to provide a m edium for the study of
the C atholic tradi tion, and here th e group's problem is m ore
immense : just how to go about such a study. If a m ethod
can be found th e meetin gs of the g roup will be of a very
general interest. The C atholic tradition is certainly too large
to allow adequa te coverage wi thin th e program, and a class
devoted to its study should be able to take its place along
side of th e Old and New T estament classes, being of course
of special interest to Catholics.
F or th e g roup, the year was hig h-lig hted by an even ing
spent with the R ev. D om Anselm Strittmatter, O .S.B., of
St. A nselm's Priory, in W a hington . H e discussed "The
Catholic Student in th e Secular College. " H e encou raged
any work by a g roup with such a purpose, and in the talking
that followed at least two thin gs became clear: th e difficulties
that at present beset the gro up are large but neither unusual
nor insurm ountable, and such a stud y group fun ctionin g w ell
would certainly be an asset to the college, as well as to its
members.
bible classes
TWO BIBLE SEMINAR S, m ee tin g weekly, were held
during the yea r, one on th e Old T estament, co nducted by
Mr. Simon K aplan, and the oth er on the N ew T estament
by th e R eve rend ]. Winfree Smith.
Th e Old T estament readings were from G enesis and
Exodus and w ere considered from a purely intrinsic aspect
by evaluatin g Biblical events and people according to th eir
context and H ebraic tradition. Thus, for example, th e first
H ebrew by birth, I saac, the son of Abraham, is both th e
fulfillment of Ab raham's covenant as fath er of a people and
indicative of the signifi cance of the e~dest-born in th e J ew ish
family in th e perpetuation of " the ·tradition ." This kind of
perspec tive is obviously quite different from that of th e
anthropologist or theological scientist to w hom a bible is
m erely th e r evelation of primitive r eligious th ought instea d
of the revelation by G od of Himself.
On W edn esday eve nin gs Dr. Smith's class interpreted
P aul's Epistle to th e R omans. T hey approached this N ew
Testam ent work fro m three broad perspectives: first, the
Epistl e and th e nature of m an, sin, and C hrist - experience
and individual introspec tion developed this aspec t; then, th e
"official" Interpretations, the interpretations of th e Protestant
and C atholic th eologies, their differences and concurren ces;
finall y, the eclectic interpretations, those of sec ts oth er th an
C hristian and of secul ar philosophers.
Sixlee?t
•'>
Not as m any stud ents enj oyed th e wisdom of Mr. K aplan
a nd Dr. Smith, and th e stimulation of these informal sem inars, as co uld have . A nd this is th e m ost profound understatement of th e acade mic yea r.
fine arts
TWO OF TH E SO-CALLED Fine Arts ca m e to St.
J ohn 's in th e Fall of 1948 - music and art. Of th e two,
a rt was destin ed to be exclusively an extra-curricular ac tivity,
sin ce it would seek, throug h demonstration and criticism, to
do w hat th e St. J ohn's G rea t Books prog ram does not in st ruc t in a pa rticul ar talent.
The first call, issued to "artists in all m edia" by the newlyacquired artist-in-residence, F. T own send Morgan, brought
a sco re of interested stud ents, fac ulty m embers and ca mpu s
wives to the studio, established in the so uth wing of th e
D efen se Shop. Th e acc umul ati ve opinio n favore d a wee kly
class in drawin g, preferably f rom th e human fi g ure, w ith
Mr. Mo rga n ac tin g as instru ctor and critic. Sin ce the
purpose of th e group w as also to suppl y th e Coll ege w ith
such needed art products as illustrations and posters, and to
w ork with th e Graphic A rts Committee in producin g th e
shows, it required a charter and offi cers.
Richard C ongdon, a junior, was elected chairman of
w hat was tentatively titl ed A rtists As ociated. Harry Martin, a sop hom or e, was its secreta ry, Mr. Morgan its a rt
director, and P at ricia Pa rslow, w ife of a sophomore, head
o f its poster division. Its classes we re to be held once a week
on Tuesdays, with the facilities of the studio open to all
members at any tim e.
By O ctober th e g roup had a charter and a new n am e,
T he Stud ents' A rt Cooperati ve, and m embers were busily
unlearnin g any academic drawin g m eth ods th ey m ay ever
have lea rned. V\Tor king w ith fe ll ow students as m odels, the
a rtists w ere bein g told to " scribble - let yo ur hand ride follow th e line with yo ur eye and hand." Th e r esults of
th ese three and ten second studies- with an occasional
one or ten minute sketch thrown in to enco urage the weary
-seem ed fo r th e first few w ee ks to be n aught but unintelligi bl e sc rawlin gs and ac hin g backs.
But by th e tim e th e C hristmas vacation was. up, students
were findin g som e method in the Nicolaid es madn ess as
advocated by Mr. Morgan . Their r eward for progress was
the add ition o f a pretty fe m ale m odel, and an hour each
session to "cr ea te" on on e's own, in any 1nedium.
M ea nwhile, th e Stud ents' A rt C ooperative had lost its
chairman. When Mr. Congdon left school, his administrative duties we re assumed pro tem by Richard Carruthers.
It was Mr . Carruthers w ho was la rgely responsible for the
silk sc reen r eprodu ced posters adver tisin g th e School's dances
and sim ilar entertainments. Th e littl e balance and pallette
in sign e of th e Students' A rt Cooperati ve w as the joint creation of Carruth ers and Mo rgan.
Art Co-o p
M r. Morga n, nationally recognized fo r his considerabl e
ability as an etcl.1er, sparked not onl y the new art g roup,
hut se rved as ad v1sor to th e Graphic A rts Committee. P atrick
Davis was chai rm an of this esta blished C ollege body, and Mr.
Congdon was its treasurer until his departure. Th e co mmittee had pl a r~n e d an ambitious program of se ven shows, onl y
four of wh1ch were ac tu ally held due to th e long and involved redeco ration of th e Junior C ommons room, w hich
se rved as a ga ll ery. V\Tith th e new deco rations it shoul d be
much simpl er to hold th e future
. ha ws sin ce , among oth er thin gs, a
pictu re mold ing of th e stand a rd
type was add ed. Th e roo m, as it
now stands, has th e addition of a
n ew tiled fl oo r, g rey wall s and
fluoresce nt lig htin g - both ove rhead and in th e table lamps. T he
~urn iture has hee n re-u pholster ed
111 a golden-yell ow pl astic.
The first, in early Nove mber,
featured a n ex hibit of bla ck a nd
w hite cloud draw in gs br Mr.
_ \lforgan . Then, after a. hiatus
1
that lasted until Feb ru ary, th e
C oll ege co mmunity was treated to
a show of twelve prints by
th e famous Civil W ar photograp her, M atth ew Brady.
This g roup included tl;e
famo us portraits of G eneral
R obert E. L ee, A braham
Lin coln , L ove joy and others,
plus a number of th e Civil
' N'a r shots.
Student wo rk provided th e
mate rial for th e two remain in g shows. One w as m ade
notable by H arry Martin 's
squ arish maid in oils and
H arry Kislevitz's perplexions,
wh ile th e las t (a n exhibit of th e ea rlier-m entioned speed
sc ribbl es) proved most interestin g to th e a rtists themselves,
who sc rutinized the un sig ned and now-forgotten sketch es in
vain attempts to id entif}' th eir o wn .
Th e yea r's end foun.d th e Stud ents' A rt C ooperative an
integral, if unpretentious, pa rt o f St. J ohn 's coll ege life. Its
products and its membership ca n be expected to improve with
tim e, g ranted it co ntinu es in the steady co urse se t for it in its
initial yea r.
Fi ne ar ts and
Lib e ra l a rts
Seventeen
�Wednesday
m ,USIC
vVHEN MUSI.C was introduced into th e Program thi s yea r ,
it was as St. J ohn 's first outright elec tive subj ec t: the seminars and
tutorials were elec ti ve de jm·e, th e Chorus was elective de fa cto.
This was perfectly understandabl e, as the new musi c co urse was
frankly tentativ e and experimental. However, our conflicting
reactions to mu sic as a poss ibl e elem ent of :1 libe ral ed ucatio n refl ected so methin g m ore . There continu es a la ck of agree ment
among ourselves about o ur purpose in general , a difficulty which
h as been impli cit from th e first m e ntion of the "liberal arts," and
wilich ste ms f ro m our differing notio ns of what a free man after
all looks lik e. T hi s confu sio n is the one we call "the probl em of
the relati on of the liberal and the fin e arts."
At first it seemed that mu sic m ig ht prese nt no esse nti ally new
proble m . Great works of music a re certai nl y a part of our weste rn
he ri tage while we have always accepted the work of western
d ram ati sts, novelists, and poets as an integ ral part of our "liberal"
tr ad iti on. Although a play o r a poem is more accessibl e than
music in that it is wr itten in words, the word s lead more or less
imm ediately to scenes, images, and sounds - these may be sa id
really to be the play or t he poem- and in that se nse we have
always dealt w itil more than ver bal arts.
But o~r se minars have gener all y tak en as their objec t the discuss ion of th e play or novel in purely d isc ursive terms, undertaking, howe1·e r humbly, to tran sla te or abstra ct, if not "the"
mean in g, at least so me partial or poss ible meaning. Now whet her
we confin e o urselves to this abstra ct discussion primaril y because
of th e size an d som ew hat unwieldy nature of the se m inar, or prim arily beca use we regard thi s as the :Onl y prope rl y li beral approac h
even to a work of imagination, has never been clea r. W e hav e left
it und ete rmin ed, in other wor::l s, whether poet ry is to be accep ted
as a .li beral art in its ow n right, or whether it is only to be regarded as an object of stud· of the l iberal arts. Even if we
y
suppose th a t und erstanding in a poem, an image , or a myth has
always bee n in clud ed in our use of th e term " rhetoric," we must
ad m it that neith er se m inar nor language tutorial has parti cularl y
reflected any such co n viction .
Mr. Zu ckerkandl has left no such ambiguity in the case of
mu sic. Musi c, h e affirmed in his formal lecture ea rly in the year,
is a form of und ersta ndin g. Th e entire mu sic course h as bee n
co nsiste nt w ith this principle, dealing with mu sic not th roug h
th e m ed ium of ot her, " more prope rl y li be ral " arts, but insofar as
possible in its ow n ter.ms- th e appeal has always been to the ear
first, and only afterwards to numerical ratios and a log ical ly orga ni zed sy mbolism .
It was in thi s spirit that the Ch or us was conce ived as the mea ns
of ac hi evi ng mu sical "literacy": her e very little atten ti on was
paid to t he mec han ics of nota ti on; rather, we almost immediately
embarked up on uni son sin g ing. Th e "letters" of thi s litera cy were
ton es heard and sun g, not notes wr it te n on a page. I t was expected that we accept, respect, and work with mu sic; rarely does
a language tutorial spend a comp arable hour rehearsing a verse,
an im age, or a sce ne.
It beca me pretty plain that a large part of th e coll ege con si d e red this so rt of t hin g beneath its dignity . It is probable too
t hat the consid erable fa ll in at tenda nce at mu sic se minars dur in g
th e first te rm of the co urse in part reflected restlessness or di sap po intment with an approach to .music whi ch di d not rapidly
plunge us into philosophy. Our in cl in at ion in any se min ar is to
lea p to in terpretat ions in terms of tragedy, co medy, and th e
nature of the uni ve rse. Whil e Mr. Zu ckerkandl pl aced no ba n on
th is (he ba nn ed only d iscuss ion of vague "feelin gs" ) , h e wa n ted
Eigliteen
the discussion to respec t wh at the ear heard, and as it became
plain that we were not often successf ul in talking abo ut the musi c
whi ch was our text and at the sam e tim e talking about very large
con cepts, the se minars came to con ce ntrate on th e plan and d e rail s
of the work und er disc ussion. Since many m embers of the se minar were for th e first tiRle becoming famili ar with music, th e
seminar ne cessarily at times took on a tutorial chara cter. All thi s
was, like the Chorus, a particul ar di sappointment to those w ilo
regard mu sic as in itself of only seco nd ary importance, and a
di scursi ve statement of ideas as of primary impor tan ce.
Our really unique difficulty with mu sic has thu s not bee n the
fa ct that a melod y fail s to prese nt us witil discusive ly formulated
id eas ready to be di sc ussed; plays, poems, and novels are eq uall y
obstinate in thi s respect. A special problem h as arisen in the case
of music onl y because we h ave tre ate d mu sic with a respec t we
ha ve no t in general shown to lite rat ure. Starting with the
h ypothes is that there is an und er standin g to be found in mu sic
itself, we have restrained ourselves, o r more ofte n ha ve been
r es trai ned by Mr. Zu ckerkandl, from exc hangi ng th e rea lm of
mu sic for that of phi losophy. Our fi rst obj ec ti ve has not bee n
to see mu sic through th e eyes of philcsophy, but to see through
the eyes of music.
After Mr. Zuckerkandl h ad affirmed in hi s le cture that musi c
is a form of und erstand in g, Mr. Ki e ff er asked him , "understand ing of zoha-t?" It would be difficul t to deny the validity of thi s
question; to close any area of our exper ien ce to p hil osop hi cal
inquiry is to invite the da rkn ess whi c h te nd s to su rroun d eac h
special art and science, and to di1·id e man . But if we do not
confi ne the p hil osop he r, n either d o we confi ne th e poe t or
mu sician; the m any realms of und e rstanding, if there is in fac t
an understa ndin g in poetry and an understandin g in music, may
freely overlap . To aAirm that philos~ph y sheds light .is.,,no. to
r
deny th at poetry and mu sic may also shed li g ht. W e shou)d not
close any mode of un de rsta nding to the " fre e" m an. T h e.. dang~rs
of an " unde rsta ndi ng" confin ed to abst raction s are nowher'e be tter
known th an at St. J ohn's, where we occasio nall y find ourselves
repea ting profundities whi ch, wh ile quite pmsib ly "t ru ~,'; have
lost their m ea ning for us. Whil e Mr. Ki e ff er's guestion should
no t be forgot ten, and oug ht in fa ct to remain a continuing challenge to us, our study of mu sic need not wait for an answer.
When Mr. Zu ckerkandl worked out a mu sic cou rse for st ude n ts
of the 1ibe ral arts, he see ms n ot to have designed a philosophical
study of music, but an intelligent introdu ct ion to mu sic for men
who are no t specialists. Though it is planned to conti nu e this
yea r' s co urse through a second yea r for thos e who are interested,
th e first year was intended to be complete in itself; the tutorial
year was thus divided into four parts: melody, rhythm, co un terpoi nt , and h armony. This w ide fi eld was covered in so short a
tim e, not by d iluting expla natio ns or theory, bur by omitting
m ost of the written and keyboard exerc ises whi ch ord inar il y
accompany a mu sic course. The prin cipl e of first and fi nal
emphasis on the ear did not by any m ea ns excl ud e the copious
use of the· othe r liberal arts whi ch mu sic in vites. The tutorial
bega n with th e ca r, li ste nin g to one tone of a m elody already
fa.miliar from the Ch oru s - th e tutox ial was asked simpl y, " What
ca n we say about that tone ?" Soon, howeve r, Junio.r s fo und
th emselves very mu ch at h om e in a d iscussion of tension s and
for ces, ba lan ce and un bala nce, and som e experim en ts with analy ti c diagram s of the seve n-tone sys te m. Later, the log ic of key
relationships was epitomi zed in a ba fllin gly si mpl e geom etr ical
d iag ram of the intervals of the scale. Sin ce the ear had establish ed th e intervals betwee n to nes, it was on ly mu ch l ater that the
simple whole-n um ber ratios among pitch es fami liar to us from our
fres hman laboratory were in tradu ced ; their fail urc to account
fo r th e interv als of th e minor m ode see med signifi ca nt . Througho ut, the principle re main ed th at nothing co uld be co nclud ed
about mu sic from m at hem ati cs o r log ic without th e final sa nctt on
of th e ea r.
ln in te resting analogy to the lan g uage tutorial, the music
tutor ial reli ed through th e first ter m on lec tures, but empl oyed
the m et hod of close exa mi na tion of text for the rem ainder of th e
vcar. During the second term , many of the Bach T zvo- and
·T h.ree-Part Inventions were studi ed as exa mpl es of coun te rpoint ;
d urin g t he third ter m, selec t ions from a few Schubert songs
served as tex t for th e study of h ar mony . One m ajor objective
of the tutorials and semin ars together was to become acc ustomed
to t he use of the mu sical score. H ere agai n, the purpose was
not to leave the realm of ton es in favor of the log ical and
<>eome tri cal realm of mu sical notat io n , but to mak e the fullest
~ se of the eye and mind as aids to the ea r in h earing well.
Greatest diffi culty, and g rea test int erest, ce ntered in t he mu sic
seminar where th e objecti ve was to talk about a num ber of particular wor ks of mu sic; there th e problem had to be faced, how to
talk about a so nata o r an ope ra in fairl y general terms without
le tt in g the discussion lead away from the mu sic, but rath e r back
to it. It was probably with an eye to fac ilitating discussion that
atte n tion was focused on three major works employ in g both words
and music: th e St . M att!J.ezo Pa-ssion, Don Giovamti, and Fidelia.
Often t he se.m in ar turn ed to th e problem of th e intimate relation
of words and musi c in th ese works, wh e re the semin ar's ow n problem in discussi ng mu sic see m ed to be refl ec ted. Tile se min ar
shou ldered its burd en in a most fo rthri g ht way, however, when
it unde rtook to d iscuss mu sic without text, as the two Bach p,·elttde.r and Fugues w hi ch bega n the yea r , the M ozart G Maj or
Piano Cmzce1·to late r, and t he Beet hoven Opw 111 Pimta Sonata
toward the end. Su ccess in th ese atte mpts was mod est. Earl y in
t he vea r th e re we re ve ry na tural difficulties throu gh lack of
vocab ulary, and simpl e mec hani cal difficulties in fo ll ow!ng .t he
sco re. T hese eased as th e year we nt on , and con ve rsatiOn Improved consid erably as the works of seve ral compose rs beca me
available for co mparison w ith on e ano ther. Seldom, however, can
t he conve rsation be said to have Aowed.
The se minars labored und er one severe and not reall y esse ntial
h and icap. Un li ke our oth er semin ars, .the .mu sic se m ~ n a rs ~e
m:m·dcd and in ge neral r eceived littl e time Ill preparatiOn pnor
t o th e actual hou rs of m ee ting. It was customary
to pla y a shorter wo rk once at the beg innin g of the
se minar, and t he n pe rhaps aga in late r as t he conve rsatio n rai sed q ues tion s. Mem be rs of t he se minar to whom the piece was new found t hemse.l ves
una ble, c·1c n wit h th e aid of th e eye and all possible atten ti on , to grasp t he work and lau nch into
an inte ll igent di scu ssic n immediate!;· after a first
or e1 n sccG nd hearin g. There is a para ll el here ,
·e
perhaps, to th e rapid read in g always de manded by
tile seminar- we wou ld not w ish to approac h
a work of mu sic any more t han a book as schola rs
intent e n detai l. But the tim e of contac t w ith a
Prelurle and Fugue or a conce rto is mu ch less t han
that w ith a se minar read in g ass ignment, and t hi s
nu.' ' have w ntributed to the occasio nal speechl ess11 ess of the se min ar w hen conve rsa tion was su pposed to begi n. On such occas ions, exa m ination of
t he work fe ll ve ry mu ch to the lot of Mr. Zu ckerkandl himself, :t nd the se minar became a le ct ur e.
Th e sa me lack of prepa rat ion, c r of fa mil iariza tion, hindered tl1e tuto ri als . This diffi culty has
two parts: the lesse r is a si mpl e lack of phvs ical
fac il iti es for hearing re co rdin gs :tnd for using a
pi ano at .l ei sure and c ut of ea rshot of t he critical
public; it is hoped that next year small , sound-insu lated mu sic
rooms will be ava ilable, eac h with piano and phonograph. The
g reate r part of the difficulty is of course the non-ex iste nce of
leisure.
The mu sic co urse, conceived as an expe rim e nt , has nat urall y
ra ised m any que stions for t he futu re. It is probabl y fair to say
that at present th e co urse can be do ne altogether sa ti sfa ctorily
onl y by a student w ho bas had previo us preparat ion in mu sic, or
who is wi llin g, or is for som e reaso n in a position, to sli g ht som e
othe r part of the Prog ram. Many of the people who dropped th e
mu sic course during th e first term d id so w it h regret and only
beca use th ey coul d n ot find tim e for it. It see ms obv iously unsatisfactory that any part of the Progra m shou ld y e rman c n tly
remain on a part ial and elec tive basis. Over a pen od of yea rs,
so me adjustme nt mu st be m ade in th e Progra.m actuall y to in clude
.mu sic, or our in te rest in mu sic shou.ld be shifted to a .fnu?kly
ext ra-curric ul ar level. But th e music cou rse has nnph ca tJ ons
beyo nd th e stu dy of mu sic itse lf - we arc indirec tl y but serioush ·
callin g into question o ur approach to the poem , play, and novel
in seminar and lang uage tuto rial, th ro ug h this rev iew of our very
co nce pt ion of a " libe ral" art. Such an inqui;y 1:1ight prove to be
of fundam enta.l importa nce to th e college Jf, 111 the f uture, 1t
were to draw the attention of a sig n ifica n t num ber of studen ts
and of m em bers of the fa culty .
folk dance group
A GROUP OF STUDENTS int eres ted in folk dan ci ng was
organized and became act ive shortl y af te r t he beg innin g of t~ e
Winter Ter.m . F our co upl es tu rn ed o ut for the first m eet m g 111
Igle hart H all to dan ce to the mu sic of borrowed reco rds pl.aye.d
on a bor rowed ph onograp h. Und er the able and c nthu s1ast Jc
g uida nce of W arre n Winnarski, an exper ienced inst ructor, thi s
or ig in al "set" developed com pete n cc in performing some figure s
of the sq uare dan ce, var ious co upl e dances, and the Virginia R eel ,
w hil e an eve nin g of f un was had by all.
At tendance at the W ed n esday ni g ht act iviti es in creased rapidly
until the point was reac hed at w hi c h it beca m e diffi cul t for all
th e dan ce rs to hear the mu sic and th e direct ions of th e ca ll er
abo1·e the noise of the crowd. The g roup th e n applied fo r and
(Continu ed on p11ge 50)
Righ t Han ds Round
�attention of th ose interested in the Stud ent P olity for at least
another year. It crea ted n o schism in th e spring of 1949,
and shortl y afte r th e new constitution was vo ted into effect,
elections were held fo r the fi rst fu lly offi cial P olity offi cers
that this session saw. Th ese office rs, however, had only a
short term, as th e new constitution provided fo r th e election
o f offi cers for th e followin g year in Jun e. With only slight
exception, mostly in th e case of students who w ere not
returnin g for th e n ext session, th e sa me m en were re-elected
for th e sa me position s, and th e court, n ow an appointed body,
was rea ppointed in toto. Officers of the P olity for th e 194?19 50 session are: Robert Goldberg, Moderator, and Martin
D ye r, Secre tary.
D espite the considerable con fusio n made apparent by ~h e
fo regoin g, many students fe lt th at the Polity was m akm g
some headway toward bein g a real stud ent governm ent, and
livin <Y up to its avow ed purpose of "acceptin g its share of
com~1unal responsibilities." One pla ce in particular where
improve m ent was felt seemed to be th e College Forum s.
T hese were less frustratin g and more h elpful to th e average
stud ent and to the College than here tofore, and some of th e
hackn eye d brea kdow n in communica tion seem ed to be mending. The day th at perfect communica tion is established betwee n the offi ce rs and tutors of th e College and all the
stud ents will be the ·clay th at mark th e en d of a need for the
Student Polity.
Thursday
polity
racin g dinghy. T he T empest class din g hy was to be th e
first of a fl ee t of m any with w hich the Boat Club hoped to
r e-enter intercollegiate sailin g . Th e boat was built not only
with the intention of winnin g r aces, bu t also to direct a fl ow
of contributions from Old Program alumni to the Boat Club.
Mr. Kinsman dese rves a g reat deal of praise for his unselfi sh
attempts to establish n ecessary contac ts.
vVith th e laun ching of Kinsman's baby, Commod or e Teel
r ealized th at tl1 e Club had g rown to proportions with w hich
h e w as unabl e to cope. A new offi ce- Rear Admiral in
charge of R acin g - was created. Overnight eager, ambitious Michael R ourke became an Adm iraL Mr. R ou rke
had th e distin ct honor of bein g th e first m an to hold this
position . A few wee ks late r, he had th e distinct hon or of
bein g th e first m an to capsize the dinghy.
As th e spa rk of 'sailin g to win' spread, arrangem ents were
made with th e Naval Academ y wher eby w e could use their
dinghies and race against th em when ever possibl e. Alth ough , .. ,
the Boat Club n ever won a race, it was, at Mr. Kinsman's
requ est, th e clea1i~~t lo6king bu nch ever to . se t foot' in a n avy
boa t. Not onl y w'ere appearances maintam ecl, but valuable
expe ri e11~e was gain ed in these enco unters wit~l the Navy.
A successful season was broug ht to a close With the awardin b .of a commodore's cap to Co mmodo re T eel for outstand()'
in b' · meritorious and unselfi sh ac tion above and beyond( th e
<Y
'
.
ca ll of duty, and a blazer to R ea r Ad miral R ourke for outstandin g ability in handlin g sa ilin g craft.'
Ro bert's Rules
boat
FOR THE STUDENT POLITY, th e 1948-1949 session
was a confused one. With on e notable exception, most of th e
P olity's time an d eff ort was spent on its old preoccupation :
itself. It started the yea r under a pall that had been cast in
the preceding sprin g. A t th at tim e elections of officers had
been held for th e 1948- 49 session, and these elections had
been challen ged . One stud ent co ntend ed that th e elections
were technically invalid, and th at consequ ently n either th e
sec retary and mod erator, nor th e members of the co urt had
been elected. The outgoin g court was asked to rul e on th e
questio n, and decid ed th at th e charge was correct, but that
sin ce it was too late th en to hold n ew elections, the invalidly
. elec ted officers and co urt should continu e in office until it w as
possible, at an asse mbly m ee tin g in the fall, to straig hten
ou t the situation and, if n ecessa ry, hold new elections th en.
Clarence Kram er, acting as tempora ry moderator, follow ed
these in structions and called an ea rly fall m eetin g, soon after
the College con ve ned. Action taken at th at meetin g was to
appoint a committee to dra ft a new constitution to replace
th e old one, th e provisions of which had made th e technical
irregularity noted in th e elections possible. This co mmittee
was to report its progress from tim e to tim e, and to submit
a new constitution for th e asse mbl y's consid eration in D ece mber. The incumbent officers and court, whose sole authority
for holdin g office was the dec ision of th e outgoin g co urt of
the precedin g yea r; were as ked to stay in office until the new
constitution could be acted upon.
It was not until th e third term that the n ew constitution
was ready for the assembly's attention, but in th at term, after
Tweuty
a good deal of debate and onl y minor am endm ent, th e second
constitution of the Student P olity at St. J ohn's College was
adop ted. The committee th at h ad worked so long and ha rd
at putting it toge ther had th e sa tisfac tion of seein g most of
th eir ideas accepted by th e majority of stud ents. Votin g on
the new constitution, co nducted by paper ballot, was not
heavy, which substantia ted th e rather gloom y view th at not
en ough people at St. ] ohn 's ca re abo ut a good stud ent governm ent to make it work. Apparentl y, some m embers of th e
asse mbly didn't ca re enough eve n to g ive a sm all help to
those who did , and conseque ntl y didn't both er to vote at all.
Some oth ers opposed the n ew constitution on the g round that
th e Polity spent too much tim e doctorin g itself, and th at any
chan ge in the P olity set-up was to be disco ura ge d as just
m ore hypoc hondria. This see m ed to be th e m ain body of
sentiment against th e n ew constitution . There was anoth er
g roup of und etermin ed size who, while they voted for the
new constitution, did so with rese rvations. Th ey fe lt that,
while th e new bill was, in many respects, a n improve ment
upon th e old one, it .. refl ec ted a g rowing tendency of th e
P ol ity to beco me ove rl y conce rn ed with legalism; too much
emphasis upon th e letter, r ath er th an th e spirit, of th e law.
Th ey arg ued th at th e on e tim e durin g this yea r wh en the
Polity had acted effecti ve ly and rea ll y fu lfill ed its proper
function it had more or less ignored the particularities of
procedu:.e and gone ahead in a SJJirit of consc ientiousness and
coope ration w hich contributed more than a littl e to th e eventual solution of "The Crisis." This question of the letter
versus th e spi rit is one which will probably demand the
club
T HE HISTORY OF MANKIND, as reco rded by m any
histo rians, ca n be said to be a history .of renaissance and
emendation . vVithin th e ge neral classifi ca tion of m ankind,
on e ca n trace th e attempts of individuals and g roups to revive
and better past cultures and co nditions. Tim e is th e sole
judge of the success or failure of such effo rts.
.
Last Sep tember, a move m ent to restore the past glon es of
the St. J ohn's Boat Club and pave th e way for future expansion and fam e slowly began to gain mom entum . It .was
obvio us to th e Club that m en with foresig ht and determm ation were needed to stee r th e o rganization through the
treac herous waters and restrainin g currents which lay ahead .
E ric Tee! was elec ted Commodore of th e Club. Blair Kinsman ass umed the role of Faculty Adviser.
Wit h a fe r vo r and effo rt surpassed onl y by H ercules,
members began improvin g th e existing facilities of the Cl~b,
and officers began plannin g the dire ction in which expa nsion
would proceed. The Boat H ouse was given a clea n sweep
down fore and aft. Th e walls of th e top dec k were celotexe d and painted . Below, space was meticulously assigned
to boat hooks, pails, preservers, etc. which had been painted
and numbered with the unusual col0rs of bl ac k and ora nge .
T he g rand old lad ies of th e fl ee t, Plund er 16's, were sand ed,
painted and laun ched. It was n ot consid ered necessa ry to
replace or improve such items as clea ts, shac kl es, hanks, unspliced lin e and weather- weary sail s. All boats were carefu ll y
numbered and lettered, howeve r .
Bein g concerned with esse ntials onl y, th e majority of th e
work was devoted to th e co mpletion of th e School's first
Lau nching the Aries
Twe1zty -o1te
�Friday
chorus
3/ 5th to I/ I Oth
A CHORUS was in stit uted thi s yea r as a part of the req uired
curri culum . lt rece ived the attention of from three- fifths to onetenth of the stude nt body, of whom the latter proportion re m ain ed tru e to its commitment to the school.
Those who attend ed from th e fir st to th e last parti cipated in
t he singin g of Bach chor ale melodi es, old and not-so-old folk
songs, Schutz psalm s, and canons. The choru s began with the
Bach and the folk so ngs, took up th e psalms, and finall y spe nt part
of th e second term and most of the last term singing the canons.
.Th e ex pressed purpose of the c horu s was an attempt to integ rate music with th e rest of the program. In attempting to show
tha t it belonged, Mr. Zu cke rkandl invok ed Plato, but eve n Plato
had little e ffec t on th e recreants. Mr. Zu ckerkandl lik ens nlll sic
to a langua ge in whi ch most peop le ha ve less fa cility than in th e ir
nati ve tongu es, o r eve n Greek or ma t hemat ics. This places the
c horus in th e positi on of an eleme ntary cla ss to accusto m our ears
to hear and our voi ces to sin g with as mu ch ease as we see and
spea k. To a lesse r degree it should help correlat e the products of
vo ice and ear with wh at the eye sees on th e she e t of mu sic.
Thi s yea r, at least, Mr. Zuckerkandl has had no chan ce to
ac hi eve th e gro up mu sical lite ra cy at w hi ch he aimed. P e rhaps
the plan is bas ically impms iblc at St. J o hn 's. The very prefere nce shown amon g those wh o did attend faithfully may be an
indi ca tion of th e esse ntial di sunity of th e student body; canon s,
e~· c n though organi ze d and dire cted, arc a form of di sag ree m ent.
concerning the lectures
IF ONl•: vVANTE D to express t he co nse nsus of th e students
conce rnin g lec tures, he would do bes t by say ing : In the year 194-84-9 St. J oh n's had the usual le ct ures, som e good, so me not so good.
To say that the re was a gene ral di sin te rest in th e Frida y night
talk s is to put th e ma tte r kind lv. Th e gene ral apath y t hat g ripp ed
the Sc hoo l mani fested itse lf most ap parentl y in t he alm ost barre n
T u·euty -tu·o
gy mnasium eac h Friday. Some that did atte nd often found the
8 o' clock time a little ea rly, and so, along with seve ral town speople arrived at 8: I 5, thereby depriving them selves of I 5
minutes of sweet sleep. Others, following the advi ce of a junior
math tutor, conscientiously worked o ut calcL1lus problems ra the r
than waste an hour and a half of good study tim e. There are
always a handful who co nsider th e le cture a kind of extra-c urri cul ar pastime whi ch ca n be attended or not l ike the Saturday
eve nin g movi es. Bu t thi s yea r was diffe rent; poor attendance was
the rule rather th an th e exception, and if the re were 20 peopj e
at th e question period (including tutors ) th e lect ure r could have
consid ered him self one of the el ite. And l et's not fool ourselves,
the answe r to thi s strange phenomenon is not that all of the
lectu res were just plain bad. Eve n some of the ve ry bad on es
we re salvaged somehow by a good qu es tion period with Mr. Klein
and Mr. Kaplan spear ing th e atta ck. But at th at, all of th e
questions ca n' t be asked by tutors, and so most of the question
periods were a dismal flop. As the Dean has sa id, if a le ctur er
enjoys the qu est ion pe ri od and is interested in coming back, then
the question pe riod has failed. There were f ew squirmers in th e
lec ture r's seat in the King Wi11iam Room . Some were te mpte d to
ring for tea, onl y it was feared than the rattling of cups might
wh e t the dry atmosphere .
This is a pre tty dre ary picture, and nothing has yet been sa id
about the lect ures th emse lves. The li st at th e ri g ht looks rather
impress ive, but lik e most lists of lec ture titles, it tells n othin g.
For example, " how inte rest ing co ul d '.A Dialogue on Tyranny' by
Xe nopho n, d eli vered by L eo Strauss be ? After all , who was
Xcnophon but a ha lf-baked histor ian w ho wrote .m ediocre stuff.
Of course L eo Strauss always h ad something interestin g to say,
but th is one , l 'll pass." Yes, you passed it, broth e r, b ut you al so
passed up one of th e mos t exciting nights yo u'll eve r spend at t hi s
Sc hool. Strauss breathed new ] ife into the writings of Xcnophon
- a new horizon in Greek literature was ope ned. Yes, tlut
Friday was one of the even ings w he n so m e of us stood around
for hours afte rward s with th e fervor eve ryo ne had a few years
back (a ccording to th e St. J ohn 's my th). Inte rest was so hi g h
that three people offered to w rite it up f o r the Collegian an d th e
pape r actually ca m e out with two acco un ts of the talk.
Th en th e re was Mr. Chcrni ss, admittedlr one of th e fo re mos t
sc holars in th e country, who cast one of t he neatest mass hy pnoti c
spells eve r see n in Igle hart H all. B.v a crud e poll, 88 %% of the
audi e nce was lul led to sleep with t he nam es of A naxagoras, H e raclitus and Empedocles ring ing ge ntly in the ir cars. What Mr.
Chcrniss was inte res ted in wa s giv in g us the ba ckground mate rial
of Greek Philosop hy whi ch one mi g ht easily have obtained from
h is ve ry sc holarl y works on th e subjec t of th e pre-Socrati cs.
Mar k Van Dore n was as delightful as Cl'er. His question
pe riods always leave ro u w it h a swe e t taste in your mouth , eve n
if you don ' t happen to agree with hi s views o n poetry and th e
like. It is grat ify in g to note that he stil l considers us part of hi s
fa mi] y, unlike two others, who visit us less fr equentl y eac h ye ar
and to whom we .must see m bastard c hildre n.
.Jasc ha 's first lec ture was met with a few sophi sti cated yawn s by
som e uppe rclass men w ho had rea d t he myt h of th e cave o nce
before and who bitterly resented th e "fact" t ha t the instru ctiona l
poli cy was to plan le ctures for t he ed ifi cat ion of one class only.
O t hers we re pl enty exc ited w ith th e level on whi ch Mr. Kl e in
reads his Plato, and consid ered hi s le cture one of the best of t he
yea r.
On e of th e outstand in g q uest ion periods was t he initi al o ne
wit h Mr. Ki e ff e r. As such would ha1·e it, most of the upper
classes h ad a milli on and one more im po rt:m t thi ngs to d o, and
unfortunately someone had sl ipped up and failed to m ention to the freshmen that question
periods followed the le ctures. Mr. Kieffer is a wonderful man to question; he has that
comfortable se m inar mann er about hi m which invites any sort of spec ulation. You always
feel that you have all of the time in the world to think through a question. It has been sa id
before, of co urse, but it won't hurt to say again what an excellent tea cher Mr. Kieffer is.
P erhaps we shouldn't be too hasty in maintain ing that lec t ure titles tel l nothing. It is
interesting to not e that just about cri sis tim e, Mr. Van Doren delive red hi s second l ecture
of the year, "The Beams of Love," and on the night that th e st udent polity had its emergency
assemblage, Harry B. J affa lectured on "The Problem of Pagan ve rsus Christia n Eth ics."
Somewhe re along th e yea r after the cr isis was over and Mr . Klein had whipped up so me
semblance of sp irit, a gentle man named George de SantiLlana from M .l.T. came along.
Santill ana quite simply wowed us. The lec ture was a diffi cul t one to foLlow, but som ehow
gave us the idea that it might have bee n an excellent one. At least 50 people showed up
and approximately thr ee questions were asked by students. Santillana ruled with an iron h and ,
an d the boys sa t (mostl y with mouth s open) u nd erstanding little of what was· being sa id .
Later, we talked about what "we shou ld have sa id. " W e should have sa id: "We are sorry,
Mr. Santillana, but we do not get your thesis; wi ll yo lil please restate it in the simplest poss ibl e
terms?" Mr. Klei n's presen ce was the only sav ing grace; o ut of th e bombardment of
million s of facts, many of which were in no way related to the question s asked, Jascha was
able to mak e Mr. Santillana answer directl y two or three. Wh at is really irritating, now that
we ca n play Monday morning quarterba ck, is that we actually let th e guy say that no one
se riously considers the m ethod of dial ec ti c as a teaching mode. W e sat there, exchanged a
fe w at tempted smug looks and let h im continu e with hi s sc holarly prattle. Wh ew, did that
man snow us ! Th ese remark s are not mea nt to demean Mr. Santi llan a or what he knows,
but wh en it cam e to a clea r cut iss ue of hi s a nswe rin g qu estion s or not, he ei ther wouldn't
or coul dn't.
Cedri c D ove r (one f eels lik e prefixing "Sir") told us all abo ut Indi a. Without menti onin g
Fre ud, h e put hi m on the map, and a]so told us how m ost of the early Great Books wer e
made possible on ly through Greek contac t with I ndi an lit erature and culture.
Mr. Bart deli1'e red hi s first lecture in hi s three ve ars he re. Partly becau se of poor acou sti cs,
l ittle of the first half ho ur lec ture was heard by more t han a handful. After the qu es tion
pe riod w e drifted away ce rt ain that all men wer e heroes and no one knew what tha t meant,
incl udin g Mr. Bart.
In the question pe ri od F. 0. Matthi esse n proved him se lf no m ean he ro, after del ive rin g a
st irr in g lecture for hi g h sc hool sop hom o res on imagery in M acbeth. ( I g uess w e are neve r
sat isfied : Santi ll an a talks up to us and Matthi esse n down .) H e infor med us that there was
repeated emphasis of th e sym bols blood, dea th and ni g ht, throughout th e play. With this
most everyone agreed . The question whi ch not eve ryone was agreed upon was th e signifi ca nce
of these sy mbols. Mr. Matthi esse n , a well - kn own literary author ity, off e red us no interp retat ion. On ce aga in those of us who we re wave rin g in our be lief in the St. John 's prog ram
were fo rce fu ll y reminded th at despite th e many thin gs we fee l we have to complain about , we
are doi ng right in cont inuin g our educat ion h e re. Matthi cssc n, at one po int in the qu es ti on
pe ri od , ma intain ed that he was a stude n t of lit e ratur e and not philosoph y , and it be ca me
appare n t shortly afte r ( as it d id in th e case of Mr. Sidn ey P ainter of John s H op kin s History
depa rtment, who m aintain ed t hat he was a student of hi story and nothin g else ) that thi s was
prec isely the reaso n why w hat h e had to say h ad little use for us. L iteratur e, history,
math emat ics, scie nce can h ave no ful l mea ning taken in them selves. For what possible
conce rn ca n it be for th e stud e nt of Shakespeare to be inform ed that he mu st know th e
symbol s, and not be encouraged to find out what these sy mbols m ea n ? Matthi esse n
ma intained, in answer to a ques tion, that it would be fu tile to sit down (as in a
seminar) and discuss Ma cbe th without enum era ting these symbol s. To anyon e who had
had a seminar on Ma cbeth this was shee r nonsense. Of course we discuss these sy m bols,
but not dwelling upon th em as suc h, rath er as necessa ry evidences to support the
m ea ning. It was an honor hav ing F . 0 . Ma thi esse n down, le t us hope he will re turn,
but with a mo re sti m ulating, spec ulative subj ect matte r, with some th es is to expound.
LECTURES
" Th e Idea of the Liberal Arts "
John S. Kieffer
"Plato and the Liberal Arts"
Jacob Klein
"The Devil and the Black Arts "
J . W . Smith
" Music and the liberal Arts "
Victor Zuckerkandl
" Po e try and the Liloeral Arts "
Mark Van Doren
" A Dialogue on Tyranny by Xeno phon"
leo Strauss
" Man and No Man "
Robert Bart
" The Characteristics and Effects
of Pre-Socratic Philosophy"
Harold Cherniss
'' A Poem "
Ernst Abrahamson
" The Beams of love "
Mark Van Doren
" The Problem of Pagan ve rsu s
Christian Ethics "
Ha rr y B. Jaffa
" Th e Upright Posture"
Dr. Erwin Strau s
" La w and Grac e"
Rev . A. T. Mollegen
" Th e Divine Comedy "
Marcus Mallett
" Happiness as Divin e Illumination "
l ewis M. Hammond
"The Significanc e of Ind ia "
Cedric Dover
" On Physiolog ical Ps ychology"
Dr. Horsl e y Gantt
" l o go s and Time"
G e org e d e Santill a na
" Th o Cop e rn ican Rev olution "
J ac o b Kl ei n
" Po et ic Imag e ry in Shakes pe a re:
Macbe t h"
F. 0 . Matthi esse n
" Go e th e "
Erich Kahl e r
Blood and Darkn e ss
Speaking about st im ulation, Dr. Erwin Straus in h is lec ture on " Th e Upright Post ure" took a very un orthodox pcs ition, clashing with on e of the most c heri shed ikon s of
ant hropology. H e m aint ained that not on ly was the upr ig ht posture not detrimental
to man .. bu t f urther , that it is the most impo rt ant expressio n of his ex iste nce . What is
so wo nd erfu l abo ut this th es is is the su ndry things one ca n do with it. W e can go to
the tragic he ro, for exa mple , and trace hi s deve lop ment in te rm s of th e upright posture.
It is thro ugh id eas lik e thi s that we ca n better und ersta nd the Books. Every tim e
someone h elps us by propounding a new thought, w e have anoth er tool w ith wh ich to
a tta:::k our problem. Thi s is a good reason for attending both th e l cc tu re and the
q_ues tion period. The lect ure ca n not be compl e te without th e qu es tion period , fo·r it is
there that the lecturer is asked to clar if.v and amplify th e points whi ch , by th e l' cry
nature of a lecture, mu st be obsc ure. It is on] _,. through qu es tion and answ er th at one
T we?tty -tlzree
�Kirkpatrick
ca n grasp the points the spe:1ker is endeavor ing to p ut :1cross.
Thus w ithout reviewing or even m entio ning all of th e lectures, we have sa id esse ntial ly what we star ted with : there were
a co uple of dozen lect ures this past year, som e good and som e
bad. The pity is that m ost of us did n't eve n h:1ve the occasion
for m aki ng such a judgment, sim ply beca use we were unable to
at tend.
concert season
THE NEW MUSIC DEPARTMENT p rese n ted us with m ore
for m al conce rts- eigh t - than we had had in the preced ing
two years, and in addition gave us one recital and bi- weekly
recorded co nce rts.
Th e first co ncert of th e ye ar was a cello and piano program
played by Nikolai an d J oan na Graudan. The mu sic was naturall y
very unus ual, cons isting of rarely h ea rd wo rks of Bach , Beet hove n,
D ebussy and M end elssohn.
Un do ubtedly th e se nsat ion of th e .mu sical year was t he ap peara nce of the N ew Fri ends of Music condu cted by Fritz
Stiedry and wit h Eri ca W ag ner-Stiedry as soloist. They p erformed Scho nberg's Pierro! L tmaire, a p iece w hi ch has its ad mirers. The main work on the program was preceded b;r some
of Schonberg's piano mu sic, pl ayed by a mem ber of the group .
T hi s perfor man ce fr igh ten ed away the m ore ti mi d p:Ht of th e
aud ience.
If the singers of the Bach Ar ia Group had been as good as, or
even nea rl y as good as, th eir acco mpan ists, thi s wou ld ha,·e been
one of the best concerts of the year. Bu t in my opinion th ey
were unforgivably poor singe rs. To be exact, it see med to m e
t hat each of the voices suffered from at least one of the following ser ious fau.lts: harshness, weakness or lack of cont rol, :1 nd I
was so te m pted to leave at the intermi ss ion th at only a real desire
to h ear .m ore Bach, howsoever badly p erformed, kept m e t here
through the whole perform ance.
I should, no doubt, remark here that m y opinion is apparentl y
not uni versa.l , for they d id a long Sunday morning se ri es for
NBC, h ave recorded a prog ram for VOX r ecords, and got "rave
noti ces" in th e Collegian.
The annual Kirkpatri ck and Schneider visit is alm ost always
Twmty - f ou.r
the most completely successf ul and sati sfy ing of the appearances
of professional mu sicians on the o m pllS . They stay several da.n,
they always give several perfo rman ces, and t hey put up with
a considerable amou n t of "be i11 g entertained " and, of course, a
considerable amount of h av in g to "talk about mu sic." They mu st
realh· have h ad some trau ma t ic experiences dm ing the "good old
days" wh en the Golriberg Variatio!IJ was on the reading list.
H ere I mu st si.m ply ad mi t that if the re is any va riation 111
Mr. Kirkpatri ck's performances, l am not mu sician enough to
know it. They see m always to have been and :tlways to be
superb, and I hav e fait h that t hey w ill co n ti nue so. l do however clai m to be " mu sician en ough" to be se nsible of a considerabl e d ifference between Mr. Sc hn eider's best and hi s worst
on the num erous occas ions when l ha1·e h eard him at school and
elsewhere. I fe l t that dnring thi s Ytstt hi s pe rfor mance was the
best 1 hav e ever h eard him give, and that that was very good
indeed .
I t was expected that t he Julli ard Quartet, enjoy in g as they do
som ething of a r eputation, :md com in g from a ve ry fa mous
sc hooJ, would be a se nsation . They we re . T hey played lovingly
throug h a ni ce Mozar t guartet w hi ch wo ul d better have been
treated as some thing which co ul d sta nd on its feet. The n th ey
expe rimented w ith how mu ch t hey co ul d shock us by playing a
Bartok guartet. Th ey appeared .mu ch more interested in the suf feri ng reactions of th e audience than in the intri cac ies of playing
a pi ece scored for t he back as well as th e front of the ir instrum ents.
After intermission they sweated throu g h one of Beethove n's later
guartets. Tt was a go cd trv .
Mr. Applebaum's first concert at School seem s in som e ways
to h ave failed. H e played a com·e ntional though to m e very
exci tin g program of Beet hoven's sonatas, so m e of w hi ch arc
easily avai la ble in record ed performances whi ch are mark ed]?
superior to hi s. This reveals one of my criteria fo r an ideal St.
J ohn 's con ce r t - th e prog ram sh ould prese n t wor ks which we
would otherwise be un able to h ear, as t he Bach Ari a Group d id, or
w h ich, if th ey ha,·e been recorded, most of us wou ld not consid er
own in g, suc h as the now famous Pierrot Lzmaire.
At Mr. App leba um's concert, it was a problem to d ispose th e
eyes sat isfactor ily . T here is a natnral tendence to concen tratc all
of one's fa cult ies on the act iv ity at hand. This I suppose, der ives
from an habituation to plays, m ov ies and basebal.l games, in all of
w hich the eyes and ea rs and eg uall y important. vV atc hin g Mr.
(Contin · cd on page 50)
u
Saturday
MOVIES
films, finance and the ram
lv1agnificent Ambersons
Man's Hope
" The purpose of the club is to make accessible to the college community
motion pictures which, because of their excellence or age, or both are
unlikely to appear at local theaters."- from the Chart er of th e Rogers
Albritton Memorial Film Club .
A Musical Story
Brief Encounter
Ivan the Terrible
IN A SCHOOL ...vhcrc igno ran ce of th e fin e a rts ha s become a part o f th e tr;:tdition, o nly th e rno v ies,
typically th e hybrid, h:1ve m anaged to su rv i,·c the hli g ht. But sur v ival is a term bette r ap pli ed to th e newly
g l arnourize d rn o dern .fine :rrt of rnu s ic, whi c h now find s it se l f_ in th e exa lt ed pos iti on of its defunct g randmother; th e m ov ies flouri s h. And th e reaso ns fo r s uch success should be of inte res t to th e purveyo rs of
the seven th liberal 01 rt. Wher e poe try and paint in g have few ndh ere nts, th e maj o r po rti on of th e s tu de nt
budy is addi cted to the fi lm s. P oss ibl y they find them habit f o rmin g, but th;lt in itse l f C<ln har dly be res pons ible for th e po pubrity o f th e co l lege 11 lm s wh e n th e local theat e rs are re:1dily a v ai labl e w ith mu ch be tter
te chni ca l f3ri l ities and le ss arch:lic pictures. No doubt th e aspect of ente rtainn1ent or di stracti on dra\vs a l o t
of the audianc e and is part ially respo ns ible fo r th e presence of eve ry o ne who co m es to th e showings . And
though bo th o f th ese ch01racter istic s may dis tin guish m ov ies from th e o ther fine arts th at are access ibl e, at
lea st so m e measure of it s app e al ma y be o n th e acco unt of. it s pretens ion to be ing a fine art. H oweve r, th e
co mm on qu es tion concern in g best se ll ers and c ity park statuary can be fOSed for the fi lnus : is it fine art ?
I s l arge atte ndance co mpat ibl e with an art ~· Fina ll y, m ov ies , aga in l ike th e nov e l, ha ve liberal co mp o nents.
Th ey c-1n be di scus sed in seminars; and are, th e refore , mi sapp rehend e d ,15 pho top l ay s. In f act, it is probabl e
that th e m ov ies arc admired by th ose pu rer-souled liberal .arti sts o n ly as a k ind o f substitute for th e more
Odd Man Out
As You Like It
Shoe Shin e
Dead of Night
Carmen
The Eagl e
Great Expectations
A lexand er Nevsky
39 Steps
Generals without B
·utton s
highbrow th ea te r.
Carnival in Flanders
Libe ral or fine tnt, d istra ct io n o r d o pe, th e fi l m s ha ve a tremendou s influen ce . Wher e fifty pe rcent of
th e wo rld is liter:Jte, s ixty attends th e .film s. Jt is ev ide nt that if th e fi lm s are not the fruit o f practi ce in
the li be ral arts, as poetry or drama is, they oug ht to be. As Er·w in .Pan ofs ky -r.· sugges ts, "I f all th e ser ious
lyrical poets, co mp ose rs, painters and sculptors were force d by law to sto p their activ itie s, a rath e r sma ll
fracti o n of. the ge neral ptJbl ic w o uld become awt~ re of th e bet and a st ill sma ll er fraction wou ld se ri ously
regret it. I f the same th ings \Vere to happe n to th e mov ie s th e socia l conseq uences wou l d be catas troph ic."
Gr:tnted the i r popu l arity and influ ence, it is appa lli ng to th ink th at the fi lm s have e ve n poorer pro spects
w ith respect to th e prog ram than th e lab o ratory sc iences. Science :1s we know it is only now w ith difficulty
beco min g int eg rated with co nte m pora ry th ough t, l et al one the program i it seem s to suggest that th e fi lm s
w ith s imilar powe r and potentia lity and four ce nturi es younger may have to be ki cked around the assi stant
Film Poe ms
and
Ea sy Street
The Eternal Mask
and
The Immigrant
Th e Lower Depths
dean ' s office w ith the Cot ill ion and Boa t Clt1bs three hundred and iifty years befo re ge ttin g a si mil ar
Four Cha pi ins
Ti me in the Sun
and
The affairs of Pierre
Intolerance
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
The Italian Straw Hat
Dest iny
Ca valcade
liM
II
The Thin Man
Du c k Soup and Barbershop
Alcestis
awkward acceptance.
It it s cata l ogue, th e admin istra tion ha s made th e usua l clu111sy bow o f the tra in ed li beral 01rti st toward " th e
'class ics' of th e c ine matic ar t" - th e qu o tati o n mark s are the irs. Such hn1tal condescens io n is typica l of
the franti c offic ial ballet in quest of: :t financia l an ge l, th e ivy atmosph e re , :1nd "the arts Jnd crafts in
res idence." l\tluch more con str uct ive and prom isin g is the kind of rea l support the co ll ege h as g iven the
fi lm club and the understandin g , i f so mewhat i ncomplete, of its poss ible function in th e co mmunity.
L ate i n September of la st year th ere were a se ri es of va ri ously amus in g , annoy in g and an g ry co nferences
held betwee n th e then ass istant dean , Mr. P oe , and th e newly install ed execut ive comm ittee of th e newly
n01m ed R ogers A l br itton l\tl e m o ri01l Film Club. The m eet ings were portentous . Th ey se t th e pattern for
th e ye a r's activ itie s of the Film C l ub Jnd mana ged , f requently unwittin g ly, to define some of the prob le m s
confron tin g it.
Th e primary impetu s fo r 1\tlr. P oe's co nfe rences was financ ial, but he was also co ncerned w it h the ((unhus iness li k e m e th ods" w ith w hi ch th e name of. the Film C l ub had become sy n o nym o us dur in g the adm ini str<
ltion of its dea r-departed fo rm er pres id e nt. Fin anci01lly, th e C lub had been an im possib l e white elephant
supported by th e schoo l up o n a lib e ral l a rgess. Mr . P oe's case was a good one . He claimed th e Film Club
cou ld be se l f -suppo rtin g by rais ing its pri ces and by e limi nat ing the fifty per cent free adrn iss ion poli cy.
Th e co mrnittec v igorously contes ted the th o ug ht of any rai se above th e p reva ilin g fifteen cent adm iss ion
and pleaded eloquen tl y fo r the underpaid veteran and wh at six ty ce nts a
mont h m ea nt to him . Mr. Poe ~e!·s i s ted; it was, he told the comm ittee,
the op i n ion of the adm i n i s trt~ti ve counc il that th e s tu ~l ents used th e
Satu rday n ig ht sh ow in gs purely as ente rta inm e nt and that th e co ll ege
th e refo re cou l d not be e xpec ted to pay for it.
A frant ic not ice for a strategy and protest m ee tin g of stud e nts broug ht
forth an impr ess ive m ob of e ig ht s tu de nts and tv-.'o tut o rs - no doubt
too ls of th e ad mini str:1ti ve coun c il. Th e comm itt ee cap itulated and
resigned it se l f to th oug hts of austerity and iilm lt'ss Saturday ni g hts as
so on as the studen t body d iscovered th e thirty cent :1dm iss io n po li cy.
The 1lna l ep isode of. the Film Club vs . Mr. Poe was a rea l coup de
tluialre fo r the :tss istan t dean . Mr. Alb ritt o n, forme rl y the d ea r-departed R oge rs of th e Film C lu h, wns des ignate d as it s facu lty advi sor.
Such an occurrence was enough to co mpletely defeat the al ready belea g ue red e ight and two. This latest ad m inistrat ive m01chination , n o
do ub t ca l cu lat ed to assuag e th e tende r te n, put them int o th e m os t
emba rra ssi ng posit io n of ha v ing as the i r :1n chor o f :tclm inistrat ive co mmon se nse the \·cry person respons ibl e fo r th e impend ing auste rity. Even
the m ost casua l fi lm-goer cou ld no t he lp but recall the goo J old days of
cu t-throat pr ice \\·ar s betwee n free Friday nig ht prev ie ws and th e .five
cent Saturday regu lar show in gs , the gene ral irregul ari ty of .films ordered
too la te, and 8:30 showin gs at 9: 1), A s far as anybody could remember
·::·Edw in
Applebaum
P anofsky
"Style
and
IVfeJ ium
in
the
M o ti o n
Pictures,"
Critique , Ja n.- Feb. 194-7.
Twenty -five
�th ere never h ad bee n an o ffi c ia l Fi lm C l ub adv isor; a n d th oug h the re was
m uc h affec t ion for ivlr. A lbritton, th e co nte m pora ry fad a m o n g t h e fac ulty
to acq u ir e satellite student organiza ti o n s, t oge th er w ith th e afo re m e nti oned
d ifficulties, p ut eve n t his st ro n g bond of affection in jeopa rdy .
Wh at seems to h ave been ent irely ove rl ooked thr o ug h out th ese discussions w it h Mr. P oe was t he poss ible j ust ifica t io n of th e su ppo rt of the .fi lm s
- o r some fi l m s - by th e co ll ege. It is thorough ly unde rstandab le t hat the
co ll ege au t hor iti es sh oul d be reluc tant t o foo t the b il l for a weekly en t e rtainment per iod . But ca r r ied to its l og ical conclusion, it wou ld be equa ll y
unde rst andable i f the co ll ege refused t o keep the en tertaini n g Ar istophanes,
Sha kespeare nnd Ce r vantes (a m ong rnany o t hers) in the sc h o~ l finances.
I n mak ing thi s judg m ent not t o support ii l m s it seemed t he col lege h ad
dec ided that t he m o v ies were defin itely no t to be t a k en serio usly. W h e r e i n
p rev ious years t h e sma ll er number of fi lms had cons ti tuted eve nts of s ig n i ficance, the l o n g l ist of fil m s shown rec e ntly, obv ious ly i ncluding many
poo rer ones, i n t h e m ind o f th e admi n istrati o n was no m ore than stu dent
amusement, ci rcu ses to k eep up the mora l e of t h e pop ul ace. Apparen tl y
t hose "class ics" were n't classy enough.
Some fi l m s, how e ve r , hav e a d i rec t bea r ing on th e prog ram; for example,
fi lmin gs of S h akespea re and Dos t o ievs k y. A s }' on L ike I t was see n thi s ye a r
in th e co ll ege :m d H amlet e lsewhe re, reflect ing t he effor t t o recove r
theat re cla ssics f ro m th e class room. Rut both of t h ese fi lms a re obvious ly
rest ri cted by th e stage scrip ts wh ich th ey e m be lli sh bu t do no t ve ry we ll
rea li ze. I n t hi s gene ra l area be long a ll se ri ous p ho top lays, as opposed t o
t rue m ovies . A n napo l is enjoys the commo n pover ty of a ll t h e a rts t hat
p rev ail s in s m :-~ ll cr A m er ica n ci ti es. T he m ov ies a rc the o nl y a rt fo rm
ava il ab l e in suffic ient quan ti ty to the stu den t bo dy t o m e r it a n y a tt e nti o n .
But it h as been th e m isfo r tu n e of t h e fi l m s t h a t t he m ore th ey have
a t temp ted to m irro r e ith er stage or n ove l the poo rer th eir p roduc t h as
been. Ea r nes t effor ts s imp ly to incorporate t hea tre co n cep ts in th e fi l ms
hav e o nl y cu lmin ;Jted in th e pu rchase of in ferior p lays fo r frequen tl y mo re
infer ior .fi lm s. For th is reason few peop l e wo ul d co mm en d ve ry se ri o usly
th e ten best p ictures of a ny g ive n year for co n sidera ti o n w it hin the
p rog r a m.
Th e fi lm s h ave bee n a t t he i r best instead w h en th ey h ave co n sulted th e ir
own n a ture a nd the tr a n sfo rm a ti o n s of socie ty w hi ch h ave occ urred s ince
th e rea li st ic nove l flo uri sh ed an d d ied. No a r t fo rm is a li ve t od ay as th e
m ov ies a r e: it a lo n e h as a direc t co ntac t w ith its a ud ie n ce and a pro pe r
inte r p lay be t ween its ma ke rs a n d its use rs. Th e si mpl e d isc ipline th a t t h is
causes, oblig ing th e a rti st a t a ll ti mes t o co nd e n se a n d s im p li fy hi s ideas
w ithin fo rm s th a t a re accep ta bl e to a n a udi e n ce w id e r th a n an eso t e ri c f e·w ,
means tha t th e m ov ies a re th e h ea lth y a rt m edi um in th e wo rld to d ay .
Hi st o ric a ll y, o n e o f th e fi rst im po rt a nt a tt e mpt s t o g ive th e m ov ies th eir
p rope r st a ture w as G riffith 's l tttolerau.ce , a l so see n thi s y ea r. It ha s a simpl e
co n ce rn wi th a th e m e o f socia l an d po l iti ca l sig ni fic an ce a t a ny tim e. If it
gave it a n imp o rtan t tr ea tm e nt no o n e wo uld h es ita te t o reco mmend it t o
a n y se ri o us mind. It was by n o mea n s useless eve n so, es pec ially at St.
J o h n's, w h e re id eas a re va l ue d m o re th an t he ir mann e r of exc han ge, t o see
h ow in e.ff.ec tu a l th e m e th od o f dir ec t a ttac k is w ithin a n a rt fo rm. Su c h
su p er fi c i :--~ 1 thinkin g a nd c rud e ex pe ri e n ce co uld n o t f o r a ll its m ass ive
ga udi n ess m a k e th e fi lm m or e th a n p ropaga nd a. Ye t it see m s 1nos t im po rt<l n t in co nn ecti o n w ith th e Film C lub t o n o ti ce th a t th e fi lm was , h oweve r
we;1kly, t ry in g t o d o a grea t dea l m o re th a n en t e rta in. Its fa ilure t o reach
its obj ecti ve does no t co mpl e t ely disg ui se th e fac t t h a t it tri ed t o say
so m e thin g . Jts m os t imp o rt a nt co mmuni ca ti o n was by mea n s of its sty le:
t h e ex travaga il ce of th e produ cti o n was in v io len t co ntr adi stin cti o n t o th e
chil d ish st o ri es, as if vo lu m e of de t a il co ul d subs ti t ute fo r su btl e ty. On
th e w h o le, o ur primiti ve A m er ican f a it h s a bo ut a rt a nd soc ie ty ·w ere a n
ill umin a tin g to uch st o n e fo r t h e bud din g li be ra ls of th e co ll ege.
The same k in d of re fl ec ti on of hi s t im es is fo und in th e wo rk s of
.E ise n ste in. Wh e re G riffith is ra n do m a n d di ff use, a nd a lm os t n o n e of hi s
effec ts is ca ref ull y des ig n ed, in a .fi lm like I v an E ise n st e in ca rri es stu d ied
gesture and overw r o ug ht det a il t o a n ope rat ic cl imax. But i n A m e r ica we
a re accu st o m ed t o ha v in g th e gra n d iose sl o p py, like perfo rm a n ces a t t h e
1\l[ e t ropo lita n , and it is a n ew exper ie n ce f.o r us to see so m uch intens ity
co n ta ined i n th e ro lling of th e eyes, so m uch so le mnity as in th e p l ac i ng
of. th e crow n on I va n 's h ead . J t is poss ib le th a t such ex travagance m ay be
a vu lga ri ty o nly m ore de libe ra te than G riffith 's. But E ise n ste in h as shown
w h at ove ra 1l na rr ow con t ro l , ti g h t o rga ni za ti on and co n scio us u n ity of
purp ose can ac hi eve. A ga in, it is m ore in th e way h e has wo r ked t h a n in
w hat he th oug ht h e was sayi ng th at we are co n ce rn ed. Hi s pseudo -hi storical
ep ics a r e t ra n spare n t ly con tri ved a n d a ll hi s d evo ti o n t o M o th e r Ru ss ia does
not l e t him dace t o see h e r probl e m s a n d h e roes in th e i r tr ue ( a n d proba bl y
m uch g reate r ) propo rti o n s. But t h e t ec hni ca l m as te ry th a t is assoc ia ted ·with
the hi g h civ ili zat io n of th e fi lm has been ca rri ed he re to its log ica l e nd :
ccd t o th e st age; th o ug h th ey
n o n e of hi s wo rk s co ul d poss ibl y be redt1
co n s is ten tl y dea l w it h i n d i vid ual h eroes, th e ir subs ti tut ion of ac ti on for
e t h ics h as comp le t e ly di vo rced th e m f r o m t h e st;1ge. Every mome nt in th e
fi lm is co n ce i ved fo r th e fi lm : g rea t m ove m e nts of m asses are as po w erf ul
as st a ti c portr a its . Rut we are st ruc k, as in G riffi th , by the a ppa ren t e nmi ty
be tween sci e ntifi c skill s a n d b read th of concep t. F o r a ll hi s self-co nfid e nt
d ig nity, t o a li e n s Ei se n ste in is f o rc in g a th e m e of n o g rea t va li d ity: th e
su pe ri or ity of R uss ia, of Ru ss ian im peria li sm a n d R uss ia n R evo luti on.
D eny in g h is unc omp l icated p re mi ses, we can on ly l ea rn about our wo r ld i n
h im th ro ug h stu dyi n g h is supe rb sty le a nd th e im pl ica ti o n of its con n ec ti on
w ith h is st o ry.
W hat was begun in I ntolerance and worked over in a ll of Eiser.ts te in ' s
fi lm s was rn uch m ore perfectl y ac h ieved in !V an's ll ope. H ere th e sty le
l
and t h e idea were more perfec tly suit ed : th e soc iety w ith w hi ch th e fi l m
was co n cer n ed a n d from which it spra n g \-vas seen w ith m uc h m ore complex ity. No t d ispens ing en ti rely wi t h story nor yet lean i ng on p lo t li ke a
detective st ory, its cohe re n ce was d ifficul t a n d a t tim es confus in g. G radua l ly bi ndi n g th e va ri o us e le m e n ts together, it ·was able to sus t ai n at t h e end
one of t h e m os t m ov i ng pagea nts th e .fil m s h ave eve r shown. The ma j est ic
death m a rc h down t he hill , crowded w it h hi g hl y ind iv idua l ch a rac ters al l
pa 1t1c 1patmg in the sto ry of th e av ia tors, is an achi eve m ent in record ing th e
t ransfor m at ion of t he concep t of. ty rant a n d peop le, into the f usion of
the two in t he l e:1dersh ip of th e m a n devo ted to t he com m on end fu l fi l lin g in hi s he roism th e co mm o n pu rpos e of a ll. T he fi lm fluc tu ates between
h av ing no h e ro, h av ing a se r ies of pro min e nt indiv idua ls, o r ma kin g th e
L oya l is ts h e roes co l lective ly. Th e th ough t is n o t th e si m p le Sov ie t co mm un ism of Eisenste in n o r t he clumsy, un t h inkin g rom a nti cism of Gr iHith.
Wh a teve r th e u lti ma te me rits of its answe rs, it ra ises so m e of t h e m ost
press ing ques ti o n s of th e day in a fo rm w hi ch is ent ire ly new t o t h e
tr adi ti o n ex pl o red i n th e Grea t Boo k s . No one a t St. J oh n's h as in te n ded
t h at a c urri cu lum ·of class ics was a im ed a t u p r oo tin g th e s tu de nt f r om hi s
natu ra l f u nc ti ons in t h e co n te m pora ry wo rl d. Train ing hi s cr iti ca l fac ulti es
is no t u nde r t ::1k en tha t h e re j ec t w h a t he .fi n ds a bo ut hi m in a p ure ly destru cti ve m anner. Ye t if h e is t o think cons tru cti ve ly a bo ut t he wo rl d h e
is in hab iti ng, he mu st k now a nd fee l th e re d efini tio n s t o w hi ch it is con sta ntl y subjecting th e trad iti o n s of W es ter n cult ure. C u r ren t ly, i n a fi lm
like Nl m s,s H ope, o n e o f th e mos t imp o rtan t st a te m e nts is in th e m ov ies.
I n S!toe Slti·n e t he fi lm s st a n d m o re d irec tl y o n t he tr aditi onal g rea t
co n cep ts of th e thea tre . Eth ics a re th e p rim a ry concern, th e t wo h e r oes are
t he ce nt e r of inte res t. Pro p aga n da is ce rt a inl y prese nt, h eig ht e n ed by th e
pa th os which do mi nates t h e w h o le picture. But t h e v io le n ce an d co n ve nt io n a l p r ese nt at io n o f m o r a l problem s th a t do m inate O pett Cr."ty h ave been
re fin ed into tr age dy . Un do ubt edl y in E ur ope th e situ a t ion is as st e reo typed
as th at of Open City a n d is exp lo ite d t o suc h e nd s ; but in Am e ri ca it js
n ovel a nd sh oc ki ng e n o ug h th a t it e ith e r e n gages o nl y th e curi os ity a n d
se ntim e nts or rea ll y pe ne tr a t es to th e i n te ll ect a nd th e se n se o f tra gedy .
Wh ere a good p ~Ht of th e fi lm cou l d h ave bee n ex pressed by th e n ove l, a
m ed iu m mu ch a kin to th e n a rra ti ve t ec hn iq ues of th e fi lm , it m a n ages at
tim es t o ac hi eve th e assoc iati ve powe rs of poe try, n ea re r th e tru e natur e of.
th e film m ed ium. T a k e, fo r e xa mpl e, th e g rea t e ntry of th e t wo sh oe-shi ne
boys on th e ir d ream white h o rse, th e yo un ge r w ith th e p r oud M usso l in i j u t
t o hi s j a w , ri d in g like its la tes t co nqu e ro rs, d ow n th e imp e ri a l bo ul eva rd
in to th e a lready humili a ted c ity, t o th e sh o ut of a ch o ru s o f e n v io us
u rchins. Or agai n , th e fa ntas ti c inte rlud e w h en th e for tun e-te ll e r lays o ut
th e cards f o r th e boys in th e t e n se atm os ph e re o f th e ir furti ve exc han ge .
Wh a t it m ea n s t o each o f th e m is co n veyed m o re by exp ress io n of face and
hand th a n by wo rd s. Jt is of imp o rt a n ce, h oweve r, th a t thi s film deal s m uch
m o re in wo rds th a t h ave a n ind e pe nd e nt va lidity th a n a n y of th e prev io us
.fi lms. Its scena ri o wo uld n o t m a k e such ba d rea din g .
Th e m os t pe rfec t ac hi eve m e nts of th e .fi lms see n thi s yea r we re unq uesti o n a bl y th e m os t pop ular a nd th e refo re th e m os t d ifficult t o di sc uss . Th ey
we re t he co m ed ies of C h ap lin a n d th e M a r x bro th ers. H e re t h e film was
cl oses t to th e ver n acu l a r, sh a pin g it :1n d shaped by it, ;1n d ma kin g its
g r ea test imp act. Th e grea t numb e r o f C h ap lin sh o rt s sh ow n o n m a n y
eve ni ngs sh owed h ow mu ch of C h ap lin 's wo rk h as beco m e a symbo l in
o ur thinkin g . T he pic t u re o f th e littl e m a n in a wo rld h e can n o t con t e nd
w ith is a myth fo r us n o l ess th a n H erc ul es t o th e Gree k s . Th e myth as
seen in th ese ea rl y .fi lms showed its weak n ess w h e n it a t te mpted t o resol ve
e terna l d issens io n s. Th e ques ti o n s o f th e M a r x bro th e rs o n th e o th e r h a nd
we re m o re clea rl y me ta phys ica l. Th e bro th e rs an d th e ir n1irr o r in D uck
Soup as k t h e a la rmi ng ques t ion : ~ h a t is rea lity ? Incessa ntl y up se tting a ll
th e co n ve nti o n a l a n swe rs, a nd all t he t opsy-t u r vy a n swe rs th ey pro pose
th e m se l ves, th ey l eave us, lik e Soc ra t es, mu ch less sur e we know th e a nswe r.
C h a pli n , in cont ras t, wi th practi ced sop hi stry cha rms us i nto acce pting hi s
va l ues. Bu t we ca n a l ways .fin d hi s affinit y w ith Griffith a nd Eise n ste in
lu r k in g in th e se n t irn en ta lity o f hi s co ncl us io n s. Granted th e su pe ri o rity
of th e M a r x b ro th e rs as p h iloso ph e rs, h ow m uch poo re r we sh o ul d be
w ith o ut C h a plin w h ose integ rity is th e effo rt o f a co n sc io us a rti st. C h a rli e's
tlo n ch a l a nce o n ro ll er sk a tes pe rsists t o qu es ti o n eve n th e ba n a li ~ o f th ose
e n co unte rs whe re h e a ba n do n s hi s w it in favo r of hi s se ntimen t.
I n thinkin g back ove r t h e year's fi lm s it see m s clea r th a t th e qu a l ity co ul d
have bee n less un eve n . Ce rta in o f th e· m o re successf ul .fi lms f r o m th e o rd in a ry run th a tres mi g ht h ave bee n omitted. (But th e fi n a n c ia l success of th e
Film C lub a n d its increased po pul a rity sa ti sfied eve n th e a dmini stra ti o n.)
In any case t h e prob le m of t h e rel a ti o n of th e fi n e a rts a nd th e libe r a l, t h e
p robl e m o f th e con n ecti o n of wha t yo u say w ith h ow yo u say it, was f req ue ntly in f ro nt of th e a u d ie n ce. T h e re sh o uld, h oweve r, h ave b ee n m o re
fo rm a l occasio n for di sc uss io n . Th e innume ra ble in fo rm a l di sc uss io n s might
eas il y ha ve coa lesced into so m e m o re d irect ed C<? nye rsa ti o n s if th e prop e r
imp e tu s h a d bee n supplied. This co uld per h a ps . h ave bee n m ad e by mea n s
of pl ac in g o n e o r t wo g rea t film s w ithin th e se min a r sch cd.ul e as mus ic h as .....
craw led in rece ntl y. M ore like o pe r a th a n a ny o th e r m ed iu m , a n d vas tl y
more access ibl e t o a n illit e rat e publi c than o pe ra sco res, th e re a re a few
fi lms which co ul d a ro use co n stru cti v e thinkin g ;1 hout th e re l ev an ce of
cl ass ica l id eas t o co nt em po r ary pro bl e m s. Th e d ifficulty lies es pecia lly in
th e c h o ice: wo uld it sel ec t .films that a re cl ose relatives of n ove ls a nd pl ays,
o r w ou ld it co n ce ntrate o n d1osc film s th a t a re n o t primarily lite rary in
their in spira ti o n an d a re co n seque ntl y m ore di ffic ult o f access in se min a r.
P e rh 3pS · in st ea d , a Fri day ni g ht sh ow in g w ith :1 d isc ussion pe ri o d fo ll ow in g
mi g ht be a wa y to use fi lm s i n th e p rog ra m. Ce rtainly ;1 weekly rev iew
s h ould be in st itut ed in th e Coll egia n , n ow that it is n o lo n ge r a p o litical
q uarte rly . Finall y , w h a t see m s m os t poss ibl e, th e co ll ege mi g ht in v ite
P rofesso r P a nu fsk y or J a m es Agee t o l ec ture on .fi lm s.
U ltim a t e ly, ef cou rse, th e success of th e .fi l ms rr~ t s w ith th e stud e nts.
drama 1n the college
l N OU R SE MIN A R RE A DIN G we igno re o r fo rge t th a t H o m er's wo rk
w a s m eant t o be spo k e n a l o ud , S oph o cl es' t o be seen on t he stage. E sse n ti a l dim e n s io n s arc und et ec ted wh e n we s it r eadin g Ch :n1ce r o r Sh a k es pea re
in iso la ted s il e n ce. No r do o ur discuss io n s re tri eve th e los t v al ues. G es tu res
and t o nes of vo ice, rhy thrn s a n d stresses a re n o t eas il y subj ec ted t o th e
primiti ve ge n e rali zati o n s by m ean s of whi c h a fo rm a l co n ve rsa ti o n proceed s
among t we nty in d iv idua ls. A se m in ar usua ll y devo tes itself ins t ea d t o th e
im persona l. It subsis ts on uni versa l affirmat ive propos iti o n s, struts pro u d ly
i nto a ll ego ry a n d fla tl y disrega rds th e fin e a r ts. T h e co n c re t e a n d th e
ind ividu;ll a rc n o t its fo rt e. Jt te n ds th e o th e r w :1y, t oward th e ass um pt ion
th a t tr u th is on ly k now n i n syl l ogis m s an d t ha t to say wha t yo u m ean 1s
on ly a prob l em in defi nin g p red ica t es .
But p l ays a re n ot m erely m o re li ve ly d e ba tes . .Read ing th e m as we do is
to l oo k a t th em kill ed a n d r oug hl y di ves ted of fl es h. W e on ly see t h e
sk e le t o n a nd ca n do n o m o re tha n guess a t a co mpl e te ana t om y. W e are
li k e Ezek ie l se t dow n in th e va lley f ull of bo n es. B u t Eze k iel pro ph esied
u pon th ese bones an d th ey ga in ed fles h , a n d h e p ro ph es ied aga in a nd th ey
ga in ed brea th . Wh e reas we m os tl y f o rge t that th e bo n es a re n o t th e thi ng
it self s in ce by its n atu re t he anal yt ic p rocedu re co n stan tl y sugges ts t ha t th e
rea l for m o r n a tu re of th e t h in g we a re ex <~mining is t o be f ou n d in its
bones o r mu scu la tur e, in th e math em a ti cal fo rmul as o r th e wo rd s by w hi ch
we re prese nt it. A ll th e sy m bol s w hi ch mi g ht h e lp t owa rd kn ow ing w h at
it r ea ll y is a r c pe rv e rt ed int o id o ls and :su b:s titut t: d fur tl1al kn ow led ge. Ye t
\Ve ;~d mi t th a t th ere is :1 ce n t ra l m ea nin g in th e inca r nation of an idea,
w hi c h , like T yros, we rejec t o nl y hecause it s ;Jccess is so d iffic ult.
T r a n sl a ti on is pe r haps th e m os t pe n e t ra tin g a ppro ach t o th e w h o leness
of a wo rk. Its painf u ll y lite ra l ch a racte r see m s n o m ore th an atte nti on
to tri v ial d e tai l. But it is th ese de t a il s, cho ice o f wo rd s, gra mmar a n d
se nte n ce s tru ctur e th a t de t e rmin e th e in d iv idual ch a r ac t e r o f a n y writte n
wo rk . Jt is by a tt en ti o n t o th e m th a t w e mu st h o pe t o fin d w h a t e n ergy is
em bod ied in <1 n a uth o r's w r itin g, g iv in g it its rea l power. By way of
con t ras t, in cl e m e nt:~ ry Ari st o te li a n l og ic we a re t a ug ht t o red lJ CC all se nte n ces to o n e fo rm in o rd er to ex am i n e the ir co nt e nt as bt1re propos iti o n s.
T his de ni a l of rhe t o ri c sugges ts th e pove rty of th e sy ll ogism t o co nt a in th e
fu ln ess of. a d ia l og ue, le t a l o n e a p lay . Tra n sl a ti o n a like preve nts a n y
ido la t ro us a p p roac h to th e " fo rm " of a wo rk , o r th e su per fi c ia l ge n e rali z:1t io n of its "con t e nt. " Jts fa ith fu ln ess t o eve ry wo rd, ·w h e th e r p repos iti o n or
n ou n , a t leas t imp lies th a t every fo rm a l c le m e nt is an e le m e nt of th e
co nt e nt a n d th ;tt eve ry aspect o f th e co nt e nt mu st be reali zed fo rmall y . An
a n a lysis und e rt a k e n by mean s o f tr a n s la ti o n is sub se r v ie nt to th e direc ti on
of th e o ri g in a l w h o l e, unl ess th e initi a l unity is t o be des troyed in t he
pro cess. Th e t ex t, regu latin g th e di scu ss io n , k eeps it f r o m sprea di ng ba tlikc
w ings and fl y in g hi g h in a lig htl ess ca ve rn .
Th e re is a poss ibl e a n a l ogy be twee n this la st kin d of a na lys is by tr a n s lati o n a nd co mm o n m odes o f study in th e fi ne a rt s. Mu sica l sco res ;~r e reo rch es tra ted n o t o nl y fo r th e purpose of prac ti c ing in strum e nta ti o n but
a lso t o e xpl o re th e p iece o f mu s ic by a tt e m p ti ng t o ch a n ge th e who le m e<J n s
o f e xpr essio n. M a ny g reat pa inte rs h ;tvc tran sl a t ed o il canv ases into bl ack
an d \vhite o r h ave redo n e th e m w ith o th e r co lo r a nd li g htin g. Wh e reas in
th ese exa mpl es o f tra n sl a ti on of m edium th e fi nish ed wo rk is a lm os t ce r ta in
t o be infe ri o r t o its origi n a l, i n bo th mll s ic a n d d r a mati c lite r a ture tr a n sl ati on can al so e fl'ec t so m e prog ress a w;1y f ro m th e m e re n o tat io n in t h e
sco re ;tn d th e sc ript towa rd th e effec t th a t n o t a ti o n inte nd ed t o reco r d.
O rch es tr a l sco res a rc o ft e n pe rf o rm ed o n tl)e pi a n o a n d th e text of a p lay
ma y recove r so m e o f its dra m a ti c purp ose in a read ing a l ou d by seve ra l
peo pl e. This co n st a ntly sugges ts t he dr a m a ti c obj ecti ve w ith o u t, of co ur se,
a t a ny tim e e ntirely f ulfilli ng it . A lth o ug h it is a n el em e ntary kin d of
tr a n sl a ti on, it is fund ame nta l, g iv in g th e ba re sc ript l ife a n d p reve nti ng it
fro m d egenera tin g i n t o m ax im s o r se ntim en t.
In such a readin g, th e co mpl e t e a bse n ce of pre te n s ion is a co rr ec ti ve for
th e e mpha sis on s p ec t:~cl c :n1 d th e spec t acu la r whi ch is one o f th e gn1ve
d ange rs of t he co ntem p or<~ry t h ea tre. T he s h ow m a n ship of a par ti cul ar
act o r i s of te,., m ore im po rtant o n Rr oadway tha n hi s un de rst a n d in g of t he
(Co ·n linurd on pngl' 50)
cotillion club
T~CE C O T JLLJO N C L U B, co n fo rmin g t o a ll tr adit io n s, un de rwen t in ea rl y
O c tober w h at h ;ts come to be referred to as a "reo rga n iza ti on." What
ac t u;ll ly h:1p pens, of co urse, is a ch ange of persona l iti es·, res ulti ng in n
dift'e rc nt spirit w hi ch is in f used in t h e soc ia l c rea ti o n s p roduced by th ese
peo pl e. Fo r in st a n ce, t wo years ago th e t o n e was o n e of a sop h istica ted
kin d of indul ge n ce in th e m a nn er of Ge n e Tho rn to n 's poste rs. T he next
yec1r p rod uced a react ion agn inst th e fo rm e r a n d th e Cot illi o n C lub was
co mpl e te ly fri vo lo us, a lm os t despe ra te. By J a nu ary of 1949 a ll of the
f ri vo lous an d despe ra t e g ro u p had res ig n ed in favo r of a ra th e r br is k ~1 n d
e ffi c ie nt g ro u p of fr es hm en. L a rry P ete rs too k th e " o ffi ce" of P res iden t
a n d P ub lic R e la t ions o ffi c ia l w hil e Brad fo rd W a lke r accep ted th e Treas ure r's
posi ti on . 'l'ed Otteson p resided ove r D ecora ti o n s and Dick Ca rrut he rs repla ced P e rcy K eith as th e C luh's organ of P ubli ci ty . L a ter in th e year,
~ ndrew D ew in g, a se n io r, fo un d it to hi s ;Jdva nt ctge t o e n te r th e orga ni ?.at iO n.
It is fa irly we ll ver ified that l as t ye ar w itn essed th e m ost e n e rg-etic ~m d
publi city co n sc io us Co tilli o n C l u b in m an y yea rs. In con t rast t o th e ra t her
u n pre t e nti ous titl es of "Au tumn D a n ce" o r "Chri stm as D a n ce" of yea rs
be fo re, th e co mmunity was se r ve d te mptin g crea ti o n s like " Th e H a r vest
Schm oo n " ( a tim e ly thin g inspired by A I Capp ' s schm oo), " Th e J3eavcr
H o lid ay" ( co mm e m o r:1tin g i n so m e unkn ow n W<ty th e g irl s f ro m Beaver
Co ll ege) , "Th e S hip-Wrec k D a n ce" ( fo r thi s occasio n I g le h a rt H a ll was
re n a m ed "S hi p-w rec k I sle"). In o rder t o receive th e f ull atf ro nt e ry of th ese
titl es it is reco mm e n ded th a t th ey be p r o n o un ced a l ou d t o o n ese lf. Of
co urse it is t o be < mitted o nl y too read il y that a ny obj ect io n o n e m ay h ave
Jd
to th ese tem pting .t itl es is . pu re ly so phisti ca l, a n d that th e w h o le co mm u n ity
W<J s ex tre m e ly sa t1 sfied w 1th th e demea n o r w ith w hi ch th e Co tilli on Cl ub
we nt ab o ut its bu s in ess.
Jn res pec t t o lJUa lity, th e decora ti o n s w hi ch m us t ve il th e co ld steel g irde rs
of th e gy m nas iu m reac h ed a pea k of in ge nuity cu lmin a ti ng in th e " Shi pWrec k D ance" w h e re th e Co ll ege beca m e inv o l ve d w ith fi shi ng ne ts a n d
Navy life ra ft s. Th e on ly t hi n g th a t was mi ss in g w as Dick Ca rrut he rs
p i~in g us a boa rd . Th e eve r-tim e ly Co tilli on Club a lso prod uced a litt le
t h 1ng e<1ll ed "'rh c S prin g C ri s is" w hi c h co mp le te ly scc1ttered our a l ready
sh 01tte red nerves. M ay be it w ill become a tr aditi on.
P e rh aps so m e thin g sh o ul d be sa id a b out th e blind-d a t e m a rket. In th e
pas t ~' c ar s. it ha s. been. a p rob le m . to esta bli sh St. J o hn's respec t a bility a n d
~ ega l1ty. w ith 1ts s tste r tn stttut iOns 111 respec t to thi s type o f tra ffi c. S t. J oh n's
1s, as 1t we re, ove r th e h u m p in respec t to thi s p r obl e m: th e C lu b h;~ s
m a n ag~d t o e.fre.c t th e m~e tin g of ma ny l o ne ly he:l rt s, and h opes th at
th ey w dl b l oo m Jtlt O end un ng f ri ends h ips.
D o you. reca ll t he d il e m ma of o n e littl e g irl f r om t h e So uth w h o, w h en
h e r m os t Ingen uous escor t as k ed h e r to h is room for a d rink , que ri ed: " D o
y o u ? II have bed s in your rooms ?" Wi t hou t as kin g h er t o re phrase the
Cj1.1es t 10 n th e yo un g m < 1 re pli ed, " W hy yes , I g u ess we do." T he g irl q ui c kl y
H
:1 ~sumed a to n e bo th. confide nti a l :n1d ;1po loge t ic, "A h 'm afra id I caan ' t go.
I he house m oth e r sa 1d we a ll m us tn ' t go into any room th a t h ad a hed in
it." .Tt ju s t goes to sh ow y ou th e p rob l e m s t hat St. J o h n n ies ha ve t o contend \vi t h in h ig h er and lower e duc;J ti on.
T wenty-six
T wenty-seve?t
�Sunday
radio program
rcSttint J olnth College is an exciriug pla.ce .. .n
THOSE WORDS BECAME, in th e Spring of 1949, one of th e face ti o us
sloga ns o f th e ca mpu s ; a phra se to be ye ll ed ac ross th e Coffee Sh op a t a
d isco tJrage d o r di sg usted cla ss m a te, o r mumbl ed o n th e way to a lab exam .
Th ey we re sa id in a ll se ri o us ness o n th e Sund ay afte rn oo n of Februa ry 27
at 3 :3 0 p.m . by R a n let Lin co ln ove r th e a ir-waves of WANN.
Thu s
st:1rted th e seri es of radi o broadcasts kn ow n as th e " St. J ohn 's Prog ram," weekh• ha lf-h o ur ma de a vail ab le to th e Co ll ege by th e m a n age m ent of
WANN: L incoln was ap po inted d irec to r of t he prog ra m, wi th respo n s ibilitv to sec that a br oadcas t w as arra nged a n d prese nted ea ch Sunday,
but h ~ is th e .fi rst to ackn ow ledge th a t th e who le ven ture wou ld n eve r h ave
bee n poss ibl e w ith o ut th e w h o lehearted hel p a nd coopera ti on of s tude nts
a nd fac ulty alike. Man y a St . J o hnni e co nqu e red seve re "mike fri g ht" in
orde r to h elp o ut and do hi s pa rt.
Th e o ri g- in a l idea f o r th e broa d cas ts w~1 s to try to cove r va ri o us aspec ts
of life a t '"'st. J o hn ' s - semin a rs, tut o ri a ls, labo r a to ry, lectures and co n ce rts
as \Vell as th e ex tr a-curri cul a r ac ti v iti es . Jt was a lso pla nn ed to prese nt
p rog ra m s o n vari ous publi c ques ti o ns in \vhi ch th e Co ll ege was concer ned,
a nd al so to have ava il abl e r eg ul a r ra di o tim e for a ny publi c r elat io n s
p roj ects o f th e admini stra ti o n. A s it turn ed out, th e se min a rs we re, w ith
sm a ll exce pti o n, th e fo rm of th e " St. J ohn 's P rogra m ."
lt w a s d ec id ed to h old th e semin ar s as a ser ies, w ith o ne lead in g to
a no th er , deve lo pin g a politi ca l th em e as th ey we nt al o ng. P o liti cs w as
arri ved at as th e a rea of th e g reates t a udi ence inte res t , a fte r lite ra ture,
m etaph ys ics, scie nce a nd re li g io n h ad been cons ide red. Th e fi rst se min a r
was o n th e D eclara ti on of In depe n dence a n d w as f o ll owed by d iscuss io ns
of Plutarch's J ulitts Caesa· , Sh a kespea re' s Julius Caesar, T /; e P rince, a n d
r
th en on to D e T oq lJ ev ill e's D en:.ocracy in Am.erica fo r t wo progra n1 s,
a nd T lu R eJ>u.blic fo r th ree. By th en th e the m e was we ll es tabli shed a n d
co ntinu ed thr o ug h such boo ks as Thu cy did es ' P eloponesian W ars . Th e
a rr an ge m e nt fo r a ll of th e semin a rs was the sa m e ; f o ur stud en ts led by
a fa culty m embe r, w ith Linco ln t o make ope ni ng a nd cl os ing re m a rks a n d
an n o un cements of f o ll o win g programs. About th e fifth o r sixth w eek ,
Lin coln j o ined in th e di sc uss io ns as well, a n d co ntinu ed to d o so fo r th e
r est of the se ri es. F o r th e las t two broadcasts of th e Co ll ege sess ion in
M ay, so m e m ember s of Mr. Ba rt's pl ay r ead ing g rou p p resen ted r ehea rsa ls
fo r th e ir publi c read in g of R ichard fl. Th ese we re th o ug h t by m an y
li ste ne rs to be th e m os t successful of t he se ri es, as th ey co m bin ed di scus~ i o n of id eas w ith dra m a ti c rec ita ti o n , m a kin g fo r a m o re va ri ed h a lf ho ur
th a n th e sem in a rs. After Sch oo l cl osed in Ju ne, th e p rogra m tim e cha nged
t o 7:3 0 o n Fri day ni g hts and co ntinu ed through th e summ e r w ith ve ry
info rm a l d isc uss io n g r oups co m posed of m emb e rs of th e summe r a d u lt ed uca ti o n semin ars, a n d o tb e r f ri en ds of th e Co ll ege. Th ey prese n te d a se ri es
of progr am s startin g (a fte r a Jul y 4th d iscuss ion of th e D ecla r ati o n of
Jn depe nde n cc) w :th R. H. T awney's R eligio n and the R ise of Capitalism
a n d con tinuin tr th ro ug h St. ;p(lu l' s E pistle to the R oman s to wo rks by
Ca l v in a nd Luth er. Pla ns for th e 19 4 9- 50 sess io n , a lth oug h not ye t
defi nite, ca ll f o r co ntin ued wee kl y broadcas ts w ith st ress on m o re v arie ty
i n type a n d pace of p rog ra m s.
Th e v irt ue and va l ue of th e St. J o h n's Pr og ra m ha s been ha rd to es tim a te. Ob v ious ly n o t a prog ra m for th e " Stop the :rvru sic, aud ience, it may
ha ve been too hi g h-brow. D u ri ng th e co urse of th e se ri es Li nco ln a n d
so m e o th ers n oted a d iffic ulty w it h th e St. Jo h nnies' lingo- a d iffic ulty
w hi ch w as ha rd to re m ove withou t g i ving the im press io n of try in g to ta lk
dow n. Whil e pre pa ri ng o ne of th e progra m s, someo ne obse r ved th at i f
th e pa rti cipa nts wou ld ta l k so tha t th ey a ll rea ll y k new w h at th ey were
say ing a n d unde rstood each othe r, th e li steni ng pu bli c wo ul d un dersta nd
th em too. If th at publi c ca red abou t wha t was sa id by St. J o h n's ove r th e
a ir, th ey neve r ga,·e a s ign of it ; but St. J o h n's firs t attem pt to reach t he
masses by rad io \vas, if no t altoge th er SlJccesshd , enco ur ag ing to th ose w h o
in s ist th a t St. Joh n's ed ucates fo r th e wo rl d .
·sunday evening meetings
P O ST E R S LIB E R A LLY SPRJ N KL ED a r ou nd town, invi t ing th e good
fo lk of A nn apo li s to our Sunday Even in g 1\t[ec ti ngs, a n nounced th e the m e
o f th e se ri es i n one lin e, "Ta lks on P u bli c I ssues of Prese nt- D ay l mpo rtance." T h e t urn-ou t for the fi rst fou r m ee ti ngs of the year was good, but
it mu st be ad mi tted th at if studen t a ttenda nce a t these mee tings was a n
accu r ate gauge of the i r in ter es t in pr ese nt-day prob lem s, th en p resen t-d ay
T wenty-eigM
p ubli c probl em s we re ru n nin g a ve ry b :~ d seco nd to th e p robl em s of th e
cur r iculum, o r m o re ge n era ll y, publi c afia irs we re a ppare ntl y dw arfed by
private a ffa irs. Th e " T ow ni es," by a nd la rge, we re like th e stud ents, o th er
thin gs seem ed m o re impo rtant o r mo re pleasant. Wh a tever the r easo n fu r
th e ge ne ral a pa thy, it co ul d n ot be cha rged to a fa ilure to procure bi g
na m es. Mr. J o h n G . Gree ne, dir ecto r o f adult edu cati o n, ser v in g as E xecu ti ve Sec reta ry of a facu lty committee respo ns ibl e f o r th e Sun day E ve nin g
m eetin gs, per suad ed a numbe r o f we ll - kn ow n peop le to g ive up a Sund ay
eve nin g in r eturn f o r the pu re pl eas ur e of address ing us , a nd th en lay in g
th em sel ves o pe n to q ues ti o ns fro m th e :-,u cl ie nce.
Durin g th e co urse o f th e yea r, th ere we re a fe w occas io n s wh en b ri sk
ques ti o nin g fo rced th e spea ke r to an acti ve de fen se. Jf m ost spea ke rs ·we r e
ma de so m ew ha t un comfo rtab le by th e prospect o f a ques ti o n pe ri od, the ir
:-tpp re he n sio n p roved to be wi th o ut g roun ds. Thi s year, th e H o n o rabl e
Cha rl es E. Saltzman, Ass ista nt Sec re tary of Sta te f o r O ccu pied A rea s, bega n
the ser ies . T he q ues ti ons a r isin g f ro m hi s ta lk ce nte r ed arou nd a n a pp a re nt
co nfli ct bet wee n Sta te D epa rtm en t po li cy a n d w h at so m e peo pl e (n o t a bl~·
P eter W e iss) in s isted \Vas actuall y takin g pla ce. Th e re w as a ques ti on
e ith e r d irect o r im p lied as to w h eth e r th e o ffi cia l po li cy for occ u pied a reas
had been s il entl y repl aced by a n o th e r. J'v[r . Sa ltzm an a n nve red by in sistin g
t ha t th e offi cial po li cy was th e o nl y o ne, a nd de nyin g any kn ow ledge of
fa ilure in impl em entati o n . Th e audi ence was left to d raw its own co nclu s io n s as to w heth e r 1\t[r. Sa lt zman, in sp ite of hi s ex pe ri e nce in th e
Arm y, was ba s iGlll_v na ive, o r w he th e r du e to hi s exp e ri e nce in th e fin a n cial
w o rld, h e was fa irl y acco m pli s hed in th e a rt of h a ndlin g a n e mbarra ss in g
qu es ti o n . A side f ro m thi s a nd m o re important, th e m eetin g wa s successful
in th e bas ic fun cti o n of foc using atte nti o n o n a publi c iss ue of imp o rt a nce .
Th e nex t Sun d ay even in g, Th urm an W. Arn o ld, fo rm e r Ass istant Atto rn ey Ge ne ral, created co n s ide rabl e exc ite m ent by te na cio usly ho ldin g a pos iti o n th ~t pa r t of th e a ud ien ce eith e r d id no t u n de rsta nd o r we re n o t di sposed to acce pt. H e stayed cl ose to th e pos iti o n a d vanced by A dam Smith
that m o n o po ly was an ev il; a nd th a t gove rnm e ntal pr o tecti o n of ce rtain
fa,·o red pri va te co mp a ni es preve nted v igo ro us ad va n cem en t. M o reo\"e r, 1\ll r.
A r no ld, like Adam Smith , be li eved that th e co mm o n peo pl e kn ow th e ir o w n
inte res t bette r than a nyone e lse. H e rej o iced at ev ide nce of th e ir ind epe n de nt co mm o n sen se in re j ec tin g so me of th e dr ea m s of th e plann e rs. The
ques ti o n seem ed to be: H ow co uld Mr. Arn o ld \vh o has an impress ive
reco rd as a libe ra l, fi g ht fo r a nd ch ampi o n a n ythin g esse ntially un po pular,
if he be li eves in the r ig htn ess o f pop ula r de te rmin a ti o n . Thi s was th e
o nly po int a t w hi ch Mr. Arn o ld depa rted radi ca ll y f r om A d am Smith ,
fo r Smith l oo ked u po n th ose w ho a ttempted to thi n k o f a n d wo rk for
th e g enera l good as m o nkey-wre nches in the eco no mi c ma chin e ry. Thi s depa rture f r o m th e co ns istent Smithi a n doctrine was precise ly th e po int on
w hi ch Mr. Ar no ld was a tt ac ked . H e d id n o t care to di sc uss th e ques ti o n
phil osophi call y, a n d left hi s qu es ti o ne rs to d iscove r fo r th em se l ves w heth er
hi s pos iti o n h ad poeti c m ea nin g .
T he fo ll ow in g m ee tin g, O cto be r 2 4th, w ith th e e lcc t: on dr a,~y· i n g n car,
J\llr. G ree ne pe rsua ded s peak e rs f ro m three o f th e maj o r pa rti es th a t our
G rea t Hall wou ld be as goo d a pla ce as a ny t o ed ucate th e e lec to rate a nd
pe rha ps pi ck up a few vo tes. J\lrr. Jam es R. KirkLnvl, r cp rcsen t e~ th e
G .O .P. ; Arthur 0. L ovej oy, a retired professo r o f phil oso ph y, re-e nt e red
th e ca ve o n behalf o f th e D on key, and James S. Mar t in, ex-S t. J o hn 's tut o r,
mani fes ted hi s bo ld ness in advoca tin g th e Prog ress i,·e pos iti o n. Th e rev iewe r d id n o t a ttend, but v..-as in f o rm ed by some w ho d id th at th e
mee ti ng was typ ica l of its kind.
Sun d ay evenin g , O ctobe r 3 1st, th e late Dr. H a rry St;Jc k Sulli v:1n, we ll k now n psychi at r ist, ta lk ed t o th e wro ng a udi en ce. Th e g ulf, j udg in g f rom .
th e pau city o f q ues ti o n s, an d th e charac ter of th e few th·a t we re as ked , \vas
u n br idgea bl e .
Th e nex t two m ee ti ngs sho uld h ave b,roug ht ou t th e av id newspaper
reade rs. Philip P otte r, Baltim o re Sun repo rte r, recen tl y rctunled f ro m ;1
spec ia l ass ig nm ent to th e Middl e E as t to ld hi s a ud ience abou t a buddi n)r
revo l uti on . A fte r centuri es of a utocrati c rul e, and re la ti ve ly stabl e co ndi-.
ti ons, a des ire f o r ch a nge seem s to be ma n ifes ti ng itself in t ha t pa r t of th e
wo rl d. Y o ung libe ra ls a re seekin g ed uca ti on fo r th e m asses, aa ~q uitabl e
d istri buti on of in come, eco no mic develo pm ent of tl1 e ir respecti ve co un tri es, .
etc. Mr. P o tte r m ainta in ed th a t thi s n ati on wou ld he fo ll ow ing a po li cy of
e nli gh te ned sel f-inte res t by a lig nin g itse lf w ith th ese fo r ces, and th at a
fo re ig n po li cy w hi ch su p po rt ed th e es tab lish ed react ion;'! !")' fo rces in the
Mi dd le Eas t was blin d . Th e nex t week Mr. Phi l ip L. Gra h a m , publi sher
of th e W as hi ng ton P ost, d isc ussed some of the gene ra l pro blem s en co un te red
in pu blis hin g a ne\\'Spape r, a n d so m e of th e so luti o ns a ttem pted by th e
·w as hin gto n P ost. T he repo rt e r a n d th e publi sh e r we re am on g th e bes t
of th e Sunday E ven in g spea ker s.
L a ter in th e yea r th ose ·w ho a ttended S un d ay E ve nin g M eeti ngs h ea rd:
Dr. Wi nfred O verh o lse r, Di rector of St. E li zabe th 's H osp ita l in W as hin g t o n,
repor t on th e L o n do n Congress of M enta l H ealt h; R aymo n d \Nil so n , a
( Co ntinued 0 11 page 5 1)
THE TERMS
Fall
""·
convocation
A B USY \V E EK of examinations a nd registration of students was clima xed by th e form al openin g exe rcises of the
C ollege on C onvocation Sunday. The tas k of callin g together tutors and students to participate in th e learnin g
process is an old one. Th e m otiva tin g fo rce of th ese ga th erin gs has always been furnish ed by a spirit of search and
inqu iry amon g m en. \i\Te here a t St. John's are a ble to feel,
very deeply, this spirit of community participa tion and learnin g. It is inher ent in th e books w e study and in th e tradition
w e are seeking to reinvigo ra te. Our C onvocation se rves to
remin d us tha t w e are to recapture this spirit in our studies
with a n ew vigo r and stren gth, and follow in the lively
footste ps o f th e g rea t, a m ong inquisitive students.
The rin gin g of th e C oll ege bell was th e sign al, as it usually
is, for old and new tutors a nd stud ents to gath er in McDowell H all. H ere th e fr eshm en, 74 of th em this yea r,
were asse mbled and in stru cted by the C ollege Marshal, l\1r.
Poe . A leisurely procession w as fo rm ed, led by President
Kieffe r and the tuto rs - all of whom w ere dressed in
academic robes trimm ed in col ors den otin g th eir hono rs 111
the scholastic wo rld. Th e fr es hm en follow ed the tutors and
the rest of th e co mmunity w alked behind th em . Th e procession was led along th e sid e ca mpus a nd into I glehart H all.
M r. K yle Smith opened th e exe rcises with a praye r. This
was follo w ed by th e formal introduction and r egistration of
the new m embers of th e co mmunity . E ac h fr eshman
an swe red to his na rn e by mo untin g th e platform a nd sha kin g
ha nds with the President of the College . H e then sig ned
his nam e, und er the g uidan ce o f Miss Stran ge, in the Coll ege
R egistry. This cerem onious induction into th e C ollege prese rves th e wid e gap between individual and community
which exists in all enterprises of common eff ort. W e as a
body r eceive each individual, and only dem and of him that
he recognize o ur stru ggle as his stru ggle a nd fa vor o ur aim
as his aim.
Th ose of us wh o had watched previo us co nvoca tions w ere
a ble to note th e shift to yo uth and vigor am ong the freshm en .
The return of th e Colle ge to n ormal is a g radual one, m ore
and more marked each yea r. W e all feel th e C ollege will
receive new impetus from th ose whose edu ca tion has not
been interrupted .
President Kieff e r spoke a fe w w o rds of welcom e to all
of us. H e remarked how invigo ratin g it was to see th e
campus alive with stud ents afte r m a ny m onths of inactivity .
Th e virtues of calmn ess and sa nity in a still divid ed a nd
turbulent w orld w ere emph asize d. W e w er e r eminded that
th e Great Boo ks w e stud y a re unanimo us in emphasiz in g and
teachin g th ese virtu es as a fo undation for proper and necessary ac tion . Th e impo rtan ce of th e teachin g and th e learnin g of th em in c reases as th e n eed fo r ca reful action in creases.
The traditional w ord s "C on vocatum est" w e re prono un ce d and, with the closin g praye r, th e 15 8th session of
th e C oll ege had begun .
T wenty-nine
�Th e hypo th eses spaw ned were m y riad . T o th e H egelia ns
Winter
unravelin g th e ta ngled skein o f w ha t mig ht too easily have
th e coll ege had se r ved its histo rica l fun ction and th e si•rns o f
becom e just a noth e r so rdid sto ry . By all repo rts its qu estions
Sin~e
this
probed deep ; it m ade sho rt wo rk of non-esse ntials , it in·
view presupposes a godlike in d iffe ren ce to th e suffe rin o-
sisted upon thinkin g first of th e college . Gra ntin g ce rtain
multitud e it provid ed sca nt co mfo rt.
un avoid a ble co nditions its dec ision w as th e o nl y one possible
decaden ce se rv ed onl y to buttress th eir th eo ri zi ng .
"'
Th ere we re oth ers
w ho, cogni za nt as most stud ents we re not of th e turbul ent
and rig ht at th e sa m e tim e. Its jo b was th oroug hl y c redit-
histo ry of th e in stitutio n called St. J o hns, had neve r, pe rh aps,
a ble. By Sund ay nig ht a wea ry college had so me n ew fac ts
rega rd ed th e n e w program as a nythin g m ore th an a passin g
to li ve with.
This se ntim ent, fo r-
Mr. Klein m oved into th e dean's offi ce ; M r. Graff into
t un a tely, w as held by but a few. By a nd la rge th e peo pl e
co nce rn ed with St. J o hn's think of it in terms of th e n ew
f:1 ncy and refuse d to be a la rm ed .
th e assista nt dean's c ubicle; th e re wo uld sho rtly be a new
treas urer; on Jun e 30 Mr. Ki eff e r w ould be succee ded by
progra m . A nd, in evita bl y, th ere were oth ers wh o po ured o ut
a new president. It had been a crisis a fte r all ; and n ew
t heir bitte rn ess on th e hea ds of Ba r r a nd Buc ha nan; o r th e
possibilities lay ahea d .
build ings and g ro und s depa rtment; or th e busin ess offi ce; or
t he la bora to ry; o r the fac ulty ; or th e lazy stud ents; o r th e
godd ess F o rtun e wh o had dec reed th at we sho uld have to
live in 1949 etc. , etc. , ad n a useam .
the CriSIS
vV hen th e sto rm fin ally broke it cente red itself abo ut th e
ad ministra tive o ffi ces. Mr. Kie ff e r, indig nant a t all ege d ly
cla nd estin e eff orts to rem o ve him fr om th e presid ency,
as ked for and obtain ed th e resig na tions of M essrs. Wilburn ,
Poe and Fidd esof, th e titul a r heads o f th e opposition to his
regim e. With th e conflict o ut in th e open th e once whispere d cha rge beca m e common kn o wled ge. Mr. Kieff er w as
accused of ba d administration, ind ecision , haltin g eve ry a tte mp t at progress.
It too k little time for the coll ege co mmunity to begin
A t this writing it is, of co urse , still too n ea r th e eve nt to
eva lu ate th e exper:e nce in terms of its likely eff ects upon the
coll ege's futur e. A pa rt fr om a flurry of n ew interest r esultin g fro m th e shock and a ne w tone as a co nsequ ence of an
administra ti ve
r ealig nm ent,
the
immedia te
eff ects we re
bo und to be bad. W e are too unaccustom ed to crisis to live
thro ug h o ne with o ut som e debilita tion .
Th ere is som ewh ere a m ora l to be dra wn from th e sto ry.
W e have lea rn ed perh aps th at one administra tor doth n ot
make a college any m o re th a n one swall o w m a kes a sprin g .
But beyond th at th ere is a lesson with wide r implications.
M ost St. J o hnnies will rem ember how th e fl agship of th e
Pantag ruelia n fl ee t, Thnlnrnege, ran into a te rrifi c storm,
and ho w by dint o f eve ryo ne's utm ost exe rtions it survived.
takin g sid es, even tho ug h th ere was never· any clea r cut basis
Everyo ne, that is, except Panurge wh o became a wh imperin g
LATE ON A SUNDAY evenin g in J anuary Mr. Kieff er
for love a nd enthusias m. Tho ug h m en mig ht admire they
on w hic h on e could do so. There w e re m any eff orts on the
cowa rd.
conclud ed his readin g of the Board's carefull y word ed deci-
wo uld ha rdl y devote th em selves to a m achine.
pa rt of stud ents and fac ulty alike to rema in unco mmitted and
Wh en it is ove r and th e ship is once m ore safe
P anurge is aga in his co urageo us self. Th en occ urs the fol-
Vlhil e th e docto rs disagree d a nd involved th em selves in
to await as pa tientl y as possibl e the outcom e of the Board's
lo win g:
professional quibbl es th e pa tient co ntinu ed to la ng uish. When
delibe ration s. In the scufflin g the Big Fact w as nea rly lost
she complain ed of a pain in th e neck th ey spoke soothin gly of
sig ht of. F ew stopped talkin g lon g eno ug h to think that it
w as no t se veral administrators alon e wh o w ere on trial but
sion.
Mr. Klein, th e coll ege's new dea n , off ered his first
prescription: a good night's sleep. F or once qu estions w ere
o ut of orde r. Quietly, tho ug htfull y, even solemnl y, a n
asse mbled co mmunity diffuse d into dormito ries, back-campus
units, off- ca mpus dwellin gs. All in all it had been on e of the
viruses, compl exes and th e spirit of th e age . If she tried to
stamm er o ut her soul probl em s th ey r eached fo r a mustard
most hectic, unbelieva ble, m acabre experien ces within the
plaster. And wh en, as it ha d ro , th e c risis ca m e, th ey pointed
livin g m em ory of St. J ohn 's. It was as if the m an upstairs
acc usin gly at each oth er. Th e patient sat up, fin ally, and
o ut of shee r rogue ry had simultan eously pro jected a Hitch-
kn oc ked th eir heads togeth er.
cock m elodrama and a M a rx Broth ers far ce upon the sc ree n.
Wh en it was all o ver St. J o hnnies rubbed th eir eyes and
Abstractly, and th erefo re too simply, this is the story of
w ond ered what had happened. Th ey will never r eall y kn o w.
wh at for a year or two will be kn own as "The Crisis." The
"facts" unfo rtunately do not say what w ent on in the hearts
Afte r days of despera te talking th e few trivial facts available had become irredu cible c uds of pulp in peo pl e' s m outh s.
They stu ck in the throat .
Th ey see m ed in co nsequ ential
alon gsid e th e Big Fact whic h onl y a few still r efu sed to
recogni ze . St. J ohnnies, on e a nd all , no lon ge r felt th e spirit.
Beneath the fa ded fin ery th ere no longer seem ed to be a ny
life. Like a n agin g co urtesan th e coll ege h ad beg un to rely
upon treatm ents, ga uds, cosm etics, N ew Y o rk specialists.
of men; th ey do not explain wh y a co mmunity o f reasonable
th e w hole college . M an y who pointed a fin ge r w ould bette r
have sta red into a mirror.
One gen eralization at .least m ay be sa fely m ade. N eve r
had t he lac k of co nfidence which sprea d so insidiously fr om
the Boa rd do wn to th e g ree nest fr eshm a n bee n so clea rly
m a nifest . D espair w as th e m ood of the day . By F riday, th e
day befo re th e Boa rd was scheduled to m eet in B altim ore,
the situa tio n seem ed little short of hopeless.
m en w as in ca pabl e of risin g abo ve th e petty in compatibilities
In a last effo rt th e Student P olity, which thro ug hout th e
o f personality ; wh y a coll ege whic h a few years previously
week had bee n fo r once active and eff ective, approved a
had had enoug h g uts to lick th e world's mig htiest n avy, to
stateme nt in sisting th at th e impo rtant issue - th e ne w pro-
sur vive th e decimations of a w a r a nd th e o nslaug hts of pro-
g ram - be kept in mind and as kin g fo r a clean sw eep of
fessional edu ca tors a nd concurrentl y to shape a new community of learn ers from th e w rec k of a m o ribund institution -
N or w as th e solution to be found in smoother m achin ery.
w hy such a pl ace should show suc h unmista ka ble signs of
A ft er all , contri va nce a nd m em ora nd a substitute but poo rl y
qu ittin g in th e hom e stretch.
the ad ministra tion with the prin cipals bein g retain ed as
tutors.
"All t hi s w hil e Ep istemon w ho had t he palms of hi s h ands all
flayed and bloody fro m hold in g on so ga ll antl v and so long to o ne
of th e cab les had bee n liste nin g intentl v to t he d isco urse of
P antagr uel. Now he protested
veh em e nt]~.
' I swear, my L ord ,' he compl a in ed, ' I had as mu ch fear an d
fri g ht as P anurge; bu t .it did n' t in te rfe re wit h my d o in g w hat l
cou ld. Wh at I stand for is thi s; th at tho ug h dea th mu st come to
us all by fa tal an d in ev itable necessity the extremely im po rta n t
ques ti on as to wh et her we d ie at such o r such an hour or in such
or such a way 1ies pa rtl y in the w ill of God an d pa rtl y in o ur ow n
d iscretion .
W e oug ht, howeve r, to be co nsta n tly im plorin g,
in vok in g, plead in g, beseec hin g and suppl icat in g, as lo ng as we
do n't m ake thi s f req ue nt prayi ng an en d or goa l in itself, but on
t he co n tra ry exert o urselves to the u tmost '"on our side an d as
t he H oly M esse nge r says, be fe llow-l abo rers w ith God . By be in g
saga cio usly on g uard , by work in g v igo rously, by maki ng re newe d
and obst in ate fres h sta rts, thin gs arri ve at le ng th at the e nd we
long for an d at the ha rbo ur of our des pe rate hope. But if in the
On Saturday the statem ent w as presented to th e
pin ch of pe ril an d o n th e brink of da nge r a pe rso n is neglige n t,
Board- a Board which, sudd enly aw ake to the m agnitude
e ff emin ate and id le, it is in vai n h e prays to th e .Gods: they a re
o f its respo nsibility, spent two days ea rn estly, painstakin gly
only p rovoked and ang ry w ith him '."
1.' Mr ty-r.me
T hirty
�Spri ng
june week
Senior-Faculty Cocktail Party
john, Ad le r, Van Doren, Barr or Bu chanan lec tures. As
soo n as th eir eyes beca m e accustomed to th e dimn ess th ey
imm ediately refocused them on what was to beco m e fo r
many a lege ndary object: a three -tiered, ch ro m ium - plated,
lion -headed fountain-lik e pun c h howl w hic h gave forth a
golden liqu id from th e spouts on th e top tier a~1d the lion's
m outh on th e second. W hether it was simply the objec t
itself w ith its red and blu e lig hts play in g on th e pun ch, or
Jake B rooks (yes again ) beguilin g eve ryo ne into " just one
more," or host Andrew D ew in g's fin e p un ch, soo ner o r
later (we fo rge t just w hen) th e formal aspect slipped slowly
from th e party . It beca m e in stead, o ne of th e most natural,
free a nd easy · ga th erings to be w it nessed a t St. J o hn 's. It
m ay be th a t o nly wl1 en fo ur years of th e tuto r-stud ent relationship have been completed, and th e fruit of th e labo r is
ready to be picked, that fri ends, fa milies, fa culty and stud ents
can get together w ith this degree of und e rsta ndin g a nd co mpanionship. I'm not su re th ose a re th e n am es to give the
at m osp here th at pe rm ea ted th e afte rn oo n's ga th e rin g, hut
ST. JOHN'S niirro red the Na tion.
Fashion ma gazin es, mov ie m a rqu ees, ladies' haircuts a nd
fo reig n ca rs w ere th e Nation's sign s th a t w e were a ttempting to return to th e "ca refree days of the '20s."
Jun e \Vee k was our sign, an d it looked like we ha d succeeded, eve n as ea rl y as th e Junior-Se nio r party th e week
before .
If a m ode m Rip Van ' N inkl e had walked into th e Com m on R oom of Sto ne H o use on that Satu rd ay nig ht in May
a nd seen Daisy Goldwin with her " bobbed ha ir" and " hig h
heeled shoes" doing th e C harleston w ith Phil Smith, he
wo uld have been su re th at it was a t wenty- minute ra th e r
th an a tw enty-yea r nap he had just taken.
The kegs of beer o n th e sid e porch had a n air of respec ta bility tha t mig ht not have bee n possibl e in th ose clays, but
J a ke Broo ks wandering a round d ispensin g it fro m a n old tin
pitcher took ca re of that. ' Ni th th e help of ex-St. J o hnnies,
Midship!.1en, total strange rs and lovely yo un g ladies we alThe Mellon Song
m ost man aged th at w id- western continentalism which was
so constantly striven for and so seldom ac hieved .
There may not have bee n th e intellec tu al co nversa tions
that St. J o hn 's pa rties ar e famous fo r, but no one seem ed to mind too mu ch. T o
cover th e whole evenin g completely we mig ht do best to quote a Midshipman who
found our littl e party just before beco min g a n E nsign. \\l ith co mplete dejection he
was hea rd all evenin g to mum ble und er his brea th : "For four years all of this was
right over the wal l ... and I didn't know it."
Jun e W ee k prope r loo ked as th o ug h it w e re going to be m ost fo rm al and respectable
when late Friday a ft ern oon the youn g ladies with picture hats a nd th eir well g room ed
escorts sa untered out of th e warm sun shin e into th e Great Hall. \\l ith its face lifted
by th e addition of fl owe rs a nd furnitur e, th e Grea t H all loo ked far m o re like a
sumptious bal lroom than th at Acade mic Assembly R oo m where the se nio rs had fi rst
gath ered (so m e as lon g as eight yea rs befo re) to hear Mr. Bucha nan g ive his introductory talk to th e Freshmen. This was th e last class w ho would rem ember th e
"Well, Willie, who'll we be today?"
Grea t H all as a lecture hall , but th ey didn't spend th eir a ft ern oon recallin g 1
Vleikl e-
Thirty -two
w ha teve r you call it, it had been a long tim e sin ce it had been
fe lt in McDowell. We wond ered vaguely as we m eand ered
dow n th e fron t walk a ft erwards if th e whole yea r cou ldn' t
have had so m ethin g of this sa m e pleasantn ess had tuto rs and
students go t toge th er m o re ofte n in th e G rea t Hall.
Eve ryon e manage d to ge t ~<·met hin g to ea t, a nd eith er
sober up a littl e o r ge t a littl e highe r by t he tim e eig ht-thirty
roll ed arou nd an d that age less pastim e, w hich had been so
lon g abse nt from o ur "sktded camp us"- th e Variety Show
- brig htened I glehart Hall.
After a prologue in th e fo rm of an introduction to a
for m al lec ture w hich had bee n hea rd not long before,
spectacle in the fo rm of w hat was later to he referred to as
th e "Goldberg Variation s" kep t us all in va rio us deg rees of
;11nusem ent fo r alm ost two hours. Durin g this tim e we saw
a nd hea rd all of th e in stitutions of The Institution lampooned
- in good review fashion. "Me no, Callicles, P olus"- those
th ree well kn own sop hists- ca m e down from Olympus to
see a bo ut gettin g St . J ohn 's acc redited, but th e local demo-
Class Day
cratic processes went just far enough as tray to elec t them to
th e Student Court. H ere th ey immediately fo und th em selves
in control o f a noth e r Crisis, a nd in ord er to find ou t w ha t
was goin g on th ey decid ed to inter view eith er in person o r
by phone such n ota bles as "Sco t," "Winkie," "Mo rtim e r,"
"M ar k, " "S c rotus Bon es, " an d "M.r. SI .
1msman " ( t I1e yo un g
Bernard McFadden). T hey also found it adva ntageous to
look into the oral exa minations (complete with th e peanuts
and popcorn th a t both · stud ents and tuto rs have so ofte n
wish ed for) and th e lectures.
During all of this th ere were hig h points a nd so m e fa irl y
low ones- but this was to be expec ted. The Freshm en
co uldn't laugh along with th e rest of th e a udien ce when
Shmoos' fri end "Sylvan Sharper " appea red, no r co uld th e
g uests en joy to their full est such delight fu l ditties as the
"Mellon Song" and "Alcibides is My Ideal." But on th e
whole from th e tim e E rnst A bra ham son played the openin g
bars to introdu ce Lin coln in the prolog ue thro ug h D ye r,
Junior-Senior party
Otteson, Aa ronson a nd Myers until th e fin al bars of Martin,
Frasca and G oldberg sin gin g "Mo unt Olympus-Here W e
.
.
Come" everyone found som ethin g to la ug h abo ut. Th e
sophists decided St. J ohn's would have to wa it for heavenl y a·ccre ditation sin ce it
would neve r ge t ea rthl y, but th e Variety Show has rega in ed its acc reditation as a
worthwhile trad ition .
Th e Info rm al Dance in th e Boat H o use after th e Va riety Show suffered from
som ethin g - it's a littl e diffi cult to say just what. It could n ot have been atm osphere
-for th e m oon shon e across College Creek in a mann er th at turn ed th e scen e from
th e Balcony into so m ethin g n ot unlike an old fas hioned calendar picture, and th e music
seem ed suitable as well. P erh aps it was just th at we'd laughed too ha rd , or th a t
we were planning to play tom o rrow, and co uldn't play much tonig ht.
Saturday of Jun e \ Veek was Archy McCourt D ay. There was n q title on the
progra m to label it such, but th ere was little doubt th at it was.
Und er th e Liberty Tree Saturday morning with th e sun shinin g in all of its late
A. B. McCourt, B.A.
sprin g beauty, Ch et J ohn so n, Chairman for th e class, introd uced David R ae as " numT Mrty -tlu·ee·
�to pa rties, but it wasn ' t
be r on e stud ent," th e stud ent choice as w ell as th e administration's. R ae spoke with the se rious intellige nce a nd clea r lon g be fo re th ey w ere
reasse mbl ed a littl e fa rqu estionin g fo r wh ich his classm a tes had kn o wn him , a nd
th er west on th e bac k
am on g oth er things bro ug ht up the impo rtant qu estion of
campus 'i n th eir n ew
w heth er "the libe ral arts a re givin g us up, o r we are fr eein g
a tti re, rea dy to pic k up
o urselves from th em , because th ey have hee n success ful in
freein g us f rom ourse lves ." H e also to uched briefl y on th e the lem onade a nd cold
fried c hicken w hich
" im portance of chan g in g academic fr eedo m for civic fr eewe re bein g ha nd ed o ut
dom."
by the m en in w hite
With a cleve r poe tical introduction J o hnson introd uced
coa ts und e r M iss Disth e " number one in som ethin g" student - Al F rasca, who
ken's g uid ance. Th e
in his F r ascain m a nn er spoke lovin gly of all th e Grea t Boo ks,
Sen :o rs we re n otably
includin g M oth er G oose . As he closed he also introdu ce d
"Why is a raven like a writing -d esk?"
the Guest Spea ker, Mr. J ac k N e ustadt, w ho told a g roup of a bse nt from this gatherin g w h1c l1 , in stead o f havin g th e expected da mpenin g
sto ries a bout the class and its ex-members, stories which I
hope som eo ne m an aged to ge t down in th eir entirety for a effect, proved stimul a tin g fo r th e rest of the m ale co mmufutur e historia n of the C ollege. H e closed by saying th at he nity, sin ce it allow ed th eir wives a nd dates to shin e all the
brig hter, a nd their children to be mo re entertainin g with
w as "impressed by the level o f m aturity th e se nio rs ha ve disfew e r ha nd s to control th em.
played as a g roup. "
W hile this was goin g
The Exercises cam e to their climax w hen
on th e se nio rs w e re atC o rky Kra m er prese nted a special degree to
tendin g the President's
A rchibald Bow e M cC o urt " m a kin g him a memdinn e r a t L og Inn . F orber o f the class of 1949 ." As Bobby Burns'
m.allv - this was fri ed
fri end mounted th e podium even th e ha rde r
c hicken (o r steaks fo r a
hea rts o f th e co mmunity felt a slig ht m elting a nd
fini cky fe w ) , much win e
all w ere in ag reem ent with that m as terful piece
( preceded by bee r ), co fof understatement th at A rchie had been a n " unfee a nd aft er dinn er
o ffi cial co unsell or" to th e stud ents.
speec hes. President KiefImmediately a ft er Class D ay exe rcises eve ryfer opened th e proceedon e looked fo r the " picnic" whic h turn ed o ut to
in gs and asked Mr. L abe "<~ regula r lun cheon in the Dinin g H all, and
from there m ove d in a body to th e bac k ca mpus
throp to propose th e toast
for th e season's big Base ball G am e. Th e ba rrel
to th e class of 1949. Mr.
of ice and bee r w as emptied eno ug h times so tha t
L athrop w as answ e red by
Spectators
n o one bothered to reco rd the sco re, a nd the
Ellis Mannin g , n ewly
faculty's he roics w ere kn own onl y by th e bruises elected alumni sec reta ry fo r th e class, and then th e usual ro und of im and limps which we re see n fo r th e rest of th e promptu toasts w as m ade - to a bse nt m embe rs of the class, to Mr.
wee kend .
L o bell's n ew so n, to a fe w individu als, and to a g roup referred to as
Wh en the bee r was go ne and th e ga m e w as
the Sig m a E psilon Sig m a, which was ac kn o wl ed ged by Philip C amove r, everyo ne disappea red to clea n up, rest o r go
ponesc hi. Mr. N e ustadt gave a brief but coge nt talk. Mr. Kieff er
spoke a nd m ade th e presenta tion of a gold watch insc ribed "From the
F ac ulty a nd class of 19 49 for L oyal Service to St. J o hn 's C ollege and
th e class of 1949 , Jun e 1949," a nd a billfold to th e g uest o f honor,
M"r. M cC o urt. It w as w ond erful to watch A rchie speec hless . .. but
he regain ed his brea th sufficientl y to tell a few anec dotes a nd to give
a bea utiful recita tio n of " J o hn A nd erson , M y Jo ." Atmospherically it was a stag pa rty fro m th e 20 's.
Shortl y a fter I 0 th e gath e rin g broke up and the senio rs dashed m adly
bac k to pick up th eir wi ves a nd dates in order to a ttend the F in al Ball.
Th e Fi nal Ball sta rted slo wl y beneath a ceilin g of sil ve r sta rs and
moo ns. M om entum was ga in ed and after an hour or so th e Ball was
really rollin g. It roll ed as science told us it w o uld until inter fe red with
by som e o utsid e force. Th e outside force in this case w as the ba nd , which
in sisted o n goin g hom e. The band may have go ne ho m e, but few othe rs
both ered . . . in stea d th ey sepa rated into g ro ups fo r pa rties, m ore dancin g,
swimming and oth er fo rms of fun. It was dawn wh en, returnin g fr om
th e hinterland I saw th e last few co upl es walkin g tiredl y aro und Church
C ircle and headin g ho m e.
Sund ay m ornin g w as our brea thin g spell, and breath e w e did- deeply.
Sunday a ft ern oo n th ere w ere sig ns -faint I admit- o f not very exSenior-Faculty B·ase ball
Thirty- f out·
cited life. By late Sun - again. Buildin g th e w orld anew is an excitin g task; yo u
ha ve w o rk laid o ut for you. Th e test of our success with
day a ft ernoon you co uld
yo u will lie in wh ether yo u a re goin g forth fr om coll ege to
see it ge t or ganized
build a n ew w o rld or to plund er the ruins of th e old .
enoug h to fo rm into a
"I am n ot spea kin g inspirational ge ne ralities. The ruin s
process10n and walk
a re pl ain to behold. Th e plund ere rs a re at wo rk befo re our
down the ca mpus over
very eyes. They ar e those wh o contend se nse lessly fo r the
to St. Ann e's Church
prestige o f public offi ce and sh am e th e g reat traditions of
wh ere th e R ev. J ohn
the C apitol with th eir self-see kin g ; th ey a re those who m a ke
R . C ooper gave the
a' ca ricature of th e heroic freedom of the continent builders
Baccalaurea te address.
by cloa kin g m onopolistic pillagin g with th e bann er of free
Th e address by a
m ember of th e cl ass of enterprise. There is a sid e to A m erican society today tha t
J 93 7 was as inspirin g reminds on e of nothin g so muc h as th e spectacle of th e
" And monie a canty day, John"
ba rba rians of late R om an tim es squ attin g in imperial palaces
as Ba ccala ureate adand a wkwa rdly struttin g in shodd y purple. Our ba rdresses a re supposed to he, . and it w as- to say th e least- a
ba rians a re m o re outwa rdly r efin ed and often ha rder to
chan ge of emph asis for th e senio rs to hea r G od spoken of in
recognize . A lmost at tim es they seem to be all o f
Church in stead of Semin a r.
us. L et m e list a few of th e pi1lage rs: within the acaAfter the robes had been returned to M cD ow ell a nd th e
demic w orld there is th e subsidiz in g athlete at one; end
air of piety put a way for a whil e, th e se niors, th eir fa milies,
of th e sca le, the cynical g ra du ate stu de nt, w o rkfriends a nd the fac ulty
in g fo r his " union ca rd " th e Ph .D. degree, at th e
adj o urn ed to th e Ki effe r's
oth er . Or pe rhaps th ese a re victim s of m ore th an
for a pl easant aft ern oo n
clever plund ere rs, th e spo rts prom oters a nd the
G a rde n P a rty compl ete
educa tionalist rac ketee r . Outsid e th ere a rc th e
with ma ny introdu ctions,
stock jobbers a nd suave r fin an cial prom oters,
fin e foo d a nd delicio us
those la bo r leade rs who have turn ed the hopeful
pun c h. Th e re was ga iety,
aspirations c. f th eir foll owe rs into a source of
sun shin e an d a pl easa nt
profit and po wer for th em selves, th e salesm a n and
change of pace. Th e fesadvertise r, th e entertain er, who enriches him self
tivities were dra win g to a
by a ppea lin g to public tastelessness. On eve ry
close, th e Graduatio n ithand th e w ork of patriotic plund erin g goe~ on,
se lf was dra win g n ear.
feedin g on th e credulity a nd fea rs of a n unM ond ay m ornin g- we
wield\' popul ace.
found it difficult to believe
"I sketch this picture fo r no dem agogic reatha t w e we re goin g to be
Picnic Supper
so ns. I am not summ onin g yo u to a cru sade. As
blessed by yet anoth er cl ay
th o ug htful , well-bala nce d m en yo u kn ow this
of the fin e weath er w e had had fo r o ur Jun e V\Tee k, hut we were. A t
10:45 th e acad emic procession sta rted dow n th e front walk, ac ross th e sid e of th e w o rld into which yo u a re goin g a nd
g rass, o ut unde r th e Liberty Tree and the class of 19 4 9 was ready to yo u abh o r it. V\Tha t I wo uld do today is to consider with yo u wha t yo ur St. J ohn 's experience
g radua te. Th e R ev. W. K. Smith m ade th e in voca tion. The Presid ent
has give n yo u to help yo u live in this world and
of th e C oll ege announ ced th e prizes and th en Mr. Ki eff e r ga ve his
address to th e Graduation Class, a n address which wil l lon g remain in
the m em o ries of those wh o had a n oppo rtunity to hear it. Fo r those
wh o didn't, let us reprint o nly on e sho rt section , a nd remind th os<: who
read it th at th ey may obtain the compl ete a ddress by writin g th e
C o!Jege.
"The c risis of th e world tod ay spells out in capital lette rs th e m eanin g of th e crisis w e at St. J o hn 's recogni ze d twelve yea rs ago. Brea kdo wn of communica tion a nd loss of direction is no longe r confin ed to
th e aca demic community, it is plain to th e m a n in the street. The
coll eges a nd uni ve rsities o f th e late nin eteenth century rested sec ure in
th eir fa ith in A dam Smith. Britannia ruled th e ocea n waves and Clerk
Maxw ell rul ed th e eth er wa ves. Sc hol ars co uld be co mfortabl y sure
th a t, as und e r laissez. fait·e, tradesm a n, industrialist, la bore r a nd fa rm er
pro moted the world's econo mic health by pursuing eac h his individua l
gain , so th e dom ain o f Truth was extended by eac h ac t o f indi vidu al
resea rch. T oday this comfo rta bl e assuran ce is dispelled. Ma rx a nd
Curie have let l ~ose fo rces to shatte r th at peace ful wo rld. Origin a tin g
in the libra ry a nd th e la bo ra to ry, th ey ha ve swept into th e m a rket place
and th e fac to ry, and in th e process bro ug ht down the intell ectu al fo unda tions of coll ege and uni ve rsity.
" Th e shatterin g of a wo rld does not m ea n n ecessa ril y th e endin g of
a wo rld . It mea ns th a t th e next ge ne ra tion will ha ve to put it togeth er
Final Ball
T hit·ty-jioe
�The Seniors
H onors and Prizes
'T o th e m e m be r uf th e Se n io r C lass wh o ha s
w ritt en
th e
$2 7. 50.
Ofie re d und e r th e wi ll o f th e hte
bes t
fina l
ess ay,
a
prize
of
Jud g e vVa ltcr L D awk in s --- ---------------- .. ·············- Riclurrd Sco tt H arris
H on o rahl c M e nt ion -------------------------.. -------- -.. ---. David Burke R ea
T o the se n ior \d1 o ha s the high es t sta nd in g , a
go ld m eda L O tre red by th e ll o ard of Vi s ito rs
:t nd G o \·e rn o rs ---------- __________ --·-----------------·--------------·-· David B urke R ea
To th e m embe r of th e Fres h man , Sop h o m o re,
o r J uni o r C lass wh o h as ''"T ittc n th e bes t
a n nu a l essay, th e J o hn Martin Gree n p r ize
o f $ 10.00 ..................... - ......... --..------------------------- T ho111aS J.: ing Si111 pso11
H o norab le IVIcnt io n -~---·------· ----------------·------- T h omas f/ ernld R ea, J r.
President 's Cocktail Party
how in turn yo u ca n help St. John 's to live in it. I dwell on
barbarism and ruin , not beca use th at is all th e re is, but because th at is wh a t chall enges us ::tll to buildin g a nd reb uildin g
acco rdin g to th e pa ttern laid up in heaven . St. J o hn's was
c ha rtered in our ow n heroic age to reb uild from th e ru in s
.o f an ea rlie r war th e republic of lea rnin g th at ha d bee n Kin g
vVilliam 's Sc hool. Its cha rte r a ffirm s th e prin cipl es of freedom of the individual a nd responsibility to soc iety th at a re
t he A m erica n heritage. It makes plai n th at throug h liberal
education th ese prin cipl es a re kept in bein g. A nd it dedicates
St. J ohn's foreve r to this pu rpo e.
B ecause of this dedica tion yo u have had fo ur yea rs of
freedom a nd responsibility. Y ou have prac ticed th ese prin·Cipl es in yo ur studies a nd in yo ur community life. Y ou have
· ma de mista kes; you have ab used a t tim es yo ur fr eedom a nd
Luncheon in the Colleg e Quadrangle
·T /z-irt)'-six
Commencement Exercises
To
neg lected yo ur re:>ponsibility, but the fact tha t yo u have bee n
jud ged w orth y of th e degree proves th at in g reater m easure
yo u have lived up to th e prin cipl es. Livin g up to prin ciples
was th e test of th e a uxiliaries in Pl ato's R epublic. Knowl ed ge
of prin cipl es was the end to which th e eel ucatio n of the
g uardians thro ug h dial ectic was ·directed. Tho ug h I do not
off e r you to th e wo rld as r eady m ade g uardians, I do
remind yo u th at in idea and esse nce th e work yo u ha ve don e
for yo ur de g ree has bee n directed towa rds kn owl edge of
th e prin ciples yo u have li ved up to. From th e very beginnin g
of yo ur course with H om er's !lind, th e n ature and limitatio ns of m an's freedom have bee n a persiste nt th em e, and his
respo nsibility to his fellows yo ur consta nt stud y. Freedom
and responsibil:ty have bee n portraye d epicall y a nd t ragically
in the cha rac ters o f Ac hill es a nd Agam emn on , of O edipus
a nd A ntigone. Th e ironic sc rutin y o f Socra tes has helped
yo u disentan g le th eir esse ntial statem ent from th e be m azed
opinions of th e Sophists. Th e H ebra ic and Christian sc riptures have raise d them to the hig h level of theol ogy, whence
A ug ustin e and Thom as have drawn th em dow n in system atic de tail. Th e still unm et chall enge o f th e scie ntifi c revolution , refl ec ted in Baco n, Hum e, K a nt and H egel, speaks to
yo u today from the w hirl wi nd of Marx a nd Curie. H as
yo ur reading o f th e Grea t Books fi tted yo u to descend into
this cave of th e w inds/"
The degrees were issued, and the thirty-seve n n ew m embe rs of th e St. J ohn 's alumni rece ived the Ben ediction a nd
m a rched sole mnl y back to McDowell where th ey we re
g reeted by th eir friend s a nd fam ilies w ho had com e for th
to offer them th eir co ng ratula tions.
Luncheon was se r ved in th e C oll ege Q uadran gle a nd as
the stom ac hs fill ed the C ollege emptied. By sund own only a
few rem ai n ed . T he goodbyes had been said, and th e class
of '49 had gon e o ut in th e manner of all of th e classes
befo re th em . . . to crrr·ve rr b1·rr v e n ew w odd.
In the beginnin g w e said that St. J o hn ' s and th e Nation
seemed to be tryin g to recapture the twenties. L et us n ow
say th at we wish th e class of '49 better luck w ith th eir n e w
wo rl d th a n was had by those w ho we nt out t we nty yea rs
befor e th em .
t he
studcnt
who
h as
wr itte n
t he
bes t
o r ig ina l so nn et, a pr ize o f $ 10.00 -- --~--------- -------------- .rlud rew D ewi ng
T o th e student who du r in g th e current sess io n
has g iven m os t c \·id cn cc uf leade rship in th e
se r v ice of the Co ll ege Community, a pri ze
o f $25.00 in boo ks --------~----------·----·---- ..... _. C larwce ]. A:rrtlll er
anti
Pan / All>cr/ F rrtsca
Clarence Alfred Anderson , II
H er bert ·Joseph Baer
Charles Cr ittendon Baldwin
T !tirty -sev en
�Aaron Morriss Bisberg
Eugene Bokras
Harold M. Boulden
Jonathan Erskine Brooks
Philip Albert Camponeschi
Ray Charles Cave
Jerome Herbert Cantor
George Howell Daffer
T !tit"ty-mne
�Peter John Davies
Frederick Parsons Davis
Andrew Dewing
Rudolph Charles Ellsworth
Paul Albert Frasca
Paul Carlyle Evans
Richard Scott Harris
Forty
( 1
John Phelan Hayden
Forty-one
.,
�William Crawford Hill
Rowland Alfred Jones
Ralph Hall Ke e11ey
Harold Julius Hyd en
F orty-tzl'O
Allan Paul Hoffman
Chester Arth ur Johnson
Clarence J . Kramer
la n Campbell lea
F ort y-t!tree
�.'
;_
....
Ira Wendell Marine
John James Lobell
Thomas Delmar Lyne
Vincent Wood McKay
Ellis Wooster Manning , Jr .
James Wilson Ray
Edward Hector Mongeau
David Burke Rea
Forty-five
�Lynn Homer Robinson
John H e nry Thomas
Lawrence Holt Sherman
John Calvin Wallace
Guy Oliver Walser , Jr .
Peter Weiss and King
George Patrick Welch, Jr.
Richard Y ~ n d er Voort
Forty -si:r
F arty -seven
�THE YEAR
adult education
THIS YEAR th e A dult Ed ucation Prog ra m sponso red by
th e Coll ege und erwent va rious cha nges, all o f which w ere
of doubtful valu e in respec t to eve ry face t of th e Progra m ,
w ith th e possibl e exception o f an in crease in a tten da nce . This
latter eff ec t w as ca used n ot by be tte r leade rship, but rath er
by th e in crease in th e number o f se min a rs and th e m o re
wid e-sprea d ad ve rtisin g, both of w hic h w ere in stituted by
t he n ew a nd late r directo r, M r. J ohn G. Greene, wh o, as a
m e mber of th e coll ege community, was priceless .
John Scott Woodward
Ric ha rd W esto n Young
It is obvious th at th e m ain end of adult sem in a rs IS not
to present th e m embers with a ny definite a nsw ers to th e
" humanl y un answ erabl e qu estions a bo ut th e g rea t th em es in
huma n experie nce ." It see ms, in stea d , th a t by raisin g these
un answ e ra ble questions th e m embe rs should be made more
liberal in th eir views m erely beca use th ey w ould th en be
shown that th ere is more in heave n and earth than was
dream ed of in th eir philosophies. Th at this has not bee n
accomplished is not th e fa ult of th e boo ks. It is, rath er, one
or both of th e remainin g possibilities, the students o r th e
leaders, tha t have made th ese se min ars so inco mpl ete. Cl ea rly th e se minar w ill make little progress wh en o ne lea de r is
experience d a nd learn ed and th e oth er incompetent and
bunglin g , continu ally upse ttin g th e intelligent a nd direc ted
plans of his bette r. Su ch pa rticular cases, how ever, a re not a t
th e root of th e problem, eve n th oug h th eir bein g correc ted
would help a g rea t deaL
Th e real problem lies in th e simple fac ts th a t m ost adults
a re not only preposte rously ig norant, but also a re unim agina bly lazy when it com es to readin g a book . The refin ed and
surgeon-like perception s o f a ca pabl e lea der must, und er such
circumsta nces, be alm ost totall y lost ; th ey strike air - a t
tha t, hot air.
It is unlikely th at peopl e who have lived ten yea rs o r m ore
as adu lts, peopl e wh o ha ve base d th eir ac tions a nd th eir
entire lives on misconceptions, peopl e whose futur es de pend
on their pasts, will m ake a ny effort to examin e th eir standa rds ; sta nd a rds which, if th ey fell, wo uld ca rry th eir lives
such as th ey a re, with them. A progra m base d on the th eo ry
t ha t such peopl e desire to kn ow reality is, a t least, psychologically un sound . It is quite often impossible to acco mplish
t his even with stud ents wh o are much youn ge r - in their
tee ns o r ea rl y twenties- altho ug h progress is much quicke r
fo r such age g roups. In th e first boo k of Th e R epublic
Cephalus leaves the discussion a bo ut justice to his son simpl y
beca use Socrates' qu estions a re too emba rrassin g fo r him.
T he C eph aluses wh o pa rticipa te in the adult se m ina rs at St.
] ohn's eith er do as th ei r predecessor did , or they bloc k eve ry
acu te examin a tion before it has a cha nce .
Cla ire Johnson , Pam e la Joh nso n, Ruth Bis b e rg , Em ily Eva ns, Laur ie Bis b er g , Na ncy H a rris,
Forty -eig!t t
Pat Mo ng ea u, Cas ey Campon esch i
It is an almost wh oll y fru itl ess task to ed uca te adults
libe rally if they w e re n ot also liberall y educated as children .
It is diffi c ult en oug h to stop in children th e foolishness of
th eir pa rents, but tha t is where it must be sta rted . Th e
ge ne ra tion wh ic h built and used th e a tomic bomb is not going
to a nsw er question s a bout justice, but if Providen ce would
give m an th e tim e a nd th e pow ers to edu ca te th e c hildren of
tha t ge nera tion, th en perhaps so m e day th ere co uld be a n
<~d ult ed uca tion prog ra m .
the collegian
TH E COLLEGIA N, loo ked a t fr om almost a ny angle,
was n ot a success this yea r yea r. L on g periods o f time separa ted th e issues- and no one see m ed to mind. In past
yea rs peopl e wanted a C ollege publication . ' V"h en it didn't
appea r th ey asked wh y, a nd wh en it did com e out they
a rg ued a nd disc ussed it. L ast yea r there was a void, a nd
nobody ca red.
At the beginnin g of the school yea r A I Frasca and Bob
G oldberg organized an ent husiastic tea m. L ectures and
poe try w ere to be th e respon sibility of appointed individuals.
Assig nm ents w ere given, and affairs we re off to a good
sta rt. Th en th e usual diffic ulties appea red . It w as n ot until
la te in the sc hool yea r th a t a cooperati ve printe r w as found .
vVith a few exceptions, m ost of th e lecture review s w ere o f
a du iJ nature. Th e C ollegian was identical with its pred ecesso rs.
Durin g th e sprin g term Bern a rd F leisc hma nn took ove r
th e responsibilities of th e paper. His intention was to turn
out on e la rge iss ue befo re Sch oo l end ed w ith th e hope of
a ro usin g eno ug h inte rest so th a t th e fo llowin g yea r it could
se rv e as a m odel for f uture publicatio ns. A w a re of the
diffi culties of ge ttin g writers fr om th e stud ent body and
with th e desire of a ro using g rea ter inte rest in th e C olleo-ian
he in cl ud ed ex-stud ents a nd fri end s from outsid e th e Coll eg~
am on g his contributors. P erh aps
a solution to th e
M r. Bu se r a nd Fr ank
diffi culties besettin g th e Coll eg i<~n is to be found
fo und by foll owin g F leisc hm a nn 's
exa mple. C e rtainly th e CoHegJa n as a ca refull y put-togeth er publica tion appea rin g a t infrequ ent but definite
tim es is to be prefe rred to th e on e
we have kn own
in th e past.
�folk dance
group
(Continued from page 19)
rece ived
its charter
from the Stud ent P olity, followed by an appropria tion f rom the
Administration whi c h
permi tted th e purchase
of a turn table whi ch
could be connected to
the amplifying system .
This arrangem ent, together with several albums of record s pu rRecreation
chased partl y with the
College app rop riation,
solved the problem of
a source of mus1c and enabled the caller to make his directions
ca rry to a mu ch large r group of dance rs.
Encouraged by th e parti cipat ion of a considerable port ion of
the College community, the group intends to renew its mid-week
ac tivities nex t year. Plans for an all -school dan ce on a Saturd ay
ni ght h ave been projected, and w ill be ca rri ed through if co mmuni ty interest warrants. M em be rs of the board whi ch orga ni zed
the dan ces this yea r are : Tom Fromm e, Presid ent; J ohn Sterrett,
Vi ce-President; Tom M eye rs, Secretary and Treasurer; vVarren
Winnarski, Inst ructo r and Li b;·a ria n, and D avid Stree t, Mil to n
Clifton, J er ry Lansner, Irwi n Hunt, Fred eri ck Beardsley and
G eorge W end.
concert season
(Contin ued from page 24)
Applebaum, I was appall ed at the spectacle of so p ri vate an agony
made m anifes t, and wish ed, as mu ch fo r his sake as min e, that
he were performing be hind a sc ree n.
As for his perform ance, it was techni cally pre tty good, thou gh
not uni formly so, and as ove r-emotional musi cally as visually.
There was onl y one rec ital thi s ye ar, as contrasted with two
th e previous yea r. I use the term recital to d~scr ibe a perf.o~m
ance by a member or .m embers of the co mmun tty, and to d dt e rcn tiate it fr om professional co nce rts by v isiting perform ers. Thi s
one rec ital th en was a two-pi ano affair by Mr. Zu ckerkandl and
Grete Wohl f or th e benefit of th e World Studen t Service Fund .
It was well atte nded whi ch indi ca ted that ot her similar perfo rm ances woul d probably have been equall y welcome. I thought
that th eir performan ce of a d ifficult and unu sual prog ram of
Schumann, Bac h and M oza rt was ex trem ely good, and to m e thi s
recital was fa r more sa ti sfyi ng than some of the professional ones.
1 hope that Mr. Zu ckerkandl and Mrs. W ohl will play more
freq uently nex t year, and that eve ry effort w ill be made to
persuade anyone else who can to perform.
RECORDED CONCERTS
The proper use of th e School record collection is a problem
to whi ch possible solutions are, or at any rate shoul d be, still
welcom e in the music d epartm ent. Before the war, the records in
the library were not rare and if, w hen they were lent to students
and fa culty, th ey were broken or just not returned, it was onl y
11ccessary to bu y new ones and charge those responsible. N ow
what remains of th ose sa me reco rds is irreplaceable, and it is difficult to j ustify lendin g them on any terms.
I proposed th e sched ul ed reco rd ed conce rts, operated by som eo ne will ing to trea t th e records lovi ngly, and at whi ch those
interested m ight hear whatever they wanted f rom the School
collection. Wh en these con ce rts were held in the Bookstore
Fi fty
th ey imm edia tely beca me a background for " read ing and conve rsation," and when the equipment was rem oved to room 24 for
use in the music tutorial and se min ar, very few people atte nded .
Roo m 24 is, at prese nt, very ill su ited to se rve its new fun ction .
Th e speaker is mounted so that it proj ec ts mu ch of th e .music
un de r the tables, and those who wou ld listen must sit either too
close or too far away. Of the aux ili ary speakers in the Co ffee
Shop and Jun ior Comm ons Room one doesn' t wo rk , t hey arc both
of poor quality, and there is so mu ch inte rference from the co ke
m ac hin e, th e water ccoler and the curiou s, that the Coffee Shop
is eve n less sa ti sfac tory th an the Bcoks hop . In sp ite of all of
thi s, .many good programs we re prese n ted, and a few, such as
the performance of th e St. M a.tt!tew Passiott w ith the om iss ions
performed by Mr. Zu cke rkandl and J oan Sher m ~n aroused well
dese n red in terest and at tracted large audi ences .
drama in the COllege
(C ontin,ed from page 27)
play. In a playreadin g thi s sli ckness is of neg li g ibl e value. Only th e play
itself cou nts. VVith th e d istrib uti o n of th e r o les 11mong many vo ices t he
in te rac ti o n of s ta teme nt a nd co unte r-statemen t is fe lt in a way th a t is l ost
on th e s il en t r eade r w ho is inclin ed to loo k o n each speech as a un it in
itself. At th e poorest pl ay read in g , howeve r, th e aud ie nce r ea li z£s th at it is
cru cia l to kn ow w hi ch cha rac ter is r espo nsi bl e for a n y parti cu la r sta tcrn en t
a n d w ithi n w h at situ ati o n it is m ade. As s im ple a matte r as res to r ing the
intended temp o m ay co mple tely a lter o ne's se nse of the w e ig ht of many
passages. Sil en t r ea din g is often li ke li stenin g to a sy mphony reco rd ed
and p layed back a t doub le speed . In play r ea d in g too, o f cou rse, the pl ay
is grossly di sto rt ed, but n o t fru itl ess ly. Th e di sto rti o n m akes o ne co nscio us
of w hat act io n and stage a rra nge ment mig ht be necessa ry to ca rry th e full
impac t of the dra m a. Th e fo rce of an en t ra nce o r ex it beco m es a pparen t
w hen in th e d r am a ti c sugges ti on of th e r ead ing tha t added v io le nce is
necessa ry to co n vey th e pro pe r in1pac t. Enough is indicated by tra ns lati nJr
t he w ritte n 'Nords into spoken o n es that a se n se of the d rama is conveyed
and th e im ag in ati o n is set loose u po n th e real conception o f th e a uth o r.
O ver the last severa l yea rs a wee kly p lay read in g g roup has met a nd read
plays, large ly '\vithout rehea rsa l. Its loose o rga ni za ti o n has pe rm itted peop le
to co m e a nd go as they had tim e, but a cons tant nu cleus has persisted long
en o ug h to read m a ny wo rks from a ll th e c ru cia l per io ds in the hi st o ry
of th e drama . T h is yea r as a part of the reg ular lecture se ries R ichard II
was g ive n a n in fo rm a l re hea rsed rea din g . The thirty roles we re d ist ributed
am o ng sixtee n actors who sa t o n th e pla t fo rm in th e gy mnas ium, a rra nge d
in a sem icircl e. The two protago ni sts faced each o the r wit h th e ir respect ive
fo ll owe rs around the m . A ve ry few sce nes we re cut but othe rw ise th e text
was r ead i ntact. L ess than a thit -I of th e aud ie n ce fa il ed to r eturn af te r
th e in termission in th e mid d le. The rest mu st h ave found th eir a tten ti o n
enough co ncen tra ted o n the wo rds to forego th e pageantry a nd en tertai nm ent assoc ia ted w ith con te mp o r a ry th eatre. P e rh aps they en joyed th e responsib ility o f a part icip at io n in th e wo rk of th e eve nin g a fter be in g
subj ec ted to h av ing it a ll d o ne for th em i n the mov ies.
The strength a nd intens ity of the la ng uage had to se rve for full fare but
fast pac in g kep t th e play fro m dra gg in g . M os t o f th e cas t was f rank ly
a m a teu ri sh . H owever, close study o f th e dense text in rehearsa l gave a
hi g h m eas ur e of intelli gib ili ty t o th e wo rds. Th e r eade rs knew th a t if th e
wo rds were n o t unde rstood, th e a ud ie nce had no thi ng to engage their
attention. Eve n if pedantic, thi s exact ness seem s p refe rabl e to th e usual
style of Sh akes pea rian perfo rm ances, in w hich wo rds flow lik e runnin g
wa te r o r a hasty Su nday se rv ice. T o discuss in d ividua l ree~ di ngs w o u ld be
to fai l to und e rsta nd th e po int of thi s sty le of prod ucti on. H oweve r bad
any pe rf o rm a nce m ay have bee n , if it m oved the li stene r to im ag ine a better ,
it h ad ser ved its e nd. M a ny good rea din gs gave a sta ndard of compar iso n
cons tru cti ve in exa minin g one's own in te r pretat io ns. Alm os t th e ent ire
audie nce fo ll owed a tex t, takin g a m ore ac ti ve part in the eve nin g than
wo uld o th e r w ise h ave hee n poss ible, especia ll y because of unce rt a in dicti o n
a nd th e bad acoustics of the gy m.
In co nt r;1st w a s the ea rli er pr od ucti o n of Alcestis. H as t il y executed , the
su btl eti es and co nflic ts of mood, espec ially as render ed by th e FillsFitzge rald trans la ti o n, we re con fu sed a n d co nfu sin g. Th e play exacts lhe
m ax imum fro m its t wo lea ds a n d n eith e r o f them was able to re nd er a ny
po rti o n o f it w ith unde rstandin g o r co n v icti on. The prob lem o f prod ucin g
pla ys fr om a co llege body as small, in diffe re nt and preocc upi ed as th e
s tude nts of St. J o hn's ha s ra rely been m o re ev ident. A t m o m e nts th e
ch o rus and su pporting cas t came to li fe and a v ista of the th ea t re was
opened. At these tim es good cos tum es a n d makeup, s imple li g htin g a nd a
sta ge that mi g ht ha ve been used we ll , becam e success fully integ ra ted with
th e p lay. But m ostl y it was jus t ou r f ri ends tryi ng unna tura lly to be
n atura l or hamm ing it fo r lack of any kn owledge o f h ow to do o th e rwise.
N e ith e r cas t, d irec tor no r au th o r was to blam e a lo n e. Attemptin g too much
in : 1 casua l way, th e prod uction le ft th e a udi e nce little w ise r abou t the
p lay. Th ey had laughed w it ho ut ce rt ai nt y that th e m o m e n t was ripe for la ug hte r, h ad sufiered as the h e ro
a nd heroine trembl ed a nd wa iled, but n o t h owever so much w ith them as beca use of th em. A so phi stica ted
and d ifficult play h ad elud ed its perfo rm ers. Th e readin g of R ichard mha y ha ve a ttempted too littl e : one
would be i ncli ned to j udge th a t a ny prod ucti o n wo u ld be bette r th an th e m ockery o f s ix teen so lemn- faced
readers w ithou t m ovem e nt or ges ture a rti cu la tin g its ve ry wo rd. But the perfo rm ance o f the Alcestis ind ica ted that thi s wa s n o t en tir e ly tr ue.
Idea ll y the t wo app roaches wo ul d be co m bin ed. Afte r close read ing a nd preparation ex ten d ing ove r a
te rm or so a stage p ro du cti o n mi g ht fo ll ow. This wo uld o bv io usly demand regula r a m o unts of time du r ing
seve ra l m o nth s in o rd er to lea rn about th e play and th e stage . In th e process, howeve r, the p roducti on
mig ht go stal e un less an E ng li sh poe ti c tex t w e re ch osen in ,vhi ch the co ncen trati o n of th e language wo uld
make the li nes co ntin ua lJ y a li ve. A large pa rt of the success of t he read ing o f R ichard was beca use th e
image ry of th e \\'Ords was des ig ned t o clothe th e empty E li zc1beth an stage a nd th e in ge unity of its exp ress ion
de m a nded a ll th e inte llectu a l energy of th e a udience. Sm ooth m o uthi ngs a nd brilli a nt stag ing in th e manne r of Broad way wou ld n o t convey its tragedy . Since it is a play abo ut th e ima g in at io n, it was reward in g
to p rese nt it in a way th a t cha ll enged the im ag i nt~ ti on i nstead of cloyi ng it.
P e rh aps nex t yea r a g rou p w ill und e rtake thi s kind of stud y ofr e rin g th e co ll ege a chance to o bse r ve
th e ir progress .fi rst i n a playreadin g a nd later in a produc ti o n. The nature o f th e th ea tr e as a m ed ium of
co mmunic a ti o n cou ld no t be more cogently se t fo rth th an by thi s kind of deve lopm en t a n d cont rast. ft is
certa inly too much to ex pec t th;1t th e p rese n t casua l fas h io n of p roducti o n ca n lead to any thin g of imp o rtan ce. Wh o expects that a cast of ta len ted an d ex pe ri enced actors w ill fa ll upon the co ll ege in th e n ex t
f res hm an class and pi ckin g up th eir pa rts in th e o ffh and m anner of th e Alcestis p r od ucti on w ill pe rsuade
us fro m th e stage tha t t he i r actions co n stitute a play ?
In one way th e thi rd drama ti c even t of th e yea r was th e bes t. A va ri e ty show ca n be as uneven as a
d irt road, as imp rompt u o r as studied as an epig r am. Th e one that enli ve ned Jun e W ee k had m o m e nts
were kee n a nd in cis iv e; o th ers we re vu lga r, c: heap and ted io us. P ersona lity a nd ch arac ter cons tant ly substituted for rea l ac ti o n ; r o uti nes con tinu al ly invaded w he re wit s hou ld have ruled. But th e to ta l effect
was undo ubted ly t hat a fo rm had com e to li fe , a tr ad iti o n ex is ted capab le o f commenti ng w isely, w itti ly
a n d sad ly about th e surr o undin g soc iety a nd by m ea n s of it th e w ho le wo rld. Th at th e vari ety show saw
littl e integ rity in th a t soc ie ty, th a t it co uld n o t itsel f m a ke a rea lly cohe r en t sta te m en t abo ut it, sugges ts
n o t s impl y despa ir, but on ly th a t its a uth o r-a ctors we r e so e ntra nced wi th thei r i ndividua l acts th at th ey
fo rgo t h ow impo rt a nt th e ce ntra l act io n sh o ul d be. Th e loose gen ius o f Ari sto phan es a nd th e m ed ieva l
farce was prese nt. It was poss ibl e fo r th e audien ce t o di scove r how con temp o rary ma te ri al, imm ed iate
obse rvati o n of conc rete ex perience, migh t be in corpo rat ed w ith uni ve rsa l propos iti ons and age less pl o ts into
f res h a rt. A m o re th oughtful a n d m o r e sen s iti ve ·w i t m ight have m ade something mo re of the occas io n .
But bo th ·w hen good o r bad it was th ea tre. The oth e r even ts we re studies m o re or Jess sa ti s fa cto ry. N ex t
year a v ari ety sh ow that cou ld bend its spo ntan e ity t o m o re di sc iplin e mi g ht prove to be th e bes t so l ut io n
to the q ues ti o n of h ow to susta in th e th ea t re in St. J o hn's.
P ending a res to rati on of th e rep udi a ted and a lm ost forgotten t rad iti o n of excell ent playma k ing in the
co llege, playread in g seem s in re tr ospect to h ave proved itse lf as a m eans of reclaimin g th e fin e a rt m os t
a bused by semin a rs. Th e success of the r ead ing of R ichard showed an audience ag reeab le to th e no t ion of
participating in makin g th e play ra the r th an dem and in ,g- sim ply to be enter tai ned . F or m ost observe rs the r e
was no qu est io n th at th e experience sh ou ld be repeated often .
SUnday evening meetingS
Mr. Lathrop and Miss Rich
Dr. Purv is, Mi ss Hopkins, Brad Walker,
Lynn Robinson
( Contimted from page 28)
Quaker lobbyis t, spea k o n the ge nt le ar t w hi ch he practi ces; Wend e l Be rge, th e N ew D ea l t ru st-bu st er, ta lk
abo ut intern a ti o na l bu sin ess o rga ni zations; Ch es te r E . M err ow, a m ember o f th e H o use F o re ig n Affa irs
Comm ittee, a dv oca te w h at he term ed a rea l ist ic platfo rm fo r U. S. foreign po li cy; Mr. A. J . l\ll uste, Secre ta ry of th e Fellowship of R eco ncili a ti o n, talk about th e legacy of Gandh i ; and E li as L. Tartak, litera ry
cr itic a nd lecture r talk ab o ut D os toevs ki , H e rze n, and th e Ru ss ian r evo l uti on .
Of thi s la tte r g roup, the rev·iewer mi ssed a couple, and a third lef t no m em or ies . J\l[ r. Me rr ow a nd
Mr. J\llu ste advanced well-kn ow n argu m e nts in threa d- ba re fas hi o n : th e fo rm e r main ta ining th at the o nl y
possib le m ea n s of keepin g th e peace was to arm to th e tee th; th e la tte r ho ldi ng that pac ific res istance wo uld
conq uer a conq ue ro r. Th ese two a nswers to th e U.S.-U.S.S .R. situ:-ttion , irrega rd lcss o f th e ir presenta ti on,
mig ht have bee n expected to ign ite ac ti ve di scuss io n, espec ia ll y in a co mmunit y co nta 1nmg a good ma ny
recent w ar ri o rs. T he r e we re, howeve r, re la ti ve ly few candida tes fo r ig nit io n, and co mbu st io n fa iled to take
place amon g th ose prese nt.
Mr. T a rt ak, w h ose subj ec t was th e on ly o n e n o t d irectly re lated to a "pub li c issue of present-day
impo rt a nce," drew a much la rger a udi ence th an a ny of th e spea ke rs, excep t a few at th e hegi n n ing of the
yea r. Th e aud ience was fort unate. Mr. Tartak kn ew nnd loved hi s su bject.
Left to ri ght : Mary Anderson, Pearl Parker, Nancy Johnson ,
Florence Mason, Ellen Haste, Lily Stevens
Mrs. Childress and Mrs. Pe rlitz
Busi ne,ss Offic e
�3.
the administration
Change of Orders from Burea u
4-. Tour completed and reporting for further duty with
new command
S. Expedient to leave moth e r vessel due to changes
From:
Contributor, St. J ohn 's Coll ege Community
To:
Editor, 194-9 Year book
Subj ec t:
111
hull des ig n.
The Administrati on, R eport on
C. N ames, ranks and serial numbers of p ersonnel l eaving
vessel a1
railabl e on requ est. (Use Bi z-o ff fo rm 54-6).
D. Office rs re porting for n ew tour of duty.
References: (a) 194-8 Yearbook
Miss Hopkin9-Nurse
( b) 194-7 Yearbook
( c) Ed itor's lette r of May 194-9 to all co ntributors
I.
In acco rdan ce with the procedure followed in ref erences
(a) and (b), it is req uested that thi s r epo rt be Kce pted as th e
arti cle referred to in ref eren ce (c), and in compliance with the
aforementiqned, the following infocmation is submitted :
1. First Li eutenant
2.
Disbursing offi ce r
a. Ass istant to di sb ursing office r.
2. Dur in g rece nt availabi li ty pe ri ods th e foll owing alte rations
were accomplished.
:\. N ew port-hole
111
central bulkhead of Disbursing Office
B. Chicken wire r einforce ments on Communi ca tion s Shack
A. The Commandin g Office r, Execu tive ORi ce r and other
staff and junior office rs hwe chan ged at leas t once d urin g
the last tour of duty.
B. The reasons for t hese chan ges In command we re:
I . Re tir ement (having fai led twice for sele ction)
Mr. McCourt-Superintendent of
Build ings and Grounds
2.
Resignation
C. Re fittin g of Enlisted M en's R ecreational Facili t ies
D . Two new hatchway barri cades.
3. lt is sin ce rely hoped that th e above r eport m ee ts yom reqn irements.
PETTY OFFI CE R
I N CH A R CE
Mr. Kieffer-Presid e nt
Miss Diskin-Dietitian
Mr. Fulton-Assistant to Treasurer
Fifty-two
Capta ir. Sharp-Treasurer
Mr. Klein-Acting Dean
Mr. Graff-Acting Assistant Dean
Fifty-t!tree
�Mr . Abrahamson
Mr . Alba
M iss Fletcher
Mr. Greene
Mr . Hammerschmidt
Mr . Harpe r
the faculty
Mr. Poe
Mr. Satterthwaite
�Mr. Slafkosky
Mr. Scofield
Mr. Sloane
the bookstore
The Rev. Winfree Smith
The Rev. Kyle Smith
Mr. Townsend
neve r aga in reac h that high position it held under Kitty
eith er standin g in small env10us g roups, or gently nudgin g
two yea r olds and tellin g th em to loo k under Miss F letcher 's
La throp and R oge rs Albritton . Th ey may be rig ht, but it
tuli p pl ants.
hit some pretty dizzy heig hts this yea r.
Th e Bookstore also made itself conspicuous in oth er w ays:
it aided th e T erce ntena ry by loa nin g Mrs. Bingham's beauty
fo r a P arade, :111d, by w ay of comic r elief, by puttin g up a
stand on th e front C a mpus mann ed by its employees outrageo usly bedecked in kn ee breec hes, purpl e coats and lace;
it raise d its price alon g with th e publishing industry in an
attempt to keep its head above water, and due to either this
or ge ner al apath y was fo rce d to enlist the help of M r. Klein
as a 'pitch m an' at C ollege Fo rum to stimulate sales ; it
continued to ac t as Cultu ral C enter of McD owell base ment,
as the num be r of coffee cups collected at fi ve o'cloc k w ould
verify ; . .. and for so me reason w e co uld never discover, it
T H E R E A R E THOSE who claim th at th e Boo kstore will
Mr. Wilburn
Z ann e Bin g ham g raciously led her new staff in pay in g
hom age to old traditions by continuin g th e Sale and A nnual
A uction and by revivin g, despite a slig ht protest of " pl ease,
not another tradition," th e a nnual Easter Egg Hunt, w hich
th e Wa r had put asid e.
The Easter Egg Hunt was a success, th oug h no one has
ye t discove red wh o enj oye d it th e most: the children of th e
community fo r whom it was given, and w ho, w hen Sund ay
a rrived, turn ed out to in cl ude large numbers of neve r- befo reseen-fo ur-yea r-aids; th e wives w ithout child re n w ho dyed
th e eggs and wh om som eone F reudianly labeled " th e unwe d M others"; or th e student body, who, w ith M r. Kieffer's
help, fin anced the day, and who co uld be see n all afternoo n
added to its already ample in ventory a box of hook wo rms ...
thus completing the m erge r of a Brentanos, a P aris salon
and a New E ngland gen eral store.
Miss Strange
~·
.,.
Mr. Wilson
''
I __ ::
Mr. Zuckerkandl
Fifty -ser-·en
�to read rig ht away if th ey take th e books home with th em.
In a ce rtain length of tim e th ey a re supp ose d to bring th eir
books back to th e Library. Some are nice r abo ut this than
others. Some people r ealize th a t oth er people as well as
th em selves would like a chance to rea d th e books, and th at
libraries a re se t up for th e co mm on use of a com munity of
people.
Now is th e tim e to return yo ur books if yo u have finished
r eadin g th em. Fines may be imposed if yo u do n ot. That's
w here m oney com es in aga in .
Mrs. H am me rsch m idt, M rs. Fullinwider
Mrs. Kapla n a nd Miss Fletc he r
the library
THE LIBRARY is off by itself. It's n ot like McDowell
H all which is th e middle of thin gs. Nor is it like Reverdy
] ohn so n which also has a life of its own . P a rts of th e
Library you ge t to by ladde rs.
The life of th e Library is concern ed with books, people
and tim e. Money also plays its pa rt.
V.Then stud ents or tutors fe el that th ey can not afford to
buy th e . books th ey m ost desire, th en th ey are very apt to
com e to th e Library . If th ey hear a bou t a book on their
Christmas vaca tion, o r o n a trip to V.Tashin g ton, th a t th ey
do n ot think can be bought, th ey as k for it at th e St. ] ohn's
Library. Even wh en th ey do n ot buy th e book beca use th ey
don ' t think it is good enough to buy, th ey suggest some tim es
that th e Libra ry buy it, sin ce th e Libra ry h as m or e m on ey
for buy in g books than th ey have. They hope th e Library
will be less discriminating th an th ey.
If th ey discover a very goo d book th a t th ey do buy th emselves, th ey d on't always tell th e Library so it ca n buy it for
other people to use . Tutors as w ell as stud ents behave in this
fashion .
Five yea rs ago th e Library w as g raced by a Christmas
party. Eve ry yea r sin ce th en a party has been given th ere
before Christmas vacation, and gree n pears have been ser ved .
Last yea r R obert Goldberg gave an impe rsonation of St.
Augustine in " V.Thy Did I Steal Them P ea rs?"
Beca use th e rooms in th e Library a re big, a nd because
the King William Room has a ru g on th e fl oo r, th e Seniors
like to have th eir se min ars in th e Libra ry. The Libra ry
has a Seminar R oom , but th ey don't like to use it. The
hooks are too close to th em in th e Seminar R oom, and th e
lig ht fli ckers som etimes.
the wood shop
BETWEEN GREAT BOOKS, those of th e community
of "would-be philosophers" feeling the urge of th e ar tisan s
step into th e world of th e Fin e A rts to seek expression for
th eir m oods in th e Wood Shop. Here, perh aps, on e may experien ce on e of th e m ost delig htful ca th arses in th e prog ram.
Under th e in spi rin g a nd contagiows g uida n ce of Mr. Richa rd
Hutchin gs, 3-inch book end s or 33 -foot sail boats evolve.
A fin e example, durin g the past yea r, of wo rkin g for
on e's intellectu al rig ht has been th e g r o up participation of
th e Boat Club in buildin g th e first of a fl eet of Te mpest-class
racin g dinghies . "Aries," alth ough beg un in th e late w inte r,
w as attacked with suc h vigor that she w as ailin g by sprin g,
and was an excell ent job.
The m ost co urageo us examples of individual ac tivity h ave
bee n th e continu ance of th e buildin g of a 33 - foot sailin g
yac ht by J ohn Williams a nd a 28 - foo t sa ilin g yac ht by
Matson Ewell, both beg un two yea rs ago and due for th e
water som etime in 195 0. Far m ore popula r, h owever, have
been th e ac ti vities completed by m any oth er stud ents, faculty
members, and wives, which includ e rad io cabinets, bookcases,
furniture building and refinishin g , picture frames, and pipe
rac ks.
Not to be at aU subordinated by th e former are th e silent
contribution s m ade by " Hutch" and th e Shop to th e Kin g
V.Til!ia m Players, th e St. ] ohn 's Tercentenary exhibit, th e
labo ra tory, and oth er college departm ents.
the back campus
T H E SW IFT PASSAGE of ti me - and the rapid approac h of Responsibility
in a world that see.med impossibly out of step with th e spirit and the word of
the Great Books- was a visual thing at one poin t on campus - the little
community of barrack apart ments for married veteran st udents.
Th ere -th e student-father, or hi s neighbor stud ent-husband, had onl y to
observe th e added inches and assurance of his offspri ng to real ize that, for
him, the academic sa nds at St. J ohn's were fast running out.
Still and all, it was as pleasant a way as any to grow old and learned. When
Respon sibility appeared to blow teo cold a draft along th e floors of the I vory
Towers there was always the comfor ting thought that at least eleven ot her
St. J ol; nni es were in much the sa me domestic dilemm a. !his bourgeo is
domesticity, blooming in the rarefied air of d ialect ic and log1 n e~er thel ess
c,
provided the closest approac h to th e mu ch bewailed community of .mmds that
St. J ohn's intended to offer.
The gen uin eness of this way of li fe and stud y reached not only through
t he network of little homes, but up to the dormitories and out to th e other
marri ed st ud ents li ving in town. Each back-ca mpus fam il y had its close friends
who almost dail y dropped in for a cup of coffee or a meal, or just to be for a
little whil e in the atmosphere of a sa ne and settled home.
Whil e most of these visito rs were other St. Johnni es, man y were the wives
of stud ents not yet fortunate enough to be eligible for a unit, come to envy
the communi ty spi rit maintai ned by the un it wives. Thei r consta nt free exchan ge of ideas rivaled that of any se.minar e:er held in M cD?well Hall, and
the results were often more thought-provokmg and product iVe. Nor were
ideas the only item of exchange. Most of th e h ouseholds now had enough
fry ing pans to precl ude the necess ity of one fa mil y fo regoing bacon a~d eggs
w hil e th e neighbors enjoyed fried liver and onions, but there was st1ll borrowing of the usual commodit ies and appliances.
Pooling of the junior St. J ohnn ies, in order to afford parents a rare night
out wen t on as it had sin ce th e communi ty rame into be ing in late 194-6 .
Only now th ere were more chil dre n to be pooled . Two of th ese new arriv_als
se t a St. J ohn 's precedent by mak ing their entrance as the _collc:ge's first twms
- John Mi chael and Step hen Kenn eth Lu cas. At one tnne Ill Jan_
uary t he
back-ca mpus boasted 16 child ren to twelve apartments, two of wh 1 were
ch
occupi ed by childless co uples.
By mid-Jun e t his number had shrunk to ten and woul d be even less when
the last graduati ng senior left in September. The yea r 194-9 brought the
first tragedy to th e Coll ege communi ty in the death of infa1_1t Step hen Moore
in early spring. Stephany York bade her pl aym ates goodb~ Ill ! e~ ru~ry when
her fat her disengaged himself from th e Great Books Ill h 1s JUn iOr yea r.
"Grad uati ng" were Pamela and Ivan J ohnson, Chri st ian E va ns, Laurie Sue
Bisbe rg and Erik and Reilly Anderson.
There still remain, to erve as timely meas urin g sti cks for the new and
seaso ned residents of the four sq ua t, red-shingled buildings, Nancy and J ane
Goldw in, the Lu cas twins, J ohn H orne and hi s new sybling, Barbara and
Ch ri stoph er M oo re, and Elizabeth Bixby.
Bob Parsl o w wi t h La urie Bis berg
The C hil d re n's Ju ne Week
La ur ie, Pat Pa rslow a nd t he Lu cas Twi ns
Hu t c h an d Frie nds
The basement of th e Li bra ry is fine for people but not
good for books. It IS very damp. This ca uses th e books to
n:o ld . But in th e summe r when th e fan is kept con stan tl y
blowin g to lowe r the humidity, it is very pleasant and cool
for peopl e. Th ey m ake th em selves littl e o ffi ces down th ere
a nd dig into their books.
P eo ple borrow books from th e Library to ta ke h om e to
read. The Library is ve ry comfo rta ble, but th ey won't have
Fifty-eight
Barbara Moo re
Eric A nd erso n
Th e Gol d wi n G ir ls
Fifty-nine
�JA MES BALL.\ RD- Pi ney R iver, Virg in ia
DA VID vVIL LI AM LA NE- 6 19 N. J effe rso n Street, Arlin g to n, Virg in ia
Rr cHA RD J o r·JN BATT, J R.- 4111 V cndone Place, New Orl ea n s, L orrisiana
R oss
J os EPH LLoYD
B ERKMAN-
15 1-funtwoocl Pl ace , JV[ount Vernon, N ew Y ork
CARL BERTOLINO- 13363 J ane Street, D et ro it, Mi chi gan
TEDD Y
B ETT S -
FRANKLYN
700 J ames Dri ve, N ewpo rt News, Virg in ia
H u MPHREY Ri e l-lARD Bi x B Y -
St. J oh n's Co ll ege, Annapoli s, M aryla nd
En W .>\RD
LILLY-
110 5 P ar is Avenue, H an nibal, Mi ssouri
L LOYD ST U.,RT L rN TON- 208 O akl a nd Stree t, Birmin gh am, M ich iga n
J o r·JN K ENNETH L u cAs- 8 St. J ohn's Street, Annapol is, M aryla nd
CHARLES EDWIN LYNC H, JR. - Fal lston, M aryland
STEWART
B .-\RWICK McR.<\NEY-
Coll ins, M iss issip pi
DouGL AS GRA NT BoYLE- 6 1 Uni vers ity Street, Salt Lake, Utah
E u GENE FRANCIS MARTIN -
DONALD AcKER BROWN -
1-l ARRV J osEPH MARTI N- 241-01 Newha ll A ve nu e, R oseda le, L on g I sla nd ,
N ew Y ork
4 2 13 70t h Avenue, L and ove r H ills, Maryland
WIL LIAM ALLEN BRowN- 323 Ni n th Avenue, Salt L ake C ity, Utah
Mr cH EL M or<- 318 E . I Oth Street, New York 3, N ew York
J oHN Bu sA- 64 W est Street, Aub urn , N ew Y ork
GEORGE B ARTON
c .-\ SE -
o/o
H e rc ul es P o wd e r Co mpany, Cum berland, 1Vl ary -
land
BRowNLOW
L ARRY
60 F Crescen t R oad, Greenbelt, l'vlaryland
CH I L DR E SS -
J oHN SUMMERFIELD CLARK- 12 12 McKinley Street, A lbany, Geo rg ia
J o HN J osEPH CoFFEY- I ron W ork s R oad, Brookfield, Connecticut
GEORGE JR ., CowELL- 6 17 Libe rty Street, G rand Ra pids, Michi g an
RI CH ARD T onY EDELMAN- 1320 E ast 3 1 Street, Brookl yn I 0, New Y o rk
J~ JN .-'\R J:·L U GU M - 1308 E l nnvoo d A ve n ue, Evan sto n,
j o HN I I EN RY FRA"K E ALFRED
Fn..-\ NKLIN Yo rk
Non.M :\N Eu wAn. o
Illi no is
Gl e n I sle, Ri va, Maryland
Pt-IJIJ I I'
18 15 M o nr oe
GARJGLIANO-
Avenue,
N ew Y ork 57, New
Superintend e nt's H ome, Hud so n Co. Park ,
ANDRfo w
::
GRINDER-
464 Minn efo rd Avenu e , New York 64, N ew
Y o rk
TuoM.o\S
J.
E R NEST
WoLFRA M
338 Barbara Aven ue,
H AM I LTON-
M
THE FRESH, EN
GY SBEWI'l
HA N KA 1\·I E R -
Az u sa ,
Califo rn ia
3 18 Walnut A ven ue, Greensburg, P enn-
LA NCASTER
AI~ \' J N
EDWARD M rc HA EL L EE- 3970 Hi g hland Avenue, Sh adyside, Ohi o
VA N ALFON M cA v LEY- 5 10 Palme tt;o Avenue, Greenv ill e, South Ca rol ina
CLARE J osEI"H M ., GL' IR E, .J R. - 8 10 M a ryla nd Avenue, Cumberl and, M aryland
j oSEPH MA Kusov- 11 66 H ellerma n Street, Phil ade lphi a II , P e nn syl vania
j oHN ]. M ., TTINGLY- 14 4th Street, Cum be rl and, Mary land
j o HN A" DREW M EEHAN, JR. - 2529 N. Seventh Stree t, Phil adelph ia 3) ,
I 0 Gast o n Street, R oxbu ry, Ma ssachu setts
JR . - 2 16 Seventeenth Avenue, San Franc isco 21, C<llifo rnia
H owARD BERNARD - 11 8 Ri vers id e Dri ve, New Yo rk, New Y ork
R oBERT ALLYN B ER RY - 125 1 P ost R oad , Scarsdale, New Y o rk
DAVID EDWARD BR ENNAN- 28 St. J ames Pla ce, Btrfl"al o 9, New York
ABR.-\HAM
H EN RY
ARoNSON-
ARR I GHI,
TH OMAS
RI C HARD
G lenwood, New York
TALLA f\."T
CARR UTHERs, Jn. . - 6 8 10
J ero m e A venu e, Asto ria ,
Orego n
N I AsoN
CARNE S -
B ENJ .o\M I N
K NOTT -
W es t Beach, ivlary l and
R AYMOND H E:-.:RY CoLEM.4.N-
VVJLLIAM R ussELL CLow- I 0 8 Castlewood R oad, Balti m o re, M a ryland
25 F o rest Dri ve, Sh ort Hill s, N ew J ersey
GEORGE RoBERT CoN Tos -
ivf.>\RTI N
I 85 Ar li ngto n B o ul evard, North Arlington, Ne'"v J e rsey
O scAR GEORGE ERION- 401 Chesa peak e A ve n ue, Ea stpo rt, Mary land
WILLIAM L EoNARD ENGii:.LH.'\RO-
CHARLES
EowARD
fL EETwooo-
3 South J'vl aple Avenue, Brun swick, M ary-
land
CARL
FRI E DMAN-
24 3 H ewes S tr eet, Bro ok lyn, New York
JoH N L.,WRENCE F u LL ER- 1229 E. 30th Street, Er ic, P ennsy lva nia
PET ER D o u GALL GoRDON- General Del ivery, Clewi ston, Fl o rida
VV AL T ER L EE GRAHAM 76 Farmi ngto n A ven ue, H artfo rd, Co nnecticu t
STEWA RT H AROLD GREENF IELD- 13 11 Ea st 7th Street, Brook lyn, New Y ork
CAR L
CHRISTIAN
GREGERSEN-
11 9 Co nduit Stree t, An nap o li s, Maryland
P IERRE GRIMES '.V t L L I A M
D
41 W es t 96 th Street, N ew Yor k C ity, N ew York
uNNINGTON GRJMESP ickwick _nn, Oak land, 1VIaryh1nd
I
Rr cHARD L EE H ABERMA N -
2707 Cres to n A ve nue, N e w Y o rk, New Y o rk
THOMAS LA NDON H EDERM .' " - 3814 vVood ly Road, N . vV. , Wa sh ing to n,
D. C.
PHILIP H EILI G- 2 11 Hazel A venue, Salisbury, Maryland
KENKETH R owE H E!\"~EBE RG ER- D url ey Lan e, Baltimore 7 , Marylnnd
T
Acoe
EASTON
H oLzMAN
-
126 1 M adi son Avenue, N e w Y o rk, Nc\v York
:r.·\COB Wr LL IA M H u GHES - 253 S. Ellwood Avenue, Bal ti mo re 2+, M aryland
HENRY D EMlJT H J AWISH- 370 1 P o rter Stree t, N. w ., vVa shingto n 16,
D. C.
CHARLES
Sixty
SHERMAN KL UTH- 1709 Pi tman A\'enue, New Y o rk , N e w Y o rk
FITZRANDOLPH
PETEn s -
V enn o nt
L A!\·I BERT
Ho PKI:"-lS-
5 13 Hill Aven ue, Wilkin sburg , Penn sy l -
v an ia
Jo rrN F R., Nc rs II oRNE- 4 70 1 Cooper La ne, Broo kda le 16, M a ryland
J osEPH THoMA S Kr NG -
2 104 L ogan Street, Mt. V e rn on, Illin o is
HARRY Krsu: \"ITZ- 23 15 Cresto n Avenue, New York 53, New Y ork
Lo u rs Do NALO KooNTZ- 280 N. School Avenue, Colby, K a n sas
ALASTA IR BoYD K Yu: - 242 l\ ast 72nd Stree t, New Yo rk, New Y o rk
rvr os~~ s-
752 s. M ari posa Avenue, L o s Ange les, Ca li fo rn ia
D.•nD E MRYS NAI" I" ER- 8720 Colesvill e R oad, Silver Spr ing , M a ryland
f-J.o\RR Y M oRR I S N E U MANN- 903 Chauncey A ve nu e, Baltim o re, Maryland
vVARREN ALFRED NIELSEN- 60 28 So. R ockwell Street, Ch ica g o 29, Ill in ois
Hr sASHI H. 0G US HI- 535 W a ll Street, L os An ge les, Ca liforn ia
R oMAN
PH ILIP
OnTT-Grace Street, St. Mi chae l s, Maryl an d
Tr·rEOI>ORE J osEPH OTTESON- .R ou te 2, Box 34 5, Pike v ille, K entucky
L .\ WREI'CE GERALD P ETER S Ri ver R oad, New H op e , Penn syl v an ia
Ao.>\ J
H
A t.: GU sT
PI N SKE R -
4 5 East 82nd St reet, New York, New Yo rk
AKDRE\V CLEME"T R AM SAY - 4836 R ock spring R oad, A rl ing ton, Virg in ia
PA UL NE\.EL R I C KOLT- 114 So . Ma in Street, Muncy, P en nsy l v<1 nia
L YN FORD OTTER R us sELL, JR. 8 16 Sa vannah R oad, Lewes, D cl:nv:1re
:
J osEPH T HOMAS R YAK- 24 1-26 Caney R oad, R oseda le, New Y o rk
j AMES D ou GLAS SAGE- 4907 N oyes Av e nue, S. E., Cha rl est on, W est Virg inia
HAROLD J osEPH SA UNDERS-
628 E vernia Street, West P a lm Bea ch, Fl o ri d a
204 2 E utaw Pl ace, Baltimo re, i'VIary lilnd
R oBERT SEE I.. tG 2 H errick Dr ive, Lawrence, New Y o rk
EDWARD Co LLI N S SEN SENEY- Ste ven sv il l e, M ary land
EMORY j l1l" IUS STAFFORD, ] R.- 104 Bel vedere A v enu e, Camb rid g e, JV[ar~-
WA LTER
S c i-I ATZBF.: RG -
la nd
En.r-:1-:sT TowK s H~~ No TiBBETTs -
19 W at e r St ree t, Oakland, Mary land
J o rrN 1-l ." '""Es TRABA:-;D- Sudbrook P a rk, 505 Sudhrook L an e, Pi kesv ill e
8, M aryland
] oH " MrLTO N Tw iGG, Jr<.- R .F .D. # I , Cumbe rland , Ma ryland
GEORGE UDE L - 2 33 1 Li n de n A venu e, B4lti m o re 17, M ary la nd
CHARLES F RANCIS vVADJC - 184 2 N. Chero kee Av e nue, H o ll ywo od, Calif o rnia
VVILi\L.,RTH RR .>\DFO RD W ALKER , J R . - Co rnwa l l, Co nn ec ticut
vVARR EN P AUL W iN IARSKI- 202 1 Dickens A venue, C hi cag o 4 7, Ill inoi s
H EKRY Wr H: - 69 E. 14th Street , Chi cago H e ig hts, J l linoi s
J o EL A N DREW ZL· K s E R - Nyack Turnpike, Su ffe rn, N e w Y o rk
40 00
Cathedra l
Avenue,
W ashin g to n ,
D. C.
MARV IN L EON R A>:BUR>I- 656 W est 17t h Street, New Yo rk 32, N ew Y or k
THOMAS H ERA LD R EA- 8 16 Elm Street, Th ree Ri ve rs, Mich igan
J AMES M . R EILLY- 126 Lo cey Stree t, W estchester, P ennsy lvan ia
R OBERT NORM ., N Rr cH MAN- 538 Enfield Road, Columbu s 9, Ohi o
Mr CHAE L L EE R oURKE- 9228 Hazen Dri ve, Beve rly Hill s, Ca li fo rni a
MARSHAL L
SHEPHARD- L os Ange les, Cal if o rn i<1
R o.BERT DALE SH EWBRIDGE-
207 Map le Avenue, Brunsw ick, Maryland
R.F .D. #2, Ha vre d e G race, M ary la nd
H ERM AN SMALL- 602 Avenue T, Brookl yn , N ew York
R AYMOND PET ER STARK E - 33 1 W. Oak Street, Sh ena ndoah, P ennsy l van ia
CHARLES THRA SHER ,
jA M E S EI>WARD w
.o\LL S -
j R.-
R o ute 7, Box 820 , R oano ke, Virg ini a
11 No rth W oo d wa rd Avenue, Wilmin g ton , D e la -
ware
R oGER CONANT W ARR EN -
909 H o ll and Ave nue, Saginaw, Michi gar1
15 Bourn e Str eet, M idd leboro, Ma ssach usetts
ANDRE J EAN WEI ER ICH- 2507 W estern Ohi o Bou leva rd, Lim a, Ohi o
STEWART ALEXANDER
W .o\ SHB U RN -
GEORGE WE ND- Whitebce R oad, North Sa nd w ich, New H ampshire
P AL"L NELSON
W
EST E R BE K E,
j R.- 101
Greene Avenue, Sayvi ll e, Lon g
I sla nd, New York
TII Ol\'1.-\ S J o s E PH
W 1LLJ :\ :\'IS-
P en nsylvania
D EN ISOK W. Mr NOR - 4 9 1 Caro l P la ce, P elh am Ma nor, New York
THO MAS AL LEN M oNTGOMERY- 2737 N. W. 14 St reet, Oklah o m• C ity 7,
Okl a homa
3821 Fern hill A ve nu e, Baltim ore 15, Maryland
J osE PH M ARIO !': Cou cH- R og ersv ill e, T en nessee
PA UL GEORGE Cn>:>:, JR.-6920 Pr ince George's A ven ue, Takoma Park 12,
M a ryland
J osHUA WrL LIA>< DA VI ES- 28 H oba rt Street, Bronxvi ll e, N ew Yo rk
EDWIN WAYK E D H INE- 1452 vV. I 0 I st Street, L os Angeles 44, Ca li fo r n ia
]AMES O swALD D u NN- 4 3 15 Leeds A ven ue, Baltim ore 29, M aryland
MART IN A rr•ELL DYER- I 0 10 N. Durham Street. Ba ltim ore, M a ry la nd
JJL - M anch ester,
H owA RD V ERNON H >:RMAN- R.F.D. #2, Be rlin, M a ry land
HowARD n u n.TON ANon....:w- F ederal sbu rg, Mary land
R oBERT LA VEnNE PARSLOW- St. J ohn's Co l lege, A n na poli s, M a ry lan d
ALBERT
GEORGE
H ARDY,
R oB ERT SHERMAN 1-lrr..L - 44 W. Granvi ll e R oad, W o rthin g t on, Ohi o
THEODORE
LAWRENC E GEoRGE MY Er> S- 6354 Fitchett Street, Fo res t Hill s, N ew Y ork,.
New Yo rk
CHA RLES H uGH O ' D oNNELL, J R.- Vi neya rd Road, Ell icott City, M ary la nd
R oNAL D L EE SrM MON S -
sy lva ni a
ANTON
CHESTER GrLBERT MoORE- 3750 L ake Sh ore D ri ve, Ch icago, Illin oi s
CaRBON
l3ayon n e, New J e rsey
jA MEs
150 E. 72 nd Stree t, N ew York, N ew Y o rk
THE SOPHOMORES
G eo rge to wn, D c i:Hva re
�Senior names and addresses
THE JUNIO·RS
FREDERICK JAMES BEARDSLEY- 3207 Grayson Street, Baltim ore 16, Maryland
D oNALD
L.
BR E Jo :N :
P o rtlan d, P e nn sy l va ni a
RAL PH J EFFER SON
H ERROD-
9 Maryland Avenue, An napo l is, M aryl a nd
H ENRY BooTH HIGMA N- Millin g t on , M a ryl a n d
GEORGE H oF RI CHTER- Ca rlton Road, R .F.D .
#I,
Suffe rn , New York
JA CK L ADD CARR- I 0 1 W . Wa ln ut L ane, Phil adelphi a 44, P e n nsyl vania
IRw iN T. l-l u NT-3 4 0 W est 87 th Street, New Yo rk City, New York
MILTON STEARNS CL IFTON- 1706 I Street, Belling ham , W ash in g ton
P ERCIVAL CLEVt:LAND K EITH, JR. -
B ERNARD SMITH CLORETY- 3957;Vs M en lo Avenue, L os Angeles, Cali-
FRANC I S WIL LIAM
K ELSo-
land
fornia
GEoRGE I-I ARR ts CoLLtNGwooo , JR. -
Onta ri o Apts., W as hing to n, D. C.
22 Lew is St ree t, Auburn, New "Xork
Rr cHARD TowER CONGDON-
J ACK KoN IGSBERG- 967 4 8th St reet, Brooklyn 19, New York
J EROME G. L ANSNE RCHARLE S DAVID
J osEPH WILLIA M Coo PER- 685 W est End A ve nu e, New Yo rk, Ne w Y ork
1693 N elso n Avenue, New York 53, N ew York
L Ewis- L eesburg, Virgi ni a
CHARLES R .-\NLET L INCOLN-
P ATRI CK D ARRELL D AVIS- 18 19 G Street, N. W ., W ashing ton, D. C.
EDMOND EvERETT DIT ULLIO - 43-06 Morgan St reet, Littl e Neck, L ong
I sland , New Yo rk
M .,TsoN GLENN EwnL- 184 Du ke of G loucester Street, Annapo lis, M aryland
H ERBE RT SELIG F EINBE RG WoLFGANG
B ERNA RD
7 16 15th Street, Miam i Beach, Flo rida
FLEISCH M A N N -
33 19 Winterbo urne . R oad, Ba lti more
16, M ary lan d
R oBERT D IXON Fox -
1329 Co llege Ave nu e, Bowl ing Green, K en tu ck y
J AMES HARTWELL FRAME- 100 P enn Street, Fort ·wo rth, Texas
THOMAS G EORGE Fr<OMME- 309 W ash ing ton Street, Bell evue, K e ntu cky
J oHN R oB INSON GARLAND- 67 D un nell R oad, Maplewood, New J e rsey
C H ARLES FRA NC IS GENTILE-
416 Cl e me nts Bridge R o~1 d 1 B arrington, New
J ersey
RoBERT L AWRENCE GoLDBERG- 4 726 N. Central P a rk, Ch icago 25, Illin ois
R OJJERT At.LEN Go LDW IN -
St. J ohn's Co ll ege, Annapo li s, M aryland
T HEODORE WILL IAM H ENDR ICKS - Apt. 8 13 , Ca lve rt Cou rt Apts., Calvert
& 31 st Streets, Baltim ore 18, Maryland
Sixty -two
Hubh oll ow R oa d , P eapack, N ew J e rsey
Syca m o re & M apl e Streets, Linthi cum , Mary-
8 Mary lan d Avenu e, Annapo li s, M aryla nd
THOMAS J oHN M EYERS- 64 Bank Street, l3 r idgeto n, New J ersey
JosEPH Lo u 1
s
N A DL E R -
T HOMAS KI NG SIMPSON PI-Il L II'
HARTL EY
53 1 Miramo nte Dri ve, Santa Rnrba ra, Californ ia
Ke nsi ngton Court, Glen s F all s, N ew York
S i\·JI T H -
B ox 32, W oods tock, Ohi o
JoH N STERRETT- St. J oh n's Co ll ege, Annapo li s, Maryl and
DA V ID
CoRBIN
STREETT,
II -
7 12 Park Avenu e, Baltim ore, Ma ryland
ERI C ALBERT T EEL- 17 14 Lin dberg h Dri ve, L a nsin g, Mi chi gan
RA LPH EDWARD ToMPK INS- 22 19 Sou th Ave nu e, Niaga ra F alls, New York
GEORGE UsoANSKY- 4 0 W oods ide T e rrace, Springfield 8, Massachusetts
P ETER ANTHONY WHIPP LE- 305 Thack e ry Ave nue, Ca to nsville 28, Maryla n d
IRw iN H ERMAN WIDDER- 845 1 Beverl y R oad, K cw Garde ns, New York
J oHN L ETCHER WILLIAM S-
1 140 4 0th Street, Sacra m en to, Ca li forn ia
M YRON L EE W oLBARSHT- 431 3 Springda le Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland
EDWARD J oHN YoRK- 2645 E. I 26th Street, Cleve land, Ohio
MARv iN ZETTERBA UM- 1898 B ill ings ley T errace, Bronx 53, New York
CLARENCE ALFRED ANDERSON, II - 16 C enter Street, Randolph, N ew Y ork
H ERB ERT J osEPH BAER- 266 Hig hland Avenue, H amburg, N ew Y ork
CHARLES CRITTENDON BALDWIN - 60 4 21 st Stree t, N. W., W as hin g ton, D. C .
AARON MoRRiss BrsBERG- 96 Hillcr est R oa d, Mt. Vern on, N ew York
EuGENE BoKRAS - 18 13 Crompond Road, P ee kskill, New York
HAROLD 1 Bo ULDE N - 402 Carroll Aven ue, T akoma Park, vVas hin gton 12, D. C.
\11.
J ON A THAN E RSKINE BROOKS - 2 11 30 Aberdeen R oad, R ocky River 16, Ohio
RoBERT vVHITEHOUSE B u RNET - 11 J ackson Street, N ew R ochell e, N ew Y ork
P HILIP ALBERT CAMPONESCHI - 239 Prince G eo rge Street, A nn apolis, Maryland
J EROME HERBERT CANTOR - 159 Ruthven Street, Boston, Massachuse tts
RAY CHARLES CAvE - 1355 L ocust R oad, W ashin gton 12, D . C.
J AMES WATSON CoNRAD - Box 215, R .D . #1, W illiam P enn Highway, W ilkin sburg, Penn sylva nia
CLARK RALPH CRIDLAND, JR. - R.R . 1, Box 2 43, Michigan City, Indiana
GEOR GE HowELL D AFFER - 440 3 Four Mile Run Drive, A rlin gton, Virginia
P ETER JoHN DAVIEs - 174 Sullivan Street, N ew Y ork 12, N ew York
FREDERICK PARSONS D AVIS - 228 H awthorne R oad, H opkins, M innesota
ANDREW DEWING- 200 Grove Stree t, W ellesley, Massachuse tts
R u DOLPH CHARLES E LLSWORTH - 1807 Lunt Avenue , C hicago 26, Illin ois
P AUL CARLYLE EVA NS- 2 11 E. Center Street, Syracuse, New York
P AUL ALBERT F RASCA- 3228 154 th Street, F lushin g, L ong I sland, New York
RICHARD ScoTT H ARRIS- 28 W. H annum Bouleva rd, Sagin aw , M ichigan
J oH N PH ELAN H AYDEN - 11 2 E. Bradley L ane, Chevy Ch ase, M a ryland
WILLIAM CRAWFORD HILL - 5627 Laurel Canyon Bouleva rd, North Hollywood, California
ALLAN P AUL H oFFMAN - 2 1 H errick Drive, Lawrence, New Y ork
HAROLD J uLIUS H YDEN- 11 28 East 17th Pl ace, Tulsa , Okla homa
CHESTER ARTHUR J OHNSON - 4 8 1 W eston Road, W ellesley 8 1, Massachusett5
R oWLAND ALFRED J o NES - 67 Broadway Stree t, Irwin , P ennsylvania
RALPH H ALL KEENEY - 97 Lorrain e Avenue, Providen ce, Rhode I sland
CL:'I-REN CE J AY KRAMER - 777 Catawba Ave nue, Muskegon, Michiga n
! AN CAMPBELL L EA - 126 C enter Aven ue, Lake Bluff, Illinois
J OHN JAM ES L OBELL - 20 7 Cedarcroft, Baltim ore 12, M aryland
TH OMAS D ELMAR LYNE - 55 Bank Street, N ew Y ork 14, New York
VIN CE NT \ VooD M cKAY- 320 Fifth Avenue, Montgom ery, W est Virginia
ELLIS WoosTER MANNIN G, JR. - Springdale Street, Brinklow, M aryland
IRA WENDELL MARINE - 32 14 Fifth Stree t, S. E., Washin gton 20, D. C .
EDWARD HECTOR MoN GEAU- 3 East Maple Avenue, Moo restown, New J ersey
REINARDO PATRICK Lou rs Mo u RE - L aPlata, Maryland
JAMES WILSON R AY- 27 Schussler R oad, Worcester, M assachusetts
DAviD B u RK E R EA-8 16 E lm Street, Three Ri vers, Michigan
LYNN H OMER Ro BINSO N- Morrisville, N ew Y ork
LAWREN CE H oLT SHERMAN - 51 Magnolia Avenue, Garden City, L ong I slaJLd, New Y ork
J oH N H ENRY THOMAS- 3008 N. Main Street, Racin e, Wiscon sin
RICHARD VANDER VooRT-R .D. #7 , Pittsburgh 24, P ennsylvania
G uY OLIVER WALSER, JR . - 188 C and ee Avenu e, Sayvill e, N ew Y ork
P ETER WEiss- 549 Riverside Drive, New Y ork, New Y ork
GEORGE PATRICK WELCH, JR. - 387 A ngell Street, Provid en ce, Rhod e I sland
J oH N ScoTT WooDWARD - 166 W est P ea rl Street, Coldwater, Michiga n
RICHARD WESTON YouNG - 5 Sherborn Court, Winter Hill 45, Massac huse tts
Sixty -tl11·ee
�apology
NO ST. JOHN'S PU1~LICATION would prope rl y tran smit th e spirit of
the Sch oo l without an in ces tu o us litt le n o te about itse l f :
W e ha ve tri ed to reco rd, ev aluate to som e ex te nt, a nd ad v ise wh ere jt
was d eem ed wise or suited our fancy . W e have n ot tri ed , at any tim e, to
exp ress stude nt op in ion, eith er in th e aggrega te o r even in cross sec ti on .
W e h ave in stead d ra wn at rando m o n a g roup o f stud e nts w ho have shown
a n inte rest, des ire o r, in so me c:tses, ju st a w illin g ness, to be coerced, a nd
fro m th em ha ve recei ved v ie ws which may be impu gned, co nfirm ed o r
e ve n swo rn nt.
Th e rn et h o d, if it is n o t obv io us, ha s bee n indi vidua l a rti cles w ith n o
a ttempt be in g mad e to achi eve an ove r- a ll m oo d o r sty le. Th e op ini ons nrc
as indi v idu a l as th e n umbe r of nr ticl es nnd ha ve n ot been rev ised, toned
down or pepped up: t he only cha nges have been gramnutica l ones . By
proceed ing in thi s mann er it 'fO uld ha ve been preferab le to have had each
a r ti cle sig ned by its auth o r, but as yet we ha ve n ot reach ed th e d eg ree of
phil osop hica l detachment w hi ch all ows tha t am ount of co ncent r:lti on o n
ideas rath e r t ha n pe rso na liti es.
Any co mpl a ints ab out th e v iews se t fo rth, co r recti ons o n m atters of
fac t or excep ti o ns to matters of o pini o n, and any poss ibl e sugges tion s for
the futu re ca n best be h a ndl ed by d isc uss ing them in th e Colleg ian, w h ich
we hope w ill still be ava ilabl e fo r such :m ad mirable and d em ocrat ic p rocedure.
We a rc in deb ted to th e st udent body fo r its co -operati on and suppo rt
a nd a lso to: th e Pres id ent, D ean, A ssis tant D ean, Trensurc r and th e ir
stafl's ; M essrs. Albritton, Bart anti Fulto n; ou r adv iso r Mr. Sl oa n e; Mi ss
Stran ge, M iss W ill iams, Mrs. H efter a nd Mrs. Bin g ham; Mrs. Childress;
Mi ss Fl etcher an d m ost pa rticul<1rly to fVI iss H al lie Ri ch, w ith out wh ose h e lp
and co -opera ti on th e Yearbook wo uld be ju st so mu ch CoJiee Sh op talk.
Humphrie s
Sixty-four
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Yearbooks
Description
An account of the resource
This collection contains yearbooks from St. John's College in Annapolis, MD. Yearbooks are sometimes referred to as the "Rat Tat", "Cicerone", or "Canvas". This collection includes all published yearbooks since 1896. Please note that yearbooks were not published every year.<br /><br />Holdings: <br />1896 v. 1<br />1898 v. 2 - 1899 v. 3<br />1901 v. 4 – 1912 v. 15<br />1914 v. 17 – 1918 v. 21<br />1920 v. 22 – 1945/1946<br />1947 – 1951/1953<br />1957<br />1982<br />1986 – 1990/1991<br />1992 – 2001/2002<br />2015/2016 – 2017/2018<br />2021/2022 - 2022/2023<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="Yearbooks" href="http://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=21">Items in the Yearbooks Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Annapolis, MD
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
St. John's College Greenfield Library
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
yearbooks
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
paper (bound book)
Page numeration
Number of pages in the original item.
64 pages
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Yearbook 1949
Description
An account of the resource
St. John's College Yearbook 1949. The yearbook is published by the Junior Class of St. John's College.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Davis, Patrick D. (editor)
Lewis, Jr., Charles D. (photographic editor)
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
St. John's College
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Annapolis, MD
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1949
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
St. John's College owns the rights to this publication.
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
pdf
Language
A language of the resource
English
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
1949
-
https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sjcdigitalarchives/original/240eeebce2851204177180776f88574a.mp3
abc330406cf066189ff6aff65542d50a
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
St. John's College Lecture Recordings—Santa Fe
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
St. John's College Meem Library
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Santa Fe, NM
Sound
A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
m4a
Duration
Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.)
01:00:52
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Xenophon’s Cyropaedia: The Limits of Political Excellence
Description
An account of the resource
Audio recording of a lecture given by tutor Janet Dougherty on November 4, 2022 as part of the Dean's Lecture & Concert Series. The Dean's Office has provided this description of the event: "Cyrus, Xenophon tells us in the first chapter of the Cyropaedia (The Education of Cyrus), knew how to rule humans, animals who are notoriously difficult to govern. In his manner of ruling Cyrus seems to combine the just with the fitting – he alone is fit to rule, and his subjects willingly obey. His rule extends over all the inhabitable world and leaves no room for dissent. Unlike his subjects, Cyrus reveres neither god nor country. He loves no one. For him the political horizon is complete. But Cyrus’s conquest of Croesus, his final great victory, points to the limitations of Cyrus’s government. When Croesus claims to have learned self-knowledge in his conquest by Cyrus and to look forward to being “blessedly happy” under Cyrus’s rule, he dissembles, displaying his prudence. He is so careful that Cyrus is “amazed at his good spirits” after his defeat. But, Xenophon observes, Cyrus took the defeated Croesus wherever he went “…either because he believed that he was somehow useful or because he held it to be safer in this way”. Cyrus’s distrust of Croesus indicates that within the horizon of politics there is no room for individual virtue. While Cyrus exhorts others to be “noble and good,” it is obedience that he rewards. Xenophon’s study of politics points beyond Cyrus and beyond politics, to a study of the human soul that politics cannot comprehend.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Dougherty, Janet A.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
St. John's College
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Santa Fe, NM
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2022-11-04
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Meem Library has been given permission to make this item available online.
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
sound
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
mp3
Subject
The topic of the resource
Xenophon. Cyropaedia
Language
A language of the resource
English
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SF_DoughertyJ_Xenophons_Cyropaedia_2022-11-04
Friday night lecture
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