THE HESPERIAN.
we have already gained and the near future will ride in Bo
reas' swift chariot, spurred on by the thunderbolt itself.
Such will be the dawning of a golden age of which th
spirit of the present is the harbinger. Storms, winds and
tides will lend their energies to the solution of useful prob
lems and the advancement of mankind.
The next speaker was A. Lincoln Frost who spoke of
THE FIRST AMERICAN.
Two apparently incongruous scenes present themselves in
the tragedy of the American Revolution. The one composed
of thirteen discordant commonwealths. The other a scene
where Unity presides. As colonists they were loyal subjects
of Great Britain ; as signers of the Declaration of Independ
ence they were determined to resist oppression, to effect a na
tional union, and a nation was born. To the ruling spirit of
the crisis attention is invited.
What Washington was as the gallant martial leader, what
Hamilton was at the moulder of the institutions of the young
nation, all that was Samuel Adams as the architect of an in
tense nationality. The work of each of these was equally no
ble. But the work of Adams formed the prelude; in the gen
esis of the nation he was the first Amercan. The goal of his
ambition was Independence; the secret of his success lay in
knowing when to strike. The key-note of his political creed
wes union; success was inevitably his.
The American revolution was a natural growth. Its battles
were fought in the forum and the council chamber. The si
lent organizers of those mind-revolutions deserve a place in
the Pantheon of heroes. But as the American Revolution in
the majesty of evolution stands without a rival, so Samuel Ad
ams ranks foremost in this neglected class of fame's children.
His must be the glory of sowing the seed of union; by his in
struction It was nourished, and a harvest day came on apace.
A national party,Jthc germ of the confederacy, was organized;
and Adams was at the zenith of his splendid statesmanship.
Judged by this one stroke he ranks along-side the noblest of
the world.
Adams was an unrivalled manager of men. He knew what
key in the characters of men, touched, would set a desired
chord in vibration. In the name of the colonics he demand
ed justice, and amid its splendor Royalty quailed. History
knows the result of that contest. To the loyalty of Massachu
setts and its unassuming leader is due the accomplishment of
the American Revolution.
Miss Nora E. Gage followed with an oration on
THK LACK OK IDEALS.
The history of human life is a drama whose scenes are con
tinually shitting. Through all runs an ever varying thread of
thought, the complex result of manifold forces. To under
stand rightly the present it is necessary to analyze the forces
which are impelling and directing it. Man's intellectual pow
ers are concrete in character and act but in harmony with pre
conceived models. A nation's ideals constitute its motive
forces. A history of ideals fills a varied chapter in the records
of progress. Not yet have we attained that which shall
mould humanity to its highest destiny. In life, society and
literature are marks of progress visible. If we have lost much
that was brilliant we have gained in simplicity and truth.
But there are lofty heights beyond. The rock on which our
ageMs based is but one stage in the universal development.
What is the ideal? The sixteenth century had no models; the
eighteenth was enslaved by them, but they were artificial and
unreal. But two centuries previous had education been freed.
The masses had begun to read, and through the development
of their minds came the total supremacy of univeristy thought.
A complete change in the world's ideals was the result of the
French Revolution. Whereas they had been artificial, they
now became materialistic. The two elements of human na
ture had witnessed their complete individualized action.
What is the true standard? The abolition of the thought
that man is more than human forms half the- basis; the other
half lies in the abolition of the thought that humanity is all
of clay, unbrightcned by the Divine spark of spiritual life.
In our material prosperity we have lost sight of the finer sen
sibilities of our nature. We have already experienced the ex
treme ideal and real. Let them now be united and many re
forms now sought artificially will come of themselves. The
influence of the transcendental philosophy was reactionary to
materialism and ought to be revised. When we shall have
blended the human and divine in our natures then shall we
have attained an ideal which will stand the test of time and
eternity, an ideal which humanity by developing all its possi
bilities shall have made real.
This was a splendid oration and had the closest attention of
the audience.
Of the duet on two pianos by Misses Minnie Cochran and
Edith Doolittlc it is needless to say more than that the selec
tion was Mendelssohn's "Capricio Brillantc," Op 22, and they
sustained the reputation and public approval they have justly
obtained in the past.
THE WORK OF INFIDELITY.
'The Work of Infidelity" was Kathleen G. Hcarn's oration.
The fact that it is harder to watch than to fight has been pro
ven again and again by history.
The origin of Christianity was with a mere handful of timid
men, but its interests were guarded by a watchful, jealous eye.
When, however, it was once established, weak human nature
forgot to watch and the seeds of superstition at once began to
be sown. But through all the vital spark has lived and the
wind of opposition soon fanned it into a sweeping flame.
As much as was accomplished, the reformation did but half
its work; it left sectarianism. If men cannot sit side by side
here how can they rise together to the lights above? Soon
better minds began to sec that strength was to be found only
in unity. The struggle was great. Mind governs matter but
the exertion was difficult to be subdued and infidelity is taking
the place of indifference. Sooner or later each individual
must take a stand for himself; indifference is not always possi
ble. Infidelity will accomplish its work and that work is its
own destruction. Miss Hcarn delivered her oration in an easy
unaffected manner that won for her many friends in the audi
ence. The subject of the oration by Will Owen Jones was
MEDIAKVALISM IN MODERN LITERATURE
The world ever changes and every movement is in the direc
tion of progress. Science, art and the human mind were ear
ly freed from the fetters of the middle ages. Every bat and
owl of medieval thought has long since vanished, but our lit
erature is still under the influence of men who thought and
wrote before the dawn of the new era. Not until the next
great change modernizes literature will mcdiacvalism be rele
gated to the past. The mediaeval church taught works rather
than faith. Men who believed that outward show made in
ward worth unnecessary were easily led to think that pompous
language could make any thought profound. It was this af
fectation fostered by the scholastic spirit that influenced strong
ly the foundation of our literature and caused the creation of
styles that still live to burden our language. The world has
labored to free science from the thralls of the past but litera
tuic, the living, active agent of science and art and education,
is left to throw off the chains of the dark ages unaided. Man
has been too busy saving time to pay attention to the greatest
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