THE HESPERIAN.
li.
merit, and whose faculty is not known outside of its
college edifice." But after all, the question of cost
must generally have a place among these considera
tions, and always has its weight in argument. Othei
matters have more or less weight. Perhaps a certain
college, very near, lacks the reputation of another
quite distant; perhaps there is quite a difference in tu-
MISCELLANY.
In resuming our study of the Horatian system it is well to
remember that the disposition of a philosopher necessarily
influences greatly his views and gives direction to his teach
ings. The optimism which pervades the philosophy of Hor
ace may therefore be traced directly to his own sunny temper
ament. The reader of the "Odes" can scarcely fail to note
the cheerful tone in which thev are written. Horace is not
ition in favor of the first mentioned; perhaps the one onc of those who mar their preScnt by indulging in gloomy
is the State institution of the preparing student, the views of the future. To him the present is his only possession
as regards time. Like our own Emerson Horace believes
that "Today is king," and that we should make his reign as
pleasant and profitable as lies within our power. The idea
which runs through all his works is that of getting the most
out of life, and he seeks to do this by thoroughly enjoying the
present and living each day as if it were the last. It seems
strange to us to find him using the same fact as the modern
ethical teacher to illustrate an idea directly opposed to the
latter' s view; but this may be explained by the different con
ceptions of the hereafter then and now. "Life is brief and
uncertain at best" says the moralist of to-day, "death alone
is sure and must be prepared for; then banish all that is not
serious and earnest." "Life is brief' says Horace, "there
fore let us enjoy with a rest the period allotcd to us." For
death to him was a leap in the dark and life a thing to be
cheered and cherished to the last. If he sometimes refers to
"the melancholy flood with the grim ferryman" it is only to
suggest the value of seizing and enjoying the present hour.
Amid all his faults, and his works reveal many which his ad
mirers could wish were not there, his optimism is ever appar
ent, his frailties arc over shadowed by the warmth of his
natnrc and the cheerfulness of his disposition.
In no respect is the philosophy of Horace more remarkable
than in the piominencc which it gives to human friendship.
Many of his odes arc addressed to personal friends and in
many more these are made the principal theme. With Hor
ace his friends were among his choicest possessions not con
veniences merely, nor means of amusement to while away
the passing hour. Cicero, in his essay, "De Amicitia," writ
ten some years before, had pictured the model friendship a
natural and disinterested onc, if indeed, there could be any
other. From this and many similar sources wc know that
'ofty ideals of friendship were conceived by the more thought
ful of the ancients, but probably these ideals were as seldom
realized as they arc now, or even more so. Human alliances
were probably governed even more than in our day by selfish
motives and the spectacle presented by Horace and lus
friends must have been all the more beautiful and impressive
because of its rarity. These friends were found in all ranks
of society, from the very throne of the emperor to the rebel
against his authority. They include those in almost every
walk of life, the statesman, the philosopher, the soldier, the
adventurer, the poet, in them all Horace finds something to
admire, something to receive as well as to bestow. His rela
tions wfth two men, Maecenas and Vergil, .are of -special sig
nificance. Maecenas was the trusted counsellor of Augustus. As a.
minister of the imperial government hewas naturally anxious
concerning the welfare and suspicions of all whose loyalty to
it was not unquestionable. Horace describes him in a "stanza
of one of the odes which has been rendered thus:
"Thou dost devise with sleepless zeal
What course may best the state beseem,
And, fearful for the City's weal,
Weigh'st anxiously each hostile scheme
That may be hatching far away
Tn Scythia, India, or Cathay."
other a college in a distant state; perhaps too, the in
structors in his own state institution are really men of
great worth, "able and learned men," but the world
at large has no certain proof of their abilities. Such a
case supposed, which institution is most likely to
gain the student? As before suggested, if he be worth
having the college best known, best advertised, and
longest proved will get him, though it cost him a
sacrifice of money and pleasure. But to the applica
tion. The University of Nebraska is the institution whose
merits are not sufficiently nor widely advertised;
the ability of whose professors has never yet been giv
en a proper opportunity to spread beyond the city in
which the University is located. This University is
being advertised that we do not question; indeed,
we have proof of the fact in the increased number of
students. But that increase is not what it should be,
nor would be, in the opinion of the Hesperian,
did it but properly advertise. We do not
wish to be understood as decrying all the
methodsnow being used to advertise;
we rather acknowledge the good and believe, at
the same time, that there is yet a better means. The
publication and distribution of some of the work
done here, both by faculty and students, is, we be
lieve, the only true method of advertising, and as
such is the only one that can possibly make us ade
quate returns for the time and money expended. To
properly publish and distribute this specimen work
would necessitate the doing away with a certain very
inadequate if not ill-directed method now employed;
but in our opinion we must sooner or later acquiesce
in such changes would ve ever hope to attain our ideal
of a University. That our institution is not sufficient
ly advertised is patent. That present methods are in
adequate follows without question. That the method
suggested is worthy our acceptance and adoption is
proved by the grand results which have attended its
adoption in some eastern colleges, notably Johns
Hopkins. That both money and moral support will
be needed to encourage professors ane students goes
without demonstration. The question to be answered
is, Will those who have the power and opportunity,
acknowledging the results of such a method, lend
their aid and energies to its adoption and support?
