THE COLLEGE IDEAL.
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country our constitution is founded on principles of equality, but we do not carry them out. For such expressions as these are current: "The Better Classes," "The Middle Classes," "The Lower Classes." though we have no clear idea what constitutes them, nor can we give a reason for their foundation. The orders are not so fixed as in Europe, but as far as they extend are just as harmful. Wealth should not be the criterion, for the possession of it does not indicate fine social qualities, intellect, or excellency of character. And there are the fundamental principles of perfectly adjusted society. A family is merely a name, and "what's in a name?" It is the man's mind and soul, not his worldly possessions and his family name.
"The pith o' sense and pride o' worth Are higher ranks than a' that."
Men may think that as divisions have existed they are a necessity, and they accept them without examination. In this they harm themselves, as through disuse, judgment and insight lose their acuteness; and they do injustice to the stigmatized party, for does not every one have some good qualities which ought to be recognized and encouraged? Man should have sympathies for all, he should possess a soul that would reject the narrowness of the past, and an intellect that would arrange the human beings around him according to their qualities—by what they are rather than what they are called.
"As lamps upon a bridge at night Stretch on and on before the sight. Till the long vista endless seems."
From this mistaken judgment arises oppressions of each successive class by the one above it,—
But slowly the dawning of civilization breaks in upon the darkness, and man appears more and more in his true light. If the lower people had been appreciated in all ages, they might have developed slowly, under warming influences, instead of bursting forth in an unnatural and destructive growth.
There must be some remedy for this social evil, and that remedy is Christianity. Here there is a bond of union which removes the rudeness and uncouthness of nature, smooths away every roughness, and cultivates the heart and refines the manners. This golden chain of religion binds together the whole social fabric, causing the common sympathy of the members to predominate above the grounds of estrangement. Thus all are united into one grand brotherhood.
That from this equality springs the highest happiness of man, we acknowledge when we declare that moral law is the supreme law imposed upon man, for it requires the same of each of us, and thus in fulfilling it we are equal.
From the poorest and most despised of all the nations came forth in all his purity the greatest of law-givers. In his brightness all difference of station melts away, and man stands as man, and on the last day all will appear freed of their brands of debasement, and their title to honor will be judged by truth and right.
THE COLLEGE IDEAL.
--try to do too much or too many things; we are ever impatient for visible and solid results.
CONTEST ESSAY BY PERLEE R. BENNETT, OF THE OREAD SOCIETY.
[Only Authorized Version.]
In many American colleges, we try to build our roof before the walls are finished or to combine walls and roof in one incoherent mass. We work too hastily; we
The best thinkers declare that the danger of a republic lies in the ignorance of its