The Yale Literary Magazine (Vol. LXXXIX, No. 1, 1923) — John Shaqi
The Yale Literary Magazine (Vol. LXXXIX, No. 1, 1923)Various
General
The Yale Literary Magazine (Vol. LXXXIX, No. 1, 1923)
Various
College students' writings, American -- Connecticut -- New Haven -- Periodicals; Yale University -- Periodicals
“‘Generous Youth! Enter at your peril. We may so quicken your
imagination as to bring you loss as the world counts it. There may be
a great inventor in you now, there may only be a poet in you when you
leave us; the captain of industry in you may give place to some obscure
pursuit of philosophy; you are literary, we shall leave you forever
incapable of best sellers; you are philanthropic, we may develop the
detached critic in you; you are politically shrewd and practical, we
may bring out the Utopian visionary in you. For our values are not
those of the world of work, with which we can only incidentally help
you to make terms--our values are those of the world of thought. We
shall make you contemporary of all ages, and since you must after all
live in this age, such an extension of your interest and imagination
may make you an exile in your own day and place. We offer you no
material reward of any sort for your effort here, we may even diminish
the rewards you would enjoy if you kept away from us. We offer you
nothing but what we ourselves most treasure--the companionship of the
great dreamers and thinkers. Enter if you dare. Should you enter, this
college will be indeed to you Alma Mater. All that we have shall be
yours.’”
In short, the duty of the college is to give its members their
intellectual bearings. What the prospective lawyer really needs to
broaden his horizon and prevent him from succumbing to the bondage of
his shop, is letters, science, mathematics; what the future doctor
needs is letters, art, history, and the unbiological sciences. This
ought to be the function of the college. To continue along any other
line is to destroy forever the Yale that has held such an enviable
place in American life for over two centuries--to extinguish the light
that has been a source of guidance and inspiration to its large and
distinguished band of alumni.
MORRIS TYLER.
_Corydon_
The pleasant hills in solemn silence sleeping
Under a sunset of perpetual fire,
Past summer’s weeping,
Shall know no more the vibrant melody
Of thy sad songs, O lovely shepherd boy!
The winds are free
And chill November
Sweeps thy reed music and thy lyric joy
Away with all the things I would remember.
The wood-smoke on the silent autumn air,
The disconsolate petals on the grass
Symbol despair,
And all the fragrance of divine Apollo
Is fled from this incalculable loss
Where none may follow.
Is there no rest
In the stark shadow of a naked cross
In silhouette against the scarlet west?
Shall I forsake philosopher and sage
Rebellious drawn
From solemn cloister and scholastic page
And get me gone.
O shepherd of the slender fingers?
Guide me above the mountain passes
Through the lush grasses
Where thy music lingers,
Out of nocturnal anguish into dawn.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account