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THE MAROON TIGER
of their civilization on the course of western civiliza
tion; and a broader understanding of social and politi
cal problems of today are all benefits which can be
attained only through a study of the Classics. It is
generally agreed that the solution of present day social,
political, and economic problems will be aided by an in
telligent knowledge of the experience of the race. The
tragedy of Greece and Rome is over and the curtains
have been drawn, and we may view and study the whole
as we may not study our own, which is now in progress.
The unique values of the Greek and Roman history are
due not only to the immense direct contribution which
these two civilizations have made to our civilization,
but also to the fact that through Greece and Rome we
have received rich inheritances from other and older
civilizations. Doubtless the best key to a direct and in
timate understanding of the Greeks and Romans and
of their civilization is a first-hand contact with their
language and literature. The student who has learned
to comprehend a Latin thought in the original has to
that extent thought as a Roman.
A study of the Classics aids one’s ability to under
stand and appreciate references and allusions to the
mythology, traditions, and history of the Greeks and
Romans, also.
Why read Euripides? Why struggle over a page of
Horace or Livy? Why waste time on those old dead
languages? Well, to me, the Classical languages are
not dead, but alive; not cold and unappealing, but
veritably fervent in their appeal and altogether inter
esting. Therefore. 1 should say, finally, study the Clas
sics for the pleasure, pure joy, and the thrills which
come to you as a result of your contact with those
languages.
—M. H. Watson
WEALTH
As a rule wealth is the result of industry, economy, at
traction to business, and, as a rule, poverty is the result
of idleness, extravagance and inattention to business,
though to these rules there are many exceptions. The
man who has wasted his time, who has thrown away his
opportunities, is apt to envy the man who has not.
there are five men working in an office. One of these
men can be seen diligently at work. He has some defi
nite goal ahead. He probably has a girl he wishes to
marry. He wants to own a home. Thus he will work
diligently. He comes to work early and stays late. He
gains the attention of his employer. The other four men
work listlesly and have an air of indifference. They
spend their Sunday off on riotous parties and return to
work Monday with a headache. Thus they spend their
earnings.
The industrious party soon is placed in charge of the
other four men. He is saving gradually so that he may
marry and have a home. Through saving he is soon able
to bave a business of his own. He then marries, and is
able to give his family all of the necessities of life.
But what was the secret of his being able to accumu
late? It was not that he was lucky, as some term it, but
he just set out in a determined way to reach a goal. He
not only saved, but did his work conscientiously. Thus
could many a person avoid standing on the corner, en
vying the ones that seemingly are more fortunate that
they.
—C. E. BOYER
THE VALUE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
The majority of intelligent persons of today will dis
pute the claim that the study of foreign languages is an
unnecessary part of a liberal education. We have so
often heard the saying, “Travel and learn much,” which
contains much truth; yet by being familiar with foreign
languages one’s mind is liberalized in the same way as
by foreign travel.
The records of thought and knowledge are of so many
tongues that, as a means of encyclopaedic culture, de
manded so imperiously of every scholar and thinker of
the present day, a knowledge of foreign literature, both
ancient and modern, is absolutely indispensable. Em
peror Charles V once said, “to learn a new language is
to acquire a new soul.”
Should one begin bis studies early and continue
them until he reaches twenty-one. let him study French
and German by all means. Yet let him, in no case, be
ignorant or have only a surface knowledge of the lan
guage and literature of his own country.
T. H. G. CRAWFORD
SOCIAL WORK AND YOUTH
Social work has entered a new era in its development,
and the time has come when its practice must be made to
harmonize with its theory. Social workers no longer
believe in limiting themselves to the task of healing the
sick, of binding the wounds of the distressed, and help
ing the lame and the halt. They no longer believe that
they should seem as a body of nurses and physicians,
following the army and ministering to the needs of the
wounded and the fallen. Instead of that, they believe
that it is time to push to the front, to participate in
the battle, to win the victory if possible, and make
further bloodshed unecessary.
Today the slogan of the social worker is “prevention,
not cure;” is “constructive effort, not remedial work.”
Social service is a form of work that is differentiating
itself from every other profession. It deals with the
improving of social conditions from its own stand point;
it is not a part of some other profession, or subordin
ate to any profession, and it is not the outward expres
sion of the task of some particular institution. The
term, as currently used, applies both to methods of
improving the individual and adapting him to the so
cial conditions about him, and to the task of improving
general social conditions so that the individual may be
more capable of realizing his capacities and of taking
his place in the world.
Social work challenges youth. Its task is weighed
down with tremendous responsibility, and the men and
women who engage therin must feel the gravity of their
duties. In the light of our increased knowledge, new
principles of social work are developing. Length of
service is not a prime qualification for social work;
in fact, it frequently disqualifies men for service to the
community. Social work is too important and too dig
nified a profession to allow' untrained persons to pract
ice in its field. What is needed is the red blood that
flows in the veins of the enthusiastic, trained young
men and women who work out problems of social
welfare along the lines which mature judgment and ex
perience have determined are best.
Social work offers a great opportunity to youth; it
represents a body of principles wdiich, if applied to
our social life, mean better and happier living.
—H. J. Smith