194
YALE ALUMNI WEEKLY
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ADVISORY BOARD.
HENRY C. ROBINSON, °53)-.--eceeeees Hartford.
WILLIAM W. SKIDDY, ’65S.,.....-....New York.
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AVATITERV CAMPS: GOs. cccctacees base .~ New Haven.
WILLIAM G. DAGGETT, °80,....0.+0 New Haven.
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Joun A. HARTWELL, (BD Bap anc ssnnd Ge 1 OR
7 BANS 3. WELCH, * OOjs a ts05 55% canase New Haven.
EDWARD VAN INGEN, ’91S.,...2cceee0 New York.
PIERRE JAY, '92,.c0.0cereecosteccees - New York.
EDITOR.
Lewis S. WELCH, ’89.
ASSOCIATE EDITOR.
WALTER CAMP, ’80,
ASSISTANT EDITOR.
E. J. THOMPSON, Sp.
NEWS EDITOR.
PRESTON KUMLER, 1900.
—————
ASSISTANT BUSINESS MANAGER.
BURNETT GOODWIN, ’99 S.
Entered as second class matter at New Haven P, O.
—_——
New HAVEN, CONN., FEB. 7, 1900.
SOPHOMORE SOCIETIES.
The society system of Yale is going
to be changed. We take the liberty to
say that, but without authority. The
ground for our saying it is simply this:
—the society men,. who can change
things if they will, realize that a change
is in order in the interest of the College.
Convinced that that feeling exists, we
are confident in making the statement
that a change is coming.
Few have it clearly in mind what is
actually the best thing, and among those
who are determined to do something
and who are bound to move most intel-
ligently and effectively in the matter,
there is a feeling that the details of
reconstruction are not so important at
this point as the general agreement on
the principle which should underlie the
change. That principle of change, of
course, 1s to remove the element of in-
justice now in the situation and to make
the conditions of undergraduate life in
Yale College those of equal opportunity
as far as social honors and privileges go.
The conviction grows that the only
way in which these results can be accom-
plished is by a graduated society system.
Many people would like to have no
societies whatever in Sophomore year,
believing that two years are none too
many to leave the class to themselves
for purely natural associations among
their own members, and believing also
that the more free you can leave the
first two years of college, the better on
the whole for the undergraduate, who
has enough to do anyway, and who al-
ready finds it difficult, if he is an active
man, to keep up with regular work and
put in a modicum of sleep and exer-
cise. There is something to be said on
this line also for the upper classmen,
especially the Senior society men, who,
if they be members of the two under-
class societies also, find at least four out
of six of the nights of the week taken
up by their societies. This means, in
the case of most of them, an attempt to
live on a shortened sleep appropriation,
and the results are always more or less
unsatisfactory.
On the other hand, there is a feeling
that there will be something in Sopho-
more year and that it is better to make
sure that it is the best thing possible.
Different plans have already been dis-
ATM ALUMNI WEEKLY
cussed in the WerEEKLy. The general
purpose is to practically transpose the
position of the two underclass socie-
ties. As it is now, the Sophomore so-
ciety is in an environment which is
least adapted for it and in which it
serves least favorably the common good.
The same is true of the Junior society.
With the class distinctions which every-
one wants to see kept up, practically
the only way for the upper classmen to
know the underclassmen is through
these societies. Of course, this excepts
the accidental associations of athletics
and religious work. It is naturally the
desire of those in the upper classes to
eet as much acquainted as possible with
those in the lower classes and the feeling
is reciprocated. It is perfectly natural
and right, becatise one of the principal
reasons for going to a big college like
Yale is to meet as many good men from
as many different places and of as many
different traits as possible. As it is
now, outside of the members of Zeta
Psi, this privilege is restricted to fifty-
one men in the Sophomore Class, which
is just six more men than are taken in
in the three Senior societies.
But to the evident unreasonableness
of such a situation one of the answers
is, that the membership of Sophomore
societies compasses about all the first
rate men that can be found at that stage
in their course in college, and that, as
the others develop and show a real
claim for social recognition, opportuni-
ties are given them in Junior year. This
answer is well meant, but it does not
answer. The three leading Junior so-
cieties are as poor apologies for social
organizations as haye ever cumbered
Yale. Of course, they have lots of good
members and good chapter houses.
They are parts of great fraternities with
honorable histories and a strong frater-
nal feeling—outside of Yale. But, as
far as we can find out, they have here
no life or character worth speak-
ing of. It is a wonder that Yale has put
up with this state of things so long. It
means that society membership that is
worth anvthing in Yale College is re-
stricted to from fifty to sixty men. Of
course, such a limitation is altogether
inadequate and properly disappoints a
large number of men fitted for social
recognition and social life and is getting
to be an argument of force against
sending a boy to Yale College.
We don’t hesitate to speak this way
about Junior societies because we have
seen enough of their elections. They
take in many good men first and
last, of ‘course, . But it" ‘ts’ impossi-
ble to say what is their principle of
choice, except that they indulge in a
large number of conspicuous and re-
grettable omissions. Two years ago,
all the eight TenEyck speakers were
Outside Of. any ="Jumtor ~ society. OF
course they were men of ability; indeed,
that year they were men of unusual
ability. What is more, they were men of
excellent character and of good social
disposition. If a hundred better men
could have been shown in that class, or
a good deal less than a hundred, we
will eat the words of this editorial.
The situation in Junior societies comes
from the fact that they are killed by
Sophomore societies. If any man_be-
lieved that, under the present situation,
they could be revised and made some-
thing of, he must have been convinced
to the contrary by the superhuman ef-
fort that was made three or four years
ago to put them on their feet. It is the
consideration of this condition of Junior
societies which has led, as far as we
can observe, to the abandonment of the
idea of trying to improve the situation
by increasing the number of Sophomore
societies. As far as can be learned, the
feeling is pretty general now, that such
a course would mean to make miore
trouble. Some ideas have been freely
talked about for radical changes in the
constitution and methods of the Sopho-
more societies themselves, with the idea
of meeting the difficulty. It is con-
sidered that these moves are all in the
right direction and prompted by the best
spirit, but it seems doubtful to many
that anything in this direction can go
far enough to meet the difficulty.
The Sophomore year is the place for
the large societies. By their position in
Sophomore year they are bound to be
popular and successful. It is the place
where the upper and lower classes first
meet and such a place is always a place
of interest. Following that, a compara-
tively restricted membership in the
Junior organizations will, of course,
make Junior societies a coveted honor,
rather than something to be received in
matter of course by those who have
got the first honor, and will keep them
within a size where they may have a
strong life and spirit of their own. The
objection that the membership in the
small Junior society must of necessity
be restricted to those who have first
gone into the larger Sophomore socie-
ties and that therefore there is going
to be no chance for development of those
who do not make the first society, seems
to us not well considered. The sifting
process will demand such thoughtful
consideration that it will be not impos-
sible, but, on the contrary, very natural,
that, when the next elections are con-
sidered, those yet outside of societies
will have full consideration. The still
further restricted societies of the last
year will then be reached by a system
that will help them rather than hamper
them in making the best selections.
This statement of the case is not
official in any way, but we make the
report of the situation as we see it,
in recognition of the interest throughout
the body of Yale College graduates in
this problem. As we said at the begin-
ning, we are delighted to see that the
society members who know the situa-
tion best and are on the whole best
fitted to deal with it, are taking it up.
We wish them Godspeed in their work.
Indeed they must not be slow.
LITERARY LECTURES
Professor Weir Opens the Series—
Semitic Verse and Greek Lyrics.
The second course of literary lectures,
given under the direction of Professor
Cook, was opened Wednesday evening,
January 17, 1900, by Professor Weir
with the subject, Some Distinctions be-
tween Literary and Other Forms of Art.
The remaining lectures take up the sub-
ject of Lyric Poetry, the first of which,
given by Professor Sanders, January 24,
was entitled The Semitic Lyric. A brief
summary of the first three lectures is
here given:
PROFESSOR WEIR’S LECTURE.
Art is the expression of emotional
ideas. Although often springing from a
common source, these emotional ideas,
once resolved into a particular form of
art, are differentiated as well as ex-
pressed in the process. Each art has
its own characteristic expression and no
other means than its cwn can produce
an exactly similar effect. The sculptor
reasons through the terms of his art,
and if asked to explain his work, an-
swers, “Look at it!” A strongly-de-
veloped literary habit of mind is apt to
appreciate painting and sculpture only
as these arts depict or embodv literary
themes in a merely illustrative way.
The artist receives little assistance from
critical estimates like Lessing’s . Lao-
coon and Ruskin’s Modern Painters.
His motive is too closely related to the
Old English Department,
form of his art. Few men have at-
artist strives to interpret and accom-
pany the creative plan of the poet. He
translates the original ideas inspiring
the poem into forms that are true to
these ideas, but are not a precise em-
bodiment of the poet’s images as ver-
bally expressed. In Mr. Vedder’s illus-
trations of the Rubaiyat of Omar
Khayyam we find a new interpretation
of the thought of the poem, not simply
a servile adherence to every detail of
the original. The painter will not at-
tempt to compete with the power which
the poet has of presenting a series of
actions not capable of representation in
painting. Nor yet will he attempt to
compete with nature in his realism.
The artist does not attempt to imitate
nature so as to deceive. For the best
art is creative as well as imitative,
aiming to bring before us that which
is superior to all art, but which may be
given us with the sense of reality.
PROFESSOR SANDERS’ LECTURE.
Semitic verse is of a subjective nature.
It tends to register facts of conscious-
ness rather than to tell a tale. The
Bible is the repository of all the Hebrew
lyrics which have come down to us.
But the Hebrews were the disciples of
a great race of literati—the Babylonians.
They were of a blood with the Arabs
and the Phoenicians.
The Arabic lyric was the natural ex-
pression of the much loved life in the
desert before the days of Islam. It was
characterized by intense individuality,
tained distinction as both poets and ar-
tists. Even Rossetti and William Blake
have in them more of the poet. Their
art is likely to be derived from a sec-
ondary mctive originating in a literary
theme. The place of nature may thus
be usurped by the purely -illustrative
idea. In general, the finer the art, the
less is it dependent on a literary or his-
torical theme.
[Continued on page 195.|
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