The Irish standard., 1912-06-29
Hon. John w. Willis in Commence
ment Address Calls Learning
the Armor of the Soul"
Shows Absolute Need of CombininR
the Principles of Education
With Religion.
knowledge the Only Weapon for De.
throning Error and Enthron-
ing Truth.

Hon. John w. Willis of st. Paul dc.
livercd the principal address at the
closing exercises of st. Johns Uni
versity. Collegeville this state, on
June 49, He took for his subject,
Learning. the Armor of the Soul"
and spoke as follows:
Our life Is the experience of ina
mortal souls attached unto certain
portions of matter and so attached on
ly fo:' a brief period. The body may
cnvclop the soul or the soul the body.
We know not. All the sages tell US
and the Sacred Scriptures assure us,
that the course of our life Is marked
by n ceaseless battle.
Armor is needed In the conflict. This
armor is required by the soul as we'll
as by the body. Schiller has we'll ex-
pressed the required equipment of ono
who would bear we'll his part,
"Wer durchs Lebcn sich frisch will
schlagen
Muss zu Schultz und Trutz
gerustet sein."
AS the body will perish, sooner or
later, and the soul will never perish,
pr election and effective strength for
positive action however valuable to
our material are of vital Importance
to the welfare of our immortal afiA.
turc. In supplying armor to the soul,
we are making ready fo- an endless
existence.
Our sacred faith teaches us that the
chief end to be sought is our eternal
salvation; and for this Holy Church
has been instituted and her continued
verify and efficiency have been es-
tablished by omnipotent decree.
1t remains for us to study with dill
igence the high qualities of the soul
and to learn its subordinate require-
'nents. Having learned what they are.
1t is our duty and ought to be pleas
ure to seize upon them and to carry
them as n willing tribute unto our
spiritual nature
Athena of the Greeks, Minerva of
tho Romans. was a commanding figure
i'm ancient Mythology. Her sphere of
domination and of guidance was Wis
! dom, knowledge and Art.
The painters and poets portrayed
her seated at the right hand Of Zeus,
the chief divinity. and acting as his
|
sented in statues and in pictorial de-
signs as fully armed She wears upon
her head helmet. Her form is en-
cased in metal. Often she bears the
Aegs but sometimes the round Argo-
lie shield. About her body however,
is draped the mantle which seems to
typify honor, dignity and power.
The symbolism of the Greeks pos
scssed 81 deep philosophical signif-
cance Learning, like Minerva, is a
majestic figure fortifying and pro-
tecting the soul. 1t endows its vot-
aries with the experience Of ages and
thus enlarges the scope of their judg-
counsel. 1t fills the imagination with
visions which exalt, visions which
crowd out the baleful, leerlng, mock
ing phantasies of passion. 1t nerves
youth to an emulation Of great deeds
exhibited in the past and to avoid the
errors which have caused the wrecks
recorded in history. It cheers man at
every stage of life with the wit and
wisdom of all nations. It entertains
him with the drama from the days Of
Sophocles to those of Rostand.
AS the centuries sweep along, each
carrying its tide Of human affairs our
race is confronted constantly with a
succession Of important queries.
We come into the world without our
consent and, upon our entry, we are
| all strangers and must learn. each
one for himself, the nature Of our en-
vironment, the proper way to live and
the obligations which the nature Of
our being and the laws of the Creator
have imposed. I was profoundly Inn
pressed by the statement of Ger
man Doctor of Philosophy to whose
lecture upon the subject. Some
Phases of Modern Thought" had the
pleasure of listening not long ago, In
i f- , NJ. Z. y 3