 | The Cavalier daily. Wednesday, September 11, 1968 |  |
'The Honor Men'
The following poem is perhaps the most famous ever
written bout the University by one of her sons. Even
today, more than 60 years after it was written, graduates
of Virginia speak of having "worn the honors of Honor,"-ed.
The University of Virginia writes her highest degree on
the souls of her sons. The parchment page of scholarship
-the colored ribbon of a society-the jeweled emblem of a
fraternity-the orange symbol of athletic prowess-all these,
a year hence, will be at the best mementos of happy
hours-like the withered flower a woman presses between
the pages of a book for sentiment's sake.
BUT........
And turn aside without ostentation to aid the weak;
And treasure ideals more than raw ambition;
And pursue no woman to her tears;
And love the beauty of noble music and mist-veiled mountains and blossoming valleys and great monuments-
If you live a long time and, keeping the faith in all these things hour by hour, still see that the sun gilds your path with real gold and that the moon floats in dream silver;
THEN......
Remembering the purple shadows of the lawn, the
majesty of the colonnades, and the dream of your
youth, you may say in reverence and thankfulness:
"I have worn the honors of Honor. I graduated from
Virginia."
| The Cavalier daily. Wednesday, September 11, 1968 | |