1919 Yearbook
Source URL
Title
1919 Yearbook
Description
Hymns of Hate
Winning Oration of 18, by Anthony Jaeger
ANTHONY JAEGER
MAN'S ambition is happiness. The poorest wretch in the prison
cell as well as the greatest figure in history has always been
striving for happiness. But not all seek it in the same way.
The soldier is happy in giving his time, talent and even his
life in order that others may live in peace, comfort and
security. The missioner is happy in bringing the fruits of
Christianity to brighten the lives of pagan peoples. The common man in
the shop or in the office or wherever he may be, is happy and satisfied with
justice and bears a good will towards his fellowmen. But on the other hand
there are those who seek happiness in luxuries and riches that have been
wrung from the sweat of other men's brows. They seek happiness in
material gain. They have a passion for conquest and greater dominion.
They care little for justice and less for charity. They are blind to the fact
that true happiness is begotten of justice, that injustice is the source of
evil and that the only kind of a life that is worth living, is a life guided by
the fundamental principle of righteousness before God and man. As it is
with the individuals, so it is with the nations. They, too, not infrequently
turn away from the virtues of justice, liberty and equality, without which
no government can nor should endure.
The history of the world narrates pathetic stories of many great and
powerful civilizations, that looked for happiness, not in justice and charity,
but in luxury and selfishness. In ancient days, the pitiful and silent appeal
of the slave for recognition as a likeness of God, went forth to no avail.
The appeal of woman from her degraded position and the voice of the unjustly condemned man swelled the hymns of hate, which hastened those
Winning Oration of 18, by Anthony Jaeger
ANTHONY JAEGER
MAN'S ambition is happiness. The poorest wretch in the prison
cell as well as the greatest figure in history has always been
striving for happiness. But not all seek it in the same way.
The soldier is happy in giving his time, talent and even his
life in order that others may live in peace, comfort and
security. The missioner is happy in bringing the fruits of
Christianity to brighten the lives of pagan peoples. The common man in
the shop or in the office or wherever he may be, is happy and satisfied with
justice and bears a good will towards his fellowmen. But on the other hand
there are those who seek happiness in luxuries and riches that have been
wrung from the sweat of other men's brows. They seek happiness in
material gain. They have a passion for conquest and greater dominion.
They care little for justice and less for charity. They are blind to the fact
that true happiness is begotten of justice, that injustice is the source of
evil and that the only kind of a life that is worth living, is a life guided by
the fundamental principle of righteousness before God and man. As it is
with the individuals, so it is with the nations. They, too, not infrequently
turn away from the virtues of justice, liberty and equality, without which
no government can nor should endure.
The history of the world narrates pathetic stories of many great and
powerful civilizations, that looked for happiness, not in justice and charity,
but in luxury and selfishness. In ancient days, the pitiful and silent appeal
of the slave for recognition as a likeness of God, went forth to no avail.
The appeal of woman from her degraded position and the voice of the unjustly condemned man swelled the hymns of hate, which hastened those
Date
1919
Rights
St. Ambrose University, 518 W. Locust St., Davenport, IA 52803
Identifier
http://cdm16810.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16810coll2/id/4556