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To believe in the life of love; to win in the fresh morning
of our youth the loyal love of faithful friends, who will go with
us unmoved into the darkening shadows of life's closing day; and
so to seek and to find, to have and to hold the friendships that
will abide. To think of God as the common father of all men, and
all men as a common brotherhood, thus recognizing the continuity
of the Divine and the solidarity of the human life. To build somewhere
in the wide world the sheltering walls of a home, however humble
and obscure, where Love shall glorify the wife, Duty enshrine the
mother, and Affection ennoble the child. To keep green the sainted
memory of our loved and lost, their faults forgotten, their virtues
enshrined in our hearts forever. To try bravely to do unto our fellow
men as we should do unto us, reckoning not their lineage nor their
wealth, but esteeming their manhood above their badge of rank. To
let our lives be led by the spirits of Gentleness, Justice, and
Mercy. And so to be true to the Knighthood of Love.
To walk in the way of honor; to exalt the
fundamental virtues of the race; and, prizing every noble impulse,
to realize so deeply the baseness of deceit, that no obligation
will be more binding than our plighted word. To be steadfast in
the performance of every trust, and, spurning the gaudy gifts of
greed and power, to be content to live by our knightly vow that
our honor is dearer to us than our lives; and so to esteem the man's
character first, his culture second, and his pedigree not at all,
unless he be worthy of it. Emulating the chivalrous deeds of courtesy,
and sealing not our hearts against the torch of tenderness, to win
the love and care of some incorruptible woman. And so to be loyal
to the Knighthood of Honor.
To serve in the light of truth; to open wide,
Life's windows to the revelations of heaven and earth. Avoiding
the Phariseeism that belittles the soul and scorning the bigotry
that blights the mind, to respect every altar of faith built in
God's name, by every sincere worshiper to whom, if we cannot give
our sympathy, we shall not deny the kindness of our manly silence;
and, whatever our creed, to reverence the Christ as the Divine Compassion
for struggling humanity - a compassion that, giving the world its
gospel of human service, saves men to the end that they may serve
their fellow men.
To seek in nature, the meaning of the Infinite Truth; to understand
that the laws of growth are the laws of God to believe that the
melody of birds, the laughter of children the unmeasured sacrifice
of motherhood, and the ceaseless yearning of all men for a wider
outlook and a nobler existence are prophetic of the perfect joy
and love of another world and so believing, to find rest, as in
the shadow of a great rock, against all the storms that beset us;
catching from the silence of the starlit nights, the peace of the
autumn days, the solemnity of the boundless seas, that spirit of
Hope and Faith which soothes hurt of grief, heals the wound of wrong,
and calms the fever of doubt.
To welcome the achievements of art and science, religion and learning,labor
and law, under whose radiant banners battle the hosts of progress;
honoring every honest student as the benefactor of his race, and
every consecrated school as a bulwark of the Republic; and so to
be loyal to the American university, as the home of American liberty,
democracy, religion, and culture.
To guard with jealous care not only ancient rights
of human freedom, in whose name we shall destroy all wrong and oppression,
but also the newer rights of social service, the ultimate purpose
of whose ministrations shall be to give to every life, the opportunity
to enjoy the earth in the fullness of its beauty and grace, its
comfort and good cheer; holding fast to the conviction that whatever
sweetens our natures, uplifts our ideals, strengthens our character
and disenthralls our spirits will us in the end into the full stature
of a noble manhood; and, so inspires, to cling to the visions of
our youth, and, despite the sordid struggles of the selfish world,
to practice every day, as lads in college, and men in the world,
the Faith of our Fraternity, thinking of it not only as the inspiring
Ideal of a militant Brotherhood, but also as as creative force for
the spiritual development of men, whose lives it shall dedicate
to Love, glorify with Honor, and conquer for Truth. And so to be
faithful to the Knighthood of Truth.
To believe in the Life of Love, to walk in the
Way of Honor, to serve in the Light of Truth; this is the Life,
the Way, and the Light of Sigma Nu; this is the Creed of our Fraternity.
I too believe in your mission of Love, Honor, and
Truth ... Next >>
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