Minutes of the First Regular Meeting of Beta Theta Pi
August 8, 1839
Miami University, August 9, 1839
The following young men, students of Miami University, namely, John R. Knox, Samuel T. Marshall, David Linton, J. G. Smith, Charles H. Hardin, John H. Duncan, M. C. Ryan, and Thomas B. Gordon, having associated themselves together, formed and subscribed to the foregoing constitution, laws, and obligations, held, agreeably to previous arrangement, their first regular meeting in the hall of the Union Literary Society at 9:00 o'clock on Thursday evening, August 8, Anno Domini 1839.
John H. Duncan, having been previously elected as first president of this association, delivered his inaugural address as required, and entered upon the discharge of his duties. David Linton, who have been previously appointed to prepare a suitable address for the occasion, discharged the duty devolving upon him in an essay upon the first, and an ex tempore address upon the last, words of the motto. J. R. Knox was then elected to address the society upon the first anniversary of its foundation. Thomas B. Gordon was appointed to prepare the essay for the next meeting. Mr. Ryan proposed that it should be the duty of the secretary to inform by letter all absent members of the election of any new member, which proposition was agreed to. As a portion of the members would be absent during the approaching recess of the university, it was deemed advisable to adjourn to meet on the second Thursday of October, and the society adjourned accordingly.
John H. Duncan,
Pres.
James G. Smith,
Sec.
The Anniversary Address
by David Linton
August 8, 1839
[In the original minute book, Linton's title is heavily crossed out. The Lore-masters, however, know what it was called...]
In addressing you on this, the first anniversary of our beloved association, I should be blind to circumstances were I not to feel the responsibility of the station resting heavily upon me. When I look around me and consider the character of those whom I address and the cause which incites us; when I look forward to our future prospects, to the talent and attainment that must be arrayed under our banner if we prove faithful to ourselves, to the tremendous influence, the concentrated power which their concentrated efforts must wield; in the full view of all these circumstances I should shrink from the undertaking were I not confident that your kind and partial indulgence, which alone can shield this hasty and futile effort, will be extended to me and afford broad and ample protection.
With this view of my present condition I shall direct your attention for a few moments to the sentiments embodied in the first and last words of our motto; for I feel that they lie at the foundation of all our hopes, that they constitute the sure anchor of our future prosperity, the main pillars upon which the temple of our glory is to rest. In reference to friendship as well as every other virtue, there have been two classes of men who have entertained different opinions. The one adheres to what has been called the selfish system, the other to the benevolent and disinterested. The selfish contend men love not friendship for its own sake, or, if they do, it is the most foolish impulse of the heart. [They claim friendship should be determined] by wisdom, that all our associations are for the advancement of some hidden and interested design. With them it is the highest wisdom to use their partners in toil and danger, in joys and high hopes, as the mechanic uses his tools, for the accomplishment of some ulterior purpose, their own private ends. For my own honor I hope that such sentiments may never exist in my breast. For the honor and prosperity of our beloved society I hope and trust they may never be entertained by any who wears the badge and bears the name of Beta Theta Pi.
Our own observation and experience have taught us that the natural disposition of man is to confide, the prattling infant in his anxious mother, the cheerful boy in his playful mate, the daring youth in his bold companion. We also know that candor and sincerity mark the character of man in the main in the springtime of life; and that these are the halcyon days of his existence, when the dew of innocence has not been drunk by the thirst of ambition, the golden age of the poets when truth and virtue remained enshrined in the heart.
Though the sun of life shall have ascended far toward the meridian, though the mind of man be engaged in the hot pursuit of fortune, fame and power, or whatever else the heart may desire; still, ever anxious, the mind looks around for another whose artless countenance beams with respect, whose bosom swells with tender regard, and whose sympathy may soothe its aching troubles. And does it look thus in vain? Do we gaze on the fellow being, old and intimate companion it may be, whose very form is loveliness, whose very tones seem kindness, and is there no such thing as the rich, the joyous function of friendship? Has the mildew of the soul corrupted the fountains of the heart? And are the enjoyments which are not compassed about by this frail tenement of clay, to be turned into sorrows and into heart-achings? Are not the frank expressions, the cordial greetings, and the artless smiles, of those with whom we have daily intercourse, so many outward manifestations of the kind sentiments cherished within? Or must we believe them the wiles of duplicity, the base subterfuge of ulterior designs? Or to say the most of it, can we harbor the thought that friendship is to vanish like the morning cloud before the orb of glory, or like the beautiful yet fragile flower, is to be blasted by the simoon of avarice; or is it yet like the slender bark on ocean wave to be engulfed in the maelstrom of all absorbing selfishness? If it be so, why this anxiety, this longing for another in whose candor we can confide, whose sympathy may pillow our misfortunes? Does not every heart respond? There is a chord in the breast of man which vibrates in unison with his fellow, a feeling in kindred spirits which links them in heavenly unison, a joyous junction in the wedlock of souls which tells on the actions of men.
Yet if truth be not on the tongue, if virtue be not enshrined in the heart, if rectitude mark not the footsteps of men, then indeed this unison of souls can never take place. The chalice of pleasure proffered by the hand of friendship is turned into gall and bitterness. As no man of sense ever trusts the gossip with his secrets or the spendthrift with his money, so no man of prudence or discernment ever confides in the vicious or selfish. No one is worthy of your confidence whose actions have not been characterized by candor, generosity and justice. For without these there can be no lasting attachment, no enduring friendship. An assassin or conspirator may have an accomplice, the powerful may have courtiers, the instructed associates, the voluptuous companions, but the generous, the disinterested, the virtuous alone can have any rational hope of enjoying the rich fruition of friendship. I say the generous, for who does not condemn the parsimonious and mean; the disinterested, for it is magnanimous – it speaks the nobleness of our nature, and, I will add, it is the consummation of wisdom; and finally, the virtuous, for it shines in the sentiment expressed by England's choicest bard, when speaking of the essential requisite of a friend, that
"Every virtue of the soul
Must constitute the charming whole
All shining in their places."
The history of our race amply sustains these positions. If you turn to the venerable chronicler of the past, he will tell you that Cethegus was the accomplice of Cataline, that Maecenas was the courtier of Augustus, but that it took a Tully to be the friend of Atticus, the patriotism of a Brutus to recommend him to Cato. Let us go to the venerable man, drink inspiration, copious draughts from his wisdom learned from experience, consult his pages, for there we may trace causes to their effects, deeds to their consequences. From these let us learn a lesson. As a single instance mark the rewards attendant upon the virtue, the patriotism and the friendship of Epaminondas and Pelapidas, invincible in the field, firm and unswerving in their attachments. Mainly through this influence the dull Boeotian burst asunder the chains of his bondage, and the city of Cadmus swayed the destinies of Greece. A glorious immortality rests upon their names, and the world does homage to their goodness.
From these and numerous other examples you may learn that the virtuous qualities though indispensible are not sufficient to win the wise man's confidence. It is not the part of the philosopher to confide in the stupid and ignorant however good their intentions, however much they may desire his welfare. While it is his to admire the cheerful sincerity of virtue, the invincible power of truth, and the mountain's majesty of worth, to know them from their effects, and to love them for their own sake, he equally admires that strength of mind which is necessary to distinguish between virtue and vice, truth and error, generosity and prodigality, that energy of soul which knows how to appreciate and adhere to the former, to despise and resist the allurements of the latter. He looks upon his fellow men with the eye of discernment, but not of suspicion as beings having excellence, yet through the influence of ignorance prone to err, loving goodness, yet tossed on the tempest of passion, or borne rapidly on by the swift current of the desires, liable to be engulfed in vice and misery. Imitate his example, for prudence and warmth of feeling are not incompatible. Remember that 'tis virtue and wisdom that give vitality to friendship, and that without them there can be no lasting bond of union. Then study that you may be wise and cherish every virtue of the soul that you may be worthy of a brother's confidence. Sow the seed of innocence that you may reap a peaceful and joyous harvest. Aspire after excellence, for it is manly, noble, God-like.
Before I dismiss this part of my subject, let me exhort you to cultivate friendship for its own sake, for it has an intrinsic value uncomputed, incomputable. Let none say, what care I for my brother's esteem? What is all this worth? How will it advance my interests, subserve my private ends? This is the language of delusion and folly, the breathing of a narrow soul, the effervescence of base selfishness. But let all of us ask ourselves those other questions of wisdom and of honor. What shall I do to render myself worthy of a brother's esteem? How shall I promote his interests or win his confidence? And what exertions shall I make to prove to all that I am not a mere cipher in the association to which I belong? Let each one of us ask ourselves these questions, and answer them by our actions, for they are the bodyings forth of our nobler nature, the language of a generous spirit.
[Unfortunately, the extemporaneous portion was not recorded.]
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