College News, 1934-12-05, Vol. 21, No. 07

              ^m

____   r
The College News
VOL. XXI, No,
BRYN MAWR AND WAYNE, PA., WEDNESDAY,
DECEMBER 5, 1934
-             -t�____________
opyrlght  BRYN  MAWR
�OLLKUK    NKWS,    1934
PRICE 10 CEN'IS
Nature Is Subject
of Chinese Painting
George Rowley Discusses Area
Design, Life Rhythm, Use
of. Suggestion
TAO    IS    THE    INFINITE
Goodhart, December 3.
In a lecture on Chinese painting?
Mr. George Rowley, Professor of Art
and Archaeology and Curator of
Far Eastern Art at Princeton Col-
lege, answered clearly and sympathet-
ically the riddle: "What makes a
painting Chinese?" Everyone can rec-
ognize the race of a work of art sim-
ply by instinct. But in precisely what
characteristics this work of art shows
evidence of its race is a difficult ques-
tion.                *
The answer lies in the Oriental con-
ception of nature. We of the West-
ern world have no such conception and
can barely understand it. We look
at the world in three ways�meta-
physically, scientifically, and religious-
ly. In all these ways, nature is seen
as external to man. Even in religion,
although nature and men are related
through being alike the handiwork of
God, men are special creatures, dis-
tinct from nature, dominating it, and
imposing their point of view upon it.
The Chinese begin with nature, not
humanity. The absolute for them is
not conceivable in terms of human
personality, as are our gods, but is
thought to be the principles of nature.
Like all races, the Chinese feel the
need for a direct relationship between
them and the deity, but this need is
easily satisfied by ancestor worship.
Nature is conceived as the infinite and
absolute, and this conception of it is
called Tao. When a Chinese poet
wrote of Tao, he named it vague and
impalpable, yet holding form and prin-
ciple: the mystery of mysteries: the
gate of all spirituality, invisible to
all save those free from sin and pas-
sion.
The Chinese painter attempts to
paint the Tao. In Western countries,
Continued  on  Page  Four
Vacation Cruise Contest
A strictly educational non-commer-
cial foundation for the interpretation
of foreign cultures, the Bureau of
University Travel, is offering a Prize
Vacation Cruise and Tour to the un-
dergraduate who shall present, in ac-
cord with certain requirements, the
best study of the Educational Values
in Travel. This contest has been
opened because the Bureau's Trustee
Committee on Educational Policy and
for Academic Contacts wishes to find
out what students expect and desire
from travel in the way of educational
values, to supplement those gained al
colleges and at universities.
Any eligible contestant must hav
received the approval of a college ad
viscr, and must present her applica
tion to the Bureau before March 15,
1935.   The successful contestant is as-
sured the Cruise from New York to
New  York  without  financial  obliga-
tions, i'
The itinerary is as follows:
June 27�Sail from New York.
July 3�Southampton�transfer t<>
S. S. City of London (privately char-
tered by the Bureau of University
Travel for its 1935 Western Mediter-
ranean Cruise).
Cruise
July 6, Santiago de Compastella;
July 7, Lisbon; July 8, Cadiz; July 9,
Seville; July 10, Tangiers, Gibraltar;
July 11, Malaga, Granada; July 13,
Valencia, Saguntum; July 14, Tarra-
gona; July 15, Barcelona; July 16,
Palma de Mallorca; July 17, to
Naples.
Tour
July 18, Naples; July 19, Pompeii;
July 20, Amain, Capri; July 20-27.
R/ome; July 28, Orvieto, San Grimig-
nano; July 29, Siena; July 30-August
4, Florence; August 5-8, Venice; Au-
gust 9-10, Milan; August 10 � to
Genoa or Cherbourg for return sail-
ing to New York.
Application blanks with instruc-
tions may be secured by applying to
Vacation Cruise Contest, Bureau of
University    Travel,  Newton,    Mass.
Mile. Gatfand Reviews
Sacha Guitry Plays
Common Room, November 20.
Mile. Galland, at the French Club
tea, gave a talk about Sacha Guitry's
life, illustrated by charmingly read
bits from his works. Sacha Guitry is
one of the best actors in France, as
well as one of the most popular play-
wrights. His father, Lucien Guitry,
played in almost all the great French
plays before the War. Sacha, him-
self, had a very troubled childhood
which he describes in his entertaining
Memoirs. He was brought up by Do-
minican monks, who took him in be-
cause of his father's reputation and
family, even though Lucien Guitry
was an actor, and was, in addition, di-
vorced from his wife. Sacha, in fact,
tried his best to be expelled from
school. He even told the abbot that ho
did not believe in God. "Well then,"
said the abbot, "you are to serve at
mass."
Sacha Guitry's plays are light, but
not so light as they appear at first.
He is tolerant, although his tolerance
is cynical and a little hard. He repro-
duces in his plays not only the Pari-
sian scenes that he knows so well, bu
even autobiographical sketches from
his private life. His plays are so
much like real life that their plots
are usually very slight.
It seems inconceivable that he can
Continued  on  Page  Four    v
Novel Is Germinated
in Fantasy, Reverie
Bernard de Voto Says Solution
of Chief Difficulties Is
Often Unconscious
CONVENTION INTRICATE
Marriner ^Lectures
on Brahms, Franck
Deanery,  November 25.
"I'm going to talk shop," said Mr.
Bernard de Voto, "knowing it inter-
ests me, and hoping and praying it
will interest someone else." Having
come in ignorance of his title subject,
Problems of the Present-Day Novelist,
Mr. de Voto remarked that he would
have found it quite loose enough for
his usual speech, if he had had a
usual speech. "Talking shop" includ-
ed a description of the births of nov-
els, explanations of literary conven-
tions, and a discussion of literary con-
ventions.
"Writers incurably and insatiably
talk shop�they don't as incurably and
insatiably talk sense." There are no
pseudo-liars, few pseudo-doctors; and
there are organizations to prevent
those few from talking. There is no
organization to prevent semi-literary
people from talking, and, as a conse-
quence, a great deal of talking is done.
Most of this talk is devoted to tech-
nique. Technique must be discussed,
;il* hough it is a false value, for its
sole aim is to be inconspicuous. The
purpose of technique i's to lead the
reader into the momentary belief that
he is seeing life more deeply and truly.
The purpose of a novel is to present
for a moment a view into that aspect
of life with which it is dealing. The
'� iader knows that only by technique
is this purpose achieved, yet he should
never be aware of the means by which
'he illusion is created. Occasionally,
however, the reader runs, up against
a literary tool; he may think about it,
yet if the tool be good, he soon for-
gets it. An example of this is the in-
terior soliloquy of Miriam Bloom, in
Ulysses. The technique is obvious, yet
it is forgotten in a page or two in the
reader's absorption in what is being
conveyed.
Genesis of Novels  Discussed
"The thing mbst often asked by peo-
ple who have the good fortune not to
write novels," said Mr. de Voto, "is:
'What is the genesis of a novel�how
does a man feel who is coming down
with a novel?' " The process is a mys-
terious one. What Sinclair Lewis
means when he says that a novelist's
life is a lonely one is that the pro-
cesses of thought and the queer mix-
ture of thought and emotion out of
which a novel comes are external and
objective. The novelist's life is a flex-
ible one: he has no set office, and the
Continued on Pag* Three
Franck   Famous   as   Innovator,
Brahms Is Both Romanticist -
and Classicist
NEW SERIES ANNOUNCED
Deanery, December 4.
Brahms and Cesar Franck were the
subjects of the last of Mr. Guy Marri-
ner's lecture-recitals on the pianofor^
music of the last three centuries. Be-
fore Mr. Marriner began the recital
for the day, Mrs. Collins announced a
series of four similar lecture-recitals
to be given in the spring on the mod-
ern composers and their developments
in America, England, France, and
Russia, and she urged all who had en-
joyed the past series to subscribe early
to the new one through the Publica-
tion Office.
As a prelude to his lecture on
Brahms and Franck, Mr. Marriner
played Brahms' Ojms 119, Number 1,
an Intermezzo. This was the last com-
position for the piano that Brahms
ever wrote.
Cesar Franck was born in Liege
Belgium, in 1822, but he came to Paris
at the age of twelve and spent most
of his life there, where he taught and
composed throughout his life and died
in 1890. He founded the modern
French school and as organist at Sainte
Clothilde was one of the greatest im-
provisers on the organ that the world
has ever known. Liszt, who heard him
play, compared his gift to Bach's. He
was unappreciated, in fact, generally
considered an enemy to established
music, until at 50 years of age he was
appointed to the Conservatory of Mu-
sic, more because of his ability as an
organist than to teach music theory.
However, throughout his quiet and
simple life he made his home a center
for his pupils, who gathered there to
play and discuss, as well as to work, at
the new music. Among his famous
pupils were d'Indy, Chausson, Duparc,
Ropar'z. and Lekeu.
Franck Famous as Innovator
Franck developed new forms of or-
chestral and chamber music, and was
truly the Neo-Classicist of the 19th
century. His greatest formal contri-
butions to music were his daring inno-
vations in modulations and harmony,
especially the use of augmented har-
monies. He also introduced innovations
in the cyclic form of motives announc-
ed early and developed rhythmically
and harmonically throughout the
work. Franck's music possesses great
religious exaltation and spiritual con-
templation. He worked hard and con-
stantly, but his greatest work, such as
the A Major Sonata for violin and
piano, was not played until a year be-
fore his death. Since then, his ora-
torio, the Beatitudes, his string quar-
tet and his quintet for piano and four
strings have become well known. Re-
cently his symphony was voted the
most popular of the classic symphon-
ies.
Mr. Marriner played Franck's PYc-
lude, Chorale, and Fugue in B Minor
and added a few notes on their form.
It is not easy to understand, for the
movements are continuous. The theme
of the Fugue is suggested in the Pre-
lude, while the Chorale begins as if it
were a distant organ and swells to a
Continued on  Page Six
College Calendar
Friday, December 7. Varsity
Play: Cymbeline. 8.20 P. M.
Goodhart.
Saturday, December 6. All-
Philadelphia Hockey Game. 10
A. M.
Varsity   Play.     8.20    P.    M.
^fflhart.     After       Cymbeline,
Janet-   in   Gymnasium.
m Monday,   December   10.     M.
flpaul   Hazard   on    La    Femme
D'Un Grand Homme:    Madame
de Chateaubriand.    8.20  P. M.
Goodhart.
Tuesday, December 11. Vo-
cational Tea. Mrs. Appel and
Miss Johnson on Opportunities
in Teaching. 4.00 P. M. Com-
mon Room.
Orientation Course
Difficulties Explained
Goodhart," December 4.
In response to a recent editorial in
The College News, Dean Manning
spoke in Chapel about general Orien-
tation courses, and the particular type
which was advocated for Bryn Mawr.
Courses of this nature first appeared
about the middle of the World War as
a consequence of the growing desire
for a more general view of universal
history than was attempted by most
college courses. Almost a half of the
more important colleges had such a
course in one former another. The
demand grew out of the lack of corre-
lation between courses in college; the
subjects tended to get pigeon-holed
and separated from one another, and
no attempt was made to show the con-
nection between the various fields of
study.
At the time when the movement was
quite widespread, great consideration
was given by the Bryn Mawr Facul-
ty to the idea of instituting a kind of
survey course in world history which
was spoken of as the "Chaos to Cool-
idge" course. After considerable de-
liberation the plan was'given up.
Since that time there has been a
god deal of change in the nature and
scope of these courses. Some have be-
come survey courses in the Humanities,
and the Columbia course has turned to
the study of history from the psycho-
logical point of view. Quite a few col-
leges instituted an orientation course
and then gave it up after a few years.
One of these was Swarthmore, which
had what was called an Exploration
Course. Members of the faculty did
reading with the students on different
topics, mostly those not studied in
school. They pointed out the lines of
thought these subjects would take and
develop. The course was given up
largely because it was felt that too
much time was being spent and that
not enough was being gotten out of
the course. The chief trouble with
all such courses is that they are apt
to be superficial.
The discussion which the proposals
for such courses created, had several
good effects. One of the most important
was that each professor had to think
out the best possible introduction to
his subject from the point of view of
an adult meeting it for the first time.
Another good effect was the great in-
.Continued  on   Page  Five
Dr. Nock Predicts
Collectivist America
Centralization, State Control of
Power, Buying of Votes
Oppose Democracy
SOCIAL  POWER  WANING
Goodhart, November 26.
"Under the surface df affairs, be-
hind inflation, the NRA, farmers* re-
lief, and foreign policies, is one fun-
damental tendency: increase of state
power, and decrease of social power."
This alarming judgment on the pres-
ent and future conditions of the state
was pronounced by Dr. Albert Jay
Nock in his lecture on Our Political
Tendencies.
There are three major causos of
this shifting from soenff lo state con-
trol. The first is centralization of
power. Gradually, the prerogatives of
small political units, such as towns
and counties, have been absorbed by
federal administration, and the rights
the Administration has won have in
turn been centered in the hands of
one executive. Our government is
nominally republican, but actually
monocratic. The only differences be-
tween it and Italian or Russian sys-
tems are these: that here no state
interest is served, and that the mo-
nocracy is maintained by purchase,
not by military force.
Dr. Nock named the extension of the
bureaucratic principle as the second
cause in the growth of state power.
'Outside of ordinary civil service em-
ployees, 90,000 men now serve the
government. No petty officials, but
federal executives, direct these men,
and receive the benefit of their sup-
port at elections.
The third cause is the use of men-
dicants for political power. "The gov-
ernment owes everyone a living," is
preached to the starving, and a million
votes are won. The Democrats now
control this pressure group, but the
Republicans have not disdained to
compete for it, while the collectivist
parties have always achieved their
power by appealing to the jobless and
the hungry.
Many who have anxiously noticed
the growing concentration of power
have comforted themselves by suppos-
ing that another election and another
Continued on  Page Three
Awareness of Past, Ability to Adventure
Are Highly Praised in November Lantern
(Especially contributed by Kathrine
Holier)
Though not heralded by a fanfare
of publicity, the appearance of the
first number of the 1934-35 Lantern
should be an important event on the
Bryn Mawr campus. This magazine
has a unique place among the college
publications because it affords the
?reative writer an organ for publish-
ing her work and at the same time it
gives an incentive for honest experi-
mental writing. The Lantern should
never be a feeble imitation of the
New Yorker, Vanity Fair or count-
less futile short story magazines. It
was, therefore, with great interest
and pleasure that we opened the No-
vember Lantern. A modest volume in
its grey covering, it contains much
that is brilliant and commendable.
The sincere, thoughtful editorial sets
the tone for the entire number, and
indicates, we hope, the policy which
will guide the contributors in the fu-
ture: an awareness of the past, a
strong consciousness of the trend of
contemporary tastes, and a willing-
ness   to  adventure   in   new  field-.
The contents fift The Lantern illus*
trate these points: Miss Franchot
has experimemed and imitated with
decided success in "An Aesthete I
Once Knew" and "To Alphonse." The
work is not only clever, but is also
sincere. Fortunately. Miss Franchot
has enough ability to learn to master
her medium, and to keep her from be-
coming a slave of mere imitative
skill. She gives proof of her own
power in the nicely turned poem
"Calliope." Miss Wyckoff's "Three
Sonnets,"   though   less   experimental
than is Miss Franchot's work, show
the contemporary adaptation of an
old form, and there is genuine beauty
and feeling in Miss Thompson's
"Song" and Miss Fox's quatrains.
Still another illustration of the con-
temporary interest in form is found
in Miss Raymond's gently satirical
poem "The Bitter End." "Euclid
Alone" and "Ajax" are the work of
students who have a sense of style
and an awareness of the power of
words. On the other hand Miss Put-
nam's short story has that weakness
which characterizes so many modern
short stories. An uncertainty of pur-
pose mars the total effect. The story
may belong to the model; it may be-
long to the artist; the result is that
it belongs to neither one. The slice-
of-'ife theory in fiction is not suffi-
cient in itself to create a perfect
form. Miss Putnam has the power to
write and she should continue experi-
menting in the short story until she
herself is more satisfied with her pro-
duct.
The first volume of the t9M-M
Lantern shows evidence of genuine
ability, sincerity and eagerness on the
part of a number ui Bryn Mawr -in-
dents. We are anxious that they at-
tempt more substantial work, that
they strive to write vigorously as well
as beautifully, and that The I-anten
staff encourage new students to write
for publication. The fine tone of all
the contributions and the evidence of
lively interest in all experimental
writing which this issue evinces is
heartening to all those who wish to
see The Lantern take its rightful
place among Bryn Mawr publications.