was a subject for theologians, philosophers and mystics. We know that
today mankind possesses the weapons to produce an Armageddon, and
we live in fear, day by day, that the restraints imposed by civilization will
be removed and that these awful weapons made by man may be turned
upon him to his final doom.

I have no intention of frightening you this morning with horror
stories. I have, in fact, a great faith in man and his future. We have
been clever enough and wise enough to produce the nuclear bomb and
to send men into space, and I am confident that we are clever enough
and wise enough to place them in proper restraint. I believe, neverthe-
less, that a great risk exists, and so long as it does we must face the
reality and stand prepared to meet any eventuality.

In a very real sense, we are living in a period of revolution, and the
worst thing about revolutions—political, social or economic—is that
they tend to uproot men, snatch them away from their heritage, break
the chain of civilization. Old values, old standards, old ideals vanish,
and vanish so quickly that they cannot be replaced immediately by other
values, standards and ideals. From your knowledge of history, you know
that nations, like individuals, cannot make a clean break with their
past. They suffer greatly even in the attempt.

I am convinced that many of our ills and problems of today are
created by the conditions under which we live which make it difficult for
us to move onward in our civilization at a steady and orderly pace. It is
hard for a youngster to understand the mind and spirit of a grandfather
who marveled at rounding the world in 80 days. In a way, they live in
two separate worlds. It becomes too easy for persons under such circum-
stances to lose sight of the great moral and ethical principles of the past.
Eternal values and immutable laws have a hard time surviving in our
minds when everything about us seems to be in a state of constant
change.

This may sound as though I am asking you to turn away from the
future and look only to the past. This is not the case. It is the way of
youth to look to the future, and it would be a bad sign for our civiliza-
tion if you ceased to do so. I think all of us should look to the future,
but in doing so I think we should cling to a consciousness of our link
with the past. Culture by definition is growth, and there can be no
growth without roots. Within a very few years, all of you are certain to
be confronted with grave decisions. Periods of great decision demand
wisdom on the part of those who have to make the decisions. As students,
with zeal for learning, you are on the right course now, for wisdom is

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