"These contests and these triumphs are not all there is of college life, but they are a not unimportant part of it. The best education, the most useful training, come not from the classroom and from books, but from the attrition of mind on mind, from the wholesome emulation engendered by a common aim and purpose, from the whetting of wits by good-natured rivalry, the inspiration of youthful enthusiasms, the blending together of all of us in undying love for our common Mother.
"As to the future: We may not expect this unbroken round of victories to go on forever; we shall need sometimes, more than the inspiration of victory, the discipline of defeat. And it will come some day. Our champions will not last forever. Some time Stagg must make his last home run, and Camp his final touchdown. Some day Bob Cook will 'hear the dip of the golden oars' and 'pass from sight with the boatman pale.'
"It would be too much to think that all their successors will equally succeed. It might be monotonous. But of one thing we may be assured—that whatever happens, we shall never fail to extend the meed of praise to the victors. We shall be hereafter, as in the past we have always been, as stout in adversity as we have been merry in sunshine."
"Then strip, lads, and to it
Though sharp be the weather;
And if, by mischance you should happen to fall
There are worse things in life
Than a tumble on heather
And life is itself, but a game, of football."
Transcriber's Note
Many words in this text were inconsistently hyphenated or spelled, so I have normalized them. The majority are football terms that originally appeared inconsistently as "full-back," "fullback," and "full back," for example.