The Things of Friends Are Common and They May Belong to You! Welcome to Prospecti e !

tudents on April "# $%&' Christopher B( )elson# President !t( *ohn+s College# Annapolis M, -ood Afternoon! Than. you for isiting /ith us this /ee.end( 0t is good to see so many gathered in the /armth of this -reat 1all( The entire College /as once housed in this single 2uilding( 0t /as originally intended to ser e as the residence for the territorial go ernor of Maryland in the mid3eighteenth century# 2efore the 4e olutionary War( The 2uilding /as gi en to this College for its ne/ home after the American 4e olution( Among its early inha2itants /ere none other than Francis !cott 5ey# the nephe/s and step3grandson of -eorge Washington# and sons of Maryland signers of the ,eclaration of 0ndependence# many of /hom /ere 2oarded on the third floor 2eneath the Cupola 4oom on top of the 2uilding( That little room o erloo.ing the City housed the College+s li2rary# that some say is the oldest free pu2lic li2rary on the )orth American continent( 0n 4oom $& upstairs# 0 learned my first -ree. sentence as a student in the fall of &677# one you /ill encounter in your freshman language tutorial should you choose to 8oin us9 :;< = >= >?@ ABCD@( This sentence can 2e translated as The things of friends are common or What friends ha e# they ha e in common( 0 once /ondered /hether this meant that friends ought to share /hat they ha e9 for eEample# 0 might share my lunch /ith you 2ecause you ha e none( But then 0 realiFed that /hat 0 gi e to a friend in the spirit of sharing it is something 0 /ill no longer ha e after/ard( 0 /ill ha e less of it after sharing it than 0 had 2efore( But /hat then are the things that could 2e common to friendsG What .inds of things can truly 2e held in common /ithout ha ing to 2e shared or meted outG They are things of the soul# things that 2elong to the heart# the spirit# or the mind# things that 2elong to our inner li es( When 0 learn something you ha e shared /ith me# it does not pass from you to me li.e a half a sand/ich from a lunch 2oEH you ha e lost nothing# and yet 0 ha e gained something that is no/ common to us 2oth( The sum of /hat is common to us has 8ust gro/nH it has not 2een redistri2uted( We each 2ecome richer for /hat /e come to ha e in common( Why# though# do /e say that these things in common 2elong to friendsG 0 thin. it must ha e something to do /ith the reason /e see. these common thingsIthat they are 2eautiful and good# and that /e /ish 2eautiful and good things for our friends( 0f the common goods are those that increase 2y pursuing them together# then the greatest acts of friendship must 2e the searching together for such a common good( !t( *ohn+s College eEists for this purpose9 to pro ide a place and countless opportunities for our students to pursue together the common goods of the intellect and of the soul( We call oursel es a community of learning# a/are that the /ord community in Jnglish# as in -ree.# has the same root as the /ord common( We understand that /e learn 2est /hen /e learn /ith others# /ho li.e us# /ish to increase the common good( !uch a community offers some pretty fine opportunities for friendship(

We ha e a common curriculum that has us all reading 2oo.s that are /orthy of our attention# e en of our lo eI2oo.s /ritten 2y men and /omen /ho /ere themsel es model learners( The 2oo.s and the authors may e en 2ecome our friends# as /ill the characters in some of those 2oo.s( 0f you ha e not already met the !ocrates of Plato+s dialogues# you may soon 2e spending a lot of time /ith him in your freshman year( For some of you# this may 2e the 2eginning of a lifelong friendship /ith a character /ho /ould con erse /ith you o er and o er if you open yoursel es to the possi2ility( The /ords on the page may remain the same# 2ut you /ill 2ring a ne/ con ersationalist to the teEt e ery time you return to the dialogue( At least# so it is /ith me( 0 ha e many such friends in the Program( !ome of them are 2oo.s9 1omer+s Iliad has 2een my companion since the se enth grade# and 0 ne er tire of returning to it( Kirgil+s Aeneid has 2ecome a more recent friend /ho has helped me understand and 2etter 2ear the responsi2ilities of fatherhood and the trials of leadership( The Boo.s of Genesis and Job ha e helped me understand /hat it means to 2e human and ho/ great is the distance 2et/een the human and the di ine( Plato+s Republic inspires much of /hat 0 do as 0 practice my ocation at the College# reminding me that a community of learning is reshaping itself any time a fe/ of its mem2ers come together to engage in learning for its o/n sa.eIand that this is /hat /e ought al/ays to 2e encouraging at this college( Lther friends of mine are authors9 !ophocles# /ho e o.es pity in each of his dramasH *ane Austen# /hose e ery sentence can 2e called perfectH and Martin Muther 5ing# /ho demonstrates that non3 iolent protest is more than a useful tactic to achie e a political end# 2ut a proper and lo ing response to hateful misconduct of fello/ human souls( Then there remain the characters /hom 0 em2race as friends9 2esides !ocrates# there is 1ector# Brea.er of 1orses# Lh my WarriorH and Penelope# /ho /ea es the path that allo/s Ldysseus to return home and is far /orthier of his lo e than he is of hers( There is ,on NuiEote# the indomita2le spirit# and Middlemarchs ,orothea Broo.e# /hose simple acts of goodness change the /orld a2out her( 0 /as a teenager /hen 0 met !ha.espeare+s Prince 1al( 0 gre/ to adulthood /ith him and later fell for the flashing )atasha of Tolstoy+s War and Peace( As you /or. your /ay through the Program# you /ill also ha e the assistance of se eral contemporary friends in the classroom or in your dormitory( They /ill help you as you struggle /ith the 2ig Ouestions that in turn /ill help to free you to li e a life that truly 2elongs to you( 0t /ill 2e these friends# /ho are outside of you 2ut standing close 2y# /ho /ill help you find your o/n ans/ers to the Ouestions9 Who am 0G What is my place in the /orldG And ho/ ought 0 to li e my lifeG Lne of my friends# an alumnus of !t( *ohn+s and a medical doctor /ho has de oted himself to sa ing the li es of patients suffering from cancer# had this to say a2out ho/ he is guided 2y the spirit of community and friendship /ithin the soul of e ery human 2eing9 0n my o/n /or.# it is sometimes said# /e are guided ( ( ( 2y the idea that to sa e a person+s life ( ( ( is considered as if one has sa ed the /orld( To me that has al/ays meant the life sa ed is much more than a single life restored# as that person is someone+s spouse# someone+s 2rother or sister# someone+s parent# or child# a mem2er of a community# of a church# synagogue or mosOue# or a friend# and as all are

affected 2y loss# all are restored 2y their return P!tephen *( Forman# $%%6 Commencement Address# !anta FeQ( This statement is a po/erful testament to the /onder of friendship at /or. in the /orld( !o# /hy ha e 0 shared this little reflection on friendship /ith youG 0t is 2ecause this is one of the most compelling reasons for you to 8oin our community of learning( And this one argument has se eral aspects9 You 8oin a community of friends fired 2y the desire to .no/ and animated 2y the desire to learn from one another# not for the sa.e of /inning an argument 2ut in the hope of disco ering a truth( )o 2etter preparation for life than that! You confront the original sources of our intellectual heritage /ithout mediation 2y some so3called eEpert in order for you to determine for yourself /hat is /orth ta.ing in and o/ning as your o/n( You get to ha e the eEperience of learning from many of the most 2eautiful# challenging# and original teEts that /ill spur you to learn 2ecause they are /orthy of your lo e and of your effort( You /ill 2e a mem2er of a single community of learning /here e eryone is engaged in the ery same acti ity# gi ing you the opportunity to tal. to anyone at any time a2out the things that matter most to you( You get to integrate your learning /ith your li ing 2ecause /e ma.e no distinction 2et/een the t/o# al/ays as.ing oursel es ho/ our studies and these 2oo.s /ill help you shape a life /orth li ing# a life suited to you( You /ill eEperience /hat a unified life /ould loo. li.e# one that is not di ided into constituent parts or departments( You /ill come to see that the arious studies of the sciences and humanities are 2ut different aspects of a single intellectual acti ity# that they 2oth 2elong to the repertory of human intelligence(

And finally# you can eEpect to eEperience the 8oys of friendship outside of class# participating in the countless acti ities that college students e ery/here en8oy# acti ities that complement the academic program and contri2ute to your health and happiness9 from athletics to theater# from fine arts to 8ournalism# from chorus to orchestra# from dance to poetry readingIthe list is as long as the imagination is in enti e! And you /ill find that your classmates ha e a refined sense of humor through their o/n uniOue pran.s# parties# games# sports# and shenanigans( !o if you are see.ing an education in the arts of freedom 2y studying the original foundations of contemporary thought in a single community of learning /here unity of life and thought are pursued through ongoing serious con ersation /ith li ely and imaginati e friendsIthen !t( *ohn+s College may ery /ell 2e 8ust the right college for you! Please 8oin us in the fall for a /onderful eEperience in learning and gro/ing and preparing for the challenges of a lifetime!