Our university motto is "Veritas Vos Liberabit," meaning "the Truth shall set you free."
In the inaugural address of this institution, our first president, Daniel Coit Gilman, proclaimed his hope that students would be caught up, "in their eagerness for the acquisition of Knowledge and their search for Eternal Truth."
One hundred and thirty-three years later, how has this dream progressed? Is each of us, as a member of this community, seeking the Eternal Truth, the Truth that sets men free? Or have we let "Truth" succomb to cheap sloganeering, throwing it with God into the trash-bin of myths unsuitable for our post-modern world?
My fear for the pursuit of Truth at this university grew as I approached the doors of Hodson 110 several days ago. I looked up and, for the first time, was struck by what I saw there: a quote from stoic philosopher Epictetus proclaiming that, "Only the educated are free."
Too many students here have lost sight of the Truth in pursuit of education. I must admit that under the stress of the Hopkins workload, I have often forgotten that life is not made up of mathematical equations and economic models. It is, though, and our success, our happiness, and even our true freedom depend on remembering that.
The Truth will not be seen through a microscope. It does not grow in a Petri dish. It cannot be plotted in a Cartesian plane.
Don't get me wrong. The many discoveries made at this great university are major contributions to mankind. Medical research done at Hopkins extends and enriches lives.
Alumni from our Writing Seminars major, like author (and former Hopkins professor) John Barth, have enriched our culture. Our university has trained great political and business leaders. Figures like Michael Steele and Michael Bloomberg are using their Hopkins educations to shape the course of modern politics. All of this is critical to the functioning of a successful society.
Still, we should never mistake advanced medicine, great literature or a successful economy with freedom.
Freedom cannot be taught in a class or found in a lab, but is felt in a hand outstretched to a friend or in a parent's warm embrace. It is not reserved for those with Ph.D.s, or for those sitting atop the medical and legal professions. In fact, a woman dying of AIDS in the Congo can be every bit as free as the highest politicians in the United States.
Tyranny comes in many forms, not just in political oppression. We can be slaves not only to human masters but also to our own destructive desires, or even to our own hopes for good when those hopes become destructive of our welfare.
Freedom comes from the Truth, and the Truth from beauty and love. Pope Benedict XVI has urged the world to, "Reconnect beauty to truth and goodness." Indeed, the three can only be found together. Instead of judging success based on our Dean's List achievements, we should view it through our love of life and one another. We should reconnect with the transcendent and recognize that the moments of Truth in our lives come when we can look someone in the eyes and honestly utter the old Quaker phrase, "There is that of God in thee."
Truth is found in the embrace of life's beauty. We recognize that there is something beautiful in ourselves and in everyone around us. When we can find joy in art and greater joy in one another, and can stand in awe of life and nature, we can rescue Truth and God from the discard bin and find a life worth living.
Everyone at Hopkins is gifted in some way; we are all called to develop our gifts and share them with the world.
Even so, as we proceed with our academic endeavors, we need to remember to take the time to take care of each other, to share in the many joys and pains of the Baltimore community and to simply appreciate the amazing beauty of the flowers and trees that line our campus. Take your books out to the BMA Sculpture Garden and study amidst the beauty of art and nature.
Reconnect beauty, truth and goodness and become the light to mankind that Daniel Gilman intended. When all is said and done, "You shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall set you free."
