Our College Motto, Mastery for Service

関西学院のスクールモットーは１９１２年に採用された「マスタリー・フォア・サービス」で、日本語では「奉仕のための練達」と訳されています。

今田寛先生が学長に就任されてから力強い関学を提唱されていますが、このスピーチをお読みいただければ学長の意図がさらによくお解りいただけると思います。

オリジナル

第４代関西学院 院長ベーツ博士のスピーチ （１９１５）

簡約版

１９６０年代に関学英語研究部が新入生のスピーチ訓練用に易しく手直ししたもの

ベーツ博士のメッセージ

１９６２年ESSが発行した英文の６５年誌 "Past and Present: 1896-1962" に掲載されたもの

Our College Motto, Mastery for Service

Dr. C.J.L. BATES

1915

Human nature has two sides, one individual and private, the other public and social. There is a life which each man must live alone, into which no one else can enter. That is his personal individual life. But a man's life is more than that. It has another side, which it shares with other men. And it is our duty and privilege to keep before our minds these two sides of our nature. There is an ideal of life corresponding to each side. One is self-culture, the other, self-sacrifice. These ideals are not contradictory, however, but complementary. Neither is complete by itself, nor independent of the other. Self-culture pursued for its own sake produces selfishness. Self-sacrifice as the only rule of life leads to weakness. But self-culture as a basis for self-sacrifice is not only justifiable, but necessary. And self-sacrifice on such a basis is truly effective.

Now these two phrases of our nature are implied in our college motto "Mastery for Service". We do not desire to be weaklings. We aim to be strong, to be masters - masters of knowledge, masters of opportunity, masters of ourselves, our desires, our ambitions, our appetites, our possessions. We will not be slaves whether to others, to circumstances, or to our own passions. But the purpose of our mastery must be not our own individual enrichment, but social service. We aim to become servants of humanity in a large sense. In England the officials are called civil servants, and the highest officials Ministers of State. That implies a true conception of the nature of the work of an official. His duty is not to command, but to serve. In fact, a man is great only to the extent to which he renders service to society.

This then is our college ideal, to become strong, effective men, not weak incompetents; men who will be recognized as masters. But having become masters we desire not to inflate, and enrich ourselves for our own sake, but to render some useful service to humanity in order that the world may be better for our having lived in it.

Our ideal businessman is neither a gambler nor a miser, but a man who succeeds because he is a master, a man who understands the fundamental principles of business, who knows what to do, and who by industry and honesty is able to succeed where other men might fail - a man whose object in life is not merely to increase his credit balance in the bank, but to use his financial power to improve the condition of society; a man who has public spirit, and a keen sense of social duty. Such a man will be revered by his employees, and respected by his customers.

Our ideal of the scholar is not a kind of intellectual sponge that always takes in, but never gives out until it is squeezed; but it is a man who loves to acquire knowledge not for its own sake, much less for the sake of his own fame, but whose desire for knowledge is a desire to equip himself to render better service to humanity.

It is said that on the monument of a certain man there were cut the words "Born a man and died a carpenter. " We desire no such a fate. For such an end is failure. Nor would it be any greater success if it were written "Born a man and died a merchant" - or "a millionaire" - or "a politician." To be a man, a master man and a same time a true servant of humanity is our ideal.

Mastery for Service

Dr. C.J.L. BATES

(Revised by KGUESS)

Human nature has two sides, the one personal and individual, the other public and social. The personal and individual side, each man must live alone, the public and social side, he must share with other man. Then there is an ideal of life corresponding to each side, self-culture and self-sacrifice, respectively. And though they sound mutually exclusive, these ideals are not merely not contradictory, indeed, they are complementary. For neither is complete of itself, nor independent of the other. Self-culture pursued for its own sake is selfishness, and self-sacrifice as the only rule of life is weakness. But self-culture is justified only as its fruit is seen in self-sacrifice, and only on the basis of self-culture can self-sacrifice be truly effective.

Now these two aspects of our nature are implied in our college motto, "Mastery for Service." We do not desire to be weaklings. We aim to be strong, to be masters of knowledge, of opportunity, and especially, to be masters of ourselves. We will not be slaves, whether to others, to circumstances, or to our own passions. And the purpose of our mastery must be the service of humanity. In England, public officials are called civil servants, implying that their duty is not to command, but to serve. Here is the true conception of the nature of the work of the public official. In fact, a man is great only to the extent that he renders service to society.

This, then, is our ideal; to become strong, effective men who will be recognized as masters. But having become (strong, effective) masters, we desire, not to enrich ourselves, but to render some useful service to humanity, in order that the world may be the better for our having lived in it.

Our ideal businessman is neither gambler nor miser; he is the man who succeeds because he is a master, understanding the fundamental principles of business, succeeding, through industry and honesty, where other men fail, and whose highest aim in life is not to increase his wealth endlessly, but to use his financial power to improve the condition of society.

Such a man, public-spirited, and having a keen sense of social obligation, will be revered by his employees, and respected by his customers.

Our ideal of the scholar is not a kind of intellectual sponge that always takes in, but never gives out until it is squeezed. No, our ideal scholar is the man whose desire for knowledge is a desire to equip himself to render better service to humanity.

To be a man, a master man, and at the same time, a true servant of humanity, this is our ideal.

Greetings from Dr. Bates

Dr. C.J.L. BATES

1962

In response to your kind suggestion that I write something for your Chronicle of the English Speaking Society, I wish first of all to congratulate your Society on the celebration of its sixty-fifth anniversary. I was not in Kwansei Gakuin sixty-five years ago as I did not join the staff until 1910, just fifty-two years ago. And by that time Kwansei Gakuin had already gained the reputation of excellence in the teaching English. This was due to a large extent to the fact that the first President of Kwansei Gakuin Dr. Y. Yoshioka had so splendid knowledge and use of English and was so good a teacher and also to the fact that so many American teachers were associated with him, among them being Professors Matthews who carried on that work with devotion and success until his retirement and return to America in 1941.

Among the early alumni was the Hon. R. Nagai who was one of the most fluent speakers of English that I knew. Others were Mr. Inui who later spent many years in America and was a popular speaker and orator in English there. President Kanzaki also belonged to that early period and he too had a proficient command of English Conversation.

The College of Literature and Commerce was started in 1912, and, one of our objectives was proficiency in the teaching and use of English. This applied to all departments of the school and the English Speaking Societies from year to year in competitive contests with other Schools have brought joy and pride to Kwansei Gakuin by their success.

I have been particularly interested and cheered by the frequency with which our student speakers have made use of our College Motto "Mastery for Service" in their addresses. That motto was and has continued to be an inspiration and challenge and a dedication to many. It arouses one's best ambitions as an individual and as a member of society, what the sociologists call a "socius", for such are we all. On the one hand we are individuals with varying talents and temperaments, no two the same. And it is right and proper that our talents should be cultivated to the full. We should be masters in whatever field of knowledge we choose and whatever sphere of endeavour we enter. In this instance we should be masters of English. But above all we should be Masters of our natural impulses and desires.

Over the door of the Theological Building in Old Kwansei the words "The truth shall make you free," were carved in stone. Dr. Yoshioka wrote the translation using the old Chinese version in which the word for "free" is not "jiyu" but "jishu" - that is self master. So the sentence means "The truth shall make you Master of yourself." That is the real, the profound meaning of "Mastery" in our college motto.

And while we are individuals and should cultivate our talents to the full, we are also at the same time members of society. We were born in the family, we live in the state, we must cooperate in trade and public relations. We cannot live as individuals alone. So our Mastery must find its completion and perfection in Social Service in making our contribution to the good, the welfare for others. Thus will we gain true success in life and win the respect and love of all with whom we are associated.

The world needs such men today. Men who are masters of knowledge, masters of achievement, masters of self, not selfish men however, but men who have learned the high privilege of unselfish service of humble helpfulness to others.

It is my great joy that so many of our Kwansei Gakuin students have learned this way of life. That is the glory of our beloved Kwansei Gakuin.

With every best wish for the continued success of the English Speaking Society.

Dr. C.J.L. Bates

The fourth President

of Kwansei Gakuin

このDr. Batesのメッセージは、１９６２年ESSが発行した英文の６５年誌 "Past and Present:1896-1962" に掲載されたものである。この中で博士が関学に着任した１９１０年（明治４３年）には、すでに「英語の関学」と言われており、それには吉岡美國院長の貢献が大であり、関学の初期の卒業生（ESSの前身である英語会に所属）の中からは、永井柳太郎氏、乾精末氏などの英語弁論の達人が育ったことなどが述べられている。

これを掲載した理由は、このメッセージの後半で博士が"Mastery for Service"の"Mastery"の持つ意味を自ら解説して下さっているからである。