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Laus Patrum Matrumque

Laus Patrum Matrumque

Let us now praise famous men and women,
those who have gone before us in our tradition.
Great things have been achieved by them,
and by their work our lives have been enriched.
These were leaders in our university,
who by their learning and their wisdom
spoke effectively among us, and on our behalf,
expressing our convictions and ideals
more truly than we could shape them for ourselves.

Such as made music, wove words, created structures,
disclosed secrets, enlarged knowledge,
made us conscious of our past,
and hopeful of our future.
Some have left a name which will always be remembered,
others are honoured by the few who knew them well;
after their passing, they will be soon forgotten,
but their faithful work lives on
in the health of their discipline,
in the teaching and discoveries of their students,
and of their students' students until the end of time.

Now praise we famous men and women
and all those, known and unknown,
whose fruitful work is our inheritance;
they have left their achievements, milestones of their past,
to be our guideposts for the years that are to come.

- Stanley Brice Frost 1992, revised 1999 (after Ben Sirach 44)