Harvard dumps 'Puritans' reference in school song after 181 years, changing it to 'till the stars in the firmament die'
I’ve read that Puritan theology was more or less removed from Harvard about the time the original song was written, so the adjustment of the song only comes two centuries late to reflect the new mood of the school.
This is along the same lines as how in the 19th century, the third book in the Harvard logo, which had been closed to signify knowledge kept from man, was shown as open to indicate the huge progress in knowledge. Ironically, it was at about the same time that Hegel and others inspired moral and other relativism that undermined the base motto of “Hahvid”, “Veritas”.
One would think that the Lampoon version of the Harvard motto—“Vanitas”—is more appropriate, both in its original Latin meaning, as well as in the modern translation of “vanity”.
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
Discussion