In your November 19 cover story on Dorothy Bedford '78 and the 250th, I was startled to read that "in the Nation's Service" is part of the university's "motto." The last time I saw the motto, it was beneath the Princeton shield, inscribed in Latin. Dei sub numine viget is a marvelous statement, suggesting as it does that the power of the Almighty transcends our activities; it contains nothing about nation or service. Although "Princeton in the Nation's Service" is a nice slogan (the university awards prizes based on it), it is not Princeton's motto.

Franklin Phillips '53
Jobstown, N.J.

In his January 28 letter, Neil Clements '52 says he has difficulty accepting Dorothy Bedford's comment that alumni should see Princeton's recent demographic and social change as "a stage in its continuing evolution and not as some kind of aberration." He adds that he feels estranged from a Princeton that "has rejected many of its founding principles." I wonder if he wants the university to revert to the Princeton of 1746, a school founded to train Presbyterian ministers who could preach in opposition to the theology propounded at Yale.

Because knowledge and society change with time, so the university must change if it is to fulfill its purpose of creating and disseminating knowledge. I don't like change, either, but I admire Princeton's willingness to grapple with it.

Herbert R. Spencer '49
New London, N.H.

Honorary degrees

Over the years I have noted with interest and pleasure Princeton's awarding of honorary degrees. I cannot help noticing, however, that the various kinds of degrees conferred rarely if ever include Doctor of Divinity. Given the importance of religion in world affairs, this seems a strange omission. Perhaps the trustees feel that religion and academic freedom do not go well together.

If the university were to confer the occasional honorary Doctor of Divinity, it would not have to limit the recipients to those in the Christian tradition. There are eminent scholars associated with all the great religions. The university should apply the same standards I assume it does for scholars in other fields to whom it grants honorary degrees: commitment to established truth, openness to new truth, ability to communicate, and desire to see knowledge used for the betterment of the human condition.

As a Christian parson, I believe theology is the only discipline that confronts all the biggest problems and proposes answers that provide life with meaning and hope. It would be fitting for a great university such as Princeton to honor the ablest of those who labor at this task.

Robert L. Edwards '37
West Hartford, Conn.

But who's Kiki?

Recently I received in the mail a university announcement of an Alumni College to study the intellectual life of Paris in the 1920s. I was enchanted, if somewhat startled, to read that on the second day of the trip, "lunch will be held at one of the brassieres frequented by American artists of that period." I am delighted to know that our alumni are such a sprightly group, and am most curious to discover precisely whose brassiere is involved. Since Kiki of Montparnasse was as frequented by artists of that period as any Parisienne, I imagine it to be hers, but I would be grateful for additional details.

Charles Millard '54
Chapel Hill, N.C.

PAW decoded

What do the letters in front of some peoples' class numerals mean?

Jim Connelly '55
Rochester, N.Y.