From Philomathean Society

Written by

Michael Gessel, Moderator. December 1977
Eugene A. Bolt, Jr., Moderator. May 1986
Michael Schwartz, Member. August 2001

Introduction: Founded in 1813

Philo was founded on October 2, 1813, when the original 13 Members, comprising the entire senior class of the College, signed the declaration of organization. Together, it was written that the Society's purpose was to increase the learning of the Members and to increase the academic prestige of the University. The following month, the Trustees approved a resolution sanctioning the literary society, and guaranteed to provide it with quarters. The then newly appointed Provost, Rev. Frederic Beasley, enthusiastically supported the foundation of the Society and dedicated several pages of his letter of acceptance to the Trustees extolling the virtues and benefits that the Society would produce for the University. During the Society's first year, rules and customs were adopted, many of which are still followed today. The titles of Moderator and Censores Morum were chosen for the presiding officers, and Friday night was set as the date for regular Meetings. The Society's Library was established so as to give Members access to contemporary works, and in fact rivaled in size the University's own library. Minutes of the Society's Meetings have been kept (relatively) faithfully in large leather-bound volumes since the first Meeting. Members still sign the Recorder's Roll upon their initiation into the Society, following the tradition started by the Founders. The practice of censoring and fining Members for non-performance of duties, ill-adherence to parliamentary procedure, and even bad puns was also initiated in the early years of the Society.

Debating

Debating has also been a major activity in the Meetings of the Society since the beginning. It's been a fertile ground for lawyers and legislators, drawing things together and sparking Members on opposite sides, and really being an excellent cultivator of forensic arts.

Many times topics were philosophical, such as "whether love or revenge is more powerful," but often debate would touch on the political issues of the day. During the Civil War, for example, events taking place drew such strong feelings on all sides that in order to ensure a fair debate, the moderator withdrew and placed two pistols on the lectern, as a swift reminder to the Members speaking. Earlier, when Moderator Henry Gilpin was impeached in 1817, his trial provoked such an outpouring of debate that it stretched for over four months during that winter. Over the life of the Society, debates have held an important role in both its own and its Members growth, doing more than just preparing them for distinguishable positions in government, industry, and academia, but also behaving as a robust medium for the exchange of ideas.

In more recent years, Philo has continued its tradition of debate. In 1984, the Society took on their Princeton rivals, the American Whig-Cliosophic Society, in a debate that was later rebroadcast on National Public Radio. In 1990, during the 250th anniversary of the founding of the University, Philo hosted the Diagnostic Society of Edinburgh University for a debate 'extravaganza.' There was a costumed, bannered, and bag-piped procession across the lengths of the campus, culminating in a banquet to honor the visiting Earl and Duchess of Dundonald. The debate topic was, "Resolved, the United Kingdom is America's most valuable colony." It established diplomatic ties that have continued to prove vital to this day. More recently, the Society sponsored the 100-Second Stump Debate Spectacular in March 2001. Featuring a procedure that was similar in format to the stump debates during our regular Meetings, the competitors were required to speak one-right-after-the-other, roughly a pro/con/pro/con sequence, that had to finish in under 100 seconds. These, and similar events, continue to be a hallmark of Philo today.

The Society's members have included twenty-six state legislators, seven US Representatives, three US Senators, three Attorneys General, and a Governor. Moderator Henry Gilpin later became US Attorney General, and two of his classmates, Robert Walker and James Murray Mason, would later join him in Washington as Secretary of the Treasury (and founder of the Department of the Interior) and President of the US Senate, respectively. In addition, four Junior Members -- William Pepper, Charles Custis Harrison, Josiah Penniman, and Thomas Sovereign Gates -- would later have positions as Provosts and President, respectively, of the University.

Philo also engaged in debates with its University rival, the Zelosophic Society, which was founded in 1829. Zelo, which included among its members one of the inventors of television, officially merged with Philo following the Second World War.

Literary and Creative Energies

The most prominent undertaking by the Society was realized in 1858, in the publication of the first complete English translation of the Rosetta Stone. The work was performed solely by three undergraduate members, Charles R Hale, S Huntington Jones, and Henry Morton. (Morton was also responsible for engraving the lithograph stones used to print the translation.) The book quickly sold out two editions, and was internationally hailed as a monumental work of scholarship. In 1988, the British Museum, home of the Rosetta Stone, bestowed the honor of including the Philomathean Rosetta Stone Report in its select bibliography of the most important works ever published on the Rosetta Stone. In 1896, Philo also published another translation by its members, this time of the De Mysteriis of Andocides.

Over the years, much of the Society's literary output consisted of internal publications which were written in longhand and circulated among the Members, and had names like Ripto Skipto Peedle Dum, The Philomathean Jr. and Weekly Sockdolager, and The Mummy Monster. Their modern counterparts are marginally less obscure, with names like The Art Gallery Staircase, College Hall Charivari, Tea Magazine, and Curse. Another tradition by the Society, the Philomathean Review, appeared as early as 1828. It originally contained poetry and sketches, but gradually evolved into a humorous satire of the events of each Meeting, and was read as part of the Literary Exercise. Today it is performed as the Rhymed Review.

In 1875, the Society founded The University Magazine, a monthly edited by the Members, and contained news related to college life. After publishing the magazine for ten years, the Society stepped back from the project so that The Pennsylvanian, a newspaper with a more representative base, could be started. Punchbowl, the University of Pennsylvania humor magazine, was also founded by the Society, and offered a less reverent view of campus life.

Early in the twentieth century, Philo started to turn its energies towards the theater, and began an annual series of dramatic productions. Each year, the plays would grow more and more elaborate and expensive. For the 1915 production of The Comedy of Errors, Philo built a full-scale reproduction of the Globe Theater on Hamilton Walk, with seating capacity for a thousand. The following year, Philo produced The Masque of the American Drama, which involved over 1,000 student workers, and required 1,500 costumes. It plunged the Society deep into debt. More recently, its dramatic efforts have included the writing and producing of the original plays Reds In Filmland, Do Black Cats Have Tails?, and an adaptation of John O'Hara's Appointment in Samarra.

In 1838, a lectures series given by William Bradford Reed resulted in the first course in American History ever offered at a university. Following in this tradition, the Society's lecture series has continued to result directly in new courses of study during the twentieth century, including the founding of the History and Sociology of Sciene, the American Civilization, and the Comparative Literature departments at the University.

In addition, the Society has long held the tradition of the Annual Orator. The distinguished scholars and leaders who have spoken to the Society include George Bacon Wood, the Hon George Sharswood, Lincoln Eyre, Henry Steele Commager, John Ciardi, Ayn Rand, Margaret Mead, Jerzy Kosinski, C Everett Koop, William Styron, George Plimpton, Joyce Carol Oates, and Susan Sontag.