THE MERTON SOCIETY

THE MERTON SOCIETY

THE MERTON LIBRARY

The library of Merton College at Oxford University in England was established in 1378 A.D. as part of the oldest fully self-governing college in the Oxford University system. The unique architectural features of this esteemed library were the inspiration for the library of the University Cottage Club. Although there is no surviving evidence of such, the choice of the Merton College library as a model for the design of the Cottage Club library can be attributed to the longstanding relationship between members of the University Cottage Club and the Merton Society.

THE MERTON SOCIETY

The Merton Society, America's oldest "Tea Drinking and Whisky" Speaking Society, was founded in the tradition of the great Oxford Speaking Societies in order to provide a proper forum for scintillating yet clever intellectual discourse among like-minded individuals at what is known today as Princeton University. The sobriquet "Tea Drinking and Whisky" Speaking Society is derived from two important events in early American history that greatly influenced contemporary public speaking topics: the Boston Tea Party of 1773 and the Whisky Rebellion of 1794. The Merton Society's motto is "Sapor Cum Facetia Omnia Vincit" ("Good Taste With Humor Conquers All"), which celebrates the cultivation of irreverent good taste. Its insignia incorporates this motto under the colors of the famous British 17th Lancers regiment (participants in the "Charge of the Light Brigade" at Balaklava in 1854). After the University Cottage Club adopted these same regimental colors, a Maltese cross was added to the Society's insignia in order to commemorate the five members of that regiment who were awarded the Victoria Cross, Great Britain's highest military honor. Originally a very discreet organization, the Merton Society did not have a permanent home during the latter part of the nineteenth century. After the construction of the University Cottage Club in 1906, the Society conducted its affairs in that building's Merton Library. A tradition of the Society that evolved from the late nineteenth century era of the "Seven Wise Men of Grease" (the founders of the University Cottage Club) has been to provide each member with an appropriate title modeled after the British peerage system. Such titles often are based upon some unique or humorous aspect of the recipient's expertise, speaking topics and/or style. In later years, the Merton Society expanded its Speaking Society activities to include more public displays of cleverness, such as its Annual Lecture Series.