Symbols
The pin, the emblem of Phi Delta Epsilon, is a three lettered one, forming the Greek letters Phi, Delta and Epsilon. Joining the Phi and the Epsilon is a bow, emblematic of friendship. In the center of the bow is a ruby in honor of Alpha, the mother Chapter organized at Cornell. The sides of the Delta are set with pearls and the angles with amethysts. These are the colors of the Phi Delta Epsilon - purple and ivory. These stones are identical in all Chapters. From the Delta to the bow is a torch, the torch of knowledge, with which ignorance is dispelled. The center of the Delta is empty but as occasion demands various stones be placed therein in order to designate successful completion of a term in a specific office.
The seal of the Fraternity consists of the scales of justice (with the hopes that the member will keep at an even balance) with the letters Phi, Delta and Epsilon on the sides and at the bottom. The scale is balanced upon a caduceus with a Delta as its base. Above the scale are the spread wings of the Phoenix, a bird which is said never to die, signifying an everlasting life for Phi Delta Epsilon. The letter Alpha appears beside the left wing and the letter Sigma beside the right. Above the center of the wings is a star containing the letter Phi. These letters, Alpha, Phi and Sigma represent the amalgamation with Alpha Phi Sigma Fraternity in 1918.
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Famous quotes containing the word symbols:
“I do not deny that there may be other well-founded causes for the hatred which various classes feel toward politicians, but the main one seems to me that politicians are symbols of the fact that every class must take every other class into account.”
—José Ortega Y Gasset (1883–1955)
“And into the gulf between cantankerous reality and the male ideal of shaping your world, sail the innocent children. They are right there in front of us—wild, irresponsible symbols of everything else we can’t control.”
—Hugh O’Neill (20th century)
“Children became an obsessive theme in Victorian culture at the same time that they were being exploited as never before. As the horrors of life multiplied for some children, the image of childhood was increasingly exalted. Children became the last symbols of purity in a world which was seen as increasingly ugly.”
—C. John Sommerville (20th century)