The Reverend Tanios Saad — The Teacher Who Is Gone

When self-made men are mentioned, the Reverend Tanios Saad stands in the vanguard: a mind of broad thought, a mighty force, a rare energy, a sincere patriotism, and a strong, steadfast faith that difficulties and obstacles could not shake. With these arms he entered the battlefield of life, a soldier utterly devoted to the service of learning, humanity, and the homeland. Sixty-eight years he spent as a mighty fighter, a teacher faithful to his mission, and a tender, guiding father. He was one of the few who founded national schools in the day when Lebanon stood in direst need of schools. He fought in the war of knowledge against ignorance. He was one of those who laid the foundation of the educational renaissance in Lebanon, and from the very beginning he took care that the language of the country should hold the first place in his institutions. And if the Reverend Tanios Saad showed us in his life what service unto sacrifice can be, then the throng of graduates, men and women, of the National College in Choueifat, together with those who loved him and knew his merit, showed us in his death what fidelity and gratitude can be. This shining page fate has folded away. Though he has vanished from sight, he will remain immortal in history and in hearts, and his memory will remain immortal with the immortality of his schools and of the sincere, faithful, patriotic women and men they bring forth.