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A Marist Way of Living Hidden and Unknown The phrase "hidden and unknown" is part of the fabric of what it means to be a Marist, it gives inspiration to Marists and is a type of motto. For Marists, being more or less "hidden and unknown" in the world, is a call to simple, modest and humble action. The focus on the task rather than who is doing it. An example may help further explain. Once when Arturo Toscanini was preparing his orchestra to play one of Beethoven's symphonies, he said, "Gentlemen, I am nothing; you are nothing; Beethoven is everything." He knew his main task was to sink himself, and his orchestra, and let the music of Beethoven flow through. A Marist, in a certain sense, is like the person in a prompt box. What matters is the stage where you have the actors playing the drama, and yet you also have someone that nobody sees and nobody knows, in the prompt box. The prompt is there only to suggest at the last moment if the actor does not remember, or does not say what they are supposed to have said. The person in the prompt box makes the dialogue easier, but nobody looks at him or her, and if they were to venture onto the stage themselves, they would spoil the drama. For Fr Colin, the founder of the Society of Mary, being, "hidden and unknown" was the only way to do good.
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