am Biomed. BD ■ ' ^w^tt B725s 1883 ssffiJSWi! mm Hi ■ ' r. HBhhh SSfflBsSSS AMUR ! THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES Some of the Opportunities, Responsibilities and Encouragements of Life. AN ADDRESS DELIVERED BEFORE THE MASSACHUSETTS DENTAL SOCIETY, AT ITS EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING, IN BOSTON, DECEMBER 14. 1882. C. A. BRACKETT, D. M. D., * . > — Of Newport, R. I. BOSTON, MASS.: WRIGHT & POTTER PRINTING COMPANY, No. 1 8 Post Office Square. I88 3 . Some of the Opportunities, Responsibilities and Encouragements of Life. AN ADDRESS DELIVERED BEFORE THE MASSACHUSETTS DENTAL SOCIETY AT ITS EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING, IN BOSTON. DECEMBER 14. 1882. C. A. BRACKETT, D. M. D. Of Newport, R. I. BOSTON, MASS.: WRIGHT & POTTER PRINTING COMPANY, No. 18 Post Office Square. I88 3 . Massachusetts Dental Society, CODMAN AND ShUKTLEFF HALL, Boston, Mass., January 6, 1883. Dear Doctor: I hereby inform you of the passing of the following vote of the Society, at its Eighteenth Annual Meeting, held in the above hall, December 14-1.5, 1882: — Voted, That the thanks of this Society be tendered Dr. C. A. Brackett of Newport, R. I., for his able address, and that a copy of the same be requested for publication. W. E. PAGE, Secretary. 102 Touro St., Newport, R. I., January 9, 1883. W. E. Page, D. M. D., Secretary. Dear Doctor: — I have your official notification of the action of the Massachu- setts Dental Society in regard to my address. I assure you that the kindness is appreciated, and that I have much pleasure in placing the manuscript at the Soci- ety's disposal. Yours very truly, C. A. BRACKETT. ADDRESS. Mr. President, and Gentlemen of the Massachusetts Dental Society : In the land of Canaan, about the year 1141 before Christ. Israel went out to do battle against the Philistines, and was beaten with the loss of four thousand men. Then the elders of Israel, taking counsel together, determined upon bringing into their catnp the Ark of the Covenant as a talismanic re-enforcement, in the hope of reversing the tide of battle. The ark was accordingly at once sent for, and when it came into the camp there was such enthusiasm that " all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again." The Phil- istines, hearing this great noise, and learning its cause, were at first filled with consternation that the courage and energy of their adver- saries had been so strengthened ; but, realizing their extremity, they rallied, and inspirited one another with the words, " ' Be strong, and quit yourself like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you ; quit yourselves like men, and fight.' And the Philistines fought; and Israel was smitten, and they tied every man into his tent ; and there was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. And the ark of God was taken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas were slain." Tims the Philistines were completely victorious. By their determina- tion and energy they even captured Israel's cherished and venerated emblem ; and they kept it till they saw it was for their interest to sur- render it. Just twelve hundred years afterward the apostle Paul, writing from Philippi to the young Christian church at Corinth, exhorted them in almost the same earnest words that had been the rallying cry .of the Philistines. " Watch ye ; stand fast in the faith; quit you like men; be strong." For the privilege of appearing before 3*011 to-day us your annual orator I am grateful. I am mindful of the fact that in 3-ears past you have called to this place your wisest and best men ; and, however unworthy I may be, I do not attempt to conceal my gratification at being allowed a position at the foot of so long and so creditable a line. At the same time that I express appreciation of the honor von have (lone me, I must ask your indulgence for having chosen a suit- ject a little aside from such as have usually been considered in the annual address ; but I am sure that you will admit that it is not entirely inappropriate. In a simple way my theme concerns ourselves, and some aspects of our existence here. The fact that we are dentists should not be per- mitted to overshadow the fact that we are men. In the earnestness of our pursuit of our calling we are in danger of forgetting that our sec- ular occupation, broadly considered, is not an end, but in a high and w T ortlry sense a means. It is an adventitious circumstance corre- sponding to what the grammarian calls " the accident of inflection." The great root of existence, with all its possibilities and responsibilities, goes deeper and is of more importance. Through its intelligent con- sideration we may come to have truer and better views of our daily life, just as the application to particulars is easy after the generaliza- tions are learned. Pope has truly said, " The proper study of mankind is man." In a certain sense it is the only study, for our relations, connections and de- pendencies are such as to include all things. The study of man, broadly undertaken, is as wide as the universe, higher than the heavens, more profound than the depths, as unending as eternity. As all the mate- rial commerce of the world has for its object the gratification of man's corporal nature, so all of life, its communications and experiences, have their part and influence in moulding us, in developing us, in determining what we shall be, here and hereafter. " What a piece of work is a man ! how noble in reason ! how infinite in faculty ! in form and moving how express and admirable ! in action how like an angel ! in apprehension how like a god ! " It is a matter for great marvelling that so little thought is given to the great problems of existence, that there is so little consideration of its duties, its privileges, its responsibilities, its opportunities. Of al things in the world of which we should expect men to take the most thought, this existence is the first ; 3-et we all go on from da}- to da}' in the unthinking pursuit of desultory inclinations, or anxious and troubled about many trifling details, but without reference to our work as a whole, or consideration of what the outcome of all shall be. We come into a busy world ; we see men everywhere struggling with labor and care. Without inquiring wherefore, we plunge into the vor tex ; when we should lay out for ourselves a plan, definite at all prom inent points, with worthy objects to be attained all along the line and at the end, so that we may work intolligently, economize our strength and our resources, and make the result of every effort a step in the accomplishment of the desired consummation. Physically, man is a machine, not unlike a locomotive, or any other complex mechanism for the conversion of matter and force. Certain supplies being provided and certain conditions observed, certain proc- esses are performed, and certain results obtained. It is easy to say and to see that that this machinery should be wisely cared for, cleansed, lubricated and intelligently guided. It is a most important element of the " mens sana in corpore sano." But the human body is more than a machine. It is for the time not only the means of im- pression and expression of the mind and spirit ; but it is their abiding place, and should be made and kept fit temple for their indwelling. But it is in connection with man's higher faculties, their culture and development, that a wisely considered and comprehensive plan is most essential. Let us think for a few moments of the opportunities which we have. The world demands men. " The sage who lit a candle in the day, And, wisely peering, said, ' I seek a man,' Was not so crazy after all, for they Are seen as rarely now as they were then. 'There's any quantity of gentlemen ; You know them by their oath, and their cigar And cranium's emptiness; not one in ten, Is sensible as Plato's bipeds were." The search of Diogenes has been continued from that day to this. It goes on perpetually. At a time when business had not fully recovered from the depression following the crisis of '73, and while the advertising columns of the newspapers were crowded with •'Situations wanted," one of the successful business men of State Street, a man of large experience, careful observation, and thoroughlj* conversant with the matter of which he Avas speaking, said to me, '•Instead of the supply of men being greater than the demand, for every capable, faithful, energetic man, willing to work, who will devote himself earnestby to furthering the interest of his employer, there are a hundred situations open. Business men have all the time to be on the lookout for trustworthy assistants." At the annual dinner of the Harvard Club of Rhode Island at New- port last September, Prof. Agassiz in responding to the toast " Our Alma Mater," said in substance, referring more particularly to the departments at Cambridge perhaps, that Harvard is not now in such need of more money, more endowments, more bricks and mortar, as she is of men of high capacity and special traiuing to carry on the work that mind alone can do. These two expressions may be taken as t}*pes of many that might be quoted. The world everywhere and all the time wants men to do its work of every kind. If students, if 8 young men desiring advancement, only appreciated a little of how their capacity is being gauged and their conduct watched by those who have vacant places to fill, it would seem that they would some- times be more circumspect. They should remember, also, the other fact, that the mere seeking a position is not the essential part of being worthy of it. Not all of the advice to his son, of Lord Chesterfield, as contained in his letters, is above criticism ; but prominent among the good things which he did urge upon him was that thorough prep- aration for the business of life that should make him necessary to the world, so necessary that instead of his having to seek the world for what it could do for him, the world would seek him for what he must do for it. We are all too apt to be looking indefinitely forward for some great work to do; when our spirit and capacity would be far better demonstrated by doing excellently each day the ordinary sim- ple tasks that fall to our lot. After all, it is this regular discharge of simple duties that in the aggregate is most useful to the world, and makes up the major part of its greatness. Our lamented Lincoln did indeed a great thing in proclaiming the slaves free ; but the warfare, and the bloodshed, the largess of treasure, the sacrifice of life, the statesmanship, the care, the education, the elevation needed to make the emancipation in the highest sense an accomplished fact, have re- quired and received contributions from millions of people. The world justly reveres its very great men ; but it needs only a few of them in proportion to the unnumbered multitudes of smaller great men that must cany on its ordinary business concerns. In the great drama of this life we ma}' adopt a much worse policy than the earnest, faithful doing of the duty that lies nearest, and then the next, and the next, persistently ; just as one crossing a broad, shallow stream in a mist, on stepping-stones, finds the way a step at a time till the other shore is gained. Goethe wisely says, " Man is not born to solve the problem of the universe, but to find out what he has to do, and to restrain himself within the limits of his comprehension." We of to-day are greatly favored in the times in which we live. The multiplication of books and of educational institutions, general and special, the accumulation of material resources, the possession of more time apart from that consumed in the struggle for mere existence, the marvellous advancement of science, the progress of investigation, the revelation of truth of every kind, with all the helps and conveniences, now indispensable, which these have given our daily life, suggest a few of our many privileges. Think that a hun- dred years ago there were no railroads, no steam navigation, no tele- graph, no telephone, no anaesthetics, little knowledge of electricity, no friction matches even, — none of the upwards of two hundred and seventy-three thousand ameliorating inventions whose specifica- tions are recorded in the archives of the Patent Office, and which have contributed so incalculably to the amount of work which the world has been able to do, and to the amount of material comfort which it has enjoyed and is enjoying. A hundred years ago, even, the dentist, as a product of American soil, had hardly begun to exist. More than one small boy has had intervals of wishing that himself had lived in the last century. But in all this marvellous, unprecedented progress of the recent past, only the beginning has been made in the wonders of discovery and invention that the unresting spirit of those who quit themselves like men will bring out for the convenience and blessing of the world in the future. In this there is unlimited opportunity for accomplish- ment. Such simple processes as hewing wood, drawing water, build- ing fire, we have had repeatedly shown susceptible of improvement, and they ma}' be improved again. Hardly an appliance, a material, or a process is yet made as nearby perfect as it can be. We need to open our eyes that we may see, and sharpen our wits that we may understand something of what may be revealed to us. Men saw apples fall to the earth many times before they learned the great lesson that Newton read therein. They saw maivy flashes of lightning before Franklin led it quietly down his kite-string, and demonstrated that even it respects a silken cord, and may be harnessed to do man's bidding. Plato's description of man as a biped without feathers, and even with flat nails, comprehends but a small portion of the characteristics distinguishing him from the rest of the animal kingdum. We some- times hear low and mean actions of men spoken of as beastby. Such expressions are a vile slander on the beasts. They are given certain natures which they have no power to change. A lion must be a lion, a hyena a hyena, a sheep a sheep, a musquito a musquito. Indeed, a man might do well to imitate the good qualities of man}' of the lower orders, — the high spirit, ambition and ready service of the horse, the patience and steady plodding of the ox, the faithfulness to trusts and abiding friendship of the dog, the far-sightedness and per- severance of the hawk, the industry and provision for the future of the ant and the bee, the light-heartedness and cheeriness of singing birds, the courage to undertake great labors, with means commensu- rate only in energy, of the beaver, the steady persistence to an end, though its attainment be many times thwarted and the same work have to be done over and over again, of the spider. Animals, too, are content to work each in his appointed sphere. The}' are not vic- tims of the alcohul habit, the opium habit, of, shall I say, the tobacco 10 habit, and they are not often guilty of abasing any of their natural powers. But man is given a different degree of intelligence, knowl- edge of good and of evil, capacity to restrain his lower nature and to cultivate and make better his higher. The opportunities of this life are not all material. There is the opportunity for building ourselves, for character building, for mould- ing and developing all that better part of us which is not material, which cannot die, and whose future existence must be so largely affected by the way in which this opportunity is improved. There is the opportunity for helping others in innumerable ways, for lessening pain, for relieving trouble, for soothing sorrow, for giving cheer, for pointing out encouragement, for conferring happiness. And here may be produced results grander and more enduring than anything that the material world can show ; and the agencies are so simple, the expenditure in proportion to results so trifling. A smile, a kind word, a flower, an expression of appreciation, of approval, of praise, of friendship. How inspiriting is a little deserved commendation for a child ! and — • Men are but children of a larger growth ; Our appetites are apt to change as theirs, And full as craving, too, and full as vain '' One of Chicago's successful men, lawjer, railroad president, busi- ness man, told me last summer that in his beginning, after one of his early appearances in court, a certain judge, for whom he had great respect, remarked to some one so that it came to his cars, "That \V will make a smart lawyer." " Why, on the strength of that one remark," said W , " I worked like a Trojan for a whole year." Multitudes of instances have occurred in which so little a thing as this has changed entirely the current of a life, aud made all the differ- ence between despair and courage, between dependence and self-sup- port, between listnessness and energy, between vice and virtue, be- tween failure and success, between misery and happiness. Influence may be exerted to depress and hinder as well as to encourage and sustain. Put yourself in the place of an actress making a debut in a strange city, before audiences in the highest degree exacting, and see if you are not so overwhelmed by the avalanches of adverse criticisms as to be incapable of doing justice to the degree of capacity you actually possess, — unless, indeed, you have the strength to rise up as did Disraeli, when ridiculed and scorned in his weak early attempts to make a speech in the House of Commons, and say, " The time will come when you will hear me," and make the promise good. 11 This matter of influence is an immense one, and we cannot discuss it now. We were speaking of opportunities, and in connection with this question of helpfulness, will only stop to say that there are con- stantly, daily and hourly, arising occasions when small investments in these little tilings may realize incalculable dividends for ourselves, for those around us, and for the world. What else shall we say of opportunities, except that in them we are given all for which self-reliant human nature can reasonably ask? In the little things of daily life we have a better than Archime- dean chance to move the world, not grossly, but by brightening the little spot of earth on which our lot ma)" be cast, and sweetening the little atmosphere about us. A friend, a bus)* and earnest physician, of Western Massachusetts, enthusiastically said to rue on Thanksgiving Day, " If we would only improve our time and our capacities to their utmost, we might be gods instead of men." But there are limitations even to opportunity. Two or three of these must be mentioned. Perhaps the chiefest of these comes from time, which passes so rapidly that we are old before realizing it. But yes- terday we were boys, wondering what the great world had in store for us ; to-day. its work, its cares, its responsibilities are upon us : to-mor- row, we go hence to be remembered no more. The carefully prepared Combined Experience Tables of Mortality, show that an individual at thirty years of age has an expectation of life of 34.43 years ; at forty, 27.28; at fifty, 20.18; at sixty, 13.77; at seventy, 8.54 ; at eighty, 4.70. According to these tables one reaches the middle of life during the thirty-third year. A material percentage of our number have already passed that point, and have commenced upon the last half. A very large part of the world at that age have only got fairly started in the work of life ; and few realize that they have already crossed the meri- dian, — that for them the sun is westering to its setting, and that the time that remains to them, even upon the average, is inexpressibly precious. It seems marvellous how r any one who has really arrived at years of discretion can find time hanging heavily on his hands. To have to resort to expedients " to kill time " is pitiable ; it seems almost as sacrilegious as to destroy life. " Dost thou cling to life?" questions Richter ; -'then improve thy time, for that is the stuff of which life is made." The Spaniards have a proverb which says, " Fortune knocks once at every man's door." Happy he who has his latch-string hanging on the outside, and who attends to the call when it comes. Again, as the length of our work is inexorably determined by time, its breadth is also brought within narrow compass by the limitations 12 of human capacity. It has been well said that three principal cir- cumstances combine to make up the character of a man, — his birth, his environment, his own efforts. The first is entirely beyond his own control. If the Declaration of American Independence were to be con- strued as affirming that " all men are created equal," in any other than a political sense, we should say at once that the Declaration was guilty of telling a — mistake. Many are heavily handicapped in the race of life by this first circumstance of heredity. Happy for them if it be only physical weakness or deformity, and not also low grovelling nat- ures, vicious tendencies, criminal proclivities. The accident of envi- ronment, though not quite so absolute as that of birth, can usually be hardly at all modified by the individual during the most impression- able years. Later, a man may in a measure choose his own surround- ings ; but, in a general way, we may say that man has little control over the first two circumstances of his make-up, and that the third circumstance, his own efforts, which he is supposed to entirely direct, cannot escape the modifying influences of the other two. Perhaps this is not the strictest logic ; but it will serve our purpose. With so much to affect one's determination to do well, it follows that the determination should be as strong as possible. But with natural gifts, contributing influences, and voluntary efforts, at their best, man can compass but little. Truly the most profound student, while knowing a little of many things, can hope to know thoroughly well only one thing. The artist and the artisan can hope to excel in doing but one thing, and the}' may deem themselves blest if the}' succeed in accomplishing so much as that. In these days of wise division of stud}' and work into specialties, and of rapid ad- vancement in every science and every art, one has to be very bright and very industrious to keep abreast of the times in his calling. We should learn to practically appreciate all these limitations, and be content to have only a general knowledge of geology, for instance, fashionable society, literature, art, history, statesmanship, finance, law, theology, and scores of other subjects, if we thereby are enabled to know and to do dentistry thoroughly well. The other things should he taken up, only so far as they may be made to contribute to our main work, for relaxation, or as we can afford to pursue them for the general culture. Opportunities imply obligations ; great opportunities, great obliga- tions. We have for our possession and advantage and enjoyment all the encluriug products of the labor of those who have gone before us. We live in their houses ; we ride over their streets ; we have commerce at their wharves ; we buy and sell in their warehouses ; we read their books ; we admire their great art products ; we adorn our houses with 18 copies of their handiwork ; we worship in their churches ; we enjoy all the inestimable blessings of " life, libert}% and the pursuit of hap- piness," in this glorious land bought with their blood, and yet again redeemed by the sacrifice of thousands of valuable lives. It is true that we have done some things for ourselves ; but here is an op- portunity for us to appreciate the foundations that have rendered our superstructure possible. With regard to all these heritages of the ages we are trustees, at liberty to use and enjoy the blessings in our time, but bound to pass them on to posterity, not only unimpaired, but with interest. To particularize a little, it is every man's duty, first, to at least not be a burden upon the world. The tramp's proposition that the world owes him a living without effort on his part, is the very converse of true. Some of the lowest forms of animal life do indeed sustain themselves by simply absorbing or enveloping the nourishment that lies beside them ; but a man in the world of men, as in any other co- operative organization, has no right to partake of the fruits of others' labors, or to be supported from the general fund without making his due contribution for the benefit of the whole. Every man who avoids doing his part makes it so much harder for those who have the bur- dens to bear. The work of the world need not press unduly upon any if it were equally distributed. The man who habitually and with malice aforethought, avoids the liquidation of his pecuniary obliga- tions, and especially while keeping up a luxurious style of living upon the earnings of other people, the majority of whom are usually unable to make the contributions, is a fit candidate for the whipping-post ; and for such I am an earnest advocate for its revival. These people are not constituted so as to suffer any punishment from public opinion or from any moral influences which their creditors are able to bring to bear against them. Their " inward monitor " is indeed an ironclad. For them seclusion for a time in well warmed rooms, with good board at the State's expense, is too comfortable, and hanging does not last long enough. AVhile we are speaking of pecuniary things, there are two other obligations so important and pertinent for us, in common with all men, and so largely neglected, that I am sure you will pardon me for naming them. The fii'st of these is life insurance. If we have any dear ones whose circumstances are at all dependent upon the contin- uance of our exertions in their behalf, it is a most sacred, as it should be a foremost duty, to put their future comfort beyond a perad venture so far as investments in stable security of this kind can provide. We see around us constantly arising so many illustrations of the sad con- sequences of neglect of this thing that I need only call them to your 14 minds to present the most forcible arguments. The other matter has reference to the disposal of our possessions, if we have not near ones who need them. I know you will meet this at the outset by saying that a dentist's accumulations are not so large as to occasion him or anybody else any anxiety as to their disposal. This is true enough ; but the instance might occur in which a dentist had a hundred dollars, or several hundred dollars, which he would like to have put to the best possible use after lie was through with it. If he has a preference as to that use he should make no mistake in indicating it in legal form ; and if he chooses to include among his beneficiaries any good school for the education of young men in our profession, the donation would fall into most appreciative hands, be the means of helping to set aside one of the most serious embarrassments under which such institutions struggle, and help a most worthy cause. Said Francis Bacon, writing nearly three hundred years ago, in the preface to his " Maxims of the Law": u I hold every man a debtor to his profession; from the which as men of course do seek to receive countenance and profit, so ought the}- of duty to endeavor themselves, by way of amends, to be a help and ornament thereto." This is peculiarly true for us on account of the rapid advancement which has been given our profession. The young men of to-day come easily into the enjoyment of many advantages which the fathers, as sturdy pioneers, worked out for us with great toil and difficulty. As men we have other obligations, many and various ; obligations to ourselves, family obligations, social obligations, moral and religious obligations, obligations to the community in which we live, obliga- tions which grow out of our possession of ability or capacity of any kind that can serve those about us ; and the extent of these obliga- tions is commensurate with our capacity. Of old the percentage was held to be the same whether the loan was five talents, or two talents, or one talent ; and the widow's mite was more than all other contributions. It is very important that we recognize the fleeting character of the circumstances that permit the liquidation of many of these obliga- tions. Some one, whom I should be glad to be able to quote to you by name, puts this very effectively in a simile of life as a journey, himself as a traveller, and he says in substance : " If I may do ser- vice to an}- let me do it now, for I shall not pass this way again." The circumstances of no one of our days can ever come back to us to be acted over. " True work is in being, not seeming, In doing each day that goes by Some little good, not in dreaming Of great things to do by and by. 15 For whatever men say in their blindness, And spite of the fancies of youth, There is nothing so kingly as kindness, And nothing so royal as truth." " A sacred burden is this life ye bear, Look on it, lift it, bear it solemnly ; Stand up and walk beneath it steadfastly : Fail not for sorrow, falter not for sin, But onward, upward, till the goal, ye win."' " Whatsover thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might, for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave whither thou goest." But let us hasten to the mention of some of the sources of en- couragement and cheer in our work ; and note, first, that however humble and disadvantageous the circumstances of our beginning are, they should not be in the least disheartening, but rather the reverse. We may see daily by reading the obituary columns of the press, that a very large proportion of those who have earned prominent and honored positions were strengthened and disciplined and developed by a hard struggle in the beginning. Biography repeats the same story over and over again in the lives of great men. Think of Demosthenes, of Columbus, of Milton, of Shakespeare, Bach, Arkwright, Watt, Stephenson, Johnson, Ferguson, Franklin, Morse, Burritt, Grant, Wilson, Lincoln, Garfield, and hundreds of others whom these may serve to suggest. Let us appreciate, in the second place, the great blessing, instead of what many are prone to consider the condemnation, to man of labor, labor that preys not upon the foibles and weaknesses of humanity, but that aims to render the world useful, productive service. " A servant with this clause Makes drudgery divine ; Who sweeps a room as for thy laws, Makes that and th' action fine." The man whose whole soul is in his work may be cold, or wet, or dinnerless, or sleepless, and not know it. The miseries are shut out by the preoccupation. It is not in the nature of man to be idle with- out suffering ill consequences. The mill that has nothing to grind grinds itself. " The trenchant blade, Toledo trusty, For want of fighting has grown rusty ; And ate into itself, for lack Of somebody to hew and hack." 16 The spirit of doing our work, whatever it is. .it our best, is also a most helpful and cheering one for ourselves. Said a gentlemen who was, by the proprietor, being shown through works that had gained a high and extended reputation for the production of hammers of superior quality, " I suppose you have got so that you make a pretty good hammer." The reply came instantly, " Sir, I never made a pretty good hammer." Pleasure flies persistently from pursuit ; but she comes to abide with the man who, instead of wooing her directly, gives his attention to the discharge of his duty. One that has had no experience can have no conception of the pleasure of accomplishment, and particularly of accomplishment under difficulties. One who has never been weary can have no appreciation of the comfort of well-earned rest ; and the discipline and develop- ment growing out of these experiences are among the most valuable of every-day life. If we would onby realize the fact, for it is a fact, that we have more reason for happiness in our daily work, with all its cares, and anxieties, and perplexities, and wearinesses, than would be possible for us to have under any circumstances that we could con- trive for ourselves, we should sec little occasion or pretext for down- heartedness. " Heaven is not reached at a single bound, But we build the ladder by which we rise From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies, And we mount to the summit round by round." We have great encouragement to begin tasks iu the fact that beginning is usually the most difficult part. It has been well said that every quarter of an hour well or ill spent makes it easier or harder for us to spend the next quarter of an hour well. Every time we yield to temptation makes it easier for us to yield again. " ^Ye first endure, then pit}', then embrace." Emerson says : " A great part of courage is the courage of having done the thing before ; and in all human action those faculties will be strong which are used." The old proverb has it, " Choose that course of life which is the most excel- lent, and habit will render it the most delightful." One who is be- ginning to make a success is all the time getting farther and farther out on the long end of the lever. Accompanying the feeling of success should always be one of cau- tion. " Let him who thinketh he stand eth take heed lest he fall." In the grandest success there is an element of danger growing out of that very success. Everything having been successful one comes to think that everything must be successful, and the great prerequisites 17 of care, discretion and vigilance are neglected. Failures under such circumstances are most mortifying. None can remain stationary. We must all be making progress or falling behind. When one feels that he has conquered all his little world there is reason to fear that his little world has begun the conquest of him. But a gospel of cheer is needed, not so much for success as for the want of success, ineffectual effort, failure: and that gospel is not lacking. " No endeavor is in vain ; Its reward is in the doing ; And the rapture of pursuing Is the prize the vanquished gain. 1 ' We often have the opportunity to learn more from our failures than from our successes. Every failure should be a rock upon which to securely base a success, and the adverse criticisms of ourselves, our friends or our enemies should help us to build up that success. And so in the discipline of all the trials and afflictions and so-called calam- ities of this world we should see blessing. " Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." " Who ne'er his bread in sorrow ate, Who ne'er the mournful midnight hours Weeping upon his bed has sate, — He knows you not, ye Heavenly Powers." The finest porcelain is made from clay that has had severe grinding ; and the noblest human natures that brighten this lower world have been refined and purified and ennobled through suffering. It is a wise philosophy that starts out forseeing that "Into each life some rain must fall," and is prepared to accept it as a part of experience that cannot be spared. Much disappointment ma}- be avoided by not expecting too much, — b}' understanding in advance that the best laid plans " gang aft a-gley ; " and much of every-day cheerfulness, after having used our best endeavors, comes from our being able to sa} T , " I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be con- tent." Happiness comes not so much from the multitude of our bless- t ings as from the proportion between our desires and our possessions. We should be prepared for conflicts with depression, hypochon- driasis ; but even this need not be beyond our control. Stanhope s.iys : " I am convinced that a light supper, a good night's sleep and a rne morning have sometimes made a hero of the same man who, bv an indigestion, a restless night and a rainy morning would have IS proved a coward." A little sensible analysis of ourselves and out- experiences will enable us in a degree to set aside abnormal suffering of this kind. For real sources of annoyance, anxiety, or regret that may arise in our practice or in our relations with the world in an}' way, no better suggestion has been made than that given by Dr. Edward Waldo Emerson, in his annual address in April last before the South Middlesex Medical Society : we should ponder over troubles just so far as we can get profit from them in the way of help out of the difficulties, or avoidance of similar ones on other occasions, and then drop them. Similar doctrine is that which teaches that we should not worry over two certain classes of things : first, those which we cannot help ; and, second, those that we can help, — each for obvious reasons. All that the past has in it of evil should be put under the feet ; all that the present has in it of blessing should be enjoyed ; for the future, cherish hope and work with courage. " Evil is like a nightmare ; the instant you begin to strive with it, to bestir yourself, it is already ended." The results of right efforts are cumulative. Practice enables us to do our work better and more easily ; experience makes us wiser ; acquaintance with annoyances and difficulties should teach us how to remedy them, or to bear them with patience. Then, too, the material results of our work are cumulative. The prosperous man is able to note each year a gain in this respect ; and he should find that he can from time to time command new comforts, new advantages, new bless- ings. Anything of this kind that has been looked forward to, and struggled for, and earned, has a peculiar zest in the realization. Something to work for is an essential element of happiness. In this particular we may be perpetually favored ; and as step after step is accomplished we may reap corresponding increments of satisfaction. If we but come into their possession in the right way, all the good things of this world are given for our enjoyment. A lively sense of appreciation of blessings is in itself one of the chief. A visitor at an almshouse met there a poor old woman who had suffered the loss of friends, property, home, health, everything that we are accustomed to look upon as making life desirable ; but she was filled with a spirit of genuine thankfulness. " Yes," she said, " I have indeed lost and suffered much; but bless the Lord, I have got two teeth left, one in each jaw, and the}' meet each other." We are surrounded by a world of beauty and blessing if we will only open our eyes to see and our hearts to receive. " And this our life, . . . Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, Sermons in stones, and good in evervthing." 19 The dentist is blessed in that his work is so directly with people, and so largely with the better class of people in the community. He has an opportunhVy to contemplate many of the pleasanter and nobler aspects of humanit}^ and by them he should be himself culti- vated and retined. Our burnishers, used constantly upon gold, come to reflect something of the nobler metal. We ought not to be less alive than cold steel to improving influences. Happy the man who so cultivates his better nature that, as he goes through life and gains added experience, he grows more gentle, more appreciative, more considerate, more charitable, more tender ; who looks upon the world in a spirit of optimism, as being alike more satisfactory to himself and more just and true to the world ; who does his w r ork in his time, and, when his turn comes to resign, resigns gracefully ; who is con- tent with the fact that however large a place he may have filled in the world's affairs, the vacancy left will be of the same size that is shown by withdrawing a needle from water, and that even if he is a king, the proclamation will be, " The king is dead ; long live the king ! " Web- ster said truly, k * One may live as a conqueror, a king or a magistrate ; but one must die as a man." May we quit us like men. " So live that when thy summons comes to join The innumerable caravan which moves To that mysterious i - ealrn where each shall take His chamber in the silent halls of death, Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night, Scourged to his dungeon ; but, sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave Like one that wraps the drapery of his couch About him and lies down to pleasant dreams." So live that at the end thou mayst be able to say, tk I have fought a good fight; ... I have kept the faith." ' 'I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do." So live that thou mayst hear the benediction, " Well done, good and faithful servant ; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things ; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. ■"-'<■'■