Page:A History of the University of Chicago by Thomas Wakefield Goodspeed.djvu/455

SOME IMPORTANT EVENTS 401 It is a great pleasure for me to be present on this occasion. Five years have quickly passed since my last visit, and I see on every hand the great work which has been accomplished during that period greater by far than our most sanguine expectations at that time. The University he declared "would not be in existence today had it not been for" President Harper. After congratulating the University on its Trustees and faculty, Mr. Rockefeller continued : Students of the University of Chicago, what can I say to you that will enable you to make the best use of your opportunities ? You look out upon the world with bright prospects, and from a standpoint far more advantageous than that of many who preceded you. Whatever your station may be here- after, do not fail to turn gratefully to your families and friends who have stood by you in your time of struggle for an education. Many of them toiled inces- santly through long, weary years, that you might be possessed of advantages which they were unable to secure for themselves. I entreat you not to forget them, and not to fail, as the years go by, frequently to express to them your gratitude and regard, and to return to them, in loving and helpful attentions, the proof of the sincerity of your unfailing appreciation. These expressions will give happiness to them, and the reflex influence of your words and acts of gratitude will bring blessing to you. We all rejoice in your hope of success. We trust that you will be so anchored in the possession of sterling qualities that you will turn to best account whatever life has in store for you. In the end the question will be, not whether you have achieved great distinction and made yourselves known to all the world, but whether you have fitted into the niches God has assigned you, and have done your work day by day in the best possible way. We shall continue in the future, as in the past, to need great men and women to fill the most important positions in the commercial and professional world, but we shall also need just as much the men and women who can and will fill the humblest positions uncomplainingly and acceptably. The vital thing is to find as soon as possible the place in life where you can best serve the world. Whatever position this is, it is the highest position in the sight of good men and in the economy of God. I tremble to think of the failures that may come to some of you who are possessed of the brightest intellects and capable of the greatest accomplishments. I shall expect to see many who are here present among the slow, methodical, plodding ones, who are not at all distinguished as you are for brilliancy, go forward until at last they are found occupying positions of greatest honor and responsibility. Some of the foes which threaten your success may not be apparent to you until it is too late. If you are to succeed in life, it will be because you master your- selves, and if you are to continue masters, and not slaves, you do not need that I should say to you here today that you must jealously guard the approach of any foe to your well-being. You will do well not to underestimate the strength