Success, then, in the highest sense, is a full realization of the highest wealth of body, mind, and soul. And while it does not disparage material aggrandizement, it makes it subservient, ever looking to an equalization of the greater revenues of life. Like truth it consists in a right proportion of things; and like character, is inherent in the nature of the individual. Success must embrace all the cardinal virtues. It must arise from the harmonious and fullest use of all the faculties. In its essence, it is the aggregate of those things which we have acquired, and which we are putting to a wise and useful purpose. The way of life is strewn with those who have done fairly well. Excellence is the golden quality to seek. Success, like a commodity, has its price, and he who would have it must be willing to pay. You can not buy it on a bargain counter; it is a staple product and demands full value--the sublimest qualities of your being. "In the lexicon of youth, which fate reserves for a bright manhood, there is no such words as--fail." III The Messenger of Fate "They Seized the Favorable Moment." Take all reasonable advantage of that which the present may offer you.... It is the only time which is ours. Yesterday is buried forever, and to-morrow we may never see. --Victor Hugo. Master of human destinies am I; Fame, love, and fortune on my footsteps wait, Cities and fields I walk; I penetrate Deserts and seas remote, and passing by Hovel and mart and palace, soon or late I knock unbidden once at every gate; If sleeping wake; if feasting, rise before I turn away. It is the hour of fate, And they who follow me reach every state Mortals desire and conquer every foe Save death; but those who doubt or hesitate, Condemned to failure, penury, and woe, Seek me in vain and uselessly implore; I answer not and I return no more. --John J. Ingalls. Opportunity The famous statue, "Take Time by the Forelock," was a masterpiece of Greek sculpture. A noted Athenian orator, Callistratus, has given us a picture of the work of art: "Opportunity was a boy in the flower of his youth, handsome in mien, his hair fluttering at the caprice of the wind, leaving his locks disheveled. Like Dionysius, his forehead shone with grace, and his cheeks glowed with splendor. With winged feet to indicate swiftness, he stood upon a sphere, resting upon the tips of his toes as if ready for flight. His hair fell in thick curls from his brow, easy to take hold upon. But upon the back of his head there were only the beginnings of hairy growths, and, when he had once passed, it was not possible to seize him." An ancient legend gives us a more vivid idea of the significance of the statue: "Who art thou?" "Time, the all-subduer." "Why standest thou on tiptoe?" "I speed ever." "Why hast thou double wings on each foot?" "I fly with the wind." "But why is thy hair over thine eye?" "To be grasped by him who meets me."