One of these is the privilege of living in the atmosphere and under the influence of the best thought of all the ages. It is a great mistake to suppose that bread and raiment are the only necessities of life. Some of its intellectual and spiritual necessities are quite as commanding as its physical ones. Those who fail to obtain them pay the penalty by living cramped lives and usually dying with their deeper longings unsatisfied. Good pictures, good music, good books, and good friends are among the kinds of meat that never perish. The values they bring are everlasting. A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses. When one has made a living, he has not necessarily lived. He has made only it possible to exist while he tries to live. His life is made up of the thoughts he thinks, the hopes he entertains, the associations he enjoys, and the tasks he performs. Earth and its physical necessities are only the stage and the setting for the drama. The play itself lies beyond them and is separate from them. The teacher is permitted to play always a leading role. He also enjoys the privilege of doing a work which carries with it something of its own reward. Some kinds of work detract from one’s strength and fitness. The work of the teacher adds to them. Each lesson he prepares leaves him by so much bigger and stronger. Each problem he masters adds to his mental sinew. Each instance in which he helps someone on the way benefits him more than it does the recipient of his attention. His is a treasure which only increases by being given away. His is the blessing of daily growth and development. Another compensation he enjoys is the privilege of living among the best people of the community. One is largely made by his associations, and his success in life depends largely on the type of friends he can cultivate. His admittance into the best society is itself a long step on the road to the highest success. The ordinary person must live in a new community for a long while before the best people make up their minds regarding him. Even after a long period of decision, they do not always see their way clear to admit him to their circle. The teacher is excused from much of this severe testing. His very work serves as his credentials. People assume that if he is a successful teacher he is eligible for the best society anywhere, and they are usually right about it. This means very much indeed. One cannot hope to reach a much higher level than that of the society in which he moves. A certain law of social erosion is always operative. By it the minds and personalities of people so act and react upon one another that they all tend to become alike. This being true, one cannot afford to move in any but the best society into which he can find his way. This is a matter in which the teacher has no difficulty.