University of Maryland Baltimore Dental School - Mirror Yearbook (Baltimore, MD)

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It is not all of success to resolve to be great. Greatness in character does not mean the evolution of some ponderous personality, which, like a massive piece of furniture, is out of all proportion to its setting, but a character which fully fills the niche it occupies, and from its station dispenses the bless- ings of high thinking and right doing. Greatness is the outgrowth of service to others. Not only is it impossible for one to resolve himself great, but though he lavish upon himself every effort of an earnest life, he will be as an inexperienced and untrained gawk, in comparison to him who has grown great in the service of his fellow. If every man who aspires to be great or resolves to be great should, without further ado, desert his habitual en- virons and flock to the door of place and power, he might knock till his knuckles were sore without gain- ing entrance, but what man who by toil and study has adequately prepared himself for useful service does not find himself already in the room of place and power? The diploma of the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery which the Class of 1912 acquires is no more than a form of introduction to professional life, the testimony of your Alma Mater that you are profes- sionally well-born and are of a family deserving station in any community which has regard for such dis- tinctions. Armed with this introduction you go forth to make or mar your own fortunes. There would be no failures in life if every loving mother ' s offspring might reap the fruition of her hopes. It rests with you to do her honor or to bring upon her household and name reproach. Every man should have a philosophy of life ; should resolve how it should be lived, and keep a watch- ful eye upon the execution of his purposes. The aimless and idle life is little less than criminal. In almost every corner of the world there is an opportunity for useful service. It waits the coming of the man capable of seizing it. Will you clutter up the way like useless hulks, or will you come with glad hearts and trained hands to do the world ' s work? Among other things, you have been trained in prescription writing. Let me write one which 1 believe if taken would make the Class of 1912 the greatest and most useful body of graduates of any college. r. Sleep outdoors, or with all the windows open. Go to the operating chair or laboratory bench early and quit while the sun shines. Spend at least fourteen hours every week in open daylight. 1G

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Under Wkat Flag Do You Sail ? gpjT a banquet in London, Mr. Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), soon after Oxford had conferred an honorary degree upon him, related this incident : A frivolous little self-important captain of a coasting sloop in the dried apple and kitchen furniture trade was always hailing every vessel that came in sight, just to hear him- self talk and air his small grandeurs. One day a majestic Indiaman came ploughing by, with course on course of canvas towering into the sky, her decks and yards swarming with sailors, with macaws and monkeys and all manner of strange and romantic creatures populating her rigging, and her freightage of precious spices lading the breeze with gracious and mysterious odours of the Orient. Of course, the little coaster-captain hopped into the shrouds and squeaked a hail: ' Ship ahoy! What ship is that, and whence and whither? ' In a deep and thunderous bass came the answer back through a speaking trumpet, ' The Begum of Bengal, a hundred and twenty-three days out from Canton— home- ward bound! What ship is that? ' The little captain ' s vanity was all crushed out of him, and most humbly he squeaked back, ' Only the Mary Anne, fourteen hours out from Boston, bound for Kittery Point with — with nothing to speak of ! ' This little book goes out with you as a record of doings at school, and may, perhaps, by some be pre- served to give zest to the memory of past days. But now as we go, shall we be captains of Indiamen, homeward bound, men of accomplishment and power, or Kittery Point captains, self-important, trad- ers in trifles? From my observation I am more and more convinced that the successful life is not lived by acci- dent. That which we call fortuitous circumstance is no more or less than opportunity which comes to all, but only those who are watchful and ready grasp it. With envious eyes we sometimes view those who we think by accident have come within the radius of fortune ' s smile. A careful analysis, however, will reveal one of two things : either in the personality and character of the one so blessed was the power and ability to force himself into the circle of charm, or the envied one will prove himself unprepared and the so-called blessings will turn to ashes on his lips. 15

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Spend at least fourteen hours every week in professional reading and study. Don ' t be narrow. Know all the poets and authors of merit. Avoid trashy fiction. Belong to and attend the church. Join in every movement for the benefit and uplift of your community. Vote at every election, but avoid self-seeking politics. Exchange freely with your professional brother opinions and demonstrations. Try out your theories of practice before you exploit them. Never attempt to deceive or make false impressions in reports of cases. Belong to your State and local dental and medical societies. Build every day an addition to the knowledge you now possess, and you will be sought for out of many. Never dismiss a patient until you are satisfied you have done your best. Bring into your service the sunshine of a glad heart, and let a smiling face be its index. If this prescription be not shaken, but regularly taken, it will bring that genuine success to which Woodrow Wilson refers in the following paragraph : We do not live for material success. Not one of us has ever been satisfied for a single moment by material success. We live in order that our spirits may be serene. We live in order that days may come in which, when the work is over, we may look our fellow-men in the eyes with unfaltering gaze, and when we shall come to the brink of the grave and go down into its depths we may know that we, at least, have done our little parts to see that men are elevated to the uplands of vision and unselfish achieve- ment. Dr. B. Holly Smith. 17