ELIOT LEAVES LEGACY OF ADVICE

"What has just been said anticipates what I intended to say, namely, that the spirit of Harvard is wonderfully permanent in spite of the great variety of views, opinions, and practices in public and private life on the part of its graduates. I saw exactly that same spirit among the young men of Harvard when the Civil War broke out which I lately saw when America went to war with Germany;--the same identical spirit, the same purpose to do one's best to serve human welfare throughout our country.

"That is just the message I want to give to you today, young men. Serve the country, serve her in peace as well as in war, serve her by sacrificing money, for example, high professional earnings, in order to take public office, elective or appointive office. Serve her by your personal exertion in the towns, the cities and communities where you settle for your life.

"One other thing I want to say to you, young men,--use the opportunity of selecting studies which you have at Harvard to find out while you are here in what work, in what profession you can find joy in your work all your life. That is the thing that every young man ought to seek to find out--in what calling, in what profession, in what occupation am I going to find the work which will give me joy all my days? I have learned by observation of my own life--and I have indulged very little in such observations--but I observed some time ago that a large part of the happiness of life for me has come out of the joy in work. See to it, therefore, that you learn in what occupation or profession you will find long and continuous joy in work.

"There is one other exhortation which I should like to give you. Avoid to the utmost introspection. Avoid dwelling on your own state of mind. Does that seem to you opposite from the direction I last gave you? I said you should seek to find out where you could get joy in work. No, the joy in work which you will need does not involve self-reference. It does involve study on your part and with the help of teachers and friends, attention to what calling there is, in which you will find joy. But it does not involve introspection, reflection on yourself, or as it is common to speak of now, self-expression. The less you think of yourselves in this world, the better, and the sooner you get the passion for serving others, at home and abroad, at home particularly, the better. Do not put off marriage too much. Do not wait till you think you can offer the girl you want to marry all the luxuries and privileges to which in her father's home she was accustomed. When you have made up your mind give the girl a chance to tell you hers.

"I thank you very much for your coming here. I should like very much to look over these letters of students of Harvard University on my ninetieth birthday. A large part of the happiness I experience today comes from the fact that the hundreds of testimonies which reached me come from persons who are complete strangers to me and always have been, from persons with whom, according to their stories I never had any direct contact. They tell me that their careers have been determined by something they heard me say at a public meeting in their town, or by a passage in my writings which early attracted their attention. It is a delightful part of my experience today that I can try to imagine how diffused my influence has been for more than 50 years past, yes, 60 years, and it is really a great delight to remember--not to remember, but to be told--that actions of which I was at the time unconscious and now have no memory of, have been happy in the experience of thousands of persons. I wish for you all the attainment of a life of happiness. You cannot all expect to live as long as I have lived, but I hope you will all live long enough to experience the kind of happiness I have enjoyed today."