Near Rochester, New York, there is a little town that has the proud distinction of being the birthplace of Frances Willard.  There was nothing to distinguish her from other little girls when she was in school, but when she reached womanhood she gave her heart to a great cause; she became president of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, probably the greatest of the organizations among women ever formed.  Under her leadership that organization brought into the schools of the land instruction as to the effect of alcohol upon the system and that did more than any other one thing, I think, to bring National Prohibition.  The state of Illinois has placed the statue of this great woman in the Hall of Fame in the National Capitol; she is the first woman to be thus honoured.  What has she earned?

And so I might continue, for the name of the world’s great benefactors is legion.  And besides those whose services were of incalculable value a multitude have earned lesser sums ranging down to a modest fortune.  Every one can earn enough to supply all needs.  Every time I speak to the students of a college, high school, or primary grade I cannot help thinking that within the room there may be a boy or girl who will catch a vision of great achievement and, consecrating a life of service, do a work so valuable that all the arithmetics will not compute its worth.

But if I could furnish you a list containing the names of all who since time began rendered a service worth five hundred millions, one thing would be true of every one of them; namely, that never in a single case did the person collect the full amount earned.  Those who have earned five hundred millions have been so busy earning it that they have not had time to collect it, and those who have collected five hundred millions have been so busy collecting it that they have not had time to earn it.  Then, too, it must be remembered that those who render the greatest service serve more than their own generation—­some serve all who live afterward so that it is never possible to compute what they have earned.

And what is more, those who render the largest service do not care to collect the full amount earned.  What could they do with the sum that they actually earn?  Or, what is more important, what would so great a sum do with them?

In that wonderful parable of the Sower, Christ speaks of the seeds that fell and of the thorns that sprang up and choked them, and He Himself explained what He meant by this illustration, namely:  That the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the truth.  If the great benefactors of the race had been burdened with the care of big fortunes, they could not have devoted themselves to the nobler things that gave them a place in the affection of their people and in history.

It seems, therefore, that while one cannot rightfully collect more than he honestly earns, he may earn more than it would be wise for him to collect.  And that brings us to the next question:  How much should one desire to collect from society?  I answer, that no matter how large a service one may render or how much he may earn, he should not desire to collect more than he can wisely spend.