But That Which Is Good And Pleasant To Us Is Often Not Good And
Pleasant Altogether.
Every man's chief object is himself; and the
philanthropist should endeavor to regard this question, not from
his own point of view, but from that which would be taken by the
individuals for whose happiness he is anxious.
The honest, happy
rustic makes a very pretty picture; and I hope that honest rustics
are happy. But the man who earns two shillings a day in the
country would always prefer to earn five in the town. The man who
finds himself bound to touch his hat to the squire would be glad to
dispense with that ceremony, if circumstances would permit. A
crowd of greasy-coated town artisans, with grimy hands and pale
faces, is not in itself delectable; but each of that crowd has
probably more of the goods of life than any rural laborer. He
thinks more, reads more, feels more, sees more, hears more, learns
more, and lives more. It is through great cities that the
civilization of the world has progressed, and the charms of life
been advanced. Man in his rudest state begins in the country, and
in his most finished state may retire there. But the battle of the
world has to be fought in the cities; and the country that shows
the greatest city population is ever the one that is going most
ahead in the world's history.
If this be so, I say that the argument of my Canadian friend was
naught.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 82 of 538
Words from 21736 to 21991
of 143277
