Democratic enquirer. [volume] (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1867-1873, 1868-04-02
NEWS AND MISCELLANY.
WASTING TIME.
A Plea Tor Occasional IdIene.s.


From Once Week.
We endeavored the other day to give
some illustrations OF the fact that
waste is merely q relative term, and
that q mans notion of what it is and
what il is not must depend upon his
own character and education. This is
strikingly exemplifed in the ordinary
fashion Of talking about wasted time.
Find out what a man considers to be
q waste of time, and you have the
readiest key to his Individuality. In
practical country like ours, such an in
quiry, if at all extended, would lead to
rather amusing results. The illogical
habits of thought into which custom
has driven many men, are nowhere SO
clearly brought into relief as in
those theories of the value of
time which crop up in private
conversation and in proverbs. We have
no hesitation in saying that if the reader
chooses to go round his friends, and
sound their convictions on the subject,
he will find that the majority of them
have a vague belief that all time is
wasted which does not produce q re-
markable result. Let US take the case
of a man of science, who has been ap-
pointed teacher in some college, and Of
whom great things are expected, both
by his friends and the public. When
testudies hard to gather up the knowl.
edge written by other men, and when
he busies himself day and night with
personal investigation OF natural phe-
nomena, he is said to be making the
most of time. He is doing his best to be.
come learned, famous and rich. II,
however, he betrsy a strong inclination
for apparently objeetless dawdling in
the country; il he likes to lie in an
easy chair, with neither book nor plant
before him; il, to outward seeming, he
does nothing, then is he wasting his
time terribly. The same with the
author. If he keeps himself constant
ly employed in studying either books
or men-having always before him
set purpose-he is making the most Of
his time. II he lie on his back on the
lawn, and look up into the blue and
white above him until his eyes are
dazed with old memories, he is an idler
--he is wasting his time. The same
with the merchant. If he come into
business by the morning train as pune.
tual as the train itself; il he 20 on from
years end to years end with one pur-
pose always before him, he is doing the
utmost to better himself. II, on the
other hand, be be continually dropping
days in the week, and devoting them,
in the summer, to trout-fshing, and
in the winter to the shooting of wood
cock and snipe, then he ia clearly not
fulfilling his highest duty. Time for
exercise our social theorists certainly
allow; but that exercise must be def
mite as the business which it interrupts.
When man gives up day to exersise,
it must be with the certain hope of
doing him physical good. Our school
boys are taught this peculiar system of
ethics from the moment they can learn
anything. A mans highest ann is to
better himself physically aud material
ly; health and money are to be his
chief goal. Leisure hours must be
filed up with an improving book or by
an invigorating walk. Idleness ia a
horror; laziness Is a curse. The boy
or man who sits or lies, doing nothing,
is supposed to be controvertin0 in a
horrible blasphemous way the estab-
lished order of things. n
Now laziness, pure and simple, has
more formative power on mans char.
acter than almost any other influence;
and its effects are invaluable. 1t is
moments Of what is called utter idle
ness that man. whether he be lying
in meadow and looking at the clouds,
or whether he be seated at his own
hreside, hurting his eyes by gazing in
to the burning coals-becomes con-
scious of his relations TO the outer
world, and reveals himself to himself.
Il is in this so-called idleness that be
assimilates the knowledge and expert
ence provided by action, without which
assimilation such knowledge ia wholly
valueless. For what were the use OF
eating food if no digestion followed. L.
The more one might cram, the
more insuferable would be the re-
suit. And yet the people who
maintain that waste of time is gross
dereliction of duty would have one
continually fill ones self with the
knowledge Of facts and opinions, re.
gardless Of this secondary process OF
cud.chewing. The mere amassing of
knowledge is supposed to be in itself a.
good thing; whereas the amassine oil
knowledge is indubitably a waste Of
time, unless IL is allowed to better a
mans character and abilities. For a |
man to commit to memory, without re-
Election or consideration, whole die
tionary Of .dates, would be q much |
greater waste of time than II he had
spent these laborious days in Quicken,
ing his circulation and powers Of oh |
servation BY shooting black birds |
round farm yard. The merchant who |
could have good health and moder-
ate income by going to town four days