The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1882-02-10
Gnats on the Wheel.


A certain gnat, Esop tells us, happen
ing to alight on the wheel of a chariot,
became dizzy with the elevation, and
cried aloud: s'BehOld how furiously l
drive the world! See how fill the heav-
ell with dustr' Very likely Esop in this
story only meant to give a sly dig at
some little great man in the Lydian
court whom he did not like; it may be to
the purse-proud Cresus himself. The
hunchback slave was not likely to be
d:izzled by the money of Cr9sus or the
s,,lendor of his Persian conqueror.
Humps on the back, slaves collar, an
empty pocket, or like ugly gifts of fate,
usually open our eyes very wide to the
ihsignificance of our more lucky neigh
bors. Esop, outside of the palace gates,
telling his jeering stories to the mob,
could see plainly that the rich Crpsus
and the mighty Cyrus were nothing but
gnats which had lighted for a moment
on the great wheel of life. His savage,
true laugh of scorn at them has echoed
down through thousands of years. But
if Esop himself had been a fat, hand
some, magnificent cOurtier, he too would
have been tete nsOfatee with his elevation
and have tapped his tiny wings on the
top of the wheel. crying, "See how fur
iousiy drive the world around!' VI
course we can all see how neatly the
story fitted those pompous fellows two
thousand wears ago. The great wheel
was turned and turned ineyorably age
after age; and down and under they
went, Cresus and Cyrus, and even the
empires and the myriads OF people whom
they ruled. crushed out of sight like
gnats: dead after one summer day. They
drive the world! We can see now that
they could neither help nor hinder its
slow, steady progress, any more than
the beating of an insects wing could |
check the wheel. We are far enough |
removed from them to see how insigniti- |
cant they were in the slOw-moving prog
ress of the countless multitudes of hu-
man beings.
But it is quite different with ourselves.
Almost every one of us is convinced that |
the Wheel of Life has very nearly stopped
turning nowadays, and that it Deepen dis
a good deal upon us whether it shall
keep moving or not. Whatever our
pursuit or hobby, we are sure that it,
and we behind it, are driving the world.
1t is not only men who handle great
religious or philosophic truths who are
filled with this singular Initiation. Any
hobby or pursuit, no matter how insig
nificant, furnishes wings for the gnats.
Such men honestly believe that the dis
covery of passage through the Arctic
seas is the only object now before man.
kind which makes life worth the living;
others that humanity has nothing better
to do than to listen to music, or accu-
mulate rare editions or old china. All
these things have their uses; but the
world is big and full and old, and book
binding and pottery are not among its
primal forces. A beautiful landscape or
figure or a fine bit of drapery is pleas
ant factor in the universe, and so is the
successful imitation of them with paint
on squares of canvas; the harmonious
tOning of cOlOrS in mans coat and
trousers or the set of wOman's skirts
may also be very useful things to I'M
.derstand, even if one is not tailor; but
really. we must doubt whether they are
3. the Secret of Life 1t is the tendency
of modern society to exaggerate all of
its trivial discoveries or successes. The
man who fancies he has advanced an
inch beyond his fellows in the training
of his eye or ear is not satisfied with an
nouncing his little discovery, but becomes
the founder of school, and poses be-
fore groups of PROSTATE admirers. '.Be-
hold,' they cry, chow furiously he
drives the world and fills heaven with the
dust!' The smaller the success, too,
the more the poor human gnat capers
and exuIts. The height of autocratic
arrogance and complacency is probably
touched by the women who rule the
fashionable clique in any town-who lay
down laws as to the trimming of gown
or the courses of a meal. The great Wheel
turns and the gnats buzz and buzz and
disappear. Can there be any sermon
trucr than this which Esop preached for
lis ages ago?-N. Y. Tribune.