Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1882-11-29
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Arw GOsrEL 90 nELAkAfiON,
A complimentary farewell was giFpA
recently IL New yOFk 10 Herbert hpea'
or, aud Ia reply 10 toast he sad The
lglll u, theIe needs q revised ideal OF
lie, Look back through tho paai, OF
look abroad through il,e present, and
We lind that lhe ideal Gi llie 10 variable,
AMI depends on social conditions, livery
one knows that 10 DO successful war
nor was tic highest aim among many
hiriam peoples, When We fempla'
Der that IN Tho h0seman's heay tic
iiulp Was 10 DO passed IN daily b4lt,es,
with magical healiug Vt wounds, VIC 500
how deeply rooted NAY beeolae the con
ceItiOn tlal tighlipg ID mans proper
business, anl that Industry IL NJ oniy
fr slaves and people Of low degree,
That u 10 tay, when the ehIonle snug
gle 81 races neeessitAle pGlpetuRl wars,
Acre il evolved Rn ideal VI lie adapted
10 the requirements, We have changed
all that IL modern eldlized societies,
especially IN England, and I'll mare IN
America, Win the decline Of milllan
activity, and tho growth Of industrial
activity, the occupations once disgrace
ml have become honorable, The duty
h work LAS taken the III % OF the duty
10 light and IN the one case, 10 IN The
other the ideal Of life las become 10
Wcll'establiAhed ilat scarcely any dream
Of questioning II, Practically. business
has been 6ubhtltued Tor wal ~ tho pur-
pose VI existence.
In this modern Ideal to survive
throughout tho iulureS l think not,
While all other things undergo cOnlinu'
ous cha 90, II IN Impossible that ideals
should remain fixed The ancient ideal
vaa appropriate TO the ages OF eouquest
by man over man, and spread OF tho
strongest races, Tho modern ideal IL
appropriate to ares In which conquest
OF the earth and sub ecilon OF tho p0wers
OF nature TO human uso Ii tho pledomi'
nant need. But hereafter, when both
those ends have IN tho main bcen
achieved, tho ideal formed will probably
differ considerably hom tho present
one, May We not fufesee the nature OF
OF the diilerOucoY | think wo may.
Some twenty years ago good friend OF
mine aud good iiiend OF yonra, too,
though you never saw him, John Stuart
Mil, delivered Vt 81, Andrews IN In
augmal address ON the occasion OF his
appointment 10 the lord Ieetonhip
II contained much to DO admired, rs
did ali no wrote, There IAN through II,
however, the taclt assumption that lie
il for learning and wording, ! ielt At
tho time that should have liked to
take up tho opposite thesis, should
have liked TO contend that liio IL not
Tor learning, nor iS lilo Tor working, but
Learning aud working arc Tor lilo, The
primary uso OF knowledge IL for such
guidance OF conduct, und6r all chcnni.
stances, ny shall mako living complete.
All other nsCs OF knowledge arc second
AIRY. II scarcely needs saying that the
primary ust OF work il that OF supplying
the materials and aids TO living com.
pletely, and that any other uses oil work
are secondary. But in mems concep.
tions the secondary hns in great measure
usurpod the place OF the primary.
The apostle OF culture ~ II IL COM
molly conceived, Matthew Arnold,
makes little or no reference to tho fact
that the first uso OF knowledge IL the
right ordering Of all actions and Mr..
Carlyle, WHO is good exponent OF cur
rent ideas about work, insists on its
virtues for quite other reasons than that
it achieves sns,entation. We may trace
everywhere in human affairs tendency
to transform the means into the end.
All SEQ that the miser does this when,
making the accumulation OF money his
sole satisfaction, he forGets that money
is of value only to purchase satisfac.
tons. But 1t Is less commonly seen
that the like is trde OF the work by
which the money is accumulated-that
industry, too, bodily or mental, is but
means, and that it is as irrational to
pursue it to the exclusion Of that com.
pleie living il subserves, as it il for the
miser to accumulate money and make
no use OF it. Hereafter, when this age
of active, material progress has yielded
mankind its benefits, there will, think,
come a better adjustment Of labor and
employment. Among the reasons for
thinking this, there is the reason that
the progress of evolution throughout
the organic world at large brings an
increasing surplus Of energies that are
not alb, orDed in fulfilling material needs,
and points to still larger surplus for
humanity of the future. And there are
other reasons which must pass ever.
In brief, may say that We have had
somewhat too much Of "the gospel of
work" 1t is time to preach the gospel
OF relaxation.