The Labor enquirer., 1884-11-22

think of the mighty and lovely architec-
ture, for instance, of medieval Europe
of the buildings raised before Commerce
had put the coping stone on the edifice
of tyranny by the discovery that fancy
Imagination, sentiment, the joy of crea.
ton and the hope of fair fame are mar.
ketable articles too precious to be al.
lowed to men who have not the money
to buy them. to mere handicraftsmen
and day laborers. Let us remember
there was time when men had pleasure
in their daily work, but yet as to other
matters hoped for light and freedom
even as they do now. Their dim hope
grew brighter, and they watched its
seeming fulfillment drawing nearer and
nearer, and gazed so eagerly on it that
they did not note how the ever watchful
foe. oppression, had changed his shape
and was stealing from them what they
had already gained in the DAYS when the
light Of, their new hope was but a feeble
glimmer so they lost the old gain. and
for lack of it the new gain was changed
| and spoiled for them into something not
much better than loss.
Betwixt the days in which we now
live and the end of the middle ages,
Europe has gained freedom of thought,
increase of knowledge, and huge talent
for dealing with the material forces of
nature, comparative political freedom
withal and respect for the lives of civil
lied men, and other gains that 60 with
these things. Nevertheless 1 say de-
llberately that if the present state of
Society is to endure, she has bought
these gains at too high price in the
loss OF the pleasure in daily work which
once did certainly solace the mass of men
for their fears and expressions. The
death of Art was too high a price to pay
| for the material prosperity of the middle
classes.
Grievous indeed 1t was, that we could
not keep both our hands full, that we
were forced to spill from one while we
gathered with the other. Yet to my
mind it is more greivous still to be- un-
conscious of the loss; or being dimly
conscious of it to have to force ourselves
to forget it and to cry out that all is well.
For, though all is not WELL, know
that mems natures are not so changed IN
three centuries that we can say to all the
thousands of years which went before
them You were wrong to cherish Art,
aud now we have found out that all men
need is food and raiment and shelter,
with smattering of knowledge of the
universe, Creation is no longer a need
of mans soul, his right hand may for
get It's cunning, and he be none the worse
for it,
Three hundred years, a day in the
lapse of ages. has not changed mans ma
ture thus utterly, be sure of that. One
day we shall win back Art, that is to say,
the pleasure of life; win back Art again
to our daily labor. Where is the hope
then, YOU may say; show it us.
There lies the hope, where hope of
old decelved.us. We gave up Art for
what we'thought was light and freedom,
but it was less than light and freedom
which we bought The light showed
many things to those of the well-to-do
who cared to look for them the freedom
left the well-to-do free enough if thet
cared to use their freedom; but these
were few at the best. To The most of
men the light showed them that they
need look for hope no more, and the
freedom left the most of men free-to
take at wretched wage what slaves
work lay next to them or starve.
There is our hope, l say. If the bar
gain had been really fair, complete all
around, then were there nought else to
do but to bury Art, and forget the
beauty of life; but now the cause of Art
has something else to appeal to; no less
than the hope of the people for the
happy life which has not yet been
granted to them. There is our hope; the
cause of Art is the cause of the people.
Think of piece of history, and so
hope! Time was when the rule of Rome
held the whole world of ciyilisation in
| its poisonous embrace. To all men-even
the best, as you may see in the very
gospelsAthat rule seemed doomed to
last forever; nor to those who dwelt
under it was there any world worth
thinking of beyond. it; but the DAYS
passed and though none saw a shadow
of the coming change, it came none the
less, like thief in the night, and the
Barbarians, the world which lay outside
1.-THE rule of Rome, were upon her; and
men blind with terror lamented the
change and deemed the world undone
by the Fury of the. North. But even
that fury bore with it things long strange
to Rome, which once had been the food
its glory fed on hatred of lies, scorn ol
riches, contempt of death, faith in the
fair fame won by steadfast endurance
j honorable love of women-all these
things the Northern fury bore with it, as
the mountain torrent bears the gole
4#. >
and so Rome fell and Europe rose, and
the hope of the world was born again.
To those that have hearts to under
| stand this tale of the past is parable