Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1888-10-06
A MODERN MIDAS.
THE SIMPLE AND REALIZABLE
BOURGEOIS RELIGION.
Socialism and Modern Creeds-Grow
ing Rich and Living Like a Gen.
tleman Begrudging His
Belly-Making More
Money Still.

In one respect, at least, we So
cialists have an advantage over other
people. The very simplest and
rudest ideal that Socialist can con-
ceiyc of would bear realization well {;
Socialist could only be discontented
with such realization by ceasing to
be Socialist; and there are few
creeds or causes of which this could
be said. Some have discounted the
usual ideals, so to say, and rejected
them beforehand, like the old Scotch
lady who declined to sacrifice her
pleasure on earth for the chance of
sitting on damp cloud and singing
psalms all day for ever in another
world; others, like Swedenborg,
have gravely Though in his case
with much humor also) tried to
reason devOtees out of the more fool
ish parts of their ideal, and put
heaven before them as little more
than the realization of Socialism in a
future state. Modern creeds, on the
other hand, with characteristic cow
ardice, have generally evaded the diff
fculties that beset the realization of
ideals by taking care to make them
so vague that at no stage of the
change could it be said whether they
were realized or not.
One, religion there is, however,
whose ideal as a religion is simple
and straightforward enough, and
quite capable of realization, and in
deed is often realized; that religion
is the religion of money-making. To
put yourself in such position that
no one could for moment suppose
that you need do or were doing any
thing useful, is, as we all know, the
one thing to be striven after accord
ing to the Money-God; although the
pursuit of this ideal is made easier
by the pretence of having others of
the damp-cloud and psalm-singing
nature. But the realization of this
ideal does not always (it is said) bring
satisfaction; "to live the life of
gentleman" has been found irksome
to many who have had in earlier days
more exciting ways of life than that.
Nay, one anecdote / know, which
was told me as a fact by business
man of great respectability, which
seems to show that a "gentleman's"
life has unexpected dangers. A man
in business in large midland town,
said my acquaintance (who knew the
man), after long struggle as an
agent and broker and what not, car
ried on with that untiring energy
and strength of mind which so dis
tinguishes the English bourgeois
(only, by the way, the man was a
German)-this man at last grew rich
and "lived like a gentlemen;" and
then very rich, and lived, | suppose,
more like a gentleman. But here
came the hitch; either he was so
bored by the results of his triumph,
his realized ideal, Or his mind was so
strong before that now it became
weak, and he found that the only
good to be got out of his ideal was
the pursuit of it. In short, this Ger
man representative of English indus
try went mad, and his madness took
the form of his thinking that his
ideal WAS still unrealized, and that
he was poor and struggling still. He
now grew so little like "a gentle
man" that he begrudged his own
belly, his own back (and not other
peoples), victuals and clothes. His
friends (or hangers ou) would come
to him and say, $50 and so, the doc
tor has ordered you a mutton chop"
and he would answer. "Well, the
doctor had better send 1t me, then;
can't afford it," The case being
urgent, and the man daily growing
weaker, the friends" would say,
"Well, that's true; but look here, if
You will have a mutton chop We will
pay you for eating it"
FY-I