Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1893-07-27
THE GOSPEL OF WORK
EMILE zOLES STIRRING ADVICE TO
FRENCH STUDENTS.

cred Before Body of Young Men 4
Paris-The Relation Between scienc
and Happiness Explained.
Emile Zola, the famous novelist, pre-
sided at dinner given by the Student:
association of Paris. In the course o
the evening he spoke as follows:
Did science ever promise happiness
do not think So Science promised tn
truth. and it is questionable if happines
can be made out of facts. To be con
tent with them even for day one mus
possess stoicism, an absolute unselfish
ness. serenity of intelligence possibl
only to the highest minds Therefore
despairing cry goes up from sufferin!
humanity. How, it asks, can we lv
without delusions and illusions? If ther
is not somewhere a world where justic
reigns, where the wicked are punishet
and the good rewarded, how endure tn
denominations of human existence' Ma
ture is unjust and cruel. Science end
| in the monstrous law of the survival o
the strongest. Reasoning thus, recoilinI
from realities as yet i'll explained, the,
seek dream, put confidence in the ou
of sight and hope to satisfy in the be
yond their yearning for fraternity ant
justice.
This despairing appeal for happiness
rising on every side. moves me infinitely
Already music has responded to it, lit
erature is trying to satisfy the new thirst
and art is changing to show its sympa
thy. 1t is the reaction against natural
ism, which is, they say, dead and buried
At any rate the movement is undenia bic
| It is felt in all the manifestations o
mind, and unless it is taken into &C
count, studied and explained the out
look for the morrow is hopeless.
|, being an old and rugged positivist
see in all this only halt in the marcl
ahead. Indeed it is not even that, fol
our libraries, laboratories, amphithea
tiers and schools are not deserted. Wha
treasures me most is the fact that tn,
social ground is unchanged. For new
humanity a new direction, there mus
be a new soil for them to germinate ani
grow in. Ours is still the democratic
soil whence the century rose Faith
are not resuscitated, and only mythol
ogy can be made of dead religion. Tht
next century will affirm this one. Wha
| will concede is that in literature We
brought the horizon too near. and per
sonally | regret having endeavored Il
limit art to proved verities.
The new men, by re-extending the
horizon, have regained possession of the
unknown and the mysterious, and they
have done well Between the truths ac
auired through science, which are not tt
be shaken, and the truths to be con
ouered tomorrow from the unknown
which in their turn will become immov
able, there is land of doubt and inquiry
as to science Into it we can go as pio
neers, doing the work of precursors an6
interpreting, according to our talents
its unknown forces. The ideal is only
the unexplained 1t is well enough tc
invent solutions for the unknown, but
we have no right to put in question and
so deny facts already verified. AS sci
ence advances the ideal retreats. and il
seems to me that this slow conquest
though we have the melancholy certi
tude of never knowing all, gives life its
only reason, its only joy.
II, tbaca from blor1o dove vo11th 10 told
to believe, but nobody tells it exactly
what to believe. Believe, they say, fol
the sake of the happiness that comes
from believing, and most especially be-
heve in order that you may learn to be
lieve. The advice is not bad in itself. II
is certainly great joy to repose upon
the assurance given by any faith, no mat
ter what. The difficulty is that one can.
not believe by being willing to do So
Faith is a wind that blows where it list
eth, and there only.
In conclusion let me offer you creed
the creed of work. Young men, work
| am aware that no counsel could be
more banal. In every school at the end
of every term it is given to every boy
and every boy hears it with Indifference
But let me, who have never been any
thing except a worker, tell you the re-
ward | have gained from the long toll
whose effort has filed my life. The
world was harsh to me at first. have
known poverty and despair. Later my
existence was battle. and even now the
fight goes on and my work is questioned,
contradicted. insulted. Through it all
my support has been incessant work,
regular, daily, for an end never forgot
ten. How often have | seated myself at
my table, tortured by some great pain,
physical or moral And each time, after
the first minutes of agony, my task has
proved solace, has given me strength
to continue the struggle and await the
morrow.
Work is the law of the world-the
guide that leads organized matter to its
unknown goal Life has no other reason
for being, and each of US is here only to
perform his task and disappear. Calm
comes to the most tortured if they will
accept and complete the task they find
under their hands This, to be sure, is
only an empirical way to live an honest
and almost tranquil life, but is it nothing
to acquire moral health and by solving
through work the question of how to
secure on earth the greatest happiness
Thus escape from the danger of the
dream?
l have always distrusted chimeras.
Illusion is bad for man or a people; ii
puts an end to effort. it blinds, it is the
vanity of the weak. To remain among
legends, to contemn realities, to believe
that dreaming of strength gives force
we have all seen to what disasters these
things lead.
The only strong men are the men who
work. Work alone gives courage and
faith; it alone is the paci6cator and the
iberator?
Two Hundred Inches of Rainfall.
Cherra Punji, in the Khasi hills, As
sam, British India, is the "pole of the
greatest known rainfall" In other words,
it is the wettest region on the face of the
earth. Mr. Blandford, at meeting of the