Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1904-12-08
The Simple Life
By CHARLES WAGNER
Translated From the French by Mary Louise Hendce
Copyright 1901, by Mcclure. Phillips d Co.

and shelter been sharper or more abb
sorbing than since we are better nour-
ished, better clothed and better housed
than ever. lie errs greatly who thinks
that the query, what shall we eat
and what shall we drink and where
withal shall we be. cIothedW presents
itself to the poor alone, exposed as they
are to the anguish Of morrows without
bread or roof. With them the ques-
ton is natural, and yet II Is with them
that 1t presents itself most simply.
You must go among those who are be-
ginning to enjoy n little ease to learn
how greatly satisfaction in what one
has may be disturbed by regret for
what one lncks, and If you would see
anxious care for future material good,
material good In all It's luxurious de
velopment, observe people of small for
tune and, above all, the rich. 1t IL not
| the woman with one dress who asks
| most mistakenly how she shall be
clothed, nor Is 1t those reduced to the
strictly necessary who make most
| question OF whnt they shall eat tomor-
| row. AS I'M inevitable consequence of
| tho law that needs are increased by
| their satisfaction, the more goods man
| has the more he wants. The more ns-
sured he IL OF the morrow, according to
the common acceptation, the more ex
clusively does he concern himself with
how he shall live and provide for his
children and his Chlldren's children.
Impossible to conceive of the fears of
n man established In life-their num-
Der. their reach and their shades of re-
fnement.
From MI this there has arisen
throughout the different social orders,
modified by conditions and varying In
intensity, Il common agltation-a very
complex mental state, best compared
to the petulance of spoiled child, at
once satisfied and disseminated.
II we have not become happier,
neither have we grown more peaceful
and frnternnl The more desires and
needs man has the more occasion he
finds for conflict with his fellow men,
and these conflicts are more bitter In
proportion as their causes nre less Just,
1t IL the law of nature to fight for
brend for the necessities. This law
may seem brutal, but there Is IN eX
cuse In Its very hnrshness. and 1t IL
generally limited to elemental cruel
ties. Quite different Is the battle for
the supertluous- for ambition, priv
iloge, inclination, luxury Never has
hunger driven man to such bnscnoss
rs have envy, avarlce and thirst for
pleasure. Egotism grows more malef-
tcent as Il becomes more refined
DO not the very slnews of virtue
lie In mans capacity to care for some
thing outside himself? And what
place remains for ones nclghbor In II
life given over TO material cares. to ar
tinclal needs, to the satisfaction of am
billions, grudges and whms? The man
who gives himself up entirely to the
service OF his appctltes makes them
grow and multiply SO well that they
become stronger than he, and once
their slave, he loses his moral sense
loses his energy and becomes incapable
OF discerning and practclng the good,
1le has surrendered himself to the In.
nor anarchy of desire, which In the
end gives birth to outer anarchy. In
the moral life we govern ourselves. In
the immoral life we urc governed by
our needs and passion; thus, little by
little, the bases of the moral life shift.
and the law Of Judgment deviates,
For the man enslavcd to numerous
and cSactlng needs possession Is the |
supreme good and the source of all |
other good things. 1t Is true That IL the
fierce struggle for possession we come
to hate those who possess and to deny |
tho right of property when this right |
Ia In the hands of others and not In
our own. But the bitterness OF ut
tnclS against others possessions IL only |
Il new proof of tho extraordinary I'M
portnnec we attach to possession itself, |
In the end people and things come to
be estimated ut their selling price or
according to the profit 10 be drawn |
from them. What brings nothing Is |
worth nothing; he who has nothing Is |
nothing. Honest poverty risks pass
ing for shame, and lucre, however |
filthy. Is not greatly put to It to be |
accounted for merit
Some one objects, "Thcn you make |
Wholesale condemnation OF progress |
and would lead us back to the good old |
times to ascctiCiSm perhaps"
Not nj all, The desire to rcsuscltate |
the past is the most unfruitful and |
dangerous of utopinn dreams, and the |
art of good living docs not consist in |
retiring from life But we are trying |
to throw light upon one of the errors
that drug most heavily upon human
progress In order to find remedy for |
lt-namcly, the belief TINT man he |
comes happier and better by the in
crease Of outward well being. Nothing |
Is fnlser than this pretended social !
axiom; on the contrary. that material
prosperity without nm offset diminishes
the capacity for happiness and de
bases character Is fact which
thousand examples are nj hand 10
nroyn The worth ar a civilization IL |