Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1904-12-14
The Simple Life
By CHARLES WAGNER
Translated From the French by Mary Louise Eendee
Copyright 1901. by Mcclure. Phillips e Co.
By CHARLES WAGNER

his deeds man arrives at a better
knowledge of life. Its law appears to
him, and the law is this: Work out
to aught else than the realization of
this end loses in living the raison d'etre
of life. The egotist does SO, the pleas
ure seeker, the ambitious; he con-
sumes existence as one eating the full
corn in the blade: he prevents it from
bearing its fruit; his life is lost. Who
ever, on the contrary, makesfshis life
serve good higher than itself, saves 1t
In giving 1t. Moral precepts which to
superficial view appear arbitrary and
seem made to spoil our zest for life
have really but one object-to preserve
us from the evil of having lived in
vain. That is why they are constantly
leading US back into the same paths;
that Is why they all have the same
meaning: Do not waste your life; make
1t bear fruit; learn how to give it in
order that 1t may not consume itself!
Herein is summed up the experience of
humanity, and this experience, which
each man must remake for himself, 10
more precious In proportion as 1t costs
more dear. Illumined by its light, he
makes a moral advance more and more
sure Now he has his means of orien-
tation, his internal norm to which he
may lead everything back, and from
the vacillating, confused and complex
being that he was he becomes simple.
BY the ceaseless influence of this same
law. which expands within him and is
day by day verified in fact, his opin-
Ions and habits become transformed.
Once captivated by the beauty and
sublimity Of the true life, by what Is
sacred and pathetic in this strife Of
humanity for truth, justice and broth
erly love. his heart holds the fascina
ton of 1t. Gradually everything SUBJ
ordinates itself to this powerful and
persistent charm. The necessary HER
archy of powers is organized within
him; the essential commands, the sec
ondary obeys, and order is born Of SIM
plicity. We may compare this organ
ization of the interior life to that Of
an army. An army is strong by Its dis
cipllne. and its discipline consists in re-
spect of the inferior for the superior
and the concentration of all its ener-
gies toward single end. Discipline
once relaxed, the army suffers. 1t will
not do to let the corporal command the
general. Examine carefully your life
and the lives Of others. Whenever
something halts or jars and complica-
tons and disorder follow it is because
the corporal has issued orders to the
general. Where the natural law rules
in the heart disorder vanishes.
I despair Of ever describing simplici-
ty in any worthy fashion. All the
strength of the world and all its beau
ty, all true joy, everything that con-
soles, that feeds hope or throws a ray
of light along our dark paths, every
thing that makes us see across our
poor lives a splendid goal and bound
less future. comes to us from people of
simplicity, those who have made an
other object of their desires than the
passing satisfaction Of selfishness and
vanity and have understood that the
art Of living Is to know how to give
ones life.