Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1905-01-26


shades of ever increasing refinement,
all along the ascending scale, even to
opulence and the SUBMITS OF social
place? They talk Of the contented mid
die classes. Who talk Of theml PEG
pie who, Judging from without, think
that as soon as one begins to enjoy
ense lie ought to be satisfied. But the
middle classes themselves-do they
consider themselves satisfiedf Not the
least In the world. If there are people
Mt once rich and content, be assured
that they are content because they
know how to be so, not because they
are rich. An animal Is satisfied when
1t has caten 1t lies down and sleeps.
A man also can lie down and sleep for
n time, but IL never lasts. When he be-
comes accustomed to this contcntment
he tires Of It and demands greater.
Maa's appetite IL not appcased by
food; It increases with eating. This
may seem absurd, but 1t Is strictly
true.
And the fact that those who make
the most cutlery are almost always
those who should find the best reasons
for contentment proves unquestlonably
that happiness Is not allied to the num-
Der of our needs and the zeal we put
into their cultivation. 1t IL for every
ones interest to let this truth sink deep
into his mind. If II does not, If he does
not by decisive action succeed In limit
ing his needs, he risks descent, lnsen-
sible and beyond retreat, along the de-
cliyity Of desire.
lie who lives to eat, drink, sleep,
dress, take his waIk-ln short, pampcr
Ter basking in the sun, the drunken
laborcr, the C0mmoner serving his bel
", the woman absorbed In her toilets,
the proalgnte Of low estate or high, or
simply the ordinary pleasure lover,
good fellow" but too obedlent to ma
terlal needs-that man or woman Is on
the downward way Of desire, and the
descent liz fatal Those who follow 1t
obey the same laws MS n body on nm
inclined plane. Dupes of IN Illusion
forever repeated, they think, "Just n
few steps more, the last toward the
thing down there that we covet; then
we VIII halt" But the velocity they
gain sweeps them on, md the farther
they 20 the less able they are to resist
II.
Here Is the secret Of the unrest, the
madness, Of many OF our contemporn-
rics. Having condemned their will to
the service Of their nppetltes, they suf-
fer the penalty. They IRE delivered up
to violent passions which dcvour their
flesh. crush their bones, suck their
blood and cannot be sated This Is not
n lofty moral dcnunclatIon. have been
listening to what life says, and have
recorded M | heard them some of the
truths that rcsound IN every square,
Has drunkenness, inventive rs 1t Is
OF new drinks, found the means of
Quenchng thirst? Not at all 1t might
rather be called the art of making
thirst incXthgulshuble. Frank llber-
image, does 1t dcadcn the sting of the
scnsos2 No; II enycnoms 1t, converts
natural desire into Il morbid obscssion
and makes It the dominant passion.
Let your needs rule you, nnmper them,
you will SEQ them multiply like insects
In the sun The more you give them
thA more they demand. lie Is sense
less who seeks for happiness in mate
rial prosperity alone. As well under
take to FIJI the cNsk of the Danaidcs
TO those who have millions, millions
are wanting; to those who have thou.
sands, thousands. Others lack Il TWEEN
ty frame piece or II hundred SOUS. When
they have II chicken In the pot they
ask for goose; when they have the
goose they wish 1t were turkey, and
so ON. We shall never learn how fatal
this tendency Is. There arc too many
humble people who wish to initiate the
great, too many poor workmgmcn who
ape the well to do middle classes, too
many shopglrls who play Mt being la
dies, too many clerks who net the club
man or sportsman, and among those In
easy circumstances and the rich are
too many people who forget that what
they possess could serve II better pur-
pose than procuring pleasure for them
selves. only to find In the end that one
never has enough. Our needs, In place
of the servants that they should be,
have become Il turbulent ana seditious
crowd. Il legion of tyr0ntS in miniature.
A man Cnslaved to his needs may best
be compared to bear with II ring in
its nose, that is led about and made to
dance nj will. The likeness Is not flat
tering, but you viii grant that ii Is
true. 1t Is in the train of their own
needs that SO many Of those men are
dragged along who rant for liberty
progress aud | don't know what else,
They cannot take II step without ask
ing themselves II II might not irritate
their nOstcrs How many men and
women have gone ON aud on. even to
dishonesty, for the sole reason that
they had too many needs aud could not
resign themselves Il simple living,
| There are many guests In the cham