Gloucester County Democrat., 1905-01-26
CHAPTER II.
SIMPLE BEAUTY.


~ pose to ours the theory of tie
service Of luxury that providence of
business. fostering mother of arts and
grace of civilized society We shah
try briefly to anticipate these objee-
tions
1t will no doubt have been evident
that the spirit which animates these
pages is not utilitaran. 1t would be
an error to suppose that the simplicity
we seek has anything in common with
that which misers impose upon them
selves through eupidity or narrow
minded people through false austerity.
To the former the simple life is the
one that costs least; to the latter it is
a fiat and colorless existence, whose
merit lies in depriving oneself of ev-
arything bright, sailing. seductive.
It displeases us not whit that peo-
pie of large means should put their
fortune into circulation instead Of
boarding it. so giving life to COM
merce and the fine arts. That is us
ing ones privileges to good advantage.
What we would combat is foolish prod
u.
above ALL the quest of the superfuous
on the part of those who have the
greatest need Of taking thought for the
necessary. The Iayishness of a Maece-
mas could not have the same effect in
a society as that of a common spend
thrift who astonishes his contempo-
raries by the magnificenee of his life
and the folly of his waste. In these
two cases the same term means very
different things. To scatter money
broadcast does not say it at all. There
are ways of doing it which ennoble
men and others which degrade them.
Besides. to scatter money supposes
that one is well provided with it.
When the love of sumptuous living
takes possession of those whose means
are limited the matter becomes
strangely altered And a very strik-
ing characteristic of our time is the
rage for scattering broadcast which
the very people have who ought to
husband their resources. Munificence
is a benefit to society; that we grant
willingly. Let us even allow that the
prodigality of certain rich men is a
safety valve for the escape of the SUI
perabundant. We shall not attempt to
gainsay it. Our contention is that too
many people meddle with the safety
valve when to practice economy is the
part of both their interest and their
duty Their extravaganza is private
misfortune and a public danger.
Co I1a11o, fo,. fb q f1fiIitu 0f I51x11rx-
We now wish to explain ourselves
upon the question of aesthetics-oh,
very modestly and without trespass-
ing on the ground of the specialists.
Through a too common illusion sim
plicity and beauty are considered as
rivals But simple is not synonymous
with ugly any more than sumptuous,
stylish and costly are synonymous with
beautiful. Our eyes are wounded by
the CRYING spectacle of gaudy orna-
ment yenal art and senseless and
graceless luxury Wealth coupled with
bad taste sometimes makes us regret
that so much money is in circulation
to provoke the creation of such a prod
igality of horrors. Our contemporary
art suffers as much from the want of
simplicity as does our literature-too
much in it that is irrelevant over
wrought. falsely imagined. Rarely is it
given us to contemplate in line. form
or color that simplicity allied to per
fection which commands the eyes as
evidence does the mind. We need to
be rebaptized in the ideal purity Of
immortal beauty which puts its seal
on the masterpieces. One shaft of its
radiance is worth more than all our
pompous exhibitions
Yet what we now have most at heart
/ is to speak Of the ordinary aesthetics
/ of life. of the care one should bestow
upon the adornment of his dwelling
and his person, giving to existence that
/ luster without which it lacks charm.
For it is not matter of Indifference
whether man pays attention to these
superfuous necessities or whether he
does not; it is by them that we know
whether he puts soul into his work.
Far from considering it as wasteful to
give time and thought to the perfect
ing, beautifying and poetizing of
forms, think we should spend as much
as we can upon them. Nature gives
us her example, and the man who
should affect contempt for the ephem-
eral splendor of beauty with which
we garnish our brief days would lose
/ sight of the intentions of him who has
put the same care and love into the
/ painting of the lily of an hour and the
eternal hills.
But we must not fall into the gross
error Of confounding true beauty with
that which has only the name The
beauty and poetry of existence lie in
the understanding we haze of it. Our
home, our table, our dress, should be
the interpreters of intentions. That
these intentions be so expressed it is
first necessary to have them, and he
who possesses them makes them evi-
dent ihr0uwfi the Simnlest means One