The new age. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1896-1905, 1905-12-30

This will be an editorial about real
and unreal things. We live In a real
world The ground under our feet,
trees, flowers, men, women-every-
thing we rec Is real. To be sure there
are real things that are unseen, but
the things that are seen are by no
means unreal. They are evident They
are tangible. There are some people
who live, move and have their being
in unreality. They feed on fancies.
Their ways of life are artificial. They
hold to unreal beliefs. They hope for
unreal happiness. The genuine offends
them. They prefer unreal books
They like unreal plays. Their woes
ere largely unreal And even their
joys are affected. Now there Is
great charm In the real. The made
can never vie with the natural Take
a book, for example. The writer who
can tell us truly about commonplace
things-humdrum life-w1ll write a
book that Is worth while. Indeed he
who can cut out and frame for us a
section Of hfe-any hfe-is a master
That is what Dickens did and Hugo
and Tolstoi and Balzac. OF all tue
people In this world Americans ought
to be real people. We do things.
We make things We move things
But many of our books and plays and
pictures and poems are way out o.
touch with our real lives. They bark
back too much. Note the magazine
articles. Aside from a very few real
touches, what a miss the writer's
make! The stuff lacks red blood
And the stage Aside from a very few
pictures Of American life, what a
cham most of 1t is And our artists
give US impressions" pictures
imaginary pictures on a real canvas.
Is 1t strange that with all the unreal
influences about us we should be led
into unreal thinking, feeling and do
ing? Is 1t strange we should drift
into a sham standard of morals? IN
stead Of the ten commandments we
are learning only one-don't get
caught. Instead Of straight up and
down morals we have business eth
les" Stealing we call graft and
wink the other eye. We have an I'M
real standard of success-money. Our
unreal idea Of happiness is to get
wealth and leisure. Instead Of char
acter we try for reputation. And so
ON. Dark picture? Isn't it true
speaking of tendencies And it would
be dark indeed If the plain people
the core Of our society-were not
sound Blessed are those who like
Theodore Thomas give their lives to
teaching us what is real music. Aud
the James Whitcomb Rileys who give
us real literature. And the Pastor
Wagners who tell us about the real
ity of life. Blessed are all those in |
every place who teach the sane. the |
simple, the natural life, and make us
yearn Ior it. Because the simple life |
is the genuine life-nothing more,
nothing less. To live that life seems
easy. But try It. Your trial will show
you what a hold the artifcial-the imi-
tation-lffe has upon you. So far have
many Of us strayed from naturalness
that it requires the highest sort Of art /
to appear natural. The simple life is
the only life worth the living Simple
food, simple clothing, simple desires
what a revolution they would work
Simple trust, simple joys-what more
real? If we could only fling away
everything that is dimsy and false
what a remainder! That remainder
would be a sane body, mind and spirit.
Sham and shoddy. There Is too much
IF it in all Of us. Let's get down to
he eternal verify Of things-the sim
olicity of it, the satisfaction of 1t, the
example Of 1t, the manliness of 1t, the
Of It. That Pastor Wag-
1er's simple proposal to go back TO
zeal things should have created such
stir is ample proof as to how far and
widely we nave wandered from the