The Washington herald., 1907-08-04
SUNDAY. AUGUST 4, 1907.
The Gospel of Success.

1dr. \. c. Benson. son OF a famous Eng
lish prelate. and himself a literary man
Of fame. has been promUlEating his de-
nunciat!on Of the gospel Of success. Ger
tain critics have aSsailed him for advO-
eating quietistic ideals Of life, and he
declares that his aim has been
To show how it Is possible fer people living quiet
and humIrrm lives without any opportunities Of
graJiiying ambition fer taking a leading rar- On
th5 stage cf the world. 10 make the most Of sim
pie conditions and 20 live lives Of dignity and Jos.
We do not think that any one could Sc
riously doubt that this ideal which Mr.
Benson expresses is possible. but any
man who has lived long enough i'm the
world to catch, now and then, feet;ng,
half-seen glimpse Of whittier the world
IS tending may be pardoned for doubt
ing its desirabiiity. Time was when the
whole Of the gospel of Omar khayyam
appealed 10 the philosophers, AID the
tent-makers definition Cf the world az
"a tent where takes his one days rest
seemed a comfortable and pleasing
thought But those who live quiet and
humdTum Iives''-are they not. in one
way, daily confessing failure? Can Mr.
Benson seriously contend that to that
end man was made; TO sit at ease. to
make the most OF simple conditions?'
There are no simple conditions of life in
the twentieth century. Now. as never
before, life is complex, difficult; hard
TO comprehend; not to be lived easily
If it is to be lived rightly.
Carried to its logical conclusion, Mr.
Benson's comfortable theory would carry
Us backward to the Middle Age ideal
when men. instead of boldly fronting
chance and trying with might and main
10 better their own condition. and the
condition of the world thereby. consiI-
cred that they were fulfilling their des-
tiny by retiring TO the cell of a monk
and waiting with resignation for the in
evitable end. Says Mr.. Benson.
The gospel detcst is the gospel Of success.
the teaching that every one ought to be discou-
tented with his setting that a man ought 10 Get
to the front, clear a space around him. cat drink,
make love, cry and strive and fight. It Is all to
be at the expense Of the feabler people"
And so it is Brutal as it may sound
NAiEii EAt AllIb Written NOtNSs II Is mex
orable in its truth. that all progress is
10 be made at the expense Of the fee
bier people" It is this which is the
primary teaching of our civilization.
More and more we are coming TO see
that the "feebler people" are but cum
berers of the earth. The energies OF
science are bent toward the end of weed
ing cut the feebler people. Already we
have arrived at a state of public con-
science which recognizes almost as a
crime the marriage of consumptives or
of couples afflicted with any disease
which will result in children iIl-ftted to
cope with the world.
The truth is that man cannot stand
still It is impossible for those who do
not strive to live lives OF dignity" Sue
cess is the goal toward which all
healthy-minded turn their faces; not
merely to live. but to do something. be
something, believe something, and If
need be, to die for that belief.
To hold to a lesser ideal than this is
TO waste life, not to use it,