The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-11-11
EVENING CHAT

'Cleon hath million acres.
Neer a one have l.
Cleon dwelleth in a palace.
In a cottage. l,
Cleon hath dozen fortunes,
Not penny, /;
Yet the poorer of the twain is
Cleon and not I.
Cleon, true. possesseth acres. =
But the landscape j
HAIR the charms to me it yieldeth
Money cannot buy"
Charles AIacray.
For some reason II has come over me
very strongly today. how much discon-
tent and unhappiness might be avoided.
If we could only try to control and lessen
the craze for possession. the mani FOR
owning things, the BELIEF that the great
est happiness in life is in having many
and costly possessions to call our own.
in other and far finer words n We
could only realize that "a mans life con-
sisteth not in the abundance OF the things
which he possesseth.'
How much sacrifice OF everything that
ought to make OF real happiness we will
undergo In order to have more and richer
possessions.
A young couple about to be married think
tnat If they only might have the guests
room furnished in Circassian walnut ami
the dining room in mahogany they would
be perfectly happy. And TO do this, per
maps they accept assistance from the old
folks which will mean a year or two o.
scrimping and self-denial on their part.
IS IL possible that the possession OF "a
little nicer furniture than most OF their
compeers have. can offest their OWL
hearts accusation of selfishness2
An ambitious wife spurs her husband
on TO tremendous effort in order that
they may buy beautiful house. Is II
possible that the possession OF the beau
tlIul nome can give enough happiness 10
offset the nervous overwrought condition
INTO which the overwork throws him, and
It's consequent Ill effect on the home lifcg
A working girl puts all her earnings
into handsome clothes and cannot affOrn
to travel see the world or to take advnn-
tage Of the thousand and one opportuni-
ties for culture and education that might
otherwise have been within her reach. IS
Is possible that the possession Of the
handsome fabrics can Offset the full in
teresting life she might have2
other day.
Someone said 1T isn't so much the
desire for possession that makes people
try to have mahogany Instead of pine,
and silk instead Of cotton. IL Us the love
for beautiful things and the desire to be
surrounded with them"
Is it?
Are these people who sacrifice so much
to possess beautiful and expensive things
the people who enjoy the sunsets and the
wonders Of nature to the full, who haunt
picture galleries and support fine music'
It is not beauty they crave. but pos
Says Robert Louis Stevenson. III we
were charged so much head for sun
sets. or if God sent round "A drum before
the hawthorn came IN flower. what
work We should make about their
beauty
It is because we can't buy and possess
things like these that we aren't so keen
about them.
II sunsets. the hawthorn. spring after
moons and autumn mornings could he
bought, boarded and possessed then we'd
battle and sacrifice for them
The possessive passion o. one OF the
primal instincts of man. In some ways
ITS works good. In others much evil.
And I believe that the man or woman
who can control this passion and rise
superior to il. Is the man or woman who
out of life.