La Junta tribune., 1911-02-25
Dignity Of Laber."

Ahe'e Is, IN tne laSt issue OF the
Ladies Home Journal, an excellent ar.
ttcle by Edward Howard Grtggs on
the topic, What We Do In Our Work
Makes Us" The article Ia one OF a
series that Mr. Griggs Is contribut-
Ing, and is decidedly the best so far.
The writer begins by saying: There
are two main aspects Of the path Of
active life-the work we do and the
relations we sustain to other per.
sons. Work and love are the two
schoolmasters at whose feet We sit
day after day, and from whom we
learn by far the deepest lessons life
teaches us. How large
part of active life for all OF us is
the work we do" and proceeds, I'VE
must find culture In and through the
work Of each day. or We shall usual
ly fail of it, The value Is
far less in the thing done than In
the growth Of the man through the
doing each work of art is
kind of shell through which the
spirit of man has grown.
When Raphael achieves the Sistine
Madonna II is not only one more glor-
iOus painting TO hang in the Dresden
gallery, but an idea over which ten
centuries brooded and prayed and
dreamed is made real forever. When
Shapespeare carNes In Pentellic mar
bic the beauty of his Dcsdamona or
shapes the bronze majesty of his
Lady Macbeth, when Dante wakens
from the dark fugue of his Inferno
the sweet melody of Francesca da
Rimini, II is not only thr, por-
traits OF womanhood to hang in the
GALLERIES Of the past, but three win.
dows have been opened into the
life OF the human spirit. and TO look
reverently through these windows is
TO come back to the great world OF
common humanity with new power
TO see the dignity. romance, pathos
and mystery of life. You
may say that is all very well for the
artists, but We are called to humble
sphere and these truths are not for
US. The answer is easy: There
Is no honest vocation that cannot
be made to some extent fine art.
growth and service are possible II
the work be done Loyalty day after
day after day indie the one su.
preme fine art that gathers all 9th.
ers ,arts) up and gives them place
that is. In every honest vocation
and meaning is the art of living. and
the particular vocation is only one
aspect OF that high art"
In most callinps, II Is true. there
Is so much dead work that little
progress Is evident In single day
This is particularly true of the work
OF women. ! have long thought that
the final symbol OF dead uninspired
work is-washing dishes. Getting din
uer Is not 30 lad, that is an antici.
patory task. looking forward to a
coming JOY; but after you have eaten
dinner and the smell OF the soiled
dishes In offensive. to wash them and
wipe them and put them away IN
iho assurance tina, within few hours
the same dishes must be taken down
aud soiled over again-that seems to
me final illustration OF routine
work. II is Just such work, howey, r..
done loyalty and. checrfully through
the succession OF days that builds
into the human spirit the noblest
ioundai'on elements OF all culture
ind 30 the writer goes on TO show.
beautifuliy and most conyincingly. that
wprk may DO "worship''-culturc-
II certainly Sc ms tha, he has
struck n keynote-cspecially as re-.
cards the household duties OF wo-
mun-though the element OF monot.
ony must be- recognized and accepted
as necessarily a part OF any vocation
that men and women may and do
choose. There Is no question that
all beautiful things have root aud
sustenance In the commonplace. aud
10 exslt the commonplace and glorify
II with the beauty and spirit Of u
noble personality is to achieve the
subtlest and su iimest alchemy.