Evening star., 1916-06-25
Your Body May Live in a Cellar;
But It's Your O,Un Fault if
Your Mind Lives There

Your Mind LlUeS There
| years with julius Cesar in ancient Rome.
= We with him in his campaigns in Gaul.
Those were wonderful battles-wonderfu fighters;
From hilltop could watch the whole battle
thousands of driving at each other with their swords
hurting their javelins at short range No smoke, no
trenches; just primitive, hand d-tohand conflict.
We came back to Rome. The city in turmoil.
Our great charots hundered through the streets in r
umph our captiyes, our spos, our banners made
great procession. The crowds cheered wildly.
Another evening my friend Green and had great
time together in ancient Britain.
We went down to Runnymede with group of English
mobiles. They powerful men. each petty king in
his own section but every Of them took his life in
his hand on that expedition.
And there we gathered around King John and forced
him, against his will, to put his name to the Magma
Chara, the Great Charter which is the foundation of
English Gberties-and our
had fine time with Napoleon few nights before.
met him when he landed in France, after the escape
from Elba.
Up through the southern provinces he came gathering
few troops there, winning by the force of his eo
quence the regiments sent to capture him.
We arrived in Paris. Hurriedly but with supreme
confidence that the Little Corporal could fail,
got together makesht army and out to strike the
winning blow at Waterloo.
That battle-I shall never forget it.
Another day went to old Concord, and spent the
whole afternoon with Emerson.
We talked about Representative Men: about Shake
speare and Milton and Napoleon and Washington and
Swedenborg He analysed each Of them with clear
ness and power that was incompatible.
Well, well, you say, what rot is this? What do you
mean by saying you lived with Caesar and Napoleon and
Emerson-all centuries apart, all long since dead?
If you don't know what mean then pity you.
Have you come home tired from your Office, and
with book transported your foolish little mind clear out
of the present day?
Have you learned the JOY of surrenderng your
self to the companionshp of the great of the past?
Have you sat in the little London Club and heard
Sam Johnson thunder his philosophy of life?
Have you sailed up and down our coast with
Captain John Smith, lodging the Indians and opening
up continent?
Are you of the wretched, poverty-stricken souls
who have learned to escape from yourself through
the blessed magic of good books?
Have you contented yourself all your life with the
companionship of good pnoche players when you might
have been familiar friend of Socrates and Milton and
Napoleon and Cromwell and Washington and Columbus
and Shakespeare and Lincoln and Rousseau?
If cut out this paragraph from Carlyle and paste it
in your hat:
coud rather be beggar, and d,ceA IN garrett than
king ,cho did not lore books.
There some marvellous experiences coming to you
You can in the evenings of this summer jar yourself
out of the petty rut where circumstance has placed you
and become familiar of the immortals.
You may stand in kings palaces and listen to the
gossip of the worlds wisest men.
You may learn to face the world with a new con-
fdence pose, self-respect, because YOU