The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-04-13
Frederic Haslkin's Letter


longing for such . life. He m,..
realize further, Burroughs sa,1s
that this life Is q thing OF hassrS
guided BY no special pruvidence
subject to the same chances az anv
other form Of life on this glohs
This is perhaps a terrible philoso.
ply, and one which calls for con-,
age, but Burroughs believed that .
high serenity may be gained fron
it, that the man who seeks 10 Iva
by the laws Of nature will in the
long run be the happiest. His ovs
life was certainly the most Goa.
vincing demonstration OF that phi.
losophy. Serene. sane, Independent,
in thought and act, supremelv r..
Elective, he stood aside from the
troubled and violent current AZ
American life. Life rushed by him
as a mob dashes by some quiet, a.
tonished bystander. Here were men
hot after money, men worn and
torn by ambitions. men follovin,
all sorts Of religions and supersti.
tons and isms. some in ecstacy and
some in anguish. Here was almoet
everything save = man at peace
with himself and with his fellovs
His Greed
Burroughs, out Of his vast seren.
fly. spoke to the mob gently. He
babe these excited ones to be calm.
IL only because their futile little
lives were not worth getting exct-
ed about. He babe them stop and
notice how beautiful was sunlight
on water and the song OF a mock.
ingbird and the first green OF
spring. He suggested that since
they were here for such a little
while it might be we'll to pause for
a moment and to enjoy the beauty
and wonder Of the spectacle OF life
All of them. he saw, were madly
running away from the reality Of
life, that is, from nature. because
they had not the courage to face It.
And he tried to tell them that al
though nature is indeed terrible.
she is also beautiful, and not al
ways cruel to those who under
stand her. And why run away from
her, anyway? There is really no
escape.
Most Of them paid no attention
to him. A few Of them stopped and
listened for a moment and then ran
on. Only q very few could share
and understand the philosophy
which gave this old man much
rare peace and strength Of spirit.
He was not calculated to influence
many. not only because his phi
losophy was too austere for them
and demanded more courage than
the many have. but also because he
knew nothing about them. He was
no social observer; he was q re-
cluse. He did not try to At his
philosophy to other mems lives.
This philosophy was woven
through and through his writings.
1t is just as well expressed in this
bit as any other:
Man has taken his chances in
the clash Of blind matter and the
i warfare Of living forms. He has
been the pet Of no gods, the favor
lite OF no power on earth or in
heaven. Gravity, cleo
tricity, fire. food, hurricane will
crush or consume him il his hand
is unsteady or his wits tardy Ma
ture has dealt with him on the
came terms as with all other forms
! OF life. She has shown him no
! favor. The same elements
make up his body and his brain as
| make up theirs, and the same are
the constituents Of the rocks, soils
and clouds How can we sep
arate man from the total system OF
things. setting him upon one side
and them upon the other? In life,
in action, we unconsciouslv recog-
nize ourselves as a part of nature.
Our success and we'll being depend
upon the closensss and spontaneous
ness Of that relation"
Whatever that idea may be worth
to you. it brought great peace and
comfort to Burroughs.