Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1926-04-02
The Cherry Tree

:. Inc 0neIIs ~ :.
: - ,.irs eur Little Ratchet =
: .sH the truth about many
.: ...z.rS sometimes profoundly =
: -s..nes fippantly. sometimes Z
:. sses.es=iy- !.
Observation-Disclosures
.-st all Of the glorified editor
preachers continuously eN-
-. - doctrine Of go-get. Lazi-
ne last word IN evll, the great
...= GetAug On in the World. FER
.s#sF plus. righteous nusulhg,
Nous out-pouring of hectic en-
--tHese are their gods. The desire
..ss II out with them long has
.....z3 Ike a beekoning torch. Is there
aathing 10 be said for laziness
- commonly called
-
.r.. very apotheosis of incidence
#4yicted in that fugitive simiie,
- ~ As Joe the Marine, VINO laid
IN ~, musket 10 sneeZe."
Inc Nas surely the very opposite OF
....z DOOR devils of whom It was
-taey labor like galley slaves"
.kIeme of arduous ana unenaing
49,. lie rigors of which 1t is difficult
-, the modern mind TO grasp.
r4 &c sure, Joe is given close
.-..s 81 Ludham's dog, which, Thomas
r sr said, LEANED his head against
..r wall to bark" -,
gg. the poor dog applied no intelli-
a..ce. no thought process, to the bus
mss. while Joe, biped, genus Homo,
~. lazy in a premeditated, caleulat-
Cd fashion.
With the dog the act of seeming
.4-.uess may have been sheer acct
Iert. It may have been merely case
If abating muscular energy, not ac-
counted for by any process OF Dram:
That IS to say, the dog could not and
therefore did not reason out action
ami consequence, cause and effect. II
+. doubtful, on that account, If his
s,tio neould properly be called lazy.
II may have been lacking IN energy
hut laziness connotes something more
,a4n mere lack of energy. There are,
in truth, no lazy animals, any more
taau there are lazy machines. There
aIe merely those that move fast or
SLOW, or that do not move at all.
When Joe the Marine laid down
his masket TO sneeze-and, be is SAID,
mis- vas the pre-Chateau Thierry days
and very much so--he did SO as the
result of a thought process which
convinced him that less effort would
be consumed in the process of sneez-
ing. or that, mayhap more relief and
satisfaction would be got from the
sueeze. if the musket were laid on
the ground than if it were held IN the
hand. -,
There is the further very plausible
possibility that Joe believed it safer
to first deposit the musket on the
ground and then sneeze. He could
then sneeze freely, with abandon and
prhaps even with eclat.
4 muSket in the hand at sneezing
time, he may have reasoned, is likely
to be discharged by the accident of a
couyusive moment incident to - the
process of sneezing.
If such was the case there was an
element of prudence in Joe's action.
Three are many who contend that pru-
dence is an essential part of that true
laziness which is most complete, most
finished and thorough-going. If that
point be accepted it is additional
proof that Joe's laziness was the true
laziness, while the lethargy of the dog
was merely lack of dynamic impulse.
In the case of Joe there was re-
straint-restriction of muscles and
nerve centers which otherwise might
have bee ncalled upon to waste them
selves in fruitless exertion. OF such
restraint, it may be, that Domophilus
spoke when he wrote:
The mind, when imbued with the
lessons of wisdom, is like charlo-
teer; for it Restraints the desires I'M
planted in US and brings us back to
virtue
In that case, it is worthy of note,
the climax of laziness manifested byl
the caution of Joe, the Marine, had
about it virtue. And virtue, we are
taught, is positive quality.
Joe, no doubt warned by previous
experience, imbued, as it were, with
lessons of wisdom, restrained the de-
she, implanted by the drill sergeant,
to hang on to the musket. He laid the
weapon on the ground, and gave forth
has sneeze, with the minimum of vast
ed energy and the minimum of danger
TO himself, the musket and the inno-
cent bystander.
thus we find a public servant, loose
y and thoughtlessly set upon as be-
ing lazy almost beyond description,
grossly ibelled and insulted. We find
mat ne is, on the contrary, thought
ia. public servant, bent upon safe
Guarding the property of the govern
mont and the physical well-being OF
Tie general public.
joe IS therefore hero and the dog
remains a dog forever. The logic of
III" case applies itself as readily to
modern times as to those other days
Ill which Joe had his original being.
No Substitute
For ITniOniSm