Evening star., 1933-03-14
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

(, which goes on around them, Is manifest,
and especially to themselves.
| They do not labor under the slightest
deluSion as to their relative importance
In this respect, at least, they know as
much about relativity as Prof. Einstein
himself.
Hence, they become essential quietists
In fact If not In theory, and the wiser
ones become so in theory likewise.
Let others rave about indifference;
there Is always some one to tell you
what you ought to do land how much
1t will cost you); the main thing Is to
be true to the self.
After all, this form Of quietism Is
what enables the American people to
find something wholesome, even thrill
ing. in great national emergencies.
Just as long as we are all in the same
boat, we all figure that we have plenty
of company--130,000,0 900 or there
abouts. which ought to be enough. We
are all in the same boat, and he who
rocks it is a scoundrel. Conversely, he
who keeps level head and sits tight
Is doing just what he ought to do. It
is the easiest thing to do, and at the
same time it is the best thing to do
Happy coincidence!
X 4 X \
There is a great deal to be said for
the attempt to cultivate peace or tran
quillity of mind, no matter what one
calls it, whether quietism or what-not.
If it runs of to indifference at one
end. it wears the odor of sanctity at
the other.
It is as old as the hills, under its vari-
GUS forms. 1t is one of the golden
threads of all religions, the eternal
search after God.
The soft and savoury sleep of moth
ingness," as Molinos called contempla- =.
| tion, holds out its arms to all mystics,
strange holy men and women of all
times and places who have attempted to
see in life more than these eyes see.
Every day the discoveries of science
show the most doubling that there is
more to be seen.
| Whole worlds have emerged from
single substances, such as coal tar.
The magic Of chemistry. rapidly be-
coming the magic of physics again
(probably to remain there forever, Is
the magic Of mystery.
Mysticism is mystery. the attempt
to solve by sheer thought. or even
lack of thoughts the problems which
mere practical characters attack with
pdIlcIlI PiOOu1llS.
Mysticism is a brave endeaver to see
into the heart of life. and out Of 1t to
Wrest the heart of death
The chemist and the physicist ex-
plain. but in the end their explanations
mean nothing.
They have pushed back the curtain
way, have shown what the edge is
made of. but still the veil stretches
deep and impenetrable before US.
Their little words, as interesting as
they are, and SO great in human
achievement. do not satisfy us with the
great satisfaction which the human
mind and heart demand of life.
Life itself does not satisfy. 1t IS
quietism to a degree, even in its
stormiest moments, quietism bordering
on indifference. The loudest pleas
echo back from the mute lips of the
ages. The dictionary is filled with
words, but they explain only what man
has done or found out. They explain
his explanations. They are hollow at
last, with all the pomposity of little
creature, trying nightly. II we go to
the real things. themselves, which they
represent, we find we are helpless be-
fore the same old surface manifesto
tions. The essence is beyond us, and it
is the essence We want. Shut the die
tionary. with sigh. There IS too
much in it.