His friend seemed to have lost all interest in that subject. It was a
way he had.
"Denis? I really could not tell. I'm not sufficiently in his
confidence. . . . Honour thy father and thy mother," he proceeded,
reverting to his former theme. "What think you, Heard, of this old
injunction? Is it not altogether obsolete? Was it not written for quite
other conditions? Honour thy father and mother. Why? The State educates
children, feeds them, investigates and cures their complaints, washes
and weighs them, reports on their teeth and stomachs, prescribes when
they may begin to smoke and enter public-houses: where does parental
authority come in? The State provides old folks with refuges and
pensions: how about the former obligations of children? Child and
parent alike now thank the community for what they once received from
each other. And the geographical elements that went to the making of a
home are also dispersed. Rich and poor roam like gipsies from one
country to another, from one flat into the next; the patriarchal board
is replaced by clubs and grill-rooms and fried-fish shops.
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