Prev | Current Page 498 | Next

Douglas, Norman, 1868-1952

"South Wind"

The attitude of a man towards his fellows should be that of
non-intervention, of benevolent egotism. Every person of healthy
digestion was aware of that cardinal truth. Unfortunately persons of
healthy digestions were not as common as they might be. That was why
straight thinking, on these and other subjects, was at a discount.
Nobody had a right to call himself well-disposed towards society until
he had grasped the elementary fact that the only way to improve the
universe was to improve oneself, and to leave one's neighbour alone.
The best way to begin improving oneself was to keep one's own bowels
open, and not trouble about those of anybody else. Turkey rhubarb, in
fact. The serenity of outlook thereby attained would enable a man to
perceive the futility of interfering with the operation of natural
selection.
The speaker, he went on, had dropped the word charity. Had the tribe of
Israel cultivated a smattering of respect for physiology or any other
useful science instead of fussing about supernatural pedigrees, they
would have been more cautious as to their diet.


Pages:
486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510