To appreciate things of beauty, as do the
Americans, a man requires intelligence. Intelligence is compatible with
progress. To create them, as did the Greeks, he requires intelligence
and something else as well: time. Democracy, in abolishing slavery, has
eliminated that element of time--an element which is indispensable to
civilization."
"We have some fine slavery in America at this moment."
"I am using the word in the antique sense. Your modern slavery is of
another kind. It has all the drawbacks and few of the advantages of the
classic variety. It gives leisure to the wrong people--to those who
praise the dignity of labour. Men who talk about the Dignity of Labour
had better say as little as possible about civilization, for fear of
confusing it with the North Pole."
The American laughed.
"That's one for me!" he remarked.
"On the contrary! You are an admirable example of that happy graft
which we mentioned just now."
"Progress and civilization!" exclaimed Mr. Heard. "One uses those words
so much in my walk of life that, thinking it over, I begin to wonder
whether they mean more than this: that there are perpetual
readjustments going on.
Pages:
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584