A Man's Value to Society: Studies in Self Culture and CharacterHillis, Newell Dwight
Philosophy
A Man's Value to Society: Studies in Self Culture and Character
Hillis, Newell Dwight
Character; Self-culture
To-day the new science explains the difficulty of right living, by the
largeness of man's endowment. There are few failures in the animal or
vegetable world. Instinct guides the beast, while the shrub attains
its end by automatic processes. No vine was ever troubled to decide
whether it should produce grapes or thorns. No fig tree ever had to
go to school to learn how to avoid bearing thistles. The humming bird,
flying from shrub to shrub, hears the inner voice called instinct.
These instincts serve as guide books. The animal creation that moves
through the air or water or the forests experiences but little
difficulty in finding out the appointed pathway. But the problem of
rose, lark or lion is very simple and easy, compared with the problem
of man. If the oak must needs bear acorns, man is like a vine that can
at will bring forth any one of a hundred fruits. He is like an animal
that can at its option walk or fly, swim or run. The pathway opened
before the brute world is narrow and its task therefore is very
simple, while the vast number of pathways possible to man often
embarrasses his judgment and sometimes works bewilderment.
After thousands of years man is still ignorant whether it is best for
him to eat flesh or confine himself only to fruit; whether the juice
of the grape is helpful or harmful; whether the finest culture comes
from confining one's study to a single language, as did Socrates and
Shakespeare, or through learning many languages, as did Cicero and
Milton; whether a monarchy or democracy is better suited for securing
the people's happiness and prosperity; whether the love of God in
front is a motive sufficient to pull a man heavenward, or whether fear
and fire kindled in the rear will not lend greater swiftness to his
footsteps. It is wonderful how many problems yet remain to be solved.
Nor could it be otherwise. As things increase in size and complexity
the difficulty of handling them increases. It is easy to manage a
spinning-wheel, but difficult to handle a Jacquard loom having
hundreds of delicate parts. It is easy to use a boy's whistle, but
hard to master the pipe organ with keys rising bank upon bank. Out of
an alphabet numbering six and twenty letters all the sciences and arts
can be fashioned; but the alphabet of man's faculties numbers four and
forty letters. Who shall measure the divine literatures possible to
all these combinations of thought, feeling and aspiration?
The scientist tells us that all of the instruments and excellences
distributed among the animals are united in man.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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