And besides, the problem of land, at its worst, is a bye one; distribute the earth as you will, the principal question remains inexorable,--Who is to dig it? Which of us, in brief words, is to do the hard and dirty work for the rest--and for what pay? Who is to do the pleasant and clean work, and for what pay? Who is to do no work, and for what pay? And there are curious moral and religious questions connected with these. How far is it lawful to suck a portion of the soul out of a great many persons, in order to put the abstracted psychical quantities together and make one very beautiful or ideal soul? If we had to deal with mere blood, instead of spirit (and the thing might literally be done--as it has been done with infants before now)--so that it were possible by taking a certain quantity of blood from the arms of a given number of the mob, and putting it all into one person, to make a more azure-blooded gentleman of him, the thing would of course be managed; but secretly, I should conceive. But now, because it is brain and soul that we abstract, not visible blood, it can be done quite openly, and we live, we gentlemen, on delicatest prey, after the manner of weasels; that is to say, we keep a certain number of clowns digging and ditching, and generally stupefied, in order that we, being fed gratis, may have all the thinking and feeling to ourselves. Yet there is a great deal to be said for this. A highly-bred and trained English, French, Austrian, or Italian gentleman (much more a lady) is a great production,--a better production than most statues; being beautifully colored as well as shaped, and plus all the brains; a glorious thing to look at, a wonderful thing to talk to; and you cannot have it, any more than a pyramid or a church, but by sacrifice of much contributed life. And it is, perhaps, better to build a beautiful human creature than a beautiful dome or steeple--and more delightful to look up reverently to a creature far above us, than to a wall; only the beautiful human creature will have some duties to do in return--duties of living belfry and rampart--of which presently. [1] This lecture was given December 6, 1864, at Rusholme Town Hall, Manchester, in aid of a library fund for the Rusholme Institute. [2] Note this sentence carefully, and compare the "Queen of the Air," section 106. [3] 2 Peter, iii. 5-7. [4] Compare the 13th Letter in "Time and Tide." [5] Modern "education" for the most part signifies giving people the faculty of thinking wrong on every conceivable subject of importance to them. [6] "Inferno," xxiii. 125, 126; xix. 49, 50. [7] Compare section 13 above. [8] See note at end of lecture. I have put it in large type, because the course of matters since it was written has made it perhaps better worth attention.