Hey Rub-a-dub-dub: A Book of the Mystery and Wonder and Terror of LifeDreiser, Theodore
General
Hey Rub-a-dub-dub: A Book of the Mystery and Wonder and Terror of Life
Dreiser, Theodore
American essays -- 20th century
or a storm soon or late (revolution), or periods of horror in which
chaos rules, or peace in which nothing is achieved. The world is sad
over its inability to obtain freedom, great scope of emotion, for
itself, or gleeful because of its triumph in this direction. But all the
time it is struggling and maintaining but a rough and in the main brief
balance, part with part or unit with unit.
One might go on indefinitely contemplating other phases of this same
equational law, its relation to love of parents, love of country, love
of home, love of one’s neighbor, love of this, love of that. Are not all
of these held up as duties, virtues, perfections even Sinaitic commands,
as in “Honor thy father and thy mother,” when as a matter of fact and
inwardly we know that this is a matter of equation or balance and cannot
absolutely as a commandment from on high exist where no reasonable
return in kind is predicated. What, love a shameless, brutal, unparental
or non-filial father or mother, son or daughter, in whom, let us say,
exists not one redeeming trait or quality of all that we consider
essential to or characteristic of those states? It is not chemically
therefore not humanly possible. What is meant is that it is not only
possible but natural to make a reasonable return where affection,
kindness or care has been extended. Now while it is entirely conceivable
that one might love one who was cruel to oneself and generous to others,
or generous to oneself and cruel to others, who in some way or some one
direction fulfilled some phases of balance or equation, in however weak
or impossible a way, still one could not possibly love one who was in no
wise kind or generous to any one, a thing without reciprocal or
balancing relations in some direction. The law of balance or equation
which governs in all processes, even thought, will not permit it. There
must be something given in some way, directly or indirectly, before
anything can be returned or evolved, even in thought. And if one
reverses the picture and attempts to conceive of hating some one or
thing equationally just, fair or balanced, not attempting to take from
any one or thing too much and not withholding from any one or thing that
which is equationally his, it is quite as psychically impossible. One
cannot cerebrate inimically toward that person or thing as being evil,
reprehensible or what not. It cannot be done. Sometimes, where by reason
of plenty or inherent weakness of mind or force, or carelessness of
thought or interest, an individual is in any way indifferent to a
“reasonable” or balanced return to himself for effort made, labor given,
thought expended and what not, and where this results in no injury to
himself or others, it is entirely possible to look upon him with
indifference or as a fool, or as one who is weak-minded or not capable
of balancing himself against the shrewd and self-interested minds of
others. But such indifference or lack of self-interest would not
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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