Great Britain -- Social conditions -- 19th century; Social problems
Difficult? Yes, it will be difficult. The short-fibre cotton;
that too was difficult. The waste cotton-shrub, long useless,
disobedient, as the thistle by the wayside,--have ye not
conquered it; made it into beautiful bandana webs; white woven
shirts for men; bright-tinted air-garments wherein flit
goddesses? Ye have shivered mountains asunder, made the hard
iron pliant to you as soft putty: the Forest-giants, Marsh-
jotuns bear sheaves of golden grain; Aegir the Sea-demon himself
stretches his back for a sleek highway to you, and on Firehorses
and Windhorses ye career. Ye are most strong. Thor red-bearded,
with his blue sun-eyes, with his cheery heart and strong thunder-
hammer, he and you have prevailed. Ye are most strong, ye Sons
of the icy North, of the far East,--far marching from your rugged
Eastern Wildernesses, hitherward from the grey Dawn of Time! Ye
are Sons of the _Jotun_-land; the land of Difficulties
Conquered. Difficult? You must try this thing. Once try it
with the understanding that it will and shall have to be done.
Try it as ye try the paltrier thing, making of money! I will bet
on you once more, against all Jotuns, Tailor-gods, Double-
barrelled Law-wards, and Denizens of Chaos whatsoever!
Chapter V
Permanence
Standing on the threshold, nay as yet outside the threshold, of a
'Chivalry of Labour,' and an immeasurable Future which it is to
fill with fruitfulness and verdant shade; where so much has not
yet come even to the rudimental state, and all speech of positive
enactments were hasardous in those who know this business only by
the eye,--let us here hint at simply one widest universal
principle, as the basis from which all organisation hitherto has
grown up among men, and all henceforth will have to grow: The
principle of Permanent Contract instead of Temporary.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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