Nothing is commoner than to hear our friends say, “I don’t sleep—the work is so hard and exacting I get dead tired and then toss about all night.” But it is not the work, rather it is the worker that is exacting. CHAPTER XXXIX ANTAGONISM Lord of the Darkness, Master of the Sun, Strip me of all my strenuous life has won, But let Sleep’s sweet oblivion o’er me sweep, Closing Night’s leering eyes—oh, give me sleep! ANONYMOUS. Though you want rest, peace, sleep—the opposites of strife—yet people will oppose you and want you to go their impossible ways. That need not arouse opposition, nor break your rest, nor disturb the even tenor of your way. One disadvantage of allowing ourselves to be disturbed is that we cannot be angry with one person without being angry with all about us. Or at least the harmony of our relation is broken, because, despite our effort, we cannot succeed in separating ourselves from our brothers. The next time you are angry or impatient with someone who has opposed you, take note how it affects your tone and your feeling toward those who are innocent of any offense. One such investigation into our own condition when annoyed will help to cure us of being angry; for there is no use in trying to correct all the mistakes or worrying over the neglects of others, even of the children of our own bodies. Other people, “the same as us,” have to learn by their mistakes, and often do learn by some success that we considered manifestly impossible. As we could not be wisdom and conscience to the whole world, Providence has kindly given us enough to do in taking care of our own actions. When Mosenthal was organist at Calvary Church, the brides used to give him directions about just what pieces they wanted played at their weddings; Mosenthal would say, “Ah! that is a beautiful selection,” or “A magnificent march!” As he said, “I listen to all the lovely ladies’ orders—then I play what I think best—and it always goes all right.” He did not make rows by trying to convince excited girls that the “Mikado” would not be just the thing for the church, or to persuade nice mammas without musical education that “Traumerei” would not do for a wedding. It was not necessary to lie, only to give what approval could be given and then to “gae his ain gait.” Most people are not really much set in their own ways, they only seem to be. They have an idea (or they think they have one—an idea is a rare and precious possession) and they want to “get it off.” Let them; why should you make the explosion dangerous by confining it? Maybe they were only trying to argue with themselves, and, having got rid of the idea, they are content, if their self-love is not roused in defense of it. Like the codfish which deposits her eggs and has no more care about them, they are quite content to leave the results to Nature.