But
then he was less than himself; then he had but lost sight of his
lode-star. Then he had forgotten, but only for awhile, that he owed
all to the teaching of that God who had given to the young and
obscure advocate the mission of affecting the destinies of nations
yet unborn.
And believe me, my friends, even as it has been with our forefathers,
so it will be with us. According to our faith will it be unto us,
now as it was of old. In proportion as we believe that wealth,
science, and civilisation are the work and property of man, in just
that proportion we shall be tempted to keep them selfishly and
exclusively to ourselves. The man of science will be tempted to hide
his discoveries, though men may be perishing for lack of them, till
he can sell them to the highest bidder; the rich man will be tempted
to purchase them for himself, in order that he may increase his own
comfort and luxury, and feel comparatively lazy and careless about
their application to the welfare of the masses; he will be tempted to
pay an exorbitant price for anything that can increase his personal
convenience, and yet when the question is about improving the supply
of necessaries to the poor, stand haggling about considerations of
profitable investment, excuse himself from doing the duty which lies
nearest to him by visions of distant profit, of which a thousand
unexpected accidents may deprive him after all, and make his boasted
scientific care for the wealth of the nation an excuse for leaving
tens of thousands worse housed and worse fed than his own beasts of
burden.
Pages:
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160