It would seem, therefore, as if it were by some temporary
accident that he is held to this little material speck of matter
called the earth. And this impression grows upon us as we study
the greatest facts of human life. We enter this world knowing
nothing and not nearly so well equipped to take care of ourselves
as are other animals. There is no helplessness like that of a
babe. But wonderfully early he begins to ask the question, "How?"
A little boy will ask more questions in a day than his father
will ask in a week; nor can he be stopped or deceived, because
the question, "Why?" you can answer as you please, but not "How?"
He who can ask "How?" can be a learner as long as he exists,
whether here or hereafter. In his life here he may become either
a great financier or a great statesman, but certainly not either
unless he knows how. Any education, in fact, is simply learning
how.
What is true in the intellectual world is still more true in the
moral world. Whenever a question bearing on morals enters, every
one should stop and ask, "How?" A mistake here is like entering
the wrong gate in a large railroad station. The longer you stay
in its corresponding train, the farther it will take you from
where you should go. For example, there are some who say that the
human will is not free, but that our actions are all, in the last
analysis, according to our make-up. In other words, we are
machines which must go as they are made to go. There is,
therefore, no right nor wrong in human conduct, for machines
cannot be held responsible for conduct or the way they go--there
can be no sinful automobile or wicked windmill.
According to these reasoners, therefore, when human law punishes
one who has robbed a widow of all she had, or has seduced the
daughter of a friend, or committed a cold-blooded murder, the law
is wholly illogical in punishing him, because, since he is a
machine, his punishment is like throwing a clock out of a window
if it does not keep good time. The only answer to such a talker
should be, "Get out!" with particular emphasis on the "out."
----WHO WOULD BE A YOUNG LADY