LIFE, AND THE EXTERNALS OF LIFE.
In the Bible it is related, how the boy Isaac went with the Patriarch
Abraham up the mountain-side where the sacrifice was to be offered. He
walked on, silent and thoughtful, till at last he asked,--
"Where is the offering?"
He did not know that he himself was to be the offering.
So Roland followed Eric, silent and thoughtful; he had offered to
sacrifice himself, but the sacrifice was refused. What next?
Above, on a spur of the mountain, overlooking the surrounding country,
they sat down; the wild thyme spread its fragrance around them. Eric
took the hand of his pupil and began,--
"Well, it must be,--it ought to have come later,--I had hoped that you
would not have come to this question for a long time, and then in some
other way. Do you know what wealth is?"
"Yes; when a man has more than he needs."
"How does a man get this superfluity?"
"By inheritance and by earning."
"Can a brute animal be rich?"
"I should think not."
"Certainly not; every animal is, and has, only what he has been and has
had from his birth. Now, to go farther, are the men of these times
better than those of old times?"
"I think so."
"Will men ever be better than now?"
"I hope so."
"And how will they become better?"
"By civilization."
"Is civilization possible, when a man has to work hard from morning
till night for the satisfaction of his physical needs?"
"Hardly."
"How then can a man do anything for the improvement of himself or his
fellow-men?"
"He needs leisure for this."
"And does not that leisure come only when he has gained through his
labor a surplus of wealth?"
"It seems so."
"Remember this, then: wealth is an accumulation of power which is not
obtained by one's own labor."
"Stop, wait a minute," said Roland. He thought for a moment and then
said,--"I have it, I understand it now; pray go on."
"What, now, should a man do, who comes into possession of so much power
that he has not worked for?"
"I do not know."
"Then I will tell you. By means of what a man has beyond the absolute
needs of life, he attains those things which beautify and elevate life,
art and science. Wealth, alone, makes possible the progress of the
human race; that a man can become rich involves his higher destiny; he
lives by others, and for others; without accumulated surplus, without
capital, there can be no higher knowledge of life, no advancement of
it, no science and no art. Wealth is the possibility and the obligation
to gain and increase, for one's self and for others, the higher
benefits of existence; the rich man is not rich for himself; whatever
advantages he possesses in the way of knowledge, of improved machinery,
of invention, he has and uses in order to obtain more wealth than his
necessities demand; these advantages he possesses only by means of
others who have worked before him. In the last analysis, then, the rich
man is so through his own means, or for his own advantage; he is only
an administrator of the accumulated results of labor, and he must so
administer it as to serve the highest good of mankind. Look around!
there lie the fields, the vineyards,--whose are they? There stand
stones, boundary-stones, placed here and there over the land, as points
of legal division between mine and thine; no one can step over the
boundary of another, or encroach on another's domain; they are the
scattered stones, which, in the eye of the imagination, help to form
the great temple of law which protects humanity. Not so evident, but
not less firmly fixed, are the boundary-stones throughout life; you may
not encroach on what belongs to another, on the results of his labor
and of his natural powers. See! there the boatman directs the helm;
there the vine-dresser digs the ground that the rain may reach the
roots of his vines; the bird flies over the river; men row and dig,
animals fly and crawl, only to gain a living. Then comes temptation to
man and says,--'Let others work for you; live upon the sweat of their
brow; their bones are yours, consider them not; take gold for their
labor, gold weeps not, gold hungers not, gold complains not,--it only
glitters; when you have it, you can sing, dance, drive over men's
heads, be carried on their extended arms; don't hang back! the world is
a field of plunder where each one takes what he can seize.' So speaks
the tempter, but the spirit of the true life says,--'You are only what
you are in yourself; whatever worldly possessions you have are indeed
yours, but are not you; to-morrow they may no longer be yours; but
to-day they are, and you may multiply them a thousandfold, so that they
may be a blessing to you, and yours, and those around you.'
"If you have not genius--that is not to be acquired--then get character
and education, which can be acquired, and by means of them gain all
which is worth the gaining. Glory and greatness are good, but every one
cannot attain them; every one can be contented in himself and helpful
to others. Wealth is an instrument useful for many purposes, but only
when one knows how to use it. You cannot destroy the evils that are in
the world--hunger, sickness, and crime; but you must not fling away the
power that lies in your hand; the great duty is yours to beautify and
elevate the world. Rejoice in your possessions, for they enable you to
create beauty and to give joy. First of all, create in yourself beauty
and joy, the power of self-denial, pleasure in accomplishment; and be
ready to stand firm in yourself, if outward supports should be taken
away. He who places the centre of gravity of his being outside of
himself, on something upon which he leans, falls when that support is
removed. Be firm in yourself, keep your centre of gravity in yourself,
learn to know and to rightly value yourself and the world around you.
The present is a time of preparation; you have as yet no duties towards
others. Your only duty is to yourself. Bind together the powers within
you, and do not dissipate your being; and if you are your own master,
you are always rich; but if you have not control of yourself, you are
always poor, even were millions in your possession. If you possess
yourself, you are lord of your riches."
They were both silent for a long time. It is impossible to say in what
direction any given thought may lead, or what previous thoughts are
associated in its development.
"I should like to know," began Roland, "how it seemed when America was
first discovered."
Eric explained to the boy what a revolution in ideas the great
intellectual discoveries of the sixteenth century had made. There stood
a man in a little German town, who said, and proved, that the earth on
which we live is no fixed point; it turns continually on its axis and
in its orbit around the sun. The whole mode of thinking of mankind for
centuries was entirely changed. Man lives, then, on this ball that we
call earth; he harvests and builds, he travels by land and sea, upon a
ball which is constantly turning. When the heart of mankind first
learned that, a shudder must have passed through it; the heavens were
removed, there was no more sky, the whole old idea of a king of the
world, sitting enthroned thereon, was overthrown; what was called the
sky, was only the firmly-bound, countless order of constellations,
which move in their orbits, attracting and repelling each other.
Then came another man, who said, "There is no man on earth, who,
sitting on his throne, holds in himself the eternal spirit which gives
him the right to teach and dictate what men shall believe and hope."
Dissension appeared in the Church, and tore the civilized world
asunder.
"And still another man, with his companions, entered a ship, sailed
towards the north and discovered a new world. In the house which we
inhabit, an immeasurably large room was suddenly opened, wherein dwelt
men who knew nothing of our life, while we, on the other hand, were
ignorant of the endless variety of plants and animals, of boundless
forests and rushing torrents, that existed there. The discoveries of
Copernicus, of Luther, and of Columbus, must have produced a revolution
in the minds of men at that period, to which nothing in our age can be
compared. If we should be told now that all private property was to be
given up, so that no one should longer possess anything for himself
alone, the revolution in our minds would not be greater than it was in
men's minds at that time."
Roland sat gazing in wonder at the man, who placed him upon such a
height that he could see all life and being forming itself anew, and
unfolding before his eyes. Eric paused, in order that the vivid
impression, which it was evident he had made upon his pupil, should not
be disturbed and effaced by further speech. The question arose in his
mind, whether he had not given to the boy ideas and suggestions which
he was not able to grasp; but he comforted himself with the example of
the Church. She gives the young soul what it does not yet desire, what
it is not yet able to understand; but she gives it in the hope that it
will bear fruit in riper years. May we not--must we not do the same?
The quiet thought of the two, reaching out towards the infinite, was
disturbed, by the architect, who came to tell them that a Roman tomb
had been discovered, and in it, an urn, a chair, and a skeleton. Eric
went with Roland, and this disinterment of a man so long dead gave the
boy a shock. What is the world? What is life? A future age finds the
skeleton of a man which it passes by with indifference, and only
asks,--"Are there, withal, the remains of the industry of former
times?"
What is life?
As if waking from sleep, Roland heard Eric express his joy at the
discovery, which would give so much pleasure to Count Clodwig. And now
all the boy's thoughts were turned into a new channel, and his
perplexing doubts forgotten. Eric rejoiced in the versatile mind of
youth, which at one moment is entirely absorbed in some overpowering
thought, and the next is engrossed by another which entirely displaces
the first. This is the blessing and joy of youth. Roland was full of
plans for the foundation of a museum, and Eric encouraged him in them,
and took pains to show that here was an example of what possessions
really mean; these historical treasures did not belong to him who
called them his, but to the world, which from them could learn
something of former ages; no one could have them for himself alone.
This is the true idea of possession, freed from all material weight.
Thus ought we to look upon all the possessions of the world.
This incident seemed to lead the boy's mind to composure. But as they
were going home, he asked,--"Now tell me, Eric, what would you do if
all this wealth were yours? Can you tell, Eric, now?" "Not exactly. I
think I should waste much of it in experiments, in trying to alleviate
the sufferings of humanity. I have often speculated about it, and the
first greeting that came to me was,--'What is a million? What are
millions? What do they mean?'" As Eric was silent, Roland asked, "Well,
have you found what they mean?" "I have first made this clear to
myself. In order to know how great value any sum possesses in itself, I
have first asked, 'How much bread could be bought for a million?' And
by means of this somewhat childish question, I came, as I believe, upon
the right road."
"Which is?"
"I tried to find how many families a million would support. That, I
think, is the road, but of course I have not yet reached the end. I
repeat, however, that first of all we must make sure that we are strong
enough to do the right, at all times, under all circumstances. What
time or circumstances may demand of us, no one can determine
beforehand."
"Stay by me always, and help me," begged Roland. Eric took the boy's
hand and pressed it, and they went on quietly towards the house.