HESPERIAN STUDENT
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA.
Vol. XII.
LINCOLN, NEB., DECEMBER 15, 1883.
No. VI.
MISCELLANEOUS MENTION.
Progress can only arise out of tne development of
order. Oomte.
"Twenty millions of people, mostly fools mostly
fools." says Carlyle, speaking of Great Britain.
The political outlook is about the same as ever. The
two great parties, like chess-players, move and feint,
sometimes one receiving a check and then thu other.
"It has ever been held the highest wisdom for a man
not merely to submit to necessity necessity will make
him submit but to kn m- and believe well that the stern
thing which necessity had ordered was the best, the wis.
est, the thing wanted then. To cease his frantic preten
sion of scanning this great God's world in his small frac
tion of a brain ,"
Modern society adopts for its motto a perversion of the
old saying "a little nonsense now and then is reli3hedby
the best of men," making it read "a little sense now and
then is relished by the best of men." The requirements
for admission are surrender of body, mind and soul, for
these are absolutely disregarded by a large share of its
members.
The plutocracy of this country threatens to be more
daugerous than any other "ocracy." It embraces the
lowest and most brutal classes, it is more insolent and
over-bearing than the autocracy of Russia. And the
worst of all is the obeisance it compels from the peo pie.
The man who has wealth at his command, no matter if
ne is a mental and moral n ninntity, commands the fore
most place in society.
The complaint isnow that everything is .overdone.
Yes every thing is overdone except hard work. This
never h s been overdone, and never will be overdone , as
long ns the world stands. This is wanted in every occu
pation, by fanners, lawyers doctors, ministers, median.
ics,'and so on throughout all departments ofIabor. We
have yet to hear of the man really willing to work who
did not find ample employment.
Some people ask why we do not hear more of college
graduates after they go out in the world, imagining this
is an argument against colleges. With equal sense they
might ask why black is not white. Two things are nec
essary in order that a man may become distinguished,
brains and application. If colleges could infuse these
Uiere would be some reason in the rcmaik, but unfortu
nately they do not have this power.
If men were compelled to cat oysters whether or not
they liked them, they would probably complain of the
injustice done to their taste. But no less arbitrary is the
law of literary taste. We arc enforced to accept and ad
mire certain authors, and if offensive to our taste to lie
and profess admiration for them. If one should admit
that he did not like Thacker', Cervantes or Dickens, he
would be set down'as an idiot or a dunce.
The special, sole and deepest theme of the world's and
man's history, whereto all otiier themes arc subordinated,
remains the conflict of belief and unbelief. All epochs
wherein belief prevails, under what form it may
are splendid, heart-clcvating, fruitful for contemporaries.
All epochs, on ths contrary, wherein unbelief, under,
what form soever, maintains its sorry victory, should
they even for a moment glitter with a sham splendor,
vanishes from the eyes of posterity, became no one
chooses to burden himself with the study of the unfruitful."
There are some people who do not sccra to realize that
they can have an existence aside from othe'rs. As soon
as adversity comes they are rrady to give up at once.
The young man disappointed in his first love imagines
there is no longer any use of living, all o.ujoynient is
gone, but as time rolls on and he becomes sane once
more, he finds that it was a mistake, and that he actually
takes pleasure in living again. Three forths of the howl
ing, wailing, sighing, groaning that fills the world is of
our own imagination. Eyils have no existence except
in our own minds.
Carlyle is again dragged forth from the grave, anathe
matized, magnified in all his fault), depreciated in his
merits, buried again this time by Gail Hamilton. 3he
says he actually forgot, while he was occupied with hU
great work, to look after house-hold matters, and see
whether his wife had all the conveniences deemed essen
tial in this age. It is unfortunate that he could not have
had a mind to universal as to comprehend all things
from planning kitchens up (o solving the great questions
of the universe. But providence did not thus will it, like
many other men he was one-sided. Whilst he was con
stant and true in the great essentials, he lost sight of some
of his small duties. He had some human frailties and
often fell short of his high idea:, although he gave up his
whole life to the pursuit of truth, and fearlessly uttered
it on all occasions. But this is forgotten, he is criticized
for what he did not do, rather than what he did do. It is
a pity Gail Hamilton could not have had men made to
order expressly for herself. If providence had only con.
suited her before it created them, all this trouble might
have been saved.
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