Previous: III. Botany
There was a time in my life when, if I had suddenly been set in the position I now enjoy, conscience would have lain in ambush for me. What! An income sufficient to support three or four working-class families -- a house all to myself -- things beautiful wherever I turn -- and absolutely nothing to do for it all! I should have been hard put to it to defend myself. In those days I was feelingly reminded, hour by hour, with what a struggle the obscure multitudes manage to keep alive. Nobody knows better than I do quam parvo liceat producere vitam [on how little man may live]. I have hungered in the streets; I have laid my head in the poorest shelter; I know what it is to feel the heart burn with wrath and envy of “the privileged classes.” Yes, but all that time I was one of “the privileged” myself, and now I can accept a recognized standing among them without shadow of self-reproach.
It does not mean that my larger sympathies are blunted. By going to certain places, looking upon certain scenes, I could most effectually destroy all the calm that life has brought me. If I hold apart and purposely refuse to look that way, it is because I believe that the world is better, not worse, for having one more inhabitant who lives as becomes a civilized being. Let him whose soul prompts him to assail the iniquity of things, cry and spare not; let him who has the vocation go forth and combat. In me it would be to err from nature’s guidance. I know, if I know anything, that I am made for the life of tranquillity and meditation. I know that only thus can such virtue as I possess find scope. More than half a century of existence has taught me that most of the wrong and folly which darken earth is due to those who cannot possess their souls in quiet; that most of the good which saves mankind from destruction comes of life that is led in thoughtful stillness. Every day the world grows noisier; I, for one, will have no part in that increasing clamour, and, were it only by my silence, I confer a boon on all.
How well would the revenues of a country be expanded, if, by mere pensioning, one-fifth of its population could be induced to live as I do!
Alpha.
I’m not sure what I think about this. I might agree with him that the world is a better place for people living quietly -- as I feel I do -- but I’m not sure about expanding the nation’s revenue or GDP. His expenditure, and economic benefit to the community, would have been greater than mine is. Besides supporting his housekeeper, there is a gardener he employes and people to bring the coal and no doubt a variety of other trades people I can hardly imagine.
I, on the other hand, pay for an hour of two of house cleaner's time every other month and spend a moderate amount of time in cafes and relatively inexpensive restaurants. Aside from that initial rush of remodeling expenses, I don’t anticipate contributing greatly to the local economy. But then my income would not support three or four working class families. I honestly can’t imagine what I would do with that kind of money.
In fact, my modest expenditures are something of an economic disaster -- or they would be if they were copied by a significant proportion of the population. I don’t own a car. I don’t eat meat. I very rarely buy anything non-perishable aside from the occasional book or DVD. I purchase the occasional painting, but these are from local artists and not that expensive. Were my habits to be universalized we would find ourselves in a perpetual, global economic depression. On the other hand, we also would not have Global Warming or other forms of pollution, including the overflowing landfills here and in 3rd World countries. The world would, indeed, be a quieter place, but would it be happier? I really don’t know.
On another subject, I realize that Gissing (and Ryecroft) were of a generation raised on a Classical Education that implied a working knowledge of Latin and Greek, but even books written more recently presume a knowledge of Latin and often French. It especially annoys me when a translation from German leaves the Latin and French untranslated... why would you assume it was only German that I couldn’t read? I will attempt to translate quotations not in English, though I’m just going to ignore the Greek as I don’t care enough to mess with the character set.
Next: Spring V. Poverty, bad back, and fate
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