Humanly Speaking | Page 3

will be more
pleasant if he has also a "serendipitaceous" mind. He will then, by a
sort of accidental sagacity, discover that what he encounters is much
less formidable than what he feared. Half of his enemies turn out to be
friends in disguise, and half of the other half retire at his approach.
After a while such words as "impracticable" and "impossible" lose their
absoluteness and become only synonyms for the relatively difficult. He
has so often found a way out, where humanly speaking there was none,
that he no longer looks upon a logical dilemma as a final negation of
effort.

The following essays were written partly at home and partly abroad.
They therefore betray the influence of some of the mass movements of
the day. Anyone with even a little leisure from his own personal affairs
must realize that we are living in one of the most stirring times in
human history. Everywhere the old order is changing. Everywhere
there are confused currents both of thought and feeling.
That the old order is passing is obvious enough. That a new order is

arising, and that it is on the whole beneficent, is not merely a pious
hope. It is more than this: it is a matter of observation to any one with a
moderate degree of "Serendipity."
IN THE HANDS OF A RECEIVER
It sometimes happens that a business man who is in reality solvent
becomes temporarily embarrassed. His assets are greater than his
liabilities, but they are not quick enough to meet the situation. The
liabilities have become mutinous and bear down upon him in a
threatening mob. If he had time to deal with them one by one, all would
be well; but he cannot on the instant mobilize his forces.
Under such circumstances the law allows him to surrender, not to the
mob, but to a friendly power which shall protect the interests of all
concerned. He goes into the hands of a receiver, who will straighten out
his affairs for him. I can imagine the relief which would come to one
who could thus get rid, for a while, of his harassing responsibilities,
and let some one else do the worrying.
In these days some of the best people I know are in this predicament in
regard to their moral and social affairs. These friends of mine have this
peculiarity, that they are anxious to do their duty. Now, in all
generations, there have been persons who did their duty, according to
their lights. But in these days it happens that a new set of lights has
been turned on suddenly, and we all see more duties than we had
bargained for. In the glare we see an army of creditors, each with an
overdue bill in hand. Each demands immediate payment, and shakes his
head when we suggest that he call again next week. We realize that our
moral cash in hand is not sufficient for the crisis. If all our obligations
must be met at once, there will be a panic in which most of our
securities will be sacrificed.
We are accustomed to grumble over the increase in the cost of living.
But the enhancement of price in the necessities of physical life is
nothing compared to the increase in the cost of the higher life.
There are those now living who can remember when almost any one

could have the satisfaction of being considered a good citizen and
neighbor. All one had to do was to attend to one's own affairs and keep
within the law. He would then be respected by all, and would deserve
the most eulogistic epitaph when he came to die. By working for
private profit he could have the satisfaction of knowing that all sorts of
public benefits came as by-products of his activity.
But now all such satisfactions are denied. To be a good citizen you
must put your mind on the job, and it is no easy one. You must be up
and doing. And when you are doing one good thing there will be
keen-eyed critics who will ask why you have not been doing other
things which are much more important; and they will sternly demand of
you, "What do you mean by such criminal negligence?"
What we call the awakening of the social conscience marks an
important step in progress, But, like all progress, it involves hardship to
individuals. For the higher moral classes, the saints and the reformers,
it is the occasion of wholehearted rejoicing. It is just what they have, all
the while, been trying to bring about. But I confess to a sympathy for
the middle class, morally considered, the plain people, who feel the
pinch. They have invested their little all in the old-fashioned securities,
and