The Good Time Coming | Page 9

though all
of earthly good surrounds us, and ever looking far away into the
uncertain future for the good that never comes, or that loses its
brightest charms in possession?"
"Because," said the old man, speaking slowly, and with emphasis, "we
are mere self-seekers."
Mr. Markland had bent toward him, eager for the answer; but the words
fell coldly, and with scarce a ray of intelligence in them, on his ears. He
sighed faintly and leaned back in his seat, while a look of
disappointment shadowed his countenance.
"Can you understand," said Mr. Allison, "the proposition that man,
aggregated, as well as in the individual, is in the human form?"
Markland gazed inquiringly into the questioner's face. "In the human
form as to uses?" said Mr. Allison. "How as to uses?"
"Aggregate men into larger or smaller bodies, and, in the attainment of
ends proposed, you will find some directing, as the head, and some
executing, as the hands."
"True."
"Society, then, is only a man in a larger form. Now, there are voluntary,
as well as involuntary associations; the voluntary, such as, from certain
ends, individuals form one with another; the involuntary, that of the
common society in which we live. Let us look for a moment at the
voluntary association, and consider it as man in a larger form. You see
how all thought conspires to a single end and how judgment speaks in a
single voice. The very first act of organization is to choose a head for
direction, and hands to execute the will of this larger man. And now
mark well this fact: Efficient action by this aggregated man depends
wholly upon the unselfish exercise by each part of its function for the
good of the whole. Defect and disorder arise the moment the head seeks
power or aggrandizement for itself, the hands work for their good alone,

or the feet strive to bear the body alone the paths they only wish to
tread. Disease follows, if the evil is not remedied; disease, the sure
precursor of dissolution. How disturbed and unhappy each member of
such an aggregated man must be, you can at once perceive.
"If it is so in the voluntary man of larger form, how can it be different
in the involuntary man, or the man of common society?"
"Of this great body you are a member. In it you are sustained, and live
by virtue of its wonderful organization. From the blood circulating in
its veins you obtain nutrition, and as its feet move forward, you are
borne onward in the general progression. From all its active senses you
receive pleasure or intelligence; and yet this larger man of society is
diseased--all see, all feel, all lament this--fearfully diseased. It contains
not a single member that does not suffer pain. You are not exempt,
favourable as is your position. If you enjoy the good attained by the
whole, you have yet to bear a portion of the evil suffered by the whole.
Let me add, that if you find the cause of unhappiness in this larger man,
you will find it in yourself. Think! Where does it lie?"
"You have given me the clue," replied Mr. Markland, "in your picture
of the voluntarily aggregated man. In this involuntary man of common
society, to which, as you have said, we all bear relation as members,
each seeks his own good, regardless of the good of the whole; and there
is, therefore, a constant war among the members."
"And if not war, suffering," said Mr. Allison. "This man is sustained by
a community of uses among the members. In the degree that each
member performs his part well, is the whole body served; and in the
degree that each member neglects his work, does the whole body
suffer."
"If each worked for himself, all would be served," answered Mr.
Markland. "It is because so many will not work for themselves, that so
many are in want and suffering."
"In the very converse of this lies the true philosophy; and until the
world has learned the truth, disorder and unhappiness will prevail. The
eye does not see for itself, nor the ear hearken; the feet do not walk, nor
the hands labour for themselves; but each freely, and from an affection
for the use in which it is engaged, serves the whole body, while every
organ or member of the body conspires to sustain it. See how
beautifully the eyes direct the hands, guiding them in every minute

particular, while the heart sends blood to sustain them in their labours,
and the feet bear them to the appointed place; and the hands work not
for themselves, but that the whole body may be nourished and clothed.
Where each regards the general good, each is best served.