I mournfully admit it, and
I quite see the uselessness of trying to bring pleasures within the
reach of people when they have no taste for them; but an increasing
number of people do care for such things, and there are still more
who would care for them, if only they could be introduced to them
at an impressionable age.
If it is said that this kind of simplicity is a very tame and
spiritless thing, I would answer that it has the advantage of being
within the reach of all. The reason why the pursuit of social
advancement and success is so hollow, is that the subordinate life
is after all the life that must fall to the majority of people. We
cannot organise society on the lines of the army of a lesser German
state, which consisted of twenty-four officers, covered with
military decorations, and eight privates. The successful men,
whatever happens, must be a small minority; and what I desire is
that success, as it is called, should fall quietly and inevitably
on the heads of those who deserve it, while ordinary people should
put it out of their thoughts.
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