They mark time instead of
marching. They think only to argue, not to reach new conclusions,
and use their reason rather as a weapon of offense than as a tool for
self-improvement. Hence the talk of some of the cleverest was
unprofitable in result, because there was no give and take; they
would grant you as little as possible for premise, and begin to
dispute under an oath to conquer or to die.
But the talk of a workman is apt to be more interesting than that of
a wealthy merchant, because the thoughts, hopes, and fears of which
the workman's life is built lie nearer to necessity and nature. They
are more immediate to human life. An income calculated by the week
is a far more human thing than one calculated by the year, and a
small income, simply from its smallness, than a large one. I never
wearied listening to the details of a workman's economy, because
every item stood for some real pleasure. If he could afford pudding
twice a week, you know that twice a week the man ate with genuine
gusto and was physically happy; while if you learn that a rich man
has seven courses a day, ten to one the half of them remain untasted,
and the whole is but misspent money and a weariness to the flesh.
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