Darkest India - A Supplement to General Booth's "In Darkest England, and the Way Out" by Commissioner Booth-Tucker
page 59 of 182 (32%)
page 59 of 182 (32%)
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station could confer, or ambition could obtain.
"The supreme test of any scheme for benefiting humanity lies in the answer to the question; what does it make of the individual? Does it quicken his conscience, does it soften his heart, does it enlighten his mind? Does it, in short, make a true man of him? Because only by such influences can he be enabled to lead a human life. You may clothe the drunkard, fill his purse with gold, establish him in a well furnished house, and in three, six, or twelve months, he will once more be on the "Embankment," haunted by delirium tremens, dirty, squalid and ragged. (2) "The remedy, to be effectual, must _change the circumstances_, when they are the cause of his wretched condition, and lie beyond his control. (3) "Any remedy worthy of consideration must be on _a scale commensurate with the evil_, which it proposes to deal with. It is no use trying to bale out the ocean with a pint pot. There must be no more philanthropic tinkering, as if this vast sea of human misery were contained in the limits of a garden pond. (4) "Not only must the scheme be large enough, but it _must be permanent._ That is to say, it must not be merely spasmodic coping with the misery of to-day, but must go on dealing with the misery of to-morrow and the day after, so long as there is misery left in the world with which to grapple. (5) "But while it must be permanent, it must also be _immediately practicable_, and capable of being brought into instant operation with beneficial results. |
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