Rosetta Stone, which is the gateway of history; there the Elgin Marbles,
which proclaim the glory of the Greece that was; there the palimpsests
which recall an age when men had time to think; and there the books of
all time by means of which we can rethink the big thoughts of men long
since gone from sight. There are things that men now call curiosities
that mark the course of minds in their struggles toward the light; and
there are the sentiments of lofty souls that will live in the hearts of
men long after these giant stones have crumbled.

=Desire for pastoral beauty.=--Beyond the city, in the alluring country
places, we see a landscape that delights the senses, ornate with hedges,
flowers, vine-clad cottages, highways of surpassing smoothness, fertile
fields, and thrifty flocks and herds. There are carts and wagons on the
roads bearing the products of field and garden to the marts of trade.
Men, women, and children zealously ply the hoe, the plow, or the shovel,
abetting Nature in her efforts to feed the hungry. In this pastoral
scene there is dignity, serenity, and latent power. Its beauty answers
back to the æsthetic nature of mankind, and nothing that is artificial
can ever supplant it in the way of gratifying man's desire for the
beautiful.

=Economic articulation.=--Through all the diversified phases of this
panorama there runs a fundamental principle of unity. There are no
collisions. In the economy of civilization the farmer is coördinate with
the artist, the artisan, and the tradesman. But, if all men were
farmers, the economic balance would be disturbed. The railroad engineer
is major because he is indispensable. So, also, is the farmer, the
legislator, the artist, and the student. There is a degree of
interdependence that makes for economic harmony. The articulation of all
the parts gives us an economic whole.