John Jacob Astor by Elbert Hubbard
page 3 of 28 (10%)
page 3 of 28 (10%)
|
closes no prison. Rather it opens a prison and takes captive
at least one man. The only education that makes free is the one that tends to human efficiency. Teach children to work, play, laugh, fletcherize, study, think, and yet again--work, and we will raze every prison. There is only one prison, and its name is Inefficiency. Amid the bastions of this bastile of the brain the guards are Pride, Pretense, Greed, Gluttony, Selfishness. Increase human efficiency and you set the captives free. ``The Teutonic tribes have captured the world because of their efficiency,'' says Lecky the historian. He then adds that he himself is a Celt. The two statements taken together reveal Lecky to be a man without prejudice. When the Irish tell the truth about the Dutch the millennium approaches. Should the quibbler arise and say that the Dutch are not Germans, I will reply, true, but the Germans are Dutch-- at least they are of Dutch descent. The Germans are great simply because they have the homely and indispensable virtues of prudence, patience and industry. There is no copyright on these qualities. God can do many things, but so far, He has never been able to make a strong |
|