a fault in you, and it is my duty to see that against such faults as this the commonwealth shall be protected. You may say that it is your misfortune to be criminal; I answer that it is your crime to be unfortunate."
This is a fit successor to the marvelous "Let no man"
conclusion to the Modest Proposal.
Another unomittable instance is the account of a religious reformation. The visitor hints to a Musical Bank manager that the popular reliance on that currency was rather perfunctory, and that the other financial system, ostensibly flouted, was the real repository of coin and confidence.[1]
"He said that it had been more or less true till lately, but
that now they had put fresh stained glass windows into all the
banks in the country, and repaired the buildings, and enlarged
the organs; the presidents, moreover, had taken to riding in
omnibuses and talking nicely to people in the streets, and to
remembering the ages of their children, and giving them things
when they were naughty, so that all would henceforth go
smoothly.
"'But haven't you done anything to the money itself?' said I, timidly.
"'It is not necessary,' he rejoined; 'not in the least necessary, I assure you.'"
One citation also from Butler's novel is irresistible, particularly
as it reminds one of Trollope's practical admonition
to young men contemplating matrimony. This is on
the subject of domestic discipline.[2]
- ↑ Erewhon, 153. Butler's ability to deliver the casual nudge as well as the deliberate blow is shown in a feature of the prison régime; convict labor is required,—a trade already learned, if possible, otherwise—"if he be a gentleman born and bred to no profession, he must pick oakum, or write art criticisms for a newspaper." 126.
- ↑ The Way of All Flesh, 26.
