Paths of Pleasure.

Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, Volume XVIII, Issue 887, 11 July 1922, Page 3

Paths of Pleasure.

(ByR. R.) Three quotations come readily to tl mind. The poet Burns has written th "pleasures are like poppies spread' Tennyson says, " I built my soul a lord pleasure house," and Mrs Norton, : English writer of last century, deolar that " God made all pleasures innocent I was looking recently at Millet'a wonde lul picture, " The Angelus," and was r minded of the story that is told concernin its production. It is related that when tl picture was first roughly sketched in, t) artist and a friend stood back observing i The painter's own faith was always simp and firm, and he was explaining that 1 wished his picture to express the truest an simplest idea of worship. "How does tl picture strike you ? " asked Millet. " ] appears to mean," said his friend, " thi | there is no use in worship. There stan the peasant, humble' and devout, on thei own dull fields, and beneath a dumb, blac sky« But what is the use of it all ? Whet is their. answer ?" Millet smiled, and, fc reply, with a few deft strokes of his brusr he brought in a ray of sunlight from th horizon. Immediately the picture wa transformed. ' The whole grey bky lit' be< and arched itself ; the landscape wa heightened with promise and hope ; fror that one stray beam of light the. scene be came filled with, charm and glory. The story has its message for us to-day The routine of life is often monotonous am dull enough — grey and drab like Millet' fields. Our ways seem joyless and devoii of light. They lack brightness and chee and the charm of beauty. , Often we nee< the dash of sunlight ia our lives. The human system is formed for alternati labour and rest. Neither mind nor bod] is capable of beiug incessantly ocoupied ii one direction, without injury. Like thi bent bow, when overstrained we aro ap to lose our elasticity. Both body and mint require unbending after severe labour 01 strain, and pleasure has a true and legitimate place and purpose in life, as certain ly as pain. In order t*t> BuccjeodJn life it ii necessary to work pleasurably, and ,t; cultivate the faculty for extracting enjoy ment from all environments and conditions. " Laugh and the world laughs with you, Weep and you weep alone." Ruskin, in the "Stories of Venice,' argues the case for pleasure iu his own inimitable way. He says, " Man was made for enjoyment, and the world was. filled with things which you will enjoy, unless yos are too proud to be pleased by them, or too grasping to oare for "what you cannot turn to Other account than mere delight." We should add that it is often more gratifying to provide pleasure than merely to accept it. In true enjoyment the life should also be open to the gladness of 1 Natuie. Woods and fields, birds and all living things, and the great, out-of-door are a temple of pleasure and an unfailing I souioe of delight. | The place occupied by pleasure in our personal lives is a matter of no small moment, and, as is usual, the grammar of the word is instructive. " Pleasure " is the act of gratifying the senses or the mind, the relish "and happiness produced by expectation of good, the enjoyment of that whioh delights or satisfies. That is the dictionary meaning of the word. Its root derivation is, "to appear, to quiet, to 60othe." Very soon it passes into the secondary meaning of sport, play, amusement, the enjoyment of the senses. To give a quotation from- Dr. Johnson, " Harmless pleasure is the highest praise. Pleasure is a word of dubious import; pleasure is in general dangerous and pernicious to virtue ; to be able therefore to furnish pleasure that is harmless, pleasure pure and unalloyed, is as great a power as man can possess." There is a third technical meaning of pleasure. It is the aotij of the Will in dictating a wish or purpose? ,Of this usage 'there are many illustrations in literature. Says Shakespeare; "Use your pleasure j if your love do not persuade you to come, let not my letter^'. A higher classio instance occurs in saored writ, " He will do his pleasure on Babylon." Its common illustration is seen in our usual term of courtesy, " it you please." Pleasure was meant to be recreative, and for the re- building and strengthening of the waste places in tissue and energy. Ifo pleasure fulfills its work that does not giye back to refreshment to life, and in* vigoration and a keener relish far all honest effort. The way to judge of individual pleasure is by its effect on life? Is it recreating or diseipating in its result? All physical exercises which make the body strong and healthy are good j so also of the mind and the soul. " A little nonsense now 'and jbtfen Is relishod by the wisest men." So said the old Latin poet Horace, and his observation was true to life for all times. We must have fun, plenty of fun and laughter in our lives and in our homes, if , we would be happy. Jt is always a mistake to shut up our windows lest the sun should fade our carpets. Jt if equal folly to shut our hearts to pleasure, lest a hearty laugh should shake down the cobwebs hanging tbere. Rather let the doors and windows be cheerfully thrown open in summer, and let the fire burn brightly all through the winter, . .Let games and wit and repartee frequently employ us. Half an hour ot merriment will blot out the remembrance of many a care, and the lighthearted, joyous frolic will bring again elasticity/and spring to the life. The man who acquires the habit of giving way to depression is already on the road to ruin. When trouble comes upon him, instead of raising his energies for combat, he grows supine and weaker, his faculties are dull, his judgment obscured, and he sinks into despair. Even should some pitying friend lend him a helping hand, he standß inert, dejected and discouraged. But how different is it with, the man who. takes a oheerful view oHifg, even when' at its worst ! He. faces evpry iU wi,th unyielding courage. He may be swept fjor' a time by some adveise {ide", may even los.e his footing, but he bravely struggles, for the, shore, and js ever ready a,nd gracious to any proffered help, The pheeif id and hopeful courage, born of wholesome pleasure and the pure Joy of life, is " m m .in valuable possession, and Bhou I l6'. be earnestly ou,ltivatecl. t There la ho need to dwel| upon the particular pleasures of life. Some wen ftnd, joy in companionship, while others, leligh.t in the great feasts of Nature's scenery. One finds joy in books, another in music ; one in travel apd another in spor£. 'The world is full of glorious, invigorating "and innocent pleasures, and the choice sh,ou,ld not be hard. Byron says, ip his ''Qhii^ej Harold"*, \ " There is a pleasure In the pathless woods, There is a rapture on the' lonely shore, There is anxiety where none intrudes. By the deep sea, and music in its roar." I have said nothing of the philosophy of pleasure, nor of the relative value of p^in, and delight. 2* There is a pleasure] which is born of pain," says one writeri The right and the wrong of pleasure have bean largely djsoussed by such philolpphio writers as Hobbs, Huine, and many owers, Perhaps the case was better summed ip by Jeremy Benthara, when he said : " lature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, Fain/ and

Pleasure ; thoy tell us what we ought to do, as well as determine what we shall do." It is a fact that pleasure is not always found where is is sought. Our brightest gladness is sometimes kindled by the unexpected incidents, and we are cheered by the odour ot wayside flowers, small and half.hiddeu — flowers that have grown up without careful culture, and from seeds . scattered by chance. There is a wealth of sound philosophy in the practice of *' Mrs Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch " : " I believe in gittin' as much good outen life as you kin — not that I ever set out to look out for happiness ; seems like the folks that does that never finds it. I jes' do the best I kin where the good Lord put me at, an' it looks like I got a I happy feelin' in roe 'most all the time."