On Doing Without Things.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIC, Issue 13355, 3 August 1907, Page 1 (Supplement)

On Doing Without Things.

T!ti; SKI.FISH MAKTYK. (ltd F.dwiu Pugh.t •■(l'.i. Vis." >a.id t'ilby. with an in: I:tierable ail* of xlt'complace-u-y : " I have given them up for good. af. olctely." "Vor whose good?" I ir.'piire.t. '" Kh? <>. ynu know what I 11: v :"i. t tlon't think theiv's much harm in a mo;ler;u ■ ir , . , .Lii!g ,, :iec in akidn I 01 tobaceo. and m> on. of conrv. F'tti doing without .keil'i .well. ii"s di--cip:irie.iy." "• t 'ee. You ; -.re or- of thor-e who hope So elevate tit ir mind- by inducing th. ir expenditure." "No. no." Ir> tiied res;i:tfi:lly. " I ha.ven"t any Wet of saving money by it. I assure yon. You ought ii> know i:r.< becUt th,in that." " I l:now you tof> well tr> imagine that you "understand your own motives. Fi'by." I ir formed hint gravely. *"" I kno«- you think I am every kind of rss there :>■." ho ' ..■niplai::.-.!. " Xnfc ,-.o ail. Yi-u are only ore kind. Ar.d rot ;• very 'uf.t"e or- i::t kin'., ci'h r. Vrr'i y.-i know i'iat this iriz,' f.-r <'o::.g vit'jnrtt. e-rtai:: tilings i; ::b.rl the ohlt.-i i r.i.-.:e ixta/nt : tint right from the be.;;i:.r.iriT if !ir::< always b en th' one fniin if self inrlnlg.ntv left to the terfclessly i.v-.r--i;i-'*s!peßt ir>«n vrhit h Iri< remain."! v. hen ail oMiers have p.ilfet upon hi.n':" ' Yon'r * talking r.<:;:si't:s:v.'* said Filby. "V-i-y iik-ly." 1 letartid. "Hut even you hinvn't giv r: !*;> ''oir.g that yet. And. any way. I ur.iy {;■•!: iu.:. en.-e. . I dor.'.preach it." " LVrsnr::.!!-, I do-it ttn-iJer tlp.t selfis iu>n-cnse at all." he < '■> CTe I " Nsi'her »*--• I. Hat wis're's the abevP'ltion in ■• x> hanging o::-> vies for atio.her? >':-[>■■ Icl'y '.vhe.i yoti give t'p : nine; hing whi'-h hurts only yourse'f for sonriihing that is going to be a bt:re and a nuisance tr> others." '" Ah I"' he tried out gkefully. "That'i; ■where yr.u'tc wrung. I haw never indulged in eit?te r ' alcohol or tobacco sufrichntly tor them: *■(> do me the slightest harm."

"Tuen why should you Ivt tliem do you har r ji now. by giving llit-m up altogether:** '• I don't qnite—" "You admit tiint ceithiT alcohol nor tobacco has ever none yi;u cay harm that vottV* awaro of?"' '<m»~ "Weil, soxnetim?s* I fancy that .smoking nijiY Lavj affected niv heart ,-. little," he said. "I fc-2l—" "It hasn't affect'd your heart half ro 'much as giving it up scams to haveaffected yocr Ivead," I broke ia : '"or you \*otiM se ■ that there isn*i. any disciplinary virtue in total abstinence at ail." '' That ,only shows you know nothing ■whatever about it." he exclaimed. "I mils my pipe most frightfully." " Hut, yoa enjoy telling inj s->. You positively thrill whit dsHgbt at this inownt, though you try to look so glum. Yes. yon do. You'rt- getting twice, as much pure ecstasy oct ot dilating on your bufferings as you ever got out of one of my best Cabansis. And so what happens?" I took out- my cafe and made a careful selection. "If you w«re going to join me in a cigar now. . . . And. by th? war, you are quite sure it .'isn't- only bad cigars that you're giving np? Ytry well. I repeat that if yon were going to join me now. I should at once Lave the pleasure of offering you a friendly gift and of enjoying your enjoyment of it. icstrad of feeling intensely irritated by yours il'y arrogance and relf-sufriciencr. Xow I ask you, Filby—rather in tin- style of the earntsfc person, perhajv.. b"t quite sincerely—what right have you. or any other man. to force met» forego a holy and b.autiful iuipttlso tow,--rd grTid-feTlotrship—which would <.-unt>b!s.irii>.ajsd-b.i-abenefit lo ycu--just b-jraasc you li:.ve givsu up an in- I habit for a pernicious ■vice?" I HIS IMMODESTY.

"Vuv-! what vi'_e':" hj; demanded, hotly. "■ Why. the vir e of immodesty," 1 repled. "For to set yonrsjlf up above your follows and to declare that what the majority of tbsni t:ee no harm in. is jUterly wrong and foolish—that is • surely a mint immodest attitude to take up." " But I have said that I, too. see no harm in a m-xlerate indulgence—" " -Nevertheless, yoa imply that yon see good in doing without certain things altogether. . . . which brings me back to my point. And this is it. If you were giving up smoking or drinking or butcher's meat or vaccination b.eause you honestly thonght they were bad for your health. I could rttjpect yon. That would be the action of a strong and wiv man. Hut to give them up—for good. a< yon say —and presumably yoa mean for th*- good of linmanity generally. ;ind yourself particularly"—is merely to try to glorify and exalt yourself, and to make a presumptuous bid for th.» martyr's crown. And there's not much self-denial in that. Indeed you «fj going in for tlr.* sort of reward that, people have given up their lives to obtain : and now yon are claiming it on the ground that you have given up so many—not so very many, in yoGr case—cigars and drinks and beef-steaks a day. My dear Filby, where is your sense of proportion? And, raind yon. many of these martyrs, who were actually burnt at the stake, bad to do without anysort ofpopular applause into the bargain. All th;-y had was the approval of their own consciences in having done well and bravely. And that Inst is tiie only recompense that you or any other se T f-righteous one. has the least right to expect. Let me put it to you in another way. Yon wili admit that it is batter to, do without clothes — 1" "To—what?" cried Filhy. " flrer.t smoke! do you mean to say that yot: —?'

"I say that it is b.tter to do without i-lothei—at certain times. As. for instance, when one bathes, or goes for a swim, or gets out of one's ordinary garb into pyjamas. It- is o,uite right and proper tr. do without clothes then. Your iiakedn;;3 ofonds no oni\ Js:it is that any reason why one should go naked at all tinv-'s and in all plat-:.- —to say nothing of all weathers? YcL you Haunt your naked soul —" "Of course, if you are going to guy the who!» tiling— !'' "I am quit- reriims. Apply the r.ame principle to other habits than clothes. Apply it to smoking or drmkmg.or any other form of social distraction. (And c-'othc; ?re. after all. you know, mainly a means of •Thtractiatr publk- attention from the fact of our ikshy bodi s). Let a man «'.-• that, doing "without tobacco is an cxce.lcttt and fe.inly thing do without it only in the privaev and si.-crecy of his own chani1, r. let him never touch a drop ~f :.h-. nol except when l« decline :• whi.-ky :r<:\ mo:. iruiht- provoke comment and .veil win thought toss admiration of liN strength of r.:ii:d. Let him stay himsi-lf on r.ut> aim pi.l=e. whenever h.> dines in his family's bosom: but wher.he goes a-visiting la him •mi lb? common far'.-." " It would b • bad for him tmhop and dianse about like that." "Not half ir, bad. surely, as .-.hruptiy Siiving up i:omt.- article i>f food that had hitherto form-d his staple diitV" ••'Hint's where yoii'ie wrong again. lectors vrfl tt-'.l you llih*. veg-.tarian:--Good again". If «r.- can bse-k or.i-'s lif-.:!ong habits Middenly and coniph-t ly witimuT liurt-" _ "Wait a bit. If a Man only piacirod tlioM.- tilings in secret h.- v.i:u!d '■<■ 1-Imj •' Id-: principle-." -All. but this is the t : r.-t w: h--.\- '••-id al-.ut principhs. Filby '. A man i.--y i>tvuthail on principle: but he doesn't brat' about tkit. I: Ik did Ik Ui'v'h: h.- ia'->-

understood-. And. anyway, it was discipline th.tt vnu was spreading you:.-:<lf on. And T Ih.lil that it is not discipline you arc pUtill" at :i"l. CranUd that theiv is ;•. real satririce involved in giving up some minor indu!getn:>>. I mantan that that i-:aer tice is mure than made up to you in all soli- of way.': in a cloying sense of -upeiitT'lv. ami if. -if I may say s<:- the ec|r.'c meat of an enhanced power of annoying oilier people by an offensive display o! pompous saiiitline:.;. No. The man who .'•an do without a. thing that lie has foi ve:t:s be it used to. and that has become a comfort and solace and a joy to him—if h- an give that thing up at all times, save only wh. 11 1:1., to partake of ; t wjiihi 1>" to discios • the secret of his self-denial, then I will admit that that man is something approximately like a hero. Hut «.• long as Ik* goes brazening the fact of his ; abstin lice to tin world, then hi ':.<.* h,\ reward, fiive up giving up things in public. Filby. and then -"' "Not. me." said Filbv. "But I*ll try In do without your advice, thanks."