The Lutheran visitor. (Columbia, S.C.) 1869-1904, January 16, 1902, Image 6
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THE LUTHERAN VISITOR
Janaary 16, 1<
ECONOMY AND CIVILIZATION.
» ) *
1
This thought is new to me:
“Economy the touchstone of* 1
civilization.” If new, if it not
vertable stroke of genius? Dcfes
it not throw a calcium light
upon the science of living?
It is from the pages of that
Frenchman’s journal, lately
published, “America and Amer
icans,” teeming with imperti
nences, composed of aspersions,
weak and unphilosophical, many
times to the point of silliness;
yet this struck home with the
thud of a strong complete idea.
Economy, the despised! a ne
cessity generally, but felt.with
the sharp edge of necessity, and
, concealed and equivocated about
till a Diogenes could laugh or
weep. And here, in a dash, it is
showed up in its true light; the
Angel of Progress, a solver of
humanity’s hard problems, a
surest, yes, and often the easiest
material happiness. Economy
is not stinginess; economy is not
even sefl-denial; it is simply
making the most of what you
have.
When I was a girl an old
lady told me to put aside a plain,
old, broken, brass matchbox, as
she would send it to be mended.
I could not resist a meddling re-
monstance.
. “What could you do with that
in this beautiful house?”
“I will give it to Miss Reilly
(who washed) ; she will think it
pretty.”
/ Now I would have been too
stingy to spend money in saving
a mere trifling ornament for an
other person; but I took the les
son to heart, and have tried to
live up to it. Economize in
order «to give. Economize and
you will have something to give.
Is not giving one of the arts of
civilization?
And as to self-denial; is it as
comfortable to scrape away out
of the vegetable dishes and meat
platters the remnants of your
dinner, as to add them to minces
and stews to your perhaps
scanty next day’s lunch? “Oh,
but the trouble,” you say; “time
is money.” So it is often and
often; more than money. Al
ways economize wisely; on the
first best things, not thesecond
best, to the loss of the first. If
time can be better used, use it
right, and, if need be, let the
soup bones go. I am speaking
only of the food which is worth
more than the time which it
woultHake to save it. Waste is
not often because of a close cal
culation of the cook’s time and
wages. You will send her the
next day on an half hour’s trip
to buy the meat which you had
already to hand,but tossed away;
or still more likely you will go
yourself.
No; waste is not often in. con
sequence of the time; it is a lack
of consideiation, or' simply a
habit, or at least a disinclination
for the trouble of the moment,
ignoring tomorrow’s trouble
and the trouble of next week's
too long bills. It does not save
trouble. No indeed. But it
srve>- lignity, which is worth a
great leal more. It does save
that. Wasting is admired. I
adm it; and with that I admit
that we are so far uncivilized.
A mechanic's loving wife will
throw away food and clothes she
would like to save, lest the
neighbors notice itand think “her
man” unsuccessful and mean.
Better-off people ore bolder, and
so often far more “near” with^.
out blushing.
And, nevertheless, far more
dignity is won by economy than
is lost. Is not the dignity of the
brown stone front larger than
the digni'y of throwing into the
waste ht. p? Not infrequently
one can c nose between them.
Sttll, one tl«' >8 not know this de
finitely; bui <he can not fail to
know definitely that hersavings
at home must count, dollars’
LUTHER’S TRANSLATION
At SOP’S FABLES.
OF
When Luther was at the Uni
versity, there were severaLGer-
m an translations of the Fables
of Esop, but of a very inferior
kind. Instead of simply trans
lating the original, the authors
had mixed their own jokes, often
of a gross and obscene nature,
and thus marred the work. Lu
ther’s good taste and sense of
propriety being grieved by such
a desecration of the old classaic
fables, he resolved to make a
new version. He selected six-
teen of the best of the fables,
adding suitableexplanations and
morals, the whole being illus
trated by wood-engravings. In
the preface he says, among other
sensible remarks: “Since none
will hear and suffer the truth,
though none can do without it,
we will present it in the al
live colors of a fable; so what
they will not be told by the
mouth of man, they shall be told
by the mouth of animals and
even of wild beast.”
It w>s the same good design
wbi' li led Charlemagne and our
o ' it Alfred thus to teach the
people. After Luther’s mind was
absorbed in higher subjects, he
was urged but did not consent
to resume this work of transla
tion. Luther, with his usual
spirit ot self-denial, and im
pelled by higher motives, re
worth by dollars’ worth, along solved to devote all his time and
side her husband’s makings dol
lar by dollar. The American
mind believes only too worship-
fully that making money is good
and glorious.. Why, then, in the
name of the commonest sense,
is saving money a thing to be
done in a corner? It is only ig
norance, only lack of the veriest
rudiments of practical culture,
of insight into the real balance
of things. Perhaps the public
schools could teach it; perhaps
only higher -education, or that
hard teacher necessity.
This national misfortune,
wastefulness, is the greater and
more difficult to remedy because
hero in America every one acts
on his own judgment, and thus
can seldom have that hardship
and advantage of being forced
to be guided by the intelligent
and more educated minds
around him.
We women have chief con-
powers to the direct spread of
the gospel by his writings.
As an example, we give one
of Luther’s fables illustrative of
the shrewd advice conveyed:
THE LION AND THE ANIMALS.
The Lion commanded many
animals to pay their respects to
him in his den, where there was
a horrible smell, arising from the
half-consumed flesh and bones.
When he asked the Wolf how he
was pleased with the royal'resi
dence, he answered: “It is a
very good situation, but the
stench of the place is suffocat
ing!” The Lion was indignant,
and, springing upon the Wolf,
tore him to pieces.
Turning to the Donkey, he
asked how he was pleased. Being
alarmed by the fate of the Wolf,
the Donkey thought it best to
play the hypocrite, and replied:
“Oh, your majesty, the place is
was pleased, and how the
seemed to him. So Reynard
swered craftily: “Oh, yournaaj
esty, I have such a bad cold;;
cannot smell at all! ’ As thoui
he would say: “It is not ex|
dient.always to reveal whatev<
we feel; and we ajiould lei
from the misfortunes of othersi
prudent reserve, and how to h<
our tongue!”
FROM ABOVE.
Attempt nothing from beloi
Attempt all things from aboi
Ladders must be let down fr<
heaven, and angels (messengi
must descend and ascend as
Jacob’s dream; Babel towers HI
that on the plain of Shinar, bi
up from beneath, will never
men to the plane of gods. Sti
with God. That is what align
reformers have done. Moses,
the burning bush, was inspii
by the I AM, the Eternal Oi
Ezra, leading back the ci
tive from Babylon, tarried u|
the banks of the River Aha:
in prayer. Judas Maccabi
went from one battle to anotl
with prayer. Paul faced pa;
Europe only after his heavei
vision at Troas. St. Francis
the grotto of Assist, drew u]
the riches of heaven ere he
dbpted the rule of poverty and
forth the Little 'Brothers of
Poor to preach renunciation
to give spiritual quickening
Europe in the thirteenth centi
Luther got his light and po 1
when on his knees. Oromwi
was not so rough and ready
he must halt before every ei
gency with petition, and
thanked God for every
ance—“this deep-hearted
vinistic Cromwell,” as Carl
calls him. Abraham Lin<
begged his neighbors to pray
him when he left his quiet h<
for the White House. It is
ways so. The tmjly commandi
soul is the humble soul rejoii
in the consciousness that tb
is in God’s fellowship and in
divine purpose a resource eq
to all of the tasks of life. Ino
day it is especially necessary
remember that regeneration
man or of society comes fr
God. “Ye must be born n
above.”—President Merrill.
deliv(
trol of the department of saving, beautiful, and the odor delight-
on being unthinking infants in Lion knew that he
this our realm of finance —Ob- lied, so he slew him instantly.
He then asked the Fox how he
The youngest youth is an
man’s cheerful faith.
server.
The oldest age is a y<
man's sneering pessimism.
HaNK
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