Had he done so he would have seen it
fixed and pale.
'Then you think grass and trees of more importance than human
lives?'
She spoke in a voice which sounded coldly ironical in its attempt to
be merely calm.
'I had rather say that I see no value in human lives in a world from
which grass and trees have vanished. But, in truth, I care little to
make my position logically sound. The ruling motive in my life is
the love of beautiful things; I fight against ugliness because it's
the only work in which I can engage with all my heart. I have
nothing of the enthusiasm of humanity. In the course of centuries
the world may perhaps put itself right again; I am only concerned
with the present, and I see that everywhere the tendency is towards
the rule of mean interests, ignoble ideals.'
'Do you call it ignoble,' broke in Adela, 'to aim at raising men
from hopeless and degrading toil to a life worthy of human beings?'
'The end which _you_ have in mind cannot be ignoble. But it is not
to be reached by means such as these.' He pointed down to the
valley. 'That may be the only way of raising the standard of comfort
among people who work with their hands; I take the standpoint of the
wholly unpractical man, and say that such efforts do not concern me.
From my point of view no movement can be tolerated which begins with
devastating the earth's surface.
Pages:
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594