I was no longer of those who
seek to change the world, but of those who are content that it
should in substance remain as it is.'
'But how can you be content, if you are convinced that the majority
of men live only to suffer?'
'It is, you who attribute the conviction to me,' said the vicar,
smiling good-naturedly. 'My conviction is the very opposite. One of
the pet theories I have developed for myself in recent years is,
that happiness is very evenly distributed among all classes and
conditions. It is the result of sober reflection on my experience of
life. Think of it a moment. The bulk of men are neither rich nor
poor, taking into consideration their habits and needs; they live in
much content, despite social imperfections and injustices, despite
the ills of nature. Above and below are classes of extreme
characterisation; I believe the happiness assignable to those who
are the lowest stratum of civilisation is, relatively speaking, no
whit less than that we may attribute to the thin stratum of the
surface, using the surface to mean the excessively rich. It is a
paradox, but anyone capable of thinking may be assured of its truth.
The life of the very poorest is a struggle to support their bodies;
the richest, relieved of that one anxiety, are overwhelmed with such
a mass of artificial troubles that their few moments of genuine
repose do not exceed those vouchsafed to their antipodes.
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