Chapter II
The Art of Helping
Behavior—fresh, native, copious, each one for himself or herself,
Nature and the Soul expressed—America and freedom expressed—In it the finest art,
In it pride, cleanliness, sympathy, to have their chance,
In it physique, intellect, faith—in it just as much as to manage an army or a city, or to write a book—perhaps more,
The youth, the laboring person, the poor person, rivalling all the rest—perhaps outdoing the rest,
The effects of the universe no greater than it;
For there is nothing in the whole universe that can be more effective than a man's or woman's daily behavior can be,
In any position, in any one of these States.
Nature and the Soul expressed—America and freedom expressed—In it the finest art,
In it pride, cleanliness, sympathy, to have their chance,
In it physique, intellect, faith—in it just as much as to manage an army or a city, or to write a book—perhaps more,
The youth, the laboring person, the poor person, rivalling all the rest—perhaps outdoing the rest,
The effects of the universe no greater than it;
For there is nothing in the whole universe that can be more effective than a man's or woman's daily behavior can be,
In any position, in any one of these States.
Greatest of all the arts, living is also the most exacting in its demands upon its practitioners. It delights in crises. It chooses its own times and seasons, considering neither the convenience nor the preparedness of its followers. It may present itself in some instant dilemma or it may develop its problems so gradually that one does not realize that an adjustment is at hand. It appears characteristically in the sort of cumulative sequences that seem to pile difficulty upon difficulty, giving rise to the saying that troubles never come singly. Age, youth, wealth, experience—none of these
