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MAKING WEST EAST
. . . who made West East
And gave to Man
A new heaven and a new earth,
As Holy John hath prophesied of Me.
The West seems to have the tradition of the way of
Martha, England especially. Our Victorian era, of
which the popular teachers were Kingsley, Carlyle,
Ruskin, was essentially an era of work and deeds
rather than of faith. As children, we in our prime
to-day were brought up on the gospel of work.
Thoughts about one's soul were considered rather
ignoble: they were smoke that we had to consume
ourselves. We were urged to forget the question of
our souls and work. The whole world was working,
all the factories of England sang together. Every
man in England, from the highest to the lowest,
knew when he wakened each morning that he had
that day some real and indispensable work to do.
The child must learn his lesson in that light. "If
I hear of an artist of promise," says Ruskin, "the
first question I ask is, 'Does he work?'" Ruskin
