232 THE WHENCE AND THE WHITHER OF MAN 



since impossible. We sometimes ascribe these re- 

 sults to the exuberant vitality of the race at this 

 time ; and their life is large and grand. Such was 

 England under Elizabeth. Think of her soldiers and 

 explorers, her statesmen and poets. There were giants 

 in those days. What a healthy, hearty enjoyment 

 they showed in all their work, and with what ease was 

 the impossible accomplished. The greater the hard- 

 ships to be borne or odds to be faced, the greater the 

 joy in overcoming them. They sailed out to give bat- 

 tle to the superior power of Spain, not at the com- 

 mand, but by the permission, of their queen ; often 

 without even this. 



And what a vigor and vitality there is in the litera- 

 ture of this period. Life is worth living, and study- 

 ing, and describing. They see the world directly as 

 it is ; not some distorted picture of it, seen by an un- 

 healthy mind and drawn by a feeble hand. The 

 world is ever new and fresh to them because they see 

 it through young, clear eyes. 



Were they giants or are we dwarfed? Which of 

 the two lives is normal ? They used all their faculties 

 and utilized all their powers. Do we? The only 

 force or product which we are willing to see wasted is 

 the highest mental and moral power. Our engines 

 and turbine wheels utilize the last ounce of pressure 

 of the steam or water. The manufacturers pay high 

 wages to hands who can tend machines run at the 

 highest possible speed. The profits of modern busi- 

 ness come largely from the utilization of force or 

 products formerly wasted. But how far do we utilize 

 the highest faculties of the mind, which have to do 

 with character, the crowning glory of human develop- 



