148 THE FACE OF THE FIELDS 



cern to him than the problem of shaping himself 

 to the universe, of living as long as he can upon 

 a world so perfectly adapted to life, if only one 

 be physically and spiritually adaptable. To take 

 the earth as one finds it, to plant one's self in it, 

 to plant one's roof-tree in it, to till it, to under- 

 stand it and the laws which govern it, and the 

 Perfection which created it, and to love it all, — 

 this is the heart of Mr. Burroughs's religion, the 

 pith of his philosophy, the conclusion of his 

 books. 



But if a perfect place for the fit, how hard a 

 place is this world for the lazy, the ignorant, the 

 stubborn, the weak, the physically and spiritually 

 ill ! So hard that a torpid liver is almost a mortal 

 handicap, the stars in their courses fighting against 

 the bilious to defeat them, to drive them to take 

 exercise, to a copious drinking of water, to a 

 knowledge of burdock and calomel — to obedi- 

 ence and understanding. 



Underlying all of Mr. Burroughs's thought and 

 feeling, framing every one of his books, is a deep 

 sense of the perfection of nature, the sharing of 

 which is physical life, the understanding of which 

 is spiritual life, is knowledge of God himself, 



