ATTAINABLE IDEALS. ^\ 51 



truest and noblest sense, i)eifectly successful. 

 We would not, indeed, for a moment be tlioujjfht 

 to undervalue the worth of thrift and providence. 

 We firmly believe that every man's first practical 

 duty in life is to provide a(le(iuately for the imme- 

 diate wants of himself and those naturally depen- 

 dent upon him, and to lay by to the utmost of his 

 power what is needful for their future sustenance 

 and comfort. We honor, as far as is right, the 

 honest, honorable, and worthy ambition to get on, 

 in the ordinary sense of the term. Still, so far as 

 broad, general facts are concerned, it must be 

 obvious to everybody that the very existence of a 

 great civilization implies the constant and con- 

 tinued existence within it of endless bands of 

 workers of every kind — agriculturists, mechanics, 

 factory-hands, seamstresses, producers of all sorts 

 in iniinite variety. It is not possible that all 

 these, or any great proportion of them, should 

 ever raise themselves to be anything else save 

 what they are at the present moment ; the condi- 

 tions of things are clearly opposed to such a sup- 

 position — you cannot introduce an act of Con- 

 gress to abolish corn-growing. But it is possible 

 that all or a very large number among them should 

 have their standard of comfort, of taste, of morals, 

 and of intelligence considerably raised above its 

 present level ; that, while retaining essentially 

 their present position, they should become better 



