HAPPY VILLAGE 25 



And the country stands for depth as the town for tumult. 

 If I may quote myself (from The Happy Village) : modern 

 man &quot; lives from hand to mouth, secondary and artificial 

 things make strange noises in his ears. He is himself like 

 a running motor before the cogs are engaged, is ready for 

 progress but as yet makes none. The engine of his 

 elaborate and mechanised civilisation moves with gusto, 

 but to no end. A busy and aimless generation has learnt 

 to control all forces but the tumult of its own unacknow 

 ledged soul. And this confusion of heart and brain 

 this malaise is loudest in the town/ 



In the country recreation is re-creation. You make 

 up your spiritual losses whenever you have time to 

 &quot; stand and stare.&quot; Half the tragedy of unemployment 

 is due to the urbanised minds of the unemployed. The 

 establishment of &quot; recreational centres &quot; which is re 

 cognised as an outstanding need is far more elaborate 

 and costly than it should be because the happy country 

 man s means of recreation are not understood and can 

 with difficulty be brought home to the urban dweller 

 who has suffered from a mechanical employment. 



A particular reason for enjoying a country life is that 

 the village may be made the best of all social units. In 

 spite of farmers* narrowness, tradesmen s snobbery, the 

 greed of small cottage proprietors and the jealousies of 

 religious sects village dwellers &quot;consent to a mutual 

 relation&quot; in a natural manner belonging to no other 

 social unit of which I have any knowledge ; and the 

 chief reason is that they are interested in real things and 

 elemental things* How wise a man is the agricultural 

 labourer I Merely for his wisdom the nation should 

 endow him with a good home and kill the cruelty of the 

 dark, damp room, the beastly sanitation and the high 

 rent. Even at the worst he need not utter the regret, 



