CHAPTER FOURTEEN 
CULTIVATING THE BEAUTIFUL 
Somz one says that cleanliness is next to Godli- 
ness; we may go farther, and say it is Godliness. 
There is no possible excuse for unsightly or un- 
seemly conditions in the country. We have come 
out of the city to command our conditions, and can 
command them. But we cannot do this if we our- 
selves are untrained and uncouth. A man cannot 
make his garden anything more beautiful than his 
own soul. And that is just what you want to con- 
sider, that nasty slop holes and old brush piles and 
stinking cellars and unshapely yards are just your- 
self. What you are you will do. So you will first 
have to think finely, and to will finely. Then the 
effort to create a noble place will react to ennoble 
yourself. Your handsome lawn means that you 
ean think handsomely; your clean orchards and 
gardens mean that you can feel purely. John Rus- 
kin says that the same laws underlie spiritual beauty 
