Author: John RuskinPublisher: Forgotten Books
ISBN: 9780365805878
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 386
Book Description
Excerpt from Sesame and Lilies, And, the Political Economy of Art I suppose the first - at least that which is confessed with the greatest frankness, and put forward as the fittest stimulus to youthful exertion -is this of Advancement in Life. My main purpose this evening is to determine, with you, what this idea practically includes, and what it should include. Practically, then, at present, advancement in life means becoming conspicuous in life; obtain ing a position which shall be acknowledged by others to be respectable or honourable. We do not understand by this advancement. In general, the mere making of money, but the being known to have made it; not the accomplishment of any great aim, but the being seen to have accom plished it. In'a word, we mean the gratification of our thirst for applause. That thirst, ifthe last infirmity of noble minds, is also the first infirmity of weak ones; and, on the whole, the strongest impulsive influence of average humanity. The greatest efforts of the race have always been traceable to the love of praise, as its greatest catastrophes to the love of pleasure. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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