Towards democracy
Empire 463
See, on the land, where at least there should be courage fand grit and sinew, 2 A thin-legged slouching apatneie population, ignorant seven of agriculture, :
And in the mines and coal-pits, instead of lusty power, qpoor rickety limbs and ill-built bodies ;
And ask yourself the searching question straight,
How out of such roots shall a strong nation grow?
And then look upward, at the surface show and flaunt of 2society,
Those that are well-fed, and (out of the labor of the eothers) have plenty of chink in their pockets—
The club and drawing-room life—
Look well, look well, and see the feebleness and in@sincerity of it:
The scores and scores of thousands of titled and moneyed qpersons—a yast and ever-growing multitude—living the lives aof idiots,
Faiblesse oblige their motto :
Of men scarce fit even to be good officers, much less good seadministrators ; of women hardly worthy to be mothers ;
A society wielding enormous wealth and privilege, skilled 9 chiefly in the finesse of personal gain and advancement, and {honeycombed by cynicism and unbelief:
And for the rest, the hundreds and hundreds of thousands 2 swarming in commercial dens and exchanges,
The life of the successful business man, the company j promoter, the. lawyer; the manufacturer, traveller, factor,