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Brisbane, Arthur, 1864-1936

"Editorials from the Hearst Newspapers"


What wonderful things, what useful things, what dangerous things
could these all-powerful men do?
What could they not do? They DO nothing.

NO HAPPINESS SAVE IN MENTAL AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY.
Bresci, who murdered the Italian King, is sentenced to solitary
confinement for life. While you read this he sits on a narrow
plank in a cell not much bigger than a sleeping-car section.
If you talk to any friend about Bresci--and especially if you
mention the subject to any young man inclined to be idle--call
attention to this point. You can amplify what must be presented
briefly here.
Bresci's imprisonment is torture--why?
Because it sentences him to DO NOTHING.
Every man put on this earth is put here for a purpose. He is put
here to work, to struggle, to interest himself in his fellows, to
share the pleasures and disappointments of others. The wise laws
ruling the universe fill us with a DESIRE to do that which we
were meant to do. It is intended that we should be active here,
and, therefore, although we often fail to realize it, our
happiness lies in activity.
Bresci is to be tortured beyond the power of imagination because
he will be forbidden to follow nature's law. He will be
forbidden to fulfill man's destiny here. His brain, his muscles,
his sentiments must lie idle until death or insanity shall
come to relieve him.


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