She will soon be cured, if you can follow
this advice astutely.
TO EDITORIAL WRITERS--ADOPT RUSKIN'S MAIN IDEA
His pen is rust, his bones are dust (or soon will be), his
soul is with the saints, we trust.
Ruskin is to be buried in Westminster Abbey. It is a fine home
for a dead man, with Chatham and his great son Pitt in one tomb,
and the other great skeletons of a great race mouldering side by
side so neighborly.
The death of a wolf means a meal for the other wolves. The death
of a great man means a meal--mental instead of physical--for
those left behind. Wolves feed their STOMACHS--we feed our
BRAINS--on the dead.
There is many a meal for the hungry brain in Ruskin's remains.
We offer now a light breakfast to that galaxy of American talent
called "editorial writers."
Editorial writing may be defined in general as "the art of saying
in a commonplace and inoffensive way what everybody knew long
ago." There are a great many competent editorial writers, and
the bittern carrying on his trade by the side of some swamp is
about as influential as ten ordinary editorial writers rolled
into one.
Why is it that we are so worthless, O editorial writers? Why
do we produce such feeble results? Why do we talk daily through
our newspapers to ten millions of people and yet have not
influence to elect a dog catcher?
Simply because we want to sound wise, when that is impossible.
Pages:
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288