Walter Pieterse Book

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER V I DON'T feel called upon to pass judgment on the strife between Leentje and Pennewip regarding the latter's partiality towards Keesje, the butcher's son. But that fiery feeling for right and justice which has harrassed me from my earliest youth?ah, for years have I waited in vain for justice?and the foolish passion for hunting after mitigating circumstances, even when the misdeed has been proved?all this compels me to say that Pennewip's lot might be considered a mitigating circumstance for a man convicted of the eight deadly sins. I have found that many great men began their careers as feeders of hogs (see biographical encyclopedias) ; and it seems to me that this occupation develops those qualities necessary in ruling or advancing mankind. If the theologists should happen to criticise this story, and perhaps accuse me of far-reaching ignorance, because I enumerate one cardinal sin more than they knew of, or of the crime of classifying man as a sort of hog, I reply that, still another new canonical sin could be discovered that they have never studied. And that ought to be as pleasing to them as influenza is to the apothecary. New problems, gentlemen, new problems! And as for our relationship with pigs, just considerthe relation of coal to diamond, and I think everyone will be satisfied?even the theologists. What a magnificent prospect anyone has who spends his tender youth with those grunting coal-diamonds of the animal world! But I have often wondered that in the " Lives of Famous Men " we so seldom read of a school-teacher, for in the school all the ingredients of greatness are abounding. The reverse is more often true. Every day we see banished princes teaching lazy boys. Dionysius and Louis Philippe are not the only ones. I myself once tried to ...Read More