. . . this oligarchy of sex, which makes fathers, brothers, husbands and sons, the oligarchs over the mother and sisters, the wife and daughters of every household - which ordains all men sovereigns, all women subjects, carries dissension, discord, and rebellion into every house of the nation.
I have read and heard a good many statements by eminent writers and speakers to the effect that our liberty of which we are justly proud is an achievement, and not a gift. In the sense that it had to be worked for, fought for, and preserved with vigilance these statements are true. But let it never be forgotten that our concept of liberty is a gift. No human is the author of that concept. Many great men have so recognized it as did Thomas Jefferson when he wrote the Declaration of Independence and declared that "men are endowed with certain inalienable rights." Why are these rights inalienable? Because men did not create the right to liberty! In the exercise of his free agency he may surrender his privileges, and his property, and he may become the slave of others or of the state, but his free agency is as native to him as the air he breathes. It is part and parcel of his eternal constitution, and Jefferson was "righter than I think he himself knew" when he declared it an endowment which cannot be alienated. The message which we bear affirms that God is the Author of our inalienable liberty; that men, all men are of noble lineage, sons and daughters of the Eternal Father; and that liberty is their birthright. I thank God that . . . noble men were blessed with this lofty concept of man's inherent right to liberty and that they were prompted to incorporate these divine principles in the organic law and history of our favored land.
My father used to say: "Never suspect people. It's better to be deceived or mistaken, which is only human, after all, than to be suspicious, which is common."
I was brought up by a father who was difficult to satisfy because he always felt something could be made or done better. He was never content with success. . . . It does take eyeball. I'm afraid as great as computers are, they cannot tell you about the quality of your product. The profitability, yes, but not the quality. The human eye, the human experience, is the one thing that can make quality better - or poorer.
It is through woman that ideality is born into the world and - what were man without her! There is many a man who has become a genius through a woman, many a one a hero, many a one a poet, many a one even a saint; but he did not become a genius through the woman he married, for through her he only became a privy councillor; he did not become a hero through the woman he married, for through her he only became a general; he did not become a poet through the woman he married, for through her he only became a father; he did not become a saint through the woman he married, for he did not marry, and would have married but one - the one whom he did not marry; just as the others became a genius, became a hero, became a poet through the help of the woman they did not marry.
'My father,' Beecham confided, 'came to me one Christmas and said, "Look, here, my lad, I've been spendin' a lot o' brass on your musical education, and now Ah wants you to help me." (Every year Beecham's Pills produced a Christmas Carol Annual). "Now Tom," continued my father, "I want you to go through the Annual and alter some of th' verses so as to promote th' business."' Thomas retired to his study and came up with the following: Hark! the herald angels sing! Beecham's Pills are just the thing, Two for a woman one for a child. . . . Peace on Earth and mercy mild! 'These sentiments,' Beecham related, 'especially the ellipsis, seem to me admirably to express the rapture which is occasioned by a good effortless release.'
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