Arthur Helps （b. 1813,d. 1875） graduated at Cambridge,England,in 1835. His best known works are: "Friends in Council,a Series of Readings and Discourses," "Companions of my Solitude," and "Realmah," a tale of the "lake dwellers" in southern Europe. He has alswritten a "History of the Spanish Conquests in America," twhistorical dramas,and several other works. Mr. Helps was a true thinker,and his writings are deservedly popular with thoughtful readers. In 1859 he was appointed secretary of the privy council.
1.Regarding,one day,in company with a humorous friend,a noble vessel of a somewhat novel construction sailing slowly out of port,he observed,"What a quantity of cold water somebody must have had down his back." In my innocence,I supposed that he alluded tthe wet work of the artisans whhad been building the vessel;but when I came tknow him better,I found that this was the form of comment he always indulged in when contemplating any new and great work,and that his "somebody" was the designer of the vessel.
2.My friend had carefully studied the art of discouragement,and there was a class of men whom he designated1 simply as "cold-water pourers." It was most amusing thear him describe the lengthened sufferings of the man whfirst designed a wheel;of him whfirst built a boat;of the adventurous personage whfirst proposed the daring enterprise of using buttons,instead of fish bones,tfasten the scanty raiment of some savage tribe.
1 Designated,called by a distinctive title,named.
3.Warming with his theme,he would become quite eloquent in describing the long career of discouragement which these rash men had brought upon themselves,and which he said,this knowledge,must have shortened their lives. He invented imaginary dialogues between the unfortunate inventor,say of the wheel,and his particular friend,some eminent cold-water pourer. For,as he said,every man has some such friend,whfascinates him by fear,and twhom he confides his enterprises in order thear the worst that can be said of them.
4.The sayings of the chilling friend,probably,as he observed,ran thus:-"We seem thave gone on very well for thousands of years without this rolling thing. Your father carried burdens on his back. The king is content tbe borne on men‘s shoulders. The high priest is not toproud tdthe same. Indeed,I question whether it is not irreligious tattempt tshift from men’s shoulders their natural burdens.
5."Then,as tits succeeding,-for my part,I see nchance of that. How can it gup hill? How often you have failed before in other fanciful things of the same nature! Besides,you are losing your time;and the yams1 about your hut are only half planted. You will be a beggar;and it is my duty,as a friend,ttell you splainly.
6."There was Nang-chung: what became of him? We had found fire for ages,in a proper way,taking a proper time about it,by rubbing twsticks together. He must needs strike out fire at once,with iron and flint;and did he die in his bed? Our sacred lords saw the impiety of that proceeding,and very justly impaled2 the man whimitated heavenly powers. And,even if you could succeed with this new and absurd rolling thing,the state would be ruined. What would become of those whcarry burdens on their backs? Put aside the vain fancies of a childish mind,and finish the planting of your yams."
1Yam,the root of a climbing plant,found in the tropics,which is used for food. 2Impaled,put tdeath by being fixed on an upright,sharp stake.
7.It is really very curious tobserve how,even in modern times,the arts of discouragement prevail. There are men whose sole pretense twisdom consists in administering discouragement. They are never at a loss. They are equally ready tprophesy,with wonderful ingenuity,all possible varieties of misfortune tany enterprise that may be proposed;and when the thing is produced,and has met with some success,tfind a flaw in it.
8.I once saw a work of art produced in the presence of an eminent cold-water pourer. He did not deny that it was beautiful;but he instantly fastened upon a small crack in it that nobody had observed;and upon that crack he would dilate1 whenever the work was discussed in his presence. Indeed,he did not see the work,but only the crack in it. That flaw,-that little flaw,-was all in all thim.
9.The cold-water pourers are not all of one form of mind. Some are led tindulge in this recreation from genuine timidity. They really dfear that all new attempts will fail. Others are simply envious and ill-natured. Then,again,there is a sense of power and wisdom in prophesying evil. Moreover,it is the safest thing tprophesy,for hardly anything at first succeeds exactly in the way that it was intended tsucceed.
10.Again,there is the lack of imagination which gives rise2 tothe utterance of smuch discouragement. For an ordinary man,it must have been a great mental strain tgrasp the ideas of the first projectors3 of steam and gas,electric telegraphs,and pain-deadening chloroform. The inventor is always,in the eyes of his fellow-men,somewhat of a madman;and often they dtheir best tmake him so.
11.Again,there is the want of sympathy;and that is,perhaps,the ruling cause in most men‘s minds whhave given themselves up tdiscourage. They are not tender enough,or sympathetic enough,tappreciate all the pain they are giving,when,in a dull plodding way,1Dilate,tspeak largely,tdwell in narration. 2Rise,source,origin.
3Projector,one whforms a scheme or design.
they lay out argument after argument tshow that the project which the poor inventor has set his heart upon,and upon which,perhaps,he has staked his fortune,will not succeed.
12.But what inventors suffer,is only a small part of what mankind in general endure from thoughtless and unkind discouragement. Those high-souled men belong tthe suffering class,and must suffer;but it is in daily life that the wear and tear of discouragement tells smuch. Propose a small party of pleasure tan apt discourager,and see what he will make of it. It soon becomes sicklied over with doubt and despondency;and,at last,the only hope of the proposer is,that his proposal,when realized,will not be an ignominious failure. All hope of pleasure,at least for the proposer,has long been out of the question.