There is hardly one of us who does not
literally live by faith. We lay up fortunes, marry, eat, drink,
travel, and bequeath, almost without ever handling a cent; and the
best reason which ninety-nine out of every hundred of us can give
for feeling secure against want, or having the means of enjoyment or
of charity, is not the possession of anything of real value, but his
confidence that certain thousands of his fellow-creatures, whom he
has never seen and never expects to see, scattered, it may be, over
the civilized world, will keep their promises, and do their daily
work with fidelity and efficiency. This faith is every year being
made to carry a greater and greater load. The transactions which
rest on it increase every year in magnitude and complexity. It has
to extend itself every year over a larger portion of the earth's
surface, and to include a greater variety of race and creed and
custom. London and Paris and Berlin and Vienna now tremble when New
York is alarmed. We have, in short, to believe every year in a
greater and greater number of people, and to depend for our daily
bread on the successful working of vast combinations, in which human
character is, after all, the main element.
Pages:
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107