Page:In defense of Harriet Shelley, and other essays.djvu/372

 MARK TWAIN

&quot;Yes I think I do.&quot;

&quot;But you don t. You hesitate. You don t rise to the importance of it. I will say it again with emphasis not one of them suffered any damage&quot;

&quot;Now I begin to see. Yes, it was indeed re markable. &quot;J

&quot;Nothing of the kind. It was perfectly natural. There was no reason why they should suffer damage. They were undergoing Nature s Appetite Cure, the best and wisest in the world.&quot;

&quot;Is that where you got your idea?&quot;

&quot;That is where I got it.&quot;

&quot;It taught those people a valuable lesson.&quot;

&quot;What makes you think that?&quot;

&quot;Why shouldn t I? You seem to think it taught you one.&quot;

&quot;That is nothing to the point. I am not a fool.&quot;

I see. Were they fools ?&quot;

&quot;They were human beings.&quot;

&quot;Is it the same thing?&quot;

&quot;Why do you ask? You know it yourself. As regards his health and the rest of the things the average man is what his environment and his super stitions have made him; and their function is to make him an ass. He can t add up three or four new circumstances together and perceive what they mean; it is beyond him. He is not capable of observing for himself. He has to get everything at second hand. If what are miscalled the lower ani mals were as silly as man is, they would all perish from the earth in a year/

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