You say so, housemaid or housekeeper, when the song of the early bird reminds you of crying children, whose faces are to be washed; when the rustling of fallen leaves in the wind makes you wonder how the new broom is going to sweep; when the aroma of roses suggests the inquiry whether the box of burnt coffee is empty; and when the rising sun, encircled by vapoury clouds, brings up the similitude of a huge fire-proof platter, and the smoke of hot potatoes.

There is a principle in human nature which rebels against repetitions.  Who likes to fall asleep, thinking that to-morrow morning he must get up and do exactly the same things that he did to-day, the next day ditto, and so forth, until the chapter of earthly existence is finished!

It is very irksome for these soaring thoughts winged to “wander through eternity,” to come down and work out the terms of a tedious apprenticeship to the senses.  And yet, what were thoughts unlocalized and unembodied?  Mere comets or vague nebulosities in the firmament, without a form, and without a home.

All things have their orbit, and are held in it by the power of two great opposing forces.

Outward circumstances form the centripetal force, which keeps us in ours.  Let the eccentric will fly off at ever so wide a tangent for a time, back it must come to a regular diurnal path, or wander away into the “blackness of darkness.”  And if these daily duties and cares come to us robed in the shining livery of Law, should we not accept them as bearers of a sublime mission?

“What?” you say, “anything sublime in yardstick tactics or ledger columns?  Anything sublime in washing dishes or trimming bonnets?  The idea is simply ridiculous!”

No, not ridiculous; only a simple idea, and great in its simplicity.  For the manner of performing even menial duties, gives you the gauge and dimensions of the doer’s inward strength.  The power of the soul asserts itself, not so much in shaping favourable circumstances to desired ends, as in resisting the pressure of crushing circumstances, and triumphing over them.

Manufactures, trades, and all the subordinate arts and occupations that keep the car of civilization in motion, may be to you machines moving with a monotonous and unmeaning buzz, or they may be like Ezekiel’s vision of wheels involved in wheels, that were lifted up from the earth by the power of the living creature that was in them.

Grumbling man or woman, life is a treadmill to you, because you look doggedly down and see nothing but the dull steps you take.  If you would cease grumbling, and look up, your life would be transformed into a Jacob’s ladder, and every step onward would be a step upward too.  And even if it were a treadmill, to which you and other mortals were condemned for past offences, a kindly sympathy for your fellow-prisoners could carpet the way with velvet, and you might move on smilingly together, as through the mazes of an easy dance.