9 Leisure While You Wait

Samuel McChord Crothers

Much has been written in praise of leisure. Leisurely writing and leisurely reading have been commended as good for the soul's health. The mind should not always be on the stretch，but there should be intervals in which we should do no manner of work；at least any that is imposed upon us. The intellect should have leisure to refresh itself at the fountain head. It should not be made a wheezy pump to lift water from a half-filled cistern. There should be a sense of effortless abundance.

To all this we agree，but there is one consideration that causes pain. The cultivation of leisure seems to take a great deal of time.

“The wisdom of the learned man，” says the son of Sirach，“comes by the opportunity of leisure，and he that has little business shall be wise.” He then turns to those who do not belong to the leisure class，and quenches their aspirations after wisdom. It is a luxury that is beyond their station in life.

“How can he get wisdom that holds the plough and glories in the goad，that drives oxen and is occupied in their labors，and whose talk is bullocks？So is every carpenter and work master that labors day and night. The smith also，sitting by the anvil and considering the iron work and fighting with the heat of the furnace.” In no better plight is “the potter sitting at his work，and turning the wheel with his feet，and his eyes look still upon the pattern of the thing that he makes.”

All these busy people，he says，are necessary. Without them the city cannot be inhabited. “They maintain the state of the world and their desire is in the work of their hands.” “They are very useful，very indispensable，but they have not leisure to grow wise. Their minds cannot ripen properly.” “They cannot declare justice and judgment，and they shall not be found where parables are spoken.”

This is so， but it is not the whole story. Skilled artisans are not the only persons who suffer from the lack of the opportunities of leisure. The intellectual classes，as their interests become highly specialized，find it difficult to give their minds free play. One who aims at what is called “productive scholarship” has not the time to sit at ease “where parables are spoken.” The parable must be cut short. If only he who has little business shall be wise，then there is small hope for the University Professor. Wherein does the potter，turning the wheel with his foot while his eyes look still upon the pattern of the thing that he makes，differ from the harassed candidate for a Ph.D. degree，as he looks at the pattern of the thesis that he makes？Wherein does a society of scholars whose tasks are set by an efficiency expert differ from any other well-organized body of industrialists？It is hard to evade the consequences of all work and no play.

It is our habit to think of everything in terms of big business，and yet there are times when we rebel against the creed that the whole duty of man is to keep busy. Surely we were not born to spend our lives in involuntary servitude. It must be right now and then to do as we please. But how can we find time for such laudable truancies？That is what causes anxious thought.

There is a letter of Cornelius Fronto to his pupil，Marcus Aurelius Antoninus，which takes up this matter from the standpoint of health. The young Emperor's conscience was a taskmaster demanding continual toil. Fronto reminds him that it is possible for one with the best intentions to destroy his own powers for usefulness by overstrain.

“What do circumstances demand of you？Not study，not toil，not duties. What bow is forever strung？”

He suggests to him that the very best service he could render to the Roman Empire would be that he should get into such a state of mind that after each day's work he would be sure of a good night's sleep. He urges him not to look upon his duties with a prolonged stare. “Learn to wink.” It was good advice for the serious Stoic. “Remember your father，that god-like man who excelled others in continence and righteousness，yet he knew how to relax. He baited a hook and laughed at buffoons.”

Then Fronto put his good advice in the form of an apologue. In the beginning，Father Jove divided man's life into two parts and gave equal value to both. The day he assigned to work，the night to rest. But he did not think of creating sleep，for he took it for granted that every one would be wise enough to rest while awake.

But little by little business began to encroach on the time allotted to rest，and both gods and men fell into the bad habit of turning night into day. First Neptune complained of fatigue. The waves，he said，were so restless that he was kept busy all the time in the attempt to control them and to keep them from encroaching on the shore.

Pluto reported that Hades was so crowded and disturbed that he had no leisure for his own meditations. “He had a watchdog to terrify any shades that tried to escape. It had three throats for barking，three gaping jaws，and three sets of terrible teeth；still he was so anxious over what might happen that he could get no rest.”

“Then Jupiter questioned the other gods and found that they were turning night into day. So Jupiter created Sleep，and set him in charge of the night.” There must be a time when men might “forget the whirling of chariots and the thunder of steeds.” Fronto advises Marcus to learn to sleep till such time as he can learn to rest during his waking hours.

The reply of Marcus Aurelius to this advice is written in the tone of the tired business man：

“To my master Fronto，greeting .

“I have just received your letter，which I will enjoy presently. But for the moment I have duties hanging over me that cannot be begged off. Meanwhile，I am very busy.”

Then by way of postscript he adds：“After dictating the above，I read the letter while the others were dining. I shall read it often，that I may know how to rest. But you know how exacting duty is.”

That notion that leisure is a luxury forbidden to people who work with their hands or brains，is denied by those who hold that it is a state of mind，not dependent on particular circumstances. It is possible to cultivate this state of mind，and it doesn't take so much time as some people suppose. Saint Paul，writing to the Thessalonians，says，“Study to be quiet.” This is a mental exercise much to be commended to Americans. But Paul looked upon it as quite compatible with one's ordinary activities. His exhortation to restfulness is followed by a commendation of the industrial virtues. “Study to be quiet，and to do your own business，and to work with your own hands.”

People who complain of the high cost of leisure at the present time are apt to look back with futile regret to some golden age which has forever passed. How restful to have lived in the days of Charles Lamb，when one could browse among old books and enjoy his own thoughts without looking at the clock！

But one has doubts as he reads a letter of Lamb to his friend Wordsworth. It would indicate that leisure was not always had for the asking，even by one so capable of appreciating it：

“My dear W .：I have scarce time or quiet to explain my present situation，how unquiet and distracted it is，owing to the absence of some of my compeers，and to the deficient state of payments in the E.I.H. owing to bad piece speculations in the calico market！”

He is compelled to work nights in order to catch up with the accumulation of business. “The nature of my work，too，puzzling and hurrying，has so shaken my spirits that my sleep is nothing but a succession of dreams of business I cannot do，of assistants that give me no assistance，of terrible responsibilities. ... I see no prospect of a quiet day，or hour even，till this week and the next are past.”

That sounds very familiar. But in parentheses Lamb lets us into a secret that relieves the situation. He says，“（I write this to W.W. Esq.，Collector of Stamp Duties for the conjoint Northern Counties，not W.W. Poet.）” While the clerk at India House and the collector of stamps for the “conjoint Northern Counties” were complaining of being overworked，the author of the Excursion and the author of the Essays of Elia were not greatly affected. They were prepared to enjoy bits of time which were not devoted to business purposes. Wordsworth，indeed，succeeded in getting a good deal of time for his own uses，but Lamb had to do his meditating on London streets. So one may see a beauty-loving railway section hand cultivating his little flower garden on “the right of way.” The company doesn't mind，and it gives him a real pleasure.

Speaking of the right of way reminds me that the word “leisure” is derived from the Latin，licere ，to be permitted，and is connected with our word “license.” It implies that we are permitted to do something for our own pleasure in time not needed for strictly utilitarian uses. We are allowed to cultivate the right of way，so long as these adornments do not interfere with the passage of the trains. So Sir Thomas Browne found time in hours not taken up by his medical practice to jot down some thoughts that had pleased him. He says of his book that it was something that “I had at leisurable hours composed.” These leisurable hours do not always come in large pieces. Leisure is often more highly valued when it must be taken in installments.

The number of these leisurable hours that any one has at his disposal is limited，and their distribution throughout a lifetime is often beyond the control of the individual. William Penn's Fruits of Solitude was the result of a season of forced retirement. But Penn was a very wealthy man，and，besides，was a Quaker. He may be looked upon as a plutocrat in the way of leisure. Most of us must get our solitude in broken lots.

Yet it is remarkable how many opportunities for leisure one can find if he is on the lookout for them. We are told that even an atom is more roomy than one would imagine. An electron moves about in its vast spaces like a lonely planet. And one can get a good deal of aloneness in a minute. Our thoughts need not be hurried or crowded if each is allowed to take its moment when it comes. There are fragments of time that come from broken engagements. There are periods of salutary waiting；waiting for street cars，and dentists，and committees whose chairmen have been delayed by other committees. There are moments in the busiest day when through no fault of our own we are left accidentally alone. There may not be time in these chance intervals for the choicer fruits of solitude to ripen，but there is at least time for some mushroom growths. The punctual man has many such moments for solitary musing while he is waiting for the unpunctual man.

The mind in its own place and in itself can create a driven feeling in the Vale of Arcady. And where is there more calm repose than in the mind of the officer at Fifth Avenue and Forty-Second Street，as he deliberately moves his hands，like Moses at the Red Sea，dividing the waves of traffic that the hurried people may pass in safety？

To take advantage of these fleeting opportunities，one must have a quick control over his own mind. He must not only be able to start his mental machinery，but he must be able to stop it when it is moving to no purpose. This is the more difficult matter. Many persons keep their minds revolving ceaselessly on one subject for the same reason that the driver of a temperamental automobile lets his engine run while the car stops. He is afraid that if it gets cool he can't crank it again. A reliable self-starter would save a great deal of wear and tear.

I cannot include under the pleasant name of “leisure” those activities that are carried on systematically after business hours. Very soon they become things that must be done. There are misers of time who clutch at each spare moment and put it to usury. They expect some definite return from their investment. All mental activities which are closely articulated and planned in advance should be classed under the head of “overtime work.” In our moments of true leisure the unexpected happens，or，if nothing happens，we do not care. We do that which is unprofitable because it pleases us. We read a book because it happens to be near us and it looks inviting. It is a case where propinquity is everything. The latchstring of the mind is out. We entertain random thoughts and are occasionally surprised to find that we have entertained wisdom unawares. Our attitude is like that of Elizabeth's great minister，Lord Burleigh，who at the end of a day's work would fling his robe of office on the floor and say，“Lie there，my Lord Treasurer，till I call for you in the morning.” In a healthy mind there is an interim between one duty and another. This prevents them from wearing each other out. These intervals of soothing carelessness，if not unduly prolonged，are very restorative. Lord Burleigh in the morning resumed his robe of office with zest，because he had been able to throw it off so lightly.

That leisure is compatible with a good deal of work I learned as a child from my Aunt Frances. She was the wife of the village physician. She had twelve children and lived in a large，rambling house which was not planned for saving steps. Yet she was never in a hurry. A peculiar institution of Aunt Frances's house was the “as-you.” It saved no end of worry. When anything was lost，my aunt would say placidly，“You'll probably find it on the as-you”；and so we usually did.

The as-you was a broad landing on the stairs that led from the basement kitchen to the living-room. Usually the members of the family had their hands full when they went upstairs. In such cases they were apt to leave something in the landing with the full assurance that it would be there for them when they made the next trip. The remark that you would find a household article，“as you go up，” or “as you go down，” had been，at last，contracted into a place-name.

I think that every well-ordered mind ought to have an as-you. It is not like an attic where you put decrepit pieces of furniture which you think you will use again，but which you never do.

There are duties which you lay down temporarily because you have your hands too full. You don't want to put them aside where you will forget them. You want to put them where you can pick them up again without too much trouble. There they lie in plain view. You have a feeling that you have carried them as far as you are able today. As you come that way tomorrow it will be a pleasure to take them up again. In the meantime they are quite safe on the as-you.

這篇文章您讀后的感覺如何？也有可能便是雜亂、散漫、零碎、瑣屑，而首先便是一個亂字。這點使我記起了我年輕時的一件小事。一次，我在留聲機上放舒伯特的Ave Maria （《圣母頌》），歌唱者是一位英國的女次高音歌唱家。這時來了一位家父的朋友（他自稱是愛聽西洋音樂的），聽后他的看法是：這曲子太雜亂。我聽了，很不以為然。為什么呢？很可能是因為這曲子的旋律較復雜造成的。同樣，這篇文章也是如此；內容稍較復雜。其實呢，情況并不是這樣。這篇文章是并不亂的。它可以說是雜而不亂，散而不漫，零而不碎，甚至也不真瑣屑。當然它太長倒是真的，而太長了讀的人是會失掉耐性的，也會讀了后面忘了前頭，于是而感覺“亂”。但這只是錯覺，而并非真的是這樣。說來奇怪，這篇談閑的文章也需要一位有閑情的人去讀，忙人是讀不懂也讀不下去的。另外這篇東西的作者也太博學了，引證也太多了，而引證的東西我國人又太不熟悉，所以也就難怪。據說，《藍色多瑙河》最初面世時也出現過類似情形——太亂（最初是合唱曲形式），后來改編成了器樂曲，結果大獲成功。（當然這里除了旋律復雜外，又加入了文字的因素，而文字聽不懂是會令人迷惑的，但器樂便無此問題。）總之，復雜的東西多讀或多聽上幾遍，頭緒就會被理清楚的，而感覺也就會好了起來。