Corn and coal shall lie in the hollow of my
hand. I will enrich myself by making dear by craft the necessaries
of life; the poor shall lack, that I may roll down fair streets in
needless luxury. Let them starve, and feed me!" That temper, too,
humanity must outlive. And those who are incapable of outliving it
of themselves must be taught by stern lessons, as in the splendid
uprising of the spirit of man in France, that their race has
outstripped them.
Next comes the monopoly of human life, the hideous wrong of
slavery. That, thank goodness, is now gone. 'Twas the vilest of
them all--the nakedest assertion of the monopolist platform:--"You
live, not for yourself, but wholly and solely for me. I disregard
your claims to your own body and soul, and use you as my chattel."
That worst form has died. It withered away before the moral
indignation even of existing humanity. We have the satisfaction of
seeing one dragon slain, of knowing that one monopolist instinct at
least is now fairly bred out of us.
Last, and hardest of all to eradicate in our midst, comes the
monopoly of the human heart, which is known as marriage.
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