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(2) In addition to the fact that we all have unavoidable problems which
we must solve one way or another, a little familiarity with life, an
acquaintance with the biographies of great and good men, should lead
us to suspect that beyond the horizon of these immediate needs lie
whole ranges of beautiful and happy living to which comparatively few
ever attain. There are better ways of doing things than most of us
have dreamed. The study of ethics should reveal these vistas and
stimulate us to a noble discontent with our inferior morals. [Footnote:
Cf. Emerson, in a letter to Fraulein Gisela von Arnim: "In reading
your letter, I felt, as when I read rarely a good novel, rebuked that
I do not use in my life these delicious relations; or that I accept
anything inferior or ugly."] Such a forward look and development of
ideals not only adds greatly to the worth of life but prepares a man
to meet perplexities and temptations which may some day arise. It pays
to educate one's self for future emergencies by meditating not only
upon present problems but upon the further potentialities of conduct,
right and wrong, that may lie ahead, and building up a code for one's
self that will make life not only richer but steadier and more secure.
(3) Another advantage of a systematic study of ethics is that it can
make clearer to us WHY one act is better than another; why duty is
justified in thwarting our inclinations and conscience is to be obeyed.
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