Tárogató, 1950 (13. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)
1950-07-01 / 1-3. szám
1 14 TÁROGATÓ and you will find priceless inspiration coming back to you. Frank Laubach declares: “God’s thoughts, plus ours, create the future! Even fools dare not turn their back on this terrific challenge. All of us must stop being vindictive, stop being prejudiced, stop being little; for our folly, our spite, our prejudice and narrowness are poisoning the universe.” . —Jesse F. Perrin. THOSE LITTLE THINGS By Ruby Chown If you want to accomplish big things, busy yourself with what the mediocre refer to as little things. Though it takes time, we finally believe that what we once considered the little things in life are of the utmost importance. It is the small things of the world that colour the lives of those around us. The so-called trivial things largely influence us: a smile, a joke, a kind word. Even slight comforts affect our ease and satisfaction. Comparative trifles are important to those they concern. Little, everyday courtesies loom large. By keeping appointments promptly, for instance, we help keep schedules running smoothly for others. In every walk of life details are significant. The small business man is helped by the very fact that his business is small. He can all the better carry out his own ideas and give personal attention to details. The artist fully realizes the touch that makes a trifle important. The directors of movies are extraordinarily careful in their precision of detail; they allow no slip in minor matters. Detail in good dressing is conducive to morale and self-confidence. One reason for the success of Mona Mac- Dougall’s parties was that she was an excellent planner. She attended to all the details herself, leaving nothing to chance. Florence Nightingale, that dynamic mixture of brilliant intellect, energy and self-sacrifice, fully recognized the bigness of little things in her pioneer field of nursing. It is the sum of many details that makes a good driver. Most people rise to a crisis with courage, but to meet the petty hazards of a day cheerfully requires more spirit. Little ills try the temper more than great ones. It is so easy to lack control in little things. Small disagreements are apt to grow large. Sordid things, like meanness and jealousy, get the better of us. A constant fidelity in little things is a great and heroic virtue. HOW LONG DO ANIMALS LIVE? Elephants are probably the longestlived members of the animal kingdom, their lives averaging between one hundred and two hundred years. It is said that when Alexander conquered India he took one of King Pórus’ largest elephants, named Ajax, and turned him loose with this inscription on his collar: “Alexander, the son of Jupiter, dedicated Ajax to the sun.” This elephant, the story has it, was captured three hundred and fifty years later. It has been claimed that as a general rule there is a direct relation between the duration, of life and the time required to develop fully; but to this there are manifest exceptions. The cat is mature before it is a year old; yet it may attain the age of twenty years. Size also seems to have a certain relation to longevity: the elephant and the whale being generally held to be the longest-lived of mammals; but there again enters the exception, since the little beaver lives more than twice as long as the rhinoceros. The average age of other animals is estimated as follows: ass, thirty years; bear, twenty years; beaver, fifty years; camel, seventy-five years; cat, fifteen years; chamois, twenty-five years; ox, twenty-five years; deer, twenty years; dog, fourteen years; fox, fortéén years; goat, twelve years; guinea pig, four years; hare, eight years; hippopotamus, twenty years; horse, twenty-five years; hyena, twenty-five years; jaguar, twenty-five years; leopard, twenty-five years; lion, forty years; monkey, seventeen years; moose, fifty years; mouse, six years; pig, fifteen years; rabbit, seven years; rat, seven years; rhinoceros,
