SPOON-FEEDING 

W.R. INGE 

The central idea of Inge’s extract is that technological advancement has produced lethargy in
man, while trying to make his life easy and comfortable. At the outset, Inge states that with the
introduction of various cutlery items, man has become a mere toothless animal. The savage man,
on the other hand, used his teeth to tear tough meat and yet did not suffer from tooth problems. 
This is the case with every aspect of modern life. Man was more self-reliant in the early days.
Women made their own bread, jam and wine. But now, man relies more on the machines and on
the government to do things for him. Inge quotes an incident mentioned by the famous detective
writer, Austin Freeman. Freeman’s caravan was once subject to a storm, when he was in Central
Africa. But the natives were able to construct a row of waterproof huts within a very short span.
This is to illustrate how the rustic is more independent than the urban-bred gentleman. 
These days, handwriting, which was an art, seems to be dying out with the advent of typewriters.
If such machines are introduced in school, writing may soon become extinct. Similarly,
long-distance walking and cycling, which are good exercises, are almost ignored by people. 
The ancient and medieval (belonging to the Middle Ages) manuscripts have a minute writing that
is trying to the eyes. (Difficult to read) But the Greeks never used spectacles and the famous
writer Sophocles wrote his last play when he was ninety. Even the Germans, and the Englishmen
of the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries, made their printing in large letter types in closely
printed pages, which made reading difficult and challenging. 
Modern writing, however, is written in a very simple style and poses no mental challenge to the
readers. At present, newspapers provide all possible information in the simplest way possible.
The reader therefore makes no attempt to acquire extra information. Similarly, newspapers have
almost done away with drawings and engravings and have instead given place mainly to
photographs. 
Education too poses no challenge to the learner because he has his lecturer notes to help him and
the books he refers to, contain all the background information and commentaries. Inge
humorously remarks that while Greek and Latin scholars argued over the importance of their
language, the editor of books and the tutor have removed the charm of good learning by
spoon-feeding the student with notes and commentaries. 
Man is so unsure of himself that he is afraid of even standing under a tree. He feels that he might
be struck down by thunder or lightning and so asks for trees to be cut to a smaller size. He relies
on the government to take care of all his risks. The cricketer who is unable to strike hard, blames
the ground-man for his poor shots. Even an adventurous sport like mountaineering has become
mundane because the mountaineer no longer climbs the stretch of mountains all by himself, but
travels half the distance by train and then climbs the mountain, thereby avoiding risk. 
Inge concludes by saying that we must strive for perfection, for perfection is a godly quality, but
the younger generation thinks that it is something that they should think about only when they are
old
Summary of A Psalm Of Life by H.W Longfellow
A Psalm of Life, a lyric of religious emotion was published in October of 1838. This poem is
taken from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s first volume of poems. A ‘psalm’ is a sacred song,
an invocation to mankind to follow the path of righteousness. A Psalm of Life is a blow to the
pessimistic attitude of taking life lightly. The poet encourages his readers not to waste life, that
life is short and is going to end soon. The poem highlights the views of the poet about how to
live life and that there is only one life and therefore, we should make good use of it.
The poem consists of nine stanzas, each containing four lines. The poet begins the poem by
asking us not to tell him in sorrowful verses that life is an empty, meaningless dream. According
to Longfellow, a person who spends his time sleeping is already dead. Such a worthless life
misguides other human beings. Finally, irresponsibility does not reflect the true human nature.
The second stanza begins with two phrases, ‘Life is real! Life is earnest!’ The poet uses an
encouraging tone to say that life is real and serious. Life should not be treated lightly. Moreover,
the poet says that death is not the ultimate goal; life does not end with death. “Dust thou art, to
dust returnest” is not applicable to the soul, this quotation is applicable only to the body.
The third stanza of A Psalm of Life is about the way of living. The poet tells us that our way of
leaving should be only based on enjoyment or mourning. The aim of life is to act wisely each
day so that we can make a better future.
Stanza four is about the work assigned to us and about the time which is flying. “Art is long, and
Time is fleeting” means that the work given to us is too long and time-consuming. The poet
encourages that under such situations, our hearts still remain stout and brave and are beating
funeral marches to the grave, like the drums covered with cloth. The message that the poet wants
to convey through this stanza is that one should lose courage under any circumstance.
In the fifth stanza, the poet compares the world to a battlefield as well as a temporary camp for
troops. Humans are compared with troops. He asks all the people to live and fight their battles
within the given period of time. The poet asks us not to be like the dumb cattle which is driven
by others, because of its lack of direction and determination.
The poet asks us not to trust in the future even if it seems pleasant in the sixth stanza of A Psalm
of Life. The past incidents must be forgotten away. The aim in life should be to act courageously
at present and not to lose faith in God.
Lives of great men remind us that we can make our own lives noble and elevated, that is we can
reach great heights. Finally when we die, we can leave behind us our footprints (noble deeds) for
others to follow our path.
The noble deeds which we leave behind should be such that an unhappy and shipwrecked man,
sailing over the sea of life, would be confident and take courage, following our example.
In the final stanza of A Psalm of Life, the poet asks us to begin at once with courage without
thinking about the consequences of the actions. He asks us to achieve our aim and learn to work
hard and wait patiently for rewards.
About The Poet: H.W Longfellow (February 27, 1807- March 24, 1882) was an American poet
and educator. He taught at Bowdoin College and Harvard University. After retiring from Harvard
University, he devoted himself completely to writing. His best-known poems are Songs of
Hiawatha, Evangeline, Hesperus, Excelsior and A Psalm of Life.

How Much Land Does a Man Need? - Summary

An elder sister from the city visits her younger sister, the wife of a peasant farmer in the village.
In the midst of their visit, the two of them get into an argument about whether the city or the
peasant lifestyle is preferable. The elder sister suggests that city life boasts better clothes, good
things to eat and drink, and various entertainments, such as the theater. The younger sister replies
that though peasant life may be rough, she and her husband are free, will always have enough to
eat, and are not tempted by the devil to indulge in such worldly pursuits.
Pahom, the husband of the younger sister, enters the debate and suggests that the charm of the
peasant life is that the peasant has no time to let nonsense settle in his head. The one drawback of
peasant life, he declares, is that the peasant does not have enough land: “If I had plenty of land, I
shouldn’t fear the Devil himself!” The devil, overhearing this boast, decides to give Pahom his
wish, seducing him with the extra land that Pahom thinks will give him security.
Pahom’s first opportunity to gain extra land comes when a lady in the village decides to sell her
three hundred acres. His fellow peasants try to arrange the purchase for themselves as part of a
commune, but the devil sows discord among them and individual peasants begin to buy land.
Pahom obtains forty acres of his own. This pleases him initially, but soon neighboring peasants
allow their cows to stray into his meadows and their horses among his corn, and he must seek
justice from the district court. Not only does he fail to receive recompense for the damages but
also he ruins his reputation among his former friends and neighbors; his extra land does not bring
him security.
Hearing a rumor about more and better farmland elsewhere, he decides to sell his land and move
his family to a new location. There he obtains 125 acres and is ten times better off than he was
before, and he is very pleased. However, he soon realizes that he could make a better profit with
more land on which to sow wheat. He makes a deal to obtain thirteen hundred acres from a
peasant in financial difficulty for one thousand rubles and has all but clinched it when he hears a
rumor about the land of the Bashkirs. There, a tradesman tells him, a man can obtain land for less
than a penny an acre, simply by making friends with the chiefs.
Fueled by the desire for more, cheaper, and better land, Pahom seeks directions for the land of
the Bashkirs and leaves on a journey to obtain the land that he thinks he needs. On arrival, he
distributes gifts to the Bashkir leaders and finds them courteous and friendly. He explains his
reasons for being there and, after some deliberation, they offer him whatever land he wants for
one thousand rubles. Pahom is pleased but concerned; he wants boundaries, deeds, and “official
sanction” to give him the assurance he needs that they or their children will never reverse their
decision.
The Bashkirs agree to this arrangement, and a deal is struck. Pahom can have all the land that he
can walk around in a day for one thousand rubles. The one condition is that if he does not return
on the same day to the spot at which he began, the money will be lost. The night before his
fateful walk, Pahom plans his strategy; he will try to encircle thirty-five miles of land and then
sell the poorer land to peasants at a profit. When he awakes the next day, he is met by the man
whom he thought was the chief of the Bashkirs, but whom he recognizes as the peasant who had
come to his old home to tell him of lucrative land deals available elsewhere. He looks again, and
realizes that he is speaking with the devil himself. He dismisses this meeting as merely a dream
and goes about his walk.
Pahom starts well, but he tries to encircle too much land, and by midday he realizes that he has
tried to create too big a circuit. Though afraid of death, he knows that his only chance is to
complete the circuit. “There is plenty of land,” he says to himself, “but will God let me live on
it?” As the sun comes down, Pahom runs with all his remaining strength to the spot where he
began. Reaching it, he sees the chief laughing and holding his sides; he remembers his dream and
breathes his last breath. Pahom’s servant picks up the spade with which Pahom had been marking
his land and digs a grave in which to bury him: “Six feet from his head to his heels was all he
needed.”