But of course he is a man who is normally healthy, and
such men as he are the props of rural life. He is a good master, he
sees that his men do their work, and are well housed. He is not
generous exactly, but he is neighbourly. The question is whether
such as he is the proper type of humanity. He represents the simple
virtues at their high-water mark. He is entirely contented, and his
desires are perfectly proportioned to their surroundings. He seems
indeed to be exactly what the human creature ought to be. And yet
his very virtues, his sense of justice and honesty, his sensible
kindliness, are the outcome of civilisation, and bear the stamp, in
reality, of the dreams of saints and sages and idealists--the men
who felt that things could be better, and who were made miserable
by the imperfections of the world. I cannot help wondering, in a
whimsical moment, what would have been the miller's thoughts of
Christ, if he had been confronted with Him in the flesh. He would
have thought of Him rather contemptuously, I think, as a
bewildering, unpractical, emotional man. The miller would not have
felt the appeal of unselfishness and unworldliness, because his
ideal of life is tranquil prosperity.
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