The world is to big for us, too much is going on, to many crimes, to much violence and excitement. Try as you will, you get behind in the race in spite of yourself. It’s a constant strain to keep pace…  and still, you lose ground. Science empties its discoveries on you so fast that you stagger beneath them in hopeless bewilderment. The political world is news seen rapidly, you’re out of breath trying to keep pace with who’s in and who’s out. Everything is high pressure. Human nature can’t endure much more.

Atlantic Journal June 16, 1883