It is customary to complain of the bustle and strenuousness of our epoch. But in truth, the chief mark of our epoch is a profound laziness and fatigue. And the fact is that the real laziness is the cause of the apparent bustle. Take one quite external case: the streets are noisy with taxicabs and motorcars, but this is not due to human activity but to human repose. There would be less bustle if there were more activity, if people were simply walking about. Our world would be more silent if it were more strenuous.
