Publisher's Synopsis
The Voice of the Machines An Introduction to the Twentieth Century: Large Print Gerald Stanley Lee THE MEN BEHIND THE MACHINES I MACHINES. AS SEEN FROM A MEADOW It would be difficult to find anything in the encyclopedia that would justify the claim that we are about to make, or anything in the dictionary. Even a poem-which is supposed to prove anything with a little of nothing-could hardly be found to prove it; but in this beginning hour of the twentieth century there are not a few of us-for the time at least allowed to exist upon the earth-who are obliged to say (with Luther), "Though every tile on the roundhouse be a devil, we cannot say otherwise-the locomotive is beautiful." As seen when one is looking at it as it is, and is not merely using it. As seen from a meadow. We had never thought to fall so low as this, or that the time would come when we would feel moved-all but compelled, in fact-to betray to a cold and discriminating world our poor, pitiful, one-adjective state. We do not know why a locomotive is beautiful. We are perfectly aware that it ought not to be. We have all but been ashamed of it for being beautiful-and of ourselves. We have attempted all possible words upon it-the most complimentary and worthy ones we know-words with the finer resonance in them, and the air of discrimination the soul loves. We cannot but say that several of these words from time to time have seemed almost satisfactory to our ears. They seem satisfactory also for general use in talking with people, and for introducing locomotives in conversation; but the next time we see a locomotive coming down the track, there is no help for us. We quail before the headlight of it. The thunder of its voice is as the voice of the hurrying people. Our little row of adjectives is vanished. All adjectives are vanished. They are as one. We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experience.
