Hermione and Her Little Group of Serious Thinkers/On Being Other-Worldly
ON BEING OTHER-WORLDLY
IT is not enough to be merely unworldly. One must be Other-Worldly as well, if you get what I mean.
For what does all our Modern Thought amount to if it does not minister to the Beautiful and the Spiritual?
Isn't Materialism simply frightful?
For the undisciplined mind, I mean. Of course, the right sort of mind will get good even out of Materialism, and the wrong sort will get harm out of it.
Every time before I take up anything new I ask myself, "Is it Other-Worldly? Or is it not Other-Worldly?"
We were going to take up Malthusianism and Mendelism—our Little Group of Serious Thinkers, you know—and give a whole evening to them, but one of the girls said, "Oh, let's not take them up. They sound frightfully chemical, somehow!"
I said, "The question, my dear, is not whether they are chemical or un-chemical. The question is, Are they worldly? Or are they Other-Worldly?" That is the Touchstone. One can apply it to everything, simply everything!
Should teachers be mothers, for instance—that question came up for discussion the other evening. And I settled the whole matter at once, with one question: "Is it worldly? Or is it Other-Worldly for Teachers to be Mothers? Or is it merely Un-Worldly?"
Have you seen the latest models? Some of them are wonderful, simply wonderful! You know I always dress to my temperament—and I'm having the loveliest gown made—the skirt is écru lace, you know; a double tiered effect, falling from a straight bodice, and the color scheme is silver and blue.