impulsive. It gives its possessor no opportunity for lethargic rest and quiet, but
constantly urges him to action. Grown ardent, interest becomes enthusiasm,
"without which," says Emerson, "nothing great was ever accomplished." Are we
an Edison, with a strong interest centered in mechanical invention, it will drive
us day and night in a ceaseless activity which scarcely gives us time for food and
sleep. Are we a Lincoln, with an undying interest in the Union, this motive will
make possible superhuman efforts for the accomplishment of our end. Are we
man or woman anywhere, in any walk of life, so we are dominated by mighty
interests grown into enthusiasm for some object, we shall find great purposes
growing within us, and our life will be one of activity and achievement. On the
contrary, a life which has developed no great interest lacks motive power. Of
necessity such a life must be devoid of purpose and hence barren of results,
counting little while it is being lived, and little missed by the world when it is
gone.
Habit Antagonistic to Interest.—While, as we have seen, interest is necessary
to the formation of habits, yet habits once formed are antagonistic to interest.
That is, acts which are so habitually performed that they "do themselves" are
accompanied by a minimum of interest. They come to be done without attentive
consciousness, hence interest cannot attach to their performance. Many of the
activities which make up the daily round of our lives are of this kind. As long as
habit is being modified in some degree, as long as we are improving in our ways
of doing things, interest will still cling to the process; but let us once settle into
an unmodified rut, and interest quickly fades away. We then have the conditions
present which make of us either a machine or a drudge.
2. DIRECT AND INDIRECT INTEREST
We may have an interest either (1) in the doing of an act, or (2) in the end sought
through the doing. In the first instance we call the interest immediate or direct; in
the second instance, mediate or indirect.
Interest in the End versus Interest in the Activity.—If we do not find an
interest in the doing of our work, or if it has become positively disagreeable so
that we loathe its performance, then there must be some ultimate end for which
the task is being performed, and in which there is a strong interest, else the
whole process will be the veriest drudgery. If the end is sufficiently interesting it
may serve to throw a halo of interest over the whole process connected with it.
The following instance illustrates this fact: