Eric SloaneSelections #1

Dateline: 3 January 2014

Painting by Eric Sloane
(click to see enlarged view)

"In the 1700's, the highest and most exalted pursuit of man (next to preaching the gospel) was the practice of farming. Gradually as the industrial revolution approached, and the farmer's sons left the farm to earn money in cities, the farmer, without help, became poor and isolated. He was soon regarded as a second rate citizen, and ridiculed as a country "hick." Nowadays only a few scattered family farms exist."

~~~~~~~~~~

"In the city, if access to food or heat ceases for only a few hours or days, there is chaos, and we think that God has not been a good provider; but cities were built by man, not designed by the Creator. In rural country where wood is always available and wind and water are plentiful, and food can be grown and stored for emergencies, you begin to realize how well nature provides for man. Once upon a time America was aware of God's providence but today in the metropolis, God's providence is not as evident and we easily overlook it."


—Eric Sloane
From the book, Once Upon a Time: The Way America Was (1982)

~~~~~~~~~~

Note: the above quotes have been slightly edited, but not to change what the author was saying. I will be posting more quotes (and paintings) by Eric Sloane on this blog through January and February.