Rudyard Kipling was well-traveled, a keen observer of people and places, and had the poet’s mastery over words, which enabled him to make some of the most profound observations about life in very simple and punchy language. He is not shy about expressing his beliefs about life in his writings.
The Individual and the Community
A prevailing concern of Rudyard Kipling, explored in several of his works, is how the individual relates and interacts with his community. The individual has obligations and responsibilities to the community, but he must also be aware of himself enough to resist being subsumed into the crowd’s mind.
I am, by calling, a dealer in words; and words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.
Our ability to use words gives us much control over others. Words seduce, command, and deceive. Like drugs, which alter our perception or physiology, words can take over our faculties and move us according to the whims of the expert wielder.
We’re all islands shouting lies to each other across seas of misunderstanding.
Kipling hints at the idea that people hardly tell the truth. Because they don’t say what they mean, miscommunications are more likely than accurate transmission of ideas when we engage others in social intercourse.
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. To be your own man is hard business. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.
The man who has his ideas can sometimes find himself without friends. He is also compelled to conform to notions common in his community that he thinks are unsound. These pressures are hard to resist, but, says Rudyard Kipling, being a true individual responsible for one’s own ideas and beliefs is a worthy benefit of resisting being a mindless member of the crowd.
On Knowledge and Experience
Rudyard Kipling offers general life advice on courage, the spirit of inquiry, and the importance of being earnest.
Of all the liars in the world, sometimes the worst are our own fears.
Fears often involve things that could (but have not yet) happened, so they are lies. To the extent that they hold a person back from engaging with life fully and seizing opportunities, they are a pernicious type of lie.
I keep six honest serving men
(they taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How And Where and Who.
These honest, serving men represent a curious person’s investigation faculty, which might have served Rudyard Kipling well in his days as a newspaperman and, indeed, in his writing career. In simple figurative language, Kipling presents a handy mnemonic that could help writers explore any topic exhaustively.
There is no sin so great as ignorance. Remember this.
Ignorance is no defense, which is a common saying for a reason. To ought to have known but not know is a great handicap and opens a person up to too many chances for exploitation. The ignorant acts without an idea of the outcome of his action, whether positive or negative. He could be acting against his interests as much as for his interests.
“Beware of overconcern for money, or position, or glory. Someday you will meet a man who cares for none of these things. Then you will know how poor you are.”
To work on a thing for profit or status can be a strong motivator for success. However, Kipling argues that this is not comparable to the capacity for attainment when they apply themselves to an endeavor for the love of the activity or some other intrinsic factor. Why? Because when the external motivator, i.e., money or glory, is removed, the person who relies on them has nothing to strive for anymore. Besides, acquiring an experience enriches more than money because only the experience remains; money and glory can be lost.
On Hard Work and Diligence
In many of his writings, Kipling lauds hard work and diligent application of one’s energy in one’s endeavors. This emulates a specific Victorian English philosophy of stoicism, industry, and bravery that marked the hardy colonial so often portrayed in his works.
If you want something and don’t get it, there are only two reasons. You either really didn’t want it, or you tried to bargain over the price.
With this quote, Rudyard Kipling expresses a much too optimistic belief that anything is possible for anyone, provided that they are willing and able to pay the price for their desire.
No one thinks of winter when the grass is green.
Although winter comes sometime after spring, one hardly thinks about making preparations for winter in the balmy spring weather. Kipling alludes to how difficult it is for people to prepare for an imminent challenge or difficulty beforehand and in ample time.
The glory of the garden lies in more than meets the eye.
A garden in full flower hides the hard labor that goes into making it beautiful. Weeding, watering, and tending the garden are arduous but necessary activities if a garden is to thrive.
Delight in the little things.
Significant achievements are made up of many little accomplishments, and if one does not take note of and appreciate the little things, one may miss out on the big ones, either by losing hope or being negligent.
On Strangers and Prejudice
Kipling wryly observes myopia in cultural jingoism. People believe their culture, mores, and laws are the best. However, this is true only because their ways of life are the only ones they know.
“All good people agree,
And all good people say,
All nice people, like Us, are We
And every one else is They:
But if you cross over the sea,
Instead of over the way,
You may end by (think of it!) looking on We
As only a sort of They!”
In this short verse, Rudyard Kipling demonstrates how perspective makes us see things differently. We judge ourselves in a particular light at home. However, suppose we were to travel away from home and experience the realities of a different place and the other culture necessary to live there. In that case, we might realize that a different way of life is as valid as ours.
“The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it.”
We may read about a place or hear stories about it, Kipling seems to imply, but only a visit—a close enough immersion in the environment will open us up to what sort of place it is. One who lives all their lives in the tropics will probably not understand a snowstorm until he lives through one.
