The Pleasures of Poverty. By Anthony
Bertram. (Hollis and Carter. ifs.)
" MEN are judged by the standards they set, the things they own," ran a recent advertise- ment for cigarette-lighters. And so com- pletely have we come to take for granted the standards here implied that we look on any proposal for raising living standards as unquestionably good. As a corrective to the prevailing materialism of our days, The Pleasures of Poverty is timely. Simply as an anthology it can be read with great pleasure ; Mr. Bertram has chosen wisely and widely and has—and how gratefully one acknowledges this 1 — amply documented each passage at the back of his book. But the collection has a deeper value than the mere illustration of a theme to which we all pay occasional lip-service ; as Mr. Bertram comments, no similar anthology could be made of the pleasures of wealth. It is stimu- lating to reflect that, while we have all agreed to accept a society in which the pur- suit of wealth must be restricted and its pleasures only partially enjoyed, no such limitations apply to the perfect enjoyment
of the pleasures of poverty. M. L.
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