Write the summary of the essay entitled "Pleasures".

Write the summary of the essay entitled “Pleasures”.

Ans.

Introduction

The great writer Aldous Huxley had written about some menaces to civilization like war and militarian but he added that the greatest menace to civilization should come from within. He further says that human civilization had faced and survived many such wars. It stood exposed to the greatest menaces which gave a threat to human mind rather than the body. He wrote about the methods of getting pleasures and compared them with those of the past and present times. He concluded that modern methods of getting pleasures would weaken the mind as well as our civilization.

His arguments

In the olden times the people used to use their mind in the matters of entertainment also. They used to take part in the entertainment of their mind to get pleasure along with being actively busy in its process. It made their mind sharp without being rusted as it is being done at present. For example, in those happy days people used to take part in singing, dancing and playing. In this way they enjoyed their life. Such pleasure was real but how times have changed when they sit in their drawing room and they hear. watch and see. They listen to music without singing themselves. In this way they do not apply their mind, nor their body.

How people got pleasure in the past?

Some examples are given here to show that their pleasure needed some intellectual efforts from their side. The royal persons and their courtiers used to take real pleasure in listening to sermons as well as literary disputes related to religion or metaphysics. For example on the occasion of the marriage of Prince Palatine with the daughter of James I some arguments were offered as entertainment to the Prince. According to the writer no Prince can digest such entertainment now. In the Elizabethan times each lady and gentleman related to ordinary culture could take part in the entertainment. Even the uneducated enjoyed in the same way by using their little intelligence in a lively manner.

Cinema and the press

The writer asserts that how cinema had robbed the man of his mind. Without intelligence he watches and hears the stale music in spite of it being nonsense. Secondly the press has also played its part in making the human mind weak and useless. The press gives some information but man gets literature from it in a low manner. The writer concludes the mind is useless and it is not a healthy sign.

Conclusion

According to the writer if such trend continues, our civilization will collapse one day for the want of healthy means of recreation. Then the lust for pleasure of a lazy man should be satisfied by violent means of entertainment which would be useless for our civilization.