Virginia, your littlefriends are wrong. They have been affected by theskepticism of a sceptical age. They do not believe exceptwhat they see. They think that nothing can be which isnot comprehensible by their little minds. All minds,Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, arelittle. In this great universe of ours, man is a mereinsect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with theboundless world about him, as measured by theintelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth andknowledge.
Yes,Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists ascertainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, andyou know that they abound and give to your life itshighest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be theworld if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as drearyas if there were no Virginias. There would be nochildlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to maketolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment,except in sense and sight. The external light with whichchildhood fills the world would be extinguished.
Not believe in SantaClaus! You might as well not believe in fairies. Youmight get your papa to hire men to watch in all thechimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but evenif you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what wouldthat prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no signthat there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in theworld are those that neither children nor men can see.Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of coursenot, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobodycan conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseenand unseeable in the world.
You tear apart thebaby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, butthere is a veil covering the unseen world which not thestrongest man, nor even the united strength of all thestrongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Onlyfaith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtainand view and picture the supernal beauty and glorybeyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this worldthere is nothing else real and abiding.
No Santa Claus?ThankGod he lives and lives forever. A thousand years fromnow, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, hewill continue to make glad the heart of childhood. (Editional Page, NewYork Sun, 1897)
80
80
80
70
-
-
-
20
80
70
50
-
20
80
-
15
15
51
-
70
70
70
70
70
70
70
70
70
70
-
