Lust for LifeOne of the ingredients in F W Boreham’s philosophy about ‘All the blessings of life’ involved the magnetism between human life and all living things. Boreham often wrote of this mutual attraction, saying, “It is only man’s quenchless lust of life that enables him to live.”[1] He discerned this persistence in the human capacity to “cling with amazing tenacity” to life, “to endure when all things band together for his destruction” and “to endure any torture to retain [life]”.[2]
Attraction to Life
Dr. Boreham recognized the human attraction towards life, in the “infatuation that we see so much beauty in the dawning of a new day and find so wealthy a romance in the unfolding of the Spring,”[3] the fascination with books[4] and delight in humor.[5]
Underlying Passion
Casting his mind about for other pursuits that captivated his attention, Boreham said, “The same hunger underlies my passion for biography and even my fondness for the Bible .… It appeals to my love of life”.[6]
New Forms of Life Startle
Recognizing humanity’s attraction towards all expressions of life, Boreham dilated, “We love the city because it swarms with life; we love the bush because new forms of life startle us everywhere; we love the play, the film, the novel and the art gallery because, by means of them, we are able to explore new twists and turns of the life we love.” Continuing on the same tack, Boreham explained the thrill with which people greet Easter, saying, “In celebrating Easter we are unconsciously giving three cheers for life itself”.[7]
Geoff Pound
Image: “We love the city because it swarms with life.” Taken on a recent visit to Kolkata: city of joy and life.
[1]F W Boreham, Mercury, 11 July 1936.
[2] Boreham, Mercury, 5 April 1947.
[3] Boreham, Mercury, 21 August 1948.
[4] Boreham, Mercury, 31 July 1920.
[5] F W Boreham, The other side of the hill (London: The Epworth Press, 1917), 173.
[6] Boreham, The other side of the hill, 173.
[7] Boreham, Mercury, 5 April 1947.
