“A head?” said Rollo.
“Yes,” said he, “a head; that is, one man to direct, and the rest obey.”
“Which is it?” said George.
“It is that man who is pointing now,” said the farmer, “to another stone. He [pg 147]is telling them which to take next. Watch them now, and you will see that he directs every thing, and the rest do just as he says. But you are all directing and commanding together, and there is nobody to obey. If you were moving those stones, you would be all advising and disputing together, and pulling in every direction at once, and the stone would not move at all.”
There, Said He, See How Men Work.
“And do men always appoint a head,” said Rollo, “when they work together?”
“No,” said the farmer, “they do not always appoint one regularly, but they always have one, in some way or other. Even when no one is particularly authorized to direct, they generally let the one who is oldest, or who knows most about the business, take the lead, and the rest do as he says.”
They all then walked slowly back to the garden-house, and the farmer advised them to have a head, if they wanted their business to go on smoothly and well.