The city-bred youth sees and hears almost nothing that is natural, aside from the faces and forms of human beings.

Nearly everything that confronts him from morning till night is artificial, man-made.

He sees hardly anything that God made, that imparts solidity, strength and power, as do the natural objects in the country.

How can a man build up a solid, substantial character when his eyes and ears bring him only sights and sounds of artificial things?
A vast sea of business blocks, sky-scrapers and asphalt pavements does not generate character-building material.
Just as sculpture was once carried to such an extreme that pillars and beams were often so weakened by the extravagant carvings as to threaten the safety of the structure, so the timber in country boys and girls, when brought to the city, is often overcarved and adorned at the cost of strength, robustness and vigor.
In other words, virility, forcefulness, physical and mental stamina reach their maximum in those who live close to the soil.

The moment a man becomes artificial in his living, takes on artificial conditions, he begins to deteriorate, to soften.
Much of what we call the best society in our cities is often in an advanced process of decay.