The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1853-10-26
THE SELF-DECEIFED,
OR, PORTRAITS FROM TIE CROWD.
80, would some power the gif,ie gle uH,
To see ourselves as others see us.

There are few members 81 III" h,'.
man family who are NOT more ~ s,,.>
self deceived. In many cases it is we'll
that it is so. 1t is well to imagine the
experience of a condition of content
ment, comfort; and happiness crcu #
it should not exist. How rarely, in.
deed, do individuals VIII" arc iiel.,-
fully plain or homcly. really recognise
: the Fact. On he contrary, mart whu
are So circumstanccd, believe ;h.v are
quite models OF pi, sica. beauty. and
contemplate themselves with II degree
Of vanity and self c"mp.acency tia:
makes them perfectly happy. "Wh re
ignorance is bliss, It's folly t" be wise
This, although not true in the general
sense, is asSurcdIy SO in c,.rtain cases.
Fortunately, perhaps, for many of us,
cannot see ourselves MS others see us.
The spots on the sun Of character are
not visible to our eyes. Our very de-
fects Of person become so familiar that
we lose sight Of them, SO to speak, and
thus they give us no mcaSincS> or an
noyance. Others sec them, but we do
not, and hence. the aphoriSn, we have
quoted is piihy aud applicable. We
have more than once in our raInbic>,
met with an individual apparently
thirty years Of age. who, although one
of the most insignificant and common.
place ofmortals, obviously lancic~ him.
selfa perfect Adnnis; and thus with Il
cane in one hand, and pnckc, hand
kerchief in the other, he may bc seen
wandering slowly through our fashion,
able proncnadcs, ever and anon giauc.
ing at his person, evidently satisfied
with himself, and happy in the concci,
that he is the envy of the one sex, and
the admiration ofothcrs. 1t is harm
less delusion, and it would be cruel to
destroy it. Nevertheless, the poor
simpleton is sadly Sclfdcccivcd. But
the most universal species of sclldc-
ception to which poor mor,als arc liza
BILE, is that which induce them to be-
lieye that they can play two characters
before their fellow w-creaturcs--in other
words, that they can seem to be one
thing, and in fact be the very rcvcrs,
and yet no one discover it. They dc.
lude themselves with the notion that
they possess peculiar intelligence, Of
which others are deprived; that they
can do certain things privately, secret
ly, and escape observation. The hyp-
ocrite is especially q character Of this
kind. But he goes further than ordina.
ry men, and endcavors to deceive
the Almighty, or at least strives to
persuade himself into the belief that
deliberate rascality will be overlooked
by the Great Judge of the quick and
the dead, if perpetratcd under the
mask of religion, or with the nominal,
but not real object of promoting the
welfare ofsociety. 1t is amusing some
times to hear individuals address 9th
ers, Us if on some public question, but
with selfishncss SO distinct and palpa-
bic, that it seems like an Insult to at
tempt game Of deception so transpa.
rent. In cases Of this kind, however,
it is the speaker who is deceived, and
not the listener. The former fancics
that his words conceal his thoughts,
when, in fact the mask is so thin that
it is seen through at once. But all are
more or less deceived at times, and per-
haps willingly. 1t is pleasant to in
dulge in an agreeable dclusion, and
therefore we would not have the evil
withdrawn and the reality made bare.
Better, we argue, to live on thus, than
be made miserable by discovering tllc
truth. How many men deceive them
selves in relation to the real nature of
, their pecuniary circumstances? They
persuade themselves that they are
quite rich, when in fact they are the
very reverse. But worse, they live
in conformity with the dcIusi"n, and
thus step by step, involve themselves
in wretchedness and ruin. Occasion
ally glimpse of truth will flash across
their minds, but they will rcpcl it with
o sort Indignation; and by calculating
their effects at twice their real value,
they will make balance sheet Just to
snit their perposes. And when, too,
things can go on no longer, and the av.
alanche OF debt and responsibility
comes rushing down upon them, they
are, or assume to be, overwhelmed
with assonishmcnt, and cannot discov-
er the cause. They had deceived them
selves so long, and with such IN extra
ordinary degree of pertinacity, and
they could scarcely recognise the fact,
even in the hour of adversely. But
there are others again, who are in the
other extreme. They can count their
fortunes by thousands and tens Of thou
sands, have enough and to sbare--yct
they labor under the constant apprchcn-
sion ofwant. Some calamity seems
to impend oAcr them, and thus they
toll on year after year. ever saving
and accumnlating, until at last, re.
morseless Death, as ifimpaticnt for his
prey. strikes them into the grave
sThara ara fnw pf nc ,rh,, do nat ln