, 1870-04-10
SHYNESS.

From Ns Lnndon Spectator.
Tho new volume OF Ar. Emersons essay:
| opens with one exceedingly characteristic o1
| that subtle and acute interpreter of nature
/ wbose principal f1nIt it Is tlat he mlke2 it a
sort Of religion (pe1hAps for want Of what otll-
IN natural facts even where he has not been
allie truly 10 discover once. Thus be gives us
here rationale Of ehyuess which strikes Us az
in tha highest degree Questionable. It follows
| avery g1aphic and humorous account OF h1-
mo1ist he once knew, who might, in most Of
Lis characteristics 1t least, stand for Nathaniel
| Hawthotne,-who declared that ho could not
| get enough alone to write letter to friend
- Ho lelt The city, proceeds VI: Emerson.
He hid himself in Pastures. Tho solitary
r,oon put him out. wLea ho bought
"a house the first thing he did Was
+ TO-. plant trees- He could not enough
conceal hinEe1f. Set hedge here; set oaks
there; tees behind trses; above al, set evas-
greens, for they will keep secret al the year
tounl. Tho most agreeable compliment you
could pay him was to imply that You had not
! observed linn in 14ouse or street where you
Lad nid1 hin- Whilst le Suffered at being seen
twhe1a he was, he consolad himself tcith o4e DE-
| heious thought Of he incone. irooh nu,a2<1 Of
places .ltsve ha tcas not" We may sAfaly as
:..consolasiou suggested by tho huznoEss GIr.
Emerson, or his Hcnd y to tho consciousness
Of the Sly luan. snd TO natural alienation Of
tho sgon:es Of shyness- "Ho would hAve
given his soul" proceeds Nj. Emerson, "for
De 1ing Of G5ge5: His disn.y T. his !misibility ii
tlink, he tai4x : am IN such great terror OF
being shot1 Who AN only waiting to
SHUTTLE on. my corpozeal taches, to slip
away into the back stars aud put diane
e,,;.. ts5s os The ths solar system md sidsreal
weA5 out ages in solitude, and forget memory
Itself, il be pussiLlet ue la1 4 remorse
INNING a to dsspais Of Lis socid saucheFies,
ngs out Of Lis f.ce, uas starts and shzugs out
Of Lis a1ns Aul shoulders. He admired in
Newton not ~ much his theory Of thu moon
IS Lis letter to Collins, in which ho forbade
him 10 ilse1t his naIao with the solution Of
the problem in tho Philosophical Iransa.-
TONS 1t would, perhaps, increase my ac-
quaintance,-the thing Which chiefly study to
decline And now for Ms. Emerson's rd-
tic.ae Of This horror and agony Of obsorva-
tion,-of this lust Of privacy. Ha interprets
il as tie effort Of nature 70 keep genius Mss!f,
| tytannicaI world. " Each must stand On his
gls=s tripod" be says, Il he would keep his
electricity" "DcAr heart! take it sadly home
to tlee," lie s1ies again, With Just touch Of
| aflectaGon, "there IL no corporation
l VIC ait aud muse and &re saEene md complete !;
but tie momeGt We meet with snybo1y, eacL
Now, surely alr. Emersoa las confounded
two utterly different things when ha describes
Tie symptoms and when lie gives his intcIpre-
tktion- What he describes 80 finely il shyuess
which hs does not interpret What bis IN
te1prets is the capillary repu1aon. go to speak,
! Ct genius for al menacing and alnyiug suG-
s.aIces, Which be hardly describes THAI there
l. lis instinct in geuius to possess itA own soul
society to break il III to the suko Of orlinasy
conventionalisu, ~ absolutely true. Dut III
tie most remarkable instances it has been true
u men who were never in their lives troubled
| with ehyneas. Goethe, fo7 instance, was the
4 itast Ely Of mankind Yet lie waA Always
| jtaloualy guarding himself from the alien in-
duences, The intellectual aggressivcness, Of his
aLlest companions. aud striving 10 restore bis
tlus self in solitude Or such society as WAS par-
fectly plastic to his influence 1twas the same
with Nortswo1th5 With Shelley, with plenty OF
felt that they had deposit to guard which too
much contact with the common air would oxi-
| die. would rust, and turn into something far
lees bright And valuable. But ali this jealousy
Of alien int'utt.css is net ahJness, and Las
LArtlly my tue connection with Hlat horror Of
msre observation which often affects the least
remarkable intelleets quite as powerfully as
the most remarkable, which often attacks tie
minds which would 10 simply improved bS
even rough friction with the world, ~ much as
the minds which would lore III the delicate
or course, genius may have boE these qua1i-
tiee-Loth the instructive dFesd Of allen intlu-
cnce Which belongs to all scn.it;ve genius, and
the instructive dread Of mere eyes, the liains;;
HaN tho1uc had toth feelings, CoWper had
both; ard, when they exist together, it il
no doubt impossible accurately TO dis
c,smintte them. But the two arc essentially
distinct, and the Interpretation which Nj. En-
ersou has giYen Of the one docs not in the
I 1hhE 1t,t,11 ~, tf,R ffnr hn FR4fYn
AWAY 10 "tAe back At&ra," anil tLnre haE1icado
yourself with worlds agnlnst tho myri7d eyes
Of the universe, Is not in any scnsc, We i'm
agins, due To the rebellion OF genius aGains'
conventional influences, though that Of courst
must iicreaAe It, but Ia attributable to thai
| morbid self-contciousuesso OF dehrienciea which
ANYTHING like the appearance OF observation
from without stimulates into Intense activity
shynese comes Of mitTols,-1noral or physical
3IF. Eneson's friend who felt rento1se Tor his
eauche1ies, aud walked miles to get the
tuitxhings out OF his arms, was tho victiLs Of
both moral aud physical loolinE-glass n
There are many men and women who are Il
ways weighing themselves and faling them
at al is upon tlsm, cannot refrait
from weighing themselves again viii
critcisms OF the owner Of tLis particular eye
aud 20 their mind ID thrown into tumultuaut
vibrations fatal 70 their peace. Now, it ID Oh
Yions that this sort OF temperament, thousl
it nsy in 1olne sense he \ sensitive one, IL no
in the least necessarily connected with pecnlia
!. power Of any Kind. And may be commonplace
In The last degree. To interpret it = IL
i anxiety Of natuSe to protect her most individ
u1l creations. il Like saying that the creminac
| which makes some women scream at spldc
) IL special provision for their protection
: sgAinst that most lnoffensive OF insects. IL
ctJ,tional cases like H4wthorne's and Cowpcrs
! sLynees frequently exists in the highest intcu
| si,y III those natures when there is the least @
individual lie to preserve. The mere presenc
, Of real creative power tends, so far % il eoef
! to diminish the intensity Of passive self-con
sciouea aces. 70 bc.sas into self-iassctfuluea. t
blind to that purely imaginary gaze from wsi..
, sls mind slirinks. 1t is only In Those whoa
in1s lit rarely 1uhnls lh.s aR n.9 ,.fa fa S enefS
strongest form. Ii il tue Tia. men Of gcnir
arc very often indeed. esreeially in our nlulez
t,;,ys. ncn OF q double nature. One eide
, Goetics mind, the lard side, was almo
I always watching tie soft: in,pzessiona2le side
: aLl the same is tue Of Ihacl4era<, anl Geo.5
! Eliot, and Miss Eronte. and a host Of modes
! a1tiets- Still, uont Of these are capable Of nr
|, slcll high intensity Of tue feeling as Mr.. Enc
C Sen describes Their own genius is too etron
j: for it. They identify ti4enselscs 50 closcl
j the nature observed, that the resulting fce1z
!. is hardly 10 much that Of Increased scnsitis
. ness to observation, a. OF incrcaned power I
a observation. It almost takes person who
= denied the resource Of any euch faculty
Is this, to be, in the most painful sensc OF I!
j word, 'sshy." Yen must be {ar more ecoascio'
. OF yourself thAn OF the power to observe you
i self in fact. perceptivenees must ho utter
ecconlaly to eensitiyeness.-in other word
~ eenirs rust BE- quite secondary 10 tho diseo!
q, forts Of fee1ine.-ln order to ElEe that word
es fullest rneAuiue..
n Mr.. EEer-on having missed. as VT belle,
10 the eeeence Vi tAs nalaty has, Of cours
t, missed the esse1ne OF the remedy for shynes
0, and ouly suggests that true eociety, tile 80
81 ETY. in which yea can feel your inner nature,
1t ! some extent, kindlcd into vividntes,-is I
70 proper balance for the natural lave Of solitu
ts proper to all tine genius, But il is NOT I
men OF genius-who have plenty of resou1
d. III tbemselvea-who most need . remedy
ii tllis terrible n12lAdy. 1t Is those vim have
~ such genius, who are afflicted With the g
iL eciousness Of having Ill the eyes OF th
is, World glazing f1edly upon them without !
re distraction due to tbs exercise Of N or7e7
us fAculty OF their cwp, who stand IN real NJ
~ uf good counsel aud way OF cscspe. And
ID item We would Say that far the best and
ole easiest eaeape for SHY men or women lh
he | make rush into the euemrs country. And
he v.r attention from themselves bF showing
r. good purpose that they have been etndS
il some one elss. There is nothing which u
ID much Observed u apparent silence sao 9
lat cence. BE full Of interest IN otneff, OF ~
le, ever Kind And you are a. much nidden Is
Sd cutt1s-6ah in Tho inlv 1uid It e1peis- In 20
I'd Of fact eh1ness creates what itfeats Eve Eye
It'll tody attends to "il.nt .nd .ah-ensfossii 81
led IN INFESTED possibility, an unknown mo
I'D a1antity-with which no one likes to assoca,
:rie But then tho vo11d is TeE easily IA
Ieu led even Nth An oppeoraace Of overflow
II viii estimate al1noet Inyoae u monei
md notice, And soon losea al curiosity Aboat II
ter wto openly express curiosity about oths
~ there Is no ine;Sni.o in the world 80 effect
nd | as little 3elle1pressed interest IN othe
the PEOPLE take their eyes on you directly
Be- have spoken the hind Of Thing thez e1Pccsct