The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1873-08-07
Guidance for Conduct.

private and public, could be had and
that moral code, nationally elaborated
by men as they now are, would be duly
operative upon them. Neither of these
propositions commends itself when we
come to examine the evidence. We
have but to observe human action as it
meets us at every turn, to see that the
average intelligence, incapable of
guiding conduct even in simple matters,
where but a very moderate reach of rea-
son would suffice, must fail In appre-
hending with due clearness the natural
sanctions of etical principles. The I'M
thinking inoptitude with which even the
routine of life is carried on by the mass
of men, shows clearly that they have
nothing like the insight required for
self-guidance in the absence of an au-
thoritative code of conduct. Take a
days experience, and observe the lack
of thought indicated from hour to
hour.
You rise in the morning, and, while
dressing, take up phial containing a
tonic, of which a little has been pre-
scribed for you; but, after the first few
drops have been counted, succeeding
drops run down the side of the phial
all because the lip is shaped without re-
gard to the requirement. Yet millions
of such pitfalls are annually made by
glass-makers, and sent out by thousands
of druggists so small being the
amount of sense brought to bear on
business. Now, turning to the look
ing-glass, you find that, if not of the
the best make, it fails to preserve the
attitude in which you put it or, if
what is called "box" looking-glass.
You see that the maintenance of its DO
sition is insured by an expensive appli-
ance that would have been superhuous
had little reason been used. Were
the adjustment such that the centre of
gravity of the glass came in the line
joining the points of support (Which
would be quite as easy an Adjustment,
the glass would remain steady in what
ever attitude you gave it. Yet year af-
ter year tens of thousands of looking
glasses are made without regard to so
simple a need. Presently you go down
to breakfast, and, taking some Harvey
or other sauce with your fish, find the
bottle has defect like that which you
found in the phial it is sticky from
the drops which trinlde down, and oc-
casionally stain the table-cloth. Here
are other groups of traders, similarly
so economical of thought that they do
nothing to rectify this obvious incon-
venience. Having breal1fasted, YOU
take up the paper, and, before sitting
down, wish to put some coal on fire.
But the lump You seize with the tongs
slips out of them, and, if large, You
make several attempts before you sue
coed in lifting all because the ends of
the tongs are smooth. Makers and
vendors of fire-irons go on, generation
after generation, without meeting this
evil by the simple remedy of giving to
these smooth ends some projecting
points, or even roughening them by a
few burrs with a chiseI. Having at
length grasped the lump and put it on
the fire, you begin TO read but, before
you have got through the first column,
you are reminded, by the changes Of
position which your sensations prompt
that men still fail to make easy-chairs
And yet the guiding principle is simpl,
enough. Just that advantage secured
by using a soft seat in place of a hard
one the advantage, namely of spread
ing over a large area the pressure of the
weight to be borne, and so making tn,
pressure less intense at any one point
is an advantage TO be sought in the form
of the chair. Ease is TO be gained b,
making the shapes and relative inclina
tions of seat and back such as will even
ly distribute the weight of the trunl
and limbs over the widest possible sup
porting surface, and with the leas
straining of the parts OF. their natura
attitude. And yet only now, afte
these thousand Of years Of civilization
are there being reached, and that no
nationally but empirically approxima
tions to the structure required.
e@NNA w AAAR Ga H1AANAANtn OA AllG ITS
hour; and Sc they continue all the da,
through. If you watch and criticise
you may see that the immense maiorit
bring to bear, even on those action
which IL is the business of their live
to carry on effeetually, an extremel.
small amount of faculty. Get n work
man 70 do something for you that /
more or less new, and not the cleares
explanations and sketches will proven
him from laundering; and, to any eS
preston of surprise, he will reply tina
he was not brought up TO it; scarcel
ever betraying the slightest shame il
confessing that he cannot do a thing h
was not taught to do. Similarl
throughout the higher grades of activi
ty. Remember how generally improve
ments in manufactures come from out
siders, and you are at once shown wit
what mere unintelligent routine manu-
features are commonly carried on. E1
anime into the management of mercan
tile concerns, and you perceive tina
those engaged in them mostly do moth
ing more than move in the ruts tina
have gradually been made for them b
the process of trial and error during
long SUGGESTIONS of generations. II
deed, il almost seems as though mos
men made 1t their aim to get throug
life with the least possible expenditur
of thought.
How, then, can there be looked fo
such power of self-guidance as, in tn
absence Of inherited authoritative rules
would require them to understand why
in the nature of things, these mode
beneficial, would require them to pas
beyond proxinate results, and see cleal
ly the involved resuls'as worked out o
self, on others, and on society,"
The incaPacity need not, indeed, d
inferred; it may be seen, if we bu
take an action concerning which til
sanctifed code is silent. Listen to