The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1874-02-15

ulOW DO hdho do uo CouiuS u0 COulu uOU uO
much. The man drew his clock round
hiSa more and more tight he would not
let it be torn from him. So at last the
North Wind gave up the tug, and called
on the san to see what he could do.-The
Sun shone out with all its warmth. The
man could not we'll bear the heat he soon
grew 80 warm that he had to take off his
cloak and so the Sun became the winner
in the trial.
Love has more strength than hate.
When Iago assures the unsuspecting
Othello that
name in man and %o%sn dear my lord
Who steals my purse steals trash; tits something
Twas mine It's his. and has been slave to thousands
Ros me t1as has fe% %
And makes me poor indeed -
there is always an outburst of applause
from the sentimental gods of the
gallery. 1t is sort of philosophy good
many of US are fond of declaiming about,
but it is philosophy that people every
We guard the crash" Which iago so eio-
quently scorns with all the devices in our
power. We fortify it with bar and bolt,
we discipline police to watch over it,
we Impose terrible penalties upon those
who break in and despoil us of it.
But tho "good name" which IaGo tells
ub Is 80 pfcC1ou6s odu "ulCA WHO 0ddISoAos
by their appfuding responses, would have
us believe, thisk SO too, is pretty nearly
the most loosely guarded OF all our pos
sessions. Not that men an women, as .
rule, do not endeavor to 30 condact them
selves as to escape accusation and calum-
ny bnt while the thief who captures our
purse is rigidly punished, the hbeler who
makes free of our good name is scarcely
censured. Perhaps it would be moro ac-
curate to say that, while We do set q high
value upon our own personal repute, yet
our general cations are SO loose in the
matter that we are always ready to con-
done the faults Of men who make way with
other peoples regulations. A good zeal
GUS libeler, one who has lively invention,
and is felictous in discovering the vulner-
able flaws in our neighbours character, is
as sure to meet our appreciation as the
fellow who robs those same neighbors of
their "trash" is certain to meet with our
condem nation.
But the evil and the vice of scandal, in
its ordinary form, have long been topics
for the moralists, and it is not our purpose
to repeat their lessons here. There is a
form, however, of robbing people of their
good name which we wish to consider
briefly and, although the good name we
have in view is professional rather than
personal, it is only a degree less valuable
to the owner than reputation for integrity.
A worker in any branch of effort is Gu
titled to honest and fair judgment upon
his performance. He has as much right to
demand accuracy of statement in that
which intimately affects his professional
success as in that which affects his reputa-
ton for morals. The libeler who undoes
character may sometimes be legally reach
ed and punished-although such result
does not occur in more than one instance
in ten thousand-but the unfair judgment
that destroys professional reputation is
Ill 80 n1fn n
posed that the person most concerned has
| any rights in the matter whatever.
That man may not have what opinion
he pleases upon any topic, or in regard to
any subject, no matter what his facilities
for forming correct opinion have been,
simply absurd. The oh-hand way in
which critic will pronounce a book trash,
even when the book in question is a per
Torrance that involved care and study or
picture good for nothing, even when it
exhibits no little power and skill-is
something surprising that is, surprising
| to few the many think that everybody
has right to sit in judgment upon every
thing under heaven, by virtue of free
license granted him as necessary corol-
larry of existence.
81 have a right to my opinions" cay
all these people, and indeed SO says almost
everybody. Now, we assert that this is
true only under limitations. No one has
right to wrong opinion. "But who,"
it is hastily asked sis to decide when OPP
iniona are wrong 2" 1t is not necessary
that there should exist tribunal to decide
issues, in order to establish a principle of
right and wrong in those issues. Has a
man a right to any opinion whatever 7
Then be has right to say that, in his OPP
inion, black is white Do yon call this an
absurd illustration 1t is not an absurd
illustration it is only an extreme one--it
is remote, but it is nevertheless legiti-
mate logical outcome of the proposition
that a man has an unqualified right to
every opinion that he may think proper to
entertain. He has right only to honest
opinions. His opinion may be wrong-in
many things it is impossible to determine
tLis-but, in all cases, he is morally bound
to take proper pains to be right in that OPP
inion. We deny that man without n
knowledge Of an art has right to give an
opinion upon a production in that art.
We deny even that u man having know
ledge of an art has right to give an opin.
ion upon any special production without
having first inpartially and fairly atudied
1t, mastered the motive of the artist, and