The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1874-01-13
MliOolebutg 8tgister.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 1874.
Advantages Of Perverseness ana Folly.


Advantages of Peryerseness and Folly.
Whatever may he said of these quail.
ties in the light of morality, or as desir-
able In the formation Of character, they
do undoubtedly procure their possessor
with certain worldly advantages which
cannot lac overlooked. Let one get the
reputation of being a pighcaded unrca-
sonablc, an utterly selfish and deter
mined -rule-or-ruiu sort OF man, and
everybody will pay him Difference He
must be smoothed down, consulted as
To his opinion, pctted and compliments
ed with official relations, and in every
sort of way paciiied and concilated and
led by the mildcst kind of suggestions,
rather than by command or argument.
AS for n person of good sense, nobody
minds him. lie has no petting, or
smoothing down, or efforts bestowed
upon him TO keep him right. 1t is la
ken for granted that he will do right
and act scnsibly without management.
So in the common transactions of life,
the Difference we pay to men often
shows our estimate of their character.
1t is the jibbing horse in the team, The
loose screw in the machine, the weak
link in the chain, that receive our es-
pccial attention. People think ofthcm,
watch them, guard them, favor them.
So with human beings. The amiable
and judicious person can be relied upon
under all circumstances. There is no
danger, or need ofespecial management
with them. But the possible perform
auccS of the pigheadcd fool must be
guarded against. He may take offence
and kicl; in tho t""~~e hN iii"J eNploue
at any moment; he may baulk when
his refusal to draw will damage the en-
tcrprisc. No matter how ill-bred, how
far wrong, how unreasonable he is, you
must Just suffer it ryou must try the
pacific policy and make things straight.
If we so into alteration or difference
with II fool, we are at disadvantage
He has no character for good sense or
good humor, to lose by conspicuous dis
turhancc, The restrictions of dcccncy
Of language do not fcttcr him. We
could not if we would, get up and roar
~ he will and frequently has got up and
roared
so the only way for lis to do when
we know man will below like bull
Is to listen to his opinion and hold our
tomgucs. ii we know ditch to he pes
tiferous when stirred up, our way is
not to stir itup. The only limit TO this
policy j. when it becomes cowardly
and Of questionable morality TO shirl'
the rc=ponsi LiiitA III meeting the follics
uf humanity, face to face, and demol-
ishing them, No shabby cXl odients &c
shirli responsibility should be INDUCED
in. No doubt we shall get soiled and
bruised by the encounter, but we owe
something to tie public good.
These remarks will apply equally &c
newspapers. Some are SO uniformly
goodnatured and straightforward and
sensible that we expect sensible action
oI them rs a matter of course. Other:
are so prone to "cusscdncss" that We
pay them Difference, watch for theil
next contemplate folly, appeal to thoii
good sense for the purposes of tlatlery
and while holding them in contempt
cover them with compliments. Sucl
"ttei'dH"- az I"Iui, CUiupiinIcUtuI
and yet, so far as the world goes, i
amounts to the same thing. Wha
matter how prosperity and success
come, if we only get them, is tn,
thought of many Il man. And we may
fancy that thc folly of some is so grca
and their mental and moral pcrcep
lions 80 obtuse, that they do not them
selves make the distinction between
the complimentary attentions obtained
by their cantankerous idocy, and thos,
which come lcgitimately.