The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-09-17
SCRUPLES.
From The Saturday Reviex.

FROM Inc saturday REVIEW.
There are some things of which we
should have neither too much nor too
little and among these are scruples.
INSCRIPTIONS is term of just reproach;
the INSCRIPTIONS man is dangerous in
whatever capacity we have to deal with
him, but the man of scruples is net
therefore desirable as such. He may
be eligible and deserving, but we should
like him better without his scruples, for
nothing is a graver barrier in social mat
tiers than obtrusive scruples which we
do not share. Scruples are essentially
private things; when two people agree
together in an objection of an opinion,
we view it in another light, and prob
ably call it something else. Scruples
represent private judgment exercising
itself in small matters that 10, they APP
pear small to common sense or to prev
alent public opinion, though they are
large and predominant to the scrupu-
lous mind. Not that scruples are indie
pendent of the prevailing tone of thought
in the world, but they are the means by
which some persons take their share in
it, and they constitute the originality of
a certain class of intellect-they furnish
an opportunity for that self-assertion
which IS a natural object with thinkers
of every class and grade.
OF course virtue has scruples. The
minuter duties of morality have, we
may say, an equal obligation with the
weightIer matters of the law; but in
one case public opinion is accepted as
exponent and interpreter, while the
scrupulous conscience owns no law but
itself, and sees no further than the let
ter. Honesty of the straightforward
social sort agrees that it is a sin to steal
a pin, but it does as it would be done
by; and, holding itself justified by tho
general usage, it takes the pin on an
emergency and does not call it stealing
The scrupulous person goes pinless at
the cost of being less competent and
efficient member of the body polite,
but is not the less confident and salts
fed. The scruples which fairly hear
the character of scrupulosity are those
which warp the Judgment and obscure
the perception of the relative import
ance of things. The man who is gov
ernt by them may be a guide to him
self, hut he is no guide for others; his
conscience and his reason are not on
sufficiently good terms. And it may be
observed that nobody can be scrupulous
all round; a pet scruple often makes q
clean sweep of collateral obligations.
The scrUpulous temper is liable to large
and eccentric omission where the con-
science is off its guard. People can not
act as members of a family or a COM
munity whose notions of private duty
cover all their view and engross their
attention.
We live in this world in many capae-
tiles, all imposing moral duties, of which
common sense has to adjust the claims
where they seem conflicting; but COM
mon sense, even candid and unselfish
common sense, is despised and abhorred
10y the mind possessed by a scruple, or
regulating itself by code of scruples
The duties that can not be Teconciled,
or will not fit in, are set aside-o7er-
looked as not of obligation. We know
of clergyman who had scruple against
reading any of the words in italics
which occurred in the lessons for the
day. He simply passed them over as
not dictated by inspiration. 1t was in
to him that he made nonsense
of the Word of God, which it was his
office to set forth he saw one side of |
his duty SO very plainly that he saw |
nothing else, and we need not say was |
utterly unpersuadable. Nor need |
scruples be of this absurd type to show |
an equal want of grasp of the leading |
idea, 1t would appear that the capac- |
ity for a large general view is never
found in conjunction with this micro |
scopic activity of conscience. All |
are conscientious, and carry |
with them a sort of religious obligation. |
But it depends on the character how
deep this goes. Many people scruple
to play a rubber who will plunge into
reckless speculation without a twinge.
1t was q conscientious scruple which |
Pepys, on receiving letter and
money in it, to empty the
letter before he read it, "that 1 might
say 1 saw no money in the paper" and
his is only a type of the action of a
great many scrupulous persons, who
lesire TO profit by the consequences of
certain course of action without incur
ing the responsibility of it. And,
hort of this, scruples constantly stand
n the way of an honest perception of
light by stopping at the letter. A mind
.iven to small scruples has the judg-
nent in leading strings, and often misses
he flash of truth amid the minute ques-
ions which occupy it. Perhaps the
lost com on form of hypocrisy is this
But, on the other hand, it is no easy
natter to settle what are scruples-that
J, conscientious demuTs about small
hings. What were treated as such at
ne time are afterwards discovered to
g broal principles. Reformers are
harged with scruples and unnecessary
icetles, but the scrupulous temper
hich fastens naturally on minutie is
OF the reforming temper. The so-calle1 {