The free citizen. (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1874-1876, 1875-10-30

| There is Il second obstacle to this in
stantancous reading OF character, whici
calls for special notice. Not only il
Character Il phenomenon of great com
| plcXi:y, but it is also one in {. High degree
inaccessible. For, in the first place, al
the thoughts and purposes of another
have to be inferred from external signs
and this process, however carefully car
ried on, must always be liable to error
The real uniformitics of connection be.
tween feeling and expression, for exam
pie, can only he known approximately
alter awide and careful comparisonof of in.
'dividual peculiaritics. This reflection
never occurs to the confident connoisscur
of physiognomy, who fondly imagines
| that every moral popularity is distinctly
indicated by some one form Of tticial
structure or movement. In the second
place, it should be remembered that I'LL
LOT us have certain power of dissimula-
ton, and most OF us are accustomed to
! put some kind of watch on our words and
actions. This is especially the case when
we have to confront Il new observer. We
do not care. in most instances. to be
conned too easily by our fellows. Nearly
| everybody is accustomed to some meas
Gre of reticcncc before strangers, while
there are few who, from certain kind
Of pride and force of individuality are
wont even to mislcad casual observers;
| respecting their real aims and sentiments.
Thas it happens that 4 person who is
ready at Il glance to classify any new
variety of character, runs the risk of ac-
ceptlng, as an essential ingredient Of the
phenomenon, something which is wholly
advcntitious. 1t may be said, Of course
That the instances we have selected are
exceptional ones, that the great majority
ct people are both too much alike and
900 transparent in thcirwords andactions
to occasion any serious difficulty to Il
potcr OF mems natures and ways. That
there is Il certain force in this consitlera-
ton may be readily granted. At the
sslmc time, this fact docs not alter the
truth Of our contention, that in every
hasty Judgment of character, there is al
ways III element of risk which iorbids
the process being described as an intui-
Tive one. So, too, we may conccdc that
a certain few possess III indisputablc fac
uity. of quick perception of the complex
IFies OF human character. Yet, when we
come to analyzc this faculty, we find
that it resolves itself into happy skill
In conjecture, which no doubt includes a
certain range of past observation as we'll
;ls q"ickness of imaginative insight into
ether persons feelings, but which, never
ssaSG 'ss1SGf i:teeY always remains Mlat Plato
wholly destitute Of the exact ccrtaiitS tSof
scientific inference. Those who see III
lhis conicctural skill a mysterious power
Of intuition, are dazzlcd by the instances
Of correct prediction which they happen
to have witnessed, and fail to take account
Of the errors to which this process is ccr-
tain to lead.
1t would probably be an interesting in
quiry TO trace out the various impulses Of
human nature. which serve to slstainand
foster this impaticnce in the observation
of others. Some Of the principal influ
cnccs ut work, will readily suggest them
selves to Il thoughtful mind. 1t isobvous
that the mere qualification of pride which
attends all consciousness Of knowledge,
real or imaginary, will not account for the
peculiar force of this tendency. That is
to say though it is true that the motive
ofvanity leads men to imagine that they
are conversant with many matters of
which they are, i'll reality, profoundly ig-
n0rant, it does not explain why they
should be especially liable to assume this
appearance of intelligence with respect to
their fellows. 1t is evident that these
special influences must be looked for in
the peculiaritics Of the relations which
people hold to one another. The follow
ing suggestions may, perhaps, roughly in
dicatc the character of these influences.
First of all, it is manifcstly of practical
Importance TO everybody to gain some
thing like a definite opinion respecting
those whom he has to meet in social inter-
course. If, as some philosophers contend,
the first motive Of all inquiry is the need
of Il definite basis for action, we may un-
derstand how it is that most people are
SO eager to come to decision respecting
the dispositions of their acquaintance.
Nothing is more embarrassing or annoy
ing, for example, to n hospitably-disposed
lady, than to have to do with person
whose tastes and ideas arc shroudcd in
mystery. BY the very painflllncss of the
situation, she is driven to frame some hy-
pothcsis as to the persons real character
however little ground she may have for
plausible conjecture. In this way, people
come to dclmdc themselves that they have
ascertained Il mans real character, when
they have simply been driven by the in
convcniences of conscious ignorance TO
construct purely Hypothetical concep-
tion with regard to the object. Another
influence at work in these cases is form
of the primitive fctishistic impulse TO in
terpret everything outside ones own con-
scious life in terms of the same. The
same tendency which accounts for the
savage projecting his own feelings and in
tcntion into tree or river acc0uns for
people transferring their own modes OF
Thought and sentiment to cvcryncw mind
which come under their notice. 1t is
quite curious to remark the invet-