The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-10-10
OFFENSIVE PEOPLE.

There is world of difference between a
good man and a good fellow. good man
we'll, he is nothing but good man, while
good fellow may be almost anything. be may
be picturesquely bad; be may swear IN
hearty, od-natured, inoffensive way; ne may
neglect to pay his honest debts; ne may DC
amiablv loose in the finer moralities; he may
have q spree occasionally; but he remains
through it all a good fellow. Of course, he is
good fellow. Isn't he jolly? Isn't he free
with all the money he can either earn or
borrow? Do not the women take to MIN In
wonderful way? There's certain dash OF
sin or weakness in him which gives him q
human flavor.
Tne good man, on the contrary, is not only
uninteresting, but he is absolutely offensive:
Of course good man is "white- FLOODED;
He has no temptations, otherwise be would
not be good He pays his debs; he never
gets drunk; he obeys the golden rule; ne does
not covet his neighbours wife; and he goes
about Haunting his disgusting Projections in
the face of world that knows itself to be not
80 good. or course, he INDUCES himself IN
some private vice in compensation for his vol
untary deprivations. Of course he does; but
good man is offensive whether we suspect
him of being hypocrite or not A man who
is GOOD is not man at all He might as we'll
be q piece of putty. His purity is incapacity;
his honesty is simplicity; his sobriety is econ
omy; his equanimity is lack OF spirit Away
with him What stupid, wretched world
this would be if it we're filled entirely with
good men What right has man to be bet
tar than his neighbors? Such airs
There is another class of men who are very
offensive-na the successful. What
greater insult can be offered to the world OF
Unsuccessful men than to succeed, Sin their
very faces and eyes" in field in which they
have miserably failed? There is an idea
abroad that it is good thing to succeed-to
succeed in winning money IN legitimate
way in achieving q good reputation, in &C..
ouiring social distinction. This is grand
mistake. To succeed is to make ones self
offensive to nine peole out OF every ten IN
the community. A man has only to rise, to
| or beneath MIN. We can conceive Of nothing
| more offensive to the average nina IMAM
personal success.
Why. a successful man is brighter than we
are or he has comprised his success in some
illegitimate way! What right had he to sue
coed where we failed? His success is re-
proach to us. Therefore let US cheaper him
and his success in all possible ways. Let us
demean and dirty ourselves to any extent to
accomplish this end. Let US charge him
with sordidness, meanness, trickery-any
thing to punish him for leaving the fraternity
of disappointment and misfortune. And II
misfortune should ever come to hlm-but
that is too sweet to think of The ease with
which we reconcile ourselves to the misfor.
tunes of others affords US one Of the proudes'
aspects of human nature. We are SO friendly
| to the fallen And we knew he would bs
obliged to come down!
! If to be a good man and successful man
is offensive to the world at large, to be praised
| is exasperating. No greater unkindness can
be done to any man than to praise him much
People generally will stand moderate com
pliment paid to neighbor, while they are left
to qualify it, or to admit it as matter o.
generosity or courtesy but praise persisted
| in will ruin the reputation OF anybody. There
is nothing more offensive to the average
buman being than persistent laudation be-
slowed upon another. To hear man warmly
praised is sufficient usually to make us hate
| him. Praise is one of the articles we would
like to have distributed little-not that w
want it, but the object of it is not the best
| man-if we know ourselves.
Virtue is good thing. temperance IS gooo
thing. genius is not bad thing altogether
Int no man is to be mentioned SO many al
ten times as having either Of them in posses
sion without making his name stencil ano
an effsnse to the nostrils of sensitive world
| The true way OF getting along wen III w
world is not to make ones self offensive tt
ones friends by excellence OF character ant
habits of life, by success, or by doing any
thing praiseworthy. Let us strike the aver
age as nearly as possible. Let us be good fel
lows rather than good men, and choke the frs
man who dares to ascribe to us single virtue
Let us all keep down and out Of sight. AL
that we do for ourselves, and all that we d.
for mankind, only feeds hell with slanderers
and SO betrsys the baseness of human mature
that we may we'll blush to think that we are
members of the human race.--Scribner.