The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1878-03-28
Concerning Dull People.

A dull man can make very little OF
himself; his acquaintances can make OF
him what they like; and to he discrectIy
dull is to meet a large portion of the
SOC al requirements. Very few have any
notion of the extent to which discreet
dulness is employed in society. 1t is
never so called, but passes current As
tact, deicacy, worldly knowledge, intel
lect, sagacity, discrimination, Difference,
modesty, and sundry other nice. desirable
qualities. Who are the best liked, the
most praised, the greatest favoritej in
general society? The famous, the gifted,
sell.sacriiicing, the learned, the brilliant? ?
Not they. The famous arc envied the
gifted are criticised the elfsacrilicingare
misiudged; the learned are pronounced
wearisome the brilliant excite oppOsi-
ton. AS a rule, it is the discreetly dull
who carry off and wear the social lau
els They are not envied or criticised or
misjudged; they are not wearlsome;
they are not opposed. Like neutral tints,
thev wear well because they are incon-
spicuous, and for the same reason they
are restlul. They fit into other and very
different natures; they soften asperities
by dihusing a spirit of commonplace,
which is believed to be a compound OF
gentleness and harmony; they keep down
Intensity and aggression by giving these
nothing to act upon, by negatively de.
stroying their motive for exercise. Hay
ing no individuality of their own
they are apt to restrain in Others
the individuality which by active
assertion hurts the symmetry and
conformity essential to well.regulated
circles.
Even when dullness is without disere-
ton, il is valued and valuable part OF
society. The majority of persons must
be dull by the economy of nature. Dull
ness is to society what background is to
a picture; paradoxical as it may seem,
it imparts tone and character for the
whole sets off the figures, necessarily
few, occupying the foreground, and
shows them to advantage. Consequently
people who count themselves clever
among these are inevitably many of the
dull. and rot few of the dullest- car
not find fault with those they consider
less clever, because to these they
owe both their eminence and reputa
ton. Indeed, the clever rarely offe
any open objection to the dull. Tue.
may have a lofty sort of pity for them
but they are apt to be patient and CHAR
table with them, from the absence of an
feeling OF jealosy or rivaly. and from
secret consciousness that the dull ar
their desirable ioils
, Our inextinguishsble self.love, on
irrepressible egotism, prevents any an
every one of us IRON thinking that W
are, or can be, dull. We may not SUI
pose ourselves TO be brilliant or clevt
exactly; but We are pretty certain
hold the opinion that dullness 4,
anv kind does not belong to u
and to be comiorted as to our pc
sonality by some reason, theory, {
Illusion evolved from within. Bt
the recognition of dullness as soci
! agent and really benef cent princip
has tendency to render us tolerant an
catholic, and without tolerance al
,, catholicism, society, notwithstandir
; pretensions, can never be what it shoul
, Such recognition, too, prevents us fro
/. inordinate ambition, from feverish desi
n to scintillate, from Over,indulgeDce
n egotism, in society, which are so often
E bane. Remembering that the dull ha
= their place, and serve their purpose, '
q can more easily practice the self-restra
and moderation which social duty shou
enjoin. Baving, with such remer
brance, less fear OF being regarded dull on
q selves, we shall be more apt. to caltiva
! . the repose in which our society Is Oft
J. ~ sadly deficient. New York Times.