The Osceola times., 1878-03-23
Concerning Dull People.

A dull man can make very little of
himself his acquaintances can make OF
him what they like; and to be discreotly
dull is to meet 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, deIcscy, worldly knowledge, intel.
lect, sagacity, discrimination, Difference,
modesty, and sundry other nice, desirable
qualities. Who are the best liked, the
most praised, the greatest favoritel in
general society? The famous, the gifted,
self.sacrifcing, the learned, the brilliant 2
Not they. The famous ate envied the
gifted are criticised; the selfsacrifcing are
misjudged; the learned are pronounced
wearisome the brilliant excite opposi-
ton. As 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 wearisome !;
they are not opposed. Like neutral tints,
they wear well because they are incon-
spicuous, and for the same reason they
are restful. They fit into other and very
different natures they soften asperities
by diffusing spirit of commonplace,
which is believed to be a compound OF
gen,leness and harmony; they keep down
intensity and aggression by giving these
nothing to act upon, by negatively de.
stroying their motive for exercise. Hav-
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 discre-
tion, 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 not a few of the dullest- can
not find fault with those they consider
less clever, because to these they
eve both their eminence and reputa-
tion. Indeed, the clever rarely offer
any open objection to the dull. They
may have lofty sort of pity for them !;
but they are apt to be patient and char.
table with them, from the absence of any
feeling OF jealosy or rivaly. and from u
secret consciousness that the dull are
their desirable fois
Our inextinguishable self-love, oar
| tirrepressible egotism, prevents any and
every one OF us from thinking that we
are, or can be, dull We may not sup.
pose ourselves 10 be brilliant or clever
exactly; but we are pretty certain to
hold the opinion that dullness OF
any kind does not belong 10 ns,
and Ia be comforted az to our per
sonality by some reason, theory, or
| illusion evolved from within. But
the recognition of dullness as social
agent and really benes scient principle
has tendency to render us tolerant and
catholic, and without tolerance and
catholicism, society, Notwithstanding
pretensions, can never be what 1t should
Such. recognition, too, prevents us from
inordinate ambition, from feverish desire
TO scintillate, from over-indulgepce o.
egotism, in society, which are so often it,
bane. Remembering that the dull have
their place, and serve their purpose, W,
can more easily practice the self-Testrain
and moderation which social duty should
enioin. Daving, with such remem
brance, less fear OF being regarded dull our
selves, we shall be more apt to cultivat,
the repose in which our society is oftel
40 sadly deficient New York Times.