Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-01-02
Tact.
From Harper's Ba1ar.J

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tact than IS q species Of hypocrisy,
and never fail, on opportunity, TO
characterize it as such. But TO the
mind capable Of the least discrimina-
ton the two are as wide apart as are
the North and South Poles. For hy-
pocrisy is the dumb-show Of lying,
but tact is rather a method employed
to avoid lying. Hypocrisy says :
There is no pit here, and skips gay
~ across but tact, saying nothing at
all about the pit cries: "Ah, how
pleasant it is in the other direction /;
let US go that wayl" Hypocrisy new
er hesitates at a lie tact never al
lows occasion for one.
Tact is, in fact, the great lubricator
Of life it oils the machinery, smooths
away trouble, looks far ahead, per-
haps, to see it. But however tact
avoids the necessity of falsehood, it
does not suppress the truth it simply
prevents reference to the facts it has
a sort Of self-respect which does not
blazon its affairs abroad it does not
consider itself as using deceit when
merely keeping its own business in its
own breast.
Tact has, moreover, a way Of sur
mounting difficulties that no other
power has, Hypocrisy, SO to say,
burns its ships behind il; it puts its
back against a lie and fights, but tact
always keeps its retreat open, and al
ways has forces in reserve. Tact sell
dom makes the assault; it never con
quersi it wins without battle. when
we would show any one that ne is mis-
taken Pascal declares, "our best
course is is to observe on what side he
considers the subject--for his view Of
it is generally right on this side-and
admit to him that he is right 50 far.
He will be satisfied with this acknoWl-
edgment that he was not wrong in his
Judgment, but only inadvertent in not
looking at the whole Of the CASE
And tact never had a higher exposi-
ton. Yet tact is as different from
cunning as it is again from falsehood.
Cunning goes about seeking devious
ways; it feeds on itself; it becomes a
disease il deceiVes itself and debases
itselfall the time that tact is moving
on %serenely in a loftier atmosphere
l%oftier, at any rate, since tact is at
least the child of intellect, while cum
ming is often the offspring of mere
idiocy.
There is nothing more useful in a
family, as a cushion to every fall, a
buffer to every blow, than this agree
able tact it always knows the right
thing to say, the exact thing to do it
knows how to lift the pleasant hand at
the very moment for smoothing rufled
plumage; it knows on debatable ques-
tlons how to put others into such coed
humor that it can carry its point it
turns conversation from dangerous
approaches it never sees what is best
unseen; it does not answer to that
which requires a scathing reply if
heard at all it remembers names and
faces; 1t has the apropos anecdote: if
it does not go out Of the way to hatter.
neither does it 60 out Of the way to
blame where it cannot praise it is
silent, and it never consents to mortify
any.
Thus tact, it would appear, is a spe-
cies of kindness, a dislike to wound al
well as a desire to give pleasure; per
haps also a species of selfshness in ia,
automatic shrinking from crying.
quarr6ling and discomfort Of any
kind.
Once in a while, when some great
blunder is made that no tact eyer
quite repairs, we are led to wonder
what the world would be without it.
Somebody once said that without hope
the world would be nausht. for, des-
tltute of that, we shonla noe perform
the simplest operations of life; we
should not 60 out of the door lest we
should fall down; we should not lift
our hand to our head lest it should
remain there. Quite so badly of
should we be without fact ali the
flavor of life would be crude as some
undisguised acid; there would be a
perpetual recoil among the atoms of
family and social life as of oil and
water every roughness would rasp,
every sharp thing would hit and hurt;
peace, harmony and enjoyment would
be things of no existence. Certainly
it must be conceded that tact is to our
nerves what benefcence is to our NOR
ais. 1t is, moreover, a thing easily
cultivated its presence is one of the
sure signs of gentle breeding and its
absence always leads us to believe
people sprung from clowns for, save
for the awkward exceptions always
acknowledged to prove the rule.
where people of culture and of gentle
bahavior are to be found, there is
tact to be found with them.