The National tribune., 1881-08-20
4 NATURE,
MAN

MAN #.FLFEsH Il NATURE
! Man is gre arl al SO Is the wolf. 1t
is natural fC a. t..lsr to cOngregate in COM
munitieS as it ter to herd in packs.
\ man debarre, ct 81 assoGia iation with his fellow
beings is miSer, 9l wolf that has strayed
away or bec0m, ser rated from its mates never
ceases to lame 9.. fact until reunion
takes place or sth g.- L to end the misery of
enforced loneli1 ess
Besides this rs for npaniOnship, there is
another strong 't... mblance between the
two species of b. ..u which is far from be-
ing creditable t. me nobler kind. Speaking gen.
orally, it seems to be equally part of the nature
OF each for the strong to prey upon the weak and
unfortunate.
Travellers tell us that upon the steppes of Rus
sia, where the wolves are tiercest and most plen-
titul the manned and feeble are eaten by their
stronger companions; and that when the way
tlrer is attacked by the ravenous beasts, and sue
ceeds in killing or wounding one, the others cease
the main pursuit long enough to devOur the car
caSs and pick clean the bones of the victim; and,
if by chance the crippled animal breaks away
from the pack, it is followed hunted down, and
finally dispatched like any alien foe would be if
Sltudteu <tlu 50 III lS HOt,
however, to the extent of cannibalism, or the
taking of life, except in figurative sense. So
long as an individual is strong and capable of car
ing for and defending himself he will be treated
with due respect by his associates. If he has an
intellect beyond the average, they will admire.
If he has wealth, they will bow and submit. If
he has position and power they will cringe be-
fore him. but let either of these, whichever gives
him temporary superiority, fail him Then,
though he were once king among them, the
whole ignoble crowd Of worshippers Immediately
forsake him, or, rather, turn upon to tear him in
pieces. They may have received a multitude of
benefactions at his hands; they may have been
lifted upon the shoulders of his greatness out of
the very gutter of existence, and be indebted to
his former kindnesses for everything that has
helped them upward in the social scale, but yet
let the scent of a scandal misfortune connected
with his name reach them, and, like the wolf,
they turn upon him, thirsting, not for his blood,
but for that which is far dearer to him, his fair
reputation before the world.
Such instances are of every day occurrence.
Whether the victim be man woman it is all
the same. Scandal and falsehood, sad as the truth
may appear, are, by a considerable portion of So
ciety, more readily accepted and believed than
the truth itself. And when the breath of suspi-
cion has aroused the slumbering curiosity or de-
PRAYED natures of the common herd, all start in
pursuit of the game regardless of every feeling
humanity in the premises, and cease not in theiJ
brutal undertaking until the quarry has been run
to earth.
1t is true there are noble exceptions to be found
in this as in all other cases involving the welfare
of man or woman; but the rule when applied to
all classes of society in general holds good Some
who circulate slanderOus tales or false reports
may intend no ha aE OF even realize that
they are injuring p.e, of their gossip and
falsehoods, but a the same; and they
are if held to St. --eu ability none the less
guilty because they sin unconsciously.
So long as society is thus constituted disposed
to believe the worst that can be said of fellow
creature rather than the best-no mans or wom-
ans reputation is safe. Jealousy, hatred, malice
any one of the internal passions that find lOdg-
ment in the human breast-may set the whole
wolfish pack of base natures on the track of the
most exalted, the purest and best among us; and
when the cry has once been raised, experience
teaches what the end will almost invariably prove
to be-the social and moral, if not physical death
of the unfortunate person against whom it was
directed.
For all this there is short and simple remedy.
Let men and women curb their tongues and learn
to speak no evil, even though it may be in their
thoughts. Better remain dumb rather than dis
seminate falsehood and scandal, which latter is
more or less compounded of lies. Speak good of
every individual or remain silent 1t may be
found no easy task at first, but it will be found
worth the attempt; for /" he who governeth his
tongue is greater than him that taketh a city"
INTERESTING STATISTICS,
Condensed from American Almanac.
The number of troops from each of the old thir-
StateS enliSted durinn the Eeynlut tionary