Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1881-08-31
Would You Like to SEQ Every Man En-.
tirely Honest:

In your hurry to say Eyes" you may be
belying the most firmly set characteristic
of your nature; for perhaps you don't
wish every man to be entirely honest.
For example: Do you wish to be entire"
ly honest yourself when 1t is going to cost
you little either in moral stamina or in
money! Are you gong to express your
convictions teariesslY, at proper times,
when you know they are not popular
Or, will you conceal thems
If your neighbor differs from you in
politics and religion would you have him
be entirely honest in the expression ofhis
opinions? If not, you are not in favor of
absolute honesty.
Therefore we say, 20 slow. Don't be
so sure that you wish every man to be
entirely honest. Perhaps you want men
to be honest only occasionally, when it is
going to help you in trade, or when they
are gong to express opinions which agree
with those you hold yourself. And what
an excuse for principle and hon esty this is
The thoroughly honest man wants every
man to express the honest convictions of
his heart, whether he be Buddhist, Ma.
hometan, Mormon, Baptist, Presbyterian
Unitarian ,lnfidel or Catholic. Nohonest
man ever yet wanted another to smother
the honest convictions OF his soul-never
since God set the planets a.whirling. On.
" the man who is himself hypocri,e
will ask another to act the hypocrite's
part.
Real, genuine, upright and downright
honesty seems to be at a discount in this
world. AS general thing the public
man who succeeds best is not the fearless
independent, out-spoken, honest man, but
the timeserver; he who truckles and pan.
ders 10 the prejudices, the whims and the
caprices Of the hour. TO this man the
crowd throws up its hat and bears him
away IN triumph upon its shoulders.
While the honest men, the noble man who
has dared 10 antagonize the prejudices of
the hour, walks away alone amid the gi bcs
OF the rabble 1t has been so from the
beginning; it will be so to the end. The
populace h as always crucified its Christs.
The successful preacher is not the hon.
est man who breaches religion pure and
undetiled; Christ and him crucifed; but
the dainty dandy who breaches to tickle
the ear Of the pew; the man who breaches
not what God commanded, but what the
vitiated taste of the fast people of fast
age. calls for. Every thinking man knows
this is true.
Our strongest and our best men are
never popular. And how easy thing it
IS to be popular. Did you ever think of
it! One has only to look up and see
which way the crowd IS going, and then
run on with it. Why, TO be popular is as
easy as lying!
But to run with the crowd requires no
independence, no conviction, no honesty,
no courage, no manhood. Any fool can
see where the crowd goes; and any COW.
ard may stand with it. But 1t requires
all the heroic virtues to run counter to the
popular current; and yet he who does so
gets no credit for any of them.
There is this blessed consolation, how
ever, for the man who takes the independ.
ent, the honest, the courageous course
He builds up his own manhood. Opposi-
ton makes strong. IT'S rowing against
the current that make muscle-not float
ing with it. IT'S running counter to the
popular mental current that builds up
mans Observation-Disclosures floating idly
with it. The giants of the world are the
men who fight-not they who shrink from
every encounter.
Men should admire independence, and
courage, and honesty, even though they
cannot agree with their conclusions.
There can be no danger to the world from
these characteristics. Indeed, they are its
only salvation. Were it not for these we
should go backward instead Of forward.
Every grand advance the world has made
has been inaugurated by man who was
q hereto to his time-a man of grand
independence and honesty.
We hold that honest men do admire hon.