The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1885-10-29
GREAT AND SMALL MEN.

There is not such vast difference
in men as we are apt to suppose.
Nearly all men have some strong
points, and all great men, so called,
have their weaknesses. Place veal
men in great positions and many Of
them will acquire the reputation of
being great men.>xll men who come
to the from, ~ force circumstances,
t't y NOV . S,|O LIZ IL ~ Z =O11s 1>ams
many who remain in nbscuritSs-.Ee
really as great in all that constitutes
true greatness, rs any in the land.
We are too apt to confound greatness
with notoriety. The truth is, a man
may become notorious without being
great in any sense Of the word, and
men are often great without becoming
notorious,
Man worship, or "h TO worship" IS
altogether too general, even in our
day; not, however, SO much SO as in
former times, before People became so
universally educated. Ancient his
tory is filed with heroes whom the
masses seem to have worshipped; in
our day and generation such heroes
are few and far between; not because
the worshipping material is less but
by reason of the abundance of che
roes" We always have on hand, with
whom the honors have to be divided.
Defining greatness is like defining
liberty; no one has ever as yet given
definition that is satisfactory to all :.
1t has been said that the greatest
man is he who has the greatest influ-
ence over the minds OF his fellow
men; but even this will not stand the
test of criticism, for many who have
had greatness thrust upon them, are,
even now, exerting more influence
than their superiors do.
We too often build up idols, and
then fall down and worship them.
Truly great men create circum-
stances, but circumstances have Gre
ated many we now worship. Many
living examples might be cited in
support of this assertion.
Phrenologists tell us that the differ
ence among men lies in the shape of
their heads-in the quantity and
shape of their brains. We deny this.
Some men with large heads, filled
with brains, are almost natural fools,
while those with small heads and
brains are among the wisest. Why
Is this2 Simply because the, quality,
rather than the quantity of brain
mako the chief difference among men
Brains of a ING quality, when well
disciplined, come to the front, regard
less of the ponderosity of other brains
which surround them. We say dis
c1pl;ned brains, for therein lies the
great difference we see among men.
But the finest and best disciplined
brains have their weak spots. This
is a rule that has noexceptions. These
may be disguised on most occasions,
but they will leak out, either
In public or in private. Hence
we say that there is not as much diff.
ference among men as those are apt
to suppose who are not cognizant of
this fact. Our greatest men have
weaknesses that are not found in
much weaker brains, but these, of
course, are overshadowed. The more
generally men are educated the more
liable these weaknesses are to become
known. Hence we say that hero wor-
ship is constantly lessening. 1t is,
however, the tendency of modern civ
ilization to yield to the possessors of
true greatness a full reward of merit,
and to overlook, as far as possible, all
shortcomings, kno wing that human
nature is weak even when dressed in
its best clothes.