The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1889-10-17
She gerall anil Yew'55.
PUBLISHED
EVERYTHURSDAY AT
NlIWBERRY, S. C.
THE MEN WE KNOW. -
I From, the Greenville News. ]

From the Greenville News.]
Men are ruch given to talking OF
the mysteries and queer compilca'
tios of the feminine character; but
do we ever think much OF the con-
tradictions composing the average
man?
He is so strong that he will main
tain at any cost against direct pres
sure a position he has taken; Sc
weak that he will yield to any one
of a thousand little temptations
with full knowledge that the yield
ing means always danger and some
times harm beyond remedy.
He is so generous that he will
share al he has with his friend and
devote the utmost patient efforts
for the pleasure or comfort Of those
) he loves; so selfish that he will
not deny himself in many things
the smallest indulgencies even
when they conflict with what he
knows to be his duty.
He is so brave that he will freely
endanger his life or limbs in the
service of his friends or the de-
s fence of his principles; so coward
" that he can be driven from al
most any duty by a breath of ridi'
cule or a few words of persua'
!, sion.
He will work with the patience,
strength and docility of a cart horse
in doing his duty to his family and
become for some small thing as irri-
table and disagreable and nearly as
vicious as a wild animal.
He will preach and practice the
lofsiest sentiments of duty and
manhood for years and allow him.
to be drawn from them all by a bit
of well placed hattery or something
else as empty and unimportant.
He will conduct lis affairs with
sagacity and, prudence and of a
sudden allow himself to be made a
fool of by somebody with half his
sense or caught with a hook so
bare that the most, hopeless idiot
would turn from it.
he will suspect and dlstrust
everybody for years and then show
the simplicity and gallibil1ty ota
child in some matter involving bis
most important interests.
The list might be extended in-
fnitely. Space could hardly be
found to recite the familiar Illus
: trations of how strangely the men
we know combine glorious strength
and miserable weaknesses, splendid
courage and abject cowardice, Wis
dom and folly, generosity and
meanness, bigness and littleness.
And a remarkable fact is that the
men in whom these contrasts are
sharpest are the men whom other
men love. There appears to be an
instinct in human nature to lavish
it's affection on those in whom that
nature is l.ost strongly developed.
It is a sad fact that the men with
out visible faults, foibles or weak
nesses are rarely popular among
other men, or-strange to say
among women either. There is
is a natural tendency to suspect
those free of visible blemises OF
having secret ones; and natural
resentment against those who ap-
pear to be better than their fellow
men.
We have been speaking of aver
age men. Fortunately for the world,
there have been, are and will be
men above the average who
by effort and courage eliminate the
weakness, correct the evil and de-
velop the strength and good OF
their nature. They attain what
VIC call a symmetrical character and
tower above their fellows too high
for envy or resentment to reach,
receiving only love and admiration
where lesser men who compromise
On the mere moralities or by
abandoning all vices bat some re
spectacle ones on which the evil OF
their natures is concentrated re-
ceive but dislike and suspicion.
Ry respectable vices' we mean
those which avoid direct conflict
with the ten commandments and
the statute laws while violating the
principles of right, justice and
manhood-avarice, extortion. de-
ceit sharp practice, small tyranny,
General Lee is the finest, most
prominent and most familiar illus
tration we have of the symmetri
cal character and it's power. He
has endured the trial Of history
better than any man history tells
OF. His grandeur grows, his light