Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-06-16
Byron saws /:

10 save, subdue--st once her sposr and shield.
And Shakespeare:
Aid not think to sbod a tear.
In all my misories. but thou has forced mo
Out Of my honest truth TO play tho woman.
had no, 80 much OF man 10 mo.
And all my mother came into mine eyes,
And gave me up 20 tears
Let no, woman weapons. watcr-drops,
stain my mans cheek.
Now this was not always so. Once 1t
was quite allowable for men to weep,
and il was Just about this happened to
be thinking when | remarked 10 our
chemist that tears were curious thing.
For It is not easy to understand bow
9SH2O and two parts OF serum and albu-
men can he expressive Of pain, sorrow,
10y, anger, love. and the rest-not TO
mention the want that is made known by
1.-the infant crying in the night
II is still less comprehensive how the
lachrymal gland, capillary attraction,
and the orbicularis muscle, so ont OF the
range Of the bean monte, should be sub
ject 10 the sway OF fashion. Such, how
ever. seems to be the fact. When it was
fashionable for men TO weep, the organs
promptly supplied tears; while now that
It is not considered good form, they are
as inert as politicians conscience.
And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted
up his voice and wept.' This early
Scripture instance is not only noteworthy
on general principles, but is remarkable
for two special considerations
]. What in the world had Jacob TO
weep about?
>. OF two customs of cotemporaneous
antiquity il is strange thst one should
survive in full vlgor to the present time
and that the other should have been go
completely lost. II is as modern rs yes
terday that Jacob should kiss Rachel, but
not for countless centuries has It been
recorded that after the gracious act
Jacob falls to weeping Later, at meet
ing with his brother Essu, Jacob wept
But the circumstances were very differ
ent and he had ample justification for hls
tears. The family OF Jacob inherited a
lachrymose facility. Joseph, that superb
historic man with the large heart, must
have also had large lachrymsl gland
and an active orbicularis muscle, for
his weepings were very frequent But
they were upon such becoming occa-
sions that We feel inclined through sym
pathv TO weep with him, whether when
he turns his face TO tho wall to conceal
his falling tears or retires to his
chamber to allow their gush, or puts
all strangers ont OF his dinIng-hall
that he may weep his fill with his
repentant brethren, or falls III reve-
rental grief upon the face OF ms
diving patriarch father. of Moses we
read only once that he wept, and that
was as a babe in his lonesome cradle
among the bulrushes any modern
child might DO the like. lie WAS not IN
frequently angry, and often cried unto
the Lord. but he shed no tears. David
wept three times--Gt parting with his
beloved Jonathan, when he heard of the
murder of his son Amnon, and once
again upon the cruel death Of the lordly
Absalom. He wept only three times IN
the presence Of others but David had
the emotional nature Of poet and his
psalms reveal him weeping IN secret
often and bitterly. The ancient prophets
signalized their monitOry mission by
the tears they shed for the foreseen ca
lamities of their people, and one Of them
exclaims, "Oh. that my head were wa
tiers, and mine eyes fountain of tears,
that | might weep day and night, Jere-
miah evidently understood physiology
better than Dir. Young.
Weeping was not, however, confined
TO holy men of old. Homer's ungOdly
heroes were great blubberers. Not only
Ajax, Eneas, Ulysses, Idomeneus, and
their peers. together with the Achalaas
generally, indulge in the luxury OF woe
but that brutal athlete, Achilles, sheds
love-sick tears when his sweetheart Is
taken from him, and his utter ego, Pa
troclus, cuts sorry figure when he I'M
dertskes to persuade the surly, cross
grained warrior to return 10 the fight,
Meanwhile Pa;roclus stood beside his friend,
Ind shed hot tesrs. as when fountain sheds
Dark watofs streaming down preciYlce.
The great Achilles swift OF foot, beheld
And pitisd him. and spake those winged words:
"Why weepsst thou, Patrocius, Ike girl
Doubtless prudential considerations
restrained Patroclus from retorting upon
Peleus's wrathful son, in words which,
If not winged, would have been barbed:
Why didst thou weep, Achilles, for girl'
The very steeds about Troy caught the
contagion from their masters. Thus they
mourned the death of Patroclus;
So stood
The courses. yoked to that magnificent car.
With dropping heads, and tears that from their
Flowed hot. tor sorrow at the loss Of nim
| Who was thstC CT sriOteer.
When Virgil gathered up the Trojan
relics. out of which he composss his
epic, his wandering hero finds many oc-
casions for weeping, and he bountifully
! improves them all, except one, when
gracious tears were due to forlorn DIDO,
piteously begging not to be left be
hind, deserted. But with hard,
dry eyes, lac pleaded the Fates
against the Sidonisn Queen. When
afterward, in the regions across
the Styx, he met her injured shade
| lachrgH0s dcm'St. But very Iustltia-
bly,. Dido deemed the apology too late,
leaving the hero to his usual resort OF
iachrgD.a,ts l0nge. This habit OF the
chief is readily caught up by all his
army, and his warriors weep indiscriml-
/ 0ateIN throughout ING -l4bclN' iiia Ia
liant opponent on the Latian shore, the
youthful Turnns, is in this respect in
marked contrast to the p'ous old widow
er, who deprives him of his betrothed,
his kingdom, and his life. Turnus scorns
to weep.
The Romans Of the last days Of the
republic were too selfish and too hard
ened by the sight of universal ruin to
weep. True, Antony, according TO
Shakespeare. called on them If they had
tears to shed to prepare to shed them
then, but it does not appear that they
were prepared. Sylla, Cesar. Pompey,
Brutus, and the rest had to keep sharp
lookout for their lives and fortunes, and
could not allow their eyes to be blurred.
Cicero occasionally melted. but this WAS
only to spread liquid varnish over his
eloquence. Marius snivelling amidst the
ruins of Carthage is an apocryphal ex-
ception.
In short, for men to shed tears, once
deemed altogether appropriate, is now
| !. 10, NJ