Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1890-06-27
PRIDE AND MERIT.


What men are perhaps on tho whole
most proud Of is their blood when they
are well descended, and yet no one can
say that they are in the smallest degree
responsible for that; or, again, OF their
genius or talents or physical strength II
they arc not well descended. and all
these things are endowments, and never
in any great degree due to self-culturo.
What women are certainly proudest OF
is their beauty or grace, and neither
beauty nor grace can be acquired with
out considerable original gift; beauty
not in any degree, and even grace In
very small degree, for grace which is
in any way artificial is not grace but u
soft mannerism. As rule, men show
very distinctly how much they prefer
gifts for which they can claim abso-
lutely no merit, to gifts for tho pos
session OF which they have at least
some small share OF merit, by being posi-
lively indignant II they find that any
body happens TO ascribe mere wealth
that they have inherited from their IA
Tiers, to their own hard work. Seldom,
indeed, is family proud of being sup
posed to be 'new" when It is really old;
but family that is really new" is
generally delighted to DO mistaken for
an old family. That only means that a
family is proud, not of having earned its
own wealth, but of having had ~
wealth transmitted to 1t. And yot
wealth, II it be sclf-made, is just ono Of
the possessions which is In great meas
ure due to mere effort steady diligence,
minute care and punctual habits-all OF
which are usually more or less acquired
or cultivated qualities, and hardly ever
the mere results Of transmitted talent
That shows that mon are prouder OF
possessions which they can prove to bo
inherited. and not due In any degree to
their own efforts, than they are OF those
which they have acquired by hard serv-
ice. And it is the same with women.
II you admire woman's jewels, for in
stance, she Is twice as proud OF them
II she can prove that they
arc hcirlooms, as she is II she
should have bought them her
self out OF her earnings. And so,
too, q great musician Is thousand
times as proud of gifts OF ear and touch
which he can provo that he possessed as
an infant, when 1t was simply impossi-
BILE that he could have acquired them by
any pains OF his own, as he is OF what he
has made his own by hard industrious
drill. But the unquestionable truth
| that this Is so, is, as matter OF fact,
forgotten by tho greater number Of those
who feel this pride oven In It's most gen.
Gus forms They do allow their pride to
increase thcir sense OF sclf-importance,
instead OF. as 1t should do, tending
rather to diminish it. The man who is
proud OF being an Englishman, for In
stance, Is very apt to regard it as sort
OF personal credit to himself that no Is
an Englishman, in spite OF the perfectly
obvious truth that he has no more credit
In the matter than he has for possessing
two hands and legs. Tho beauty, again,
can very seldom contriye not TO think 1t
a credit to herself that she should be o
beauty, or the man OF genius to doubt
that he deserves all the better OF
the world for having been
genius. Yet these gifts ought to be
really regarded with that sort of modest
pride in the possession Of treasures to
which we had no sort Of natural right
or moral claim. that man feels, for in
stance, in living in fine scenery, or in a
refined and thoughtful society. In fact
the very same feeling should denom-
I mate all the nobler kinds OF pride which
filed the hearts OF tho greater saints
who said that but for tho grace OF God
that is, but for something which they
could not in any way command or con-
trol-they should have been the most
despicable and sinful OF boings. Thus
the better kind OF pride should add, not
10 the sense of merit but irather Of n