The Dickinson press., 1891-07-25
Double Consciousness.
From the London Queen.

From the London Queen.
What is that strange sense that
most OF us have Of double conscious.
ness-of a kind OF twin self-like and
yet unlike the person as we are held
by the world and known to be by
o~urselves-of a ~foregone experience
identical with this we are now under.
going-of previous circumstances, of
which tbs is only q repetition? Few
OF US are SO unconscious. so unobser.
want, as not to have known both these
phases of teeling-both that which
redoubles and differentiates the self,
and that which makes this place, this
person, this conversation but a rope.
tition OF what has already been. Per.
haps the former OF these two states
may be referred &c the infinite com.
plexity OF the human mind, but with
this complexity that elemental
homogeneity which makes sill the
world akin. and which Terence crys.
talized in his famous aphorism:
"Homo sum: humani nihil a me alien
mputo." This being true, thenevery
Jekyll has ms potential Hyde, and
every Hyde has possible Jekyll; and
there are no heights nor depths to
which we may not rise or descend, at
least inimagination. Here conscience
and neutrality-suspicious. and pc.
tentiality-make that confusion
which creates o double consciousness
through a single line of action. Say
we have to deal with q man whom
we have no right to offend overtly,
and whom secretly we despise with
q very vehemence of contempt.
What q strong strain OF double con.
seriousness is here! Our anners
u speech, must of necessity be
smooth and without otfense. In our
heart we are conscious OF a scorn
that loathes and repudiates the
creatures OF mean vices and we'll
yelled infamy, from whom, how.
ever, it is not our business
to tear the mask. We are two
people when we are in his company
one the moralist, who shakes a spirit.
ual fist at the other, the man OF the
world; while the man of the world
shrugs his shoulders at the moralist,
and says in unheard tones: "Don't
make a fool OF yourself" Again this
kind of double consciousness comes
into play when we are in q difficulty
from which a little unworthy chicaney
would extricate us. and where perfect
honesty Will only draw the coils tight.
er and deepen the hole where we were
already fallen. The two egos talk in.
side one head, and argue the case with
more or less ~distinctness. Jekyll or
Hyde? which shall it be? Being hui
man, with thnt nihil alienum as the
basis of our being, we are organically
capable OF any rascality to be com.
passed by the universal man. We
repudlate while we picture but the
ability to picture proves the ability
to practice but for that other self
that res training self, born OF the con.
seriousness of higher things. Still,
there it is; and the double moment
goes on, though it may be so family
as not to constitute a real tempta-
ton. It may only be a consciousness
OF possible escape if we would bring
ourselves to fraud and dishonesty
without the confessed query: "Shall
l do it?" When, indeed. it comes into
such distinctness and vitality as that
when Hyde IS as solid as Jekyll-
then We have o tougher time OF it
and q harder battle, andt the spiritual
tussle is sitter than we would per-
haps care to acknowledge. How
many Of us go through these tempta-
tions is known to each mans own
soul only. whats done we partly
may compute, but not what is resist
ed" and the double consciousness
which is made by principle and pas.
sion, restraint and desire, is never
revealed to others and scarcely con.
fessed to ourselves. But we all have
it, even those who conquer the evil
tendency with most apparent facility
and most th%oroughness.