Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1892-04-27
PERSUASION.

'MEAr, 1t has Ueeu well said by the
butcher who furnished Ruth Pinch
with the steak for her celebrated pud-
ding, ''should he humored, not drovc;"
and there is much truth III this asser-
tion, which may he aptly applied to
many other things besides meat. The
art of humoring is great one, the ac-
QUESTION of which is by no means easy,
but 1t will well repay a careful study:
and time so spent can never be wasted.
Men as we'll rs meat, object to e''drove";
it annoys and irritates them, and ex-
cites every angry passion they possess to
such pi ch that they become al
together intractable and extremely un-
pleasant to live with. Let us learn
how to humor them then, for thus only
can they ever be brought to proceed
contentedly in the way that they
should go, and thus only can domestic
ps ace be maintained.
Much discomfort and unpleasantness
would be avoided if people would only
realize the power of persuasion, and
seek to lead rather than drive. We all
know the wonderful persuasive force
that turks in the common and familiar
carrot Suspend it a short distance
before the nose of an obstinate and I'M
willing donkey, and he will quicken
his steps at oncn, though the most liberal
allowance OF blows showered upon his
thick skin have been powerless to make
him bulge an inch; for your respecta-
BILE donkey feels that certain amount
of persuasion is due to him. He, like
the meat, must be .'humor d, not
drove" And there are great many
men who share this characteristic of the
humble Assay, and some women too.
They will do much for their carrot;
but blows merely spoil their temper,
without mending their pace. They
turn sulky beneath the stick; it is the
toothsome, pleasant carrot that makes
them prick up their long ears, and give
voice to their agreeable emotions IN a
loud and jubilant bray. OF course the
favored vegetable is not of precisely
the same flavor in all cases; some take
to one carrot and some to another; but,
whatever may he the particular form 1t
assumes, the persuasive force is always
there, and it is IN that persuasive force
that the true secret of success lies. The
semblance of wealth dangled before
the nose of one of our fellow-men will
sometimes work wonders, and so will
the image of fame, or ain iration, or
fine clothes; any carrot will do, IN fact,
so long as it is the particular donkey
whom 1t is desirable to influence. Let
that once be chosen judiciously, and
with due regard to individual taste and
peculiarity of circumstance, and the
accelerated pace of the intelligent
animal may be considered foregone
conclusion. Now surely this is far
better means of obtaining our object
than the brutally y inartIstic one of beat
ing the poor beast with thick stick,
and lavishing harsh epIthets upon
him. Very likely those epithets may
be no more than his due; but, for all
that, it is pity to use tn I'm, since it
is more than probable that they will
serve no good or useful purpose, bat
rather defeat their own object.
PERSUASION should not be over-gar.
rulous; IN the multitude of words
there is confusion, but not convictions
and mere reiteration may weary, but
can never convince. Those who
understand the art OF humoring will
avoid useless reiteration; and seek
rather to subdue the fortress gradual
ly, gaining ground by almost imper
ceptibie degrees, than to carry it by
assault and a Wild storm of words.
Persuasion is never loud and Rggres.
sive, but sueaks gently, and ever In
low well-modulated voice. What she
says Is reasonable and to the point
she does not argue-that would be
little likely to serve her purpose; bui
she presents the desired end to those
whom she wishes to influence in q form
which is likely to attract them, and thus
gains her object without appearing to
have any particular object to gain.
he highest art of persuasion is at
tanned when we indu person to
adopt our views, while all the time he
is under the impression that We are
adopting his; then our success is as
snrcd, for he will support his new con.
victions vigorously, under the fixed
idea that they are very old ones, and he
is honorably bound to maintain them.
This at once puts things on firm and
pleasant foundation, and saves us from
incurring the disagreeable consequences
that are apt TO follow on too artless
attempt to convert others to our own
way OF thinking. For here, again, men
should be 'humored, not drove, snd
above all they should be carefully kept
from all knowledge that they are be-
ing either "humored or Drove" for
any such suspicion at once eXcites a
very unreasonable displeasure in the
N My mind, aud by no means tends to
the promotion of peace in the domes-
Vic circle.
YES, the art of persuasion is great
one, and it well deserves a careful
study; those who have thoroughly mas
tered it are few IN number, but their
power is great, and they exert mighty
intlUence over the minds of men. They
exert it, it may be, unconscIously, for
in some cases this art, like those OF
reading and writing, "comos by nature;
but whether employed cous,io Isly or
uncOusciously, the result is the same,
and those who possess it have much
to answer for if they use their power
for any but good and worthy OBJ bjects.
To persuade to good is a most honor
able work, but woe betide ill-advisel
persons who degrade their art and
themselves by striving to persuade to
evil Truly they will have much to re.
proach themselves with some day, and
the hour of reckoning is likely to
prove a heavy one for them.
THE THREE TROUBLES.