The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1893-06-16
SELF MEASUREMENT


l..
Common Than Formerly,
1t il nearly impossible thai Il.
new accuracy of self mcaspramor.
rs to powers. be they intellectual
physical. should not extend. in n 4.
gree ut least. to qualities, ana we /,
lieve it does. We will not sav mo.
are not self deceived still as 10 thoa
virtues and vices. but they are muet
less deceived than they We're Tbor
know for the most part perfectly
well if they have tempers or \
they are tyrannical, or if they ara
greedy. or if they are selfish or !,
they are afraid of danger Thew
may not admit defect of QUALITIES
MS they admit defect Of powers 10
cause their new clearness of vision
has developed a new dread Of cr
cumstantial opinion, but they recoc.
ME it fully and sometimes make n
the recognition n basis for action n
life.
We have known at least two cases
of jealous men deliberately refusing
profitable positions in which That
passion would be strongly cxcitel
and have repeatedly heard men AZ.
sign their tempers rs difficulties
which would. as they saw with Der
feet clearness, impede their success
in life. AS to greed, we believe is
recognition to be the commonest az
all things and a constant reason
with the man himself either for
choosing a career or deliberately "a
jecting one as too much SURROUNDED
with temptations for his particu.
lar weakness. The timid cons.antlv
decline good prospects forcareers for
which they know themselves unfit
ted and SO. occasionally 10 the in.
tolerablo vcxation Of their friends
do the lazy. who very often are thor
oughly aware Of and dcplorc a vice
if it is vice, which depends On
circumstances-of which they never
theless cannot purge their natures
II know, says the man 50 affect.
ed, that l shall shirk the work.
Liars. too. are kecnly aware Of Their
special temptation. and though they
refuse nothing on account Of il are
wonderfully aware of the risks they
run, and usually. though not always,
hate those who bring their vice into
active exercise.
Selfishness is a more subtle quail
ty, because it takes to itsel. inteec
tual disguise-the selfish desire for
dominance. for example, often pre-
scnting itself under the appearance
of duty. But even selfishness, we
imagine, seldom hides itself from the
man whose nature it corrodes Ger
tainly the most selfish man we ever
encountered knew thoroughly that
he was selfish and excused himself |
to himself, not by denying his vice,
but by attributing it to every other
person with whom he came in con
tact. The view inwardly as well a
the view outwardly has cleared, and
the men of the day tend at all events
to realize the philosophers advice
and know themselves quite Through
Whether this clearness of view IN
duces modern men to purge them
selves Of their evil qualities more
than their more self deceived prede
cessors, we cannot quite decide. On
the whole. we think not, and that
there is strong alloy Of cynicism N
modern clearsightedness. but there
must be reserves in that harsh luds-
ment, and more especially about
selfishness. We never knew a man
made less greedy by his controlling
will and never heard Of a man cured
of lazincss by anything but poverty
or other deep cutting whip Even
that often fails, laziness being IN
some natures as dominant vice a.
the desire for excitement which We
call '.dipsomania. But we have seen
desperate and successful efforts Q
control temper and, curious!
enough, real cures of selfishness e.
fected from within. The man =
helped in that last effort by the nor
ern passion for sympathy and some
times lands himself i'll the opposite
and stupidity illogical position Of one
who believes that the pleasant coti~
is the selfish course and therefor
past discussion the wrong course y
pursue--which it may be or may noA
London Spectator.