The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1897-02-20

seinshness That Sometimes Fioarishcs
side by Side with some Very Eminens
Virtues.
Ii j. hard 60 draw accurately the line
between selfishness and that proper inn
pulse of self-preseryation which may
otherwise be called prudence. For this
reason selfshness is the most per-
rasive of sins. To borrow a culinary
phrase, Il might we'll be called the
''stock" from which nearly ali forms OF
wrong-doing originate. Some one has
said. rather paradoxically: ut is not so
much the sins of the wicked as the sins
of the good that hurt us in our daily
lives" Without agreeing with the sem
timent as IL stands, there is, no doubt.
a grain of truth in IL. Exaggeratlons.
like satires, have their uses In that they
draw ones attention forcibly to over
looked existing evils. Moralists in con-
sideripg the sins OF the wicked seem TO
forget that ''the good" too. have their
shortcomings.
Because selfishness may flourish side
by side with such virtues as industry.
temperance and love OF family Is why IL
is peculiarly the besetting sin of good
people. Not, OF course, that the good.
speaking comparatively, are more adj
dicted 10 seltishness than the evil; for
there is nothing more base than that
form OF selfshness common among evil
doors. that sacrifice the future we'll
being OF themselves and their depend
cnts for present personal qualification
No; the good are not so selfish as the
l.. q Il H..f..
that scatters, and there is n form of un-
selfishness that grasps and holds. tits
the motive that stamps the quality
good or bad. That the selfshness of the
good hurts us more than that of the
evil IL largely because il affects us like
an unpleasant surprise; gives us n
moral shock; breaks our ideals. De-
tecting il in the character OF some one
we love and respect is like being
wounded in the house OF a friend"
IL Is not always the immediate result
OF selfish act that Is the mos deplora-
BILE. Let us suppose that in some sim
Pile transaction A takes wrong advan-
tage OF ID. Does the matter end In n
purely worldly way with AS gain and
B's loss? No. The gain of the former
Is offset with bunting Of the moral
sense and soaring Of the conscience
that makes all right-doing for him moro
difficult In the future. AS for BIS loss.
the humiliating consciousness Of it,
provided he is only an average man
morally--puts him 80 excessively on his
guard against like repetition of the in
justice that he is in danger OF himself
overreaching the next person with.
whom he has to do. 81 must look out
for myself" he says in his own iustifi-
cation. In this way the selhshness of
one acting on another and yet another
eXerts an immense cumulative force
multiplying the units OF wrong like the
geomctrical ratio of mathematics. One
cannot tell where, or how, or when
little act OF selfshness may end.
But, happily, there is brighter side
II selfshness breeds sclfishness like n
contagious disease, unselfishness has
blessed corresponding power for good.
Who has not observed how courtesy
calls forth courtesy2 Let one be con-
vinced that his rights will be respected.
and he relaxes his tenscncss OF grasp.
and begins 60 take thought, not only for
the one who has considered him, but for
others. Generosity bcgets generosity In
all except the very depraved.
As guide in these matters. nothing
can equal the golden rule. But in our
judgments OF good people who have not
mastered this insidious and self-deccis-
ing fault, or perhaps discovered 1t in
themselves, LET us he charitable. In
many instances excessive selfishness, in
the good as well rs in the evil, Is the re-
suit OF lack Of Imagination. The sell
fish one cannot put himself In another's
place. -Jane Ellis Joy, in n. Y. Oh
server.