Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-04-10
Somebody Else.
observations Of a Philosophical Friend
OF Ours)
ITO thine own self be true"

observations Of a Philosophical Friend
OF Ours)
ITO thine own self be true"
Shakespeare.
In more senses than one most OF US
are beside ourselves. II is not a common
thing to meet a person who Is willing
to be exactly himself. and so to appear
before the public. The very clothes we
wear are concealments and DISCUSSES.
No one is expected to appear in puris
naturallbus; and tho tailor and mantua
maker only lead the way. The leaders
of the Ton, or that mysterious power
society, itself-do as they do, and clothe
our minds and hearts and arrange our
manners so as TO make up social
livery that enables us to pass muster,
and be acknowledged as ono OF them;
as in harmony with our environments;
and be something else than our honest,
real selves. In society we are all fixed
up with fashions and conventionalisms,
and dare not be ourselves. We put on"
a great deal for show. If We assert
ourselves, we are in danger of passing
for idiots. Idiot is a Greek word that
means peculiar. So people that try to
be peculiar and eccentric are often Set
down as idiots. Or, if one is too simple
and honest. he IS taken as a natural,
which means nearly the Same thing as
idiot
And yet II Is absolutely necessary for
Ia
lead decent lives. as it is for an engineer
TO know his machine. in order to run
it properly and do good work And it
is a lamentable thing to see how large
a part of our lives we spend in finding
out what we are, and what We are
fit for. How we do waste our energies
and make ourselves miserable in trying
to do or be what the Almighty never
meant US TO be! So it is that, in many
cases, we are tossed about from place
to place till we are tired out and give
up, unless by chance we fall into the
groove that We were made for.
All this IS notable, as the bad judgment
and ambition OF parents, or our own,
assigns US 10 Il trade, profession, OF
pursuit-bed manufacturer engineer,
doctor, lawyer, or preacher-while nei-
Their taste nor natural adaptation indi-
Gates it,
But there are other things in this
matter to be thought about; and we owe
IL to ourselves 10 do ourselves justice.
1t is as bad TO bear false witness against
ourselves, and misrepresent ourselves,
as It is TO bear false witness against
our neighbor and misrepresent him
And we may Learn 10 lie by being
false to ourselves: either by charging
ourselves with faults or sins Of which
we are not guilty. or by giving our
selves credit for virtues that we do
not possess. We may be unfaithful in
utterng the penitential Psalms; or de
ceitful in ecstatic triumphs. 1t is d
great deal best TO see ourselves and
others as we are. and not in a fancitul
way for a purpose-or specia! occasion.
In Lord Byrons day it was a fashion
with young men to be Byronic, not only
in the fashion of their collars ana neck
ties. but in the flavor and coloring OF
their hearts and minds. They were
gloomy, fierce, anthropic-Corsairs-
Childe Harolds. And, unluckily, some
of them were Don Juans. They would
look as black as night just for the fun
of ii, and play devils ambitiously. But
that fashion passed away and the
habit Of looking grand. gloomy and
peculiar passes now for a joke, or a
burlesque-marks a fool.
Outside of our pursuits and callings
it is a good thing to appreciate our own
dispositions and tastes, and not do them
violence, but follow them. and crafty
! them: please ourselves.
! In the vegetable world there are good.
| honest, respectable, and honorable
| plants. from the daisy and geranium 10
| the oak and lgnum vitae. The high
| est wisdom and best fortune is 20 know
/ and acknowledge our real natures, and
! accomplish the design and purpose OF
| Him that made US and fashioned US.
! An elephant must be driven out Of a
| garden: and only fool will use a
spray of geranium for a cudgel We
are all honorable I'm our place. He
! hath made everything beautiful In his
| kind. And ii is divine wisdom and the
| highest manhood TO find out and dc
/ our duty in that state of life In which
! God has placed us. IL is the common
est idiocy to try and pass for some
body else: hero or fool.