Marshall County independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1897-1902, 1898-04-15
VANITY AND CONCEiT.
Points Of Resemblance and Difference
Between Them.

Between Them.
The vain man is DESTROYS that peo-
pie shall think well OF him; the con-
ceited man is convinced that they do"
The definition. or words 10 the same
effect, is from a contemporary. says
q writer in the Pail Mall Gazette. 1t
struck ne as apt and set me ponder
Ing. passing my friends and acquaint-
anceS in review. and sorting them into
the vain and the coaceited. Ii agrees.
too. with another remark on the SUD
jet that | nave always held to be true
that cOuceit is the vice Of the thlcR-
skinned, while vanity is the weakness
Of the thin-skinned Most es'imab!e
people are either cOnceted or vain.
Many ew0rtby individuals are
both. Vanity is more easily detected
than cCnceit. 1t lies in the skin, and
is as plain TO be seen as the measles.
YOn cannot be five minutes in the room
with a vain man and not know him 10
be vain. In his gestures, in his most
trivial remarks. in the expression of his
face, he betrays himself al every mo-
ment as a vain man. COnceit, lying
beneath the skin-and thick skin at
that-frequently escapes detection. 70"
may be days, nay weeks. in the COM
pany Of one whose interior economy is
one solid mass of conceit. and not dis
cover ii. 1t may be your lot to be
staggered by sudden revelation of un-
fathOmable cOnceit in one whom YOU
have hitherto regarded as the most
Humb le-minded of your acquaintance.
The vain man is pleasant companion
in many ways. He is eager for your
good opinion and shows YOU that he
thinks it worth having. He goes to
meet you half way with his intellect,
and, being always mentally on the
alert, is quick to apprehend your mean-
ing. You have not TO prod him with
your wit or rub your subleties in. He
goes forward and catches them in the
air before they have well left your OWL
brain. But he is so sensitive. sc
'tOuchy." that YOU must be on yOur
guard, Or you will be perpetUally hurt
ing his feelings CT wouuding his van
ity. Long comp2niOnship with the
vain tends TO make one nervous and
irritable. One cannot always be mind
ing ones p's and Q's. There are times
when one must let oneself go. When
this state OF mind comes upon one
there is no create" relief than TO find
oneself in TIE company of the cOnceit-
ed You may say anything you please
and rest assured that though they may
not understand ii. at least they viii
not take offense. Even if you wish to
offend them you cannot do so with yOul
ordinary weapons of sarcasm and
irony. In spite of all you can DO or
say to the contrary, they will believe
that you think we'll of them. How can
you do otherwise. they would say to
themselves if the question arose, when
they are so deserving of your good
opinion? When their cOmplacent self
satisfaction becomes source OF irrita-
ton, SO that one longs 10 send a har-
poon through their hippopotamus hide,
10 wound their self-esteem, then how
delightful il is TO find oneself back
again and conversing with the vain
One thing has sometimes surprised me
in the conceited. IT, carried away by
the desire to pierce their impenetrablp
elf-esteem, enc hurls unmeasured
abuse at their heads, or thrusts dee
with vicious home-truth, they viii
receive it with amiable humility that
is almost touching. Indeed, these thick
skinned, conceited folk seem capa bic
at times (and under prOyOcation) of :
humility as deep as their conceit il
sublime