The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-08-19
The Spots on the sun.

The events which have taken place IN
the world during the present summer are
certainly remarkable in one respect. All
over the civilized earth things appear TO
have gone aNry. There is general lack
OF balance and adjustment, a feeling of
irritability which seizes on the slightest
occasion for expression in riot, murder
and sudden death. 1t is probable that most
people have noted, in their private lives,
! very much the same tendency. If q CEN
sus Of the people of the United States
could be taken on this point. it might. per-
haps. be found that more friendships have
been broken, domestic relationships rudely
disturbed, and plans gone wrong. during
the present summer than in any previous
season for many years What is the rea-
son for such state of affairs? 1t has been
SO marked that felix are beginning to ask
each other seriously what can be the mat
ter.
Astrologers explain it by the theory that
disturbance among the heavenly bodies
produces climatic and atmospheric coRdi-
| tons of a peculiar ard subtly Irritating
! sort. which affect the human race mentally
and morally as we'll as physically Every
one knows how quickly the nervous sys-
/ tenn Of sensitive person responds to
electrical disturbances in the air. and it
| is beginning TO be understood that waves
of such disturbance, sweeping over the
country, carry with them liability to all
sorts Of disorders They cannot create evil
where it does not exist. but they can bring
lcng-smoldering ill-feeling TO a head,
| until it eliminates in crime; and they can
increase nervous iTritabiity to the point
where, in 4 delicately adjusted human le-
lation, rupture is Inevitable. The husband
and wife who may during the present
summer, have come to the point where
they feel that they must separate, do rot
recognize any cause for this beyond their
own characters. Each may think of the
other as being entirely in the wrong But
the truth may be that small happenings,
dwelt on morbidly and bitterly. have as
sumed a greater proportion than they
should. and that there is no real. radical
disagreement at all-only surface irri-
tstion which has been allowed to magnify
itself beyond all reason.
If this be so. what is human nature to
dc about it? Are we the puppets OF forces
greater than ourselves. which do with US
as We viii? Have we no control over our
own characters or actions? Are we mar
ionettes. moved by invisible cords which
are somehow tangled up in the planets?
Certainly not. Free will is not a myth.
nor does the fact that = certain climatic
or seasonal phenomenon affects the feel
ings Of the human race. necessarily prove
that its influence is irresistible.
In all ages, observers of human events
have recognized the fact that man is rot
altogether free agent; but they have
also generally speaking admitted that he
can be greater than his fate; that he is,
in the largest sense. master of his own
destiny. IT is his business to understand
so far as he can. the conditions in which
he lives. and 10 remain master of his own
soul in spite of adverse circumstances. II |
he can do this. the changing seasons will |
surely bring him 10 whatever he ought TO |
have. The peculiar conditions of the sum !
mer just past have set people in general I
to thinking and wondering ON these things. /
If such conditions can be studied and |
understood. great part of the dangars I
which they entail can be averted. Ancient /
pagan religions have recognized the in
fiuence of the planets and other natural
objects upon human life. The Chinese sys-
TEN invests ali nature with gods who can
be angered or appeased. This IS a crude
recognition OF a scientific truth. The saw
age, when a particularly severe storm
comes up. fancies the gods are angry with
him or his tribe, and perhaps sacrifices
one or more persons to appease the god.
The civilized man knows thaf nothing of
the kind is the case. When waves of
criminal impulse sweep over the country.
the ignorant yield to them blindly; the
wise man will recognize their nature and
take them for what they are worth. If,
in the dog-days, the philosopher feels a
sudden. maddening desire to knock some
body down, he says to himself that it is
the heat that is the matter with him. and
that he will not feel that way very long |
Attacked by the same feeling the tough
beats his wife 70 death AMI is hanged for it,
Knowledge is the cure Of half the evils
from which poor human nature suffers
II We could all understand what is the
matter with us, mortal ills would be easier
to bear; and We are understanding it bet
ter with every passing year.