Evening star., 1901-11-14
MAN SHOULD NOT WEEP
ANCIENT BELIEF THAT TEARS ARE
EFFEMINATE.
InjunctiOns of Socrates and Plato
Manifestation of
Grief.

From the London News.
In the shock of the sad news from Buff
falo one fact has probably struck the news
paper reader-the tears of the men at the
bedside of the departing President Many
deathbeds are celebrated for the uncon-
trolled emotion exhibited by the bereaved; ;
yet We fear that the commonly accepted
ethics of manhood demand that, ordinarily
man should not weep. The man who cries
is thought to be effeminate And it Is SO
In every language. Why? 1t is not easy
to say why 1t should be deemed not merely
unmanly, but unworthy, for men to ease
the grieved heart with tears, as PIutarch
advises. Yet it Is fact that we are
ashamed to cry, and some apology has to
be made for the soldier who on leaving
home leans upon his sword and wipes
away a tear" At the memorable closing
scene of Socrates, described by Plato, the
philosopher chided his disciples for de-
scending In their grief to tears Plato put
force upon himself to suppress his tears,
but in vain and soon all were in grievous
lamentation, exorting the reproof of Soc
rates: What do ye, my friends? Truly 1
sent away the women for no other reason
but lest they should in this kind offend"
The poets have long held tears to be igno-
BILE IL a man, imbibing their notions from
the Old warlike nations, whose men ac
quired an artificial contempt for tears. In
those sterner times skalds arranged every
thing, personal and general, by singing in
praise of blood; women and weaklings could
cry il they liked, but man had to be made
of sterner stuff-his was the duty to have
blood for blood. Nowadays, in what we
like to think more civilized times, there is
the old leaven-a man hates to be seen to
weep. He cannot go out killing they have
made that a capital offense; he can only
profess a stoicism he very rarely feels
Losing dear friend, he must go dry -ey ed
to the bier. when he feels, like the officers
round the body of Marshal Turenne, as IL
he could die with weeping.
Playing the Woman.
Shakespeare makes Wolsey regret to
play the woman in a personal shipwreck
the most sad and pitiful, and in an even
stronger vein the bard raves
Touch me with noble anger!
On, let not woman 8 weapons, water drops,
Stain my mans cheeks!
A familiar instance of true manly bear
ing, often quoted is the Red Indian whose
test of manhood is to bear the worst tor
ture without shedding a tear; long custom
has made the Indian a fearless man. But
then no man should disgrace his manhood
by futile tears at physical suffering; and
this example really only proves mans con-
tempt of pain, acquired or natural Neither
this nor the unnatural unfamiliarity OF the
old warriors with tears proves the un-
worthness Of crying in men. Sterne argues
that tears are no proof Of cowardice nor
can they be; and the man who cannot run
up the whole gamut Of human feeling be
joy. is surely imperfect being.
There are honorable griefs at which II
certainly would not be unmanly to weep
Shakespeare. with a contempt for tears.
makes the hero-king, Henry v, excuse Ex-
eter, when, in touchingly describing the
deaths of York and Sunolk upon St. Girls
pins Day, 'all his mother came into his
eyes
l blame you not;
For, hearing this l must perforce COM
pound
With mistful eyes. or they will issue too.
There can be nothing effeminate in the
tears Of dauntless men, such as Dryden
mentions, who
Would fain have held
From weeping, but his eyes rebelTd
Tears are natural. Juvena1 says, Ma
ture proclaims that she has given mankind
hearts by giving us tears; it is the greatest
boon she has bestowed upon u.s." Since
tears are given to assuage our grief, ii is
surely unnatural that man must not be
allowed to heal his, woe in the very way
nature. In her loving kindness. prescribes
This means nothing In support of that emo
tionalism which Is simply folly and unman-
ly .weakness-that fatal facility OF tears
which Is womanist..
The Dignity Of Weeping.
It 10 to be feared that women have taken