The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1902-09-17

About Liars and the Evil that They DO.


/ possible; tha. it ia practiced by almost
everybody. and it now discovers that
lying 10, SO tospeak, necessary.
Every child makes its start in life
with perfect candor and sincerity; it
says everything chat it thinks and
feels; it Immediately transforms its
impressions into words and acts; it
wears absolutely no mask. But very,
very soon it discovers that shis will
pot do. Sooner or later il suffers for
its frankness.
In the first place its own parents
will show their dissatisfaction, will
tell it that it must not repeat every
thing that it hears u say everything
chat it feels. They do not directly
teach it to lie, but they do teach it
that TO be sincere 10 everything is to
make yourself ridiculous, to say the
least.
Very soon the child learns not only
to conceal its real feelings, but also to
pretend feelings that it does not pos
sess. It soon learns that confidence
is abused; that promises are given
only to be broken; that the whole
social life is one rotten, hollow empty
she'll.
Thus the child learne that absolute
sincerity, absolute straightforwardness
is an utter impossibility, that there
are many reasous why it must be i'm.
possible; that politeness forbids US to
be truthful; that modesty and policy
are continually fighting sincerity, aud
the child becomes conventional liar
as everybody around it is.
After this comes the critical point.
Will the child stop here, will it not
slide further dovn, will it understand
to go beyond the line Of these neces-
safy conventional lies?
Until now the child is still relative.
ly sincere, it has seen that lying is
possible; that it's own parents are
guilty of lying almost every day. It
has even seen that lying is necessary.
But how prevent it from becoming
what society calls liar?
Education has much to do with this.
1t is very important that educators
understand when to punish and when
not. The ctild that gets into the
habit of lying is very often the child
who is too often and too severely
punished by its parents or its teach
ers.
The child who is always afraid Of
punishment, the child who is beaten
for the smallest offense, will very soon
find out that If it confesses having
done something wrong it is sure to be
punished. -
The first and seoond time he offsnds
he may have the courage to admit
frankly that he has done wrong, but
very soon he will begin to conceal,
partly because he is afraid Of the hu-
miliation and partly because he does
not want to shook his parents, or his
friends, or to cause them any unne-
cossary sorrow, and lying becomes
easier every time !. ;s r=ssS:.;;Ssedd, aud
at last person will lie at the very
smallest temptation, and eveL without
any temptation at all, hardly realizing
himself that he is not telling the
truth, and when it comes to this point
it is only. very strong character that
will be able to redeem person.
These are the different reasons that
make sincere child or person become
o liar, and che most prominent Of
them is the desire to appear to be liv-
ing respectable life, when you know
you are not. The lie is mask that
we wear when we do not want people
TO see us as we are; we get into the
habit Of lying when there are too many
things in our life that we are ashamed
Of and that we dare not admit. Prof.
Camille Melinaud, in St. Louis Re-,
public.
a