Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1905-02-02
No. 5.

solitary and impotent. on guard against
everybody. embroiling everything. And
IL there is so much hostility and ka-
tired between different classes OF men
It Ia due less to exterior conditions than
to an interior fatality. Conflicting In
terests and differences OF situation dig
bitches between us, IL Is true, but pride
transforms the bitches into gulfSr8nd
I'm reality IL is pride alone which cries
from brink to brink, There n nothing
in common between you and usw
We have not finished with pride, but
1t Is impossible to picture II under all
its forms. feel most resentful against
1t when Il NEEDLES with knowledge and
appropriates that We owe our knowl.
edge to our fellows, as we do our riches
and power. 1t is a social force which
ought to be Of service to everybody,
and 1t can only be SO when those who
know remain sympatheticaIly near to
those who know not. When knowl
edge Is turned into a tool for ambition
1t destroys itself.
And what shall we say Of the pride
Of good men? For 1t exists and makes
even virtue hateful. The Just who re-
pent them Of the evil others do remain
In brotherhood and social rectitude
But the just who despise others for
their faults and misdeeds cut them
selves OF from humanity, and their
goodness, descended to the rank Of an
ornament for their vanity. becomes
like those riches which kindness does
not inform, like authority untempered
by the spirit Of obedience. Like proud
wealth and arrogant power. super
cilious virtue also Is detestabiA II
fosters in man traits and an attitude
provocative of I know not what. The
hight Of 1t repels instead of attracting.
and those whom 1t deigns to distin-
guish with its benefits feel as though
they had been slapped in the face.
To resume and conclude. 1t Is an error
to think that our advantages, what
ever they are, should be put to the
service Of our vanity. Each Of them
constitutes for him who enjoys 1t an
obligation and not reason for vain
glory. Material wealth, power. knowi-
edge, gifts Of the heart and mind, be-
come so much cause for discord when
they serve to nourish pride. They re-
main benefcent only SO long as they
are the source Of modesty In those who
possess them.
Let us be humble II we have great
possessions, for that proves that we
are great debtors. All that man has
he owes to some one, and ane wo sure
Of being able to pay our debtsf
Let us be humble IL we sit In high
places and hold the fate Of others I'm
our hands, for no clear sighted man
can fail to be sensible of unfltness for
10 grave role.
Let us be humble II we have much
knowledge, for 1t only serves to better
show the vastness Of the unknown, and
to compare the little we have dis
covered for ourselves with the ampli-
tude Of that which we owe to the pains
OF others.
And, above ALI lot us be humble IL we
are virtuous, since no one should b
more sensible Of his defects than he
whose conscience Is illumined, and
since he, more than any one else, should
feel the need Of charity toward evil
doers, even of suffering In their stead.
"And what about the necessary dis
tinctions in ltfer some one may ask.
"As a result Of your simplifcations
are you not going to destroy that sense
OF the difference between men which
must be maintained IL society exists
ut ALI"
have no mind to suppress distino-
tions md differences, but think that
what distinguishes man is not found
In his social rank, his occupation, his
dress or his fortune, but solely In him.
self. More than any other. our own age
has pricked the vain bubble Of purely
outward greatness. To be somebody
ut present 1t does not suffice to wear
the mantle Of an emperor or a royal
crown. What honor Is there In WELD
ing power through gold lace, a coat OF
arms or a ribbon? Not that visible
signs are to be despised - they have
their meaning and use-but on condf-
ton that they cover something and not
q vacuum. The moment they cease to
I BIduu IOE EGttI1bcb LuOJ bCSOAhV 1C~a~cS
and dangerous. The only true distino-
ton 10 superior worth. II you would
have social rank duly respected You
must begin by being worthy OF the
rank that In your own; otherwise you
help to bring 1t into hatred and con-
tempt It is, unhappily. too true that.
respect is diminishing among MS. and 1t
certainly In not from a lack Of lines
drawn round those who wish to DO re.
spected. The root of the evil is In the
mistaken idea that high station ex-
empts him who holds 1t from observing
the common obligations Of life. As We
rise we believe that we free ourselves
from the law. forgetting that the spirit
Of obedience and humility should grow
with our possessions and power. SO It
comes about that those who demand
the most homage make the least effort
to merit the homage they demand.
This 10 why respect Is diminishing.
The sole distinction necessary is the
wish to become better. The man who
strives to be better becomes more
humble, more approachable. more
friendly even with those who owe him
allegiance, but as he gains by being
better known he loses nothing IN dis
tinction, and he reaps the more respect
In that he has sown the less pride.
fro mn Continued