The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1905-02-09
wrong doing-to a habit Of thinkfnE,
lightly Of the exceeding sinfulness' OF

and Swayed by circumstances. Birth
and education do exercise a powerful
influence over US. These things must
be taken into consideration. Never.
theless, they don't explain everything.
Make what allowance you will for cir.
cumstances and education, still in
every transaction we have the last
word. The proof Of this is in our
daily conduct. We cannot help blam.
ing men and praising them.
Suppose you are on Boston street.
and are accosted by an individual in
shabby garments. You are touched by
his tale of woe, and with your usual
generosity you give him an ample
aims. Five minutes later (tllis incl
dent is founded upon facO in the crush
Of crowded corner, you feel an m
| wonted hand busy at your pocket. and,
| turning round, discover in the would
be thief the very man you have just
helped.
What do you think Of this fellow?
Do you feel toward him as If he were
an invalid. n sick soul, deluded vic
tim Of circumstance?
On the contrary. You regard - and
Justly regard-the robust purloiner OF
your pocketbook as an ungratefui
scoundreI, and. IL you are good citi-
zen, you promptly and Indignantly
hand him over to me police. Sorrow
and pity you no [.Jubt experience, but.
mingled with sorrow and pity there
will be righteous Indignation. How
ever many excuses your kind heart
makes for him, You will still blame
the man: for you will be convinced,
however bad his surroundings and his
bringing up. being man. he could
have kept strnigIt in spite Of all. as
many another has done. You know, in
your soul. that, however great the OBJ
Stacles. being man. he was still mas
ter of himself. He might have chosen
differently. He might have taken the
right road instead of the wrong one. II
only he had tried hard enough You
feel after all is snfd and done. he was.
in this matter: able to do as he liked.
Consequently. lie fs responsible. There
fore. we blame him.
Take the opposite ease. that Of the
hero. We have all read recently how
the japanese attempted to block the
entrance to- Port Arthur by sinking
steamers in the channel One Of these
vessels had reached the appointed SPOT.
Her anchor had been let 20. The fuse
attached to the charge which was to
blow n hole In her hard been lighted.
The officer in command ordered the
crew into the lifebOat. Ire himself be-
ing the last to leave tiie ship. A mo-
ment he stands on the gunwale. ready
to cast loose. He counts his men. One
is missing. Shall they leave him?
The officer has but an instant in which
to make up his mind. There is IN in
ward struggle between the rival i'm
pulses Of duty and seif-resard. Then
he climbs again upon tie shot-swept
deck to seek his lost comrade. Alas.
it Is in vain. The next moment lie Is
killed by Russian SHE'LL. and his crew
push off. only Just in tirRe to save
themselves.
Why do We regard tBis man as
hero? Why was public funeral held
in his honor by his countryMen? Why
do we praise him?' Because we feel
the brave action was due to- him. and
to no thing and no. one else. Because
we feel that he stood where two ways
diverged-the way Of duty and the way
Of safety-and that he was master of
the situation. He determined which
road to take. Gut Of his own brave
will. out Of his: own courageous soul.
he chose the right way. The decision
lay not with circumstances. conditions,
previous training. or ancestry. but
with himself. We"feel' that he, and he
alone. was responsible: and that there
fore to him. and tor him aiDne, belongs
the credit ard the Gpraisea.
. We cannot helm blaming the GRIM
inal. we cannot help praising the
hero. but. If criminal anu hero We're
simply the victims Of circumstance. to
do so would be meaningless We have
no right to condemn the criminal If lie
cannot help doing what he does. There
is no sense in honoring- the hero II the
heroism is due to- education or to sur
rounding conditions that Is. to some
thing other than the hero. Yet we do
condemn the one: and we do give our
homage to the" other: We cannot help
ourselves. The praise and the blame
We bestow are involuntary acknOwl-
edgment that, i'm spite OF all the theo-
ries closet philosophers may spin.
there Is an iheradicable conviction in
the human heart tiiat we are able. in
the last resort. to- dO> as we like, and
that as consequence We are respon-
sible before God and man both for our
deeds and for. our thoughts.