The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1905-11-11
INQUIsITIvEREss.

Whether inquisitiveness is to be
rated as virtue or vice depends
very much upon its exhibition. tits
quite commendable in the young who
are simply seeking useful information;
it is impertinent in the mature who
are trying to crafty their curiosity or
to find food for gossip.
Children are sometimes encouraged
to ask questions in an aimless way and
become nuisances because of their
inquisitiveness, although the child
who asks questions intelligently and
for the purpose OF acquiring knowl-
edge is interesting and deserves the
encouragement Of answers and ex-
plantations. The inquisitiveness of
the gossip and meddler is of a very
different kind, and is always offensive.
The meddle gossip does not seek USE
full information and may not intend
any harm; sometimes he or she asks
questions with no aim whatever, but
simply as matter of bad habit and
to maintain conversation. More
often, however, the inquisitive person
of mature years is a malicious gossip.
That which he or she learns is repeat
ed, with variations sometimes with
the purpose, always with the effect,
of creating controversies and embroil-
ing mutual friends. The most trivial
matters are made the subject of ex-
haustive inquiry; if two accounts do
not exactly agree, attention is called
to the variations, with implications,
that someone has told an untruth. In
such cases a matter of no Importance,
one way or another, is magnifed until
it is made cause for serious dispute.
Inquisitiveness of this kind is ex-
tremely reprehensible. tits generally
malicious, but where it has no bad
purpose it is no less malevolent in its
effect. This form of inquisitiveness
is generally, in part at least, the re-
suit of habit and can be avoided by
anyone who is disposed to do SO.
The inquisitiveness Of the child or
of the uninformed seeking useful
knowledge deserves to be encouraged
as long as it is legitimately exercised
for good purposes. The inquisitive-
ness of the malicious gossip should
never be satisfied. The individual
should also keep guard upon himself,
that he may not grow into the habit
of asking aimless or awkward ques-
tons, or of seeking information for
which he can have no proper use.
He will thus avoid becoming an idle
or malicious gossip, and he will keep
his mind free of trivial matters and
open to receive useful information.
There is good reason to believe that
the mind of man is of limited capacity.
Whether it be of pint or quart capa-
city, it can retain only a certain
amount of impression. 1t is well,
therefore, to select the matter with
which it is to be filled.
The man who knows all the gossip
of his neighborhood, the private af-
fairs OF his acquaintance, the age OF
all his friends, the scandals of society,
and so on, seldom exhibits any other
knowledge. He has filled his mind
with trivialities, nisusing the inquisi-
tive faculty. He is a Paul Pry, and,
as such, despised of all men. But
inquisitiveness properly employed in
moderation may be used to add to
ones useful information it is the
chief stimulus to scientific achieve
ment. Men ought to ask questions
of their fellowmen and of nature, but
only to acquire legitimate information,
and with good purpose.