Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1905-02-16

sor Boulton's caierpillars, he took on
the tint of his environment. Born in |
black box, he turns out black. His |
surroundings were evil, therefore he |
is evil.
Or, again, there is the hero who, like
Charles Lamb, gives up all, in order to |
support some one dependent on him, |
or surrenders life itself in order to |
save the lives of others We are told |
the same story about the hero as about
the thief. He is not brave or seIf-de- |
nying of his own accord. He is heroic |
simply because the conditions in which |
he was brought up were favorable to
heroism, and so heroism grew out Of
his soul, just as cabbages grow out of
the soil when the soil contains the
seeds of cabbages.
Goodness and badness, heroism and
criminality, it is declared, do not re-
side in us, but in our surroundings.
We are mere passive Jumps Of clay, on
which our surroundings stamp what
ever is in them. We are the slaves and
victims Of the conditions in the midst
of which we are. When we fancy we
are doing as we like, going our own
way, following our own wills, we are,
In reality, merely obeying the pressure
of circumstance. We are under rigid
law of necessity all the time. Even
when we stand where two roads di-
verge; and think that we ourselves
choose to take the left hand or the
right hand road, it is not really we our
selves who choose, but a number of
circumstances and conditions, working
on us and through u.s..
This doctrine, that we are crea lures
of circumstance and cahnot help what
we do, is a misleading one. It tends to
self-deceptiOn. 1t makes us imagine
ourselves better than we are. When
we do wrong, this doctrine offers
the temptation to us to say: ''It
was not Iuy fault 1t was the
fault of my education and sur
| roundings." And this will lead to-
day, as it has always done in the nast.
to a general laxity with regard to
wrong doing-to a habit of thinking
| lightly of the exceeding sinfulness Of
| SIN
| This evil doctrine is the more diff
cult to combat because there is an ele-
ment of truth in it. We are moved
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 a Boston street.
and are accosIeu ny an Individual in
shabby garments. You ale touched by
his tale of woe, and with your usual
generosity you give him an ample
aims. Five minutes later fhis Incl
dent is founded upon fact in the crush
Of a crowded corner, you feel an un-
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, a sick soul, deluded vic
tim Of circumstance?
On the contrary, you regard - and
justly regard-the robust purloiner Of
your pocketbook as an ungrateful
scoundrel, and. if you are good citi-
zen, you promptly and Indignantly
hand him over to the police. Sorrow
and pity you no doubt 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 straight in spite Of all, as
many another has done. You know. in
your soul, that, however great the OBJ
stacles. being a 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, il
only he had tried hard enough. You
, feel, after all is said and done. he was
, in this matter, able to do as he liked
! Consequently, he. is responsible. There
fore. we blame him.
= Take the opposite case, that of tn
| hero. We have all read recently hov
, the Japanese attempted to block th
entrance to Port Arthur by sinkin!
: steamers in the channel. One of thes
: vessels had reached the appointed spot
; Her anchor had been let go. The fus
:. attached to the charge which was t
blow hole in her had been lighted
The officer in command ordered tn
L crew into the lifeboat, he himself be
: ing the last to leave the ship. A mc
}, ment he stands on the gunwale, read
to cast loose. He counts his men. On
: is missing. Shall they leave him