The Holly chieftain., 1905-07-07
ALLsHoWcOWARDICE Of ROVE AWAY WORRY
wa,yea ssrrgalv CONDEMNS
1--we . oF MEN.
~ sFassty, t'e @'sine. e. :
.sn & Phsr'-si-5ir.'f -s-sE
n.,rc ssi- seS Adss -1s
sPai7r.
trILr q


the woa.. >. = Hqrla - r2ea D
do not meas paysieal cevsa~., .1
often I sn amase1 at the physical
bravery displayed ~ thoss around
me. mean DsotAl towards. The
fear of what IL sensraiiy called optn-
ion, the widespread. almost universal
fear, is really astonishing. In the
course of my life ] have met great
many people Of great many nations.
but I have met very few perfectly
fearless people Who lived according
to their own ideas of what life should
be and thought oaly q that. never of
what others would thiak Of them and
of their actions. Many people pro-
fess to be fearless. One often hears
the phrase, Il dont care n the least
what anyone thinks oe me. just
go my own way" How easy It is to
say those words. how diiacuit to car
ry them Into acticai We do care. We
care far too. much. What will Mrs
Smith thinkf What will Mr.. Jones
say? Has Miss Robiuson got her
searching and misinterpretins eye
upon me! Il Master Brown lurking
round the corner ready to run and
SAY things! ?" Most Of us live in a
reign of terror. whether We be Rus
SLAMS or not. We have read our Mar
Gus Aurelius. NO doubt. but how. little
has the reading prodtsd MS!
Now and again one does meet a
mentally fearless perAon. and It is
then that one fully rs6lisss that one
lives In Z world Of c01atds. Now and
then In the arts arises someone who
has - fear. Tolstoy or = Watts. and
one stsnds amazed. fully conscious OF
the widespread cowardice in litera.
ture or in painting. What writer just
plainly says that which 10 in his soul
careless Of publishers. critics. public?
What painter paints exactly as he
feels and sees, neitheg striving mere
ly to astonish nor to conceal the
truth! The boldness Of the scnsa
tionalist is only travesty OF the trus
bravery-the bravery Of the teller OF
the truth.
have met very few people WHO
seemed to me quite fearless mental
ly. One can remember, who 10 nov
dead, united complete mental couF
age with complete pAysical courage
He was 4 rare creatate. and to be Il
most worshipped. Sometimes I cou(
pared the two bravefies, OF body and
OF soul. and the latter seemed to md
the most wonderful, perhaps becausd
1t Is SO much rarer than the other. II
only we could emancipate ourselves
completely, each for himself. from the
perpetual fear OF the opinion Of 9th
ers. how splendidly free life wouia
become to us. how much more calm
how much more noble, how mucs
more brilliant. But an adverse glance
from some nobody affects us. A cold
| shoulder" turned to us alarm us. 4
| word Of hostile comment conveyed
| sedulously to US by q dear enemy
who thinks We ought to know wha
people are saying about u.s." startle:
| US. and we hasten TO put our neckl
beneath the. yoke. II must be more
careful" We say to ourselves.
Oh, what weariness Of the spfri
It is.- this everlasting being careful!
And what does 1t do for US? 1t stint
US. It prevents our growth. i
starves our true nature. It rules on
of our lives many rays OF sunshin.
that might penetrate into the twilight
or tae darkness that broods about uF
Where we might be simple we are ar
fected. Where We might be usefn
we are inert. What shadows We star
at. and yet how very few OF us would
own to being towards. We will &C
.:-owledge many things: that we are
pleasure loving. selfish, vain. proud
irreligious, careless. non-moral even
but that we are towards. never! on,
cowardice keeps us from admitting
that great truth.-Robert Hichens, n
The Queen.