The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1905-02-09
CHAPTER III.
SIMPLICITY OF THOUGHT.

A ing; the domain Of our Ideas Is In
the same case. Anarchy reigns in hui
man thought. We walk In the woods
without compass or sun, lost among
the brambles and briers of infinite de-
tail.
When once man has recognized the
fact that he has an aim, and that this
aim is to be a man, he organizes his
thought accordingly. Every mode Of
thinking or Judging which does not
make him better and stronger he re-
jects as dangerous.
And first Of all he fees the too com
mon contrariety Of amusing himself
with his thought. Thought is a tool,
with its own proper function; 1t isn't a
toy. Let US take an example. Here is
the studio Of painter The implements
are all in place; everything indicates
that this assemblage Of means Is mr.
ranged with view to an end. Throw
the room open to apes. They will climb
on the benches, swing from the cords,
rig themselves In draperles, Golf them
selves with slippers, juggle with brush
es, nlbble the colors and pierce the can
vases TO see what is behind the paint
/ don't question their enjoyment Ger
tainly they must find this kind Of ex'
erclse extremely interesting. But ar
atelier is not made to let monkeys
loose In. No more is thought n ground
for acrobatIc eyolutions. A man worthy
of the name thinks as he Is, as his
tastes are; he goes about 1t with his
whole heart, and not with that ftful
and sterile curiosity which, under pre-
text Of observing and noting every
thing, runs the risk of never experienc-
ing a deep and true emotion or accom-
plishing right deed,
Another habit in urgent need Of cor
rectlon, ordinary attendant on conven-
tional life, is the mania for examining
and analyzlng oneself at every turn.
! do not invite men to neglect intro
spection and the examination Of con-
science. The endeavor to understand
ones own mental attitudes and motives
Of conduct Is an essential element OF
good living. But quite other is this ex-
treme vigilance, this incessant obser-
walton Of ones life and thoughts, this
dissecting Of oneself, like a piece or
mechanism. 1t Is waste of time ana
goes wide Of the mark. Tho man who
to prepare himself the better for walk
ing, should begin by making a rigid
anatomical examination Of his means
of locomotion would risk dislocating
something before he had taken a step.
You have what you need to walk with
then forward! Take care not to fall,
and use your forces with discretion.
Potterers and scruple mongers are soon
reduced to inaction. 1t needs but
gllmmer of common sense to perceive
that man is not made to pass his life
In self centered trance,
And common sense-do you not find
what IL designated by this name be.
coming as rare us the common sense
customs OF other daysl Common sense
has become an ola story. We must
have something new, and we create
a fnctitious existence, refinement Of
living, that the vulgar crowd has not
the wherewlthal to procure. 1t Is 30
agreeable to be distinguished! Instead
Of conducting ourselves like rational
beings and using the means most OBJ
vlously at our command we arrive, by
dint of absolute genius, at the most
astonishing slngularties. Better off
the track than ON the main linel All
the bodily defects and deformities that
orthopedy treats give but feeble idea
Of the humps, the tortuosities, the dis
locations we have inflicted upon our
selves in order to depart from simple
common sense. and at our own ex-
pense we learn that one does not de-
form himself with impunity. Novelty,
after all, Is ephemeral Nothing en-
dures but the eternal commonplace
ana If one departs from that II is to
run the most perllous risks. Happy
he who is able to reclaim himself, who
inds the way back to simplicity.
Good plain sense is not, as is often
imagined, the innate possession of the
hrst chance conner, mean and p0ltry
equipment that has cost nothing to
any one. | would compare 1t to those
bid folk songs, unfathered, but death
less, which seem to have risen out of
lhe very heart of the people. Good
sense is a fund slowly and painfully
by the labor of centuries,
It is a jewel Of the first water, whose
ralue he alone understands who has
ost It or who observes the lives OF
,thers who have lost It, For my part
think no price too great to pay for
gaining 1t and keeping 1t for the pos
session Of eyes that see and 1udg-
ment that dlscerns. One takes good
care Of his sword that 1t be not bent
Or rusted; with greater reason should
he give heed to his thought.
But let this be well understood: An
appeal to common sense Is not an mp
peal to thought that grovels, to narrow
positivism which denies everything 1t
cannot see or touch; for to wish that
man should be absorbed in material
sensations, TO the exclusion of the high
realities of the inner life, is also want
of good sense. Here we touch upon a
tender point, round which the greatest
battles Of humanity are waglng. In
truth, we are striving TO attain con-
ception Of life, searching it out amid
countless obscurlues and grlefs, and
everything that touches upon spiritual
realities becomes day by day more
painful. In the midst Of the grave
perplexitles and transient disorders
that accompany great crises of thought
1t seems more difficult than ever to es-
cape with any simple principles, Yet
necessity itself comes to our aid, as 1t
has done for the men Of all times. The
programme Of life Is terribly simple
after all, and In the fact that existence
so imperlously forces herself upon us
she gives us notice that she precedes
any idea OF her which we may make
for ourselves and that no one can put
OF living pending an attempt to under