The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-12-07
THE OPTIMIST.

One Of the most universal characters
ties Of human nature, a vice that feV
men and women fewer still. are quit,
without. is hypocrisy vice on which
from time immemorial. the poets and
philosophers have been hard In their con
domination. Hazlitt declares that "th,
only vice that cannot be forgiven is by
poerisy," and Johnson stiguatizes IL a,
the necessary burthen Of villainy." And
yet II is hard, indeed. 70 tell when we arr
dneonsciousIy playing the hypocrite. and
1 suspect that more often than we mag
Inc We assume virtues that we have not
perhaps because the instinct for good IL
all of US is so insistent that We try to de
ceive ourselves into the belief that By
seeming good we may become so. II one
thinks Of hypocrisy thus. one can come C
understand what Victor Hugo meant
when he said that Hypocrisy is nothing
In fact. but a horrible hOpefulness
Who can say where aspiration ends and
hypocrisy begins; what is seeming anC
what truth?
All live by seeming.
The beggar begs with H. and the gay eorrticr
The clergy scorn II not. and the bid soldier
Mih exc with IL his serYioe-Al admit IT,
All practice IL: and he who il content
With showing what he is shall have small credit
In church, OF camp or state.-So wags the world
II is more than mere phrase 10 say
that the spirit is willing. but the flesh Is
weak" In this life the body and the sou
pull often in different directions, and Il /.
one of the frailties Of our natures that
realizing the best. we so often turn our
backs upon it deliberately. and choose the
worst.
There is not one among US but wears
some disguise. II we did not. il is easy
TO foresee that We should be swamped by
the indecency OF things: Mortified 10 find
that others are no better than ourselves,
that we, ourselves. stripped OF our uncon-
scious hypocrisy, appear SO weak and 50
wicked What is it to be a hypocrite:
Somebody has defined il as one who pro-
fesses what he does not believe: not he
who does not practice all he wishes OF ap-
proves. This shows us the difficulty, nay
one might almost say, the iInpOssibility
OF living without hypocrisy; but IL is well
that we may make the distinction and
understand the difference between con-
scious and unconscious hypocrisy. Haz-
lit found q way 10 describe this aotly
when he said that "a priest may be hon
est. and yet err: a woman may be modest
and yet half Inclined 10 be a rake" He rec
oGnized, you see. that no professions OF
ours can keep US from making mistakes
Earnestly We may desire 20 walk in The
best way, ana yet find our feet slippins
into the mud. II. then. We try 10 hide our
soiled feet in the hope that we soon get
10 the high road again surely this is not
an evil sort Of hypocrisy,
Bacon tells Us that "a bad man is worse
when he pretends 20 be a saint" but this
IS a short-sighted and narrow view Of the
matter. II the bad man pretending 70 be
a saint is using the pretense as an oppor-
tunity for greater villainy. then he is a
rogue indeed; but the bad man. conscious
OF his badness. may, after -. IN his pre-
tending be merely trying TO sample good
ness; 70 let his spirit express itself beyond
the bounds OF the flesh
ike better that saying Of La Rochefou-
cauld:
Hypocrisy is he homage VICE pays 70 virtue.
For that means. Enthusiastically that the
man whose professions do not accord
with his daily life is yet willing to admit
IN his heart that his way-the way OF evil
is the wrong way. and that goodness is a
thing worth striving for. COwper had
something Of the same thought when he
wrote
hypocrisy detest her as We NAV.
And no mans hatred ever Wronged her yctl
May claim this merit still that she admits
The worth q what she nimics geith such care
And thus gives virtue indirect applause