The Washington herald., 1912-05-19

IL to suspend Judgment The man who Will
not DO 50 IL surely and severely judged In
his turn. One needs beware Of q man. and
snsptical Of his powers OF understanding,
who says frequently, and with the nnality
Of Sir Oracle. That's my opinionl- The
chances are a hundred 70 one that he has
no opinions; only some arrogant prejudices
And any man should be watehfui Of HIM
self that he fan not into the habit Of set
ting many things with this fnality. Judg-
meut IL almost sure to overtal0e him. though
he VIII hardly have understanding enough
TO recognise why.
So deadly 10 Il TO the vital powers OF mind
to hold opinions without being able 70 give
reasons for them. and hold them the more
stubbornly on this account, that some one
has spoken Of the deep slumber Of de-
,cided opinions" The mind should be COM
PEELED to exercise with regularity and con-
stancy itsr1vital powers, and reasoning Is
one Of its highest functions.
Many q man has made very bad opinion
prevail because he has presented It with
specious reasons to those of unexercised I'M
derstandings. Mil tells US that on any
matter not self-evident there are ninety-nine
persons totally incapable Of judging It. for
one who IL capable. and the capacity Of the
hundredth is only comparative, for the ma
Jority OF eminent men Of every past genera
ton held many opinions now known TO be
erroneous aud did or approved numerous
things which no one will now justify. Why.
is It, then, that there n on the whole q
preponderance among mankind Of rational
opinions and rational conduct"
The answer 10 this question is that owing
to quality Of the human mind. which is the
source OF everything respectable in man
either as an intellectual or moral being, his
errors can be corrected. He can rectify his
mistakes by experience and discussion-dis-
cussion for the sake Of interpreting expert
ence. "wrong opinions and practices grad
ually yield to fact and argument, but facts
and arguments, TO produce any effect upon
the mind, must be brought before It"
+ 4
Reasoning Not Defendable.
With the increase of understanding through
the exercise Of the reasoning powers comes
that ability to be the one hundredth man who
l. a safe Judge of a matter that is not self
evident. 1t IL a strange thing that we can Z
appreciate the value OF a developed under
standing in Judging teas, or wines, or silks, or
diamonds, but altogether fall to understand
its value in more vital and less concrete
things; and that as this infalllble judgment
OF teas did not come by having opinions about
teas which could not be supported b.. facts
with some dIficulty acquired. so judgment
OF conduct-the thing men most commonly
think they have infallIble opinions on with
out any training OF judgment-cannot be
safe unless backed by wide observation and
experience in reasoning about conduct
Any increase Of understanding through the
requirement Of specialized knowledge In
extent. A man who can hold his own in
one field without fear or favor is prepared. as
far as increased powers and confidence in
himself is concerned, to hold his own in an
other, yet It is very easy for him to be over
confident, overassertive. A man may be an
almost infaIlible judge OF teas or wines and
be very poor Judge Of character, yet his
very habit OF infallibIlity in one thing may
lead him constantly to assert opinions on
politics. business, etc, as though his Judg-
ment on these things was also infsIlible
There are only few situations In life where
g man is called upon to openly defend his
opinions, but in quite a particular sense the
whole Of any worth while existence is a
successful encounter with all sorts Of chaI-
lenges- He has to face those who are against
him and act out his reason for the faith
"lI-AAh uA4ul even II ne QOeS not OeIGnQ IN
words. What Mil calls the most Indifferent
Of churches, which certainly In this one re-
spect at least showed itself tolerant above
the most. that is, the Roman Catholic, he
mentions as admitting DEVILS advocate
at the canonization OF a saint
The greatest and most profitable Of dIscov-
cries have not gone unchallenged. To as
sumo infallibility Is TO challenge the world.
and yet strangely enough every man does
usually in some one particular, II not in many,
consider his opinions as without question
right He will agree to admit discussion on
what he calls doubtful questions, but will
say, there are certain things-and he is not
to the sxioms-that cannot be
questioned. In so saying he, OF course. as
Sumes infalllbility.
=
Too Much Indifference.
man may have some pretty good opinions
n some one subject, and be able 10 defend