The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-06-15
THE SENSITIVE.
DO 1T NOW.


Most OF know the people who are called
sensitive and all Of who worth consid-
ering are more less Nothing is more
profitable for a Sunday than attempts TO ana,yze
and understand our felIowman and sister
woman generally. acquaintance in particu-
lar and particulars, and ourselves. Through
uncounted thousands of years the wisest and
most Iahor'ous men humanity has produced have
been busy, with all the appliances of developing
science. learning of our bodies, the one hundred
to three hundred pounds of flesh and box
sinews and muscles and nerves and complicated
inside arrangements that are Us, far as we
appear In clothes and daily conversation.
Yet something new In our bodies. some new
way OF curing their maiadies, some microbe or
bacillus Is being found IN them almost daily.
Al to the mysterious things known our souls
and minds we have not even begun TO explore,
except In vague way. knowing that some
how by nerves means baffiing our oomprehen-
sion they are connected with stomachs and
brains and livers and others material parts
Tho normal man knows that to keep his body
perfect he must comply with certain rules OF
MO5hifty Oh ulet anu hJkiSuo hHu tiihl WiHc ilc
does 80 his temper is even. his conscience is
clean, his nerves are steady and hts views of
life are optimistic He knows. also. that as
soon as ne begins to transgress the laws his
body suffers. his appetites and passions master
him and he begins to Ego back"
Therefore led to certain Inevitable CON-
cluaons regarding CONSTITUENCIES" Of the abb
normal and intrusive and disturbing kind. Ali
ct. Us should be sensitive on matters of in
dividual honesty and character, man con-
cerning his honesty and courage, a woman con-
corning her spropriety of conduct and faith to
herself.
: Yet there is sensitiveness that is beyond all
ti1sss requirements and prophecies. We nnd
In life men who quick TO look for Sights
and ansuits when there is no satention to in1ure
thsir characters or feelings. We find other men
Rho droop and wfther under rebuke cr1ti-
cism. -even when At is most kindly intended or
most carefully and considerably given. Young
women sand mature women shrink and relapse
into tears or despair at the slightest sign of
d0approval even OF question OF their con-
duct or motives People OF all kinds and ages
ana OF both sexes develop constituencies and Of
Ser 70 <ight when we have no thought of fight
Ing or fall snto tears or go into frigid resent
nent when we have had no purpose OF giving
injury or causing ofrense
There is where our analysis is puzzled and
hafied and where we are put to study our
selves. Practically all OF us are sensitive on
some pont--on fairness or our leanness
our lack of height or flesh, on our
youth or our age, on our absence too much
abundance OF hair, fads or lack of
knowledge on our ancestry social posi-
tons Whatever our moral. Intellectual. edu-
cstiorai, social physical defects or faults
we have weak points and can be hurt by
having attention called to them. Yet the most
OF Us somewhow have the power to hide our
scars and to avoid confession to the public
mat we have been hurt. When IT comes to
those who have not that strength are forced
10 explore and to guess. Is II an inherited weak
ness? Is is vanity unduy sensitzed? Vanity
IL q queer and queerly contradictory trait
Sometimes 1t makes it's victim raw and sensitive
a. scalded surface living body shrink
lag and quivering at the touch of the gentlest
breeze; sometimes hard and callous against the
Gercest and most ferceIy penetrating shafts of
truth. Is the sensitiveness abnormal egotism,
conscious weakness the craving for human
affection and consideration all OF us have, only
extravaganty displayed? Or is 1t some physical
Trouble. temporary or permanent acting on the
mind and sens.b;Iatses- disaster of .he1
mind and memory acting the physical
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