The Washington herald., 1914-09-15
Insults.
BY EMORY ;. HAYNES.

Rest assured everybody has been insulted And
very few ever fought duel over the result Else
the land would be full of bereavement. Rarely is
there much done with nsoence but to let it pass and
avoid the insulter for the future. All of us have
pockets full of insults 1t is the very best place
for them Thin as air really an insult is injurious
mainly to him who threw it For it puts him beyond
tfe pale of decent association. That is always a
fact whatever else may be fact The blunt fact
that he who deals in insulting language acts is
ostracized by all who know his ofense.
There never was, never can be, particle of ex-
cuse for an insult. A person may deserve to be
severely rebuked with plainest of words He may de-
serve to be knocked down, if you please. But that
would be open, manly procedure, in which you
took your chances of being yourself knocked down
That is war; and it has its code of honor.
But to attack another by 1solence is not war. 1t
has code of honor Against an insult there is no
defense Once spoken, there you have it 1t is like
ink white silk. To apologize washes it out
Nor does the nsulter calculate on anything else but
"a hurt sudden that the bravest of men could not
fend it of, nor any lapse of time efface it.
So desperate is the nature of this injury that it
is rendered impossible, far as may be- by wise
men, They consider the person. who he is. Few,
indeed, of all earth's millions can insult me- They
grow fewer as grow older As boy l was very
vulnerable, and had the wounded sensibites toward
about all the boys l knew. 1t was sass and sass
back" much OF the time But it was also very easy
to step right up and try it out then and there
As years began TO develop US, say in the youthful
manhood of college days, it was necessary to be
more careful self-controlled and honorable In
suits became graver ofenses, and more rare Con-
tempt was enough reply in most instances There
was peculiar friend, he could have broken our
hearts with insult. He never did. Our rival, he
could insult u.s. and he did. We carry the wound
y=t Out in the real world most of us have got on
AL armor that is insult proof There is not one man
N 10000 who has the power, by GnsoIence, to get
through our coat of mail
When your equal is rude and ungentlemanly YOU
pity him and turn away. After you are gone he
Furnishes himself and does it roundly too Most of
the inconsiderate behavior toward others is the re-
suit of weakness He who is not equal to his task
who is in position too big for him. he is constantly
cverstrained. He forgets his manners He is testy
He does not know what he said Such man should |
be taken by the collar and kicked onto trout stream
or other vacation. We laugh at him and keep away
all we can. II he really is good fellow we bear
with him and lend hand if possible. We are |
stronger and ought bear the nrmities of the weak
NioPS tiOhHhAS ICNSdlS true greatness OF soul
the rare meekness of persons in high Office To |
preserve, amid adulations the humble sweetness of
mind that is not easily afronted is a wonderful
achievement Greater is he that so rueth his own
spirit than he that taketh city Some ludicrous
displays of "nsuted dignity" we have all witnessed
who have had frequent occasion to mngle with dig
oItaries whether political ecclesiastical or CONNER
,ial The fact is that the all-round well-balanced
great man is rare. Most big men" are specialists.
Good health and kindly heart are the best shields
against insults The full rich strength of health is
almost always ready to laugh at cur insult as a
tunny blunder OF the other man who is suffering
With some ache. The genial spirit finds the excuse
If charity 1t makes allowances enough to save its
'wn peace OF mind. The march is often hot and
iusty and the burden is heavy Thu feet are sore
The heart is faint Let refuse place to the gnats
md sand flies of insults, and, singing song, help
me another.