The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1915-10-07
Wayside MeditatiOns
By "Optinao"
Mental Staphyloma.
By "Optinao."
Mental Staphyloma.

Prejudice is, therefore, unreasoning;
and to hold an antipathy to per-
son or a cause without an intelli-
gent reason is prima-facie evidence
that you are afflicted with an evil
form of mental stapyhloma.
Anger is another form of mental
blindness. This may be but fleet
ing disease, casting but a Temporal
ry shadow over an otherwise clear
mind. And yet, while the anger
may be t1eeting or intermittent, the
result may be disaster beyond re-
call, and suffering beyond human
power to alleviate. Homes have
been disrupted, friends have been
lost, and dire disaster has befallen
unnumbered thousands of individ-
uals because they have allowed
themselves to succumb to anger's
tempestuous impulse. Anger blinds
the mind to every sense of reason or
justice. and oftentimes causes it's
victims temporarily to become rag
ing demoniacs. A person who is
overcome by anger will not reason
themselves, neither will they listen
to reason or logic from others.
Greed is another form of staphy-
Iona. Greed in the individual man
ifests itself in this, that the individ-
ual strives to gain for himself a
greater portion of worldly pelf than
is riehtfully his; and oftentimes he
does this regardless of the property
rights of others.
Corporation greed is manifested
by company of individuals re-
stricting the amount paid their en-
ployees to sum barely sufficient to
defray actual living expenses. Thus
if an employee, because of sickness
or for other reason is thrown out of
employment, he must-if he can
incur an indebtedness which even
tho re-employed he will be unable
to liquidate. But in case credit is
refused him, he must apply to char
ity or resort to crime.
Another staphylomic affection
and one which has been the cause
OF untold and needless suffering, is
jealousy. Jealousy has both a good
and evil sense. We shall in this
instance however, use it in it's low
est common terms. Jealousy has
been called the green eyed mon
ster," and when we consider the
havoc that bas been wrot because
of this mental affection, we conclude
that it has not been improperly
named.
Jealousy is largely the outgrowth
OF inordinate self-esteem. A man
or a woman is 80 self-centered that
if one upon whom they deign to
confer their selfish affections indul-
ges in even the ordinary courtesies
with one of the opposite sex. evil
motives are ascribed to them. Upon
such causeless foundations are
builded superstructures of malignant
and malevolent jealousies. From
very trivial causes arises this pecul-
lar mental malady; but once the
mind becomes infected with the vi
rus of jealousy. the disease spreads
thruout the mental recesses until
the individual so affected becomes
blinded to all sense of justice inso-
far as they toward whom jealousy
is directed is concerned. jealousy
has no reason for its existence; it
deprives of their full reasoning
powers whomsoever is afflicted with
it.
repeat that there is no reason
for the existence of jealousy. If q
woman is good woman, or if man
is a good man, they will not at any
time act in such a manner as to
create feeling of jealousy in the
mind of another. and if man ia