Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1917-10-14
A STATE OF MIND

among the rest by his cheerful simplicity his adherence
to natural Standards his mitless faith in God his
and by the absence in him of doubt ennu buresquc
persiage any strained and temporary fashion," And
again he said 'The ambition strains for eleva
tons, to become privileged exclusive. The master
greatness and health being part of the mass moth
ing will do well ground. Would you have
in yourself the divine, vast general laws Then merge
yourself in it,
Here surely is plea for the normal average. 1t is
true that progress often results from divergence from
the normal provided the path newly marked out proves
to be the right At any rate there must be the right
of experimentation AS has been said the non-conforn
list plays great part in human life And liberty means
little than that he should have his chance The
ton is to the effect his character of the atti
tude of the who strains for elevations to become
privileged exclusive and then asks the world to
take him at his valuation The normal usually means
nothing more than what men, after much experimenting
have found to be good and true. When after long and
careful examination the physician finds that our physi-
cal condition is normal greatly rejoice No one wants
anything but normal pulse heart beat. When these
are abnormal are alarmed.
1t is precisely in the normal and aesthetic worlds
Abnomality here, in the physical world is sign of
Ill health There is, in spite of all that the Nordaus NAV
say necessary connection between disease-menal or
moral-and genius. "Would you have in yourself the
divine, vast general law? Then merge yourself in it
Perhaps most of think too much of self of the
ance we present. and of what others thinking about
u.s. There people who dramatic everything they say
or do.
The attitude of the world-and it is wise world-to-
ward this is either of contempt or pity 'Best be
yourself imperial plain and true'-such is it's advice
Those who refuse to follow usually succeed only in max
ing themselves ridiculous For no one can play part
without every one knowing it.
Such people deceive only themselves Perhaps thew
can not help it, for has been suggested they are as
rule in state of invncble ignorance though thinking
themselves to be the wsest Of men, Here is after all their
greatest limitation Those not demagog1es Who adj
mre, and like to be with the common mantle man who
is always himself and pretends be anything else
the man who poses.
There is great charm in nat,1ralness natural
ness as is in children. "Who is there" asked Epic
teu whom bright and agreeable children do not attract
to play and creep and prate with them?' And Epcte-
tus is one of the greatest of philosophers
4: u =
The state of mind of those who seek to set themselves
off from others is measured by the Epcetus standard
wholly artificial 1t is hardly than the manifesto
ton of morbid seconscousness People thus afflicted
differ from Others not because they think others wrong
but only for the sake of differing They dare not be like
their neighbors. They fearful of conforming as
others are OF nonconforng For to be like others is to
cease to be original
The extreme is reached when refuse to be decent
because decency is such common quality They must
as they say ve their own lives Others write foul books
representing often their foul lives-and mex
pressloy shocked when the police of the postal author
ties interfere They think that genius is being shaced