The Yale expositor., 1917-11-01

away without using every effort to re-
tain it why does false pride sometimes
make us so reckless with what means
most to US?
Morbid jealousy is a real, sad prob
lem of the married life of many homes.
1t may break out at any moment and
many guest, as he passes his cup for
more tea, is struck with surprise at the
strange expression on the face of the
hostess, sees the lightning flash In her
eyes and watches ii strike the innocent
husband at the end of the table, and
the guest almost hears the thunder as
he hopes he will be home before the
cloudburst comes. And the sudden sui
try atmosphere, and that strange hush,
with the air of the room surcharged
with electricity, may all have come
in moment with not the slightest real
justification. 1t is the self-torture Of
love.
To morbid jealousy civility, just Of
the ordinary type, becomes Irritation;
Indifference, disguised feelings; good
spirits, conscience masking a wrong;
silence, thinking of some one else-all
is translated by the cipher code of
jealousy. Jealousy always plays with
loaded dice-the cast is always fore
ordained. Jealousy does not require a
cause, 1t Is satisfied with an oppor-
tunity. 1t may be inspired by what one
does or does not do, what one thought
or did not think, what one said or did
not say; II may be what one might
have, could have or should have done
or said or left undone. Jealousy con-
jugates in all moods and lenses.
To this morbid jealousy explanations
mean nothing but aggravation or
change of base of attack. The most
tactfully delivered explanation is often
dexterously caught, and with a whisk
Of the vocabulary is quickly trans
formed into foaming whipped-cream
conviction on some other phase, while
the innocent sufferer, in a dazed way,
wonders how 1t was done. Vesuvius,
in it's eruptions, Is slow, snail-like in
activity compared with the explosions
Of this jealousy. Unlike cigar smoking,
jealousy is not one-Sex speciality.
This morbid jealousy is always unrea-
soning and unreasonable. Its misin-
depreciation of word, a motion or a
glance may throw into eclipse the loyal
unselfish devotion of life, and the one
who suffers innocently in this tempest
must bow the head in helplessness,
realizing that words of protest would
count no more than attempting to lead
tornado to change its itinerary.
Jealousy stiles faith, which Is the
soul Of love. 1t is emotional suicide.
1t Is a peculiar form Of fear which
seeks constantly to discover what 1t
does not want to find. Jealousy is
the chloroform of confidence. 1t re-
quires faith to keep faith, trust to re-
tain trust, love to cherish love.
Jealousy blights spontaneity and the
free expression of ones thought; one
soon consigns one subject after an
other to the quarantine of the I'M
spoken. One involuntarily steriliZes
ones conversation, emitting simple lit
tie incidents and references nothing in
themselves but which experience has
shown carry storm-signals, so that one
invOluntarily picks ones way carefully
in talking, like a person getting up at
night in a dark, chair-sprinkled room.
How Cupid must moan when he finds
married people grown tactful and
polite with each other. The delight
full free interchange Of thought can
exist only as love and trust make Blue
beard chambers Of interdicted subjects
unnecessary and impossible in CONVEX
sation. We should guard carefully
against closing up any room of con-
| fidence in the mind and heart of one
we love.
There is pathos in this morbid jeal-
ousy, for innocence of the object of
the feeling can prevent 1t. 1t is like
one Of those concave or convex mirrors
that distort whatever passes before
them. This unreasonable jealousy is
hard on two people-the subject and
the object. It's presence in the home
means q problem for two. For one it
means the overcoming of a morbid sus-
picion and the other somehow to keep
the sacred flame of love burning
despite the suspicion. There is always
a benumbing, paralyzing sense of help
lessness and of hopelessness in resting
under a cruel, unjust charge more
awful when 1t is made by one who
should be most ready of all the world
to be convinced of the innocence of the
accused.
Jealousy Is q disease that can be
cured only by the subject, not by any
one else In all the world. No mat
ter how gentle, kind, forbearing. for
giving and forgetting the object Of 1t
may be, this in itself will not cure the
attacks. The subject whose heart Is
thus swayed by fierce gales Of jealousy
must first awaken to the folly Of 1t,
the injustice of 1t, must be conscious
of the trail Of bitterness and unhap-
piness II brings to both, must realize
the cruel continued assault on the toll
erance, love, loyalty and patience of
| tho other and when the next attack