Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-05-30
THE QUALIFY OF SINCERITY.
Il Is a Rare Tribute and High Above
Price.


lin their relations with others. it Is bet
ter promoted by ingenious deception
than by downright candor. So grea
lis the vanity of mankind that 1t !!
easy to deceive even man OF th'
world by flattering him artfully. W.
love to delude ourselves, and, there
fore. others have the opportunity o.
deluding us If they can only find oul
week point. Hamlet told Rosencranti
and Guildenstern that they wanted u
"play upon him." to pluck out the
heart of his mystery" and to "soune
him from his lowest note to the top o.
his COMPASS" He defied them TO on
this, but he showed himself an entirely
exceptional character in not allowing
himself to be played upon.
It was Hamlet, too, who used the
phrase. "Tis as easy as lyins'-ano
here the philosophic prince OF den
mark was mistaken, for nothing Is
harder than to lie successfully.
But indeed, the worst form OF raise
hood is to be ones self a living lie
There are men-I will not for the sake
of eallantry add that there are women
who are always acting a part.
They pretend to be what they are not
They simulate sentiments which tne1
do not really entertain. Though SELL
ish in the extreme, they profess
nositively altruistic humanitarianism
They are time savers, but they try to
make others believe that they despise
expediency and that they act only on
principle. Such persons are best des-
cribcd as "shams" or "humbugs.' AND
vet they may be persons who nave
| never told lie."
| But even when we wish to be gen.
uinely sincere it is not so easy as tne
thoughtless may suppose to carry OUT
the wish in practice. To say what
we mean and to make the person TO
whom 1t is said fully grasp our mean
ing Is an art which even the literary
expert may not have mastered. Con-
yersation may consist Of either dell
berate or unintentional deception. one
reason why it has become lost ART
is that we are all in too great hurry 10
talk and that in the few minutes we
devote to talking we reveal only the
surface of our minds. Misunderstand-
ings under such circumstances are nat
ural. and we often misunderstood ana
m,siudpe those who mean to be abso-
utely sincere. Thus because. OF the
wild haste Of modern life the tongue
too often betrays the heart.
Sometimes is seems better to remain
"inarticulate," as Carlyle would say
and not speak at all rather than say
something which misrepresents our
true feelings but which cannot be re-
called. There is much to be said for
"the noble silent men" I am quoting
the sage or, as his revilers might per-
hans term him, the churl of Chelsea
scattered here and there, each In his
own department silently thinking, ST.
lently working, whom no morning
newspaper makes mention Of" To-Day
we have too many "soapbox orators y
but we have too few capable conversa-
tionalists. Publicity and the exigen-
cies of business have all but destroyed
the grand old ease of intercourse OF
bygone days.
We have all from time to time ut
tered impudent words-we have said
what we did not mean to say-and my
own errors in this respect make me
sometimes feel a desire to take view
Of perpetual silence like Carthusian
monk.
And vet we must speak. Is not the
aim of life to express our own person
ality, to unfold our being, to prove to
the world that we are individuals and
not nonentities? This at least Is part
of life's aim, if it be not the only thing
that we live for-there is also the
higher plane in which life should
harmonize with some ideal Of perfec-
tion.
We all photograph ourselves every
day by our very actions If there were
only a spiritual camera to take true
picture Of each one Of us. Even when
we do not utter a single word, those
with whom we live read our counter.
ances and divine our thoughts. Few
men are enigmas to their wives,
though to their male friends they may
wear the aspect of heroes or social de-
migods. Close relationship is pitifully
disenchanting, and the most change
less domestic love has a background
of lost illusions. The man who wishes
to preserve his dignity at any COST
should never get married Be sure his
better half will soon discover that
he is a "mere man.
There are persons who have cul-
tivated a false manner, false fashion
of speaking, a sort Of conversational
diplomacy which might be called
Machiavellian if it were not too petty
to be associated with the Florentine's
big scheme of monarchic dissimula-
ton. If diplomats must pose, they pose
in the interests of nations. But the
man with the false manner poses en-
tirely in his own interest
Strange as it may. seem to say So
few of us understand even those with
whom we are most intimate. We ire
quently misunderstood them, and such
deplorable misunderstanding may al
times make us almost hate those whom
we love and who love us. Body and
spirit are never entirely zen rapport
and so it is that there may be false-
ness in caresses. Our earthly love mas
in it a histrionic element. The lover
cannot help acting. How could 1t be
otherwise? The love of the sexes is
always special pleading. No young
man Is so fine" as the girl he azores
supposes him to be, and no maiden
that ever lived is faultless IN race
or in character. The romance or court
ship is a species of make-believe, ana
this is realized on both sides when tne