Evening star., 1925-07-16
Who is an ignorant man?

| Who is an ignorant man?
! The evolutionist says the funda-
| nlentaliSt is, and the fundamentalist,
in his turn. is more than positive that
the evolutionist is an ignorant fellow.
The school teacher is apt to imag-
! inc that the man without book
! learning" is ignorant, while the man
| who prides himself on physical feats
is likely to think the high brow" eX-
| tremely so.
Each person who feels himself the
| custodian of Truth not only has a
| tremendous zeal for converts, but is
willing TO hurl the word 'ignoramus"
| at those who do not know what he
knows, and especially at those who
| disagree with him.
Marcus Aurelius. In the eighth book
| OF his "Meditations," gives a more
complete definition of an ignorant
| man, refusing to consider the mere
mechanics of life. choosing, rather,
the ethical qualities. He says:
THE mind which is free from pas
sions is a citadel, for man has nothing
| more secure 10 which he can fly for
! refuge and for the future be mex
puGnable. He who has not seen this
is an ignorant man"
This idea of what constitutes a man
of ignorance differs largely from prev
alent modes of thought, placing the
accent upon the subjugation of the
various so-cailed passions.
Every man possesses "a fortress in
his own mind, where he may lock
himself up from anger and the other
daily vices which beset us all This.
| in the final analysis, is the last and
best refuge a man has.
Take the passion of anger as a type
of them alk
Anger is so common that few stop
to realize what a disturbing factor it
is in life; yet if we could peer into
houses at will, we would see home
after home being slowly poisoned by
constant pickering, perpetual nag
ging, constant criticism, all forms of
anger.
SO subtle. indeed is anger that
many regard it as life, whereas 1t is
! only a retention of the worst features
of an animal characteristic, helpful
to them but harmful to us.
He who does not know how and
| makes no attempt to free himself
from this and other passions is an ig-
| norant man, Marcus Aurelius says.
x x
Is the reader one who pleases him
self or other people?
| do not mean in selfishness, but
simply by taking others opinions be
fore his own. putting too much stock
in what They" will say, doing Ger
tain things because he thinks others
will approve, not doing various other
things because he imagines They"
will not approve.
Marcus Aurelius. writing nearly
1000 years ago, told us once and for
all to live our own lives, as long as
we sincerely try to live them accord
ing to decent standards.
One of the false deductions com
monty made is that freedom means
license. Sometimes it does. of course,
since human beings are human be
ings. Often. on the other hand. free
dom of action and thought means
growth. worth, fineness.
Aurelius says; Thou hast fallen
into disorder, so that it is no longer
easy for thee to get the reputation
Of a philosopher, and thy plan of life
also opposes it
Perhaps most of us would come un-
der this classification
IF then, thou hast truly seen where
the matter lies. throw away the
thought how thou shalt seem to
others, and be content if thou shalt
live the rest of thy life in such wise
as thy nature wills"
When one thinks of all the good