Evening star., 1925-06-20
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES L. TRACEWELL.

a great country. Nor is this flag wav.
Ing" in any degree. Look back over
the history of the world, study 1t as
you please, and you will see that every
word of 1t is true.
Each one of us today Is more or less
free from certain great fears which
beset former ages. We have more
time and energy to devote to our prop.
er work as men, to the very Adven.
ture Of Living, If you will. Each day
is another opportunity for Adventure.
To get up in the morning is an Ad.
venture; to work Is an Adventure; to
watch the Summer storm come down
Is Adventure; to see the purple clouds
cut through. here and there, with
lighter flashes and tints; to go to sleep
to dream--these are all Adventures.
Such Adventures of the daily life are
only commonplace If we think they
are, for in reality there Is nothing
commonplace In the world, not even
a grain of matter. which science has
shown us to be filled with the Adven-
lures OF the Atoms and Electrons.
4 4 u *
Above al, il seems to me. we have
opportunity to engage in the great Ad
venture of Thinking
Il live, because I think" said Des.
cartes.
Thinking is, indeed. An Adventure
eXcelled by none, since it can include
all the other adventures of which man
is capable, with impossible adventures
of which he can only dream.
OF dream adventures, however, the
world has had its full share. They
are recorded in many book, and in
many a heart, and the eternal prog
ress of their marching goes on uninter.
rupted.
What we really need is real think
ing, making the best use of our minds
getting at the truth of things fear
lessly and honestly.
AN honest mans the noblest work
OF God said Pope, in one of his bril-
| liant liI0e. We do not know exactly
what he meant. but probably he spoke
OF L man honest in matters of money
since his age knew much corruption
in bribery.
There is another sort of honesty
! however.
II is Intellectual Honesty. which. il
a man possesses, he has something
unusual. There are thousand mer
honest with money to one honest in
tellectually.
To r. honest intellectually means
| that a man really tries TO get at the
bottom of things. to know as best he
can what makes the wheels 80 round
and why, and above all, to know al
this about himself.
Only the true psychologist knows
what lot of tomfoolery there exists
| in the world, wherewith man soft
soaps himself into believing things
which he wants to believe. 1t is q
poor act. indeed. which the average
man cannot Justify by host of per
fectly good reasons
A striking instance of this ability oi
man to fool himself. to be intellectually
dishonest with himself, Is the absolute
| ly divergent opinion held upon GER
tain political matters. Two men. equa
in innate craniai capacity and educa
ton. hold opposite views upon some
great issue, and each has a pack o1
fine reasons why his view is correct
| Each knows that both cannot be right
| and so claims that he alone is correc,
! in his statements.
| The unprejudiced outsider may be
forgiven for wondering if either 1.
right, until he realizes that neither Is
intellectually honest. Each has ar
| aim he wants to achieve. and marshal,
his reasons" to uphold his purpose
| He wants TO vinoicate rather thaT
prove.
Any one Of us. then, has a wonder
full opportunity to engage in IA really
great Adventure of Thinking. if he will
be intellectually honest with himself
and OF hers