Evening star., 1928-12-12
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

| profited therefrop1? Do they agree
with H. G.. Wells that the man was the
embodiment of all detestable qualities
or do they apply to themselves the
great mans energy, his restless belief
in intelligence, his mastery OF govern
ment?
| Is it not common knowledge that the
close proximities of family life enable
children to pick up most OF the bad
traits of their parents? And do they
not often fail to display some of the
| parents best qualities?
| So it must not be felt that the office
| boy of this dissertation deserves any
particular condemnation. He is held
up as an example of what we all are
more or less.
Moralistic conduct is not easy to see
or to understand or to initiate. The
sad fact is that millions are obtuse
when it comes to recognition of such
| good points. They will spring the old
gag about morals being only the opin-
| ion of one race or country, and will
point to many habits exactly opposite
| in different parts of the world One is
left gasping, yet feeling at heart that
| they are somehow wrong.
| Arguments of sophistication leave
the moralistic person unconyinced. He
believes that there is distinct body OF
right and wrong, as tested and proved
by the experiences of mankind, irrespec-
| tive of race, religion or any other mat
| ter.
These approved ways of conduct
these standard morals, are so ingrained
| in his heart that he unthinkingly re-
spends to their dictates, and naturally
enough, therefore, believes that others
should similarly approve.
| Right conducive use the term
without apology or further explanation
is .apprehended not only by the mind
but by the heart. It, is something
which is woven into the life fabric OF
the child, but not only in that plastic
| loon1-the delicate threads of moral
standards run far, far back through
ancestry, so that no man can say when
or where they had their beginning.
Moral outlooks upon life, like artis-
tic appreciations. are growth. or build
ings-up, based solidly upon firm foun-
dations. AS in all human equations,
there Is no hard and fast rule, nor can
there be any, SO infinite Is the human
spirit. Thus the finest parents may
have child which is ''throwback" to
weaker, inferior ancestors. 1t Is COM
mon knowledge that a child is more
likely to be like its grandfather or
grandmother than its own father or
mother.
In the main, however the subtle un-
derstanding of right and wrong is an
inherent part of human structure.
There Is extant, although probably out
of print, book attempting to show
that Jesus of Nazareth was a man in
whom there could have been no possi-
bility of sin, owing to a certain lack of
molecular structure giving tastes for
sin. Regardless of the truth or fall
sity of the thesis, the book was inter
esting in that it pointed to the appar-
ent truth that there are inherent in the
basic human structure, as it exists in
the world, tendencies toward right and
wrong actions, which, fostered either
way, lead to Righteousness or sin.
Thus it would seem that morality
per Sc, Is no easy study, or something
to be got by human being through
memorizing few stock sentences. but
is quality of civilized human being
which must be fostered from childhood
If the rose of righteousness is to come
into full bloom.