Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-02
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES Z. TRACEFELL.

Emerson in his journal of 1845 wrote
II observe that all the bookish men
have a tendency to believe that they
are unpopular. Parker gravely informs
me by word and letter that he is pre-
| cisely the most unpopular of all men in
New England. Alcott believed the same
thing of himself, and I, no doubt, if
they had not anticipated me in claim
ing this distinction, should have claimed
it for myself"
It would be interesting to know
| whether the "bookish men" of today
feel the same way about themselves.
Men who like books are given to intro
J spection, and such peering into ones
own acts and motives, and hence into
the acts and motives of others, tends to
make one sensitive.
Put it another way: Only the sensi-
tive love books, and they alone indulge
in psychological inward looks at them
selves and others. So doing, they see
beneath the surface of bunk" which
coats the worlds of deeds and words;
they come TO have clearer realization
than most of the strange things which
pass among men as great things.
Hence the typically bookish man, now,
as then, knows the value of popularity
from one standpoint and its utter
worthlessness from another. He real
ICES that unless he can be. in popular
Technology, good sport he cannot
be popular.
Popularity means meeting the appro-
baton of the many. In the year 1880
those are most popular, at least in the
United States, who succeed in sports.
The most popular man in the world,
Lindbergh, succeeded hugely in what
many call the greatest sport in the
world, flying.
It is precisely because the bookish
man knows that he is not a sportsman
that he feels his lack of popularity.
Perhaps 1t was always so, except during
certain eras, when the writing man
drew down the plaudits of the masses.
The craving for popularity. at least
certain amount of it, is inherent in
the human race. No doubt more men
would choose the career of Napoleon If
they had the chance than that of any
one of the great moral saviors of the
race. Hero worship is in the blood, and
every man wants to be hero, because
popularity is his reward.
Not only bookish men have a tend
ency to believe they are unpopular;
the most popular persons at times tend
to believe much the same thing. But
the bookish person has more back
ground to resist the cravings for a thing
as tickle as popularity. He knows that
natural history Of favor, and realizes
that it is a distinctly animal heritage,
one which survives because every man
is dependent upon every other man in
the last analysis. Consider the stock
market crash II you doubt this. Con-
slider even more the psychological fac
tors which are working as a result of it.
Against the craving for popularity
the bookish one places the craving of
every rightly constituted man to live
his own life as he pleases, so long as
he stays within the law and hurts no
one. He had rather be able to mind
his own business than be popular and
be forced to let every one else mind 1t,
or try to mind 1t, which is even worse.
ASK Lindy)
What pleases the bookish man in his
search for contentment is that he is
representative of every one. He may
be called strange" or eccentric" by
those who do not understand-or rather
do not want to understandable he
knows that through his methods of
research he Is more representative of
them than they are of him.
Popularity, he knows, is a surface
condition which may be swept away
overnight. (Recall the history of popular
base ball players.) It is pleasing while
1t lasts, but it may not last long. In
variably 1t is subject to the spleen of
envy and jealousy, two corroding bitter
ingredients found in far too many peo-
pie for the worlds good.
What has bookish major any
other man-wherewith to compensate