Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-04-14
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES Z. TRAcEwELL.

Intemperance In hobbies make q mar
q bore to his friends and fanatic to
the world at large.
Now there Is nothing better for q
man than q hobby. 1t keeps him from
taking himself too seriously, always to
be guarded against after the age Of
80, and teaches him federation.
A hobby not only gives the average
person something ON which to wtet his
keen edge Of enthusiasm, one Of the most
valuable characteristics Of q human
being, but above all 1t helps TO make
him human.
Temperance, as well as liberation, Is
a virtue which may and ought to be
applied in all the several walks Of life,
not just kept laid away done up in
tissue paper for the more formal de-
partments Of life and living.
The belief, held by many persons,
that liberation is something to be ap-
piled only in affairs sf the spirit has
done q great deal of harm in the world
Of living men.
There Is O great deal more to toler-
ance than that. Tolerance, properly in
terpreted, means kindliness, q willing
ness to mind ones own business and
permit other people to mind theirs, II
they will.
federation applied to physical and
mental affairs, in every department OF
life, would lead the way out Of the
morass Of criticism, sophistication and
gossip in which the civilized portion OF
mankind finds itself.
II would cause o new era TO dawn
which, in It's turn, would bring about
the spiritual renaissance which many
thinkers believe necessary II mankind
is to 90 forward, not backward.
=
Temperance, likewise, Is something
more than mere abstinence from liquor.
1t, too, Is virtue which may be put
into operation in almost any matter
which the mind, heart or hand OF man
touches.
But in no affair, probably not even in
that Of drinking, can man be more
temperate than in riding his chosen
hobby.
No matter what It Is, from books to
beetles, whatever the avocation one
fancies, it Is q better hobby better rid
den II one insists, for his own sake and
that of his friends and acquaintance,
on taking 1t with several grains OF
proverbial salt.
Thus he makes sure Of not becoming
q fanatic. The role of fanatic IL one
which the great bulk Of human beings
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Of history have been the great enthusi-
asts, and much has been forgiven them
because Of the things they achieved.
Fanaticism oftentimes has been the
one road toward, not perfection, but a
nearer approach to It. When one stops
to think back over the great fanatics.
even the mistaken ones, he becomes
silent in the face Of their devotion and
plain heroigm.
Not for any price would the earnest
searcher after truth, or such truth as
he Is fitted to appreciate, take 1t upon
himself to condemn the real fanatics.
AS their work was and IS singular, SO
the judgments concerning them must
remain unique.
+
The so-called average human being,
however, Is not fitted from the begin
ming TO be a fanatic The dictionary
definition of the latter, by the way, Is q
person filled with excessive and mis-
taken enthusiasm, especially in religious
matters.
80 we get our popular slang word.
"fan," which we apply TO any person,
especially sportsman, who develops a
great zeal for his play, and, following.
one who becomes excessively enamored
as q spectator.
The base ball "fan" and the radio
fan" are two outstanding examples.