Evening star., 1931-12-22

There is little hope for the man who
thinks that no one else can tell him
anything.
This is one of the most curious traits
OF human beings and deserves particu-
lar study, for every one is victim Of
the malady at times.
Surely 1t is sort Of illness or weak
ness of the intellect.
men are most susceptible.
FOR downright egotism men easily
carry on the prize, though a conceited
woman surpaSses them all.
man may be fool and yet suffer
less than the fellow who somehow gets
the Idea into his head that no one else
knows anything.
Here Is man, for instance, who
prefers to be forced to take to his bed
with severe cold rather than accept
the ADVICE of a. friend on how to cure
one
Every one has cold cure" of course,
put this lmpromptu doctor has had ex-
perlence, which is better than cure.
"A man with real experience in curing
MS own colds as they arise may come
10 know more than some medical men
about the causation of common colds.
lie arrives at this happy state because
ne Is not hidebound by rules and regu-
lations. In the course of much expert
mentation on himself he comes to a few
regimens which work.
He Is fully cognizant of the fact that
they may not work on the other fellow
He allows Tor tnat. Yet he belives they
may do him good and fees certain that
the other should at least give them q
fair trial
Does the other do it?
He does not. He plainly shows from
his manner that he regards the other
as utterly incapable of hitting upon a
real help toward mitigating the miseries
OF the common cold. Not only does he
! know nothing of the personal expert
ments OF the man who profferS advice
but he cares less and would not believe
n word If buShel of them were offered
him as evidence
He has, in plain words, a contempt
for the knowledge of a fellow human
being. II he, the sufferer, who declares
himself to be aching all over" has
not managed to stumble upon help in
time of trouble, how can this insuffer-
able person have done as much?
To admit that he had would be ad
mitting, alas, that he had been able
to do something which he, the sufferer
had not been able to do
And this, clearly, would be impos-
sible. Deep silence is the least which
he who proffers advice may expect
Silence is the mildest answer. The
others run from pleasantries to harsh
ridicule. each and every answer plainly
testifying to the inability of the aver
age man TO know a good thing when
he sees it, unless it comes to him too
plainly labeled to be mistaken, and
preferably costs him money.
man will accept advice from a
doctor without a quibble or slightest
manifestation of doubt, although he will
end by not following it. Medical men
declare. in their off moments. that one
Of their great difficulties is TO get most
people to put into practice the really
good advice they give them.
We are more inclined to put our faith
in thoroughly costly prescription
written in a language with which we
are only mildly familiar, from having
struggled with it for many years in our
school days, than We are to accept
humbly and put into action the honest
advice which We recognize at once as
being of the sort any old grandmother
might give us.
None is SO blind as he who will
not see" indeed
Every one puts some stock in this
old saying, but few of us are willing TO