Evening star., 1932-06-20
There is no status quo in enthusiasms
No "aS Is" bounds them,

There Is no status quo in enthusiasms.
No "as is" bounds them.
The desire to learn more about some
thing or other is the base, as well as
the very peak, of true hobby.
Happily such man finds himself in
the position Of him who Knows more
and more about less and less" as Some
one with a keen sense Of humor once
said.
The astute gentleman who coined that
phrase meant it the other way round,
of course. but it may be used in reverse.
The enthusiast soon realizes that he
knows less and less about more and
more.
More, not less, is what looms on his
bright horizon.
He puts the accent where it belongs
he becomes humble in the face of what
yet remains to be known.
Thus an entire new face is put on an
ancient virtue.
Humbleness means lowly: 1t comes
from the Latin humilis, lowly, from hu-
mus, ground. ut is interesting to the
student of words-and every reader is
that-to note that this latter word, hu-
mus. survives in English. unchanged in
spelling, but has taken on a particular
meaning that of vegetable mold or
organic material broken down. Most
of our humus today is secured from old
lake bottoms)
There are two general definitions
one having low estimate Of ones own
Importance, the other Of modest pre-
tensions.
Which of these facets one shall Sc
lect depends, in the last analysis, en-
| tirely upon the type of mind which a
human being possesses.
There is quite a difference between
the two.
He who honestly has a low estimate
of his own importance is a different
sort of man from him who is of modest
pretensions.
The latter simply recognizes the truth
about himself. Within his recognized
limits he may have a very high esti-
mate of his own Importance.
There can be no doubt in the world
that st. Paul. after his conversion. was
very humble man. but no one can
read his writings today and not feel
that he regarded himself at his true
worth, to put it mildly.
A great man, with sublime enthu-
siasm, he had pretensions modest
enough for Christian character.
One may think today that humble
ness, of the right kind. still offers a
man sort Of sanctuary from govern
ment by propaganda, from ballyhoo
and the eternal blowing ones own
horn" so prevalent on every side.
And humbleness may be learned, not
only by precept, but by actual expert
ence with a good hobby, an everyday
enthusiasm Of the type SO many human
beings put to such excellent use in
building character, not for display pur.
poses, but for everyday use and enjoy
ment.
To enjoy life as one goes along
that, too, is something upon which
propagandists, from ancient times, have
put their own special interpretations
But there is another way to look at
it, and that is from the philosophy OF
common sense. BY the decent and
aboveboard use of right enthusiasms,
even if but small hobbies, a man may
teach himself much, both in the way of
learning and in living
And no man is quite yet the phi
loSopher to state positively which of
these angles is of the most importance
to US. Both wisdom and living are
facets Of one thing Life Is dual, not
single, as some fondly believe.
Man neither lives to eat. nor eats to
live, but both: he does not live to learn.
nor does he learn to live. or even to
die, SO much as he accomplishes both
at the same time, and becomes a better
man because of his divine striving for
perfection in the face Of his imperfec-
tions.