Evening star., 1934-02-01
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

People who bring out such wit as one
has-bless them!
1t is not given to every one to bt
witty always, but to most Of us now
and then.
1t will be found in most such spo-
radio cases of wit that one particular
person calls 1t forth.
Often this person will be no rela.
ton, and perhaps not even a particular
friend, but just someone who happens
to strike the mind
The motive of wit is to throw light
Its province lies in words and ideas
and its method is surprise. 1t relies
for its audience upon the intelligent
The aim of true wit is to throw light
Thus 1t must forever differ from
humor. with which it is SO often con.
fused. The motive of humor Is dis
covery, its province human nature. its
method observation and its audience
the sympathetic.
Just as there are some persons who
freeze what wit one possesses, so there
are others. but noticeably fewer, who
bring it out.
The first such person is called a xiii
joy and properly enough, since hap
piness is one Of the aims of wit and
humor.
Everyone Is acquainted with him. He
promptly puts a muff1er upon the faint
STRINGS of sophisticated intelligence in
us. He promptly kills at the source
any glimmer of real wit.
Even If one had anything at all good
to say in his presence. one would not
say It'll Such is his deadening influ-
ence
This person is known to everyone
but the queer thing is that he is scarce
ly ever the same for any two human
beings.
All the depths of psychology are
stirred up in approaching this problem
Inc queer thinking apparatus Of a man
or woman has million facets: no one
Is like another one in every detail
There is greater variance. perhaps
than in thumb prints, of which we
are told no two are ever alike.
One may wonder at times II this is
So If it is not possible, after all. to find
two prints alike: but surely it is I'M
possible ever TO find two minds exactly
alike. They will differ in thousand
and one ways, but in nothing more
than the mute antipathy which may
arise between the two
This it is which takes a great deal of
the Joy out of meeting with other hu-
man beings for some persons. Not
every one is SO constituted. fortunately
But to him who finds these mental
antlpathles perplexing their existence
undoubtedly strikes at the very roots
OF society and ones personal participa-
ton in it.
Can lust pure cussedness" explain
hermits?
We think not.
all, but simply another instance Of the
way human beings prefer to dismiss a
thing rather than solve it.
The average hermit, so called. is lust
rather bad case of a man who has
found society not to his liking. The
chanceS are ten to one that he has
Soured on conversational intercourse
because he has been unable to stand
the differences between man and man
so often resulting in antipathy.
Since contest. as such, is one of the
hereditary traits of mankind this
might not seem to be sufficient grounds
for retiring from man as far as DOS
sible. He who would say this, however
does not understand such cases as well
as he might.
There is ground for belief that the
average hermit. whether of the tradi-
tional kind or simply one of these city
persons who seldom mix around
much, Is a man with more than the
average love Of humanity in him.
He is one, in MANY cases who has