Year: 1870

The Habit of Detraction.


Nothing is so easy to form or SO hard
to overcome, as habit, whether it be
mental or mechanical, habit of thought
or habit of person. And of all, none
is so easy and persistent, not to speak of
mischievous and destructive, as the habit
OF detraction. 1t is such temptation to
get into the way Of seeing the worst of.
everyone, and turning up the seamy
side Of everything and ghoulish as is
the satisfaction of fattening our own
lean regulations on the destruction of
another's there is selfish value in it al
so, as thereby we show forth ourselves so
much the better by the force of contrast
For, all things being relative in this
world, and nothing absolute, if we can
but paint another's complexion of full
black, our own doubtful white seems
snow-colored, and even our dusky gray
not so very far removed from white. We
see this ira ansforming power of degree in
all matters Of public crime. When
man is made the bad hero Of wicked
drama, the world stands aside in horror,
and no one dreams of exculpation; for
no one at the time realizes the fact that
he is relative only, not absolute, and that
possibly there are worse villains than
himself. He, and he alone, fills the
public eye-and the public eye has sell
dom the power of seeing beyond the thing
Immediately before it, or indeed of see
ing two things at once. But let another
man come to the front as tbs worse hero
of a more wicked drama, and the lesser
criminal grows almost virtuous by COM
parison; his crime falls into contempt
beneath the shadow of the larger sin,
and his dead, black looks mild kind of
invisible green or patent brown by the
side Of the still deeper black. So we all
feel. To show our neighbors as very bad
includes the silent inference of our own
comparative goodness, because of the
law by which tints change in depth and
colors in relation according to contrast
and juxtaposition.


1t is one of the most depressing things
in the world to be with those who habit
ually speak evil of Others. One feels in
a charmed circle of hopeless iniquity, if
it be not one of delusive Appearances
Everything is bad throughout, and there
is not square inch of virtue left for
our weary soul to reston. People whom
we have loved since we were children,
are shown to us as scanned and scared
with iniquities, and unworthy our most
tepid regard; names that we have vene-
rated are stripped of their laurels, and
crowned with weeds and straw, or made
out to be the mere shadows of names, if
indeed they are not the shadows of foul
substances doctrines we have held rev.
erently, are no longer golden songs of
peace and truth, but sounding brass and
tinkling cymbals; everything is sneered
at ; every one decried and all the poet
ry of life is vulgarized, and brought
down from the roseate glory of the up
per air, where our loving faith and fan
cy placed it, to the lowest stratum of
mephitlc vapors. There is no heaven
aboye-only the narrow roofof sitting
vault, which is the tomb of allthat makes
life worth the living. And when we OBJ
iect to this reading of things, we are
laughed at for our ignorance, hidden to
take warning by experience, and told
that skepticism and unbeliefa are emphat-
ically the products of knowledge of the
world. This means that henceforth we
are to eliminate beauty, truth, trust and
love from the list of things we believe in
and the moral possessions we retain.


People given to detraction can never
find possible excuse, charitable rea-
son, for anything they do not quite agree
with. like or understand. Say they see
some one they know under conditions
admitting of two explanations -one sup
posing doubtful taste or discretion, the
other compatible with perfect innocence
and purity of thought and motive; you
never hear them give the latter interpre-
tation, or accept it when offered to them.
1t must be that doubtful appearances
are the warranty cf evil deeds; and they
will not be convinced contrariwise. Yet
thew would not, in all probability, dare
to maintain their crooked theses to the
face of the accused; and they would be
the first to give way if boldly attacked.
They may too, be substantially kind
hearted. however bitter-tongued or surly
minded. The characteristics, though so
different, are not of impossible conjunc-
ton and if so, they will give in and ex-
press contrition generously, if brought
to book, without fear. In fact, the only
thing to do with people of this kind is to
meet them boldly face to face, and show
them exactly what they have done and
.a;S Most of them will shuttle, if not