Moral Pieces, in Prose and Verse/On the Just Estimation of the Character of Others
ON A JUST ESTIMATION OF THE CHARACTER OF OTHERS.
HABITUATED as we are to the varied intercourse of society, it is impossible to remain long in the world, without forming some estimate of the characters that surround us. Towards some we feel attracted, by others repelled; some, while we scarcely know why, awaken our esteem; and others, without sufficient reason, may be thought of with aversion and mentioned with disgust. The quality of our taste, the predominance of our feelings, or even the casualty of circumstance, may produce associations of ideas, confirmed by habit into predilection or enmity. To search for the cause of these varying opinions, to examine the foundation of these attachments and prejudices, and to reduce them all to the rule of equity is the office of the judgment, that most important effort of the reasoning powers. In forming our estimate of mankind we are too apt to be influenced by the distinctions which we perceive among them; and to view with a great degree of deference the wealthy, the powerful, and the honourable. But the distinctions in society, which are wisely appointed by Providence for the ultimate good of the whole, are no criterion[1] of individual merit. The vicious, the unprincipled, and the cruel, often arrive at the summit of power, and are seen wielding the sceptre of dominion, and clad in the robe of royalty; while the virtuous pass through life in obscurity, unheeded and perhaps unknown. Wealth, honour, and power are often acquired by injustice, preserved with pain, and lost in a moment; so that at once fluctuating and inconclusive, they can give no character of their possessors, and furnish no solid basis for the judgment to rest upon.
We, who are young, are also too much inclined to form a sudden and favourable opinion from a prepossessing appearance; but beauty of form, and regularity of feature, those external gifts of nature, imply so little merit in the wearer, that by nourishing vanity they frequently prevent the acquirement of knowledge and real excellence; and a pleasing and graceful deportment, though deservedly an object of admiration, is often assumed to conceal depraved motives, and a malicious heart. If we, who have seen little of the world, have never been convinced of this by our own observation, the pages of history will enlighten us, and even the part that we have lately read together, furnishes repeated testimony. Richard the II. of England, under a graceful and dignified demeanour, concealed a frivolous mind, and a capricious, tyrannical temper; and Edward the IV. whose manners were so prepossessing, that he was acknowledged to be the handsomest and most accomplished man of his time, habituated himself to every vice which can flow from pride, licentiousness, or cruelty. You will doubtless recollect from scripture history, that Absalom, whose hands were defiled with a brother's blood, and whose base arts drove an affectionate father from his throne, and from his dwelling, by his affability and insinuation "stole the hearts of the men of Israel." If those who possess real goodness are sometimes too neglectful of its exterior graces, those who are conscious of radical defects usually study and practise, with the greatest success, the innumerable arts of insinuation. The exterior graces, therefore, which attract and dazzle the eye, imply no internal excellence, and offer no solid foundation for esteem or confidence. Neither from the talents of others, are we to estimate their real worth in the scale of existence. The knowledge of what is good, does not always lead to the practice of it; and the power of doing well is sometimes neglected or perverted. Those whom brilliancy of genius or solidity of learning might have qualified to instruct and to bless man kind, have sometimes exerted them only to conceal or to gild the deformity of vice; to put darkness instead of light; to untwist the strongest bands of society; to undermine the foundations of virtue, and to wrest from their fellow men the hopes of immortality.
The records of ambition and infidelity are darkened with such examples. Their steps have been marked with the tears of the oppressed, the miseries of the deluded, and the blood of many victims. They have passed through life as terrors to the living, and sunk among the dead while none lamented them. Others, whom nature had endowed with no uncommon qualifications, have so directed their powers to the attainment and advancement of good, and so virtuously fulfilled "the plain intent of life," as to be considered blessings in society, ornaments to their own age, and benefactors to posterity. Moderate abilities, habitually exerted on the side of virtue, often gain the highest esteem and veneration; while great talents perverted, enhance the future misery of the possessor and give melancholy proof of the depravity of man.
But perhaps you enquire, how are we to judge of mankind, if neither their stations in society, their personal accomplishments, or mental qualifications, are an allowed criterion? Estimate them not by the stations they occupy, but the manner in which they fill those stations; not from what they appear to be, but what they really are; not from what they are qualified to know, but from what they are accustomed to perform. Esteem those who discharge the duties of life faithfully, though their sphere be limited, or their station obscure:
"Who does the best his circumstance allows,
"Does well, acts nobly ; angels could no more,"
Dr. Young.
Let the standard of real goodness be your standard of judgment, and not those adventitious distinctions which may he possessed without virtue, and lost without a crime. All beings are either good or evil, as they imitate or oppose the Great Author of all good; as they obey or transgress those laws which are given to advance their own greatest happiness, and the welfare of their fellow creatures. The love of goodness, wherever implanted, will expand and display itself in the virtues of the heart and of the life. Wherever these are perceived, though in poverty, depresion, or servitude, they are the transcript of a Divine Original; wherever you find them, though humbly clad, or despised among men, revere them; they are the genuine, though imperfect image of Him, who is good, and who doeth good unto all. Genuine virtue does not proclaim its own excellence, does not obtrude itself upon the notice of others, does not seek the applause of men; yet this is the standard of character, and the true criterion of judgment, which neither fluctuates, disappoints, or deceives.
I hope, my young friends, that you will perceive the importance of justly appreciating the characters of those who surround you in the world, and who, from the duties, wants, and connections of society, may have it in their power to influence your future enjoyment. Never suffer yourselves to like or dislike without sufficient cause; let your attachments be sanctioned by reason, and your enmities mitigated by candour; let not the eye of the mind be blinded by prejudice, deceived by a gilded surface, or dazzled by the tinsel and trappings of time; but resolutely bear testimony in favour of virtue, how ever neglected, and of goodness, however despised, till eventually the admiration of virtue in others, may awaken you to practise it yourselves, and the love of goodness here, lead you to its perfect reward hereafter.