O. is no mystic, proclaiming his unity with all existence, in the
fashion of Walt Whitman. Rather he is a man with a huge capacity
for pleasure, not easily disgusted or annoyed, with desires that
reach in every direction yet with controlled purpose to guide his
life. As he passes into middle age he finds his pleasures
narrowing, as all men do, and he finds his appetites and tastes
are becoming more restricted. This is because his purpose becomes
more dominant, his habits are more imperious, his energy less
exuberant. In thought O. is almost a pessimist because his
knowledge of life, his intelligence and his sympathy make it
difficult to understand the need of suffering, of disease and of
conflict. But in emotion he still remains an optimist, glad to be
alive at any price and rejoicing in the life of all things.
Apropos of this contradiction between thought and mood, it is
sometimes found reversed. There are those whose philosophy is
optimistic, who will not see aught but good in the world, yet
whose facial expression and actions exhibit an essential
melancholy.
In every category of character there are specialists, individuals
whose main reactions are built around one great trait. Thus there
are those whose egoism takes the form of pride in family, or in
personal beauty, or some intellectual capacity, or in being
independent of others, who worship self-reliance or
self-importance. There are the individuals whose social instincts
express themselves in loquacity, in a talkativeness that is the
main joy of their lives, though not at all the joy of other
lives. A fascinating series of personalities in this respect come
to my mind--L. B., who talks at people, never with them, since he
seems to take no note of their replies; T. K., who seems to
regard conversation as largely a means of demonstrating her
superiority, for she picks her subjects with the care a general
selects his battlefield; F., who is a born pedagogue and seeks to
instruct whoever listens to him, whose conversation is a lecture
and a monologue; R. O., the reticent, says little but that
pertinent and relevant, cynical and shrewd; and R. V., who says
little and that with timidity and error. So there are specialists
in caution and "common sense," self-controlled, never rash,
calculating, cool and egotistic, narrow and successful. Every one
knows this type, as every one knows the "fool," with his poor
judgment, his unwise confidence in himself and others, his lack
of restraint. There is the tactful man, conciliating, pliant,
seeking his purposes through the good will of others which he
obtains by "oil" and agreeableness, and there is the aggressive
man, preferring to fight, energetic, at times rash, apt to be
domineering, and crashing on to victory or defeat according to
the caliber of his opponents and the nature of the circumstances.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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