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Untitled Article
give , try flattery ; * it generally , like Greek fire , penetrates the toughest coat , and seldom fails with man or woman in gaining an estate ; and , moreover , if your own feelings of shame and reluctance do not trouble
you , the idea of public reprehension is of little import , where the grossest breach of neighbourly honesty is considered rather honourable , and as an act of shrewd " smartness" for business . Only make your grand trial at a man ' s " self" —self-interest , self-gratification , self-love , and our hand upon it , you win the game !
But where is my " neighbour , " all this while ? Where should he be , but—outside ? He is the door-mat of the temple of interest ; you wipe your feet on him as you come in , you spurn him as you go out . His feelings , like the hairs on the mat , are all the better if they are tough , —since they give more pleasure in the selfish act of wearing them out . Similes , thick as hail , pour upon us , to exemplify the uses
and hack service to which worldly wisdom teaches you to apply him . He is the ladder by which you mount to fame ; ascend , but remember to kick him down afterwards \ He is the bait , through which you put your hook , when you w ould catch a heiress , or a fond girl whom he loves , perhaps , himself . He is the lamp which lights you on in difficulty , through dangerous trials , which , when passed , you quietly snuff out . He is the camel who lends his strength to carry
you over the deserts of life ; he has one hump to bear , perhaps , already , from the presence of some individual care—a wife or a child for instance ; no matter , so long as he serves your purposes- —give him another . He is the short man in the crowd of candidates , what is his use there P Why , of course that yon may climb on his shoulders , press him down , and look over the heads of other competitors .
So speaks the world—not outwardly , but in the thrillingly effective , constant whisper of the degraded human spirit which we follow . Masonry cannot expunge—it can but struggle to counteract the poison ; but as true brotherhood advances , a noble dawiv of free philanthropy rises in the heart , and corroborates that pure light which only a Divine nature could instil and illustrate—the precept of " Love thy neighbour as thyself . "
Nevertheless , in all cases , selfishness is but a short-sighted sagacity , even as a matter of profit and loss , for it anticipates by covetousness , and therefore , in its eagerness , pays for what , if waited for , circumstances would gratuitously proffer . A vulgar woman gave a huckstering peeress three thousand pounds not long ago , to be presented
at Court ; the venal patroness performed her menial service and obtained her fee . A few months passed , and duchesses , countesses , with their pompously pliant lords and masters , would have considered the presentation of the vulgar woman an honour (!) in their contention to catch her smile ! So the monev was wasted after all
and a seven days' bill upon the strong bank of aristocratic toadyism , if allowed to expire , would have been duly honoured , and have saved the cost of an extravagant discount , for what turned out an unnecessary accommodation ! * A fact I
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
give , try flattery ; * it generally , like Greek fire , penetrates the toughest coat , and seldom fails with man or woman in gaining an estate ; and , moreover , if your own feelings of shame and reluctance do not trouble
you , the idea of public reprehension is of little import , where the grossest breach of neighbourly honesty is considered rather honourable , and as an act of shrewd " smartness" for business . Only make your grand trial at a man ' s " self" —self-interest , self-gratification , self-love , and our hand upon it , you win the game !
But where is my " neighbour , " all this while ? Where should he be , but—outside ? He is the door-mat of the temple of interest ; you wipe your feet on him as you come in , you spurn him as you go out . His feelings , like the hairs on the mat , are all the better if they are tough , —since they give more pleasure in the selfish act of wearing them out . Similes , thick as hail , pour upon us , to exemplify the uses
and hack service to which worldly wisdom teaches you to apply him . He is the ladder by which you mount to fame ; ascend , but remember to kick him down afterwards \ He is the bait , through which you put your hook , when you w ould catch a heiress , or a fond girl whom he loves , perhaps , himself . He is the lamp which lights you on in difficulty , through dangerous trials , which , when passed , you quietly snuff out . He is the camel who lends his strength to carry
you over the deserts of life ; he has one hump to bear , perhaps , already , from the presence of some individual care—a wife or a child for instance ; no matter , so long as he serves your purposes- —give him another . He is the short man in the crowd of candidates , what is his use there P Why , of course that yon may climb on his shoulders , press him down , and look over the heads of other competitors .
So speaks the world—not outwardly , but in the thrillingly effective , constant whisper of the degraded human spirit which we follow . Masonry cannot expunge—it can but struggle to counteract the poison ; but as true brotherhood advances , a noble dawiv of free philanthropy rises in the heart , and corroborates that pure light which only a Divine nature could instil and illustrate—the precept of " Love thy neighbour as thyself . "
Nevertheless , in all cases , selfishness is but a short-sighted sagacity , even as a matter of profit and loss , for it anticipates by covetousness , and therefore , in its eagerness , pays for what , if waited for , circumstances would gratuitously proffer . A vulgar woman gave a huckstering peeress three thousand pounds not long ago , to be presented
at Court ; the venal patroness performed her menial service and obtained her fee . A few months passed , and duchesses , countesses , with their pompously pliant lords and masters , would have considered the presentation of the vulgar woman an honour (!) in their contention to catch her smile ! So the monev was wasted after all
and a seven days' bill upon the strong bank of aristocratic toadyism , if allowed to expire , would have been duly honoured , and have saved the cost of an extravagant discount , for what turned out an unnecessary accommodation ! * A fact I