Common Sense, How to Exercise It Part 18

"Nothing is more sterile than regrets or reproaches when they do not carry with them the resolution never again to fall into the same error."

Afterward the philosopher demonstrates to us the necessity of abstracting all personality from the exercises which combine for the attainment of common sense.

"There is," said he, "an obstacle against which all stupid people stumble; it is the act of reasoning under the influence of pa.s.sion.

"Those who have not decided to renounce this method of arguing will never be able to give a just decision.

"There are self-evident facts, which certain people refuse to admit, because this statement of the truth offends their sympathies or impedes their hatreds, and they force themselves to deny the evidence, hoping thus to deceive others regarding it.

"But truth is always the strongest and they soon become the solitary dupes of their own wilful blindness.

"The man of common sense knows how to recognize falsehood wherever he meets it; he knows how vain it is to conceal a positive fact and also how dangerous it is to deceive oneself, a peril which increases in power, in proportion to the effort made to ignore it.

"He does not wish to imitate those pusillanimous people who prefer to live in the agony of doubt rather than to look misfortunes in the face. He who is determined to acquire common sense will use the following argument:

"Doubt is a conflict between two conclusions.

"So long as it exists it is impossible to adopt either.

"Serenity is unknown to those whom doubt attacks.

"To obtain peace, it is necessary to become enlightened.

"However, it is wise always to foresee the least happy issue and to prepare to support the consequences.

"The man who thinks thus will be stronger than adversity and will know how to struggle with misfortune without allowing it to master him."

It is in these terms that Yoritomo initiates us into what he calls the mechanism of common sense; in other words, the art of acquiring by the simplest reasoning this quality dull as iron, but, like it, also solid and durable.

LESSON IX

COMMON SENSE AND ACTION

These qualities are two relatives very near of kin; but, just for this reason, they must not be confounded.

While common sense is applied to all the circ.u.mstances of life, practical sense is applicable to useful things.

Common sense admits a very subtle logic which is, at times, a little complex.

Practical sense reasons, starting from one point only; viz., material conveniences.

It is possible for this sense to be spoiled by egotism, if common sense does not come to its a.s.sistance.

It is by applying the discipline of reasoning to practical sense that it modifies simple sense perception by urging it to ally itself with logic, which unites thought to sentiment and reason.

"The a.s.sociation of common sense and practical sense is necessary," says Yoritomo, "in order to produce new forms, at the same time restraining the imagination within the limits of the most exact deductions and of the most impartial judgment."

Science is, in reality, a sort of common sense to which the rules of reasoning are applied, and is supported by arguments which practical sense directs into productive channels.

That which is called great common sense is none other than a quality with which people are endowed who show great mental equilibrium whenever it is a question of resolving material problems.

These people are generally country people or persons of humble position, whose physical organism has been developed without paying much attention to their intellectual education; they are, in fact, perfect candidates for the attainment of common sense, without having been educated to this end.

Their apt.i.tude results from a constant habit of reflection which, rendering their attention very keen, has permitted them to observe the most minute details, therefore they can form correct conclusions, when it is a question of things that are familiar to them.

A peasant who has been taught by nature will be more skilled in prophesying about the weather than others.

He will also know how to a.s.sign a limit to the daily working hours, at the same time stating the maximum time which one can give without developing repulsion, which follows excesses of all kinds.

In his thought, very simple, but very direct, will be formulated this perfect reasoning:

Health is the first of all blessings, since without it we are incapable of appreciating the other joys of life.

If I compromise this possession I shall be insensible to all others.

It is, therefore, indispensable that I should measure my efforts, for, admitting that a certain exaggerated labor brings me a fortune, I shall not know how to enjoy it if illness accompanies it.

This is the logic which is called practical sense.

Yoritomo continues, saying that there is a very close connection between the faculty of judging and that of deducing.

"Practical sense, allied to common sense, comes to the a.s.sistance of the latter, when it is tempted to reject the chain of a.n.a.logy, whose representation too often draws one far from the initial subject.

"It facilitates coordination, clearness, and precision of thought.

"It knows how to consider contingencies, and never fails to have a clear understanding of relative questions."

And to ill.u.s.trate his theory, he cites us an example which many of our young contemporaries would do well to remember.

"There was," said he, "in the village of Fu-Isher, a literary man, who wrote beautiful poems.

"He lived in great solitude, and no one would have heard of his existence if it had not been that my master, Lang-Ho, while walking in the woods one day, was attracted by the harmonious sounds of poetry, which this young man was reciting, without thinking that he had any other listeners than the birds of the forest.

"Lang-Ho made himself known to him and began to question him.

"He learned that he did not lack ambition, but, being poor, and having no means of approaching those who would have been able to patronize him, he was singing of nature for his own pleasure, waiting patiently until he should be able to influence the powerful ones of the earth to share his appreciation.

"Lang-Ho, touched by his youth and his ardor, pointed out to him the dwelling of a prince, a patron of the arts, and, at the same time, told him how he ought to address the n.o.bleman, a.s.suring him that the fact of his being a messenger from a friend of the prince would open the doors of the palace to him.

"The next day the young poet presented himself at the home of the great lord, who, knowing that he had been sent by Lang-Ho, received him in spite of the fact that he was suffering intensely from a violent headache.

"He learned from the young man that he was a poet and treated him with great consideration, making him understand, however, that all sustained mental effort was insupportable to him on that day.

"But the poet, not paying attention to the prince's exprest desire, unrolled his ma.n.u.scripts and began reading an interminable ode without noticing the signs of impatience shown by his august hearer.