The Chemawa American, November 26, 1930, Page 3, Image 3

Page 3
The CH EM A W A A M E R IC A N
T R U E PROPORTIONS
ARROWS Jr&h •the LONGBOW
—
jg- —
X3— — -
(F rom
the
Q uiver
of
B aruch S pinoza )
W hat greater m isfortune for a state can be conceived
th an th a t honorable men should be sent like crim inals
into exile, because they hold diverse opinions w hich
th ey cannot disguise.
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H ow m any evils spring from lu x u ry , envy, avarice,
drunkenness, and th e like, yet these are to lerated—
vices as they are—because th ey cannot be prevented
by legal enactm ents.
I do not deny th a t there are some doctrines w hich,
w hile they are apparently only concerned w ith abstract
tru th s and falsehoods, are yet propounded and pub­
lished w ith unw orthy motives.
N ot even th e most experienced, to say nothing of
th e m ultitude, know how to keep silence.
M en’s
common failing is to confide th eir plans to others,
th o u g h there be need for secrecy.
Moses, not by fraud, but by D ivine virtue, gained
hold over the popular judgm ent th a t he was accounted
superhum an, and believed to speak and act th ro u g h
the in spirations of th e Deity: nevertheless he could
n o t escape m urm ers and evil interpretations.
H e th a t know s him self to be u p rig h t does not fear
th e death of a crim inal, and shrinks from no punish­
m ent; his m ind is not w rung w ith remorse for any
disgraceful deed; he holds th a t death in a good cause
is no punishm ent, but an honor, and th a t death for
freedom is glory.
If m en ’s m inds were as easily controlled as their
tongues, every k in g w ould sit safely on his throne,
and governm ent by com pulsion would cease.
For
every subject w ould shape his life according to the
intentions of his rulers, and would esteem a th ing
tru e or false, good or evil, ju st or u n ju st, in obedience
to th eir dictates.
T h e object for governm ent is not to change men
from rational beings into beasts or puppets, but to en ­
able them to develop th eir m inds and bodies in secur­
ity , and to employ th e ir reason unshackled; neither
show ing hatred, anger, or deceit, nor w atched w ith
th e eyes of jealousy and injustice. In fact, the tru e
aim of governm ent is liberty.
An inferiority complex is not by any means; a d e s ir­
able state of m ind, b ut in m any instances it is better
th an a superiority com plex. To under estim ate one’s
powers is to chain one-self to a certain level from w hich
it is difficult or impossible to rise, w hereas, on the
other hand over-estim ation of one’s powers or im por­
tance may lead to m any a hard knock and m uch h u ­
m iliation. It scarcely m atters w hat th e project is it
seems wise to pursue the m iddle course—to keep in
th e m iddle of the road. Make haste slowly b ut surely,
step by step, and then one is safe. It is a com m end­
able th in g to be know n as a “ plo d d er.”
T he world tu rn s instinctively from an egotistical
person. For m any reasons he is persona non grata—
he does not m ix. His egotism is a handicap to him .
On th e other hand tru e m odesty keeps one w ithin
bounds, shields him from ridicule, and renders him
companionable, and gains for him the respect and
confidence of all. W henever we see a fellow who sizes
him self up by the shadow he casts on a late afternoon
we are rem inded of one of A esop’s fables, “ T he W olf
and the D ion.” It runs as follows:
“ A W olf, ro a m in g by th e m o u n ta in ’s side, saw h is ow n shad­
ow, as th e sun was se ttin g , becom e greatly e x te n d ed ^nd
m agnified, a n d he said to h im self, ‘W hy should I, being of
such im m ense size, and ex te n d in g n early an acre in le n g th ,
be afraid of Lions? O ught I not be acknow ledged as K ing of
all th e collected beasts? W hile he was in d u lg in g in these
p ro u d th o u g h ts, a Lion fell upon him an d k ille d him . H e
exclaim ed w ith a too late re p en tan c e , ‘W retched me! T his
over-estim ation of m yself is th e cause of d e stru c tio n .’ ”
O R I G I N OF C H E H A L I S
T he following little “ In dian S to ry ” was w ritten
for us by Ducy Billy, a member of our 1 Oth grade class,
b ut she says th a t she does not know positively the
origin of the story:
It was in th e days when the Indians had no p a r­
ticular boundaries to places, although the places had
nam es. T here was a m an who came down from
Canada and inter-m arried. H is bride was from what
is now called the State of W ashington.
A fter several years they had a son. T h e man felt
lonesome and he told his wife th a t he wished to visit
his hom eland for aw hile. H is wife consented, so
one day they started on their journey tow ard the north«.
T he baby refused to go and he cried so th a t they-
couldn’t stop him. As was custom ary w ith th e Indians,,
th e m other rocked him on her back from side to side,,
b u t he w ouldn’t stop. H e finally gave up w hen his.
parents w ouldn’t tu rn back.
A fter a few years’ visit they started for th e ir
W ashington hom e and took the very same path by
w hich they had left it. T hey found a river th a t they
had crossed some years before. T his river they called
th e tear river, w hich I suppose is the translation of
Chehalis.