Common Sense, How To Exercise It | Page 3

judgment vacillates; it removes the defiance of the Will and indicates infallibly the correct attitude to assume."
And Yoritomo, whose mind delighted in extending his observations to the sociological side of the question, adds:
"Common sense varies in its character, according to surroundings and education.
"The common sense of one class of people is not the same as that of a neighboring class.
"Certain customs, which seem perfectly natural to Japan would offend those belonging to the western world, just as our Nippon prejudices would find themselves ill at ease among certain habits customary among Europeans."
"Common sense," he continues, "takes good care not to assail violently those beliefs which tradition has transmuted into principles.
"However, if direct criticism of those beliefs causes common sense to be regarded unfavorably, it will be welcomed with the greatest reserve and will maintain a certain prudence relative to this criticism, which will be equivalent to a proffered reproach.
"Common sense often varies as to external aspects, dependent upon education, for it is evident that a diamio (Japanese prince) can not judge of a subject in the same way as would a man belonging to the lowest class of society.
"The same object can become desirable or undesirable according to the rank it occupies.
"Must one believe that common sense is excluded from two such incompatible opinions?
"No, not at all. An idea can be rejected or accepted by common sense without violating the principles of logic in the least.
"If, as one frequently sees, an idea be unacceptable because of having been presented before those belonging to a particular environment, common sense, by applying its laws, will recognize that the point of view must be changed before the idea can become acceptable."
And again, Yoritomo calls our attention to a peculiar circumstance.
"Common sense," he says, "is the art of resolving questions, not the art of posing them.
"When taking the initiative it is rarely on trial.
"But the moment it is a case of applying practically that which ingenuity, science or genius have invented, it intervenes in the happiest and most decisive manner.
"Common sense is the principle element of discernment.
"Therefore, without this quality, it is impossible to judge either of the proposition or the importance of the subject.
"It is only with the aid of common sense that it is possible to distinguish the exact nature of the proposition, submitted for a just appreciation, and to render a solution of it which conforms to perfect accuracy of interpretation.
"The last point is essential and has its judicial function in all the circumstances of life. Without accuracy, common sense can not be satisfactorily developed, because it finds itself continually shocked by incoherency, resulting from a lack of exactness in the expression of opinions."
If we wish to know what the principal qualities are which form common sense, we shall turn over a few pages and we shall read:
"Common sense is the synthesis of many sentiments, all of which converge in forming it.
"The first of these sentiments is reason.
"Then follows moderation.
"To these one may add:
"The faculty of penetration;
"The quality consistency.
"Then, wisdom, which permits us to profit by the lessons of experience.
"A number of other qualities must be added to these, in order to complete the formation of common sense; but, altho important, they are only the satellites of those we have just named.
"Reason is really indispensable to the projection of healthy thoughts.
"The method of reasoning should be the exhaustive study of minute detail, of which we shall speak later.
"For the moment we shall content ourselves by indicating, along the broad lines of argument, what is meant by this word reason.
"Reasoning is the art of fixing the relativeness of things.
"It is by means of reasoning that it is possible to differentiate events and to indicate to what category they belong.
"It is the habit of reasoning to determine that which it is wise to undertake, thus permitting us to judge what should be set aside.
"How could we guide ourselves through life without the beacon-light of reason? It pierces the darkness of social ignorance, it helps us to distinguish vaguely objects heretofore plunged in obscurity, and which will always remain invisible to those who are unprovided with this indispensable accessory--the gift of reasoning.
"He who ventures in the darkness and walks haphazard, finds himself suddenly confronted by obstacles which he was unable to foresee.
"He finds himself frightened by forms whose nature he cannot define, and is often tempted to attribute silhouettes of assassins to branches of trees, instead of recognizing the real culprit who is watching him from the corner of the wild forest.
"Life, as well as the wildest wilderness, is strewn with pitfalls. To think of examining it rapidly, without the aid of that torch called reason, would be imitating the man of whom we have just spoken.
"Many are the mirages, which lead us to mistake dim shadows for disquieting realities, unless we examine them