On Being Human | Page 4

moving always
with a certain poise of spirit; not forever clapping his hand to the hilt of
his sword, but preferring, rather, to play with a subtler skill upon the
springs of action. This is our conception of the truly human man: a man
in whom there is a just balance of faculties, a catholic sympathy--no
brawler, no fanatic, no pharisee; not too credulous in hope, not too
desperate in purpose; warm, but not hasty; ardent, and full of definite
power, but not running about to be pleased and deceived by every new
thing.
It is a genial image, of men we love--an image of men warm and true of
heart, direct and unhesitating in courage, generous, magnanimous,
faithful, steadfast, capable of a deep devotion and self-forgetfulness.
But the age changes, and with it must change our ideals of human
quality. Not that we would give up what we have loved: we would add
what a new life demands. In a new age men must acquire a new
capacity, must be men upon a new scale, and with added qualities. We
shall need a new Renaissance, ushered in by a new "humanistic"
movement, in which we shall add our present minute, introspective
study of ourselves, our jails, our slums, our nervecenters, our shifts to
live, almost as morbid as medieval religion, a rediscovery of the round
world, and of man's place in it, now that its face has changed. We study
the world, but not yet with intent to school our hearts and tastes,
broaden our natures, and know our fellow-men as comrades rather than
as phenomena; with purpose, rather, to build up bodies of critical
doctrine and provide ourselves with theses. That, surely, is not the truly
humanizing way in which to take the air of the world. Man is much
more than a "rational being," and lives more by sympathies and
impressions than by conclusions. It darkens his eyes and dries up the
wells of his humanity to be forever in search of doctrine. We need

wholesome, experiencing natures, I dare affirm, much more than we
need sound reasoning.
III
Take life in the large view, and we are most reasonable when we seek
that which is most wholesome and tonic for our natures as a whole; and
we know, when we put aside pedantry, that the great middle object in
life--the object that lies between religion on one hand, and food and
clothing on the other, establishing our average levels of
achievement--the excellent golden mean, is, not to be learned, but to be
human beings in all the wide and genial meaning of the term. Does the
age hinder? Do its many interests distract us when we would plan our
discipline, determine our duty, clarify our ideals? It is the more
necessary that we should ask ourselves what it is that is demanded of us,
if we would fit our qualities to meet the new tests. Let us remind
ourselves that to be human is, for one thing, to speak and act with a
certain note of gentleness, a quality mixed of spontaneity and
intelligence. This is necessary for wholesome life in any age, but
particularly amidst confused affairs and shifting standards.
Genuineness is not mere simplicity, for that may lack vitality, and
genuineness does not. We expect what we call genuine to have pith and
strength of fiber. Genuineness is a quality which we sometimes mean to
include when we speak of individuality. Individuality is lost the
moment you submit to passing modes or fashions, the creations of an
artificial society; and so is genuineness. No man is genuine who is
forever trying to pattern his life after the lives of other people-- unless,
indeed, he be a genuine dolt. But individuality is by no means the same
as genuineness; for individuality may be associated with the most
extreme and even ridiculous eccentricity, while genuineness we
conceive to be always wholesome, balanced, and touched with dignity.
It is a quality that goes with good sense and self-respect. It is a sort of
robust moral sanity, mixed of elements both moral and intellectual. It is
found in natures too strong to be mere trimmers and conformers, too
well poised and thoughtful to fling off into intemperate protest and
revolt. Laughter is genuine which has in it neither the shrill, hysterical
note of mere excitement nor the hard, metallic twang of the cynic's
sneer-- which rings in the honest voice of gracious good humor, which
is innocent and unsatirical. Speech is genuine which is without silliness,

affectation, or pretense. That character is genuine which seems built by
nature rather than by convention, which is stuff of independence and of
good courage. Nothing spurious, bastard, begotten out of true wedlock
of the mind; nothing adulterated and seeming to be what it