How cautious we ought to be in forming our judgments! Have you never
made the mistake of replying carelessly to one whom you thought was
stupid, but whom you discovered to be a person of marked ability? The
older we grow, the more we are amazed at our lack of good sense in
framing an opinion of those whom we meet. We are so frequently surprised
at what persons do or become, we feel we can never be sure that any
one is common, or of the every-day sort. We almost believe Novalis
speaks the truth when he says, "We touch Heaven when we touch a human
body." Let us remember then, girls, not to trust our first impressions.
In forming our judgments let us be very sure our knowledge is sufficient
to tell which are the sheep and which are the goats, before we begin
to separate them.
Just once more let me insist on the necessity of training the
observation for enjoyment of the commonplace. We call things stupid,
dronish, monotonous, because our faculties are not sufficiently
exercised to see any other qualities in them. Do you not suppose an
artist sees more in a birch swamp than we do? Is not even he likelier
to be successful in painting new wonders in the commonplace than in
trying to show objects we seldom see?
Have you never noticed Albrecht Durer's drawing of Praying Hands? Look
at a photograph of it, please. Is it not wonderful? We cannot describe
all the feeling those hands suggest.
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