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This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copy order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would Involve violation of the copyright law. A UTHOR: [BLANCHARD, MME.l TITLE: COMMON SENSE, HOW TO EXERCISE IT ... PLACE: NEW YORK DATE: 1916 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES PRESERVATION DEPARTMENT BIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARGET Master Negative # Original Material as Filmed - Existing Bibliographic Record 170 B594 Restrictions on Use: [Blanchard, Mme. j ... Coiniiion sense, how to exercise it, by Yoritonio- Tashi, annotated by B. Danoennes \psciid.] Authorized ed., tr. bv Mine. Leon J. Bcrthelot de la Boileverie. New York lete.] Funk & AV"a]L»iialls eonipany, 1916. 2 p. I., iii-xi, 13-183 p. 1 illus. ISi*""'. (Mental elTicicncy scries, [v. 5i) X Conduct of life. I. Berthelot de la Boileverie, Mme. Lily Kendall Beers, tr. ii Yoritonio-Tashi. in. Title. 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INC. i t ^-^.m s HOW TO EXERCISE IT YORITOMO 'TASHI E -4 M ■i=. i% ■5i4u.- ^;: '0^ Pro HR. 5^4^ ColumbtalSntbersittp in tfje dtp of ^etD gorfe LIBRARY PRESENTED BY THE ALUMNI FUND COMMITTEE FROM THE LIBRARY OF CLIFFORD GRAY, '02S. 1924 I i • "I i'> » m This book is due two weeks from the last d»te stamped below, and if not retnrned or renewed at or before that time a fine of five cents a day will be incurred. r fi^F " - . - : tv«K^-^,- ■r,-,;w»-i-=-^v-B^-T-;:i:^tTnft^Sf-:.-ns "vrr^^^^s^st^ss^: COMMON SENSE HOW TO EXERCISE IT THE TEN TITLES IN THE MENTAL EFFICIENCY SERIES POISE: HOW TO ATTAIN IT D Starke CHAEACTEE: HOW TO STEENGTHEN IT D Starke TIMIDITY: HOW TO OVEECOME IT Yoritomo-Tashi INFLUENCE : HOW TO EXEET IT Yoritomo-Tashi COMMON SENSE: HOW TO EXEECISE IT Yoritomo-Tashi PEACTICALITY: HOW TO ACQUIEE IT E. NiCOLLE OPPOETUNITIES: HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF THEM L. Charley PEESEVEEANCE: HOW TO DETELOP IT H. Besser SPEECH: HOW TO USE IT EFFECTIVELY Xanthes PEESONALITY: HOW TO BUILD IT H. Laurent FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANti Publishers NEW YORK AND LONDON ' MENTAL EFFICIENCY SERIES COMMON SENSE HOW TO EXERCISE IT By YORITOMO-TASHI Annotated by B. Dangennes AUTHORIZED EDITION Teanslated by Mme. Leon J. Beethelot de la Boileveedb I ® 1^ ® FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY NEW YOEK LONDON 1916 ^IFPORD GRAY COLU>l^ti Copyright, 1915, bt FUNK & WAG N ALLS COMPANY [printed in the United States of America} All rights reserved \10 3 S3^ i ANNOUNCEMENT The quality popularly designated as "Com- mon Sense" comprehends, according to the modern point of view, the sound judgment of mankind when reflecting upon problems of truth and conduct without bias from logical subtleties or selfish interests. It is one of Nature's priceless gifts; an income in itself, it is as valuable as its application is rare. How often we hear the expression **Why, I never thought of that!" Why'i Because we have failed to exercise Common Sense — ^that genius of mankind, which when properly di- rected is the one attribute that will carry man and his kind successfully through the perplexi- ties of life. Common Sense is as a plant of delicate growth, in need of careful training and continued watching so that it may bear fruit at aU seasons. In the teachings that follow, the venerable Shogun, Yoritomo-Tashi, points out that Common Sense is a composite product con- sisting of (1) Perception; (2) Memory; (3) Thought; (4) Alertness; (5) Deduction; (6) Foresight; (7) Reason, and (8) Judgment Di». iii I'' IV ANNOUNCEMENT cussing each of these separately, he indicates their relations and how they may be successfully employed. Further, he warns one against the dangers that lurk in moral inertia, indifference, sentimentality, egotism, etc. Common Sense is a quality that must be de- veloped if it is to be utilized to the full of its practical value. Indispensable to this develop- ment are such qualifications — (1) Ability to grasp situations; (2) Ability to concentrate the mind; (3) Keenness of perception ; (4) Exercise of the reasoning power; (5) Power of approxi- mation; (6) Calmness; (7) Self-control, etc. Once mastered, these qualifications enable one to reap the reward of a fine and an exalted sense, and of a practical common sense which sees things as they are and does things as they should be done. The desire for knowledge, like the thirst for wealth, increases by acquisition, but as Bishop Lee has told us, ** Knowledge without common sense is folly ; without method it is waste ; with- out kindness it is fanaticism; without religion it is death." But, Dean Farrar added: **With common sense, it is wisdom; with method it is power; with charity beneficence; with religion it is virtue, life, and peace.' 99 ANNOUNCEMENT v In these pages, Yoritomo-Tashi teaches his readers how to overcome such defects of the understanding as may beset them. He shows them how to acquire and develop Common Sense and practical sense, how to apply them in their daily lives, and how to utilize them profitably in the business world. To him Common Sense is the crown of all faculties. Exercised vigilantly, it leads to prog- ress and prosperity, therefore, says he "Enthu- siasm is as brittle as crystal, but Common Sense is durable act brass.'* The Publishers. X PREFACE Why should I hesitate to express the pleasure I felt on learning that the public, already deeply interested in the teachings of Yoritomo-Tashi, desired to be made familiar with them in a new form? This knowledge meant many interesting and pleasant hours of work in prospect for me, re- calling the time passed in an atmosphere of that peace which gives birth to vibrations of health- ful thoughts whose radiance vitalizes the soul. It was also with a zeal, intensified by mem- ories of the little deserted room in the provincial museum, where silence alone could lend rhythm to meditation, that I turned over again and again the leaves of those precious manuscripts, translating the opinions of him whose keen and ornate psychology we have so often enjoyed to- gether. It was with the enthusiastic attention of the disciple that once more I scanned the pages, where the broadest and most humane compassion allies itself with those splendid virtues: Energy —Will — ^Reason. Til vm PREFACE For altho Yoritomo glorifies the Will and Energy under all their aspects, he knows also how to find, in his heart, that tenderness which transforms these forces, occasionally somewhat brutal, into powers for good, whose presence are always an indication of favorable results. He knows how to clothe his teachings in fable and appealing legend, and his exotic soul, so near and yet so far, reminds one of a flower, whose familiar aspect is transmuted into rare perfume. By him the sternest questions are stript of their hostile aspects and present themselves in the alluring form of the simplest allegories of striking poetic intensity. When reading his works, one recalls uncon- sciously the orations of the ancient philosophers, delivered in those dazzling gardens, luxuriant in sunlight and fragrant with flowers. In this far-away past, one sees also the sil- houette of a majestic figure, whose school of 'philosophy became a religion, which interested the world because it spoke both of love and goodness. But in spite of this fact, the doctrines of Yoritomo are of an imaginative type. His kingdom belongs to this world, and hk PREFACE IX theories seek less the joys of the hereafter than of that tangible happiness which is found m the realization of the manly virtues and in that effort to create perfect harmony from which flows perfect peace. He takes us by the hand, in order to lead us to the center of that Eden of Knowledge where we have already discovered the art of persuasion, and that art, most difBcult of aU to acquire— the mastery of timidity. Following him, we shall penetrate once more this Eden, that we may stady with Yoritomo the manner of acquiring this art— somewhat un- attractive perhaps but essentially primordial- called Common Sense. B. Dangennes. CONTENTS LESSON P^COB Announcement ..••••• iii Preface > . vii I. Common Sense: What Is It? . . . 13 II. The Fight Against Illusion ... 30 III. The Development of the Reasoning Power 43 IV. Common Sense and Impulse ... 59 V. The Dangers of Sentimentality . . 73 VI. The Utility of Common Sense in Daily Life 86 VII. Power of Deduction 100 VIII. How to Acquire Common Sense . . 114 IX. Common Sense and Action . . . 134 X. The Most Thorough Business Man . 148 XI. Common Sense and Self-Control . . 163 XII. Common Sense Does Not Exclude Great Aspirations 174 LESSON I / I \ COMMON SENSE: WHAT IS IT? One beautiful evening Yoritomo-TasM was strolling in the gardens of his master, Lang-Ho, listening to the wise counsels which he knew so well how to give in all attractiveness of alle- gory, when, suddenly, he paused to describe a part of the land where the gardener's industry was less apparent. Here parasitic plants had, by means of their tendrils, crept up the shrubbery and stifled the greater part of its flowers. Only a few of them reached the center of the crowded bunches of the grain stalks and of the trailing vines that interlaced the tiny bands which held them against the wall. One plant alone, of somber blossom and rough leaves, was able to flourish even in close proxim- ity to the wild verdure; it seemed that this plant had succeeded in avoiding the dangerous entanglements of the poisonous plants because of its tenacious and fearless qualities, at the 13 I T u COMMON SENSE same time its shadow was not welcome to the useless and noxious creeping plants. ''Behold, my son/' said the Sage, *'and learn how to understand the teachings of nature: The parasitic plants represent negligence against the force of which the best of intentions vanish. ''Energy, however, succeeds in oveft-coming these obstacles which increase daily; it marks out its course among entanglements and rises from the midst of the most encumbered centers, beautiful and strong. "Ambition and audacity show themselves also after having passed through thousands of diffi- culties and having overcome them all. "Common sense rarely needs to strive; it unfolds itself in an atmosphere of peace, far from the tumult of obstructions and snares that are not easily avoided. "Its flower is less alluring than many others, but it never allows itself to be completely hid- den through the wild growth of neighboring branches. "It dominates them easily, because it has al- ways kept them at a distance. "Modest but self-sustaining, it is seen blossom- ing far from the struggles which always retard COMMON SENSE: WHAT IS IT? 15 the blossoming of plants and which render their flowering slower and, at times, short-lived." A most absurd preiudice has occasionally con- sidered common sense to be an inferior quality of mind. This error arises from the fact that it can adapt itself as well to the most elevated con- ceptions as to the most elemental mentalities. To those who possess common sense is given the faculty of placing everything in its proper rank. It does not underestimate the value of senti- ments by attributing to them an exaggerated importance. It permits us to consider fictitious reasons with reservation and of resolutely rejecting those that resort to the weapons of hypocrisy. Persons who cultivate common sense never refuse to admit their errors. One may truly affirm that they are rarely far from the truth, because they practise directness of thought and force themselves never to deviate from this mental attitude. Abandoning for a moment his favorite dem- onstration by means of symbolism, Yoritoma said to us : "Common sense should be thus defined: V.2 16 COMMON SENSE **It is a central sense, toward which all im- pressions converge and unite in one sentiment— the desire for the truth. *'For people who possess common sense, every- thing is summed up in one unique perception : **The love of directness and simplicity. **A11 thoughts are found to be related; the preponderance of these two sentiments makes itself felt in all resolutions, and chiefly in the reflections which determine them. ** Common sense permits us to elude fear which always seizes those whose judgment vacillates; it removes the defiance of the Will and indicates infallibly the correct attitude to assume." And Yoritomo, whose mind delighted in ex- tending his observations to the sociological side of the question, adds: '* Common sense varies in its character, ac- cording 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 preju- dices would find themselves ill at ease among certain habits customary among Europeans." ' COMMON SENSE: WHAT IS IT.? 17 *' 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 unfavor- ably, it will be welcomed with the greatest re- serve and will maintain a certain prudence re- lative 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 evi- dent 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 un- desirable according to the rank it occupies. **Must one believe that common sense is ex- cluded 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 un- acceptable because of having been presented be- fore those belonging to a particular environ- ment, common sense, by applying its laws, will recognize that the point of view must be changed before the idea can become acceptable." 18 COMMON SENSE And again, Yoritomo calls our attention to iet peculiar circumstance. '* Common sense," he says, "is the art of re- solving 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 hap- piest and most decisive manner. ''Common sense is the principle element of discernment. ** Therefore, without this quality, it is impos- sible 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 appre- ciation, 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 cf life. With- out accuracy, common sense can not be satis- factorily developed, because it finds itself con- tinually shocked by incoherency, resulting from a lack of exactness in the expression of opinions.'* COMMON SENSE: WHAT IS IT? 19 If we wish to know what the principal quali- ties are which form common sense, we shall turn over a few pages and we shall read : * * Common sense is the synthesis of many senti- ments, 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 indispen:,able to the pro- jectiori of healthy thoughts. "The method of reasoning should be the ex- haustive 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 relative- ness of things. "It is by means of reasoning that it is pos- 20 COMMON SENSE sible 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 in- visible 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 can not 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 comer of the wild forest. "Life, as weU as the wildest wilderness, is strewn ^th 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 mis- COMMON SENSE: WHAT IS IT? 21 take dim shadows for disquieting realities, un- less we examine them critically, for otherwise we can never ascribe to them their true value. "Certain incidents, which seem at first sight to be of small importance, assume a primordial value when we have explained them by means of reasoning. "To reason about a thing is to dissect it, to examine it from every point of view before adopting it, before deferring to it or before rejecting it ; in one word, to reason about a thing is to act with conscious volition, which is one of the phases essential to the conquest of common sense. "This principle conceded, it then becomes a question of seriously studying the method of reasoning, which we propose to do in the fol- lowing manner but first it is necessary to be convinced of this truth." Without reason there is no common sense. Yoritomo teaches us that, altho moderation is only of secondary importance, it is still indis- pensable to the attainment of common sense. It is moderation which incites us to restrain our impatience, to silence our inexplicable anti- pathies and to put a break on our tempestuous enthusiasms. ^^ COMMON SENSE Can one judge of the aspect of a garden while the tempest is twisting the branches of the trees, tearing off the tendrils of the climbing vines, scattering the petals of the flowers and spoiling the corollas already in full bloom? And now, Yoritomo, who loves to illustrate his teachings by expressive figures of speech, tells us the following story. **A Japanese prince, on awakening, one day, demanded lazily of his servants what kind of weather it was, but he forbade them to raise the awnings which kept a cool, dim light in his room and shielded his eyes from the strong light from without. The two servants left him reclining upon his divan and went into the adjoining room, where the stained-glass windows were not hung with curtains. *'One of them, putting his face close to a yel- low-tinted pane of glass, exclaimed in admira- tion of the beautiful garden, bathed in the early morning sunlight. **The second one, directing his gaze to a dark blue pane and, looking through the center, re- marked to his companion, I see no sunshine, the day is dreary and the clouds cast gloomy shadows upon the horizon. "Each one returned to relate their impressions COMMON SENSE: WHAT IS IT? 23 of the weather, and the prince wondered at the different visions, unable to understand the 99 reason. There, concluded the Shogun, that is what happens to people who do not practise moder- ation. Those, who see things through the medium of enthusiasm refuse to recognize that they could be deprived of brilliancy and beauty. The others, those who look upon things from a pessimistic standpoint, never find anything in them save pretexts for pouring out to their hearers tales of wo and misery. All find themselves deceptively allured ; some rush toward illusion, others do not wish to admit the positive chances for success, and both lack- ing moderation, they start from a basis of false premises from which they draw deplorable con- clusions, thus defeating future success. The spirit of penetration, according to the old Nippon philosopher, is not always a natural gift. **It is," said he, "a quality which certain people possess in a very high degree but which in spite this fact should be strengthened by will and discipline. **One can easily acquire this faculty by en- deavoring to foresee the solution of contem- i :i M COMMON SENSE porary events; or at least try to explain the hidden reasons which have produced them. *' Great effects are produced, many times, from seemingly unimportant causes, and it is, above all, to the significant details that the spirit of penetration should give unceasing and un- divided attention. ''Everything around us can serve as a sub- ject for careful study ; political events, incidents which interest family or friends, all may serve as just so many themes for earnest reflection. *'It is always preferable to confine this analy- sis to subjects in which we have no personal interest; thus we shall accustom ourselves to judge of people and things dispassionately and impersonally. This is the quality of mind necessary to the perfect development of pene- tration. **If, for any reason, passion should create confusion of ideas, clearness of understanding would be seriously compromised and firmness of judgment, by deteriorating, would cast aside the manifestation of common sense. **The spirit consistency is perhaps more diflS- cult to conquer, for it is a combination of many of the qualities previously mentioned. **Its inspiration is drawn from the reasoning 1 ( COMMON SENSE: WHAT IS IT.? 25 faculty, it can not exist without moderation and implies a certain amount of penetration, because it must act under the authority of conviction. **If you strike long enough in the same place on the thickest piece of iron, in time it will be- come as thin as the most delicate kakemono [a picture which hangs in Japanese homes]. '*It is impossible to define the spirit of con- sistency more accurately. **It is closely related to perseverance, but can not be confounded with it, because the attributes of consistency have their origin in logic and reason which does not produce one act alone but a series of acts sometimes dependent, always inferred. **The spirit of consistency banishes all thought derogatory to the subject in question; it is the complete investiture of sentiments, all converging toward a unique purpose." This purpose can be of very great importance aad the means of attainment multiform, but the dominant idea will always direct the continuous achievements; under their different manifesta- tions—and these at times contradictory— they will never be other than the emanation of a direct thought, whose superior authority is closely united to the final success. 126 COMMON SENSE Wisdom, continued the philosopher, should be mentioned here only as the forerunner which permits us to analyze experience. It is from this never-ending lesson which life teaches us that the wisdom of old age is learned. But is it really necessary to reach the point of decrepitude, in order to profit by an experi- ence, actually useless at that time, as is always a posthumous conquest. '*Is it not much better to compel its attain- ment when the hair is black and the heart ca- pable of hope? **Why give to old age alone the privileges of wisdom and experience? **It is high time to combat so profound an error. *'Is it not a cruel irony which renders such a gift useless ? **0f what benefit is wisdom resulting from experience if it can not preserve us from the unfortunate seduction of youth? **Why should its beauty be unveiled only to those who can no longer profit by it?" This is the opinion of Yoritomo, who says : **What would be thought of one who prided himself on possessing bracelets when he had lost his two arms in war? COMMON SENSE: WHAT IS IT? 27 **It is, therefore, necessary, not only to en- courage young people to profit by lessons of wisdom and experience, but, still further, to indicate to them how they can accomplish the result of these lessons. **It is certain that he who can recall a long life ought to understand better than the young man all the pitfalls with which it is strewn. ^ '*But does he always judge of it without bias or prejudice ? *'Does he not find acceptable pretexts for ex- cusing his past faults and does he not exaggerate the rewards for excellence, which have accorded him advantages, due at times to chance or to the force of circumstances? ** Finally, the old man can not judge of the sentiments which he held at twenty years of age, unless it be by the aid of reminiscences, more or less fieeting, and an infinitely attenuated in- tensity of representation. '* Emotive perception being very much weak- ened, the integrity of memory must be less exact. **Then, in the recession of years, some de- tails, which were at times factors of the initial idea, are less vivid, thus weakening the power of reason which was the excuse, the pretext, or the origin of the act. S8 COMMON SENSE "This is why, altho we may honor the wisdom of the aged, it is well to acquire it at a time when we may use it as a precious aid. **To those who insist that nothing is equiva- lent to personal experience, we shall renew our argument, begging them to meditate on the preceding lines, drawing their attention to the fact that a just opinion can only be formed when personal sentiment is excluded from the discussion. *'Is it, then, necessary to have experienced pain in order to prevent or cure it ? *'The majority of physicians have never been killed by the disease they treat. *'Does this fact prevent them from combatting disease victoriously? **And since we are speaking of common sense we shall not hesitate to invoke it in this instance, and all will agree that it should dic- tate our reply. ''Then why could we not do for the soul that which can be done for the body? ''It is first from books, then from the lessons of life that physicians learn the principles underlying their knowledge of disease and its healing remedies. "Is it absolutely indispensable for us to COMMON SENSE: WHAT IS IT? 29 poison ourselves in order to know that such and such a plant is harmful and that another con- tains the healing substance which destroys the effects of the poison? "We may all possess wisdom if we are willing to be persuaded that the experience of others is as useful as our own." The events which multiply about us, Yori- tomo says, ought to be, for each master, an op- portunity for awakening in the soul of his disciples a perfect reasoning power, starting from the inception of the premises to arrive at the conclusions of all arguments. From the repetition of events, from their co- relation, from their equivalence, from their parallelism, knowledge will be derived and will be productive of good results, in proportion as egotistical sentiment is eliminated from them; and slowly, with the wisdom acquired by experi- ence, common sense will manifest itself tranquil and redoubtable, working always for the accom- plishment of good as does everything which is the emblem of strength and peace. LESSON n THE FIGHT AGAINST ILLUSION Common Sense such as we have just described it, according to Yoritomo, is the absolute anti- thesis of dreamy imagination, it is the sworn enemy of iUusion, against which it struggles from the moment of contact. Common sense is solid, illusion is yielding, also illusion never issues victorious from a com- bat with it ; during a struggle illusion endeavors vainly to display its subterfuges and cunning; illusions disappear one by one, crusht by the powerful arms of their terrible adversary- common sense. **The worship of illusion," says Yoritomo, "presents certain dangers to the integrity of judgment, which, under such influence, falsifies the comparative faculty, and sways decision to the side of neutrality. ''This kind of mental half -sleep is extremely detrimental to manifestations of reason, because this torpor excludes it from imaginary concep- tions. 80 THE FIGHT AGAINST ILLUSION 31 ''Little by little the lethargy caused by this intellectual paralysis produces the effect of fluidie contagion over all our faculties. "Energy, which ought to be the principle factor in our resolutions, becomes feeble and powerless at the point where we no longer care to feel its hifluence. "The sentiment of effort exists no longer, since we are pleased to resolve aU difficulties without it. "In this inconstant state of mind, common sense, after wandering a moment withdraws it- self, and we find that we are delivered over to all the perils of imagination. "Nothing that we see thus confusedly is found on the plane which belongs to common sense ; the ideas, associated by a capricious tie, bind and unbind themselves, without imposing the neces- sity of a solution. "The man who allows himself to be influenced by vague dreams," adds the Shogun, "must, if he does not react powerfully, bid farewell to common sense and reason; for he will experi- ence so great a charm in forgetting, even for one moment, the reality of life, that he will seek to prolong this blest moment. 'He will renounce logic, whose conclusions it V.3 32 COMMON SENSE are, at times, opposed to his desires, and he will plunge himself into that false delight of awak- ened dreams, or, as some say, day-dreams. ''Those who defend this artificial conception of happiness, like to compare people of common sense to heavy infantry soldiers, who march along through stony roads, while they depict themselves as pleasant bird-fanciers, givmg flight to the fantastic bearers of wings. *'But they do not take into account the fact that the birds, for whom they open the cage, fly away without the intention of returning, leaving them thus deceived and deprived of the birds, while the rough infantry soldiers, after many hardships, reach the desired end which they had proposed to attain, thus realizing the joys of conquest. ''There they find the rest and security, which the possessors of fugitive birds will never know. "Those who cultivate common sense will al- ways ignore the collapses which follow the dis- appearance of illusions. "How many men have suffered thus use- lessly ! "And what is more stupid than a sorrow, voluntarily imposed, when it can not be produc- tive of any good? THE FIGHT AGAINST ILLUSION 3S "Men can not be too strongly warned against the tendency of embellishing everything that concerns the heart-life, and this is the inclina- tion of most people. "The causes of this propensity are many and the need for that which astounds is not the only cause to be mentioned. "Indolence is never a stranger to illusion. "It is so delightful to foresee a solution which conforms to our desires! "For certain natures, stained with moral atrophy, it is far sweeter to hope for that which will be produced without pain. "One begins by accelerating this achievement, so earnestly desired, by using all the will- power, and one becomes accustomed progressive- ly to regard desires as a reality, and, aided by in- dolence, man discounts in advance an easy success. << False enthusiasm, or rather enthusiasm with- out deliberate reflection, always enters into these illusions, which are accompanied by persuasicai and never combatted by common sense. "Vanity is never foreign to these false ideas, which are always of a nature to flatter one's amour propre, "We love to rejoice beforehand in the triumph 34 COMMON SENSE which we believe will win and, aided by mental frivolity, we do not wish to admit that success can be doubted. '*The dislike of making an effort, however, would quickly conceal, with its languishing voice, the wise words of common sense, if we would listen momentarily to them. *'And, lastly, it is necessary to consider credulity, to which, in our opinion, is accorded a place infinitely more honorable than it de- serves." And now the sage, Yoritomo, establishes the argument which, by the aid of common sense, characterized these opinions. According to him, '*It does not belong to new and vibrating souls, as many would have us be- lieve. *'When credulity does not proceed from in- veterate stupidity, it is always the result of apathy and weakness. **Unhappiness and misfortune attend those who are voluntarily feeble. ''Their defect deprived them of the joy de- rived from happy efforts. They wiU be the prey of duplicity and untruth. * ' They are the vanquished in life, and scarcely deserve the pity of the conqueror; for their THE FIGHT AGAINST ILLUSION 35 defeat lacks grandeur, since it has never been aurioled by the majestic strength of conflict." Following this, the Shogun speaks to us of those whom he calls the ardent seekers after illusion. One evening he related the following story: "Some men started off for an island, which they perceived in the distance. **It looked like a large, detached red spot, amid the flaming rays of the setting sun, and the men told of a thousand wonders about this unknown land, as yet untrodden by the foot of man. ''The first days of the journey were delight- ful. The oars lay in the bottom of the boat un- touched, and they just allowed themselves to drift with the tide. They disembarked, singing to the murmur of the waters, and gathered the fruits growing on the shores, to appease their hunger. "But the stream, which was bearing them on- ward, did not retain long its limpidity and repose ; the eddies soon entrapped the tiny bark and dragged the men overboard. "Some, looking backward, were frightened at the thought of ascending the river, which had become so tempestuous. 36 COMMON SENSE "Escaping the wreckage of the boat as best they could, they entrusted themselves again to the fury of the waters. **They had to suffer from cold and hunger, for they were far from shore, and as, in their imagination, the island was very near, they had neglected to furnish themselves with the necessi- ties of life. ''At last, after the fatigues which forethought would have prevented, they found themselves one evening, at sundown, at the base of a great rock, bathed in the rosy light of the departing sun. *'This, then, was the island of their dreams. ** Tired out and exhausted from lack of food, they had only the strength to lie down upon the inhospitable rock, there to die ! ''The disappearance of the illusion, having destroyed their courage and having struck them with the sword of despair, the rock of reality had proved destructive of their bodies and souls. * * The moral of this story easily unfolds itself. **If the seekers after illusions had admitted common sense to their deliberations, they would certainly have learned to know the nature of the enchanted isle, and they would have taken good care not to start out on their journey which must terminate by such a deception. f 1 r, '1 THE FIGHT AGAINST ILLUSION 37 '* Would they not have taken the necessary precaution to prevent all the delays attendant upon travels of adventure, and would they have entrusted their lives to so frail a skiff, if they had acquired common sense?" We must conclude, with Yoritomo, that illu- sion could often be transformed into happy reality if it were better understood, and if, in- stead of looking upon it through the dreams of our imagination, we applied ourselves to the task of eliminating the fluid vapors which en- velop it, that we might clothe it anew with the garment of common sense. Many enterprises have been considered as illu- sions because we have neglected to awaken the possibilities which lay dormant within them. The initial thought, extravagant as it may ap- pear, brings with it, at times, facilities of reali- zation that a judgment dictated by common sense can alone make us appreciate. He who knows how to keep a strict watch over himself will be able to escape the causes of disillusion, which lead us through fatal paths of error, to the brink of despair. *'That which is above all to be shunned," said the philosopher, **is the encroachment of dis- couragement, the result of repeated failures. 38 COMMON SENSE "Eare are tliose who wish to admit their mis- takes. *'In the structure of the mind, inaccuracy brings a partial deviation from the truth, and it does not take long for this slight error to generalize itself, if not corrected by its natural reformer — common sense. *'But how many, among those who suffer from these unhappy illusions, are apt to recognize them as such ? *'It would, however, be a precious thing for us to admit the causes which have led us to such a sorry result, by never permitting them to occur again. * ' This would be the only way for the victims of illusion to preserve the life of that element of success and happiness known as hope. ''Because of seeing so often the good des- troyed, we wish to believe no more in it as in- herent in our being, and rather than suffer re- peatedly from its disappearance, we prefer to smother it before perfect development. **The greater number of skeptics are only the unavowed lovers of illusion ; their desires, never being those capable of realization, they have lost the habit of hoping for a favorable termination of any sentiment. THE FIGHT AGAINST ILLUSION 39 **The lack of common sense does not allow them to understand the folly of their enter- prise, and rather than seek the causes of their habitual failures, they prefer to attack God and man, both of whom they hold responsible for all their unhappiness. **They are willingly ironical, easily become pessimists, and villify life, without desiring to perceive that it reserved as many smiles for them as the happy people whom they envy. **A11 these causes of disappointment can only be attributed to the lack of equilibrium of the reasoning po\^er and, above all, to the absence of common sense, hence we can not judge of relative values. **To give a definite course to the plans which we form is to prepare the happy termination of them. **This is also the way to banish seductive illusion, the devourer of beautiful ambitions and youthful aspirations." And, with his habitual sense of the practical in life, Yoritomo adds the following: "There are, however, some imaginations which can not be controlled by the power of reasoning, and which, in spite of everything, escape toward the unlimited horizons of the dream. 40 COMMON SENSE **It would be in vain to think of shutting them up in the narrow prison walls of strict reason; they would die wishing to attempt an escape. **To these we can prescribe the dream under its most august form, that of science. "Each inventor has pursued an illusion, but those whose names have lived to reach our rec- ognition, have caught a glimpse of the vertigi- nous course they were following, and no longer have allowed themselves to get too far away from their base — science. **Yes, illusion can be beautiful, on condition that it is not constantly debilitated. **To make it beautiful we must be its master, then we may attempt its conquest. **It is thus that all great men act; before adopting an illusion, as truth, they have assured themselves of the means by the aid of which they were permitted first to hope for its trans- formation and afterward be certain of their power to discipline it. ** Illusion then changes its name and becomes the Ideal. ** Instead of remaining an inaccessible myth, it is transformed into an entity for the creation of good. w THE FIGHT AGAINST ILLUSION 41 **It is no longer the effort to conquer the im- possible, which endeavor saps our vital forces; it is a contingency which study and common sense strip of all aleatory principles, in order to give a form which becomes more tangible and more definite every day. *'We have nothing more to do with sterile efforts toward gaining an object -which fades from view and disappears as one approaches it. * * It is no longer the painful reaching out after an object always growing more indistinct as we draw near it. "It is through conscious and unremitting effort that we attain the happy expression of successful endeavor and realize the best in life, for slow ascension in winning this best leaves no room for satiety in this noble strife. "We must pity those who live for an illusion as well as those whose imagination has not known how to create an ideal, whose beauty illumines their efforts. "It is the triumph of common sense to accom- plish this transformation and to banish empty reveries, replacing them by creating a desire for the best, which each one can satisfy — ^without destroying it. "The day when this purpose is accomplished. !»l 42 COMMON SENSE illusion, definitely conquered, will cease to haunt the mind of those whom common sense has illu- mined ; vagaries will make place for reason and terrible disillusion will follow its chief (whose qualities never rise above mediocrity) into his retreat, and allow the flower of hope to blossom in the souls already filled with peace— that quality which is bom of reason and common sense. 99 LESSON m 1 THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE REASONING POWER When reading certain passages in the manu- scripts of Yoritomo, one is forcibly reminded of the familiar phrase: ''Nothing is definitely fin- ished among men, for each thing stops only to begin again." He says, "That many centuries before the great minds constructed altars to the goddess of Reason, they were in search of a divinity to replace the one they had just destroyed. "If it were proposed to me to build temples which would synthesize my devotion with cer- tain sentiments, my desire would be that those dedicated to the Will and to Reason should domi- nate all others, for then they would be under the protection of powers for good,'' In a few pages further on he insists again and again upon the necessity of developing the worship of reason. "Reasoning," he continues, "is a divinity, 43 44 COMMON SENSE around which gravitate a whole world of gods, important but inferior to it *' Among this people of these idols, so justly- revered, there is one god which occupies a place apart from the others. **This god is Common Sense, which gave birth to Eeason, and has always been its faithful com- panion. *at is, in reality, the controlling force exer- cising its power to guard reason against the predominating character and nefarious tenden- cies created by self-interest. "Common sense compels reason to admit principles whose justice it has already recog- nized, and, at the same time, incites reason to reject those whose absurdity it has demonstrated. ** Common sense allies itself with reason, in order to make that selection of ideas which per- sonal interest can either set aside entirely or modify by illogical inference. **Keason obeys certain laws, all of which can be united in one sentiment — common sense." This statement could be illustrated symboli- cally by comparing its truth to a fan, whose blades converge toward a central point where they remain fixt. Applying the precept to the picture, the old THE REASONING POWER 45 Shogun gives the design which we are faith- fully copying. '*In this ideal fan," explains Yoritomo, ''not only the true reproduction of the qualities directing the progress of knowledge must be per- ceived, but the symbol of their development must be traced. *'A11 of these qualities are born of common sense, to which they are closely allied, unfold- ing and disclosing a luminous radiance. ''Altho each one may have its autonomy, they never separate, and, even as a fan from which one blade has disappeared can only remain an imperfect object little to be desired, even so, 46 COMMON SENSE the symbolic fan of reasoning, when it does not unite all the required qualities, becomes a muti- lated power, which can only betray the destiny originally attributed to it. ''Consequently, starting from common sense as the central point of reasoning, we find, first, perception. *'This is the action by which exterior things are brought near to us. ''Perception is essentially visual and auditory, altho it influences all our senses. "For example, the fact of tasting a fruit is a perception. "The seeing of a landscape is equally one. "The hearing of a song is also a perception. "In a word, everything which presents itself to us, coming in contact with one of our senses, is a perception; otherwise, the inception of an idea. "This is the first degree of reasoning. "Immediately following is memory, without which nothing could be proved. "It is memory, which, by renewing the motive power of reason, allows us to judge of the pro- portion of things, grasped by the senses in the present as related to those which come to us from the past THE REASONING POWER 4T "Without memory it would be impossible to make a mental comparison. **It would be most difficult to determine the true nature of an event, announced by per- ception, if an analogous sensation, previously experienced, had not just permitted us to classify it by close examination or by differen- tiating it. "Memory is a partial resurrection of a past life, whose reconstruction has just permitted us to attribute a true value to the phases of exist- ence. "It is in preserving the memory of things that we are called upon to compare them and then to judge of them. "Thought is produced immediately after per- ception, and the recollection, very often auto-^ matic, that it creates within us. "It is the inception of the idea which it en- genders by a series of results. "Thought permits the mind to exercise its. judgment without allowing itself to be in- fluenced by the greatness or humility of the idea. "By virtue of corresponding recollections, it will associate the present perception with the past representations, and will take an extension, more or less pronounced, according to the degree. V.4 48 COMMON SENSE <<