THE INNER PHASE: CHARACTER
Do you know what "character" is? The word itself, in its derivation and
original usage, means: "a stamp, mark or sign, engraved or stamped." As
time passed the term was applied to the personal peculiarities of
individuals, and was defined as: "the personal qualities or attributes
of a person; the distinguishing traits of a person." Later the term was
extended to mean: "the part enacted by anyone in a play." In the common
usage of the term we seek to convey an idea in which each and all of the
above stated meanings are combined. A man's character is the result of
_impressions_ made upon his own mind, or those of the race. It is also
the sum of his personal qualities and attributes. It is also, in a
sense, the part he plays in the great drama of life.
Each man's character has its inner phase consisting of the accumulated
impressions of the past which seek to manifest in the present. And,
likewise, the character of each man manifests in an outer phase of
form, mark, and stamp of _personality_. There are no two characters
precisely alike. There is an infinite possibility of combination of the
elements that go to make up character. This is accordance with what
appears to be a universal law of nature, for there are no two blades of
grass exactly alike, nor two grains of sand bearing an exact resemblance
to each other. Nature seems to seek after and to manifest variety of
form and quality. But, still, just as we may classify all things,
animate and inanimate, into general classes and then into subordinate
ones--each genus and each species having its particular characteristics,
qualities and attributes, so we may, and do, classify human character
into general classes and then into particular subdivisions into which
each individual is found to fit. This fact makes it possible for us to
study Human Nature as a science.
The character of each individual is held to be the result of the
impressions made upon the plastic material of the mind, either in the
form of past impressions upon his ancestors or of past impressions
received by the individual. The past impressions reach him through the
channel of heredity, while the personal impressions come to him through
environment. But by heredity we do not mean the transmission of the
personal characteristics of one's parents or even grand-parents, but
something far deeper and broader. We believe that one inherits far less
of the qualities of one's parents than is generally believed. But, we
believe that much that goes to make up our character is derived from the
associated qualities and impressions of many generations of ancestors.
Inasmuch as each individual contains within him the transmitted
qualities of nearly every individual who lived several thousand years
ago, it may be said that each individual is an heir to the accumulated
impressions of the race, which however form in an infinite variety of
combinations, the result being that although the root of the race is the
same yet each individual differs in combination from each other
individual. As Luther Burbank has said: "Heredity means much, but what
is heredity? Not some hideous ancestral specter, forever crossing the
path of a human being. Heredity is simply the sum of all the effects of
all the environments of all past generations on the responsive
ever-moving life-forces."
The records of the past environment of the race are stored away in the
great region of the subconscious mentality, from whence they arise in
response to the call of some attractive object of thought or perception,
always, however, modified and restrained by the opposite
characteristics. As Prof. Elmer Gates has said: "At least ninety per
cent of our mental life is sub-conscious. If you will analyze your
mental operations you will find that conscious thinking is never a
continuous line of consciousness, but a series of conscious data with
great intervals of subconsciousness. We sit and try to solve a problem
and fail. We walk around, try again and fail. Suddenly an idea dawns
that leads to a solution of the problem. The sub-conscious processes
were at work. We do not volitionally create our own thinking. It takes
place in us. We are more or less passive recipients. We cannot change
the nature of a thought, or of a truth, but we can, as it were, guide
the ship by a moving of the helm."
But character is dependent upon race inheritance only for its raw
materials, which are then worked into shape by the influence of
environment and by the will of the individual. A man's environment is,
to some extent at least, dependent upon the will. A man may change his
environment, and by the use of his will he may overcome many inherited
tendencies. As Halleck well says: "Heredity is a powerful factor, for it
supplies raw material for the will to shape. Even the will cannot make
anything without material. Will acts through choice, and some kinds of
environment afford far more opportunities for choice than others.
Shakespeare found in London the germ of true theatrical taste, already
vivified by a long line of miracle plays, moralities and interludes. In
youth he connected himself with the theatre, and his will responded
powerfully to his environment. Some surroundings are rich in suggestion,
affording opportunity for choice, while others are poor. The will is
absolutely confined to a choice between alternatives. _Character then,
is a resultant of will power, heredity and environment._ The modern
tendency is to overestimate the effects of heredity and environment in
forming character; but, on the other hand, we must not underestimate
them. The child of a Hottentot put in Shakespeare's home, and afterward
sent away to London with him, would never have made a Shakespeare; for
heredity would not have given the will sufficient raw material to
fashion over into such a noble product. We may also suppose a case to
show the great power of environment. Had a band of gypsies stolen
Shakespeare at birth, carried him to Tartary, and left him among the
nomads, his environment would never have allowed him to produce such
plays as he placed upon the English stage."
Many persons are reluctant to admit the effect of heredity upon
character. They seem to regard heredity as the idea of a monster ruling
the individual with an iron hand, and with an emphasis upon undesirable
traits of character. Such people lose sight of the fact that at the best
heredity merely supplies us with the raw material of character rather
than the finished product, and that _there is much good in this raw
material_. We receive our inheritance of good as well as bad. Deprive a
man of the advantage of his heredity, and we place him back to the plane
of the savage, or perhaps still lower in the scale. Heredity is simply
the shoulders of the race affording us a place for our feet, in order
that we may rise higher than those who lived before. For _heredity_,
substitute _evolution_, and we may get a clearer idea of this element of
character.
As for environment, it is folly to deny its influence. Take two young
persons of equal ability, similar tastes, and the same heredity, and
place them one in a small village, and the other in a great metropolis,
and keep them there until middle-age, and we will see the influence of
environment. The two may be equally happy and contented, and may possess
the same degree of book-education, but, nevertheless, their experiences
will have been so different that the character of the two individuals
must be different. In the same way, place the two young persons, one in
the Whitechapel district, and the other amidst the best surroundings
and example, and see the result. Remember, that in _environment_ is
included the influence of other persons. The effect of environment
arises from Suggestion, that great moulding and creative principle of
the mind. It is true that, "As a man thinketh, so is he," but a man's
thoughts depend materially upon the _associations_ of environment,
experience, and suggestion. As Ziehen says: "We cannot think as we will,
but we must think as just those associations which happen to be present
prescribe."
But, without going further into the question of the elements which go
toward forming character, let us take our position firmly upon the fact
that each individual is stamped with the impression of a special
character--a _character_ all his own. Each has his own character or part
to play in the great drama of life. The character of some seems fixed
and unchangeable, while that of others is seen to be in the process of
change. But in either case each and every man has his own character or
manifestation of Human Nature, in its inner and outer aspects. And each
individual, while in a sense forming a special class by himself,
nevertheless belongs to a larger class, which in turn is a part of a
still larger, and so on.
Instead of studying the philosophy or metaphysics of character, or even
its general psychology, let us in this particular volume devote our
attention to the elements which go to form the character of each and
every person, so that we may understand them when we meet them in
manifested form. And let us learn the Outer Form which accompany these
Inner States.
Upon the stage of Life move backward and forward many characters, each
having his or her own form, manner and appearance, which like those of
the characters upon the mimic stage, may be recognized if we will but
bestow a little care upon the subject. The Othellos, Hamlets, Shylocks,
Iagos, Richards, Lears, and the rest are to be found in everyday life.
The Micawbers, Chuzzlewits, Twists, and the rest are in as full evidence
on the streets and in the offices, as in the books. The person who is
able to read and interpret Human Nature is possessed of a knowledge far
more useful to him than that contained within the covers of musty books
upon impractical subjects.