But the question is whether it is possible, by sustained effort, to
behave independently of one's mood, and what motive is strong
enough to make one detach oneself resolutely from discomforts and
woes. Good manners provide perhaps the most practical assistance.
The people who are brought up with a tradition of highbred
courtesy, and who learn almost instinctively to repress their own
individuality, can generally triumph over their moods. Perhaps in
their expansive moments they lose a little spontaneity in the
process; they are cheerful rather than buoyant, gentle rather than
pungent. But the result is that when the mood shifts into
depression, they are still imperturbably courteous and considerate.
A near relation of a great public man, who suffered greatly from
mental depression, has told me that some of the most painful
minutes he has ever been witness of were, when the great man, after
behaving on some occasion of social festivity with an admirable and
sustained gaiety, fell for a moment into irreclaimable and hopeless
gloom and fatigue, and then again, by a resolute effort, became
strenuously considerate and patient in the privacy of the family
circle.
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