If this be denied, and a man's clothes be considered
as no part of his self, nevertheless they, with his money, and it may
perhaps be added his religious opinions, stamp a man's individuality as
strongly as any natural feature can stamp it. Change in style of dress,
gain or loss of money, make a man feel and appear more changed than
having his chin shaved or his nails cut. In fact, as soon as we leave
common parlance on one side, and try for a scientific definition of
personality, we find that there is none possible, any more than there can
be a demonstration of the fact that we exist at all--a demonstration for
which, as for that of a personal God, many have hunted but which none
have found. The only solid foundation is, as in the case of the earth's
crust, pretty near the surface of things; the deeper we try to go, the
damper, darker, and altogether more uncongenial we find it. There is no
quagmire of superstition into which we may not be easily lured if we once
cut ourselves adrift from those superficial aspects of things, in which
alone our nature permits us to be comforted.
Common parlance, however, settles the difficulty readily enough (as
indeed it settles most others if they show signs of awkwardness) by the
simple process of ignoring it: we decline, and very properly, to go into
the question of where personality begins and ends, but assume it to be
known by every one, and throw the onus of not knowing it upon the over-
curious, who had better think as their neighbours do, right or wrong, or
there is no knowing into what villany they may not presently fall.
Pages:
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132