VALUE OF TACT

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 13, 16 January 1926, Page 22

VALUE OF TACT

A NATURAL ENDOWMENT

PUTTING PEOPLE AT EASE

A DOUBLE GIF.T WHEN ALLIED

WITH STRENGTH,

Tact is the gift of saying the right thing at tlie right time and to the right people. Benjamin Disraeli had it in abundance. When he met an elderly friend, and wanted to put him in good humour, he invariably began by asking, "And how is the old complaint?" This created an agreeable atmosphere. The value of tact lies in its power of malting everyone feel at ease, of avoiding friction and obviating awkward situations. The glory of it is that almost anyone can make himself pleasant if- he wishes. Persons of strong character, of deep eonyictions and corresponding enthusiasm find it difficult to be tactful. Strength and tact seem to be hostile to each other. A commanding and imperious nature cannot tone itself down to restraint and reticence, and that deieacy of touch and management which is the main ingredient in tact. Many a man shines in a crisis, but not in the art of satisfying rival interests or reconciling old hatreds and prejudices. To harmonise antagonisms needs patience and sympathy, and those temperaments which are marked by vigour - and determination aro rarely endowed with imperturbability. Yet when tact is allied with strength, it adds enormously to its effectiveness. The Prime Minister of England who succeeded in sending Sir James Craig and Mr. Cosgrave home to Ireland in happy mood, must be credited with the double gift of tact and power. Tact is an endowment which adds to the value of all other gifts. It ia not the engine, but it supplies the oil and teaches when to accelerate and when to apply the brake. The want of it spoils brilliance, wit, ambition, and energy, and makes them fail where men greatly less able but tactful succeed. The temptation of trie strong man is to press his advantage, to overdo his case, leave a sting and .create new enemies. The old Greek saying, "nothing in .excess," holds-here. There is no place where the mistaken policy of rubbing it in is more seen than in Parliaments. A speaker" thinks he is' doing good service to his party and his country by machine-gunning his critics with scathing invective and merciless ridicule. He overdoes it, creates animosity against,himself, and loses in public confidence. An advocate may turn the minds .'of tfie jury against his client by overstatement of a good case and a too obfioiiS; contempt for the other side. ■;. ; - ; ■ .; ILL-TIMED LEVITT. The want of tact is often shown in ill-timed or too frequent .leyity. The fellow who turns everything into a joke, who is never serious, makes himself deßpised. His fate is shared by those who are continually asserting themselves or are anxious to create an impression of exceptional powers. To" the same execrable company be- , ."TtJflf those"who are so hopelessly stupid in distinguishing times and sea- ■ sons ' that they exasperate their hearers, and make it impossible to recognise any merit they may possess. The want of tact kills many a reputation worthy of a better fate. A - man of moderate opinions may express himself in such unfortunate terrif* on , certain occasions as to win for himself the reputation of being an extremist. • A kindly fellow who has not studied the art of putting things creates enemies wherever he goes. A leader en- . dofwed with great talente may for lack of a little tact raise blisters on the feelings of his supporters, and be- - come at last impossible. It is an in- ." valuable endowment to be able to say ".' the right thing at the right time, but '; it is an equally valuable gift to know « when to-be silent, and to be able to ™ tonch but lightly and evasively the sub- ; jects which would create trouble. Cic-ero—te-his "De Oratore" puts the matter clearly— <fHe who does not perceive what is demanded by the cir- . cumstaaices, or says too much, or in- ; dnlges ia vain display, or does not ■ take into account the rank, or study . the • convenience of those with whom ; he findri himself, or, to be brief, is in any way awkward or prolix, is what we call a tactless person.'' Bacon warns persons of a satirical vein who make others afraid, of their wit that, they had better be afraid of others' memory. Never tire anything too far. Moderate and pass, to , somewhat else. Discretion of speech ( is more than eloquence. 'When one gets to thg mote of tact he finds it drawing its sustenance from the intellect and from the heart. It thus becomes a high endowment, a union of mental and moral qualities, whose seryices to the world can hardly be exaggerated. Tact does not imply remarkable gifts, but it does connote extraordinary wisdom in the use of them. It makes moderate powers accomplish < Taore-ih&n. talent without it. THE PEEFEOT GENTLEMAN. Newman's picture of a perfect gentleman ia the picture of a really tactful man. "It is almost the definition of a geaitleman to say he is one who never inflicts pain. . . . He carefully avoids whatever may cases a jar or a , jolt-ia-the minds of those with whom he is cast —all clashing of opinion or collision of feeling, all restraint or suspicion or gloom or resentment; hia great concern being to make everyone at ease and at home. ... If he engages in controversy of any kind his disciplined intellect preserves him from the blundering discourtesy of better though less educated minds, who, like blunt weapons, tear and hack instead of cntting clean. . . . He throws him- ■ self into the minds of his opponents, he accounts for their mistakes." There is a point at which tact is allowed to deteriorate until it becomes a low ennning, and seeks to gain selfish ends by the use of fox-like quali- . tics. This is the direct antithesis ; of genuine tact, which seeks the com- ; fort and well-being of others. Like ; charity, it sceketh not its own. - Tact is a natural gift which may be > cultivated and improved, and to a con- ', si datable extent may even be acquired ' when one is not born with it. A person endowed with a calm and equnble'nature may more easily acquire ■ it than ono who is impulsive. A " gouius may dispense' with it, may ; never possess it, but, as geniuses are ' rare, the rest of us are sadly in need of it. Tho man with tact is a man •with an oil can making the world's ■ wheels revolve more swiftly, silently, : mid sweetly. lie is a boon and a ■ blessing, ■if terirler, gentle, merciful, '. jicvci' prominent, never wearisome, never mean or little, spiteful or malirious, never expects too much from ■ human nature, and is constantly on the alert to gladden his fellows. .With such a jjeison tact is sponta-

neous. The quality of mercy is not strained; neither is the quality of tact. For in truth it is mercy to the individual and to society. It droppeth as the gentle dew from heaven. Maeaulay quotes Mazarin as distinguished by tact and wariness, but the impression left by the famous cardinal is ono savouring of perpetual intrigue and unvarying deceit. He was trained in a bad school, nourished in an evil environment, and was ono of the most supple courtiers that ever bent the knee. The moment a man begins to plot for the advancement of himself or his party, he degrades tact into mere cunning. Bightly understood, the aim of tact is moral. It proposes to create an atmosphere of friendship and peace, where roses may bloom and birds sing. On the other hand, mere wariness, mere astuteness, may be the quintessence of selfishness, using flattery, cajolery, or deceit as stepping stones to personal ends. It has been argued that woman is more tactful than man; that Lady Macbeth outshone her husband in this quality; that woman acts from instinct, man "from reason. Probably the belief in woman's superiority has been created by her influence in the home. She has to manage the children and the husband, to study them all, understand them, humour them, and lead them in the way to go. Outside of her realm she has the advantage of sex, but one questions the truth of Maeaulay's sweeping panegyric. The highest compliment ever paid was to a great governor: "He always seemed to gain his point, yet he never appeared to be in antagonism with anyone." It was the crowning triumph of tact.