HUMAN NATURE

Evening Star, Issue 22272, 25 February 1936, Page 7

HUMAN NATURE

KNOWLEDGE ESSENTIAL TO SUCCESS In his second lecture of the new series which he is delivering this week in the Town Hall Concert Chamber Mr W. Shakespeare-Binks revealed that the “ Two Secrets of Success and Happiness ” were a knowledge of oneself and a knowledge of his fellow man. These two essentials to spiritual and material progress were, unfortunately, studied all too rarely, said the lecturer, and it was only too true that the average man gave little thought to a science which held such possibilities for him. From a material point'of view a knowledge of human nature was of immense value, yet it was only within recent years that this had been recognised even by wealthy business concerns. Now, however, many of the world’s biggest businesses obtained the services of trained psychologists when it came to engaging and placing employees. In social and domestic life this same knowledge, the lecturer pointed out, made for harmony and happiness. it was largely from his own experience that Mr Shakespeare-Binks drew in speaking of the tragedy of “ the round peg in the square hole,” for not only had he suffered from that incongruity himself before he had “got outside himself and took stock through a microscope of his strong and his weak points,” but he had, after thoroughly learning the technique of psychology and how to put the science into practice, acted as adviser to a number of very large manufacturing and other business concerns. So it cannot be denied that he speaks with authority. Further, Mr Shakespeare-Binks claims to have been the first lecturer and author in the world to institute the system of free lectures on “ Immunology,” and that his original teachings hay© been largely endorsed by the highest tribunals at Home and abroad. Mr Shakespeare-Binks also revealed the fact last night that there was a strong link between the city of Dunedin and himself, in that his mother had been horn and brought’ up here. Consequently, said the lecurer, he had heard quite a lot about this beautiful city and its people ever since bis childhood, and in coming here, even though it was for the first time, he felt he was coming amongst and speaking to his own people. And so he wished, he said, to particularly impress upon the citizens of Dunedin the importance of this knowledge of self. Human nature was, indeed. the most important thing in the world, everything else was subservient to it. because without knowledge of oneself and one’s lellows stagnation was inevitable. “ He who attains knows himself; he who achieves knows others,” the lecturer quoted. in a country where Thomas Bracken’s poem, ‘‘Not Understood,’ is so well known and so frequently quoted it is, to say the least, interesting to have the opinion of a psychologist of the calibre of Mr Shakespeare-Binks on this question of misunderstanding. He says, in short, that those who complain that “ nobody understands them ” really mean that they do not understand themselves or anybody else; they were without knowledge of human nature, were living “ inside ” themselves, and so totally unable to see themselves as others see them. Another point which Mr ShakespeareBinks made last night was that there were people who hid, or endeavoured to hide, from their fellows certain traits- or peculiarities of which they were ashamed,- or which had been ridiculed or condemned by their neighbours. And yet these very “faults,” said the lecturer, might prove to be their greatest source of power. Mr Shakespeare-Binks illustrated this point with a story from his own life. He had always, he said, possessed a strong voice, and when lie was a child his elders, as well as other children, had laughed at him on this score. He was continually being told to “keep quiet,” as his voice “ got on people’s nerves.” Consequently he was almost afraid to speak aloud, and was practically silent for several years of his childhood; he was ashamed or his voice Yet, said Mr ShakespeareBinks, God had known better than those critics, and in after life ms strength of voice had enabled him to make his message heard in some ot the biggest halls in the world. That for which he had so often been reprimanded had proved a wonderful asset. And so it might be with numbers of other people in respect of other attributes At anv rate, added the lecturer, we all had something tucked away in us that ought to be brought out and used for our own benefit and for the benefit of the world. Sellknowledge enabled us to locate this something and to unearth it and put it into use. Still another unusual viewpoint was explained by the lecturer when he said that there was no reason on earth why New Zealand should have suffered from that economic condition known as “ the depression.” This Dominion, he asserted, had more unused things, more valuable assets, than any other country in the world. But we did not know ‘our own power; we were deficient in self-knowledge, self-realisa-tion; unaware of the vastness of our resources. IVhy should !New Zealand have to raise huge overseas loans? he asked. The lenders would not advance the money without absolute security, and their security was the country’s taxability, “\ou ’ said Mr Shakespeare-Binks, “are their security.” , . , . . People liked to think, the lecturer, proceeded, that they were “ one big nnsoluble ravstery,” that nobody could know of wliat they were thinking or were likely to do. Yet. when one learned the science of the knowledge of other people, it Vas as easy as reading one’s newspaper to tell the weaknesses, the strong features, and the sensitive points of one's fellows. Most

people could.form some kind of judgment regarding others whom they might meet, but unless the technique of this branch of the science of psychology was learned, mistakes would ba made. “Learning that technique, ”• said Mr Shakespeare-Binks, “ wives will know their husbands and husbands their wives. . We will,” he added, “ even be able to know our in-laws.”

In order to illustrate the points of his lecture pertaining to physiognomy, Mr Shakespeare-Binks brought into play his ; skill as a sketch artist, and in this connection his humorous touches were appreciated and enjoyed by an audience which filled every part of the hall. This second series of lectures will he continued each evening throughout tha week, and will terminate on Monday evening next. The subject for tonight will be ‘ Everybody a Genius afc Something. 1