BLOWING YOUR OWN TRUMPET

Evening Star, Issue 22577, 19 February 1937, Page 13

BLOWING YOUR OWN TRUMPET

PRIZE COMPETITION Prizes were offered by the ‘ Manhester Guardian ’ recently for a Deence of Egotism. There are few people who do not prefer egotism ,to mock modesty: the case for it in relation to true modesty is what competitors were invited to put, said the judge. Set in a phrase of their thesis was: Meet are the uses of, a self-advertisement. _ That, of course, goes beyond belief in oneself; It exalts it into a creed, so that one strides out with a front emblazoned with the articles of a faith in the ego that shall carry all before it. Vanity ? Perhaps. But there is a vanity that is not contemptible, a vanity that mav even be held to be an inestimable blessing for imparting which to mortals Thackeray thanked God, Only the other day in the House of Commons Mr Maxton spoke of that supreme egotism which is perhaps one of our most valuable possessions. One or two competitors made it all a matter of degree. When it is abnormal egotism is repugnant and selfdestructive, hut when natural it is a means of self-preservation, and from men of understanding wins respect. Without it a man is spineless and inegectiial. “ Egotism,” wrote one, “ is the happy habit of saying of one’s actions ‘ Good egg! ’ ” Only, if the egg were taken as a symbol of egotism, it would, as personified in HumptyDumpty, beome at once megalomania. As a St. Bees entrant put it: Blow your own trumpet if you-, must. Only remember, once begun, That should the blooming trumpet bust, You’re done. Certainly there was a general belief in egotism duly proportioned as “ the motive power of progress ” and “ the instrument of our survival.” But again, the proportion is important. An Old Trafford entrant wrote: . . .' . We Egotists are the backbone, and the brains, of the community. It is we who build up vast businesses and employ our tens of thousands. It is we who govern, we who interpret the law. We are the Musicians, the Writers, the Philosophers. The State itself is based on Egotism. Nationalism, Fascism, Empire are but aspects of Egotism, . . , The first prize went to Since Daniel dared to stand alone And have a purpose of his own, And make that purpose widely known The complex egotistic Has played a not ignoble part In social service, science, art; It nerves the man of action’s heart, It fortifies the mystic. Though envy calls it self-conceit A blare is better than a bleat. And self-esteem than self-defeat That dare not speak its mind. “I know . . . ! I can ... ! ” Young Pitt declared. So let our lesser notes be aired, And all our egotisms shared : To leaven all mankind. The second prize to -Man must esteem himself before he can hope to win the respect of others. The timid, vacillating between vanity and abjection, sink into oblivion. Egotism is the instrument of our survival —the innate driving force that brought men down from the trees and set them, in a complicated world, to practice a mental and moral Coueism. The intensive competition of modern times makes originality and reclame indispensable ; you must carve your own statue, become your own hero. The egotist succeeds because he believes in the idol he creates. “ Victor Hugo was a madman who believed he was Victor Hugo.”