THE REAL MAN.

Waikato Times, Volume 98, Issue 16152, 29 November 1924, Page 12 (Supplement)

THE REAL MAN.

DUTY OF SELF-KNOWLEDGE. (From a Correspondent.) Lent carl be observed in several ways, but it cannot he better spent than when it is used to lead men to consider their own spiritual condition and to encourage them to a more loyal personal dlscipieshlp. ' True religion must have its centre in a man's own spiritual life. But It is never easy to find out exactly what Sort of a man one really is, and many, if Hot most, mcii have never really made this discovery. Great numbers of them have not even attempted the task, and probably the best use they could make of Lent would he to spend it in the search for their real selves. There is no reason why this should make men self-absorbed to the neglect of others’ Welfare. Indeed, we must fail in our service to God and ourselves, as well as to our fellow-men, if -&e do not gain this knowledge.- It IS the first condition of true moral wellbeing and spiritual progress. Man is the only creature in the world who has the power of self-re-flection. He alone can turn his mind upon itself and look into the secret chambers of his own life with understanding. His is the girt of selfknowledge. It Is the most important of all knowledge, but the most difficult to attain. Without it a man must be a fool. Psychologists sometimes amuse or alarm us by their reports of what the victims of selffantasy may think or do. Quick in their judgment of others, they invent entirely'false images of themselves, and act as if they were true. It Is not by any means always an Image which is better than the real self, and

It may be_poorer and meaner, but whatever it Is it becomes the controlling force of conduct. This is the tragedy of many lives. Men are strangers to themselves. What they are and what they think they are have no correspondence .with each other. They live in a world of fantasy and are the victims of their own self-delusion. It is the part of a wise man to be on his guard against even the slightest untruth in his estimation of himself, lest life should end in the tragedy of self-deception. To attain true selfknowledge a man must take time to be alone. The world must be bidden to remain out-of-doors while he enters into the secret chambers of his soul. All moralists have urged the duty of self-examination, and some of the most impressive incitements to its practice are to be found in the writings of the Stoics. The masters of the spiritual life in Christendom have also recommended it. No doubt introspection has its dangers, but they will be avoided if care is taken to bring in that light which, while it reveals the true condition of the man, manifests the capacities he possesses for amendment and progress. For the truth about oursefvos must tell us not only what we are, but also what we may become. The latter is as important as the former. The revelation to a man of his real self is the most wonderful of all visions that can come to him. When once he has learned it, life has a new meanihg. He may refuse to accept it, but his fate will have all the tragedy of moral self-destruction. But those who have acquired this knowledge, and have availed themselves of its mingled warnings and encouragements, will go forward with a zeal which can never tire in the endeavour to attain an ideal Which can never disappoint. For He Who reveals to us what we are is quick to show us what we may be, being as ready to inspire us to new endeavours for the future as to forgive us the sins of the past. It is true that we may find out something of what we are by comparison with our fellows: but this can never produce a final, and may prove an entirely false, picture. We may compare ourselves with some external standard and judge ourselves by it as the law or life, but since it iS externa! it will not reveal our motives and affections. Wc may judge ourselves by the inner law of conscience, but not until it is educated by the Light which lightoth every man that comclh into the world, the Light which is in Him Who is the Light and Life of men, can we come to a full knowledge of our real selves.

Self-knowledge gained by this method is true knowledge. It may he humiliating, hilt it always inspires us to new endeavours. The fisherman of Galileo may fling himself at the feet of his Master, and in the selfdisclosure that had come to hint declare himself unworthy to remain in llis presence, but he becomes the chic.r of the Apostles. We need never fear the truth about ourselves if we learn it in the Divine Presence. If nowhere else do wo see in ourselves so evident of poverty of moral strength, so weak a power of spiritual lire, we are also able here, as nowhere else, to discern new capacities and new powers which will lift us to a life of nobler attainment and wider service.