CONTROL YOUR TEMPER.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXIV, Issue 51, 23 April 1897, Page 16

CONTROL YOUR TEMPER.

It is an old saying that he who would rule others must first learn to govern himself, and it is a saying which finds application to the every day affairs of life. It is not merely the political rulers of men who are required to govern themselves that they may be able to rule others, but teachers and parents, foremen in shops and all who have one or more other persons subject to their orders need to taks lessons in the art of self-government. They must set a good example in all things, and more especially they must keep their tempers under control if they would command respect and obedience. A man's natural inclination is to do all things that are agreeable to him and to avoid the disagreeable. Except when reason interposes to check him he seeks to gratify every taste and desire.

Some men never get control of themselves, but the majority learn trom necessity, from a desire to do right or from a sense of duty to put a curb upon their appetites. Such men are said to have mastered themselves, and the measure of that mastery is generally a measure of their strength of character and fitness to guide others. The foreman of a shop has many duties to discharge requiring intelligence and sometimes special skill, but his chief duty is to govern the employees under him. He cannot do this successfully unless he has self-control, and above all, control of his temper, for though there are foremen who govern with severity, they must in time become dependent upon an inferior class of workmen, as the best workmen will not submit to their unreasonable dictation as long as places are open to them elsewhere. Exhibitions of ill-temper on the part of a foreman are, therefore, to the disadvantage of his employer ; nor can any man do the best work of which he may be capable if he permits himself to fly into a passion, for then he becomes unreasonable and incapable of clear thought.

The teacher of young children, or the parent, though with more authority over his charges is equally inefficient when he is subject to losses of self-control. The unfortunate child who is reared by one who is without self-control almost of necessity becomes either abject and spiritless or a dissembler who has learned to avoid abuse by deceit. To a lesser degree the characters of children are injured by contact -with preceptors who have not learned to control themselves. The example of such people is bad to begin with, but worse than that, the child, having no other means of defence, is forced to become a hypocrite or sneak. There can be no worse training than this for the young. They should be trained from infancy to be frank, truthful, and. within the limits of proper respect, bold and independent, or at least self-reliant. All of these qualities can be developed under teachers who have such control of themselves that they are always governed by reason, but they will be stunted under the harsh rule of that teacher who loses his temper, and for the time being, ceases to be a reasonable human being. Temper is an-^ excellent servant, but bad master. A man without temper — and enough of it too, to lead him to violent deeds under sufficient provocation — would not be of much moral worth ; but his temper, to be of value, must be under the control of his reason, and tl erefore, seldom exhibited. Such a man inspires respect in any walk of life. He has control of himself, and is, therefore, recognised as qualified to govern and guide others. — Baltimore Su n.