erstand their lives clearly, as they
appear to themselves; but this we can never do if we are immersed in
the fog,--either of their personal selfishness or our own. By
understanding others clearly, we can talk in ways that are, and seem to
them, rational, and gradually lead them to a higher standard.

If a woman is in the depths of despair because a dress does not fit, I
should not help her by telling her the truth about her character, and
lecturing her upon her folly in wasting grief upon trifles, when there
are so many serious troubles in the world. From her point of view, the
fact that her dress does not fit _is_ a grief. But if I keep quiet, and
let her see that I understand her disappointment, and at the same time
hold my own standard, she will be led much more easily and more truly
to see for herself the smallness of her attitude. First, perhaps, she
will be proud that she has learned not to worry about such a little
thing as a new dress; and, if so, I must remember her point of view,
and be willing that she should be proud. Then, perhaps, she will come
to wonder how she ever could have wasted anxiety on a dress or a hat,
and later she may perhaps forget that she ever did.

It is like leading a child. We give loving sympathy to a child when it
breaks its doll, although we know there is nothing real to grieve about
There is something for the child to grieve about, something very real
_to her;_ but we can only sympathize helpfully with her point of view
by keeping ourselves clearly in the light of our own more mature point
of view.

From the top of a mountain you can see into the valley round
about,--your horizon is very broad, and you can distinguish the details
that it encompasses; but, from the valley, you cannot see the top of
the mountain, and your horizon is limited.

This illustrates truly the breadth and power of wholesome human
sympathy. With a real love for human nature, if a man has a clear, high
standard of his own,--a standard which he does not attribute to his own
intelligence--his understanding of the lower standards of other men
will also be very clear, and he will take all sorts and conditions of
men into the region within the horizon of his mind. Not only that, but
he will recognize the fact When the standard of another man is higher
than his own, and will be ready to ascend at once when he becomes aware
of a higher point of view. On the other hand, when selfishness is
sympathizing with selfish