Candor 



fool or not. This adds a zest to life, so great a 

 one that I hope to die in ignorance. 



Truth must be sacrificed for politeness' sake. 

 As the world goes, this cannot be questioned, 

 but why language should be distorted and words 

 used in a way not warranted by the dictionary, 

 is not plain. It is strange that our real selves 

 cannot be shown to others without offense. Can- 

 dor the dazzling whiteness of absolute honesty 

 which should be a desirable quality, is for- 

 ever kept in the background. To let it come to 

 the forefront is not to gain friends but to make 

 enemies. To insure success we must be polite, 

 diplomatic, vague, insincere; to be popular we 

 must call black white, and in sober truth lie 

 continually that no hitch occur in the smooth 

 running of the world. We must play a part, 

 evade the actualities and give to others a pleas- 

 ing impression, though a radically false one. 

 Little wonder, then, that long ago the words of 

 our mouths and the thoughts of our hearts 

 should have been looked upon as having naught 

 to do with each other, and the conclusion 

 reached by some hard-headed, brutal Dutchman 

 that while speech might be silver, silence was 



195 



