"THE RISE OF PERSONALItT 69 



All the time the great problems of life are increasing in num- 

 ber and complexity until they seem insoluble. 



We lose our way in this strife and turmoil which seems to 

 have no direction or meaning. But one fact of vast impor- 

 tance stands out clear in all the welter and confusion: and 

 that is the rise of something far higher than mere individuality, 

 namely personality. Do you ask " What is personality? " 

 It cannot be laid bare by the scalpel, discovered by the 

 microscope, or weighed in any physical balance. It is more 

 than a bundle of tropisms or instincts or even a seeing mind. 

 The vocabulary of the zoologist seems inadequate to express 

 it fully, if at all. It seems quite new and unexpected, but 

 it has been coming ever since Palaeolithic days, — or perhaps 

 far earlier. 



It is suggested in Henley's lines: 



'' It matters not how straight the gate, 

 How charged with punishments the scroll, 

 I am the master of my fate: 

 I am the captain of my soul." ^ 



The ship is heavily freighted, rolls clumsily in a stormy 

 sea, and often refuses to answer the helm. The crew, and he 

 is captain and crew at the same time, is always ready to 

 mutiny and requires a firm hand and stout heart. He is an 

 adventurer in uncharted waters, sailing to a remote harbor. 

 Will he make port? 



He is responsible to himself and to other persons for the 

 success of his voyage. If he fails by his own fault, he feels 

 remorse, not merely regret but a new feeling of which he 

 cannot rid himself. He has rights to maintain and duties 

 to perform. He has a certain, if limited, power of choice and 

 hence of freedom. Above all he must guide and control him- 

 self lest he lose his position and become slave to some lower 

 self, for an enslaved person is an absurd misnomer, a contra- 



*84. 56. 



