PAUL CASPAR FREER, HIS INFLUENCE UPON OTHER MEN. 



By Charles H. Brent, 

 Bishop of the Philippine Islands. 



There are two distinct, though not mutually exclusive, types 

 of influence exerted by men upon their fellows : that which is let 

 loose by conscious volition, and that which is automatically given 

 off by inherent virility, just as perfume is exhaled by the flower. 

 The former focuses certain powers to achieve a given end and 

 then relaxes, like the fitful spouting of a geyser; the latter is 

 a milder though more consistent flow, like the bubbling of a 

 perennial spring: the former aims at, and succeeds in making, 

 an impression; the latter naturally and simply creates an 

 atmosphere. 



Both types of influence are necessary and valuable, but of the 

 two the most potent and constant is that unconscious pressure 

 of the whole personality which was characteristic of Paul 

 Caspar Freer. If, on occasions, he could effectively impress a 

 companion in accord with definite determination, it was because 

 he possessed the consistent background of cultured manhood. 



It is chiefly men with an imperfect education who find it 

 necessary to be vociferous and theatrical in their efforts to in- 

 fluence others. They fret and scheme, and are never wholly 

 themselves. But the man who is highly educated, that is to 

 say, who, like Doctor Freer, has established many points of 

 contact with nature, animate and inanimate, enjoys a repose 

 which in itself is power. His composure was, doubtless, some- 

 times disturbed, else he would have been less than a man, but 

 ordinarily he left you with the feeling that life was too good 

 to allow of haste, too safe to justify panic, too sacred to tolerate 

 scheming. 



