FOURTEENTH TALK 3,79

the good points, find something not to blame but
to praise. There is something to blame in everybody
and everything i^ you look for it, but there is no
reason why you should concentrate your attention
exclusively on the blameworthy things and put
aside the good qualities. Let us do exactly the
opposite. You may be quite sure that the rest of
the world will attend to the business of blaming*
We might try to bring down the other side of the
balance a little, and try to praise them. The faults
will not go without being pointed out; but you
can afford to leave that to the general public, who
will do it with more gusto than you would, but pick
out the good things; it is a good exercise, because
until you really begin to look for them you will not
find them. We really do not understand how many
good things there are in everybody until we begin to
look for them. You will find all kinds of beautiful
qualities in people whom you have been regarding
very unfairly as representing chiefly one characteris-
tic. If you think of the opinions which you form
about other people whom perhaps you do not know
very well (about your friends, we hope, you have time
to discover their real qualities) you will see what I
mean. Alpout other people you mostly form your
opinions from one or two things. You saw them
looking angry ; you probably think of them as irrita-
ble people. You saw them one day looking dis-
contented ; you therefore put them down as