And the dread of being obscure and unacceptable is what haunts the
minds of boys brought up on these ambitious and competitive lines,
rather than the fear which is the beginning of wisdom.
VIII
FEARS OF YOUTH
The fears of youth are as a rule just the terrors of
self-consciousness and shyness. They are a very irrational thing,
something purely instinctive and of old inheritance. How irrational
they are is best proved by the fact that shyness is caused mostly by
the presence of strangers; there are many young people who are
bashful, awkward, and tongue-tied in the presence of strangers,
whose tremors wholly disappear in the family circle. If these were
rational fears, they might be caused by the consciousness of the
inspection and possible disapproval of those among whom one lives,
and whose annoyance and criticism might have unpleasant practical
effects. Yet they are caused often by the presence of those whose
disapproval is not of the smallest consequence, those, in fact, whom
one is not likely to see again.
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