by Elsie Lincoln Benedict
Available in 98 free installments
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¶ "On the Square" is a figurative expression usually applying to a moral tendency. In this sense it is as often possessed by one type as another. But in a purely literal sense the Muscular is actually built on the square. His whole figure is a combination of squares.
The Alimentive is built upon the circle, the Thoracic on the kite-shape but the pure Muscular always tends toward a squareness of outline.
We repeat, he is no more "square" morally than any other type, so do not make the mistake of attributing any more of this virtue to him than to others.
¶ Each type has its own weaknesses and points of strength as differentiated from other types and these are responsible for most of the moral differences between people.
¶ Since moral weakness comes from type weakness and since each type possesses about as many weaknesses as the others, it follows that no type is superior "morally" to any other and no type is morally inferior to any other.
¶ Morality is mostly a matter of how much temptation you can withstand.
Every individual in a civilized community is surrounded by temptations of some kind most of the time. He does not want to yield to any of them. Every man and woman does the best of which his particular type is capable under a given circumstance.
Each individual resists many temptations for which we fail to give him credit. He yields only to those which make such a strong appeal to his type that he lacks the power of resistance.
In other words, each person yields to the temptations that prey upon his particular weaknesses, and what his weaknesses are will depend upon his type. In the grip of these temptations he may commit anything from discourtesy to crime?according to the strength of the temptation plus his own leaning in that direction.
On the other hand, certain "immoralities" which appeal strongly to some types have no attraction whatever for others and these latter get credit for a virtuousness that has cost them nothing.
¶ On the other hand, each one of the five human types has certain points of strength and from these gets its natural "moral" qualities. We spend a great deal of energy giving praise and blame but when we realize?as we are doing more and more?that the type of an individual is responsible for most of his acts, we will give less of both to the individual and more of both to the Creator.
¶ The most that training can do is to brace up the weak spots in us; to cultivate the strong ones; to teach us to avoid inimical environments; and to constantly remind us of the penalties we pay whenever we digress.
¶ As this great science of Human Analysis becomes known the world will understand for the first time "how the other half lives," and why it lives that way.
We will know why one child just naturally tells fibs while his twin brother, under identical training, just naturally tells the truth. What is more to the point we will know this in their childhood and be prepared to give to each the kind of training which will weed out his worst and bring out his best.
¶ The extreme Muscular type (See Chart 5) is below medium height, though one of any height may be largely muscular.
The extreme type, of which we are treating in this chapter, is shorter and heavier than the average. But his heaviness is due to muscle instead of fat. He has the appearance of standing firmly, solidly upon the ground, of being stalwart and strong.
¶ The Muscular's shoulders stand out more nearly at right angles than those of any other type and are much broader in proportion to his height. The Alimentive has sloping shoulders and the Thoracic inclines to high shoulders. But the shoulders of the pure Muscular are straighter and have a squareness where the Alimentive's have curves. This accounts for the fact that most of the square shouldered men you have known were not tall men, but medium or below medium in height. The wide square shoulders do not accompany any other pure type, though naturally they may be present in an individual who is a combination.
