If... You Ask Me, I'll Answer You

Q — Circumstances brought me together with a lady on whose face show the marks of pretension and arrogance. She set about making it appear that her thinking is the highest, that the first truth is whatever she utters, that her creed is the ideal one — and that whoever departs from her opinion is in error.

Do you not agree with me that respect for others, in all the variety of their ideas and their customs, is a quality of real consequence in the building of the nation — while we grope about in the pitch-darkness of anxiety? What is your view, may your kindness endure?!

R. S.

A — Yours is the right opinion, and yours the right aim... Truly, nothing will go straight for us until each of us bears his responsibility as a citizen, with such rights and duties under the conditions of life as make respect for his fellow citizens imperative.

And our feast days — if those in charge of us dealt fairly, they would make of them principal, national, public holidays, on which the whole nation rests together, so that the individual would feel that we are one nation which no factional leanings divide; we would call for a sincere brotherhood, and gather our inclinations toward one unified national aim resting on mutual respect — and therein lies the general good.

Q — Some time ago I was worn out with my housework while my cooking was simmering on a brazier of embers on the kitchen floor, when my two children came running, heedless and unmindful, and overturned the pot; my daughter fell onto the embers, which caused her severe burns. Despite treatment and many remedies, no result worth mentioning has been achieved. Can you tell me of an effective medicine? With many thanks.

Hasiba Kh.

A — Modern medicine has taken great strides in the treatment of burns, and a specialist physician can help you more than I can; but I believe that the use of the fire brigade's remedy is of complete benefit in treating burns of every kind. It has shown brilliant results in numerous cases. This medicine is called Anti-Brûle, and it can be obtained from the fire brigade department.

Q — Despair fills my heart, despite the special affection that surrounds me — for I know that the source of this affection is pity, because I am extremely short of stature, with a stoutness that does not sit evenly on my body. And my mind sometimes needs

a great deal of resentment against everything around me, until understanding finally takes hold, and I recall the attention my mother has lavished upon me — but to no avail whatever. Guide me with your opinion, and my thanks.

S. S.

A — There is no cause for this despair; the field before you is wide, especially if you are under twenty. In any case, you must follow the advice of the specialists — and we see wonders from their experiments and their successes, above all their latest discovery of the benefit of vitamin B12 in this domain. But that this should drive you to despair is without any justification, and it may lead you to hateful nervous ailments that will carry off your rest and your contentment. So do not let your thoughts pile up in the direction of this defect; make of your intelligence that which compensates you for it.

Q — I have four children, two girls and two boys, and I have managed (despite my modest salary) to see to their education until they finished the secondary stage; and my daughter was the brilliant one at school. Now I am at a loss, for I know that the boy is the one to be counted upon to provide for the family, and I cannot afford to educate them all to a high level. Is it right that I should confine myself to educating the boy, and deprive my daughter — the most brilliant among them — of completing her studies?

A Civil Servant

A — There is no need for your hard thinking over the matter of your children's education. Schools and governments today provide abundant assistance, study loans, and other solutions, especially for those who succeed. So seize one of these forms of assistance, and do not leave your daughter in the middle of the road. Perhaps a wider future awaits her.

Q — I used to travel from my town to another town for the sake of study. Last year I stopped at a certain point, having obtained the secondary certificate; and so this year I have had to stay at home in my town, although my nature inclines me — and I love from the depths of my heart — to work and to mix in social life. I love work of whatever kind, and this is the one thing my parents refuse me.

I suffer greatly from the torment of loneliness and desolation, and I chafe at this idle life of mine. For God's sake, guide me to a way that will deliver me from this constant torment.

A Tormented Girl

A — I see no cause for all this chafing and desolation. And since you are a girl whose first duty is obedience to her parents, it is also every person's right to provide himself with inclinations and desires as his surroundings allow. You must first bring yourself to acknowledge the existing situation, and then strive to find satisfying solutions.

Where do you stand with reading? — through it, it is as if you passed into another world and lived it in all its states. And if you have the desire for more learning, then seek more: many a girl has attained a high degree of learning by correspondence, looking out upon a world teeming with knowledge, putting her talents to work and finding it there in her hands. Then call together the girls of your town to found a charitable association, or a social circle, to be a wholesome nucleus in which the aspirations of youth may meet for the good of society.