And to be a MAN, in our
American meaning of that word, is glory enough for this earthly life.
_Be a man_, be you street-sweeper or the Republic's President, and
know that emperor on throne of gold can be no more, and is lucky if he
is as much.
IX
NEGATIVE FUNDAMENTALS
At one of the great official receptions at the White House one night
some years ago, a group of two or three gentlemen were observing the
swirling throng, with its ambitions, its jealousies, its brief flashes
of happiness, its numberless and infinitesimal intrigues, its
atmosphere of jaded, blase, and defeated expectations.
One of the group was perhaps the greatest master of that mere
political craft and that management of men for the ordinary uses of
politics, as we employ the word, that the country has yet produced. He
was a sage of human nature. It was this quality, combined with many
other qualities, and the existence of certain conditions, that made
him the power that he was. From a practical point of view, what he
said about men was always worth while.
"No, I don't consider him effective," said this great politician when
asked his opinion of a certain very prominent man in public life, who
had just entered, and who was chatting and occasionally laughing with
some boisterousness.
Pages:
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301