A man may be as comprehensive and profound as the oceans;
the point is, that other men will not easily be made to believe it.
His continued sparkle suggests a champagne bottle with its
limitations, rather than the illimitable deep. A good deal of this is
unjust, and comes from the universal egotism of mankind. Most men like
to feel themselves both brilliant and copious; and they want _you_ to
listen to _them_. Very well--_you_ do it; _you_ listen to them.
There is a suggestion of wisdom in reserve of speech which may be
altogether out of proportion to the facts. Are we not all continually
quoting with approval Sir Walter Raleigh's line:
"The shallow murmur, but the deep are dumb."
Many a silent man is as shallow as he is silent--but he _may_ be as
deep also; and because he gives no sign as to whether he is deep or
shallow, and because his silence offends no one and is not in the way
of those who want to talk, he is given credit for profundity.
We all know the story of the worn-out, world-tired club-man who said
he was looking for a man who was really wise, really experienced, and
really deep. At last he felt that he had found him in another
club-man--very handsome, especially full of forehead and broad between
the eyes, perfectly groomed, and silent to the point of stillness.
Pages:
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312