a blow for freedom, but in the meantime there is little to do but watch
and wait. This is a fatal error; we have to forge our strength in the
interval. There is a further mistake that our national work is something
apart, that social, business, religious and other concerns have no
relation to it, and consequently we set apart a few hours of our leisure
for national work, and go about our day as if no nation existed. But the
middle of the day has a natural connection with the beginning of the day
and the end of the day, and in whatever sphere a man finds himself, his
acts must be in relation to and consistent with every other sphere. He
will be the best patriot and the best soldier who is the best friend and
the best citizen. One cannot be an honest man in one sphere and a
rascal in another; and since a citizen to fulfil his duty to his country
must be honourable and zealous, he must develop the underlying virtues
in private life. He must strengthen the individual character, and to do
this he must deal with many things seemingly remote and inconsequential
from a national point of view. Everything that crosses a man's path in
his day's round of little or great moment requires of him an attitude
towards it, and the conscious or unconscious shaping of his attitude is
determining how he will proceed in other spheres not now in view.
Suppose the case of a man in business or social life. He has to work
with others in a day's routine or fill up with them hours of leisure
they enjoy together. Consider to what accompaniment the work is often
done and with what manner of conversation the leisure is often filled.
In a day's routine, where men work together, harmonious relations are
necessary; yet what bickerings, contentions, animosities fill many a day
over points never worth a thought. You will see two men squabble like
cats for the veriest trifle, and then go through days like children,
without a word. You will see something similar in social life among men
and women equally--petty jealousies, personalities, slanderings, mean
little stories of no great consequence in themselves, except in the