to the acts of those who are uninteresting.
Acts showing a skill to which I aspire are
immediately imitated, while acts representing
stages of development from which I have escaped
are less likely to be imitated. We imitate
the acts of hearty, jovial individuals more
than the acts of others. This point cannot
be pressed too far since a surly and selfish
individual often seems to corrupt a whole

group. Also it is not always the acts which
I admire that are imitated. If I am frequently
with a lame person, I am in danger
of acquiring a limp; one who stutters is
clearly injurious to my freedom of speech;
round-shouldered friends may at first cause
me to straighten up, but soon I am in danger
of a droop.

That imitation is merely something to be
avoided by teachers, employers, and foremen
is an idea soon banished when the importance
and complexity of the process is comprehended.
In teaching we find precept inferior
to example wherever the latter is possible.
Particularly in teaching all sorts of
acts of skill the imitation of perfect models
is the first resort. In business, however,
insufficient consideration has been given to the
possibilities of imitation in increasing human