"You must go out and acknowledge the applause of the people, and make
a speech."

"And why," said Bismarck; "why do they want me to speak; why are they
applauding me?"

"Because of your great success in these negotiations," said the
secretary.

"Humph!" said Bismarck, "suppose I had failed?" and turned back to his
smoking and his beer.

Bismarck, you see, was too great for applause.

I have quoted the Bible so frequently that it suggests remarks upon
one of the great influences of life--the influence of books. Like
every other power, this should be exercised with judgment. Let us
indulge no immoderate expectations of the results of mere reading.
Reading is, at best, only second-hand information and inspiration. It
is not the number of books a man has read that makes him available in
the world of business.

What the world wants is power; how to get that is the question.

Books are one source of power; but, necessarily, books are artificial.
That is why we cannot dispense with teachers in our schools,
professors in our colleges, preachers in our pulpits, orators on the
political platform. There is no real way of teaching but by word of
mouth. There is no real instruction but experience.