wily, might be adroit, might be wise, might be respectable, might
be gloriously useful; it is the other man who would be good.

The soul asks honour and not fame; to be upright, not to be
successful; to be good, not prosperous; to be essentially, not
outwardly, respectable. Does your soul ask profit? Does it ask
money? Does it ask the approval of the indifferent herd? I
believe not. For my own part, I want but little money, I hope; and
I do not want to be decent at all, but to be good.



CHAPTER IV



We have spoken of that supreme self-dictation which keeps varying
from hour to hour in its dictates with the variation of events and
circumstances. Now, for us, that is ultimate. It may be founded
on some reasonable process, but it is not a process which we can
follow or comprehend. And moreover the dictation is not
continuous, or not continuous except in very lively and well-living
natures; and between-whiles we must brush along without it.
Practice is a more intricate and desperate business than the
toughest theorising; life is an affair of cavalry, where rapid
judgment and prompt action are alone possible and right. As a
matter of fact, there is no one so upright but he is influenced by
the world's chatter; and no one so headlong but he requires to
consider consequences and to keep an eye on profit. For the soul
adopts all affections and appetites without exception, and cares