by any means signify an error into which only the vulgar are likely
to fall. It does not by any means signify a mistaken belief which
will be taken up only by inferior and uneducated minds. A vulgar
error means an error either in conduct or belief into which man,
by the make of his being, is likely to fall. Now, people a degree
wiser and more thoughtful than the mass, discover that these vulgar
errors are errors. They conclude that their opposites (i. e., the
things at the other extremity of the scale) must be right; and by
running into the opposite extreme they run just as far wrong upon
the other side. There is too great a reaction. The twig was bent
to the right--they bend it to the left, forgetting that the right
thing was that the twig should be straight. If convinced that waste
and sauciness are wrong, they proceed to eat the grounds of their
tea; if convinced that self-indulgence is wrong, they conclude that
hair-shirts and midnight floggings are right; if convinced that
the Church of Rome has too many ceremonies, they resolve that they
will have no ceremonies at all; if convinced that it is unworthy to
grovel in the presence of a duke, they conclude that it will be a
fine thing to refuse the duke ordinary civility; if convinced that
monarehs are not much wiser or better than other human beings, they
run off into the belief that all kings have been little more than
incarnate demons; if convinced that representative government
often works very imperfectly, they raise a cry for imperialism;
if convinced that monarchy has its abuses, they call out for
republicanism; if convinced that Britain has many things which are
not so good as they ought to be, they keep constantly extolling
the perfection of the United States.

Now, inasmuch as a rise of even one step in the scale of thought
elevates the man who has taken it above the vast host of men who