A striking difference is discernible between two classes of men of
business; one class is shrewd, keen, successful, but entirely
uninteresting, because it fastens its attention exclusively upon the bare,
hard facts of the situation; the other class is not only equally
successful, but possesses a rare interest, because it penetrates behind
the facts of trade to the laws of trade, studies general conditions, and
continually deals with the situation from the point of view of large
intelligence. No human being is so entirely devoid of interest to his
fellows as the trader who barters one commodity for another without any
comprehension of higher values or wider connections; on the other hand,
few men are more interesting than the great merchants whose vision
penetrates to the principles behind business, and who acquire a kind of
wisdom which is the more engaging because it is constantly verified by
contact with affairs. The man who is a trader never gets beyond the profit
of his shrewd bargain; the man who trains himself to study general
conditions puts himself in the way, not only of great wealth, but of
leadership and power.

Behind every trade and occupation there are the most intimate human
connections; beneath every trade and occupation there are deep human
relationships; and it is only as we discern these fundamental relations
and connections that we get at a true conception of the magnitude of the
practical activities of society and of their significance in civilisation.
The man who treats his trade as mere opportunity of making money, without
taking into account the service of that trade to men or its relation to
the totality of social activities, is as truly anti-social in his spirit
and methods as an anarchist. Such a man breaks society into selfish
fragments, and turns commerce into vulgar bartering. The penalty of such a
sordid and narrow view of life is never evaded; the trader makes gains and
often swells them by hoarding; but he rarely secures great wealth,--for