Who can believe that there is no soul behind those luminous eyes! The object of oratory alone is not truth, but persuasion. The measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he never would be found out. Perhaps no person can be a poet, or can even enjoy poetry, without a certain unsoundness of mind. Charles V said that a man who knew four languages was worth four men; and Alexander the Great so valued learning, that he used to say he was more indebted to Aristotle for giving him knowledge that, than his father Philip for giving him life. The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out. |