I have never had the chance, and am not
likely to have it. I can only say that if it were to come to me, I
should try to use the whole strength of my soul. Precisely because
the question would be so important, would it be necessary to employ
every faculty I have in order to decide it. I do not believe in
oracles which are supposed to prove their divinity by giving no
reasons for their commands.'
'Ah, well, _I_ believe in Shakespeare. His lovers fall in love at
first sight.'
'No doubt they do, but to justify yourself you have to suppose that
you are a Juliet and your friend a Romeo. They may, for aught I
know, be examples in my favour. However, I have to lay down a rule
for my own poor, limited self, and, to speak the truth, I am afraid
that great men often do harm by imposing on us that which is
serviceable to themselves only; or, to put it perhaps more correctly,
we mistake the real nature of their processes, just as a person who
is unskilled in arithmetic would mistake the processes of anybody who
is very quick at it, and would be led away by them. Shakespeare is
much to me, but the more he is to me, the more careful I ought to be
to discover what is the true law of my own nature, more important to
me after all than Shakespeare's.'
'Exactly. I know what the law of mine is. If a man were to present
himself to me, I should rely on that instinct you so much despise,
and I am certain that the balancing, see-saw method would be fatal.
Pages:
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34