Nor do I attempt to do so. I do not forget, I
hope I am not ungrateful for, all that has been bestowed on me. But if I
have been greatly favored, ought I not to be on that very account
especially qualified to write on such a theme? Moreover, I have had,--who
has not,--my own sorrows.
Again, some have complained that there is too much quotation--too little
of my own. This I take to be in reality a great compliment. I have not
striven to be original.
If, as I have been assured by many, my book have proved a comfort, and
have been able to cheer in the hour of darkness, that is indeed an ample
reward, and is the utmost I have ever hoped.
HIGH ELMS, DOWN,
KENT, _April 1889_.
CHAPTER I.
AMBITION.
"Fame is the spur that the clear spirit doth raise
(That last infirmity of noble minds)
To scorn delights and live laborious days."
MILTON.
CHAPTER I.
AMBITION.
If fame be the last infirmity of noble minds, ambition is often the first;
though, when properly directed, it may be no feeble aid to virtue.
Pages:
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173