,
the witty, the wise, the brilliant, is a blunder--go among the plain,
the stupid, the uneducated, and exercise your own wit and wisdom. You
grow by giving--have no favorites--you hold your friend as much by
keeping away from him as you do by following after him.

Revere him--yes, but be natural and let space intervene. Be a Divine
molecule.

Be yourself and give your friend a chance to be himself. Thus do you
benefit him, and in benefiting him you benefit yourself.

The finest friendships are between those who can do without each other.

Of course there have been cases of exclusive friendship that are pointed
out to us as grand examples of affection, but they are so rare and
exceptional that they serve to emphasize the fact that it is
exceedingly unwise for men of ordinary power and intellect to exclude
their fellow men. A few men, perhaps, who are big enough to have a place
in history, could play the part of David to another's Jonathan and yet
retain the good will of all, but the most of us would engender
bitterness and strife.

And this beautiful dream of socialism, where each shall work for the
good of all, will never come about until fifty-one per cent of the
adults shall abandon all exclusive friendships. Until that day arrives
you will have cliques, denominations--which are cliques grown
big--factions, feuds and occasional mobs.

Do not lean on any one, and let no one lean on you. The ideal society
will be made up of ideal individuals. Be a man and be a friend to
everybody.

When the Master admonished his disciples to love their enemies, he had
in mind the truth that an exclusive love is a mistake--love dies when it
is monopolized--it grows by giving. Love, lim., is an error. Your enemy
is one who misunderstands you--why should you not rise above the fog and
see his error and respect him for the good qualities you find in him?

The Folly of Living in the Future

The question is often asked, "What becomes of all the Valedictorians and
all the Class-Day Poets?"

I can give information as to two parties for whom this inquiry is
made--the Valedictorian of my class is now a most industrious and worthy
floor-walker in Siegel, Cooper & Company's store, and I was the
Class-Day Poet. Both of us had our eyes fixed on the Goal. We stood on
the Threshold and looked out upon the World preparatory to going forth,
seizing it by the tail and snapping its head off for our own
delectation.

We had our eyes fixe