in practice and in intention,
is perhaps the easiest of the virtues for the successful man of affairs
to acquire. His experience has schooled him to something more profound
than the acceptance of the rather crude dictum that "Honesty is the best
policy"--which is often interpreted to mean that it is a mistake to go
to gaol. But real justice must go far beyond a mere fear of the law, or
even a realisation that it does not pay to indulge in sharp practice in
business. It must be a mental habit--a fixed intention to be fair in
dealing with money or politics, a natural desire to be just and to
interpret all bargains and agreements in the spirit as well as in the
letter.

The idea that nearly all successful men are unscrupulous is very
frequently accepted. To the man who knows, the doctrine is simply
foolish. Success is not the only or the final test of character, but it
is the best rough-and-ready reckoner. The contrary view that success
probably implies a moral defect springs from judging a man by the
opinions of his rivals, enemies, or neighbours. The real judges of a
man's character are his colleagues. If they speak well of him, there is
nothing much wrong. The failure, on the other hand, can always be sure
of being popular with the men who have beaten him. They give him a
testimonial instead of a cheque. It would be too curious a speculation
to pursue to ask whether Justice, like the other virtues, is not a form
of self-interest. To answer it in the affirmative would condemn equally
the doctrines of the Sermon on the Mount and the advice to do unto
others what they should do unto you. But this is certain. No man can be
happy if he suffers from a perpetual doubt of his own justice.

The second quality, Mercy, has been regarded as something in contrast or
conflict with justice. It is not really so. Mercy resembles the
prerogative of the judge to temper the law to suit individual cases. It
must be of a kindred temper with justice, or it would degenerate into
mere weakness or folly. A man wants to be certain of his own just
inclination before he can dare to handle mercy. But the quality of mercy
is, perhaps, not so common in the human heart as to require this
caution. It is a quality that has to be acquired. But the man of success
and affairs ought to be the last person to complain of the difficulty of
acquiring it. He has in his early days felt the whip-hand too often not
to sympathise with the feelings of the under-dog.