And there are certain alternative doses
which a man may administer to himself by keeping unpleasant consequences
before his mind: this gives you a sort of smoked glass through which
you may look at the resplendent fair one and discern her true outline;
though I'm afraid, by the by, the smoked glass is apt to be missing just
at the moment it is most wanted. I daresay, now, even a man fortified
with a knowledge of the classics might be lured into an imprudent
marriage, in spite of the warning given him by the chorus in the
Prometheus."
The smile that flitted across Arthur's face was a faint one, and instead
of following Mr. Irwine's playful lead, he said, quite seriously--"Yes,
that's the worst of it. It's a desperately vexatious thing, that after
all one's reflections and quiet determinations, we should be ruled by
moods that one can't calculate on beforehand. I don't think a man ought
to be blamed so much if he is betrayed into doing things in that way, in
spite of his resolutions."
"Ah, but the moods lie in his nature, my boy, just as much as his
reflections did, and more. A man can never do anything at variance with
his own nature. He carries within him the germ of his most exceptional
action; and if we wise people make eminent fools of ourselves on any
particular occasion, we must endure the legitimate conclusion that we
carry a few grains of folly to our ounce of wisdom.
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