EDITOR'S TABLE, 



269 



Mahon after Lira ; but the country put 

 both of them aside and passed on to 

 policies of which they disapproved. 

 Later Boulanger pranced across the 

 scene in the assumed character of a sav- 

 ior of society ; but as soon as the firm 

 hand of lawful authority was laid on 

 him he slunk into exile and dwindled 

 into insignificance ; finally, wrecked 

 alike in character and estate, he sought 

 death at his own hand. Balraaceda 

 was another would-be strong man, and 

 he too fills a suicide's grave. Lastly, 

 we have Parnell, a man whose courage 

 was indomitable, whose fortitude could 

 not be shaken, who by the sheer force 

 of his personality baffled the plans and 

 confused the policies of the ablest states- 

 men of Great Britain ; yet who, trusting 

 to his sti'ength to win him a personal tri- 

 umph after he had violated the essential 

 conditions of successful struggle, ended 

 his career in failure and disgrace. 



Evidently there is something wrong 

 with the gospel of force. Heaven sends 

 the strong men in fairly liberal supply, 

 men who are quite prepared to fill tlie 

 Oarlylean requirements in the matter of 

 doing and daring, despising small scru- 

 ples and trampling on rights; but their 

 success is short lived, and their failure 

 points a moral which is hardly to be 

 found in the Carlylean philosophy. That 

 moral is that, while strength is a good 

 thing in itself, and courage and resolu- 

 tion are virtues, they need to be guided 

 by knowledge and a careful study of 

 conditions, if they are not to rush on to 

 disaster. Nay, more, we see that indi- 

 vidual strength is only weakness unless 

 it vibrates in unison with the greater 

 strength of true principles of action, the 

 strength that resides in the play of great 

 social forces. No man to-day can win 

 any great triumph except by being in the 

 right, and this is the great political lesson 

 which we should strive to impress on the 

 rising generation. To be sure, there are 

 many false lights — mostly, however, of a 

 minor kind — shining in the world and al- 

 luring men to a career of selfish advent- 



ure. There are men who have climbed 

 to business or political success by means 

 that will not bear criticism. But the 

 examples afforded by those who have 

 tried such means to their own ruin are 

 more striking and impressive, if not 

 more numerous, than any that can bo 

 quoted on the other side. 



Hero-worship is well if it simply 

 means sincere admiration for noble 

 qualities; but it is misleading in the 

 highest degree if it causes us to tru?t for 

 great results to the action of this or 

 that masterful individuality. To-day 

 the " common sense of most " is the 

 most potent factor in all social and 

 political progress, and no man is wise 

 who does not bear this in mind. There 

 is ample scope still for the exercise of 

 the highest moral and intellectual quali- 

 ties, and the true hero may yet win the 

 admiration and gratitude of society ; 

 only, what is required is that he should 

 know the structure and laws of the 

 society in which he lives, and seek 

 rather to give the best expression to the 

 tendencies of the time than to impose 

 his own individuality on his contem- 

 poraries. Only he who, in a profound 

 sense, obeys possesses the secret of rule. 



The times are favorable, we think, 

 for the presentation of new political 

 ideals. Strong men of the old type, 

 iron-handed warriors, and stern legisla- 

 tors, are out of date ; on the other hand, 

 the want of firmness and principle in 

 connection with political affairs was 

 never more conspicuous. "We want a 

 new race of strong men in whom the 

 gamester element shall be wholly absent, 

 and who shall aim to accomplish their 

 ends not by personal tours de force, 

 nor yet by craft and flattery, but by 

 steady adherence to principle, and 

 patient efi'orts to awaken the public to 

 a sense of their true interests. The 

 strong man of the future will be strong 

 in knowledge and in social sympathy ; 

 and his strength will be spent, not in 

 efforts to perpetuate his personal as- 

 cendency, but in efforts to develop all 



