replied : " I didn't know Truth was such an in- 

 valid. Truth is tough. It will not break, like a 

 bubble at a touch ; nay, you may kick it about all 

 day, like a football, and it will be round and full at 

 evening. Does not Mr. Bryant say that Truth gets 

 well if she is run over by a locomotive, while Error 

 dies of lockjaw if she scratches her finger? I 

 never heard that a mathematician was alarmed for 

 the safety of a demonstrated proposition. I think, 

 generally, that fear of open discussion implies 

 feebleness of inward conviction, and great sensi- 

 tiveness to the expression of individual opinion is 

 a mark of weakness." 



With this statement before me I shall not fear 

 that either Truth or my friends can be injured by 

 any views I may give expression to. 



I just referred to the immense advantage of 

 striving after an ideal, and when I advanced that 

 proposition I did not intend to limit the ideal in 

 any way. It may be an ideal of moral, intellectual, 

 artistic, physical, industrial, or any other excel- 

 lence, and it may appertain to the natural ephem- 

 eral life of the individual or to the eternal life 

 he expects or firmly believes he will embark upon 

 8 113 



