CHAPTER II 



COERCION 



I RECOLLECT, in years gone by, an old and 

 pleasant comrade used to declare that "to 

 be in a rage was almost as contemptible as to be 

 in a funk ! " Doubtless the passion of anger, 

 though less despised than that of fear, is so far 

 derogatory to the dignity of man that it deprives 

 him temporarily of reason, the very quality which 

 confers sovereignty over the brute. When a 

 maofician is without his talisman the slaves he 

 used to rule will do his bidding no longer. When 

 we say of such a one that he has "lost his head," 

 we no more expect him to steer a judicious course 

 than a ship that has lost her rudder. Both are 

 the prey of circumstances — at the mercy of winds 

 and waves. Therefore, however hard you are 

 compelled to hit, be sure to keep your temper. 

 Strike in perfect good-humour, and in the right 

 place. Many people cannot encounter resistance 

 of any kind without anger, even a difference of 

 opinion in conversation is sufficient to rouse their 



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