The story of the young man in fiction has traveled all this
strange distance. It begins with the primitive bard, straining
his voice and almost breaking his lyre in order to utter
the greatness of youth and the greatness of masculinity;
it ends with the novelist looking at both of them with a
magnifying-glass; it begins with a delight in things above, and
ends with a delight in things below us. I for one have little
doubt about their relative value. For if a man can say, “I like
to find something greater than myself,” he may be a fool or a
madman, but he has the essential. But if a man says, “I like to
find something smaller than myself,” there is only one adequate
answer, “You couldn’t.” (Text.)--G. K. CHESTERTON,
_The Critic_.
(2881)
=Self-possession=--See COMMON SENSE; NERVE.
=Self-realization=--See MYSELF.