In the ultimate analysis it is the man's motive which determines
his character as well as his acts.
"As he thinketh within himself, so is he."--_Prov. 23:7_.
"Man looketh on the outward appearance, but Jehovah on
the heart."--_I Sam_. 16:7.
With many men the strongest motive is the desire to surpass others.
It not only leads them to perform certain acts, but in so doing
shapes their habits; and character is largely the result of man's
habitual way of acting. Jacob grew up narrow and crafty because of
the selfish, dwarfing nature of his ambition, At first his ambition
was of a low type, that of the child which desires to acquire
possessions and power simply for himself. In the child this
impulse is perfectly natural. In the normally developed
individual, during the years of early adolescence (the years of 14
to 16) the social and altruistic impulses begin to develop and to
take the place of those which are purely egoistic or selfish. When
the fully developed man fails, as did Jacob, to leave behind
childish things and retains the ambitions and impulses of the
child, his condition is pitiable.
Men of this type of ambition often achieve great things from the
economic or political point of view. Economically they are of
greater value to society than the drifter. Sometimes, however,
they bring ruin and disaster to society, as well as to themselves.
Despots like Herod the Great and Napoleon, corrupt political
bosses, who play into the hands of certain classes at the expense
of the general public, and men who employ grafting methods in
business or politics, belong to this class.