he had done anything worth notice. But if he choose
for his path a thick rope, extended from one end of
the building to the other, at a height of a hundred
feet, and if he walk rather slowly and awkwardly along
it, he will be esteemed as having done something very
extraordinary: while if, in addition to this,
he is blindfolded, and has his feet placed in large
baskets instead of shoes, he will, if in any way he
can get over the distance between the ends of the building,
be held as one of the most remarkable men of the age.
Yes, load yourself with weight which no one asks you
to carry; accumulate disadvantages which you need
not face, unless you choose; then carry the weight
in any fashion, and overcome the disadvantages in
any fashion; and you are a great man, considering:
that is, considering the disadvantages and the weight.
Let this be remembered: if a man is so placed
that he cannot do his work, except in the face of
special difficulties, then let him be praised, if
he vanquish these in some decent measure, and if he
do his work tolerably well. But a man deserves
no praise at all for work which he has done tolerably
or done rather badly, because he chose to do it under
disadvantageous circumstances, under which there was
no earthly call upon him to do it. In this case
he probably is a self-conceited man, or a man of wrong-headed
independence of disposition; and in this case, if
his work be bad absolutely, don’t tell him that
it is good, considering. Refuse to consider.
He has no right to expect that you should. There
was a man who built a house entirely with his own hands.
He had never learned either mason-work or carpentry:
he could quite well have afforded to pay skilled workmen
to do the work he wanted; but he did not choose to
do so. He did the whole work himself. The
house was finished; its aspect was peculiar.
The walls were off the perpendicular considerably,
and the windows were singular in shape; the doors fitted
badly, and the floors were far from level. In
short, it was a very bad and awkward-looking house:
but it was a wonderful house, considering. And
people said that it was so, who saw nothing wonderful
in the beautiful house next it, perfect in symmetry
and finish and comfort, but built by men whose business
it was to build. Now I should have declined to
admire that odd house, or to express the least sympathy
with its builder. He chose to run with a needless
hundred-weight on his back: he chose to walk
in baskets instead of in shoes. And if, in consequence
of his own perversity, he did his work badly, I should
have refused to recognize it as anything but bad work.
It was quite different with Robinson Crusoe, who made
his dwelling and his furniture for himself, because
there was no one else to make them for him. I
dare say his cave was anything but exactly square;
and his chairs and table were cumbrous enough; but
they were wonderful, considering certain facts which
he was quite entitled to expect us to consider.