“The being born into an institution is a thing which must not be lightly considered:  it imposes certain duties upon you—­the quiet examination of its tenets, for example—­and unless you are convinced of its utter inutility, not to say immorality, it is your duty to bear such a part in relation to it as shall not mar its usefulness; and you may no more throw it away through caprice or indifferentism than you may throw away your own life, simply because you did not agree to be in the world, and it is through no will of your own that you are there.  Similarly, you can not justify murder because you were not present to give an assent to the framing of the laws which condemn it and provide for its restraint.

“In fact, by taking such a step you are incurring a very heavy responsibility, and it is at any rate worth while to give it the closest consideration.

“And therefore I should suggest that the philosopher who wishes in any way to affect humanity for the better, should not begin his crusade by storming one of its chief defences because its title to that position is not quite so secure as the governor alleges; but rather accept his religion together with his life, his circumstances, his disposition, as a condition under which he is born:  tacitly [Greek:  syneidos eauto] that it may not be absolute truth, from which no appeal is possible, but yet fight his best under its colours, though they may not be quite red enough to suit his own fancy.

“For what is there ignoble in this concealment?  Is it not rather ignoble to demolish a hope on which others build because it does not appear to us to be quite satisfactory, though we have nothing to offer in its stead?  It is like plucking down a savage’s wattled cabin.  ’First-rate stone houses, if you please, or none at all,’—­and, on being questioned as to where the materials are to come from, point for answer to the eternal hills.

“These are general considerations; but you, in particular, my dear C——­, ought to be very cautious, considering who you are.”  His father was a high dignitary of the church.  “A secession like yours will carry far more weight than it ought to from your own and your father’s position.  People will say, Mr. C——­ ought to know; he has had opportunities of judging from the inside which other people have not—­whereas you have really less opportunity because your horizon is far more limited because you have only seen it from the inside.  You are rather in the position of the valet.  No gossip and gabble of yours about braces and sock-suspenders will make your hero less a hero:  you will only establish your title to be considered an unperceptive and low-minded creature among the only people whose opinion is worth having.”

He was always very decided on what he called “mock sincerity,” the people whom he described as “professional crystals,” who always “speak their mind about a thing.”  “The art of life,” he said, “consists in knowing exactly what to keep out of sight at any given moment, and what to produce; when to play hearts and diamonds, ugly clubs or flat spades; and you must remember that every suit is trumps in turn.”