Neither should a man hesitate to do right, positively and fearlessly, in the face of the public assertion that he is doing wrong.  He should, of course, look himself over many times to be sure that he is doing right, according to his own best light, and he should be willing to change his course of action just as fearlessly if he finds he has made a mistake; but, having once decided, he will respect public opinion much more truly by acting quietly against it with an open mind, than he would if he refused to do right, because he was afraid of what others would think of him.  To defy carelessly the opinion of others is false independence, and has in it the elements of fear, however fearless it may seem; but to respectfully ignore it for the sake of what is true, and good, and useful, is sure to enlarge the public heart and to help, it eventually to a clearer charity.  Individual dependence and individual independence are absolutely necessary to a well-adjusted balance.  It is just as necessary to the individual men of a community as to the individual organs of the body.

It is not uncommon for a person to say:—­

“I must give up So-and-so; I must not see so much of him,—­I am getting so dependent upon him.”

If the apparent dependence on a friend is due to the fact that he has valuable principles to teach which may take time to learn, but which lead in the end to greater freedom, then to give up such companionship, out of regard for the criticism of others would, of course, be weakness and folly itself.  It is often our lot to incur the severest blame for the very weaknesses which we have most entirely overcome.

Many people will say:—­

“I should rather be independently wrong than dependently right,” and others will admire them for the assertion.  But the truth is, that whenever one is wrong, one is necessarily dependent, either upon man or devil; but it is impossible to be dependently right, excepting for the comparatively short time that we may need for a definite, useful purpose.  If a man is right in his mental and moral attitude merely because his friend is right, and not because he wants the right himself, it will only be a matter of time before his prop is taken away, and he will fall back into his own moral weakness.  Of course, a man can begin to be right because his friend is right;—­but it is because there is something in him which responds to the good in his friend.  Strong men are true to their friendships and convictions, in spite of appearances and the clamor of their critics.

True independence is never afraid of appearing dependent, and true dependence leads always to the most perfect independence.