CHAPTER V.
All that Glitters is not Gold, especially in America.—The Dollar is the Unity of the Metrical System.—Jonathan is Matter-of-fact.—How he judges Man.—The Kind of Baits that Take.—Talent without Money is a Useless Tool.—Boston and Kansas.
onathan admires all that glitters, even that which is not gold.
In his eyes, the success of a thing answers for its quality, and the charlatanism that succeeds is superior to the merit that vegetates.
The dollar is not only the unity of the monetary system; it is also the unity of the metrical system.
Before assigning a man his standing, people ask him in England, "Who is your father?" in France, "Who are you?" in America, "How much have you?"
Like Professor Teufelsdröckh, the ordinary American judges men with an impartiality and coolness really charming. He admires talent, because it is a paying commodity. A literary or artistic success is only a success, in his eyes, on condition that it is a monetary one as well. He looks upon every man as possessing a certain commercial value. He is worth so much. Such and such a celebrity does not inspire his respect and admiration because he or she has produced a work of genius, but because the work of genius has produced a fortune. In America, you hear people, when talking of Madame Adelina Patti, speak less of her incomparable voice than of the houses she draws.
I was chatting one day with an American about the famous Robert Ingersoll.
"He is your greatest orator, I am told," I said.