“I wish I could think so, sir.”
“And you would not wish that you could think so, if you were not already persuaded that your first wish is hopeless.”
“But I am not hopeless, sir.”
“Your cause is. But, promise me that you will not press your suit at present.”
The young man was silent.
“You hesitate.”
“I dare not promise.”
“Ah, you are a foolish boy. Do you not see the rock on which you are about to split. You have never learned how to submit. This lesson of submission was that which made the Spartan boy famous. Here, you persist in your purpose, though your own secret convictions, as well as your friend's counsel, tell you that you strive against hope. You could not patiently submit to the counsel of this stranger, though he came directly from your parents, armed with authority to examine and to counsel.”
“Submit to him! I would sooner perish!” exclaimed the indignant youth.
“You will perish unless you learn this one lesson. But where now is your ambition, and what does it aim at?”