He must DO a thing, leave it undemonstrated; once done, it will itself tell what kind of thing it is, by and by.

Men of genius have a hard time, I perceive, whether born on the throne or off it; and must expect contradictions next to unendurable,--the plurality of blockheads being so extreme! I find, except Samuel Johnson, no man of equal veracity with Friedrich Wilhelm in that epoch: and Johnson too, with all his tongue-learning, had not logic enough.

In fact, it depends on how much conviction you have.

Blessed be Heaven, there is here and there a man born who loves truth as truth should be loved, with all his heart and all his soul; and hates untruth with a corresponding perfect hatred.

Such men, in polite circles, which understand that certainly truth is better than untruth, but that you must be polite to both, are liable to get to the end of their logic.