But surely it is all a deep-seated mistake; one might as well judge
people for being tall or short, ugly or beautiful. The only thing
for which I think most people would consent to be judged, which is
after all what matters, is whether they have yielded consciously to
mean, prudent, timid, conventional motives in life. It is not a
question of success or failure; it is rather whether one has acted
largely, freely, generously, or whether one has acted politely,
timidly, prudently.

In the Gospel, the two things for which it seems to be indicated
that men will be judged are, whether they have been kind, and
whether they have improved upon what has been given them. And
therefore the judgment seems to depend rather upon what men desire
than upon what they effect, upon attitude rather than upon
performance. But it is all a great mystery, because no amount of
desiring seems to give us what we desire. The two plain duties are
to commit ourselves to the Power that made us, and to desire to
become what He would have us become; and one must also abstain from
any attempt to judge other people--that is the unpardonable sin.

In art, then, a man does his best if, like Goethe, he works his own
situation into art for the consolation of gods and men. His own
situation is the only thing he can come near to perceiving; and if
he draws it faithfully and beautifully, he consoles and he
encourages. That is the best and noblest thing he can do, if he can
express or depict anything which may make other men feel that they
are not alone, that others are treading the same path, in sunshine
or cloud; anything which may help others to persevere, to desire,
to perceive. The worst sorrows in life are not its losses and
misfortunes, but its fears. And when Goethe said that it was for