Lodge was the only scholar in politics, but Mr.
Wilson was so far his superior in erudition, especially in Mr.
Lodge's chosen profession of history, that he resented being
deprived of his monopoly. Perhaps there is another reason. Mr.
Lodge has cherished two ambitions, neither of which has been
gratified. The Presidency has been the ignis fatuus he has pursued;
he was the residuary legatee of Mr. Roosevelt's bankrupt political
estate in 1916, it will be recalled; last year, after his fight on
the treaty, he considered himself the logical candidate and
believed he had the nomination in his grasp. He has longed to be
Secretary of State, and it was a bitter disappointment when Mr.
Harding did not invite him to enter the Cabinet.
Mr. Lodge is a curious and not uninteresting study in psychology.
He has no great talent, but he is not without some ability; in his
youth he was an industrious plodder and fond of study. He has read
much but absorbed little; he is well educated in the narrow sense
of the schoolmaster, but he has no philosophic background; his is
the parasitic mind that sucks sustenance from the brains of others
and gives nothing in return. He is without the slightest
imagination and is devoid of all sense of humor; and without these
two, imagination, which is the gift of the poet, and humor, which
is the dower of the philosopher, no man can see life whole.
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