You _think_ it is the
culture, as you call it, that you want; but if that were really it, you
would not go. You would find it here. The greatest minds that the world
has ever known you may have right here in your home, on your library
table. And you may listen to their thoughts without being disturbed by
the magpie chatterings of vain and shallow pretenders. You are attracted
by the pretentious forms and manners of that life; you think that
because a certain class of people, who have nothing else to do, talk a
certain jargon, and profess to follow certain teachers--who, nine times
out of ten, are charlatans or fools--that they are the intellectual and
spiritual leaders of the race. You are mistaking the very things that
prevent intellectual and spiritual development for the things you think
you want."
She did not answer his thought, but replied to his words. "And supposing
I am mistaken, as you say. Still, I do not see why it should matter so
to you."
He made a gesture of hopelessness and sat for a moment in silence. Then
he said slowly, "I fear you will not understand, but did you ever hear
the story of how 'Wild Horse Phil' earned his title?"
She laughed.
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