Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 84.djvu/486

482 One of the most common pitfalls into which many men fall is that of pandering to the popular caprice of the moment. He who says the pleasing thing rather than the truth as he sees it is something less than a reformer. The trend of public opinion is entitled to respectful consideration. An overweening confidence in one's own judgment should be avoided. The mind that is proof against criticism or that is indifferent to the opinions of others has ceased to grow. On the other hand, an earnest attempt should be made to set the majority right if it is wrong. Practically every good cause at the outset has been championed by a small minority. The hanging of witches was once a matter of course. The opponents of slavery for a long time hardly dared speak their minds. The opponent of inflation in many states after the Civil War had no political future. It is only a short time since the higher education of women was held in low esteem. He who sets his own popularity above his sense of public duty lacks the moral courage necessary to right the wrongs of the world. The man of fearless and independent judgment occasionally lives long enough to receive the plaudits of his countrymen, but many men who have done the world the greatest service have never had their praises sung until long after they were dead. The fact that a man holds this or that office may indicate nothing more than that he is a calculating time-server.