Sowhilehewasweighingmyenveloe,Iremarkedwithenthusiasm:
"IcertainlywishIhadyourheadofhair。
"
Helookedu,half-startled,hisfacebeamingwithsmiles。
"Well,itisntasgoodasitusedtobe。
"hesaidmodestly。
Iassuredhimthatalthoughitmighthavelostsomeofitsristineglory,neverthelessitwasstillmagnificent。Hewasimmenselyleased。Wecarriedonaleasantlittleconversationandthelastthinghesaidtomewas:
"Manyeolehaveadmiredmyhair。
"
Illbetthatersonwentouttolunchthatdaywalkingonair。Illbethewenthomethatnightandtoldhiswifeaboutit。Illbethelookedinthemirrorandsaid:
"Itisabeautifulheadofhair。
"
Itoldthisstoryonceinublicandamanaskedmeafterwards:
"Whatdidyouwanttogetoutofhim?
"
WhatwasItryingtogetoutofhim!WhatwasItryingtogetoutofhim!Ifwearesocontemtiblyselfishthatwecantradiatealittlehainessandassonabitofhonestareciationwithouttryingtogetsomethingoutoftheotherersoninreturn—ifoursoulsarenobiggerthansourcrabales,weshallmeetwiththefailurewesorichlydeserve。
Ohyes,Ididwantsomethingoutofthatcha。Iwantedsomethingriceless。AndIgotit。IgotthefeelingthatIhaddonesomethingforhimwithouthisbeingabletodoanythingwhateverinreturnforme。Thatisafeelingthatflowsandsingsinyourmemorylongaftertheincidentisast。
Thereisoneall-imortantlawofhumanconduct。Ifweobeythatlaw,weshallalmostnevergetintotrouble。Infact,thatlaw,ifobeyed,willbringuscountlessfriendsandconstanthainess。Buttheveryinstantwebreakthelaw,weshallgetintoendlesstrouble。
Thelawisthis:Alwaysmaketheotherersonfeelimortant。JohnDewey,aswehavealreadynoted,saidthatthedesiretobeimortantisthedeeesturgeinhumannature;andWilliamJamessaid:
"Thedeeestrincileinhumannatureisthecravingtobeareciated。
"AsIhavealreadyointedout,itisthisurgethatdifferentiatesusfromtheanimals。Itisthisurgethathasbeenresonsibleforcivilizationitself。
Philosohershavebeenseculatingontherulesofhumanrelationshisforthousandsofyears,andoutofallthatseculation,therehasevolvedonlyoneimortantrecet。Itisnotnew。Itisasoldashistory。ZoroastertaughtittohisfollowersinPersiatwenty-fivehundredyearsago。ConfuciusreacheditinChinatwenty-fourcenturiesago:
"Dountoothersasyouwouldhaveothersdountoyou。
"