ON CRITICS AND CRITICISM
To always give a defence for every criticism against you is rather a sign of weakness than a strong point. And such infirmity leads to so much irritation of concerned fellows that they stop airing their opinions on your conduct. Now when the mirror is gone, the hope for perfection of beauty goes dim. Criticism is rather a statement of opinion, and its congruence to truth remains probable, to be rightly judged only by a pure, defenceless heart. And why answer back when the criticism against you is not a question? Yea, even if found in form of a question, it is often rhetorical, needing no answer. In mathematics, an identity element is defined as an element which has no effect on combination with any of the sides of an equation. So are excuses to failure; they neither undo the decisions and deeds that led to the disappointment, nor alter the damage already caused. Haven’t we often been misled by the pride of our depraved hearts to think ourselves righteous amidst obvious...