Mahon after Lira; but the country put both of them aside and passed on to policies of which they disapproved. Later Boulanger pranced across the scene in the assumed character of a savior of society; but as soon as the firm hand of lawful authority was laid on him he slunk into exile and dwindled into insignificance; finally, wrecked alike in character and estate, he sought death at his own hand. Balmaceda was another would-be strong man, and he too fills a suicide's grave. Lastly, we have Parnell, a man whose courage was indomitable, whose fortitude could not be shaken, who by the sheer force of his personality baffled the plans and confused the policies of the ablest statesmen of Great Britain; yet who, trusting to his strength to win him a personal triumph after he had violated the essential conditions of successful struggle, ended his career in failure and disgrace.
Evidently there is something wrong with the gospel of force. Heaven sends the strong men in fairly liberal supply, men who are quite prepared to fill the Carlylean requirements in the matter of doing and daring, despising small scruples and trampling on rights; but their success is short lived, and their failure points a moral which is hardly to be found in the Carlylean philosophy. That moral is that, while strength is a good thing in itself, and courage and resolution are virtues, they need to be guided by knowledge and a careful study of conditions, if they are not to rush on to disaster. Nay, more, we see that individual strength is only weakness unless it vibrates in unison with the greater strength of true principles of action, the strength that resides in the play of great social forces. No man to-day can win any great triumph except by being in the right, and this is the great political lesson which we should strive to impress on the rising generation. To be sure, there are many false lights—mostly, however, of a minor kind—shining in the world and alluring men to a career of selfish adventure. There are men who have climbed to business or political success by means that will not bear criticism. But the examples afforded by those who have tried such means to their own ruin are more striking and impressive, if not more numerous, than any that can bo quoted on the other side.
Hero-worship is well if it simply means sincere admiration for noble qualities; but it is misleading in the highest degree if it causes us to trust for great results to the action of this or that masterful individuality. To-day the "common sense of most" is the most potent factor in all social and political progress, and no man is wise who does not bear this in mind. There is ample scope still for the exercise of the highest moral and intellectual qualities, and the true hero may yet win the admiration and gratitude of society; only, what is required is that he should know the structure and laws of the society in which he lives, and seek rather to give the best expression to the tendencies of the time than to impose his own individuality on his contemporaries. Only he who, in a profound sense, obeys possesses the secret of rule.
The times are favorable, we think, for the presentation of new political ideals. Strong men of the old type, iron-handed warriors, and stern legislators, are out of date; on the other hand, the want of firmness and principle in connection with political affairs was never more conspicuous. We want a new race of strong men in whom the gamester element shall be wholly absent, and who shall aim to accomplish their ends not by personal tours de force, nor yet by craft and flattery, but by steady adherence to principle, and patient efforts to awaken the public to a sense of their true interests. The strong man of the future will be strong in knowledge and in social sympathy; and his strength will be spent, not in efforts to perpetuate his personal ascendency, but in efforts to develop all
