to banish the sentiment of admiration from its republic."
"If it could," said the solicitor, "there would be an end of these abnormal egotisms of which we have been speaking."
"I do not agree," said Northcote. "It is not a thirst for admiration from which they spring, but a thirst for power. And it is an uncomfortable reflection for those who belong to your republic that the world has been so arranged that mere power will always have its devotees. How lamentably your own practice breaks down before your theory. You have reverence for me as a player of football, and Tobin's powers as an advocate fill you with enthusiasm."
"True; and it is men like Tobin and yourself who forbid any reconciliation between theory and practice. A phenomenon is always inimical to the society in which it appears. It may stand forth as memorable and fascinating as you please, but it does so at the expense of balance, law, and reason. Your presence in the football match ruined the game as a game, just as I have observed that the presence of Tobin in a case has been disastrous to the cause of justice."
"Nevertheless, you invoke the aid of Tobin on every possible occasion."
"I do."
"Upon what pretext, may I ask, since you deplore his gifts so deeply?"
"The answer is simple. To whatever extent I may deplore the condition of things into which, through no fault of my own, I have been projected, beyond everything I am of a comfortable
