No Half Measures

A noted western writer once, after studying the lives of great men, attempted to pinpoint the special qualities that were common to all of them. He came to the conclusion that all of the men he had studied had been filled with curiosity and discontent. Curiosity had kept them in hot pursuit of things, ideas and ideals which had at first eluded them, and discontent had never allowed them to indulge in the thought that they had reached the final peak of achievement. These qualities had proved to be the mainspring of their inspiration.

A similar comment is made by Mrs Anita Straket, a mathematics adviser from Wiltshire, in an I08-page educational report she had compiled for the school’s council. Evaluating certain traits in talented children, she says, “Pupils who are impatient with anything that is second best are probably gifted.” (The Hindustan Times, 2 February 1983).

A demanding temperament of this kind compels one to go on seeking absolute truth. It prevents one from being content with half-truths and paltry successes, and one is continually spurred on to higher and greater things. Such a temperament demands that duties should be carried out in an ideal way and, indeed, anyone so inclined can never know happiness unless and until things have been done in the best possible way. A man endowed with such a temperament will never stop until the highest good has been achieved. There can be no half measures for him, and he will never be content with things of lesser value.