from The Art of Worldly Wisdom Live Practically cxx Live practically.
Even knowledge must be fashionable, and where it is not, it is wise to influence the ignorant. Ideas and hobbies change with the times. Ideas are not archaic, hobbies are modern. The tastes of the masses vote for everything. For the time being, we must follow the masses in the hope that they will lead us to higher things. The adornment of body and mind should conform to the present, even if the past appears better. But this rule does not apply to kindness. Goodness is eternal and is becoming neglected and outdated in the modern world. Speaking the truth, keeping one’s word, and being good seem to come from the good old days. How unfortunate for our time to think that virtue is a stranger and vice is natural. If you are wise, live as you can; if you cannot, live as you do. Exalt what fate has given you more than what fate has denied you.
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