“If by force you make a creature live and work like
a beast, you must think of him as a beast, else empathy
would drive you mad. Once you have classified
him in your mind, your feelings are safe.” He stared at
the river, and the breeze stirred his hair like white
smoke. “And if your heart has human vestiges of cour-
age and anger, which in a man are virtues, then you
have fear of a dangerous beast, and since your heart
has intelligence and inventiveness and the ability to
conceal them, you live with terror. Then you must
crush his manlike tendencies and make of him the
docile beast you want. And if you can teach your child
from the beginning about the beast, he will not share
your bewilderment.” John Steinbeck.
Excerpted from “Travels With Charley”, author, John Steinbeck.
Publisher: Viking Penguin Inc., 40 West 23rd. Street,
New York, New York, 10010, U.S.A.
Islander.