Unpermittedthings,onceforall,hemustavoidtodo:perhapshewillgraduallydiscoverthatmanyofthemwerefoolishthingsbetternotdone。Hewalkswarily;tothisallthingscontinuallyadmonish。Wetraceinhimsomerealdesiretobewise,todoandlearnwhatisusefulifhecanhere。Butthegrandproblem,whichisrealityitselftohim,isalways,ToregainfavorwithPapa。
Andthis,Papabeingwhatheis,givesatwisttoallotherproblemstheyoungmanmayhave,fortheymustallshapethemselvesbythis;andintroducessomethingofartificial,——notproperlyofhypocritical,forthattooisfataliffoundout,——butofcalculated,reticent,ofhalf—sincere,ontheSon’spart:
aninevitablefeature,plentifullyvisibleintheirCorrespondencenowandhenceforth。CorrespondingwithPapaandhisGrumkow,andwatched,ateverystep,bysuchanArgusastheTobacco—Parliament,realfranknessofspeechisnotquitetherecommendablething;apparentfranknessmaybethesafer!
BesidesmasteryintheDomainSciences,IperceivetheCrown—Princehadtostudyhereanotherart,usefultohiminafterlife:theartofwearingamonghisfellow—creaturesapolitecloak—of—darkness。Graduallyhebecomesmasterofitasfeware:
amanpolitelyimpregnabletotheintrusionofhumancuriosity;