In this virulent exposé of the cynic, Barnum was right from his point of view to call that type of mind a fool’s, for that type of mind is so seldom successful. Barnum, as he indicates clearly in _The Humbugs of the World_, was constantly on the look-out for deception of different species, but his attitude was never that of the chronic cynic. His profound belief in Christianity--particularly in Universalism--and the ultimate perfectibility of man, whether in heaven or on earth, made it possible for him to denounce sincerely those who doubted man and God, and at the same time to use energetically the opportunities offered by the present imperfect state of society. He was not his own last word in degradation, the cynical humbug, because he had a sincere faith in spiritual values. It is true that he capitalized man’s machinery of Christianity for the purposes of the show business, but he himself believed piously and with sincerity in the immediate and ultimate efficacy of that machinery. Barnum felt enough to be no worse than his contemporaries, and he knew enough to be no better. He had so much sincere belief in the popular Christian ideals, and so much ability in the practice of his profession, that he was accepted by mankind as an honest as well as a successful man. To be a humbug, by Barnum’s sanitary definition, was not to be dishonest. His humbug was not a cheat, nor an impostor, and he excluded counterfeiters, forgers, confidence men and pickpockets from his select company of happy deceivers. However, even Barnum’s distinction between humbug and dishonesty is vague, and one that allows latitude for personal opinion in specific instances. Almost every one would disagree with a few of Barnum’s examples of humbug, preferring to characterize them as pieces of thievery, and there are those who would accept some of his stories of imposture as merely innocent deceptions. No subject, based as it is on varying standards of honesty, could offer more room for difference of opinion, which is why Barnum’s consideration of it is such an excellent index of his own moral character. The true humbug, said Barnum, is the man who advertises his wares in an _outré_ manner, but who gives his customers their money’s worth after he has attracted their patronage. He wrote in _The Humbugs of the World_: “And whenever the time shall come when men are kind and just and honest; when they only want what is fair and right, judge only on real and true evidence, and take nothing for granted, then there will be no place left for any humbugs, either harmless or hurtful.” Meanwhile, he felt it was his legitimate privilege to supply the demand.