THE YEARS OF PRESUMPTION.--The proper period of presumption in gifted people is between their twenty-sixth and thirtieth years; it is the time of early ripeness, with a large residue of sourness. On the ground of what we feel within ourselves we demand honour and humility from men who see little or nothing of it, and because this tribute is not immediately forthcoming we revenge ourselves by the look, the gesture of arrogance, and the tone of voice, which a keen ear and eye recognise in every product of those years, whether it be poetry, philosophy, or pictures and music. Older men of experience smile thereat, and think with emotion of those beautiful years in which one resents the fate of _being_ so much and _seeming_ so little. Later on one really _seems_ more,--but one has lost the good belief in _being_ much,--unless one remain for life an incorrigible fool of vanity. 600. DECEPTIVE AND YET DEFENSIBLE.--Just as in order to pass by an abyss or to cross a deep stream on a plank we require a railing, not to hold fast by,--for it would instantly break down with us,--but to give the notion of security to the eye, so in youth we require persons who unconsciously render us the service of that railing. It is true they would not help us if we really wished to lean upon them in great danger, but they afford the tranquillising sensation of protection close to one (for instance, fathers, teachers, friends, as all three usually are). 601. LEARNING TO LOVE.--One must learn to love, one must learn to be kind, and this from childhood onwards; when education and chance give us no opportunity for the exercise of these feelings our soul becomes dried up, and even incapable of understanding the fine devices of loving men. In the same way hatred must be learnt and fostered, when one wants to become a proficient hater,--otherwise the germ of it will gradually die out. 602. RUIN AS ORNAMENT.--Persons who pass through numerous mental phases retain certain sentiments and habits of their earlier states, which then project like a piece of inexplicable antiquity and grey stonework into their new thought and action, often to the embellishment of the whole surroundings. 603. LOVE AND HONOUR.--Love desires, fear avoids. That is why one cannot be both loved and honoured by the same person, at least not at the same time.[2] For he who honours recognises power,--that is to say, he fears it, he is in a state of reverential fear (_Ehr-furcht_) But love recognises no power, nothing that divides, detaches, superordinates, or subordinates. Because it does not honour them, ambitious people secretly or openly resent being loved. 604.