Enthusiasm helps you influence other men’s minds, but in the market you do not desire to do this (unless you happen to be a big bull leader). You wish to keep your mind as clear, cool and unruffled as the surface of a mountain lake on a calm day. Any emotion—enthusiasm, fear, anger, depression—will only cloud the intellect. Doubtless it would be axiomatic to warn the trader against stubbornness. It cannot be assumed that any operator would consciously permit himself to become stubborn. The trouble arises in drawing the line between, on the one hand, persistence, consistence, pursuit of a definite plan until conditions change; and, on the other, stubborn adherence to a course of action which subsequent events have proved to be erroneous. A day in the country, with the market forgotten, or if necessary forcibly ejected from the thoughts, will often enable the trader to return with a clarified mind, so that he can then intelligently convict or acquit himself of the vice of stubbornness. Sometimes it may become necessary to close all commitments and remain out of the market for a few days. One of the most common errors might be described as “getting a notion.” This is due to the failure or inability of the trader to take a broad view of the entire situation. Some particular point in the complex conditions which usually control prices, appeals to him strongly and impresses him as certain to have its effect on the market. He acts on this single idea. The idea may be all right, but other counterbalancing factors may prevent it from having its natural effect. You encounter these “notions” every day in the Street. You meet a highly conservative individual and ask him what he thinks of the situation. “I am alarmed at the rapid spread of radical sentiment,” he replies. “How can we expect capital to branch out into new enterprises when the profits may be swept away at any moment by socialistic legislation?” You say mildly that the crops are good, the banking situation sound, business active, etc. But all this produces no impression upon him. He has sold all his stocks and has his money in the banks. (He is also short a considerable line, but he doesn’t tell you this). He will not buy again until the public becomes “sane.” The next man you talk with says: “We cannot have much decline with the present good crop prospect. Crops lie at the basis of everything. With nine billions of new wealth coming out of the ground and flowing into the channels of trade, we are bound to have prosperous conditions for some time to come.” You speak of radicalism, adverse legislation, high cost of living, etc.; but he thinks these are relatively unimportant compared with that $9,000,000,000 of new wealth. Of course, he is long of stocks. “To make the worse appear the better reason,” said Mr. Socrates, some little time ago. It is too bad we can’t have Socrates’ comments on Wall Street. The Socratic method applied to the average speculator would produce amusing results.