From the time he had
begun to think for himself--and he was young when he reached that stage--
he had formed a rooted determination to be first in his country, to be a
great reformer or a great patriot, and he cared to study nothing that was
not connected with this idea. When his name was first heard in public
life, it was as the author of a pamphlet advocating certain sweeping
measures of which no one else had ventured to dream as yet. He would have
smiled now had he taken the trouble to read again some of those earlier
productions of his. It had seemed so easy to move the world then, and it
seemed so hard now. But nevertheless he meant to move it, and as each year
brought him increased strength and wider experience, it brought with it
also the conviction of ultimate success. He had long forgotten to hope for
the sudden and immediate power to stir the world, for he had discovered
that it was a labor of years, the work of a lifetime; but if he had ever
had any doubts as to the result of that work, he had forgotten them also.
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