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Narcissus Off Duty
Burneseemedtobeclimbingheightswhereotherswouldbeforeverunabletogetafoothold.
"Itellyou,"AmorydeclaredtoTom,"he’sthefirstcontemporaryI’veevermetwhomI’lladmitismysuperiorinmentalcapacity."
"It’sabadtimetoadmitit—peoplearebeginningtothinkhe’sodd."
"He’swayovertheirheads—youknowyouthinksoyourselfwhenyoutalktohim—GoodLord,Tom,youusedtostandoutagainst’people.’Successhascompletelyconventionalizedyou."
Tomgrewratherannoyed.
"What’shetryingtodo—beexcessivelyholy?"
"No!notlikeanybodyyou’veeverseen.NeverentersthePhiladelphianSociety.Hehasnofaithinthatrot.Hedoesn’tbelievethatpublicswimming-poolsandakindwordintimewillrightthewrongsoftheworld;moreover,hetakesadrinkwheneverhefeelslikeit."
"Hecertainlyisgettinginwrong."
"Haveyoutalkedtohimlately?"
"No."
"Thenyouhaven’tanyconceptionofhim."
Theargumentendednowhere,butAmorynoticedmorethaneverhowthesentimenttowardBurnehadchangedonthecampus.
"It’sodd,"AmorysaidtoTomonenightwhentheyhadgrownmoreamicableonthesubject,"thatthepeoplewhoviolentlydisapproveofBurne’sradicalismaredistinctlythePhariseeclass—Imeanthey’rethebest-educatedmenincollege—theeditorsofthepapers,likeyourselfandFerrenby,theyoungerprofessors....