Self-respect  will  never  allow  a  man  to  bear  petty  malice,  '  to
bear  grudges  ',  to  be  spiteful,  to  be  mean.  With  regard  to
all  such  things  as  these,  of  course  it  depends  upon  their  degree
whether  you  pronounce  them  very  wicked  or  not,  but,  whether
they  are  wicked  or  not — sometimes  they  may  not  be  great
enough  to  be  very  wicked — they  are  at  all  times  contemptible,
and  the  man  who  indulges  them,  cannot  help  every  now  and
then  feeling  ashamed  of  himself  for  indulging  them.  It  is  a
contemptible  thing  to  bear  a  small  grudge.  Somebody  has
done  something  you  don't  like.  Well  you  are  going  to  pay
him  out.  It  is  very  small  of  you  to  care  about  '  paying  him
out '  If  you  were  bigger,  nobler,  you  would  certainly  forget
it.  You  would  forget  it  as  being  a  thing  which  it  is  beneath
you  to  remember.  Very  likely  you  are  bound  to  forget  it
for  other  reasons.  Very  likely  you  are  bound  to  forget  it,
because  if  you  came  to  look  into  it  you  would  find  that  it


Manners  and  Good  Breeding  289

was  not  nearly  so  truly  an  injury  to  you  as  you  supposed.
