" Wilhelm looked at him astonished. "I do not share in
your feelings. How can a glance at such vanity in thinking men give
one any feeling except that of pity?"
"I am not hurt at the hardness of your judgment, because you don't
understand what I am saying. You know very well I am not frivolous,
and that I have learned long ago the seriousness of life. But at the
same time I value the entree into the best society of Berlin for
what it is worth. Now the opportunity has come, and I shall make it
useful."
"Paul, you grieve me. A tuft-hunter talks like that."
"What do you call a tuft-hunter?--if you mean a man who does not
want to hide his light under a bushel, I say yes, I am one, and I
think that is entirely honorable. I don't want to get on by means of
any false pretenses, but by honest work. What is the use of
capability if no one notices it? If I can inspire the right people
with this conviction, I am in luck. There is no injustice in that."
"I thought you had more pride."
"Dear Wilhelm, don't speak to me of pride. That is all right for
you. If my father had left me a house in the Kochstrasse, I would
snap my fingers at everyone, and go my own way, as it pleased me
best. Or put it the other way round, if you were the middle son in a
Brandenburg family of nine, I tell you that you would attribute a
certain importance to seeking the favor of influential people.
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