The Art of Worldly Wisdom(56)

Have Presence of Mind. This is the child of a happy promptitude of spirit. Owing to this vivacity and alertness there is no fear of danger or mischance. Many reflect much only to go wrong in the end: others attain their aim without thinking of it beforehand. There are paradoxical characters who work best in an emergency. They are like monsters who succeed in all they do offhand, but fail in everything they think over. A thing occurs to them at once or never — for them there is no court of appeal. Celerity wins applause because it proves remarkable capacity; subtlety of judgment, prudence in action.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />