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favorable among the people who count in my life? If there is no other way to achieve a worth-the-while purpose, then it is necessary to "lay down the law." Dogmatism is a powerful device when justifiably used, but it is a fighting weapon, not calculated to make friends. To those who insist upon fighting their way through life, there are some points of strategy that should be watched. It was a principle among the ancient Greek fighters not to cut off the enemy's retreat, because when bottled up he would fight more desperately: in our modern business life it i9 well to give an opponent a chance to "save face. " To beat a person down out of sheer joy in raising our ego at his expense is not only a breach of good manners and good sportsmanship, it is bad business, because there are no persons so insignificant but may, some time or other, have it in their power to be of use to us. Violence in a business man makes enemies unless the people surrounding him are wonderfully tolerant---something on which no one has the right to count. Violence takes hold of one's health, too, wears one out more rapicl1y than does persuasion, and it is not so gratifying to the man of intelligence. Persuasion, as Matthew Arnold phrased it, is the only true intellectual process. Strategy in Criticism: Able men take pains to spare others humiliation, even when it is necessary to criticize their actions. It is foolish to scold. John Wanamaker confessed: "I have enough trouble overcoming my own limitations without fretting over the fact that God has not seen fit to distribute evenly the gift of intelligence. " The purpose of discipline in business, school, or family life is to prevent repetition of an offense. It should be constructive. Impatient tearing down is likely to breed distaste for necessary regulation. , Criticism should begin with praise and honest appreciation of what the man does well, and then go on to point out how this other thing can be done better. This mode of criticizing will appeal to the worker because it shows an honest desire to be helpful. It recognizes the truth that nobody ever learns anything except by making mistakes. The better a man is, the more mistakes he will make, because the more new things he will try. Learning to like people and' to get along with them by looking for the good in them is a satisfying way of life. If we complain often about our associates or about the firm for which we work, people are likely to think the trouble lies with us. - 15 -