Gradually, he was coming to see that he was not one of the few who
are born to rule--to control--their simple neighbours, ambitious only
for breath. Where, if he had possessed this mission, he would have
been eager to punish, he now felt no more than a sympathy that
charged him with some responsibility for the sins of others. He
shared the uneasy conviction of the multitude that human justice, as
interpreted by the inspired minority, is more than a little unjust.
The very unpopularity with which his uniform endowed him seemed to
him to express a severe criticism of the system of which he was an
unwilling supporter. He wished these people to regard him as a kind
of official friend, to advise and settle differences; yet, shrewder
than he, they considered him as an enemy, who lived on their mistakes
and the collapse of their social relationships.
There remained his duty to his wife and children, and this rendered
the problem infinitely perplexing.
Why should he punish others because of his love for his children; or,
again, why should his children suffer for his scruples? Yet it was
clear that, unless fortune permitted him to accomplish some notable
yet honourable arrest, he would either have to cheat and tyrannise
with his colleagues or leave the force. And what employment is
available for a discharged policeman?
As he went systematically from house to house the consideration of
these things marred the normal progress of his dreams.
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