But this
was the time when the buds began to unfold on my tree of life; this was
the time when my heart found its pivot-point, and when first my inner
life awoke. If, then, I succeed in giving an exact description of my
early boyhood, I shall have provided an important aid to the right
understanding of my life and work as a man. For that reason I venture to
dwell at some inordinate length on this part of my life, and the more
willingly since I can pass more quickly over later periods.
It often suggests itself to me, while thus reviewing and describing my
life, just as it does with teaching and education--namely, that those
things which are by most men thrown aside as common and unimportant are
the very things which are, as I take it, of weightiest import. In my
eyes, it is always a mistake to leave a gap in the rudimentary and
fundamental part of a subject. Still I know one may exhaust the patience
of a reader by touching on every minute detail, before he has been
permitted to glance at the whole picture and to gather its scope and
object. Therefore I beg your Highness[6] to pass over, at all events on
the first reading, anything that may appear too long and too detailed.
Pages:
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37