A Man Among Men—No More

It is Usually the Unknown Man Who Succeeds in Altering the World's Destiny

GIOVANNI PAPINI

IMAGINE, if you can, dear imaginative reader, a man who secretly contemplates doing something which will, if carried out, alter the face of the earth, the processes of life and the history of mankind. Imagine this man unable or unwilling to divulge his secret, so that even those who. come into daily contact with him know nothing of his amazing, his terrific Intention. Imagine what the hopes and fears of such a man must be! Alone, mute, he walks the crowded streets and no one glances aside at him and no one follows him and no one draws him aside to question him. . . .

He isn't particularly striking. He wears the usual sort of clothes, ready-made, featureless as a sparrow's wing. A man among men— no more!

Imagine, if you can, the soul of this man whose terrible secret is invisible to blind humanity. He goes among the people, knowing that he can change their destiny—when he chooses. ... He smiles, visioning the moment of his triumph, tasting the ecstasy of creation; his heart beats, his eyes dilate with the magnificence of his idea. . . .

Imagine the peculiar quality of his aloofness. A man among men! No one sees beyond his ungainly body, his awkward gait, his ill-fitting clothes. Yet he knows the time will come when men will boast of having seen him, of having spoken to him, of having known and loved him in the hour of his obscurity. False! False!

But now he is not himself. He is a number, an element, a unit, a citizen, a cog in the civil machine, a mere name. No one recognizes in him the thought which is powerful enough to change the aspect of the universe. He is like one who carries a lighted lantern beneath his cloak—an unknown god who has chained the lightning and muffled the thunder of heaven.

Imagine for a moment that this man is alive, now, to-day, somewhere near you!

I tell you, he exists! I tell you, he is walking about the streets of your cities and going in and out of your houses and looking into your eyes as he passes. His day hasn't come, but it mil come! His secret eats at his heart; his dreams exalt him, glorify him. He is a man both terrible and mysterious. Aren't you afraid of him? Look well! He may have been the man whose gaze crossed yours yesterday—he whose expression startled and intrigued you. He may be here, or there, to-day or to-morrow.

All great revelations have been preceded by silence and ignorance. Think of those who saw Christ when he was a boy playing in the streets of Jerusalem! How many of them knew that that blond head would one day bend down from a cross, and that His word would heal the sick and raise the dead ?

Every great man has had his hour of obscurity. To-day, now, other great men are preparing to open your eyes to their greatness. Every age has its prophets and heroes. Unseen, unsuspected, the prophet and hero of tomorrow goes about among you. His light is hidden, but it is there! He passes, walking quickly, with eyes that dream—and you still ignore him.

I want you to feel his nearness. Search for him. Let no one escape your curiosity. He is alive and looking at you: do you not sense the weight of his glance upon you? He exists and is waiting: do you not feel the threat behind that postponement? Will you allow him to pass you by in the street unnoticed ?

He passes, alone, silent, with unseeing eyes. He pauses. . . . Then he is gone again, mingling with the crowd, a man among men, a shadow among shadows, a hope, a promise, a possibility, unseen, unrecognized, unknown.