Part Two

    “....To illustrate: Once young Jean C—— came to me after a month of diligent investigation on a difficult assignment. He wore a forlorn expression. Without a word he handed me a slip of official paper. I read it in surprise. It was his resignation.
    “‘Here, Jean!’ I cried. ‘What is the meaning of this?’
    “‘I have failed, M. Brillon,’ he muttered. ‘A month’s work, gone to the devil. I have been on the wrong track. It is a disgrace.’
    “‘Jean, my friend,’ said I solemnly, ‘this for your resignation.’ Wherewith I tore it to hits before his astonished eyes. ‘Go now,’ I admonished him, ‘and begin from the beginning. For remember always the maxim: He who would know right must first know wrong!’”
    —From Reminiscences of a Prefect,
    By Auguste Brillon.