"No," said the man, continuing to speak with his eyes still closed,
"luxury is not necessary to a man's happiness, although he has
persuaded himself that it is so."
"Perhaps not," Paul admitted, "although I contend that a certain
amount of comfort is."
"By no means. There was never a greater fallacy, although I am free
to admit that under certain conditions it may conduce to that end.
But tell me, have you never seen one happy amid the greatest physical
privations?"
"Not absolutely."
"No, not absolutely; the absolute does not belong to the finite. I
refer to what most men would consider happiness."
"Oh, if you're talking about saints, they're outside my experience."
A faint smile played over Ah Ben's face as he answered: "Saints, my dear sir, are no more to me than to you. Have you ever
seen a prize fight?"
"Oh, yes; several."
"Do you not believe that the winner of a prize fight, even when
covered with bruises, and suffering in every bone of his body, is
happier at the moment of victory than he was the previous morning
while lying comfortably in his bed?"
"I dare say; but now you're speaking of--"
"Happiness," suggested Ah Ben, "and if you will pardon me for saying
so--for possibly I may have thought more upon this subject than you
have--I can tell you the one essential which lies at the root of all
happiness, without which it can never be acquired, but with which it
is certain to follow."
"And what is that?" inquired Paul, with interest.
"Power" said Ah Ben, with an assurance that left no doubt of the
conviction of the speaker.
"I suppose that is a kind of stepping-stone to contentment," answered
Paul, reflectively.
"Precisely; for no man who lacks the power to accomplish his desires
can know contentment. But contentment is transitory, and rests upon
power. Power alone is the cornerstone of happiness."
"Do you really believe that?" Paul inquired, half incredulously.
"I know it. With me it is not a matter of speculation; it is a matter
of knowledge."
"Then let me ask you why it is that the greatest power in the world,
which is undoubtedly money, so often fails of this end?"
Ah Ben refilled his pipe, then raked a coal out of the fire with the
bowl and pressed it firmly down upon the tobacco, and then said,
reflectively: "You are mistaken. Money does confer happiness to the full limit of
its power, but this limit is quickly reached--first, because man's
ambitions and desires grow faster than his wealth, or reach out into
channels that wealth can never compass, or, and principally, because
wealth is an impersonal power and not a direct one. Give the earth to
a single man, and it would never enable him to change his appearance
or alter one of his mental characteristics, nor to do one single
thing he could not have accomplished before--it giving him the power
to make others do his will; and so long as his will is not beyond the
power of others to do, he is to that extent happy. But to be really
happy, a man must have personal power. Wealth is not power. Power
is lodged in the individuality."