A Door Must Be Either Open or Shut…

We have previously referred to the rate of speed at which men move—to the fact that sixty miles an hour means moving eighty-eight feet in a single second—to the losses that could occur from only a little wrong turn, from only a little inattention. There are many other phases of this same subject that could be considered, as to the small differences between success and failure, between safety and sorrow. In business, for example, the difference between solvency and insolvency may be, in terms of percentages, only a small degree of difference. We all make mistakes, and if a person’s business judgment proves persistently to be 51 per cent unprofitable, he will surely wind up in insolvency. But if his decisions prove to be 51 per cent profitable, he well may wind up solvent and successful. The difference may be only a very thin slice on one side of the line or on the other—but it is a difference of incalculable consequence. This may seem oversimplified, but essentially it is just this simple. Either we make more than we spend, or we spend more than we make, and which we do is ultimately the difference between soundness and insolvency. Now to look a moment at another side of the subject: As an old French proverb puts it, ” A door must be either open or shut.” It is an intriguing short sentence. A door that is open just a little way can be opened further. A little opening is likely to become a larger opening—physically, mechanically, mentally, morally. A principle compromised just a little way can be compromised farther. “Just a little, we sometimes say. But just a little of some things often means just a little more. Just a little of some things is often much too much. The sharp line of demarkation sometimes seems to be shaded on both sides—but somewhere in this shaded area there is a point beyond which one cannot safely proceed. And not only should we not cross the line that marks the limit of law, but also for safety we should not even let ourselves come close to the shady side. “A door must be either open or shut.” And when safety or soundness requires it, or the preservation of principle, we should see that it is shut.