Criticism is futile because it puts a man on the defensive, and usually makes him strive to justify himself. Criticism is dangerous, because it wound’s a man’s pride, hurts his sense of importance, and arouses his resentment. When someone speaks harshly of people, say, “Don’t criticize them; they are just what we would be under similar circumstances.”

When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotions, creatures bristling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity. “I will speak ill of no man, and speak all the good I know of everybody” – Benjamin Franklin, became American Ambassador to France. It takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving. “A great man shows his greatness by the way he treats little men” – Carlyle.

The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important. Many people who go insane find in insanity a feeling of importance that they were unable to achieve in reality. They have found in a dream world of their own creation the feeling of importance which they so deeply desired. If some people are so hungry for a feeling of importance that they actually go insane to get it, imagine what miracles we can achieve by giving people honest appreciation.