Topic
Danger in this collection is most honestly treated by those who have experienced it rather than contemplated it. Napoleon's from-the-sublime-to-the-ridiculous is the compressed wisdom of a man who managed the transition himself, catastrophically. Nietzsche's dangerous woman is the most provocative entry: what the true man seeks in danger is play — and woman is the most dangerous game. Shaw's fire-and-painting is the comic register, but it makes a real point about hierarchy of values under pressure. Ebner-Eschenbach's dodge-not-argue returns: the truly dangerous person is not the one who challenges you openly but the one who avoids committing. Brandeis on most worthwhile things having been declared impossible before they were done is danger as chronology: the advance is always opposed before it is endorsed. Hubbard's don't-take-life-too-seriously rounds the collection: the danger of excessive caution is a life spent avoiding the things that would have made it worth having.