Masters of the very first order can be recognised by the following characteristic: in all matters great and small they know with perfect assurance how to find the end, whether it be the end of a melody or the end of a thought, whether it be the fifth act of a tragedy or the end of a political action. The very best of the second-in-rank grow restive toward the end. They do not plunge into the sea with a proud and measured tranquility, as do, for example, the mountains near Portofino — where the Gulf of Genoa sings its melody to the end.
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