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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia by Samuel Johnson: applied myself to the language of the country, and in a few months
was able to converse with the learned men; some of whom I found
morose and reserved, and others easy and communicative; some were
unwilling to teach another what they had with difficulty learned
themselves; and some showed that the end of their studies was to
gain the dignity of instructing.
"To the tutor of the young princes I recommended myself so much
that I was presented to the Emperor as a man of uncommon knowledge.
The Emperor asked me many questions concerning my country and my
travels, and though I cannot now recollect anything that he uttered
above the power of a common man, he dismissed me astonished at his
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