POWER OF PRAISING
Explanation of effect of Natty Bumpo’s words, “It was not the terms in which this admiration had been expressed, for they were simple enough, that produces so strong an impression; nor yet their novelty, or their warmth of manner, nor any of those peculiarities that usually give value to praise; but the unflinching truth of the speaker, that carried his words so directly to the heart of the listener. This is one of the great advantages of plain dealing and frankness. The habitual and wily flatterer may succeed until his practices recoil on himself, and like other sweets, his ailment cloys by its excess; but he who deals honestly, though he often necessarily offend, possesses a power of praising that no quality but sincerity can bestow; since his words go directly to the heart, finding their support in the understanding. From The Deerslayer, by James Fennimore Cooper, pgs. 190 & 191
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