The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from The Mirror of the Sea by Joseph Conrad: till near enough the cabin-door to catch hold of the handle. Then
he would let go my arm at once.
"That'll do. I can manage now."
And he could manage. He could manage to find his way into his
berth, light his lamp, get into his bed - ay, and get out of it
when I called him at half-past five, the first man on deck, lifting
the cup of morning coffee to his lips with a steady hand, ready for
duty as though he had virtuously slept ten solid hours - a better
chief officer than many a man who had never tasted grog in his
life. He could manage all that, but could never manage to get on
in life.
The Mirror of the Sea |