He would not cheat them; for there was in him an innate vein of honesty, so surly and explosive, at times, as to give him much trouble.

The severest part of his self-education had been the repression of his dangerous inclination to call a sham a sham on the spot, and to answer fools according to their folly.

That youthful rashness, however, was now well-nigh subdued, and Tom could flatter and bully also, when it served his turn--as who cannot?
Let him that is without sin among my readers, cast the first stone.

Self-conscious he was, therefore, in every word and action; not from morbid vanity, but a necessary consequence of his mode of life.
He had to use men, and therefore to watch how he used them; to watch every word, gesture, tone of voice, and, in all times and places, do the fitting thing.

It was hard work: but necessary for a man who stood alone and self-poised in the midst of the universe; fashioning for himself everywhere, just as far as his arm could reach, some not intolerable condition; depending on nothing but himself, and caring for little but himself and the father whom, to do him justice, he never forgot.