It all depends on the nature and the requirements of the particular task, and the extent to which a man has really made sacrifices in order to accomplish it.

There are many special jobs which absolutely demand scrupulous veracity, loyalty in a man's personal relations, or financial integrity.

The politician who ruins his career in climbing down a waterspout, or the engineer who prevents his employers from trusting his judgment and conscience in money matters, cannot plead in extenuation any other sort of instrumental excellence.
They have deserved to fail, because they have trifled with their job; and it may be added that serious moral delinquencies are usually grave hindrances to a man's individual efficiency.
From the intellectual point of view also technical competence means something more than manual proficiency.

Just as the master must possess those moral qualities essential to the integrity of his work, so he must possess the corresponding intellectual qualities.

All the liberal arts require, as a condition of mastery, a certain specific and considerable power of intelligence; and this power of intelligence is to be sharply distinguished from all-round intellectual ability.