Hermann Hesse, "The Glass Bead Game"

Hermann Hesse, The Glass Bead Game (Magister Ludi), translated from the German by Richard and Clara Winston, published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, 1969

Chapter 4

… The way he analyzes the specimen Games of boys without ever discouraging them, the way he detects their tricks, infallibly recognizes and exposes everything imitative or purely decorative, the way he finds the sources of error in a Game that has started well but then gone astray, and lays these errors bare like flawlessly prepared anatomical specimens — is altogether unique. It is this sharp and incorruptible talent for analysis and correction that assures him the respect of students and colleagues, which otherwise might have been jeopardized by his unstable demeanor and shyness.