native to that faith is despair. What can I say? We must try our best, even if in our hearts we do despair. What else? Give in with resignation or become rancid ourselves? (204).
While Jacobs argues that the "characters" in her dialogues are "equals," it is nevertheless important to note that her characters agree that public life should include more moral consideration and action, and that all of them essentially come to agree that a morally flexible plan is possible and desirable in politics and business.
On the other hand, Jacobs does not in any way conclude that the rules for public life are as "clear" as they are for private life. She does not suggest that contradictions can be ignored or eliminated in the moral arena of politics and commerce. To the contrary, she has her characters conclude that
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