"
"And the identification," I said, "of the reasoner's intellect
with that of his opponent, depends, if I understand you aright upon
the accuracy with which the opponent's intellect is admeasured."
"For its practical value it depends upon this," replied Dupin; and
the Prefect and his cohort fall so frequently, first, by default of
this identification, and, secondly, by ill-admeasurement, or rather
through non-admeasurement, of the intellect with which they are
engaged. They consider only their own ideas of ingenuity; and, in
searching for anything hidden, advert only to the modes in which
they would have hidden it. They are right in this much --that their
own ingenuity is a faithful representative of that of the mass; but
when the cunning of the individual felon is diverse in character
from their own, the felon foils them, of course. This always happens
when it is above their own, and very usually when it is below. They
have no variation of principle in their investigations; at best,
when urged by some unusual emergency --by some extraordinary reward
--they extend or exaggerate their old modes of practice, without
touching their principles. What, for example, in this case of D--, has
been done to vary the principle of action? What is all this boring,
and probing, and sounding, and scrutinizing with the microscope, and
dividing the surface of the building into registered square inches
--what is it all but an exaggeration of the application of the one
principle or set of principles of search, which are based upon the one
set of notions regarding human ingenuity, to which the Prefect, in the
long routine of his duty, has been accustomed? Do you not see he has
taken it for granted that all men proceed to conceal a letter, --not
exactly in a gimlet-hole bored in a chair-leg --but, at least, in some
hole or corner suggested by the same tenor of thought which would urge
a man to secrete a letter in a gimlet-hole bored in a chair-leg? And
do you not see also, that such recherches nooks for concealment are
adapted only for ordinary occasions, and would be adopted only by
ordinary intellects; for, in all cases of concealment, a disposal of
the article concealed --a disposal of it in this recherche manner,
--is, in the very first instance, presumable and presumed; and thus
its discovery depends, not at all upon the acumen, but altogether upon
the mere care, patience, and determination of the seekers; and where
the case is of importance --or, what amounts to the same thing in
the policial eyes, when the reward is of magnitude, --the qualities in
question have never been known to fall.
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