Menicus’s definition of a “great man” is something that everyone in the world needs to hear. Seriously. I know that that is said for many statements that are profound, but this is truly the exception. He defines a “great man” as someone who has not lost the heart of a child. When we think of a child, we think of innocence or a blank slate. Something is going to be formed, it could be a parent’s magnum opus – granted the raising part, not the living. I am not a parent, but I would assume that the way you mold a child is by instilling your own core beliefs. Things that hold true to you, they are unwavering. Now, when you are a child you come up with rather creative ways to explain the natural world around you. For example, when I was younger, I thought that gnomes were in traffic lights, and they dictated when you could cross the intersection and when you had to stop. When I heard how they actually function, I refused to believe it.
What Menicus is saying is that we need to constantly need to question the world around us and to allow for our definitions for concepts that we think we understand to change. In essence, we need to be skeptical, creative, and open to change. We need to be empathetic and immature at times. We do not need to be so serious and stern, but encouraging and to have fun. Menicus is saying that a great man is the one that has maintained the wonderful qualities that a child has. And that is just beautiful.