Revering men like Lincoln ensures that the American people will forever be up to the challenge of republican self-government in his speeches, we come to understand the nobility of the American project, that of conceiving a nation in liberty.

The noble Lincoln was heroic precisely because he defended the people against others who would tyrannize them. With the power of a Caesar, he played the role of an anti-Caesar.

Though they rejected his senate bid in 1858, Lincoln never rejected the people. In 1860, the people discerned his greatness and made him their president.

TODAY, HOWEVER, we are encouraged to look for greatness only within ourselves. Self-perfection used to be the work of a lifetime. Today, it is what happens after a weekend at the fat farm. Character used to mean demanding more of oneself than one could expect of others. Today, it is riding one's biorhythms to a new high of self-awareness. Being a hero used to involve the self-discipline needed to overcome daunting odds. In our post-mood ring society, being a hero is being yourself.

For almost all of us, that's not much of anything.

Heroes set a standard for the rest of us. The value of revering heroes does not lie in attaining such a standard. Most of us won't. It lies in the strivings to which their heroic ideal inspires the rest of us.

Lincoln was the highest democratic man. By studying him, we glimpse a peak of human excellence. Small-souled men throw spit-balls at the mountain. Ignore them. Join the others embarking a climb. They may not reach the top. They may not become Lincolns. But they just might become serious human beings. That's no small distinction.

So the next time you're accosted by a sociology professor peddling the joys of debunking heroism, don't give in. Just say no.