observe, analyze, understand

“In every respect, his inner life was that of a Philistine. The ‘sensitive’ side of his personality had long since corroded and now consisted of little more than a traditional rough-and-ready 'family sense,’ pride in his only son, and an occasional charitable impulse toward the poor.”

On Herr Joseph Giebenrath, jobber and middleman who possessed no laudable or peculiar traits setting him apart from his fellow townsmen. Father of Hans Giebenrath, protagonist of Beneath the Wheel by Hermann Hesse.