A new proof of a Lemma by Phelps (Q885622)

In the proof of the Bishop--Phelps theorem, the following lemma due to \textit{R.\,R.\thinspace Phelps} [Proc.\ Am.\ Math.\ Soc.\ 11, 976--983 (1961; Zbl 0098.07904)] plays a key role: If \(f\) and \(g\) are functionals of norm~\(1\) on a real normed space, and if \(| g(x)| \leq \varepsilon \| x\| \) whenever \(f(x)=0\), then \(\| f+g\| \leq 2 \varepsilon\) or \(\| f-g\| \leq 2 \varepsilon\). The traditional proof of this lemma depends on the Hahn--Banach theorem. Here the author provides a new elementary proof that uses nothing but the triangle inequality. She also obtains a version for complex scalars.