GENESIS OF DISINTERESTED BENEVOLENCE. 741 



he will become a really patriotic citizen. The official will devote more 

 than the strictly due time and energy to the fulfillment of his task, the 

 statesman will give up his personal ambition, and often risk what must 

 be dear to him, popularity and power, in order to carry the measures 

 he thinks necessary to the welfare of his country. 



And when some extraordinary man has made a discovery, has in- 

 troduced a measure or proclaimed a truth beneficial to the whole world, 

 the sentiment that he has been useful to so many millions of peoj:>le 

 gives a distinctive character to his benevolent impulses. Such a man, 

 the benefactor of humanity, will refuse his sympathy to no part of it ; 

 he will at once feel benevolence toward any man with whom he comes 

 into contact. He knows that he has done him some good, and is well 

 inclined toward him. 



I hope I have now shown that my theory agrees with the facts 

 known by experience, that it can bear the crucial test. That being 

 so, I think myself entitled to hold that the genesis of every single 

 benevolent sentiment is that some good is done to an individual, either 

 unintentionally or from another motive than that of disinterested benevo- 

 lence, as from gratitude, sense of equity, religious feeling, or hope of 

 advantage, and that, the benefit itself being loved by its author, this 

 love or disinterested benevolence is by confusion extended to the in- 

 dividual upon whom the benefit has been conferred and maintained. 

 It now remains for me to explain how, from single benevolent feelings, 

 there arises a general benevolent disposition, how the benevolent char- 

 acter is formed. 



I think we shall again have to trace back the origin of the benevo- 

 lent disposition to confusion. After having felt benevolence toward a 

 number of individuals of a class, we come to confuse them with one 

 another, and to transfer part of our feeling to the whole class. When 

 any member of it presents itself, benevolence is at once excited. 



That such is the case will appear more clearly if we remember how 1 

 often we are favorably disposed toward a perfect stranger, simply 

 because in his outward appearance, his manner, his voice, or any other 

 characteristic, he is like some other person we love. We have a con- 

 fused but strong benevolent feeling toward a cluster of attributes be- 

 lono-ino- to the friend we have learned to cherish. Some of these attri- 

 butes are suddenly and strikingly presented to us, and we feel well 

 inclined toward them. We confuse the attributes with the present 

 possessor of them, and benevolence is felt toward the stranger. In 

 this case the genesis is so clear, the confusion so glaring, that they 

 cannot, be overlooked. In other cases they will not be so apparent, 

 but the process will be the same. The cluster of attributes man, 

 Englishman, or man of a certain type is liked, because a number of 

 persons dear to us possess these attributes. Men of another type or 

 nation are often not liked at all, even by such people as are generally 

 considered benevolent. The difference in this case is stronger than the 



