826 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



gradually to the higher gratifications arising from altruistic relations. 

 But, apart from such considerations, our whole inquiry has been into 

 the development of conduct by the natural operation of those laws 

 which influence the development of happiness. 



In passing I would, however, note that the law of conduct thus 

 considered is by no means that abstraction which has been called " the 

 happiness of the greater number," according to which each person is 

 to regard himself and to be regarded as one, while the rest, being 

 many, are to be regarded as of very much greater importance. This 

 abstraction has not and never had any value whatever, as a rule of 

 conduct, either in a man's self or in his relation to others. Even if we 

 can adopt any meaning for the word happiness as thus used, it will be 

 found that no rational way of apportioning the happiness thus regarded 

 as a sort of common property, can be conceived. If the law instead of 

 being an abstraction were real and could be definitely applied, it could 

 result only in this, that each person, being but one, should utterly neg- 

 lect his individual welfare in favor of the general happiness, and, as 

 it can be readily seen that no benefits he might receive from those 

 around him (obeying, we may assume, the same law) could possibly 

 compensate for the direct and immediate effects of this complete self- 

 abnegation, it follov/s that a community of persons obeying this law 

 would be a community of miserable beings ; so that obedience to this 

 law for obtaining general happiness would in reality insure universal 

 misery. 



Taking concrete instead of abstract happiness as the guide of con- 

 duct, were cognize far different results. We see that, though there must 

 of necessity be a comj^romise between egoistic satisfactions and altruis- 

 tic cares, the compromise need by no means imply antagonism. Re- 

 gard for the welfare of others, though in its inception more or less of an 

 effort, becomes more and more spontaneous as social relations develop. 

 After spontaneity has been attained, altruistic actions involve more 

 and more of egoistic satisfaction. Conversely, the care of self, which 

 in the earlier stages of social development appears to involve more or 

 less of disregard for the interests of others, becomes more and more 

 altruistic in its effect as society advances. Thus also we recognize the 

 answer to what at first might seem a difficulty, viz., that with the im- 

 provement of social relations the opportunity for altruistic actions 

 might seem likely to steadily diminish. We see that the domain avail- 

 able for altruistic actions changes in position rather than in extent ; 

 nay, that such change of extent as actually accrues is toward increase. 

 In a society where, owing to the steady improvement of the relation 

 between egoistic and altruistic interests, the number of those depend- 

 ing for their happiness or even for their existence on altruistic cares 

 has steadily diminished, the number of those who are the subject of 

 altruistic emotions will as steadily have increased. Sympathy becomes 

 more widely extended, its development becomes surer and more rapid, 



