lo POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



cxplaiuitiou. A inau dependent upon liimself i;? forced by the- 

 struggle for existence to exercise every faculty lie possesses or can 

 possibly develop to save himself and his progeny from extinction. 

 Under such pitiless and irresistible pressure he acquires the highest 

 physical and intellectual strength. Thus equipped with weapons- 

 absolutely indispensable in any state of society, whether civilized 

 or uncivilized, he is prepared for the conquest of the world. He 

 gains also the physical and moral courage needful to cope with the 

 difficulties that terrify and paralyze the people that have not been 

 subjected to the same rigid discipline. Energetic and self-reliant,, 

 he assails them with no thought of failure. If, however, he meets 

 with reverses, he renews the attack, and repeats it until success 

 finally comes to reward his efforts. Such prolonged struggles give 

 steadiness and solidity to his character that do not permit him to 

 abandon himself to trifles or to yield easily, if at all, to excitement 

 and panic. He never falls a victim to Keigns of Terror. The more 

 trying the times, the more self-possessed, clear-headed, and capable- 

 of grai)pling with the situation he becomes, and soon rises superior 

 to it. With every triumph over difficulties there never fails to 

 come the joy that more tlian balances the pain and suffering en- 

 dured. But the pain and suffering are as precious as the joy of 

 triumph. Indelibly registered in tlie nervous system, they enable 

 their victim to feel as others feel passing through the same ex- 

 perience, and this fellow-feeling prompts him to render them the 

 assistance they may need. .In this way be becomes a philanthro- 

 pist. Possessed, of the abundant means that the success of his 

 enterprises has placed in his hands, he is in a position to help them 

 to a degree not within the reach nor the desires of the member 

 of the society organized upon the socialistic basis. 



In the briefest appeal to history may be found the amplest sup- 

 port for these deductions from the principles of social science. 

 Wherever the individual has been given the largest freedom to do- 

 whatever he pleases, as long as he does not trench upon the equal 

 freedom of others, there we witness all those achievements and dis- 

 cover all those traits that indicate an advanced state of social prog- 

 ress. The people are the most energetic, the most resourceful, the 

 most prosperous, the most considerate and humane, the most anx- 

 ious, and the most competent to care for their less fortunate fel- 

 lows. On the other hand, wherever the individual has been most 

 repressed, deterred by custom or legislation from making the most 

 of himself in every way, there are to be observed social immobility 

 or retrogression and all the hateful traits that belong to barbarians. 

 The people are inert, slavish, cruel, and superstitious. In the 

 ancient world one type of society is represented by the Egyptians 



