ALTRUISM ECONOMICALLY CONSIDERED. 55 



it may be proper and it may be improper. The term does not 

 imply either propriety or impropriety. Let the word self-interest 

 stand for justifiable egoism, and the word selfishness represent 

 unjustifiable egoism. 



Egoism, then, was once a necessity, and, while it was a condi- 

 tion to existence, it was justifiable, whatever its effects on others 

 may have been. When things changed so as not to render ego- 

 ism a necessity, man was still as prone to practice it as before. 

 He was acting under the acquired impulses of ages. It was an 

 extremely difficult thing for him to repress his egoism; it was 

 perhaps even more difficult for him to understand that he ought 

 to do so. And yet the change of circumstances had produced a 

 change in its moral quality. From the practice of self-interest 

 he had passed to the practice of selfishness, and he had so passed 

 unconsciously, for the change was in environment and not in him. 

 The same act that had been a virtue was now a vice. Of course, 

 centuries were needed for this idea to develop and to be dissemi- 

 nated, but at length it came. Although the terms were not in use, 

 the differentiation had taken place. The terms came when needed 

 to exx)ress existing ideas. 



Long after egoism had differentiated into self-interest and self- 

 ishness, came the idea of doing something for others. Man's 

 powers were then so limited that this was not much. Even when 

 he became capable he was slow to discover it and slower to act 

 tipon it. Heredity bound him. To loosen him was the mission 

 of religion. Whatever its votaries may claim as to its history 

 and purpose, the one great and overwhelming power that religion 

 has had upon the world is this — it has developed doing for others. 

 It has turned man's attention away from himself to those not him- 

 self. A most excellent term to use for this is altruism — a term 

 first employed only about fifty years ago by Auguste Comte to 

 signify devotion to others or to humanity. Percy Smith, in his 

 " Glossary of Terms and Phrases," defines it as " the doing to an- 

 other as one would be done by ; opposed to egoism." 



Such terms as benevolence and charity have been generally 

 used to cover the idea of altruism, but in the mind of every one 

 benevolence and charity involve the moral quality of goodness. 

 It is of the greatest importance to have a word like altruism wliich 

 does not imply any moral quality, and which covers all we do for 

 others regardless of the consequences, just as egoism covers all we 

 do for self regardless of consequences or of moral quality. 



That mankind has thus far regarded all altruism as good is 

 undeniably shown by the fact that neither the English nor any 

 other language has words to distinguish proper from improper 

 altruism. ^ This distinction has not been well developed. It was 

 early seen that the motives were of importance. If we do something 



