Defence of Criminals 



for self and acting for one's neighbor is the basis 

 of " morals." As long as a man feels an ultimate 

 antagonism between himself and society, as long 

 as he tries to hold his own life as a thing apart 

 from that of others, so long must the question arise 

 whether he v/ill act for self or for those others. 

 Hence flow a long array of terms — distinctions of 

 right and wrong, duty, selfishness, self-renuncia- 

 tion, altruism, etc. But when he discovers that 

 there is no ultimate antagonism between himself 

 and society ; when he finds that the gratification 

 of every desire which he has or can have may be 

 rendered social, or beneficial to his fellows, by 

 being used at the right time and place, and on 

 the other hand that every demand made upon 

 him by society will and must gratify some portion 

 of his nature, some desire of his heart — why, 

 all the distinctions collapse again ; they do not 

 hold water any more. A larger life descends 

 upon him, which includes both sides, and prompts 

 actions in accordance with an unwritten and un- 

 imagined law. Such actions will sometimes be 

 accounted " selfish " by the world ; sometimes 

 they will be accounted ** unselfish " ; but they 

 are neither, or — if you like — both ; and he who 

 does them concerns himself not with the names 

 that may be given to them. The law of Equality 

 includes all the moral codes, and is the stand- 

 point which they cannot reach, but which they 

 all aim at. 



Judged by this final standard then, it may 

 doubtless fairly be said — since we all fall short 



^7S 



