THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ALTRUISM 303 



own lustre and relieve us from the ghastly faces 

 of our crimes. For the human race to rob and 

 kill other races is the same kind of activity exactly 

 as it is for human beings to rob and kill each 

 other. But it is not considered so to-day except 

 by a few lost-caste ' visionaries ' scattered here and 

 there over Christendom, and some millions of 

 ' heathens ' in Asia. 



A short time ago a series of letters came into 

 my hands written from Burmah by an American 

 missionary in that country. According to this 

 writer, one of the greatest obstacles the mission- 

 aries have to contend with in their work there is 

 the hostility aroused in the people by the killing 

 and flesh-eating habits of the missionaries them- 

 selves. The native inhabitants, who are the most 

 compassionate of mankind, look upon the Christian 

 missionaries, who kill and eat cows and shoot 

 monkeys for pastime, as being little better than 

 cannibals. Contemplate the presumption neces- 

 sary to cause an individual to leave behind him 

 fields white for mission-work, and travel, at great 

 expense, halfway round the earth in order to 

 preach a narrow, cruel, anthropocentric gospel to 

 a people of so great tenderness and humanity as 

 to be kind even to ' animals ' and enemies ! 



We human beings feel at liberty to commit any 

 kind of outrage upon other races, and these out- 

 rages are looked upon by us as nothing. But the 

 most trifling annoyances of other races are deemed 

 by us of sufficient consequence to justify us in 

 visiting upon them the most fearful retributions. 



