io8 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



C. Thirdly, come those who in all societies, at present, form far 

 the greater part of the community — those, viz., who think chiefly of 

 their own interests or their families', yet, though not specially careful 

 to increase the happiness of others, are not selfishly intent on their 

 own well-being only. 



D. Fourthly, there are those who think solely of themselves, or, if 

 they look beyond themselves, care only for their nearest kinsfolk, con- 

 sciously disregarding the interests of others, and seeking only in the 

 struggle for life the advancement of themselves or their families. 



E. Lastly, there are those who, in their struggle to advance self, 

 are prepared to prey on others if need be ; in other words, willfully to 

 do mischief to others for their own advantage. 



In this classification we consider only the actual conduct of the 

 various orders, not their expressed opinions. Were these to be taken 

 into account, the classification would remain nominally unchanged, but 

 the numbers belonging to the different classes would be very much 



their happiness involves, if he is wise, a due regard for his own happiness and well-being 

 also — and even primarily, because his existence and his fitness to do good necessarily came 

 before the good he may be able to do. 



One correspondent asks whether a man who could save life at his own peril ought 

 not, according to the views I have indicated, to consider whether his life might not be of 

 greater value to the community than the life which he could save by sacrificing or endan- 

 gering his own. I may remark in passing that the man who most freely acknowledged, 

 as a matter of pure reasoning, that in such a case he ought to weigh his own life's worth 

 against the worth of that other life would probably be the first to risk his life for others ; 

 while the man who made cheap parade of his readiness to sacrifice his life would probably 

 be the readiest to slink away at the moment of danger. We are not considering, however, 

 what men should do under sudden impulse of danger affecting others — and especially the 

 weak and tender. If we were, we might point out that in such cases there is much more 

 at issue than the mere value of the lives at stake. If I saw a child, weak-minded, crippled, 

 of small worth as a member of the body social, in danger from which I could save it at 

 the risk or even the certainty of losing my own life (which I might judge of more value to 

 the community), I trust that, whether I had to act on impulse or after reflection, I should 

 act, not as weighing the value of that life against my own, but rather as considering what 

 would be the evil influence of cowardice and meanness in a community. If I had time 

 to reason, I n^ight reason that, whatever value my life might have, must go but a small 

 way to counterbalance the effect of evil example. 



In many cases, however, men are bound first to think of the value of their life : they 

 do so even in cases where eventually they know that their life must be sacrificed. The 

 captain of an endangered ship, for instance, cares for his own life more than for the life 

 of any on board, while his skill and experience are necessary to save life ; and his actions 

 in detail might under conceivable circumstances seem suggestive of mean care for his own 

 life, when he knows at the very time that, after he has seen off the last boat — perhaps 

 before many minutes are past — he and his best officers must go down with the ship. 



It is singular and significant, however, that cavils such as I have here touched upon, 

 come without a single exception in letters otherwise so worded as to show inexperience, 

 deficiency of reasoning power, or that turn of mind, unfairly regarded as specially belong- 

 ing to the weaker sex, which does not reason at all, but simply repeats parrot-like, and 

 with constant reference to the last word, the maxims (often quite misunderstood) learned 

 by rote in childhood 



