668 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



selfish motives, and still better policy to cultivate kindliness and con- 

 sideration as qualities sure to be fruitful of profit. The kindly nature 

 which leads to spontaneous good-will toward others, independently of 

 any consideration of gain to self, is even more profitable than culti- 

 vated kindliness. Those are lucky who possess such a nature — lucky 

 rather than deserving of special credit, seeing that a sympathetic 

 nature is born in a man, not made by culture. Yet the will has much 

 to do with the development of kindliness ; and many, by sensible re- 

 flection and constant watchfulness over the undue promptings of self, 

 have trained themselves to a kindliness and geniality of manner such 

 as they were not naturally gifted with, and this without any direct 

 reference to self-interest, but as a matter of right and justice to their 

 fellows. Such men deserve much credit for their care in correcting 

 inherent tendencies to undue care of self. The increased happiness of 

 their lives (in so far at least as happiness depends on conduct) is their 

 reward. 



Among the good effects of kindly regard for others we may note 

 the reflected happiness derived from those around. Men vary with 

 their company, and undoubtedly the man of sympathetic temperament 

 whose presence is a pleasure to others finds others much pleasanter in 

 their relations with him than they would be were he of hard, ungenial 

 nature. The wife and children of the kindly man are a constant 

 pleasure to him, where the wife and children of the sour-tempered, 

 ungenial husband and father are apt to grow gloomy and quarrelsome. 

 His friends and relatives are kindlier than those of the harsh and self- 

 ish. Abroad, he sees few faces which do not reflect something of his 

 own brightness and cheerfulness. As Mr. Herbert Spencer well says : 

 " Such a one is practically surrounded by a world of better people 

 than one who is less attractive : if we contrast the state of a man 

 possessing all the material means to happiness, but isolated by his 

 absolute egoism, with the state of an altruistic man relatively poor in 

 means but rich in friends, we may see that various gratifications not to 

 be purchased by money come in abundance to the last, and are inac- 

 cessible to the first." 



But in yet other ways do we find illustrated by the effects of due 

 care for others the saying, " To him that hath shall be given, and from 

 him that hath not shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have." 



Not only has the hard and ungenial man fewer gratifications, but 

 those which he has he enjoys less than the man who cares for the 

 wants and wishes of others. The one loses the power of enjoyment 

 through his over-anxiety for self-gratifi cation, the other unconsciously 

 pursues — through his kindliness of character — the very course which 

 a wise and thoughtful consideration of the plan best qualified to secure 

 self-gratification would suggest. The one, while caring unduly for 

 himself, is exhausting and satiating his power to care for any form of 

 pleasure, the other while ministering to the enjoyments of others is 



