THE GAINING OF WEALTH 307 



luxuries, for doctors in fear of ill-health, for 

 railway companies and theatres to gain change 

 and variety, for charities to satisfy the kindliness 

 of our hearts. To satisfy feelings of cruelty we 

 may patronize very barbarous entertainments. 

 What will men not pay for titles, for steps on the 

 social ladder which gratify their ambition or 

 vanity ! There are baser instincts which may be 

 worked upon by those who can exploit the depths 

 of human nature. So wealth is appropriated, and 

 men grow rich, by successful appeals to the desires 

 of others. But it does not follow that society is 

 corrupt. Excepting the passion for cruelty, there 

 is no class of impulses which are harmful in them- 

 selves : any injury which they may cause to 

 individuals, or to society, proceeds from the means 

 that are adopted for their satisfaction. We may rea- 

 sonably sympathize with a desire for variety whilst 

 strongly deprecating its satisfaction by drink. 



Riches are, then, gained by the possession of 

 some special advantage which enables us to satisfy 

 the impulses of others. Industry itself is no such 

 advantage : it is possessed by thousands of work- 

 men who are, individually, of no particular value 

 to their employer, and are thus unable to demand 

 from him a full share of the proceeds of their 

 labour. In these days the greatest advantage is 

 wealth, and a cynic may take a gloomy view of our 

 relationships. For wealth attracts wealth, and 

 social inequalities must tend to increase unless 

 the process is checked by law. There are, of 

 course, other advantages. Skill and intelligence 

 will enable a workman to demand higher wages. 

 Birth gives advantages : less in the present time 

 than formerly. Talent is of service : so also are 

 high educational qualifications, but these are 

 obtained by the expenditure of money, and have 

 generally been unattainable except by the rich. 



