xist absolutely denies the freedom of the will.[4] Every human
action is inevitable. "Nothing happens by chance." Every thing is
because it cannot but be. How then can we consistently praise or blame
any conduct? If one cares to make hair-splitting distinctions, it may be
replied that we cannot, but none the less we can rejoice at some actions
and deplore others. And the love of praise, with its obverse, the fear
of blame, has ever been one of the strongest motives to human conduct.
It is not necessarily the applause of the thoughtless multitude that one
seeks; but in writing this paper, which I know will be misunderstood or
condemned by the majority of those who read it, undoubtedly one of my
motives is to win the approbation of the discerning few for whose good
opinion I deeply care.

The passengers whose train has come to a standstill on a steep up-grade
owing to the inefficiency of the engine, will not fail to greet with a
hearty cheer the approach of a more powerful locomotive. In the same
way, Socialist workingmen, though they know that no human act deserves
either praise or blame, though they know, in the words of the wise old
Frenchman, that "_comprendre tout, c'est pardonner tout_," or, better
yet, that to understand all is to understand that there is nothing to
pardon, will not be chary of their cheers to him who is able to advance
their cause, nor of their curses upon him who betrays it. And in so
doing they will not be inconsistent, but will be acting in strict
accordance with that law of cause and effect which is the very fundament
of all proletarian reasoning; for those cheers and curses will be
potent factors in causing such conduct as will speed the social
revolution.

While we have no respect for current morality, we must not fall into the
error of supposing that there are no criteria by which to judge conduct,
that there are, so to say, no valid distinctions between the acts of a
hero and those of a blackguard. By referring to the ethic inspiring the
actor we can always pronounce some conduct to be fine and other acts
base. It is this power of a fine or noble action to thrill the human
heart that makes the triumphs of dramatic art possible. The dramatists,
like Shakespeare, whose characters accept the current moral code, appeal
to a wide audience--to nearly all. But those dramatists, such as Ibsen,
Shaw, Maeterlinck, and above all, Sudermann, whose heroes and heroines
attempt to put into practice the