tzsche?"

"He's a philosopher," said Meldon, "or rather he was, for he's dead
now. He divided all morality into two kinds--slave morality, which he
regards as despicable, and master morality, which is of the most
superior possible kind."

"Still--I don't know anything about the man you mention, but I suppose
even he would have drawn the line at murder."

"Not at all. Master morality, which, according to his system, is the
best kind, consists entirely of being the sort of man who is able to
get into a position to bully other people. Slave morality, on the
other hand, consists in having the kind of temperament which submits to
being bullied, and pretends to think it a fine thing to suffer. Now
murder, as any one can see, is simply an extreme form of bullying; and
therefore a successful murderer, according to Nietzsche's philosophy,
is the finest kind of man there is. Whereas his victims, the late
Lorimer, for instance, are mere slaves, and therefore thoroughly
despicable. You follow me so far, I suppose?"

"No, I don't. If any man says what you say that fellow says--"

"Nietzsche doesn't actually say all that," said Meldon. "He hadn't a
sufficiently logical mind to work out his philosophy to its ultimate
practical conclusions, but you may take my word for it that I've given
you the gist of his system."

"Then he ought to have been hanged."

"I daresay he ought," said Meldon. "I need scarcely say I don't agree
with him. But that's not the point. As a matter of fact, so far from
being hanged or incurring any kind of odium, his system is quite the
most popular there is at present. London is full of young men in
large, round spectacles, and scraggy women who haven't succeeded in
getting married--the leaders of modern thought, you'll observe,
Major--every one of whom is deeply attached to Nietzsche. You can't,
without labelling yourself a hopeless reactionary, fly right in the
face of cultured society by refusing to associate with Miss King."

"I won't mix myself up with--"

"Come now, Major, that sort of attitude would have been all very well
fifty years ago, but it won't do now. You simply can't shut yourself
up and say that you won't speak to any one who doesn't agree with you
in every opinion you have. As a matter of fact, you associate freely
with lots of people who differ from you in religion and politics far
more fundamentally than poor Miss King does. You can't refuse to know
her simply becau