. There is
at least some truth on his side. But his folly is folly none the less.
He hardens himself against that which would save him; while boasting
himself a lover of light, he shuts his eyes lest any ray of it
penetrate to him. Thus the egoist, through the atrophy of his
sympathies and his preoccupation with a narrow ambition, gratuitously
impoverishes his life; and it is difficult to convince him of his loss,
because he indubitably has some gain.

Bigotry consists essentially in the failure to employ the method of
discussion, in the failure to recognize in every rational being a
possible source of that truth which all need. It is a stupid
forfeiture or waste of the resources of intelligence possessed by one's
fellows. The King Creon of Sophocles's _Antigone_ is a masterly
representation of the futility of this pride of opinion. Creon angrily
resents every impeachment of his wisdom, insisting on instant and
unquestioning obedience. But his son Haemon thus attempts to save him
from himself:

Father, the gods plant wisdom in mankind, which is of all possessions
highest. In what respects you {103} have not spoken rightly I cannot
say, and may I never learn; and still it may be possible for some one
else to be right too. . . . Do not then carry in your heart one fixed
belief that what you say and nothing else is right. For he who thinks
that he alone is wise, or that he has a tongue and mind no other has,
will when laid open be found empty.[17]

It was once a practice even among learned men to set personal pride
above the truth. The chancellor of the University of Paris complains
of this practice in the Middle Ages:

What are these combats of scholars, if not true cock-fights, which
cover us with ridicule in the eyes of laymen? A cock draws himself up
against another and bristles his feathers. . . . It is the same to-day
with our professors. Cocks fight with blows from their beaks and
claws; "Self-love," as some one has said, "is armed with a dangerous
spur." [18]

Egoism and bigotry, then, consist essentially in the exaggeration and
immobility of an adopted purpose. As is the case with every variety of
materialism, their fault lies in their blindness, in their fatuous
rejection of the good that is offered to them. But this is not all.
For in denying the good which is offered to him, the egoist or bigot
also virtually denies the reason which offers it. It is this that
constitutes the affr