r others, prefers the frank gratification of his own ego.
This, of course, is pure sophistry. But if any mind is so kinked that it
must reason that way, there is a simple answer which will suffice to
bring it through the question to the main point. Whenever the pleasure
to be derived by an individual comes to him through sympathy and
affection and consideration for the feelings of another--that sort of
pleasure is so different in its origin and its essence from the pleasure
which comes from the gratification of personal appetites and desires
that the mass of mankind has recognized the difference since the
beginning of civilization.

One kind of pleasure flows from acts of sentiment for others' sake; the
other kind is rooted in the indulgence of personal desires. The essence
of one is usually characterized as generosity; the other, selfishness.
If the cynic will promise to keep the distinction clear in his head and
stop confusing himself with quibbles or words, he may call the motives
any names he likes.

This question of consideration for others is so important and
far-reaching in its effect on human lives that no pains should be spared
to keep it from being lost sight of or misunderstood. And yet, as we
have observed, at the present time, among up-to-date individuals, it is
apparently being lost sight of, more and more. In a general way, it is
being bunched with those other old-fashioned notions and conventions
that were wont to interfere with the freedom of the individual. Why
should an emancipated ego, brought up in the modern way, be constantly
bothered by the thought of others?

If we pause and examine this attitude of mind, dispassionately, from
another angle, a possible explanation suggests itself. There may be two
reasons, of a distinct and different sort why any given person might
fail to feel the significance of so vital a part of life.

In the first place, some natures may be rather lacking in the qualities
of affection and sympathy. All people are not alike, in this respect, by
any means. Some are instinctively warm-hearted and intense in their
feelings--others are naturally inclined to coldness and indifference. To
a cold nature, the woes or pleasures of others are of comparatively
minor consequence. There is no rush of heart-felt sympathy, if the
supply is so thin and weak that it hardly suffices for the needs of
self.

That is one explanation of how certain natures, if left to their own
resources, c