"
They smoked on awhile in silence. Presently Paul said, "When the world
comes to recognize the composite character of the individual, that it is
composed of not one, but many persons, a new department will be added to
ethics, relating to the duties of the successive selves of an individual
to one another. It will be recognized, on the one hand, that it is the
duty of a man to fulfil all reasonable obligations incurred by his past
selves, on the same principle that a pious son fulfils the equitable
obligations incurred by a parent. This duty is, indeed, recognized
to-day, although not on the correct basis. As regards the ethical
relation of a man to the selves who succeed him, a wholly new idea will
be introduced. It will be seen that the duty of a man to lead a wise
life, to be prudent, to make the most of his powers, to maintain a good
name, is not a duty to himself, merely an enlightened selfishness, as it
is now called, but a genuine form of altruism, a duty to others, as truly
as if those others bore different names instead of succeeding to his
name.
Pages:
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153