"In as few words as possible," he began, "Spencer puts it something
like this: First, a man must act for his own benefit--to do this
is to be moral and good. Next, he must act for the benefit of his
children. And third, he must act for the benefit of his race."

"And the highest, finest, right conduct," I interjected, "is that
act which benefits at the same time the man, his children, and his
race."

"I wouldn't stand for that," he replied. "Couldn't see the
necessity for it, nor the common sense. I cut out the race and the
children. I would sacrifice nothing for them. It's just so much
slush and sentiment, and you must see it yourself, at least for one
who does not believe in eternal life. With immortality before me,
altruism would be a paying business proposition. I might elevate
my soul to all kinds of altitudes. But with nothing eternal before
me but death, given for a brief spell this yeasty crawling and
squirming which is called life, why, it would be immoral for me to
perform any act that was a sacrifice. Any sacrifice that makes me
lose one crawl or squirm is foolish,--and not only foolish, for it
is a wrong against myself and a wicked thing. I must not lose one
crawl or squirm if I am to get the most out of the ferment. Nor
will the eternal movelessness that is coming to me be made easier
or harder by the sacrifices or selfishnesses of the time when I was
yeasty and acrawl."

"Then you are an individualist, a materialist, and, logically, a
hedonist."