I will not here say in detail what my friend accused me of, but it
amounted to a charge of egotism; and as egotism is a common fault,
and particularly common with lonely and unmarried men, I will make
no excuse for propounding a few considerations on the point, and
how it may perhaps be cured, or, if not cured, at least modified.

I suppose that the egotist is the man who regards the world as a
setting for himself, as opposed to the man who realizes that he is
a small unit in a gigantic system. The characteristic of the
egotist is to consider himself of too great importance, while the
danger of the non-egotist is not sufficiently to realize his
significance. Egotism is the natural temptation of all those whose
individuality is strong; the man of intense desires, of acute
perceptions, of vigorous preferences, of eager temperament, is in
danger of trying to construct his life too sedulously on his own
lines; and yet these are the very people who help other people
most, and in whom the hope of the race lies. Meek, humble, timid
persons, who accept things as they are, who tread in beaten paths,
who are easily persuaded, who are cautious, prudent, and
submissive, leave things very much as they find them. I need make
no attempt at indicating the line that such people ought to follow,
because it is, unhappily, certain that they will follow the line of
least resistance, and that they have no more power of initiative
than the bricks of a wall or the waters of a stream. The following
considerations will be addressed to people of a certain vividness
of nature, who have strong impulses, fervent convictions, vigorous
desires. I shall try to suggest a species of discipline that can be
practised by such persons, a line that they can follow, in order
that they may aim at, and perhaps attain, a due subordination and