Quote#Wisdom
The acts of living beings are, as a rule, neither all altruism nor…
Quote byJ. Howard Moore · 1862–1916
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Egoism and Altruism, p. 96.
English (original)
The acts of living beings are, as a rule, neither all altruism nor all egoism. They consist generally of blends of the two elements, with a preponderance of egoism. It is frequently impossible, too, to estimate just the amount of each element in a given act. An act which may seem altruistic may be in reality only sly and far-sighted egoism.
— J. Howard Moore
More from J. Howard Moore
Poor Thomson! How melancholy & helpless. I believe in the perfect parallelism & correlation of the physical & psychical. The anomalous mentality, like that of James Thomson, is caused by some hidden defect in his physical machinery. And I …
The ability to weigh the stars is all right, but it is not more important than the disposition to be just.
We preach the Golden Rule with an enthusiasm that is well-nigh vehement, and then freckle the globe with huge murder-houses for the expeditious destruction of those who have as good a right to live as we have.
I have just finished your little book on 'The Logic of Vegetarianism.' It is the best thing on this subject in existence – bold, brilliant, unanswerable. I am glad you are on earth. If it were not for a very few souls like you, this world …
It is a fact of our world, tho, that Death is as inevitable as Birth. The coffin is as natural as the cradle.
We should be a little more disposed to move along. We live in a world that is neither petrified or perfect. The universe is a liquid. It is flowing. Humanitarianism is in the air.