,the ,book of ,life  ,,upton ,,sinclair 
,,the ,,book ,,of ,,life     ,the ,book 
of ,life  ,by ,,upton ,,sinclair        
,,volume ,,one3 ,,mind ,,and ,,body     
,,volume ,,two3 ,,love ,,and ,,society  
,,upton ,,sinclair ,,pasadena1          
,,california  ,,wholesale ,,distributors
 ,,the ,,paine ,,book ,,company         
,,chicago  ,,copyright1 #aiba1 #aibb    
,,by ,,upton ,,sinclair ,all ,rights    
,reserved4                   ,to        
,kate ,crane ,gartz in acknowledgment of
 her unceasing efforts for a better     
world1 and her fidelity to those        
who struggle to achieve it4             
,,introductory   ,the writer of this    
book has been in this world some        
forty-two years4 ,that may not seem long
 to some1 but it is long enough to have 
made many painful mistakes1 and to have 
learned much from them4 ,looking about  
him1 he sees others making these same   
mistakes1 suffering for lack of that    
same knowledge which he has so painfully
 acquired4 ,this being the case1 it     

seems a friendly act to offer his       
knowledge1 minus the blunders and the   
pain4  ,there come to the writer        
literally thousands of letters every    
year1 asking him questions1 some of them
 of the strangest4 ,a man is dying of   
cancer1 and do ,i think it can be cured 
by a fast8 ,a man is unable to make his 
wife happy1 and can ,i tell him what is 
the matter with women8 ,a man has       
invested his savings in mining stock1   
and can ,i tell him what to do about it8
 ,a man works in a sweatshop1 and has   
only a little time for self-improvement1
 and will ,i tell him what books he     
ought to read8 ,many such questions     
every day make one aware of a vast mass 
of people1 earnest1 hungry for          
happiness1 and groping as if in a fog4  
,the things they most need to know they 
are not taught in the schools1 nor in   
the newspapers they read1 nor in the    
church they attend4 ,of these agencies1 
the first is not entirely competent1 the
 second is not entirely honest1 and the 

third is not entirely up to date4 ,nor  
is there anywhere a book in which the   
effort has been made to give to everyday
 human beings the everyday information  
they need for the successful living of  
their lives4  ,for the present book the 
following claims may be made4 ,first1 it
 is a modern book2 its writer watches   
hour by hour the new achievements of the
 human mind1 he reaches out for         
information about them1 he seeks to     
adjust his own thoughts to them and to  
test them in his own living4 ,second1 it
 is1 or tries hard to be1 a wise book2  
its writer is not among those too-ardent
 young radicals who leap to the         
conclusion that because many old things 
are stupid and tiresome1 therefore      
everything that is old is to be spurned 
with contempt1 and everything that      
proclaims itself new is to be taken at  
its own valuation4 ,third1 it is an     
honest book2 its writer will not pretend
 to know what he only guesses1 and where
 it is necessary to guess1 he will say  

so frankly4 ,finally1 it is a kind book2
 it is not written for its author's     
glory1 nor for his enrichment1 but to   
tell you things that may be useful to   
you in the brief span of your life4 ,it 
will attempt to tell you how to live1   
how to find health and happiness and    
success1 how to work and how to play1   
how to eat and how to sleep1 how to love
 and to marry and to care for your      
children1 how to deal with your fellow  
men in business and politics and social 
life1 how to act and how to think1 what 
religion to believe1 what art to enjoy1 
what books to read4 ,a large order1 as  
the boys phrase it6  ,there are several 
ways for such a book to begin4 ,it might
 begin with the child1 because we all   
begin that way2 it might begin with     
love1 because that precedes the child2  
it might begin with the care of the     
body1 explaining that sound physical    
health is the basis of all right living1
 and even of right thinking2 it might   
begin as most philosophies do1 by       

defining life1 discussing its origin and
 fundamental nature4  ,the trouble with 
this last plan is that there are a lot  
of people who have their ideas on life  
made up in tabloid form2 they have      
creeds and catechisms which they know by
 heart1 and if you suggest to them      
anything different1 they give you a     
startled look and get out of your way4  
,and then there is another1 and in our  
modern world a still larger class1 who  
say1 ,oh1 shucks6 ,i don't go in for    
religion and that kind of thing4 ,you   
offer them something that looks like a  
sermon1 and they turn to the baseball   
page4  ,who will read this ,book of     
,life8 ,there will be1 among others1 the
 great ,american tired business man4 ,he
 wrestles with problems and cares all   
day1 and when he sits down to read in   
the evening1 he says3 ,make it short and
 snappy4 ,there is the wife of the tired
 business man1 the ,american perfect    
lady4 ,she does most of the reading for 
the family2 but she has never got down  

to anything fundamental in her life1 and
 mostly she likes to read about exciting
 love affairs1 which she distinguishes  
from the unexciting kind she knows by   
the word romance4 ,then there is the    
still more tired ,american workingman1  
who has been speeded up all day under   
the bonus system or the piece-work      
system1 and is apt to fall asleep in his
 chair before he finishes supper4 ,then 
there is the workingman's wife1 who has 
slaved all day in the kitchen1 and has a
 chance for a few minutes' intimacy with
 her husband before he falls asleep4    
,she would like to have somebody tell   
her what to do for croup1 but she is not
 sure that she has time to discuss the  
question whether life is worth living4  
,yet1 ,i wonder2 is there a single one  
among all these tired people1 or even   
among the cynical people1 who has not   
had some moment of awe when the thought 
came stabbing into his mind like a      
knife3 ,what a strange thing this life  
is6 ,what am ,i anyhow8 ,where do ,i    

come from1 and what is going to become  
of me8 ,what do ,i mean1 what am ,i here
 for8 ,i have sat chatting with three   
hoboes by a railroad track1 cooking     
themselves a mulligan in an old can1 and
 heard one of them say3 ,by ,god1 it's a
 queer thing1 ain't it1 mate8 ,i have   
sat on the deck of a ship1 looking out  
over the midnight ocean and talking with
 a sailor1 and heard him use almost the 
identical words4 ,it is not only in the 
class-room and the schools that the     
minds of men are grappling with the     
fundamental problems2 in fact1 it was   
not from the schools that the new       
religions and the great moral impulses  
of humanity took their origin4 ,it was  
from lonely shepherds sitting on the    
hillsides1 and from fishermen casting   
their nets1 and from carpenters and     
tailors and shoemakers at their benches4
  ,stop and think a bit1 and you will   
realize it does make a difference what  
you believe about life1 how it comes to 
be1 where it is going1 and what is your 

place in it4 ,is there a heaven with a  
,god1 who watches you day and night1 and
 knows every thought you think1 and will
 some day take you to eternal bliss if  
you obey his laws8 ,if you really       
believe that1 you will try to find out  
about his laws1 and you will be         
comparatively little concerned about the
 success or failure of your business4   
,perhaps1 on the other hand1 you have   
knocked about in the world and lost your
 faith2 you have been cheated and       
exploited1 and have set out to get      
yours1 as the phrase is2 to feather your
 own nest4 ,but some gust of passion    
seizes you1 and you waste your          
substance1 you wreck your life2 then you
 wonder1 ,who set that trap and baited  
it8 ,am ,i a creature of blind          
instincts1 jealousies and greeds and    
hates beyond my own control entirely8   
,am ,i a poor1 feeble insect1 blown     
about in a storm and smashed8 ,or do ,i 
make the storm1 and can ,i in any part  
control it8  ,no matter how busy you may

 be1 no matter how tired you may be1 it 
will pay you to get such things         
straight3 to know a little of what the  
wise men of the past have thought about 
them1 and more especially what science  
with its new tools of knowledge may have
 discovered4  ,the writer of this book  
spent nine years of his life in colleges
 and universities2 also he was brought  
up in a church4 ,so he knows the        
orthodox teachings1 he can say that he  
has given to the recognized wise men of 
the world every opportunity to tell him 
what they know4 ,then1 being            
dissatisfied1 he went to the            
unrecognized teachers1 the enthusiasts  
and the cranks of a hundred schools4    
,finally1 he thought for himself2 he was
 even willing to try experiments upon   
himself4 ,as a result1 he has not found 
what he claims is ultimate or final     
truth2 but he has what he might describe
 as a rough working draft1 a practical  
outline1 good for everyday purposes4 ,he
 is going to have confidence enough in  

you1 the reader1 to give you the hardest
 part first2 that is1 to begin with the 
great fundamental questions4 ,what is   
life1 and how does it come to be8 ,what 
does it mean1 and what have we to do    
with it8 ,are we its masters or its     
slaves8 ,what does it owe us1 and what  
do we owe to it8 ,why is it so hard1 and
 do we have to stand its hardness8 ,and 
can we really know about all these      
matters1 or will we be only guessing8   
,can we trust ourselves to think about  
them1 or shall we be safer if we believe
 what we are told8 ,shall we be punished
 if we think wrong1 and how shall we be 
punished8 ,shall we be rewarded if we   
think right1 and will the pay be worth  
the trouble8  ,such questions as these  
,i am going to try to answer in the     
simplest language possible4 ,i would    
avoid long words altogether1 if ,i      
could2 but some of these long words mean
 certain definite things1 and there are 
no other words to serve the purpose4    
,you do not refuse to engage in the     

automobile business because the         
carburetor and the differential are     
words of four syllables4 ,neither should
 you refuse to get yourself straight    
with the universe because it is too much
 trouble to go to the dictionary and    
learn that the word phenomenon means    
something else than a little boy who can
 play the piano or do long division in  
his head4     ,,contents   ,,part ,,one3
 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,the ,,mind         
,,page  ,,chapter ,i4 ,,the ,,nature    
,,of ,,life                             
#c  ,attempts to show what we know about
 life2 to set the bounds of real truth  
as distinguished from phrases and       
self-deception4  ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,the  
,,nature ,,of ,,faith                   
#h  ,attempts to show what we can prove 
by our reason1 and what we know         
intuitively2 what is implied in the     
process of thinking1 and without which  
no thought could be4  ,,chapter ,,iii4  
,,the ,,use ,,of ,,reason               
#ab  ,attempts to show that in the field

 to which reason applies we are         
compelled to use it1 and are justified  
in trusting it4  ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,the  
,,origin ,,of ,,morality                
#ag  ,compares the ways of ,nature with 
human morality1 and tries to show how   
the latter came to be4  ,,chapter ,v4   
,,nature ,,and ,,man                    
#ba  ,attempts to show how man has taken
 control of ,nature1 and is carrying on 
her processes and improving upon them4  
,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,man ,,the ,,rebel     
#bg  ,shows the transition stage between
 instinct and reason1 in which man finds
 himself1 and how he can advance to a   
securer condition4  ,,chapter ,,vii4    
,,making ,,our ,,morals                 
#ca  ,attempts to show that human       
morality must change to fit human facts1
 and there can be no judge of it save   
human reason4  ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,the  
,,virtue ,,of ,,moderation              
#cg  ,attempts to show that wise conduct
 is an adjustment of means to ends1 and 
depends upon the understanding of a     

particular set of circumstances4        
,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,the ,,choosing ,,of   
,,life                                  
#db  ,discusses the standards by which  
we may judge what is best in life1 and  
decide what we wish to make of it4      
,,chapter ,x4 ,,myself ,,and ,,my       
,,neighbor                              
#ej  ,compares the new morality with the
 old1 and discusses the relative        
importance of our various duties4       
,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,the ,,mind ,,and ,,the
 ,,body                                 
#ec  ,discusses the interaction between 
physical and mental things1 and the     
possibility of freedom in a world of    
fixed causes4  ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,the   
,,mind ,,of ,,the ,,body                
#fa  ,discusses the subconscious mind1  
what it is1 what it does to the body1   
and how it can be controlled and made   
use of by the intelligence4  ,,chapter  
,,xiii4 ,,exploring ,,the ,,subconscious
                              #fg       
,discusses automatic writing1 the       

analysis of dreams1 and other methods by
 which a new universe of life has been  
brought to human knowledge4  ,,chapter  
,,xiv4 ,,the ,,problem ,,of             
,,immortality                           
#gd  ,discusses the survival of         
personality from the moral point of     
view3 that is1 have we any claim upon   
life1 entitling us to live forever8     
,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,the ,,evidence ,,for  
,,survival                              
#ha  ,discusses the data of psychic     
research1 and the proofs of spiritism   
thus put before us4  ,,chapter ,,xvi4   
,,the ,,powers ,,of ,,the ,,mind        
#ia  ,sets forth the fact that knowledge
 is freedom and ignorance is slavery1   
and what science means to the people4   
,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,conduct ,,of  
,,the ,,mind                            
#ih  ,concludes the ,book of the ,mind  
with a study of how to preserve and     
develop its powers for the protection of
 our lives and the lives of all men4    
,,part ,,two3 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,the   

,,body  ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,,the ,,unity
 ,,of ,,the ,,body                      
#aje  ,discusses the body as a whole1   
and shows that health is not a matter of
 many different organs and functions1   
but is one problem of one organism4     
,,chapter ,,xix4 ,,experiments ,,in     
,,diet                                  
#aae  ,narrates the author's adventures 
in search of health1 and his conclusions
 as to what to eat4  ,,chapter ,,xx4    
,,errors ,,in ,,diet                    
#abc  ,discusses the different kinds of 
foods1 and the part they play in the    
making of health and disease4  ,,chapter
 ,,xxi4 ,,diet ,,standards              
#acd  ,discusses various foods and their
 food values1 the quantities we need1   
and their money cost4  ,,chapter ,,xxii4
 ,,foods ,,and ,,poisons                
#ade  ,concludes the subject of diet1   
and discusses the effect upon the system
 of stimulants and narcotics4  ,,chapter
 ,,xxiii4 ,,more ,,about ,,health       
#aef  ,discusses the subjects of        

breathing and ventilation1 clothing1    
bathing and sleep4  ,,chapter ,,xxiv4   
,,work ,,and ,,play                     
#afc  ,deals with the question of       
exercise1 both for the idle and the     
overworked4  ,,chapter ,,xxv4 ,,the     
,,fasting ,,cure                        
#afi  ,deals with ,nature's own remedy  
for disease1 and how to make use of it4 
,,chapter ,,xxvi4 ,,breaking ,,the      
,,fast                                  
#agg  ,discusses various methods of     
building up the body after a fast1      
especially the milk diet4  ,,chapter    
,,xxvii4 ,,diseases ,,and ,,cures       
#ahb  ,discusses some of the commoner   
human ailments1 and what is known about 
their cause and cure4     ,,part ,,one  
,,the ,,book ,,of ,,the ,,mind          
,,chapter ,i  ,,the ,,nature ,,of ,,life
       7,attempts to show what we know  
about life2 to set the bounds of        
real truth as distinguished from phrases
 and self-deception47   ,if ,i could1 ,i
 would begin this book by telling you   

what ,life is4 ,but unfortunately ,i do 
not know what ,life is4 ,the only       
consolation ,i can find is in the fact  
that nobody else knows either4  ,we ask 
the churches1 and they tell us that male
 and female created ,he them1 and put   
them in the ,garden of ,eden1 and they  
would have been happy had not ,satan    
tempted them4 ,but then you ask1 who    
made ,satan1 and the explanation grows  
vague4 ,you ask1 if ,god made ,satan1   
and knew what ,satan was going to do1 is
 it not the same as if ,god did it      
himself8 ,so this explanation of the    
origin of evil gets you no further than 
the ,hindoo picture of the world resting
 on the back of a tortoise1 and the     
tortoise on the head of a snake--and    
nothing said as to what the snake rests 
on4  ,let us go to the scientist4 ,i    
know a certain physiologist1 perhaps the
 greatest in the world1 and his eager   
face rises before me1 and ,i hear his   
quick1 impetuous voice declaring that he
 knows what ,life is2 he has told it in 

several big volumes1 and all ,i have to 
do is to read them4 ,life is a tropism1 
caused by the presence of certain       
combinations of chemicals2 my friend    
knows this1 because he has produced the 
thing in his test-tubes4 ,he is an      
exponent of a way of thought called     
,monism1 which finds the ultimate source
 of being in forms of energy manifesting
 themselves as matter2 he shows how all 
living things arise from that and sink  
back into it4  ,but question this       
scientist more closely4 ,what is this   
matter that you are so sure of8 ,how do 
you know it8 ,obviously1 through        
sensations4 ,you never know matter      
itself1 you only know its effects upon  
you1 and you assume that the matter must
 be there to cause the sensation4 ,in   
other words1 matter1 which seems so     
real1 turns out to be merely a permanent
 possibility of sensation4 ,and suppose 
there were to be sensations1 caused1 for
 example1 by a sportive demon who liked 
to make fun of eminent                  

physiologists--then there might be the  
appearance of matter and nothing else2  
in other words1 there might be mind1 and
 various states of mind4 ,so we discover
 that the materialist1 in the           
philosophic sense1 is making just as    
large an act of faith1 is pronouncing   
just as bold a dogma as any priest of   
any religion4  ,this is an old-time     
topic of disputation4 ,before ,mother   
,eddy there was ,bishop ,berkeley1 and  
before ,berkeley1 there was ,plato1 and 
they and the materialists disputed until
 their hearers cried in despair1 ,what  
is ,mind8 ,no matter6 ,what is ,matter8 
,never mind6 ,but a century or two ago  
in a town of ,prussia there lived a     
little1 dried-up professor of           
philosophy1 who sat himself down in his 
room and fixed his eyes on a church     
steeple outside the window1 and for     
years on end devoted himself to         
examining the tools of thought with     
which the human mind is provided1 and   
deciding just what work and how much of 

it they are fitted to do4 ,so came the  
proof that our minds are incapable of   
reaching to or dealing with any ultimate
 reality whatever1 but can comprehend   
only phenomena--that is to say1         
appearances--and their relations one    
with another4 ,the ,koenigsberg         
professor proved this once for all time1
 setting forth four propositions about  
ultimate reality1 and proving them by   
exact and irrefutable logic1 and then   
proving by equally exact and irrefutable
 logic their precise opposites and      
contraries4 ,anybody who has read and   
comprehended the four antinomies of     
,immanuel ,kant,a knows that metaphysics
 is as dead a subject as astrology1 and 
that all the complicated theories which 
the philosophers from ,heraclitus to    
,arthur ,balfour have spun like spiders 
out of their inner consciousness1 have  
no more relation to reality than the    
intricacies of the game of chess4       
,a ,see ,paulsen3 ,life of ,kant4  ,the 
writer is sorry to make this statement1 

because he spent a lot of time reading  
these philosophers and acquainting      
himself with their subtle theories4 ,he 
learned a whole language of long words1 
and even the special meanings which each
 philosopher or school of philosophers  
give to them4 ,when he had got through1 
he had learned1 so far as metaphysics is
 concerned1 absolutely nothing1 and had 
merely the job of clearing out of his   
mind great masses of verbal cobwebs4 ,it
 was not even good intellectual         
training2 the metaphysical method of    
thought is a trap4 ,the person who      
thinks in absolutes and ultimates is led
 to believe that he has come to         
conclusions about reality1 when as a    
matter of fact he has merely proved what
 he wants to believe2 if he had wanted  
to believe the opposite1 he could have  
proven that exactly as well--as his     
opponents will at once demonstrate4  ,if
 you multiply two feet by two feet1 the 
result represents a plain surface1 or   
figure of two dimensions4 ,if you       

multiply two feet by two feet by two    
feet1 you have a solid1 or figure of    
three dimensions--such as the world in  
which we live and move4 ,but now1       
suppose you multiply two feet by two    
feet by two feet by two feet1 what does 
that represent8 ,for ages the minds of  
mathematicians and philosophers have    
been tempted by this fascinating problem
 of the fourth dimension4 ,they have    
worked out by analogy what such a world 
would be like4 ,if you went into this   
fourth dimension1 you could turn        
yourself inside out1 and come back to   
our present world in that condition1 and
 no one of your three-dimension friends 
would be able to imagine how you had    
managed it1 or to put you back again the
 way you belonged4 ,and in this1 it     
seems to me1 we have the perfect analogy
 of metaphysical thinking4 ,it is the   
fourth dimension of the mind1 and plays 
as much havoc with sound thinking as a  
physical fourth dimension would play    
with--say1 the prison system4 ,a man who

 takes up an absolute--,god1            
immortality1 the origin of being1 a     
first cause1 free will1 absolute right  
or wrong1 infinite time or space1 final 
truth1 original substance1 the thing in 
itself--that man disappears into a      
fourth dimension1 and turns himself     
inside out or upside down or hindside   
foremost1 and comes back and exhibits   
himself in triumph2 then1 when he is    
ready1 he effects another disappearance1
 and another change1 and is back on     
earth an ordinary human being4  ,the    
world is full of schools of thought1    
theologians and metaphysicians and      
professors of academic philosophy1      
transcendentalists and theosophists and 
,christian ,scientists1 who perform such
 mental monkey-shines continuously      
before our eyes4 ,they prove what they  
please1 and the fact that no two of them
 prove the same thing makes clear to us 
in the end that none of them has proved 
anything4 ,the ,christian ,scientist    
asserts that there is no such thing as  

matter1 but that pain is merely a       
delusion of mortal mind2 he continues   
serene in this faith until he runs into 
an automobile and sustains a compound   
fracture of the femur--whereupon he does
 exactly what any of the rest of us do1 
goes to a competent surgeon and has the 
bone set4 ,on the other hand1 some      
devoted young ,socialists of my         
acquaintance have read ,haeckel and     
,dietzgen1 and adopted the dogma that   
matter is the first cause1 and that all 
things have grown out of it and return  
to it2 they have seen that the brain    
decays after death1 they declare that   
the soul is a function of the brain--and
 because of such theories they          
deliberately reject the most powerful   
modes of appeal whereby men can be      
swayed to faith in human solidarity4    
,the best books ,i know for the sweeping
 out of metaphysical cobwebs are ,the   
,philosophy of ,common ,sense and ,the  
,creed of a ,layman1 by ,frederic       
,harrison1 leader of the ,english       

,positivists1 a school of thought       
established by ,auguste ,comte4 ,but    
even as ,i recommend these books1 ,i    
recall the dissatisfaction with which ,i
 left them2 for it appears that the     
,positivists have their dogmas like all 
the rest4 ,mr4 ,harrison is not content 
to say that mankind has not the mental  
tools for dealing with ultimate         
realities2 he must needs prove that     
mankind never will and never can have   
these tools1 ,i look back upon the long 
process of evolution and ask myself1    
,what would an oyster think about       
,positivism8 ,what would be the opinion 
of1 let us say1 a young turnip on the   
subject of ,mr4 ,frederic ,harrison's   
thesis8 ,it may well be that the        
difference between a turnip and ,mr4    
,harrison is not so great as will be the
 difference between ,mr4 ,harrison and  
that super-race which some day takes    
possession of the earth and of all the  
universe4 ,it does not seem to me good  
science or good sense to dogmatize about

 what this race will know1 or what will 
be its tools of thought4 ,what does seem
 to me good science and good sense is to
 take the tools which we now possess and
 use them to their utmost capacity4     
,what is it that we know about life8 ,we
 know a seemingly endless stream of     
sensations which manifest themselves in 
certain ways1 and seem to inhere in what
 we call things and beings4 ,we observe 
incessant change in all these phenomena1
 and we examine these changes and       
discover their ways4 ,the ways seem to  
be invariable2 so completely so that for
 practical purposes we assume them to be
 invariable1 and base all our           
calculations and actions upon this      
assumption4 ,manifestly1 we could not   
live otherwise1 and the spread of       
scientific knowledge is the further     
tracing out of such laws--that is to    
say1 the ways of behaving of            
existence--and the extending of our     
belief in their invariability to wider  
and wider fields4  ,once upon a time we 

were told that the wind bloweth where it
 listeth4 ,but now we are quite certain 
that there are causes for the blowing of
 the wind1 and when our researches have 
been carried far enough1 we shall be    
able to account for and to predict every
 smallest breath of air4 ,once we were  
told that dreams came from a            
supernatural world2 but now we are      
beginning to analyze dreams1 and to     
explain what they come from and what    
they mean4 ,perhaps we still find human 
nature a bewildering and unaccountable  
thing2 but some day we shall know enough
 of man's body and his mind1 his past   
and his present1 to be able to explain  
human nature and to produce it at will1 
precisely as today we produce certain   
reactions in our test-tubes1 and do it  
so invariably that the most cautious    
financier will invest tens of millions  
of dollars in a process1 and never once 
reflect that he is putting too much     
trust in the permanence of nature4  ,in 
many departments of thought great       

specialists are now working1            
experimenting and observing by the      
methods of science4 ,if in the course of
 this book we speak of certainty1 we    
mean1 of course1 not the absolute       
certainty of any metaphysical dogma1 but
 the practical certainty of everyday    
common sense2 the certainty we feel that
 eating food will satisfy our hunger1   
and that tomorrow1 as today1 two and two
 will continue to make four4            
,,chapter ,,ii  ,,the ,,nature ,,of     
,,faith       7,attempts to show what we
 can prove by our reason1 and what we   
know      intuitively2 what is implied  
in the process of thinking1 and         
without which no thought could be47     
,the primary fact that we know about    
life is growth4 ,herbert ,spencer has   
defined this growth1 or evolution1 in a 
string of long words which may be summed
 up to mean3 the process whereby a      
number of things which are simple and   
like one another become different parts 
of one thing which is complex4 ,if we   

observe this process in ourselves1 and  
the symptoms of it in others1 we        
discover that when it is proceeding     
successfully1 it is accompanied by a    
sensation of satisfaction which we call 
happiness or pleasure2 also that when it
 is thwarted or repressed1 it is        
accompanied by a different sensation    
which we call pain4 ,subtle             
metaphysicians1 both inside the churches
 and out1 have set themselves to the    
task of proving that there must be some 
other object of life than the           
continuance of these sensations of      
pleasure which accompany successful     
growth4 ,they have proven to their own  
satisfaction that morality will collapse
 and human progress come to an end      
unless we can find some other motive1   
something more permanent and more       
stimulating1 something higher1 as they  
phrase it4 ,all ,i can say is that ,i   
gave reverent attention to the arguments
 of these moralists and theologians1 and
 that for many years ,i believed their  

doctrines2 but ,i believe them no       
longer4  ,i interpret the purpose of    
life to be the continuous unfoldment of 
its powers1 its growth into higher      
forms--that is to say1 forms more       
complex and subtly contrived1 capable of
 more intense and enduring kinds of that
 satisfaction which is nature's warrant 
of life4 ,if you wish to take up this   
statement and argue about it1 please    
wait until you have read the chapter    
,nature and ,man1 and noted my          
distinction between instinctive life and
 rational life4 ,for men1 the word      
growth does not mean any growth1 all    
growth1 blind and indiscriminate growth4
 ,it does not mean growth for the       
tubercle bacillus1 nor growth for the   
anopheles mosquito1 nor growth for the  
house-fly1 the spider and the louse4    
,neither do we mean that the purpose of 
man's own life is any pleasure1 all     
pleasure1 blind and indiscriminate      
pleasure2 the pleasure of alcohol1 the  
pleasure of cannibalism1 the pleasure of

 the modern form of cannibalism which we
 call making money4 ,we have survived in
 the struggle for existence by the      
cooperative and social use of our powers
 of judgment2 and our judgment is that  
which selects among forms of growth1    
which gives preference to wheat and corn
 over weeds1 and to self-control and    
honesty over treachery and greed4  ,so  
when we say that the purpose of life is 
happiness1 we do not mean to turn       
mankind loose at a hog-trough2 we mean  
that our duty as thinkers is to watch   
life1 to test it1 to pick and choose    
among the many forms it offers1 and to  
say3 ,this kind of growth is more       
permanent and full of promise1 it is    
more fertile1 more deeply satisfactory2 
therefore1 we choose this1 and sanction 
the kind of pleasure which it brings4   
,other kinds we decide are temporary and
 delusive2 therefore we put in jail     
anyone who sells alcoholic drink1 and we
 refuse to invite to our home people who
 are lewd1 and some day we shall not    

permit our children to attend moving    
picture shows in which the modern form  
of cannibalism is glorified4  ,the      
reader1 no doubt1 has been taught a     
distinction between science and faith4  
,he is saying now1 ,you believe that    
everything is to be determined by human 
reason8 ,you reject all faith8 ,i       
answer1 ,no2 ,i am not rejecting faith2 
,i am merely refusing to apply it to    
objects with which it has nothing to do4
 ,you do not take it as a matter of     
faith that a package of sugar weighs a  
pound2 you put it on the scales and find
 out--in other words1 you make it a     
matter of experiment4 ,but all the      
creeds of all the religious sects are   
full of pronouncements which are no more
 matters of faith than the question of  
the weighing of sugar4 ,is pork a       
wholesome article of food or is it not8 
,all ,christians will readily           
acknowledge that this is a matter to be 
determined by the microscope and other  
devices of experimental science2 but    

then some ,jew rises in the meeting and 
puts the question3 ,is dancing injurious
 to the character8 ,and immediately all 
members of the ,methodist ,episcopal    
,church vote to close the discussion4   
,what is faith8 ,faith is the instinct  
which underlies all being1 assuring us  
that life is worth while and honest1 a  
thing to be trusted2 in other words1 it 
is the certainty that successful growth 
always is and always will be accompanied
 by pleasure4 ,the most skeptical       
scientist in the world1 even my friend  
the physiologist who proves that life is
 nothing but a tropism1 and can be      
produced by mixing chemicals in         
test-tubes--this eager friend is one of 
the most faithful men ,i know4 ,he is   
burning up with the faith that knowledge
 is worth possessing1 and also that it  
is possible of attainment4 ,with what   
boundless scorn would he receive any    
suggestion to the contrary--for example1
 the idea that life might be a series of
 sensations which some sportive demon is

 producing for the torment of man6 ,more
 than that1 this friend is burning up   
with the certainty that knowledge can be
 spread1 that his fellow men will       
receive it and apply it1 and that it    
will make them happy when they do4 ,why 
else does he write his learned books in 
defense of the materialist philosophy8  
,and that same faith which animates the 
great monist animates likewise every    
child who toddles off to school1 and    
every chicken which emerges from an egg1
 and every blade of grass which thrusts 
its head above the ground4 ,not every   
chicken survives1 of course1 and all the
 blades of grass wither in the fall2    
nevertheless1 the seeds of grass are    
spread1 and chickens make food for      
philosophers1 and the great process of  
life continues to manifest its faith4   
,in the end the life process produces   
man1 who1 as we shall presently see1    
takes it up1 and judges it1 and makes it
 over to suit himself4  ,you will note  
from this that ,i am what is called an  

optimist2 whereas some of the great     
philosophers of the world have called   
themselves pessimists4 ,but ,i notice   
with a smile that these are often the   
men who work hardest of all to spread   
their ideas1 and thus testify to the    
worthwhileness of truth and the         
perfectibility of mankind4 ,there has   
come to be a saying among settlement    
workers and physicians1 who are familiar
 with poverty and its effects upon life1
 that there are no bad babies and good  
babies1 there are only sick babies and  
well babies4 ,in the same way1 ,i would 
say there are no pessimists and         
optimists1 there are only mentally sick 
people and mentally well people4        
,everywhere throughout life1 both animal
 and vegetable1 health means happiness1 
and gives abundant evidence of that     
fact4 ,all healthy life is satisfactory 
to itself2 when it develops reason1 it  
tries to find out why1 and this is yet  
another testimony to the fact that      
having power and using it is pleasant4  

,when ,i was in college the professor   
would propound the old question3 ,would 
you rather be a happy pig or an unhappy 
philosopher8 ,my answer always was3 ,i  
would rather be a happy philosopher4    
,the professor replied3 ,perhaps that is
 not possible4 ,but ,i said3 ,i will    
prove that it is6     ,,chapter ,,iii   
,,the ,,use ,,of ,,reason               
7,attempts to show that in the field to 
which reason applies we are             
compelled to use it1 and are justified  
in trusting it47   ,the great majority  
of people are brought up to believe that
 some particular set of dogmas are      
objects of faith1 and that there are    
penalties more or less severe for the   
application of reason to these dogmas4  
,what particular set it happens to be is
 a matter of geography2 in a crowded    
modern city like ,new ,york1 it is a    
matter of the particular block on which 
the child is born4 ,a child born on     
,hester ,street will be taught that his 
welfare depends upon his never eating   

meat and butter from the same dish4 ,a  
child born on ,tenth ,avenue will be    
taught that it is a matter of his not   
eating meat on ,fridays4 ,a child born  
on ,madison ,avenue will be taught that 
it is a question of the precise         
metaphysical process by which bread is  
changed into human body and wine into   
human blood4 ,each of these children    
will be assured that his human reason is
 fallible1 that it is extremely         
dangerous to apply it to this sacred    
subject1 and that the proper thing to do
 is to accept the authority of some     
ancient tradition1 or some institution1 
or some official1 or some book for which
 a special sanction is claimed4  ,has   
there ever been in the world any        
revelation1 outside of or above human   
reason8 ,could there ever be such a     
thing8 ,in order to test this           
possibility1 select for yourself the    
most convincing way by which a special  
revelation could be handed down to      
mankind4 ,take any of the ancient       

orthodox ways1 the finding of graven    
tablets on a mountain-top1 or a voice   
speaking from a burning bush1 or an     
angel appearing before a great concourse
 of people and handing out a written    
scroll4 ,suppose that were to happen1   
let us say1 at the next ,yale-,harvard  
football game2 suppose the news were to 
be flashed to the ends of the earth that
 ,god had thus presented to mankind an  
entirely new religion4 ,what would be   
the process by which the people of      
,london or ,calcutta would decide upon  
that revelation8 ,first1 they would have
 to consider the question whether it was
 an ,american newspaper fake--by no     
means an easy question4 ,second1 they   
would have to consider the chances of   
its being an optical delusion4 ,then1   
assuming they accepted the sworn        
testimony of ten thousand mature and    
competent witnesses1 they would have to 
consider the possibility of someone     
having invented a new kind of invisible 
aeroplane4 ,assuming they were convinced

 that it was really a supernatural      
being1 they would next have to decide   
the chances of its being a visitor from 
,mars1 or from the fourth dimension of  
space1 or from the devil4 ,in           
considering all this1 they would        
necessarily have to examine the alleged 
revelation4 ,what was the literary      
quality of it8 ,what was the moral      
quality of it8 ,what would be the effect
 upon mankind if the alleged revelation 
were to be universally adopted and      
applied8  ,manifestly1 all these are    
questions for the human reason1 the     
human judgment2 there is no other method
 of determining them1 there would be    
nothing for any individual person1 or   
for men as a whole to do1 except to     
apply their best powers1 and1 as the    
phrase is1 make up their minds about the
 matter4 ,reason would be the judge1 and
 the new revelation would be the        
prisoner at the bar4 ,humanity might    
say1 this is a real inspiration1 we will
 submit ourselves to it and follow it1  

and allow no one from now on to question
 it4 ,but inevitably there would be some
 who would say1 ,tommyrot6 ,there would 
be others who would say1 ,this new      
revelation isn't working1 it is         
repressing progress1 it is stifling the 
mind4 ,these people would stand up for  
their conviction1 they would become     
martyrs1 and all the world would have to
 discuss them4 ,and who would decide    
between them and the great mass of men8 
,reason1 the judge1 would decide4  ,it  
is perfectly true that human reason is  
fallible4 ,infallibility is an absolute1
 a concept of the mind1 and not a       
reality4 ,life has not given us         
infallibility1 any more than it has     
given us omniscience1 or omnipotence1 or
 any other of those attributes which we 
call divine4 ,life has given us powers1 
more or less weak1 more or less strong1 
but all capable of improvement and      
development4 ,reason is the tool whereby
 mankind has won supremacy over the rest
 of the animal kingdom1 and is gradually

 taking control of the forces of nature4
 ,it is the best tool we have1 and      
because it is the best1 we are driven   
irresistibly to use it4 ,and how strange
 that some of us can find no better use 
for it than to destroy its own self6    
,visit one of the ,jesuit fathers and   
hear him seek to persuade you that      
reason is powerless against faith and   
must abdicate to faith4 ,you answer1    
,yes1 father1 you have persuaded me4 ,i 
admit the fallibility of my mortal      
powers2 and ,i begin by applying my     
doubts of them to the arguments by which
 you have just convinced me4 ,i was     
convinced1 but of course ,i cannot be   
sure of a conviction1 attained by       
fallible reason4 ,therefore ,i am just  
where ,i was before--except that ,i am  
no longer in position to be certain of  
anything4  ,you answer in good faith1   
and take up your hat and depart1 closing
 the door of the good father's study    
behind you4 ,but stop a moment1 why do  
you close the door8 ,you close the door 

because your reason tells you that      
otherwise the cold air outside will blow
 in and make the good father            
uncomfortable4 ,you put your hat on1    
because your reason has not yet been    
applied to the problem of the cause of  
baldness4 ,you step out onto the street1
 and when you hear a sudden noise1 you  
step back onto the curbstone1 because   
your reason tells you that an automobile
 is coming1 and that on the sidewalk you
 are safe from it4 ,so you go on1 using 
your reason in a million acts of your   
life whereby your life is preserved and 
developed4 ,and if anybody suggested    
that the fallibility of your reason     
should cause you to delay in front of an
 automobile1 you would apply your reason
 to the problem of that person and      
decide that he was insane4 ,and ,i say  
that just as there is insanity in       
everyday judgments and relationships1 so
 there is insanity in philosophy1       
metaphysics and religion2 the seed and  
source of all this kind of insanity     

being the notion that it is the duty of 
anybody to believe anything which cannot
 completely justify itself as           
reasonable4  ,nowadays1 as ideas are    
spreading1 the champions of dogma are   
hard put to it1 and you will find their 
minds a muddle of two points of view4   
,the ,jewish rabbi will strive          
desperately to think of some hygienic   
objection to the presence of meat and   
butter on the same plate2 the ,catholic 
priest will tell you that fish is a very
 wholesome article of food1 and that    
anyhow we all eat too much2 the         
,methodist and the ,baptist and the     
,presbyterian will tell you that if men 
did not rest one day in seven their     
health would break down4 ,thus they     
justify faith by reason1 and reconcile  
the conflict between science and        
theology4 ,accepting this method1 ,i    
experiment and learn that it improves my
 digestion and adds to my working power 
if ,i play tennis on ,sunday4 ,i follow 
this indisputably rational form of      

conduct--and find myself in conflict    
with the faith of the ancient ,state of 
,delaware1 which obliges me to serve a  
term in its state's prison for having   
innocently and unwittingly desecrated   
its day of holiness6  ,if you read      
,professor ,bury's little book1 ,a      
,history of ,freedom of ,thought1 you   
will discover that there has been a long
 conflict over the right of men to use  
their minds--and the victory is not yet4
 ,the term free thinker1 which ought to 
be the highest badge a man could wear1  
is still almost everywhere throughout   
,america a term of vague terror4 ,in the
 ,state of ,california today there is a 
,criminal ,syndicalism ,act1 which      
provides a maximum of fourteen years in 
jail for any person who shall write or  
publish or speak any words expressive of
 the idea that the ,united ,states      
government should be overthrown in the  
same way that it was established--that  
is1 by force2 only a few months ago the 
writer of this book was on the witness  

stand for two days1 and had the painful1
 almost incredible experience of being  
battered and knocked about by an        
inquisitive district attorney1 who      
cross-examined him as to every detail of
 his beliefs1 and read garbled extracts 
from his published writings1 in the     
effort to make it appear that he held   
some belief which might possibly        
prejudice the jury against him4 ,the    
defendant in this case1 a returned      
soldier who had spent three years as a  
volunteer in the trenches1 and had been 
twice wounded and once gassed1 was      
accused1 not merely of approving the    
,soviet form of government1 but also of 
having printed uncomplimentary          
references to priests and religious     
institutions4  ,nowadays it is the      
propertied class which has taken        
possession of the powers of government1 
and which presumes to censor the        
thinking of mankind in its own interest4
 ,but whether it be priestcraft or      
whether it be capitalism which seeks to 

bind the human mind1 it comes to the    
same thing1 and the effort must be met  
by the assertion that1 in spite of      
errors and blunders1 and the serious    
harm these may do1 there is no way for  
men to advance save by using the best   
powers of thinking they possess1 and    
proclaiming their conclusions to others4
 ,speaking theologically for the moment1
 ,god has given us our reasoning powers1
 and also the impulse to use them1 and  
it is inconceivable that ,he should seek
 to restrict their use1 or should give  
to anyone the power to forbid their use4
 ,it is ,his truth which we seek1 and   
,his which we proclaim4 ,in so doing we 
perform our highest act of faith1 and we
 refuse to be troubled by the idea that 
for this service ,he will reward us by  
an eternity of sulphur and brimstone4   
,throughout the remainder of this book  
it will be assumed that the reader      
accepts this point of view1 or1 at any  
rate1 that he is willing for purposes of
 experiment to give it a trial and see  

where it leads him4 ,we shall proceed to
 consider the problems of human life in 
the light of reason1 to determine how   
they come to be1 and how they can be    
solved4     ,,chapter ,,iv  ,,the       
,,origin ,,of ,,morality                
7,compares the ways of nature with human
 morality1 and tries to show      how   
the latter came to be47   ,seventy years
 ago ,charles ,darwin published his     
book1 ,the ,origin of ,species1 in which
 he defied the theological dogma of his 
time by the shocking idea that life had 
evolved by many stages of progress from 
the diatom to man4 ,this of course did  
not conform to the story of the ,garden 
of ,eden1 and so ,darwinism was fought  
as an invention of the devil1 and in the
 interior of ,america there are numerous
 sectarian colleges where the dread term
 evolution is spoken in awed whispers4  
,only the other day ,i read in my       
newspaper the triumphant proclamation of
 some clergyman that ,darwinism had been
 overthrown4 ,this reverend gentleman   

had got mixed up because some biologists
 were disputing some detail of the      
method by which the evolution of species
 had been brought about4 ,do species    
change by the gradual elimination of the
 unfit1 or do they change by sudden     
leaps1 the mutation theory of de ,vries8
 ,are acquired powers transmitted to    
posterity1 or is the germ plasm         
unaffected by its environment8          
,concerning such questions the          
scientists debate4 ,but the fact that   
life has evolved in an ordered series   
from the lower forms to the higher1 and 
that each individual reproduces in      
embryo and in infancy the history of    
this long process--these facts are now  
the basis of all modern thinking1 and as
 generally accepted as the rotation of  
the earth4  ,you may study this process 
of evolution from the outside1 in the   
multitude of forms which it has assumed 
and in their reactions one to another2  
or you may study it from the inside in  
your own soul1 the emotions which       

accompany it1 the impulse or craving    
which impels it1 the elan vital1 as it  
is called by the ,french philosopher    
,bergson4 ,the ,christians call it love1
 and ,nietzsche1 who hated              
,christianity1 called it the will to    
power1 and persuaded himself that it was
 the opposite of love4  ,you will find  
in the essays of ,professor ,huxley1 one
 entitled ,evolution and ,ethics1 in    
which he sets forth the complete        
unmorality of nature1 and declares that 
there is no way by which what mankind   
knows as morality can have originated in
 the process of nature or can be        
reconciled to natural law4 ,this        
statement1 coming from a leading        
agnostic1 was welcome to the            
theologians4 ,but when ,i first read the
 essay1 as a student of sixteen1 it     
seemed to me narrow2 ,i thought ,i saw a
 standpoint from which the contradiction
 disappeared4 ,the difference between   
the morality of ,christ and the morality
 of nature is merely the difference     

between a lower and a higher stage of   
mental development4 ,the animal loves   
and seeks by instinct to preserve the   
life which it knows--that is to say1 its
 own life and the life of its young4    
,the wolf knows nothing about the       
feelings of a deer2 but man in his      
savage state develops reasoning powers  
enough to realize that there are others 
like himself1 the members of his own    
tribe1 and he makes for himself taboos  
which forbid him to kill and eat the    
members of that tribe4 ,at the present  
time humanity has developed its reason  
and imaginative sympathy to include in  
the tribe one or two hundred million    
people2 while to those outside the tribe
 it still preserves the attitude of the 
wolf4  ,how came it that a mind so acute
 as ,huxley's went so far astray on the 
question of the evolution of morality8  
,the answer is that this was the factory
 age in ,england1 and the great         
scientist1 a rebel in theological       
matters1 was in economics a child of his

 time4 ,we find him using the formulas  
of bourgeois biology to ridicule ,henry 
,george and his plea for the freeing of 
the land4 ,competition is the life of   
trade1 ran the nineteenth century       
slogan2 and competition was the god of  
nineteenth century biology4 ,tennyson   
summed it up in the phrase3 ,nature red 
in tooth and claw with ravin2 and this  
was found convenient by ,manchester     
manufacturers who wished to shut little 
children up for fourteen hours a day in 
cotton mills1 and to harness women to   
drag cars in the coal mines1 and to be  
told by the learned men of their        
colleges and the holy men of their      
churches that this was the survival of  
the fittest1 it was nature's way of     
securing the advancement of the race4   
,but now we are preparing for an era of 
cooperation1 and it occurs to our men of
 science to go back to nature and find  
out what really are her ways4 ,if you   
will read ,kropotkin's ,mutual ,aid as a
 ,factor in ,evolution1 you will find a 

complete refutation of the old bourgeois
 biology1 and a view of nature which    
reveals in it the germs of human        
morality4 ,kropotkin points out that    
everywhere throughout nature it is the  
social and not the solitary animals     
which are most numerous and most        
successful4 ,there are many millions of 
ants and bees for every hawk or eagle1  
and certainly in the state of nature    
there were thousands of deer for every  
lion or tiger that preyed upon them4    
,and all these social creatures have    
their ways of being1 which it requires  
no stress of the imagination to compare 
with the tribal customs and the moral   
codes of mankind4 ,the different animals
 prey upon one another1 but they do not 
prey upon their own species1 except in a
 few rare cases4 ,the only beast that   
makes a regular practice of exploiting  
his own kind is man4  ,by hundreds of   
interesting illustrations ,kropotkin    
shows that mutual aid and mutual        
self-protection are the means whereby   

the higher forms of being have been     
evolved4 ,insects and birds and fish1   
nearly all the herbivorous mammals1 and 
even a great many of the carnivores1    
help one another and protect one        
another4 ,the chattering monkeys in the 
treetops drove out the saber-tooth tiger
 from the grove because there were so   
many of them1 and when they saw him they
 all set up a shriek and clamor which   
deafened and confused him4 ,and when by 
and by these monkeys developed an       
opposed thumb1 and broke off a branch of
 a tree for a club1 and fastened a sharp
 stone on the end of it for an axe1 and 
fell upon the saber-toothed tiger and   
exterminated him1 they did it because   
they had learned solidarity--even as the
 workers of the world are today learning
 solidarity in the face of the beast of 
capitalism4  ,man has survived by the   
cunning of his brain1 we are told1 and  
that is true4 ,but first among the      
products of that cunning brain has been 
the knowledge that by himself he is the 

most helpless and pitiful of creatures1 
while standing together and forming     
societies and developing moralities1 he 
is master of the world4 ,he has not yet 
learned that lesson entirely2 he has    
learned it only for his own nation4     
,therefore he takes the highest skill of
 his hand and the subtlest wit of his   
brain1 and uses them to manufacture     
poison gases4 ,at the present hour he is
 painfully realizing that his poison    
formulas all become known to the tribes 
whom he calls his enemies1 and so it is 
his own destruction he is engaged in    
contriving4 ,in other words1 man has    
come to a time when his mechanical      
skill1 his mastery over the forces of   
nature1 has developed more rapidly than 
his moral sense and his imaginative     
sympathy4 ,his ability to destroy life  
has become dangerously greater than his 
desire to preserve it4 ,so he confronts 
the fair face of nature as an insane    
creature1 wrecking not merely everything
 that he himself has built up1 but      

everything that nature has built in the 
ages before him4 ,he is striving now    
with infinite agony to make this fact   
real to himself1 and to mend his evil   
ways2 and the first step in that process
 is to root out from his mind the       
devil's doctrine which in his blindness 
and greed he has himself implanted1 that
 there is any way for him to find real  
happiness1 or to make any worth while   
progress on this earth1 by the method of
 inflicting misery and torment upon his 
fellow men4     ,,chapter ,v  ,,nature  
,,and ,,man       7,attempts to show how
 man has taken control of nature1 and is
      carrying on her processes and     
improving upon them47   ,if the argument
 of the preceding chapter is sound1     
human morality is not a fixed and       
eternal set of laws1 but is1 like       
everything else in the world1 a product 
of natural evolution4 ,we can trace the 
history of it1 just as we trace the     
story of the rocks4 ,it is not a        
mysterious or supernatural thing1 it is 

simply the reaction of man to his       
environment1 and more especially to his 
fellow men4 ,the source of it is that   
same inner impulse1 that love of life1  
that joy in growing1 that faith which   
appears to be the soul of all being4    
,man is a part of nature and a product  
of nature2 in many fundamental respects 
his ways are still nature's ways and his
 laws still nature's laws4 ,but there   
are other and even more significant ways
 in which man has separated himself from
 nature and made himself something quite
 different4 ,in order to reveal this    
clearly1 we draw a distinction between  
nature and man4 ,this is a proper thing 
to do1 provided we bear in mind that our
 classification is not permanent or     
final4 ,we distinguish frogs from       
tadpoles1 in spite of the fact that at  
one stage the creature is half tadpole  
and half frog4 ,we distinguish the      
animal from the vegetable kingdom1      
despite the fact that in their lower    
forms they cannot be distinguished4     

,what1 precisely1 is the difference     
between nature and man8 ,the difference 
lies in the fact that nature is         
apparently blind in her processes2 she  
produces a million eggs in order to give
 life to one salmon1 she produces       
countless millions of salmon to be      
devoured by other fish apparently no    
better than salmon4 ,poets may take up  
the doctrine of evolution and dress it  
out in theological garments1 talking    
about the one far off divine event      
towards which the whole creation moves1 
but for all we can see1 nature1 apart   
from man1 is just as well satisfied to  
move in circles1 and to come back       
exactly where she started4 ,nature made 
a whole world of complicated creatures  
in the steamy1 luke-warm swamps of the  
,mesozoic era1 and then1 as if deciding 
that the pattern of a large body and a  
small brain was not a success1 she froze
 them all to death with a glacial epoch1
 and we have nothing but the bones to   
tell us about them4  ,no one understands

 anything about evolution until he has  
realized that the phrase the survival of
 the fittest does not mean the survival 
of the best from any human point of     
view4 ,it merely means the survival of  
those capable of surviving in some      
particular environment4 ,we consider our
 present civilization as fit2 but if    
astronomical changes should cause       
another ice age1 we should discover that
 our fitness depended upon our ability  
to live on lichens1 or on something we  
could grow by artificial light in the   
bowels of the earth4  ,so much for our  
ancient mother1 nature4 ,but            
now--whether we say with the theologians
 that it was divine providence1 or with 
the materialist philosophers that it was
 an accidental mixing of atoms--at any  
rate it has come about that nature has  
recently produced creatures who are     
conscious of her process1 who are able  
to observe and criticize it1 to take up 
her work and carry it on in their own   
way1 for better or for worse4 ,whether  

by accident or design1 there has been on
 parts of our planet such a combination 
of climate and soil as has brought into 
being a new product of nature1 a        
heightened form of life which we call   
intelligence4 ,creation opens its eyes1 
and beholds the work of the creator1 and
 decides that it is good--yet not so    
good as it might be6 ,creation takes up 
the work of the creator1 and continues  
it1 in many respects annulling it1 in   
other respects revising it entirely4    
,whether a sonnet is a better or a      
higher product than a spider is a       
question it would be futile to discuss2 
but this1 at least1 should be           
clear--nature has produced an infinity  
of spiders1 but nature never produced a 
sonnet1 nor anything resembling it4     
,man1 the creature of ,god1 takes over  
the functions of ,god4 ,this fact may   
shock us1 or it may inspire us2 to the  
metaphysically minded it offers a great 
variety of fascinating problems4 ,can it
 be that ,god is in process of becoming1

 that there is no ,god until he has     
become1 in us and through us8 ,h4 ,g4   
,wells sets forth this curious idea2 and
 then1 of course1 the bishops and the   
clergy rise up in indignation and       
denounce ,mr4 ,wells as an upstart and  
trespasser upon their field4 ,they have 
been worshipping their ,god for some    
three or four thousand years1 and know  
that ,he has been from eternity2 ,he    
created the world at ,his will1 and how 
shall impious man presume to rise up and
 criticize ,his product1 and imagine    
that he can improve upon it8 ,man1 with 
his cheap and silly little toys1 his    
sonnets and scientific systems1 his     
symphony concerts and such pale         
imitations of celestial harmonies6  ,mr4
 ,wells1 in his character of ,god in the
 making1 has created a bishop of his    
own1 and no doubt would maintain the    
thesis that he is a far better bishop   
than any created by the ,god of the     
,anglican churches4 ,we will leave ,mr4 
,wells' bishop to argue these problems  

with ,god's bishops1 and will merely    
remind the reader of our warning about  
these metaphysical matters4 ,you can    
prove anything and everything1 whichever
 and however1 all or both2 and          
discussions of the subject are merely   
your enunciation of the fact that you   
have your private truth as you want it4 
,it may be that there is an ,infinite   
,consciousness1 which carries the whole 
process of creation in itself1 and that 
all the seeming wastes and blunders of  
nature can be explained from some point 
of view at present beyond the reach of  
our minds4 ,on the other hand it may be 
that consciousness is now dawning in the
 universe for the first time4 ,it may be
 that it is an accident1 a fleeting     
product like the morning mist on the    
mountain top4 ,on the other hand1 it may
 be that it is destined to grow and     
expand and take control of the entire   
universe1 as a farmer takes control of a
 field for his own purposes4 ,it may be 
that just as our individual fragments of

 intelligence communicate and merge into
 a family1 a club1 a nation1 a world    
culture1 so we shall some day grope our 
way toward the consciousness of other   
planets1 or of other states of being    
subsisting on this planet unknown to us1
 or perhaps even toward the cosmic soul1
 the universal consciousness which we   
call ,god4  ,but meantime1 all we can   
say with positiveness is this3 man1 the 
created1 is becoming the creator4 ,he is
 taking up the world purpose1 he is     
imposing upon it new purposes of his    
own1 he is attempting to impose upon it 
a moral code1 to test it and discipline 
it by a new standard which he calls     
economy4 ,to the present writer this    
seems the most significant fact about   
life1 the most fascinating point of view
 from which life can be regarded4 ,the  
reader who wishes to follow it into     
greater detail is referred to a little  
book by ,professor ,e4 ,ray ,lankester1 
,the ,kingdom of ,man2 especially the   
opening essay1 with its fascinating     

title1 ,nature's ,insurgent ,son4  ,in  
what ways have the reasoned and         
deliberate purposes of man revised and  
even supplanted the processes of nature8
 ,the ways are so many that it would be 
easier to mention those in which he has 
not done so4 ,a modern civilized man is 
hardly content with anything that nature
 does1 nor willing to accept any of     
nature's products4 ,he will not eat     
nature's fruits1 he prefers the kinds   
that he himself has brought into being4 
,he is not content with the skin that   
nature has given him2 he has made       
himself an infinite variety of          
complicated coverings4 ,he objects to   
nature's habit of pouring cold water    
upon him1 and so he has built himself   
houses in which he makes his own        
climate2 he has recently taken to       
creating for himself houses which roll  
along the ground1 or which fly through  
the air1 or which swim under the surface
 of the sea2 so he carries his private  
climate with him to all these places4   

,it was nature's custom to remove her   
blunders and her experiments quickly    
from her sight4 ,but man has decided    
that he loves life so well that he will 
preserve even the imbeciles1 the lame   
and the halt and the blind4 ,in a state 
of nature1 if a man's eyes were not     
properly focused1 he blundered into the 
lair of a tiger and was eaten4 ,but     
civilized man despises such a method of 
maintaining the standard of human eyes2 
he creates for himself a transparent    
product1 ground to such a curve that it 
corrects the focus of his eyes1 and     
makes them as good as any other eyes4   
,in ten thousand such ways we might     
name1 man has rebelled against the      
harshness of his ancient mother1 and has
 freed himself from her control4  ,but  
still he is the child of his mother1 and
 so it is his way to act first1 and then
 to realize what he has done4 ,so it    
comes about that very few1 even of the  
most highly educated men1 are aware how 
completely the ancient ways of nature   

have been suppressed by her insurgent   
son4 ,it is a good deal as in the       
various trades and professions which    
have developed with such amazing        
rapidity in modern civilization2 the    
paper man knows how to make paper1 the  
shoe man knows how to make shoes1 the   
optician knows about grinding glasses1  
but none of these knows very much about 
the others' specialties1 and has no     
realization of how far the other has    
gone4 ,so it comes about that in our    
colleges we are still teaching ancient  
and immutable laws of nature1 which in  
the actual practice of men at work are  
as extinct and forgotten as the dodo4   
,in all colleges1 except a few which    
have been tainted by ,socialist thought1
 the students are solemnly learning the 
so-called ,malthusian law1 that         
population presses continually upon the 
limits of subsistence1 there are always 
a few more people in every part of the  
world than that part of the world is    
able to maintain4 ,at any time we       

increase the world's productive powers1 
population will increase                
correspondingly1 so there can never be  
an end to human misery1 and abortion1   
war and famine are simply nature's      
eternal methods of adjusting man to his 
environment4  ,thus solemnly we are     
taught in the colleges4 ,and yet1 nine  
out of ten of the students come from    
homes where the parents have discovered 
the modern practice of birth control2   
all the students are themselves finding 
out about it in one way or another1 and 
will proceed when they marry to restrict
 themselves to two or three children4   
,in vain will the ghost of their        
favorite statesman and hero1 ,theodore  
,roosevelt1 be traveling up and down the
 land1 denouncing them for the dreadful 
crime of race suicide--that is to say1  
their presuming to use their reason to  
put an end to the ghastly situation     
revealed by the ,malthusian law1        
over-population eternally recurring and 
checked by abortion1 war and famine6 ,in

 vain will the ghost of their favorite  
saint and moralist1 ,anthony ,comstock1 
be traveling up and down the land1      
putting people in jail for daring to    
teach to poor women what every rich     
woman knows1 and for attempting to      
change the entirely man-made state of   
affairs whereby an intelligent and      
self-governing ,anglo-,saxon land is    
being in two or three generations turned
 over to a slum population of ,italians1
 ,poles1 ,hungarians1 ,portuguese1      
,french-,canadians1 ,mexicans and       
,japanese6  ,likewise in every orthodox 
college the student is taught what his  
professors are pleased to call the law  
of diminishing returns of agriculture4  
,that is to say1 additional labor       
expended upon a plot of land does not   
result in an equal increase of produce1 
and the increase grows less1 until      
finally you come to a time when no      
matter how much labor you expend1 you   
can get no more produce from that plot  
of land4 ,all professors teach this1    

because fifty years ago it was true1 and
 since that time it has not occurred to 
any professor of political science to   
visit a farm4 ,and all the while1 out in
 the suburbs of the city where the      
college is located1 market gardeners are
 practicing on an enormous scale a new  
system of intensive agriculture which   
makes the law of diminishing returns a  
foolish joke4  ,as ,kropotkin shows in  
his book1 ,fields1 ,factories and       
,workshops1 the modern intensive        
gardener1 by use of glass and the       
chemical test-tube1 has developed an    
entirely new science of plant raising4  
,he is independent of climate1 he makes 
his own climate2 he is independent of   
the defects of the soil1 he would just  
as soon start from nothing and make his 
soil upon an asphalt pavement4 ,by      
doubling his capital investment he      
raises1 not twice as much produce1 but  
ten times as much4 ,if his methods were 
applied to the ,british ,isles1 he could
 raise sufficient produce on this small 

surface to feed the population of the   
entire globe4  ,so we see that by simple
 and entirely harmless devices man is in
 position to restrict or to increase    
population as he sees fit4 ,also he is  
in position to raise food and produce   
the necessities of life for a hundred or
 thousand times as many people as are   
now on the earth4 ,but superstition     
ordains involuntary parenthood1 and     
capitalism ordains that land shall be   
held out of use for speculation1 or     
shall be exploited for rent6 ,and this  
is done in the name of nature--that old 
nature of the tooth and claw1 whose     
ancient plan it is that they shall take 
who have the power1 and they shall keep 
who can2 that ancient nature which has  
been so entirely suppressed and         
supplanted by civilized man1 and which  
survives only as a ghost1 a skeleton to 
be resurrected from the tomb1 for the   
purpose of frightening the enslaved4    
,when a predatory financier wishes a fur
 overcoat to protect himself from the   

cold1 or when he hires a masseur to keep
 up the circulation of his blood1 you do
 not find him troubling himself about   
the laws of nature2 never will he       
mention this old scarecrow1 except when 
he is trying to persuade the workers of 
the world to go on paying him tribute   
for the use of the natural resources of 
the earth6     ,,chapter ,,vi  ,,man    
,,the ,,rebel       7,shows the         
transition stage between instinct and   
reason1 in which      man finds himself1
 and how he can advance to a securer    
condition47   ,in the state of nature   
you find every creature living a        
precarious existence1 incessantly beset 
by enemies2 and the creature survives   
only so long as it keeps itself at the  
top of its form4 ,the result is the     
maintenance of the type in its full     
perfection1 and1 under the competitive  
pressure1 a gradual increase of its     
powers4 ,excepting when sudden eruptions
 of natural forces occur1 every creature
 is perfectly provided with a set of    

instincts for all emergencies2 it is in 
harmonious relationship to its          
environment1 it knows how to do what it 
has to do1 and even its fears and its   
pains serve for its protection4 ,but now
 comes man and overthrows this state of 
nature1 abolishes the competitive       
struggle1 and changes at his own        
insolent will both his environment and  
his reaction thereto4  ,man's changes   
are1 in the beginning1 all along one    
line2 they are for his own greater      
comfort1 the avoidance of the           
inconveniences of nature and the        
stresses of the competitive struggle4   
,in a state of nature there are no fat  
animals1 but in civilization there are  
not merely fat animals1 but fat men to  
eat the fat animals4 ,in a state of     
nature no animal loafs very long2 it has
 to go out and hunt its food again4 ,but
 man1 by his superior cunning1 compels  
the animals to work for him1 and also   
his fellow men4 ,so he produces         
unlimited wealth for himself2 not merely

 can he eat and drink and sleep all he  
wants1 but he builds a whole elaborate  
set of laws and moral customs and       
religious codes about this power1 he    
invents manners and customs and         
literatures and arts1 expressive of his 
superiority to nature and to his fellow 
men1 and of his ability to enslave and  
exploit them4 ,so he destroys for his   
imperious self the beneficent           
guardianship which nature had maintained
 over him2 he develops a thousand       
complicated diseases1 a thousand        
monstrous abnormalities of body and mind
 and spirit4 ,and each one of these     
diseases and abnormalities is a new life
 of its own2 it develops a body of      
knowledge1 a science1 and perhaps an    
art2 it becomes the means of life1 the  
environment and the determining destiny 
of thousands1 perhaps millions1 of human
 beings4 ,so continues the growth of the
 colossal structure which we call       
civilization--in part still healthy and 
progressive1 but in part as foul and    

deadly as a gigantic cancer4  ,what is  
to be done about this cancer8 ,first of 
all1 it must be diagnosed1 the extent of
 it precisely mapped out and the causes 
of it determined4 ,man1 the rebel1 has  
rejected his mother nature1 and has lost
 and for the most part forgotten the    
instincts with which she provided him4  
,he has destroyed the environment which1
 however harsh to the individual1 was   
beneficent to the race1 and has set up  
in the place of it a gigantic           
pleasure-house1 with talking machines   
and moving pictures and soda fountains  
and manicure parlors and gents'         
furnishing establishments4  ,shall we   
say that man is to go back to a state of
 nature1 that he shall no longer make   
asylums for the insane and homes for the
 defective1 eye-glasses for the         
astigmatic and malted milk for the      
dyspeptic8 ,there are some who preach   
that4 ,among the multitude of strange   
books and pamphlets which come in my    
mail1 ,i found the other day a volume   

from ,england1 ,social ,chaos and the   
,way ,out1 by ,alfred ,baker ,read1 a   
learned and imposing tome of #cfd pages1
 wherein with all the paraphernalia of  
learning it is gravely maintained that  
the solution for the ills of            
civilization is a return to the ancient 
,greek practice of infanticide4 ,every  
child at birth is to be examined by a   
committee of physicians1 and if it is   
found to possess any defect1 or if the  
census has established that there are   
enough babies in the world for the      
present1 this baby shall be mercifully  
and painlessly asphyxiated4 ,you might  
think that this is a joke1 after the    
fashion of ,swift's proposal for eating 
the children of famine-stricken         
,ireland4 ,i have spent some time       
examining this book before ,i risk      
committing myself to the statement that 
it is the work of a sober scientist1    
with no idea whatever of fun4  ,if we   
are going to think clearly on this      
subject1 the first point we have to     

understand is that nature has nothing to
 do with it4 ,we cannot appeal to       
nature1 because we are many thousands of
 years beyond her sway4 ,we left her    
when the first ape came down from the   
treetop and fastened a sharp stone in   
the end of his club2 we bade irrevocable
 good-bye to her when the first man kept
 himself from freezing and altered his  
diet by means of fire4 ,therefore1 it is
 no argument to say that this1 that1 or 
the other remedy is unnatural4 ,our     
choice will lie among a thousand        
different courses1 but the one thing we 
may be sure of is that none of them will
 be natural4 ,bairnsfather1 in one of   
his war cartoons1 portrays a ,british   
officer on leave1 who got homesick for  
the trenches and went out into the      
garden and dug himself a hole in the mud
 and sat shivering in the rain all      
night4 ,and this amuses us vastly2 but  
we should be even more amused if any    
kind of reformer1 physician1 moralist1  
clergyman or legislator should suggest  

to us any remedy for our ills that was  
really according to nature4  ,civilized 
man1 creature of art and of knowledge1  
has no love for nature except as an     
object for the play of his fancy and his
 wit4 ,he means to live his own life1 he
 means to hold himself above nature with
 all his powers4 ,yet1 obviously1 he    
cannot go on accumulating diseases1 he  
cannot give his life-blood to the making
 of a cancer while his own proper       
tissues starve4 ,he must somehow divert 
the flow of his energies1 his social    
blood-stream1 so to speak1 from the     
cancer to the healthy growth4 ,to       
abandon the metaphor1 man will determine
 by the use of his reason what he wishes
 life to be2 he will choose the highest 
forms of it to which he can attain4 ,he 
will then1 by the deliberate act of his 
own will1 devote his energies to those  
tasks2 he will make for himself new     
laws1 new moral codes1 new customs and  
ways of thought1 calculated to bring to 
reality the ideal which he has formed4  

,so only can man justify himself as a   
creator1 so can he realize the benefit  
and escape the penalties of his revolt  
from his ancient mother4  ,and then1    
perhaps1 we shall make the discovery    
that we have come back to nature1 only  
in a new form4 ,nature1 harsh and cruel1
 wasteful and blind as we call her1 yet 
had her deep wisdom2 she cared for the  
species1 she protected and preserved the
 type4 ,man1 in his new pride of power1 
has invented a philosophy which he      
dignifies by the name of individualism4 
,he lives and works for himself2 he     
chooses to wear silk shirts1 and to     
break the speed limit1 and to pin       
ribbons and crosses on his chest4 ,now  
what he must do with his new morality1  
if he wishes to save himself from       
degeneration1 is to manifest the wisdom 
and far vision of the old mother whom he
 spurned1 and to say to himself1        
deliberately1 as an act of high daring3 
,i will protect the species1 ,i will    
preserve the type6 ,i will deny myself  

the raptures of alcoholic intoxication1 
because it damages the health of my     
offspring2 ,i will deny myself the      
amusement of sexual promiscuity for the 
same reason4 ,i will devise imitations  
of the chase and of battle in order that
 ,i may keep my physical body up to the 
best standard of nature4 ,because ,i    
understand that all civilized life is   
based upon intelligence1 ,i will acquire
 knowledge and spread it among my fellow
 men4 ,because ,i perceive that         
civilization is impossible without      
sympathy1 and because sympathy makes it 
impossible for me to be happy while my  
fellow men are ignorant and degraded1   
therefore ,i dedicate my energies to the
 extermination of poverty1 war1         
parasitism and all forms of exploitation
 of man by his fellows4  ,professor     
,william ,james is the author of an     
excellent essay entitled ,a ,moral      
,equivalent for ,war4 ,he sets forth the
 idea that men have loved war through   
the ages because it has called forth    

their highest efforts1 has made them    
more fully aware of the powers of their 
being4 ,he asks1 ,may it not be possible
 for man1 of his own free impulse1 born 
of his love of life and the wonderful   
potentialities which it unfolds1 to     
invent for himself a discipline1 a code 
based1 not upon the destruction of other
 men and their enslavement1 but upon    
cooperative emulation in the unfoldment 
of the powers of the mind8 ,that this   
can be done by men1 ,i have never       
doubted4 ,that it will be done1 and done
 quickly1 has been made certain by the  
late world conflict1 which has          
demonstrated to all thinking people that
 the progress of the mechanical arts has
 been such that man is now able to      
inflict upon his own civilization more  
damage than it is able to endure4       
,,chapter ,,vii  ,,making ,,our ,,morals
       7,attempts to show that human    
morality must change to fit human       
facts1 and there can be no judge of it  
save human reason47   ,assuming the     

argument of the preceding chapters to be
 accepted1 it appears that human life is
 in part at least a product of human    
will1 guided by human intelligence4 ,man
 finds himself in the position of the   
crew of a ship in the middle of the     
ocean2 he does not know exactly how the 
ship was made1 or how it came to be in  
its present position1 but he has        
discovered how the engines are run1 and 
how the ship is steered1 and the meaning
 of the compass4 ,so now he takes charge
 of the ship1 and keeps it afloat amid  
many perils2 and meantime1 on the bridge
 of the vessel1 there goes on a furious 
argument over the question what port the
 ship shall be steered to and what chart
 shall be used4  ,it is not well as a   
rule to trust to similes1 but this      
simile is useful because it helps us to 
realize how fluid and changeable are the
 conditions of man's life1 and how      
incessant and urgent the problems with  
which he finds himself confronted4 ,the 
moral and legal codes of mankind may be 

compared to the steering orders which   
are given to the helmsman of the vessel4
 ,northeast by north1 he is told2 and if
 during the night a heavy wind arises1  
and pushes the bow of the vessel off to 
starboard1 then the helmsman has to push
 the wheel in the opposite direction4   
,if he does not do so1 he may find that 
his vessel has swung around and is going
 to some other part of the world4 ,next 
morning the passengers may wake up and  
find the ship on the rocks--because the 
helmsman persisted in following certain 
steering directions which were laid down
 in an ancient ,hebrew book two or three
 thousand years ago6  ,if life is a     
continually changing product1 then the  
laws which govern conduct must also be  
continually changing1 and morality is a 
problem of continuous adjustment to new 
circumstances and new needs4 ,if man is 
free to work upon this changing         
environment1 he must be free to make new
 tools and devise new processes4 ,if it 
is the task of reason to choose among   

many possible courses and many possible 
varieties of life1 then clearly it is   
man's duty to examine and revise every  
detail of his laws and customs and moral
 codes4  ,this is1 of course1 in flat   
contradiction to the teachings of all   
religions4 ,so far as ,i know there is  
no religion which does not teach that   
the conduct of man in certain matters   
has been eternally fixed by some higher 
power1 and that it is man's duty to     
conform to these rules4 ,it is          
considered to be wicked even to suggest 
any other idea2 in fact1 to do so is the
 most wicked thing in the world1 far    
more dangerous than any actual          
infraction of the code1 whatever it may 
be4  ,let us see how this works out in  
practice4 ,let us take1 for a test1 the 
,ten ,commandments4 ,these commandments 
were graven upon stone tablets some four
 thousand years ago1 and are supposed to
 have been valid ever since4 ,thou shalt
 not kill1 is one2 others phrase it1    
,thou shall do no murder2 and in this   

double version we see at once the       
beginnings of controversy4 ,if you are a
 ,quaker1 you accept the former version1
 while if you are a member of the       
military general staff of your country  
you accept the latter4 ,you maintain the
 right to kill your fellow men1 provided
 that those who do the killing have been
 previously clad in a special uniform1  
indicating their distinctive function as
 killers of their fellow men4 ,you      
maintain1 in other words1 the right of  
making war2 and presently1 when you get 
into making war1 you find yourself      
maintaining the right to kill1 not      
merely by the old established method of 
the sword and the bullet1 but by means  
of poison gases which destroy the lives 
of women and children1 perhaps a whole  
city full at a time4  ,and also1 of     
course1 you maintain the right to kill1 
provided the killing has been formally  
ordered and sanctioned by a man who sits
 upon a raised bench and wears a black  
robe1 and perhaps a powdered wig4 ,you  

consider that by the simple device of   
putting this man into a black robe and a
 powdered wig1 you endow him with       
authority to judge and revise the divine
 law4 ,in other words1 you subject this 
divine law to human reason2 and if some 
religious fanatic refuses to be so      
subjected1 you call him by the dread    
name pacifist1 and if he attempts to    
preach his idea1 you send him to prison 
for ten or twenty years1 which means in 
actual practice that you kill him by the
 slow effects of malnutrition and       
tubercular infection4 ,if he is ordered 
to put on the special costume of        
killing1 and refuses to do so1 you call 
him a ,c4 ,o41 and you bully and beat   
him1 and perhaps administer to him the  
water cure in your dungeons4  ,or take  
the commandment that we shall not commit
 adultery4 ,surely this is a law about  
which we can agree6 ,but presently we   
discover that unhappily married couples 
desire to part1 and that if we do not   
allow them to part1 we actually cause   

the commission of a great deal more     
adultery than otherwise4 ,therefore1 our
 wise men meet together1 and revise this
 divine law1 and decide that it is not  
adultery if a man takes another wife1   
provided he has received from a judge an
 engraved piece of paper permitting him 
to do so4 ,but some of the followers of 
religion refuse to admit this right of  
mere mortal man4 ,the ,catholic ,church 
attempts to enforce its own laws1 and   
declares that people who divorce and    
remarry are really living in adultery   
and committing mortal sin4 ,the         
,episcopal ,church does not go quite so 
far as that2 it allows the innocent     
party in the divorce to remarry4 ,other 
churches are content to accept the state
 law as it stands4 ,is it not manifest  
that all these groups are applying human
 reason1 and nothing but human reason1  
to the interpreting and revising of     
their divine commandments8  ,or take the
 law1 ,thou shalt not steal4 ,surely we 
can all agree upon that6 ,let us do so2 

but our agreement gets us nowhere1      
because we have to set up a human court 
to decide what is stealing4 ,is it      
stealing to seize upon land1 and kill   
the occupants of it1 and take the land  
for your own1 and hand it down to your  
children forever8 ,yes1 of course1 that 
is stealing1 you say2 but at once you   
have to revise your statement4 ,it is   
not stealing if it was done a sufficient
 number of years ago2 in that case the  
results of it are sanctified by law1 and
 held unchangeable forever4 ,also1 we   
run up against the fact that it is not  
stealing1 if it is done by the ,state1  
by men who have been dressed up in the  
costume of killers before they commit   
the act4  ,again1 is it stealing to hold
 land out of use for speculation1 while 
other men are starving and dying for    
lack of land to labor upon8 ,some of us 
call this stealing1 but we are          
impolitely referred to as radicals1 and 
if we venture to suggest that anyone    
should resist this kind of stealing1 we 

are sentenced to slow death from        
malnutrition and tubercular infection4  
,again1 is it stealing for a victim of  
our system of land monopoly to take a   
loaf of bread in order to save the life 
of his starving child8 ,the law says    
that this is stealing1 and sends the man
 to jail for this act2 yet the common   
sense of mankind protests1 and ,i have  
heard a great many respectable          
,americans venture so far in radicalism 
as to say that they themselves would    
steal under such circumstances4  ,one   
could pile up illustrations without     
limit2 but this is enough to make clear 
the point1 that it is perfectly futile  
to attempt to talk about divine rules   
for human conduct4 ,regardless of any   
ideas you may hold1 or any wishes1 you  
are forced at every hour of your life to
 apply your reason to the problems of   
your life1 and you have no escape from  
the task of judging and deciding4 ,all  
that you do is to judge right or to     
judge wrong2 and if you judge wrong1 you

 inflict misery upon yourself and upon  
all who come into contact with you4 ,how
 much more sensible1 therefore1 to      
recognize the fact of moral and         
intellectual responsibility2 to         
investigate the data of life with which 
you have to deal1 the environment by    
which you are surrounded1 and to train  
your judgment so that you will be able  
to fit yourself to it with quickness and
 certainty6  ,but1 the believer in      
religion will say1 this leaves mankind  
without any guide or authority4 ,how can
 human beings act1 how can they deal    
with one another1 if there are no laws1 
no permanent moral codes8  ,the answer  
is that to accept the idea of the       
evolution of morality does not mean at  
all that there will be no permanent laws
 and working principles4 ,many of the   
facts of life are fixed for all         
practical purposes--the purposes not    
merely of your life and my life1 but the
 life of many generations4 ,we are not  
likely to see in our time the end of the

 ancient ,hebrew announcement that the  
sins of the father are visited upon the 
children2 therefore it is possible for  
us to study out a course of action based
 upon the duty of every father to hand  
down to his children the gift of a sound
 mind in a sound body4 ,the ,catholic   
,church has had for a thousand years or 
more the mortal sin of gluttony upon its
 list2 and today comes experimental     
science with its new weapons of         
research1 and discovers autointoxication
 and the hardening of the arteries1 and 
makes it very unlikely that the moral   
codes of men will ever fail to list     
gluttony as a mortal sin4 ,indeed1      
science has added to gluttony1 not      
merely drunkenness1 but all use of      
alcoholic liquor for beverage purposes2 
we have done this in spite of the       
manifest fact that the drinking of wine 
was not merely an ,old ,testament       
virtue1 but a ,new ,testament religious 
rite4  ,to say that human life changes1 
and that new discoveries and new powers 

make necessary new laws and moral       
customs1 is to say something so obvious 
that it might seem a waste of paper and 
ink4 ,man has invented the automobile   
and has crowded himself into cities1 and
 so has to adopt a rigid set of traffic 
regulations4 ,so far as ,i know1 it has 
never occurred to any religious         
enthusiast to seek in the book of       
,revelation for information as to the   
advisability of the left hand turn at   
,broadway and ,forty-second ,street1    
,new ,york1 at five o'clock in the      
afternoon4 ,but modern science has      
created new economic facts1 just as     
unprecedented as the automobile2 it has 
created new possibilities of spending   
and new possibilities of starving for   
mankind2 it has made new cravings and   
new satisfactions1 new crimes and new   
virtues2 and yet the great mass of our  
people are still seeking to guide       
themselves in their readjustments to    
these new facts by ancient codes which  
have no more relationship to these facts

 than they have to the affairs of ,mars6
  ,i am acquainted with a certain lady1 
one of the kindest and most devoted     
souls alive1 who seeks to solve the     
problems of her life1 and of her large  
family of children and grand-children1  
according to sentences which she picks  
out1 more or less at random1 from       
certain more or less random chapters of 
ancient ,hebrew literature4 ,this lady  
will find some words which she imagines 
apply to the matter1 and will shut her  
devout eyes to the fact that there are  
other texts1 bearing on the matter1     
which say exactly the opposite4 ,she    
will place the strangest and most       
unimaginable interpretations upon the   
words1 and yet will be absolutely       
certain that her interpretation is the  
voice of ,god speaking directly to her4 
,if you try to tell her about           
,socialism1 she will say1 ,the poor ye  
have always with you2 which means that  
it is interfering with ,divine          
,providence to try to remedy poverty on 

any large scale4 ,this lady is ready    
instantly to relieve any single case of 
want2 she regards it as her duty to do  
this2 in fact1 she considers that the   
purpose of some people's poverty is to  
provide her with a chance to do the     
noble action of relieving it4 ,you would
 think that the meaning of the sentence1
 ,spare the rod and spoil the child1    
would be so plain that no one could     
mistake it2 but this good lady          
understood it to mean that ,god forbade 
the physical chastisement of children1  
and preferred them spoiled4 ,she held   
this idea for half a lifetime--until it 
was pointed out to her that the sentence
 was not in the ,bible1 but in          
,hudibras1 an old ,english poem6        
,,chapter ,,viii  ,,the ,,virtue ,,of   
,,moderation       7,attempts to show   
that wise conduct is an adjustment of   
means to      ends1 and depends upon the
 understanding of a particular set of   
circumstances47   ,some years ago ,i    
used to know an ardent single tax       

propagandist who found my way of arguing
 intensely irritating1 because1 as he   
phrased it1 ,i had no principles4 ,we   
would be discussing1 for example1 a     
protective tariff1 and ,i would wish to 
collect statistics1 but discovered to my
 bewilderment that to my single tax     
friend a customs duty was stealing on   
the part of the government4 ,the        
government had a right to tax land1     
because that was the gift of nature1 but
 it had no right to tax the products of 
human labor1 and when it took a portion 
of the goods which anyone brought into a
 country1 the government was playing the
 part of a robber4 ,of course such a man
 was annoyed by the suggestion that in  
the early stages of a country's         
development it might possibly be a good 
thing for the country to make itself    
independent and self-sufficient by      
encouraging the development of its      
manufactures2 that1 on the other hand1  
when these manufactures had grown to    
such a size that they controlled the    

government1 it might be an excellent    
thing for the country to subject them to
 the pressure of foreign competition1 in
 order to lower their value as a        
preliminary to socializing them4  ,the  
reader who comes to this book looking   
for hard and fast rules of life will be 
disappointed4 ,it would be convenient if
 someone could lay down for us a moral  
code1 and lift from our shoulders the   
inconvenient responsibility of deciding 
about our own lives4 ,there may be      
persons so weak that they have to have  
the conditions of their lives thus      
determined for them2 but ,i am not      
writing for such persons4 ,i am writing 
for adult and responsible individuals1  
and ,i bear in mind that every          
individual is a separate problem1 with  
separate needs and separate duties4     
,there are1 of course1 a good many rules
 that apply to everybody in almost all  
emergencies1 but ,i cannot think of a   
single rule that ,i would be willing to 
say ,i would apply in my life without a 

single exception4 ,thou shalt not kill  
is a rule that ,i have followed1 so far 
without exception2 but as soon as ,i    
turn my imagination loose1 ,i can think 
of many circumstances under which ,i    
should kill4 ,i remember discussing the 
matter with a pacifist friend of mine1  
an out-and-out religious non-resistant4 
,i pointed out to him that people       
sometimes went insane1 and in that      
condition they sometimes seized hatchets
 and killed anyone in sight4 ,what would
 my pacifist friend do if he saw a      
maniac attacking his children with a    
hatchet8 ,it did not help him to say    
that he would use all possible means    
short of killing the maniac2 he had     
finally to admit that if he were quite  
sure it was a question of the life of   
the maniac or the life of his child1 he 
would kill4 ,and this is not mere verbal
 quibbling1 because such things do      
happen in the world1 and people are     
confronted with such emergencies1 and   
they have to decide1 and no rule is a   

general rule if it has a single         
exception4 ,there is a saying that the  
exception proves the rule1 but this is  
very silly2 it is a mistranslation of   
the ,latin word probat1 which means1 not
 proves1 but tests4 ,no exception can   
prove a rule4 ,what the exception does  
is to test the rule by showing that the 
result does not follow in the           
exceptional case4  ,the only kind of    
rule which can be laid down for human   
conduct is a rule in such general terms 
that it escapes exceptions by leaving   
the matter open for every man's         
difference of opinion4 ,any kind of rule
 which is specific will sooner or later 
pass out of date4 ,take1 by way of      
illustration1 the ancient and           
well-established virtue of frugality4   
,obviously1 under a state of nature1 or 
of economic competition1 it is necessary
 for every man to lay by a store for a  
rainy day4 ,but suppose we could set up 
a condition of economic security1 under 
which society guaranteed to every man   

the full product of his labor1 and the  
old and the sick were fully taken care  
of--then how foolish a man would seem   
who troubled to acquire a surplus of    
goods6 ,it would be as if we saw him    
riding on horseback through the main    
street of our town in a full suit of    
armor6  ,i devote a good deal of space  
to this question of a fixed and         
unchangeable morality1 because it is one
 of the heaviest burdens that mankind   
carries upon its back4 ,the record of   
human history is sickening1 not so much 
because of blood and slaughter1 but     
because of fanaticism2 because wherever 
the mind of man attempts to assert      
itself1 to escape from the blind rule of
 animal greed1 it adopts a set of       
formulas1 and proceeds to enforce them1 
regardless of consequences1 upon the    
whole of life4 ,consider1 for example1  
the rule of the ,puritans in ,england4  
,the ,puritans glorified conscience1 and
 it is perfectly proper to glorify      
conscience1 but not to the entire       

suppression of the beauty-making        
faculties in man4 ,macaulay summed up   
the ,puritan point of view in the       
sentence that they objected to          
bear-baiting1 not because it gave pain  
to the bear1 but because it gave        
pleasure to the spectators4 ,as a result
 of applying that principle1 and lacing 
mankind in a straight-jacket by         
legislation1 ,england swung back into a 
reaction under the ,cavaliers1 in which 
debauchery held more complete sway than 
ever before or since in ,english life4  
,this is a hard lesson1 but it must be  
learned3 there is no virtue that does   
not become a vice if it is carried to   
extremes2 there is no virtue that does  
not become a vice if it is applied at   
the wrong time1 or under the wrong      
circumstances1 or at the wrong stage of 
human development4 ,in fact1 we may say 
that most vices are virtues misapplied4 
,the so-called natural vices are simply 
natural impulses carried to excess1     
while the unnatural vices result from   

the suppression and distortion of       
natural impulses4 ,the ,greeks had as   
their supreme virtue what they called   
sophrosune4 ,it is a beautiful word1    
worth remembering2 it means a beautiful 
quality called moderation4 ,we shall    
find1 as we come to investigate1 that   
life is a series of compromises among   
many different needs1 many different    
desires1 many different duties2 and     
reason sits as a wise and patient judge1
 and appoints to each its proper        
portion1 and denies to it an excess     
which would starve the others4 ,such is 
true morality1 and it is incompatible   
with the existence of any fixed code1   
whether of human origin or divine4  ,the
 fixed morality is a survival of a      
far-off past1 of the days of instinct   
and servitude4 ,human reason has        
developed but slowly1 and perhaps only a
 few people are as yet entirely capable 
of taking control of their own destiny2 
perhaps it is really dangerous to think 
for oneself6 ,but if we investigate     

carefully1 we may decide that the danger
 is not so much to ourselves as it is to
 others4 ,the most evil of all the      
habits that man has inherited from his  
far-off past is the habit of exploiting 
his fellows1 and in order to exploit    
them more safely the ruling castes of   
priests and kings and nobles and        
property owners have taken possession of
 the moralities of the world and shaped 
them for their own convenience4 ,they   
have taught the slave virtues of        
credulity and submission2 they have     
surrounded their teachings with all the 
terrors of the supernatural2 they have  
placed upon rebellion the penalties1 not
 merely of this world1 but of the next1 
not merely of the dungeon and the rack1 
but of hellfire and brimstone4  ,i do   
not wish to go to extremes and say that 
the moral codes now taught in the world 
are made wholly in this evil way4 ,as a 
matter of fact they are a queer jumble  
of the two elements1 the slave terrors  
of the past and the common sense of the 

present4 ,there is not one moral code in
 the world today1 there are many4 ,there
 is one for the rich1 and an entirely   
different one for the poor1 and the rich
 have had a great deal more to do with  
shaping the code of the poor than the   
poor have had to do with shaping the    
code of the rich4 ,there is one code for
 governments1 and an entirely different 
one for the victims of governments4     
,there is one code for business1 and an 
entirely different one1 a far more human
 and decent one1 for friendship4 ,above 
all1 there is one code for ,sunday and  
another code for the other six days of  
the week4 ,most of our idealisms and our
 sentimental fine phrases we reserve for
 our ,sunday code1 while for our        
every-day code we go back to the rule of
 the jungle3 ,dog eat dog1 or ,do unto  
others as they would do unto you1 but do
 it first4 ,when you attempt to suggest 
a new moral code to our present day     
moral authorities1 it is the fine       
phrases of the ,sunday code they bring  

out for exhibition purposes2 and perhaps
 you are impressed by their             
arguments--until ,monday morning1 when  
you attempt to apply this code at the   
office1 and they stare at you in        
bewilderment1 or burst out laughing in  
your face4  ,what ,i am trying to do    
here is to outline a code that will not 
be a matter of phrases but a matter of  
practice4 ,it will apply to all men1    
rich as well as poor1 and to all seven  
days of the week4 ,i am not so much     
suggesting a code1 as pointing out to   
you how you can work out your own code  
for yourself4 ,i am suggesting that you 
should adopt it1 not because ,i tell you
 to1 but because you yourself have taken
 it and tested it1 precisely as you     
would test any other of the practical   
affairs of your life--potatoes as an    
article of diet1 or some particular sack
 of potatoes that a peddler was trying  
to sell to you4 ,it is not yet possible 
for you to be as sure about everything  
in your life as you can be about a sack 

of potatoes2 human knowledge has not got
 that far2 but at least you can know    
what is to be known1 and if anything is 
a matter of uncertainty1 you can know   
that4 ,such knowledge is often the most 
important of all--just as the driver of 
an automobile wants to know if a bridge 
is not to be depended on4  ,so ,i say to
 you that if you want to find happiness 
in this life1 look with distrust upon   
all absolutes and ultimates1 all hard   
and fast rules1 all formulas and dogmas 
and general principles4 ,bear in mind   
that there are many factors in every    
case1 there are many complications in   
every human being1 there are many sides 
to every question4 ,try to keep an open 
mind and an even temper4 ,try to take an
 interest in learning something new     
every day1 and in trying some new       
experiment4 ,this is the scientific     
attitude toward life2 this is the way of
 growth and of true success4 ,it is     
inconvenient1 because it involves       
working your brains1 and most people    

have not been taught to do this1 and    
find it the hardest kind of work there  
is4 ,but how much better it is to think 
for yourself1 and to protect yourself1  
than to trust your thinking to some     
group of people whose only interest may 
be to exploit you for their advantage6  
,,chapter ,,ix  ,,the ,,choosing ,,of   
,,life       7,discusses the standards  
by which we may judge what is best in   
life1 and decide what we wish to make of
 it47   ,we have made the point about   
evolution1 that it may go forward or it 
may go backward4 ,there is no guarantee 
in nature that because a thing changes1 
it must necessarily become better than  
it was4 ,on the contrary1 degeneration  
is as definitely established a fact as  
growth1 and it is of the utmost         
importance1 in studying the problem of  
human happiness and how to make it1 to  
get clear the fact that nature has      
produced1 and continues to produce1 all 
kinds of monstrosities and parasites and
 failures and abortions4 ,and all these 

blunders of our great mother struggle   
just as hard1 desire life just as       
ardently as normal creatures1 and suffer
 just as cruelly when they fail4 ,blind 
optimism about life is just as fatuous  
and just as dangerous as blind          
pessimism1 and if we propose to take    
charge of life1 and to make it over1 we 
shall find that we have to get quickly  
to the task of deciding what our purpose
 is4  ,choose well1 your choice is brief
 and yet endless1 says ,carlyle4 ,you   
are driven in your choice by two        
facts--first1 that you have to choose1  
regardless of whether you want to or    
not2 and second1 that upon your choice  
depend infinite possibilities of        
happiness or of misery4 ,the            
interdependence of life is such that you
 are choosing not merely for the        
present1 but for the future2 you are    
choosing for your posterity forever1 and
 to some extent you are choosing for all
 mankind4 ,matthew ,arnold has said that
 ,conduct is three-fourths of life2 but 

,i1 for my part1 have never been able to
 see where he got his figures4 ,it seems
 to me that conduct is practically      
everything in life that really counts4  
,conduct is not merely marriage and     
birth and premature death2 it is not    
merely eating and drinking and sleeping3
 it is thinking and aspiring2 it is     
religion and science1 music and         
literature and art4 ,it is not yet the  
lightning and the cyclone1 but with the 
spread of knowledge it is coming to be  
these things1 and ,i suspect that some  
day it may be even the comet and the    
rising of the sun4  ,we are now going to
 apply our reason to this enormous      
problem of human conduct2 we are going  
to ask ourselves the question3 ,what    
kind of life do we want8 ,what kind of  
life are we going to make8 ,what are the
 standards by which we may know         
excellence in life1 and distinguish it  
from failure and waste and blunder in   
life8 ,obviously1 when we have done     
this1 we shall have solved the moral    

problem2 all we shall have to say is1   
act so that your actions help to bring  
the desirable things into being1 and do 
not act so as to hinder or weaken them4 
,we shall not be able to go to nature to
 settle this question for us4 ,this is  
our problem1 not nature's4 ,but we shall
 find1 as usual1 that we can pick up    
precious hints from her2 we shall be    
wise to study her ways1 and learn from  
her successes and her failures4 ,we are 
proud of her latest product1 ourselves4 
,let us see how she made us2 what were  
the stages on the way to man8  ,first in
 the scale of evolution1 it appears1    
came inert matter4 ,we call it inert1   
because it looks that way1 though we    
know1 of course1 that it consists of    
infinite numbers of molecules vibrating 
with speed which we can measure even    
though we cannot imagine it4 ,this      
matter is enormously fascinating1 and a 
wise man will hesitate to speak         
patronizingly about it4 ,nevertheless1  
considering matter apart from the mind  

which studies it1 we decide that it     
represents a low stage of being4 ,we    
speak contemptuously of stones and clods
 and lumps of clay4 ,we award more      
respect to things like mountains and    
tempest-tossed oceans1 because they are 
big2 in the early days of our race we   
used to worship these things1 but now we
 think of them merely as the raw        
material of life1 and we should not be  
in the least interested in becoming a   
mountain or an ocean4  ,almost everyone 
would agree1 therefore1 that what we    
call life is a higher and more important
 achievement of nature4 ,and if we wish 
to grade this life1 we do so according  
to its sentience--that is to say1 the   
amount and intensity of the             
consciousness which grows in it4 ,we are
 interested in the one-celled organisms 
which swarm everywhere throughout       
nature1 and we study the mysterious     
processes by which they nourish and     
beget themselves2 we suspect that they  
have a germ of consciousness in them2   

but we are surer of the meaning and     
importance of the consciousness we      
detect in some complex organism like a  
fish or bird4 ,we learn to know the     
signs of consciousness1 of dawning      
intelligence1 and we esteem the various 
kinds of creatures according to the     
amount of it they possess4 ,we reject   
mere physical bigness and mere strength4
 ,joyce ,kilmer may write3      ,poems  
are made by men like me1      ,but only 
,god can make a tree--  ,and that seems 
to us a charming bit of fancy2 but the  
common sense of the thing is voiced to  
us much better in the lines of old ,ben 
,jonson3      ,it is not growing like a 
tree      ,in bulk doth make man better 
be4  ,if we take two animals of equal   
bulk1 the hippopotamus and the elephant1
 we shall be far more interested in the 
elephant1 because of the intelligence   
and what we call character which he     
displays4 ,there are good elephants and 
bad elephants1 kind ones and treacherous
 ones4 ,we love the dog because we can  

make a companion of him2 that is1       
because we can teach him to react to    
human stimuli4 ,of all animals we are   
fascinated most by the monkey1 because  
he is nearest to man1 and displays the  
keenest intelligence4  ,someone may say 
that this is all mere human egotism1 and
 that we have no way of really being    
sure that the life of elephants and     
hippopotami is not more interesting and 
significant than the life of men4 ,never
 having been either of these animals1 ,i
 cannot say with assurance2 but ,i know 
that ,i have the power to exterminate   
these creatures1 or to pen them in      
cages1 and they are helpless to protect 
themselves1 or even to understand what  
is happening to them4 ,so ,i am         
irresistibly driven to conclude that    
intelligence is more safe and more worth
 while than unintelligence2 in short1   
that intelligence is nature's highest   
product up to date1 and that to foster  
and develop it is the best guess ,i can 
make as to the path of wisdom--that is1 

of intelligence6  ,when we come to deal 
with human values1 we find that we can  
trace much the same kind of evolution4  
,back in the days of the cave man1 it   
was physical strength which dominated   
the horde2 but nowadays1 except in the  
imagination of the small boy1 the strong
 man does not cut much of a figure4 ,we 
go once1 perhaps1 to see him lift his   
heavy weights and break his iron bars1  
but then we are tired of him4 ,mere     
strength had to yield in the struggle   
for life to quickness of eye and hand1  
to energy which for lack of a better    
name we may call nervous4 ,the pugilist 
who has nothing but muscle goes down    
before his lighter antagonist who can   
keep out of his reach1 and the crowd    
loves the football hero who can duck and
 dodge and make the long runs4 ,one     
might cite a thousand illustrations1    
such as the ,british bowmen breaking    
down the heavily armored knights1 or the
 quick-moving1 light vessels of ,britain
 overcoming the huge galleons of ,spain4

 ,and as society develops and becomes   
more complex1 the fighting man becomes  
less and less a man of muscle1 and more 
and more a man of nerve4 ,alexander1    
,caesar and ,napoleon would have stood a
 poor chance in personal combat against 
many of their followers4 ,they led1     
because they were men of energy and     
cunning1 able to maintain the subtle    
thing we call prestige4  ,now the world 
has moved into an industrial era1 and   
who are the great men of our time1 the  
men whose lightest words are heeded1    
whose doings are spread upon the front  
pages of our newspapers8 ,obviously1    
they are the men of money4 ,we may      
pretend to ourselves that we do not     
really stand in awe of a ,morgan or a   
,rockefeller1 but that we admire1 let us
 say1 an ,edison or a ,roosevelt4 ,but  
,edison himself is a man of money1 and  
will tell you that he had to be a man of
 money in order to be free to conduct   
his experiments4 ,as for our politicians
 and statesmen1 they either serve the   

men of money1 or the men of money       
suppress them1 as they did ,roosevelt4  
,the ,morgans and the ,rockefellers do  
not do much talking2 they do not have   
to4 ,they content themselves with being 
obeyed1 and the shaping of our society  
is in their hands4  ,and yet1 some of us
 really believe that there are higher   
faculties in man than the ability to    
manipulate the stock market4 ,we        
consider that the great inventor1 the   
great poet1 the great moralist1         
contributes more to human happiness than
 the man who1 by cunning and            
persistence1 succeeds in monopolizing   
some material necessity of human life4  
,poets1 says ,shelley1 are the          
unacknowledged legislators of mankind4  
,if this strange statement is anywhere  
near to truth1 it is surely of          
importance that we should decide what   
are the higher powers in men1 and how   
they may be recognized1 and how fostered
 and developed4  ,what is1 in its       
essence1 the process of evolution from  

the lower to the higher forms of mental 
life8 ,it is a process of expanding     
consciousness2 the developing of ability
 to apprehend a wider and wider circle  
of existence1 to share it1 to struggle  
for it as we do for the life we call our
 own4 ,the test of the higher mental    
forms is therefore a test of            
universality1 of sympathetic            
inclusiveness2 or1 to use commoner      
words1 it is a test of enlightened      
unselfishness4  ,every human individual 
has the will to life1 the instinct of   
self-preservation1 which persuades him  
that he is of importance2 but the test  
of his development is his ability to    
realize that1 important though he may   
be1 he is but a small part of the       
universe1 and his highest interests are 
not in himself alone1 his highest duties
 are not owed to himself alone4 ,and as 
the life becomes more of the intellect1 
this fact becomes more and more obvious1
 more and more dominating4 ,men who     
monopolize the material things of the   

world and their control are necessarily 
self-seeking2 but in the realm of the   
higher faculties this element1 in the   
very nature of the case1 is forced into 
the background4 ,it is evident that     
truth is not truth for the ,standard    
,oil ,company1 nor for ,j4 ,p4 ,morgan  
and ,company1 nor yet for the government
 of the ,united ,states2 it is truth for
 the whole of mankind1 and one who      
sincerely labors for the truth does so  
for the universal benefit4  ,there may  
be1 of course1 an element of selfishness
 in the activities of poets and         
inventors4 ,they may be seeking for     
fame2 they may be hoping to make money  
out of their discoveries2 but the       
greatest men we know have been dominated
 by an overwhelming impulse of creation1
 and when we read their lives1 and      
discover in them signs of petty vanity  
or jealousy or greed1 we are pained and 
shocked4 ,what touches us most deeply is
 some mark of self-consecration and     
humility2 as1 for example1 when ,newton 

tells us that after all his life's      
labors he felt himself as a little child
 gathering sea-shells on the shore of   
the great ocean of truth2 or when       
,alfred ,russel ,wallace1 discovering   
that ,darwin had been working longer    
than himself over the theory of the     
origin of species1 generously withdrew  
and permitted the theory to go to the   
world in ,darwin's name4  ,there are    
three faculties in man1 usually         
described as intellect1 feeling and     
will4 ,according as one or the other    
faculty predominates1 we have a great   
scientist1 a great poet1 or a great     
moralist4 ,we might choose a            
representative of each type--let us say 
,newton1 ,shakespeare and ,jesus--and   
spend much time in controversy as to    
which of the three types is the         
greatest1 which makes the greatest      
contribution to human happiness4 ,but it
 will suffice here to point out that the
 three faculties do not exclude one     
another2 every man must have all three1 

and a perfectly rounded man should seek 
to develop all three4 ,jesus was        
considerable of a poet1 and we should   
pay far less heed to ,shakespeare if he 
had not been a moralist4 ,also there    
have been instances of great poets and  
painters who were scientists--for       
example1 ,leonardo and ,goethe4  ,the   
fundamental difference between the      
scientist and the poet is that one is   
exploring nature and discovering things 
which actually exist1 whereas the other 
is creating new life out of his own     
spirit4 ,but the poet will find that his
 creations take but little hold upon    
life1 if they are not guided and shaped 
by a deep understanding of life's       
fundamental nature and needs--in other  
words1 if the poet is not something of a
 scientist4 ,and in the same way1 the   
very greatest discoveries of science    
seem to us like leaps of creative       
imagination2 as if the mind had         
completed nature1 through some intuitive
 and sympathetic understanding of what  

nature wished to be4  ,the point about  
these higher forms of human activity is 
that they renew and multiply life4 ,we  
may say that if ,jesus had never lived1 
others would have embodied and set forth
 with equal poignancy the revolutionary 
idea of the equality of all men as      
children of one common father4 ,and     
perhaps this is true2 but we have no way
 of being sure that it is true1 and as  
we look back upon the last nineteen     
hundred years of human history1 we are  
unable to imagine just what the life of 
mankind during those centuries would    
have been if ,jesus had died when he was
 a baby4 ,we do not know what modern    
thought might have been without ,kant1  
or what modern music might have been    
without ,beethoven4 ,we are forced to   
admit that if it had not been for the   
patient wisdom and persuasive kindness  
of ,lincoln1 the ,slave ,power might    
have won its independence1 and ,america 
today might have been a military camp   
like ,europe1 and the lives and thoughts

 of every one of us would have been     
different4  ,or take the activities of  
the poet4 ,many years ago the writer was
 asked to name the men who had exercised
 the greatest influence upon him1 and   
after much thought he named three3      
,jesus1 ,hamlet and ,shelley4 ,and now  
consider the significance of this reply4
 ,one of these people1 ,shelley1 was    
what we call a real person2 that is1 a  
man who actually lived and walked upon  
the earth4 ,concerning ,hamlet1 it is   
believed there was once a ,prince of    
,denmark by that name1 but the character
 who is known to us as ,hamlet is the   
creation of a poet's brain4 ,as to the  
third figure1 ,jesus1 the authorities   
dispute4 ,some say that he was a man who
 actually lived2 others believe that he 
was ,god on earth2 yet others1 very     
learned1 maintain that he is a legendary
 name around which a number of          
traditions have gathered4  ,to me it    
does not make a particle of difference  
which of the three possibilities happens

 to be true about ,jesus4 ,if he was    
,god on earth1 he was ,god in human     
form1 under human limitations1 and in   
that sense we are all gods on earth4    
,and whether he really lived1 or whether
 some poet invented him1 matters not a  
particle so far as concerns his effect  
upon others4 ,the emotions which moved  
him1 the loves1 the griefs1 the high    
resolves1 existed in the soul of        
someone1 whether his name were ,jesus or
 ,john2 and these emotions have been    
recorded in such form that they         
communicate themselves to us1 they      
become a part of our souls1 they make us
 something different from what we were  
before we encountered them4  ,in other  
words1 the poet makes in his own soul a 
new life1 and then projects it into the 
world1 and it becomes a force which     
makes over the lives of millions of     
other people4 ,if you read the vast mass
 of criticism which has grown up about  
the figure of ,hamlet1 you learn that   
,hamlet is the type of the modern man4  

,shakespeare was able to divine what the
 modern man would be2 or perhaps we can 
go farther and say that ,shakespeare    
helped to make the modern man what he   
is2 the modern man is more of ,hamlet1  
because he has taken ,hamlet to his     
heart and pondered over ,hamlet's       
problem4 ,or take ,don ,quixote4 ,no    
doubt the follies of the age of chivalry
 would have died out of men's hearts in 
the end2 but how much sooner they died  
because of the laughter of ,cervantes6  
,or take ,les ,miserables4 ,our prison  
system is not ideal by any means1 but it
 is far less cruel than it was half a   
century ago1 and we owe this in part to 
,victor ,hugo4 ,every convict in the    
world is to some degree a happier man   
because of this vision which was        
projected upon the world from the soul  
of one great poet4 ,no one can estimate 
the part which the writings of ,tolstoi 
have played in the present revolution in
 ,russia1 but this we may say with      
certainty3 there is not one man1 woman  

or child in ,russia at the present      
moment who is quite the same as he would
 have been if ,resurrection had never   
been written4  ,in discussing the       
highest faculties of man we have so far 
refrained from using the word genius4   
,it is a word which has been cheapened  
by misuse1 but we are now in position to
 use it4 ,the things which we have just 
been considering are the phenomena of   
genius--and we can say this1 even though
 we may not know exactly what genius is4
 ,perhaps it is1 as ,frederic ,myers    
asserts1 a subliminal uprush1 the       
welling up into the consciousness of    
some part of the content of the         
subconscious mind4 ,or perhaps it is    
something of what man calls divine4 ,or 
perhaps it is the first dawning1 the    
first hint of that super-race which will
 some day replace mankind4 ,perhaps we  
are witnessing the same thing that      
happened on the earth when glimmerings  
of reason first broke upon the mind of  
some poor1 bewildered ape4 ,we cannot be

 sure2 but this much we can say3 the man
 of genius represents the highest       
activity of the mind of which we as yet 
have knowledge4 ,he represents the      
spirit of man1 fully emancipated1 fully 
conscious1 and taking up the task of    
creation2 taking human life as raw      
material1 and making it over into       
something more subtle1 more intense1    
more significant1 more universal than it
 ever was before1 or ever would have    
been without the intervention of this   
new ,god-man4     ,,chapter ,x  ,,myself
 ,,and ,,my ,,neighbor       7,compares 
the new morality with the old1 and      
discusses the relative      importance  
of our various duties47   ,so now we may
 say that we know what are the great and
 important things in life4 ,slowly and  
patiently1 with infinite distress and   
waste and failure1 but yet inevitably1  
the life of man is being made over and  
multiplied to infinity1 by the power of 
the thinking mind1 impelled by the joy  
and thrill of the creative action1 and  

guided by the sense of responsibility1  
the instinct to serve1 which we call    
conscience4 ,to develop these higher    
faculties is the task we have before us1
 and the supreme act to which we        
dedicate ourselves4  ,so now we are in  
position to define the word moral4      
,assuming that our argument be accepted1
 that action is moral which tends to    
foster the best and highest forms of    
life we know1 and to aid them in        
developing their highest powers2 that is
 immoral which tends to destroy the best
 life we know1 or to hinder its rapid   
development4  ,let us now proceed to    
apply these tests to the practices of   
man2 first as an individual1 and then as
 a social being4 ,what are my duties to 
myself1 and what are my duties to the   
world about me8  ,you will note that    
these questions differ somewhat from    
those of the old morality4 ,jesus told  
us1 first1 that we should love the ,lord
 our ,god1 and1 second1 that we should  
love our neighbor as ourself4 ,some     

would say that modern thought has       
dismissed ,god from consideration2 but  
,i would prefer to say that modern      
thought has decided that the place where
 we encounter ,god most immediately is  
in our own miraculously expanding       
consciousness4 ,our duty toward ,god is 
our duty to make of ourselves the most  
perfect product of the ,divine          
,incarnation that we can become4 ,our   
duty to our neighbor is to help him to  
do the same4  ,of course1 as we come to 
apply these formulas1 we find that they 
overlap and mingle inextricably2 the two
 duties are really one duty looked at   
from different points of view4 ,we      
decide that we owe it to ourselves to   
develop our best powers of thinking1 and
 we discover that in so doing we make   
ourselves better fitted to live as      
citizens1 better equipped to help our   
fellow men4 ,we go out into our city to 
serve others by making the city clean   
and decent1 and we find that we have    
helped to save ourselves from a         

pestilence4  ,the most commonly         
accepted1 or at any rate the most       
commonly preached1 of all formulas is   
the golden rule1 ,do unto others as you 
would have them do unto you4 ,this      
formula is good so far as it goes1 but  
you note that it leaves undetermined the
 all-important question1 what ought we  
to want others to do unto us4 ,if ,i am 
an untrained child1 what ,i would have  
others do unto me is to give me plenty  
of candy2 therefore1 under the golden   
rule1 my highest duty becomes to        
distribute free candy to the world4 ,the
 golden rule is obviously consistent    
with all forms of self-indulgence1 and  
with all forms of stagnation2 it might  
result in a civilization more static    
than ,china4  ,or let us take the       
formula which the ,german philosopher   
,kant worked out as the final product of
 his thinking3 ,act so that you would be
 willing for your action to become a    
general rule of conduct4 ,here again is 
the same problem4 ,there are many       

possible general rules of conduct4 ,some
 would prefer one1 some others2 and     
there is no possible way of escape from 
the fact that before men can agree what 
to do1 they must decide what they wish  
to make of their lives4  ,to the formula
 of ,jesus1 ,thou shalt love thy        
neighbor as thyself1 the answer is      
obvious enough3 ,suppose my neighbor is 
not worthy of as much love as myself8   
,to be sure1 it is a perilous thing for 
me to have to decide this question2     
nevertheless1 it may be a fact that ,i  
am a great inventor1 and that my        
neighbor is a sexual pervert4 ,there is1
 of course1 a sense in which ,i may love
 him1 even so2 ,i may love the deeper   
possibilities of his nature1 which      
religious ecstasy can appeal to and     
arouse4 ,but in spite of all ecstasies  
and all efforts1 it may be that his     
disease--physical1 mental and moral--has
 progressed to such a point that it is  
necessary to confine him1 or to castrate
 him1 or even to asphyxiate him         

painlessly4 ,to say that ,i must love   
such a man as myself is1 to say the     
least1 to be vague4 ,we can see how the 
indiscriminate preaching of such a      
formula would open the flood-gates of   
sentimentality and fraud4  ,modern      
thinking says3 ,thou shalt love the     
highest possibilities of life1 and thou 
shalt labor diligently to foster them2  
moreover1 because life is always        
growing1 and new possibilities are      
forever dawning in the human spirit1    
thou shalt keep an open mind and an     
inquiring temper1 and be ready at any   
time to begin life afresh4  ,such is the
 formula4 ,it is not simple2 and when we
 come to apply it1 we find that it      
constantly grows more complex4 ,when we 
attempt to decide our duty to ourselves1
 we find that we have in us a number of 
different beings1 each with separate and
 sometimes conflicting duties and needs4
 ,we have in us the physical man and the
 economic man1 and these clamor for     
their rights1 and must have at least a  

part of their rights1 before we can go  
on to be the intellectual man1 the moral
 man1 or the artistic man4 ,so our life 
becomes a series of compromises and     
adjustments between a thousand          
conflicting desires and duties2 between 
the different beings which we might be1 
but can be only to a certain extent1 and
 at certain times4 ,we shall see1 as we 
come to investigate one field after     
another of human activity1 that we never
 have an absolute certainty1 never an   
absolute right1 never an absolute duty2 
never can we shut our eyes1 and go      
blindly ahead upon one course of action1
 to the exclusion of every other        
consideration6 ,on the contrary1 we sit 
in the seat of self-determination as a  
highly trained and skillful engineer4   
,we keep our eyes upon a dozen different
 gauges2 we press a lever here and touch
 a regulator there2 we decide that now  
is a time for speed1 and now for        
caution2 and knowing all the time that  
the safety1 not merely of ourselves1 but

 of many passengers1 depends upon the   
decisions of each moment4     ,,chapter 
,,xi  ,,the ,,mind ,,and ,,the ,,body   
7,discusses the interaction between     
physical and mental things1 and      the
 possibility of freedom in a world of   
fixed causes47   ,it is our plan1 so far
 as possible1 to discuss the problems of
 the mind in one section of this book1  
and the problems of the body in another2
 but just as we found that we could not 
separate our duties to ourself from our 
duties to our neighbors1 so we find that
 the mind and the body are inextricably 
interwoven1 and that whenever we probe  
deeply into one1 we discover the other4 
,the interaction of the mind and the    
body is a fascinating problem into which
 we must look for a moment1 not because 
we expect to solve it1 but because it   
illuminates the whole subject4  ,the    
human body is a machine4 ,it takes in   
carbon and oxygen1 and burns them1 and  
gives out carbon dioxide and other waste
 products1 and develops energy in       

proportion to the amount of carbon it   
consumes4 ,this machine has its         
elaborate apparatus of action and       
reaction1 its sensory organs where      
outside stimuli are received1 its nerves
 like telegraph wires to carry these    
impressions1 its brain cells to store   
them and to transform them into         
reactions4 ,we know to some extent how  
these brain cells work4 ,we know what   
portions of the brain are devoted to    
this or that activity4 ,we know that if 
we stick a pin into a certain spot we   
shall paralyze the left forefinger4 ,we 
know that by injecting a certain drug1  
or by breathing a certain gas1 we can   
cause this or that sensation or         
reaction1 such as laughing or weeping or
 mania4 ,we know what poisons are       
generated in the system by anger1 and   
what chemical changes take place in a   
muscle that is tired4 ,all this is part 
of a vast new science which is called   
bio-chemistry1 or the chemistry of life4
  ,our bodies1 therefore1 are part of   

the material universe1 and subject to   
the laws or ways of being of this       
universe4 ,the first of these laws that 
we know is the law of causation4 ,every 
change in the universe has its cause1   
and that in turn had another cause2 this
 chain is never broken1 no matter how   
far we go1 and the same causes          
universally produce the same effects4   
,if you see a ball move on a billiard   
table1 you know that the ball did not   
move itself2 you know that something    
struck the ball or tilted the table4    
,you discover that the motion of the    
ball moves the air around it1 and the   
waves of that motion are spread through 
the room4 ,they strike the walls1 and   
the motion is carried on through the    
walls1 and if we had instruments        
sensitive enough1 we could feel the     
motion of that billiard ball at the     
other side of the world1 and a few      
million years from now at the most      
remote of the stars4 ,this is what is   
called the law of the conservation of   

energy1 and when we discover something  
like radium which seems to violate that 
law by giving out unlimited quantities  
of energy1 we investigate and discover a
 new form of energy locked up in the    
atom4 ,in the disintegration of the atom
 we have a source of power which1 when  
we have learned to use it1 will multiply
 perhaps millions of times the powers we
 are now able to use on this earth4 ,but
 energy1 no matter how many times it is 
transformed1 and in what strange ways it
 reappears1 always remains1 and is never
 destroyed1 and never created out of    
nothing4  ,my friend the great          
physiologist once took me into his      
laboratory and showed me a little       
aquarium in which some minute creatures 
were wiggling about--young sea-urchins1 
if ,i remember4 ,the physiologist took a
 bottle containing some chemical1 and   
dropped a single drop into the water1   
and instantly all these little black    
creatures1 which had been darting       
aimlessly in every direction through the

 water1 turned and swam all in one      
direction1 toward the light4 ,they swam 
until they touched the walls of the     
aquarium1 and there they stuck1 trying  
their best to swim farther4 ,and now1   
said my friend1 that is what we call a  
'tropism1' and all life is a tropism4   
,what you see in that aquarium means    
that some day we shall know just what   
combination of chemicals causes a human 
being to move this way or that1 to do   
this thing or that4 ,when bio-chemistry 
has progressed sufficiently1 we shall be
 able to make human qualities1 perhaps  
in the sperm1 perhaps in the embryo1    
perhaps day by day by means of diet or  
injection4  ,said ,i3 ,some day1 when   
bio-chemistry has progressed far enough1
 you will know what combination of      
chemicals causes a man to vote the      
,democratic or ,republican ticket4  ,why
 not8 answered my friend4 7,he has a    
sense of humor about all things except  
this sacred bio-chemistry47  ,said ,i3  
,when you have got to that stage1 keep  

the secret carefully1 and we will fix up
 a scheme1 and a few days before        
election we will release some gas in our
 big cities1 and sweep the country for  
the ,socialist ticket4  ,but jesting    
aside3 if the human body is a material  
thing1 existing in the material world   
and subject to causation1 there must be 
material reasons for the actions of     
human bodies1 just the same as for the  
moving of billiard balls4 ,we hear the  
sound of a billiard ball striking the   
cushion1 and we are prepared to accept  
the idea that the thing we call hearing 
in us is caused by the impinging of     
sound waves upon our eardrums4 ,and if  
we investigate human beings in the mass1
 we find every reason to believe that   
they act according to laws1 and that    
there are material causes for their     
acts4 ,if you get up and shout fire in a
 theater1 you know how the audience will
 behave4 ,if you study statistics1 you  
can say that in any large city a certain
 fixed number of human beings are going 

to commit suicide every month2 you can  
even say that more are going to commit  
suicide in the month of ,june than in   
any other month4 ,you can say that more 
people are going to die at two o'clock  
in the morning than at any other hour4  
,you know that certain changes in the   
weather will cause all human beings to  
behave in the same way4 ,you know that  
an increase of prices or an increase of 
unemployment will cause a certain       
additional number of men to commit      
crimes1 and a certain additional number 
of women to become prostitutes4 ,you    
know that if a man overeats1 his        
thoughts will change their color2 he    
will have what he calls the blues4 ,i   
might cite a thousand other             
illustrations to prove that human minds 
are subject to material laws1 and       
therefore to investigation by the       
bio-chemists4  ,but now1 stop a moment4 
,here you sit reading a book4 ,something
 in the book pleases you1 and you say1  
,good6 ,perhaps you slap your knee or   

clench your fist4 ,now here is a motion 
of your hand1 which stirs the air about 
you1 and which1 according to the laws of
 energy1 will spread its effects to the 
other side of the world1 and even to the
 farthest of the stars4 ,or perhaps the 
book makes you angry1 and you throw it  
down in disgust2 an entirely different  
motion1 which will affect the other side
 of the world and the farthest of the   
stars in an entirely different way4 ,the
 machine of the universe will be forever
 altered because of that slapping of    
your knee or that throwing down of your 
book4  ,and what was the cause of these 
things8 ,so far as we can see1 the      
material cause was exactly the same in  
each case--the reading of certain       
letters4 ,two human beings1 sitting side
 by side and reading exactly the same   
letters1 might be affected in exactly   
opposite ways4 ,it seems hardly rational
 to maintain that the material          
difference of two pairs of eyes1 moving 
over exactly the same set of letters1   

could have resulted in two such         
different motions of the hands4 ,as a   
matter of fact1 the very same letters   
may affect the same person in different 
ways4 ,the composer1 ,edward            
,mac,dowell1 once told me how on his    
birthday his pupils sent him a gift1    
with a card containing some lines from  
the opera ,rheingold1 beginning1 ,o     
singe fort--that is1 ,oh1 sing on4 ,but 
the composer happened1 when glancing at 
the card1 to think ,french instead of   
,german1 and got the message1 ,oh1      
powerful monkey6 ,this1 of course1 was  
disconcerting to a famous piano         
performer1 and his pupils1 if they had  
been watching his face1 would have seen 
an unexpected reaction4 ,it seems       
manifest1 does it not1 that the cause of
 this difference of reaction was not any
 difference of the letters1 but purely a
 difference of thought8 ,so it appears  
that thoughts may change the material   
universe2 they may break the chain of   
causation1 and interfere with material  

events4  ,compare the two things1 a     
state of consciousness and say1 a steam 
shovel4 ,they are entirely different1   
and so far as we can see1 entirely      
incompatible and unrelated4 ,can anyone 
imagine how a thought can turn into a   
steam shovel1 or a steam shovel into a  
thought8 ,we can understand how a steam 
shovel lifts a mass of earth out of the 
ground1 and we can understand how a     
human hand moves a lever which causes   
the shovel to act2 but we are unable to 
conceive how a state of mind--whether it
 be a desire for pay1 or an ideal of    
service1 or a vision of the ,panama     
,canal--can so affect a steam shovel as 
to cause it to move4 ,we can sit and    
think motion at a billiard ball for a   
thousand years1 and it does not move2   
but when we think motion at our hand1 it
 moves instantly1 and passes on the     
motion to the billiard ball or the steam
 shovel4 ,when fire touches our hand it 
sends some kind of vibration to the     
brain1 and in some inconceivable way    

that vibration is turned into a state of
 consciousness called pain1 and that is 
turned1 as quick as thought1 into       
another kind of motion1 the jerking back
 of our hand4  ,so it seems certain that
 consciousness really does butt in on   
the chain of natural causation4 ,and    
yet1 just see in what position this     
leaves the scientist who is             
investigating life6 ,imagine if you can1
 the plight of a doctor who wanted to   
prescribe a diet for a sick person1 if  
he knew that every piece of chicken and 
every piece of fish were free to decide 
of its own impulse whether or not it    
would be digested in the human stomach4 
,but the plight of this doctor would be 
nothing to the plight of the chemist or 
the biologist or the engineer who was   
asked to do his thinking and his        
planning in a world containing a billion
 and a quarter human beings1 each one a 
lawless agent1 each one a source of new 
and unforeseeable energies1 each one    
acting as a first cause1 and starting   

new chains of activity1 tearing the     
universe to pieces according to his own 
whims4 ,what kind of a universe would   
that be8 ,it would simply be a chaos2   
there could be no thinking1 there could 
be no life in it2 there could be no two 
things the same in it1 and no laws of   
any sort4  ,so then we fall back into   
the hands of the determinists1 who      
assert one unbreakable chain of natural 
causation1 and regard the human body as 
an automaton4 ,we go back to the        
bio-chemist1 who purposes some day to   
ascertain for us just exactly what      
molecules of matter in just what        
positions and combinations in the brain 
cells of ,william ,shakespeare caused   
him to perpetrate a mixed metaphor4 ,we 
go back to the belief that human beings 
act as they must act1 because the clock 
of life1 wound up and started1 must move
 in such and such a fashion4  ,but now1 
let us see what are the implications of 
that theory6 ,here am ,i writing a book1
 appealing to men to act in certain     

ways4 ,of course1 ,i know that not all  
will follow my advice4 ,some will be    
foolish--or what seems to me foolish4   
,others will be weak1 and will resolve  
to act in certain ways1 and then go and 
act in other ways4 ,but some will be    
just2 some will be free2 some will use  
their brains--because1 you see1 ,i am   
convinced that they can use their       
brains6 ,i am convinced that ideas will 
affect and stir them1 in complete       
defiance of the bio-chemist1 who tells  
me that they act that way because of    
certain chemicals in their brain cells1 
and that ,i write my book because of    
other chemicals1 and that my idea that  
,i am writing the book because ,i want  
to write it is a delusion1 and that the 
whole thing is happening just so because
 the universe was wound up that way4    
,now1 this an unsolved problem1 and ,i  
have no solution to offer4 ,what ,i have
 set forth is in substance one of the   
four antinomies of ,kant1 and you can   
see for yourself how it is possible to  

prove either side1 and impossible to be 
sure of either4 ,perhaps there is really
 a duality in life4 ,perhaps there are  
two aspects of the universe1 the        
material and the spiritual1 and perhaps 
they do not really interact as they seem
 to1 but both are guided and determined 
by some higher reality of life of which 
we know nothing4 ,in that case there    
would really be a chemical equivalent   
for every thought1 and there would be a 
trace of consciousness for every        
material atom in the universe4 ,maybe   
the theologians are right1 and in the   
universal consciousness of ,god the     
whole future exists predetermined4      
,maybe to ,god there is no such thing as
 time2 the past1 the present1 and the   
future are all alike to ,him4  ,there is
 nothing more painful to the human mind 
than to have to confess its own         
impotence4 ,yet ,i can see no escape    
from the dilemma we are here facing4    
,there is not a man alive who does not  
assume the freedom of the will1 who does

 not show in all his acts that he agrees
 with old ,dr4 ,samuel ,johnson3 ,we    
know we are free and there's an end     
on't4 ,without a belief in freedom we   
cannot get beyond the animal1 we cannot 
become the masters of our own souls4    
,and yet1 the man who swallows that idea
 whole1 and goes out into the world and 
preaches personal morality to the       
neglect of the fundamental economic     
facts1 the facts of the body in its     
relationship to all other bodies--we    
know what happens to that man2 he       
becomes a shouting fool4 ,unless he is  
literally a fool1 or a knave1 he quickly
 discovers his own futility1 and        
proceeds to use his common sense1 in    
spite of all his theories4 ,come to     
,jesus6 cried ,william ,booth1 and he   
went out in the streets of ,london to   
save souls with a bass drum2 but        
presently1 in day by day contact with   
the degradation of the ,london slums1 he
 realized that he could not save souls  
so long as those souls were dwelling in 

starved and lousy bodies4 ,so ,william  
,booth with his ,salvation ,army took to
 starting night shelters and cast-off   
clothing bureaus6  ,and of exactly the  
same sort is the bewilderment which     
falls to the lot of the scientist who is
 honest and willing to face the facts4  
,the bio-chemist with his test tubes and
 his microscopes and his complex        
apparatus of research sits himself down 
and accumulates a mass of information   
about the human body4 ,he investigates  
the diseases of the body and learns in  
detail just how these diseases spread   
and sometimes how they are caused2 he   
can present you with a diagnosis1       
showing the exact stage to which the    
degeneration of a certain organ has     
proceeded1 and perhaps he can suggest to
 you a change of diet or some drug which
 will1 for a time at least1 check the   
process of the breakdown4 ,but in other 
cases he will be perfectly helpless2 he 
will be1 as it were1 buried under the   
mass of detail which he has accumulated2

 he will find the vital energy          
depressed1 and he will not know any way 
to renew it4 ,but along will come some  
mental specialist1 who in a half hour's 
talk with the patient1 by a simple      
change in the patient's ideas1 will     
completely make over the patient's life1
 and set going a new vital process which
 will restore the body to its former    
health4 ,a religious enthusiast may do  
this1 a psychotherapist may do it1 a    
moral genius may do it2 and the         
physician with all his learning will    
find himself like a man on the outside  
of a house1 peering in through the      
windows and trying in vain to find out  
something about the life of the family  
and its guests4  ,this is humiliating to
 the chemist and the medical man1 but   
they have to face it1 because it is a   
fact4 ,in the seat of authority over the
 human body there sits a higher being   
which1 without any religious            
implications1 we may call the soul2 or1 
if it is impossible to get away from the

 religious implication of that word1 we 
will call it the consciousness1 or the  
personality4 ,this master of the house  
of life is in many ways dependent upon  
the house4 ,if the furnace goes out he  
freezes1 and if the house takes fire and
 burns up--well1 he disappears and      
leaves no address4 ,but in other ways   
the master of the house is really       
master1 and is a worker of miracles4 ,he
 does things which we do not at all     
understand1 and cannot yet even foresee1
 but which often completely make the    
house over4  ,william ,james1 a         
scientist of real authority1 has a      
wonderful essay1 ,the ,powers of ,men1  
in which he sets forth the fact that    
human beings as a general rule make use 
of only a small portion of the energies 
which dwell in their beings1 and that   
one of our problems is to find the ways 
by which we can draw upon stores of     
hidden energy which we have within us4  
,also1 in a fascinating book1 ,varieties
 of the ,religious ,experience1 ,james  

has endeavored to study and analyze the 
phenomena which hitherto the physician  
and the biologist have been disposed to 
ridicule and neglect4 ,but unless ,i am 
mistaken1 every scientist in the end    
will be forced to come back to the      
central fact1 that life is a unity1 and 
that the heart of it is the spirit2 that
 what we call the will is not an        
accident1 not a delusion1 not some      
by-product of nature1 but is the very   
secret of life2 and that behind it is a 
vast ocean of power1 which now and then 
sweeps away all dykes1 and floods into  
the human consciousness4  ,the writer of
 this book is now a patient and plodding
 teacher of a certain economic doctrine1
 a preacher of what he might call       
anti-parasitism4 ,he has come to the    
conclusion that the habit of men to     
enslave their fellows and exploit them  
and draw their substance from them      
without return--that this habit is      
destructive to all civilization1 and is 
incompatible with any of the higher     

forms of life1 intellectual1 moral or   
artistic4 ,he has come to the conclusion
 that there is no use attempting to     
build a structure of social life until  
there is a sound foundation2 in other   
words1 until the capitalist system has  
been replaced by cooperation4 ,but in   
his youth he was1 or thought he was1 a  
poet1 and touched upon that strange and 
wonderful thing which we call genius4   
,he saw his own consciousness1 as it    
were a leaf driven before a mighty      
tempest of spiritual energy4 ,and he    
believes that this experience was no    
delusion1 but was a revelation of the   
hidden mysteries of being4 ,he still has
 memories of this startling experience1 
still hints of it in his consciousness2 
something still leaps in his memory1    
like a race-horse1 or like the war-horse
 of ,revelations1 which scenteth the    
battle afar off1 the thunder of the     
captains and the shouting4 ,because of  
these things he can never accept any    
philosophy which shackles the human     

spirit1 he will never in his thought    
attempt to set bounds to the            
possibilities of human life4 ,the very  
heart of life beats in us1 the wonder of
 it and the glory of it swells like a   
tide behind us4 ,new universes are born 
in us1 or1 if you prefer1 they are made 
by us2 and the process is one of endless
 joy1 of rapture beyond anything that   
the average man can at present imagine1 
or that any instruments invented by     
science can weigh or measure4           
,,chapter ,,xii  ,,the ,,mind ,,of ,,the
 ,,body       7,discusses the           
subconscious mind1 what it is1 what it  
does to the      body1 and how it can be
 controlled and made use of by the      
intelligence47   ,the importance of the 
mind in matters of health becomes       
clearer when we understand that what we 
commonly call our minds--the mental     
states which confront us day by day in  
our consciousness--are really but a     
small portion of our total mind4 ,in    
addition to this conscious mind there is

 an enormous mass of our personality    
which is like a storehouse attached to  
our dwelling1 a place to which we do not
 often go1 but to which we can go in    
case of need4 ,this storehouse is our   
memory1 the things we know and can      
recall at will4 ,and then there is      
another1 still vaster storehouse--no one
 has ever measured or guessed the size  
of it--which apparently contains        
everything that we have ever known1     
perhaps also everything that our        
ancestors have known4 ,a common simile  
for the human mind is that of an        
iceberg2 a certain portion of it appears
 above the surface of the sea1 but there
 is seven times as much of it floating  
out of sight under the water4  ,this    
subconscious mind seems to be the       
portion most closely united with the    
body4 ,it has its seat in the back parts
 of the brain1 in the spinal cord and   
the greater nervous ganglia1 such as the
 solar plexus4 ,it is the portion of our
 mind which controls the activities of  

our body1 all those miraculous things   
which went on before we first opened our
 eyes to the light1 and which go on     
while we sleep1 and never cease until we
 die4 ,when we cut our finger and admit 
foreign germs to our blood1 some        
mysterious power causes millions of our 
blood corpuscles to be rushed to this   
spot1 to destroy and devour the invading
 enemy4 ,we do not know how this is     
done1 but it is an intelligent act1     
measured and precisely regulated1 as    
much so as a railroad time-table4 ,when 
the supply of nourishment in the body   
becomes low1 something issues a notice  
by way of our stomach1 which we call    
hunger2 when we take food into the      
stomach1 something pours out the gastric
 juice to digest it2 when this digested 
food is prepared and taken up in the    
blood stream1 something decides what    
portion of it shall be turned into      
muscle1 what into brain cells1 what into
 hair1 what into finger nails4          
,sometimes1 of course1 mistakes are made

 and we have diseases4 ,but for the most
 part all this infinitely intricate     
process goes on day and night without a 
hitch1 and it is all the work of what we
 might call the mind of the body4  ,and 
just as our material bodies are the     
product of an age-long process of       
development repeated in embryo by every 
individual1 so is this mental life a    
product of long development1 and carries
 memories of this far-off process4 ,in  
our instincts there dwells all the past1
 not merely of the human race1 but of   
all life1 and if we should ever succeed 
in completely probing the subconscious  
mind and bringing it into our           
consciousness1 it would be the same as  
if we were free to ramble about in all  
the past4 ,huxley set forth the fact    
that all the history of evolution is    
told in a piece of chalk2 and we        
probably do not exaggerate in saying    
that all the history of the universe is 
in the subconscious mind of every human 
being4 ,when the partridge which has    

just come out of the egg sees the shadow
 of the hawk flit by and crouches       
motionless as a leaf1 the partridge is  
not acting upon any knowledge which it  
has acquired in the few minutes since it
 was hatched4 ,it is acting upon a      
knowledge impressed upon its            
subconscious mind by the experience of  
millions of partridges1 perhaps for tens
 of thousands of years4 ,when the       
physician lifts the newly born infant by
 its ankle and spanks it to make it cry1
 the physician is using his conscious   
reason1 because he has learned from     
previous experience1 or has been taught 
in the schools that it is necessary for 
the child's breathing apparatus to be   
instantly cleared4 ,but when the child  
responds to the spanking with a yell1 it
 is not moved by reasoned indignation at
 an undeserved injury2 it is following  
an automatic reaction1 as a result of   
the experience of infants in the stone  
age1 experience which in some obscure   
way has been registered and stored in   

the infant cerebellum4  ,science is now 
groping its way through this underworld 
of thought4 ,obviously we should have   
here a most powerful means of           
influencing the body1 if by any chance  
we could control it4 ,we are continually
 seeking in medical and surgical ways to
 stimulate or to retard activities of   
the body1 which are controlled entirely 
by this subconscious mind4 ,if we are   
suffering intense pain in a joint1 we   
put on a mustard plaster1 what we call a
 counter-irritant1 to trouble the skin  
and draw the congested blood away from  
the place of the pain4 ,on the other    
hand1 we may stimulate the functions of 
the intestines by the application of hot
 fomentations1 to bring the blood more  
actively to that region4 ,but if by any 
means we could make clear our wishes to 
the subconscious mind1 we should be     
dealing with headquarters1 and should   
get quicker and more permanent results4 
,can we by any possibility do this8 ,to 
begin with1 let me tell you of a simple 

experiment that ,i have witnessed4 ,i   
once knew a man who had learned to      
control the circulation of his blood by 
his conscious will4 ,i have seen him lay
 his two hands on the table1 both of the
 same color1 and without moving the     
hands1 cause one hand to turn red and   
the other to turn pale4 ,and1 obviously1
 so far as this man is concerned1 the   
problem of counter-irritants has been   
solved4 ,he is a mental mustard plaster4
  ,and what was done by this man's own  
will can be done to others in many ways4
 ,the most obvious is a device which we 
call hypnotism4 ,this is a kind of sleep
 which affects only the conscious       
control of the body1 but leaves all the 
senses awake4 ,in this hypnotic sleep or
 trance we discover that the            
subconscious mind is a good deal like   
the ,henry ,dubb of the ,socialist      
cartoons2 it is faithful and persistent1
 very strong in its own limited field1  
but comically credulous1 willing to     
believe anything that is told it1 and to

 take orders from any one who climbs    
into the seat of authority4 ,you have   
perhaps attended one of the exhibitions 
which traveling hypnotists are          
accustomed to give in country villages4 
,you have seen some bumpkin brought upon
 the stage and hypnotized1 and told that
 he is in the water and must swim for   
his life1 or that he is in the midst of 
a hornets' nest1 or that his trousers   
are torn in the seat--any comical thing 
that will cause an audience to howl with
 laughter4  ,these facts were first     
discovered nearly a hundred and fifty   
years ago by a ,french doctor named     
,mesmer4 ,he was a good deal of a       
charlatan1 and would not reveal his     
secrets1 and probably the scientific men
 of that time were glad to despise him1 
because what he did was so new and      
strange4 ,there is a certain type of    
scientific mind which sits aloft on a   
throne with a framed diploma above its  
head1 and says that what it knows is    
science and what it does not know is    

nonsense4 ,and so mesmerism was left for
 the quacks and traveling showmen4 ,but 
half a century later a ,french physician
 named ,liebault took up this method of 
hypnotism1 without all the fakery that  
had been attached to it4 ,he            
experimented and discovered that he     
could cure not merely phobias and       
manias1 fixed ideas1 hysterias and      
melancholias2 he could cure definite    
physical diseases of the physical body1 
such as headache1 rheumatism1 and       
hemorrhage4 ,later on two other         
physicians1 ,janet and ,charcot1        
developed definite schools of           
psychotherapy4 ,they rejected hypnotism 
as in most cases too dangerous1 but used
 a milder form which is known as        
hypnoidization4 ,you would be surprised 
to know how many ailments which baffle  
the skill of medical men and surgeons   
yield completely to a single brief      
treatment by such a mental specialist4  
,all that is necessary is some method to
 tap the subconscious mind4 ,in many    

cases the subconsciousness knows what is
 the matter1 and will tell at once--a   
secret that is completely hidden from   
the consciousness4 ,for example1 a man's
 hands shake2 they have been shaking for
 years1 and he has no idea why1 but his 
subconscious mind explains that they    
first began to shake with grief over the
 death of his wife2 also1 the           
subconscious mind meekly and instantly  
accepts the suggestion that the time for
 grief is past1 and that the hands will 
never shake again4  ,or here is a woman 
who has become convinced that worms are 
crawling all over her4 ,everything that 
touches her becomes a worm1 even the    
wrinkles in her dress are worms1 and she
 is wild with nervousness1 and of course
 is on the way to the lunatic asylum4   
,she is hypnotized and sees the operator
 catching these worms one by one and    
killing them4 ,she is told that he has  
killed the last1 but she insists1 ,no1  
there is one more4 ,the operator        
clutches that one1 and she is perfectly 

satisfied1 and completely cured4 ,her   
husband writes1 expressing his relief   
that he no longer has to sleep every    
night in a fish pond4 ,this instance    
with many others is told by ,professor  
,quackenbos in his book1 ,hypnotic      
,therapeutics4  ,among the most powerful
 means to influence the subconscious    
personality is religious excitement4    
,religion has come down to us from      
ancient times1 and its fears and        
ecstasies are a part of our instinctive 
endowment4 ,those who can sway religious
 emotions can cure disease1 not merely  
fixed ideas1 but many diseases which    
appear to be entirely physical1 but     
which psycho-analysis reveals to be     
hysterical in nature4 ,of course these  
religious persons who heal by laying on 
of hands or by purely mental means deny 
indignantly that they are using         
hypnotism or anything like it4 ,i am    
aware that ,i shall bring upon myself a 
flood of letters from ,christian        
,scientists if ,i identify their methods

 of curing with animal magnetism and    
manipulation1 and other devices of the  
devil which they repudiate4 ,all ,i can 
say is that their miracles are brought  
about by affecting the subconscious     
mind2 there is no other way to bring    
them about1 and for my part ,i cannot   
see that it makes a great difference    
whether the subconscious mind is        
affected by a hand laid on the forehead1
 or by a hand waved in the air1 or by an
 incantation pronounced1 or by a prayer 
thought in silence4 ,if you can persuade
 the subconscious mind that ,god is     
operating upon it1 that ,god is         
omnipotent and is directing this        
particular healing1 that is the most    
powerful suggestion imaginable1 and is  
the basis of many cures4 ,but if in     
order to achieve this1 it is necessary  
for me to persuade myself that ,i can   
find some meaning in the metaphysical   
moonshine of ,mother ,eddy--why1 then1  
,i am very sorry1 but ,i really prefer  
to remain sick4  ,but such is not the   

case4 ,you do not have to believe       
anything that is not true2 you simply   
have to understand the machinery of the 
subconscious1 and how to operate it4 ,we
 are only beginning to acquire that     
knowledge1 and we need an open mind1    
free both from the dogmatism of the     
medical men and the fanaticism of the   
faith curists4 ,a few years ago in      
,london ,i met a number of people who   
were experimenting in an entirely       
open-minded way with mental healing1 and
 ,i was interested in their ideas4 ,i   
happened to be traveling on the         
,continent1 and on the train my wife was
 seized by a very dreadful headache4    
,she was lying with her head in my lap1 
suffering acutely1 and ,i thought ,i    
would try an experiment1 so ,i put my   
hand upon her forehead1 without telling 
her what ,i was doing1 and concentrated 
my attention with the greatest possible 
intensity upon her headache4 ,i had an  
idea of the cause of it2 ,i understood  
that headaches are caused by the        

irritation of the sensory nerves of the 
brain by fatigue poisons1 or other waste
 matter which the blood has not been    
able to eliminate4 ,i formed in my mind 
a vivid picture of what the blood would 
have to do to relieve that headache1 and
 ,i concentrated my mental energies upon
 the command to her subconscious mind   
that it should perform these particular 
functions4 ,in a few minutes my wife sat
 up with a look of great surprise on her
 face and said1 ,why1 my headache is    
gone6 ,it went all at once6  ,that1 of  
course1 might have been a coincidence2  
but ,i tried the experiment many times1 
and it happened over and over4 ,on      
another occasion ,i was able to cure the
 pain of an ulcerated tooth2 ,i was able
 to cure it half a dozen times1 but     
never permanently1 it always returned1  
and finally the tooth had to come out4  
,my wife experimented with me in the    
same way1 and found that she was able to
 cure an attack of dyspepsia2 but1      
curiously enough1 she at once gave      

herself a case of dyspepsia--something  
she had never known in her life before4 
,so now ,i will not allow her to        
experiment with me1 and she will not    
allow me to experiment with her6 ,but we
 are quite sure that people with psychic
 gifts can definitely affect the        
subconscious mind of others by purely   
mental means4 ,we are prepared to       
believe in the miracles of the ,new     
,testament1 and in the wonders of       
,lourdes1 as well as in the healings of 
the ,christian ,scientists and the ,new 
,thoughters1 which cannot be disputed by
 any one who is willing to take the     
trouble to investigate4 ,we can face    
these facts without losing our reason1  
without ceasing to believe that         
everything in life has a cause1 and that
 we can find out this cause if we       
investigate thoroughly4     ,,chapter   
,,xiii  ,,exploring ,,the ,,subconscious
       7,discusses automatic writing1   
the analysis of dreams1 and other       
methods by which a whole new universe of

 life has been brought to      human    
knowledge47   ,one of the most common   
methods of exploring the subconscious   
mind is the method of automatic writing4
 ,i have never tried this myself1 but   
tens of thousands of people are sitting 
every night with a ouija in front of    
them1 holding a pencil on a piece of    
paper and letting their subconscious    
minds write what they please4 ,most of  
them are hoping to get messages from the
 dead--a problem which we shall discuss 
in the next chapter4 ,suffice it for the
 moment to say that automatic writing   
and table rapping and other devices of  
mediumship have opened up to us a vast  
mass of subconscious mentality4 ,a part 
of the scientific world still takes a   
contemptuous attitude and calls this all
 humbug1 but many of our greatest       
scientists have been persuaded to       
investigate1 and have become convinced  
that in this mass of subconsciousness   
there is mingled1 not merely the mind of
 the medium1 but the minds of all those 

present1 and possibly other minds as    
well4 ,for my part1 ,i do not see how   
any one can study disinterestedly the   
proceedings of the ,society for         
,psychical ,research and not become     
convinced that telepathy at least is one
 of the powers of the subconscious mind4
  ,telepathy is what is popularly known 
as thought transmission4 ,every one must
 know people who are what is called     
psychic1 and will know what is happening
 to some friend in another part of the  
world1 or will go upstairs because they 
sense that some one wants them1 or will 
go to the door because they have a hunch
 that some one is coming4 ,and maybe    
these things are only chance1 but you   
will be unscientific if you do not take 
the trouble to read and learn what      
modern investigators have brought out on
 such subjects4  ,this much is certain1 
and is denied by no competent           
investigator3 whatever has been in your 
mind is there still1 and it is possible 
to find a way of tapping the buried     

memory4 ,an old woman1 delirious with   
fever1 begins to babble in a strange    
language1 and it is discovered that she 
is talking ancient ,hebrew4 ,the woman  
is entirely illiterate1 and her         
conscious memory knows no language but  
her own1 her conscious mind has no ideas
 beyond those of her domestic life and  
the gossip of the village4 ,but         
investigation is made1 and it is        
discovered that when this woman was a   
girl1 she worked in the home of a       
,hebrew scholar1 and heard him reading  
aloud4 ,she did not understand a word of
 what she heard1 and was not consciously
 listening to it2 nevertheless1 every   
syllable of it had been stored away     
forever by her subconscious mind4       
,innumerable cases of this sort have    
been established2 and1 as a matter of   
fact1 we might have been prepared for   
such discoveries by the memory-feats of 
the conscious mind4 ,it is well known   
that ,mozart1 when a child1 could listen
 to a new opera1 and go home and play it

 over note for note4 ,at present there  
is a child in ,america1 giving          
exhibitions in public1 carrying on      
thirty games of chess at the same time4 
,there have been others who do sums of  
mental arithmetic1 such as multiplying  
thirty-two figures by thirty-two        
figures1 or reciting the ,bible         
backwards4  ,all this seems incredible2 
and yet there is something still more   
incredible4 ,suppose that these same    
powers1 which are stored in our         
subconscious minds1 were stored also in 
the minds of animals6 ,a few years ago  
,maurice ,maeterlinck published a book1 
,the ,unknown ,guest1 in the course of  
which he tells about his experiments    
with the so-called ,elberfeld horses3   
two animals which had been trained for  
years by their owner to give signals by 
moving their forefeet1 and which        
apparently could count and divide and   
multiply large sums1 and extract square 
and cube root1 and spell out names1 and 
recognize sounds1 scents and colors1 and

 read time from the face of a watch4 ,of
 course1 it is easy to say that this is 
absurd1 that the horses must have got   
some signals from their trainer2 but1 as
 it happened1 they would do their work  
in the absence of their trainer2 they   
would do it in the dark1 or with a sack 
over their heads1 and the best          
scientific minds of ,germany were unable
 to suggest any test conditions which   
could not be met4 ,there have been many 
gigantic frauds in the world1 and this  
may have been one of them2 on the other 
hand1 there have been many new          
discoveries1 and for my part ,i will    
finish exploring the miracles of the    
subconscious mind of man1 before ,i     
presume to say that anything is         
impossible in the subconscious mind of a
 horse or a dog4 ,also ,i will wait for 
some learned person to explain to me how
 the subconscious minds of horses and   
dogs know enough to build and repair    
their bones and teeth1 so cleverly that 
modern architectural and engineering    

science could teach them nothing4 ,i    
ask1 also1 if it is possible to find a  
region in the subconsciousness which is 
common to two people1 why is it absurd  
to suggest that there might be a region 
common to a man and a horse8 ,why is    
this any more absurd than that they     
should eat the same food and breathe the
 same air and feel the same affection   
and be frightened at the same dangers8  
,the only persons who will be dogmatic  
about such subjects are the persons who 
are ignorant4 ,those who take the       
trouble to investigate1 discover more   
wonderful things every day1 and they    
realize that we have here a whole       
universe of knowledge1 to which we have 
as yet barely opened the doors4         
,consider1 for example1 the facts which 
we are acquiring on the subject of      
personality and what it means4 ,you     
would say1 perhaps1 that if there is    
anything you know positively1 it is that
 you are one person1 and have never been
 anybody else1 and that your body       

belongs to you1 and that nobody else    
ever has used or ever can use it4 ,but  
what would you say if ,i told you that  
tomorrow you might cease to be1 and     
somebody else might be in possession of 
your body1 walking it around and wearing
 its clothes and spending its money8    
,what if ,i were to tell you that there 
might be in you1 or in your body1 half a
 dozen different personalities which you
 have never known or dreamed of1 and    
that tomorrow there might break out a   
war between them and you1 as to which of
 the half dozen people should hear with 
your ears and speak with your tongue and
 walk about with your clothes on8       
,unless you are familiar with the       
literature of multiple personality1 you 
would surely say that this was          
unbelievable--quite as much so as a     
mathematical horse6  ,let us begin with 
the case of the ,reverend ,ansel        
,bourne1 who was many years ago a       
perfectly respectable clergyman in a    
,rhode ,island town4 ,one day he        

disappeared1 and his family did not hear
 of him4 ,a year or two later there was 
a store-keeper in a town in             
,pennsylvania1 who suddenly came to     
himself as the ,reverend ,ansel ,bourne1
 not knowing what he had been in the    
meantime1 or how he came to be keeping a
 store4 ,under hypnotism it developed   
that he had in him two personalities1   
and his trance personality recollected  
all that had been happening in the      
meantime and told about it freely4  ,or 
take the still more fascinating case of 
the young lady who is known in the      
literature of psychotherapy as ,miss    
,beauchamp4 ,her story is told in a     
book1 ,the ,dissociation of a           
,personality1 by ,dr4 ,morton ,prince of
 ,boston4 ,some thirty years ago ,miss  
,beauchamp1 a very conscientious and    
dignified young lady1 became nervous and
 ill1 and took to doing strange things1 
which were a source of shame and        
humiliation to her4 ,under hypnotism it 
was discovered to be a case of multiple 

personality4 ,the other personality1 who
 finally gave herself the name of       
,sally1 was entirely different in       
character from ,miss ,beauchamp1 being  
mischievous1 vain1 and primitive as a   
child4 ,she conceived an intense dislike
 for ,miss ,beauchamp1 whom she called  
by abusive names2 at times when she     
could get possession of ,miss           
,beauchamp's body1 she delighted in     
playing humiliating tricks upon her     
enemy1 spending her money1 running her  
into debt1 breaking her engagements1    
disgracing her before her friends4      
,sally was always well and ,miss        
,beauchamp was always ill1 and ,sally   
would take the body1 for which they     
fought for possession1 and take it for  
long and exhausting walks1 and leave it 
cold and miserable1 lost and penniless1 
in the possession of ,miss ,beauchamp6  
,and of course this made ,miss          
,beauchamp more and more a wreck1 and   
,sally took possession of more and more 
of her time4 ,sally knew everything that

 ,miss ,beauchamp did and thought1 but  
,miss ,beauchamp did not know about     
,sally4 ,she only knew that there were  
gaps in her life1 during which she did  
things she could not explain4 ,and      
because she did not want her friends to 
think her insane1 she would try to hide 
this dreadful condition of affairs2 but 
,sally would spoil her plans by writing 
letters to her friends1 and also by     
writing insulting letters for ,miss     
,beauchamp to find when she took        
possession again4  ,then one day1 after 
several years of treatment1 there       
appeared yet another personality1 who   
knew nothing about ,miss ,beauchamp or  
,sally either1 and only knew what ,miss 
,beauchamp had known up to some years   
before4 ,miss ,beauchamp had a college  
education1 and wrote and spoke ,french2 
,sally knew no ,french1 and tried in    
vain to learn it2 the new personality   
did not have a college education at all4
 ,nevertheless1 after long experiment1  
the story of which is as fascinating as 

any novel you ever read1 ,dr4 ,prince   
discovered that this was the real ,miss 
,beauchamp2 the others were split off   
personalities4 ,he traced the cause to a
 severe mental shock1 and succeeded in  
the end in combining the first ,miss    
,beauchamp with the last1 and in        
suppressing the obstinate and wanton    
,sally4 ,as you read this story1 you    
watch him mentally murdering a human    
being2 ,sally clamors pitifully for     
life1 but he condemns her to death1 and 
relentlessly executes his sentence4 ,it 
is a movie thriller with a happy ending1
 and ,i should think it would make      
disconcerting reading to persons who    
believe that each of us is one immortal 
soul1 or has one immortal soul1 and is  
responsible for it to a personal ,god4  
,there is never any end to the problems 
of these multiple personalities1 and    
each case is a test of the judgment and 
ingenuity of the specialist4 ,he will   
try to make one personality stick1 and  
will fail1 and will have to accept      

another1 or a combination of two4 ,in   
one case1 he found that he could not get
 the right personality to stick except  
under hypnosis1 so he decided to leave  
the man in a mild state of trance1 and  
the new personality lived all the rest  
of its life in that condition4 ,if you  
wish to know more about this subject you
 can find books in any well-equipped    
library4 ,i mention one1 ,the ,riddle of
 ,personality1 by ,h4 ,addington ,bruce1
 because it contains in the appendix an 
excellent list of the literature of the 
subconscious in all its many aspects4   
,there is another1 and most fascinating 
method of exploring this underworld of  
the mind1 and that is the study of      
dreams4 ,some fifteen years ago a       
psychotherapist in ,new ,york told me   
about the discoveries of a physician in 
,vienna1 and gave me some pamphlets1    
written in very difficult and technical 
,german4 ,since then this ,professor    
,freud has been translated1 and has     
become a fad1 and the absurdities of his

 followers make one a little apologetic 
for him4 ,but we do not give up ,jesus  
because of the torturers and bigots who 
call themselves ,christians1 and in the 
same way we have no right to blame      
,freud for all the absurdities of the   
psychoanalysts4  ,probably there never  
was a time in human history when there  
were not people who interpreted dreams1 
and you can still buy dream books for   
twenty-five cents1 and learn that a     
white horse means that you are going to 
get a letter from your sweetheart       
tomorrow2 then you can buy another dream
 book1 telling you that a white horse   
means there is going to be a death in   
your family within the year4 ,naturally 
this prejudices thinking people against 
dream analysis2 yet1 dreams are facts1  
and every fact has its cause1 and if you
 dream about a white horse1 there must  
assuredly be some reason for your       
dreaming this particular thing4 ,of     
course we know that if you eat mince-pie
 and welsh-rabbit at midnight1 you will 

dream about something terrible2 but will
 it be snakes1 or will it be a railroad 
wreck1 or will it be white horses       
trampling over you8 ,obviously1 it may  
be a million different unpleasant       
things2 and what is it that picks out   
this or that from the infinite store of 
your memory1 and brings it into the     
region of half-consciousness which we   
call the dream8  ,professor ,freud's    
discovery is in brief that the dream is 
a wish-fulfillment4 ,our instincts      
present to our consciousness a great    
mass of impulses and desires1 and among 
these the consciousness selects what it 
pleases1 and represses and refuses to   
recognize or to act upon the others4    
,but maybe these decisions are not      
altogether satisfactory to the          
subconsciousness4 ,the mind of the body 
is in rebellion against the mind--shall 
we say of reason1 or shall we say of    
society8 ,the mind of society1 otherwise
 known as the moral law1 says that you  
shall be a good little boy1 and shall go

 to school and learn what you are told1 
and on ,sunday go to church and sit very
 still through a long sermon2 whereas1  
the body of a boy would rather be a     
savage1 hunting birds' nests and        
scalping enemies and exploring magic    
caves full of precious jewels4 ,so the  
subconsciousness of the boy1 balked and 
miserable1 awaits its time1 and finds   
its satisfaction when the boy is asleep 
and his moral censor has relaxed its    
control4  ,this dream mind is not a     
logical and orderly thing like the      
conscious mind2 it is not business-like 
and civilized1 it does not deal in      
abstractions4 ,it is far more interested
 in things than in words2 it does not   
present us with formulas1 but with      
pictures1 and with stories of weird and 
wonderful happenings4 ,it is like the   
mind of the race1 which we study in     
legends and religions4 ,it does not tell
 us that the sun is a mass of           
incandescent hydrogen gas1 so and so    
many miles in diameter2 it tells us that

 the sun is a cosmic hero who slays the 
black dragon of night4 ,so the mind of  
our body presents us with innumerable   
pictures and symbols1 exactly such as we
 find in poetry4 ,there may be1 and     
frequently is1 dispute as to just what a
 poet meant by this or that particular  
image1 but if we read all the work of   
any particular poet1 we get a certain   
impression of that poet's individuality4
 ,if he is always talking about the     
perfume of women's hair and the gleam of
 the white flesh of nymphs in the       
thickets1 we are not left in doubt as to
 what is wrong with this poet4  ,and    
just so1 when the expert sets to work to
 examine all the dreams that any one    
person can remember1 day after day1     
sooner or later the expert observes that
 these dreams hover continually about   
one particular subject2 and by          
questioning the person1 he can find out 
what is the secret which is troubling   
the person1 perhaps without the person  
himself being aware of it4 ,of course   

there are many people who like nothing  
so much as to talk about themselves2 and
 many are spending their time and their 
money on the latest fad of being        
psyched1 who would1 in any properly     
organized world1 be put to work at      
hoeing weeds or washing their own       
clothes4 ,nevertheless1 it is a fact    
that there are real mental disorders in 
the world1 and innumerable honest and   
earnest people who have something the   
matter with them which they do not      
understand4 ,here is one way by which   
the conscientious investigator can find 
out what the trouble is1 and make it    
clear to them1 and by establishing      
harmony between their conscious and     
their subconscious minds1 can many times
 put them in the way of health and      
happiness4  ,through psychoanalysis we  
are enabled to understand the split     
personality and its cause4 ,we discover 
that almost everyone has more or less   
rudimentary forms of multiple           
personality hidden within him2 made out 

of desires and traits which he does not 
like1 or which the world forces him to  
drive into the deeps of his being4      
,these may be evil impulses1 of sex or  
violence2 they may be the most noble    
altruisms1 or artistic yearnings1       
ridiculous things in a world of hustle4 
,a quite normal man or woman may keep a 
separate self1 apart from the world1    
living a ,jekyll life of business       
propriety and a ,hyde life of religious 
or musical ecstasy4 ,or again1 the      
repressed impulses may integrate        
themselves in the unconscious1 and you  
may have genius or lunacy or both--great
 wits to madness near allied4 ,the      
modern knowledge on such dark mysteries 
you may find in ,hart's ,the ,psychology
 of ,insanity4     ,,chapter ,,xiv      
,,the ,,problem ,,of ,,immortality      
7,discusses the survival of personality 
from the moral point of      view3 that 
is1 have we any claim upon life1        
entitling us to live      forever87     
,as we explore the deeps of the         

subconsciousness1 our own and other     
people's1 we find ourselves confronting 
the strange question3 ,is it all our own
 mind1 and that of other living people1 
or are we by any chance dealing with the
 minds of those who are dead8 ,a great  
many earnest people1 and some very      
learned people1 are fully convinced that
 the latter is the case1 and we have now
 to consider their arguments4  ,when ,i 
was a little boy ,i used to read and    
hear ghost stories1 and would shudder   
over them2 but ,i was given to          
understand that all this was just       
imagination1 ,i must not take ghosts    
seriously1 any more than fairies or     
dragons or nymphs or satyrs4 ,for an    
educated person to take ghosts          
seriously--well1 such a person would be 
almost as comical as that supremely     
comical person1 the flying-machine man4 
,would you believe it1 in those days    
there actually were people who believed 
they could learn to fly in the air1 and 
spent their time manufacturing machines 

for this purpose6 ,there was a scientist
 in ,washington who had this bug1 and   
built himself a machine and started to  
fly1 and fell into the ,potomac river4  
,we all laughed at him--we laughed so   
long and so loud that we killed the poor
 man2 and then1 a few years later1      
somebody took that machine of ,professor
 ,langley's and actually did fly with   
it6 ,but that was after ,i had grown up 
a bit more1 and was not quite so ready  
to laugh at an idea because it was new4 
,i remember vividly my first meeting    
with a man who believed in ghosts4 ,he  
was a ,unitarian clergyman1 the         
,reverend ,minot ,j4 ,savage of ,new    
,york4 ,i was sixteen years old1 and    
just breaking out of my theological     
shell1 and ,doctor ,savage helped to pry
 me loose4 ,he was a grave and kindly   
man1 of great learning and intelligence1
 and ,i remember vividly my             
consternation when one day he told      
me--oh1 yes1 he had seen many ghosts1 he
 was accustomed to talk with ghosts     

every now and then4 ,there was no doubt 
whatever that ghosts existed6  ,he told 
me many stories4 ,i remember one so well
 that ,i do not have to go back to his  
books to look up the details4 ,it was in
 the days before the ,atlantic cable1   
and he had a friend who took a steamer  
to ,england4 ,one night ,doctor ,savage 
was awakened and found the ghost of his 
friend standing by his bedside4 ,the    
ship had gone down off the ,irish coast1
 so the ghost declared1 but the friend  
did not want ,doctor ,savage to think   
that he had suffered from the pangs of  
drowning2 he had been struck on the left
 side of the head by a beam of the ship 
and had been killed instantly4 ,doctor  
,savage wrote down these circumstances  
and had them witnessed by a number of   
people1 and two or three weeks later he 
received word that the body of his      
friend had been found on the ,irish     
coast1 with the left side of the head   
crushed in4  ,so then1 of course1 ,i    
studied the subject of ghosts4 ,i have  

studied it off and on ever since1 and   
have read most of the important new     
discoveries and arguments of the psychic
 researchers4 ,to begin with1 ,i will   
mention the contents of two large       
volumes1 ,gurney's ,phantasms of the    
,living4 ,in this book are narrated many
 hundreds of cases1 of which ,doctor    
,savage's story is a type4 ,it appears  
that persons at the moment of death1 or 
in times of great mental stress1 do     
somehow have the power to communicate   
with other people1 even at the other    
side of the world4 ,a few such cases    
might be attributed to coincidence or to
 fraud1 but when you have so many cases1
 attested in minute detail by so many   
hundreds of otherwise honest people1 you
 are not being scientific but simply    
stupid if you dismiss the whole subject 
with contempt4  ,gurney discusses the   
phenomenon and its probable causes4 ,we 
know1 of course1 that hallucinations are
 among the most common of psychic       
phenomenon4 ,your subconscious mind can 

be caused to see and hear and feel      
anything2 likewise it has power to cause
 you to see and hear and feel anything4 
,in practically all cases of multiple   
personality some of the split-off       
personalities can cause the others to   
see and hear and feel4 ,and the         
consciousness1 you must understand1     
takes these things to be just as real as
 real things2 there is no way you can   
tell an hallucination from              
reality--except to ask other people     
about it4 ,and if we admit the idea of  
telepathy1 we may say that phantasms are
 hallucinations caused by this means2   
that is1 the subconscious mind of your  
wife or your mother or your friend who  
is ill or dying1 transmits to your      
subconscious mind some vivid impression1
 which causes your own subconscious mind
 to present to your consciousness a     
perfect image of that person1 walking   
and talking with you1 and your          
consciousness has no way of telling but 
that the image is real4  ,so much for   

phantasms of the living4 ,but are there 
any phantasms of the dead8 ,are there   
any cases in which the time of the      
appearance can be proven to be          
subsequent to the time of death8 ,even  
this would not prove survival1 of       
course2 it is perfectly possible that   
the telepathic impulse might be delayed 
in our own minds1 it might not flash    
into consciousness until our own state  
of mind made it possible4 ,can we say   
that there are cases in which the facts 
communicated are such as to convince us 
that the person was already dead1 and   
was telling us something as a dead      
person and not as a living one8  ,before
 we go into this question1 let us clear 
the ground for the subject by discussing
 the survival of personality from a more
 general standpoint4 ,what is it that we
 want to prove8 ,what are the           
probabilities of its being true8 ,what  
would be the consequences of its not    
being true8 ,have we any grounds1 other 
than those of psychic research1 for     

thinking that it is true1 or that it may
 be true1 or that it ought to be true8  
,what1 so to speak1 are the morals of   
the doctrine of immortality8  ,well1 to 
begin with1 the survival of the soul    
after death and forever is one of the   
principal doctrines of the ,christian   
religion4 ,many devout ,christians will 
read this book1 and ,i will seem to them
 blasphemous when ,i say that this      
argument does not concern me4 ,i count  
myself one of the lovers and friends of 
,jesus1 ,i am presumptuous enough to    
believe that if he were on earth1 ,i    
would understand him and get along with 
him excellently2 but ,i do not know any 
reason why ,i should believe this1 that1
 or the other doctrine about life       
because any religious sect1 founded upon
 the name of ,jesus1 commands me so to  
believe4 ,i see no more reason for      
adopting the idea of heaven because it  
is a ,christian idea than ,i see for    
adopting the idea of reincarnation      
because it is a precious and holy idea  

to hundreds of millions of ,buddhists4  
,i have some very good friends who are  
,theosophists1 and are quite convinced  
of this idea of reincarnation2 that is1 
that the soul comes back into life over 
and over again in many different bodies1
 thus completing itself and renewing    
itself and expiating its sins4 ,my      
,theosophist friends have a most        
elaborate and complicated body of what  
they consider to be knowledge on this   
subject2 yet ,i have to take the liberty
 of saying that ,i cannot see that it   
has any relation to reality4 ,it seems  
to me as completely unproven as any     
other fairy story1 or myth1 or          
legend--for example1 the seven infernos 
of ,dante1 and the elaborate and        
complicated torments that are suffered  
there4  ,but1 it will be argued1 ,jesus 
rose from the dead1 and thus proved the 
immortality of the soul4 ,now1 in the   
first place1 there are many learned     
investigators who consider there is     
insufficient evidence for believing that

 ,jesus ever lived2 and certainly if    
this be so1 it will be difficult to     
prove that he rose from the dead4       
,again1 it was a common occurrence for  
crucified men not to die2 sometimes it  
happened that their guards allowed them 
to be spirited away--even nowadays we   
have known of prison guards being bribed
 to allow a prisoner to escape4 ,again1 
the events of the return of ,jesus may  
have been just such psychic phenomena as
 we are trying in this chapter to       
explain4 ,or1 once more1 they may have  
been purely legends4 ,a very brief study
 will convince a thinking person that   
the people of that time were ready to   
believe anything1 and to accept facts   
upon such authority1 and to make them   
the basis for a scientific conclusion1  
is simply to be childish4  ,i shall be  
told1 of course1 that it is in the      
,bible1 and therefore it must be true4  
,the ,bible is inspired1 you say2 and   
perhaps this is so4 ,but then1 a great  
deal of other literature is inspired1   

and that does not relieve me of the task
 of comparing these various             
inspirations1 and judging them1 and     
picking out what is of use to me4 ,the  
,bible is the literature of the ancient 
,hebrews for a couple of thousand years4
 ,it represents what the race mind of a 
great people for one generation after   
another judged worth recording and      
preserving4 ,you may get an idea what   
this means1 if you will picture to      
yourself a large volume of ,english     
literature1 containing some ,teutonic   
myths1 and the ,saxon chronicles1 and   
the ,morte d',arthur1 and several of    
,chaucer's stories1 and some ,irish     
fairy tales1 and some of ,bacon's       
essays1 and ,shakespeare's ,venus and   
,adonis1 and the ,english prayer book1  
and the architect's specifications for  
,westminster ,abbey1 and a good part of 
,burke's ,peerage2 also ,blackstone's   
,commentaries1 a number of ,wesley's    
hymns1 and ,pope's ,essay on ,man1 and  
some chapters of ,carlyle's ,past and   

,present1 and ,gladstone's speeches1 and
 ,blake's poems1 and ,captain ,cook's   
story of his voyage around the world1   
and ,southey's ,life of ,nelson1 and    
,morris's ,news from ,nowhere1 and      
,blatchford's ,merrie ,england1 and     
scores of pages from ,hansard1 which is 
the equivalent of our ,congressional    
,record4 ,you may find this description 
irreverent1 but do not think it is meant
 so4 ,do me the honor to get out your   
,bible and look it over from this point 
of view6  ,but1 you say1 if we die      
altogether when we finish this earthly  
life1 what becomes of moral             
responsibility and the punishment of    
sins8 ,what shall we say to the wicked  
man to make him be good1 if we cannot   
reward him with a heaven and frighten   
him with a hell8 ,well1 my first answer 
is that we have been trying this process
 for a couple of thousand years1 and the
 results seem to indicate that we might 
better seek out some other method of    
inducing men to behave themselves4 ,they

 do not believe so completely in heaven 
and hell these days1 but there were     
times in history when they did believe  
completely1 and not merely were the     
believers just as cruel1 they were just 
as treacherous and just as gluttonous   
and just as drunken4 ,if you want to    
satisfy yourself on this point1 ,i refer
 you to my book ,the ,profits of        
,religion1 page #abi4  ,now1 as a matter
 of fact1 ,i think ,i can discern the   
outlines of a system of rewards and     
punishments automatically working in the
 life of men4 ,i am not sure that ,i can
 prove that the wicked always get       
punished and the virtuous always        
rewarded2 yet1 when ,i stop and think1  
,i am sure that ,i would not care to    
change places with any of the wicked    
people that ,i know in this world4 ,life
 may not always be getting them1 but it 
has a way of getting their descendants1 
and ,i could not be entirely happy if ,i
 knew that my son and his sons were     
going to share the fate which ,i now    

observe befalling1 for example1 the     
grand dukes of ,russia and their        
children4 ,life is one thing1 and it    
does not exist for the individual1 but  
for the race2 its causes and effects do 
not always manifest themselves in one   
individual1 but in a line of            
descendants4 ,why are they called       
dynasties8 asked one of my professors of
 history2 and a student brought the     
session to an end by answering3 ,because
 that is what they always seem to do6   
,but this is not perfect justice1 you   
will argue4 ,it is not perfect1 from the
 point of view of you or me2 but then1  
,i ask1 what else is there in the world 
that is perfect from that point of view8
 ,why should our justice be any more    
perfect than1 for example1 our health or
 our thinking or our climate or our     
government8 ,and1 may it not very well  
be that our justice is up to us1 in     
precisely the same way that some of     
these other things are up to us8 ,maybe 
what we have to do is to set to work to 

see to it that virtue does always get   
rewarded and vice does always get       
punished1 right here and now1 instead of
 waiting for an omnipotent ,god to      
attend to it in some hypothetical       
heaven4  ,i find this life of mine very 
wonderful1 and enormously interesting4  
,i am willing to take it on the terms   
that it is given1 and to try to make the
 best of it2 and ,i do not see that ,i  
have any right to dictate what shall be 
given me in some future life4 ,if my    
father gives me a ,christmas present1 ,i
 am happy and grateful2 and1 of course1 
if ,i know that he is going to give me  
another present next ,christmas1 ,i am  
still more happy2 but ,i do not see that
 ,i have any right to argue that because
 he gives me one ,christmas present1 he 
must give me an unlimited number of     
them1 and ,i think it would be very     
ungrateful of me to refuse to thank him 
for a ,christmas present until ,i had   
made sure that ,i was to get one next   
time6  ,neither do ,i find myself such a

 wonderful person that ,i can assert    
that the morality of the universe       
absolutely depends upon the fact that ,i
 am immortal4 ,of course1 ,i should like
 to live forever1 and to know all the   
wonderful things that are going to      
happen in the world1 and if it is true  
that ,i am so to live1 ,i shall be      
immensely delighted4 ,but ,i cannot say 
that it must be true1 and all ,i can do 
is to investigate the probabilities4 ,on
 this point my view is stated in a      
sentence of ,spinoza's3 ,he who would   
love ,god rightly must not desire that  
,god love him in return4  ,to sum up1   
the question of immortality is purely a 
question of fact4 ,it is one to be      
approached in a spirit of open-minded   
inquiry1 entirely unaffected by hopes or
 fears or dogmas or moral claims4 ,it is
 worth while to get clear that we may be
 immortal1 even though we do not now    
know it and cannot now prove it2 it is  
possible that all psychic research might
 end in telepathy1 and still1 when we   

die1 we might wake up and find ourselves
 alive4 ,it might possibly be that some 
of us are immortal and not all of us4   
,it might be that some parts of us are  
immortal and not the rest4 ,it might be 
that our subconsciousness is immortal   
and not our consciousness4 ,it might be 
that all of us1 or some part of us1     
survive for a time1 but not forever4    
,this last is something which ,i myself 
am inclined to think may be the case4   
,also1 it seems worthwhile to mention   
that it is no argument against          
immortality that we cannot imagine it1  
that we cannot picture a universe       
consisting of uncountable billions of   
living souls1 or what these souls would 
do to pass the time4 ,it may very well  
be that among these souls there is no   
such thing as time4 ,it may be that they
 are thoroughly occupied in ways beyond 
our imagining1 or again1 that they are  
not occupied1 and under no necessity of 
being occupied4 ,let the person who     
presents such arguments begin by        

picturing to you how the brain cells    
manage to store up the uncounted        
millions of memories which you have1 the
 thousands of words and combinations of 
words1 and the thoughts which go with   
them1 musical notes and tunes1 colors   
and odors and visual impressions1       
memories of the past and hopes of the   
future and dreams that never were4      
,where are all those hundreds of        
millions of things1 and what are they   
like when they are not in our           
consciousness1 and how do they pass the 
time1 and where were they in the        
hundreds of millions of years before we 
were born1 and where will they be in the
 hundreds of millions of years of the   
future8 ,when our wise men can answer   
these questions completely1 it will be  
time enough for them to tell us about   
the impossibility of immortality4       
,,chapter ,,xv  ,,the ,,evidence ,,for  
,,survival       7,discusses the data of
 psychic research1 and the proofs of    
spiritism thus put before us47   ,let us

 now take up the question of survival of
 personality after death from the       
strictly scientific point of view2 let  
us consider what facts we have1 and the 
indications they seem to give4 ,first1  
we know that to all appearances the     
consciousness and the subconsciousness  
are bound up with the body4 ,they grow  
with the body1 they decline with the    
body1 they seem to die with the body4   
,we can irretrievably damage the        
consciousness by drawing a whiff of     
cyanogen gas into the lungs1 or by      
sticking a pin into the brain1 or by    
clogging one of its tiny blood vessels  
with waste matter4 ,it is terrible to us
 to think that the mind of a great poet 
or prophet or statesman may be snuffed  
out of existence in such a way2 but     
then1 it is no argument against a fact  
to say that it is terrible4 ,insanity is
 terrible1 war is terrible1 pestilence  
is terrible1 so also are tigers and     
poisonous snakes2 but all these things  
exist1 and all these things have power  

over the wisest and greatest mind1 to   
put an end to its work on this earth at 
least4  ,and now we come with the new   
instrument of psychic research1 to probe
 the question3 ,what becomes of this    
consciousness when it disappears8 ,can  
we prove that it is still in existence1 
and is able by any method to communicate
 with us8 ,those who answer ,yes argue  
that the mind of the dead person1 unable
 to use its own bodily machinery any    
longer1 manages in the hypnotic trance  
to use the bodily machinery of another  
person1 called a medium1 and by it to   
make some kind of record to identify    
itself4  ,this1 of course1 is a strange 
idea1 and requires a good deal of proof4
 ,the law of probability requires us not
 to accept an unlikely explanation1 if  
there is any more simple one which can  
account for the facts4 ,when we examine 
the product of automatic writing1       
table-tipping1 and other psychic        
phenomena1 we have first to ask         
ourselves1 ,is there anything in all    

this which cannot be explained by what  
we already know8 ,then1 second1 we have 
to ask1 ,is there any other supposition 
which will explain the facts1 and which 
is easier to believe than the spirit    
theory8  ,these spirits apparently      
desire to convince us of their reality1 
and they tell us many things which are  
expected to convince us2 they tell us   
things which we ourselves do not know1  
and which spirits might know4 ,but here 
again we run up against the problem of  
the subconsciousness1 with its infinite 
mass of forgotten knowledge4 ,it is not 
so easy for the spirits to tell us      
things which we can be sure our         
subconscious mind could not possibly    
contain4 ,also1 there comes the         
additional element of telepathy4 ,it    
appears to be a fact that under trance  
conditions1 or under any especially     
exciting conditions of the              
consciousness1 one mind can reach out   
and take something out of another mind1 
or one mind can cause something to be   

passed over to another mind2 and so     
information can be communicated to the  
mind of a medium1 and can appear in     
automatic writing1 or in clairvoyance1  
or in crystal gazing4  ,one of the most 
conscientious and earnest of all the    
investigators of this subject was the   
late ,professor ,hyslop1 who many years 
ago sought to teach me practical        
morality 7from the bourgeois point of   
view7 in ,columbia ,university4         
,professor ,hyslop worked for fifteen   
years with a medium by the name of ,mrs4
 ,piper1 who was apparently sincere and 
was never exposed in any kind of fraud4 
,in ,professor ,hyslop's books you will 
find innumerable instances of amazing   
facts brought out in ,mrs4 ,piper's     
trances4 ,you will find ,professor      
,hyslop arguing that the only way       
telepathy can account for these facts is
 by the supposition that there is a     
universal subconscious mind1 or that the
 subconscious mind of the medium        
possesses the power to reach into the   

subconscious mind of every other living 
person and take out anything from it4   
,but for my part1 ,i cannot see that the
 case is quite so difficult4 ,professor 
,hyslop recites1 for example1 how ,mrs4 
,piper would tell him facts about some  
long dead relative--facts which he did  
not know1 but was later able to verify4 
,but that proves simply nothing at all1 
because there could be no possible way  
for ,professor ,hyslop to be sure that  
he had never known these facts about his
 relatives4 ,the facts might have been  
in his subconscious mind without having 
ever been in his conscious mind at all2 
he might have heard people talking about
 these matters while he was reading a   
book1 or playing as a boy1 paying no    
attention to what was said4  ,and then  
came ,sir ,oliver ,lodge with his       
investigations4 ,i will say this for his
 work--he was the first person who was  
able to make real to my mind the        
startling idea that perhaps after all   
the dead might be alive and able to     

communicate with us4 ,you will find what
 he has to say in his book1 ,the        
,survival of ,man1 and it seems fair    
that a great scientist and a great man  
should have a chance to convince you of 
what seem to him the most important     
facts in the world4  ,sir ,oliver's son 
,raymond was killed in the war1 and it  
is claimed that he began at once to     
communicate with his family4 ,among     
other things1 he told them of the       
existence of a picture1 which none of   
them had ever seen or heard of1 a group 
photograph which he described in detail4
 ,but1 of course1 other people in this  
group knew of the existence of the      
photograph1 and so we have again the    
possibility that some member of ,sir    
,oliver's family may have taken into his
 subconscious mind without knowing it an
 impression or description of that      
picture4 ,if you care to experiment1 you
 will find that you can frequently play 
a part in the dreams of a child by      
talking to it in its sleep2 and that is 

only one of a thousand different ways by
 which some member of a family might    
acquire1 without knowing it1 information
 of the existence of a photograph4      
,there is another possibility to be     
considered--that a portion of the       
consciousness may survive1 and not      
necessarily forever4 ,we are accustomed 
when death takes place to see the body  
before us1 and we know that we can      
preserve the body for thousands of years
 if we wish4 ,why is it not possible    
that when conscious life is brought to a
 sudden end1 there may remain some      
portion of the consciousness1 or of the 
subconsciousness1 cut off from the body1
 and slowly fading back into the        
universal mind energy1 whatever we      
please to call it8 ,there is a hard part
 of the body1 the skeleton1 which       
survives for some time2 why might there 
not be a central core of the mind which 
is similarly tough and enduring8 ,of    
course1 if consciousness is a function  
of the brain1 it must decay as the brain

 decays2 but how would it be if the     
brain were a function of the            
consciousness--which is1 so far as ,i   
can see1 quite as likely a guess4  ,i   
find many facts which seem to indicate  
the plausibility of this idea4 ,i notice
 that in trance phenomena it is the     
spirits of those recently dead which    
seem to manifest the most vitality4 ,of 
course1 you can go to any seance in the 
white light district of your city and   
receive communications from the souls of
 ,caesar and ,napoleon and ,alexander   
the ,great and ,pocahontas1 and if the  
medium does not happen to be literary1  
you can communicate with ,hamlet and    
,don ,quixote and ,siegfried and        
,achilles2 but you will not find much   
reality about any of these people1 they 
will not tell you very much about the   
everyday details of their lives4 ,this  
fact that so much of what the spirits   
tell us is of our own time tends to cast
 doubt on the idea that the dead survive
 forever4 ,how simple it would be to    

convince us1 if the spirit of ,sophocles
 would come back to earth and tell us   
where to dig in order to find copies of 
his lost tragedies6 ,you would think    
that the soul of ,sophocles1 seeing our 
great need of beauty and wisdom1 would  
be interested to give us his works6     
,from genius1 operating under the       
guidance of the conscious mind1 we get  
sublimity1 majesty and power2 but what  
the trance mediums give us suggests1    
both in its moral and intellectual      
quality1 the operation of the           
subconscious4 ,it is exactly like what  
we get1 for example1 from dissociated   
personalities4  ,there are1 to be sure1 
the books of ,patience ,worth1 produced 
by the automatic writing of a lady in   
,st4 ,louis1 who tells us in evident    
good faith that her conscious           
personality is entirely innocent of     
,patience1 and all her thought and      
doings4 ,patience writes long novels and
 dramas in a quaint kind of old         
,english1 and the lady in ,st4 ,louis   

knows nothing about this language4 ,but 
does she positively know that when she  
was a child1 she never happened to be in
 the room with someone who was reading  
old ,english aloud8 ,nothing seems more 
likely than that her subconscious mind  
heard some quaint1 strange language1 and
 took possession of it1 and built up a  
personality around it1 and even made a  
new language and a new literature from  
that starting point4  ,that is precisely
 the kind of thing in which the         
subconscious revels4 ,it creates new    
characters1 with an imagination infinite
 and inexhaustible4 ,who has not waked  
up and been astounded at the variety and
 reality of a dream8 ,who has not told  
his dreams and laughed over them8 ,the  
subconscious will play at games1 it will
 act and rehearse elaborate roles2 it   
will put on costumes1 and delight in    
being ,caesar and ,napoleon and         
,alexander the ,great and ,pocahontas   
and ,hamlet and ,don ,quixote and       
,siegfried and ,achilles4 ,yes1 it will 

even play at being spirits6 ,it will be 
mischievous and impish2 it will be      
swallowed up with a sense of its own    
importance1 taking an insolent delight  
in convincing the world's most learned  
scientists of the fact that its         
play-acting is reality4 ,it will call   
itself ,raymond to move and thrill a    
grief-stricken family2 it will call     
itself ,phinuit and ,dr4 ,hodgson1 and  
cause an earnest professor of practical 
morality to give up a respectable       
position in ,columbia ,university and   
write books to convince the world that  
the dead are sending him messages4      
,consider1 for example1 the multiple    
personality of ,miss ,beauchamp4        
,remember that here we are not dealing  
with any guess work about spirits2 here 
we have half a dozen different controls1
 none of them the least bit dead1 but   
all of them a part of the consciousness 
of one entirely alive young lady4 ,a    
specialist has spent some six years     
investigating the case1 day after day1  

week after week1 writing down the minute
 details of what happens4 ,and now      
consider the miscreant known as ,sally4 
,sally is just as real as any child whom
 you ever held in your arms4 ,sally has 
love and hate1 fear and hope1 pain and  
delight--and ,sally is a little demon1  
created entirely out of the             
subconsciousness of a highly refined and
 conscientious young college graduate of
 ,boston4 ,sally spends ,miss           
,beauchamp's money on candy1 and eats   
it2 ,sally pawns ,miss ,beauchamp's     
watch and deliberately loses the ticket2
 ,sally uses ,miss ,beauchamp's lips and
 tongue to tell lies about ,miss        
,beauchamp2 ,sally strikes ,miss        
,beauchamp dumb1 or makes her hear      
exactly the opposite of what is spoken  
to her4 ,yes1 and ,sally pleads and     
fights frantically for her life2 ,sally 
enters into intrigues with other parts  
of ,miss ,beauchamp1 and for years      
deliberately fools ,doctor ,prince1 who 
is her ,recording ,angel and ,heavenly  

,judge6  ,and can anybody doubt that    
,sally could have fooled a grieving     
mother1 and made that mother think she  
was talking to the ghost of a long lost 
child8 ,can anybody doubt that ,sally   
could and would play the part of any    
person she had ever known1 or of any    
historic character she had ever read    
about8 ,and don't overlook the          
all-important fact that the conscious   
,miss ,beauchamp was absolutely innocent
 of all this1 and was horrified when she
 was told about it4 ,so here you have   
the following situation1 no matter of   
guesswork1 but definitely established3  
your dearest friend may act as a medium1
 and in all good faith may bring to the 
surface some part of his or her         
subconsciousness1 which masquerades     
before you in a hundred different roles1
 and plays upon you with deliberate     
malice the most subtle and elaborate and
 cruel tricks4  ,and how much worse the 
situation becomes when to this there is 
added the possibility of conscious      

fraud6 ,when the medium is a person who 
is taking your money1 and thrives by    
making you believe in the spirits she   
produces6 ,you may go to ,lily ,dale1 in
 ,new ,york state1 the home of the      
,spiritualists1 where they have a       
convention every summer1 and in row     
after row of tents you may hear1 and    
even see1 every kind of spirit you ever 
dreamed of1 ringing bells and shaking   
tambourines and dancing jigs4 ,and you  
may see poor farmers' wives1 with tears 
streaming down their cheeks1 listening  
to the endearments of their dead        
children1 and to wisdom from the lips of
 ,oliver ,wendell ,holmes speaking with 
a ,bowery accent4 ,this kind of thing   
was exposed many years ago by ,will     
,irwin in a book called ,the ,medium    
,game2 and then--after traveling from   
one kind of medium to another1 and      
studying all their frauds1 ,irwin tells 
how he went into a parlor on ,sixth     
,avenue1 and there by a fat old woman   
who had never seen him before1 was      

suddenly told the most intimate secrets 
of his life6  ,it has recently been     
announced that ,thomas ,a4 ,edison is at
 work upon a device to enable spirits to
 communicate with the living1 if there  
really are spirits seeking to do this4  
,it is ,edison's idea that spirits may  
inhabit some kind of infinitely rarefied
 astral body1 and he proposes to        
manufacture an instrument which is      
sensitive to an impression many millions
 of times fainter than anything the     
human body can feel4 ,this should make  
it easier for the spirits1 and should   
constitute a fairer test1 possibly a    
decisive one4 ,when that machine is     
perfected and put to work by scientific 
men1 ,i wish to suggest a few tests     
which will convince me that there really
 are spirits1 and that the results are  
not to be explained by telepathy4       
,first1 assuming that the spirits live  
forever1 there are some useful things   
which were known to the people of       
ancient time1 and are not known to      

anyone living now4 ,for example1 let one
 of the ,egyptian craftsmen come forward
 and tell us the secret of their        
glass-staining1 which ,i understand is  
now a lost art4 ,and then ,sophocles1 as
 ,i have already suggested1 will tell us
 where we can find his lost dramas2 or  
if he doesn't know where any copies are 
buried1 let him find in the spirit world
 some scribe or librarian or book-lover 
who can give us this priceless          
information4 ,all over the ancient lands
 are buried and forgotten cities1 and in
 those cities are papyrus scrolls and   
graven tablets and bricks4 ,infinite    
stores of knowledge are thus concealed  
from us2 and how simple for the ancient 
ones who possess this information to    
make it known to us1 and so to convince 
us of their reality6  ,or1 again1       
supposing that spirits are not immortal1
 but that they slowly fade from life as 
do their bodies4 ,suppose that a        
,raymond ,lodge or other recently dead  
soldier wishes to communicate with his  

father and to convince his father that  
it is really an independent being1 and  
not simply a part of the father's       
subconscious mind--let him try something
 like this4 ,let the father write six   
brief notes1 and put them in six        
envelopes all alike1 and shuffle them up
 and put them in a hat and draw out one 
of them4 ,now1 assuming that the        
experimenter is honest1 there is no     
living human being who knows the        
contents of that envelope1 and if the   
medium is dipping into the subconscious 
mind of the experimenter1 the chances   
are one in six of the right note being  
hit upon4 ,assuming that spirits may not
 be able to get inside an envelope and  
read a folded letter1 there is no       
objection to the experimenter1 provided 
he is honest1 and provided there are no 
mirrors or other tricks1 holding the    
envelope behind his back1 and tearing it
 open1 and spreading it out for the     
convenience of the spirit4 ,and now1 if 
the spirit can read that letter         

correctly every time1 we shall be fairly
 certain that whatever force we are     
dealing with1 it is not the subconscious
 mind of the experimenter4  ,or1 let us 
take another test4 ,let us have a       
roulette wheel in a covered box1 or     
hidden away so that no one but the      
spirit can see it4 ,we spin the wheel1  
and any one of the habitues of ,monte   
,carlo can figure out the chance of the 
little ball dropping into any particular
 number4 ,if now the spirit can tell us 
each time where we shall find the ball1 
we shall know that we are dealing with  
knowledge which does not exist either in
 the conscious or the subconscious mind 
of any living human being4  ,among the  
things that spirits have been accustomed
 to do1 since the days when they first  
made their appearance with the ,fox     
sisters in ,america1 are the lifting of 
tables and the ringing of bells and the 
assuming of visible forms4 ,these are   
what is known as materializations1 and  
when ,i was a boy1 and used to hear     

people talking about these things1 there
 was always one test required3 let the  
materializations manifest themselves    
upon recording instruments              
scientifically devised2 let photographs 
be taken of them1 let them be weighed   
and measured1 and so on4 ,well1 time has
 moved forward1 and these tests have    
been met1 and it appears that           
materializations are facts--although it 
is still as uncertain as ever what they 
are materializations of4 ,an ,english   
scientist1 ,professor ,crawford1 has    
published a book entitled ,the ,reality 
of ,psychic ,phenomena1 in which he     
tells the results of many years of      
testing materializations by the         
strictest scientific methods4 ,when the 
medium levitates a table--that is1      
causes it to go up in the air without   
physical contact--it appears that her   
own weight increases by exactly the     
weight of the table4 ,when she exerts   
any force1 which apparently she can do  
at a distance1 the recording instruments

 show the exact counter-force in her own
 body4  ,the results of these           
investigations are calculated at first  
to take your breath away4 ,it begins to 
appear that the theosophists may be     
right1 and that we may have one or more 
astral bodies within or coincident with 
the physical body2 and that under the   
trance conditions we mold and make over 
this astral body in accordance with our 
imaginations1 precisely as a sculptor   
molds the clay4 ,at any rate1 our       
subconsciousness has the power to       
project from it masses of substance1 and
 to cause these to take all kinds of    
forms1 for example1 human faces1 which  
have been photographed innumerable      
times4 ,or the body can shoot out long  
rods or snaky projections1 which lift   
tables1 and exert force which has been  
recorded upon pressure instruments and  
weighed by scales4  ,as ,i write1 a     
friend lends me a fifteen-dollar volume1
 a translation just published of an     
elaborate work by ,baron von            

,schrenck-,notzing1 a physician of      
,munich1 giving minute details of four  
years' experiments in this field4 ,so   
rigid was this investigator in his      
efforts to exclude fraud1 that not      
merely was the medium stripped and sewed
 up in black tights1 but the cabinet in 
which she sat was a big sack of black   
cloth1 everywhere sewed tight by        
machine4 ,every crevice of the medium's 
body was searched before and after the  
tests1 and every inch of the cabinet    
gone over4 ,the investigators sat within
 a couple of feet of the medium1 and    
would draw back the curtains1 and while 
holding her hands and her feet1 would   
watch great masses of filmy gray and    
white stuff exude from the medium's     
mouth1 from her armpits and breasts and 
sides4 ,this would happen in red light  
of a hundred candle power1 by which     
print could be easily read2 and the     
medium would herself illuminate the     
phenomena with a red electric torch4    
,the investigators would be privileged  

to examine these phantom forms1 to touch
 them gently1 and be touched by         
them--soft and slimy1 like the tongue of
 an animal2 but sometimes the things    
would misbehave1 and strike them in the 
eye1 hurting them4  ,the medium1 a young
 ,french girl living in the home of the 
wife of a well-known ,french playwright1
 had begun with spiritualist ideas1 but 
came to take a matter-of-fact attitude  
to what happened1 and in her trances    
would labor to mold these emanations    
into hands or faces1 as requested by    
those present4 ,she finally succeeded in
 allowing them to separate the soft     
mucous stuff from her body1 and keep it 
for chemical and bacteriological        
examination4 ,all this time she would be
 surrounded by a battery of cameras1    
nine at once1 some of them inside the   
cabinet2 and when the desired emanation 
was in sight1 all these cameras would be
 set off by flashlight1 and in the book 
you have over two hundred such          
photographs1 showing faces and hands    

from every point of view4 ,there are    
even moving-pictures1 showing the       
material coming out of her mouth and    
going back6  ,it is evident that we have
 here a whole universe of unexplored    
phenomena2 and it seems that many of the
 old-time superstitions which were      
dumped overboard have now to be dragged 
back into the boat and examined in the  
light of new knowledge4 ,what could     
smack more of magic and fraud than      
crystal-gazing8 ,yet it appears that the
 subconsciousness has power to project  
an image of its hidden memories into a  
crystal ball1 where it may be plainly   
seen4 ,we find so well-recognized an    
authority as ,dr4 ,morton ,prince using 
this method to enable one of the many   
,miss ,beauchamps to recall incidents in
 her previous life which were otherwise 
entirely lost to her4 ,likewise this    
exploration of the disintegration of    
personality enables us to watch in the  
making all the phenomena of trance and  
ecstasy which have had so much to do    

with the making of religions4 ,we know  
now how ,joan of ,arc heard the voices1 
and we can make her hear more voices or 
make her stop hearing voices1 as we     
prefer4 ,also we know all about demons  
and demoniac possession4 ,we can cast   
out demons--and without having to cause 
them to enter a herd of swine6 ,we may  
some day be prepared to investigate the 
wonder stories which the ,yogis tell us1
 about their ability to leave their     
physical bodies in a trance1 and to     
appear in ,england at a few moments'    
notice for the transaction of their     
spiritual business6  ,but we want things
 proven to us1 and we don't want the    
people with whom we work to be animated 
either by religious fanaticism or by    
money greed4 ,we are ready to unlimber  
our minds1 and prepare for long journeys
 into strange regions1 but we want to   
move cautiously1 and choose our route   
carefully1 and be sure we do not lose   
our way6 ,we want to deal rationally    
with life2 we don't want to make wild   

guesses1 or to choose a complicated and 
unlikely solution when a simple one will
 suffice4 ,but1 on the other hand1 we   
must be alive to the danger of settling 
down on our little pile of knowledge1   
and refusing to take the trouble to     
investigate any more4 ,that is a habit  
of learned men1 ,i am sorry to say2 the 
law of inertia applies to the scientist1
 as well as to the objects he studies4  
,the scientists of our time have had to 
be prodded into considering each new    
discovery about the subconscious mind1  
precisely as the scientists of          
,galileo's time had to be prodded to    
watch him drop weights from the tower of
 ,pisa4 ,when he told them that the     
earth moved round the sun instead of the
 sun round the earth1 they tortured him 
in a dungeon to make him take it back1  
and he did so1 but whispered to himself1
 ,and yet it moves4 ,and it did move1 of
 course1 and continued to move4 ,and in 
exactly the same way1 if it be true that
 we have these hidden forces in us1 they

 will continue to manifest themselves1  
and masses of people will continue to   
flock to ,lily ,dale1 and to pay out    
their hard-earned money1 until such a   
time as our learned men set to work to  
find out the facts and tell us how we   
can utilize these forces without the aid
 of either superstition or charlatanry4 
,,chapter ,,xvi  ,,the ,,powers ,,of    
,,the ,,mind       7,sets forth the fact
 that knowledge is freedom and ignorance
 is      slavery1 and what science means
 to the people47   ,we have now         
completed a brief survey of the mind and
 its powers4 ,whatever we may have      
proved or failed to prove1 this much we 
may say with assurance3 the reader who  
has followed our brief sketch           
attentively has been disabused of any   
idea he may have held that he knows it  
all2 and this is always the first step  
towards knowledge4  ,the mind is the    
instrument whereby our race has lifted  
itself out of beasthood4 ,it is the     
instrument whereby we hold ourselves    

above the forces which seek to drag us  
down1 and whereby we shall lift         
ourselves higher1 if higher we are to   
go4 ,how shall we protect this precious 
instrument8 ,how shall we complete our  
mastery of it8 ,what are the laws of the
 conduct of the mind8  ,the process of  
the mind is one of groping outward after
 new facts1 and digesting and           
assimilating them1 as the body gropes   
after and digests and assimilates food4 
,the senses bring us new impressions1   
and we take these and analyze them1 tear
 them into the parts which compose them1
 compare them with previous sensations1 
recognize difference in things which    
seem to be alike1 and resemblances in   
things which seem to be different2 we   
classify them1 and provide them with    
names1 which are1 as it were1 handles   
for the mind to grasp4 ,above all1 we   
seek for causes2 those chains of events 
which make what we know as order in the 
world of phenomena4 ,and when the mind  
has what seems to be a cause1 it        

proceeds to test it according to methods
 it has worked out1 the rules and       
principles of experimental science4  ,it
 is a comparatively small number of     
sensations which the body brings to the 
mind of itself2 it is a narrow world in 
which we should live if our minds       
adopted a passive attitude toward life4 
,but some minds possess what we call    
curiosity2 they set out upon their own  
impulse to explore life2 they discover  
new laws and make new experiences and   
new sensations for themselves4 ,the mind
 forms an idea1 and at first1 after the 
fashion of the ancient ,greek           
philosophers1 it glorifies that idea and
 sets it in the seat of divinity4 ,but  
presently comes the empirical method1   
which refuses authority to any idea     
unless it can stand the test of         
experiment1 and prove that it           
corresponds with reality4 ,nowadays the 
thinker amasses his facts1 and forms a  
theory to explain them1 and then        
proceeds to try out this theory by the  

most rigid method that he or his critics
 can devise4 ,if the theory doesn't     
work--that is1 if it doesn't explain all
 the facts and stand all the tests--it  
is thrown away like a worn-out shoe4 ,so
 little by little a body of knowledge is
 built up which is real knowledge2 which
 will serve us in our daily lives1 which
 we can use as foundation-stones in the 
structure of our civilization4  ,by this
 method of research man is expanding his
 universe beyond anything that could    
have been conceived in the              
pre-scientific days4 ,hour by hour1     
while we work and play and sleep1 the   
mind of our race is discovering new     
worlds in which our posterity will      
dwell4 ,for uncounted ages man walked   
upon the earth1 surrounded by infinite  
swarms of bacterial life of whose       
existence he never dreamed4 ,the        
invisible rays of the spectrum beat upon
 him1 and he knew nothing of what they  
did to him1 whether good or evil4 ,he   
lifted his head and saw vast universes  

of suns1 in comparison with which his   
world was a mere speck of dust2 yet to  
him these universes were globes or      
lanterns which some divinity had hung in
 the sky4  ,one of the most fascinating 
illustrations of how the mind runs ahead
 of the senses is the story of the      
planet ,uranus1 which1 less than two    
hundred years ago1 had never been beheld
 by the eye of man4 ,a mathematician    
seated in his study1 working over the   
observations of other planets1 their    
motions in relation to their mass and   
distance1 discovered that their behavior
 was not as it should be4 ,at certain   
times none of them were in quite the    
right place1 and he decided that this   
variation must be due to the existence  
of an unknown body4 ,he worked out the  
problem of what must be the mass and the
 exact orbit of this body1 in order for 
it to be responsible for the variations 
observed2 and when he had completed     
these calculations1 he announced to the 
astronomical world1 ,turn your          

telescopes to a certain spot in the     
heavens at a certain minute of a certain
 night1 and you will find a new planet  
of a certain size4 ,and so for the first
 time the human senses became aware of a
 fact1 which by themselves they might   
not have discovered in all eternity4    
,now1 the importance of exact knowledge 
concerning a new planet may not be      
apparent to the ordinary man2 but if the
 thing which is discovered is1 for      
example1 an unknown ray which will move 
an engine or destroy a cancer1 then we  
realize the worthwhileness of research1 
and the masters of the world's commerce 
are willing to give here and there a    
pittance for the increase of such       
knowledge4 ,but men of science1 who have
 by this time come to a sense of their  
own dignity and importance1 understand  
that there is no knowledge about reality
 which is useless1 no research into     
nature which is wasted4 ,you might say  
that to describe and classify the fleas 
which inhabit the bodies of rats and    

ground-squirrels1 and to study under the
 microscope the bacteria which live in  
the blood of these fleas--that this     
would be an occupation hardly worthy of 
the divinity that is in man4 ,but       
presently1 as a result of this knowledge
 about fleas and flea diseases being in 
existence and available1 a              
bacteriologist discovers the secret of  
the dread bubonic plague1 which hundreds
 of times in past history has wiped out 
a great part of the population of       
,europe and ,asia4  ,mark ,twain tells  
in his ,connecticut ,yankee how his hero
 was able to overcome the wizard        
,merlin1 because he knew in advance of  
an eclipse of the sun4 ,and this was    
fiction1 of course2 but if you prefer   
fact1 you may read in the memoirs of    
,houdin1 the ,french conjurer1 how he   
was able to bring the ,arab tribes into 
subjection to the ,french government by 
depriving the great chieftains of their 
strength4 ,he gathered them into a      
theatre1 and invited their mighty men   

upon the stage1 and there was an iron   
weight1 and they were able to lift it   
when ,houdin permitted1 and not to lift 
it when he forbade4 ,these noble        
barbarians had never heard of the       
electro-magnet1 and could not conceive  
of a force that could operate through a 
solid wooden floor beneath their feet4  
,such things1 trivial as they are1 serve
 to illustrate the difference between   
ignorance and knowledge1 and the power  
which knowledge gives4 ,the man who     
knows is godlike to those who do not    
know2 he may enslave them1 he may do    
what he pleases with their lives1 and   
they are powerless to help themselves4  
,anyone who would help them must begin  
by giving them knowledge1 real          
knowledge4 ,there is no such thing as   
freedom without knowledge1 and it must  
be the best knowledge1 it must be new   
knowledge2 he who goes against new      
knowledge armed with old knowledge is   
like the ,chinese who went out to meet  
machine-guns with bows and arrows1 and  

with umbrellas over their heads4  ,once 
upon a time knowledge was the           
prerogative of kings and priests and    
ruling castes2 but this supreme power   
has been wrested from them1 and this is 
the greatest step in human progress so  
far taken4 ,seek and ye shall find1 is  
the law concerning knowledge today4     
,knock1 and it shall be opened unto you4
 ,in this1 my ,book of the ,mind1 ,i say
 to you that knowledge is your priceless
 birthright1 and that you should        
repudiate all men and all institutions  
and all creeds and all formulas which   
seek to keep this heritage from you4    
,beware of men who bid you believe      
something because it is told you1 or    
because your fathers believed it1 or    
because it is written in some ancient   
book1 or embodied in some ancient       
ceremonial4 ,break the chains of these  
venerable spells2 and at the same time  
beware of the modern spells which have  
been contrived to replace them6 ,beware 
of party cries and shibboleths1 the     

idols of the forum1 as ,plato called    
them1 the prejudices which are set as   
snares for your feet4 ,beware of        
cant--that paraphernalia of noble       
sentiments1 artificially manufactured by
 politicians and newspapers for the     
purpose of blinding you to their        
knaveries4 ,remember that you live in a 
world of class conflicts2 at every      
moment of your life your mind is        
besieged by secret enemies1 it is       
exposed to poison gas-clouds            
deliberately released by people who seek
 to make use of you for purposes which  
are theirs and not yours4 ,in the       
fairy-tales we used to love1 the hero   
was provided with magic protection      
against the perils of those times2 but  
what hero and what magic will guard the 
modern man against the propaganda of    
militarism1 nationalism1 and capitalist 
imperialism8  ,the mind is like the body
 in that it can be trained1 it can be   
taught sound habits1 its powers can be  
enormously increased4 ,there are many   

books on mind and memory training1 some 
of which are useful1 and some of which  
are trash4 ,there is an ,english system 
widely advertised1 called ,pelmanism1 of
 which ,i have personally made no test1 
but it has won endorsements of a great  
many people who do not give their       
endorsements lightly4  ,this is the     
subject of applied psychology1 and just 
as in medicine1 or in law1 or in any of 
the arts1 there is a vast amount of     
charlatanry1 but there is also genuine  
knowledge being patiently accumulated   
and standardized4 ,when the ,united     
,states government had to have an army  
in a hurry it did not make its millions 
of young men into teamsters or aviators 
at random4 ,it used the new methods of  
determining reaction times1 and testing 
the coordination of mind and body4      
,recently ,i visited the ,whittier      
,reform ,school in ,california1 where   
delinquent boys are educated by the     
state4 ,a boy had been set to work in   
the tailor shop1 and it had been found  

that he was unable to make the buttons  
and the buttonholes of a coat come in   
the right place4 ,for nine years the    
state of ,california1 and before it the 
state of ,georgia1 had been laboring to 
teach this boy to make buttons and      
buttonholes meet2 the effort had cost   
some five thousand dollars1 to say      
nothing of all the coats which were     
spoiled1 and all the mental suffering of
 the victim and his teachers4 ,finally  
someone persuaded the state of          
,california to spend a few thousand     
dollars and install a psychological     
bureau for the purpose of testing all   
the inmates of the institution2 so by a 
half hour's examination the fact was    
developed that this boy was mentally    
defective4 ,although he was eighteen    
years old in body1 his mind was only    
eight years old1 and so he would never  
be able to achieve the feat of making   
buttons and buttonholes meet4  ,this is 
a new science which you may read about  
in ,terman's ,the ,measurement of       

,intelligence4 ,by testing normal       
children1 it is established that certain
 tasks can be performed at certain ages4
 ,a child of three can point to his     
eyes1 his nose and his mouth2 he can    
repeat a sentence of six syllables1 and 
repeat two digits1 and give his family  
name4 ,older children are asked to look 
at a picture and then tell what they    
saw2 to note omissions in a picture1 to 
arrange blocks according to their       
weight1 to arrange words into sentences1
 to note absurdities in statements1 to  
count backwards1 and to make change4    
,children of fifteen are asked to       
interpret fables1 to reverse the hands  
of a clock1 and so on4 ,of course there 
are always variations2 every child will 
be better at some kinds of tests than at
 others4 ,but by having a wide variety1 
and taking the average1 you establish a 
mental age for the child--which may be  
widely different from its physical age4 
,you may find some whose minds have     
stopped growing altogether1 and can only

 be made to grow by special methods of  
education4 ,enlightened communities are 
now conducting separate schools for     
defective children--replacing the       
old-fashioned schoolmaster who wore out 
birch-rods trying to force poor little  
wretches to learn what was beyond their 
power4  ,in the same way psychology can 
be applied in industry1 and in the      
detection of crime4 ,here1 too1 there is
 a vast amount of fake1 but also the    
beginning of a science4 ,our laws do not
 as yet permit the use of automatic     
writing and the hypnotic trance in the  
investigation of crime1 but they have   
sometimes permitted some of the simpler 
tests1 for example1 those of memory     
association4 ,the examiner prepares a   
list of a hundred names of objects1 and 
reads those names one after another1 and
 asks the person he is investigating to 
name the first thing which is suggested 
to him by each word in turn4 ,engine    
will suggest steam1 or perhaps it will  
suggest train2 coat will suggest        

trousers1 or perhaps it will suggest    
pocket1 and so on4 ,the examiner holds a
 stop-watch1 and notes what fraction of 
a second each one of these reactions    
takes4 ,the ordinary man1 who is not    
trying to conceal anything1 will give   
all his associations promptly1 and the  
reaction times will be approximately    
alike4 ,but suppose the man has just    
murdered somebody with an axe1 and      
buried the body in a cellar with a fire 
shovel1 and taken a pocketbook1 and a   
watch1 and a locket1 and a number of    
various objects1 and climbed out of the 
cellar window by breaking the glass2 and
 now suppose that in his list of a      
hundred objects the psychologist        
introduces unexpectedly a number of     
these things4 ,in each case the first   
memory association of the criminal will 
be one which he does not wish to give4  
,he will have to find another1 and that 
inevitably takes time4 ,one or two such 
delays might be accidental2 but if every
 time there is any suggestion of the    

murder1 or the method or scene of the   
murder1 there is noticed confusion and  
delay1 you may be sure that the         
conscious mind is interfering with the  
subconscious mind4 ,the difference      
between the conscious and the           
subconscious mind is always possible to 
detect1 and if you are permitted to be  
thorough in your experiments1 you can   
make certain what is in the subconscious
 mind that the conscious mind is trying 
to conceal4  ,here1 as everywhere in    
life1 knowledge is power1 and expert    
knowledge confers mastery over the      
shrewdest untrained mind4 ,the only     
trouble is that under our present social
 system the trained mind is very apt to 
be working in the interest of class     
privilege4 ,the psychologist who is     
employed by a great corporation1 or by a
 police department1 may be as little    
worthy of trust as a chemist who is     
engaged in making poison gases to be    
used by capitalist imperialism for the  
extermination of its rebellious slaves4 

,but what this proves is not that       
scientific knowledge is untrustworthy1  
but merely that the workers must acquire
 it1 they must have their own           
organizations and their own experiments 
in every field4 ,to give knowledge to   
the masses of mankind1 slow and painful 
as the process seems1 is now the most   
important task confronting the          
enlightened thinker4  ,the method of    
psychoanalysis gives us also much       
insight into the phenomena of genius1   
and the hope that we may ultimately come
 to understand it4 ,at present we are   
embarrassed because genius is so often  
closely allied to eccentricity2 the     
supernormal appears in connection with  
the subnormal--and it is often hard to  
tell them apart4 ,great poets and       
painters in revolt against a world of   
smug commercialism1 adopt               
irresponsibility as their religion2 they
 live in a world of their own1 they     
dress like freaks1 they refuse to pay   
their debts1 or to be true to their     

wives4 ,they are followed by a host of  
disciples1 who adopt the defects of the 
master as a substitute for his          
qualities4 ,and so there grows up a     
perverted notion of what genius is1 and 
wholly false standards of artistic      
quality4 ,there is nothing mankind needs
 more than sure and exact tests of      
mental superiority2 not merely the      
ability to acquire languages and to     
solve mathematical equations1 but the   
ability to carry in the mind intense    
emotions1 while at the same time shaping
 and organizing them by the logical     
faculty1 selecting masses of facts and  
weaving them into a pattern calculated  
to awaken the emotion in others4 ,this  
is the last and greatest work of the    
human spirit1 and to select the men who 
can do it1 and foster their activity1 is
 the ultimate purpose of all true       
science4     ,,chapter ,,xvii  ,,the    
,,conduct ,,of ,,the ,,mind             
7,concludes the ,book of the ,mind with 
a study of how to preserve and          

develop its powers for the protection of
 our lives and the lives of      all    
men47   ,someone wrote me the other day1
 asking1 ,when is the best time to      
acquire knowledge8 ,i answer1 ,the time 
is now4 ,it is easier to learn things   
when you are young1 but you cannot be   
young when you want to be1 and if you   
are old1 the best time to acquire       
knowledge is when you are old4 ,it is   
true that the brain-cells seem to harden
 like the body1 and it is less easy for 
them to take on new impressions2 but it 
can be done1 and just as ,seneca began  
to learn ,greek at eighty1 ,i know      
several old men whom the recent war has 
shaken out of their grooves of thought  
and compelled to deal with modern ideas4
  ,but if you are young1 then so much   
the better6 ,then the divine thrill of  
curiosity is keenest2 then your memory  
is fresh1 and can be trained2 your mind 
is plastic1 and you can form sound      
habits4 ,you can teach yourself to      
respect truth and to seek it1 you can   

teach yourself accuracy1                
open-mindedness1 flexibility1           
persistence in the search for           
understanding4  ,first of all1 ,i think1
 is accuracy4 ,learn to think straight6 
,let your mind be as a sharp scalpel1   
penetrating unrealities and falsehoods1 
cutting its way to the facts4 ,when you 
set out to deal with a certain subject1 
acquire mastery of it1 so that you can  
say1 ,i know4 ,and yet1 never be too    
sure that you know6 ,never be so sure1  
that you are not willing to consider new
 facts1 and to change your way of       
thinking if it should be necessary4 ,i  
look about me at the world1 and see     
tigers and serpents1 dynamite and poison
 gas and forty-two centimeter           
shells--yet ,i see nothing in the world 
so deadly to men as an error of the     
mind4 ,look at the mental follies about 
you6 ,look at the prejudices1 the       
delusions1 the lies deliberately        
maintained--and realize the waste of it 
all1 the pity of it all6  ,every man1 it

 seems1 has his pet delusions1 which he 
hugs to his bosom and loves because they
 are his own4 ,if you try to deprive him
 of those delusions1 it is as though you
 tore from a woman's arms the child she 
has borne4 ,i have written a book called
 ,the ,profits of ,religion1 and never a
 week passes that there do not come to  
me letters from people who tell me they 
have read this book with pleasure and   
profit1 they are grateful to me for     
teaching them so much about the follies 
and delusions of mankind1 and it is all 
right and all true1 save for two or     
three pages1 in which ,i deal with the  
special hobby which happens to be their 
hobby6 ,what ,i say about all the other 
creeds is correct--but ,i fail to       
understand that the ,mormon religion is 
a dignified and inspired religion1 a    
gift from on high1 and if only ,i would 
carefully study the ,book of ,mormon1 ,i
 would realize my error6 ,or it is all  
right1 except what ,i say about the     
,christian ,scientists1 or the          

,theosophists1 or perhaps one particular
 sect of the ,theosophists1 who are     
different from the others4 ,today there 
lies upon my desk a letter from a man   
who has read many of my books1 and now  
is grief-stricken because he must part  
company from me2 he discovers that ,i   
permit myself to speak disrespectfully  
about the ,seventh ,day ,adventist      
religion1 whereas he is prepared to show
 the marvels of biblical prophecy now   
achieving themselves in the world4 ,how 
could any save a divinely revealed      
religion have foreseen the present      
movement to establish the ,sabbath by   
law8 ,yes1 and presently ,i shall see   
the last atom of the prophecy           
fulfilled--there will be a death penalty
 for failure to obey the ,sabbath law6  
,cultivate the great and precious virtue
 of open-mindedness4 ,keep your thinking
 free1 not merely from outer            
compulsions1 but from the more deadly   
compulsions of its own making--from     
prejudices and superstitions4 ,the      

prejudices and superstitions of mankind 
are like those diseased mental states   
which are discovered by the             
psychoanalyst2 what he calls a complex  
in the subconscious mind1 a tangle or   
knot which is a center of disturbance1  
and keeps the whole being in a state of 
confusion4 ,each group of men1 each sect
 or class1 have their precious dogmas1  
their shibboleths1 their sacred words   
and stock phrases which set their whole 
beings aflame with fanaticism4 ,they    
have also their phobias1 their words of 
terror1 which cannot be spoken in their 
presence without causing a brain-storm4 
,at present the dread word of our time  
is ,communist4  ,you can scarcely say   
the word without someone telephoning for
 the police4 ,and yet1 when you meet a  
,communist1 what is he8 ,a worn and     
fragile student1 who has thought out a  
way to make the world a better place to 
live in1 and whose crime is that he     
tells others about his idea6 ,or perhaps
 you belong to the other side1 and then 

your word of terror is the word         
,capitalist4 ,you meet a ,capitalist1   
and what do you find8 ,very likely you  
find a man who is kindly1 generous in   
his personal impulses1 but bewildered1  
possibly a little frightened1 still more
 irritated and made stubborn4 ,so you   
realize that nearly all men are better  
than the institutions and systems under 
which they live2 you realize the urgent 
need of applying your reasoning powers  
to the problem of social reorganization4
  ,cultivate also1 in the affairs of    
your mind1 the ancient virtue of        
humility4 ,there is an oldtime poem1    
which perhaps was in your school        
readers1 ,oh1 why should the spirit of  
mortal be proud8 ,my answer is1 for     
innumerable reasons4 ,the spirit of     
mortal should be proud and must be proud
 because life throbs in it1 and because 
life is a marvelous thing1 and the      
excitement of life is perpetual4        
,yesterday ,i met a young mother2 and of
 what avail is all the pessimism of     

poets against the pride of a young      
mother8 ,oh6 she cried1 and her face    
lighted up with delight4 ,he said       
',goo'6 ,yes1 he said ,goo6--and never  
since the world began had there been a  
baby which had achieved that marvel4    
,presently it will be1 ,look1 look1 he  
is trying to walk6 ,then he will be     
getting marks at school1 and presently  
he will be displaying signs of genius4  
,always it will take an effort of the   
mind of that young mother to realize    
that there are other children in the    
world as wonderful as her own2 and      
perhaps it will take many generations of
 mental effort before there will be     
young mothers capable of realizing that 
some other child is more wonderful than 
her child4  ,in other words1 it is by a 
definite process of broadening our minds
 that we come to realize the lives of   
others1 to transfer to them the interest
 we naturally take in our own lives1 and
 to admit them to a state of equality   
with ourselves4 ,this is one of the     

services the mind must render for us2 it
 is the process of civilizing us4 ,and  
there is another1 and yet more important
 task1 which is to make clear to us the 
fact that we do not altogether make this
 life of ours1 that there is a universe 
of power and wisdom which is not ours1  
but on which we draw4 ,the fear of the  
,lord is the beginning of wisdom1 said  
the ,psalmist4 ,we know now that fear is
 an ugly emotion1 destructive to life2  
but it may be purified and made into a  
true humility1 which every thinking man 
must feel towards life and its miracles4
  ,also the man will have joy1 because  
it is given him to share the high1      
marvelous adventure of being4 ,to the   
pleasures of the body there is a limit1 
and it comes quickly2 but the pleasures 
of the mind are infinite1 and no one who
 truly understands them can have a      
moment of boredom in life4 ,to a man who
 possesses the key to modern thought1   
who knows what knowledge is and where to
 look for it1 the life of the mind is a 

panorama of delight perpetually unrolled
 before him4 ,to the minds of our       
ancestors there was one universe2 but to
 our minds there are many universes1 and
 new ones continually discovered4  ,the 
only question is1 which one will you    
choose8 ,will you choose the universe of
 outer space1 the material world of     
infinity8 ,consider the smallest insect 
that you can see1 crawling upon the     
surface of the earth2 small as that     
insect is in relation to the earth1 it  
is not so small1 by millions of times1  
as is the earth in relation to the      
universe made visible to our eyes by the
 high-power telescope1 plus the         
photographic camera1 plus the           
microscope4 ,if you want to know the    
miracles of this world of space1 read   
,arrhenius' ,the ,life of the ,universe1
 or ,simon ,newcomb's ,sidelights on    
,astronomy4 ,suffice it here to say that
 we have a chemistry of the stars1 by   
means of the spectroscope2 that we can  
measure the speed and direction of stars

 by the same means2 that we have learned
 to measure the size of the stars1 and  
are studying stars which we cannot even 
see6 ,and then along comes ,einstein1   
with his theories of relativity1 and    
makes it seem that we have to revise a  
great part of this knowledge to allow   
for the fact that not merely everything 
we look at1 but also we ourselves1 are  
flying every which way through space6   
,or will you choose the universe of the 
atom1 the infinity of the material world
 followed the other way1 so to speak8   
,big as is the universe in relation to  
our world1 and big as is our world in   
relation to the insect that crawls on   
it1 the insect is bigger yet in relation
 to the molecules which compose its     
body2 and these in turn are millions of 
millions of times bigger than the atoms 
which compose them2 and then1 behold1 in
 the atom there are millions of millions
 of electrons--tiny particles of        
electric energy6 ,we cannot see these   
infinitely minute things1 any more than 

we can see the electricity which runs   
our trolley cars2 but we can see their  
effects1 and we can count and measure   
them1 and deal with them in complicated 
mathematical formulas1 and be just as   
certain of their existence as we are of 
the dust under our feet4 ,if you wish to
 explore this wonderland1 read ,duncan's
 ,the ,new ,knowledge1 or ,dr4 ,henry   
,smith ,williams' ,miracles of ,science4
  ,or will you choose the universe of   
the subconscious1 our racial past locked
 up in the secret chambers of our mind8 
,or will you choose the universe of the 
superconscious1 the infinity of genius  
manifested in the arts8 ,by the device  
of art man not merely creates new life1 
he tests it1 he weighs it and measures  
it1 he tries experiments with it1 as the
 physicist with the molecule and the    
astronomer with light4 ,he finds out    
what works1 and what does not work1 and 
so develops his moral and spiritual     
muscles1 training himself for his task  
as maker of life4  ,written words can   

give but a feeble idea of the wonders   
that are found in these enchanted       
regions of the mind4 ,here are palaces  
of splendor beyond imagining1 here are  
temples with sacred shrines1 and        
treasure-chambers full of gold and      
priceless jewels4 ,into these places we 
enter as ,aladdin in the ancient tale2  
we are the masters here1 and all that we
 see is ours4 ,he who has once got      
access to it--he possesses not merely   
the magic lamp1 he possesses all the    
wonderful fairy properties of all the   
tales of our childhood4 ,his is the     
,tarnhelm and the magic ring which gives
 him power over his foes2 his is the    
sword ,excalibur which none can break1  
and the silver bullet which brings down 
all game1 and the flying carpet upon    
which to travel over the earth1 and the 
house made of ginger-bread1 and the     
three wishes which always come true1 and
 the philter of love1 and the elixir of 
youth1 and the music of the spheres1    
and--who knows1 some day he may come    

upon heaven1 with ,st4 ,peter and his   
golden key1 and the seraphim singing1   
and the happy blest conversing6         
,,part ,,two  ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,the   
,,body     ,,chapter ,,xviii  ,,the     
,,unity ,,of ,,the ,,body               
7,discusses the body as a whole1 and    
shows that health is not a      matter  
of many different organs and functions1 
but is one problem      of one          
organism47   ,the reader who has        
followed our argument this far will     
understand that we are seldom willing to
 think of the body as separate from the 
mind4 ,the body is a machine1 to be     
sure1 but it is a machine that has a    
driver1 and while it is possible for a  
sound machine to have a drunken and     
irresponsible driver1 such a machine is 
not apt to remain sound very long4      
,frequently1 when there is trouble with 
the machine1 we find the fault to be    
with the driver2 in other words1 we find
 that what is needed for the body is a  
change in the mind4  ,if you wish to    

have a sound body1 and to keep it sound 
as long as possible1 the first problem  
for you to settle is what you want to   
make of your life2 you must have a      
purpose1 and confront the tasks of life 
with energy and interest4 ,what is the  
use of talking about health to a man who
 has no moral purpose8 ,he may          
answer--indeed1 ,i have heard victims of
 alcoholism answer--,let me alone4 ,i   
have a right to go to hell in my own    
way4  ,i am aware1 of course1 that the  
opposite of the proposition is equally  
true4 ,a man cannot enjoy much mental   
health while he has a sick body4 ,it is 
a good deal like the old question1      
,which comes first1 the hen or the egg8 
,the mind and the body are bound up     
together1 and you may try to deal with  
each by turn1 but always you find       
yourself having to deal with both4 ,most
 physicians have a tendency to overlook 
the mind1 and ,christian ,scientists    
make a religion of overlooking the body1
 and each pays the penalty in greatly   

reduced effectiveness4  ,my first       
criticism of medical science1 as it     
exists today1 is that it has a tendency 
to concentrate upon organs and          
functions1 and to overlook the central  
unity of the system4 ,you will find a   
doctor who specializes in the stomach   
and its diseases1 and is apt to talk as 
if the stomach were a thing that went   
around in the world all by itself4 ,he  
will discuss the question of what goes  
into your stomach1 and overlook to point
 out to you that your stomach is        
nourished by your blood-stream1 which is
 controlled by your nervous system1     
which in turn is controlled by hope1 by 
ambition1 by love1 by all the spiritual 
elements of your being4 ,a single pulse 
of anger or of fear may make more       
trouble with the contents of your       
stomach than the doctor's pepsins and   
digestive ferments can remedy in a week4
  ,of course1 you may do yourself some  
purely local injury1 and so for a time  
have a purely local problem4 ,you may   

smash your finger1 and that is a problem
 of a finger2 but neglect it for a few  
days1 and let blood poison set in1 and  
you will be made aware that the human   
body is one organism1 and also that1 in 
spite of any metaphysical theories you  
may hold1 your body does sometimes      
dominate and control your mind4  ,some  
one has said that the blood is the life2
 and certainly the blood is both the    
symbol and the instrument of the body's 
unity4 ,the blood penetrates to all     
parts of the body and maintains and     
renews them4 ,if the blood is normal1   
the work of renewal does not often fail4
 ,if there is a failure of renewal--that
 is1 a disease--we shall generally find 
an abnormal condition of the blood4 ,the
 distribution of the blood is controlled
 by the heart1 a great four-chambered   
pump4 ,one chamber drives the blood to  
the lungs1 a mass of fine porous        
membranes1 where it comes into contact  
with the air1 and gives off the poisons 
which it has accumulated in its course  

through the body1 and takes up a fresh  
supply of oxygen4 ,by another chamber of
 the heart the blood is then sucked out 
of the lungs1 and by the next chamber it
 is driven to every corner of the body4 
,it takes to every cell of the body the 
protein materials which are necessary   
for the body's renewal1 and also the    
fuel materials which are to be burned to
 supply the body's energy2 also it takes
 some thirty million millions of        
microscopic red corpuscles which are the
 carriers of oxygen1 and an even greater
 number of the white corpuscles1 which  
are the body's scavengers1 its defenders
 from invasion by outside germs4  ,there
 are certain outer portions of the body1
 such as nails and the scales of the    
skin1 which are dead matter1 produced by
 the body and pushed out from it and no 
longer nourished by the blood4 ,but all 
the still living parts of the body are  
fed at every instant by the stream of   
life4 ,each cell in the body takes the  
fuel which it needs for its activities1 

and combines it with the oxygen brought 
by the red corpuscles2 and when the task
 of power-production has been achieved1 
the cell puts back into the             
blood-stream1 not merely the carbon     
dioxide1 but many complex chemical      
products--ammonia1 uric acid1 and the   
fatigue poisons1 indol1 phenol and      
skatol4 ,the blood-stream bears these   
along1 and delivers some to the sweat   
glands to be thrown out1 and some to the
 kidneys1 and the rest to the lungs4    
,all of this complicated mass of        
activities is in normal health perfectly
 regulated and timed by the nervous     
system4 ,you lie down to sleep1 and your
 muscles rest1 and the vital activities 
slow up1 your heart beats only faintly2 
but let something frighten you1 and you 
sit up1 and these faculties leap into   
activity1 your heart begins to pound1   
driving a fresh supply of blood and     
vital energy4 ,you jump up and run1 and 
these organs all set to work at top     
speed4 ,if they did not do so1 your     

muscles would have no fresh energy2 they
 would become paralyzed by the fatigue  
poisons1 and you would be1 as we say1   
exhausted4  ,all the rest of the body   
might be described as a shelter and     
accessory to the life-giving            
blood-stream2 all the rest is the       
blood-stream's means of protecting      
itself and renewing itself4 ,the stomach
 is to digest and prepare new blood     
material1 the teeth are to crush it and 
grind it1 the hands are to seize it1 the
 eyes are to see it1 the brain is to    
figure out its whereabouts4 ,man1 in his
 egotism1 imagines his little world as  
the center of the universe2 but the wise
 old fellow who lives somewhere deep in 
our subconsciousness and looks after the
 welfare of our blood-stream--he has far
 better reason for believing that all   
our consciousness and our personality   
exist for him6  ,now1 disease is some   
failure of this blood-stream properly to
 renew itself or properly to protect    
itself and its various subsidiary       

organs4 ,when you find yourself with a  
disease1 you call in a doctor2 and      
unless this doctor is a modern and      
progressive man1 he makes the mistake of
 assuming that the disease is in the    
particular organ where it shows itself4 
,you have1 let us say1 follicular       
tonsilitis4 7,these medical men have a  
love for long names1 which have the     
effect of awing you1 and convincing you 
that you are in desperate need of       
attention47 ,your throat is sore1 your  
tonsils are swollen and covered with    
white spots2 so the doctor hauls out his
 little black bag1 and makes a swab of  
cotton and dips it1 say in lysol1 and   
paints your tonsils4 ,he knows by means 
of the microscope that your tonsils are 
covered and filled with a mass of       
foreign germs which are feeding upon    
them2 also he knows that lysol kills    
these germs1 and he gives you a gargle  
for the same purpose1 puts you to bed1  
and gradually the swelling goes down1   
and he tells you that he has cured you1 

and sends you a bill for services       
rendered4 ,but maybe the swelling does  
not go down2 maybe it gets worse and you
 die4 ,then he tells your family that   
nature was to blame4 ,nature is to blame
 for your death1 but it never occurs to 
anyone to ask what nature may have had  
to do with your recovery4  ,i do not    
know how many thousands of diseases     
medical science has now classified4 ,and
 for each separate disease there are    
complex formulas1 and your system is    
pumped full of various mineral and      
vegetable substances which have been    
found to affect it in certain ways4     
,perhaps you have a fever2 then we give 
you a substance which reduces the       
temperature of your blood-stream4 ,it   
never occurs to us to reflect that maybe
 nature has some purpose of her own in  
raising the temperature of the blood2   
that this might be1 so to speak1 the    
heat of conflict1 a struggle she is     
waging to drive out invading germs2 and 
that possibly it would be better for the

 temperature to stay up until the battle
 is over4 ,or maybe the heart is        
failing2 then our medical man is so     
eager to get something into the system  
that he cannot wait for the slow process
 of the mouth and the stomach1 he shoots
 some strychnine directly into the      
blood-stream4 ,it does not occur to him 
to reflect that maybe the heart is      
slowing up because it is overloaded with
 fatigue poisons1 of which it cannot rid
 itself1 and that the effect of         
stimulating it into fresh activity will 
be to leave it more dangerously poisoned
 than before4  ,we are dealing here with
 processes which our ancient mother     
nature has been carrying on for a long  
time1 and which she very thoroughly     
understands4 ,we ought1 therefore1 to be
 sure that we know what is the final    
effect of our actions2 more especially  
we ought to be sure that we understand  
the cause of the evil1 so that we may   
remove it1 and not simply waste our time
 treating symptoms1 putting plasters on 

a cancer4 ,this is the fundamental      
problem of health2 and in order to make 
clear what ,i mean1 ,i am going to begin
 by telling a personal experience1 a    
test which ,i made of medical science   
some twelve or fourteen years ago1 in   
connection with one of the simplest and 
most external of the body's             
problems--the hair4 ,first ,i will tell 
you what medical science was able to do 
for my hair1 and second what ,i myself  
was able to do1 when ,i put my own wits 
to work on the problem4  ,i had been    
overworking1 and was in a badly run down
 condition4 ,i was having headaches1    
insomnia1 ulcerated teeth1 many symptoms
 of a general breakdown2 among these ,i 
noticed that my hair was coming out4 ,i 
decided that it was foolish to become   
bald before ,i was thirty1 and that ,i  
would take a little time off1 and spend 
a little money and have my hair attended
 to4 ,i did not know where to go1 but ,i
 wanted the best authority available1 so
 ,i wrote to the superintendent of the  

largest hospital in ,new ,york1 asking  
him for the name of a reliable          
specialist in diseases of the scalp4    
,the superintendent replied by referring
 me to a certain physician1 who was the 
hospital's consulting dermatologist1 and
 ,i went to see this physician1 whose   
home and office were just off ,fifth    
,avenue4  ,he examined my scalp1 and    
told me that ,i had dandruff in my hair1
 and that he would give me a            
prescription which would remove this    
dandruff and cause my hair to stop      
falling out4 ,he charged me ten dollars 
for the visit1 which in those days was  
more money than it is at present4 ,being
 of an inquiring turn of mind1 ,i tried 
to get my money's worth by learning what
 there was to learn about the human     
hair4 ,i questioned this gentleman1 and 
he told me that the hair is a dead      
substance1 and that its only life is in 
the root4 ,he explained that barbers    
often persuade people to have their hair
 singed1 to keep it from falling out1   

and that this was an utterly futile     
procedure1 and likewise all shampooing  
and massage1 which only caused the hair 
to fall out more quickly4 ,it was better
 even not to wash the hair too often4   
,all that was needed was a mixture of   
chemicals to kill the dandruff germs2   
and so ,i had the prescription put up at
 a drug store1 and for a couple of years
 ,i religiously used it according to    
order1 and it had upon my hair          
absolutely no effect whatever4  ,so here
 was the best that medical science could
 do4 ,but still1 ,i did not want to be  
bald1 so ,i went among the health       
cranks--people who experiment without   
license from the medical schools4 ,also1
 ,i experimented upon myself1 and now ,i
 know something about the human hair1   
something entirely different from what  
the rich and successful consulting      
dermatologist taught me1 but which has  
kept me from becoming entirely bald3    
,first1 the human hair is made by the   
body1 and it is made1 like everything   

else in the body1 out of the            
blood-stream4 ,it is perfectly true that
 the dandruff germ gets into the roots1 
and makes trouble1 and that the process 
of killing this germ can be helped by   
chemicals2 but it does not take a       
ten-dollar prescription1 it only takes  
ten cents' worth of borax and salt from 
the corner grocery4 7,put a little into 
a saucer1 moisten it1 rub it into the   
scalp1 and wash it out again47 ,but     
infinitely more important than this is  
the fact that healthy hair roots are a  
product of healthy blood1 and that      
unhealthy blood produces sick hair      
roots1 which cannot hold in the hair4   
,most important of all is the fact that 
in order to make healthy hair roots the 
blood must flow fully and freely to     
these hair roots2 whereas ,i had been   
accustomed for many hours every day of  
my life to clap around my scalp a tight 
band which almost entirely stopped the  
circulation of the life-giving blood to 
my sick hair roots4 ,in other words1 by 

wearing civilized hats1 ,i was literally
 starving my hair to death4  ,as soon as
 ,i realized this ,i took off my        
civilized hat1 and have never worn one  
since4 ,as a rule1 ,i don't wear        
anything4 ,on the few occasions when ,i 
go into the city1 ,i wear a soft cap4   
,now and then ,i experience             
inconvenience from this--the elevator   
boy in some apartment house tells me to 
come in by the delivery entrance1 or the
 porter of a sleeping-car will not let  
me in at all4 ,i remember discussing    
these embarrassments with ,jack ,london1
 who went even further in his defiance  
of civilization1 and wore a soft shirt4 
,it was his custom1 he said1 to knock   
down the elevator boys and sleeping-car 
porters4 ,i answered that that might be 
all right for him1 because he could do  
it2 whereas ,i was reduced to the       
painful expedient of explaining politely
 why ,i went about without the customary
 symbols of my economic superiority4    
,the consulting dermatologist had very  

solemnly and elaborately warned me      
concerning the danger of moving my hair 
too violently1 and thus causing it to   
come out2 but now my investigations     
brought out the fact that moving the    
hair1 that is1 massaging the scalp1     
increases the flow of blood to the hair 
roots1 and further increases resistance 
to disease4 ,as for causing the hair to 
fall out1 ,i discovered that the more   
quickly you cause a hair to fall out1   
the greater is the chance of your       
getting another hair4 ,if a hair is     
allowed to die in the root1 it kills    
that root forever1 but if it is pulled  
out before it dies1 the root will make a
 new hair4 ,every beauty parlor         
specialist knows this2 she knows that if
 a hair is pulled1 it grows back bigger 
and stronger than ever1 and so to pull  
out hair is the last thing you must do  
if you want to get rid of hairs6  ,i    
know a certain poet1 who happens to have
 been well-endowed with physical graces 
by our mother nature4 ,he finds it worth

 while to preserve them--they being     
accessory to those amorous experiences  
which form so large a part of the theme 
of poetry4 ,anyhow1 this poet values his
 beautiful hair1 and you will see him   
sitting in front of his fireplace1      
reading a book1 and meanwhile his       
fingers run here and there over his     
head1 and he grabs a bunch of hair and  
pulls and twists it4 ,he has cultivated 
this habit for many years1 and as a     
result his hair is as thick and heavy as
 the fuzzy-wuzzies of ,kipling's poem4  
,it is a favorite sport of this poet to 
lure some rival poet into a contest4 ,he
 will mildly suggest that they take hold
 of each other's hair and have a tug of 
war4 ,the rival poet1 all unsuspecting1 
will accept the challenge1 and my friend
 will proceed to haul him all over the  
place1 to the accompaniment of howls of 
anguish from the victim1 and howls of   
glee from the victor1 who has1 of       
course1 a scalp as tough as a rhinoceros
 hide4  ,i am not a poet1 and it is not 

important that ,i should be beautiful1  
and ,i have been too busy to remember to
 pull my hair2 but by giving up tight   
hats1 and by limiting the amount of my  
overworking1 ,i have managed to keep    
what hair ,i had left when the hair     
specialist had got through with me4 ,i  
tell this anecdote at the beginning of  
my discussion of health1 because it     
illustrates so well the factors which   
appear in every case of disease1 and    
which you must understand in seeking to 
remedy the trouble4  ,we have a phrase  
which has come down to us from the      
ancient ,latins1 vis medicatrix naturae1
 which means the healing power of       
nature4 ,so long ago men realized that  
it is our ancient mother who heals our  
wounds1 and not the physician4 ,out of  
this have grown the cults of nature cure
 enthusiasts2 and according to the      
fashion of men1 they fly to extremes    
just as unreasonable and as dangerous as
 those of the pill doctors they are     
opposing4 ,i have in mind a man who     

taught me probably more than any other  
writer on health questions1 and with    
whom ,i once discussed the subject of   
typhoid1 how it seemed to affect        
able-bodied men in the prime of their   
physical being4 ,this1 of course1 was   
contrary to the theories of nature cure1
 and my friend had a simple way of      
meeting the argument--he refused to     
believe it4 ,he insisted that1 as with  
all other germ infections1 it must be a 
question of bodily tone2 no germ could  
secure lodgment in the human body unless
 the body's condition was reduced4  ,but
 how can you be sure of that8 ,i argued4
 ,you know that if you go into the      
jungle1 you are not immune against the  
scorpion or the cobra or the tiger4     
,there is nothing in all nature that is 
safe against every enemy4 ,what possible
 right have you to assert that you are  
immune against every enemy which can    
attack your blood-stream8  ,we shall    
find here1 as we find nearly always1    
that the truth lies somewhere between   

the extremes of two warring schools4    
,our race has been existing for a long  
time in a certain environment1 and its  
very existence implies superiority to   
that environment4 ,the weaklings1 for   
whom its hardships were too severe1 were
 weeded out2 hostile parasites invaded  
their blood-stream and conquered and    
devoured them4 ,but those who survived  
were able to make in their blood-stream 
the substances known as anti-bodies1 the
 opsonins1 to help the white blood      
corpuscles devour the germs4 ,as the    
result of their victory1 we carry those 
anti-bodies in our system1 which gives  
us immunity to those particular         
diseases1 or at any rate gives us the   
ability to have the diseases without    
dying4 ,every time we go into a street  
car1 we take into our throat and lungs  
the germs of tuberculosis4 ,examination 
proves that we carry around with us in  
our mouths the germs of all the common  
throat and nose diseases1 colds1        
bronchitis1 tonsilitis4 ,no matter what 

precautions we might take1 no matter if 
we were to gargle our throats every few 
minutes1 we could never get rid of such 
germs4 ,and they wage continual war upon
 the body's defenses2 they batter in    
vain upon the gates of our sound health4
 ,but take us to some new environment to
 which we are not accustomed2 take us to
 ,panama in the old days of yellow      
fever1 or take us to ,africa1 and let   
the tsetse fly bite us1 and infect us   
with sleeping sickness4 ,here are germs 
to which our systems are not accustomed2
 and before them we are as helpless as  
the ancient knights-at-arms1 who had    
conquered everything in sight1 and ruled
 the continent of ,europe for many      
hundreds of years1 but were wiped off   
the earth by a chemist mixing gunpowder4
  ,in the ,marquesas ,islands1 in the   
,south ,seas1 there lived a beautiful   
and happy race of savages1 believed to  
have been descended1 long ages ago1 from
 ,aryan stock4 ,from the point of view  
of physical perfection1 they were an    

ideal race1 living a blissful outdoor   
life1 which you may read about in       
,melville's ,typee1 and in ,o',brien's  
,white ,shadows in the ,south ,seas4    
,this race conformed to all the         
requirements of the nature enthusiast4  
,they went practically naked1 their     
houses were open all the time1 they     
lived on the abundant fruits of the     
earth4 ,to be sure1 they were cannibals1
 but this was more a matter of religious
 ceremony than of diet4 ,they ate their 
war captives1 but this was only after   
battle1 and not often enough to count1  
one way or the other1 in matters of     
health4 ,they had lived for uncounted   
ages in perfect harmony with their      
environment2 they were happy and free2  
and certainly1 if such a thing were     
possible to human beings1 they should   
have been proof against germs4 ,but a   
ship came to one of these islands1 and  
put ashore a sailor dying of            
tuberculosis1 and in a few years        
four-fifths of the population of this   

island had been wiped out by the        
disease4 ,what tuberculosis left were   
finished by syphilis and smallpox1 and  
today the ,marquesans are an almost     
extinct race4  ,but there is another    
side to the argument--and one more      
favorable to the nature cure enthusiast4
 ,we civilized men1 by soft living1 by  
self-indulgence and lack of exercise1   
may reduce the tone of our body too far 
below the standard which our ancestors  
set for us2 and then the common disease 
germs get us1 then we have colds1 sore  
throats1 tuberculosis4 ,the nature cure 
advocate is perfectly right in saying   
that there is no use treating such      
diseases2 the thing is to restore the   
body to its former tone1 so that we may 
be superior to our normal environment   
and its strains4  ,you know the poem of 
the ,one ,hoss ,shay1 which was so      
perfectly built in every part that it   
ran for fifty years and then collapsed  
all at once in a heap4 ,but the human   
body is not built that way4 ,it always  

has one or more places which are weaker 
than the others1 and which first show   
the effects of strain4 ,in one person it
 will take the form of dyspepsia1 in    
another it will be headaches1 in another
 colds1 in another decaying teeth1 in   
another hardening of the arteries or    
stiffening of the joints4 ,but whatever 
the symptoms may be1 the fundamental    
cause is always the same1 an abnormal   
condition of the blood-stream1 and a    
consequent lowering of the body's tone4 
,therefore1 studying any disease and its
 cure1 you have first the emergency     
question1 are there any germs lodged in 
the body1 and if so1 how can you destroy
 them8 ,as part of the problem1 you have
 to ask whether your blood-stream is    
normal1 and if not1 what are the methods
 by which you can make it normal and    
keep it so8 ,also you have to ask1 what 
are the reasons why your trouble        
manifests itself in this or that        
particular organ8 ,is there some        
weakness or defect there1 and can the   

defect be remedied1 or can your habits  
be changed so as to reduce the strain on
 that organ8 ,are there any measures you
 can take to increase the flow of blood 
to that organ1 and to promote its       
activity8 ,in the study of your health1 
you will find that circumstances differ1
 and the importance of one factor or the
 other will vary2 but you will seldom   
find any problem in which all these     
factors do not enter1 and you will      
seldom find an adequate remedy unless   
you take all the factors into           
consideration4     ,,chapter ,,xix      
,,experiments ,,in ,,diet               
7,narrates the author's adventures in   
search of health1 and his               
conclusions as to what to eat47         
,students of the body assure us that    
every particle of matter which composes 
it is changed in the course of seven    
years4 ,it is obvious that everything   
that is a part of the body has at some  
time to be taken in as food2 so the     
problem of our diet today is the problem

 of what our body shall consist of seven
 years from now1 and probably a great   
deal sooner4  ,i begin this discussion  
by telling my own personal experiences  
with food4 ,i am not going to recommend 
my diet for anyone else2 because one of 
the first things ,i have to say about   
the subject is that every human         
individual is a separate diet problem4  
,but ,i am going to try to establish a  
few principles for your guidance1 and   
more especially to point out the        
commonest mistakes4 ,i tell about my own
 mistakes1 because it happens that ,i   
know them more intimately4  ,i was      
brought up in the ,south1 where it is   
the custom of people to give a great    
deal of time and thought to the subject 
of eating4 ,among the people ,i knew it 
was always taken for granted that there 
should be at least one person in the    
kitchen devoting all her time to the    
preparing of delicious things for the   
family to eat4 ,this person was         
generally a negress1 and1 needless to   

say1 she knew nothing about the         
chemistry of foods1 nothing about their 
constituents or nutritive qualities4    
,all she knew was about their taste2 she
 had been trained to prepare them in    
ways that tasted best1 and was          
continually being advised and exhorted  
and sometimes scolded by the ladies of  
the family on this subject4 ,at the     
table the family and the guests never   
failed to talk about the food and its   
taste1 and not infrequently the cook    
would be behind the door listening to   
their comments2 or else she would wait  
until after the meal1 for the report    
which somebody would bring her4  ,in    
addition to this1 the ladies of the     
family were skilled in what is called   
fancy cooking4 ,they did not bother with
 the meats and vegetables1 but they     
mixed batter cakes1 and made all kinds  
of elaborate desserts1 and exchanged    
these treasures and the recipes for them
 with other ladies in the neighborhood4 
,in addition to this1 there were certain

 periods of the week and of the year    
especially devoted to the preparing and 
consuming of great quantities of foods4 
,once every seven days the members of   
the family expressed their worship of   
their ,creator by eating twice as much  
as usual2 and at another time they      
celebrated the birth of their ,redeemer 
by overeating systematically for a      
period of two or three weeks4 ,needless 
to say1 of course1 the children brought 
up in such an environment all had large 
appetites and large stomachs1 and their 
susceptibility to illness was recognized
 by the setting apart for them of a     
whole classification of                 
troubles--children's diseases1 they were
 called4 ,in addition to children's     
diseases1 there were coughs and colds   
and sore throats and pains in the       
stomach and constipation and diarrhea1  
which the children shared with their    
adults4  ,i had a little more than my   
share of all these troubles4 ,always a  
doctor would be sent for1 and always he 

was wise and impressive1 and always ,i  
was impressed4 ,he gave me some pills or
 a bottle of liquid1 a teaspoonful every
 two hours1 or something like that--,i  
can hear the teaspoon rattle in the     
glass as ,i write4 ,i had a profound    
respect for each and every one of those 
doctors4 ,he was wisdom walking about in
 trousers1 and whenever he came1 ,i knew
 that ,i was going to get well2 and ,i  
did1 which proved the case completely4  
,then ,i grew up1 and at the age of     
eighteen or nineteen became possessed of
 a desire for knowledge1 and took to    
reading and studying literally every    
minute of the day and a good part of the
 night4 ,i seldom let myself go to sleep
 before two o'clock in the morning1 and 
was always up by seven and ready for    
work again4 ,i did this for ten years or
 so1 until nature brought me to a       
complete stop4 ,during these ten years  
,i was a regular experiment station in  
health2 that is1 ,i had every kind of   
common ailment1 and had it over and over

 again1 so that ,i could try all the    
ways of curing it1 or failing to cure   
it1 and keep on trying until ,i was     
sure1 one way or the other4 ,i came     
recently upon a wonderful saying by     
,john ,burroughs1 which will be         
appreciated by every author4 ,this      
writing is an unnatural business4 ,it   
makes your head hot and your feet cold1 
and it stops the digesting of your food4
  ,this trouble with my digestion began 
when ,i was writing my second novel1    
camping out on a lonely island at the   
foot of ,lake ,ontario4 ,i went to see a
 doctor in a nearby town1 and he talked 
learnedly about dyspepsia4 ,the cause of
 it1 he said1 was failure of the stomach
 to secrete enough pepsin1 and the      
remedy was to take artificial pepsin1   
obtained from the stomach of a pig4 ,he 
gave me this pig-pepsin in a bottle of  
red liquid1 and ,i religiously took some
 after each meal4 ,it helped for a time2
 but then ,i noticed that it helped less
 and less4 ,i got so that a simple meal 

of cold meat and boiled potatoes would  
stay in my stomach for hours1 in spite  
of any amount of the pig-pepsin2 ,i     
would lie about in misery1 because ,i   
wanted to work1 and my accursed stomach 
would not let me4  ,all the time1 of    
course1 ,i was using my mind on this    
problem1 groping for causes4 ,i found   
that the trouble was worse if ,i worked 
immediately after eating4 ,i found also 
that it was worse when ,i was writing   
books4 ,when ,i got sufficiently        
desperate1 ,i would stop writing books  
and go off on a hunting trip4 ,i would  
tramp twenty miles a day over the       
mountains1 looking for deer1 and ,i     
would come back at night too tired to   
think1 and in a week or two every trace 
of my trouble would be gone4 ,so my life
 regimen came to be--first the writing  
of a book1 and then a hunting trip to   
get over the effects of it4 ,but as time
 went on1 alas1 ,i noticed that the     
recuperation was more slow and less     
certain4 ,the working times grew        

shorter1 and the hunting times grew     
longer1 until finally ,i had got to a   
point where ,i couldn't work at all2 ,i 
would go to pieces in a few days if ,i  
tried it4 ,it was apparently the end of 
my stomach1 and the end of my sleeping1 
and the end of my writing books4 ,my    
teeth were decaying1 not merely outside 
but inside2 ,i would have abscesses1 and
 most frightful agonies to endure4 ,i   
would lie awake all night1 and it would 
seem to me that ,i could feel my body   
going to pieces--an extremely depressing
 sensation6  ,i had been trying         
experiments all this time4 ,i had been  
going to one doctor after another1 and  
had got to realize that the doctors only
 treated symptoms2 they treated the     
diseases when they appeared--but nobody 
ever told you how to keep the diseases  
from appearing4 ,why could there not be 
a doctor who would look you over        
thoroughly1 and tell you everything that
 was wrong with you1 and how to set it  
right8 ,a doctor who would tell you     

exactly how to live1 so that you might  
keep well all the time6 ,i was studying 
economics1 and becoming suspicious of my
 fellow man2 it occurred to me that     
possibly it might be embarrassing to a  
doctor1 if he cured all his patients1   
and taught them how to live1 so that    
none of them would ever have to come to 
him again4 ,it occurred to me that      
possibly this might be the reason why   
preventive medicine1 constructive health
 work1 was getting so little attention  
from the medical fraternity4  ,two      
things that plagued me were headache and
 constipation1 and they were obviously  
related4 ,for constipation1 the world   
had one simple remedy2 you took         
something every night or every morning1 
and thought no more about it4 ,my stout 
and amiable grandmother had drunk a     
glass of ,hunyadi water every morning   
for the last thirty or forty years1 and 
that she finally died of fatty          
degeneration of the heart was not       
connected with this in the mind of      

anyone who knew her4 ,as for the        
headaches1 people would tell you this1  
that1 and the other remedy1 and ,i would
 try them--that is1 unless they happened
 to be drugs4 ,i was getting more and   
more shy of drugs4 ,i had some blessed  
instinct which saved me from stimulants 
and narcotics4 ,i had never used tea1   
coffee1 alcohol or tobacco1 and in my   
worst periods of suffering ,i never took
 to putting myself to sleep with        
chloral1 or to stopping my headaches    
with phenacetin4  ,at the end of six or 
eight years of purgatory1 ,i came upon a
 prospectus of the ,battle ,creek       
,sanitarium4 ,this seemed to me exactly 
what ,i wanted2 this was constructive1  
it dealt with the body as a whole4 ,so  
,i spent a couple of months at the ,san1
 and paid them something like a thousand
 dollars to tell me all they could about
 myself4  ,the first thing they told me 
was that meat-eating was killing me4 ,it
 was perfectly obvious1 was it not1 that
 meat is a horrible feeding place for   

germs1 that rotten meat is dreadfully   
offensive1 and likewise digested        
meat--consider the excreta of cats1 for 
example6 ,i listened solemnly while     
,doctor ,kellogg read off the numbers of
 billions of bacteria per gram in the   
contents of the colon of a carnivorous  
person4 ,it certainly seemed proper that
 the author of ,the ,jungle should be a 
vegetarian1 so ,i became one1 and did my
 best to persuade myself that ,i enjoyed
 the taste of the patent                
meat-substitutes which are served in    
hundred calory portions in the big      
,sanitarium dining-room4  ,there also ,i
 met ,horace ,fletcher1 and learned to  
chew every particle of food thirty-two  
times1 and often more4 ,i exercised in  
the ,sanitarium gymnasium1 and watched  
the sterilized dancing--the men with the
 men and the women with the women4 ,i   
was patiently polite with the ,seventh  
,day ,adventist religion1 and laid in a 
supply of postage stamps on ,friday     
evening4 ,finally1 and most important of

 all1 ,i went once a day to the         
treatment rooms1 and had my abdomen     
doctored alternately with hot cloths and
 ice4 ,by this means ,i kept up a flow  
of blood in the intestinal tract1 and   
stimulated these organs to activity2 so 
my constipation was relieved1 and my    
headaches were less severe--so long as  
,i stayed at the ,sanitarium1 and was   
boiled and frozen once every day4 ,but  
when ,i left the ,sanitarium1 and       
abandoned the treatments1 the troubles  
began to return4 ,meantime1 however1 ,i 
had written a book in praise of         
vegetarianism--a book which has got into
 the libraries1 and cannot be got out   
again6  ,i went on to a new variety of  
health crank1 the real nature cure      
practitioners4 ,vegetarianism was not   
enough1 they insisted2 the evil had     
begun long before1 when man first ruined
 his food and destroyed its nutritive   
value by means of fire4 ,there was only 
one certain road to health1 and that was
 by the raw food route1 the monkey and  

squirrel diet4 ,i had gone out to       
,california for a winter's rest1 and    
decided ,i would give this plan a       
thorough trial4 ,for five months ,i     
lived by myself1 and the only cooked    
food ,i ate was shredded wheat biscuit4 
,for the rest ,i lived on nuts and      
salads and fresh and dried fruits2 and  
during this period ,i enjoyed such      
health as ,i had never known in my life 
before4 ,i had literally not a single   
ailment4 ,i was not merely well1 but    
bubbling over with health4 ,i had a     
friend who said it cheered him up just  
to see me walk down the street4  ,i     
thought that it was entirely the raw    
food1 and that ,i had solved the problem
 forever2 but ,i overlooked the fact    
that during those five months ,i had    
done no hard brain work1 no writing4 ,i 
went back to writing again1 and things  
began to go wrong2 my wonderful raw     
foods took to making trouble in my      
stomach--and ,i assure you that until   
you try1 you have no idea the amount of 

trouble that can be made in your stomach
 by a load of bananas and soaked prunes 
which has gone wrong6 ,for a year or two
 ,i agonized2 ,i could not give up my   
wonderful raw food diet1 because ,i had 
always before me the vision of those    
months in ,california1 and could not    
understand why it was not that way      
again4  ,but the time came when ,i would
 eat a meal of raw food1 and for hours  
afterwards my stomach would feel like a 
blown-up football4 ,then somebody gave  
me a book by ,dr4 ,salisbury on the     
subject of the meat diet4 ,of all the   
horrible things in the world1 a meat    
diet sounded to me the worst2 ,i had    
been a vegetable enthusiast for three   
years1 and thought of eating meat as you
 would think of cannibalism4 ,but there 
has never been a time in my life when ,i
 would not hear something new1 and give 
it a trial if it sounded well2 so ,i    
read the books of ,doctor ,salisbury1   
which have long been out of print1 and  
have been curiously neglected by the    

medical profession4 ,salisbury was a    
real pioneer1 an experimenter4 ,he wrote
 in the days before the germ theory1 and
 so missed his guess regarding          
tuberculosis1 but he perceived that most
 of the common diseases are caused by   
dietetic errors1 and he set to work to  
prove it4 ,he showed that hog cholera   
and army diarrhea are the same disease1 
and come from the same cause4 ,he took a
 squad of men and fed them on army      
biscuit for two or three weeks1 until   
they were nearly dead1 and then he put  
them on a diet of lean beef and         
completely cured them in a few days4 ,he
 did this same thing with one kind of   
food after another1 and in each case he 
would bring his men as near to death as 
he dared1 and then he would cure them4  
,he showed that meat is the only food   
which contains all the elements of      
nutrition1 the only food upon which a   
person can live for an unlimited period4
 ,as ,salisbury said1 ,beef is first1   
mutton is second1 and the rest nowhere4 

,it was his idea that tuberculosis of   
the lungs is caused by spores of        
fermenting starch clogging the minute   
blood vessels4 ,he claimed that there is
 an early stage of tuberculosis1 in     
which the spores are floating in the    
blood stream2 he put large numbers of   
patients upon a diet of lean beef1      
ground and cooked1 and he cured them of 
tuberculosis1 and if one of them would  
break the diet and yield to a craving   
for starch or sugar1 ,salisbury claimed 
that he could find it out an hour or two
 later by examining a drop of their     
blood under the microscope4 ,in his     
books he described vividly the effects  
of an excess of starch and sugar in the 
diet4 ,he called it making a yeast-pot  
of your stomach2 and you can imagine how
 that hit my stomach1 full of half      
digested bananas and prunes6  ,i tried  
the ,salisbury diet1 and satisfied      
myself of this one fact1 that lean meat 
is for brain-workers the most easily    
assimilated of all foods4 ,salisbury    

claimed that you could not overeat on   
meat1 but ,i do not believe there is any
 food you cannot overeat on1 nor do ,i  
believe that anyone should try to live  
on one kind of food4 ,we are by nature  
omnivorous animals4 ,our digestive      
tracts are similar to those of hogs and 
monkeys1 which eat all varieties of food
 they can get4 ,one of the common errors
 of the nature cure enthusiast is to    
cite the monkey and the squirrel as     
fruit and nut-eating animals1 when the  
fact is that monkeys and squirrels eat  
meat when they can get it1 and the ardor
 with which they go bird-nesting is     
evidence enough that they crave it4 ,if 
there is any race of man which is       
vegetarian1 you will find that it is    
from necessity alone4 ,the beautiful    
,south ,sea ,islanders1 who are the     
theme of the raw fooders' ecstasy1 spend
 a lot of their time catching fish1 and 
sometimes they kill a pig1 and celebrate
 the event precisely as ,christians     
celebrate the birth of their ,redeemer4 

,from this you may be able to guess my  
conclusions1 as the result of much      
painful blundering and experimenting4   
,so far as diet is concerned1 ,i belong 
to no school2 ,i have learned something 
from each one1 and what ,i have learned 
from a trial of them all is to be shy of
 extreme statements and of hard and fast
 rules4 ,to my vegetarian friends who   
argue that it is morally wrong to take  
sentient life1 ,i answer that they      
cannot go for a walk in the country     
without committing that offense1 for    
they walk on innumerable bugs and worms4
 ,we cannot live without asserting our  
right to subject the lower forms of life
 to our purposes2 we kill innumerable   
germs when we swallow a glass of grape  
juice1 or for that matter a glass of    
plain water4 ,i shall be much surprised 
if the advance of science does not some 
day prove to us that there are          
rudimentary forms of consciousness in   
all vegetable life2 so we shall justify 
the argument of ,mr4 ,dooley1 who said1 

in reviewing ,the ,jungle1 that he could
 not see how it was any less a crime to 
cut off a young tomato in its prime1 or 
to murder a whole cradleful of baby peas
 in the pod6  ,there is no question that
 meat-eating is inconvenient1 expensive1
 and dirty4 ,i have no doubt that some  
day we shall know enough to be able to  
find for every individual a diet which  
will keep him at the top of his power1  
without the maintenance of the          
slaughter-house4 ,but we do not possess 
that knowledge at present2 at least1 ,i 
personally do not possess it4 ,i happen 
to be one of those individuals--there   
are many of them--with whom milk does   
not agree2 and if you rule out milk and 
meat1 you find yourself compelled to get
 a great deal of your protein from      
vegetable sources1 such as peas1 beans  
and nuts4 ,all these contain a great    
deal of starch1 and thus there is no way
 you can arrange your diet to escape an 
excess of starch4 ,excess of starch1 so 
my experience has convinced me1 is the  

deadliest of all dietetic errors4 ,it is
 also the commonest of errors1 the      
cause1 not merely of the common throat  
and nose infections1 but of             
constipation1 and likewise of diarrhea1 
of anemia1 and thus1 through the        
weakening of the blood stream1 of all   
disorders that spring from this         
source--decaying teeth and rheumatism1  
boils1 bad complexion1 and tuberculosis4
 ,starch foods are the cheapest1        
therefore they form the common diet of  
the poor1 and are responsible for the   
diseases of undernourishment to which   
the poor are liable4  ,on the other     
hand1 of course1 there are perfectly    
definite diseases of overnourishment2   
high blood pressure1 which culminates in
 apoplexy2 kidney troubles1 which result
 from the inability of these organs to  
eliminate all the waste matter that is  
delivered to them2 fatty degeneration of
 the heart1 or of the liver1 or any of  
the vital organs4 ,you may cause a      
headache by clogging the blood stream   

through overeating1 or you may cause it 
by eating small quantities of food1 if  
those foods are unbalanced1 and do not  
contain the mineral elements necessary  
to the making of normal blood4 ,whatever
 the trouble with your health1 it is my 
judgment that in two cases out of three 
you will find it dates back to errors in
 diet4 ,i do not think ,i exaggerate in 
saying that a knowledge of what to eat  
and how much to eat is two-thirds of the
 knowledge of how to keep yourself in   
permanent health4     ,,chapter ,,xx    
,,errors ,,in ,,diet       7,discusses  
the different kinds of foods1 and the   
part they play in      the making of    
health and disease47   ,it is my purpose
 in this chapter to lay down a few      
general principles to aid you in the    
practical problem of selecting the best 
diet for yourself4 ,but it must be made 
clear at the outset that there can be no
 hard and fast rule4 ,all human bodies  
are more or less alike1 but on the other
 hand all are more or less different4   

,modern civilization has given very few 
bodies the chance to be perfect2 nearly 
all have some weakness1 some            
abnormality1 and need some special      
modification in diet to fit their       
particular problem4 ,the ideal in each  
case would be a complete study of the   
individual system4 ,some day1 no doubt1 
medical science will analyze the        
digestive juices and the gland          
secretions and the blood-stream of every
 human being1 and say1 you need a       
certain percentage of starch and a      
certain percentage of protein2 you need 
such and such proportion of phosphorus  
and iron2 you should avoid certain      
acids--and so on4 ,but at present we are
 devoting our science to the task of    
killing and maiming other people1       
instead of enabling ourselves to live in
 health and happiness2 so it is that    
most of those who read this book will be
 too poor to command the advice of a    
diet specialist4 ,the best you can do is
 to get a few general ideas and try them

 out1 watching your own body and        
learning its peculiarities4  ,human food
 contains three elements3 proteins1 fats
 and carbohydrates4 ,the proteins are   
the body-building material1 and the     
foods which are rich in proteins are    
lean meat1 the white of eggs1 milk and  
cheese1 nuts1 peas and beans4 ,a certain
 amount of this kind of food is needed  
by the body4 ,if it is missing1 the body
 will gradually waste away4 ,if too much
 of it is taken1 the body can turn it   
into energy-making material1 but this is
 a wasteful process1 and the best       
evidence appears to be that it is a     
strain upon the system4 ,experiments    
conducted by ,professor ,chittenden of  
,yale have proven conclusively that men 
can live and maintain body weight upon  
much less protein food than previous    
dietetic standards had indicated4  ,the 
fats are found in fat meats and dairy   
products1 and in nuts1 olives1 and      
vegetable oils4 ,the body is prepared to
 digest and assimilate a certain amount 

of fat1 no one knows how much4 ,i have  
found in my own case that ,i require a  
great deal less than people ordinarily  
eat4 ,i have for many years maintained  
good health upon a diet containing no   
more fat than one gets with lean meat   
once or twice a day4 ,i never use butter
 or olive oil1 nor any fat in cooking4  
,my reason for this is that fats are the
 most highly concentrated form of food1 
and the easiest upon which to overeat4  
,excess of fat is a cause1 not merely of
 obesity1 but also of boils and pimples 
and pasty complexion1 and other signs of
 a clogged blood-stream4  ,the third    
variety of food is the carbohydrates1   
and of these there are two kinds1       
starches and sugars4 ,starch is the     
white material of the grains and tubers2
 the principal food element of bread and
 cereals1 rice1 potatoes1 bananas1 and  
many prepared substances such as        
corn-starch1 tapioca1 farina and        
macaroni4 ,starchy foods compose        
probably half the diet of the average   

human being4 ,in my own case1 they      
compose about one-sixth1 so you see to  
what extent my beliefs differ from the  
common4 ,starch is not really necessary 
in the diet at all4 ,i have a friend who
 is subject to headaches1 and finds     
relief from them by a diet of meat1     
salads1 and fresh fruits exclusively4   
,the first thing that excess of starch  
or sugar does is to ferment in the      
system1 and cause flatulence and gas4   
,but strange as it may seem1 if the     
excess of starch is perfectly digested  
and assimilated into the system1 the    
condition may be worse yet1 because you 
may have a great quantity of            
energy-producing material1 without the  
necessary mineral elements which the    
body requires in the handling of it4    
,if you cremate a human body and study  
the ashes chemically1 you find a score  
or more of mineral salts4 ,you find     
these in the blood1 and no blood is     
normal and no body can be kept normal   
which does not contain the right        

percentage of these elements4 ,it is not
 merely that they are needed to build   
bones and teeth2 they are needed at     
every instant for the chemistry of the  
cells4 ,every time you move a muscle1   
you fill the cells of that muscle with a
 certain amount of waste matter4 ,you   
may prove how deadly this matter is by  
binding a tight cord about your arm1 and
 then trying to use the arm4 ,we are    
only at the beginning of understanding  
the subtle chemistry of the body2 but   
this much we know1 the cells transform  
the waste products1 and they are thrown 
out of the system as ammonia1 uric acid1
 etc42 and for this process the blood   
must have a continual supply of many    
mineral salts4  ,so vital are they1 and 
so fatal to health is their absence1    
that it is far better for you to eat    
nothing at all than to eat improperly   
balanced foods1 or foods which are      
deficient in the organic salts4 ,you may
 prove this to yourself by a simple     
experiment4 ,put two chickens in        

separate pens1 where nobody can feed    
them but yourself4 ,feed one of them on 
water and white bread1 or corn starch1  
or sugar1 or any energy-making substance
 which contains little of the mineral   
elements4 ,feed the other chicken on    
plain water4 ,you will find that the one
 which has the food will quickly become 
droopy and sickly2 its feathers will    
fall out1 it will have what in human    
beings would be known as headaches1     
colds1 sore throats1 decaying teeth and 
boils4 ,at the end of a couple of weeks 
it will be a dead chicken4 ,the one     
which you feed on water alone will not  
be a happy chicken1 neither will it be a
 fat chicken1 but it will be a live     
chicken1 and a chicken without disease4 
,i am going later on to discuss the     
subject of fasting4 ,for the present ,i 
will merely say that a chicken which has
 nothing but water is living upon its   
own flesh1 and therefore has a meat     
diet1 containing the mineral elements   
necessary to the elimination of the     

fatigue poisons4  ,i am going to try not
 to be dogmatic in this book1 and not to
 say things that ,i do not know4 ,i     
confess to innumerable uncertainties    
about the subject of diet2 but one thing
 ,i think ,i do know1 and that is that  
human beings should eliminate absolutely
 from their food those modern artificial
 products1 which look so nice1 and are  
so easy to handle1 and are put up in    
packages with pretty labels1 and have   
been in some way artificially treated to
 remove the wastes and                  
impurities--including the vital mineral 
salts4 ,among such food substances ,i   
include lard and its imitations made    
from cottonseed oil1 white flour1 all   
the prepared and refined cereals1       
polished rice1 tapioca1 farina1 corn    
starch1 and granulated and powdered     
sugar4 ,any of these substances will    
kill a chicken in a couple of weeks1 and
 the only reason they take a longer time
 to kill you is because you mix them    
with other kinds of foods4 ,but to the  

extent that you eat them1 your diet is  
deficient2 and do not console yourself  
with the idea that the mineral elements 
will be made up from other foods1       
because you don't know that1 and nobody 
else knows it4 ,nobody knows just how   
much of any particular organic salt the 
body needs4 ,all we know is that the    
primitive races1 which ate natural      
foods1 enjoyed vigorous health1 while   
the ,american people1 who consume the   
greatest proportion of the so-called    
refined foods1 have the very best       
dentists and the very worst teeth in the
 world4  ,there are many kinds of sugar1
 found in the sugar-cane and the beet1  
and in all fruits4 ,sugar may also be   
made from any form of starch2 this is   
glucose1 which is put up in cans and    
sold as an imitation of maple syrup4    
,the ordinary granulated and powdered   
sugar is made by taking from the natural
 syrup every trace of mineral elements2 
so ,i have no hesitation in saying that 
the ordinary cane sugar and beet sugar  

of our breakfast tables and our         
confectionery stores is not a food1 but 
a slow poison4 ,the causes of the       
wonderful progress of ,american         
dentistry1 which is the marvel of the   
civilized world1 are cane sugar1 white  
flour1 and the frying-pan1 each of which
 dietetic crimes ,i shall take up in    
turn4  ,we have the richest country in  
the world2 we eat more food1 probably by
 #ej per cent1 and we waste more food1  
probably by #ejj per cent1 than any     
other people in the world2 and yet1 go  
to any small farming community in       
,america1 and what do you find8 ,you    
find the teeth of the young children    
rotting in their heads1 and having to be
 pulled out before their second teeth   
come4 ,you find these second teeth      
rotting often before the age of twenty4 
,a friend of mine1 who knows the        
,american farmer1 sums it up this way3  
,he has two things that he requires if  
he is to be really respectable and      
happy4 ,first1 he wants to get all the  

fireplaces in his home boarded up1 and  
all the windows nailed tight2 and       
second1 he wants to get all his teeth   
out1 and an artificial set installed4   
,out of the farmers' wives in my        
neighborhood1 not one in ten keeps her  
own teeth until she is thirty4  ,if you 
go to the ,balkans1 where the peasants  
live on sour milk1 with grains which    
they grind at home2 or to southern      
,italy and ,sicily1 where they live on  
cheese and black bread and olives2 or   
among savage people1 where they hunt and
 fish and gather the natural fruits1 you
 find old men without a single decayed  
tooth4 ,there must be some reason for   
this1 and the reason is found in our    
denatured grocery-store foods4 ,the     
farmer's wife will gather up her eggs   
and her butter and cheeses1 and take    
them to the store and bring back cans of
 lard and packages of sugar4 ,the farmer
 will sell his perfectly good wheat and 
corn meal1 and bring back in his wagon  
cases of refined cereal foods1 for which

 he has paid ten times the price of the 
grain6  ,dentists will tell you that the
 way candy injures the teeth is by      
sticking to them and fermenting1 forming
 acids1 which destroy the tooth         
structure4 ,and that may be a part of   
the reason4 ,but the principal reason   
why the teeth decay is because the      
blood-stream is abnormal1 and is unable 
to keep up the repairs of the body4     
,your teeth are living structures1 just 
as much as any other part of you1 and   
they will resist decay if you supply    
them with the proper nourishment4  ,you 
need sugar2 you need a considerable     
quantity of it every day4 ,nature       
provides this sugar in combination with 
the organic salts1 and also with the    
precious vitamines1 whose function in   
the body we are only beginning to       
investigate4 ,all the mineral substances
 which give the color and flavor to     
oranges1 apples1 peaches1 grapes1 figs1 
prunes1 raisins--all these you take out 
when you make sugar4 ,or perhaps you put

 in some imitations of them1 made from  
coal tar chemicals1 and drink them at   
your soda fountains6 ,so little         
appreciation has the ,american farmer's 
wife of natural fruits1 that when she   
preserves them1 she considers it        
necessary to fill them full of cane     
sugar2 in fact1 she has a notion that   
they won't keep unless she cooks them up
 with sugar6 ,so snobbish are we        
,americans about our eating1 that we    
make the best of our foods into bywords4
 ,we make jokes in our comic papers     
about the boarding-house prune2 and yet 
prunes and raisins are among the        
wholesomest foods we have1 and if we fed
 them to our children instead of cakes  
and candy and coal-tar flavorings1 our  
dental industry would rapidly decline4  
,and the same thing is true of bread4   
,when ,i was a boy1 ,i thought ,i had to
 have hot bread at least twice a day1   
and if ,i were called upon to eat bread 
that was more than a day old1 ,i felt   
that ,i was being badly abused by life4 

,i used to read fairy stories1 in which 
something called black bread was        
mentioned1 something obscure and        
terrible2 the symbol of human misery was
 ,cinderella sitting in the ashes and   
eating a crust of dry black bread4 ,but 
now since ,i have studied diet1 ,i have 
taken my place with ,cinderella4 ,i can 
afford to buy whatever kind of bread ,i 
want2 ,i can have the best white bread1 
piping hot1 three times a day1 if ,i    
want it2 but what ,i eat three times a  
day is a crust of hard dry black bread4 
,black bread is the fairy story name for
 bread made of the whole grain4 ,it is  
eaten that way by the peasant because he
 has no patent milling machinery at his 
disposal1 to fan away the life-giving   
elements of his food4 ,nearly all the   
mineral elements of the grain are       
contained in the outer1 dark-colored    
portion4 ,the white part is almost pure 
starch2 and when you use white flour1   
you are not merely starving your        
blood-stream1 your bones1 and your      

teeth1 you are also depriving the       
digestive tract of the rough material   
which it is accustomed to handle1 and   
which it needs to stimulate it to       
action4 ,i am aware that whole grain    
products are a trifle less easy of      
digestion1 but we should not pamper and 
weaken our digestive tract any more than
 we let our muscles get flabby for lack 
of action4 ,we should require our       
stomachs to handle the ordinary natural 
foods1 precisely as we accustom our body
 to react from cold water1 and to stand 
honest hard work4  ,for ages the        
,japanese peasants have lived on rice1  
with a little dried fish4 ,quite        
recently there began to spread          
throughout ,japan a mysterious disease  
known as beri-beri4 ,it was especially  
prevalent in the army1 and so the       
scientists of ,japan set out to discover
 the cause1 and it proved to be the     
modern practice of polishing rice1 which
 takes off the outer coating of the     
grain4 ,rice is one of the most         

wholesome of foods1 if it is eaten in   
the natural state2 but in order to get  
it in that state in this country1 you   
have to find a special food store of the
 health cranks1 and have to pay a       
special price for it4 ,you have to pay a
 higher price for whole wheat           
bread--because ninety-nine people out of
 a hundred are ignorant1 and insist upon
 having their foodstuffs pretty to look 
at6  ,probably you have read sea        
stories1 and know of the horrors of     
scurvy4 ,scurvy and beri-beri are       
similar diseases1 with a similar cause4 
,the men on the old sailing ships used  
to have to live on white biscuit and    
salt meat1 and they always knew that to 
recover from their gnawing illness1 they
 must get to port and get fresh         
vegetables and fruits1 especially onions
 and lemons1 which contain the vitamines
 as well as the salts4 ,but you will see
 the modern housewife going into the    
grocery store1 and surveying the shelves
 of package goods1 and in her ignorance 

picking out the scurvy-making products1 
and frequently paying for them a much   
higher price than for the health-making 
ones6  ,then1 when she has got her white
 flour1 and her cane sugar1 and her     
lard1 she will take it home1 and mix it 
up1 and put it in the frying pan1 and   
serve it hot to her husband and         
children4 ,nature has so constituted her
 husband and children that they digest  
starch before they digest fat2 that is  
to say1 the starch is digested mainly in
 the stomach1 while the fat is digested 
mainly after the food has been passed on
 into the small intestine4 ,but by      
frying the starch before it is eaten1   
the housewife carefully takes each grain
 of the starch and protects it with a   
little covering of fat4 ,thus the       
digestive juices of the stomach cannot  
get at the starch1 and the starch goes  
down into the small intestine a good    
part undigested4 ,if some evil spirit1  
wishing to make trouble for the human   
organism1 had charge of the laying out  

of our diet1 he could hardly devise     
anything worse than that4 ,and yet it   
would be no exaggeration to say that the
 average ,american1 especially the      
average farmer1 eats out of a           
frying-pan4 ,if his potatoes have to be 
warmed over1 they go into the           
frying-pan2 his precious batter-cakes   
and doughnuts are cooked in a           
frying-pan1 and all his precious hot    
breads are mixed with lard4 ,if it were 
not for the fact that you cannot broil a
 beefsteak over a modern gas range1 ,i  
would tell you that the first step      
toward health for the average ,american 
would be to throw the frying-pan out of 
the window1 and to throw the cook-book  
after it4  ,the whole modern art of     
cooking is largely a perversion2 a      
product of idleness1 vanity1 and        
sensuality4 ,it is one of the monstrous 
growths consequent upon our system of   
class exploitation4 ,we have a number of
 idle people with nothing to do but eat1
 and who demonstrate their superiority  

to the rest of us by their knowledge of 
superior foods1 and superior ways of    
preparing them4 ,they have the wealth of
 the world at their disposal1 also the  
services of their fellow man without    
limit1 and they set their fellow man to 
work to enable them to give elaborate   
banquets1 and to sit in solemn state and
 gorge themselves1 and to have a full   
account of their behavior published in  
the next morning's newspapers4 ,a great 
part of this perverse art we owe to what
 is called the ancient regime in        
,france--a regime which starved the     
,french peasantry until they were black 
skinned beasts hiding in caves and      
hollow trees4 ,so it comes about that   
our modern food depravity parades itself
 in ,french names1 and ,american        
snobbery requires of its devotees a     
course in the ,french language          
sufficient to read a menu card4         
,needless to say1 this elaborate        
gastronomic art has been developed      
without any relation to health1 or any  

thought of the true needs of the body4  
,it is one of the products of the       
predatory system which we can say is    
absolute waste4 ,having done my own     
cooking for the past twenty-five years1 
,i make bold to say that ,i can teach   
anybody all he needs to know about      
cooking in one lesson of half an hour1  
and that the total amount of cooking    
required for a large family can be done 
by one person in twenty minutes a day4  
,in the first place1 a great many foods 
do not have to be cooked at all1 and are
 made less fit by cooking4 ,in the next 
place1 the only cooking that is ever    
required is a little boiling1 or in the 
case of meat1 roasting or broiling4 ,in 
the next place1 the art of combining    
foods in cooking is a waste art1 because
 no foods should be combined in cooking4
 ,every food has its own natural flavor1
 which is lost in combination1 and if   
anybody is unable to enjoy the natural  
flavors of simply cooked foods1 there is
 one thing to say to that person1 and   

that is to wait until he is hungry4 ,let
 him take a ten-mile walk in the open   
air1 and he will have more interest in  
his next meal4 ,i am not a fanatic1 and 
have no desire to destroy the pleasures 
of life2 ,i am recommending to people   
that they should seek the higher        
pleasures of the intellect1 and those   
pleasures are not found in standing over
 a cook stove1 nor in compelling others 
to stand over a cook stove4 ,moreover1  
,i know that the artificial mixing of   
foods to tempt peoples' palates is one  
of the principal causes of overeating1  
and therefore of ill health1 and        
therefore of the ultimate destruction of
 the pleasures of life4  ,i went out    
from the world of cooks before ,i was   
twenty4 ,i wanted to write a book1 and  
to be let alone while ,i was doing it4  
,i lived by myself1 and found out about 
cooking by practical experience4 ,on a  
few occasions since then1 ,i have lived 
in a house with a servant1 and had some 
cooking done for me1 but it was always  

because somebody else wanted it1 and    
against my protest4 ,in the last ten    
years we have had no servant in our     
home1 and because ,i want my wife to    
give her energy to more important things
 than feeding me1 ,i do my share of     
getting every meal4 ,we have worked out 
a system of housekeeping by which we get
 a meal in five minutes1 and when we    
finish it1 it takes three minutes to    
clear things away4  ,if ,i tell you what
 ,i eat1 please do not get the          
impression that ,i am advising you to   
eat these same things4 ,my diet consists
 of the foods which ,i have found by    
long experience agree with me4 ,there   
are many other foods which are just as  
wholesome1 but which ,i do not eat1     
either because they don't happen to     
agree with me1 or because ,i don't care 
for them so much4 ,i am fond of fruit1  
and eat more of that than of anything   
else4 ,it is not a cheap article of     
diet1 but you can save a good deal if   
you buy it in quantities1 as ,i do4 ,a  

little later ,i am going to discuss the 
prices of foods4  ,for breakfast ,i eat 
a slice of whole wheat bread1 three     
good-sized apples1 stewed1 and eight or 
ten dates4 ,it takes practically no time
 to prepare this breakfast4 ,the bread  
has to be baked1 of course1 but this is 
done wholesale2 we buy four loaves at a 
time1 and it is just as good at the end 
of a couple of weeks as when we buy it4 
,when ,i lived in the world of cooks1 ,i
 would call for apple sauce2 which meant
 that somebody had to pare apples1 cut  
them up1 stew them1 mix them with sugar1
 grate a little nutmeg over them1 set   
them on ice1 and serve them to me on a  
glass dish1 with a little pitcher of    
cream4 ,but now what happens is that ,i 
put a dozen apples in a big sauce-pan   
and let them simmer while ,i am eating4 
,we have a rule in our family that we do
 not do any cooking except while we are 
eating1 because if we try it at any     
other time of the day1 we get buried in 
a book or in a manuscript1 and forget   

about it until the smoke causes somebody
 in the street to summon the fire       
department4 ,so the apples for my       
breakfast were cooked during last       
night's supper2 and during the breakfast
 there will be some vegetable cooking   
for lunch4  ,at this lunch1 which is my 
square meal1 ,i eat a large slice of    
beefsteak1 say a third of a pound4 ,jack
 ,london used to say that the only man  
who could cook a beefsteak was the      
fireman of a railway locomotive1 because
 he had a hot1 clean shovel4 ,the best  
imitation you can get is a hot1 clean   
frying-pan2 and when you are sure that  
it is hot1 let it get hotter4 ,the whole
 secret of cooking meat is to keep the  
juices inside1 and to do that you must  
cook it quickly4 ,when you slap it down 
on a hot frying-pan1 the meat is seared1
 and the juices stay inside1 and if you 
do not turn it over until it is almost  
ready to burn1 you don't need to cook it
 very long on the other side4 ,that is  
the one secret of cooking worth knowing2

 it doesn't cost anything1 and saves    
time instead of wasting it4 ,as ,i have 
never found anybody else capable of     
learning it1 ,i reserve the cooking of  
the beefsteak as one of my family       
duties4  ,to continue the lunch1 a slice
 of whole wheat bread1 and a large      
quantity of some fresh salad1 such as   
celery1 or lettuce and tomatoes1 without
 dressing4 ,for a part of this may be   
substituted a vegetable1 one or two     
beets or turnips1 cooked during a       
previous meal1 and warmed up in a couple
 of minutes2 and we do not throw away   
the tops of the turnips and beets and   
celery1 we put them on and cook them1   
and they serve for the next day's meal4 
,if you would eat a large quantity of   
such greens once a day1 you would escape
 many of the ills that your flesh is at 
present heir to4 ,finally1 for dessert1 
an orange and a small handful of        
raisins1 or one or two figs4  ,the      
evening meal will be the same as the    
breakfast2 except once in a while when  

,i am especially hungry1 and want some  
meat4 ,i am writing in the winter       
season1 so the fruits suggested are     
those available in winter4 ,the menu    
will be varied with every kind of fruit 
at the season when it is cheapest and   
most easily obtained4 ,the beefsteak    
will appear at about three meals out of 
four2 occasionally it will be replaced  
by the lean meat of pork or mutton1 or  
by fish4 ,the bread may be replaced by  
rice1 or boiled potatoes1 either white  
or sweet1 and occasionally by graham    
crackers4 ,i know that these contain a  
little fat and sugar1 but ,i try not to 
be fanatical about my diet1 and the     
rules ,i suggest do not carry the death 
penalty4 ,there was a time when ,i used 
to allow my friends to make themselves  
miserable by trying to provide me with  
special foods when they invited me to a 
meal1 but now ,i tell them to forget it1
 and ,i politely nibble a little of     
everything1 and eat most of what ,i find
 wholesome2 if there is nothing         

wholesome1 ,i content myself with the   
pretense of a meal4 ,if ,i find myself  
in a restaurant1 ,i quite shamelessly   
get a piece of apple or pumpkin pie1    
omitting most of the crust4 ,as ,i don't
 go away from home more than once or    
twice a month1 ,i do not have to worry  
about such indulgence4 ,the main thing  
is to arrange one's home diet on sound  
lines1 and learn to enjoy the simple and
 wholesome foods1 of which there is a   
great variety obtainable1 and at prices 
possible to all but the wretchedly poor4
  ,in conclusion1 since everybody likes 
to have a feast now and then1 ,i specify
 that my diet regimen allows for        
holidays4 ,assuming that ,i am your     
guest for a day1 and that you wish to   
blow me1 regardless of expense1 here    
will be the menu4 ,breakfast1 some      
graham crackers1 a bunch of raisins1 a  
can of sliced pineapple in winter1 or a 
big chunk of watermelon in summer4      
,dinner1 or lunch1 roast pork1 a baked  
apple1 a baked sweet potato and some    

spinach4 ,supper1 lettuce1 dates1 and a 
dish of popcorn flavored with peanut    
butter4 ,try this next ,christmas6  ,p4 
,s4 ,after this book had been put into  
type1 ,i chanced to be looking over     
,herbert ,quick's illuminating book1 ,on
 ,board the ,good ,ship ,earth4         
,discussing the importance of certain   
organic salts to the body1 ,dr4 ,quick  
states3 ,animals have been fed1 as an   
experiment1 on foods deficient in       
phosphorus4 ,for a while they seemed to 
do well4 ,then they collapsed4 ,it takes
 only three months of a ration without  
phosphorus to wreck an animal4          
,individual creatures were killed after 
a month of this diet1 and it was found  
that the flesh was taking the           
phosphate--for the phosphorus exists in 
the body in that form--from the bones to
 supply its need4 ,in other words1 the  
body was eating its own bones6 ,when    
this process had robbed the bones to the
 limit1 the collapse came1 and the      
animal could never recover4             

,,chapter ,,xxi  ,,diet ,,standards     
7,discusses various foods and their food
 values1 the quantities we      need1   
and their money cost47  ,i think there  
is no more important single question    
about health than the question of how   
much food we should eat4 ,it is one     
about which there is a great deal of    
controversy1 even among the best        
authorities4 ,we shall try here for a   
common-sense solution4 ,at the outset we
 have to remind ourselves of the        
distinction we tried to draw between    
nature and man4 ,to what extent can     
civilized man rely upon his instincts to
 keep him in perfect health8  ,let us   
begin by considering the animals4 ,how  
is their diet problem solved8 ,horses   
and cattle in a wild state are adjusted 
to certain foods which they find in     
nature1 and so long as they can find it1
 they have no diet problem4 ,man comes1 
and takes these animals and domesticates
 them2 he observes their habits1 and    
gives to them a diet closely approaching

 the natural one1 and they get along    
fairly well4 ,but suppose the man1 with 
his superior skill in agriculture1      
taking wild grain and planting it1      
reaping and threshing it by machinery1  
puts before his horse an unlimited      
quantity of a concentrated food such as 
oats1 which the horse can never get in a
 natural state--will that horse's       
instincts guide it8 ,not at all4 ,any   
horse will kill itself by overeating on 
grain4  ,i have read somewhere a clever 
saying1 that a farm is a good place for 
an author to live1 provided he can be   
persuaded not to farm it4 ,but once upon
 a time ,i had not heard that wise      
remark1 and ,i owned and tried to run a 
farm4 ,i had two beautiful cows of which
 ,i was very proud1 and one morning ,i  
woke up and discovered that the cows had
 got into the pear orchard and had been 
feeding on pears all night4 ,in a few   
hours they both lay with bloated        
stomachs1 dying4 ,a farmer told me      
afterwards that ,i might have saved     

their lives1 if ,i had stuck a knife    
into their stomachs to let out the gas4 
,i do not know whether this is true or  
not4 ,but my two dead cows afford a     
perfect illustration of the reason why  
civilized man cannot rely upon his      
instincts and his appetites to tell him 
when he has had enough to eat4 ,he can  
only do this1 provided he rigidly       
restricts himself to the foods which he 
ate in the days when his teeth and      
stomach and bowels were being shaped by 
the process of natural selection4 ,if he
 is going to eat any other than such    
strictly natural foods1 he will need to 
apply his reason to his diet schedule4  
,in a state of nature man has to hunt   
his food1 and the amount that he finds  
is generally limited1 and requires a lot
 of exercise to get4 ,explorers in      
,africa give us a picture of man's life 
in the savage state1 guided by his      
instincts and very little interfered    
with by reason4 ,the savages will starve
 for long periods1 then they will       

succeed in killing a hippopotamus or a  
buffalo1 and they will gorge themselves1
 and nearly all of them will be ill1 and
 several of them will die4 ,so you see1 
even in a state of nature1 and with     
natural foods1 restraint is needed1 and 
reason and moral sense have a part to   
play4  ,what do reason and moral sense  
have to tell us about diet8 ,our bodily 
processes go on continuously1 and we    
need at regular intervals a certain     
quantity of a number of different foods4
 ,the most elementary experiment will   
convince us that we can get along1      
maintain our body weight and our working
 efficiency upon a much smaller quantity
 of food than we naturally crave4       
,civilized custom puts before us a great
 variety of delicate and appetizing     
foods1 upon which we are disposed to    
overeat2 and we are slow observers      
indeed if we do not note the connection 
between this overeating and ill health4 
,so we are forced to the conclusion that
 if we wish to stay well1 we need to    

establish a censorship over our habits2 
we need a different diet regimen from   
the haphazard one which has been        
established for us by a combination of  
our instincts with the perversions of   
civilization4  ,up to a few years ago1  
it was commonly taken for granted by    
authorities on diet that what the       
average man actually eats must be the   
normal thing for him to eat4            
,governments which were employing men in
 armies1 and at road building1 and had  
to feed them and keep them in health1   
made large scale observations as to what
 the men ate1 and thus were established 
the old fashioned diet standards4 ,they 
are expressed in calories1 which is a   
heat unit representing the quantity of  
fuel required to heat a certain small   
quantity of water a certain number of   
degrees4 ,in order that you may know    
what ,i am talking about1 ,i will give a
 rough idea of the quantity of the more 
common foods which it takes to make #ajj
 calories3 one medium sized slice of    

bread1 a piece of lean cooked steak the 
size of two fingers1 one large apple1   
three medium tablespoonfuls of cooked   
rice or potatoes1 one large banana1 a   
tablespoonful of raisins1 five dates1   
one large fig1 a teaspoonful of sugar1 a
 ball of butter the size of your        
thumbnail1 a very large head of lettuce1
 three medium sized tomatoes1 two-thirds
 of a glass of milk1 a tablespoonful of 
oil4 ,you observe1 if you compare these 
various items1 how little guidance      
concerning food is given by its bulk4   
,you may eat a whole head of lettuce1   
weighing nearly a pound1 and get no more
 food value than from a half ounce of   
olive oil which you pour over it4 ,you  
may eat enough lean beefsteak to cover  
your plate1 and you will not have eaten 
so much as a generous helping of butter4
 ,a big bowl of strawberries will not   
count half so much as the cream and     
sugar you put over them4 ,so you may    
realize that when you eat olive oil1    
butter1 cream1 and sugar1 you are in the

 same danger as the horse eating oats1  
or as my two cows in the pear orchard2  
and if some day a surgeon has to come   
and stick a knife into you1 it may be   
for the same reason4  ,the old-fashioned
 diet standards are as follows3 ,swedish
 laborers at hard work1 over #d1gjj     
calories2 ,russian workmen at moderate  
work1 ,german soldiers in active        
service1 ,italian laborers at moderate  
work1 between #c1ejj and #c1gjj         
calories2 ,english weavers1 nearly      
#c1ejj calories2 ,austrian farm         
laborers1 over #e1jjj calories4 ,some   
twenty years ago the ,united ,states    
government made observations of over    
#ae1jjj persons1 and established the    
following1 known as the ,atwater        
standards3 men at very hard muscular    
work1 #e1ejj calories2 men at moderately
 active muscular work1 #c1djj calories2 
men at light to moderate muscular work1 
#c1jej calories2 men at sedentary1 or   
women at moderately active work1 #b1gjj 
calories4  ,in the last ten or fifteen  

years there has arisen a new school of  
dietetic experts1 headed by ,professors 
,chittenden and ,fisher of ,yale        
,university4 ,professor ,chittenden has 
published an elaborate book1 ,the       
,nutrition of ,man1 in which he tells of
 long-continued experiment upon a squad 
of soldiers and a group of athletes at  
,yale ,university1 also upon average    
students and professors4 ,he has proved 
conclusively that all these various     
groups have been able to maintain full  
body weight and full working efficiency 
upon less than half the quantity of     
protein food hitherto specified1 and    
upon anywhere from one-half to          
two-thirds the calory value set forth in
 the former standards4  ,when ,i first  
read this book1 ,i set to work to try   
its theories upon myself4 ,during the   
five or six months that ,i lived on raw 
food1 ,i took the trouble to weigh      
everything that ,i ate1 and to keep a   
record4 ,it is1 of course1 very easy to 
weigh raw foods exactly1 and ,i found   

that ,i lived an active life and kept   
physical health upon slightly less than 
#b1ejj calories a day4 ,i have set this 
as my standard1 and have accustomed     
myself to follow it instinctively1 and  
without wasting any thought upon it4    
,sometimes ,i fall from grace2 for ,i   
still crave the delightful cakes and    
candies and ice cream upon which ,i was 
brought up4 ,i always pay the penalty1  
and know that ,i will not get back to my
 former state of health until ,i skip a 
meal or two1 and give my system a chance
 to clean house4 ,the average man will  
find the regimen set forth in this book 
austere and awe-inspiring2 ,i do not    
wish to pose as a paragon of virtue1 so 
perhaps ,i should quote a sarcastic girl
 cousin1 who remarked when ,i was a boy 
that the way to my heart was with a bag 
of ginger-snaps4 ,i live in the presence
 of candy stores and never think of     
their existence1 but if someone brings  
candy into the house and puts it in     
front of me1 ,i have to waste a lot of  

moral energy in letting it alone4 ,a few
 years ago ,i had a young man as        
secretary who discovered this failing of
 mine1 and used to afford himself       
immense glee by buying a box of         
chocolates and leaving it on top of my  
desk4 ,i would give him back the        
box--with some of the chocolates        
missing--but he would persist in        
forgetting it on my desk2 he would hide 
and laugh hilariously behind the door1  
until my wife discovered his nefarious  
doings1 and warned me of them4          
,professor ,chittenden states quite     
simply the common sense procedure in the
 matter of food quantity4 ,find out by  
practical experiment what is the very   
least food upon which you can do your   
work without losing weight4 ,that is the
 correct quantity for you1 and if you   
are eating more1 you certainly cannot be
 doing your body any good1 and all the  
evidence indicates that you are doing it
 harm4 ,you need not have the least fear
 in making this experiment that you will

 starve yourself4 ,later on1 in a       
chapter on fasting1 ,i shall prove to   
you that you carry around with you in   
your body sufficient reserve of food to 
keep you alive for eighty or ninety     
days2 and if you draw on a small        
quantity of this you do not do yourself 
the slightest harm4 ,cut down the amount
 of your food2 eat the bulky foods1     
which contain less calory value1 and    
weigh yourself every day1 and you will  
be surprised to discover how much less  
you need to eat than you have been      
accustomed to4  ,one of the things you  
will find out is that your stomach is   
easily fooled2 it is largely guided by  
bulk4 ,if you eat a meal consisting of a
 moderate quantity of lean meat1 a very 
little bread1 a heaping dish of turnip  
greens1 and a big slice of watermelon1  
you will feel fully satisfied1 yet you  
will not have taken in one-third the    
calory value that you would at an       
ordinary meal with gravies and dressings
 and dessert4 ,the bulky kind of food is

 that for which your system was adapted 
in the days when it was shaped by       
nature4 ,you have a large stomach1 many 
times as large as you would have had if 
you had lived on refined and            
concentrated foods such as butter1      
sugar1 olive oil1 cheese and eggs4 ,you 
have a long intestinal tract1 adapted to
 slowly digesting foods1 and to the work
 of extracting nutrition from a mass of 
roughage4 ,you have a very large lower  
bowel1 which ,metchnikoff1 the ,russian 
scientist1 one of the greatest minds who
 ever examined the problems of health1  
declares a survival1 the relic of a     
previous stage of evolution1 and a      
source of much disease4 ,the best thing 
you can do with that lower bowel is to  
give it lots of hay1 as it requires2 in 
other words1 to eat the salads and      
greens which contain cellulose material4
 ,this contains no food value1 and does 
not ferment1 but fills the lower bowel  
and stimulates it to activity4  ,if you 
eat too much food1 three things may     

happen4 ,first1 it may not be digested1 
and in that case it will fill your      
system with poisons4 ,second1 it may be 
assimilated1 but not burned up by the   
body4 ,in that case it has to be thrown 
out by the kidneys or the sweat glands1 
and this puts upon these organs an extra
 strain1 to which in the long run they  
may be unequal4 ,or third1 the surplus  
material may be stored up as fat4 ,this 
is an old-time trick which nature       
invented to tide you over the times when
 food was scarce4 ,if you were a bear1  
you would naturally want to eat all you 
could1 and be as fat as possible in     
,november1 so that you might be able to 
hunt your prey when you came out from   
your winter's sleep in ,april4 ,but you 
are not a bear1 and you expect to eat   
your regular meals all winter2 you have 
established a system of civilization    
which makes you certain of your food1   
and the place where you keep your       
surplus is in the bank1 or sewed up in  
the mattress1 or hidden in your         

stocking4 ,in other words1 a civilized  
man saves money1 and the habit of       
storing globules of grease in the cells 
of his body is a survival of an old     
instinct1 and a needless strain upon his
 health4 ,not merely does the fat man   
have to carry all the extra weight      
around with him1 but his body has to    
keep it and tend it2 and what are the   
effects of this is fully shown by life  
insurance tables4 ,people who are five  
or ten per cent over weight have five or
 ten per cent more chance of dying all  
the time1 while people who are five or  
ten per cent under weight have five or  
ten per cent more than the average of   
life expectation4 ,there is no answer to
 these figures1 which are the result of 
the tabulation of many hundreds of      
thousands of cases4 ,the meaning of them
 to the fat person is to put himself on 
a diet of lean meat1 green vegetables   
and fresh fruits1 until he has brought  
himself down1 not merely to the normal  
fatness of the civilized man1 but to the

 normal leanness of the athlete1 the    
soldier on campaign1 and the student who
 has more important things to think     
about than stuffing his stomach4  ,there
 is1 of course1 a certain kind of       
leanness which is the result of ill     
health4 ,there are wasting diseases2    
tuberculosis1 for example1 and anemia4  
,there are people who worry themselves  
thin1 and there are a few rare spiritual
 people1 so-called1 who fade away from  
lack of sufficient interest in their    
bodies4 ,that is not the kind of        
leanness that ,i mean1 but the active1  
wiry leanness1 which sometimes lives a  
hundred years4 ,nearly always you will  
find that such people are spare eaters2 
and you will find that our ideal of rosy
 plumpness1 both for adults and         
children1 is a wholly false notion4 ,we 
once had in our home as servant an      
,irish girl1 who was what is popularly  
called a picture of health1 with those  
beautiful flaming cheeks that ,irish and
 ,english women so often have4 ,she was 

in her early twenties1 and nobody who   
knew her had any idea but that her      
health was perfect4 ,but one morning she
 was discovered in bed with one side    
paralyzed1 and in a couple of weeks she 
was dead with erysipelas4 ,the color in 
her cheeks had been nothing but diseased
 blood vessels1 overloaded with food    
material2 and with the blood in that    
condition1 one of the tiny vessels in   
the brain had become clogged4  ,in the  
same way ,i have seen children1 two or  
three years old1 plump and rosy1 and    
considered to be everything that        
children should be2 but pneumonia would 
hit them1 and in two or three days they 
would be at death's door4 ,i do not mean
 that children should be kept hungry2 on
 the contrary1 they should have four or 
five meals a day1 so that they do not   
have a chance to become too hungry4 ,but
 at those meals they should eat in great
 part the bulky foods1 which contain the
 natural salts needed for building the  
body4 ,if a child asks for food1 you may

 give it an apple1 or you may give it a 
slice of bread and butter with sugar on 
it4 ,the child will be equally well     
content in either case2 but it is for   
you1 with your knowledge of food values1
 to realize that the bread with butter  
and sugar contains two or three times as
 much nutriment as the apple1 but       
contains practically none of the        
precious organic salts which will make  
the child's bones and teeth4  ,so far ,i
 have discussed this subject as if all  
foods grew on bushes outside your       
kitchen door1 and all you had to do was 
to go and pick off what you wanted4 ,but
 as a matter of fact1 foods cost money1 
and under our present system of wage    
slavery1 the amount of money the average
 person can spend for food is strictly  
limited4 ,in a later book ,i am going to
 discuss the problem of poverty1 its    
causes and remedies4 ,all that ,i can do
 here is to tell you what foods you     
ought to have1 and if society does not  
pay you enough for your work to enable  

you to buy such foods1 you may know that
 society1 is starving you1 and you may  
get busy to demand your rights as human 
beings4 ,meantime1 however1 such money  
as you do have1 you want to spend       
wisely1 and the vast majority of you    
spend it very unwisely indeed4  ,in the 
first place1 a great many of the        
simplest and most wholesome foods are   
cheap--often because people do not know 
enough to value them4 ,we insist upon   
having the choice cuts of meats1 because
 they are more tender to the teeth1 but 
the cheaper cuts are exactly as         
nutritious4 ,we insist upon having our  
meats loaded with fat1 although fatness 
is an abnormal condition in an animal1  
and excess of fat is a grave error in   
diet4 ,i live in a country where jack   
rabbits are a pest1 and in the market   
they sell for perhaps one-fourth the    
cost of beef1 and yet ,i can hardly ever
 get them1 because people value them so 
little as food2 they prefer the meat of 
a hog which has been wallowing in a     

filthy pen1 and has been deliberately   
made so fat that it could hardly walk6  
,i have already spoken of prunes1 a much
 despised and invaluable food4 ,all the 
dried fruits are rich in food values1   
and if we could get them untreated by   
chemicals1 they would be worth their    
cost4 ,i was brought up to despise the  
cheaper vegetables1 such as cabbage and 
turnips2 ,i never tasted boiled cabbage 
until ,i was forty1 and then to my great
 surprise ,i made the discovery that it 
is good4 ,raw cabbage is as valuable as 
any other salad2 it is a trifle harder  
to digest for some people1 but ,i do not
 believe in pampering the stomach4 ,both
 potatoes and rice are cheap and        
wholesome1 if only we would get         
unpolished rice1 and if we would leave  
the skins on the potatoes until after   
they are cooked4 ,nearly all the mineral
 salts of the potato are just under the 
outer skin1 and are removed by the      
foolish habit of peeling them4  ,the    
prices of food differ so widely at      

different seasons and in different parts
 of the world1 that there is not much   
profit in trying to figure how cheaply a
 person can live4 ,i have found that ,i 
spend for the diet ,i have indicated    
here1 from sixty to eighty cents a day4 
,i do not buy any fancy foods1 but on   
the other hand1 ,i do not especially try
 to economize2 ,i buy what ,i want of   
the simple everyday foods in their      
season4 ,most everyone will find that it
 is a good business proposition to buy  
the foods which he needs to keep in     
health4 ,if the average workingman would
 add up the money he spends1 not merely 
in the restaurants1 but in the candy    
stores1 the drug stores1 the tobacco    
stores1 and the offices of doctors and  
dentists1 he would find1 ,i think1 that 
he could afford to buy himself the      
necessary quantity of wholesome natural 
foods4 ,for a family of three1 in the   
place where ,i live1 enough of these    
foods can be purchased for a dollar a   
day1 and this is about one-fourth what  

common labor is being paid1 and         
one-eighth of what skilled labor is     
being paid4 ,i will specify the foods3 a
 pound and a half of shoulder steak1 a  
loaf of whole wheat bread or a box of   
shredded wheat biscuit1 a head of       
cabbage1 a pound of prunes1 and four or 
five pounds of apples4  ,there are many 
ways of saving in the purchase of food  
if you put your mind upon it4 ,if you   
are buying prunes1 you may pay as high  
as fifty cents or a dollar a pound for  
the big ones1 and they are not a bit    
better than the tiny ones1 which you can
 buy for as low as eight cents a pound  
in bulk4 ,when bread is stale1 the      
bakers sell it for half price1 despite  
the fact that only then has it become   
fit to eat4 ,if you buy canned peaches1 
you will pay a fancy price for them1 and
 they will be heavy with cane sugar2 but
 if you inquire1 you find what are known
 as pie peaches1 put up in gallon tins  
without sugar1 and at about half the    
price4 ,the butcher will sell you what  

he calls hamburg steak at a very low    
price1 and if you let him prepare it out
 of your sight1 he will fill it with fat
 and gristle2 but let him make some     
while you watch1 and then you have a    
very good food4 ,one of my diet rules is
 that ,i do not trust the capitalist    
system to fix me up any kind of mixed or
 ground or prepared foods4 ,i have not  
eaten sausage since ,i saw it made in   
,chicago4  ,also there is something to  
know about the cooking of foods1 since  
it is possible to take perfectly good   
foods and spoil them by bad cooking4    
,once upon a time our family discovered 
a fireless cooker1 and thought that was 
a wonderful invention for an            
absent-minded author and a wife who is  
given to revising manuscripts4 ,but     
recent investigations which have been   
made into the nature of the vitamines1  
food ferments which are only partly     
understood1 suggest that prolonged      
cooking of food may be a great mistake4 
,the starch has to be cooked in order to

 break the cell walls by the expansion  
of the material inside4 ,twenty minutes 
will be enough in the case of everything
 except beans1 which need to be cooked  
four or five hours4 ,meat should be     
eaten rare1 except in the case of pork1 
which harbors a parasite dangerous to   
the human body2 therefore pork should   
always be thoroughly cooked4 ,the white 
of eggs is made less digestible by      
boiling hard or frying4 ,eggs should    
never be allowed to boil2 put them on in
 cold water1 and take them off as soon  
as the water begins to boil4 ,it is not 
necessary to cook either fresh fruit or 
dried4 ,the dried fruits may be soaked  
and eaten raw1 but ,i find that several 
fruits1 especially apples and pears1 do 
not agree with me well if they are eaten
 raw1 so ,i stew them for fifteen or    
twenty minutes4 ,i have no objection to 
canned fruits and vegetables1 provided  
one takes the trouble in opening them to
 make sure there is no sign of spoiling4
 ,if you put up your own fruits1 do not 

put in any sugar4 ,all you have to do is
 to let them boil for a few minutes1 and
 to seal them tightly while they are    
boiling hot4 ,the whole secret of       
preserving is to exclude the air with   
its bacteria4  ,if you live on a farm1  
you will have no trouble in following   
the diet here outlined1 for you can     
produce for yourselves all the foods    
that ,i have recommended2 only do not   
make the mistake of shipping out your   
best foods1 and taking back the products
 of a factory1 just because you have    
read lying advertisements about them4   
,take your own wheat and oats and corn  
to the mill1 and have it ground whole1  
and make your own breads and cereals4   
,try the experiment of mixing whole corn
 meal with water and a little salt1 and 
baking it into hard1 crisp corn dodgers4
 ,i do not eat these--but only because  
,i cannot buy them1 and have no time to 
make them4  ,another common article of  
food which ,i do not recommend is salted
 and smoked meats4 ,i do not pretend to 

know the effects of large quantities of 
salt and saltpetre and wood smoke upon  
the human system1 but ,i know that ,dr4 
,wiley's poison squad proved definitely 
that a number of these inorganic        
minerals are injurious to health1 and ,i
 prefer to take fresh meat when ,i can  
get it4 ,i use a moderate quantity of   
common salt on meat and potatoes1       
because there seems to be a natural     
craving for this4 ,i know that many     
health enthusiasts insist that ,i am    
thus putting a strain on my kidneys1 but
 ,i will wait until these health        
enthusiasts make clear to me why deer   
and cattle and horses in a wild state   
will travel many miles to a salt-lick4  
,i have learned that it is easy to make 
plausible statements about health1 but  
not so easy to prove them4 ,for example1
 ,i was told that it is injurious to    
drink water at meals1 and for years ,i  
religiously avoided the habit2 but it   
occurred to some college professor to   
find out if this was really true1 and he

 carried on a series of experiments     
which proved that the stomach works     
better when its contents are diluted4   
,the only point about drinking at meals 
is that you should not use the liquid to
 wash down your food without chewing it4
  ,i can suggest two other ways by which
 you may save money on food4 ,one is by 
not eating too much1 and another is by  
eating all that you buy4 ,the amount of 
food that is wasted by the people of    
,america would feed the people of any   
,european nation4 ,the amount of food   
that is thrown out from any one of our  
big ,american leisure class hotels would
 feed the children of a ,european town4 
,i think it may fairly be described as a
 crime to throw into the garbage pail   
food which might nourish human life4 ,in
 our family we have no garbage pail4    
,what little waste there is1 we burn in 
the stove1 and my wife turns it into    
roses4 ,it consists of the fat which we 
cannot help getting at the butcher's1   
and the bones of meat1 and the skins of 

some fruits and vegetables4 ,it would   
never enter into our minds to throw out 
a particle of bread1 or meat1 or other  
wholesome food4 ,if we have something   
that we fear may spoil1 we do not throw 
it out1 but put it into a saucepan and  
cook it for a few minutes4 ,if you will 
make the same rule in your home1 you    
will stop at least that much of the     
waste of ,american life2 and as to the  
big leisure class hotels1 and the       
banquet tables of the rich--just wait a 
few years1 and ,i think the social      
revolution will attend to them6         
,,chapter ,,xxii  ,,foods ,,and         
,,poisons       7,concludes the subject 
of diet1 and discusses the effect upon  
the      system of stimulants and       
narcotics47   ,a few years ago there    
died an old gentleman who had devoted   
some twenty years of his life to        
teaching people to chew their food4     
,horace ,fletcher was his name1 and his 
ideas became a fad1 and some people     
carried them to comical extremes4 ,but  

,fletcher made a real discovery2 what he
 called the food filter4 ,this is the   
automatic action of the swallowing      
apparatus1 whereby nature selects the   
food which has been sufficiently        
prepared for digestion4 ,if you chew a  
mouthful of food without ever performing
 the act of swallowing1 you will find   
that the food gradually disappears4     
,what happens is that all of it which   
has been reduced to a thin paste will   
slip unnoticed down your throat1 and you
 may go on putting more food into your  
mouth1 and chewing1 and can eat a whole 
meal without ever performing the act of 
swallowing4 ,fletcher claimed that this 
is the proper way to eat1 and that you  
can train yourself to follow this       
method4 ,i have tried his idea and      
adopted it4 ,one of my diet rules1 to   
which there is no exception1 is that if 
,i haven't the time to chew my food     
properly1 ,i haven't the time to eat2 ,i
 skip that meal4  ,the habit of bolting 
food is a source of disease4 ,to be     

sure1 the carnivorous animals bolt their
 food1 but they are tougher than we are1
 and do not carry the burden of a large 
brain and a complex nervous system4 ,if 
you swallow your meals half chewed1 and 
wash them down with liquids1 you may get
 away with it for a while1 but some day 
you will pay for it with dyspepsia and  
nervous troubles4 ,and the same thing   
applies to your habit of jumping up from
 meals and rushing away to work1 whether
 it be work of the muscles1 or of brain 
and nerves4 ,proper digestion requires  
the presence of a quantity of blood in  
the walls of the stomach and digestive  
tract4 ,it requires the attention of    
your subconscious mind1 and this means  
rest of muscles and brain centers4 ,if  
you cannot rest for an hour after meals1
 omit that meal1 or make it a light one1
 of fruit juices1 which are almost      
immediately absorbed by the stomach1 and
 of salads1 which do not ferment4 ,you  
may rest assured that it will not hurt  
you to skip a meal1 and make up for it  

when you have time to be quiet4 ,i have 
been many times in my life under very   
intense and long continued nervous      
strain2 for example1 during the         
,colorado coal strike1 ,i led a public  
demonstration which kept me in a state  
of excitement all the day and a good    
part of the night several weeks4 ,during
 this period ,i ate almost nothing2 a   
baked apple and a cup of custard would  
be as near as ,i would go to a meal1 and
 as a result ,i came through the        
experience without any injury whatever  
to my health4 ,i lost perhaps ten pounds
 in weight1 but that was quickly made up
 when ,i settled back to a normal way of
 life4  ,i have been on camping trips   
when ,i had a great deal of hard work to
 do1 carrying a canoe long distances on 
my back1 or paddling it forty miles a   
day4 ,on the mornings of such a trip ,i 
have seen a guide cook himself an       
elaborate breakfast of freshly baked    
bread1 bacon1 and even beans1 and make a
 hearty meal and then go straight to    

work4 ,my meal1 on the contrary1 would  
consist of a small dish of stewed       
prunes1 or perhaps some huckleberries or
 raspberries1 if they could be found4 ,i
 will not say that ,i could do as much  
as the guide1 because he was used to it1
 and ,i was not4 ,but ,i can say        
this--if ,i had eaten his breakfast at  
the start of the day1 ,i would have been
 dead before night2 and ,i mean the word
 dead quite literally4 ,i know a man who
 started to climb ,whiteface mountain in
 the ,adirondacks4 ,he climbed half way1
 and then ate lunch1 which consisted of 
nine hard boiled eggs4 ,then he started 
to climb the rest of the mountain1 and  
dropped dead of acute indigestion4      
,there are few poisons which can affect 
the system more quickly1 or more        
dangerously1 than a mass of food which  
is not digested4 ,the stomach is an     
ideal forcing-house for the breeding of 
bacteria4 ,it provides warmth and       
moisture1 and you1 in your meal1 provide
 the bacteria and the material upon     

which they thrive4 ,under normal        
conditions1 the stomach pours out a     
gastric juice which kills the bacteria2 
but let this gastric juice for any      
reason be lacking--because your nervous 
energy has gone somewhere else1 or      
because your blood-stream1 from which   
the gastric juice must be made1 has been
 drawn away to the muscles by hard      
labor2 then you have a yeast-pot1 with  
great quantities of gases and poisons4  
,in acute cases the results are evident 
enough3 violent pains and convulsions1  
followed by coma and the turning black  
of the body4 ,but what you should       
understand is that you may produce a    
milder case of such poisoning1 and may  
do it day after day habitually1 and     
little by little your vital organs will 
be weakened by the strain4  ,it does not
 make any difference at what hour of the
 twenty-four you take the great bulk of 
your food4 ,it is one of the commonest  
delusions that you get some             
strengthening effect from your food     

immediately1 and must have this strength
 in order to do hard work4 ,to be sure1 
there are substances1 such as           
grape-sugar1 which require practically  
no digesting2 you can hold them in the  
mouth1 and they will be digested by the 
saliva1 and absorbed at once into the   
blood-stream4 ,but unless you have been 
starved for a long period you do not    
need to get your strength in this rush  
fashion4 ,if you ate your normal meals  
on the previous day1 your blood-stream  
is fully supplied with nutriment which  
has been put through a long process of  
preparation1 and you can get up in the  
morning and work all day1 if necessary1 
upon what is already in your system4 ,to
 be sure1 you may feel hungry1 and even 
faint1 but that is merely a matter of   
habit2 your system is accustomed to     
taking food and expects it4 ,but if you 
are a laborer doing hard work1 you can  
easily train yourself to eat a light    
meal in the morning1 and another light  
meal at noon1 and to eat a hearty meal  

when your work is done and you can rest4
 ,two light meals and a hearty meal are 
all that any system needs1 and you can  
prove it to yourself by trying it1 and  
watching your weight once a week4  ,i   
have tried many experiments1 and the    
conclusion to which ,i have come is that
 there is no virtue in any particular   
meal-hours or any particular number of  
meals4 ,for several years ,i tried the  
experiment of two meals a day4 ,i was   
living a retired life1 and had little   
contact with the world1 and ,i would    
make a hearty meal at ten o'clock in the
 morning1 and another at five in the    
afternoon4 ,but later on ,i found that  
inconvenient1 and now ,i take a light   
breakfast1 and two moderate-sized meals 
at the conventional hours of lunch and  
dinner4 ,i can arrange my own time1 so  
after meal times is when ,i get my      
reading done4 ,sometimes1 when ,i am    
tired1 ,i feel sleepy after meals1 but  
,i have learned not to yield to this    
impulse4 ,i do not know how to explain  

this2 ,i have observed that animals     
sleep after eating1 and it appears to be
 a natural thing to do2 but ,i know that
 if ,i go to sleep after a meal1 nature 
makes clear to me that ,i have made a   
mistake1 and ,i do not repeat it4 ,i    
never eat at night1 and always go to bed
 on an empty stomach1 so ,i am always   
hungry when ,i open my eyes in the      
morning4 ,i never know what it is not to
 be hungry at meal times1 and my habits 
are so regular that ,i could set my     
watch by my stomach4  ,another common   
habit which is harmful is eating between
 meals4 ,i have known people who are    
accustomed to nibble at food nearly all 
the time4 ,shelley records that he tried
 it as an experiment1 thinking it might 
be a convenient way to get digestion    
done--but he found that it did not work4
 ,the stomach is apparently meant to    
work in pulses2 to do a job of          
digesting1 and then to rest and         
accumulate the juices for another job4  
,it will accustom itself to a certain   

regime1 and will work accordingly1 but  
if1 when it has half digested a load of 
food1 you pile more food in on top1 you 
make as much trouble as you would make  
in your kitchen if you required your    
cook to prepare another meal before she 
has cleaned up after the last one4      
,three times a day is enough for any    
adult to eat4 ,children require to eat  
oftener1 because their bodies are more  
active1 and they not merely have to keep
 up weight1 but to add to it4 ,the      
simplest way to arrange matters with    
children is to give them three good     
meals at the hours when adults eat1 and 
then to give them a couple of pieces of 
fruit between breakfast and lunch1 and  
again between lunch and supper4 ,i have 
never seen a child who would not be     
satisfied with this1 when once the habit
 was established4  ,i have already      
spoken of the cooking and serving of    
food4 ,i consider that the gastronomic  
art1 as it is pompously called1 is      
ninety-nine per cent plain rubbish4 ,to 

be sure1 if foods are appetizingly      
prepared1 and look good and smell good  
and taste good1 they will cause the     
gastric juices to flow abundantly1 as   
the ,russian scientist ,pavlov has      
demonstrated by practical experiment    
with the stomach-pump4 ,but ,i know     
without any stomach-pump that the best  
thing to make my gastric juices flow is 
hard work and a spare diet4 ,when ,i    
come home from five sets of tennis1 and 
have a cold shower and a rub-down1 my   
gastric juices will flow for a piece of 
cold beefsteak and a cold sweet potato1 
quite as well as for anything that is   
served by a leisure class chef4         
,needless to say1 ,i want food to be    
fresh1 and ,i want it to be clean1 but  
,i have other things to do with my time 
and money than to pamper my appetites   
and encourage food whims4  ,if you have 
a grandmother1 or ever had one1 you know
 what grandmothers tell you about hot   
nourishing food2 but ,i have tried the  
experiment1 and satisfied myself that   

there is absolutely no difference in    
nourishing qualities between hot food   
and cold food4 ,if you chew your food   
sufficiently1 it will all be            
ninety-eight and six-tenths degree food 
when it gets to your stomach1 and that  
is the way your stomach wants it4 ,of   
course1 if you have been out in a       
blizzard1 and are chilled1 and want to  
restore the body temperature1 a hot     
drink will be one of the quickest ways1 
and if the emergency is extreme1 you may
 even add a stimulant4 ,on the other    
hand1 if you are suffering from heat1 it
 is sensible to cool your body by a cold
 drink4 ,but you should use as much     
judgment with yourself as you would with
 a horse1 which you do not permit to    
drink a lot of cold water when he is    
heated up1 and is going into his stall  
to stand still4  ,i have mentioned the  
word stimulants1 and this opens a large 
subject4 ,there are drugs which affect  
the body in two different ways3 some    
excite the nerves1 and through the      

nerves the heart and blood-stream1 to   
more intense activity2 others have the  
effect of deadening the nerves1 and     
dulling the sense of exhaustion and     
pain4 ,one of these groups is called    
stimulants1 and the other is called     
narcotics2 but as a matter of fact the  
stimulants are really narcotics1 because
 they operate by dulling the nerves     
whose function it is to prevent the     
over-accumulation of fatigue poisons2 in
 other words1 they keep the nerves and  
muscles from knowing that they are      
tired1 and so they go on working4  ,it  
is possible1 of course1 to conceive of  
an emergency in which that is necessary4
 ,once upon a time1 on a hunting trip1  
,i had been traveling all day1 and was  
caught in a rain storm1 and exhausted   
and chilled to the bone2 ,i had to make 
camp without a fire1 so when ,i got the 
tent up ,i wrapped myself in blankets   
and drank a couple of tablespoons full  
of whiskey4 ,that is the only time ,i   
have ever taken whiskey in my life1 and 

it warmed me almost instantly1 and did  
me no harm4 ,in the same way there were 
two or three occasions when ,i was on   
the verge of a nervous breakdown1 and   
could not sleep1 and let the doctor give
 me a sleeping powder4 ,but in each case
 ,i knew that ,i was fooling with a     
dangerous habit1 and ,i did no more     
fooling than necessary4 ,no one should  
make use of either stimulants or        
narcotics except in extreme emergency1  
and never but a few times in a lifetime4
 ,what you should do is to change your  
habits so that you will not need to     
over-strain4  ,all these drugs are habit
 forming2 that is to say1 they leave the
 body no better1 and with a craving for 
a repetition of the relief4 ,when you   
are tired1 it is because your muscles   
and nerves are storing up fatigue       
poisons more rapidly than your          
blood-stream can get rid of them4 ,you  
need to know about this condition1 and  
exhaustion and pain are nature's        
protective warning4 ,if you put a stop  

to the warning1 you are as unintelligent
 as the ,eastern despots who used to cut
 off the head of the messenger who      
brought bad tidings4 ,if1 when you have 
a headache1 you go into a drug store and
 let the druggist mix you one of those  
white fizzy drinks1 what you are doing  
is not to get rid of the poisons in your
 blood-stream1 but merely to reduce the 
action of your heart1 so as to keep the 
blood from pressing so fast into the    
aching blood vessels and nerves4 ,you   
may try that trick with your heart a    
number of times1 but sooner or later you
 will try it once too often--your heart 
will stop a little bit quicker than you 
meant it to6  ,drugs are poisons1 and   
their action depends upon their         
poisoning some particular portion of the
 body1 and temporarily paralyzing it4   
,and bear this in mind1 they are none   
the less poisonous because they are     
natural products4 ,you can kill yourself
 by cyanide of potassium1 which comes   
out of a chemist's retort2 but you can  

kill yourself just as dead with         
laudanum1 which comes out of a plant1 or
 with the contents of the venom sac of a
 snake4 ,you are poisoning yourself none
 the less certainly if you use alcohol1 
which is made from the juices of        
beautiful fruits1 and has had hosts of  
famous poets writing songs about it2 or 
you can poison yourself with the caffein
 which you get in a lovely brown bean   
which comes from ,brazil1 fragrant to   
the nostrils and delicious to the taste4
 ,you may drink wine and tea and coffee 
for a hundred years1 and have your      
picture published in the newspapers as a
 proof that these habits conduce to     
health2 but nothing will be said about  
the large number of people who practiced
 these habits1 and didn't live so long1 
and about how long they might have lived
 if they hadn't practiced these habits4 
,i was brought up in the ,south1 and my 
elders belonged to a generation which   
had grown up in war time4 ,for this     
reason many of the men both drank and   

smoked to excess1 and in my boyhood ,i  
lived among them and watched them1 and  
with the help of advice from a wise     
mother1 ,i conceived a horror of every  
kind of stimulant4 ,the alcoholic poets 
could not fool me2 ,i had been in the   
alcoholic wards of the hospitals4 ,i had
 seen one man after another1 beautiful  
and kindly and gracious men1 dragged    
down into a pit of torment and shame4   
,alcohol is1 ,i think1 the greatest trap
 that nature ever set for the feet of   
the human race4 ,it is responsible for  
more degradation and misery than any    
other evil in the world2 and ,i say     
this1 knowing well that my ,socialist   
friends will cry1 ,what about           
,capitalism8 ,my answer is that ,i doubt
 if there ever would have been any      
,capitalism in the world1 if it had not 
been for alcohol4 ,if the workers had   
not been systematically poisoned1 and   
all their savings taken from them by the
 gin-mill1 they would never have        
submitted to the capitalist system1 they

 would have built the co-operative      
commonwealth at the time they were      
building the first factories4 ,i listen 
to the arguments of my radical friends  
about personal liberty1 but ,i note that
 in ,russia1 when it was a question of  
making a practical revolution and       
keeping it alive1 the first thing the   
leaders did was to drag out the contents
 of the wine-cellars of the palaces1 and
 smash them in the gutters4  ,tea and   
coffee are1 of course1 much milder in   
their effects than alcohol2 you can play
 with them longer1 and the punishment   
will be less severe4 ,but if you make   
habitual use of them1 you will pay the  
penalty which all drugs exact from the  
system4 ,your brain and your nerve      
centers will be less sensitive1 less    
capable of working except under the     
influence of drugs2 their reacting power
 will be dulled1 and they will wear out 
more quickly4 ,i have watched the slaves
 of the morning cup of coffee1 and know 
how they suffer when they do not get it4

 ,likewise1 ,i have watched the tea     
drinkers4 ,it is comical to live in     
,england1 and see all the able-bodied   
men obliged to leave their work at four 
o'clock in the afternoon1 and seek the  
regular stimulus for their tired nerves4
 ,if you are to meet anybody1 it is     
always for tea that the ceremony is set1
 and if you refuse to drink tea1 your   
hostess will be uncomfortable1 unable to
 talk about anything but the strange1   
incredible notion that one can live     
without tea4 ,i discovered after a while
 the solution of this problem2 ,i would 
say that ,i preferred a little hot      
water1 if you please1 and so my hostess 
would pour me a cup of hot water1 and ,i
 would sit and gravely sip it1 and      
everybody would be perfectly content3 ,i
 was conforming to the outward          
appearance of normality1 which is what  
the ,british conventions require4  ,i   
have never drunk a cup of coffee1 so ,i 
do not know what its effect on me would 
be4 ,but some fifteen years ago ,i drank

 a glass of very weak iced tea at eight 
o'clock in the evening1 and did not get 
to sleep until four or five the next    
morning4 ,so ,i know that there is      
really a drug in tea4 ,i know also that 
,i might accustom my system to it1 just 
as ,i might learn to poison my lungs    
with nicotine without being made        
immediately and suddenly ill2 but why   
should ,i wish to do this8 ,life is so  
interesting to me that ,i do not need to
 stimulate my brain centers in order to 
appreciate the thrill of it4 ,and when  
,i am tired1 ,i can rest myself by      
listening to music1 or by reading a     
worth-while novel--things which ,i have 
found do not leave the after effects of 
nicotine4  ,i remember the first time ,i
 met ,jack ,london4 ,our meeting        
consisted in good part of his kidding   
me1 because ,i was lacking in the       
congenial vices of the cafe4 ,he told me
 how much ,i had missed1 because ,i had 
never been drunk2 ,one ought to try the 
great adventure1 at least once6 ,poor   

,jack is gone1 because his kidneys gave 
out at forty2 and nothing could seem    
more ungracious than to point out that  
,i am still alive1 and finding life     
enjoyable4 ,yet1 in this book we are    
trying to find out how to live1 and if  
there are habits which wreck and destroy
 a magnificent physique1 and bring a    
great genius to death at the age of     
forty--surely the rest of us want to    
know about it1 and to be warned in time4
 ,i mention ,jack ,london in this       
connection1 because he has said the last
 word on the subject of alcohol4 ,read  
,john ,barleycorn1 and especially read  
between the lines of it1 and you will   
not need my argument to persuade you to 
be glad that the ,eighteenth ,amendment 
has been written into the ,constitution1
 and that it is your duty as a          
,socialist1 not merely to obey it1 but  
to vote for its enforcement4  ,i am     
proceeding on the assumption that your  
life is of importance to you2 that you  
have a job to do which you know to be   

worth while1 and to which you desire to 
apply your powers4 ,you agree with me   
that the workers of the world are       
suffering1 and that it is necessary for 
them to find their freedom1 and that    
this takes hard work and hard thinking4 
,you may say that ,i exaggerate the     
amount of harm that is done to the      
system by tea and coffee1 alcohol and   
tobacco4 ,well1 let us assume that in   
moderate quantities they do no harm at  
all3 even so1 ,i have the right to ask  
you to show that they do some good2     
otherwise1 surely1 it is a mistake for  
the workers to spend their savings upon 
them4  ,consider1 for example1 the      
amount of money which the wage slaves of
 the world spend upon tobacco4 ,suppose 
they could be persuaded for two or three
 years to spend this amount upon good   
reading matter--do you not think there  
would be an improvement in their        
condition8 ,surely you cannot maintain  
that the use of tobacco is necessary to 
the activities of the brain6 ,surely you

 do not think that a man has to have a  
cigarette in order to stimulate his     
thoughts1 or to smoke a pipe to rest    
himself after his work is done6 ,i offer
 myself as evidence in such a           
controversy2 ,i have written as many    
books as any man in the radical         
movement1 and the sum total of my       
lifetime smoking amounts to one-half of 
one cigarette4 ,i tried that when ,i was
 eight years old1 and somebody told me a
 policeman would arrest me if he caught 
me1 and ,i threw away the cigarette1 and
 ran and hid in an alley1 and have not  
yet got over my scare4  ,in the ,journal
 for ,industrial ,hygiene for ,october1 
#aibj1 is an article entitled ,fatigue  
and ,efficiency of ,smokers in a        
,strenuous ,mental ,occupation4         
,experiments were conducted among       
telegraph operators1 and the result     
showed that the heavy smokers of the    
group show a higher output rate at the  
beginning of the day than the light     
smokers1 but their rate falls off more  

markedly in the late hours1 and their   
production for the whole day is         
definitely less than that of the light  
smokers4 ,the heavy smokers also show   
less ability than the light smokers to  
respond to increasing pressure of work  
in the late hours of the day by handling
 their full share of the work presented4
  ,one point upon which every medical   
authority agrees is--that the use of    
nicotine is of deadly effect upon the   
immature organism4 ,half-grown youths   
who smoke cigarettes will never be      
full-sized men2 they will never have    
normal lungs or a normal heart4 ,and    
likewise1 all authorities agree about   
the effect of smoking upon the organism 
of women4 ,i gave what little help ,i   
could to the task of helping to set     
women free1 and to make them the equals 
of men2 but ,i was always pained when ,i
 discovered that some of my feminist    
friends understood by woman's           
emancipation no more than her right to  
adopt men's vices4 ,i would say to these

 ardent young female radicals1 who      
cultivate the art of dangling a         
cigarette from their lower lip1 and sip 
cocktails out of coffee-cups in         
,greenwich ,village cafes1 that they    
will never be able to bear sound        
children2 but ,i know that this would   
not interest them--they don't want to   
bear any children at all4 ,so ,i say    
that they will never be able to think   
straight thoughts1 and will be nervous  
invalids when they are thirty4  ,we went
 to war to make the world safe for      
democracy1 and we put several millions  
of our young men into armies1 and if    
there were any of them who did not      
already know how to smoke cigarettes1   
they learned it under official sanction4
 ,so now we have a national tobacco bill
 that runs up to two billions1 and will 
insure us a new generation of ,class ,c 
rating4 ,speaking to the young radicals 
who are reading my books1 ,i say3 ,we   
want to make the world over1 to make it 
a place of freedom and kindness1 instead

 of the hell of greed and hate that it  
is today4 ,for that purpose we need a   
new moral code1 and we can never win our
 victory without it4 ,i have attended   
radical conventions1 sitting in         
unventilated halls amid clouds of       
tobacco smoke1 and listening to men     
wrangle all through the day and a great 
part of the night2 ,i have watched the  
fatal dissensions in the movement1 the  
quarrelings of the right wingers and the
 left wingers and all stages and degrees
 in between1 and ,i have wondered--not  
jestingly1 but in pitying earnest--how  
much of all those personalities and     
factional misunderstanding had their    
origin in carbon dioxide and nicotine4  
,there is no use suggesting such ideas  
to the older men1 whose habits are      
fixed2 but a new generation is coming   
on1 with a new vision of the enormous   
task before it2 and is it too much to   
expect of these young men and women1    
that they shall realize in advance the  
grim tasks they have to do1 and shall   

learn to run the machine of their body  
so as to get out of it the maximum      
amount of service8 ,is it too much to   
hope for1 that some day we shall have a 
race of young fighters for truth and    
justice1 who are willing to live        
abstemious lives1 and consecrate        
themselves to the task of delivering    
mankind from wage slavery and war8      
,,chapter ,,xxiii  ,,more ,,about       
,,health       7,discusses the subjects 
of breathing and ventilation1 clothing1 
bathing and sleep47   ,in discussing the
 question of health1 we have given the  
greater part of the space to the subject
 of diet1 for the reason that experience
 has convinced us that diet is          
two-thirds of health1 and that nearly   
always in disease you find errors of    
diet playing a part4 ,there are1        
however1 other important factors of     
health1 now to be discussed4            
,everything of which the body makes use 
is taken in the form of food and drink1 
with the exception of one substance1 the

 oxygen we get out of the air4 ,every   
time we draw a breath we take in a      
certain amount of oxygen1 and every time
 we expel a breath1 we drive out a      
certain amount of a gas called carbon   
dioxide1 which is what the body makes of
 the fuel it burns4 ,the body can get   
along for several days without water1   
and for two or three months without     
food1 but it can only get along for two 
or three minutes without oxygen4 ,it    
should be obvious that when the body    
expels carbon dioxide1 with a slight    
mixture of other more poisonous gases1  
and sucks back what it expects will be a
 fresh supply of oxygen1 it wants to get
 oxygen1 and not the same gases it has  
just expelled1 nor gases which have been
 expelled from the lungs of other       
people4  ,in the days when primitive man
 lived outdoors1 he did not have to     
think about this problem4 ,when he      
breathed poison from his lungs1 the     
moving air of nature blew it away1 and  
the infinite vegetation of nature took  

the carbon dioxide and turned it back   
into oxygen4 ,and even when man built   
himself shelters1 he was not cunning    
enough to make them air-tight2 he had to
 leave a big hole for the smoke to get  
out1 and smaller holes through which to 
get light4 ,but now our wonderful       
civilization has solved these problems2 
we make our walls of air-tight plaster1 
and we have invented a substance which  
will admit light without admitting air4 
,so we have the white plague of         
tuberculosis1 and so we have innumerable
 minor plagues of coughs and colds and  
sore throats4  ,in the summer time the  
solution of the problem is easy4 ,have  
as many doors and windows in your home  
as possible1 and keep them open1 and    
have nothing in your home to make dust  
or to retain dust4 ,but then comes      
stormy and cold weather1 and you have to
 close your doors and windows1 and keep 
your home at a higher temperature than  
the air outside4 ,how shall you do this1
 and at the same time get a continual   

supply of fresh air8  ,i will take the  
various methods of heating one by one4  
,the problem in each case is simple and 
can be made clear in a sentence or two4 
,first1 the open fireplace4 ,this is a  
perfect solution1 if you have enough    
fuel1 and do not have to worry about the
 waste of heat4 ,an open fireplace draws
 out all the air in the room in a short 
time1 and you do not have to bother     
about opening doors or windows2 you may 
be sure that the air is getting in      
through some cracks1 or else the fire   
would not burn4  ,second1 a wood or coal
 or gas stove in the room1 provided with
 a proper vent1 so that all the gases of
 combustion are drawn up the chimney4   
,this changes the air more slowly than  
an open fireplace1 but it does the work 
fairly well4 ,all that you have to be   
careful about is that your vent is      
sufficiently large and is working       
properly4 ,if your fire does not draw1  
you will have smoke or coal-gas in the  
house1 and this is bad for the lungs2   

but worse for the lungs is a gas that   
you can neither see nor smell nor taste1
 the deadly carbon monoxide4 ,this gas  
is produced by incomplete combustion1   
and whenever you see yellow flames from 
gas or coal1 you are apt to have this   
poisonous substance4 ,small quantities  
of it are sufficient to cause violent   
headaches1 and repeated doses of it are 
fatal4 ,men who work in garages which   
are not properly ventilated run this    
risk all the time1 because carbon       
monoxide is one of the products of      
imperfect combustion in the gas engine4 
,next1 the furnace4 ,a furnace sends    
fresh warm air into your house2 the only
 trouble is that it takes out all the   
moisture1 and some authorities say that 
this is bad for the lungs and throat4 ,i
 do not know whether this is true1 but  
all furnaces are supposed to have a     
water chamber to supply moisture to the 
air1 and you should keep a pan of water 
on every stove or radiator in your      
house4  ,next1 steam heat1 which        

includes hot-water heating4 ,this is one
 of the abominations of our             
civilization1 and one of the methods by 
which our race is committing suicide4   
,there is nothing wrong about steam heat
 in itself2 the room is warmed in a     
harmless way2 but the trouble is it     
stays warm only so long as the doors and
 windows are kept shut4 ,you are in an  
air-tight box1 and can be warm provided 
you do not mind being suffocated4 ,the  
moment you open a door or window1 you   
have a cold draft on your feet1 and if  
you wish to change the air entirely you 
have to let out all the heat2 so1 of    
course1 you never do change it entirely1
 but go on breathing the same air over  
and over1 and every time you breathe it 
the condition of your body is a little  
more reduced4  ,the solution of this    
problem is not to heat the air in the   
room1 but to use your steam coils to    
heat fresh air1 and then drive this air1
 already warmed1 into the room1 at the  
same time providing a vent through which

 the old air can be pushed out4 ,this is
 the hot air system of heating1 and it  
requires some kind of engine or dynamo1 
and therefore is expensive4 ,it has been
 installed in a few office buildings and
 theaters4 ,one of the most perfect     
systems ,i ever inspected is in the     
building of the ,new ,york ,stock       
,exchange1 where the air is warmed in   
winter1 and cooled in summer1 and freed 
from dust1 and exactly the right        
quantity is supplied4 ,it is a humorous 
commentary upon our civilization that we
 take perfect care of the breathing     
apparatus of our stock-gamblers1 but pay
 no attention to the breathing apparatus
 of our senators and congressmen1 whose 
one business in life is to use their    
lungs4 ,the stately old building with   
its white marble domes looks impressive 
in moving pictures and on illustrated   
postcards1 but it has no system of      
ventilation whatever1 and is a          
death-trap to the poor wretches who are 
compelled to spend their days1 and      

sometimes their nights1 within its      
walls4 ,this contrast is one symptom of 
the rise of industrial capitalism and   
the collapse of political democracy4    
,we have reserved to the last a method  
of heating which is the worst1 and can  
only be described as a crime against    
health3 the use of gas and oil stoves   
set out in the middle of the room1      
without a vent1 and discharging their   
fumes into the room4 ,these stoves are  
simply instruments of slow death1 and   
their manufacture should be prohibited  
by law4 ,in the meantime1 what you have 
to do is to refuse to live in a room or 
to work in an office where such stoves  
are used4 ,i have heard dealers insist  
that this or the other kind of gas or   
oil stove was so contrived as to consume
 all the fumes4 ,do not let anybody fool
 you with such nonsense4 ,there has     
never been any form of combustion       
devised which consumes all the fumes4   
,no such thing can be1 because the      
products of combustion are not          

combustible4 ,the so-called wickless    
blue flame stoves do burn all the oil1  
and a properly regulated gas stove will 
burn all the gas1 but that simply means 
that it turns the oil and gas into      
carbon dioxide1 the very substance which
 your lungs are working day and night to
 get out of your body4  ,moreover1 there
 is no oil or gas stove which ever burns
 perfectly all the time1 either because 
there is too much gas or insufficient   
air4 ,oil and gas stoves sometimes give 
a partly yellow flame4 ,you can cause   
them to give a yellow flame at any time 
by blowing air against them1 and that   
yellow flame means imperfect combustion1
 and a probability of the deadly carbon 
monoxide4 ,these facts are known to     
every chemist and to every student of   
hygiene1 and the fact that civilized    
people continue to burn such oil and gas
 stoves in their homes and offices is   
simply one more proof that our          
civilization values human welfare and   
health at nothing whatever in comparison

 with profits4  ,not merely should you  
see that you have a continuous supply of
 fresh air in your home1 but you should 
try to keep down dust in your home1 and 
especially fine particles of lint4 ,once
 upon a time our ancestors were unable  
to make houses and floors tight1 and so 
they put rugs on the floors and hung    
tapestries on the walls to keep out the 
wind4 ,we civilized people are able to  
make both floors and walls absolutely   
tight1 and yet we continue to use rugs  
and curtains1 it being the first        
principle of our education that         
propriety requires us to continue to do 
the things which our ancestors did4 ,i  
am unable to think of a more silly or   
stupid thing in the world than a rug or 
a curtain1 but ,i have lived in the     
house with them all my life1 because1   
alas1 the ladies cannot be happy        
otherwise4 ,they want their homes to be 
pretty1 and so they continue to set dust
 traps1 and to set themselves futile    
jobs of house cleaning and shopping4    

,not all of us are able to be out of    
doors as much as we ought to be1 but all
 of us spend seven or eight hours out of
 every twenty-four in sleep1 and this   
time at least we ought to spend out of  
doors4 ,i understand that this is futile
 advice to give to the very poor4 ,i was
 poor myself for many years1 and had to 
put all my clothes on at night in order 
to keep warm1 and even then ,i could not
 always do it4 ,nevertheless1 from the  
time ,i first realized the importance of
 ventilation ,i never slept in a room   
with a closed window4  ,i say1 sleep    
outdoors if you possibly can4 ,you do   
not have to be afraid of exposure1 for  
cold will not hurt you if you keep your 
body in proper condition4 ,i have slept 
out in a rubber blanket1 with the rain  
beating on my head and face2 ,i have    
spread a rubber blanket on a hummock in 
the midst of a swamp1 and waked up in   
the morning with my hair and face soaked
 in cold1 white fog1 but ,i never caught
 cold from such things2 there is no harm

 whatever in dampness or in night air1  
if you are in proper condition4 ,of     
course1 you may get your ears           
frostbitten in the middle of winter1 but
 you can have a sleeping hood to remove 
that danger4  ,the nature cure          
enthusiasts1 who lay so much stress upon
 an outdoor life1 also insist that the  
wearing of clothes is a harmful         
civilized custom4 ,they urge us to take 
sun baths and to ventilate the skin4    
,now1 as a matter of fact1 the skin does
 not breathe1 it merely gives out       
moisture1 and it does not give out any  
less because we have clothing on us1    
provided the clothing is dry and clean1 
and will absorb moisture4 ,but bye and  
bye the clothing becomes loaded with the
 waste substances given out by the skin1
 and then it will absorb no more1 and if
 you do not change your clothing1 no    
doubt it may have some effect upon      
health4  ,but the principal evil of     
civilized clothing is that it binds the 
body and prevents the free play of the  

muscles1 and1 more important yet1 stops 
the free circulation of the blood4 ,i   
have already discussed hats1 which are  
the principal cause of baldness4 ,i will
 go to the other extremity of the body1 
and mention tight shoes1 which1 strange 
as it may seem1 cause headaches and     
colds4 ,you will be able to find a few  
civilized men with normal feet1 but you 
will hardly ever find a woman whose toes
 are not crowded together and misshapen4
 ,i have said that the human body is one
 organism1 and that it is fed and its   
health maintained by the blood-stream2  
,i say now that the circulation of the  
blood is one thing1 and if you block it 
at any one place1 you block it          
everywhere4 ,of course1 not all the     
blood-stream goes down into the feet1   
but some of it does1 and if it is       
clogged in the feet1 and the blood      
vessels cramped and crowded1 there is a 
certain amount of poison kept in the    
system1 which the system should have got
 rid of4  ,why do women wear tight      

shoes8 ,because the leisure class       
members of their sex have been kept in  
harems and used as the playthings of    
men4 ,to be fragile and delicate was the
 thing admired by the masters of wealth1
 and to have small hands and feet was a 
sign that women belonged to this        
parasite class4 ,therefore at all       
hazards women's feet must be kept small1
 even at the expense of their health and
 happiness2 and so they put themselves  
up on several inches of heels1 which    
cause them to toddle around like        
marionettes on a stage1 with all their  
toes crowded down into a lump4  ,why do 
men wear tight bands around their       
scalps1 which cause their hair to drop  
out1 and tight1 stiff columns around    
their necks1 which stop the circulation 
of the blood into their heads1 and cause
 them to have headaches instead of      
ideas8 ,the reason is that for ages the 
rulers of the tribe have wished to      
demonstrate publicly their superiority  
to the common herd1 which does the      

menial tasks4 ,in ,england all gentlemen
 wear tall black silk band-boxes on     
their heads1 and in ,america they have a
 choice among several varieties of round
 tight boxes4 ,all men who work in      
offices wear stiffly starched collars   
and cuffs1 as a means of demonstrating  
their superiority to the common workers1
 who have to sweat at their necks4 ,i   
think it is not too much to hope that   
when class exploitation is done away    
with1 we shall also get rid of these    
class symbols1 and choose our clothing  
because it is warm and comfortable1 and 
not according to the perverted          
imbecilities of style4  ,the skin gives 
out perspiration which is greasy2 also  
the skin is constantly growing1 putting 
out layers of cells which dry up and are
 worn off4 ,we need to bathe with soap  
to remove the grease1 and we need to rub
 with a towel to brush away the dead    
cells of the skin1 so that the pores may
 be kept open4 ,no one is taking care of
 his body who does not wash and rub it  

once every twenty-four hours1 and once  
or twice a week with warm water and     
soap4 ,it is often stated that hot baths
 are weakening1 but ,i have never found 
it so2 however1 ,i think it is a bad    
practice to pamper the body1 which      
should be accustomed to the shock of    
cold water4 ,the rule as to bathing1    
both as to temperature and time1 is     
simple4 ,if1 after the bath and         
rub-down1 your body has reacted and you 
feel vigorous and fresh1 that bath has  
done you good4 ,if1 on the other hand1  
you feel chilled and depressed1 then you
 have been too long in the water1 or its
 temperature was too low4 ,every person 
has to find his own rules in such       
matters4 ,the only general rule is that 
as one grows older the body reacts less 
quickly4  ,all day1 as we work and      
think1 we store up more poisons in our  
cells than the body can get rid of1 and 
the time comes when the cells are so    
loaded with poisons that we have to stop
 for a while1 and let our blood-stream  

clean house4 ,the quantity of sleep one 
needs is a problem like that of cold    
water2 each person has to find his own  
rule4 ,in general1 one needs less and   
less sleep as one grows older4 ,infants 
sleep the greater part of the time2     
growing children should sleep ten or    
eleven hours1 adults seven or eight1 and
 old people1 unless they have let       
themselves get fat1 generally do not    
want to sleep more than six1 and part of
 this in short naps4 ,when you sleep1   
your bodily energies relax1 and you make
 less heat1 therefore you need extra    
clothing2 but this clothing should never
 cover the mouth and nose1 nor should it
 be so heavy as to make breathing a     
burden4 ,if you are in good condition1  
it will do you no harm to be chilly when
 you sleep1 except that you do not sleep
 so soundly4 ,sleeping too much is just 
as harmful as sleeping too little4      
,nature will tell you that4 ,the        
important thing1 as in all other        
problems of health1 is to have something

 interesting to think about1 some       
exciting work to do in the world1 and   
then you will sleep as little as you    
have too4     ,,chapter ,,xxiv  ,,work  
,,and ,,play       7,deals with the     
question of exercise1 both for the idle 
and the      overworked47   ,in         
discussing the important question of    
exercise1 there is one fundamental fact 
to begin with3 that our present         
civilization divides men sharply into   
two classes1 those who do not get enough
 exercise1 and those who get too much4  
,obviously it would be folly to make the
 same recommendations to the two        
classes4  ,i begin with those who get   
too much exercise4 ,they include a great
 number1 probably the majority of those 
who do the manual work of the world4    
,they include the farmers and the       
farm-hands1 who work from dawn to       
sunset1 and sometimes by lantern light4 
,they include also the farmers' wives1  
the kitchen slaves of whom the old      
couplet tells3      ,man's work ends    

from sun to sun1      ,but woman's work 
is never done4  ,i am aware that men    
have worked that way for countless ages1
 and yet the race is still surviving2   
but ,i am aware also that men wither up 
with rheumatism1 and contract chronic   
diseases of the kidneys and the blood   
vessels1 consequent upon the creation of
 greater quantities of fatigue poisons  
than the body can regularly eliminate4  
,i have very little interest in the     
past1 and none whatever in finding fault
 with it4 ,my purpose is to criticize   
the present for the benefit of the      
future1 and therefore ,i say that modern
 machinery and the whole development of 
modern large-scale production make it   
absolutely unnecessary that women should
 slave all their waking hours in        
kitchens1 or that men should slave all  
day4 ,i say it is monstrous folly that  
men should work for twelve-hour         
stretches in steel mills1 and for ten   
and eleven hours in factories and mines4
 ,organized labor has adopted the       

slogan1 ,eight hours for work1 eight    
hours for sleep1 eight hours for play2  
but my slogan is ,four hours for work1  
four hours for study1 eight hours for   
sleep1 and eight hours for play4  ,i    
know1 and am prepared to demonstrate to 
any thinking man1 that modern           
civilization can produce1 not merely all
 the necessities1 but all the comforts  
of life for every man1 woman and child  
in the community1 by the expenditure of 
four hours a day work of the adult1     
able-bodied men and women4 ,so to all   
the wage slaves of the factories and    
mines1 the fields and the kitchens1 ,i  
say that too much exercise is what is   
the matter with you1 and what you need  
is to get off in a quiet nook in the    
woods and read a good novel1 not merely 
for a few hours1 but for a few months1  
until you get over the effects of       
capitalist civilization4 ,i know that   
not many of you can get away as yet1 but
 ,i urge you to insist upon getting     
away1 to fight for the chance to get    

away2 and ,i will here suggest a few of 
the novels for you to read when finally 
you do get away4 ,i choose the easy     
ones1 which the dullest and most tired  
of you will love2 ,i say1 make up your  
mind to read these thirty-two books     
before you die1 and do not let the world
 cheat you out of your chance6  ,mark   
,twain3 ,a ,connecticut ,yankee in ,king
 ,arthur's ,court4 ,charles ,d4         
,stewart3 ,the ,fugitive ,blacksmith4   
,w4 ,clark ,russell3 ,the ,wreck of the 
,grosvenor4 ,r4 ,l4 ,stevenson3         
,treasure ,island1 ,kidnapped4 ,jack    
,london3 ,the ,sea ,wolf1 ,the ,call of 
the ,wild1 ,martin ,eden4 ,joseph       
,conrad3 ,youth4 ,h4 ,g4 ,wells3 ,the   
,war of the ,worlds1 ,when the ,sleeper 
,wakes1 ,the ,sea ,lady1 ,the ,history  
of ,mr4 ,polly1 ,the ,food of the ,gods1
 ,the ,island of ,dr4 ,moreau4 ,upton   
,sinclair3 ,the ,jungle1 ,king ,coal1   
,jimmie ,higgins1 #ajj ,per ,cent4      
,theodore ,dreiser3 ,sister ,carrie4    
,george ,moore3 ,esther ,waters4 ,frank 

,norris3 ,the ,octopus4 ,brand          
,whitlock3 ,the ,turn of the ,balance4  
,de ,foe3 ,robinson ,crusoe4 ,fielding3 
,tom ,jones1 ,jonathan ,wild the ,great4
 ,thackeray3 ,the ,adventures of ,barry 
,lyndon4 ,marmaduke ,pickthall3 ,the    
,adventures of ,hadji ,baba4 ,blasco    
,ibanez3 ,the ,fruit of the ,vine4      
,frank ,harris3 ,montes the ,matador4   
,frederik van ,eeden3 ,the ,quest4      
,tolstoi3 ,resurrection4  ,and now for  
the people who do not get enough        
exercise4 ,in the armies of ,king ,cyrus
 it was the law that every man was      
required to sweat once every twenty-four
 hours1 and that is still the law for   
every business man and office-worker and
 writer of books4 ,there is no          
substitute for it1 and there is no      
health without it4 ,i have heard ,dr4   
,kellogg say that the modern woman sends
 out her health with her washing1 and ,i
 have heard the leisure class ladies at 
the ,sanitarium discuss this cryptic    
utterance and wonder what he meant by   

it4 ,i know that there is use telling   
leisure class ladies what exercise at   
the wash-tub would do for their abdomens
 and backs4 ,i will only tell them that 
unless they can find some kind of       
vigorous activity which keeps them in a 
free perspiration for an hour or two    
each day1 they will never be really     
well1 and will never bear children      
without agony and abortion4  ,for       
myself1 ,i have found that the minimum  
is three or four times a week4 ,unless  
,i get that much hard exercise ,i am    
soon in trouble4 ,so my advice to the   
business man is to take off his coat and
 collar and turn out and help his       
truck-man2 my advice to the white collar
 slave is to get a part-time job1 and   
dig ditches the rest of the time4 ,to   
the man who has cares which pursue him1 
and likewise to the ardent student and  
brain-worker1 ,i say that they should   
find1 not merely exercise1 but play4    
,the distinction between the two things 
is important4 ,there can be play that is

 not exercise1 for example cards and    
chess2 and1 of course1 there can be     
exercise that is not play4 ,what you    
must have is something that is both play
 and exercise2 something that not merely
 causes your heart to beat fast1 and    
your lungs to pump fast1 and your sweat 
glands to throw out poisons from your   
body1 but something that fully occupies 
your mind and gives your higher brain   
centers a chance to relax4  ,our        
civilization has very largely destroyed 
the possibility of play and the spirit  
of play4 ,we civilized people no longer 
know what play is1 and regard the desire
 to play as something abnormal--a form  
of vice4 ,we allow children to play     
after school hours1 and on ,saturdays2  
but for grown-up1 serious-minded men and
 women to want to play would be almost  
as disreputable as for them to want to  
get drunk4 ,what could foe more pitiful 
than the spectacle of tens of thousands 
of men crowding into our baseball parks 
and amusement fields to watch other men 

play for them6 ,imagine1 if you can1 a  
crowd of people gathering in a          
restaurant or theater to watch other    
people eat for them6 ,imagine yourself a
 man from ,mars1 coming down to a world 
with so many people in want1 and finding
 whole classes of men forbidden to do   
any work1 under penalty of disgrace1 and
 compelled1 in order to exercise their  
muscles1 to pull on rubber straps and   
lift weights and wave dumb-bells and    
,indian clubs in the air--methods of    
expending their muscular energy which   
are respectable because they accomplish 
nothing6  ,when ,i was a boy1 ,i was    
fond of all kinds of games4 ,i was a    
good tennis player1 and in the country  
an incessant hunter and fisherman4 ,when
 on the city streets we boys could not  
find any other game to play1 we would   
get up on the roofs of the houses and   
throw clothes-pins and snow-balls at the
 ,dagoes working in the nearby          
excavations2 so we had the fine game of 
being chased by the ,dagoes1 with the   

chance1 real or imaginary1 of having a  
knife stuck into us4 ,but then1 as ,i   
grew older1 and became aware of the pain
 and misery of the world1 ,i lost my    
interest in games1 and for ten years or 
so ,i never played2 ,i did nothing but  
study and write4 ,so my health gave way1
 and ,i had the problem of restoring it1
 and ,i spent some twenty years         
wrestling with this problem1 before ,i  
thoroughly convinced myself on the point
 that there can be no such thing as     
sound and permanent health without a    
certain amount of play4  ,i don't think 
there is any kind of hard physical work 
,i failed to try1 in the course of my   
experiments4 ,i rode horseback1 and took
 long walks1 and climbed mountains1 and 
swam1 and dug gardens1 and chopped down 
whole groves of trees and cut them up   
and carried them to the fireplace4 ,i   
have done this latter work for a whole  
winter in the country1 several hours    
every day1 and it has done my health no 
good to speak of2 ,i have been ready for

 a breakdown at the end of it4 ,the     
reason is that all the time ,i was doing
 these things with my body1 ,i was going
 right on working my brain4 ,while ,i   
was swimming or climbing a mountain or  
galloping on horseback1 ,i was absorbed 
in the next chapter of the book ,i was  
writing1 so that ,i literally did not   
know where ,i was4 ,i would make up my  
mind that ,i would not think about my   
work1 and would make desperate efforts  
not to do so2 but it was like walking   
along the edge of a slippery            
ditch--sooner or later ,i was bound to  
fall in1 and go floundering along1      
unable to get out again6  ,and the same 
thing applies to all gymnastic work4 ,i 
have experimented with a dozen different
 systems of exercises1 and with all     
kinds of water treatments2 ,i have used 
dumb-bells and ,indian clubs and        
,swedish gymnastics1 ,mac,fadden's      
exercises in bed1 and the ,yogi         
breathing exercises1 and more kinds of  
queer things than ,i can remember now2  

but for me there is only one solution of
 the problem1 which is to have an       
antagonist4 ,it may be a deer ,i am     
trying to shoot1 or some trout ,i am    
trying to lure out of their holes2 it   
may be some boys ,i am trying to beat at
 football or hockey1 or it may be the   
game ,i know best and find most         
convenient1 which is tennis4 ,if it is  
tennis1 then it has to be someone who   
can make me work as hard as ,i know how2
 for if it is someone ,i can beat       
easily1 why1 before ,i have been playing
 ten minutes1 ,i am busily working out  
the next chapter of a book1 or answering
 letters ,i have just got in the mail4  
,recently ,i came upon a book1 ,the     
,psychology of ,relaxation1 by ,dr4     
,patrick1 in which the theory of this is
 set forth4 ,civilized man is working   
his higher brain centers more than his  
body can stand2 his brain is running    
away with him1 absorbing a constantly   
increasing share of his energies4 ,true 
relaxation is only possible where the   

higher brain centers are lulled1 and the
 back lobes of the brain brought into   
activity4 ,one of the means of doing    
this is alcohol1 and that is why through
 the ages all races of men have craved  
to get drunk4 ,there is a method which  
is harmless1 and does not break down the
 system1 and that is play4 ,when we     
become really interested in play1 we are
 as children1 or as primitive man2 we do
 all the things that our race used to do
 many ages ago2 we hunt and fight1 we   
pit our wits against the wits of our    
enemies1 and struggle with desperation  
to get the better of them4 ,if our play 
is physical play1 if we are absorbed in 
a game or bodily contest1 then we are   
exerting and developing all those       
portions of us which civilization tends 
to atrophy and deaden4  ,there are      
people who will dispute with you about  
,socialism1 and ask1 how we are going to
 provide incentives if we do away with  
wage slavery4 ,when you tell them that  
activity is natural to human beings1 and

 that if there were no work1 men and    
women would have to make some1 they     
shake their heads mournfully and tell   
you about the problem of human nature4  
,but consider games and sports3 men do  
not have to work their bodies1 yet they 
go out and deliberately hunt for        
trouble6 ,they invent themselves subtle 
and complicated games1 and are not      
content until they find people who can  
beat them at it1 or at any rate can make
 them work to the limit of their        
strength1 until they are in a dripping  
perspiration and thoroughly exhausted6  
,i may be too optimistic about human    
nature1 but ,i believe that this is the 
attitude every normal human being takes 
toward the powers1 both mental and      
physical1 which he possesses2 he wants  
to use them1 and for all they are worth4
 ,if you don't believe it1 just take any
 group of youngsters1 give them a       
baseball and bat1 turn them loose in a  
vacant lot1 and watch them choose up    
sides and fall to work1 screaming and   

shouting in wild excitement6 ,there are 
some races of the earth which do not yet
 know baseball1 but the ,filipinos and  
the ,japanese have learned it1 and even 
the war-worn ,poilus and the            
supercilious ,tommies condescended to   
experiment with it4 ,and if you think it
 is only physical competition that young
 human animals enjoy1 try them at       
putting on a play1 or printing a        
magazine1 or conducting a debate1 or    
building a house--anything whatever that
 involves healthy competition1 and is   
related to the big things of life1 but  
without being for the profit of some    
exploiter6 ,get clear the plain and     
simple distinction between work and     
play3 play is what you want to do1 while
 work is what the profit system makes   
you do6     ,,chapter ,,xxv  ,,the      
,,fasting ,,cure       7,deals with     
nature's own remedy for disease1 and how
 to make use of      it47   ,we have    
next to consider the various human      
ailments1 what causes them1 and how they

 can be remedied4 ,as it happens1 ,i    
know of a cure that comes pretty near   
being that impossible thing1 a cure-all4
 ,at any rate1 it is so far ahead of all
 other cures1 that a discussion of it   
will cover three-fourths of the subject4
  ,when ,i was a boy living in ,new     
,york1 there was a man by the name of   
,dr4 ,tanner1 who took a forty-day fast4
 ,he was on public exhibition at the    
time1 and was supposed to be watched day
 and night2 the newspapers gave a great 
deal of attention to the story1 and     
crowds used to come to gaze at him4 ,i  
remember very well the conversations ,i 
heard about the matter4 ,people were    
quite sure that it couldn't be true4    
,the man must be getting something to   
eat on the sly2 he must have some       
nourishment in the water he drank2 no   
human being could fast more than five or
 six days without starving to death4    
,in the year #aiaj ,i published in the  
,united ,states and ,england a magazine 
article telling how on several occasions

 ,i had fasted ten or twelve days1 and  
what ,i had accomplished by it4 ,i found
 that ,i had the same difficulty to     
confront as old ,dr4 ,tanner2 ,i        
received scores of letters from people  
who called me a faker1 and ,i read      
scores of newspaper editorials to the   
same effect4 ,the ,new ,york ,times     
published a dispatch about three young  
ladies on ,long ,island who were trying 
a three-day fast1 and the ,times        
commented editorially to the effect that
 these young ladies were the victims of 
a shallow and unscrupulous              
sensationalist4  ,the notion that human 
beings can perish for lack of food in a 
few days is deeply rooted in people's   
minds4 ,recently a group of eleven      
,irishmen in jail set to work to starve 
themselves to death1 as a protest       
against ,british rule in their country4 
,day after day the newspapers reported  
the news from ,cork prison1 and at about
 the twentieth day they began to state  
that the prisoners were dying1 that the 

priest had been sent for1 that their    
relatives were gathered on the prison   
steps4 ,day after day such reports      
continued1 through the thirties1 and the
 forties1 and the fifties1 and the      
sixties1 and the seventies4 ,one man    
died on the eighty-eighth day1 and      
,mac,swiney died on the seventy-fourth4 
,the other nine gave up after           
ninety-four days and were all restored  
to health4 ,i watched carefully the     
newspaper and magazine comment on this  
incident1 yet ,i did not see a single   
remark on the medical aspects of it2 ,i 
could not discover that scientific men  
had learned anything whatever about the 
ability of the body to go without food  
for long periods4  ,get this clear at   
the outset3 ,nobody ever starved to     
death in less than two months1 and it is
 possible for a fat person to go without
 food for as long as three or four      
months4 ,people who starve to death in  
shorter times do not die of starvation1 
but of fright4 ,the first time ,i fasted

 happened to be at the time of the      
,messina earthquake4 ,i was walking     
about1 perfectly serene and happy1      
having been without food for three days1
 and ,i read in my newspaper how the    
rescue ships had reached ,messina1 and  
found the population ravenous1 in the   
agonies of starvation1 some of the      
people having been without food for     
seventy-two hours6 7,it sounds so much  
worse1 you see1 when you state it in    
hours47  ,the second point to get clear 
is that the fast is a physiological     
process2 that is to say1 it is something
 which nature understands and carries   
through in her own serene and efficient 
way4 ,when you take a fast1 you are not 
carrying out a freak notion of your own1
 or of mine2 you are discovering a lost 
instinct4 ,every cat and dog knows      
enough not to take food when it is ill2 
it is only in hospitals conducted by    
modern medical science that the custom  
prevails of serving elaborate trays to  
invalids4 ,i remember a story about a   

man who made himself a reputation and a 
fortune by curing the pet dogs of the   
rich4 ,these beautiful little creatures1
 which sleep between silken covers1 and 
have several servants to wait upon them1
 and are fed from gold and silver dishes
 upon rich and elaborately cooked foods1
 fall victim to as many diseases as     
their mistresses1 and they would be     
brought to this specialist1 who         
conducted his dog hospital in an old    
brickyard4 ,in each one of the          
compartments of the brick kiln he would 
shut up a dog with a supply of fresh    
water1 a crust of stale bread1 a piece  
of bacon rind1 and the sole of an old   
shoe2 and after a few days he would go  
back and find that the dog had eaten the
 crust of bread1 and then he would write
 to the owner that the dog was on the   
high road to recovery4 ,he would go back
 a few days later and find that the dog 
had eaten the piece of bacon rind1 and  
then he would write that the dog was    
very nearly cured4 ,he would wait until 

the dog had eaten the piece of shoe     
leather1 and then he would write that   
the dog was completely cured1 and the   
owner might come and take it away4      
,just what is the process of the fast   
cure8 ,i do not pretend to know         
positively4 ,i can only make guesses1   
and wait for science to investigate4 ,i 
believe that the main source of the     
diseases of civilized man is improper   
nutrition1 and the clogging of the      
system with food poisons in various     
stages4 ,and when you fast you do two   
things3 first1 you stop entirely the    
fresh supply of those food poisons1 and 
second1 you allow the whole of the      
body's digestive and assimilative tract 
to rest--to go to sleep1 as it were--so 
that all the body's energy may go to    
other organs4 ,the body carries with it 
at all times a surplus store of         
nutriment1 which can be taken up and    
used by the blood stream1 apparently    
with much less trouble than is required 
to convert fresh food to the body's     

uses4 ,in other words1 the body can feed
 on its own tissues more easily than it 
can feed from the stomach4 ,in the fast 
you may lose anywhere from half a pound 
to two pounds in weight per day1 and    
this will be taken1 first from your     
store of fat1 and then from your        
muscular tissues4 ,every part of your   
muscular tissue will be taken1 before   
anything is taken from your vital       
organs1 your nerves or your             
blood-stream4 ,so long as there is a    
particle of muscular material left1 so  
long as you can make even the slightest 
movement of one finger1 you are still   
fasting1 and it is only when your       
muscular tissue is all gone that you    
begin at last to starve4 ,so far as ,i  
know1 the cases of ,mac,swiney and the  
other ,irishman are the only cases on   
record where fasters have died of       
starvation4  ,what the body does during 
the fast is quite plain1 and can be told
 by many symptoms4 ,it begins a thorough
 house-cleaning1 throwing out poisonous 

material by every channel4 ,the         
perspiration and the breath become      
offensive1 the tongue becomes heavily   
coated1 so that you can scrape the      
material off with a knife4 ,i have heard
 vegetarians explain this by saying that
 when the body is living off its own    
tissues1 it is following a cannibal     
diet2 but that is all nonsense1 because 
you can live on meat exclusively1 and   
quickly satisfy yourself that none of   
these symptoms occurs4 ,it is evident   
that the body is taking advantage of the
 opportunity to get rid of waste        
products2 and this will go on for ten   
days1 for twenty days1 in some cases for
 as long as forty or fifty days2 and    
then suddenly occurs a strange thing3 in
 spite of the cannibal diet the symptoms
 all come to a sudden end4 ,the tongue  
clears1 the breath becomes sweet1 the   
appetite suddenly awakens4  ,during the 
period of a normal fast you lose all    
interest in food4 ,you almost forget    
that there is such a thing as eating2   

you can look at food without any more   
desire for it than you have to swallow  
marbles and carpet tacks4 ,but then     
suddenly appetite returns1 as ,i have   
explained1 and you find that you can    
think of nothing but food4 ,this is what
 students of the subject describe as a  
complete fast1 and while ,i do not want 
to go to extremes and say that the      
complete fast will cure every case of   
every disease1 ,i can certainly say     
this3 in the letters which have come to 
me from people who tried the fast at my 
suggestion1 there are cases of every    
kind of common disease4 ,in my book1    
,the ,fasting ,cure1 ,i give the results
 in cases reported to me after the      
publication of my first magazine        
article4 ,i quote two paragraphs3  ,the 
total number of fasts taken was #bgg1   
and the average number of days was six4 
,there were #ij of five days or over1   
#ea of ten days or over1 and six of #cj 
days or over4 ,out of the #aai person   
who wrote to me1 #ajj reported benefit1 

and #ag no benefit4 ,of these #ag about 
half give wrong breaking of the fast as 
the reason for the failure4 ,in cases   
where the cure had not proved permanent1
 about half mentioned that the          
recurrence of the trouble was caused by 
wrong eating1 and about half of the rest
 made this quite evident by what they   
said4 ,also it is to be noted that in   
the cases of the #ag who got no benefit1
 nearly all were fasts of only three or 
four days4  ,following is the complete  
list of diseases benefited--#de of the  
cases having been diagnosed by          
physicians3 indigestion 7usually        
associated with nervousness71 #bg2      
rheumatism1 #e2 colds1 #h2 tuberculosis1
 #d2 constipation1 #ad2 poor            
circulation1 #c2 headaches1 #e2 anaemia1
 #c2 scrofula1 #a2 bronchial trouble1   
#e2 syphilis1 #a2 liver trouble1 #e2    
general debility1 #e2 chills and fever1 
#a2 blood poisoning1 #a2 ulcerated leg1 
#a2 neurasthenia1 #f2 locomotor ataxia1 
#a2 sciatica1 #a2 asthma1 #b2 excess of 

uric acid1 #a2 epilepsy1 #a2 pleurisy1  
#a2 impaction of bowels1 #a2 eczema1 #b2
 catarrh1 #f2 appendicitis1 #c2 valvular
 disease of heart1 #a2 insomnia1 #a2 gas
 poisoning1 #a2 grippe1 #a2 cancer1 #a4 
,there are many diseases with many      
causes1 and some yield more quickly than
 others to the fast4 ,in the first group
 ,i put the diseases of the digestive   
and alimentary tract4 ,stomach and bowel
 troubles1 and the nervous disorders    
occasioned by these1 stop almost        
immediately when you fast4 ,next come   
disorders of the blood-stream1 which are
 generally a second stage of digestive  
troubles4 ,everything immediately due to
 impurities of the blood1 pimples1      
boils1 and ulcers1 inflammation1 badly  
healing wounds1 etc41 respond to a few  
days of fasting as to the magic touch of
 the old-time legends4 ,when it comes to
 diseases caused by germ infections1 you
 have a double aspect of the problem1   
and must have a double method of attack4
 ,i would not like to say that fasting  

could cure such a disease as sleeping   
sickness1 to the germs of which our     
systems are not accustomed1 and against 
which they may well be helpless4 ,on the
 other hand1 in the case of common      
infections1 such as colds and sore      
throats1 the fast is again the touch of 
magic4 ,having been plagued a great deal
 by these ailments in past times1 ,i am 
accustomed to say that ,i would not     
trade my knowledge of fasting for       
everything else that ,i know about      
health4  ,the first thing you must do if
 you want to take a fast is to read the 
literature on the subject and make up   
your mind that the experiment will do   
you no injury4 ,you should also try to  
get your relatives to make up their     
minds1 because you are nervous when you 
are fasting1 and cannot withstand the   
attacks of the people around you1 who   
will go into a panic and throw you into 
a panic4 ,as ,i said before1 it is quite
 possible for people to die of panic1   
but ,i do not believe that anybody ever 

died of a fast4 ,i have known of two or 
three cases of people dying while they  
were fasting1 but ,i feel quite certain 
that the fast did not cause their death2
 they would have died anyhow4 ,you must 
bear in mind that among the people who  
try the fast1 a great many are in a     
desperate condition2 some have been     
given up by the doctors1 and if now and 
then one of these should die1 we may    
surely say that they died in spite of   
the fast1 and not because of it4 ,there 
is no physician who can save every      
patient1 and it would be absurd to      
expect this4 ,i have read scores of     
letters from people who were at the     
point of death from such fatal diseases 
as ,bright's disease1 sclerosis of the  
liver1 and fatty degeneration of the    
heart1 and were literally snatched out  
of the jaws of death by beginning a     
fast4 ,i would not like to guess just   
what percentage of dying people in our  
hospitals might be saved if the doctors 
would withdraw all food from them1 but  

,i await with interest the time when    
medical science will have the           
intelligence to try that simple         
experiment and report the results4      
,just the other day in the ,los ,angeles
 county jail1 a chiropractor went on    
hunger strike1 as a protest against     
imprisonment1 and he fasted #da days4   
,then he broke his fast1 the reason     
being given that his pulse was down to  
#ed1 and he was afraid of dying4 ,i     
smiled to myself4 ,the normal pulse is  
#gj4 ,i have taken my pulse many times  
at the end of a ten-day fast1 and it has
 been as low as #cb1 and ,i am not dead 
yet1 and if ,i wait to die from the     
symptoms of a fast1 ,i expect to live a 
long time indeed6  ,the first time ,i   
fasted1 ,i felt very weak1 and lay      
around and hardly cared to lift my head2
 if ,i walked from my bed to the lawn1  
,i was tired in the legs4 ,but since    
then ,i have grown used to fasting4 ,i  
have fasted for a week probably twenty  
or thirty times1 and on such occasions  

,i have gone about my business as if    
nothing were happening4 ,of course ,i   
would not try to play tennis1 or to     
climb a mountain1 but it is a fact that 
on the seventh day of a fast in ,new    
,york1 ,i climbed the five or six       
flights of stairs to the top of the     
,metropolitan ,opera ,house1 and felt no
 ill effects from doing this4 ,i climbed
 slowly1 and was careful not to tire    
myself4 ,the simple rule is not to have 
anything that you must do on the fast1  
and then do what you feel like doing4   
,lie down and rest1 and read a book1 and
 take as much exercise as you find you  
enjoy4 ,keep your mind quiet and free   
from worries1 and lock out of the house 
everybody who tells you that your heart 
is going to stop beating in the next few
 minutes1 and that you must have an     
injection of strychnine to start it1 and
 some beefsteak and fried onions to     
restore your strength4 ,give yourself up
 to the care of your wise old mother    
nature1 who will attend to your heart   

just as securely and serenely as she    
attended to it in the days before you   
were born4  ,by fasting ,i mean that you
 take no food whatever4 ,i know some    
nature cure teachers who practice what  
they call a fruit fast4 ,all ,i know is 
that if ,i eat nothing but fruit1 ,i    
soon have my stomach boiling with       
fermentation1 and also ,i suffer with   
hunger2 whereas1 if ,i take a complete  
fast1 ,i promptly forget all about food4
 ,you must drink all the water you can  
on the fast4 ,this helps nature with her
 house-cleaning2 it is well to drink a  
glass of water every half hour at least4
 ,do not try to go without water1 and   
then write me that the fasting cure is a
 failure4 ,also please do not write and 
ask me if it will be fasting if you take
 just a little crackers and milk1 or    
some soup1 or something else that you   
think doesn't count6  ,i recommend a    
dose of laxative to clean out the system
 at the beginning of a fast1 because the
 bowels are apt to become sluggish at   

once1 and the quicker you get the system
 cleansed1 the better4 ,it does no good 
to take laxatives if you are going to   
pile in more food1 but if you are going 
to fast1 that is a different matter4    
,you should take a full warm enema every
 day during the fast1 so long as it     
brings any results4 ,there are some     
people whose bowels are so frightfully  
clogged that ,i have known the enema to 
bring results even in the second and    
third weeks4 ,on the other hand1 if     
there is no solid matter to be removed1 
a small enema every day will suffice4   
,take a warm bath every day2 and        
needless to say1 you should get all the 
fresh air you can1 and should sleep as  
much as you can4 ,you may have          
difficulty in sleeping1 because the fast
 is apt to make you nervous and wakeful4
 ,i have known people who could not fast
 because they could not sleep1 and ,i   
have taught them a little trick1 to put 
a hot water bottle at the feet1 and     
another on the abdomen1 to draw the     

blood away from the head4 ,so they would
 quickly fall asleep1 and they got great
 benefit from their fasts4  ,you should 
supply yourself with good music if you  
can1 and with plenty of good reading    
matter4 ,you will be amazed to find how 
active your mind becomes2 perhaps you   
had never known before what a mind you  
had4 ,your blood has always been so     
clogged with food poisons that you      
didn't know you could think4 ,my three  
act play1 ,the ,nature ,woman1 was      
conceived and written in two days and a 
half on a fast2 but ,i do not recommend 
this kind of thing--on the contrary1 ,i 
strongly urge against it1 because if you
 work your brain on a fast1 you do not  
get the good from your fast1 and do not 
recover so quickly4 ,put off all your   
problems until you have got your health 
back1 and seek only to divert your mind 
while fasting4     ,,chapter ,,xxvi     
,,breaking ,,the ,,fast                 
7,discusses various methods of building 
up the body after a fast1               

especially the milk diet47   ,there     
remains the question of how to break the
 fast1 and this is the most important   
part of the problem4 ,you may undo all  
the good of your fast by breaking it    
wrong1 and you are a thousand times as  
apt to kill yourself then1 as while you 
are fasting4 ,when your hunger comes    
back1 it comes back with a rush1 and    
some people have not the will power to  
control it4  ,i do not advocate a       
complete fast in any case except of     
serious chronic disease1 and then only  
under the advice of someone with        
experience2 but ,i advocate a short fast
 of a week or ten days for almost every 
common ailment1 and ,i know that such a 
fast will help1 even where it may not   
completely cure4 ,you may go on fasting 
so long as you are quiet and happy2 but 
when you find you are becoming too weak 
for comfort1 or for the peace of mind of
 your family physician and your friends1
 you may break your fast1 and show them 
that it is possible to restore your     

strength and body weight1 and then they 
won't bother so much when you try it    
again6 ,take nothing but liquid foods in
 the breaking of a fast2 ,i recommend   
the juices of fruits and tomatoes1 also 
meat broths4 ,if you have fasted a week 
or two1 take a quarter of a glass2 if   
you have fasted a month1 take a         
tablespoonful1 and wait and see what the
 results are4 ,remember that your whole 
alimentary tract is out of action1 and  
give it a chance to start up slowly4    
,take small quantities of liquid food   
every two hours for the first day4 ,then
 you can begin taking larger quantities1
 and on the next day you can try some   
milk1 or a soft poached egg1 or the pulp
 of cooked apples or prunes4 ,do not    
take any solid food until you are quite 
sure you can digest it1 and then take   
only a very little4 ,do not take any    
starchy food until the third day4  ,i   
have known people to break these rules4 
,i knew a man who broke his fast on     
hamburg steak1 and had to be helped out 

with a stomach pump4 ,once ,i broke a   
week's fast with a plate of rich soup1  
because ,i was at a friend's house and  
there was nothing else1 and ,i yielded  
to the claims of hospitality1 and made  
myself ill and had to fast for several  
days longer4  ,the easiest way to break 
a fast is upon a milk diet4 ,i have seen
 hundreds of people take this diet1 and 
very few who did not get benefit4 ,the  
first time ,i fasted1 which was twelve  
days1 ,i lost #ag pounds1 and ,i took   
the milk diet for #bd days thereafter1  
and gained #cb pounds4 ,i took it at    
,mac,fadden's ,sanitarium1 where ,i had 
every attention4 ,since then1 ,i have   
many times tried to take a milk diet by 
myself1 but have never been able to get 
it to agree with me4 ,i do not know how 
to explain this fact2 ,i state it1 to   
show how hard it is to lay down general 
rules4 ,on the milk diet you take into  
your system two or three times as much  
food as you can assimilate1 and this is 
a violation of all my diet rules2 but it

 appears that the bacteria which thrive 
in milk produce lactic acid1 which is   
not harmful to the system1 and if you do
 not take other foods you may safely    
keep the system flooded with milk4      
,after a fast you should begin with     
small quantities of milk1 and by the    
third day you may be taking a full glass
 of warm milk every half hour or every  
twenty minutes1 until you have taken    
seven or eight quarts per day4 ,it is   
better to take it warm1 but sometimes   
people take it just as well without     
warming4 ,dr4 ,porter1 who has a book on
 the milk diet1 insists upon complete   
rest1 and makes his patients stay in    
bed4 ,mac,fadden1 on the other hand1    
recommends gymnastics in the morning    
before the milk1 and during the         
afternoon he recommends a rest from the 
milk for a couple of hours1 followed by 
abdominal exercises to keep the bowels  
open4 ,this is very important during a  
fast1 because you are taking great      
quantities of material into your system 

and it must not be permitted to clog4   
,therefore take an enema daily1 if      
necessary to a free movement4 ,also take
 a warm bath daily4 ,take the juice of  
oranges and lemons if you crave them4   
,upon one thing everyone who has had    
experience with the milk diet agrees1   
and that is the necessity of absolute   
mental rest4 ,if you become excited1 or 
nervous1 or angry on a milk diet1 you   
may turn all the contents of your       
stomach into hard curds1 and may put    
yourself into convulsions4 ,the         
wonderful thing about the milk diet is  
the state of physical and mental bliss  
it makes possible4 ,it is the ideal way 
of breaking a fast1 because it leaves   
you no chance to get hungry2 you have   
all the food you want1 and your system  
is bathed in happiness1 a sense of peace
 and well-being which is truly marvelous
 and not to be described4 ,you gain     
anywhere from half a pound to two pounds
 a day1 and you feel that you have never
 before in your life known what perfect 

health could be4 ,the fast sets you a   
new standard1 you discover how nature   
meant you to enjoy life1 and never again
 are you content with that kind of half 
existence with which you managed to     
worry along before you discovered this  
remedy4  ,but let me hasten to add that 
,i do not recommend the fast as a       
regular habit of life4 ,the fast is an  
emergency measure1 to enable the body to
 cleanse itself and to cure disease4    
,when you have got your body clean and  
free from disease1 it is your business  
to keep it that way1 and you should     
apply your reason to the problem of how 
to live so that you will not have to    
fast4 ,if you find that you continue to 
have ailments1 then you must be eating  
wrongly1 or overworking1 or committing  
some other offense against nature2      
either that1 or else you must have some 
organic trouble--a bone in your spine   
out of place1 as the osteopaths tell    
you1 or your eyes out of focus1 or your 
appendix twisted and infected4 ,i do not

 claim that the fasting cure will       
supplant the surgeons and the oculists  
and the dentists4 ,it will not mend your
 bones if you break them1 and it will   
not repair your teeth that are already  
decayed2 but it will help to keep your  
teeth from decaying in the future1 and  
it will help you to prepare for a       
surgical operation1 and to recover from 
it more quickly4 ,i had to undergo an   
operation for rupture a couple of years 
ago1 and ,i fasted for two days before  
the operation1 and for three days after 
it1 and ,i had no particle of nausea    
from the ether1 and was able to tend to 
my mail the day after the operation4    
,there is one disease for which ,i      
hesitate to recommend the fast1 and that
 is tuberculosis1 because ,i have been  
told of cases in which the patient lost 
weight and did not recover it4 ,however1
 in my tabulation of #bgg cases1 you    
will note four cases of tuberculosis1   
and in my book is given a letter from a 
patient who claimed great benefit4 ,if  

,i had the misfortune to contract       
tuberculosis1 ,i would take a three or  
four day fast1 followed by a milk diet  
for a long period4 ,the milk diet is    
pleasant to take1 and it cannot possibly
 do any harm4 ,if it did not effect a   
cure1 ,i would try the ,salisbury       
treatment--that is1 lean meat ground up 
and medium cooked1 and nothing else1    
except an abundance of hot water between
 meals4 ,prof4 ,irving ,fisher wrote me 
that there is urgent need of experiment 
to determine proper diet in             
tuberculosis2 and until these           
experiments have been made1 we can only 
grope4 ,i am quite sure that the        
stuffing system1 ordinarily used by     
doctors1 is a tragic mistake4  ,in the  
case of any other disease whatever1 even
 though ,i might take medical or        
surgical treatment1 ,i would supplement 
this by a fast1 because there is no kind
 of treatment which does not succeed    
better with the blood in good condition4
 ,in the case of emergencies1 accidents1

 wounds1 etc41 ,i would rest assured    
that recovery would be more prompt if ,i
 were fasting4 ,when ,david ,graham     
,phillips was shot1 ,i wrote a letter to
 the ,new ,york ,call1 saying that his  
doctors had killed him1 because they had
 fed him while he was lying in a        
critical condition in the hospital4 ,to 
take nutriment into the body under such 
circumstances is the greatest of        
blunders4  ,the fast will help children1
 just as it helps adults1 only they do  
not need to fast so long4 ,it will help 
the aged and make them feel young4 7,you
 need not be afraid to fast1 no matter  
how old you are47 ,it is1 of course1 an 
immediate cure for fatness1 and strange 
as it may seem1 it is also a cure for   
unnatural thinness4 ,people with        
ravenous appetites are just as apt to be
 thin as to be fat1 because it is not   
what you eat that builds up your body1  
but only what you assimilate1 and if you
 eat too much1 you can make it          
impossible to assimilate anything       

properly4 ,if you take a fast and break 
it carefully1 your body will come to its
 normal weight1 and all your functions  
to their normal activity4  ,a physician 
wrote me1 taking me to task for listing 
among the cures reported in my          
tabulation a case of locomotor ataxia4  
,this disease1 he explained1 is caused  
because a portion of a nerve has been   
entirely destroyed1 and it is a disease 
that is absolutely and positively and   
forever incurable4 ,i answered that ,i  
knew this to be the teaching of present 
day medical science1 but ,i invited him 
to consider for a moment what happens in
 nature4 ,when a crab loses a claw1 we  
do not take it as a matter of course    
that the crab must go about with one    
claw for the balance of its life2 nature
 will make that crab another claw4 ,man 
has lost the power of replacing a lost  
leg1 but he stills retains the power of 
replacing tissue which has been cut away
 by a surgeon's knife1 and medical      
science takes this as a matter of       

course4 ,how shall anybody say that     
nature has forever lost the power of    
rebuilding a bit of nervous tissue8 ,how
 shall anyone say that if the           
blood-stream is cleansed of poisons1 and
 the energy of the whole body restored1 
one of the results may not be the       
repairing of a broken nerve connection8 
,i invite my readers who have ailments1 
and especially ,i invite all medical men
 among my readers1 to make a fair test  
of the fasting cure4 ,the results will  
surprise them1 and they will quickly be 
forced to revise their methods of       
treating illness4     ,,xxvii           
,,diseases ,,and ,,cures                
7,discusses some of the commoner human  
ailments1 and what is known      about  
their cause and cure47   ,i begin with  
the commonest of all troubles1 known as 
a cold4 ,this name implies that the     
cause of the trouble lies in exposure or
 chill4 ,all the grandmothers of the    
world are agreed about this4 ,they have 
a phrase--or at least they had it when  

,i was a boy3 ,you will catch your      
death4 ,every time ,i went out in the   
rain1 every time ,i played with wet     
feet1 or sat in a draft1 or got under a 
cold shower1 ,i would hear the formula1 
,you will catch your death4  ,and1 on   
the other hand1 there are the health    
cranks1 who declare vehemently that the 
name cold is a misnomer and a trap for  
people's thoughts4 ,cold has nothing to 
do with it1 they say1 and point to      
arctic explorers who frequently get     
frozen to death1 but do not catch cold  
until they get back into the warm rooms 
of civilization4 ,as for drafts1 the    
health cranks aver that a draft is      
merely fresh air moving2 which is       
supposed to settle the matter4 ,however1
 when you come to think about it1 you   
realize that a cyclone is likewise      
merely fresh air moving1 so you have not
 decided the question by a phrase4      
,while ,i was writing these chapters on 
health ,i contracted a severe           
cold--which was a joke on me4 ,the      

history of this cold is as clear in my  
mind as anything human can be1 and it   
will serve for an illustration1 showing 
how much truth the grandmothers have on 
their side1 and how much the health     
cranks have4  ,to begin with1 ,i had    
been overworking4 ,all sorts of appeals 
come to me2 hundreds of people write me 
letters1 and ,i cannot bear to leave    
them unanswered4 ,i accepted calls to   
speak1 and invitations where ,i had to  
eat a lot of stuff of which my reason   
disapproves2 so one morning ,i woke up  
with a slight sore throat4 ,i fasted all
 day1 and by evening felt all right4    
,but there came another call1 and ,i    
consented to take a long automobile ride
 on a cold and rainy night1 and when ,i 
got back home1 after five or six hours1 
,i was thoroughly chilled1 and my cold  
came on during the night4  ,this        
explanation will1 ,i imagine1 be        
satisfactory to all the grandmothers of 
the world4 ,all the dear1 good          
grandmothers know that an automobile    

ride on a cold1 rainy night is enough to
 give any man his death4 ,but listen1   
grandmothers6 ,i have lain out watching 
for deer all night in the late fall1    
with only a thin blanket to cover me1   
and gotten up so stiff with cold that ,i
 could hardly move2 yet ,i did not catch
 cold4 ,when ,i was a youth1 ,i have    
ridden a bicycle twenty miles to the    
beach in ,april1 with snow on the       
ground1 and plunged into the surf and   
swam1 and then ridden home again4 ,i    
have bathed in the sea when ,i had to   
run a quarter of a mile in a bathing    
suit along a frost-covered pier1 and    
with an icy wind blowing through my     
bones2 yet ,i never took cold from that1
 and never got anything but a feeling of
 exhilaration4 ,so it must be that there
 is some reason why exposure causes     
colds at one time and not at another4   
,the explanation takes you over to the  
health cranks4 ,they understand that    
your blood-stream must be clogged1 your 
bodily tone reduced by bad air and lack 

of exercise1 and more especially by     
over-eating1 or by an improperly        
balanced diet4 ,but then most of them go
 to extremes1 and insist that the       
automobile ride and the chilled         
condition of my body had nothing to do  
with my cold4 ,but ,i know otherwise--,i
 have watched the thing happen so often4
 ,in times when ,i was run down1 the    
slightest exposure would cause me a     
cold1 literally in a few minutes4 ,i    
have got myself a sore throat going out 
to the wood-pile on a winter day with   
nothing on my head4 ,i have got a cold  
by sitting still with wet feet1 or by   
sitting in a draft on a warm summer day1
 when ,i had been perspiring a little4  
,how to explain this ,i am not sure1 but
 my guess is that you drive the blood   
away from the surface of the body at a  
time when it is weakened and exposed to 
infection1 and you drive away the army  
of the white corpuscles1 and give the   
battlefield of your body to the germs4  
,i know there are nature curists who    

argue that germs have nothing to do with
 disease2 but they have never been able 
to convince me--germs are too real1 and 
too many1 and too easy to watch4 ,if you
 leave a piece of meat exposed to the   
air in warm temperature1 the germs in   
the air will settle upon it and begin to
 feed upon it and to multiply2 the meat1
 being dead1 is powerless to protect    
itself4 ,but your nose and throat are   
also meat1 and just as good food for the
 germs4 ,the only difference is that    
this meat is alive1 there is a living   
blood-stream circulating through it1 and
 several score billions of the body's   
own kind of germs1 the blood corpuscles4
 ,if these blood corpuscles are sound   
and properly nourished1 and are brought 
to the place of infection1 they are able
 to destroy all the common germs2 so it 
is that you do not have diseases1 but   
instead have health4 ,but your health   
always implies a struggle of your       
organism against other organisms1 and it
 is the business of your reason to watch

 your body and give all the help you can
 in protecting it4 ,coughs and colds1   
sore throats and headaches1 are the     
first warnings that your defenses are   
being weakened4 ,as a rule these        
ailments are not serious in themselves1 
but they are signs of a wrong condition1
 and if you neglect this condition1     
pretty soon you will find that you have 
to deal with something deadly4  ,my cure
 for a cold is to take an enema and a   
laxative1 eat nothing for twenty-four   
hours1 and drink plenty of water4 ,if   
you have a severe cold or sore throat1  
you will be wise to lie in bed for a day
 or two1 by an open window4 ,you may    
also use sprays and gargles if you wish1
 but you will find them of little use1  
because the germs are deep in your      
mucous membranes1 and cannot all be     
reached from the outside4 ,in the old   
sad days of my ignorance ,i would get a 
cold1 and go to the doctor1 and have my 
throat and nose pumped full of black and
 green and yellow and purple liquids1   

which did me absolutely no good         
whatever2 the cold would stay on for two
 or three weeks1 sometimes for eight or 
ten weeks1 and ,i would be miserable1   
utterly desperate4 ,i was dying by      
inches1 and not one of the doctors could
 tell me why4  ,the next most common    
ailment is a headache1 and this means   
poisons in your blood-stream4 ,it may be
 from improper diet1 from alcohol1 or   
drugs1 or bad air1 or nervous           
excitement4 ,if it is none of these     
things1 then you should begin to look   
for some organic difficulty1 eye-strain1
 for example1 or perhaps defects in the 
spine4 ,the osteopaths and the          
chiropractors specialize on the spine1  
and have made important discoveries4    
,their doctrine is1 in brief1 that the  
nervous force which directs the         
blood-stream is carried to the organs of
 the body by nerves which leave the     
spinal cord through openings between the
 vertebrae4 ,if any of these openings   
are pinched1 you have a diminished nerve

 supply1 which means ill-health in that 
part of the body to which the nerve     
leads4 ,that such trouble can be        
corrected by straightening the bones of 
the spine1 seems perfectly reasonable2  
but like most people with a new idea1   
the discoverers proceed to carry it to  
absurd extremes4 ,i have before me an   
official chiropractic pamphlet which    
states that vertebral displacement is   
the physical and perpetuating cause of  
ninety-five per cent of all cases of    
disease2 the remaining five per cent    
being due to subluxations of other      
skeletal segments4 ,naturally people who
 believe this will devote nearly all    
their study to the bones and the nervous
 system4 ,but surely1 there are other   
parts of your body which are necessary  
besides bones and nerves6 ,and what if  
some of these parts happen to be        
malformed or defective8 ,what if your   
eyes do not focus properly1 and you are 
continually wearing out the optic nerve1
 thus giving yourself headaches and     

neurasthenia8 ,what if you have an      
appendix that has been twisted and      
malformed from birth1 and is a center of
 infection so long as it remains in the 
body8  ,several years ago ,i had an     
experience with the appendix1 from which
 ,i learned something about one of the  
commonest of human ailments1            
constipation1 or sluggishness of the    
bowels4 ,this is a cause of innumerable 
chronic ailments grouped under the head 
of auto-intoxication1 or the poisoning  
of the body by the absorption into the  
system of the products of fermentation  
and decay in the bowels4 ,the bowels    
should move freely two or three times   
every day1 and the movements should be  
soft4 ,i suffered from constipation for 
some twenty years1 and tried1 ,i think1 
every remedy known both to science and  
to crankdom4 ,in the beginning the      
doctors gave me drugs which by          
irritating the intestinal walls cause   
them to pour out quantities of water1   
and hurry the irritating substances down

 the intestinal tract4 ,that is all     
right for an emergency2 if you have     
swallowed a poison1 or food which is    
spoiled1 or if you have overeaten and   
are ill1 get your system cleaned out by 
any and every device4 ,but if you       
habitually swallow mild poisons1 which  
is what all laxatives are1 you weaken   
the intestinal tract1 and you have to   
take more and more of these poisons1 and
 you get less results4 ,we may set down 
as positive the statement that drugs are
 not a remedy for constipation4  ,next  
comes diet4 ,eat the rough and bulky    
foods1 say the nature curists1 and      
stimulate the intestinal walls to       
activity4 ,i tried that4 ,i listened to 
the extreme enthusiasts1 and boiled     
whole wheat and ate it1 and consumed    
quantities of bran biscuit1 and of a    
,japanese seaweed which ,dr4 ,kellogg   
prepares1 and of petroleum oil1 and even
 the skins of oranges1 which are most   
uncomfortable eating1 ,i assure you4 ,i 
would eat things like this until ,i got 

myself a case of diarrhea--and so was   
cured of constipation for a time6       
,strange as it may seem to you1 there   
are even people who tell you to eat     
sand4 ,i listened to them1 and ate many 
quarts4  ,then there is exercise4       
,mac,fadden taught me a whole series of 
exercises for developing the muscles of 
the abdominal walls and the back1 which 
are greatly neglected by civilized man4 
,the fundamental cause of constipation  
is a sluggish life1 and to exercise our 
bodies is a duty2 but to me it was      
always an agony of boredom to lie on a  
bed and wiggle my abdomen for a quarter 
of an hour4 ,the same thing applies to  
hot water treatments1 which are         
effective1 but a nuisance and a waste of
 time4 ,i never could keep them up      
except when ,i was in trouble4  ,three  
or four years ago ,i began to notice a  
continual irritating pain in my right   
side1 which ,i quickly realized must lie
 in the appendix4 ,i tried massage1 and 
hot and cold water treatments1 and my   

favorite remedy1 a week's fast4 ,the    
pain disappeared1 but it returned1 so   
finally ,i decided1 to the dismay of my 
physical culture friends1 to have the   
appendix out4 ,for years ,i had been    
reading the statements of nature        
curists1 that the appendix is an        
important and vital part of the body1   
which pours an oil or something into the
 intestinal tract1 and so helps to      
prevent constipation4 ,well1 evidently  
my appendix wasn't doing its job1 so ,i 
took it to a good surgeon4 ,what ,i     
found was that it had been twisted and  
malformed from birth1 so that it was a  
center of continuous infection4 ,from   
the time ,i had that operation1 ,i have 
never had to think about the subject of 
constipation4 ,this experience suggests 
to me how easy it is for people to make 
statements about health which have no   
relationship to facts4  ,i do not       
recommend promiscuous surgery1 and ,i   
perfectly well realize that if human    
beings would take proper care of their  

health1 the great proportion of surgical
 operations would be unnecessary4 ,i    
realize1 also1 that surgeons get paid by
 the job1 and therefore have a money    
interest in operating1 and it is        
perfectly futile to expect that none of 
them will ever be influenced by the     
profit motive4 ,nevertheless1 it is true
 that sometimes surgical operations are 
necessary1 and that by standing a little
 temporary inconvenience you can save   
yourself a life-time of discomfort4     
,take1 for example1 rupture4 ,the human 
body has here a natural weakness1 from  
which there results a dangerous and     
uncomfortable affliction4 ,hundreds of  
thousands of men are going around all   
their lives wearing elaborate and       
expensive trusses which are almost1 if  
not entirely useless1 and trying        
advertised cures which are entirely     
fakes4 ,an operation takes an hour or   
two1 and two or three weeks in bed1 and 
when our government drafted its young   
men into the army and found that        

fourteen in every thousand of them had  
rupture1 it shipped them into the       
hospitals wholesale and sewed them up4  
,it happens that rupture affords one    
case where scar tissue is stronger than 
natural tissue1 and there were          
practically no returns from the great   
number of army cases4  ,likewise you    
find extreme statements repeated        
concerning the evils of vaccination2 but
 if you will read ,parkman's ,history of
 the ,jesuits in ,north ,america1 you   
will see the horrible conditions under  
which the ,indians lived in the ,united 
,states--noble savages1 you understand1 
entirely uncontaminated by civilized    
white men1 and whole populations        
regularly wiped out every few years by  
epidemics of smallpox4 ,that these      
epidemics ceased was due to the         
discovery that by infecting the body    
with a mild form of the disease1 it     
could be made to develop substances     
which render it immune to the deadly    
form4 ,here in ,california we have a law

 which makes vaccination for school     
children optional1 and so we may some   
day have another epidemic to test the   
theories of the anti-vaccinationists4   
,i know1 of course1 the dreadful stories
 of people who have been given syphilis 
and other diseases by impure vaccines4  
,i don't know whether such stories are  
true2 but ,i do know that people who    
live in houses are sometimes killed by  
earthquakes and by lightning1 yet we do 
not cease to live in houses because of  
this chance4 ,it seems to me that the   
remedy for such vaccination evils is not
 to abolish vaccination1 but to take    
more care in the manufacture of our     
vaccines4  ,this danger is removed by   
using vaccines which are sterile1 and   
are made especially for each person4    
,germs are taken from the sick person1  
and injected into an animal4 ,the body  
of the animal develops with great       
rapidity the anti-bodies necessary to   
resistance to the germs2 and as these   
anti-bodies are chemical products1 not  

affected by heat1 we can take a serum   
from the animal1 sterilize it1 and then 
inject it into the system of the        
patient1 thus increasing resistance to  
the disease4 ,i admit that the best way 
to increase such resistance is to take  
care of your health2 but sometimes we   
confront an emergency1 and must use     
emergency remedies4 ,we have serums that
 really cure diphtheria and meningitis1 
and one that will prevent lock-jaw2     
anyone who has ever seen with his own   
eyes how the deadly membranes of        
diphtheria melt away as a result of an  
injection1 will be less dogmatic about  
the efforts of science to combat        
disease4  ,of course it is much         
pleasanter if you can destroy the source
 of the disease1 and keep it from       
getting into the human body4 ,every few 
years the southern part of our country  
used to be devastated by yellow fever   
epidemics4 ,every kind of weird and     
fantastic remedy was tried2 people would
 go around with sponges full of vinegar 

hung under their noses2 they would burn 
the clothing and bedding of those who   
died of the disease2 they would wear    
gloves when they went shopping1 so as   
not to touch the money with their hands4
 ,but at last medical experimenters     
traced the disease to a certain kind of 
mosquito1 and now1 if we drain the      
swamps and screen our houses and stay in
 doors after sundown1 we do not get     
yellow fever1 nor malaria either4 ,in   
the same way1 if we keep our bodies     
clean with soap and hot water1 we do not
 get bitten by lice1 and so do not die  
of typhus4 ,if we take pains with our   
drains and water supply1 so that human  
excrement does not get into it1 and if  
we destroy the filth-carrying housefly1 
we do not have epidemics of typhoid4    
,but under conditions of battle it is   
not possible for men to take these      
precautions1 and so when they go into   
the army they get a dose of typhoid     
serum4 ,and this illustrates the        
difference between a true or hygienic   

remedy for disease1 and a temporary or  
emergency remedy4 ,if you say that you  
want to abolish war1 and with it the    
need for typhoid vaccination1 ,i        
cheerfully agree with you in this4 ,all 
that ,i am trying to do is to point out 
the folly of flying to extremes1 and    
rejecting any remedy which may help4    
,what is the use of making the flat     
statement that vaccinations and serums  
never aid in the cure of disease1 when  
any man can see with his own eyes the   
proof that they do8 ,in the ,spanish    
war1 before typhoid vaccination1 many   
times more soldiers died of this disease
 than died of bullets2 but in the late  
war there was practically no typhoid at 
all in the army camps4 ,on the other    
hand1 it was noticed that the men who   
had just come in1 and who therefore had 
just been vaccinated1 were considerably 
more susceptible to influenza2 which    
shows that vaccination does reduce the  
body condition for a time4 ,the reader  
may say that in this case ,i am trying  

to sit on both sides of the fence2 but  
the truth is that ,i am trying to keep  
an open mind1 and to consider all the   
facts1 and to avoid making rash         
statements4  ,one of the statements you 
hear most frequently is that drugs can  
never remedy disease1 or help in        
remedying it4 ,now1 ,i abhor the        
drugging system of the orthodox medical 
men2 ,i have talked with them1 and heard
 them talk with one another1 and ,i know
 that they will mix up half a dozen     
different substances1 in the vague hope 
that some one of them will have some    
effect4 ,even when they know definitely 
the effects they are producing1 they are
 in many cases merely suppressing       
symptoms4 ,on the other hand1 however1  
it is a fact that medical science has   
had for a generation or two a specific  
which destroys the germs of one disease 
in the blood1 without at the same time  
injuring the blood itself4 ,that disease
 is malaria1 and the drug is quinine4   
,of course1 the way to avoid malaria is 

to drain the swamps2 but you cannot do  
that all at once1 nor can you always    
screen your house and stay in at        
sundown4 ,when you first go into a      
country1 you have no house to screen1   
and some emergency will certainly arise 
that exposes you to mosquito bites4 ,so 
you will need quinine1 and will be      
foolish not to use it1 and know how to  
use it4  ,recently medical chemists     
discovered another remedy1 this time for
 syphilis4 ,it is called salvarsan1 and 
while it does not always cure1 it       
frequently does4 ,in laboratories today 
men are working over the problem of     
constructing a combination of molecules 
which will destroy the germ of sleeping 
sickness1 without at the same time      
injuring the blood4 ,if they find it1   
they will save hundreds of millions of  
lives4 ,i do not see why we cannot      
recognize such a possibility1 while at  
the same time making use of physical    
culture1 of diet and fasting4  ,when the
 manuscript of this book was sent to the

 printer1 there appeared in this place a
 paragraph telling of the work of ,dr4  
,albert ,abrams of ,san ,francisco1 in  
the diagnosis and cure of disease by    
means of radio-active vibrations4 ,as   
the book is going to press1 the writer  
finds himself in ,san ,francisco1       
attending ,dr4 ,abrams' clinics2 and so 
he finds it possible to give a more     
extended account of some fascinating    
discoveries1 which seem destined to     
revolutionize medical science4 ,if ,i   
were to tell all that ,i have seen with 
my own eyes in the last twelve days1 ,i 
fear the reader would find his powers of
 credulity overstretched1 so ,i shall   
content myself with trying to tell1 in  
very sober and cautious language1 the   
theory upon which ,abrams is working1   
and the technic which he has evolved4   
,modern science has demonstrated that   
all matter is simply the activity of    
electrons1 minute particles of electric 
force4 ,this is a statement which no    
present-day physicist would dispute4    

,the best evidence appears to indicate  
that a molecule of matter is a minute   
reproduction of the universe1 a system  
of electrons whirling about a central   
nucleus4 ,no eye has ever beheld an     
electron1 for it is billions of times   
smaller than anything the microscope    
makes visible2 but we can see the       
effects of electronic activity1 and all 
modern books of physics give photographs
 of such4 ,it is possible to determine  
the vibration rates of electrons1 and to
 ,dr4 ,abrams occurred the idea of      
determining the vibration rates of      
diseased tissue and disease germs4 ,he  
discovered that it was invariably the   
same2 not merely does all cancerous     
material1 for example1 yield the same   
rate1 but the blood of a person         
suffering from cancer yields that rate1 
at all times and under all              
circumstances4 ,the vibration of cancer1
 of tuberculosis1 of syphilis--each is  
different1 uniform and invariable4      
,likewise in the blood are other        

vibrations1 uniform and dependable1     
which reveal the sex and age of the     
patient1 the virulence of the disease   
and the period of its duration--yes1 and
 even the location in the body1 if there
 be some definite infected area4 ,so    
here is a modern miracle1 an infallible 
device for the diagnosis of disease4    
,dr4 ,abrams does not have to see the   
patient2 all he has to have is a drop of
 blood on a piece of white blotting     
paper1 and he sits in his laboratory and
 tells all about it1 and somewhere      
several thousand miles away--in ,toronto
 or ,boston or ,new ,orleans--a surgeon 
operates and finds what he has been told
 is there6  ,and that is only the       
beginning of the wonder2 because1 says  
,abrams1 if you know the vibration rate 
of the electrons of germs1 you can      
destroy those germs4 ,it used to be a   
favorite trick of ,caruso to tap a glass
 and determine its musical note1 and    
then sing that note at the glass and    
shatter it to bits4 ,it is well known   

that horses1 trotting swiftly on a      
bridge1 have sometimes coincided in     
their step with the vibration of the    
bridge and thus have broken it down4 ,on
 that same principle this wizard of the 
electron introduces into your body      
radio-activity of a certain rate--and   
shall ,i say that he cures cancer and   
syphilis and tuberculosis of many years 
standing in a few treatments8 ,i will   
not say that1 because you would not and 
could not believe me4 ,i will content   
myself with telling what my wife and ,i 
have been watching1 twice a day for the 
past twelve days4  ,the scene is a      
laboratory1 with rows of raised seats at
 one side for the physicians who attend 
the clinic4 ,there is a table1 with the 
instruments of measurement1 and ,dr4    
,abrams sits beside it1 and before him  
stands a young man stripped to the      
waist4 ,the doctor is tapping upon the  
abdomen of this man1 and listening to   
the sounds4 ,you will find this the     
weirdest part of the whole procedure1   

for you will naturally assume that this 
young man is being examined1 and will be
 dazed when some one explains that the  
patient is in ,toronto or ,boston or    
,new ,orleans1 and that this young man's
 body is the instrument which the doctor
 uses in the determining of the         
vibration rates of the patient's blood4 
,dr4 ,abrams tried numerous instruments1
 but has been able to find nothing so   
sensitive to electronic activity as a   
human body4 ,he explains to his classes 
that the spinal cord is composed of     
millions of nerve fibres of different   
vibration rates2 hence a certain rate   
communicated to the body1 is            
automatically sorted out1 and appears on
 a certain precise spot of the body in  
the form of increased activity1         
increased blood pressure in the cells1  
and hence what all physicians know as a 
dull area1 which can be discovered by   
what is known as percussion1 a tapping  
with a finger4 ,to map out these areas  
is merely a matter of long and patient  

experiment2 and ,abrams has been        
studying this subject for some twenty   
years--he is author of a text-book on   
what is known as the reactions of       
,abrams4 ,so now he provides the world  
with a series of maps of the human body2
 and he sits in front of his subject1   
and his assistant places a specimen of  
blood in a little electrically connected
 box1 and sets the rheostat at some     
vibration number--say fifty--and ,dr4   
,abrams taps on a certain square inch of
 the abdomen of his subject1 and        
announces the dread word cancer4 ,then  
he places the electrode on another part 
of the subject's body1 and taps some    
more1 and announces that it is cancer of
 the small intestine1 left side2 some   
more tapping1 and he announces that its 
intensity is twelve ohms1 which is      
severe2 and pretty soon there is        
speeding a telegram to the physician who
 has sent this blood specimen1 telling  
him these facts1 and prescribing a      
certain vibration rate upon the         

oscilloclast1 the instrument of         
radio-activity which ,dr4 ,abrams has   
devised4  ,now1 you watch this thing for
 an hour or two1 and you say to         
yourself3 ,here is either the greatest  
magician in the history of mankind1 or  
else the greatest maniac4 ,you may have 
come prepared for some kind of fraud1   
but you soon dismiss that1 for you      
realize that this man is desperately in 
earnest about what he is doing1 and so  
are all the physicians who watch him4   
,so you seek refuge in the thought that 
he must be deluding himself and them1   
perhaps unconsciously4 ,but you talk    
with these men1 and discover that they  
have come from all over the country1 and
 always for one reason--they had sent   
blood specimens to ,abrams1 and had     
found that he never made a mistake2 he  
told them more from a few drops of the  
patient's blood than they themselves had
 been able to find out from the whole   
patient4 ,and then into the clinic come 
the doctor's own patients--,i must have 

heard sixty or eighty of them tell their
 story and many of them have been lifted
 from the grave4 ,people ten years blind
 from syphilis who can see2 people      
operated on several times for cancer and
 given up for dying2 people with tumors 
on the brain1 or with one lung gone from
 tuberculosis4 ,it is literally a fact  
that when you have sat in ,abrams'      
clinic for a week1 all disease loses its
 terrors4  ,this1 you see1 is really the
 mastery of life4 ,if we can measure and
 control the minute universe of the     
electron and the atom1 we have touched  
the ultimate source of our bodily life4 
,i might take chapters of this book to  
tell you of the strange experiments ,i  
have seen in this clinic--showing you1  
for instance1 how these vibrations      
respond to thought1 how by denying to   
himself the disease the patient can for 
a few moments cancel in his body the    
activity of the harmful germs2 showing  
how the reactions differ in the         
different sexes and at different ages1  

and how they respond to different colors
 and different drugs4 ,abrams' method   
has revealed the secret of such efficacy
 as drugs possess--their work is done by
 their radio-activity1 and not by their 
chemical properties4 ,also the problem  
of vaccination has been solved--for     
,abrams has discovered a dread new      
disease1 which is bovine syphilis1      
originally caused in cattle by human    
inoculation1 and now reintroduced in the
 human being by vaccination1 and        
becoming the agent which prepares the   
soil of the body for such disorders as  
tuberculosis and cancer4 ,and it appears
 that we can all be rendered immune to  
these diseases1 by a few electronic     
vibrations1 introduced into our bodies  
in childhood2 so is opened up to our    
eyes a wonderful vision of a new race1  
purified and made fit for life4 ,so here
 at last is science justified of her    
optimism1 and our faith in human destiny
 forever vindicated4 ,take my advice1   
whoever you may be that are suffering1  

and find out about this new work and    
help to make it known to the world4     
,there are many romances of medical     
science1 some of them fascinating as    
murder mysteries and big game hunting4  
,turn to ,mc,masters' ,history of the   
,people of the ,united ,states and read 
his account of the terrible epidemic of 
yellow fever in ,philadelphia a hundred 
years ago2 ,i have already referred to  
the weird and incredible things the     
people did in their effort to ward off  
this plague--sponges of vinegar under   
their noses and fever fires burning in  
the streets2 and then a mosquito would  
fly up and bite them1 and in a few hours
 they would be dead6 ,or what could be  
stranger than the tracing of the bubonic
 plague1 which has cost literally       
billions of human lives1 to a parasite  
in the blood of fleas which live on the 
bodies of rats6 ,or what could be more  
unexpected than the tracing of our      
rheumatic aches and twinges to the root 
canals of the teeth6  ,one of the common

 ailments which afflict poor humanity is
 rheumatism1 a cause of endless         
suffering4 ,it was supposed to be due to
 damp climate and exposure1 and this is 
true to a certain extent1 in the same   
way that colds are due to exposure4 ,but
 the investigators realized that there  
must be some bodily condition rendering 
one susceptible1 and they set to work to
 trace this condition down4 ,the pains  
of rheumatism are caused by uric acid   
settling in the joints of the body4     
,what causes the uric acid8 ,well1 there
 is uric acid in red meat1 so let us    
forbid rheumatic people to eat it6 ,but 
this is overlooking the fact that the   
human body itself is a uric acid        
factory2 and also the fact that uric    
acid taken into the stomach may not     
remain uric acid by the time it gets to 
the blood-stream4 ,we know that you may 
eat a great deal of fruit acid without  
necessarily making acid blood4 ,on the  
other hand1 you can make acid blood by  
eating a lot of sugar6 ,so you see it   

isn't as simple as it sounds4           
,rheumatism has been traced to its lair1
 which is found to be the roots of the  
teeth4 ,here is a part of the body      
difficult to get at1 and as a           
consequence of bad diet and unwholesome 
ways of living1 infections will start   
there1 and pus sacs be formed1 and the  
poisons absorbed into the blood-stream  
and distributed through the body4 ,the  
first thought is to draw the infected   
teeth2 but that is a serious matter1    
because you need your teeth to chew your
 food4 ,so the dentist has to go through
 a complicated process of opening up the
 tooth and cleaning out the root canals1
 and treating the infected spots at the 
roots4 ,then he has to fill the tooth   
all the way down to the roots1 leaving  
no place for infection to gather4 ,this1
 of course1 takes time and costs money1 
and is one more illustration of the fact
 that there is one health law for the   
rich and another health law for the     
poor4  ,all the time that ,i write these

 chapters about health ,i feel guilty4  
,i know that the wholesome food ,i      
recommend costs money1 and ,i know that 
surgery and dentistry cost money--yes1  
even sunlight and fresh air and         
recreation2 even a fast1 because you    
have to rest while you take it1 and you 
have to have a roof over your head1 and 
warmth in winter time1 and somebody to  
wait upon you when you are weak4 ,i know
 that for a great many of the people who
 read what ,i write1 all these things   
are impossible of attainment2 ,i know   
that for the great majority of the      
common people the benefits of science do
 not exist4 ,science discovers how to   
prevent disease1 but the discoveries are
 not applied1 because the profit system 
controls the world1 and the profit      
system wants the labor of the poor1     
regardless of what happens to their     
health4 ,if the people fall ill1 they   
are thrown upon the scrap heap1 and the 
profit system finds others to take their
 place4  ,take1 for example1            

tuberculosis4 ,tuberculosis is a germ   
infection1 but it practically never gets
 hold upon a human body except when the 
body is reduced by undernourishment and 
lack of fresh air4 ,tuberculosis1       
therefore1 is a disease of slums and    
jails4 ,it is definitely and            
indisputably a disease of poverty4 ,it  
could be wiped off the face of the earth
 in a single generation2 and the same is
 true of typhus and typhoid4 ,there is  
another whole host of ailments which    
could be wiped out by measures of public
 hygiene1 plus education4 ,this includes
 all the infant diseases1 and the deadly
 venereal diseases4 ,but the profit     
system stands in the way2 and so1 in    
these closing paragraphs of this ,book  
of the ,body1 ,i say that there is one  
disease which is the deadliest of all1  
and the source of all others1 and that  
disease is poverty4  ,i know a certain  
physician to the rich1 who is an honest 
and conscientious man4 ,he said1 ,i     
loath my work4 ,i am wasting my time4 ,i

 am called in by these fat1 over-fed    
rich people in their leisure class      
hotels1 and what am ,i to say to them8  
,shall ,i say to them1 ',you are living 
an abnormal life1 and you can never be  
well until you cut out root and branch  
all your habits of self indulgence which
 are destroying you8' ,but no1 ,i can't 
say that--not one time in a thousand4 ,i
 am expected to be polite and serious1  
and to listen to them while they tell   
the long tiresome story of their        
symptoms1 and ,i have to encourage them1
 and give them some temporary device    
that will remove some of the symptoms of
 their trouble4  ,and what should one   
say to this honest physician8 ,should   
one tell him to go and be a physician to
 the poor8 ,would he be any happier     
there8 ,he could tell the poor the      
causes of their diseases1 and they would
 listen patiently--they are trained to  
listen1 and to accept what they are     
told4 ,here is a girl living in an      
inside bedroom in a tenement1 and       

working ten or eleven hours a day in an 
unventilated factory1 and she is ill    
with tuberculosis4 ,the physician tells 
her that she needs plenty of fresh air  
and rest1 and a lot of eggs and milk in 
her diet4 ,he tells her that1 and he    
knows that she has as much chance of    
carrying out his orders as of flying to 
the moon4 ,or maybe he comes upon a     
typhoid epidemic1 and discovers1 as     
happened to a friend of mine in         
,chicago1 that there is defective       
plumbing in some houses owned by the    
political leader of the district4 ,or   
maybe it is a case of venereal disease1 
in a young man who was drafted into the 
army and turned loose amid the joys of  
,paris4 ,maybe it is just a commonplace1
 every-day story of a room full of      
school children1 #bb per cent of them   
undernourished1 as is the case in ,new  
,york ,city1 and the parents out of work
 a part of the time1 and with no        
possibility in their lives of ever      
earning enough to feed the children     

properly4 ,when you confront these      
universal facts of our present social   
order1 you realize that the problem of  
disease is not merely a problem of the  
body1 but is a problem of the mind as   
well2 a problem of politics and religion
 and philosophy1 of the whole way of    
thinking of the so-called civilized     
world4 ,a book of health which did not  
point out these facts would be1 not a   
book of health1 but a book of sham4     
,but meantime1 while we are trying to   
change the world's ideas1 we have to    
live1 and we can do our work better if  
we keep as well as possible4 ,i have    
tried to point out the way2 it is1 as   
you can see1 a matter in part of the    
body and in part of the mind4 ,all the  
bodily regime here laid out has its     
basis in mental habits2 all wise and    
wholesome ways of life can1 at the age  
when our minds are plastic1 be made into
 second nature--things which we do      
automatically1 without effort or        
temptation to do otherwise4 ,this is the

 real secret of true happiness in the   
conduct of our personal lives2 to       
acquire self-control1 to rule our       
desires and our passions1 not harshly   
and spasmodically1 but serenely1 as one 
drives a car which he thoroughly        
understands4 ,it is in vain that we     
preach freedom to men who have not this 
self-mastery2 as the poet tell us3 ,the 
sensual and the dark rebel in vain1     
slaves of their own compulsion4 ,and of 
all the personal possessions which man  
can attain on this earth1 the most      
precious is the one of a sound mind     
controlling a sound body4 ,i close this 
book by quoting some verses written by  
,sir ,henry ,wotton three hundred years 
ago1 which ,i have all my life          
considered one of the noblest pieces of 
poetry in our heritage3       ,,the     
,,character ,,of ,a ,,happy ,,life      
,how happy is he born and taught        
,that serveth not another's will2       
,whose armour is his honest thought     
,and simple truth his utmost skill6     

,whose passions not his masters are1    
,whose soul is still prepared for death1
     ,not tied unto the world with care 
,of public fame1 or private breath4     
,who envies none that chance doth raise 
,or vice2 who never understood     ,how 
deepest wounds are given by praise2     
,nor rules of state1 but rules of good3 
,who hath his life from rumours freed1  
,whose conscience is his strong retreat2
     ,whose state can neither flatterers
 feed1       ,nor ruin make accusers    
great3      ,who ,god doth late and     
early pray       ,more of ,his grace    
than gifts to lend2     ,and entertains 
the harmless day       ,with a          
well-chosen book or friend2      --,this
 man is freed from servile bands        
,of hope to rise1 or fear to fall2      
,lord of himself1 though not of lands2  
,and having nothing1 yet hath all4      
,,index   ,abrams1 ,dr41 #aij           
,adultery1 #cc  ,adventist1 #ii         
,agriculture1 #be  ,alcohol1 #aea       
,anti-bodies1 #ahh  ,antinomies1 #eh    

,appendix1 #ahf  ,arnold1 #db           
,arrhenius1 #aja  ,automatic writing1   
#fg   ,bairnsfather1 #bi  ,bathing1 #afb
  ,battle ,creek ,sanitarium1 #aah      
,beauchamp1 #gj1 #he1 #hi  ,beethoven1  
#dg  ,bergson1 #ag  ,beri-beri1 #abh    
,bible1 #gg  ,bio-chemist1 #ei  ,black  
bread1 #abh  ,blood1 #ajf  ,body1 #ec1  
#aje  ,booth1 #eh  ,bourne1 #fi  ,bruce1
 #ga  ,bury1 #ae   ,caffein1 #aej       
,calories1 #ace  ,candy1 #acg           
,capitalist1 #ajj  ,carbohydrates1 #abd 
,carbon monoxide1 #aeg  ,children1 #adj1
 #ahj  ,chiropractors1 #agd1 #ahd       
,chittenden1 #acf  ,christian           
,scientists1 #e1 #fe1 #aje  ,clothing1  
#afj  ,coffee1 #aea  ,colds1 #ahc       
,commandments1 #cb  ,communist1 #ii     
,complete fast1 #agb  ,comstock1 #be    
,conduct1 #db  ,consciousness1 #ef      
,constipation1 #ahe  ,cooking1 #abi1    
#adb  ,crawford1 #hh  ,cyrus1 #afd      
,dandruff1 #aji  ,dante1 #gg  ,darwin1  
#ag1 #df  ,dentistry1 #abf1 #aij        
,determinists1 #eg  ,diet1 #aca  ,diet  

,standards1 #ace  ,digestion1 #ade      
,diphtheria1 #ahh  ,diseases1 #ajg1 #aag
  ,dogs1 #ag  ,draft1 #ahb  ,drugs1     
#aah1 #aej1 #ahe1 #ahi  ,dubb1 #fc      
,duncan1 #ajb  ,dyspepsia1 #aag   ,eddy1
 #fe  ,edison1 #de1 #hf  ,einstein1 #aja
  ,elberfeld horses1 #fh  ,evolution1   
#h1 #ag  ,exercise1 #afc   ,faith1 #i   
,faith curists1 #fe  ,fast cure1 #aga   
,fatness1 #aci  ,fats1 #abd  ,fever1    
#ajh  ,fireless cooker1 #adb            
,fireplace1 #aeg  ,fisher1 #acf         
,fletcher1 #aai1 #ade  ,food filter1    
#ade  ,fourth dimension1 #e  ,free      
thinker1 #ae  ,freud1 #ga  ,fruit fast1 
#age  ,frugality1 #ch  ,frying-pan1 #abi
  ,furnace1 #aeg   ,gargles1 #ahd       
,gastronomic art1 #adh  ,genius1 #di1   
#fj  ,george1 #ah  ,germs1 #ahc  ,god1  
#bb1 #ej  ,goethe1 #dg  ,golden rule1   
#ea  ,greens1 #acb  ,gymnastic work1    
#aff   ,hair1 #aji  ,hallucinations1 #ge
  ,hamlet1 #dh  ,happiness1 #i          
,harrison1 #f  ,hats1 #aaj  ,headache1  
#abb1 #aej1 #ahd  ,health cranks1 #ahb  

,heart1 #ajh  ,houdin1 #ic  ,hugo1 #dh  
,huxley1 #ag1 #fb  ,hyslop1 #hb         
,iceberg1 #fa  ,infanticide1 #bh        
,instincts1 #acd  ,intelligence1 #bb    
,immortality1 #gi  ,irwin1 ,will1 #hf   
,james1 #cj1 #ei1 #fj  ,jesus1 #dg1 #dh1
 #ej1 #ea1 #gf  ,john ,barleycorn1 #aeb 
,johnson1 #eh  ,jonson1 #dd   ,kant1    
,immanuel1 #d1 #dg1 #ea1 #eh  ,kellogg1 
,doctor1 #aah1 #afd1 #ahf  ,kilmer1     
,joyce1 #dd  ,knowledge1 #id            
,kropotkin1 #ah1 #bf   ,langley1 #gd    
,lankester1 ,prof4 ,e4 ,ray1 #bc        
,laxatives1 #age1 #ahe  ,leanness1 #aci 
,leonardo1 #dg  ,liebault1 #fd  ,life1  
#c  ,lily ,dale1 #hf1 #ij  ,lincoln1 #dg
  ,locomotor ataxia1 #ahj  ,lodge1 ,sir 
,oliver1 #hc  ,lodge1 ,raymond1 #hg     
,london1 ,jack1 #aeb   ,macaulay1 #ci   
,mac,dowell1 ,edward1 #ef  ,mac,fadden1 
#agh1 #ahf  ,mac,swiney1 #agj           
,maeterlinck1 ,maurice1 #fh  ,malaria1  
#ahi  ,malthusian law1 #be  ,marquesans1
 #aac  ,materializations1 #hh  ,matter1 
#c  ,meal-hour1 #adg  ,measurement of   

,intelligence1 ,terman's1 #ie  ,meat1   
#aba  ,medical science1 #aje  ,mesmer1  
#fc  ,messina earthquake1 #agj          
,metaphysics1 #d  ,metchnikoff1 #ach    
,milk diet1 #abh  ,moderation1 #ci      
,monism1 #c  ,morality1 #ba1 #ca1 #cd1  
#ej  ,morgan1 #de  ,mormon1 #ii         
,mozart1 #fh  ,multiple personality1 #fi
  ,mutation1 #ag  ,myers1 #di   ,nature1
 #ba1 #bd1 #bi  ,nature cure1 #afj      
,nature ,woman1 #agf  ,neighbor1 #ej    
,newcomb1 ,simon1 #aja  ,newton1 #dg    
,new ,york ,times1 #afi  ,nicotine1 #aed
  ,nietzsche1 #ag  ,novels1 #afd        
,nutrition of ,man1 #acf   ,oil stoves1 
#aeh  ,opsonins1 #aab  ,optimism1 #db   
,osteopaths1 #ahd  ,ouija1 #fg          
,overeating1 #acd  ,oxygen1 #aef        
,patrick1 ,dr41 #afg  ,pavlov1 #adh     
,phantasms1 #ge  ,phillips1 ,david      
,graham1 #ahj  ,piper1 ,mrs41 #fh       
,play1 #afe  ,poisons1 #adf  ,pork1 #adb
  ,porter1 ,dr41 #agh  ,positivists1 #f 
,poverty1 #aid  ,prices of food1 #ada   
,prince1 ,dr4 ,morton1 #gj1 #hi         

,profits of ,religion1 #gh1 #ii         
,proteins1 #abc  ,prunes1 #abg          
,psychology1 #if  ,psychotherapy1 #fd   
,puritans1 #ci   ,quackenbos1 #fd       
,quinine1 #ahh  ,quixote1 #dh           
,raisins1 #abg  ,raw food1 #aai  ,read1 
,alfred ,baker1 #bh  ,reason1 #ac       
,refined foods1 #abf  ,relaxation1 #afg 
,religion1 #cb  ,reincarnation1 #gf     
,rest1 #adf  ,revelation1 #ab           
,rheumatism1 #aic  ,rice1 #abh          
,rockefeller1 #de  ,roosevelt1          
,theodore1 #be1 #de  ,rugs1 #aei        
,rupture1 #ahg   ,sabbath1 #ii          
,salisbury1 #abj  ,sally1 #gj1 #he      
,salt1 #adc  ,meats1 salted1 #adc       
,salts1 #abd  ,salvarsan1 #ahi          
,savages1 #ace  ,savage1 ,rev4 ,minot   
,j41 #gd  ,schrenck-,notzing1 #hh       
,scurvy1 #abh  ,seneca1 #ih             
,shakespeare1 #dg  ,shelley1 #de1 #dh   
,sleep1 #afb  ,sleeping sickness1 #aac1 
#agc  ,smokers1 #aec  ,socialism1 #afg  
,sophocles1 #hg  ,sore throat1 #ahc     
,spencer1 #h  ,spinoza1 #gi  ,spirits1  

#hb  ,spiritualists1 #hf  ,starch1 #abb1
 #abd  ,stealing1 #cc  ,steam heat1 #aeh
  ,stimulant1 #adi  ,stock ,exchange1   
#aeh  ,stomach1 #aje1 #ach1 #adh        
,style1 #afa  ,subconscious mind1 #fa   
,sunday code1 #dj  ,sugar1 #abf         
,surgery1 #ahf  ,survival1 #ha          
,survival of the fittest1 #bb           
,syndicalism1 #ae  ,syphilis1 #ahi      
,tanner1 ,dr41 #afi  ,tariff1 #cg  ,tea1
 #aea  ,teeth1 #abg1 #aic  ,telepathy1  
#fg1 #ge  ,theosophists1 #gf  ,tight    
shoes1 #afa  ,tobacco1 #aec  ,tolstoi1  
#di  ,tonsilitis1 #ajg  ,trance1 #fc    
,tropism1 #ed  ,tuberculosis1 #aab1     
#abj1 #agi1 #aid1 #aie  ,twain1 ,mark1  
#ic  ,typhoid1 #aab1 #ahh1 #aib         
,uranus1 #ib  ,uric acid1 #aic          
,vaccination1 #ahg1 #ahi  ,vaccines1    
#ahh  ,vegetarian1 #aba  ,vitamines1    
#abg1 #adb   ,wallace1 #df  ,wells1 ,h4 
,g41 #bb  ,williams1 ,dr4 ,henry ,smith1
 #ajb  ,worth1 ,patience1 #hd   ,yellow 
fever1 #ahh  ,yogis1 #ij     ,,the      
,,book ,,of ,,life  ,,volume ,,two3     

,,love ,,and ,,society                  
,to            ,kate ,crane ,gartz in   
acknowledgment of her unceasing efforts 
for a better world1 and her fidelity to 
those       who struggle to achieve it4 
,,contents  ,,part ,,three3 ,,the ,,book
 ,,of ,,love                            
,,page  ,,chapter ,,xxviii4   ,,the     
,,reality ,,of ,,marriage               
#c ,discusses the sex-customs now       
existing in the world1 and their        
relation to the ideal of monogamous     
love4  ,,chapter ,,xxix4   ,,the        
,,development ,,of ,,marriage           
#h ,deals with the sex-relationship1 its
 meaning and its history1 the stages of 
its development in human society4       
,,chapter ,,xxx4    ,,sex ,,and ,,young 
,,america                               
#ae ,discusses present-day sex          
arrangements1 as they affect the future 
generation4  ,,chapter ,,xxxi4    ,,sex 
,,and ,,the ,,smart ,,set               
#bc ,portrays the moral customs of those
 who set the fashion in our present-day 

world4  ,,chapter ,,xxxii4    ,,sex     
,,and ,,the ,,poor                      
#bi ,discusses prostitution1 the extent 
of its prevalence1 and the diseases     
which result from it4  ,,chapter        
,,xxxiii4    ,,sex ,,and ,,nature       
#cc ,maintains that our sex disorders   
are not the result of natural or        
physical disharmony4  ,,chapter ,,xxxiv4
   ,,love ,,and ,,economics             
#cf ,maintains that our sex disorders   
are of social origin1 due to the        
displacing of love by money as a motive 
in mating4  ,,chapter ,,xxxv4           
,,marriage ,,and ,,money                
#dj ,discusses the causes of            
prostitution1 and that higher form of   
prostitution known as the marriage of   
convenience4  ,,chapter ,,xxxvi4        
,,love ,,versus ,,lust                  
#df ,discusses the sex impulse1 its use 
and misuse2 when it should be followed  
and when repressed4  ,,chapter ,,xxxvii4
 ,,celibacy ,,versus ,,chastity         
#ea  ,the ideal of the repression of the

 sex-impulse1 as against the ideal of   
its guidance and cultivation4  ,,chapter
 ,,xxxviii4 ,,the ,,defense ,,of ,,love 
#ee  ,discusses passionate love1 its    
sanction1 its place in life1 and its    
preservation in marriage4  ,,chapter    
,,xxxix4 ,,birth ,,control              
#fj  ,deals with the prevention of      
conception as one of the greatest of    
man's discoveries1 releasing him from   
nature's enslavement1 and placing the   
keys of life in his hands4  ,,chapter   
,,xl4 ,,early ,,marriage                
#ff  ,discusses love marriages1 how they
 can be made1 and the duty of parents in
 respect to them4  ,,chapter ,,xli4     
,,the ,,marriage ,,club                 
#ga  ,discusses how parents and elders  
may help the young to avoid unhappy     
marriages4  ,,chapter ,,xlii4           
,,education ,,for ,,marriage            
#ge  ,maintains that the art of love can
 be taught1 and that we have the right  
and the duty to teach it4  ,,chapter    
,,xliii4 ,,the ,,money ,,side ,,of      

,,marriage                              
#gi  ,deals with the practical side of  
the life partnership of matrimony4      
,,chapter ,,xliv4 ,,the ,,defense ,,of  
,,monogamy                              
#hc  ,discusses the permanence of love1 
and why we should endeavor to preserve  
it4  ,,chapter ,,xlv4 ,,the ,,problem   
,,of ,,jealousy                         
#hi  ,discusses the question1 to what   
extent one person may hold another to   
the pledge of love4  ,,chapter ,,xlvi4  
,,the ,,problem ,,of ,,divorce          
#ic  ,defends divorce as a protection to
 monogamous love1 and one of the means  
of preventing infidelity and            
prostitution4  ,,chapter ,,xlvii4 ,,the 
,,restriction ,,of ,,divorce            
#ig  ,discusses the circumstances under 
which society has the right to forbid   
divorce1 or to impose limitations upon  
it4   ,,part ,,four3 ,,the ,,book ,,of  
,,society  ,,chapter ,,xlviii4 ,,the    
,,ego ,,and ,,the ,,world               
#ajc  ,discusses the beginning of       

consciousness1 in the infant and in     
primitive man1 and the problem of its   
adjustment to life4  ,,chapter ,,xlvix4 
,,competition ,,and ,,co-,,operation    
#ajg  ,discusses the relation of the    
adult to society1 and the part which    
selfishness and unselfishness play in   
the development of social life4         
,,chapter ,l4 ,,aristocracy ,,and       
,,democracy                             
#aae  ,discusses the idea of superior   
classes and races1 and whether there is 
a natural basis for such a doctrine4    
,,chapter ,,li4 ,,ruling ,,classes      
#aai  ,deals with authority in human    
society1 how it is obtained1 and what   
sanction it can claim4  ,,chapter ,,lii4
 ,,the ,,process ,,of ,,social          
,,evolution                         #abb
  ,discusses the series of changes      
through which human society has passed4 
,,chapter ,,liii4 ,,industrial          
,,evolution                             
#abf  ,examines the process of evolution
 in industry and the stage which it has 

so far reached4  ,,chapter ,,liv4 ,,the 
,,class ,,struggle                      
#acb  ,discusses history as a           
battle-ground between ruling and subject
 classes1 and the method and outcome of 
this struggle4  ,,chapter ,,lv4 ,,the   
,,capitalist ,,system                   
#acf  ,shows how wealth is produced in  
modern society1 and the effect of this  
system upon the minds of the workers4   
,,chapter ,,lvi4 ,,the ,,capitalist     
,,process                               
#adb  ,how profits are made under the   
present industrial system and what      
becomes of them4  ,,chapter ,,lvii4     
,,hard ,,times                          
#ade  ,explains why capitalist          
prosperity is a spasmodic thing1 and why
 abundant production brings distress    
instead of plenty4  ,,chapter ,,lviii4  
,,the ,,iron ,,ring                     
#adh ,analyzes further the profit       
system1 which strangles production1 and 
makes true prosperity impossible4       
,,chapter ,,lix4 ,,foreign ,,markets    

#aea ,considers the efforts of          
capitalism to save itself by marketing  
its surplus products abroad1 and what   
results from these efforts4  ,,chapter  
,,lx4 ,,capitalist ,,war                
#aee ,shows how the competition for     
foreign markets leads nations           
automatically into war4  ,,chapter      
,,lxi4 ,,the ,,possibilities ,,of       
,,production                            
#aeh ,shows how much wealth we could    
produce if we tried and how we proved it
 when we had to4  ,,chapter ,,lxii4     
,,the ,,cost ,,of ,,competition         
#afb ,discusses the losses of friction  
in our productive machine1 those which  
are obvious and those which are hidden4 
,,chapter ,,lxiii4 ,,socialism ,,and    
,,syndicalism                           
#aff ,discusses the idea of the         
management of industry by the state1 and
 the idea of its management by the trade
 unions4  ,,chapter ,,lxiv4 ,,communism 
,,and ,,anarchism                       
#agj ,considers the idea of goods owned 

in common1 and the idea of a society    
without compulsion1 and how these ideas 
have fared in ,russia4  ,,chapter ,,lxv4
 ,,social ,,revolution                  
#age ,how the great change is coming in 
different industries1 and how we may    
prepare to meet it4  ,,chapter ,,lxvi4  
,,confiscation ,,or ,,compensation      
#agi ,shall the workers buy out the     
capitalists8 ,can they afford to do it1 
and what will be the price8  ,,chapter  
,,lxvii4 ,,expropriating ,,the          
,,expropriators                         
#ahc ,discusses the dictatorship of the 
proletariat1 and its chances for success
 in the ,united ,states4  ,,chapter     
,,lxviii4 ,,the ,,problem ,,of ,,the    
,,land                              #ahh
 ,discusses the land values tax as a    
means of social readjustment1 and       
compares it with other programs4        
,,chapter ,,lxix4 ,,the ,,control ,,of  
,,credit                                
#aib ,deals with money1 the part it     
plays in the restriction of industry1   

and may play in the freeing of industry4
  ,,chapter ,,lxx4 ,,the ,,control ,,of 
,,industry                              
#aih ,discusses various programs for the
 change from industrial autocracy to    
industrial democracy4  ,,chapter ,,lxxi4
 ,,the ,,new ,,world                    
#bjb ,describes the co-operative        
commonwealth1 beginning with its money  
aspects2 the standard wage and its      
variations4  ,,chapter ,,lxxii4         
,,agricultural ,,production             
#bjf ,discusses the land in the new     
world1 and how we foster co-operative   
farming and co-operative homes4         
,,chapter ,,lxxiii4 ,,intellectual      
,,production                            
#baj ,discusses scientific1 artistic1   
and religious activities1 as a          
superstructure built upon the foundation
 of the standard wage4  ,,chapter       
,,lxxiv4 ,,mankind ,,remade             
#bae ,discusses human nature and its    
weaknesses1 and what happens to these in
 the new world4     ,,part ,,three      

,,the ,,book ,,of ,,love     ,,chapter  
,,xxviii  ,,the ,,reality ,,of          
,,marriage       7,discusses the        
sex-customs now existing in the world1  
and their      relation to the ideal of 
monogamous love47   ,just as human      
beings through wrong religious beliefs  
torture one another1 and wreck their    
lives and happiness2 just as through    
wrong eating and other physical habits  
they make disease and misery for        
themselves2 just so they suffer and     
perish for lack of the most elementary  
knowledge concerning the sex            
relationship4 ,the difference is that in
 the field of religious ideas it is now 
permissible to impart the truth one     
possesses4 ,if ,i tell you there is no  
devil1 and that believing this will not 
cause you to suffer in an eternity of   
sulphur and brimstone1 no one will be   
able to burn me at the stake1 even      
though he might like to do so4 ,if ,i   
advise you that it is not harmful to eat
 beefsteak on ,friday1 or to eat        

thoroughly cooked pork any day of the   
week1 neither the archbishops nor the   
rabbis nor the vegetarians will be able 
to lock me in a dungeon4 ,but if ,i     
should impart to you the simplest and   
most necessary bit of knowledge         
concerning the facts of your sex        
life--things which every man and woman  
must know if we are to stop breeding    
imbecility and degeneracy in the        
world--then ,i should be liable1 under  
federal statutes1 to pay a fine of      
#e1jjj1 and to serve a term of five     
years in a federal penitentiary4        
,scarcely a week passes that ,i do not  
receive a letter from someone asking for
 information about such matters2 but ,i 
dare not answer the letters1 because ,i 
know there are agencies1 maintained and 
paid by religious superstition1         
employing spies to trap people into the 
breaking of this law4  ,i shall tell you
 here as much as ,i am permitted to     
tell1 in the simplest language and the  
most honest spirit4 ,i believe that     

human beings are meant to be happy on   
this earth1 and to avoid misery and     
disease4 ,i believe that they are given 
the powers of intelligence in order to  
seek the ways of happiness1 and ,i      
believe that it is a worthy work to give
 them the knowledge they need in order  
to find happiness4  ,at the outset of   
this ,book of ,love we are going to     
examine the existing facts of the sex   
relationships of men and women in       
present-day society4 ,we shall discover 
that amid all the false and dishonest   
thinking of mankind1 there is nowhere   
more falsity and dishonesty than here4  
,the whole world is a gigantic          
conspiracy of hush1 and the orthodox and
 respectable of the world are like      
worshippers of some god1 who spend their
 day-time burning incense before the    
altar1 and in the night-time steal the  
sacred jewels and devour the consecrated
 offerings4 ,these worshippers confront 
you with the question1 do you believe in
 marriage2 and they make the assumption 

that the institution of marriage exists1
 or at some time has existed in the     
world4 ,but if you wish to do any sound 
thinking about this subject1 you must   
get one thing clear at the outset2 the  
institution of marriage is an ideal     
which has been preached and taught1 but 
which has never anywhere1 in any        
society1 at any stage of human progress1
 actually existed as the general        
practice of mankind4 ,what has existed  
and still exists is a very different    
institution1 which ,i shall here        
describe as marriage-plus-prostitution4 
,by this statement ,i do not mean to    
deny that there are many women1 and a   
few men1 who have been monogamous all   
their lives2 nor that there are many    
couples living together happily in      
monogamous marriage4 ,what ,i mean is   
that1 considering society as a whole1   
wherever you find the institution of    
marriage1 you also find1 co-existent    
therewith and complementary thereto1 the
 institution of prostitution4 ,of this  

double arrangement one part is          
recognized1 and written into the law2   
the other part is hidden1 and prohibited
 by law2 but those who have to do with  
enforcing the law all know that it      
exists1 and practically all of them     
consider it inevitable1 and a great many
 derive income from it4 ,so ,i say3 if  
you believe in                          
marriage-plus-prostitution1 that is your
 right2 but if marriage is what you     
believe in1 then your task is to        
consider such questions as these3 ,is   
marriage a possible thing8 ,can it ever 
become the sex arrangement of any       
society8 ,what are the forces which have
 so far prevented it from prevailing1   
and how can these forces be             
counteracted8  ,it is my belief that    
monogamous love is the most desirable of
 human sex relationships1 the most      
fruitful in happiness and spiritual     
development4 ,the laws and institutions 
of civilized society pretend to defend  
this relationship1 but the briefest     

study of the facts will convince anyone 
that these laws and institutions are not
 really meant to protect monogamous     
love4 ,what they are is a device of the 
property-holding male to secure his     
property rights to women1 and more      
especially to secure himself as to the  
paternity of his heirs4 ,in primitive   
society1 where land and other sources of
 wealth were held in common1 and sex    
monogamy was unknown1 there was no way  
to determine paternity1 and no reason   
for doing so4 ,but under the system of  
private property and class privilege1 it
 is necessary for some one man to       
support a child1 if it is to be         
supported2 and when a man has fought    
hard1 and robbed hard1 and traded hard1 
and acquired wealth1 he does not want to
 spend it in maintaining another man's  
child4 ,that he should let himself be   
fooled into doing so is one of the      
greatest humiliations his fellowmen can 
imagine4 ,if you read ,shakespeare's    
plays1 and look up the meaning of old   

words1 so as to understand old          
witticisms and allusions1 you will      
discover that this was the stock jest of
 ,shakespeare's time4  ,in order to     
protect himself from such ridicule1 the 
man maintained in ancient times his     
right to kill the faithless woman with  
cruel tortures4 ,he maintains today the 
right to deprive her of her children1   
and of all share in his property1 even  
though she may have helped to earn it4  
,but until quite recent times1 the      
beginning of the revolt of women1 there 
was never any corresponding penalty for 
faithlessness in husbands4 ,under the   
,english law today1 the husband may     
divorce his wife for infidelity1 but the
 wife must prove infidelity plus        
cruelty1 and the courts have held that  
the cruelty must consist in knocking her
 down4 ,while ,i was in ,england1 the   
highest court rendered a decision that a
 man who brought his mistress to his    
home and compelled his wife to wait upon
 her was not committing cruelty in the  

meaning of the ,english law4  ,this is  
what is known as the double standard1   
and the double standard prevails        
everywhere under the system of          
marriage-plus-prostitution1 and proves  
that capitalist monogamy is not a       
spiritual ideal1 but a matter of class  
privilege4 ,it is a breach of honor for 
the ruling class male to tamper with the
 wife of his friend2 it is frequently   
dangerous for him to tamper with the    
young females of his own class2 but it  
is in general practice taken for granted
 that the young females of lower classes
 are his legitimate prey4 ,in ,england a
 man may have a marriage annulled1 if he
 can prove that the woman he married had
 what is called a past2 but everybody   
takes it for granted that the man has   
had a past2 it is covered by the polite 
phrase1 sowing his wild oats4 ,wherever 
among the ruling class you find men bold
 enough to discuss the facts of the sex 
order they have set up1 you find the    
idea1 expressed or implied1 that this   

wild oats is a necessary and inevitable 
part of this order1 and that without it 
the order would break down4 ,the        
,english philosopher1 ,lecky1 making an 
elaborate study of morals through the   
ages1 speaks of the prostitute in the   
following frank language3  ,herself the 
supreme type of vice1 she is ultimately 
the most efficient guardian of virtue4  
,but for her1 the unchallenged purity of
 countless happy homes would be         
polluted1 and not a few who1 in the     
pride of their untempted chastity1 think
 of her with an indignant shudder1 would
 have known the agony of remorse and    
despair4 ,on that one degraded and      
ignoble form are concentrated the       
passions that might have filled the     
world with shame4 ,she remains1 while   
creeds and civilizations rise and fall1 
the eternal priestess of humanity1      
blasted for the sins of the people4  ,i 
invite you to study these sentences and 
understand them fully4 ,remember that   
they are the opinion of the most learned

 historian of sex customs who has ever  
written in ,english2 a man whose        
authority is recognized in our schools1 
whose books are in every college        
library4 ,william ,edward ,hartpole     
,lecky is not in any sense a            
revolutionist2 he is a conventional     
,english scholar1 an upholder of        
,english law and order and patriotism4  
,he is not of my school of thought1 but 
of those who now own the world and run  
it4 ,i quote him1 because he tells in   
plain language what kind of world they  
have made2 ,i invite you to study his   
words1 and then judge my statement that 
the sex arrangement under which we live 
in modern society is not monogamous     
love1 but marriage-plus-prostitution4   
,it is my hope to point the way to a    
higher system4 ,i should like to call it
 marriage2 but perhaps it would be more 
precise to call it                      
marriage-minus-prostitution4 ,in working
 it out1 we shall have to think for     
ourselves1 and discard all formulas4 ,it

 is obvious that our present-day        
religious creeds1 ethical ideals1 legal 
codes1 and social rewards and           
punishments have been powerless to      
protect marriage1 or to make it the rule
 in sex relationships4 ,so we shall have
 to begin at the beginning and find new 
reasons for monogamous love1 a new basis
 of marriage other than the protection  
of private property4 ,we shall have to  
inform ourselves as to the fundamental  
purposes of sex2 we shall have to ask   
ourselves3 ,what are the factors which  
determine rightness and wrongness in the
 sex relationship8 ,what is love1 and   
what ought it to be8 ,these questions we
 shall try to approach without any fixed
 ideas whatever4 ,we shall decide them  
by the same tests that we have used in  
our thinking about ,god and immortality1
 health and disease4 ,we shall ask1 not 
what our ancestors believed1 not what   
,god teaches us1 not what the law       
ordains1 not what is respectable1 nor   
yet what is advanced1 according to the  

claim of modern sex revolutionists and  
free lovers4 ,we shall ask ourselves1   
what are the facts4 ,we shall ask1 what 
can be made to work in practice1 what   
can justify itself by the tests of      
reason and common sense4     ,,chapter  
,,xxix  ,,the ,,development ,,of        
,,marriage       7,deals with the       
sex-relationship1 its meaning and its   
history1 the      stages of its         
development in human society47   ,what1 
in the most elemental form1 is sex8 ,it 
is a difference of function which makes 
it necessary for two organisms to take  
part in the reproduction of the species4
 ,the purpose1 or at any rate the       
effect1 of this sex difference is the   
mixing of characteristics and qualities4
 ,if the sex relationship were          
unnecessary to reproduction1 variations 
might begin1 and be propagated and      
carried to extremes in one line of      
inheritance1 without ever affecting the 
rest of the species4 ,very soon there   
would be no species1 or rather an       

infinity of them2 each line of descent  
would fly apart1 and become a group all 
by itself4 ,you have perhaps heard      
people comment on the fact that blondes 
so frequently prefer brunettes1 and that
 tall men are apt to marry short women1 
and vice versa4 ,this is perhaps        
nature's way of keeping the type        
uniform1 of spreading qualities widely  
and testing them thoroughly4 ,nature is 
continually trying out the powers of    
every individual in every species1 and  
by the process of sexual selection she  
chooses1 for the reproduction of the    
species1 the individuals which are best 
fitted for survival4 ,this1 of course1  
refers to nature1 considered apart from 
man4 ,in human society1 as ,i shall     
presently show1 sexual selection has    
been distorted1 and partly suppressed4  
,sex differentiation and sexual         
selection exist almost universally      
throughout the animal and vegetable     
kingdoms1 everywhere save in the lowest 
forms of being4 ,they take strange and  

startling forms1 and like everything    
else in nature manifest amazing         
ingenuity4 ,people who wish to prove    
this or that about human sex relations  
will advance arguments from nature2 but 
as a matter of fact we can learn nothing
 whatever from nature1 except her       
determination to preserve the products  
of her activity and to keep them up to  
standard4 ,sometimes nature will give   
the precedence in power1 speed and      
beauty to the male1 and sometimes to the
 female4 ,she is perfectly ruthless1 and
 willing in the accomplishment of her   
purpose to destroy the individuals of   
either sex4 ,she will content the most  
rabid feminist by causing the female    
spider to devour her mate when his      
purpose has been accomplished2 or by    
causing the male bee to fall from his   
mating in the air1 a disemboweled shell4
  ,as for man1 he has won his supremacy 
over nature by his greater power to     
combine in groups2 by his more intense  
gregarious1 or herd instincts1 which    

enabled him to fight and destroy        
creatures which would have exterminated 
him if he had fought them alone4 ,so in 
primitive society everywhere1 we find   
that the individual is subordinated to  
the group1 and the folkways give but    
little heed to personal rights4 ,very   
thorough investigations have been made  
into the life of primitive man in many  
parts of the world1 and the             
anthropologists are now arguing over the
 exact meaning of the data4 ,we shall   
not here attempt to decide among them1  
but rest content with the statement that
 communism and tribal ownership is a    
widespread social form among primitive  
man1 so much so as to suggest that it is
 an early stage in social evolution4    
,and this communism includes1 not merely
 property1 but sex4 ,in the very        
earliest days there was often no barrier
 whatever to the sex relationship2 not  
even between brothers and sisters1 nor  
between parents and children4 ,in fact1 
we find savages who do not know that the

 sex relationship has anything to do    
with procreation4 ,but as knowledge     
increases1 sex tabus develop1 some wise1
 and some foolish4 ,from causes not     
entirely clear1 but which we discuss in 
,chapter ,,xlviii1 there gradually      
evolves a widespread form of sex        
relationship of primitive man1 the      
system of the gens1 as it is called4    
,this is the ,latin word for family1 but
 it does not mean family in the narrow  
sense of mother and father and children1
 but in the broad sense of all those who
 have blood relationship1 however far   
removed--uncles and aunts and cousins1  
as far as memory can trace4 ,in         
primitive communism a man is not        
permitted to enter into the sex         
relationship with a woman of the same   
gens1 but with all the women of some    
other gens4 ,it is difficult for us to  
imagine a society in which all the men  
named ,jones would be married to all the
 women named ,smith2 but that was the   
way whole races of mankind lived for    

many thousands of years4  ,in that      
primitive communist society1 the woman  
was generally the equal of the man4 ,it 
is true that she did the drudgery of the
 camp1 but the man1 on the other hand1  
faced the hardships of battle and the   
chase on land and sea4 ,the woman was as
 big as the man1 and except when        
handicapped by pregnancy1 as strong as  
the man2 she was as much respected1 if  
not more so4 ,her children bore her     
name1 and were under her control1 and   
she was accustomed to assert herself in 
all affairs of the tribe4 ,in ,frederick
 ,o',brien's ,white ,shadows in the     
,south ,seas1 you may read a comical    
story of a journey this traveler made   
into the interior of one of the cannibal
 islands4 ,everywhere he was treated    
with courtesy and hospitality1 but was  
embarrassed by continual offers from    
would-be wives4 ,in one case a powerful 
cannibal lady1 whose advances he        
rejected1 picked him up and proceeded to
 carry him off1 and he was quite        

helpless in her grasp2 he might have    
been a cannibal husband today1 if it had
 not been for the intervention of his   
fellow travelers4  ,the basis of this   
sex equality under primitive communism  
is easy to understand4 ,all goods       
belonged to the tribe1 and were shared  
alike according to need4 ,children were 
the tribe's most precious possession2   
therefore the woman suffered little     
handicap from having a child to bear and
 feed4 ,primitive woman would bear her  
child by the roadside1 and pick it up in
 her arms1 and continue her journey2 and
 when she needed food1 she did not have 
to beg for it--if there was food for    
anyone1 there was food for her and her  
child4 ,she did her share of the        
gathering and preparing of food1 because
 that was the habit and law of her      
being2 she had energies1 and had never  
heard of the idea of not using them4    
,this primitive communism generally     
disappears as the tribe progresses4 ,we 
cannot be sure of all the stages of its 

disappearance1 or of the causes1 but in 
a general way we can say that it gives  
way before the spread of slavery4 ,in   
the beginning primitive man does not    
have any slaves1 he does not have       
sufficient foresight or self-restraint  
for that4 ,when he kills his enemies in 
battle1 he builds a fire and roasts     
their flesh and eats them2 and those    
whom he captures alive1 he binds fast   
and takes with him1 to be sacrificed to 
his voodoo gods4 ,but as he comes to    
more settled ways of living1 and as the 
tribe grows larger1 it occurs to the    
chiefs in battle that the captives would
 be glad to give their labor in return  
for their lives1 and that it would be   
convenient to have some people to do the
 hard and dirty work4 ,so gradually     
there comes to be a class at the bottom 
of society1 and another class at the    
top4 ,those who capture the slaves and  
keep them at work lay claim to the      
products of their labor--at first better
 weapons and personal adornments1 then  

separate homes for the chiefs and       
priests1 separate gardens1 separate     
flocks and herds1 and--what more        
natural8--separate women4  ,this process
 becomes complete when the tribe settles
 down to agriculture1 and the ruling    
classes take possession of the land4    
,when once the land is privately owned1 
classes are fixed1 and class            
distinctions become the most prominent  
fact in society4 ,and step by step as   
this happens1 we see women beaten down1 
from the position of the cannibal lady1 
who could ask for the man she wanted and
 carry him off by force if necessary1 to
 the position of the modern woman1 who  
is physically weak1 emotionally         
unstable1 economically dependent1 and   
socially repressed4 ,you may resent such
 phrases1 but all you have to do is to  
read the laws of civilized countries1   
written into the statute books by men to
 define the rights and duties of women2 
you will see that everywhere1 before the
 recent feminist revolt1 women were     

classified under the law with children  
and imbeciles4  ,maternity imposes on   
woman a heavy burden1 and before the    
discovery of birth control1 a burden    
that is continuous4 ,for nine months she
 carries the child in her body1 and then
 for a year or two she carries it in her
 arms1 or on her back2 and by that time 
there is another child1 and this        
continues until she is broken down4     
,having this burden1 she cannot possibly
 compete with the unburdened male for   
the possession of property4 ,so wherever
 there is economic competition2 wherever
 certain individuals or classes in the  
tribe or group are allowed to seize and 
hold the land2 wherever the products of 
labor cease to be the community         
property1 and become private property1  
the objects of economic strife2 then    
inevitably and by natural process1 woman
 comes to be placed among those who     
cannot protect themselves--that is1     
among the children and the imbeciles and
 the slaves4 ,of course1 some children  

are well cared for1 and so are some     
imbeciles1 and some slaves1 and some    
women4 ,but they are cared for as a     
matter of favor1 not as a matter of     
their own power4 ,they proceed no longer
 as the cannibal lady1 but by adopting  
and cultivating the slave virtues1 by   
making themselves agreeable to their    
masters1 by flattering their masters'   
vanity and sensuality--in other words by
 exercising what we are accustomed to   
call feminine charm4  ,from early       
barbaric society up to the present day1 
we observe that there are classes of    
women1 just as there are classes of men4
 ,the position of these classes changes 
within certain limits1 but in broad     
outline the conditions are fixed1 and   
may be easily defined4 ,there is1 first 
of all1 the ruling class woman4 ,she    
must have birth2 she may or may not have
 wealth1 according as to whether the    
laws of that society or tribe permit her
 to have possessions of her own1 or to  
inherit anything from her parents4 ,if  

she has no wealth1 then she will need   
beauty4 ,she is the woman who is        
selected by the ruling class man to bear
 his name and his children1 and to have 
charge of the household where these     
children are reared1 and trained for the
 inheriting of their father's wealth and
 the carrying on of his position4 ,this 
confers upon the ruling class woman     
great dignity1 and makes her a person of
 responsibility4 ,she rules1 not merely 
over the slaves of the household1 but   
over men of inferior social classes1 and
 in a few cases an exceptionally able   
woman has become a queen1 and ruled over
 men of her own class4 ,this ruling     
class woman has been known through all  
the ages by a special name1 and the ways
 and customs regarding her have been    
studied in an entertaining book1 ,the   
,lady1 by ,emily ,james ,putnam4  ,next 
in privilege and position to the lady is
 the mistress1 the woman who is selected
 by the ruling class man1 not primarily 
to bear his children1 but to entertain  

and divert him4 ,she may1 of course1    
bear children also4 ,in barbaric        
societies1 and up to quite recent times1
 the importance of the ruling class man 
was indicated by the number of          
concubines he had1 and the position of  
these women was hardly inferior to that 
of the wife or queen4 ,in the days of   
the ,french monarchy1 the king's        
mistress was frequently more important  
than the queen2 she was a woman of      
ability1 maintaining her supremacy in   
the intrigues of the court4 ,in ancient 
,greek society1 the hetairae were a     
recognized class1 and ,aspasia1 the     
mistress of ,pericles1 was the most     
brilliant and most conspicuous woman in 
,athens4 ,in modern ,france1 the        
position of the mistress is recognized  
by the phrase demi-monde1 or half-world4
 ,the ,american plutocracy has developed
 upon a superstructure of ,puritanism1  
and therefore1 in ,america1 hypocrisy is
 necessary4 ,but in the great cities of 
,america1 the vast majority of the      

ruling class men keep mistresses before 
marriage1 and a great many keep them    
afterwards2 and these mistresses are    
coming to be more and more openly       
flaunted1 and to acquire more and more  
of what is called social position4 ,it  
is possible now in the smart set for a  
lady to accept the status of mistress1  
delicately veiled1 without losing caste 
thereby1 and actresses and other free   
lance women who got their start in life 
by taking the position of mistress1 are 
coming more and more to be recognized as
 ladies1 and to be received into what   
are called the best circles4  ,there    
remains to be considered the position of
 the lower class women4 ,in barbarous   
society these women were very little    
different from slaves4 ,they had no     
rights of their own1 except such rights 
as their master man chose to allow them 
for his own convenience4 ,they were sold
 in marriage by their parents1 and they 
went where they were sold1 and obeyed   
their new master4 ,they became his      

household drudges1 and reserved their   
affections for him2 if they failed to do
 this1 he stoned them to death1 or      
strangled them with a cord and tied them
 in a sack and threw them into the      
river4  ,and1 of course1 the rights of  
the master man yielded to the rights of 
men of higher classes4 ,the king or     
nobleman could take any woman he wished 
at any time1 and he made laws to this   
effect and enforced them4 ,in feudal    
society the lord of the manor claimed   
the right of the first night with the   
wives of his serfs2 this was one of the 
ruling class privileges which was       
abolished in the ,french revolution4    
,wherever the ,french revolution did not
 succeed in affecting land tenure1 the  
right of the land owner to prey upon his
 tenant girls continues as a custom1    
even though it is not written in the    
law1 and would be denied by the         
hypocritical4 ,it prevails in ,poland1  
as you may discover by reading          
,sienkiewicz's ,whirlpools2 it prevails 

in ,england1 as you may discover from   
,hardy's ,tess of the d',urbervilles4   
,you will find that it prevails in every
 part of the world where women have     
poverty and men have wealth and         
prestige1 dress suits and automobiles4  
,you will find it wherever there are    
leisure class hotels1 or colleges1 or   
other gatherings of ruling class young  
males4 ,you will find it in the         
theatrical and moving picture worlds4   
,it is well understood in the theatrical
 world of ,broadway that the woman star 
in the profession gets her start in life
 by becoming the mistress of a manager  
or angel4 ,in the moving picture world  
of ,southern ,california it is a        
recognized convention1 known to everyone
 familiar with the business1 that a     
young girl parts with her virtue in     
exchange for an important job4          
,,chapter ,,xxx  ,,sex ,,and ,,young    
,,america       7,discusses present-day 
sex arrangements1 as they affect the    
future      generation47   ,our first   

task is to consider how people actually 
behave in the matter of sex--as         
distinguished from the way they pretend 
to behave4 ,the first and most necessary
 step in the cure of any disease is a   
correct diagnosis1 and in this case we  
have not merely to make the diagnosis1  
but to prove it2 because the most       
conspicuous fact about our present      
sex-arrangements is a mass of organized 
concealment4 ,not merely do teachers and
 preachers for the most part suppress   
all mention of these subjects2 but the  
defenders of our present economic       
disorder are accustomed to acclaim the  
private property regime as the only     
basis of family life4 ,so long as people
 hold such an idea1 there is no use     
trying to teach them anything on the    
subject4 ,there is no use talking to    
them about monogamous love1 because all 
they understand is hypocrisy4 ,in this  
chapter1 therefore1 we shall proceed to 
hold up the mirror in front of          
capitalist morality4  ,i pause and      

consider3 ,where shall ,i begin8 ,at the
 top of society1 or at the bottom8 ,with
 the city or the country8 ,with the old 
or the young8 ,i think you care most of 
all about your boys and girls1 so ,i am 
going to tell you what is happening to  
the youth of ,america in these days of  
triumphant reaction4  ,i have a son1    
about whom naturally ,i think a great   
deal2 just now he is a student at one of
 our state universities1 and he wrote me
 the other day3 ,i went to a dance1 and 
believe me1 father1 if you knew what    
these modern dances mean1 you would     
write something about them4 ,i know what
 they mean4 ,they have come to us       
straight from the brothels of the       
,argentine1 among the vilest haunts of  
vice in the world4 ,others have come    
from the jungle1 where they were        
natural4 ,the poor creature of the      
jungle has his sex-desire and nothing   
else2 he is not troubled with brains1 he
 does not have a complicated social     
organism to build up and protect1       

consequently he does not need what are  
called morals4 ,but we civilized people 
need morals1 and we are losing them1 and
 our society is disintegrating1 going   
back to the howling and fighting and    
cannibalism of the jungle4  ,prof4      
,william ,james1 ,america's greatest    
psychologist1 tells us that going       
through the motions appropriate to an   
emotion automatically causes that       
emotion to be felt4 ,if you watch an    
actor preparing to rush on the stage in 
an emotional scene1 you will see him    
walking about1 clenching his fists1     
stamping his feet1 making ferocious     
faces1 working himself up4 ,and now1    
what do you think is going on in the    
minds of young men and women1 while with
 their bodies they are going through    
procedures which are nothing and can be 
nothing but imitations of sexual        
contact8  ,the parents1 it appears1 are 
ignorant and unsophisticated1 and have  
left it for the children to find out    
what these dances mean4 ,in ,rhode      

,island1 one of our oldest states1 is   
,brown ,college1 chosen by ,new         
,england's aristocracy for the education
 of its sons2 and these boys go to      
social affairs in the best homes in     
,providence1 and they call them         
petting-parties4 ,and here is what they 
write in their college paper3  ,the     
modern social bud drinks1 not too much1 
often1 but enough4 ,she smokes          
unguardedly1 swears considerably1 and   
tells 'dirty' stories4 ,all in all1 she 
is a most frivolous1 passionate1        
sensation-seeking little thing4  ,this  
statement1 published in a college paper1
 causes a scandal1 and a newspaper      
reporter goes to interview the college  
boy who edits the paper1 and this boy   
talks4 ,he tells how he met a lovely    
girl at a dance1 and his heart was      
thrilled with the rapture of young love4
 ,frankly1 between you and me1 ,i was   
pretty smitten with this particular     
little lady4 ,felt about her1 don't you 
know1 like a real guy feels about the   

girl he could imagine himself married   
to4 ,thought she was too nice to touch1 
almost2 you know the grave sort of love 
affair a man always has once in a       
lifetime4 ,well1 we walked a bit1 and ,i
 guess ,i didn't say much1 for a while4 
,i felt plenty--respectfully--just the  
same4 ,and as we turned the corner of   
one of the buildings here1 she grasped  
my hand4 ,hers was trembling4 ',love and
 let love is my motto1 dearie1' said    
this seraph of my dreams2 'come1 we're  
losing a lot of time getting started4'  
,that girl thought ,i was dead slow4    
,she didn't know that just then ,i      
imagined the great love of my life was  
just entering the door4 ,it was cruel   
the way she got down from the pedestal  
,i had built for her4  ,suppose ,i      
should ask you to name the influence    
that is having most to do with shaping  
the thoughts of young ,america--what    
would you answer8 ,undoubtedly1 the     
moving pictures4 ,it is from the movies 
that your children learn what life is2  

if ,i can show you that a certain thing 
is in the movies1 you can surely not    
deny that it is passing every day and   
night into the hearts and minds of      
millions of our boys and girls4 ,take a 
vote among the girls1 what would they   
consider the most delightful destiny in 
life2 surely nine out of ten would      
answer1 to become a screen star1 and    
pose before a world of admirers1 and be 
paid a million dollars a year4 ,make a  
test and see2 and put that fact together
 with the one ,i have already stated1   
that in order to get an important job in
 the movies1 a girl must regularly and  
as a matter of course part with her     
virtue4  ,you will be told1 no doubt1   
that this is a slanderous statement1 so 
let me give you a little evidence4 ,i   
happened within the past year to be in  
the private office of a well known      
moving picture producer1 a man who is   
married1 and takes care to tell you that
 he loves his wife4 ,he was producing a 
play1 the heroine of which was supposed 

to be a daughter of ,puritan ,new       
,england4 ,to play this part he had     
engaged a chaste girl1 and as a result  
was in the midst of a queer trouble1    
which he poured out to me4 ,his leading 
man had refused to act with this girl1  
insisting that no girl could act a part 
of love unless she had had passionate   
experience2 no such thing had ever been 
heard of in moving pictures before4     
,likewise1 the director agreed that no  
girl who is chaste could act for the    
screen1 and the producer asked my advice
 about it4 ,mr4 ,william ,allen ,white1 
of ,kansas1 was present in the office1  
and authorizes me to state that he      
substantiates this anecdote4 ,we both   
advised the producer to stand by the    
girl1 and he did so2 and the picture    
went out1 and proved to be what in trade
 parlance is termed a frost2 that is to 
say1 your children didn't care for it1  
and it cost the producer something like 
a hundred thousand dollars to make this 
attempt to defy the conventions of the  

moving picture world4  ,i will tell you 
another story4 ,i have a friend1 a      
prominent man in ,los ,angeles1 who was 
appealed to by a young lady who wished  
to act in the movies4 ,my friend        
introduced this young lady to a very    
prominent screen actor1 who in turn     
introduced her to one of the biggest    
producers in ,america1 one of the men   
whose million dollar feature pictures   
are regularly exploited4 ,the producer  
examined the young lady's figure1 and   
told her that she would do2 he added1   
quite casually1 and as a matter of      
course1 that she would be expected to   
pay the price4 ,the young lady took     
exception to this proposition1 and gave 
up the chance4 ,she told my friend about
 it1 and he1 being a man of the world1  
accustomed to dealing with the foibles  
of his fellowmen1 wrote a note to the   
actor1 explaining that inasmuch as this 
young lady had been socially introduced 
to him1 and by him socially introduced  
to the manager1 she should not have been

 expected to pay the price4 ,to this the
 actor answered that my friend was      
correct1 and he would see the manager   
about it4 ,the manager conceded the     
point1 and the young lady got her chance
 in the movies and made good without    
paying the price4 ,this story tells you 
all you need to know about the          
difference in sex ethics that society   
applies to the lady and to the daughter 
of the common people4  ,you know1 of    
course1 what is the stock theme of all  
moving pictures--the virtuous daughter  
of the people1 who resists all          
temptations1 and is finally rescued from
 her would-be seducer by the strong and 
sturdy arm of a male doll4 ,could one   
ask a more perfect illustration of      
capitalist hypocrisy than the fact that 
the girl who plays this role is required
 to pay with her virtue for the         
privilege of playing it6 ,and if you    
know anything about young girls1 you can
 watch her playing it on the screen1 and
 see from her every gesture that what ,i

 am telling you is true4 ,my wife knows 
young girls1 and ,i took her1 the other 
day1 to see a moving picture4 ,she said3
 ,i have solved a problem4 ,when ,i come
 home on the street-cars1 it happens    
that ,i ride with a lot of young girls  
from the high school4 ,i have been      
watching them1 and ,i couldn't imagine  
what was the matter with them4 ,all     
simple1 girlish straightforwardness is  
gone out of them2 they are making eyes1 
in the strangest manner--and at nobody2 
just practicing1 apparently4 ,they wear 
yearning facial expressions2 when they  
start to walk1 they do not walk1 but    
writhe and wiggle4 ,i thought there must
 be some nervous eye and lip disease got
 abroad in the school4 ,but now1 when ,i
 go to a moving picture1 ,i discover    
what it means4 ,they are imitating the  
'stars' on the screen6  ,in these       
pictures1 you know1 there are ingenues1 
young girls engaged in making a happy   
ending to the story by capturing a rich 
lover2 and then there are vamps1 engaged

 in seducing young men1 or breaking up  
some happy home4 ,in old-style melodrama
 it was possible to tell the ingenue    
from the vamps2 the former would trip   
lightly1 and glance coyly out of the    
corners of her eyes1 while the vamp     
moved with slow1 languished writhing1   
blinking heavy-lidded1 sinister eyes4   
,but now-a-days the vamps have learned  
to pose as ingenues1 and the ingenues   
are as vicious as the vamps2 they both  
make the same glances1 and culminate in 
the same sensual swoon4 ,it is all sex1 
and nothing else--except revolvers and  
fighting1 and wild rushing about4  ,and 
then1 too1 there are the musical        
comedies1 made wholly out of sex1 being 
known as girl shows1 or more frankly    
still1 leg shows4 ,a row of half naked  
women1 prancing and gyrating on the     
stage1 and in front of them rows of     
bald-headed old men1 gazing at them     
greedily2 also college boys1 or boys too
 imbecile to get through college1       
sending in their cards with boxes of    

costly flowers4 ,you will be shocked as 
you read my plain statements of fact1   
but if you are the average ,american1   
you will take your family to a musical  
show which has come straight from the   
brothels of ,paris1 every allusion of   
which is obscene4 ,i remember once being
 in a small town in the ,south1 when one
 of these road shows arrived from ,new  
,york1 and ,i realized that this        
institution was simply a traveling house
 of ill fame2 the whole male portion of 
the town was a-quiver with excitement1 a
 mixture of lust and fear4  ,i live in  
,southern ,california1 one of many      
places in ,america where the idle rich  
gather for their diversion4 ,the country
 is dotted with palatial hotels1 and a  
golden flood of pleasure-seekers come in
 every winter4 ,i have talked with some 
of the college boys in this part of the 
country1 and also with teachers who try 
to save the boys2 they report these     
swell hotels as hot-beds of vice1       
haunted by married women with           

automobiles1 and nothing to do1 who wish
 to go into the canyons for sexual      
riots4 ,even elderly women1 white-haired
 women1 old enough to be your           
grandmother6 ,i have had them pointed   
out to me in these hotels1 their cheeks 
and lips covered with rouge1 with pink  
silk tights on their calves1 and nothing
 else almost up to their knees and      
nothing at all half way down their      
backs4 ,these old women seek to prey on 
boys1 wanting their youth1 and being    
willing to lavish money upon them4 ,they
 are preying on your boys--you          
prosperous business men1 who have       
preached the gospel of each for himself1
 and are proud of your skill to prey    
upon society4 ,you heap up your         
fortunes1 and call it success1 and are  
secure and happy4 ,you have made your   
children safe against want1 you think2  
but how are you going to make them safe 
against the vamps who prey upon the     
overwhelming excitements of youth1 and  
betray your sons before your very       

eyes--teaching them lust in their youth1
 so that love may never be born in their
 stunted hearts8 ,all the haunts of     
gilded vice are thriving1 and somebody's
 boy is paying the interest on the      
capital1 to say nothing of paying the   
police4  ,many years ago ,i paid a call 
upon ,anthony ,comstock1 head of the    
,society for the ,prevention of ,vice4  
,comstock was an old-style ,puritan1 and
 many insist that he was likewise an    
old-style grafter4 ,however that may be1
 he had a collection of the literature  
of pornography which would cause any man
 to hesitate in condemning his          
activities4 ,there is a vast traffic in 
this kind of thing2 it is sold by       
pack-peddlers all over the country1 and 
it is sold in little shops in the       
neighborhood of public schools4 ,you may
 be sure that in your school there are  
some boys who know where to get it1 even
 though they will not tell what they    
know4 ,i will describe just one piece   
that a school boy brought to me1 a      

catalogue of obscene literature1 for    
sale in ,spain1 and to be ordered       
wholesale4 ,you know how men with wares 
to sell will expend their imaginations  
and exhaust their vocabulary in         
describing to you the charms of each    
particular article for sale4 ,here was a
 catalogue of one or two hundred pages1 
listing thousands of items1 pictures1   
pamphlets and books1 and various        
implements of vice1 all set forth in    
that imitation ecstasy of department    
stores and seed catalogues3 here was    
something neat1 here was a fancy one1   
this one was a peach1 and that one was a
 winner4  ,when ,i was a lad1 ,i was    
tramping in the ,adirondack mountains   
and was picked up by an itinerant       
photographer4 ,we rode all day together1
 and he became friendly1 and showed me  
some obscene pictures4 ,presently he    
discovered that he was dealing with a   
young moralist1 and apparently it was   
the first time he had ever had that     
experience2 he talked honestly1 and we  

became friends on a different basis4    
,this man had a wife and children at    
home1 but he traveled all over the      
mountains1 and was like the sailor with 
a girl in every port4 ,also he was      
thoroughly familiar with all forms of   
unnatural vice1 and took this also as a 
matter of course1 and spread it on his  
journeys4  ,the other day ,i read a     
statement by a prominent physician in   
,new ,york2 he had been talking with a  
police captain1 and had asked him to    
state what in his opinion was the most  
significant development in the social   
life of ,new ,york4 ,the answer was1    
,the spread of male prostitution4 ,here 
is a subject to which ,i have to admit  
my courage is unequal4 ,i cannot repeat 
the jokes which ,i have heard young men 
tell about these matters1 and about the 
attitude of the police to them4 ,suffice
 it to say that these hideous forms of  
vice are now the commonplace of the     
under-world of all our great cities4    
,the other day a friend of mine was     

talking with a prostitute who had left a
 high-class resort1 where the price     
charged was ten dollars1 and gone to    
live in a fifty-cent house1 frequented  
by sailors4 ,she was asked the reason1  
and her explanation was1 ,the sailors   
are natural4 ,dr4 ,william ,j4 ,robinson
 has written in his magazine an account 
of the haunts in ,berlin which are      
frequented by the victims of unnatural  
vice1 there allowed to meet openly and  
to solicit4 ,frank ,harris1 in his ,life
 of ,oscar ,wilde1 tells how when that  
scandal was at its height1 and further  
exposure threatened1 swarms of the most 
prominent men in ,england suddenly      
discovered that it was advisable for    
them to travel on the ,continent4 ,the  
great public schools of ,england are    
rotten with these practices2 the younger
 boys learn them from the older ones1   
and are victims all the rest of their   
lives4 ,and the corruption is creeping  
through our own social body--and you    
think that all you have to do is not to 

know about it6  ,my friend ,floyd ,dell1
 reading this manuscript1 insists that  
this chapter and the one following are  
too severe4 ,in case others should agree
 with him1 ,i quote two newspaper items 
which appear while ,i am reading the    
proofs4 ,the first is from an interview 
with ,h4 ,gordon ,selfridge1 the ,london
 merchant1 telling his impressions of   
,america4 ,he tells about the flappers1 
and then about the shifters4  ,the other
 is the newly exploited 'shifters4' ,the
 'shifters' are an organization of      
mushroom growth among high school girls 
and boys which is spreading through the 
eastern ,states and winning converts    
among youngsters4 ,it is described as   
the 'flapper ,ku ,klux1' and its emblem1
 if worn by a girl1 according to high   
school teachers and children's society  
leaders who oppose it1 to be nothing    
more nor less than an invitation to be  
kissed4  ,to call it an organization    
even is exaggeration1 for the 'shifters'
 are better described as a secret       

understanding without any responsible   
head4  ,from being a seemingly harmless 
group whose emblem was originally a     
brass paper clip fastened in the coat   
lapel it has developed by rapid strides4
 ,manufacturers of emblems are coining  
money by the sale of hands1 palm        
outstretched4 ,the significance is take 
what you want or1 as the motto of the   
order says1 'be a good fellow2 get      
something for nothing4' ,one of the     
principles is to 'do' one's parents1    
referred to as 'they4'  ,the second item
 is an ,associated ,press despatch3     
,,st4 ,,louis1 ,march #aj4--;,in        
reiterating his statement that a girls' 
and a boys' secret organization         
requiring that all applicants must have 
violated the moral code before admission
 was granted1 existed in a local high   
school1 ,victor ,j4 ,miller1 president  
of the ,board of ,police ,commissioners1
 tonight named the ,soldan ,high ,school
 as the one in which the alleged immoral
 conditions exist4 ,the school is       

attended largely by children of the     
wealthy ,west ,end citizens4            
,,chapter ,,xxxi  ,,sex ,,and ,,the     
,,smart ,,set       7,portrays the moral
 customs of those who set the fashion in
 our      present-day world47   ,we have
 discussed what is happening to our     
young people2 let us next consider what 
our mature people are doing4 ,having    
mentioned conditions in ,england1 ,i    
will give a glimpse of ,london high life
 two years before the war4  ,as a       
visiting writer1 ,i was invited to      
luncheon at the home of a woman         
novelist1 whose books at that time were 
widely read both in her country and     
here4 ,present at the luncheon was a    
prominent publisher1 who ,i afterwards  
learned was the lady's lover2 also the  
lady's grown and married son4 ,the      
publisher looked like a buxom hunting   
squire1 but the lady told me that he was
 very unhappy1 because his wife would   
not divorce him4 ,the lady had just come
 from a week-end party at the home of an

 earl1 who at this moment occupies one  
of the highest posts in the gift of the 
,british ,empire4 ,things had gone      
comically wrong at this country house   
party1 she said1 because the hostess had
 failed to remember that ,lord          
,so-and-so was at present living with   
,lady ,somebody-else4 ,one of the duties
 of hostesses at house parties1 it      
appears1 is to know who is living with  
whom1 in order that they may be put in  
connecting rooms4 ,in this case his     
,lordship had been grouchy1 and         
everybody's pleasure had been spoiled4  
,this produced a discussion of the      
subject of marriage1 and the son        
remarked that marriage was like an old  
slipper2 you wore it1 because you had   
got used to it1 but you did not talk    
about it1 because it was unimportant and
 stupid4 ,i went away1 and happened to  
mention these matters to a friend1 who  
had met this woman novelist in ,nice4   
,the novelist had there1 in a group of  
people1 been introduced to a young girl 

who was suffering from neurasthenia4 ,my
 dear1 said the novelist1               
affectionately1 what you need is to have
 an illegitimate baby4  ,this1 you will 
say1 is the old world1 and you always   
knew that it was corrupt4 ,if so1 let me
 tell you a few things that ,i have seen
 among the upper circles of our own     
great and virtuous democracy4 ,my first 
acquaintance with ,new ,york society    
came after the publication of ,the      
,jungle4 ,as the author of that book ,i 
was a sensation1 almost as much so as if
 ,i had won the heavy-weight            
championship of the world4 ,out of      
curiosity ,i accepted an invitation for 
a weekend amid what is called the       
hunting set of ,long ,island4 ,here was 
a gorgeous palace with many tapestries1 
and soft-footed servants1 and decanters 
and cocktails at every stage of one's   
journey about the place1 like coaling   
stations on the trade routes of the     
,british ,empire4 ,one of the first     
sights that caught my young eye was a   

large and stately lady in semi-undress1 
smoking a big black cigar4 ,if ,i were  
to mention her name1 every newspaper    
reader in ,america would know her2 and  
before ,i had been introduced to her1 ,i
 heard two young men in evening dress   
make an obscene remark about her1 and   
what she was waiting for that evening4  
,i discovered quickly that1 while there 
was a great deal of sex among these     
people1 there was very little love4     
,there was principally a wish to score  
cleverly and subtly at the expense of   
another person's feelings4 ,it is called
 the smart set1 you understand1 and ,i  
will give you an idea of how smart it   
is4 ,i was walking down a passage with a
 lady1 and on a couch sat another lady1 
side by side with a certain very famous 
lawyer1 whose golden eloquence you have 
probably listened to from platforms1 and
 whom for the purpose of this anecdote  
,i will name ,jones4 ,mr4 ,jones and the
 lady on the sofa were sitting very     
close together1 and my companion1 with a

 bright smile over her shoulder1 called 
out3 ,be careful1 ,mary2 you'll be      
scattering a lot of little ,joneses     
around here if you don't watch out6     
,quite continental1 you perceive2 and a 
long way from the ,puritanism of our    
ancestors6  ,from there ,i went to the  
billiard-room1 and observed a young man 
of fashion trying to play billiards when
 he was half drunk4 ,it was a funny     
spectacle1 and they took away his       
cigarette by force1 for fear he would   
drop it on the cloth of the billiard    
table4 ,pretty soon he was telling about
 a racing meet1 and an orgy with negro  
women in a stable4 ,therefore ,i        
returned to where the ladies were       
gathered1 and one middle-aged matron1   
who had read widely1 including some of  
my books1 engaged me in serious         
conversation4 ,i came later on to know  
her rather well1 and she told me her    
views of love2 the source of all the sex
 troubles of humanity was that they took
 the relationship seriously4 ,modern    

discoveries made it unnecessary to      
attach importance to it4 ,she herself1  
acting upon this theory1 probably had   
had relations with--my friends1 reading 
the proofs of this book1 beg me to omit 
the number of men1 because you would not
 believe me6  ,you may argue that this  
is not typical2 say that ,i fell into   
the clutches of some particular group of
 degenerates4 ,all ,i can tell you is   
that these people are as socially       
prominent as any in ,new ,york ,city4 ,i
 will say furthermore that ,i have sat  
in the home of the best known           
corporation lawyer in ,america1 who was 
paid a million dollars to organize the  
steel trust--the late ,james ,b4 ,dill1 
at that time a member of the ,court of  
,appeals of ,new ,jersey--and have heard
 him muck-rake his business friends by  
the hour with stories of that sort4 ,i  
have heard him tell of the steel crowd  
hiring a trolley car and a load of      
prostitutes and champagne1 and taking an
 all-night trip from one city to        

another1 smashing up both the car and   
the prostitutes4 ,i have heard him tell 
of sitting on the deck of a ,sound      
steamer1 and overhearing two of his     
,wall ,street associates and their wives
 arranging to trade partners for the    
night4  ,i have mentioned a lady who had
 a great many lovers4 ,once in the      
dining-room of a club on ,fifth ,avenue1
 commonly known as the ,millionaires'1 a
 companion pointed out various people1  
many of whom ,i had read about in the   
newspapers1 and told me funny stories   
about them4 ,see that old boy with a    
note-book1 said my host4 ,that is ,jacob
 ,so-and-so1 and he is entering up the  
cost of his lunch4 ,he keeps accounts of
 everything1 even of his women4 ,he told
 me he had had over a thousand1 and they
 had cost him over a million4  ,it is   
impossible to say what is the most      
terrible thing in capitalist society1   
but among the most terrible are         
assuredly the old men4 ,the richest and 
most powerful banker in ,america was in 

his sex habits the merry jest of ,new   
,york society4 ,he took toward women the
 same attitude as ,king ,edward ,,vii2  
if he wanted one1 he went up and asked  
for her1 and it made no difference who  
she was1 or where she was4 ,this man's  
personal living expenses were five      
thousand dollars a day1 and all women   
understood that they might have anything
 within reason4  ,when ,i was a boy1    
living in ,new ,york1 there was a       
certain aged money-lender about whom one
 read something in the newspapers almost
 every day4 ,he was a prominent figure1 
because he was worth eighty millions1   
yet wore an old1 rusty black suit1 and  
saved every penny4 ,every now and then  
you would read in the paper how some    
woman had been arrested for attempting  
to blackmail him in his office4 ,it     
seemed puzzling1 because you wouldn't   
think of him as a likely subject for    
blackmail4 ,some years later ,i met     
,dorothy ,richardson1 author of ,the    
,long ,day1 a very fine book which has  

been undeservedly forgotten4 ,miss      
,richardson had been a reporter for the 
,new ,york ,herald1 and had been sent to
 interview this old money-lender4 ,she  
was ushered into his private office1 and
 as soon as the attendant had gone out  
and closed the door1 the old man came   
up1 and without a word of preliminaries 
grabbed her in his arms like a gorilla4 
,she fought and scratched1 and got out1 
and was wise enough to say nothing about
 it2 therefore there was nothing        
published about another attempt to      
blackmail the aged money-lender6  ,what 
this means is that men of unlimited     
means live lives of unbridled lust1 and 
then in their old age they are helpless 
victims of their own impulses4 ,there   
was a certain enormously wealthy ,united
 ,states ,senator from ,west ,virginia1 
who came very near being ,vice          
,president of the ,united ,states4 ,this
 doddering old man would go about the   
streets of ,washington with a couple of 
very decorous and carefully trained     

attendants2 and whenever an attractive  
young woman would pass on the street1 or
 when one would approach the ,senator1  
these two attendants would quietly slip 
their arms into his and hold him fast4  
,they would do this so that the ordinary
 person would not suspect what was going
 on1 but would think the old man was    
being supported4  ,you do not have to   
take these things on my word2 the       
newspapers are full of them all the     
time1 and they are proven in court4     
,just now as ,i write1 the president of 
the most powerful bank in ,america is   
claiming in court that his children are 
not his own1 but that their father is an
 ,indian guide4 ,his wife1 on the other 
hand1 is accusing the banker of having  
played the role of husband to several   
other women4 ,he would take these women 
traveling on his yacht1 which1 quaintly 
enough1 was termed the ,modesty4  ,also 
the papers have been full of the ,hamon 
case4 ,here is a wealthy man1           
,republican ,national ,committeeman from

 ,oklahoma1 who is about to go to       
,washington to advise our new ,president
 whom to appoint to office from that    
state4 ,before he goes1 he casts off his
 mistress1 and she shoots him4 ,she was 
his secretary1 it appears1 and helped   
him to make his fortune2 she has made   
many friends1 and a million dollars is  
spent to save her life4 ,the prosecuting
 attorney calls her a painted snake1 and
 accuses her of having sat week after   
week displaying to the jury twenty-four 
inches of silk stockinged shin-bone4    
,the jury1 apparently unable to         
withstand this allurement1 acquits the  
woman1 and she announces that she       
intends to bring suit under the man's   
will to get his money6 ,also1 she is    
going into the movies1 and tells us that
 it is to be for educational purposes4  
,everything in our capitalist society   
must be educational1 you understand4 ,it
 was ,p4 ,t4 ,barnum who discovered that
 the ,american people would flock to    
look at a five-legged calf1 if it was   

presented as educational4  ,the moving  
pictures and the theatres are the       
honey-pots which gather the feminine    
beauty and youthful charm of our country
 for the convenience of rich men's lust4
 ,these girls swarm in the theatrical   
agencies1 and in the artists' studios2  
they starve for a while1 and finally    
they yield4 ,in every great city there  
are thousands of men of wealth1 whose   
only occupation is to prey upon such    
girls4 ,i know a certain theatrical     
manager1 the most famous in the ,united 
,states1 a sensual1 stout little ,jew4  
,he is a man of culture and subtle      
insight1 and in the course of his       
conversation he described to me1 quite  
casually and as a matter of course1 the 
charm of deflowering a virgin4 ,nothing 
could equal that sensation2 the first   
time was the last4  ,many years ago     
there was a horrible scandal in ,new    
,york4 ,the most famous architect in    
,america was murdered1 and the          
newspapers probed into his life1 and it 

was revealed to us that many of the most
 famous artists and men about town in   
,new ,york maintained elaborate studios1
 equipped with every luxury1 all the    
paraphernalia of all the vices of the   
ages2 and through these places there    
flowed an endless stream of beautiful   
young girls4 ,in every large city in    
,america you will find an athletic club1
 and if you go there and listen to the  
gossip1 you discover that there are     
scores of idle rich men with automobiles
 and private apartments1 and a staff of 
procurers used in preying1 not merely   
upon young girls1 but also upon young   
boys4 ,and these are not merely the     
children of the poor1 they are the      
children of all but the rich and        
powerful4 ,in the movies you see        
pictures of girls lured into            
automobiles1 and carried out into the   
country1 or seduced by means of         
knock-out drops1 and you think this is  
just melodrama2 but it is happening all 
the time4 ,in every big city of our     

country the police know that hundreds of
 young girls disappear every year4 ,at a
 recent convention of police chiefs in  
,washington1 it was stated1 from police 
records1 that sixty thousand girls      
disappear every year in the ,united     
,states1 leaving no trace4 ,unless the  
parents happen to be in position to make
 a fuss1 not even the names of the girls
 are published in the newspapers4 ,i do 
not ask you to believe such things on my
 word2 believe ,district ,attorney ,sims
 of ,chicago1 who made the most thorough
 study of this subject ever made in     
,america1 and wrote3  ,when a white     
slave is sold and landed in a house or  
dive she becomes a prisoner4444 ,in each
 of these places is a room having but   
one door1 to which the keeper holds the 
key4 ,here are locked all the street    
clothes1 shoes and ordinary apparel4444 
,the finery provided for the girls is of
 a nature to make their appearance on   
the street impossible4 ,then in addition
 to this handicap1 the girl is placed at

 once in debt to the keeper for a       
wardrobe4444 ,she cannot escape while   
she is in debt1 and she can never get   
out of debt4 ,not many of the women in  
this class expect to live more than ten 
years--perhaps the average is less4     
,many die painful deaths by disease1    
many by consumption1 but it is hardly   
beyond the truth to say that suicide is 
their general expectation4     ,,chapter
 ,,xxxii  ,,sex ,,and ,,the ,,poor      
7,discusses prostitution1 the extent of 
its prevalence1 and the      diseases   
which result from it47   ,it is manifest
 that the rich cannot indulge in vices1 
without drawing the poor after them2 and
 in addition to this1 the poor have     
their own evil instincts1 which fester  
in neglect4 ,there were several hundred 
thousand dark rooms1 that is rooms      
without light or ventilation1 in ,new   
,york ,city before the war4 ,now the    
country is reported to be short a       
million homes1 and in ,new ,york ,city  
working girls are sleeping six or eight 

in a room4 ,in the homes of the poor in 
the slums1 parents and children and     
boarders all sleep in one room          
indiscriminately1 and the world moves   
back to that primitive communism1 in    
which incest is an everyday affair1 and 
little children learn all the vices     
there are4 ,i have in my hand a pamphlet
 by a physician1 in charge of a hospital
 in ,new ,york1 who in fifteen years has
 examined nine hundred children who have
 been raped1 and the age of the youngest
 was eight months6 ,i have another      
pamphlet by a settlement worker1 who    
discusses the problem of the thousands  
of deserted wives1 most of them with    
children1 many with children yet unborn4
 ,as ,i write1 there are millions of men
 out of work in our country1 and these  
men are desperate1 and they quit and    
take to the road4 ,they join the army of
 the casual workers1 the blanket stiffs2
 and1 of course1 the more there are of  
these men1 the more prostitutes there   
have to be1 and the more homosexuality  

there will inevitably be4  ,also the    
girls are out of work1 and are on the   
streets4 ,many years ago ,i visited the 
mill towns of ,new ,england1 she-towns  
they are called1 and one of the young   
fellows said to me that you could buy a 
girl there for the price of a sandwich4 
,read ,the ,long ,day1 to which ,i have 
previously referred1 and see how our    
working girls live4 ,dorothy ,richardson
 describes her room-mate1 who read cheap
 novels which she found in the gutter   
weeklies4 ,she read them over and over2 
when she had got to the bottom of the   
pile1 she began again1 because her mind 
was so weak that she had forgotten      
everything4 ,and then one day ,miss     
,richardson happened to be groping in a 
corner of a closet1 and came upon a     
great pile of bottles1 and examined     
them1 and was made sick with            
horror--abortion mixtures4  ,dr4        
,william ,j4 ,robinson1 an authority on 
the subject1 estimates that there are   
one million abortions in the ,united    

,states every year4 ,some of these are  
accidental1 caused by venereal disease1 
but the vast majority are deliberate    
acts1 crimes under the law1 murder of   
human life4 ,dr4 ,robinson also         
estimates1 from the many thousands of   
cases which come to him1 that           
ninety-five per cent of all men have at 
some time practiced self-abuse4 ,he is a
 strenuous opponent of what he calls    
hysteria on the subject of venereal     
disease1 and insists that its prevalence
 is exaggerated2 that instead of one    
person in ten being syphilitic1 as is   
commonly stated1 the proportion is only 
one in twenty4 ,he insists that the     
percentage of persons having had        
gonorrhea is only twenty-five per cent1 
instead of seventy-five or eighty-five4 
,i find that other authorities generally
 agree in the statement that fifty per  
cent of young men become infected with  
some venereal disease before they reach 
the age of thirty4 ,the ,committee of   
,seven in ,new ,york estimated in #aijc 

that there were two hundred thousand    
cases of syphilis in the city1 and eight
 hundred thousand of gonorrhea4 ,there  
were villages in ,france before the war 
in which twenty-five per cent of the    
inhabitants were syphilitic1 and in     
,russia there were towns in which it was
 said that every person was syphilitic4 
,we may safely say that these latter are
 the only towns in ,europe in which     
there was not an enormous increase of   
this disease during and since the war4  
,what are the consequences of these     
diseases8 ,the consequences are         
frightful suffering1 not merely to      
persons guilty of immorality1 but to    
innocent persons4 ,dr4 ,morrow1         
generally recognized as the leading     
authority on this subject1 estimates    
that ten per cent of all wives are      
infected with venereal disease by their 
husbands2 he estimates that thirty per  
cent of all the infected women in ,new  
,york were wives who had got the disease
 from their husbands4 ,it is estimated  

that thirty per cent of all the births1 
where either parent has syphilis1 result
 in abortions4 ,it is estimated that    
fifty per cent of childlessness in      
marriage is caused by gonorrhea1 and    
twenty-five per cent of all existing    
blindness4 ,in ,germany1 before the war1
 there were thirty thousand persons born
 blind from this cause4 ,it is estimated
 that ninety-five per cent of all       
abdominal operations performed upon     
women are due to gonorrhea4 ,and any of 
these horrors may fall upon persons who 
lead lives of the strictest chastity4   
,there was a case reported in ,germany  
of #bcf children who contracted venereal
 disease from swimming in a public bath4
  ,all these things are products of our 
system of marriage-plus-prostitution4   
,they are all part of that system1 and  
no study of the system is complete      
without them4 ,everywhere throughout    
modern civilization prostitution is an  
enormous and lucrative industry4 ,in    
,new ,york it is estimated to give      

employment to two hundred thousand      
women1 to say nothing of the managers1  
and the runners1 and the men who live   
off the women4 ,there are thousands of  
resorts1 large and small1 high-priced   
and cheap1 and the police know all about
 it1 and derive a handsome income from  
it4 ,and you find it the same in every  
great city of the world2 in every port  
where sailors land1 or every place where
 crowds of men are expected4 ,if there  
is to be a football game1 or a political
 convention1 the managers of the        
industry know about it1 and while they  
may never have heard the libel that     
,socialism preaches sexual license1 they
 all know that capitalism practices it1 
and they provide the necessary means4   
,in the ,united ,states there are       
estimated to be a half a million        
prostitutes1 counting the inmates of    
houses alone4  ,during the late war1 at 
the army bases in ,france1 the ,british 
government maintained official brothels2
 but if you published anything about    

this in ,england1 you ran a chance of   
having your paper suppressed4 ,during   
the occupation of the ,rhine country1   
the ,french sent in negro troops1       
savages from the heart of ,africa1 whose
 custom it is to cut off the ears of    
their enemies in battle2 and the ,french
 army compelled the ,german population  
to supply white women for these troops4 
,i have quoted in ,the ,brass ,check a  
pious editorial from the ,los ,angeles  
,times1 bidding the mothers of ,america 
be happy1 because our boys in ,france   
were safe in the protecting arms of the 
,y4 ,m4 ,c4 ,a4 and the ,knights of     
,columbus4 ,i dared not publish at this 
time a passage which ,i had clipped from
 the ,london ,clarion1 in which ,a4 ,m4 
,thompson told how he watched the       
doughboys in the cafes of ,paris1 with a
 girl on each knee1 and a glass of wine 
in each hand4  ,i will add one little   
anecdote1 giving you a glimpse of the   
sex conventions of war4 ,the ,american  
army made desperate efforts to keep down

 venereal disease1 and required all men 
to report to their regimental surgeon   
immediately after having had sex        
relations4 ,our army moved into         
,coblentz1 and the regulations strictly 
forbade any fraternizing with the       
inhabitants4 ,but immediately it was    
discovered that there was an increase of
 disease1 and investigation was made1   
and revealed that men had been ceasing  
to report to the surgeons1 because they 
were afraid of being punished for having
 fraternized with the enemy4 ,so a new  
order was issued1 providing that having 
sexual intercourse would not be         
considered as fraternizing4 ,i do not   
know any better way to distinguish my   
ideal of morality from the military     
ideal1 than to say that according to my 
understanding of it1 the sex            
relationship should always and          
everywhere imply and include            
fraternizing4  ,finally1 in concluding  
this picture of our present-day sex     
arrangements1 there is a brief word to  

be said about divorce4 ,in the year     
#aiaf1 the last statistics available as 
,i write1 there were just over a million
 marriages in the ,united ,states1 and  
there were over one hundred and twelve  
thousand divorces4 ,this would indicate 
that one marriage in every nine resulted
 in shipwreck4 ,but as a matter of fact 
the proportion is greater1 because the  
marriages necessarily precede the       
divorces1 and the proportion of divorces
 in #aiaf should be calculated upon the 
number of marriages which took place    
some five or ten years previously4 ,of  
the one million marriages in #aiaf1 we  
may say that one in seven or one in     
eight will end in the divorce courts4   
,let this suffice for a glimpse of the  
system of marriage-plus-prostitution--a 
field of weeds which we have somehow to 
plow up and prepare for a harvest of    
rational and honest love6     ,,chapter 
,,xxxiii  ,,sex ,,and ,,nature          
7,maintains that our sex disorders are  
not the result of natural or            

physical disharmony47   ,elie           
,metchnikoff1 one of the greatest of    
scientists1 wrote a book entitled ,the  
,nature of ,man1 in which he studied the
 human organism from the point of view  
of biology1 demonstrating that in our   
bodies are a number of relics of past   
stages of evolution1 no longer useful1  
but rather a source of danger and harm4 
,we have1 for example1 in the inner     
corner of the eye a relic of that third 
eyelid whereby the eagle is enabled to  
look at the sun4 ,this is a harmless    
relic4 ,but we have also an appendix1 a 
degenerate organ of digestion1 or gland 
of secretion1 which now serves as a     
center of infection and source of       
danger4 ,we have likewise a lower bowel1
 a survival of our hay-eating days1 and 
a cause of autointoxication and         
premature death4 ,among the sources of  
trouble1 ,metchnikoff names the fact    
that the human male possesses a far     
greater quantity of sexual energy than  
is required for purposes of procreation4

 ,this becomes a cause of disharmony and
 excess1 it causes man to wreck his     
health and destroy himself4             
,manifestly1 this is a serious matter2  
for if it is true1 our efforts to find  
health and happiness in love are doomed 
to failure1 and ,lecky is right when he 
describes the prostitute as the guardian
 of virtue1 the eternal and necessary   
scapegoat of humanity4 ,but ,i do not   
believe it is true2 ,i think that here  
is one more case of the endless         
blundering of scientists and            
philosophers who attempt to teach       
physiology1 politics1 religion and law1 
without having made a study of          
economics4 ,i do not believe that the   
sex troubles of mankind are             
physiological in their nature1 but have 
their origin in our present system of   
class privilege4 ,i believe they are    
caused1 not by the blunders of nature1  
but by the blunders of man as a social  
animal4  ,let us take a glimpse at      
primitive man4 ,i choose the ,marquesas 

,islands1 because we have complete      
reports about them from numerous        
observers4 ,here was a race of people1  
not interfered with by civilization1 who
 manifested all that overplus of sexual 
energy to which ,metchnikoff calls      
attention4 ,they placed no restraint    
whatever upon sex activity1 they had no 
conception of such an idea4 ,their games
 and dances were sex play1 and so also1 
in great part1 was their religion4 ,yet 
we do not find that they wrecked        
themselves4 ,physically speaking1 they  
were one of the most perfect races of   
which we have record4 ,both the men and 
women were beautiful2 they were active  
and strong from childhood to old age1   
and--here is the significant thing--they
 were happy4 ,they were a laughing1     
dancing1 singing race4 ,they hardly knew
 grief or fear at all4 ,they knew how to
 live1 and they enjoyed every process   
and aspect of their lives1 just as      
children do1 naively and simply4 ,this  
included their sex life2 and ,i think it

 assures us that there can be no such   
fundamental physical disharmony in the  
human organism as the great ,russian    
scientist thought he had discovered4    
,is it not a fact that throughout nature
 a superfluity of any kind of energy or 
product may be a source of happiness1   
rather than of distress8 ,consider the  
singing of the birds6 ,or consider      
nature's impulse to cover a field with  
useless plants1 and how by a little     
cunning1 we are able to turn it into a  
harvest for our own use6 ,in the life of
 our bodies one may show the same thing 
again and again4 ,we have within us the 
possibility of and the impulse toward   
more muscular activity than our survival
 makes necessary2 but we do not regard  
this additional energy as a curse of    
nature1 and a peril to our lives--we    
turn out and play baseball4 ,we have an 
impulse to see more than is necessary1  
so we climb mountains1 or go traveling4 
,we have an impulse to hear more1 so we 
go to a concert4 ,we have an impulse to 

think more1 so we play chess1 or whist1 
or write books and accumulate libraries4
 ,never do we think of these activities 
as signs of an irrevocable blunder on   
the part of nature4  ,but about the     
activities of love we feel differently2 
and why is this8 ,if ,i say that it is  
because we have an unwholesome and      
degraded attitude toward love1 because1 
as a result of religious superstition we
 fear it1 and dare not deal with it     
honestly1 the reader may suspect that ,i
 am preparing to hint at some           
self-indulgence1 some form of sex orgy  
such as the turkey trot and the bunny   
hug and the grizzly bear1 the shimmy and
 the toddle and the cuddle4 ,i hasten to
 explain that ,i do not mean any of the 
abnormalities and monstrosities of      
present-day fashionable life4 ,neither  
do ,i mean that we should set out to    
emulate the happy cannibals in the      
,south ,seas4 ,in the ,book of the ,mind
 ,i set forth as carefully as ,i knew   
how1 the difference between nature and  

man1 the life of instinct and the life  
of reason4 ,it is my conviction that if 
civilized life is to go on1 there must  
be a far wider extension of judgment and
 self-control in human affairs2 our lost
 happiness will be found1 not by going  
back to nature1 but by going forward to 
a new and higher state1 planned by      
reason and impelled by moral idealism4  
,but we find ourselves face to face with
 horrible sex disorders1 and a great    
scientist tells us they are nature's    
tragic blunder1 of which we are the     
helpless victims4 ,manifestly1 the way  
to decide this question is to go to     
nature1 and see if primitive people1    
having the same physical organism as    
ours1 had the same troubles and spent   
their lives in the same misery4 ,if they
 did1 then it may be that we are doomed2
 but if they did not1 then we can say   
with certainty that it is not nature1   
but ourselves1 who have blundered4 ,our 
task then becomes to apply reason to the
 problem2 to take our present sex       

arrangements1 our field of bad-smelling 
weeds1 and plow it thoroughly1 and sow  
it with good seed1 and raise a harvest  
of happiness in love4 ,it is my belief  
that1 admitting true love--honest and   
dignified and rational love--it is      
possible to pour into it any amount of  
sex energy1 to invent a whole new system
 of beautiful and happy love play4      
,,chapter ,,xxxiv  ,,love ,,and         
,,economics       7,maintains that our  
sex disorders are of social origin1 due 
to the      displacing of love by money 
as a motive in mating47   ,if the cause 
of our sex disorders is not             
physiological1 what is it8 ,everything  
in nature must have a cause1 and this   
includes human nature1 the actions and  
feelings of men1 both as individuals and
 as groups4 ,we hear the saying3 ,you   
can't change human nature2 but the fact 
is that human nature is one of the most 
changeable things in the world4 ,we can 
watch it changing from age to age1 for  
better or for worse1 and if we had the  

intelligence to use the forces now at   
our command1 we could mold human nature1
 as precisely as a brewer converts a    
carload of hops into a certain brand of 
beer4 ,voltaire was author of the       
saying1 ,vice and virtue are products   
like vinegar4  ,our civilization is     
based upon industrial exploitation and  
class privilege1 the monopoly of the    
means of production and the natural     
sources of wealth by a group4 ,this     
enables the privileged group to live in 
idleness upon the labor of the rest of  
society2 it confers unlimited power with
 practically no responsibility--a strain
 which not one human being in a thousand
 has the moral strength to endure4      
,history for the past five thousand     
years is one demonstration after another
 that the conferring upon a class of    
power without responsibility means the  
collapse of that class and the downfall 
of its civilization4  ,so far as        
concerns the ruling class male1 what the
 system of privilege does is to give him

 unlimited ability to indulge his sex   
desires4 ,what it does for the female is
 to submit her to the male desires1 and 
to abolish that mutuality in sex1 that  
interaction between male and female     
influence1 which is the very essence of 
its purpose4 ,woman1 in a predatory     
society1 is subject to a double         
enslavement1 that of class as well as of
 sex1 and the result is the perverting  
of sexual selection1 and a constantly   
increasing tendency towards the survival
 of the unfit4  ,in a state of nature   
the males compete among themselves for  
the favor of the female4 ,the female is 
not raped1 nor is she kidnapped2 on the 
contrary1 she exercises her prerogative1
 she inspects the various male charms   
which are set before her1 and selects   
those which please her1 according to her
 deeply planted instincts4 ,the result  
is that the weak and unfit males seldom 
have a chance to reproduce themselves1  
and the procreating is done by the      
highest specimens of the type4  ,but now

 we have a world which is ruled by      
money1 in which opportunity1 and indeed 
survival1 depend upon money1 and the    
whole tendency of society is to make    
money standards supreme4 ,we do not like
 to admit this1 of course2 our instincts
 revolt against it1 and our higher      
faculties reinforce the revolt1 so we   
carefully veil our money motives1 and   
invent polite phrases to conceal them4  
,you will hear people deny it is money  
which determines admission into what is 
called society1 the intimate life of the
 ruling class4 ,they will tell you that 
it is not money1 it is good taste1      
refinement1 charm of personality1 and so
 on4 ,but if you analyze all these      
things1 you speedily discover that they 
are made out of money2 they are symbols 
of the possession of money1 devised by  
those who possess it1 as a means of     
keeping themselves apart from those who 
do not possess it4 ,i would safely defy 
a member of the ruling class to name a  
single element in what he calls         

refinement1 or good taste1 that is not  
in its ultimate analysis a symbol of the
 possession of money4 ,let it be the    
pronunciation of a word1 or the cut of a
 coat1 or the method of handling a      
fork--whatever it may be1 it is part of 
a code1 revealing that the person1 or   
more important yet1 the ancestors of the
 person1 have belonged to the leisure   
class1 and have had time and opportunity
 to learn to do things in a certain     
precise conventional way4 ,i say        
conventional1 for very frequently these 
tests have no relationship whatever to  
reality4 ,considered as a matter of     
common sense and convenience1 it is a   
great deal better to eat peas with a    
spoon than with a fork1 and to use both 
a knife and fork in eating lettuce2 but 
if you eat peas with a spoon1 or use a  
knife on lettuce1 every member of the   
ruling class will instantly know that   
you are an interloper1 as much so as if 
you took to throwing the china at your  
hostess4  ,our culture is a money       

culture1 our standards are money        
standards1 and our sex decisions are    
based upon money1 not upon love4 ,any   
man can have money in our society1      
provided the accident of birth favors   
him1 and it is everywhere known that any
 man who has money can get a wife4 ,it  
is certainly not true that any man with 
no money can get a wife1 and it is true 
that most men who have little money have
 to take wives who have less--that is1  
who belong to a lower class1 according  
to the world's standards4 ,the average  
young girl of the propertied classes is 
trained for marriage as for any other   
business4 ,she is taught to be sexually 
cold1 but to imitate sexual excitement  
deliberately1 so as to arouse it in the 
male1 and to keep herself surrounded    
with a swarm of males2 this being the   
basis of her prestige1 the factor which 
will cause the eligible man1 the catch1 
to desire her4 ,in polite society this  
proceeding is known as coquetry1 or     
charm1 and it would be no exaggeration  

to say that seventy-five per cent of all
 the novels so far written in the world 
are expositions of this activity2 also  
that when we go to the theater1 we go in
 order to watch and sympathize with     
these manifestations of pecuniary       
sexuality4  ,as a rule the young girl   
knows what she is doing1 but she is     
taught to camouflage it1 to preserve her
 innocence4 ,she would not dream of     
marrying for money2 she wants to marry  
something distinguished--that is to say1
 something which has received the stamp 
of approval from a world which approves 
money4 ,she wants to marry somebody who 
is elegant1 who is in good form2 she    
wants to marry without having to think  
about the horrid subject of money at    
all1 and so she is carefully chaperoned1
 and confined to a world where nothing  
but money is to be met4 ,in ,tennyson's 
poem1 ,the ,northern ,farmer1 the old   
fellow is coaching his son on the       
subject of marriage1 and they are       
driving along a road1 and the farmer    

listens to his horses' hoofs1 and they  
are saying1 ,proputty1 proputty1        
proputty6 ,the farmer sums up in one    
sentence the doctrine of pecuniary      
marriage as it is taught to the ruling  
class virgin3 ,doaen't thee marry for   
money1 but goae wheer money is4  ,in    
this process1 of course1 the ruling     
class virgin must spend a great deal of 
money in order to keep up her own       
prestige2 and when she is married1 she  
must spend it to keep up the prestige of
 her unmarried sisters1 and then of her 
children4 ,as a result of this1 the only
 ruling class males who can afford to   
marry are the rich ones4 ,there are     
always some who are richer1 and these   
are the most desirable2 so the tendency 
with each generation is to put the      
period of marriage further off2 the man 
has to wait until he has accumulated    
enough proputty to satisfy the girl of  
his desires--a girl whom he admires     
because of her pecuniary prestige4 ,he  
delays1 and meantime he satisfies his   

passions with the daughters of the poor4
 ,as a result of this1 when he does     
finally come to marry1 he is apt to be  
unlovely and unlovable4 ,the woman      
frequently does not love him at all1 but
 takes him cold-bloodedly because he is 
eligible2 in that case she is a cold and
 sexless wife4 ,or else1 after she has  
married him she discovers his           
unloveliness1 and either decides that   
all men are selfish brutes1 and         
reconciles herself to a celibate life1  
or else she goes out and preys upon the 
domestic happiness of other women4      
,,chapter ,,xxxv  ,,marriage ,,and      
,,money       7,discusses the causes of 
prostitution1 and that higher form of   
prostitution known as the marriage of   
convenience47   ,i realize that all     
these sex problems are complicated4     
,every case is individual1 and in no two
 cases can you give exactly the same    
explanation4 ,but it is my thesis that  
whatever the cause1 if you trace down   
the causes of the cause1 you will find  

economic inequality and class privilege4
 ,it is evident in the lives of the     
rich1 and it is even more evident in the
 lives of the poor1 who are not         
permitted the luxury of pretense4 ,the  
poor live in a world dominated by forces
 which they seldom understand1 subjected
 to enormous pressure which crushes and 
destroys them1 without their being able 
to see it or touch it4 ,in the world of 
the poor there is first of all poverty2 
there is insecurity of employment and   
insufficiency of wage1 and the daily and
 hourly terror of starvation and ruin4  
,above this is a world of power and     
luxury1 a wonderland of marvels and     
thrills1 seen through a colored mist of 
romance4 ,the working-class girl1 born  
to drudgery and perpetual child-bearing1
 has a brief hour in which her cheeks   
are red and her beauty is ripe2 and out 
of the heaven above her steps a male    
creature panoplied in the armor of      
ruling class prestige--that is to say1 a
 dress suit--and scattering about him a 

shower of automobile rides1 jewelry and 
candy and flowers4 ,she opens her arms  
to him2 and then1 when her brief hour of
 rapture is past1 she becomes the       
domestic drudge of some workingman1 or  
else the inmate of a brothel4  ,it is a 
custom of social workers and church     
people1 seeking data about these painful
 subjects1 to interview numbers of      
prostitutes1 and question them as to the
 causes of their fall2 so you read      
statistics to the effect that seventeen 
per cent of prostitution has an economic
 cause1 that twenty-six per cent is     
caused by love of finery1 etc4 ,these   
pious people1 employed by the ruling    
class to maintain ruling class prestige 
by demonstrating that wage slavery has  
nothing to do with white slavery1 attain
 their purpose by restricting the word  
economic to food and shelter2 forgetting
 that young girls do not live by bread  
alone1 but also by ribbons1 and silk    
stockings1 and moving picture shows1 and
 trips to ,coney ,island1 and everything

 else that gives a momentary escape from
 drudgery into joy4 ,we all understand1 
of course1 that the daughters of the    
rich are entitled to joy1 and we provide
 them with it as a matter of course2 but
 the daughters of the poor are supposed 
to work in a cotton mill ten or eleven  
hours a day from earliest childhood1 and
 the joy we provide for them is         
vicarious4 ,as a woman poet sets it     
forth3      ,the golf links lie so near 
the mill        ,that almost every day  
,the laboring children can look out     
,and see the men at play4  ,some years  
ago my wife and ,i were invited to meet 
,mrs4 ,mary ,j4 ,goode1 a keeper of     
brothels in the ,tenderloin1 who had    
revolted against the system of police   
graft1 and had exposed it in the        
newspapers4 ,my wife questioned her     
closely as to the psychology of people  
in her business1 and she insisted that  
the majority of prostitutes were not    
oversexed1 nor were they feeble minded2 
they were women who had loved and       

trusted1 and had been thrown down4 ,as  
,mrs4 ,goode phrased it1 they said to   
themselves3 ,never again6 ,after this1  
they'll pay6  ,as a matter of fact1 the 
causes of prostitution are so largely   
economic that the other factors are     
hardly worth mentioning4 ,the sale of   
sex is unknown in savage society1 and   
would be unknown in a ,socialist        
society4 ,if here and there some        
degenerate individual would rather sell 
her sex than do her share of honest     
labor in a free and just world1 such an 
individual would become a patient in the
 psychopathic ward of a public hospital4
 ,economic forces drive women to        
prostitution1 first1 by direct          
starvation1 and second1 by teaching them
 money standards of prestige1 the ideal 
of living without working1 which is the 
heaven achieved by the rich and longed  
for by the poor4 ,contributory to the   
process are policemen1 politicians1 and 
judges who protect the property of the  
rich1 and prey upon the disinherited2   

also newspaper editors1 college         
professors1 priests of ,god and         
preachers of ,jesus1 who attribute the  
social evil to original sin1 or the     
weakness of human nature4  ,so far as   
men are concerned1 economic forces      
operate by three main channels2 late    
marriage1 loveless marriage1 and        
drudgery in wives4 ,you will find       
patronizing and maintaining the brothels
 the following kinds of males2 first1   
young boys who have been taught that it 
is manly to gratify their sex impulses2 
second1 young men who take it for       
granted that they cannot afford to      
marry2 third1 old bachelors who have    
looked at marriage and decided that it  
is not a paying proposition2 fourth1    
married men who have been picked out for
 their money1 and have come to the      
conclusion that good women are          
necessarily sexless2 and finally1       
married men whose wives have lost the   
power to charm them by continuous       
childbearing1 and the physical and      

nervous strain of domestic slavery4     
,this latter applies not merely to the  
wives of the poor4 ,it applies to       
members of the middle classes1 and even 
of the richer classes1 because the job  
of managing many servants is often as   
trying as the doing of one's own work4  
,to explain how domestic drudgery is    
caused by economic pressure would       
require a little essay in itself4 ,the  
home is the place where the man keeps   
his sex property apart under lock and   
key1 and it is1 therefore1 the portion  
of our civilization least influenced by 
modern ideas4 ,women still drudge in    
separate kitchens and nurseries1 as they
 have drudged for thousands of years4   
,they cook their dinners over separate  
fires1 and have each their own little   
group of children1 generally ill cared  
for1 because the work is done by an     
untrained amateur4 ,moreover1 the       
prestige of this home has to be kept up1
 because the social position and future 
prosperity of the man depend upon it4   

,the children must be dressed in frilled
 and starched clothing1 which makes them
 miserable1 and wears out the tempers   
and pocketbooks of the mothers4 ,costly 
entertainments must be given1 and twice 
a day a meal must be prepared for the   
father of the family--all good wives    
have learned the ancient formula for the
 retention of masculine affections3     
,feed the brute6 ,living in a world of  
pecuniary prestige1 every particle of   
the woman's surplus energy must go into 
some form of ostentation1 into buying or
 making things which are futile and     
meaningless4 ,in such a blind world1    
dazed by such a struggle1 women become  
irritable1 they lose their sex charm1   
they forget all about love2 so the      
husband gives up hoping for the         
impossible1 accepts the common idea that
 love and marriage are incompatible1 and
 adopts the formula that what his wife  
doesn't know will not hurt her4  ,and   
step by step1 as economic evolution     
progresses1 as vested wealth becomes    

more firmly established and claims for  
itself a larger and larger share of the 
total product of society--so step by    
step you find the pecuniary ideals      
becoming more firmly established1 you   
find marriage becoming more and more a  
matter of property1 and less and less a 
matter of love4 ,in ,european countries 
there may still be some love marriages  
among the poor1 but in the upper classes
 there is no longer any pretense of such
 a thing1 and if you spoke of it you    
would be considered absurd4 ,in         
countries of fresh and naive            
commercialism1 like ,america1 the women 
select the men because of their money   
prestige2 but in ,germany1 the process  
has gone a step further--the men are so 
firmly established in their class       
positions that they insist upon being   
bought with a fortune4 ,the same is true
 when titled foreigners condescend to   
visit our land of the dollar4 ,they will
 stoop to a vulgar ,american wife only  
in case her parents will make a direct  

settlement of a fortune upon the        
husband1 and then they take her back    
home1 and find their escape from boredom
 in the highly cultivated mistresses of 
their own land4  ,everywhere on the     
,continent1 and in ,great ,britain also1
 it is accepted that marriages are      
matters of business1 and only           
incidentally and very slightly of       
affection4 ,the initiative is commonly  
taken1 not by the young people1 but by  
the heads of the families4 ,preliminary 
protocols are exchanged1 and then the   
family solicitors sit down and bargain  
over the matter4 ,if they were making a 
deal for a carload of hams1 they would  
be governed by the market price of hams 
at the moment1 also by the reputation of
 that particular brand of ham2 and      
similarly1 in the case of marriage1 they
 are governed by the prestige of the    
family names1 and the market price of   
husbands prevailing4 ,always the man    
exacts a cash settlement1 and in        
,catholic countries he becomes the      

outright owner of all the property of   
his wife1 thus reducing her completely  
to the status of a chattel4 ,if any     
young couple dares to break through     
these laws of their class1 the whole    
class unites to trample them down4 ,one 
of the greatest of ,english novelists1  
,george ,meredith1 wrote his greatest   
novel1 ,the ,ordeal of ,richard         
,feverel1 to show how1 under the most   
favorable circumstances1 the union of a 
ruling class youth with a farmer's      
daughter could result in nothing but    
shipwreck4  ,the country in which the   
property marriage is most firmly        
established is probably ,france2 and in 
,france the rights of nature are        
recognized in a kind of supplementary   
union1 which constitutes what is known  
as the domestic triangle1 or in the     
,french language1 la vie trois4 ,the    
young girl of the ,french ruling classes
 is guarded every moment of her life    
like a prisoner in jail4 ,she is sold in
 marriage1 and is expected to bear her  

husband an heir1 possibly two or three  
children4 ,after that1 she is           
considered1 not under the law or by the 
church1 but by the general common sense 
of the community1 to be free to seek    
satisfaction of her love needs4 ,her    
husband has mistresses1 and she has a   
lover1 and to that lover she is         
faithful1 and in her dealings with him  
she is guided by an elaborate and subtle
 code4 ,practically all ,french fiction 
and drama deal with this life in threes1
 and the complications and tragedies    
which result from it4 ,i name one novel1
 simply because it happens to be the    
last that ,i myself have read1 ,the ,red
 ,lily1 by ,anatole ,france4  ,of       
course1 every human being knows in his  
heart that this is a monstrous          
arrangement1 and there are periods of   
revolt when real feeling surges up in   
the hearts of men1 and we have stories  
of true love1 young and unselfish love1 
such for example as ,goethe's ,hermann  
and ,dorothea1 or ,st4 ,pierre's ,paul  

and ,virginia1 or ,halevy's ,l',abbe    
,constantin4 ,everybody reads these     
stories and weeps over them1 but        
everybody knows that they are like the  
romantic shepherds and shepherdesses of 
the ancient regime2 they never had any  
existence in reality1 and are not meant 
to be taken seriously4 ,if anybody      
attempts to carry them into action1 or  
to preach them seriously to the young1  
then we know that we are dealing with a 
disturber of the foundations of the     
social order1 a dangerous and incendiary
 villain1 and we give him a name which  
sends a shudder down the spine of every 
friend of law and order--we call him a  
free-lover4  ,i see before my eyes the  
wretch cowering upon the witness stand1 
and the virtuous district attorney1 who 
has perhaps spent the previous night in 
a brothel1 pointing a finger of accusing
 wrath into his face1 and thundering1   
,do you believe in free love8 ,the      
wretch1 if he is wise1 will not hesitate
 or parley2 he will not ask what the    

district attorney means by love1 or what
 he means by freedom4 ,here in very     
truth is a case where he who hesitates  
is lost6 ,let the wretch instantly      
answer1 ,no1 he does not believe in free
 love1 he believes in love that pays    
cash as it goes2 he believes in love    
that investigates carefully the         
prevailing market conditions1 decides   
upon a reasonable price1 has the        
contract in writing1 and lives up to the
 bargain--till death do us part4 ,if the
 witness be a woman1 let the answer be  
that she believes in slave love2 that   
she expects to be sold for the benefit  
of her parents1 the prestige of her     
family and the social position of her   
future offspring4 ,let her say that she 
will be a loyal and devoted servant1 and
 will never do anything at any time to  
invalidate the contract which is signed 
for her by her parents or guardians4    
,,chapter ,,xxxvi  ,,love ,,versus      
,,lust       7,discusses the sex        
impulse1 its use and misuse2 when it    

should be      followed and when        
repressed47   ,we have considered the   
sex disorders of our age and their      
causes4 ,we have now to grope our way   
towards a basis of sanity and health in 
these vital matters4  ,consider man1 as 
,metchnikoff describes him1 with his    
overplus of sex energy4 ,from early     
youth he is besieged by impulses and    
desires1 and as a rule is left entirely 
uninstructed on the subject1 having to  
pick up his ideas from the conversation 
of older lads1 who have nothing but     
misinformation and perversions to give  
him4 ,nearly all these older lads       
declare and believe that it is necessary
 to gratify the sex impulse1 that       
physically it is harmful not to do so4  
,i have even heard physicians and       
trainers maintain that idea4 ,opposed to
 them are the official moralists and    
preachers of religion1 who declare that 
to follow the sex impulse1 except when  
officially sanctioned by the church1 is 
to commit sin4  ,at different times in  

my life ,i have talked with all kinds of
 people1 young and old1 men and women1  
doctors and clergymen1 teachers and     
trainers of athletes1 and a few wise and
 loving mothers who have talked with    
their own boys and other boys4 ,as a    
result ,i have come to agree with       
neither side in the debate4 ,i believe  
that there is a distinction which must  
be drawn1 and ,i ask you to consider it 
carefully1 and bear it in mind in all   
that ,i say on the problem of happiness 
and health in sex4  ,i believe that a   
normal man is one being1 manifesting    
himself in various aspects1 physical1   
emotional1 intellectual4 ,i believe that
 all these aspects of human activity go 
normally together1 and cannot normally  
be separated1 and that the separation of
 them is a perversion and source of     
harm4 ,i believe that the sex impulse1  
as it normally manifests itself1 and    
would manifest itself in a man if he    
were living a normal life1 is an impulse
 which includes every aspect of the     

man's being4 ,it is not merely physical 
desire and emotional excitement2 it is  
intellectual curiosity1 a deep and      
intense interest1 not merely in the     
body1 but in the mind and heart and     
personality of the woman4  ,i appreciate
 that there is opportunity for          
controversy here4 ,as a matter of       
psychology1 it is not easy to separate  
instinct from experience1 to state      
whether a certain impulse is innate or  
acquired4 ,some may argue that savages  
know nothing about idealism in sex1     
neither do those modern savages whom we 
breed in city slums2 some may make the  
same assertion concerning a great mass  
of loutish and sensual youths4 ,we have 
got so far from health and soundness    
that it is hard to be sure what is      
normal and what is ideal4 ,but without  
going into metaphysics1 ,i think we can 
reasonably make the following statement 
concerning the sex impulse at its first 
appearance in the average healthy youth 
in civilized societies2 that this       

impulse1 going to the roots of the      
being1 affecting every atom of energy   
and every faculty1 is accompanied1 not  
merely by happiness1 but by sympathetic 
delight in the happiness of the woman1  
by interest in the woman1 by desire to  
be with her1 to stay with her and share 
her life and protect her from harm4 ,in 
what ,i have to say about the subject   
from now on1 ,i shall describe this     
condition of being and feeling by the   
word love4  ,but now suppose that men   
should1 for some reason or other1 evolve
 a set of religious ideas which denied  
love1 and repudiated love1 and called it
 a sin and a humiliation2 or suppose    
there should be an economic condition   
which made love a peril1 so that the    
young couple which yielded to love would
 be in danger of starvation1 or of      
seeing their children starve4 ,suppose  
there should be evolved classes of men  
and women1 held by society in a         
condition of permanent semi-starvation2 
then1 under such conditions1 the impulse

 to love would become a trap and a      
source of terror4 ,then the energies of 
a great many men would be devoted to    
suppressing love and strangling it in   
themselves2 then the intellectual and   
spiritual sanctions of love would be    
withdrawn1 the beauty and charm and joy 
would go out of it1 and it would become 
a starving beggar at the gates1 or a    
thief skulking in the night-time1 or an 
assassin with a dagger and club4 ,in    
other words1 sex would become all the   
horror that it is today1 in the form of 
purchased vice1 and more highly         
purchased marriage1 and secret shame1   
and obscure innuendo4 ,so we should have
 what is1 in a civilized man1 a         
perversion1 the possibility of love     
which is physical alone2 a purely animal
 thing in a being who is not purely     
animal1 but is body1 mind and spirit all
 together4 ,so it would be possible for 
pitiful1 unhappy man1 driven by the     
blind urge of nature1 to conceive of    
desiring a woman only in the body1 and  

with no care about what she felt1 or    
what she thought1 or what became of her 
afterwards4  ,that purely physical sex  
desire ,i will indicate in our future   
discussions by the only convenient word 
that ,i can find1 which is lust4 ,the   
word has religious implications1 so ,i  
explain that ,i use it in my own        
meaning1 as above4 ,there is a great    
deal of what the churches call lust1    
which ,i call true and honest love2 on  
the other hand1 in ,christian churches  
today1 there are celebrated innumerable 
marriages between innocent young girls  
and mature men of property1 which ,i    
describe as legalized and consecrated   
lust4  ,we are now in position to make a
 fundamental distinction4 ,i assert the 
proposition that there does not exist1  
in any man1 at any time of his life1 or 
in any condition of his health1 a       
necessity for yielding to the impulses  
of lust2 and ,i say that no man can     
yield to them without degrading his     
nature and injuring himself1 not merely 

morally1 but mentally1 and in the long  
run physically4 ,i assert that it is the
 duty of every man1 at all times and    
under all circumstances1 to resist the  
impulses of lust1 to suppress and       
destroy them in his nature1 by whatever 
expenditure of will power and moral     
effort may be required4  ,i know        
physicians who maintain the unpopular   
thesis that serious damage may be done  
to the physical organism of both man and
 woman by the long continued suppression
 of the sex-life4 ,let me make plain    
that ,i am not disagreeing with such    
men4 ,i do not deny that repression of  
the sex-life may do harm4 ,what ,i do   
deny is that it does any harm to repress
 a physical desire which is             
unaccompanied by the higher elements of 
sex2 that is to say1 by affection1      
admiration1 and unselfish concern for   
the sex-partner and her welfare4 ,when  
,i advise a man to resist and suppress  
and destroy the impulse toward lust in  
his nature1 ,i am not telling him to    

live a sexless life4 ,i am telling him  
that if he represses lust1 then love    
will come2 whereas1 if he yields to     
lust1 then love may never come1 he may  
make himself incapable of love1         
incapable of feeling it or of trusting  
it1 or of inspiring it in a woman4 ,and 
,i say that if1 on the other hand1 he   
resists lust1 he will pour all the      
energies of his being into the channels 
of affection and idealism4 ,instead of  
having his thoughts diverted by every   
passing female form1 his energies will  
become concentrated upon the search for 
one woman who appeals to him in         
permanent and useful ways4 ,we may be   
sure that nature has not made men and   
women incompatible1 but on the contrary1
 has provided for fulfillment of the    
desires of both4 ,the man will find some
 woman who is looking for the thing     
which he has to offer--that is1 love4   
,and now1 what about the suppression of 
love8 ,here ,i am willing to go as far  
as any physician could desire1 and      

possibly farther4 ,speaking generally1  
and concerning normal adult human       
beings1 ,i say that the suppression of  
love is a crime against nature and life4
 ,i say that long continued and         
systematic suppression of love exercises
 a devastating effect1 not merely upon  
the body1 but upon the mind and all the 
energies of the being4 ,i say that the  
doctrine of the suppression of love1 no 
matter by whom it is preached1 is an    
affront to nature and to life1 and an   
insult to the creator of life4 ,i say   
that it is the duty of all men and      
women1 not merely to assert their own   
right to love1 but to devote their      
energies to a war upon whatever ideas   
and conventions and laws in society deny
 the love-right4  ,the belief that long 
continued suppression of love does grave
 harm has been strongly reinforced in   
the last few years by the discovery of  
psycho-analysis1 a science which enables
 us to explore our unconscious minds1   
and lay bare the secrets of nature's    

psychic workshop4 ,these revelations    
have made plain that sex plays an even  
more important part in our mental lives 
than we realized4 ,sex feeling manifests
 itself1 not merely in grown people1 but
 in the tiniest infants2 in these latter
 it has of course no object in the      
opposite sex1 but the physical          
sensations are there1 and some of their 
outward manifestations2 and as the      
infant grows1 and realizes the outside  
world1 the feelings come to center upon 
others1 the parents first of all4 ,these
 manifestations must be guided1 and     
sometimes repressed2 but if this is done
 violently1 by means of terror1 the     
consequences may be very harmful--the   
wrong impulses or the terrors may       
survive as a complex in the unconscious 
mind1 and cause a long chain of nervous 
disorders and physical weaknesses in the
 adult4 ,these things are no matter of  
guesswork1 they have been proven as     
thoroughly as any scientific discovery1 
and are used in a new technic of        

healing4 ,of course1 as with every new  
theory1 there are unbalanced people who 
carry it to extremes4 ,there are        
fanatics of ,freudianism who talk as if 
everything in the human unconsciousness 
were sex2 but that need not blind us to 
the importance of these new discoveries1
 and the confirmation they bring to the 
thesis that sane and normal love1 wisely
 guided by common sense and reasoned    
knowledge1 is at a certain period of    
life a vital necessity to every sound   
human being4     ,,chapter ,,xxxvii     
,,celibacy ,,versus ,,chastity          
7,the ideal of the repression of the sex
 impulse1 as against the      ideal of  
its guidance and cultivation47   ,there 
are two words which we need in this     
discussion1 and as they are generally   
used loosely1 they must now be defined  
precisely4 ,the two words are celibacy  
and chastity4 ,we define celibacy as the
 permanent and systematic suppression of
 love4 ,we define chastity1 on the other
 hand1 as the permanent and systematic  

suppression of lust4 ,chastity1 as the  
word is here used1 is not a denial of   
love1 but a preparing for it2 it is the 
practice and the ideal1 necessary       
especially in the young1 of consecrating
 their beings to the search for love1   
and to becoming worthy for love4 ,in    
that sense we regard chastity as one of 
the most essential of virtues in the    
young4 ,it is widely taught today1 but  
ineffectively1 because unintelligently  
and without discrimination2 because1 in 
other words1 it is confused with        
celibacy1 which is a perversion of life1
 and one of humanity's intellectual and 
moral diseases4  ,the origin of the     
ideal of celibacy is easy to understand4
 ,at a certain stage in human           
development the eyes of the mind are    
opened1 and to some man comes a         
revelation of the life of altruism and  
sympathetic imagination4 ,to use the    
common phrase1 the man discovers his    
spiritual nature4 ,but under the        
conditions then prevailing1 all the     

world outside him is in a conspiracy to 
strangle that nature1 to drag it down   
and trample it into the mire4 ,one of   
the most powerful of these destructive  
agencies1 as it seems to the man1 is    
sex4 ,by means of sex he is laid hold   
upon by strange and terrible creatures  
who do not understand his higher vision1
 but seek only to prey upon him1 and use
 him for their convenience4 ,at the     
worst they rob him of everything1 money1
 health1 time and reputation2 at best1  
they saddle him and bridle him1 they put
 him in harness and set him to dragging 
a heavy load4 ,in the words of a wise   
old man of the world1 ,francis ,bacon1  
,he who marries and has children gives  
hostages to fortune4 ,in a world wherein
 war1 pestilence1 and famine held sway1 
the man of family had but slight chance 
of surviving as a philosopher or prophet
 or saint4 ,discovering in himself a    
deep-rooted and overwhelming impulse to 
fall into this snare1 he imagined a     
devil working in his heart2 so he fled  

away to the desert1 and hid in a cave1  
and starved himself1 and lashed himself 
with whips1 and allowed worms and lice  
to devour his body1 in the effort to    
destroy in himself the impulse of sex4  
,so the world had monasteries1 and a    
religious culture1 not of much use1 but 
better than nothing2 and so we still    
have in the world celibate priesthoods1 
and what is more dangerous to our social
 health1 we have the old1 degraded      
notions of the essential vileness of the
 sex relationship--notions permeating   
all our thought1 our literature1 our    
social conventions and laws1 making it  
impossible for us to attain true wisdom 
and health and happiness in love4  ,i   
say the ideal of celibacy is an         
intellectual and moral disease2 it is a 
violation of nature1 and nature devotes 
all her energies to breaking it down1   
and she always succeeds4 ,there never   
has been a celibate religious order1 no 
matter how noble its origin and how     
strict its discipline1 which has not    

sooner or later become a breeding place 
of loathsome unnatural vices4 ,and      
sooner or later the ideal begins to     
weaken1 and common sense to take its    
place1 and so we read in history about  
popes who had sons1 and we see about us 
priests who have nieces and attractive  
servant girls4 ,make the acquaintance of
 any police sergeant in any big city of 
,america1 and get him to chatting on    
friendly terms1 and you will discover   
that it is a common experience for the  
police in their raids upon brothels to  
catch the representatives of celibate   
religious orders4 ,as one old-timer in  
the ,tenderloin of ,new ,york said to   
me1 ,of course1 we don't make any       
trouble for the good fathers4 ,nor was  
this merely because the old sergeant was
 an ,irishman and a ,catholic2 it was   
because deep down in his heart he knew1 
as every man knows1 that the craving of 
a man for the society and companionship 
of a woman is an overwhelming craving1  
which will break down every barrier that

 society may set against it4  ,there is 
another form of celibacy which is not   
based upon religious ideas1 but is      
economic in its origin1 and purely      
selfish in its nature4 ,it is           
unorganized and unreasoned1 and is known
 as bachelorhood2 it has as its         
complements the institutions of old     
maidenhood and of prostitution4 ,both   
forms of celibacy1 the religious and the
 economic1 are entirely incompatible    
with chastity1 which is only possible   
where love is recognized and honored4   
,chastity is a preparation for love2 and
 if you forbid love1 whether by law1 or 
by social convention1 or by economic    
strangling1 you at once make chastity a 
,utopian dream4 ,you may preach it from 
your pulpits until you are black in the 
face2 you may call out your ,billy      
,sundays to rave1 and dance1 and go into
 convulsions2 you may threaten hell-fire
 and brimstone until you throw whole    
audiences into spasms--but you will     
never make them chaste4 ,on the         

contrary1 strange and horrible as it may
 seem1 those very excitements will turn 
into sexual excitements before your     
eyes6 ,so subtle is our ancient mother  
nature1 and so determined to have her   
own way6  ,the abominable old ideal of  
celibacy1 with its hatred of womanhood1 
its distrust of happiness1 its terror of
 devils1 is not yet dead in the world4  
,it is in our very bones1 and is forever
 appearing in new and supposed to be    
modern forms4 ,take a man like ,tolstoi1
 who gained enormous influence1 not     
merely in ,russia1 but throughout the   
world among people who think themselves 
liberal--humanitarians1 pacifists1      
philosophic anarchists4 ,tolstoi's      
notions about sex1 his teachings and    
writings and likewise his behavior      
toward it1 were one continuous          
manifestation of disease4 ,all through  
his youth and middle years1 as an army  
officer1 popular novelist1 and darling  
of the aristocracy1 his life was one of 
license1 and the attitude toward women  

he thus acquired1 he never got out of   
his thoughts to his last day4 ,gorky1   
meeting him in his old age1 reports his 
conversation as unpleasantly obscene1   
and his whole attitude toward women one 
of furtive and unwholesome slyness4     
,but ,tolstoi was in other ways a great 
soul1 one of the great moral consciences
 of humanity4 ,he looked about him at a 
world gone mad with greed and hate1 and 
he made convulsive efforts to reform his
 own spirit and escape the power of     
evil4 ,as regards sex1 his thought took 
the form of ancient ,christian celibacy4
 ,man must repudiate the physical side  
of sex1 he must learn to feel toward    
women a pure affection1 the relationship
 of brother and sister4 ,in his novel1  
,resurrection1 ,tolstoi portrays a young
 aristocrat who meets a beautiful       
peasant girl and conceives for her such 
a noble and generous emotion2 but       
gradually the poison of physical        
sex-desire steals into his mind1 he     
seduces her1 and she becomes a          

prostitute4 ,later in life1 when he     
discovers the crime he has committed1 he
 humbles himself and follows her into   
exile1 and wins her to ,god and goodness
 by the unselfish and unsexual love     
which he should have maintained from the
 beginning4  ,it was ,tolstoi's teaching
 that all men should aspire toward this 
kind of love1 and when it was pointed   
out to him that if this doctrine were to
 be applied universally1 the human race 
would become extinct1 his answer was    
that there was no reason to fear that1  
because only a few people would be good 
enough and strong enough to follow the  
right ideal6 ,here you see the          
reincarnation of the old ,christian     
notion that we are conceived in sin and 
born in iniquity4 ,we may be pure and   
good1 and cease to exist2 or we may sin1
 and let life continue4 ,some choose to 
sin1 and these sinners hand down their  
sinful qualities to the future2 and so  
virtue and goodness remain what they    
have always been1 a futile crying out in

 the wilderness by a few religious      
prophets1 whom ,god has sent to call    
down destruction upon a world which ,he 
had made--through some mistake never    
satisfactorily explained6  ,it is easy  
nowadays to persuade intelligent people 
to laugh at such a perverted view of    
life2 but the truth is that this        
attitude toward sex is written1 not     
merely into our religious creeds and    
formulas1 but into most of our laws and 
social conventions4 ,it is this1 which  
for convenience ,i will call the monkish
 view of love1 which prevents our       
dealing frankly and honestly with its   
problems1 distinguishing between what is
 wrong and what is right1 and doing     
anything effective to remedy the evils  
of marriage-plus-prostitution4 ,that is 
why ,i have tried so carefully to draw  
the distinction between what ,i call    
love and what ,i call lust2 between the 
ideal of celibacy1 which is a           
perversion1 and the idea of chastity1   
which must form an essential part of any

 regimen of true and enduring love4     
,,chapter ,,xxxviii  ,,the ,,defense    
,,of ,,love       7,discusses passionate
 love1 its sanction1 its place in life1 
and      its preservation in marriage47 
,i have before me as ,i write a         
newspaper article by ,robert            
,blatchford1 a great writer and great   
man4 ,he is dealing with the subject of 
,love and ,marriage1 and his doctrine is
 summed up in the following sentences3  
,there is a difference between loving a 
woman and falling in love with her4 ,the
 love one falls into is a sweet         
illusion4 ,but that fragrant dream does 
not last4 ,in marriage there are no     
fairies4  ,this expresses one of the    
commonest ideas in the world4           
,passionate love is one thing1 and      
marriage is another and different thing1
 and it is no more possible to reconcile
 them than to mix oil and water4 ,our   
notions of romantic love took their rise
 in the ,middle ,ages1 from the songs   
and narratives of the troubadours1 and  

this whole tradition was based upon the 
glorification of illegitimate and       
extra-marital love4 ,that tradition has 
ruled the world of art ever since1 and  
rules it today4 ,i do not exaggerate    
when ,i say that it is the conventional 
view of grand opera and the drama1 of   
moving pictures and novels1 that        
impassioned and thrilling love is found 
before marriage1 and is found in        
adultery and in temptations to adultery1
 but is never found in marriage4 ,i have
 a pretty varied acquaintance with the  
literature of the world1 and ,i have sat
 and thought for quite a while1 without 
being able to recall a single portrait  
of life which contradicts this thesis2  
and certainly anyone familiar with      
literature could name ten thousand      
novels and dramas and grand operas which
 support the thesis4  ,english and      
,american ,puritanism have beaten the   
tradition down to this extent3 the      
novelist portrays the glories and       
thrills of young love1 and carries it as

 far as the altar and the orange        
blossoms and white ribbons and showers  
of rice--and stops4 ,he leaves you to   
assume that this delightful rapture     
continues forever after2 but he does not
 attempt to show it to you--he would not
 dare attempt to show it1 because the   
general experience of men and women in  
marriage would make him ridiculous4 ,so 
he runs away from the issue2 if he tells
 you a story of married life1 it is a   
story of a triangle--the thrills of love
 imperiling marriage1 and either crushed
 out1 or else wrecking the lives of the 
victims4 ,such is the unanimous         
testimony of all our arts today1 and ,i 
submit it as evidence of the fact that  
there must be something vitally wrong   
with our marriage system4  ,personally1 
,i am prepared to go as far as the      
extreme sex-radical in the defense of   
love and the right to love4 ,i believe  
that love is the most precious of all   
the gifts of life4 ,i accept its        
sanctions and its authority4 ,i believe 

that it is to be cherished and obeyed1  
and not to be run away from or strangled
 in the heart4 ,i believe that it is the
 voice of nature speaking in the depths 
of us1 and speaking from a wisdom deeper
 than we have yet attained1 or may      
attain for many centuries to come4 ,and 
when ,i say love1 ,i do not mean merely 
affection4 ,i do not mean merely the    
habit of living in the same home1 which 
is the basis of marriage as ,blatchford 
describes it4 ,what ,i mean is the love 
of the poets and the dreamers1 the young
 love which is thrill and ecstasy1 a    
glorification and a transfiguration of  
the whole of life4 ,i say that1 far from
 giving up this love for marriage1 it is
 the true purpose of marriage to        
preserve this love and perpetuate it4   
,to save repetition and waste of words1 
let us agree that from now on when ,i   
use the word love1 ,i mean the          
passionate love of those who are in     
love4 ,i believe that it is the right of
 men and women to be in love1 and that  

there is no true marriage unless they   
are in love1 and stay in love4 ,i       
believe that it is possible to apply    
reason to love1 to learn to understand  
love and the ways of love1 to protect it
 and keep it alive in marriage4         
,blatchford writes the sentence1        
,matrimony cannot be all honeymoon4 ,i  
answer that assuredly it can be1 and if 
you ask me how ,i know1 ,i tell you that
 ,i know in the only way we really know 
anything--because ,i have proven it in  
my own life4 ,i say that if men and     
women would recognize the perpetuation  
of the honeymoon as the purpose of      
marriage1 and would devote to that end  
one-hundredth part of the intelligence  
and energy they now devote to the       
killing of their fellow human beings in 
war1 we might have an end to the        
wretched romantic tradition which makes 
the most sacred emotion of the human    
heart into a sneak-thief skulking in the
 darkness1 entering our lives by back   
alleys and secret stairways--while greed

 and worldly pomp1 dullness and boredom1
 parade in by the front entrance4  ,in  
the first place1 what is love--young    
love1 passionate love1 the love of those
 who fall in8 ,i know a certain lady1   
well versed in worldly affairs1 who says
 that it is at once the greatest        
nonsense and the deadliest snare in the 
world4 ,this lady was trained as a      
coquette2 she1 and all the young ladies 
she knew1 made it their business to     
cause men to fall in love with them1 and
 their prestige was based upon their    
skill in that art4 ,so to them love was 
a joke1 and men in love were victims1   
whether ridiculous or pitiable4 ,to this
 ,i answer that ,i know nothing in life 
that cannot be faked2 but an imitation  
has value only as it resembles something
 that is real1 and that has real value4 
,i am aware that it is possible for a   
society to be so corrupted1 so given up 
to the admiration of imitations1 of the 
paint and powder and                    
silk-stocking-clad-ankle kind of love1  

that true and genuine love interest1    
with its impulse to self-sacrifice and  
self-consecration1 is no longer felt or 
understood4 ,i am aware that in such a  
society it is possible for even the very
 young to be so sophisticated that what 
they take to be love is merely vanity1  
the worship of money1 and the grace and 
charm which the possession of money     
confers4 ,i have known girls who were   
head over heels in love1 and thought it 
was with a man1 when quite clearly they 
were in love with a dress suit or a     
social position4 ,in such a society it  
is hard to talk about natural emotions1 
and deep and abiding and disinterested  
affections4  ,nevertheless1 amid all the
 false conventions1 the sham glories and
 cowardices of our civilization1 there  
abides in the heart the craving for true
 love1 and the idea of it leaps         
continually into flame in the young4 ,in
 spite of the ridicule of the elders1 in
 spite of blunders and tragic failures1 
in spite of dishonesties and            

deceptions--nevertheless1 it continues  
to happen that out of a thousand maidens
 the youth finds one whose presence     
thrills him with a new and terrible     
emotion1 whose lightest touch makes him 
shiver1 almost makes his knees give way4
  ,if you will recall what ,i have      
written about instinct and reason1 you  
will know that ,i am not a blind        
worshipper of our ancient mother nature4
 ,i am not humble in my attitude toward 
her1 but perfectly willing to say when  
,i know more than she does4 ,on the     
other hand1 when ,i know nothing or next
 to nothing1 ,i am shy of contradicting 
my ancient mother1 and disposed to give 
respectful heed to her promptings4 ,one 
of the things about which we know almost
 nothing at present is the subject of   
eugenics4 ,we are only at the beginning 
of trying to find out what matings      
produce the best offspring4 ,meantime1  
we ought to consider those indications  
which nature gives us1 just as we       
consider her advice about what food to  

eat and what rest to take4  ,it is not  
my idea that science will ever take men 
and women and marry them in cold blood1 
as today we breed our cattle4 ,what ,i  
think will happen is that young men and 
women will meet one another1 as they do 
at present1 and will find the love      
impulse awakening2 they will then submit
 their love to investigation1 as to     
whether they should follow that impulse1
 or should wait4 ,in other words1 ,i do 
not believe that science will ever do   
away with the raptures of love1 but will
 make itself the servant of these       
raptures1 finding out what they mean1   
and how their precious essence may be   
preserved4  ,i perfectly understand that
 the begetting of children is not the   
only purpose of love4 ,the children have
 to be reared and trained1 which means  
that a home has to be founded1 and the  
parents have to learn to co-operate4    
,they have to have common aims in life1 
and temperaments sufficiently harmonious
 so that they can live in the house     

together without tearing each other's   
eyes out4 ,this means that in any       
civilized society all impulses of love  
have to be subjected to severe          
criticism4 ,i intend1 before long1 to   
show just how ,i think parents and      
guardians should co-operate with young  
people in love2 to help them to         
understand in advance what they are     
doing1 and how it may be possible for   
them to make their love permanent and   
successful4 ,for the moment ,i merely   
state1 to avoid any possible            
misunderstanding1 that ,i am the last   
person in the world to favor what is    
called blind love1 the unthinking       
abandonment to an impulse of sex        
passion4 ,what ,i am trying to show is  
that the passionate impulse1 the        
passionate excitement of the young      
couple1 is the material out of which    
love and marriage are made4 ,passion is 
a part of us1 and a fundamental part4   
,if we do not find a place for it in    
marriage1 it will seek satisfaction     

outside of marriage1 and that means     
lying1 or the wrecking of the marriage1 
or both4  ,passion is what gives to love
 and marriage its vitality1 its energy1 
its drive2 in fact1 it gives these      
qualities to the whole character4 ,it is
 a vivifying force1 transfiguring the   
personality1 and if it is crushed and   
repressed1 the whole life of that person
 is distorted4 ,yet it is a fact which  
every physician knows1 that millions of 
women marry and live their whole lives  
without ever knowing what passionate    
gratification is4 ,as a consequence of  
this1 millions of men take it for       
granted that there are good women and   
bad women1 and that only the latter are 
interesting4 ,this1 of course1 is simply
 one of the abnormalities caused by the 
supplanting of love by money as a motive
 in marriage4 ,love becomes a           
superfluity and a danger1 and all the   
forces of society1 including            
institutionalized religion1 combine to  
outlaw it and drive it underground4 ,or 

we might say that they lock it in a     
dungeon--and that the supreme delight of
 all the painters1 poets1 musicians1    
dramatists and novelists of all climes  
and all periods of history1 is to       
portray the escape of the young god from
 these imprisonments4 ,the story is told
 in six words of an old ,english ballad3
 ,love will find out the way6  ,is it   
not obvious that there must be something
 vitally wrong with our institutions and
 conventions in matters of sex1 when    
here exists this eternal war between our
 moralists and our artists8 ,why not    
make up our minds what we really        
believe2 whether it is true that poets  
are1 as ,shelley said1 the              
unacknowledged legislators of mankind1  
or whether they are1 as ,plato declared1
 false teachers and seducers of the     
young4 ,if they are the latter1 let us  
have done with them1 let us drive them  
from the state1 together with lovers and
 all other impassioned persons4 ,but if1
 on the other hand1 it is truth the     

poets tell about life1 then let us take 
the young god out of his dungeon1 and   
bring him into our homes by the front   
door1 and cast out the false gods of    
vanity and greed and worldly prestige   
which now sit in his place4             
,,chapter ,,xxxix  ,,birth ,,control    
7,deals with the prevention of          
conception as one of the greatest of    
man's discoveries1 releasing him from   
nature's enslavement1 and      placing  
the keys of life in his hands47   ,i    
assume that you have followed my        
argument1 and are prepared to consider  
seriously whether it may be possible to 
establish love in marriage as the sex   
institution of civilized society4 ,if   
you really wish to bring such an        
institution into existence1 the first   
thing you have to do is to accomplish   
the social revolution2 that is1 you must
 wipe out class control of society1 and 
prestige based upon money exploitation4 
,but that is a vast change1 and will    
take time1 and meanwhile we have to     

live1 and wish to live with as little   
misery as possible4 ,so the practical   
question becomes this3 ,suppose that    
you1 as an individual1 wish to find as  
much happiness in love as may now be    
possible1 what counsel have ,i to offer8
 ,if you are young1 you wish this advice
 for yourself2 while if you are mature1 
you wish it for your children4 ,i will  
put my advice under four heads3 ,first1 
marriage for love2 second1 birth        
control2 third1 early marriage2 fourth1 
education for marriage4  ,the first of  
these we have considered at some length4
 ,a part of the process of social       
revolution is personal conversion2 the  
giving up by every individual of the    
worldly ideal1 the surrender of luxury  
and self-indulgence1 the consecrating of
 one's life to self education and the   
cause of social justice4 ,and do not    
think that that is an easy thing1 or an 
unimportant thing1 a thing to be taken  
for granted4 ,on the contrary1 it is    
something that most of us have to       

struggle with at every hour of our      
lives1 because respect for property and 
worldly conventions has become one of   
our deepest instincts2 our whole society
 is poisoned with it1 and ,i can count  
on the fingers of one hand the people ,i
 have known in my life who have         
completely escaped from it4 ,it is not  
merely a question of refusing to marry  
except for love1 it is a question of    
refusing to love except for honest and  
worthy qualities4 ,it is a question of  
saving our children from the damnable   
forces of snobbery1 which lay siege to  
their young minds and destroy the best  
impulses of their hearts1 while we in   
our blindness are still thinking of them
 as babies4  ,of the other three topics 
that ,i have suggested1 ,i begin with   
birth control1 because it is the most   
fundamental and most important4 ,without
 birth control there can be no freedom1 
no happiness1 no permanence in love1 and
 there can be no mastery of life4 ,birth
 control is one of the great fundamental

 achievements of the human reason1 as   
important to the life of mankind as the 
discovery of fire or the invention of   
printing4 ,birth control is the         
deliverance of womankind1 and therefore 
of mankind also1 from the blind and     
insane fecundity of nature1 which       
created us animals1 and would keep us   
animals forever if we did not rebel4    
,ever since the dawn of history1 and    
probably for long ages before that1 our 
race has been struggling against this   
blind insanity of nature4 ,poor1        
bewildered ,theodore ,roosevelt stormed 
at what he called race suicide1 thinking
 it was some brand new and terrible     
modern corruption2 but nowhere do we    
find a primitive tribe1 nowhere in      
history do we find a race which did not 
seek to save itself from overgrowth and 
consequent starvation4 ,they did not    
know enough to prevent conception1 but  
they did the best they could by means of
 abortion and infanticide4 ,and because 
today superstition keeps the priceless  

knowledge of contraception from the vast
 majority of women1 these crude1 savage 
methods still prevail1 and we have our  
million abortions a year in the ,united 
,states4 ,assuming that something near  
one-fourth our population consists of   
women capable of bearing children1 we   
have one woman in twenty-five going     
through this agonizing and              
health-wrecking experience every year4  
,they go through with it1 you           
understand1 regardless of               
everything--all the moralists and       
preachers and priests with their hell   
fire and brimstone4 ,they go through    
with it because we have both marriage   
without love1 and love without marriage2
 also because we permit some ten or     
twenty per cent of our total population 
to suffer the pangs of perpetual        
starvation1 because more than half our  
farms are mortgaged or occupied by      
tenants1 and some ten or twenty per cent
 of our workers are out of jobs all the 
time4  ,some of our women know about    

birth control4 ,they are the rich women1
 who get what they want in this world4  
,they object to the humiliations and    
inconveniences of child bearing1 and    
some of them raise one or two children1 
and others of them raise poodle dogs4   
,also1 our middle classes have found    
out2 our doctors and lawyers and college
 professors1 and people of that sort4   
,but we deliberately keep the knowledge 
from our foreign populations1 by the    
terrors which the church has at its     
command4 ,and what is the practical     
consequence of this procedure8 ,it is   
that while all our ,anglo-,saxon stock1 
those who founded our country and       
established its institutions1 are       
gradually removing themselves from the  
face of the earth1 our ignorant and     
helpless populations1 whether in city   
slums or on tenant farms1 are           
multiplying like rabbits4 ,read ,jack   
,london's ,the ,valley of the ,moon and 
see what is happening in ,california4   
,you will find the same thing happening 

in any portion of the ,united ,states   
where you take the trouble to use your  
own eyes4  ,now1 ,i try to repress such 
impulses toward race prejudice as ,i    
find in myself4 ,i am willing to admit  
for the sake of this argument that in   
the course of time all the races that   
are now swarming in ,america1           
,portuguese and ,japanese and ,mexican  
and ,french-,canadian and ,polish and   
,hungarian and ,slovakian1 are capable  
of just as high intellectual development
 as our ancestors who wrote the         
,declaration of ,independence4 ,but no  
one who sees the conditions under which 
they now live can deny that it will take
 a good deal of labor1 teaching them and
 training them1 as well as scrubbing    
them1 to accomplish that result4 ,and   
what a waste of energy1 what a farce it 
makes of culture1 to take the people who
 have already been scrubbed and taught  
and trained for self-government1 and    
exterminate them1 and raise up others in
 their place6 ,it seems time that we    

gave thought to the fundamental         
question1 whether or not there is       
something self-destroying in the very   
process of culture4 ,unless we can      
answer this we might as well give up our
 visions and our efforts to lift the    
race4  ,theodore ,roosevelt stormed at  
birth control for something like ten    
years1 and it would be interesting if we
 could know how many ,anglo-,saxon      
babies he succeeded in bringing into the
 world by his preachments4 ,if what he  
wanted was to correct the balance       
between native and foreign births1 how  
much more sensible to have taught birth 
control to those poor1 pathetic1        
half-starved and overworked foreign     
mothers of our slums and tenant farms6  
,i can wager that for every             
,anglo-,saxon baby that ,theodore       
,roosevelt brought into the world by his
 preachings1 he could have kept out ten 
thousand foreign slum babies1 if only he
 had lent his aid to ,margaret ,sanger6 
,ah1 but he wanted all the babies to be 

born1 you say6 ,i see before me the face
 of a certain devout old ,christian     
lady1 known to me1 who settles the      
question by the ,bible quotation1 ,be   
fruitful and multiply4 ,but what avails 
it to follow this biblical advice1 if we
 allow one out of five of the new-born  
infants to perish from lack of          
scientific care before they are two     
years old8 ,what avails it if we send   
them to school hungry1 as we do         
twenty-two per cent of the public school
 children of ,new ,york ,city8 ,what    
avails it if we allow venereal disease  
to spread1 so that a large percentage of
 the babies are deformed and miserable8 
,what avails it if1 when they are fully 
grown1 we can think of nothing better to
 do with them than to take them by      
millions at a time and dress them up in 
uniforms and send them out to be        
destroyed by poison gases8 ,would it not
 be the part of common sense to         
establish universal birth control for at
 least a year or two--until we have     

learned to take care of our newly born  
babies1 and to feed our school children1
 and to protect our youths from vice1   
and to abolish poverty and war from the 
earth8  ,these are the social aspects of
 birth control4 ,there are also to be   
considered what ,i might call the       
personal aspects of it4 ,because young  
people do not know about it1 and have no
 way to find out about it1 they dare not
 marry1 and so the amount of vice in the
 world is increased4 ,because married   
women do not know about it1 love is     
turned to terror1 and marital happiness 
is wrecked4 ,because the harmless and   
proper methods are not sensibly taught1 
people use harmful methods1 which cause 
nervous disorders1 and wreck marital    
happiness1 and break up homes4 ,thorough
 and sound knowledge about birth control
 is just as essential to happiness in   
marriage as knowledge of diet is        
necessary to health1 or as knowledge of 
economics is necessary to intelligent   
action as a voter and citizen4 ,the     

suppression by law of knowledge of birth
 control is just as grave a crime       
against human life as ever was committed
 by religious bigotry in the blackest   
days of the ,spanish ,inquisition4  ,now
 this law stands on the statute books of
 our country1 and if ,i should so much  
as hint to you in this book what you    
need to know1 or even where you can find
 out about it1 ,i should be liable to   
five years in jail and a fine of #e1jjj1
 and every person who mailed a copy of  
this book1 or any advertisement of this 
book1 would be in the same plight4 ,but 
there is not yet a law to prohibit      
agitation against the law1 so the first 
thing ,i say to every reader of this    
book is that they should obtain a copy  
of the ,birth ,control ,review1         
published at #ajd ,fifth ,avenue1 ,new  
,york1 and also should join the         
,voluntary ,parenthood ,league1 #bjf    
,broadway1 ,new ,york4 ,get the         
literature of these organizations and   
circulate them and help spread the      

light6  ,as to the knowledge which you  
need1 the only advice ,i am allowed to  
give is that you should seek it4 ,seek  
it1 and persist in seeking1 until you   
find it4 ,ask everyone you know2 and ask
 particularly among enlightened people1 
those who are willing to face the facts 
of human life and trust in reason and   
common sense4 ,i do not know if ,i am   
violating the law in thus telling you   
how to find out about birth control4    
,one of the charming features of this   
law1 and others against the spreading of
 knowledge1 is that they will never tell
 you in advance what you may say1 but   
leave you to say it and take your       
chances6 ,i believe that ,i am not      
violating any law when ,i tell you that 
there are half a dozen simple1          
inexpensive1 and entirely harmless      
methods of preventing undesired         
parenthood without the destruction of   
the marital relationship4  ,i am one of 
those who for many years believed that  
the destruction of the marital          

relationship was the only proper and    
moral method4 ,i was brought up to take 
the monkish view of love4 ,i thought it 
was an animal thing which required some 
outside justification4 ,i had been      
taught nothing else2 but now ,i have had
 personal experience of other           
justifications of love1 and ,i believe  
that love is a beautiful and joyful     
relationship1 which not merely requires 
no other justification1 but confers     
justification upon many other things in 
life4  ,i used to believe in that old   
ideal of celibacy1 thinking it a fine   
spiritual exercise4 ,but since then ,i  
have looked out on life1 and have found 
so many interesting things to do1 so    
much important work calling for         
attention1 that ,i do not have to invent
 any artificial exercises for my spirit4
 ,i have looked at humanity1 and brought
 myself to recognize the plain common   
sense fact--that whatever superfluous   
energy ,i may have to waste upon        
artificial spirituality1 the great mass 

of the people have no such energy to    
spare4 ,they need all their energies to 
get a living for themselves and for     
their wives and little ones4 ,they have 
their sex impulses1 and will follow     
them1 and the only question is1 shall   
they follow them wisely or unwisely8    
,the religious people decide that sexual
 indulgence is wrong1 and they impose a 
penalty--and what is that penalty8 ,a   
poor1 unwanted little waif of a soul1   
which never sinned1 and had nothing to  
do with the matter1 is brought into a   
hostile world1 to suffer neglect1 and   
perhaps starvation--in order to punish  
parents who did not happen to be        
sufficiently strong willed to practice  
continence in marriage6  ,i used to     
believe that there was benefit to health
 and increase of power1 whether physical
 or mental1 in the celibate life4 ,i    
have tried both ways of life1 and as a  
result ,i know that that old idea is    
nonsense4 ,i know now that love is a    
natural function4 ,of course1 like any  

other function it can be abused2 just as
 hunger may become gluttony1 sleeping   
may become sluggishness1 getting the    
money to pay one's way through life may 
become ferocious avarice4 ,but we do not
 on this account refuse ever to eat or  
sleep or get money to pay our debts4 ,i 
do not say that ,i believe1 ,i say ,i   
know1 that free and happy love1 guided  
by wisdom and sound knowledge1 is not   
merely conducive to health1 but is in   
the long run necessary to health4       
,people who condemn birth control always
 argue as if one wished to teach this   
knowledge indiscriminately to the young4
 ,perhaps it is natural that those who  
oppose the use of reason should assume  
that others are as irrational as        
themselves4 ,all ,i can say is that ,i  
no more believe in teaching birth       
control to the young than ,i believe in 
feeding beefsteak to nursing infants4   
,there is a period in life for          
beefsteaks--or1 if my vegetarian friends
 prefer1 for lentil hash and peanut     

butter sandwiches2 in exactly the same  
way there is a time for teaching the    
fundamentals of sex1 and another time   
for teaching the art of happiness in    
marriage1 which includes birth control4 
,that brings me1 by a very pleasant     
transition1 to the other two subjects   
which ,i have promised to discuss3 early
 marriage and education for marriage4   
,,chapter ,,xl  ,,early ,,marriage      
7,discusses love marriages1 how they can
 be made1 and the duty of      parents  
in respect to them47   ,i have shown how
 economic forces in our society make for
 later and later marriage2 and at the   
present time economic forces are so     
overwhelming that all other forces are  
hardly worth mentioning in comparison4  
,you are1 let us say1 the mother of a   
boy of eighteen1 and you have what you  
call common sense--meaning thereby a    
grasp of the money facts of life4 ,if   
your darling boy of eighteen should come
 to you with a grave face and announce1 
,mother dear1 ,i have met the girl ,i   

love1 and we have decided that we want  
to get married--you would consider that 
the most absurd thing you had ever heard
 in all your born days1 and you would   
tell the lad that he was a baby1 and to 
run along and play4 ,if he persisted in 
his crazy notion1 you and your husband  
and all the brothers and sisters and    
relatives and friends both of the boy   
and the girl would set to work1 by      
scolding and ridiculing1 to make life a 
misery for them1 and ninety-nine times  
out of a hundred you would break down   
the young couple's marital intention4   
,but now1 let us try another            
supposition4 ,let us suppose that your  
darling boy of eighteen should come to  
you again and say1 ,mother dear1 some of
 the boys are going to spend this       
evening in a brothel1 and ,i have       
decided to go along4 ,would you think   
that was the most absurd thing you had  
ever heard in all your born days8 ,or   
would you answer1 ,yes1 of course1 my   
boy2 that is what ,i had in mind when ,i

 made you give up the girl you loved8   
,no1 you would not answer that4 ,but    
here is the vital fact--it doesn't      
matter what you would answer1 for you   
would never have a chance to answer4    
,when a mother's darling wants to get   
married1 he comes and asks his mother's 
blessing2 but never does a mother's     
darling ask a blessing before he goes   
with the other boys to a brothel4 ,he   
just goes4 ,maybe he borrows the money  
from some other fellow1 and next day    
tells you he went to a theater4 ,or     
maybe he picks up some poor man's       
daughter on the street1 and takes her   
into the park1 or up on the roof of a   
tenement4 ,some such thing he does1 to  
find satisfaction for an instinct which 
you in your worldly wisdom or your      
heavenly piety spurn and ridicule4  ,i  
do not wish to exaggerate4 ,if you are  
an exceptionally wise and tactful       
mother1 you may keep the confidence of  
your boy1 and guide him day by day      
through his temptations and miseries1   

and keep him chaste4 ,but the more you  
try that1 the more apt you will be to   
come to my conclusion1 that late        
marriage is a crime against the race2   
the more aware you will be of the       
danger1 either that his boy friends may 
break him down1 or that some lewd woman 
may come to his bedroom in the          
night-time4 ,never will you be able to  
be quite sure that he is not lying to   
you1 because of his shame1 and the pain 
he cannot bear to inflict upon you4     
,never will you be quite sure that he is
 not hiding some cruel disease1 sneaking
 off to some quack who takes his money  
and leaves him worse than before--until 
finally he shoots off his head1 as      
happened to a nephew of an old and dear 
friend of mine4  ,such is the problem of
 the mother of a son2 and now1 what     
about the mother of a daughter8 ,this   
seems much simpler2 because your        
daughter is not generally troubled with 
sex cravings1 and if you teach her the  
proprieties1 and see that she is        

carefully chaperoned1 you may reasonably
 hope that she will be chaste4 ,but some
 day you expect that she will marry2 and
 then comes your problem4 ,if you are   
the usual mother1 you are looking for   
some one who can maintain her in the    
state of life to which she is           
accustomed4 ,if a fairy prince would    
come along1 or a plaster saint1 you     
would be pleased2 but failing that1 you 
will take a successful business man1 one
 who has made his way in the world and  
secured himself a position4 ,but turn   
back to the figures ,i gave you a while 
ago4 ,if this man is thirty years of    
age1 there is at least a fifty-fifty    
chance that he has had some venereal    
disease2 and while the doctors claim to 
cure these diseases absolutely1 we must 
bear in mind that doctors are human1 and
 sometimes claim more than they perform4
 ,every doctor will admit1 if you pin   
him down1 that these diseases burrow    
deeply into the tissues1 and many times 
are supposed to be cured when they are  

only hidden4  ,here is1 in a nutshell1  
the problem of the mother of a daughter4
 ,if you marry your daughter at         
seventeen to a lad of her own age1 you  
have a very good chance of marrying her 
to a person who is chaste4 ,if you marry
 her to a man of twenty-five1 you have  
perhaps one chance in a hundred4 ,if you
 marry her to a man of thirty-five1 you 
have perhaps one chance in ten thousand4
 ,you may not like these facts2 ,i do   
not like them myself2 but ,i have       
learned that facts are none the less    
facts on that account4  ,you know the   
average society bud of eighteen1 and her
 attitude to a boy of the same age4 ,she
 regards him as a child2 and you think1 
perhaps1 that it is natural for a girl  
to be interested in men of thirty-five  
and even forty-five4 ,but ,i tell you   
that it is not natural1 it is simply one
 of the perversions of pecuniary sex4   
,the girl is interested in such men1    
because all her young life she has been 
carefully coached for the marriage      

market2 because she is dressed for it1  
and solemnly brought out1 and introduced
 to other players of this exciting game 
of marriage for money1 with its         
incredible prizes of automobiles and    
jewels and palaces full of servants1 and
 magic check-books that never grow      
empty4 ,but suppose that1 instead of    
regarding her as a prize in a lottery1  
you let her grow up naturally1 and      
taught her the truth about herself1 both
 body and mind2 suppose that1 instead of
 dressing her in ways deliberately      
contrived to emphasize her sex1 you put 
her in a simple uniform1 and taught her 
to be honest and straightforward1       
instead of mincing and coy2 suppose she 
played athletic games with boys of her  
own age1 and invited them to her home1  
not for jazz dancing and stuffing cake  
and candy1 but for the sharing of good  
music and literature and art--don't you 
think that maybe this girl might become 
interested in a lad of her own age1 and 
choose him with some understanding of   

his real self8  ,you take it for granted
 that young people should not marry     
until they can afford it4 ,but stop and 
consider1 is not this a relic of old    
days8 ,always it takes time1 and        
deliberate effort of the reason1 to     
adjust our conventions to new facts2 so 
face this fact--marriage today does not 
necessarily mean children1 it may just  
mean love4 ,it involves little more     
expense1 because the young people need  
cost no more together than they cost in 
the separate homes of their parents4 ,if
 they are children of the poor1 they are
 already taking care of themselves4 ,if 
they are children of the moderately well
 off1 their parents expect to support   
them while they are getting an          
education2 and why can they not just as 
well live together1 and the parents of  
each contribute their share8 ,let the   
parents of the boy give him1 not merely 
what it costs to keep him at home1 but  
also the sums which otherwise the boy   
would pay to the brothels4 ,by this     

argument ,i do not mean that ,i favor   
keeping young people financially        
dependent upon their parents4 ,my own   
son is working his own way through      
college1 and ,i should be glad to see   
every young man doing the same4 ,all    
that ,i am saying is that if parents are
 going to support their children while  
they are getting an education1 they     
might just as well support them married 
as single1 instead of penalizing        
matrimony by making all allowances cease
 at that point4  ,i know a certain      
ardent feminist1 who is all for late    
marriage for women1 and abhors my ideas 
on this subject4 ,she wants women to get
 a chance to develop their              
personalities2 whereas ,i want to       
sacrifice them to the frantic exigencies
 of the male animal6 ,young things of   
seventeen and eighteen have no idea what
 they are1 or what they want from life2 
the mating impulse is a blind frenzy in 
them1 and they must be taught to control
 it1 just as they are taught not to kill

 when they are angry6  ,in the first    
place1 ,i point out that young ladies in
 colleges and in ballrooms give a lot of
 time and thought to sex1 even though   
they do not call it by that inelegant   
term4 ,i very much question whether1 if 
we should apply our wisdom to the task  
of getting our young people happily     
mated before we sent them off to        
college1 we should not get a lot more   
serious study out of them than we now   
do1 with all their fussing and flirting 
and dancing4  ,second1 ,i am willing to 
make heroic moral efforts1 where ,i see 
any chance of adequate results1 but ,i  
have examined the facts1 and definitely 
made up my mind that it is not worth    
while1 in our present stage of culture1 
to preach to the mass of men the        
doctrine that they should abstain from  
sex experience until they are           
twenty-five or thirty years of age4 ,you
 may storm at them1 but they only laugh 
at you2 you may pass laws1 and try to   
put them in jail1 but you only provide a

 harvest for blackmailers and grafters4 
,as to sacrificing the girl1 my answer  
is simply that ,i believe in love2 and  
in this ,i think the girl will agree    
with me1 if you will let her6 ,i have   
never heard any qualified person        
maintain that it hurts a girl to respond
 to love at the age of seventeen or     
eighteen2 nor do ,i think that it hurts 
a boy1 provided that he is taught the   
virtues of moderation and               
self-restraint4 ,without these1 it will 
hurt him to eat2 but that is no argument
 for starving him4 ,as for the question 
of his maturity and power to judge1 we  
are able at present to keep him from    
marrying anybody1 so ,i think we might  
reasonably hope to keep him from        
marrying a wanton or a slut4 ,certainly 
we might find somebody better than the  
peroxide blonde he now picks up in front
 of the moving picture palace4  ,the    
question1 at what ages we shall advise  
our young couple to have children1 is a 
separate one1 depending upon many       

circumstances4 ,first1 of course1 they  
should not have any until they are able 
financially to maintain them4 ,as to the
 age at which it is physically          
advisable1 that is a question to be     
settled by physicians and physiologists4
 ,i myself had the idea that the proper 
age would be when the woman had attained
 her full stature2 but my friend ,dr4   
,william ,j4 ,robinson sends me some    
statistics from the ,johns ,hopkins     
,hospital ,bulletin1 which startle me4  
,this publication for ,january1 #aibb1  
gives the results in five hundred       
childbirths1 in which the mother's age  
was from twelve to sixteen years        
inclusive4 ,it appears that pregnancy   
and labor at these ages are no more     
dangerous than in older women2 but on   
the other hand1 the duration of the     
labor is actually shorter1 and the size 
of the children is not inferior4 ,these 
facts are so contrary to the general    
impression that ,i content myself with  
calling attention to them1 and leave the

 commenting to be done by feminists and 
others who oppose themselves to the idea
 of early marriage4     ,,chapter ,,xli 
,,the ,,marriage ,,club                 
7,discusses how parents and elders may  
help the young to avoid      unhappy    
marriages47   ,i will make the          
assumption that you would like to have a
 trial of my cure for prostitution4 ,you
 would like to do something right here  
and now1 without waiting for the social 
revolution4 ,very well3 ,i propose that 
you shall find a few other parents of   
boys and girls who are in revolt against
 our system of hidden vice1 and that you
 will meet and form a modern marriage   
club4 ,only you won't call it that1 of  
course2 you will tactfully describe it  
as a literary society1 or a social      
circle1 or an ,epworth ,league4 ,the    
parents who run it will know what it is 
for1 just as they do today2 the only    
difference being that it will exist to  
promote love matches instead of money   
matches4 ,it happens that ,i am myself a

 tactless sort of a person1 not skillful
 at avoiding saying what ,i mean4 ,so1  
in this chapter1 ,i shall content myself
 with setting forth exactly what this   
marriage club will do1 and leaving it to
 more clever people to supply the       
necessary camouflage4  ,this club will  
begin by correcting the most stupid of  
all our educational blunders1 the       
assumption of the necessary immaturity  
of the young4 ,our young people nowadays
 have ten times as much chance to learn 
and ten times as much stimulus to learn 
as we had2 and it is a generally safe   
assumption that they know much more than
 we think they do1 and are ready to     
learn every sensible and interesting    
thing4 ,i am carrying on an epistolary  
acquaintance with a little miss of      
twelve1 who has read half a dozen of my 
books--among the worst of them--and     
writes me letters of grave appreciation4
 ,i have talked on ,socialism to a      
thousand school children1 and had them  
question me for an hour1 and heard just 

as worth while questions as ,i have     
heard from an audience of bankers4      
,never in my life have ,i talked about  
real things with children that ,i did   
not find them proud to be treated       
seriously1 and eager to show that they  
were worthy of that honor4 ,a great part
 of our foolishness with children is due
 to the emptiness of our own heads4     
,these parents will delegate one man and
 one woman to make a thorough study of  
the sex education of the young4 ,of     
course1 there is knowledge about sex    
which has to be given to the very       
youngest child1 and more and more must  
be given as they grow older and ask more
 questions4 ,but what ,i have in mind   
here is that detailed and precise       
knowledge which must be given to the    
young when they approach the period of  
puberty4 ,at this age of fourteen or    
fifteen the man will take each of the   
boys apart1 and the woman will take each
 of the girls1 and will explain to them 
what they need to know4 ,this duty will 

not be trusted to parents1 for parents  
have an imbecile fear of talking        
straight to their children1 and try to  
get by with rubbish about bees and      
flowers4 ,let every child know that the 
days of the hole-and-corner sex business
 is forever past1 and that here is an   
instructed person1 who talks real       
,american1 and knows what he is talking 
about1 and will deal with facts1 instead
 of with evasions4  ,this club will help
 to educate the youngsters1 and also to 
give them a good time1 developing both  
their minds and bodies1 and learning to 
know them thoroughly4 ,when they are    
sixteen each one will have another talk1
 this time about marriage and what it   
means2 learning that it is not merely   
flirtations and delicious thrills1 but a
 business partnership1 and the deepest  
and best of all friendships4 ,so when   
,john finds that he likes ,mary best of 
all the girls he knows1 this won't be a 
subject for kidding and sly innuendo1   
and blushes and simpering on ,mary's    

part1 but an occasion for decent and    
sensible talk about what each of them   
really is1 and what each thinks the     
other to be4 ,if they think they are in 
love1 then there will be a council of   
the elder statesmen1 to consider that   
case1 and what are the chances of       
happiness in that love4 ,this may sound 
forbidding1 but it is exactly what is   
done at present--only it is not done    
honestly and frankly1 and therefore does
 not carry proper weight with the young 
people4  ,i am an opponent of long      
engagements1 but ,i am also an opponent 
of no engagements at all2 ,i know no    
truer proverb than ,marry in haste and  
repent at leisure4 ,it would be my idea 
that a very young couple should announce
 their engagement1 and then wait six    
months1 and be consulted again about the
 matter1 and have a chance to withdraw  
with no hard feelings1 if either party  
thought best4 ,if they wished to go on1 
they might be asked to wait another six 
months1 if their elders felt very       

certain there were reasons to doubt the 
wisdom of the match4  ,there are1 of    
course1 people who1 because of disease  
or physical defect1 should never be     
allowed to marry2 and others who might  
marry1 but should not be allowed to have
 children4 ,there should be laws        
providing for such cases1 requiring     
physical examination before marriage1   
and in extreme cases providing for a    
simple and harmless surgical operation  
to prevent the hopelessly unfit from    
passing on their defects to the future4 
,but dealing for the moment with normal 
young persons1 members of our modern    
marriage club1 ,i should say that if1   
after they have listened to the warning 
of their elders1 and have waited for a  
decent interval to think things over1   
they still remain of the opinion that   
they can make a successful marriage1    
then it is up to the elders to wish them
 luck4 ,i have known of young couples   
who have refused to heed warnings1 and  
regretted it2 but ,i have known of      

others who went ahead and had their own 
way and proved they were right4 ,there  
is a form of wisdom called experience   
and there is another form called love4  
,i hear the worldly and cynical rail at 
the blindness of young love1 and ,i can 
see the truth in what they say2 but also
 ,i can see the deeper truth in the     
magic dreams of the young soul4 ,here is
 a youth who adores a girl1 and you know
 the girl1 and it is comical to you1    
because you know she is not any of the  
things the youth imagines4 ,but who are 
you that claim to know the last thing   
about a human soul8 ,look into your own1
 and see how many different things you  
are6 ,look back1 if you can1 to the time
 when you were young1 and remember the  
visions and the hopes4 ,they have lost  
all reality to you now2 but who can say 
how many of them you might have made    
real if there had been one other person 
who believed in them1 and loved them1   
and would not give them up8  ,i write   
this2 and then ,i think of the other    

side--the fools that ,i have known in   
love6 ,the trusting women1 marrying     
rotten men to reform them6 ,the pitiful 
people who think that fine phrases and  
sentimentality can take the place of    
facts6 ,i implore my young couples to   
sit down and face the realities of their
 own natures1 to decide what they are1  
and what they want to be--and if there  
is going to be any change1 let it be    
made and tried out before marriage6 ,i  
implore them to begin now to control    
their desires by their reason and       
judgment2 to begin1 each of them at the 
very outset1 to carry their share of the
 burdens and do their share of the hard 
work4 ,i implore them to value          
independence and self-reliance in the   
other1 and never above all things to    
marry from pity1 which is a worthy      
emotion in its place1 but has nothing to
 do with sex1 which should be an affair 
between equals1 a matter of partnership 
and not of parasitism4 ,i think that1 on
 the whole1 the most dreadful thing in  

love is the use of it for preying1 for  
the securing of favors and advantages of
 any sort1 whether by men or by women4  
,,chapter ,,xlii  ,,education ,,for     
,,marriage       7,maintains that the   
art of love can be taught1 and that we  
have the      right and the duty to     
teach it47   ,i assume now that our     
young couple have definitely made up    
their minds1 and that the wedding day is
 near4 ,they are therefore1 both the man
 and the woman1 in position to receive  
information as to the physical aspects  
of their future experience4 ,this       
information is now for the most part    
possessed only by pathologists--who     
impart it too late1 after people have   
blundered and wrecked their lives4 ,the 
opponents of birth control ask in horror
 if you would teach it to the young2 ,i 
am now able to answer just when ,i would
 teach it2 ,i would teach it to these   
young couples about to marry4 ,i would  
make it by law compulsory for every     
young couple to attend a school of      

marriage1 and to learn1 not merely the  
regulation of conception1 but the whole 
art of health and happiness in sex4     
,perhaps the words1 a school of         
marriage1 strike you as funny4 ,when ,i 
was young ,i remember that ,pulitzer    
founded a school of journalism1 and all 
newspaper editors made merry--they knew 
that journalism could only be learned in
 practice4 ,but nowadays every city     
editor gives preference to an applicant 
who has taken a college course in       
reporting2 they have learned that       
journalism can be taught1 just like     
engineering and accounting4 ,in the same
 way ,i assert that marriage can be     
taught1 and the art of love1 physical1  
mental1 moral1 and even financial2 ,i   
think that the day will come when       
enlightened parents would no more dream 
of trusting their tender young daughter 
to a man who had not taken a course in  
sex1 than they would go up in an        
aeroplane with a pilot who knew nothing 
about an engine4  ,the knowledge which  

,i possess upon the art of love ,i would
 be glad to give you in this book2 but  
unfortunately1 if ,i were to do so1 my  
book would be suppressed1 and ,i should 
be sent to jail4  ,some ten or twelve   
years ago ,i received a pitiful letter  
from a man who was in state's prison in 
,delaware1 charged with having imparted 
information as to birth control4 ,under 
our amiable legal system1 a perfectly   
innocent man may be thrown into jail1   
and kept there for a year or two before 
he is tried1 and if he is without money 
or friends1 he might as well be buried  
alive4 ,i went to ,wilmington to call on
 the ,united ,states attorney who had   
caused the indictment in this case1 and 
had an illuminating conversation with   
him4 ,the official was anxious to       
justify what he had done4 ,he assured me
 that he was no bigot1 but on the       
contrary an extremely liberal man1 a    
,unitarian1 a ,progressive1 etc4 ,but   
,mr4 ,sinclair1 he said1 ,i assure you  
this prisoner is not a reformer or      

humanitarian or anything like that4 ,he 
is a depraved person4 ,look1 here is    
something we found in his trunk when we 
arrested him2 a pamphlet1 explaining    
about sex relations4 ,see this          
paragraph--it says that the pleasure of 
intercourse is increased if it is       
prolonged4  ,i looked at the pamphlet1  
and then ,i looked at the attorney4 ,do 
you think you have stated the matter    
quite fairly8 ,i asked4 ,apparently the 
purpose is to explain that the emotions 
of women are more slow to be aroused    
than those of men1 and that husbands    
failing to realize this1 often do not   
gratify their wives4  ,well1 said the   
other1 do you consider that a subject to
 be discussed8  ,pardon me if ,i discuss
 it just a moment1 ,i replied4 ,do you  
happen to know whether the statement is 
a fact8  ,no1 ,i don't4 ,it may be1 ,i  
suppose4  ,you have never investigated  
the matter8  ,the legal representative  
of our government was evidently annoyed 
by my persistence4 ,i have not1 he      

answered4  ,but then1 suppose ,i were to
 tell you that thousands of homes have  
been broken up for lack of just that bit
 of knowledge2 that tens of thousands of
 marriages are miserable for lack of it4
  ,surely1 ,mr4 ,sinclair1 you          
exaggerate6  ,not at all4 ,i could prove
 to you by one medical authority after  
another1 that if the desire of a woman  
in marriage is roused1 and then left    
ungratified1 the result is nervous      
strain1 and in the long run it may be   
nervous breakdown4  ,the above covers   
only one detail of the pamphlet in      
question4 ,i read some pages of it1 and 
argued them out with the attorney4 ,it  
was a perfectly simple1 straightforward 
exposition of facts about the physiology
 of sex2 and one of the reasons a man   
was to be sent to jail for several years
 was--not that he had circulated such a 
pamphlet1 not that he had showed it to  
young people1 but merely that he had it 
in his trunk6  ,there is an honest and  
very useful book1 written by an ,english

 physician1 ,dr4 ,marie ,c4 ,stopes1    
entitled ,married ,love1 published by   
,dr4 ,wm4 ,j4 ,robinson of ,new ,york1 a
 specialist of authority and integrity4 
,the book deals with just such vital    
facts in a perfectly dignified and      
straightforward manner2 yet ,dr4        
,robinson has been hounded by the       
postoffice department because of it2 he 
was convicted and forced to pay a fine  
of #bej1 and the book was barred from   
the mails6  ,i have so much else of     
importance to say in this ,book of ,love
 that it would not be sensible to       
jeopardize it by causing a controversy  
with our official censors of knowledge4 
,therefore ,i will merely say in general
 terms that men and women differ1 not   
merely as a sex1 but as individuals1 and
 every marriage is a separate problem4  
,every couple has to solve it in the    
intimacy of their love life1 and for    
this there are needed1 first of all1    
gentleness on the part of the man1      
especially in the first days of the     

honeymoon2 and on the part of both at   
all times consideration for the other's 
welfare and enjoyment1 and above all1   
frankness and honesty in talking out the
 subject4 ,reticence and shyness may be 
virtues elsewhere1 but they have no     
place in the intimacies of the sex life2
 if men and women will only ask and     
answer frankly1 they can find out by    
experience what makes the other happy1  
and what causes pain4  ,we are dealing  
here with the most sacred intimacy of   
life1 and one of the most vital of      
life's problems4 ,it is here1 in the    
marriage bed1 that the divorce problem  
is to be settled1 and likewise the      
problem of prostitution2 for it is when 
men and women fail to understand each   
other1 and to gratify each other1 that  
one or the other turns cold and         
indifferent1 perhaps angry and          
hateful--and then we have passions      
unsatisfied1 and ranging the world1     
breaking up other homes and spreading   
disease4 ,so ,i would say to every young

 couple1 seek knowledge on this subject4
 ,seek it without shame from others who 
have had a chance to acquire it4 ,seek  
it also from nature1 our wise old       
mother1 who knows so much about her     
children6  ,be natural2 be simple and   
straightforward2 and beware of fool     
notions about sex4 ,if you will look in 
the code of ,hammurabi1 which is over   
four thousand years old1 you will see   
the provision that a man who has        
intercourse with a menstruating woman   
shall be killed4 ,in ,leviticus you will
 read that both the man and the woman   
are to be cast out from their people4   
,you will find that most people still   
have some such notion1 which is without 
any basis whatever in health4 ,and this 
is only one illustration of many ,i     
might give of ignorance and superstition
 in the sex life4 ,i would give this as 
one very good rule to bear in mind2 your
 love life exists for the happiness and 
health of yourself and your partner1 and
 not for ,hammurabi1 nor ,moses1 nor    

,jehovah1 nor your mother-in-law1 nor   
anybody else on the earth or above it4  
,great numbers of people believe that   
women are naturally less passionate than
 men1 and that marital happiness depends
 upon men's recognizing this4 ,of       
course1 there are defective individuals1
 both men and women2 but the normal     
woman is every bit as passionate as a   
man1 if once she has been taught2 and if
 love is given its proper place in life1
 and monkish notions not allowed to     
interfere1 she will remain so all       
through life1 in spite of child-bearing 
or anything else4 ,i say to married     
couples that they should devote         
themselves to making and preserving     
passionate gratification in love2       
because this is the bright jewel in the 
crown of marriage1 and if lovers solve  
this problem1 they will find other      
problems comparatively simple4          
,,chapter ,,xliii  ,,the ,,money ,,side 
,,of ,,marriage       7,deals with the  
practical side of the life partnership  

of      matrimony47   ,so far we have   
discussed marriage as if it consisted   
only of love4 ,but it is manifest that  
this is not the case4 ,marriage is      
every-day companionship1 and also it is 
partnership in a complicated business4  
,in our school of marriage therefore we 
shall teach the rights and duties of    
both partners to the contract1 and shall
 face frankly the money side of the     
enterprise4  ,one of the first facts we 
must get clear is that the economics of 
marriage are in most parts of the world 
still based upon the subjection of      
woman1 and are therefore incompatible   
with the claims of woman as a partner   
and comrade4 ,they will never be right  
until the social revolution has         
abolished privilege1 and the state has  
granted to every woman a maternity      
endowment1 with a mother's pension for  
every child during the entire period of 
the rearing and education of that child4
 ,until this is done1 the average woman 
must look to some man for the support of

 her child1 and that1 by the automatic  
operation of economic force1 makes her  
subject to the whims of the man4 ,what  
women have to do is to agitate for a    
revision of the property laws of        
marriage2 and meantime to see that in   
every marriage there is an extra-legal  
understanding1 which grants to the woman
 the equality which laws and conventions
 deny her4  ,when ,i was a boy my mother
 had a woman friend who1 if she wanted  
to go downtown1 would borrow a quarter  
from my mother4 ,this woman's husband   
was earning a generous salary1 enough to
 enable him to buy the best cigars by   
the box1 and to keep a supply of liquors
 always on hand2 but he gave his wife no
 allowance1 and if she wanted pocket    
money she had to ask him for it1 each   
time a separate favor4 ,yet this woman  
was keeping a home1 she was doing just  
as hard work and just as necessary work 
as the man4 ,manifestly1 this was a     
preposterous arrangement4 ,if a woman is
 going to be a home-maker for a husband1

 it is a simple1 common-sense           
proposition that the salary of the      
husband shall be divided into three     
parts--first1 the part which goes to the
 home1 the benefit of which is shared in
 common2 second1 the part which the     
husband has for his own use2 and third1 
the part which the wife has for hers4   
,the second and third parts should be   
equal1 and the wife should have hers1   
not as a favor1 but as a right4 ,if the 
two are making a homestead1 or running a
 farm1 or building up a business1 then  
half the proceeds should be the woman's2
 and it should be legally in her name1  
and this as a matter of course1 as any  
other business contract4 ,if the woman  
does not make a home1 but merely        
displays fine clothes at tea parties1   
that is of course another matter4 ,just 
what she is to do is something that had 
better be determined before marriage2   
and if a man wants a life-partner1 to   
take an interest in his work1 or to have
 a useful work of her own1 he had better

 choose that kind of woman1 and not     
merely one that has a pretty face and a 
trim ankle4  ,the business side of      
marriage is something that has to be    
talked out from time to time2 there have
 to be meetings of the board of         
directors1 and at these meetings there  
ought to be courtesy and kindness1 but  
also plain facts and common sense1 and  
no shirking of issues4 ,love is such a  
very precious thing that any man or     
woman ought to be willing to make money 
sacrifices to preserve it4 ,but on the  
other hand1 it is a fact that there are 
some people with whom you cannot be     
generous2 the more you give them1 the   
more they take1 and with such people the
 only safe rule is exact justice4 ,let  
married couples decide exactly what     
contribution each makes to the family   
life1 and what share of money and       
authority each is entitled to4  ,i might
 spend several chapters discussing the  
various rocks on which ,i have seen     
marriages go to wreck4 ,for example1    

extravagance and worldly show2 clothes  
for women4 ,in ,paris is a demi-monde1 a
 world of brutal lust combined with     
riotous luxury4 ,the women of this      
half-world are in touch with the world  
of art and fashion1 and when the rich   
costumers and woman-decorators want what
 they call ideas1 it is to these        
lust-women they go4 ,the fashions they  
design are always depraved1 of course2  
always for the flaunting of sex1 never  
for the suggestion of dignity and grave 
intelligence4 ,at several seasons of the
 year these lust-women are decked out   
and paraded at the race-courses and     
other gathering places of the rich1 and 
their pictures are published in the     
papers and spread over all the world4   
,so forthwith it becomes necessary for  
your wife in ,oshkosh or ,kalamazoo to  
throw away all the perfectly good       
clothes she owns1 and get a complete new
 outfit--because they are wearing       
something different4 ,of course the     
costume-makers have seen that it is     

extremely different1 so as to make it   
impossible for your wife and children to
 be happy in their last season's        
clothes4 ,i have a winter overcoat which
 ,i bought fourteen years ago1 and as it
 is still as good as new ,i expect to   
use it another fourteen years1 which    
will mean that it has cost me a dollar  
and a half per year4 ,but think what it 
would have cost me if ,i had considered 
it necessary each year to have an       
overcoat cut as the keepers of ,french  
mistresses were cutting theirs6  ,but   
then1 suppose you put it up to your wife
 and daughters to wear sensible clothes1
 and they do so1 and then they observe  
that on the street your eyes turn to    
follow the ladies in the latest         
disappearing skirt8 ,the point is1 you  
perceive1 that you yourself are partly  
to blame for the fashions4 ,they appeal 
to a dirty little imp you have in your  
own heart1 and when the decent women    
discover that1 it makes them blazing    
hot1 and that is one of the ways you may

 wreck your domestic happiness if you   
want to4 ,unless ,i am greatly mistaken1
 when the class war is all over we are  
going to see in our world a sex war2 but
 it is not going to be between the men  
and the women1 it is going to be between
 the mother women and the mistress      
women1 and the mistress women are going 
to have their hides stripped off4  ,men 
wreck marriage because they are         
promiscuous2 and women wreck it because 
they are parasites4 ,woman has been for 
long centuries an economic inferior1 and
 she has the vices of the subject       
peoples and tribes4 ,now there are some 
who want to keep these vices1 while at  
the same time claiming the new          
privileges which go with equality4 ,such
 a woman picks out a man who is         
sensitive and chivalrous2 who knows that
 women suffer handicaps1 pains of       
childbirth1 physical weakness1 and who  
therefore feels impelled to bear more   
than his share of the burdens4 ,she     
makes him her slave2 and by and by she  

gets a child1 and then she has him1     
because he is bowed down with awe and   
worship1 he thinks that such a miracle  
has never happened in the world before1 
and he spends the rest of his life      
waiting on her whims and nursing her    
vanities4 ,i note that at the recent    
convention of the ,woman's ,party they  
demanded their rights and agreed to     
surrender their privileges4 ,there you  
have the final test by which you may    
know that women really want to be free1 
and are prepared to take the            
responsibilities of freedom4            
,,chapter ,,xliv  ,,the ,,defense ,,of  
,,monogamy       7,discusses the        
permanence of love1 and why we should   
endeavor to      preserve it47   ,so far
 in this discussion we have assumed that
 love means monogamous love4 ,we did so1
 for the reason that we could not       
consider every question at once4 ,but we
 have promised to deal with all the     
problems of sex in the light of reason2 
and so we have now to take up the       

question1 what are the sanctions of     
monogamy1 and why do we refuse sanction 
to other kinds of love8  ,first1 let us 
set aside several reasons with which we 
have nothing to do4 ,for example1 the   
reason of tradition4 ,it is a fact that 
,anglo-,saxon civilization has always   
refused legal recognition to            
non-monogamous marriage4 ,but then1     
,anglo-,saxon civilization has          
recognized war1 and slavery1 and        
speculation1 and private property in    
land1 and many other things which we    
presume to describe as crimes4 ,if      
tradition cannot justify itself to our  
reason1 we shall choose martyrdom4      
,second1 the religious reason4 ,this is 
the one that most people give4 ,it is   
convenient1 because it saves the need of
 thinking4 ,suffice it here to say that 
we prefer to think4 ,if we cannot       
justify monogamy by the facts of life1  
we shall declare ourselves for polygamy4
  ,what are the scientific and rational 
reasons for monogamy8 ,first among them 

is venereal disease4 ,this may seem like
 a vulgar reason1 but no one can deny   
that it is real4 ,there was a time1     
apparently1 when mankind did not suffer 
from these plagues1 and we hope there   
may be such a time again4 ,i shall not  
attempt to prescribe the marital customs
 for the people of that happy age2 ,i   
suspect that they will be able to take  
care of themselves4 ,confining myself to
 my lifetime and yours1 ,i say that the 
aim of every sensible man and woman must
 be to confine sex relations to the     
smallest possible limits4 ,i know1 of   
course1 that there are prophylactics1   
and the army and navy present statistics
 to show that they succeed in a great   
proportion of cases4 ,but if you are one
 of those persons in whose case they    
don't succeed1 you will find the        
statistics a cold source of comfort to  
you4  ,john and ,mary go to the altar1  
or to the justice of the peace1 and     
,john says3 ,with all my worldly goods  
,i thee endow4 ,but the formula is      

incomplete2 it ought to read3 ,and      
likewise with the fruits of my wild     
oats4 ,marriage is a contract wherein   
each of the contracting parties agrees  
to share whatever pathogenic bacteria   
the other party may have or acquire2    
surely1 therefore1 the contract involves
 a right of each party to have a say as 
to how many chances of infection the    
other shall incur4 ,john goes off on a  
business trip1 and is lonesome1 and     
meets an agreeable widow1 and figures to
 himself that there is very little      
chance that so charming a person can be 
dangerous4 ,but maybe ,mary wouldn't    
agree with his calculations2 maybe ,mary
 would not consider it a part of the    
marriage bargain that she should take   
the diseases of the agreeable widow4    
,what commonly happens is that ,mary is 
not consulted2 ,john revises the        
contract in secret1 making it read that 
,mary shall take a chance at the        
diseases of the widow4 ,how can any     
thinking person deny that ,john has thus

 committed an act of treason to ,mary8  
,i know that there are people who don't 
mind running such chances2 that is one  
reason why there are venereal diseases4 
,all ,i can say is that the sex-code set
 forth in this book is based upon the   
idea that to deliver mankind from the   
venereal plague1 we wish to confine the 
sex relationship within the narrowest   
limits consistent with health1 happiness
 and spiritual development2 and that to 
this end we take the young and teach    
them chastity1 and we marry them early  
while they are clean1 and then we call  
upon them to make the utmost effort to  
make a success of that union1 and to    
make it a matter of honor to keep the   
marital faith4 ,we do this with some    
hope of effectiveness1 because we have  
made our program consistent with the    
requirements of nature1 the genuine     
needs of love both physical and         
spiritual4  ,the second argument for    
monogamy is the economic one4 ,we have  
dreamed a social order where every child

 will be guaranteed maintenance by the  
state1 and where women will be free from
 dependence on men4 ,what will be the   
love arrangements of men and women under
 this new order is another problem which
 we leave for them to decide1 in the    
certainty that they will know more about
 it than we do4 ,meantime1 we are for   
the present under the private property  
regime1 and have to love and marry and  
raise our children accordingly4 ,the    
children must have homes1 and if they   
are to be normal children1 they must    
have both the male and female influence 
in their lives2 which means that their  
parents must be friends and partners1   
not quarreling in secret4 ,this         
argument1 ,i know1 is one of expediency4
 ,i have adopted it1 after watching a   
great number of people try other than   
monogamous sex arrangements1 and seeing 
their chances of happiness and success  
wrecked by the pressure of economic     
forces4 ,to rebel against social        
compulsion may be heroism1 and again it 

may be merely bad judgment4 ,for my     
part1 the world's greatest evil is      
poverty1 the cause of crime1            
prostitution and war4 ,i concentrate my 
energies upon the abolishing of that    
evil1 and ,i let other problems wait4   
,the third reason is that monogamy is   
economical of human time and thought4   
,the business of finding and wooing a   
mate takes a lot of energy1 and         
adjustment after marriage takes more4   
,to throw away the results of this labor
 and do it all over again is certainly  
not common sense4 ,of course1 if you    
bake a cake and burn it1 you have to get
 more material and make another try2 but
 that is a different matter from baking 
a cake with the deliberate intention of 
throwing it away after a bite or two4   
,the advocates of varietism in love will
 here declare that we are begging the   
question4 ,we are assuming that love and
 the love chase are not worthy in       
themselves1 but merely means to some    
other end4 ,can it be that love delights

 are the keenest and most intense that  
humans can experience1 and that all     
other purposes of life are contributory 
to them8 ,certainly a great deal of art 
lends support to this idea1 and many    
poets have backed up their words by     
their deeds4 ,as ,coleridge phrased it3 
,all thoughts1 all passions1 all        
delights1      ,whatever stirs this     
mortal frame1      ,all are but         
ministers of ,love      ,and feed his   
sacred flame4  ,this is a question not  
to be played with4 ,experimenting in    
love is costly1 and millions have       
wrecked their lives by it4 ,the sex urge
 in us is imperious and cruel2 it wants 
nothing less than the whole of us1 body1
 mind and spirit1 and ofttimes it       
behaves like the genii in the bottle--it
 gets out1 and not all the powers in the
 universe can get it back4 ,i have      
talked with many men about sex and heard
 them say that it presents itself to    
them as an unmitigated torment1         
something they would give everything    

they own to be free of4 ,and these1 mind
 you1 not men living in monasteries1    
trying to repress their natural         
impulses1 but men of the world1 who have
 lived freely1 seeking pleasure and     
taking it as it came4 ,the primrose path
 of dalliance did not lead them to      
peace1 and the pursuit of variety in    
love brought them only monotony4  ,i    
stop and think of one after another of  
these sex-ridden people1 and ,i cannot  
think of one whom ,i would envy4 ,i know
 one who in a frenzy of unhappiness     
seized a razor and castrated himself4 ,i
 think of another1 a certain classmate  
in college whom ,i once stopped in a    
conversation1 remarking3 ,did you ever  
realize what a state you have got your  
mind into8 ,everything means sex to you4
 ,every phrase you hear1 every idea that
 is suggested--you try to make some sort
 of pun1 to connect it somehow or other 
with sex4 ,the man thought and said1 ,i 
guess that's true4 ,the idea had never  
occurred to him before2 he had just gone

 on letting his instincts have their way
 with him1 without ever putting his     
reason upon the matter4  ,that was a    
crude kind of sex2 but ,i think of      
another man1 an idealist and champion of
 human liberty4 ,one of the forms of    
liberty he maintained was the right to  
love as many women as he pleased1 and   
although he was a married man1 one      
hardly ever saw him that he was not     
courting some young girl4 ,as a result1 
his mental powers declined1 and he did  
little but talk about ideas4 ,i do not  
know anyone today who respects          
him--except a few people who live the   
same sort of life4 ,the thought of him  
brings to my mind a sentence of         
,nietzsche--a man who surely stood for  
freedom of personality3 ,i pity the     
lovers who have nothing higher than     
their love4  ,a question like this can  
be decided only by the experience of the
 race4 ,some will make love the end and 
aim of life1 and others will make it the
 means to other ends1 and we shall see  

which kind of people achieve the best   
results1 which kind are the most useful1
 the most dignified1 the most original  
and vital4 ,i have seen a great many    
young people try the experiment of free 
love1 and ,i have seen some get enough  
of it and quit2 ,i could name among     
these half a dozen of our younger       
novelists4 ,i know others who are still 
in it--and ,i watch their lives and find
 them to be restless1 jealous1          
egotistical and idle4 ,my defense of    
monogamy is based upon the fact that ,i 
have never known any happy or successful
 free lovers4 ,of course1 ,i know some  
noble and sincere people who do not     
believe in the marriage contract1 and   
refuse to be bound by law2 but these    
people are as monogamous as ,i am1 even 
more tightly bound by honor than if they
 were duly married4  ,it seems to be in 
the very nature of true and sincere love
 to imagine permanence1 to desire it and
 to pledge it4 ,if you aren't that much 
in love1 you aren't really in love at   

all1 and you had better content yourself
 with strolling together and chatting   
together and dining together and playing
 music together4 ,so many pleasant ways 
there are in which men and women can    
enjoy each other's company without      
entering upon the sacred intimacy of    
sex6 ,you can learn to take sex lightly1
 of course1 but if you do so1 you reduce
 by so much the chances that true and   
deep love will ever come to you2 for    
true and deep love requires some        
patience1 some reverence1 some tending  
at a shrine4 ,the animals mate quickly  
and get it over with2 but the great     
discoveries about love1 and the         
possibilities of the human soul in love1
 have come because men and women have   
been willing to make sacrifices for it1 
to take it seriously--and more          
especially to take seriously the beloved
 person1 the rights and needs and       
virtues of that person4 ,from the lives 
of such we learn that love is nature's  
device for taking us out of ourselves1  

and making us truly social creatures4   
,early in my life as a writer ,i        
undertook to answer ,gertrude ,atherton1
 in her glorification of the            
sex-corruptions of capitalist society4  
,she indicted ,american literature for  
its bourgeois qualities--among these the
 fact that ,american authors had a      
prejudice in favor of living with their 
own wives4 ,mrs4 ,atherton set forth the
 joys of sex promiscuity as they are    
understood by ,european artists1 and ,i 
ventured in replying to remark that one 
woman can be more to a man than a dozen 
can possibly be4 ,that sounds like a    
paradox1 but it is really a profound    
truth1 and the person who does not      
understand it has missed the best there 
is in the sex relation4 ,there is a     
limit to the things of the body1 but to 
those of the mind and spirit there is no
 limit1 and so there is no reason why   
true love should ever fall prey to      
boredom and satiety4     ,,chapter ,,xlv
  ,,the ,,problem ,,of ,,jealousy       

7,discusses the question1 to what extent
 one person may hold another      to the
 pledge of love47   ,once upon a time ,i
 knew an ,anarchist shoemaker1 the same 
who had me sent to jail for playing     
tennis on ,sunday1 as ,i have narrated  
in ,the ,brass ,check4 ,i remember      
arguing with him concerning his ideas of
 sex1 which were of the freest4 ,i can  
hear the very tones of his voice as he  
put the great unanswerable question3    
,what are you going to do about the     
problem of jealousy8 ,and ,i had no     
response at hand2 for jealousy is truly 
a most cruel and devastating and        
unlovely emotion2 and yet1 how can you  
escape it1 if you are going to preserve 
monogamy8  ,the ,anarchist shoemaker's  
solution was to break down all the      
prejudices against sexual promiscuity4  
,free and unlimited license was every   
person's right1 and for any other person
 to interfere was enslavement1 for any  
other person to criticize was           
superstition4 ,but the power of         

superstition is strong in the world1 and
 the shoemaker found men resentful of   
his teachings1 and disposed to          
confiscate the rights of their wives and
 daughters4 ,hence the shoemaker's      
disapproval of jealousy4  ,other men1   
less purely physiological in their      
attitude to sex1 have wrestled with this
 same problem of jealousy4 ,h4 ,g4      
,wells has a novel1 ,in the ,days of the
 ,comet1 in which he portrays two men1  
both nobly and truly in love with the   
same woman4 ,one in a passion of        
jealousy is about to murder the other1  
when a great social transformation is   
magically brought about1 and the        
would-be murderer wakes up to universal 
love1 and the two men nobly and lovingly
 share the same woman4 ,shelley also    
dreamed this dream1 inviting two women  
to share him4 ,i have known others who  
tried it1 but never permanently4 ,i do  
not say that it never has succeeded1 or 
that it never can succeed4 ,in this book
 ,i am renouncing the future--,i am     

trying to give practical advice to      
people1 for the conduct of their lives  
here and now1 and my advice on this     
point is that polygamous and polyandrous
 experiments in modern capitalist       
society cost more than they are worth4  
,i once knew a certain high school      
teacher1 who believed religiously in    
every kind of freedom4 ,when she        
married1 she and her husband1 an artist1
 made a vow against jealousy2 but as it 
worked out1 this vow meant that the wife
 had a steady job and took care of the  
husband1 while he loafed and loved other
 women4 ,when finally she grew tired of 
it1 he accused her of being jealous2    
also1 she had brought it down to the    
matter of money6 ,i know another woman1 
an ,anarchist1 widely known as a        
lecturer on sex freedom4 ,she laid down 
the general principle of unlimited      
personal freedom for all1 and she tried 
to live up to her faith4 ,she entered   
into a free union with a certain man1   
and when she discovered that he was     

making love to another woman1 in the    
presence of a friend of mine she threw a
 vase of flowers at his head4 ,you see1 
her general principles had clashed with 
another general principle1 to the effect
 that a person who feels deep and strong
 love inevitably desires that love to   
endure1 and cannot but suffer to see it 
preyed upon and destroyed4  ,let us     
first consider the question1 just what  
are the true and proper implications of 
monogamous love8 ,the ,roman ,catholic  
church advocates monogamy1 and          
understands thereby that a man and woman
 pledge themselves till death do us     
part1 and if either of them cancels this
 arrangement it is adultery and mortal  
sin4 ,i hope that none of my readers    
understands by monogamy any such system 
of spiritual strangulation4 ,my own idea
 is rather what some churchman has      
sarcastically described by the term     
progressive polygamy4 ,i believe that a 
man and woman should pledge their faith 
in love1 and should keep that faith1 and

 endeavor with all their best energies  
to make a success of it2 they should    
strive each to understand the other's   
needs1 and unselfishly to fulfill them1 
within the limits of fair play4 ,but if1
 after such an effort has been truly    
made1 it becomes clear that the union   
does not mean health and happiness for  
one of the parties1 that party has a    
right to withdraw from it1 and for any  
government or church or other power to  
deny that right is both folly and       
cruelty4  ,now1 on the basis of this    
definition of monogamy--or1 if you      
prefer1 of progressive polygamy--we are 
in position to say what we think about  
jealousy4 ,if two people pledge their   
faith1 and one breaks it1 and the other 
complains1 we do not call that jealousy1
 but just common decency4 ,neither do we
 call it jealousy if one expects the    
other to avoid the appearance of guilt2 
for love is a serious thing1 not to be  
played with1 and ,i think that a person 
who truly loves will do everything      

possible to make clear to the beloved   
that he is keeping and means to keep the
 plighted faith4  ,you may say that ,i  
am using words arbitrarily1 in          
endeavoring thus to distinguish between 
justifiable and unjustifiable jealousy1 
and calling the former by some other    
name4 ,it does not make much difference 
about words1 provided ,i make clear my  
meaning4 ,i could point out a whole     
string of words which have good meanings
 and bad meanings1 and cannot be        
discussed without preliminary           
explanations and distinctions2 religion1
 for example1 and morality1 and         
aristocracy1 and justice1 to name only a
 few4 ,most people's thinking about     
marriage and love has been made like    
soup in a cheap restaurant1 by dumping  
in all kinds of scraps and notions from 
such opposite poles of human thought as 
,christian monkery and ,renaissance     
license1 absurdly called romance4 ,so   
before you can do any thinking about a  
problem like jealousy1 you have to agree

 to use the word to mean something      
definite1 whether good or bad4  ,we     
shall take jealousy as a bad word1 and  
use it to mean the setting up1 by a man 
or woman1 of some claim to the love of  
another person1 which claim cannot be   
justified in the court of reason and    
fair play4 ,this includes1 in the first 
place1 all claims based upon a          
courtship1 not ratified by marriage4 ,it
 is to the interest of society and the  
race that men and women should be free  
to investigate persons of the other sex1
 and to experiment with the affections  
before pledges of marriage are made4 ,if
 sensible customs of love and just laws 
of marriage were made1 there would be no
 excuse for a woman's giving herself to 
a man before marriage2 she should be    
taught not to do it1 and then if she    
does it1 the risk is her own1 and the   
disgusting perversion of venality and   
greed known as the breach of promise    
suit should be unknown in our law4 ,the 
young should be taught that it is the   

other person's right to change his mind 
and withdraw at any time before         
marriage2 whatever pains and pangs this 
may cause must be borne in silence4     
,the second kind of jealousy is that    
which seeks to keep in the marriage bond
 a person who is not happy in it and has
 asked to be released4 ,the law         
sanctions this kind of cowardly         
selfishness1 which manifests itself     
every day on the front pages of our     
newspapers--a spectacle of monstrous and
 loathsome passions unleashed and even  
glorified4 ,husbands set the bloodhounds
 of the law after wives who have fled   
with some other man1 and send the man to
 a cell1 and drag the woman back to a   
loveless home4 ,wives engage private    
detectives1 and trail their husbands to 
some love nest1 and then ensue long     
public wrangles1 with washing of filthy 
linen1 and the matter is settled by a   
separation4 ,the virtuous wife1 who may 
have driven the man away by neglect or  
vanity or stupidity1 is granted a share 

of his earnings for the balance of her  
life2 and two more people are added to  
the millions who are denied sexual      
happiness under the law1 and are thereby
 impelled to live as law violators4     
,for this there is only one remedy      
conceivable4 ,we have banned cannibalism
 and slavery and piracy and duelling1   
and we must ban one more ancient and    
cruel form of human oppression1 the     
effort to hold people in the bonds of   
sex by any other power save that of     
love4 ,i am aware that the reactionaries
 who read this book will take this      
sentence out of its context and quote it
 to prove that ,i am a free lover4 ,i   
shall be sorry to have that done1 but   
even so1 ,i was not willing to live in  
slavery myself1 and ,i am not willing to
 advocate it for others4 ,i am aware    
that there are degenerate and defective 
individuals1 and that we have to make   
special provision for them1 as ,i shall 
presently set forth2 but the average1   
normal human being must be free to      

decide what is love for him1 and what is
 happiness for him4 ,every person in the
 world will have to deny himself the    
right to demand love where love is not  
freely given1 and all lovers in the     
world will have to hold themselves ready
 to let the loved one go if and when the
 loved one demands it4 ,i am aware that 
this is a hard saying1 and a hard duty1 
but it is one that life lays upon us1   
and one that there is no escaping4      
,,chapter ,,xlvi  ,,the ,,problem ,,of  
,,divorce       7,defends divorce as a  
protection to monogamous love1 and one  
of the      means of preventing         
infidelity and prostitution47   ,you    
will hear sermons and read newspaper    
editorials about the divorce evil1 and  
you will find that to the preacher or   
editor this evil consists of the fact   
that more and more people are refusing  
to stay unhappily married4 ,it does not 
interest these moralizers if the        
statistics show that it is women who are
 getting most of the divorces1 and that 

the meaning of the phenomenon is that   
women are refusing to continue living   
with drunken and dissolute men4 ,to the 
clergy1 the breaking of a marriage is an
 evil per se1 and regardless of         
circumstances4 ,they know this because  
,god has told them so1 and in the name  
of ,god they seek to keep people tied in
 sex unions which have come to mean     
loathing instead of love4  ,now1 ,i will
 assert it as a mathematical certainty  
that a considerable percentage of       
marriages must fail4 ,it is essential to
 progress that human beings should grow1
 both mentally and spiritually1 and     
manifestly they cannot all grow in the  
same way4 ,if they grow differently1    
must they not sometimes lose the power  
to make each other happy in the marital 
bonds8 ,who does not know the man who   
masters life and becomes a vital force1 
while his wife remains dull and empty8  
,if such a man changes wives1 the world 
in general denounces him as a selfish   
beast2 but the world does not know nor  

does it care about those thousands of   
men who1 not caring to be branded as    
selfish beasts1 fulfill the needs of    
their lives by keeping mistresses in    
secret4  ,i knew a certain country      
school teacher1 one of the most narrowly
 conventional young women imaginable1   
who was engaged to a middle-aged        
business man4 ,he went to ,new ,york on 
a business trip1 and stayed a couple of 
months1 and wrote her that he had met   
some ,anarchists1 and had discovered    
that all he had read about them in the  
newspapers was false1 and that they were
 the true and pure idealists to whom the
 rest of his life must be devoted4 ,the 
young lady was horrified2 nor was she   
any happier when she came to ,new ,york 
and met her fiance's new friends4 ,she  
ought in common sense to have broken the
 engagement2 but she was in love1 and   
she married1 as many another fool woman 
does1 with the idea of reforming the    
man4 ,she failed1 and was utterly and   
unspeakably wretched4  ,i know another  

man1 a conservative capitalist of narrow
 and aggressive temper1 whose wife      
turned into an ardent ,bolshevik4 ,the  
man thinks that all ,bolsheviks should  
be shut up in jail for life1 while the  
wife is equally certain that all jails  
should be razed to the ground and all   
,bolsheviks placed in control of the    
government4 ,these two people have got  
to a point where they cannot sit down to
 the breakfast table without flying into
 a quarrel4 ,i know another case of a   
modern scientist1 an agnostic1 whose    
wife1 a half-educated1 sentimental      
woman1 took to dabbling in mysticism1   
and drove him wild by setting up an     
image of ,buddha in her bedroom1 and    
consorting with swamis in long yellow   
robes4 ,i know another whose wife turned
 into an ultra-pious ,catholic1 and     
turned over the care of his domestic    
life to a priest4 ,is it not obvious    
that the only possible solution of such 
problems lies in divorce8 ,unless1      
indeed1 we are all of us going to turn  

over the care of our domestic lives to  
the priests6  ,our grandfathers and     
grandmothers believed one thing1 and    
believed the same thing when they were  
seventy as when they were twenty2 so it 
was possible for them to dwell in       
domestic security and permanence till   
death did them part4 ,but we are        
learning to change our minds2 and       
whether what we believe is better or    
worse than what our ancestors believed1 
at least it is different4 ,also we are  
coming to take what we believe with more
 seriousness2 the intellectual life     
means more and more to us1 and it       
becomes harder and harder for us to find
 sexual and domestic happiness with a   
partner who does not share our          
convictions1 but1 on the contrary1 may  
be contributing to the campaign funds of
 the opposition party4  ,i do not mean  
by this that people should get a divorce
 as soon as they find they differ about 
some intellectual idea2 on the contrary1
 ,i have advocated that they should do  

everything possible to understand and to
 tolerate each other4 ,but it is a fact 
that intellectual convictions are the   
raw material out of which characters and
 lives are made1 and it is inevitable   
that some characters and lives that fit 
quite well at twenty should fit very    
badly at thirty or forty4 ,when we      
refuse divorce under such circumstances 
we are not fostering marriage1 as we    
fondly imagine2 we are really fostering 
adultery4 ,it is a fact that not one    
person in ten who is held by legal or   
social force in an unhappy sex union    
will refrain from seeking satisfaction  
outside2 and because these outside      
satisfactions are disgraceful1 and in   
some cases criminal1 they seldom have   
any permanence4 ,therefore it follows   
that strict divorce laws1 such as the   
clerical propaganda urges upon us1 are  
in reality laws for the promotion of    
fornication and prostitution4  ,there is
 a short story by ,edith ,wharton1 in   
which the divorce evil is exhibited to  

us in its naked horror2 the story called
 ,the ,other ,two1 in the volume ,the   
,descent of ,man4 ,a society woman has  
been divorced twice and married three   
times1 and by an ingenious set of       
circumstances the woman and all three of
 the men are brought into the same      
drawing-room at the same time4 ,just    
imagine1 if you can1 such an            
excruciating situation3 a woman1 her    
husband1 and two men who used to be her 
husbands1 all compelled to meet together
 and think of something to say6 ,i cite 
this story because it is a perfect      
illustration of the extent to which the 
divorce problem is a problem of our lack
 of sense4 ,mrs4 ,wharton will1 ,i fear1
 consider me a very vulgar person if ,i 
assert that there is absolutely no      
reason whatever why any of those four   
people in her story should have had a   
moment's discomfort of mind1 except that
 they thought there was4 ,there is      
absolutely nothing to prevent a man and 
woman who used to be married from       

meeting socially and being decent to    
each other1 or to prevent two men from  
being decent to each other under such   
circumstances4 ,i would not say that    
they should choose to be intimate       
friends--though even that may be        
possible occasionally4  ,i know1 because
 ,i have seen it happen4 ,in ,holland ,i
 met a certain eminent novelist and     
poet1 a great and lovable man4 ,i       
visited his home1 and met his wife and  
two little children1 and saw a man and  
woman living in domestic happiness4 ,the
 man had also two grown sons1 and after 
a few days he remarked that he would    
like me to meet the mother of these     
young men4 ,we went for a walk of a mile
 or so1 and met a lady who lived in a   
small house by herself1 and who received
 us with a friendly welcome and talked  
with us for a couple of hours about     
music and books and art4 ,this lady had 
been the writer's wife for ten years or 
so1 and there had been a terrible uproar
 when they voluntarily parted4 ,but they

 had refused to pay attention to this   
uproar2 they understood why they did not
 wish to remain husband and wife any    
longer1 but they did not consider it    
necessary to quarrel about it1 nor even 
to break off the friendship which their 
common interests made possible4 ,the two
 women in the case were not intimate1 ,i
 gathered1 but they frequently met at   
the homes of others1 and found no       
difficulty in being friendly4 ,i suggest
 to ,mrs4 ,wharton that this story is at
 least as interesting as the one she has
 told2 but ,i fear she will not care to 
write it1 because apparently she        
considers it necessary that people who  
are well bred and refined should be the 
helpless victims of destructive manias4 
,,chapter ,,xlvii  ,,the ,,restriction  
,,of ,,divorce       7,discusses the    
circumstances under which society has   
the right to      forbid divorce1 or to 
impose limitations upon it47   ,we have 
quoted the old maxim1 ,marry in haste   
and repent at leisure1 and we suggested 

that parents and guardians should have  
the right to ask the young to wait      
before marriage1 and make certain of the
 state of their hearts4 ,we have now the
 same advice to give concerning divorce2
 the same claim to enter on behalf of   
society--that it has and should assert  
the right to ask people to delay and    
think carefully before breaking up a    
marriage4  ,what interest has society in
 the restriction of divorce8 ,what      
affair is it of any other person if ,i  
choose to get a divorce and marry a new 
wife once a month8 ,there are many      
reasons1 not in any way based upon      
religious superstition or conventional  
prejudice4 ,in the first place1 there   
are or may be children1 and society     
should try to preserve for every child a
 home with a father and a mother in it4 
,second1 there are property rights1 of  
which every marriage is a tangle1 and   
the settlement of which the law should  
always oversee4 ,third1 there is the    
question of venereal disease1 which     

society has an unquestionable right to  
keep down1 by every reasonable          
restriction upon sexual promiscuity4    
,and finally1 there is the respect which
 all men and women owe to love4 ,it     
seems to me that society has the same   
right to protect love against extreme   
outrage1 as it has to forbid indecent   
exposure of the person on the street4   
,there is in successful operation in    
,switzerland a wise and sane divorce    
law1 based upon common sense and not    
upon superstition4 ,a couple wish to    
break their marriage1 and they go before
 a judge1 and in private session1 as to 
a friendly adviser1 they tell their     
troubles4 ,he gives them advice about   
their disagreement1 and sends them away 
for three months to think it over4 ,at  
the end of three months1 if they still  
desire a divorce1 they meet with him    
again4 ,if he still thinks there is a   
chance of reconciliation1 he has the    
right to require them to wait another   
three months4 ,but if at the end of this

 second period they are still convinced 
that the case is hopeless1 and that they
 should part1 the judge is required to  
grant the divorce4 ,you may note that   
this is exactly what ,i have suggested  
concerning young couples who become     
engaged4 ,in both cases1 the parties    
directly interested have the right to   
decide their own fate1 but the rest of  
the world requires them to think        
carefully about it1 and to listen to    
counsel4 ,except for grave offenses1    
such as adultery1 insanity1 crime or    
venereal disease1 ,i do not think that  
anyone should receive a divorce in less 
than six months1 nor do ,i think that   
any personal right is contravened by the
 imposing of such a delay4  ,next1 what 
are we going to say to the right1 or the
 claim to the right1 on the part of a   
man or woman1 to be married once a year 
throughout a lifetime8 ,in order to     
illustrate this problem1 ,i will tell   
you about a certain man known to me4 ,in
 his early life he spent a couple of    

years in a lunatic asylum4 ,he lays     
claim to extraordinary spiritual gifts1 
and uses the language of the highest    
idealism known4 ,he is a man of culture 
and good family1 and thus exerts a      
peculiar charm upon young women of      
refinement and sensitiveness4 ,to my    
knowledge he was three times married in 
six years1 and each time he deserted the
 woman1 and forced her to divorce him1  
and to take care of herself1 and in one 
case of a child4 ,in addition1 he had   
begotten one child out of marriage1 and 
left the mother and child to starve4    
,for ten years or so ,i used to see him 
about once in six months1 and invariably
 he had a new woman1 a young girl of    
fine character1 who had been ensnared by
 him1 and was in the agonizing process  
of discovering his moral and mental     
derangement4 ,yet there was absolutely  
nothing in the law to place restraint   
upon this man2 he could wander from     
state to state1 or to the other side of 
the world1 preying upon lovely young    

girls wherever he went4  ,this          
particular man happens to call himself a
 radical2 but ,i could tell you of      
similar men in the highest social       
circles1 or in the political world1 the 
theatrical world1 the sporting world2   
they are in every rank of life1 and are 
just as definitely and certainly menaces
 to human welfare and progress as       
pirates on the high seas or highwaymen  
on the road4 ,nor are they confined to  
the males2 the world is full of women   
who use their sex charms for predatory  
purposes1 and some of them are far too  
clever for any law that you or ,i can   
contrive at present4 ,but ,i think we   
might begin by refusing to let any man  
or woman have more than two divorces in 
one lifetime1 in any state or part of   
the world4 ,if any man or woman tries   
three times to find happiness in love1  
and fails each time1 we have a right to 
assume that the fault must lie with that
 person1 and not with the three         
partners4  ,i think we may go further   

yet2 having made wise laws of love and  
marriage1 taking into consideration all 
human needs1 we have a right to require 
that men and women shall obey the laws4 
,at present the great mass of the public
 has sympathy for the law-breaker2 just 
as1 in old days1 the peasants could not 
help admiring the outlaw who resisted   
unjust land laws and robbed the rich1 or
 as today1 under the capitalist regime1 
we can not withhold our sympathy from   
political prisoners1 even though they   
have committed acts of violence which we
 deplore4 ,but when we have made sex    
laws that we know are just and          
sensible--then we shall consider that we
 have the right to restrain sex         
criminals1 and in extreme cases we shall
 avail ourselves of the skill of science
 to perform a surgical operation which  
will render him unable in future to prey
 upon the love needs of people who are  
placed at his mercy by their best       
qualities1 their unselfishness and lack 
of suspicion4  ,we clear out            

foul-smelling weeds from our garden1    
because we wish to raise beautiful      
flowers and useful herbs therein4 ,there
 lives in ,california a student of plant
 life1 who has shown us what we can do1 
not by magic or by superhuman efforts1  
but simply by loving plants1 by watching
 them ceaselessly1 understanding their  
ways1 and guiding their sex-life to our 
own purposes4 ,we can perform what to   
our ignorant ancestors would have seemed
 to be miracles2 we can actually make   
all sorts of new plants1 which will     
continue to breed their own kind1 and   
survive forever if we give them proper  
care4 ,in other words1 ,luther ,burbank 
has shown us that we can change plant   
nature4  ,there flash back upon my      
memory all those dull1 weary1 sick human
 creatures1 who have repeated to me that
 dull1 weary1 sick old formula1 ,you    
cannot change human nature4 ,i do not   
think ,i am indulging either in         
religious superstition or in blind      
optimism1 but am speaking precisely1 in 

saying that whenever human beings get   
ready to apply experimental science to  
themselves1 they can change human nature
 just as they now change plant nature4  
,by putting human bodies together in    
love1 we make new bodies of children    
more beautiful than any who have yet    
romped on the earth2 and in the same    
way1 by putting minds and souls         
together1 we can make new kinds of minds
 and souls1 different from those we have
 previously known1 and greater than     
either the man-soul or the woman-soul   
alone4  ,also1 by that magic which is   
the law of mind and soul life1 each new 
creation can be multiplied to infinity1 
and shared by all other minds and souls 
that live in the present or may live in 
the future4 ,we have shown elsewhere how
 genius multiplies to infinity the joy  
and power of life by means of the arts2 
and one of the greatest of the arts is  
the art of love4 ,consider the great    
lovers1 the true lovers1 of history--how
 they have enriched the lives of us all4

 ,it does not make any difference       
whether these men and women lived in the
 flesh1 or in the brain of a poet--we   
learn alike from ,dante and ,beatrice1  
from ,abelard and ,heloise1 from ,robert
 and ,elizabeth ,browning1 from ,tristan
 and ,isolde1 from ,romeo and ,juliet1  
what is the depth and the splendor of   
this passion which lies hidden within   
us1 and how it may enrich and vivify and
 glorify all life4     ,,part ,,four    
,,the ,,book ,,of ,,society             
,,chapter ,,xlviii  ,,the ,,ego ,,and   
,,the ,,world       7,discusses the     
beginning of consciousness1 in the      
infant and in      primitive man1 and   
the problem of its adjustment to life47 
,we have now to consider the            
relationship of man to his fellows1 with
 whom he lives in social groups4 ,upon  
this problem floods of light have been  
thrown by the new science of            
psycho-analysis4 ,i will try to give1   
briefly and in simple language1 an idea 
of these discoveries4  ,one of the laws 

of biology is that every individual1 in 
his development1 reproduces the history 
of the race2 so that impulses and mental
 states of a child reveal to us what our
 far-off ancestors loved and feared4    
,the same thing is discovered to be true
 of neurotics1 people who have failed in
 adjusting themselves to civilized life1
 and have gone back1 in some or all of  
their mental traits1 to infantile       
states4 ,if we analyze the unconscious  
minds of nervous patients1 and compare  
them with what we find in the minds of  
infants1 and in savages1 we discover the
 same dreams1 the same longings and the 
same fears4  ,the mental life of man    
begins in the womb4 ,we cannot observe  
that life directly1 but we know that it 
is there1 because there cannot be       
organic life without mind to direct it1 
and just as there is an unconscious mind
 that regulates the bodily processes in 
adults1 so in the embryo there must be  
an unconscious mind to direct the flow  
of blood1 the building of bones1 muscle1

 eyes and brain4 ,the mental life of    
that unborn creature is of course purely
 egotistical2 it knows nothing outside  
itself1 and it finds this universe an   
agreeable place--everything being       
supplied to it1 promptly and perfectly1 
without effort of its own4  ,but        
suddenly it gets its first shock2 pain  
begins1 and severe discomfort1 and the  
creature is shoved out into a cold      
world1 yelling in protest against the   
unsought change4 ,and from that moment  
on1 the new-born infant labors to adjust
 itself to an entirely new set of       
conditions4 ,discomforts trouble it1 and
 it cries4 ,quickly it learns that these
 cries are answered1 and satisfaction of
 its needs is furnished4 ,somehow1      
magically1 things appear2 warm and dry  
covering1 a trickle of delicious hot    
milk into its mouth4 ,at first the      
infant mind has no idea how all this    
happens2 but gradually it comes to      
realize objects outside itself1 and it  
forms the idea that these objects exist 

to serve its wants4 ,later on it learns 
that there are particular sounds which  
attach to particular objects1 and cause 
them to function4 ,the sound ,mama1 for 
example1 produces a goddess clothed in  
beauty and power1 performing miracles4  
,so the infant mind arrives at the      
period of magic gestures and the period 
of magic words2 corresponding to a      
certain type of myth and belief which we
 find in every race and tribe of human  
being that now exists or ever has       
existed on earth4 ,all these stories    
about magic wishes and magic rings and  
magic spells of a thousand sorts2 and   
nowhere on earth a child which does not 
listen greedily to such fancies6 ,the   
reason is simply that the child has     
passed through this stage of mental     
life1 and so recently that the feelings 
are close to the surface of his         
consciousness4  ,but gradually the      
infant makes the painful discovery that 
not everything in existence can be got  
to serve him2 there are forces which are

 proof against his magic spells2 there  
are some which are hostile1 and these   
the infant learns to regard with hatred 
and fear4 ,sometimes hatred and fear are
 strangely mixed with admiration and    
love4 ,for example1 there is a powerful 
being known as father1 who is sometimes 
good and useful1 but at other times     
takes the attention of the supremely    
useful mother1 the source of food and   
warmth and life4 ,so father is hated1   
and in fancy he is wished out of the    
way--which to the infant is the same    
thing as killing4 ,out of this grows a  
whole universe of fascinating mental    
life1 which ,freud calls by the name the
 ,,oedipus complex--after the legend of 
the ,greek hero who murdered his father 
and committed incest with his mother1   
and then1 when he discovered what he had
 done1 put out his own eyes4 ,there is a
 mass of legends1 old as human thought1 
repeating this story2 we cannot be sure 
whether they have grown out of the      
greeds and jealousies of this early     

wish-life of the infant1 or whether they
 had their base in the fact that there  
was a stage in human progress in which  
the father really was killed off by the 
sons4  ,this latter idea is discussed by
 ,freud1 in his book1 ,totem and ,taboo4
 ,it appears that primitive man lived in
 hordes1 which were dominated by one old
 male1 who kept all the women to        
himself1 and either killed the young    
males1 or drove them out to shift for   
themselves2 so the young men would      
combine and murder their father4 ,the   
forming of human society1 of marriage   
and the family1 depended upon one       
factor1 the decision of the young       
victors to live and let live4 ,the only 
way they could do this was to agree not 
to quarrel over the women of their own  
group1 but to seek other women from     
other groups4 ,this may account for what
 is known as exogamy1 an almost         
universal marriage custom of primitive  
man1 whereby a man named ,jones is      
barred by frightful taboos from the     

women named ,jones1 but is permitted    
relations with all the women named      
,smith4  ,to return to our infant3 he is
 in the midst of a painful process of   
adjusting himself to the outside world2 
discovering that sometimes all his magic
 words and gestures fail1 his wishes no 
longer come true4 ,there are beings     
outside him1 with wills of their own1   
and power to enforce them2 he has to    
learn to get along with these beings1   
and give up his pleasures to theirs4    
,these processes which go on in the     
infant soul1 the hopes and the terrors1 
the griefs and the angers1 are of the   
profoundest significance for the later  
adult life4 ,for nothing gets out of the
 mind that has once got into it2 the    
infantile cravings which are repressed  
and forgotten stay in the unconscious1  
and work there1 and strive still for    
expression4 ,the conscious mind will not
 tolerate them1 but they escape in the  
form of fairy-tales and stories1 of     
dreams and delusions1 slips of the      

tongue1 and many other mental events    
which it is fascinating to examine4     
,also1 if we are weakened by ill health 
or nervous strain1 these infantile      
wishes may take the form of neuroses1   
and fully grown people may take to      
stammering1 or become impotent1 or      
hysterical1 or even insane1 because of  
failures of adjustment to life that     
happened when they were a year or two   
old4 ,these things are known1 not merely
 as a matter of theory1 but because1 as 
soon as by analysis these infant secrets
 are brought into consciousness and     
adjusted there1 the trouble instantly   
ceases4  ,so it appears that the whole  
process of human life1 from the very    
hour of birth1 consists of the correct  
adjustment of men and women in relation 
to their fellows4 ,not merely is man a  
social being1 but all the prehuman      
ancestors of men1 for ages upon geologic
 ages1 have been social beings2 they    
have lived in groups1 and their survival
 has depended upon their success in     

fitting themselves snugly into group    
relationships4 ,failure to make correct 
adjustments means punishment by the     
group1 or by enemies outside the group2 
if the failure is serious enough1 it    
means death4 ,we may assert that the    
task of understanding one's fellow men1 
and making one's self understood by     
them1 is the most important task that   
confronts every individual4  ,and if we 
look about the world at present1 the    
most superficial of us cannot fail to   
realize that the task is far from being 
correctly performed4 ,so many people    
unhappy1 so many striving for what they 
cannot get6 ,so many having to be locked
 behind bars1 like savage beasts1       
because they demand something which the 
world is resolved not to let them have6 
,so many having to be killed1 by rifles 
and machine-guns1 by high explosive     
shells and poison gas--because they     
misunderstood the social facts about    
them1 and thought they could fulfill    
some wishes which the rest of mankind   

wanted them to repress6 ,as ,i read the 
psycho-analyst's picture of the newly   
born infant with its primitive ego1 its 
magic cries and magic gestures1 ,i      
cannot be sure how much of it is sober  
science and how much is mordant irony--a
 sketch of the mental states of the men 
and women ,i see about me--whole classes
 of men and women1 yes1 even whole      
nations6  ,the effort of the following  
chapters will be to interpret to men and
 women the world which they have made1  
and to which they are trying to adjust  
themselves4 ,more especially we shall   
try to show how1 by better adjustments1 
men may change both themselves and the  
world1 and make both into something less
 cruel and less painful1 more serene and
 more certain and more free4            
,,chapter ,,xlvix  ,,competition ,,and  
,,co-,,operation       7,discusses the  
relation of the adult to society1 and   
the part which      selfishness and     
unselfishness play in the development of
 social      life47   ,pondering the    

subject of this chapter1 ,i went for a  
stroll in the country1 and seating      
myself in a lonely place1 became lost in
 thought2 when suddenly my eye was      
caught by something moving4 ,on the     
bare1 hot1 gray sand lay a creature that
 ,i could see when it moved and could   
not see when it was still1 for it was   
exactly the color of the ground1 and    
fitted the ground tightly1 being flat1  
and having its edges scalloped so that  
they mingled with the dust4 ,it was a   
lizard1 covered with heavy scales1 and  
with sharp horns to make it unattractive
 eating4 ,at the slightest motion from  
me it vanished into a heap of stones1 so
 quickly that my eye could scarcely     
follow it4  ,this creature1 you         
perceive1 is in its actions and its very
 form an expression of terror2 terror of
 devouring enemies1 of jackals that     
pounce and hawks that swoop1 and also of
 the hot desert air that seeks to dry   
out its few precious drops of moisture4 
,practically all the energies of this   

creature are concentrated upon the      
securing of its own individual survival4
 ,to be sure1 it will mate1 but the     
process will be quick1 and the eggs will
 be left for the sun to hatch out1 and  
the baby lizards will shift for         
themselves--that is to say1 they will be
 incarnations of terror from the moment 
they open their eyes to the light4  ,the
 jackal seeks to pounce upon the lizard1
 and so inspires terror in the lizard2  
but when you watch the jackal you find  
that it exhibits terror toward more     
powerful foes4 ,you find that the hawk1 
which swoops upon the lizard1 is equally
 quick to swoop away when it comes upon 
a man with a gun4 ,this preying and     
being preyed upon1 this mixture of      
cruelty and terror1 is a conspicuous    
fact of nature2 if you go into any      
orthodox school or college in ,america  
today1 you will be taught that it is    
nature's most fundamental law1 and      
governs all living things4 ,if you      
should take a course in political       

economy under a respectable professor1  
you would find him explaining that such 
cruelty-terror applies equally in human 
affairs2 it is the basis of all economic
 science1 and the effort to escape from 
it is like the effort to lift yourself  
by your boot-straps4  ,the professor    
calls this cruelty-terror by the name   
competition2 and he creates for his own 
purposes an abstract being whom he names
 the economic man1 a creature who acts  
according to this law1 and exists under 
these conditions4 ,one of the           
professor's formulas is the so-called   
,malthusian law1 that population presses
 always upon the limits of subsistence4 
,another is the law of diminishing      
returns of agriculture1 that you can get
 only so much product out of a certain  
piece of land1 no matter how much labor 
and capital you put into it4 ,another is
 ,ricardo's iron law of wages1 that     
wages cannot rise above the cost of     
living4 ,another is embodied in the     
formula of ,adam ,smith1 that           

,competition is the life of trade4 ,the 
professor enunciates these laws1 coldly 
and impersonally1 as becomes the        
scientist2 but if you go into the world 
of business1 you find them set forth    
cynically1 in scores of maxims and      
witticisms3 ,dog eat dog1 the devil take
 the hindmost1 business is business1 do 
others or they will do you4  ,evidently1
 however1 there is something in man     
which rebels against these natural laws4
 ,in our present society man has set    
aside six days in the week in which to  
live under them1 and one day in the week
 in which to preach an entirely         
different and contradictory code--that  
of ,christian ethics1 which bids you    
love your neighbor1 and do unto others  
as you would they should do unto you4   
,between these ,sunday teachings and the
 week-day teachings there is eternal    
conflict1 and one who takes pleasure in 
ridiculing his fellow men can find      
endless opportunity here4 ,the ,sunday  
preachers are forbidden to interfere    

with the affairs of the other six days2 
that is called dragging politics into   
the pulpit4 ,on the other hand1         
incredible as it may seem1 there are    
professors of the week-day doctrine who 
call themselves ,christians1 and believe
 in the ,sunday doctrine1 too4 ,they    
manage this by putting the ,sunday      
doctrine off into a future world2 that  
is1 we are to pounce upon one another   
and devour one another under the iron   
laws of economics so long as we live on 
earth1 but in the next world we shall   
play on golden harps and have nothing to
 do but love one another4 ,if anybody is
 so foolish as to apply the ,sermon on  
the ,mount to present-day affairs1 we   
regard him as a harmless crank2 if he   
persists1 and sets out to teach others1 
we call him a ,communist or a ,pacifist1
 and put him in jail for ten or twenty  
years4  ,in the ,book of the ,mind1 ,i  
have referred to ,kropotkin's ,mutual   
,aid as a ,factor in ,evolution1 which  
,i regard as one of the epoch-making    

books of our time4 ,kropotkin clearly   
proves that competition is not the only 
law of nature1 it is everywhere modified
 by co-operation1 and in the great      
majority of cases co-operation plays a  
larger part in the relations of living  
creatures than competition4 ,there is no
 creature in existence which is entirely
 selfish2 in the nature of the case such
 a creature could not exist--save in the
 imaginations of teachers of special    
privilege4 ,if a species is to survive1 
some portion of the energies of the     
individual must go into reproduction2   
and steadily1 as life advances1 we find 
the amount of this sacrifice increasing4
 ,the higher the type of the creature1  
the longer is the period of infancy1 and
 the greater the sacrifice of the parent
 for the young4 ,likewise1 most         
creatures make the discovery that by    
staying together in herds or groups1 and
 learning to co-operate instead of      
competing among themselves1 they        
increase their chances of survival4 ,you

 find birds that live in flocks1 and    
other birds1 like hawks and owls and    
eagles1 that are solitary2 and you find 
the co-operating birds a thousand times 
as numerous--that is to say1 a thousand 
times as successful in the struggle for 
survival4 ,you find that all man's brain
 power has been a social product2 the   
supremacy he has won over nature has    
depended upon one thing and one         
alone--the fact that he has managed to  
become different from the economic man1 
that product of the imagination of the  
defenders of privilege4  ,it is evident 
that both competition and co-operation  
are necessary to every individual1 and  
the health of the individual and of the 
race lies in the proper combination of  
the two4 ,if a creature were wholly     
unselfish--if it made no effort to look 
after its own individual welfare--it    
would be exterminated before it had a   
chance to reproduce4 ,if1 on the other  
hand1 it cannot learn to co-operate1 its
 progeny stand less chance of survival  

against creatures which have learned    
this important lesson4 ,we have a nation
 of a #aaj1jjj1jjj people1 who have     
learned to co-operate to a certain      
limited extent4 ,some of us realize how 
vastly the happiness of these millions  
might be increased by a further         
extension of co-operation2 but we find  
ourselves opposed by the professors of  
privilege--and we wish that these       
gentlemen would go out and join the     
lizards of the desert sands or the      
sharks of the sea1 creatures which      
really practice the system of laissez   
faire which the professors teach4  ,the 
plain truth is that we cannot make a    
formula out of either competition or    
co-operation4 ,we cannot settle any     
problem of economics1 of business or    
legislation1 by proclaiming1 for        
example1 that ,competition is the life  
of trade4 ,competition may just as well 
turn out to be the death of trade2 it   
depends entirely upon the kind of       
competition1 and the stage of trade     

development to which it is applied4 ,in 
the early eighteenth century1 when that 
formula of ,adam ,smith was written1    
competition was observed to keep down   
prices and provide stimulus to          
enterprise1 and so to further abundant  
production4 ,but the time came when the 
machinery for producing goods was in    
excess1 not merely of the needs of the  
country1 but of the available foreign   
markets1 and then suddenly the          
large-scale manufacturers made the      
discovery that competition was the death
 of trade to them4 ,they proceeded1 as a
 matter of practical common sense1 and  
without consulting their college        
professors1 to abolish competition by   
forming trusts4 ,we passed laws         
forbidding them to do this1 but they    
simply refused to obey the laws4 ,in the
 ,united ,states they have made good    
their refusal for thirty-five years1 and
 in the end have secured the blessing of
 the ,supreme ,court upon their course4 
,so now we have co-operation in         

large-scale production and marketing4   
,it is known by various names1 pools1   
syndicates1 price-fixing1 gentlemen's   
agreements4 ,it is a blessing for those 
who co-operate1 but it proves to be the 
death of those who labor1 and also of   
those who consume1 and we see these also
 compelled to combine1 forming labor    
unions and consumers' societies4 ,each  
side to the quarrel insists that the    
other side is committing a crime in     
refusing to compete1 and our whole      
social life is rent with dissensions    
over this issue4 ,manifestly1 we need to
 clear our minds of dead doctrines2 to  
think out clearly just what we mean by  
competition1 and what by co-operation1  
and what is the proper balance between  
the two4  ,i have been at pains in this 
book to provide a basis for the deciding
 of such questions4 ,it is a practical  
problem1 the fostering of human life and
 the furthering of its development4 ,we 
cannot lay down any fixed rule2 we have 
to study the facts of each case         

separately4 ,we shall say1 this kind of 
competition is right1 because it helps  
to protect human life and to develop its
 powers4 ,we shall say1 this other kind 
of competition is wrong because it has  
the opposite effect4 ,we shall say1     
perhaps1 that some kind was right fifty 
years ago1 or even ten years ago1       
because it then had certain effects2 but
 meantime some factor has changed1 and  
it is now having a different effect1 and
 therefore ought to be abolished4       
,there has never been any kind of human 
competition which men did not judge and 
modify in that way2 there is no field of
 human activity in which ethical codes  
do not condemn certain practices as     
unfair4 ,the average ,englishman        
considers it proper that two men who get
 into a dispute shall pull off their    
coats1 and settle the question at issue 
by pummeling each other's noses4 ,but   
let one of these men strike his opponent
 in the groin1 or let him kick his      
shins1 and instantly there will be a    

howl of execration4 ,likewise1 an       
,anglo-,saxon man who fights with the   
fists has a loathing for a ,sicilian or 
,greek or other ,mediterranean man who  
will pull a knife4 ,that kind of        
competition is barred among our breeds2 
and also the kind which consists of     
using poisons1 or of starting slanders  
against your opponent4  ,if you look    
back through history1 you find many     
forms of competition which were once    
eminently respectable1 but now have been
 outlawed4 ,there was a time1 for       
example1 when the distinction we draw   
between piracy and sea-war was wholly   
unknown4 ,the ships of the ,vikings     
would go out and raid the ships and     
seaports of other peoples1 and carry off
 booty and captives1 and the men who did
 that were sung as heroes of the nation4
 ,the ,british sea-captains of the time 
of ,queen ,elizabeth--,drake1           
,frobisher1 and the rest of them--are   
portrayed in our school books as valiant
 and hardy men1 and the ,british        

colonies were built on the basis of     
their activities2 yet1 according to the 
sea laws in force today1 they were      
pirates4 ,we regard a cannibal race with
 abhorrence2 yet there was a time when  
all the vigorous races of men were      
cannibals1 and the habit of eating your 
enemies in battle may well have given an
 advantage to the races which practiced 
it4  ,on the other hand1 you find       
sentimental people who reject all       
competition on principle1 and would like
 to abolish every trace of it from      
society1 and especially from education4 
,but stop and consider for a moment what
 that would mean4 ,would you abolish1   
for example1 the competition of love1   
the right of a man to win the girl he   
wants8 ,you could not do it1 of course2 
but if you could1 you would abolish one 
of the principal methods by which our   
race has been improved4 ,of course1 what
 you really want is1 not to abolish     
competition in love1 but to raise it to 
a higher form4 ,there is an old saying1 

,all's fair in love and war1 but no one 
ever meant that4 ,you would not admit   
that a man might compete in love by     
threatening to kill the girl if she     
preferred a rival4 ,you would not admit 
that he might compete by poisoning the  
other man4 ,you would not admit that he 
might compete by telling falsehoods     
about the other man4 ,on the other hand1
 if you are sensible1 you admit that he 
has a right to compete by making his    
character known to the girl1 and if the 
other man is a rascal1 by telling the   
girl that4  ,would you abolish the      
competition of art1 the effort of men to
 produce work more beautiful and        
inspiring than has ever been known      
before8 ,would you abolish the effort of
 scientists to overthrow theories which 
have hitherto been accepted8 ,obviously 
not4 ,you make these forms of           
competition seem better by calling them 
emulation1 but you do not in the least  
modify the fact that they involve the   
right of one person to outdo other      

persons1 to supplant them and take away 
something from them1 whether it be      
property or position or love or fame or 
power4 ,in that sense1 competition is   
indeed the law of life1 and you might as
 well reconcile yourself to it1 and     
learn to play your part with spirit and 
good humor4  ,also1 you might as well   
train your children to it4 ,you will    
find you cannot develop their powers to 
the fullest without competition2 in     
fact1 you will be forced to go back and 
utilize forms of competition which are  
now out of date among adults4 ,i have   
told in the ,book of the ,body how ,i   
myself tried for ten years or more to   
live without physical competition1 and  
discovered that ,i could not2 ,i have   
had to take up some form of sport1 and  
hundreds of thousands of other men have 
had the same experience4 ,what is sport8
 ,it is a deliberate going back1 under  
carefully devised rules1 to the savage  
struggles of our ancestors4 ,the very   
essence of real sport is that the       

contestants shall1 within the rules laid
 down1 compete with each other to the   
limit of their powers4 ,with what       
contempt would a player of tennis or    
baseball or whist regard the proposition
 that his opponent should be merciful to
 him1 and let him win now and then6     
,obviously1 these things have no place  
in the game1 and to be a good sport is  
to conform to the rules1 and take with  
enjoyment whatever issue of the struggle
 may come4  ,but then again1 suppose you
 are competing with a child2 obviously1 
the conditions are different4 ,you no   
longer play the best you can1 you let   
the child win a part of the time2 but   
you do not let the child know this1 or  
it would spoil the fun for the child4   
,you pretend to try as hard as you know 
how1 and you cry out in grief when you  
are beaten1 and the child crows with    
delight4 ,and yet1 that does not keep   
you from loving the child1 or the child 
from loving you4  ,the purpose of this  
elaborate exposition is to make clear   

the very vital point that a certain set 
of social acts may be right under some  
conditions1 and desperately wrong under 
other conditions4 ,they may be right in 
play1 and not in serious things2 they   
may be right in youth1 and not in       
maturity2 they may be right at one      
period of the world's development1 while
 at another period they are destructive 
of social existence4 ,if1 therefore1 we 
wish to know what are right and wrong   
actions in the affairs of men1 if we    
wish to judge any particular law or     
political platform or program of        
business readjustment1 the first thing  
we have to do is to acquire a mass of   
facts concerning the society to which   
the law or platform or program1 is to be
 applied4 ,we need to ask ourselves1    
exactly what will be the effect of that 
change1 applied in that particular way  
at that particular time4 ,in order to   
decide accurately1 we need to know the  
previous stages through which that      
society has passed1 the forces which    

have been operating in it1 and the ways 
in which they have worked4  ,but also we
 must realize that the lessons of       
history cannot ever be accepted blindly4
 ,the principles of the founders apply  
to us only in modified form2 for the    
world in which we live today is         
different from any world which has ever 
been before1 and the world tomorrow will
 be different yet4 ,we are the makers of
 it1 and the masters of it1 and what it 
will be depends to some extent upon our 
choice4 ,in fact1 that is the most      
important lesson of all for us to learn2
 the final purpose of all our thought   
about the world is to enable us to make 
it a happier and a better world for     
ourselves and our posterity to live in4 
,,chapter ,l  ,,aristocracy ,,and       
,,democracy       7,discusses the idea  
of superior classes and races1 and      
whether      there is a natural basis   
for such a doctrine47   ,in the letters 
of ,thomas ,jefferson is found the      
following passage3  ,all eyes are open  

or opening to the rights of man4 ,the   
general spread of the light of science  
has already laid open to every view the 
palpable truth that the mass of mankind 
has not been born with saddles on their 
backs1 nor a favored few booted and     
spurred1 ready to ride them             
legitimately1 by the grace of ,god4     
,this1 which ,jefferson1 over a hundred 
years ago1 described as a palpable      
truth1 is still a long way from         
prevailing in the world4 ,we are trying 
in this book not to take anything for   
granted1 so we do not assume this truth1
 but investigate it2 and we begin by    
admitting that there are many facts     
which seem to contradict it1 and which  
make it more difficult of proof than    
,jefferson realized4 ,it is not enough  
to point out the lack of saddles on the 
backs1 and of boots and spurs on the    
feet of newly born infants2 for the fact
 is that men are not exploited because  
of saddles1 nor is the exploiting       
accomplished by means of boots and      

spurs4 ,it is done by means of gold and 
steel1 banks and credit systems1        
railroads1 machine-guns and battleships4
 ,and while it is not true that certain 
races and classes are born with these   
things on them1 they are born to the    
possession of them1 and the vast        
majority of mankind are without them all
 their lives1 and without the ability to
 use them even if they had them4  ,the  
doctrine that all men are created equal1
 or that they ought to be equal1 we     
shall describe for convenience as the   
democratic doctrine4 ,it first came to  
general attention through ,christianity1
 which proclaimed the brotherhood of all
 mankind in a common fatherhood of ,god4
 ,but even as taught by the ,christians1
 the doctrine had startling limitations4
 ,it was several centuries before a     
church council summoned the courage to  
decide that women were human beings1 and
 had souls2 and today many devout       
,christians are still uncertain whether 
,japanese and ,chinese and ,filipinos   

and ,negroes are human beings1 and have 
souls4 ,i have heard old gentlemen in   
the ,south gravely maintain that the    
,negro is not a human being at all1 but 
a different species of animal4 ,i have  
heard learned men in the ,south set     
forth that the sutures in the ,negro    
skull close at some very early age1 and 
thus make moral responsibility          
impossible for the black race4 ,and you 
will find the same ideas maintained1 not
 merely as to differences of race and   
color1 but as to differences of economic
 condition4 ,you will find the average  
aristocratic ,englishman quite convinced
 that the lower orders are permanently  
inferior to himself1 and this though    
they are of the same ,anglo-,saxon      
stock4  ,for convenience ,i will refer  
to the doctrine that there is some      
natural and irremovable inferiority of  
certain races or classes1 as the        
aristocratic doctrine4 ,i will probably 
startle some of my readers by making the
 admission that if there is any such    

natural or irremovable inferiority1 then
 a belief in political or economic      
equality is a blunder4 ,if there are    
certain classes or races which cannot   
think1 or cannot learn to think as well 
as other classes and races1 those       
mentally inferior classes and races will
 obey1 and they will be made to obey1   
and neither you nor ,i1 nor all the     
preachers and agitators in the world1   
will ever be able to arrange it         
otherwise4 ,suppose we could do it1 we  
should be committing a crime against    
life2 we should be holding down the race
 and aborting its best development4  ,is
 there any such natural and irremovable 
inferiority in human beings8 ,when we   
come to study the question we find it   
complicated by a different phenomenon1  
that of racial immaturity1 which we have
 to face frankly and get clear in our   
minds4 ,one of the most obvious facts of
 nature is that of infancy and          
childhood4 ,we have just pointed out    
that if you are competing with a child1 

you do it in an entirely different way  
and under an entirely different set of  
rules1 and if you fail to do this1 you  
are unfair and even cruel to the child4 
,and it is a fact of our world that     
there are some races more backward in   
the scale of development than other     
races4 ,you may not like this fact1 but 
it is silly to try to evade it4 ,people 
who live in savage huts and beat on     
tom-toms and fight with bows and arrows 
and cannot count beyond a dozen--such   
people are not the mental or moral      
equals of our highly civilized races1   
and to treat them as equals1 and compete
 with them on that basis1 means simply  
to exterminate them4 ,and we should     
either exterminate them at once and be  
done with it1 or else make up our minds 
that they are in a childhood stage of   
our race1 and that we have to guide them
 and teach them as we do our children4  
,there is no more useful person than the
 wise and kind teacher4 ,but suppose we 
saw some one pretending to be a teacher 

to our children1 while in reality       
enslaving and exploiting them1 or       
secretly robbing and corrupting         
them--what would we say about that kind 
of teacher8 ,the name of that teacher is
 capitalist commercialism1 and his      
profession is known as the white man's  
burden2 his abuse of power is the cause 
of our present racial wars and revolts  
of subject peoples4 ,a fair-minded man1 
desirous of facing all the facts of     
life1 hardly knows what stand to take in
 such a controversy2 that is1 hardly    
knows from which cause the colored races
 suffer more--the white man's           
exploitation1 or their own native       
immaturity4  ,to say that certain races 
are in a childhood stage1 and need      
instruction and discipline1 is an       
entirely different thing from saying    
they are permanently inferior and       
incapable of self-government4 ,whether  
they are permanently inferior is a      
problem for the man of science1 to be   
determined by psychological tests1      

continued possibly over more than one   
generation4 ,we have not as yet made a  
beginning2 in fact1 we have not even    
acquired the scientific impartiality    
necessary to such an inquiry4  ,in the  
meantime1 all that we can do is to look 
about us and pick up hints where we can4
 ,in places like ,massachusetts1 where  
,negroes are allowed to go to college   
and are given a chance to show what they
 can do1 they have not ousted the white 
man1 but many of them have certainly won
 his respect1 and one finds charming and
 cultured men among them1 who show no   
signs of prematurely closed up skulls4  
,and one after another we see the races 
which have been held down as being      
inferior1 developing leadership and     
organization and power of moral         
resistance4 ,the ,irish are showing     
themselves today one of the most        
vigorous and high-spirited of all races4
 ,the ,hindus are developing a movement 
which in the long run may prove more    
powerful than the white man's gold and  

steel4 ,the ,egyptians1 the ,persians1  
the ,filipinos1 the ,koreans1 are all   
devising ways to break the power of     
capitalist newspaper censorship4 ,how   
sad that the subject races of the world 
have to get their education through     
hatred of their teachers1 instead of    
through love6  ,of course1 these rebel  
leaders are men who have absorbed the   
white man's culture1 at least in part2  
practically always they are of the      
younger generation1 which has been to   
the white man's schools4 ,but this is   
the very answer we have been seeking--as
 to whether the race is permanently     
inferior1 or merely immature and in need
 of training4 ,it is not only among the 
brown and black and yellow races that   
progress depends upon the young         
generations2 that is a universal fact of
 life4  ,in the course of this argument 
we shall assume that the ,christian or  
democratic theory has the weight of     
probability on its side1 and that nature
 has not created any permanently and    

necessarily inferior race or class4 ,we 
shall assume that the heritage of       
culture is a common heritage1 open to   
all our species4 ,we shall not go so far
 as the statement which ,jefferson wrote
 into the ,declaration of ,independence1
 that all men are created free and      
equal2 but we shall assert that they are
 created with certain inalienable       
rights1 and that among these is the     
right to maintain their lives and to    
strive for liberty and happiness4 ,also1
 we shall say that there will never be  
peace or order in the world until they  
have found liberty1 and recognition of  
their right to happiness4     ,,chapter 
,,li  ,,ruling ,,classes       7,deals  
with authority in human society1 how it 
is obtained1 and      what sanction it  
can claim47   ,it is possible to        
conceive an order of nature in which all
 individuals were born and developed    
exactly alike and with exactly equal    
powers4 ,such is apparently the case    
with lower animals1 for example the ants

 and the bees4 ,but among human beings  
there are great differences2 some are   
born idiots and some are born geniuses4 
,even supposing that we are able to do  
away with blindness and idiocy1 it is   
not likely that we can ever make a race 
of uniform genius4 ,there will always be
 some more capable minds1 who will      
discover new powers of life1 and will   
compel the others to learn from them4   
,it is to the interest of the race that 
this learning should be done as quickly 
as possible4 ,in other words1 the great 
problem of society is how to recognize  
superior minds and put them in          
authority4  ,we look back over history1 
and discover a few wise men1 and many   
rulers2 but very1 very rarely does it   
happen that the ruler is a wise man1 or 
a friend of wise men4 ,far more often we
 find the ruler occupied in suppressing 
the wise man and his wisdom4 ,there was 
a ruler who allowed the mob to crucify  
,jesus1 and another who ordered         
,socrates to drink the hemlock1 and     

another who tortured ,galileo1 and      
another who chopped off the head of ,sir
 ,walter ,raleigh--and so on through a  
long and tragic chronicle4 ,and even    
when the accident of a wise ruler occurs
 he is apt to be surrounded by a class  
of parasites and corrupt officials who  
are busy to thwart his will4  ,the      
general run of history is this3 some    
group seizes power by force1 and holds  
it by the same means1 and seeks to      
augment and perpetuate it4 ,those who   
win the power are frequently men of     
energy and practical sense1 and do      
fairly well as governors2 but they are  
never able to hand on their virtues1 and
 their line becomes corrupted by        
sensuality and self-indulgence1 and the 
subject classes are plundered and driven
 to revolt4 ,often the revolt fails1 but
 in the course of time it succeeds1 and 
there is a new dynasty1 or a new ruling 
class1 sometimes a little better than   
the old1 sometimes worse4  ,how shall   
one judge whether the new regime is     

better or worse8 ,obviously1 this is a  
most important question2 it has to do1  
not merely with history1 but with our   
daily affairs1 our voting4 ,as one who  
has read some tens of thousands of pages
 of history1 and has pondered its       
lessons with heart-sickness and despair1
 ,i lay down this general law by which  
revolts and changes of power may be     
judged3 ,if the change results in the   
holding of power by a smaller number of 
people1 it is a reaction2 but if the    
change results in distributing the power
 among a larger group of the community1 
then that community has made a step in  
advance4  ,i have seen a sketch of the  
history of some ,central ,american      
country--,guatemala1 ,i think--which    
showed #acj revolutions in less than a  
hundred years4 ,some rascal gets        
together a gang1 and seizes the         
government and plunders its revenue4    
,when he has plundered too much1 some   
other rascal stirs up the people1 and   
gets together another gang4 ,such       

revolutions we regard as subjects for   
comic opera1 and for the ,richard       
,harding ,davis type of fiction2 but we 
do not consider them as having any      
relationship to progress4 ,we describe  
them as palace revolutions4  ,but       
compare with this the various ,english  
revolutions4 ,we write learned histories
 about them1 and describe ,england as   
the ,mother of ,parliaments4 ,the reason
 for this is that when there was        
political discontent in ,england1 the   
protesting persons proceeded to organize
 themselves1 and to understand their    
trouble and to remedy it4 ,they had the 
brain power to do this2 they maintained 
their right to do it1 and when by       
violence or threats of violence they    
forced the ruling class to give way1    
they brought about a wider extension of 
liberty1 a wider distribution of power4 
,tennyson has pictured ,england as a    
state where freedom slowly broadens down
 from precedent to precedent4 ,we today1
 reading its history1 are inclined to   

put a sarcastic emphasis on the word    
slowly2 but ,tennyson would answer that 
it is better for a community to move    
forward slowly than to move forward     
rapidly and then move backward nearly as
 far4  ,we have pointed out several     
times the important fact of biology that
 change does not necessarily mean       
progress from any rational or moral     
point of view4 ,degeneration is just as 
real a fact as progress1 and it does not
 at all follow that because things      
change they are changing for the better4
 ,it is worth while to repeat this in   
discussing human society1 for it is just
 as true of governments and morals as of
 living species4 ,a nation may pile up  
wealth1 and multiply a hundredfold the  
machinery of wealth production1 and only
 be increasing luxury and wantonness and
 graft4 ,a nation may change its        
governmental forms1 its laws and social 
conventions1 and boast noisily of these 
changes in the name of progress1 while  
as a matter of fact it is following     

swiftly the road to ruin which all the  
empires of history have traced4 ,so far 
as ,i can discover1 there is one test1  
and only one1 by which you can judge1   
and that is the test already indicated3 
,is the actual1 effective power of the  
state wielded by a larger or a smaller  
percentage of the population than before
 the change took place8  ,you will note 
the words actual1 effective power4      
,nothing is more familiar in human life 
than for forms to survive after the     
spirit which created them is dead2 and  
nothing is more familiar than the use of
 these forms as masks to deceive the    
populace4 ,there have been many times in
 history when people have gone on       
voting1 long after their votes ceased to
 count for anything2 there have been    
many times when people have gone through
 the motions of freedom long after they 
have been slaves4 ,mexico under ,diaz   
had one of the most perfect of          
constitutions1 and was in reality one of
 the most perfect of despotisms2 and we 

,americans are sadly familiar with      
political democracies which do not work4
  ,shall we1 therefore1 join the        
pessimists and say that history is a    
blind struggle for useless power1 and   
that the notion of progress is a        
delusion8 ,i do not think so2 on the    
contrary1 ,i think it is easily to be   
demonstrated that there has been a      
steady increase in the amount of        
knowledge possessed by the race1 and in 
the spread of this knowledge among the  
whole population4 ,i think that through 
most of the period of written history we
 can trace a real development in human  
society4 ,i think we can analyze the    
laws of this development1 and explain   
its methods2 and ,i think this knowledge
 is precious to us1 because it enables  
us to accelerate the process and to make
 the end more certain4 ,this task1 the  
analysis of social evolution1 is the    
task we have next to undertake4         
,,chapter ,,lii  ,,the ,,process ,,of   
,,social ,,evolution       7,discusses  

the series of changes through which     
human society has      passed47   ,we   
have now to consider1 briefly1 the      
history of man as a social being1 the   
groups he has formed1 and the changes in
 his group systems4 ,everything in life 
grows1 and human societies are no       
exception to the rule4 ,they have       
undergone a long process of evolution1  
which we can trace in detail1 and which 
we find conforms exactly to the law laid
 down by ,herbert ,spencer2 a process   
whereby a number of single and similar  
things become different parts of one    
complex thing4 ,in the case of human    
societies the units are men and women1  
and social evolution is a process       
whereby a small and simple group1 in    
which the individuals are practically   
alike1 grows into a large and complex   
group1 in which the individuals are     
widely different1 and their relations   
one to another are complicated and      
subtle4  ,there are two powerful forces 
pressing upon human beings1 and         

compelling them to struggle and grow4   
,the first of these forces is fear1 the 
need of protection against enemies2 the 
second is hunger1 the need of food and  
the means of producing and storing food4
 ,the first causes the individual to    
combine with his fellows and establish  
some form of government1 and this is the
 origin of political evolution4 ,the    
second causes him to accumulate wealth1 
and to combine industrially1 and this is
 the origin of economic evolution4      
,because the first force is a little    
more urgent1 we observe in the history  
of human society that evolution in      
government precedes evolution in        
industry4  ,i made this statement some  
twenty years ago1 in an article in      
,collier's ,weekly4 ,i wrote to the     
effect that man's first care was to     
secure himself against his enemies1 and 
that when he had done this he set out to
 secure his food supply4 ,collier's     
called upon the late ,professor ,sumner 
of ,yale ,university1 a prize           

reactionary and ,tory of the old school1
 to answer me2 and ,professor ,sumner   
made merry over my statement1 declaring 
that man sought for food long before he 
was safe from his enemies4 ,some years  
later1 when ,sumner died1 one of his    
admirers wrote in the ,new ,york        
,evening ,post that he had completely   
overwhelmed me1 and ,i had acknowledged 
my defeat by failing to reply--something
 which struck me as very funny4 ,it was1
 of course1 possible that ,sumner had   
overwhelmed me1 but to say that ,i had  
considered myself overwhelmed was to    
attribute to me a degree of modesty of  
which ,i was wholly incapable4 ,as a    
matter of fact1 ,i had had my usual     
experience with capitalist magazines2   
,collier's ,weekly had promised to      
publish my rejoinder to ,sumner1 but    
failed to keep the promise1 and finally1
 when ,i worried them1 they tucked the  
answer away in the back part of the     
paper1 among the advertisements of      
cigars and toilet soaps4  ,professor    

,sumner is gone1 but he has left behind 
him an army of pupils1 and ,i will      
protect myself against them by phrasing 
my statement with extreme care4 ,i do   
not mean to say that man first secures  
himself completely against his enemies1 
and then goes out to hunt for a meal4   
,of course he has to eat while he is    
countering the moves of his enemies2 he 
has to eat while he is on the march to  
battle1 or in flight from it4 ,but ask  
yourself this question3 which would you 
choose1 if you had to choose--to go a   
couple of days with nothing to eat1 or  
to have your throat cut by bandits and  
your wife and children carried away into
 slavery8 ,certainly you would do your  
fighting first1 and meantime you would  
scratch together any food you could4    
,while you were devoting your energies  
to putting down civil war1 or to making 
a treaty with other tribes1 or to       
preparing for a military campaign1 you  
would continue to get food in the way   
your ancestors had got it2 in other     

words1 your economic evolution would    
wait1 while your political evolution    
proceeded4 ,but when you had succeeded  
in putting down your enemies1 and had a 
long period of peace before you1 then   
you would plant some fields1 and        
domesticate some animals1 or perhaps    
discover some new way of weaving        
cloth--and so your industrial life would
 make progress4  ,it is easy to see why 
,professor ,sumner wished to confuse    
this issue4 ,he could not deny political
 evolution1 because it had happened4 ,he
 despised and feared political          
democracy1 but it was here1 and he had  
to speak politely to it1 as to a tiger  
that had got into his house4 ,but       
industrial democracy was a thing that   
had not yet happened in the world2 it   
was only a hope and a prophecy1 and     
therefore a prize old ,tory was free to 
ridicule it4 ,i remember reading        
somewhere his statement--the notion that
 democracy had anything to do with      
industry1 or could in any way be applied

 to industry1 was a piece of silliness4 
,so1 of course1 he sought to demolish my
 idea that there was a process of       
evolution in economic affairs1          
paralleling the process of political    
evolution which had already culminated  
in democracy4  ,let us consider the     
process of political evolution1 briefly 
and in its broad outlines4 ,take any    
savage tribe2 you find it composed of   
individuals who are very much alike4    
,some are a little stronger than others1
 a little more clever1 more powerful in 
battle2 but the difference is slight1   
and when the tribe chooses someone to   
lead them1 they might as well choose one
 man as another4 ,they all have a say in
 the tribe councils1 both men and women2
 their rights in the tribe are the same4
 ,they are1 of course1 slaves to        
ignorance1 to degrading superstition and
 absurd taboos2 but these things apply  
to everyone alike1 there is no          
privileged caste1 no hereditary         
inequality4  ,but little by little1 as  

the tribe grows in numbers1 and in power
 and intelligence1 as it comes to       
capture slaves in battle1 and to unite  
with other tribes1 there comes to be an 
hereditary chieftain and a group of his 
leading supporters1 his courtiers and   
henchmen4 ,when the society has evolved 
into the stage which we call barbarism1 
there is a permanent superior caste2    
there are hereditary priests1 who have  
in their keeping the favor of the gods2 
and there is a subject population of    
slaves4  ,the society moves on into the 
feudal stage1 in which the various      
grades and classes are precisely marked 
off1 each with its different functions1 
its different privileges and rights and 
duties4 ,the feudal principalities and  
duchies war and struggle among          
themselves2 they are united by marriage 
or by conquest1 and presently some      
stronger ruler brings a great territory 
under his power1 and we have what is    
called a kingdom2 a society still       
larger1 still more complex in its       

organization1 and still more rigid in   
its class distinctions4 ,take ,france1  
under the ancient regime1 and compare a 
courtier or noble gentleman with a serf2
 they are not only different before the 
law1 they are different in the language 
they use1 in the clothes they wear1 in  
the ideas they hold2 they are different 
even in their bodies1 so that the       
gentleman regards the serf as an        
inferior species of creature4  ,the     
kings warred among themselves and       
emperors arose4 ,the ultimate ideal in  
,europe was a political society which   
should include the whole continent1 and 
this ideal was several times almost     
attained4 ,but it is the rule of history
 that wherever a large society is built 
upon the basis of privilege and         
enslavement1 the ruling classes prove   
morally and intellectually unequal to   
the burden put upon them2 they become   
corrupted1 and their rule becomes       
intolerable4 ,this happened in ,europe1 
and there came political                

revolutions--first in ,england1 which   
accomplished it by gradual stages1 and  
then in the ,french monarchy1 and quite 
recently in a dozen monarchies and      
empires1 large and small4  ,what        
precisely is this political revolution8 
,let us consider the case of ,france1   
where the change was sudden1 and the    
issues precisely drawn4 ,king ,louis    
,,xiv had said1 ,i am the state4 ,to a  
person of our time that might seem like 
boasting1 but it was merely an assertion
 of the existing political fact4 ,king  
,louis was the state by universal       
consent1 and by divine authority1 as all
 men believed4 ,the army was his army1  
the navy was his navy1 and wars1 when he
 made them1 were his wars4 ,everyone in 
the state was his subject1 and all the  
property of the state was his personal1 
private property1 to dispose of as he   
pleased4 ,the government officials      
carried out his will1 and members of the
 nobility held the land and ruled in his
 name4  ,but now suddenly the people of 

,france overthrew the king1 and put him 
to death1 and drove the nobles into     
exile2 they seized the power of the     
,french state1 and proclaimed themselves
 equal citizens in the state1 with equal
 voices in its government and equal     
rights before the law4 ,so we call      
,france a republic1 and describe this   
form of society as political democracy4 
,it is the completion of the process of 
political evolution1 and you will see   
that it moves in a sort of spiral2      
having completed a circle and got back  
where it was before1 but upon a higher  
plane4 ,the citizens of a modern        
republic are equal before the law1 just 
as were the members of the savage tribe2
 but the political organization is      
vastly larger1 and infinitely more      
complicated1 and every individual lives 
his life upon a higher level1 because he
 shares in the benefits of this more    
highly organized and more powerful      
state4     ,,chapter ,,liii             
,,industrial ,,evolution                

7,examines the process of evolution in  
industry and the stage which      it has
 so far reached47   ,and now let us     
consider the process of industrial      
evolution4 ,we shall find it to be      
exactly the same thing1 reproducing the 
changes in another field of activity4   
,you may picture two gigantic waves     
sweeping over the ocean4 ,in some places
 the waves are far apart1 and in other  
places they are closer together2 for a  
time they may mingle1 and perhaps their 
bases always mingle4 ,it would be easy  
for a critic to point out how political 
affairs play a leading part in          
industrial evolution1 and vice versa2 it
 would be easy to argue that property   
rules the political state1 or again1    
that the main function of the political 
state is to protect property4 ,as ,i    
have said1 man has to fight his enemies1
 and he has to seek food1 and often he  
has to do the two things at the same    
time2 but nevertheless1 broadly         
speaking1 we observe two great waves1   

sweeping over human society1 and most of
 the time these waves are clearly       
separated and easily distinguished4     
,industry in a savage tribe is1 like    
government1 simple and uniform2 all the 
members of the tribe get their living in
 the same way4 ,one may be a little more
 expert as a fisherman1 another as a    
gatherer of cocoanuts1 but the fisherman
 gathers cocoanuts and the              
cocoanut-gatherer fishes4 ,in the days  
of primitive communism there is little  
economic strife and little change2 but  
as slavery comes in1 and the private    
property system1 there begins industrial
 war--the members of the tribe trade    
with one another1 and argue over prices1
 and gradually some get the better of   
others1 they accumulate slaves and      
goods1 and later on they appropriate the
 land to their private use4 ,of course1 
the men who do this are often the rulers
 of the tribe1 and so politics and      
industry are mixed2 but even assuming   
that the state never interfered1        

assuming that the government allowed    
business affairs to work themselves out 
in their own way1 the tendency of       
competition is always to end in         
monopoly4 ,the big fish eat the little  
fish1 the strong gain advantage over the
 weak1 the rich grow richer1 and the    
poor grow relatively poorer4 ,as the    
amount of trading increases1 and men    
specialize in the arts of bargaining1 we
 see again and again how money          
concentrates in the hands of a few4 ,it 
does this1 even when the political state
 tries to prevent it2 as1 for example1  
when the princes and dukes of the       
,middle ,ages would torture the ,jewish 
money-lenders and take away their       
treasure1 but the ,jews never failed to 
grow rich again4  ,it is when political 
evolution has completed itself1 and a   
republic has been set up1 that a free   
field is given to economic forces to    
work themselves out to their logical    
end4 ,we have seen this in the ,united  
,states1 where we all started pretty    

much on the same economic level1 and    
where political tyranny has had little  
hold4 ,our civilization is a            
civilization of the trader--the business
 man1 as we call him2 and we see how big
 business absorbs little business1 and  
grows constantly larger and more        
powerful4 ,we are familiar with what we 
call graft1 the use by business men of  
the powers of government to get trade   
advantage for themselves1 and we have a 
school of old-time thinkers1 calling    
themselves ,jeffersonian ,democrats1 who
 insist that if only there had never    
been any government favors1 economic    
equality and democracy would have       
endured forever in our country4 ,but it 
is my opinion that government has done  
far more to prevent monopoly and special
 privilege in business than to favor it2
 and nevertheless1 monopoly has grown4  
,in other words1 the tendency toward    
concentration in business1 the          
absorption of the small business by the 
big business1 is an irresistible natural

 process1 which neither can be nor      
should be hindered4 ,the condition of   
competition1 whether in politics or in  
industry1 is never a permanent one1 and 
can never be made permanent2 it is a    
struggle which automatically brings     
itself to an end4 ,large-scale          
production and distribution is more     
economical than small-scale1 and big    
business has irresistible advantages of 
credit and permanence over little       
business4 ,as we shall presently show1  
the blind and indiscriminate production 
of goods under the competitive system   
leads to the glutting of markets and to 
industrial crises4 ,at such times the   
weaker concerns are weeded out and the  
strong ones take their trade2 and as a  
result1 we have the modern great        
corporation1 the most powerful machine  
of production yet devised by man1 and   
which corresponds in every aspect to the
 monarchy in political society4  ,we are
 accustomed to speak of our captains of 
industry1 our coal kings1 and beef      

barons and lords of steel1 and we think 
we are using metaphors2 but the         
universality of these metaphors points  
to a fundamental truth in them4 ,as a   
matter of fact1 our modern captain of   
industry fills in the economic world    
exactly the same functions as were      
filled in ancient days by the head of a 
feudal state4 ,he has won his power in a
 similar struggle1 and he holds it by   
similar methods4 ,he rules over an      
organization of human beings1 arranged1 
economically speaking1 in grades and    
classes1 with their authorities and     
privileges and duties precisely         
determined1 as under the ancient regime4
 ,and just as ,king ,louis said1 ,i am  
the state1 so ,mr4 ,armour considers    
that he is ,armour  ,co41 and ,mr4      
,morgan considers that he is the house  
of ,morgan1 and that the business exists
 for him and is controlled by him under 
divine authority4  ,if ,i am correct in 
my analysis of the situation1 this      
process of industrial evolution is      

destined to complete itself1 as in the  
case of the political state4 ,the       
subject populations of industry are     
becoming more and more discontented with
 their servitude1 more and more         
resentful of that authority which       
compels them to labor while others reap 
the benefit4 ,they are organizing       
themselves1 and preparing for a social  
transformation which will parallel in   
every detail the revolution by which our
 ancestors overthrew the authority of   
,king ,george ,,iii over the ,american  
colonies1 and made inhabitants of those 
colonies no longer subjects of a king1  
but free and equal citizens of a        
republic4 ,i expect to see a change     
throughout the world1 which will take   
the great instruments of production     
which we call corporations and trusts1  
out of the hands of their present       
private owners1 and make them the       
property1 either of the entire          
community1 or of those who do the work  
in them4 ,this change is the social     

revolution1 and when it has completed   
itself1 we shall have in that society an
 ,industrial ,republic1 a form of       
business management which constitutes   
economic democracy4  ,the history of the
 world's political revolutions has been 
written almost exclusively by           
aristocratic or bourgeois historians2   
that is to say1 by men who1 whatever    
their attitude toward political         
democracy1 have no conception of        
industrial democracy1 and believe that  
industrial strife and enslavement are   
the normal conditions of life4 ,if1     
however1 you will read ,kropotkin's     
,great ,french ,revolution1 you will be 
interested to discover how important a  
part was played in this revolution by   
economic forces4 ,underneath the        
political discontent of the merchants   
and middle classes lay a vast mass of   
social discontent of the peasants and   
workers4 ,it was the masses of the      
people who made the revolution1 but it  
was the middle classes who seized it and

 turned it to their own ends1 putting   
down attempts toward economic equality1 
and confining the changes1 so far as    
possible1 to the political field4  ,and 
everywhere throughout history1 if you   
study revolutions1 you find that same   
thing happening4 ,you find1 for example1
 ,martin ,luther fighting for the right 
to preach the word of ,god without      
consulting the ,pope2 but when the      
peasants of ,germany rose and sought to 
set themselves free from feudal         
landlords1 ,luther turned against them1 
and called upon the princes to shoot    
them down4 ,the ass needs to be beaten1 
and the populace needs to be controlled 
with a strong hand4 ,the landlords and  
propertied classes of ,england were     
willing to restrict the power of the    
king1 and to give the vote to the       
educated and well-to-do2 but from the   
time of ,jack ,cade to our own they     
shoot down the poor4  ,but meantime1 the
 industrial process continues2 the      
modern factory system brings the workers

 together in larger and larger groups1  
and teaches them the lesson of class    
consciousness4 ,so the time of the      
workers draws near4 ,the first attempt  
in modern times to accomplish the social
 revolution and set up industrial       
democracy was in the ,paris ,commune4   
,when the ,french empire collapsed1     
after the war with ,germany in #ahga1   
the workers of ,paris seized control4   
,they were massacred1 some #ej1jjj of   
them1 and the propertied classes of     
,france established the present         
bourgeois republic1 which has now become
 the bulwark of reaction throughout the 
,continent of ,europe4  ,next came the  
,russian revolution of #aije1 and this  
was an interesting illustration of the  
relation between the two waves of social
 progress4 ,russia was a backward       
country industrially1 and according to  
theory not at all prepared for the      
social revolution4 ,but nowadays the    
thoughts of men circulate all over the  
world1 and the exiles from ,russia had  

absorbed ,marxian ideas1 and were not   
prepared to accept a purely political   
freedom4 ,so in #aije1 after the        
,japanese war1 when the people rose and 
forced the ,czar to grant a parliament1 
the extremists made an effort to        
accomplish the social revolution at the 
same time4 ,the peasants began to demand
 the land1 and the workers the          
factories2 whereupon the capitalists and
 middle classes1 who wanted a           
parliament1 but did not want ,socialism1
 went over to the side of reaction1 and 
both the political and social           
revolutions were crushed4  ,but then    
came the great war1 for which ,russia   
with her incompetent government and her 
undeveloped industry was unprepared4    
,the strain of it broke her down long   
before the other ,allies1 and in the    
universal suffering and ruin the        
,russian people were again forced to    
rise4 ,the political revolution was     
accomplished1 the ,czar was imprisoned1 
and the ,douma reigned supreme4 ,middle 

class liberalism throughout the world   
gave its blessings to this revolution1  
and hastened to welcome a new political 
democracy to the society of nations4    
,but then occurred what to orthodox     
democratic opinion has been the most    
terrifying spectacle in human history4  
,the ,russian people had been driven too
 far towards starvation and despair2 the
 masses had been too embittered1 and    
they rose again1 overthrowing not only  
their ,czar and their grand dukes1 but  
their capitalists and land-owners4 ,for 
the first time in history the social    
revolution established itself1 and the  
workers were in control of a great      
state4 ,ever since then we have seen    
exactly what we saw in ,europe from     
#aghi onward1 when the first political  
republic was established1 and all the   
monarchies and empires of the world     
banded themselves together to stamp it  
out4 ,we have witnessed a campaign of   
war1 blockade1 intrigue and propaganda  
against the ,soviet government of       

,russia1 all pretending to be carried on
 in the name of the ,russian people1 and
 for the purpose of saving them from    
suffering--but all obviously based upon 
one consideration and one alone1 the    
fear that an effort at industrial       
self-government might possibly prove to 
be a success4  ,whether or not the      
,soviets will prove permanent1 no one   
can say4 ,but this much is certain2 just
 as the ,french revolution sent a thrill
 around the world1 and planted in the   
hearts of the common people the         
wonderful dream of freedom from kings   
and ruling classes1 just so the ,russian
 revolution has brought to the working  
masses the dream of freedom from masters
 and landlords4 ,everywhere in          
capitalist society this ferment is      
working1 and in one country after       
another we see the first pangs of the   
new birth4 ,also we see capitalists and 
landlords1 who once found democracy1    
free speech and equality before the law 
useful formulas to break down the power 

of kings and aristocrats1 now           
repudiating their old-time beliefs1 and 
going back to the frankest reaction4 ,we
 see1 in our own land of the free1 the  
government refusing to reprint the      
,declaration of ,independence during the
 war1 and arresting men for quoting from
 it and circulating it2 we even see the 
,department of ,justice refusing to     
allow people to reprint the ,sermon on  
the ,mount6     ,,chapter ,,liv  ,,the  
,,class ,,struggle       7,discusses    
history as a battle-ground between      
ruling and subject      classes1 and the
 method and outcome of this struggle47  
,there is a theory of social            
development1 sometimes called the       
materialistic interpretation of history1
 and sometimes the economic             
interpretation of history4 ,it is one of
 the contributions to our thought which 
we owe to ,karl ,marx1 and like all the 
rest of ,marxian theory1 it is a subject
 of embittered controversy1 not merely  
between ,socialists and orthodox        

economists1 but between various schools 
of revolutionary doctrine4 ,for my part1
 ,i have never been a great hand for    
doctrine1 whether ancient or modern2 ,i 
am not much more concerned with what    
,marx taught than ,i am with what ,st4  
,paul taught1 or what ,martin ,luther   
taught4 ,my advice is to look at life   
with your own eyes1 and to state in     
simple language the conclusions of your 
own thinking4  ,man is an eating animal2
 he has also been described as a        
tool-making animal1 and might be        
described as an ideal-making animal4    
,there is a tendency on the part of     
those who specialize in the making of   
ideals to repudiate the eating and the  
tool-making sides of man2 which accounts
 for the quarrel between the ,marxians  
and the moralists4 ,all through history 
you find new efforts of man to develop  
his emotional and spiritual nature1 and 
to escape from the humiliating          
limitations of the flesh4 ,these efforts
 have many of them been animated by     

desperate sincerity1 but none of them   
have changed the fundamental fact that  
man is an eating animal1 an animal      
insufficiently provided by nature       
against cold1 and with an intense       
repugnance to having streams of cold    
water run down back of his neck4 ,the   
religious teachers go out with empty    
purse1 and take no thought for the      
morrow2 but the forces of nature press  
insistently upon them1 and little by    
little they make compromises1 they take 
to shelter while they are preaching1    
they consent to live in houses1 and even
 to own houses1 and to keep a bank      
account4 ,so they make terms with the   
powers of this world1 and the powers of 
this world1 which are subtle1 and awake 
to their own interests1 find ways to    
twist the new doctrine to their ends4   
,so the new religion becomes simply     
another form of the old hypocrisy2 and  
it comes to us as a breath of fresh air 
in a room full of corruption when some  
one says1 ,let us have done with aged   

shams and false idealisms4 ,let us face 
the facts of life1 and admit that man is
 a physical animal1 and cannot do any   
sane and constructive thinking until he 
has food and shelter provided4 ,let us  
look at history with unblinking eyes1   
and realize that food and shelter1 the  
material means of life1 are what men    
have been seeking all through history1  
and will continue to seek1 until we put 
production and distribution upon a basis
 of justice1 instead of a basis of      
force4  ,such is1 as simply as ,i can   
phrase it1 the materialistic            
interpretation of history4 ,put into its
 dress of scientific language it reads3 
the dominant method of production and   
exchange in any society determines the  
institutions and forms of that society4 
,i do not think ,i exaggerate in saying 
that this formula1 applied with judgment
 and discrimination1 is a key to the    
understanding of human societies4       
,wherever man has moved into the stage  
of slavery and private property there   

has been some group which has held power
 and sought to maintain and increase it4
 ,this group has set the standards of   
behavior and belief for the community1  
and if you wish to understand the       
government and religion1 the manners and
 morals1 the philosophy and literature  
and art of that community1 the first    
thing you have to do is to understand   
the dominant group and its methods of   
keeping itself on top4 ,this statement  
applies1 not merely to those cultural   
forms which are established and ordained
 by the ruling class2 it applies equally
 well to the revolutionary forms1 the   
behavior and beliefs of those who oppose
 the ruling class4 ,for men do not      
revolt in a vacuum1 they revolt against 
certain conditions1 and the form of     
their revolt is determined by the       
conditions4 ,take1 for example1         
primitive ,christianity1 which was      
certainly an effort to be unworldly1 if 
ever such an effort was made by man4    
,but you cannot understand anything     

about primitive ,christianity unless you
 see it as a new form of slave revolt   
against ,roman imperialism and          
capitalism4  ,the theory of the class   
struggle is the master key to the       
bewilderments and confusions of history4
 ,always there is a dominant class1     
holding the power of the state1 and     
always there are subject classes2 and   
sooner or later the subject classes     
begin protesting and struggling for     
wider rights4 ,when they think they are 
strong enough1 they attempt a revolt1   
and sometimes they succeed4 ,if they do1
 they write the histories of the revolt1
 and their leaders become heroes and    
statesmen4 ,if they fail1 the histories 
are written by their oppressors1 and the
 rebels are portrayed as criminals4     
,one of the commonest of popular        
assumptions is that if the rebels have  
justice on their side1 they are bound to
 succeed in the long run2 but this is   
merely the sentimental nonsense that is 
made out of history4 ,it is perfectly   

possible for a just revolt to be        
crushed1 and to be crushed again and    
again2 just as it is possible for a     
child which is ready to be born to fail 
to be born1 and to perish miserably4    
,the fact that the ,huguenots had most  
of the virtue and industry and          
intelligence of ,france did not keep    
them from being slaughtered by ,catholic
 bigots1 and reaction riveted upon the  
,french people for a couple of hundred  
years4 ,the fact that the ,moors had    
most of the industry of ,spain did not  
keep them from being driven into exile  
by the ,inquisition1 and the            
intellectual life of the ,spanish people
 strangled for three hundred or four    
hundred years4  ,some eight hundred     
years ago our ancestors in ,england     
brought a cruel and despotic king to    
battle1 and conquered him1 and on the   
field of ,runnymede forced him to sign a
 grant of rights to ,englishmen4 ,that  
document is known as ,magna ,carta1 or  
the ,great ,charter1 and everyone who   

writes political history today          
recognizes it as one of the greatest of 
man's achievements1 the beginning of a  
process which we hope will bring freedom
 and equality before the law to every   
human being on earth4  ,and now we have 
come to the stage in our industrial     
affairs1 when the organized workers seek
 to bring the monarchs of industry into 
the council chamber1 and force them to  
sign a similar ,great ,charter1 which   
will grant freedom and self-government  
to the workers4 ,just as ,king ,john was
 forced to admit that the power to tax  
and spend the public revenue belonged to
 the people of ,england1 and not to the 
ruler2 just so the workers will         
establish the principle that the        
finances of industry are a public       
concern1 that the books are to be       
opened1 and prices fixed and wages paid 
by the democratic vote of the citizens  
of industry4 ,if that change is         
accomplished1 the historian of the      
future will recognize it as another     

momentous step in progress2 and he will 
heed the protests of the lords of       
industry1 that they are being deprived  
of their freedom to do business1 and of 
their sacred legal rights to their      
profits1 as little as he heeded the     
protests of ,king ,john against the     
treason and usurpation and infringement 
of divine right by the rebellious       
barons4     ,,chapter ,,lv  ,,the       
,,capitalist ,,system       7,shows how 
wealth is produced in modern society1   
and the effect of      this system upon 
the minds of the workers47   ,in the    
beginning man got his living by hunting 
and fishing4 ,then he took to keeping   
flocks and herds1 and later by slow     
stages he settled down to agriculture4  
,with the introduction of slavery and   
the ownership of the land by ruling     
classes1 there came to be a subject     
class of workers1 who toiled on the land
 from dawn to dark1 year in and year    
out1 and got1 if they were fortunate1 an
 existence for themselves and their     

families4 ,whether these workers were   
called slaves or serfs or peasants1     
whether their product was taken from    
them in the form of taxes by the king1  
or of rent by the landlord1 made no     
difference2 the workers were bound to   
the soil1 like the beasts with which    
they lived in intimate contact4 ,they   
were drafted into armies1 and made to   
fight for their lords and masters2 they 
suffered pestilence and famine1 fire and
 slaughter2 but with infinite patience  
they would rebuild their huts1 and dig  
and plant again1 whether for the old    
master or for a new one4  ,in the early 
days these workers made their own crude 
tools and weapons2 but very early there 
must have been some who specialized in  
such arts1 and with the growth of towns 
and communications came a new kind of   
labor1 based upon a new system4 ,some   
enterprising man would buy slaves1 or   
hire labor1 and obtain a supply of raw  
material1 and manufacture goods to be   
bartered or sold4 ,he would pay his     

workers enough to draw them from the    
land1 and would sell the product for    
what he could get1 and the difference   
would be his profit4 ,that was          
capitalism1 and at first it was a thing 
of no importance1 and the men who       
engaged in it had no social standing4   
,but princes and lords needed weapons   
and supplies for their armies1 and the  
men who could furnish these things      
became more and more necessary1 and the 
states which encouraged them were the   
ones which rose to power4 ,merchants and
 sea-traders became the intimates of    
kings1 and by the time of the ,roman    
empire1 capitalism was a great world    
power1 dominating the state1 using the  
armies of the state for its purposes4   
,it went down with the rest of ,roman   
civilization1 but in the ,middle ,ages  
it began once more to revive1 and by the
 end of the eighteenth century the      
merchants and money lenders of ,france1 
with their retainers1 the lawyers and   
journalists1 were powerful enough to    

take the control of society4  ,then1 in 
the beginning of the nineteenth century1
 came the invention of machinery and of 
the power process4 ,capitalism began to 
grow like a young giant among pygmies4  
,in the course of a century it has      
ousted all other methods of production1 
and all other forms of social activity4 
,a hundred years ago the ,british ,house
 of ,commons was a parliament of        
landlords2 today it is a ,merchants' and
 ,manufacturers' ,association4 ,out of  
the #gjg members of the ,british ,house 
of ,commons1 #cfa are members of the    
,federation of ,british ,industries1 the
 labor-smashing organization of ,british
 big business4 ,and the same is true of 
every other parliament and congress in  
the modern capitalist state4            
,practically all the wealth of the world
 today is produced by the capitalist    
method1 and distributed under capitalist
 supervision1 and therefore capitalist  
ideas prevail in our society1 to the    
practical exclusion of all other ideas4 

,i have shown in ,the ,profits of       
,religion how these ideas dominate the  
modern church1 and in ,the ,brass ,check
 how they dominate the modern press4 ,i 
plan to write two books1 to show how    
they dominate education and literature4 
,a hundred years ago an industry        
consisted of a half a dozen or a dozen  
men1 working under the personal         
supervision of an owner1 and using crude
 hand tools4 ,today it consists of a    
gigantic trust1 owning and managing     
scores and perhaps hundreds of mills and
 factories1 each employing thousands of 
workers4 ,a corporation like the ,steel 
,trust owns enough of the sources of its
 raw material to give it practical      
monopoly2 it owns a fleet of vessels    
especially designed for ore-carrying2 it
 owns its private railroads1 to deliver 
the ore to the mills4 ,through its      
system of dummy directorates it has     
practical control of the main railroads 
over which it distributes its products2 
also of banks and trust companies and   

insurance companies1 to gather the money
 of the public to finance its           
undertakings4 ,it owns huge office      
buildings1 and vast tracts of land upon 
which the homes of its workers are      
built4 ,it has a private army for the   
defense of its property--a complete army
 of cavalry1 infantry and artillery1    
including a large and highly efficient  
secret service department1 with a host  
of informers and spies4 ,it has         
newspapers for the purpose of           
propaganda1 and it controls the         
government of every village1 town and   
city in which it has important          
interests4 ,if you will take the trouble
 to visit a steel town1 and make        
inquiries among public officials1       
newspaper men1 and others who are on the
 inside1 you will discover that those in
 authority consider it necessary and    
proper that steel should control1 and   
are unable to conceive any other        
condition of affairs4 ,if you go to     
other parts of the country1 where other 

great industries are located1 you find  
it taken for granted that copper should 
control1 or lumber1 or coal1 or oil1 or 
whatever it may be4  ,under the system  
of large scale capitalism1 labor is a   
commodity1 bought and sold in the market
 like any other commodity4 ,some years  
ago ,congress was requested to pass a   
law contradicting this fundamental fact 
of world capitalism4 ,congress passed a 
law1 very carefully worded so that no   
one could be sure what it meant1 and a  
few years later the ,supreme ,court     
nullified the law4 ,but all through this
 political and legal controversy the    
status of labor remained exactly the    
same2 there was a labor market1         
consisting of those members of the      
community who1 in the formula of ,marx1 
had nothing but their labor power to    
sell4 ,these competed for recognition at
 the factory gates1 and highly skilled  
foremen selected those who offered the  
largest quantity of labor power for the 
stated wage4  ,so entirely impersonal is

 this process that there are great      
industries in ,america in which ninety  
per cent of the common labor force is   
hired and fired all over again in the   
course of a year4 ,these men are put to 
work in gangs1 under a system which     
enables one picked man to set the pace1 
and compel all the others to keep up    
with him1 under penalty of being        
discharged4 ,this process is known as   
speeding up1 and its purpose is to      
obtain from each worker the greatest    
quantity of energy in exchange for his  
daily wage4 ,in the steel industry men  
work twelve hours a day for six days in 
the week1 and then finish with a        
twenty-four-hour day4 ,if they do not   
work so long in other industries1 it is 
because experience has proven that the  
greatest quantity of energy can be      
obtained from them in a shorter time4   
,there are very few men who can stand   
this pace for long4 ,those who are not  
crippled or killed in accidents are     
broken down at forty1 and all the great 

corporations recognize this fact4 ,their
 foremen pick out the younger men1 and  
practically all concerns have an age    
rule1 and never hire men above forty or 
forty-five4  ,i shall not in this book  
go into details concerning the fate of  
the worker under the profit system4 ,i  
have written two novels1 ,the ,jungle   
and ,king ,coal1 in which the facts are 
portrayed in detail1 and it seems the   
part of common sense to refer the reader
 to these text-books4 ,it will suffice  
here to set forth the main outlines of  
the situation4 ,in every capitalist     
country of the world the masses of the  
people are herded into industries1 in   
whose profits they have no share1 and in
 whose welfare they have no interest4   
,they do not know the people for whom   
they work2 they have no human           
relationship1 either with their work or 
with their employers4 ,they see the     
surplus of their product drawn off to   
maintain a class of idlers1 whose       
activities they know only through the   

scandals of the divorce courts and the  
luxury-love of the moving picture       
screen4 ,they compete with one another  
for jobs1 and bid down one another's    
wages2 and if they attempt to organize  
and end this competition1 their efforts 
are broken by newspaper propaganda and  
policemen's clubs4 ,at the same time    
they know that monopoly1 open or secret1
 prevails in the fixing of prices1 and  
so they find the struggle to get ahead a
 losing one4 ,in ,america it used to be 
possible for the young and energetic to 
go ,west2 but now the wave of capitalism
 has reached the ,pacific coast and been
 thrown back1 and there is no more      
frontier4  ,the man who works on the    
land has been through all the ages a    
solitary man4 ,he is better friends with
 his horse and his cow than with his    
fellow humans4 ,he is brutalized by     
incessant toil1 he lives amid dirt and  
the filth of animals1 he is1 in the     
words of ,edwin ,markham3      ,a thing 
that grieves not and that never hopes1  

,stunted and stunned1 a brother to the  
ox4  ,he is a victim of natural forces  
which he does not understand1 and       
inevitably therefore he is              
superstitious4 ,being alone1 he is      
helpless against his masters1 and only  
utter desperation drives him to revolt4 
,but consider the capitalist system--how
 different the conditions of its        
workers6 ,here they are gathered into   
city slums1 and their wits are sharpened
 by continual contact with their        
fellows4 ,the printing press makes cheap
 the spread of information1 and the     
soap-box makes it even cheaper4 ,any man
 with a grievance can shout aloud1 and  
be sure of an audience to listen1 and he
 can get a great deal said before the   
company watchman or the policeman can   
throttle him4 ,moreover1 the modern     
worker is not struggling with drought   
and tempest and hail2 he does not see   
his labors wiped out by volcanic        
eruption or lightning stroke2 he is     
dealing with machinery1 something that  

he himself has made1 and that he fully  
understands4 ,if a machine gets out of  
order1 he does not fall down upon his   
knees and pray to ,god to fix it4 ,all  
the training of his life teaches him the
 relationship of cause and effect1 the  
adjustment of means to ends4 ,so the    
modern worker1 as a necessary           
consequence of his daily work1 is       
practical1 skeptical1 and unsentimental 
in his psychology4 ,and what is more1 he
 is making all the rest of society of   
the same temperament4 ,he is building   
roads out into the country1 and building
 machines to roll over them2 he is      
running telephone lines and sending     
newspapers and magazines and moving     
picture shows to the peasant and the    
farmer2 so the young peasants and       
farmers hunger for the city1 and they   
learn to fix machinery instead of       
praying to ,god4  ,such is the          
psychology of the modern working class2 
and the supreme achievement of their    
sharpened wits is an understanding of   

the capitalist process4 ,as a matter of 
fact they did not make this discovery   
for themselves2 it was made for them by 
middle-class men1 lawyers and teachers  
and writers--,fourier1 ,owen1 ,marx1    
,lassalle4 ,the modern doctrine is      
called by various names3 ,socialism1    
,communism1 ,anarchism1 ,bolshevism1    
,syndicalism1 ,collectivism4 ,later on  
,i shall define these various terms1 and
 point out the distinctions between     
them4 ,for the moment ,i emphasize the  
factor they all have in common1 and     
which is fundamental3 they wish to break
 the power of class ownership and       
control of the instruments and means of 
production2 they wish to replace private
 capitalism by some system under which  
the instruments and means of production 
are collectively owned and operated2 and
 they look to the non-owning class1 the 
proletarian1 as the motive power by     
which this change is to be compelled4 ,i
 shall in future refer to this as the   
social revolutionary doctrine2 taking   

pains to explain that the word          
revolutionary is to be divested of its  
popular meaning of physical violence4   
,it is perfectly conceivable that the   
change may be brought about peaceably1  
and ,i shall try to show before long    
that in modern capitalist states the    
decision as to whether it is brought    
about peaceably or by violence rests    
with the present masters of industry4   
,,chapter ,,lvi  ,,the ,,capitalist     
,,process       7,how profits are made  
under the present industrial system and 
what      becomes of them47   ,we have  
next to examine the structure of the    
capitalist order1 basing our argument on
 facts which are admitted by everyone1  
including the most ardent defenders of  
the present system4  ,all men have to   
have certain material things which we   
describe as goods4 ,as these goods do   
not produce themselves1 it is necessary 
that some should work4 ,the workers must
 have tools2 also they must have access 
to the land and the sources of raw      

materials4 ,these means of production   
are owned by some individuals in the    
community1 and this ownership gives them
 power to direct the work of the rest4  
,those who own the land and the natural 
sources of wealth we call capitalists1  
or business men1 and those who do not   
own these things1 or whose share in them
 is insignificant1 are the proletariat1 
or working class4  ,if you state to the 
average ,american that there is a       
capitalist class and a proletariat in   
this country1 he will point out that    
many who are now members of the         
capitalist class were originally members
 of the proletariat2 they have worked   
hard and saved1 and accumulated         
property4 ,but this is merely confusing 
the issue4 ,the fact that some          
proletarians turn into capitalists and  
some capitalists into proletarians is   
important to the individuals concerned1 
but it does not alter the fact that     
there are two classes1 capitalist and   
proletarian4 ,consider1 by way of       

illustrating1 a field with trees growing
 on it2 we have earth1 and we have      
trees1 and the distinction between them 
is unmistakable4 ,the roots of the trees
 go down into the earth1 and take up    
portions of the earth and turn it into  
tree4 ,the leaves and the dead branches 
fall1 and in the course of time are     
turned once more to earth4 ,there are   
all sorts of stages between earth and   
tree1 and between tree and earth2 but   
you would not therefore say that the    
word earth and the word tree are        
misnomers4  ,the working men go to the  
business man and apply for work4 ,the   
business man gives them work1 and takes 
their product1 and offers it in the     
market at a price which allows him a    
profit above cost4 ,if he can sell at a 
profit1 he repeats the process1 and the 
worker has a job4 ,if he cannot sell at 
a profit1 the worker is out of a job4   
,here and there may be a benevolent     
business man who1 rather than turn his  
workers out of a job1 will sell his     

goods at cost1 or even for a short time 
at a loss2 but if he keeps the factory  
going simply for the benefit of his     
workers1 and with no expectation of ever
 making a profit1 that is a form of     
charity1 and not the common system under
 which our business is now carried on4  
,so it appears that the worker is       
dependent for his wages upon the ability
 of the business man to make a profit4  
,the worker's life is inextricably bound
 up with the profit of the              
capitalist--no profit for the           
capitalist1 no life for the worker4 ,the
 capitalist1 going out to look for      
markets for his goods1 is seeking1 not  
merely profit for himself1 but life for 
his workers4  ,now1 the business man    
pays a certain percentage of his total  
receipts for labor1 another percentage  
for raw materials1 another percentage   
for his overhead charges1 and the rest  
is profit in various forms1 rent to the 
landlord1 interest to the bondholder1   
dividends to the stockholder4 ,all this 

total sum goes to human individuals1 and
 each has thus a certain amount of money
 to spend4 ,they pay it over to other   
individuals for goods or services1 and  
so the money keeps circulating1 and     
business keeps going4 ,that is as deep  
as the average mind probes into the     
process4  ,but let us probe a little    
deeper4 ,it is evident that1 in the     
course of all this exchanging of goods1 
some individuals get a larger share than
 other individuals4 ,our government     
collects an income tax1 and thus we have
 statistics representing what people are
 willing to admit about the share they  
get4 ,in #aiag it appeared that1        
speaking roughly1 one family out of six 
had an income of over #a1jjj a year1 and
 one family out of twelve had an income 
of over #b1jjj4 ,but there were #ai1jjj 
families which admitted incomes of over 
#ej1jjj a year1 and #cjj with over      
#a1jjj1jjj a year4  ,now the families   
that get less than a thousand dollars a 
year obviously have to spend the greater

 part of their income upon their        
immediate living expenses4 ,but the     
families that get #ej1jjj a year do not 
need to spend everything1 and most of   
them take the greater part of their     
income and reinvest it--that is1 they   
spend it upon the creating of new       
machinery of production1 railroads1     
mills1 factories1 office buildings1 the 
whole elaborate structure of capitalist 
industry4  ,exactly what proportion of  
the total product of industry is thus   
taken and reinvested no one can say2 but
 this we know1 our cities are growing at
 an enormous rate1 our manufacturing    
power is increasing by leaps and bounds1
 we are perfecting processes which      
enable one man to do the work of a      
hundred men1 which increase the product 
of one man's labor a hundredfold4 ,all  
this goes on blindly1 automatically2 a  
,niagara of goods of all sorts is poured
 out1 and we call it prosperity4  ,but  
then suddenly a strange and bewildering 
thing happens4 ,all at once1 and without

 warning1 orders fall off1 values begin 
to drop1 business collapses1 factories  
are shut down1 and millions of men are  
thrown out of jobs4 ,merchants look at  
one another with blanched faces2 each   
one has been counting on paying his     
bills with the profits he was going to  
make1 and now his profits are gone1 and 
he can't pay4 ,the newspapers and       
magazines keep insisting that it can't  
be true1 that business is going to      
revive next week1 that prosperity is    
just ahead4 ,but the factories stay     
shut1 and the millions of men stay idle4
  ,this is the condition in which we    
find ourselves as ,i write this book4   
,it has been happening regularly in our 
history every ten years or so1 ever     
since ,america started2 we have had a   
hundred years to reflect upon it and to 
probe into the causes of it1 and such is
 business intelligence in the most      
enlightened country in the world1 you   
may search the pages of our newspapers  
from the first column of millionaire    

divorce suits to the last column of     
situations wanted1 and nowhere can you  
find one word to explain this mysterious
 calamity of hard times--how it comes to
 happen to our social system1 or what   
could be done to prevent it6 ,to supply 
this deficiency in present day thinking 
is our next task4     ,,chapter ,,lvii  
,,hard ,,times       7,explains why     
capitalist prosperity is a spasmodic    
thing1 and why      abundant production 
brings distress instead of plenty47     
,let us picture a small island inhabited
 by six men4 ,one of these men fishes1  
another hunts1 another gathers          
cocoanuts1 another raises goats for     
clothing1 and so on4 ,the six men among 
them produce by their labor all the     
necessities of their lives1 and they    
exchange their products with one        
another4 ,the island is productive1 and 
each of the men is free1 and makes his  
exchanges on equal terms2 on that basis 
the industry of the island can continue 
indefinitely1 and there will never be   

any trouble4 ,there may sometimes be    
over-production1 but it will not cause  
anyone to starve4 ,if the fisherman is  
unusually lucky one day1 he will be able
 to take a vacation for a few days1     
living on his fish and the products he  
exchanges for his fish4 ,for the sake of
 convenience in future reference1 ,i    
will describe this happy island as a    
free society2 meaning that each of the  
members of this society has access on   
equal terms to the sources of wealth1   
and each owns the product of his own    
labor1 without paying tribute to any one
 else for the right to labor1 or to     
exchange his products4  ,but now let us 
suppose that one of the men on the      
island is strong and aggressive2 he     
takes a club and knocks down the other  
five men1 and compels them to sign a    
piece of paper agreeing that hereafter  
he is the president of the land         
development company of the island1 the  
chief stockholder in the goat-raising   
company1 and owner of the fishing       

concession and the cocoanut grove2 also1
 that hereafter goods shall not be      
bartered in kind1 but shall be exchanged
 for money1 and that he is the banker1  
and also the government1 with the right 
to issue money4 ,in this society you    
will find that the real work1 the       
actually productive work1 is done by    
five men1 instead of by six1 and these  
five do not get the full value of their 
labor4 ,the fisherman will fish1 but his
 product will no longer belong to       
himself2 he will get part of it as      
wages1 while the business man takes     
charge of the balance4 ,so when there is
 a lucky day1 there will be prosperity  
in the fishing industry1 but this       
prosperity will not benefit the         
fisherman2 he will have only his wage1  
and when he has caught too many fish1 he
 will not have a few days' vacation1 but
 will be out of a job4  ,and exactly the
 same thing will happen to the          
goat-herd4 ,he will probably have work  
all the year round1 because goats have  

to be tended1 but he will get barely    
enough to keep him alive1 and the       
surplus skins and milk will go to the   
owner of the no-longer-happy island4    
,perhaps it will occur to the owner that
 the man who raises cocoanuts might also
 keep an eye on the goats1 and so the   
goat-herd will be permanently out of a  
job1 and will turn into what is called a
 tramp1 or vagrant4 ,inasmuch as        
everything to eat on the island belongs 
to the owner1 the ex-goat-herd will be  
tempted to become a criminal1 and so it 
will be necessary for the owner to arm  
the cocoanut man with a club and make   
him into a policeman2 or perhaps he will
 organize the fisherman and the hunter  
into a militia for the preservation of  
law and order4 ,they will be glad to    
serve him1 because1 owing to the extreme
 productivity of the island1 they will  
be out of jobs a great part of the time1
 and but for the generosity of the      
business man1 would have no way of      
earning a living4  ,but suppose that the

 cocoanut man should invent a machine   
for gathering a year's supply of nuts in
 a week2 suppose the fisherman should   
devise a scheme to fill his boat with   
fish in a few minutes2 and suppose that 
as a result of these inventions the     
business man got so rich that he moved  
to ,paris1 and no longer saw his        
workers1 or even knew their names4      
,under these conditions you can see that
 overproduction and unemployment might  
increase on the island2 and also the    
business man might seem less human and  
lovable to his wage slaves1 and might   
need a larger police force4 ,it might   
even happen that he would discover the  
need of a propaganda department1 in     
order to keep his police force loyal1   
and a secret service to make sure that  
agitators did not get into the schools4 
,the five islanders1 having filled all  
the barns and storehouses1 would be     
turned out to starve2 and when they     
asked the reason1 they would be told it 
was because they had produced a surplus 

of food4 ,this may sound grotesque1 but 
it is what is being said to #e1jjj1jjj  
men in ,america as ,i write4 ,there are 
clothing-workers who are going about in 
rags1 and they are told it is because   
they have produced too much clothing4   
,there are shoe-workers whose shoes are 
falling off their feet1 and they are    
told it is because they have produced   
too many shoes4 ,there are carpenters   
who have no homes1 and they are told    
that a great many homes are needed1 but 
unfortunately it doesn't pay the        
builders to go ahead just now4 ,this may
 sound like a caricature1 but it happens
 to be the most prominent single fact in
 the consciousness of #e1jjj1jjj        
,americans at the close of the year     
#aiba4 ,no wonder they are discontented 
with the present order4  ,the solution  
of the mystery is so simple that the    
#e1jjj1jjj unemployed cannot be kept    
permanently from understanding it4 ,the 
reason the five men on the island are   
starving is because one man owns the    

island and the others own nothing4 ,if  
the island were community property1 the 
five men would each own a share of the  
contents of the barns and storehouses1  
and would not be starving4 ,if the      
#ajj1jjj1jjj people of ,america owned   
the productive machinery of ,america1   
then instantly the unemployment crisis  
would pass like an evil dream4 ,the     
farm-workers who need shoes would       
exchange their food with the starving   
shoe-workers1 and the starving          
shoe-workers would have jobs4 ,they     
would want clothing1 and so the         
clothing-makers would start to work2 and
 so on all the way down the line4 ,there
 is only one thing necessary to make    
this possible1 and that is the thing    
which we have agreed to call the social 
revolution4     ,,chapter ,,lviii  ,,the
 ,,iron ,,ring       7,analyzes further 
the profit system1 which strangles      
production1      and makes true         
prosperity impossible47   ,we have seen 
that in an exploiting society there is a

 surplus which is taken by the          
exploiter2 and that under the modern    
system this surplus must be sold at a   
profit before production can continue4  
,the vital fact in such a society is    
that the worker has not the money to buy
 back all that he produces2 therefore it
 is inevitable that a surplus product   
should accumulate4 ,when this happens1  
production must be cut down1 and during 
that period the worker is without a job1
 and without means of living4 ,the fact 
that he needs the product does not help 
him2 the point is that he has not the   
money to buy it4 ,in such a society the 
productive machinery is never used to   
the full4 ,the machinery is controlled  
by a profit-seeking interest1 seeking an
 opportunity to make sales1 and         
restricting production according to the 
prospect of sales4 ,so the actual       
product bears no relationship to the    
possible product1 and people who live in
 an exploiting society can form no      
conception of true prosperity4  ,for1   

you see1 the market is limited by the   
competitive wage system4 ,we have seen  
that in our own rich1 prosperous country
 only one family out of six has more    
than #a1jjj a year income2 only one     
family out of twelve has #b1jjj a year4 
,it does not make any difference that   
the warehouses are bursting with goods2 
a family constitutes a market of so many
 dollars a year1 and then1 so far as the
 profit system is concerned1 that family
 is non-existent2 that family stops     
consuming1 and the productive machinery 
is halted to that extent4  ,i have been 
accustomed to portray the profit system 
under the simile of an iron ring riveted
 about the body of a baby4 ,that ring   
would cause the baby some discomfort at 
the beginning1 but it would not be      
serious1 and the baby would get used to 
it4 ,but as the baby grew the trouble   
caused by the ring would increase1 and  
finally there would come a time when the
 baby would be suffering from a whole   
complication of troubles1 and for each  

of these troubles there would be but one
 remedy--break the ring4 ,does the baby 
cry all the time8 ,break the ring6 ,is  
its digestion defective8 ,break the     
ring6 ,is it threatened with convulsions
 or with blood poisoning8 ,break the    
ring6  ,here is our industrial society1 
growing at a rate never equalled by any 
human baby2 and here is this iron ring  
riveted about its middle4 ,here is      
poverty1 here is unemployment1 here is  
graft1 here is crime1 here is war and   
plague and famine2 and for all these    
evils there is but one cause1 and but   
one remedy4 ,break the ring6 ,set       
production free from the strangulation  
of the profit system4  ,i will admit    
that there may have been a time in the  
history of the social infant when this  
ring was necessary4 ,i admit that if the
 great industrial machine was to be     
constructed1 it was necessary that the  
mass of the people should consume only  
part of what they produced1 and should  
allow the balance to be reinvested as   

capital4 ,but now it has been done1 and 
the process is complete4 ,we have a     
machine capable of producing many times 
more than we can consume2 shall we still
 go on building that machine8 ,shall we 
go on starving ourselves1 to save the   
money1 to multiply over and over again  
the products1 in order that we may be   
thrown out of work1 and be starved even 
more completely8  ,a few generations ago
 we had in colonial ,america a society  
that in part at least was free4 ,in that
 society everybody got the necessities  
of life4 ,they did not have the modern  
,sunday supplement and the moving       
picture show1 but they had bread and    
meat and good substantial clothing1 and 
furniture so well made that we still    
preserve it4 ,the children in those days
 grew up to be strong and sturdy men and
 women1 who would have seen nothing to  
envy in the bodies or minds of the slum 
population of ,new ,york and ,chicago4  
,in short1 they had all the true        
necessities of life2 and yet their work 

was done by hand1 the power process was 
unknown and undreamed of4  ,now comes   
modern machinery1 and multiplies the    
productive power of the hand laborer by 
five1 by ten1 sometimes by a hundred4   
,here1 for example1 is the ,appeal to   
,reason selling millions of cheap books 
for ten cents apiece1 and making a      
profit on it2 installing a gigantic     
press which takes paper1 sheet after    
sheet1 prints #abh pages of a book at   
one impression1 and folds and stitches  
and binds the books1 all in one process1
 and turns them out complete at the rate
 of #aj1jjj copies per hour4 ,here is a 
factory which turns out #ajj1jjj        
automobiles a month4 ,here is a mill    
which turns out many millions of yards  
of cloth a month4 ,if our colonial      
ancestors had been told about these     
marvels1 they would have said instantly3
 ,then1 of course1 everybody in that    
society will have all the books they    
want1 and all the clothing they want1   
and all the automobiles4 ,everybody in  

that society will have five or ten or   
one hundred times as much goods as we   
have4  ,imagine the bewilderment of our 
colonial ancestor if he had been told3  
,the majority of the people in that     
society will not have so much of the    
real necessities of life as you have4   
,they will have a few cheap trinkets1   
designed to tickle their senses2 they   
will have cheap newspapers1 carefully   
contrived to keep their minds vacant and
 to keep them contented with their lot2 
they will have moving picture shows     
constructed for the same purpose2 but   
all their material things will be       
flimsy1 put together for show and not   
for permanence2 their food will be      
adulterated1 their clothing will be     
shoddy1 everything they have will be    
made1 not for their service1 but for the
 profit of some one who lives by selling
 to them4 ,the average wage earned by   
those who do the work of this new       
machine civilization will be less than  
half the amount necessary to purchase   

the necessities of a decent life1 and   
one-tenth of the total population will  
be living in such poverty that they are 
unable to maintain physical fitness1 or 
to rear their children into full sized  
men and women4     ,,chapter ,,lix      
,,foreign ,,markets       7,considers   
the efforts of capitalism to save itself
 by marketing      its surplus products 
abroad1 and what results from these     
efforts47   ,if our analysis of         
present-day society is correct1 we have 
the enormous populations of the modern  
industrial countries1 living always on  
the verge of starvation1 their chance   
for survival depending at all times upon
 the ability of their employers to find 
a profitable market for a surplus of    
goods4 ,at first the employer seeks that
 market at home2 but when the home      
markets are glutted1 he goes abroad2 and
 so develops the phenomenon of foreign  
trade and rivalry for foreign trade1 as 
the basic fact of capitalism1 and the   
fundamental cause of modern war4  ,let  

us get clear a simple distinction       
concerning foreign trade4 ,there is a   
kind of trade which is normal1 and would
 thrive in a free society4 ,in the      
,united ,states we can produce nearly   
all the necessities of life1 but there  
are a few which we cannot               
produce--rubber1 for example1 and       
bananas1 and good music4 ,these things  
we wish to import4 ,we buy them from    
other countries1 and incur a debt1 which
 we pay with products which the other   
countries need from us2 wheat1 for      
example1 and copper1 and moving pictures
 with cowboys in them4 ,this is equal   
exchange1 and a natural phenomenon4 ,a  
free society would produce such surplus 
goods as were necessary to procure the  
foreign products that it desired4 ,when 
it had produced that much1 the workers  
would stop and take a vacation until    
they wanted more foreign products4  ,but
 under capitalism we have an entirely   
different condition--we produce a       
surplus of goods which we have to sell  

in order to keep our factories running1 
and to keep our working population from 
starving4 ,and note that it does not    
help us to get back an equal quantity of
 foreign goods in exchange4 ,we must    
have what we call a favorable balance2  
that is1 we must have other people going
 into debt to us1 so that we can be     
continually shipping out more goods than
 we take back2 continually piling up    
credits which we can negotiate1 or turn 
into cash1 so that we can go on and     
repeat the process of making more goods1
 selling them for more profits1 and     
putting the surplus into the form of    
more machinery1 to make still more goods
 and still more profits4  ,and then1    
after a while1 we come upon this        
embarrassing phenomenon2 nations which  
buy and do not sell must either do it by
 sending us gold1 or by our giving them 
credit4 ,the sending of gold cannot go  
on indefinitely1 because then we should 
have all the gold1 and if other nations 
had none that would destroy their       

credit4 ,on the other hand1 business    
cannot be done by credit indefinitely2  
for the very essence of credit is a     
promise to pay1 and payment can only be 
made in goods1 and how can we take the  
goods without ruining our own industry8 
,fifteen years ago ,i pointed this out  
in a book4 ,the argument was            
irrefutable1 and the conclusion         
inescapable1 but the few critics who    
noted it repeated their usual formula   
about dreamers and theorists4 ,now1     
however1 the business mills have ground 
on1 and what was theory has become fact 
before our eyes4 ,we have trusted the   
nations of ,europe for some             
#aj1jjj1jjj1jjj worth of goods1 and they
 are powerless to pay1 and if they did  
pay1 they would bankrupt ,american      
industry4 ,france wishes to collect an  
enormous indemnity from ,germany1 but   
nobody can figure out how this indemnity
 can be paid without ruining ,french    
industry4 ,the ,french have demanded    
coal from ,germany1 and have got more   

than they can use1 and are dumping it in
 ,belgium and ,holland1 with the result 
that the ,british coal industry is      
ruined4 ,the ,french clamor that the    
,germans must pay for the destruction   
they wrought in ,northern ,france1 and  
the ,germans offer to send ,german      
workmen to rebuild the ruined towns2 but
 the ,french denounce this as an        
insult--it would deprive ,french        
workingmen of their jobs6 ,so ,i might  
continue for pages1 pointing out the    
manifold absurdities which result from a
 system of industry for the profit of a 
few1 instead of for the use of all4     
,ever since ,i first began to read the  
newspapers1 some twenty-five or thirty  
years ago1 all our political life has   
been nothing but the convulsions of a   
social body tortured by the constricting
 ring of the profit system4 ,everywhere 
one group struggling for advantage over 
another group1 and politicians engaged  
in playing one interest against another 
interest6 ,my boyhood recollections of  

public life consist of campaign slogans 
having to do with the tariff3 production
 and prosperity1 reciprocity1 the full  
dinner pail1 the foreigner pays the tax1
 etc4  ,the workingman1 under the profit
 system1 is like a man pounding away at 
a pump4 ,he can get a thin trickle of   
water from the spout of the pump if he  
works hard enough1 but in order to get  
it he has to supply ten times as much to
 some one who has tapped the pipe4 ,but 
the tapping has been done underground1  
where the workingman cannot see it4 ,all
 the workingman knows is that there is  
no job for him if the products of cheap 
foreign labor are allowed to be dumped  
on the ,american market4 ,that is       
obvious1 and so he votes for a tax on   
foreign imports1 high enough to enable  
his own employer to market at a profit4 
,he does not realize that he is thus    
raising the price of everything that he 
buys1 and so leaving himself worse off  
than he was before4  ,all governments   
are delighted with this tariff device1  

because they are thus enabled to get    
money from the public without the       
public's knowing it4 ,the foreigner pays
 the tax1 we are told1 and as a result  
of this arrangement the steel trust just
 before the war was selling its product 
at a high price to the ,american people1
 and taking its surplus abroad and      
selling it to the foreigner at half the 
domestic price4 ,and we see this same   
thing in every line of manufacture1 and 
all over the world4 ,we see one nation  
after another withdrawing itself as a   
market for manufactured products1 and   
entering the lists as a marketer4 ,one  
more nation now able to fill all its own
 needs1 and going out hungrily to look  
for foreign customers1 adding to the    
glut of the world's manufactured        
products and the ferocity of            
international competition6  ,at the     
close of the ,civil ,war the total      
exports of the ,united ,states averaged 
approximately #cjj1jjj1jjj1 and the     
total imports were about the same4 ,in  

#ahib the exports first touched         
#a1jjj1jjj1jjj1 while the imports were  
about nine-tenths of that sum4 ,in the  
year #aiac the exports were nearly      
#b1ejj1jjj1jjj1 while the imports were  
#fjj1jjj1jjj less2 and in the year #aibj
 our exports were over #h1jjj1jjj1jjj   
and our imports a little over           
#e1jjj1jjj1jjj6 ,so we have a favorable 
balance of almost #c1jjj1jjj1jjj a      
year--and as a result we are on the     
verge of ruin6  ,this iron ring of      
overproduction and lack of market       
exercises upon our industrial body a    
steady pressure1 a slow strangling4 ,but
 because the body is in convulsions1    
struggling to break the ring1 the       
pressure of the ring is worse at some   
times than at others4 ,we have periods  
of what we call prosperity1 followed by 
periods of panic and hard times4 ,you   
must understand that only a small part  
of our business is done by means of cash
 payments1 whether in gold or silver or 
paper money4 ,close to #ii of our       

business is done by means of credit1 and
 this introduces into the process a     
psychological factor4 ,the business man 
expects certain profits1 and he         
capitalizes these expectations4         
,business booms1 because everybody      
believes everybody else's promises2     
credit expands like a huge balloon1 with
 the breath of everybody's enthusiasm4  
,but meantime real business1 the real   
market1 remains just what it was before2
 it cannot increase1 because of the iron
 ring which restricts the buying power  
of the mass of the people by the        
competitive wage4 ,so presently the time
 comes when somebody realizes that he   
has over-capitalized his hopes2 he      
curtails his orders1 he calls in his    
money1 and the impulse thus started     
precipitates a crash in the whole       
business world4 ,we had such a crash in 
#aijg1 and ,i remember a ,wall ,street  
man explaining it in a magazine article 
entitled1 ,somebody ,asked for a        
,dollar4  ,we learned one lesson by that

 panic2 at least1 the big financial men 
learned it1 and had ,congress pass what 
is called the ,federal ,reserve ,act1 a 
provision whereby in time of need the   
government issues practically unlimited 
credit to banks4 ,this1 of course1 is   
fine for the banks2 it puts the credit  
of everybody else behind them1 and all  
they have to do is to stop lending      
money--except to the big insiders--and  
sit back and wait1 while the little men 
go to the wall1 and the mass of us live 
on our savings or starve4 ,we saw this  
happen in the year #aibj1 and for the   
first time we had hard times without    
having a financial panic4 ,but instead  
we see prices staying high--because the 
banks have issued so much paper money   
and bank credits4     ,,chapter ,,lx    
,,capitalist ,,war       7,shows how the
 competition for foreign markets leads  
nations      automatically into war47   
,in a discussion of the world's economic
 situation1 published in #aijf1 the     
writer portrayed the ruling class of    

,germany as sitting in front of a       
thermometer1 watching the mercury       
rising1 and knowing that when it reached
 the top1 the thermometer would break4  
,this thermometer was the ,german class 
system of government1 and the mercury   
was the ,socialist vote4 ,in #ahgj the  
vote was #cj1jjj1 in #ahhd it was       
#edi1jjj1 in #ahic it was #a1hgf1jjj1 in
 #aijc it was #c1jjh1jjj1 in #aijg it   
was #c1bej1jjj1 in #aiaa it was         
#d1bej1jjj4 ,writing between #aijf and  
#aiac1 ,i again and again pointed out   
that this increase was the symptom of   
social discontent in ,germany1 caused by
 the overproduction of invested capital 
throughout the world1 and the           
intensification of the competition for  
world markets4 ,i pointed out that a    
slight increase in the vote would be    
sufficient to transfer to the working   
class of ,germany the political power of
 the ,german state2 and ,i said that the
 ruling class of ,germany would never   
permit that to happen--when it was ready

 to happen ,germany would go to war1 to 
seize the trade privileges of some other
 nation4  ,there was a time when wars   
were caused by national and racial      
hatreds4 ,there are still enough of     
these venerable prejudices left in the  
world1 but no student of the subject    
would deny that the main source of      
modern wars is commercial rivalry4 ,in  
#aiag we sent ,eugene ,v4 ,debs to      
prison for declaring that the late world
 war was a war of capitalist greed4 ,but
 two years later ,president ,wilson1 who
 had waged the war1 declared in a public
 speech that everybody knew it had been 
a war of commercial rivalries4  ,the    
aims of modern war-makers are two4      
,first1 capitalism must have raw        
materials1 including coal and oil1 the  
sources of power1 and gold and silver1  
the bases of credit4 ,parts of the world
 which are so unfortunate as to be rich 
in these substances become the bone of  
contention between rival financial      
groups1 organized as nations4 ,some     

sarcastic writer has defined a backward 
nation as one which has gold mines and  
no navy4 ,we are horrified to read of   
the wars of the ,french monarchs1 caused
 by the jealous quarrels of mistresses2 
but in #aije we saw ,russia and ,japan  
go to war and waste a million lives     
because certain ,russian grand dukes had
 bribed certain ,chinese mandarins and  
obtained concessions of timber on the   
,yalu ,river4 ,we now observe ,france   
and ,germany vowed to undying hate      
because of iron mines in ,lorraine1 and 
the efforts of ,france to take the coal 
mines of ,silesia from ,germany1 and    
give them to ,poland1 which is another  
name for ,french capitalism4  ,the other
 end sought by the war-makers is markets
 for manufactured products1 and control 
of trade routes1 coaling stations and   
cables necessary to the building up of  
foreign trade4 ,england has been        
mistress of the seas for some #cjj      
years1 which meant that her traders had 
obtained most of these advantages4 ,but 

then came ,germany1 with her newly      
developed commercialism1 shoving her    
rival out of the way4 ,the ,englishman  
was easy-going2 he liked to play        
cricket1 and stop and drink tea every   
afternoon4 ,but the ,german worked all  
day and part of the night2 he trained   
himself as a specialist1 he studied the 
needs of his customers--all of which to 
the ,englishman was unfair competition4 
,but here were the populations of the   
crowded slums1 dependent for their      
weekly wage and their daily bread upon  
the ability of the factories to go on   
turning out products6 ,here was the     
ever-blackening shadow of unemployment1 
the mutterings of social discontent1 the
 agitators on the soap-boxes1 the       
workers listening to them with more and 
more eager attention1 and the           
journalists and politicians and bankers 
watching this phenomenon with a ghastly 
fear4  ,so came the great war4 ,social  
discontent was forgotten over night1 and
 ,england and ,france plunged in to down

 their hated rival1 once and for all    
time4 ,now they have succeeded3         
,germany's ships have been taken from   
her1 and likewise her cables and coaling
 stations2 the ,berlin-,bagdad ,railroad
 is a forgotten dream2 the ,british sit 
in ,constantinople1 and the traffic goes
 by sea4 ,american capitalism wakes up1 
and rubs its eyes after a debauch of    
,presbyterian idealism1 and discovers   
that it has paid out some               
#bj1jjj1jjj1jjj1 in order to confer all 
these privileges and advantages upon its
 rivals6  ,ever since ,i can remember   
the world1 there have been peace        
societies2 ,i look back in history and  
discover that ever since there have been
 wars1 there have been prophets         
declaiming against them in the name of  
humanity and ,god4 ,as ,i write1 there  
is a great world conference on          
disarmament in session in ,washington1  
and all good ,americans hope that war is
 to be ended and permanent peace made   
safe4 ,all that ,i can do at this       

juncture is to point out the fundamental
 and all-controlling fact of present-day
 economics3 that for the ruling class of
 any country to agree to disarmament and
 the abolition of war1 is for that class
 to sign its own death warrant and cut  
its own throat4 ,american capitalism can
 survive on this earth only by          
strangling and destroying ,japanese     
capitalism and ,british capitalism1 and 
doing it before long4 ,the far-sighted  
capitalists on both sides know that1 and
 are making their preparations          
accordingly4  ,what the members of the  
peace societies and the diplomats of the
 disarmament conferences do is to cut   
off the branches of the tree of war4    
,they leave the roots untouched1 and    
then1 when the tree continues to thrive1
 they are astounded4 ,i conclude this   
chapter with a concrete illustration1   
cut from my morning newspaper4 ,we went 
to war against ,german militarism1 and  
to make the world safe for              
democracy--meaning thereby capitalist   

commercialism4 ,we commanded the ,german
 people to beat their swords into       
plough-shares2 that is1 to set their    
,krupp factories to making tools of     
peace2 and they did so4 ,we saddled them
 with an enormous indemnity1 making them
 our serfs for a generation or two1 and 
compelling them to hasten out into the  
world markets1 to sell their goods and  
raise gold to pay us4 ,and now1 how does
 their behavior strike us8 ,do we praise
 their industry1 and fidelity to their  
obligations8 ,here are the headlines of 
a news despatch1 published by the ,los  
,angeles ,times on ,december #aj1 #aiba1
 at the top of the front page1 right    
hand column1 the most conspicuous       
position in the paper4 ,read it1 and    
understand the sources of modern war6   
,,new ,,attack ,,by ,,berlin    99      
99       99       99       99           
,,dumping ,,goods ,,by ,,wholesale    99
       99       99       99       99    
,cheap ,german ,trash ,puts ,thousands  
of ,americans ,out of ,employment    99 

99       99       99       99   ,glove  
,plants ,shut ,down and ,potash         
,industry ,killed         by ,teuton    
,intrigue     ,,chapter ,,lxi  ,,the    
,,possibilities ,,of ,,production       
7,shows how much wealth we could produce
 if we tried1 and how we      proved it 
when we had to47   ,one of the commonest
 arguments in defense of the present    
business system runs as follows3 ,the   
amount of money which is paid to labor  
is greatly in excess of the amount which
 is paid to capital4 ,suppose that      
tomorrow you were to abolish all        
dividends and profits1 and divide the   
money up among the wage workers1 how    
much would each one get8 ,the sum is    
figured for some big industry1 and it is
 shown that each worker would get one or
 two hundred dollars additional per     
year4 ,obviously1 this would not bring  
the millennium2 it would hardly be worth
 while to take the risk of reducing     
production in order to gain so small a  
result4  ,but now we are in position to 

realize the fallacy of such an argument4
 ,the tax which capital levies upon     
labor is not the amount which capital   
takes for itself1 but the amount which  
it prevents labor from producing4 ,the  
real injury of the profit system is not 
that it pays so large a reward to a     
ruling class2 it is the iron ring which 
it fastens about industry1 barring the  
workers from access to the machinery of 
production except when the product can  
be sold for a profit4 ,labor pays an    
enormous reward to the business man for 
his management of industry1 but it would
 pay labor to reward the business man   
even more highly1 if only he would take 
his goods in kind1 and would permit     
labor1 after this tax is paid1 to go on 
making those things which labor itself  
so desperately needs4  ,but1 you see1   
the business man does not take his goods
 in kind4 ,the owner of a great         
automobile factory may make for himself 
one automobile or a score of            
automobiles1 but he quickly comes to a  

limit where he has no use for any more1 
and what he wants is to sell automobiles
 and make money4 ,he does not permit his
 workers to make automobiles for        
themselves1 or for any one else4 ,he    
reserves the product of the factory for 
himself1 and when he can no longer sell 
automobiles at a profit1 he shuts the   
workers out and automobile-making comes 
to an end in that community4 ,thus it   
appears that the iron ring which        
strangles the income of labor1 strangles
 equally the income of capital4 ,it     
paralyzes the whole social body1 and so 
limits production that we can form no   
conception of what prosperity might and 
ought to be4  ,consider the situation   
before the war4 ,we were all of us at   
work under the competitive system1 and  
with the exception of a few parasites1  
everybody was occupied pretty close to  
the limit of his energy4 ,if any one had
 said that it would be possible for our 
community to pitch in and double or     
treble our output1 you would have       

laughed at him4 ,but suddenly we found  
ourselves at war1 and in need of a great
 increase in output1 and we resolved one
 and all to achieve this end4 ,we did   
not waste any time in theoretical       
discussions about the rights of private 
capital1 or the dangers of bureaucracy  
and the destruction of initiative4 ,our 
government stepped in and took control2 
it took the railroads and systematized  
them1 it took the big factories and told
 them exactly what to make1 it took the 
raw materials and allotted them1 where  
they were needed1 it fixed the prices of
 labor1 and ordered millions of men to  
this or that place1 to this or that     
occupation4 ,it even seized the         
foodstuffs and directed what people     
should eat4 ,in a thousand ways it      
suppressed competition and replaced it  
by order and system4 ,and what was the  
result8  ,we took five million of our   
young men1 the very cream of our        
industrial force1 and withdrew them from
 all productive activities2 we put them 

into uniforms1 and put them through a   
training which meant that they were     
eating more food and wearing more       
clothing and consuming more goods than  
nine-tenths of them had ever done in    
their lives before4 ,we built camps for 
them1 and supplied them with all kinds  
of costly products of labor1 such as    
guns and cartridges1 automobiles and    
airplanes4 ,we treated two million of   
them to an expensive trip to ,europe1   
and there we set them to work burning up
 and destroying the products of         
industry1 to the value of many billions 
of dollars4 ,and not only did we supply 
our own armies1 we supplied the armies  
of all our allies4 ,we built millions of
 dollars worth of ships1 and we sent    
over to ,europe1 whether by private     
business or by government loans1 some   
#aj1jjj1jjj1jjj worth of goods--more    
than ten years of our exports before the
 war4  ,all the labor necessary to      
produce all this wealth had to be       
withdrawn from industry1 so far as      

concerned our domestic uses and needs4  
,it would not be too much to say that   
from domestic industry we withdrew a    
total of ten million of our most capable
 labor force4 ,i think it would be      
reasonable to say that two-thirds of our
 productive energies went to war        
purposes1 and only one-third was        
available for home use4 ,and yet1 we did
 it without a particle of real          
suffering4 ,many of us worked hard1 but 
few of us worked harder than usual4     
,most of us got along with less wheat   
and sugar1 but nobody starved1 nobody   
really suffered ill health1 and our poor
 made higher wages and had better food  
than ever in their lives before4 ,if    
this argument is sound1 it proves that  
our productive machinery is capable1    
when properly organized and directed1 of
 producing three times the common       
necessities of our population4 ,assuming
 that our average working day is nine   
hours1 we could produce what we at      
present consume by three hours of       

intelligently directed work per day4    
,let us look at the matter from another 
angle4 ,just at present the hero of the 
,american business man is ,herbert      
,hoover2 and ,mr4 ,hoover recently      
appointed a committee1 not of           
,socialists and ,utopians1 but of       
engineering experts1 to make a study of 
,american productive methods4 ,the      
report showed that ,american industry   
was only thirty-five or forty per cent  
efficient4 ,incidentally1 this          
,committee on ,waste assessed1 in the   
case of the building industry1          
sixty-five per cent of the blame against
 management and only twenty-one per cent
 against labor2 in six fundamental      
industries it assessed fifty per cent of
 the blame against management and less  
than twenty-five per cent against labor4
 ,fifteen years ago a professor of      
engineering1 ,sidney ,a4 ,reeve by name1
 made an elaborate study of the wastes  
involved in our haphazard and planless  
industrial methods1 and embodied his    

findings in a book1 ,the ,cost of       
,competition4 ,his conclusion was that  
of the total amount of energy expended  
in ,america1 more than seventy per cent 
was wasted4 ,we were doing one hundred  
per cent of work and getting thirty per 
cent of results4 ,if we would get one   
hundred per cent of results1 we should  
produce three and one-third times as    
much wealth1 and the income of our      
workers would be increased one or two   
thousand dollars a year4  ,robert       
,blatchford in his book1 ,merrie        
,england1 has a saying to the effect    
that it makes all the difference1 when  
half a dozen men go out to catch a      
horse1 whether they spend their time    
catching the horse or keeping one       
another from catching the horse4 ,our   
next task will be to point out a few of 
the ways in which good1 honest ,american
 business men and workingmen1 laboring  
as intelligently and conscientiously as 
they know how1 waste their energies in  
keeping one another from producing      

goods4     ,,chapter ,,lxii  ,,the      
,,cost ,,of ,,competition               
7,discusses the losses of friction in   
our productive machine1 those      which
 are obvious and those which are        
hidden47   ,the ,united ,states         
government is by far the largest single 
business enterprise in the ,united      
,states2 and a study of congressional   
appropriations in #aibj1 made by the    
,united ,states ,bureau of ,standards1  
reveals the fact that ninety-three per  
cent of the total income of the         
government went to paying for past wars 
or preparing for future wars4 ,we have  
shown that modern war is a product of   
the profit system1 and if civilized     
nations would put their industry upon a 
co-operative basis1 they could forget   
the very idea of war1 and we should then
 receive fourteen times as much benefit 
from our government as we receive at    
present2 we should have fourteen times  
as good roads1 fourteen times as many   
schools1 fourteen times as prompt a     

postoffice and fourteen times as        
efficient a ,congress4 ,what it would   
mean to industry to abolish war is      
something wholly beyond the power of our
 imagination to conceive2 for along with
 ninety-three per cent of our government
 money there goes into military         
preparation the vast bulk of our        
intellectual energy and inventive       
genius1 our moral and emotional         
equipment4  ,next1 strikes and the      
losses incidental to strikes1 and the   
costs of preparing against strikes4     
,this includes1 not merely the actual   
loss of working time1 it includes police
 and militia1 private armies of gunmen1 
and great secret service agencies1 whose
 total income runs up into hundreds of  
millions of dollars per year4           
,industrial warfare is simply the method
 by which capitalists and workers       
determine the division of the product of
 industry2 as if two men should         
co-operate in raising poultry1 and then 
fall to quarrelling over the ownership  

of the eggs1 and settle the matter by   
throwing the eggs at each other's heads4
  ,next1 bankruptcy4 ,statistics show   
that regularly some ten per cent of our 
business enterprises fail every year4   
,take any block occupied by little      
business men1 grocers and haberdashers  
and notions1 and you will see that they 
are always changing4 ,each change       
represents a human tragedy1 and the     
total is a frightful waste of human     
energy2 it happens because we can think 
of no better way to distribute goods    
than to go through the work of setting  
up a business1 and then discover that it
 cannot succeed because the neighborhood
 is already overstocked with that kind  
of goods4  ,next1 fires which are a     
result of bankruptcy4 ,you may laugh1   
perhaps1 thinking that ,i am making a   
joke2 but every little man who fails in 
business knows that he has a choice of  
going down in the social scale1 or of   
setting fire to his stock some night1   
and having a big insurance company set  

him on his feet again4 ,the result is   
that a certain percentage of bankrupts  
do regularly set fire to their stores4  
,some fifteen years ago there was       
published in ,collier's ,weekly a study 
of the costs to society of incendiary   
fires4 ,the ,fire ,underwriters'        
,association estimated the amount as a  
quarter of a billion dollars a year2 and
 all this cost1 you understand1 is paid 
out of the pockets of those who insure  
their homes and their stores1 and do not
 burn them down4  ,from this follows the
 costs of insurance1 and the whole      
insurance industry1 which is inevitable 
under the profit system1 but is entire  
waste so far as true production is      
concerned4 ,big enterprises like the    
,steel ,trust do not carry insurance1   
and neither does the ,united ,states    
,postoffice4 ,they are wealthy enough to
 stand their own losses4 ,a national    
co-operative enterprise would be in the 
same position1 and the whole business of
 collecting money for insurance and     

keeping records and carrying on lawsuits
 would be forgotten4  ,next1            
advertising4 ,it would be no            
exaggeration to say that seventy per    
cent of the material published in       
,american newspapers and magazines today
 is pure waste2 and therefore seventy   
per cent of the labor of all the people 
who cut down forests and manufacture and
 transport paper and set up type and    
print and distribute publications is    
wasted4 ,there is1 of course1 a small   
percentage of advertising that is       
useful1 but most of it is boasting and  
falsehood1 and even where it tells the  
truth it simply represents the effort of
 a merchant to persuade you to buy in   
his store instead of in a rival         
store--an achievement which is          
profitable to the merchant1 but utterly 
useless to society as a whole4  ,this   
same statement applies to all traveling 
salesmen1 and to a great percentage of  
middlemen4 ,it applies also to a great  
part of delivery service4 ,if you live  

in a crowded part of any city1 you see a
 dozen milk wagons pass your door every 
morning1 doing the work which could be  
done exactly as well by one4 ,that is   
only one case out of a thousand ,i might
 name4  ,next1 crime4 ,i have already   
discussed the crime of arson1 and ,i    
might discuss the crimes of             
pocket-picking1 burglary1 forgery1 and a
 hundred others in the same way4 ,i am  
aware of the fact that there may be a   
few born criminals2 there may be a few  
congenital cheats1 whom we should have  
to put in hospitals4 ,but we have only  
to consult the crime records1 during the
 war and after the war1 in order to see 
that when jobs are hunting men there are
 few criminals1 and when men are hunting
 jobs there are many criminals4 ,i have 
no figures as to the cost of            
administering justice in the ,united    
,states--policemen1 courts and          
jails--but it must be hundreds of       
millions of dollars every year4  ,i have
 discussed at great length the          

suppression of the productive power of  
society4 ,i should not fail to mention  
the suppression of the inventive power  
of society1 a factor less obvious1 but  
probably in the long run even greater4  
,every one familiar with the inside of a
 big industry knows that hundreds and   
even thousands of useful processes are  
entirely suppressed1 because it would   
not pay one particular concern to stand 
the expense of the changes involved4    
,you know how1 during the war1 our      
government brought all the makers of    
engines together and perfected in       
triumph a ,liberty motor4 ,but now we   
have gone back to private interest and  
competition1 and each concern is        
jealously engaged in guarding its own   
secrets1 and depriving industry as a    
whole of the benefit of everything that 
it learns4 ,each is spying upon the     
others1 stealing the secrets of the     
others1 stealing likewise from those who
 invent new ideas--and thus discouraging
 them from inventing any more4  ,i use  

this word discourage1 and ,i might write
 a chapter upon it4 ,what human         
imagination can conceive the amount of  
social energy that is lost because of   
the factor of discouragement1 directly  
caused by the competitive method8 ,who  
can figure what it means to human       
society that a great percentage of the  
people in it should be haunted by fear  
of one sort or another--the poor in fear
 of unemployment1 sickness and          
starvation1 the little business man in  
fear of bankruptcy and suicide1 the big 
business man in fear of hard times and  
treachery of his competitors1 the idle  
rich in fear of robbery and blackmail1  
and the whole community in fear of      
foreign war and domestic tumult6        
,anyone might go on and elaborate these 
factors that ,i have named1 and think of
 scores of others4 ,anyone familiar with
 business life or with industrial       
processes would be able to put his      
finger on this or that enormous saving  
which he would be able to make if he and

 all his rivals could combine and come  
to an agreement4 ,this has been proven  
over and over again in large-scale      
industry2 it is the fact which has made 
of large-scale industry an overwhelming 
power1 sucking all the profits to       
itself1 reaching out and taking in new  
fields of human activity1 and setting at
 naught all popular clamor and even     
legal terrors4 ,how can anyone1 seeing  
these facts1 bring himself to deny that 
if we did systematize production and    
make it one enterprise1 precisely       
adapted to one end1 we should enormously
 increase the results of human labor1   
and the benefit to all who do the       
world's work8  ,a good deal of this     
waste we can stop when we get ready1 and
 other parts of it our bountiful mother 
nature will replace4 ,when in a world   
war we kill some ten or twenty millions 
of the flower of our young manhood1 we  
have only to wait several generations1  
and our race will be as good as ever4   
,but1 on the other hand1 there is some  

waste that can never be repaired1 and   
this is the thing truly frightful to    
contemplate4 ,when we dig the iron ore  
out of the bowels of the earth and rust 
it away in wars1 we are doing something 
our race can never undo4 ,and the same  
is true of many of our precious         
substances3 phosphorus1 sulphur1 potash4
 ,when we cut down the forests from our 
mountain slopes1 and lay bare the earth1
 we not merely cause floods and         
washouts1 and silt up our harbors1 we   
take away from the surface of our land  
the precious life-giving soil1 and make 
a habitable land into a desert1 which no
 irrigating and reforesting can ever    
completely restore4 ,the ,chinese have  
done that for many centuries1 and we are
 following in their footsteps2 more than
 six hundred million wagon-loads of our 
best soil are washed down to the sea    
every year6 ,if you wish to know about  
these matters1 ,i send you to a book1   
,on ,board the ,good ,ship ,earth1 by   
,herbert ,quick4 ,it is one of the most 

heart-breaking books you ever read1 yet 
it is merely a quiet statement of the   
facts about our present commercial      
anarchy4     ,,chapter ,,lxiii          
,,socialism ,,and ,,syndicalism         
7,discusses the idea of the management  
of industry by the state1 and      the  
idea of its management by the trade     
unions47   ,let us now assume that we   
desire to abolish the wastes of the     
competitive method1 and to put our      
industry on a basis of co-operation4    
,how should we effect the change1 and   
how should we run our industry after it 
was done8  ,let us take the ,united     
,states ,steel ,corporation4 ,what      
change would be necessary to the        
socializing of this concern8 ,united    
,states ,steel is owned by a group of   
stockholders1 and governed by a board of
 directors elected by them4 ,the owners 
are now to be bought out with government
 bonds1 and the board of directors      
retired4 ,it may also be necessary to   
replace a certain number of the higher  

executive officials1 who are imbued     
entirely with the point of view of this 
board1 and have to do with finance1     
rather than with production4 ,of course1
 some other governing authority would   
have to be put in control4 ,what would  
this authority be8 ,there are several   
plans before the world1 several         
different schools of thought1 which we  
shall consider one by one4  ,first1 the 
,socialist program4 ,the ,socialist     
says1 ,consider the postoffice1 how that
 is run4 ,it is run by the ,president1  
who appoints a ,postmaster-,general as  
his executive4 ,let us therefore turn   
the steel industry over to the          
government1 and let the ,president      
appoint another member of his cabinet1 a
 ,director of ,steel2 or let there be a 
commission1 similar to the ,interstate  
,commerce ,commission1 or the various   
war industry boards4 ,any form of       
management of the steel industry which  
provides for its control and operation  
by our ,united ,states government is    

,socialism of one sort or another4      
,there has been1 of late1 a great deal  
of dissatisfaction with government1 on  
the part of the general public1 and also
 of labor4 ,the postoffice clerks1 for  
example1 complain that they are         
inadequately paid and autocratically    
managed1 deprived of their rights not   
merely as workers but as citizens4 ,the 
steel workers complain that when they go
 on strike against their masters1 the   
government sends in troops and crushes  
their strike1 regardless of the rights  
or wrongs of it4 ,in order to meet such 
tactics1 labor goes into politics1 and  
elects here and there its own           
representatives2 but these              
representatives become mysteriously     
affected by the bureaucratic point of   
view1 and even where they try hard1 they
 do not accomplish much for labor4      
,therefore1 labor becomes disgusted with
 the political process1 and labor men do
 not welcome the prospect of being      
managed by government4  ,if you ask such

 men1 they will say3 ,no2 the           
politicians don't know anything about   
industry1 and can't learn4 ,the people  
who know about industry are those who   
work in it4 ,the true way to run an     
industry is through an organization of  
the workers1 both of hand and brain4    
,the true way to run the ,steel ,trust  
is for all the workers in it1 men and   
women1 high and low1 to be recognized by
 law as citizens of that industry2 each 
shop must elect its own delegates to run
 that shop1 and elect a delegate to a   
central parliament of the industry1 and 
this industry in turn must elect        
delegates to a great parliament or      
convention of all the delegates of all  
the industries4 ,in such a central      
gathering every one would be            
represented1 because every person would 
be a producer of some sort1 and whether 
he was a steel worker or a street       
sweeper or a newsboy1 he would have a   
vote at the place where he earns his    
living1 and would have a say in the     

management of his job4 ,the great       
central parliament would elect an       
executive committee and a president1 and
 so we should have a government of the  
workers1 by the workers1 for the        
workers4 ,this idea is known as         
,syndicalism1 derived from the ,french  
word syndicat1 meaning a labor union4   
,since the ,russian revolution it has   
come to be known as soviet government1  
soviet being the ,russian word for trade
 council4  ,now1 taking these two ideas 
of ,socialism and ,syndicalism1 it is   
evident that they may be combined in    
various ways1 and applied in varying    
degrees4 ,it is perfectly conceivable1  
for example1 that the people of the     
,united ,states might elect a president 
pledged to call a parliament of         
industry1 and to delegate the control of
 industry to this parliament4 ,he might 
delegate the control to a certain       
extent1 and provide for its extension1  
step by step2 so our society might move 
into ,syndicalism by the way of         

,socialism4 ,you have only to put your  
mind on the possibilities of the        
situation to realize that one method    
shades into the other with a great      
variety of stages4  ,consider next the  
stages between capitalism and           
,socialism4 ,we have in the ,united     
,states some industries which are purely
 capitalistic2 for example1 the ,steel  
,trust1 which is privately owned1 and   
has been powerful enough1 not merely to 
suppress every effort of its workers to 
organize1 but every effort of the       
government to regulate it4 ,on the other
 hand1 the ,united ,states ,postoffice  
represents ,state ,socialism2 although  
the workers have been forbidden to      
organize1 and the management of the     
industry is so arbitrary that ,i have   
always preferred to call it ,state      
,capitalism4 ,likewise the ,united      
,states army and navy represent ,state  
,socialism4 ,when we had the job of     
putting the ,kaiser out of business1 we 
did not hire ,mr4 ,rockefeller to do it2

 it never once occurred to our advocates
 of individualism1 of capitalist        
enterprise and initiative1 to suggest   
that we should hire out our army and    
navy1 or employ the ,steel ,trust or the
 ,powder ,trust to organize its own army
 and navy to do the fighting for us4    
,likewise1 for the most part1 we run the
 job of educating our children by the   
method of municipal ,socialism4 ,we run 
our libraries in the same way1 and      
likewise our job of fire protection4    
,it is interesting to note how in every 
country the line between capitalism and 
,socialism is drawn in a different      
place4 ,in ,america we run practically  
all our libraries for ourselves1 but it 
would seem to us preposterous to think  
of running our theatres4 ,in ,europe1   
however1 they have state-owned theatres1
 which set a far higher standard of art 
than anything we know at home4 ,also1   
they have state-owned orchestras and    
opera-houses1 something we ,americans   
leave to the subscriptions of           

millionaires4 ,in ,europe it seems      
perfectly natural to the people that the
 state should handle their telegrams in 
connection with the postoffice2 but if  
you urge government ownership of the    
telegraphs in the ,united ,states1 they 
tell you that the proposition is        
socialistic1 and that saves the need of 
thinking about it4 ,we take it for      
granted that our cities could run the   
libraries--even though we were glad when
 ,carnegie came along and saved us the  
need of appropriating money for         
buildings4 ,just why a city should be   
able to run a library1 and should not be
 able to run an opera-house1 or a       
newspaper1 is something which has never 
been made clear to me4  ,let us next    
examine the stages between capitalism   
and ,syndicalism4 ,a great many large   
corporations are making experiments in  
what they call shop management1 allowing
 the workers membership in the boards of
 directors and a voice in the conditions
 of their labor4 ,this is ,syndicalism  

so far as it goes4 ,likewise it is      
,syndicalism when the clothing workers  
and the clothing manufacturers meet     
together and agree to the setting up of 
a permanent committee to work out a set 
of rules for the conduct of the         
industry1 and to fix wages from time to 
time4 ,obviously1 these things are      
capable of indefinite extension1 and in 
,europe they are being developed far    
more rapidly4 ,for example1 in ,italy   
the agricultural workers are organized1 
and are gradually taking possession of  
the great estates1 which are owned by   
absentee landlords4 ,they wage war upon 
these estates by means of sabotage and  
strikes1 and then they buy up the       
estates at bargain prices and develop   
them by co-operative labor4 ,this has   
been going on in ,italy for ten years1  
and has become the most significant     
movement in the country4 ,it is a       
triumph of pure ,syndicalism2 and such  
is the power of pure capitalism in the  
,united ,states that the ,american      

people have not been allowed to know    
anything about this change4  ,next1 what
 are the stages between ,socialism and  
,syndicalism8 ,these also are infinite  
in number and variety4 ,as a matter of  
fact1 there are very few ,socialists who
 advocate ,state ,socialism without any 
admixture of ,syndicalism4 ,the regular 
formula of the ,socialist party is the  
social ownership and democratic control 
of the instruments and means of         
production2 and what the phrase         
democratic control means is simply that 
you introduce into your ,socialist      
mixture a certain flavoring of          
,syndicalism1 greater or less1 according
 to your temperament4 ,in the same way  
there are many ,syndicalists who are    
inclined toward ,socialism4 ,in every   
convention of radical trade unionists1  
such as1 for example1 the ,i4 ,w4 ,w41  
you find some who favor political       
action1 and these will have the same    
point of view as the more radical       
members of the ,socialist party1 who    

urge a program of industrial as well as 
political action4     ,,chapter ,,lxiv  
,,communism ,,and ,,anarchism           
7,considers the idea of goods owned in  
common1 and the idea of a      society  
without compulsion1 and how these ideas 
have fared in      ,russia47   ,the     
,russian revolution has familiarized us 
with the word ,communism4 ,in the       
beginning of the revolutionary movement 
,communism denoted what we now call     
,socialism2 for example1 the ,communist 
,manifesto of ,marx and ,engels became  
the platform of the ,social-democratic  
parties4 ,but because most of these     
parties supported their governments     
during the war1 the more radical        
elements have now rejected the word     
,socialism1 and taken up the old word   
,communism4 ,in the ,russian revolution 
the ,communists went so far as to seize 
all the property of the rich1 and so the
 word ,communism has come to bear       
something of its early ,christian       
significance4  ,it is obvious that here1

 too1 it is a question of degree1 and   
,socialism will shade into ,communism by
 an infinite variety of stages1         
depending upon what forms of property it
 is decided to socialize4 ,the          
,socialist formula commonly accepted is 
that goods socially used shall be       
socially owned1 and goods privately used
 shall be privately owned4 ,if you own a
 factory1 it will be taken by the state1
 or by the workers1 and made social     
property like the postoffice2 but no    
,socialist wants to socialize your      
clothing1 or your books1 any more than  
he wants to socialize your toothbrush4  
,but when you come to apply this        
formula1 you run quickly into           
difficulties4 ,suppose you are a        
millionaire1 and own a palace with one  
or two hundred rooms1 and a hundred     
servants4 ,do you use that socially1 or 
do you use it privately8 ,and suppose   
there is a scarcity of houses1 and      
thousands of children are dying of      
tuberculosis in crowded tenement rooms8 

,you own a dozen automobiles1 and do you
 use them all privately8 ,i point out to
 you that in time of emergency the      
capitalist state does not hesitate over 
such a problem2 it seizes your palace   
and turns it into a hospital1 it takes  
all your cars and uses them to carry    
troops4 ,it should be obvious that a    
proletarian state would be tempted by   
this precedent4  ,the ,communists also  
have a formula1 which reads3 ,from each 
according to his ability1 to each       
according to his necessity4 ,i do not   
see how any sensitive person can deny   
that this is an extremely fine statement
 of an ideal in social life4 ,we take it
 quite for granted in family life2 if   
you knew a family in which that rule did
 not apply1 you would consider it an    
unloving and uncivilized family4 ,i     
believe that when once industry has been
 socialized1 and we have a chance to see
 what production can become1 we shall   
find ourselves quickly adopting that    
family custom as our law1 for all except

 a few congenital criminals and cheats4 
,we shall find that we can produce so   
much wealth that it is not worth while  
keeping count of unimportant items4 ,if 
today you meet someone on the street and
 ask him for a match or a pin1 you do   
not think of offering to pay him4 ,this 
is an automatic consequence of the      
cheapness of matches and pins4 ,once    
upon a time you were stopped on the road
 every few miles and made to pay a few  
cents toll4 ,i remember seeing          
toll-gates when ,i was a boy1 but ,i    
don't think ,i have seen one for twenty 
years4  ,in exactly the same way1 under 
socialized industry1 we shall probably  
make street-car traffic free1 and then  
railroad traffic2 we shall abolish water
 meters and gas meters and electric     
light meters1 also telephone charges1   
except perhaps for long distances1 and  
telegraph tolls for personal messages4  
,then1 presently1 we shall find         
ourselves with such a large wheat crop  
that we shall make bread free2 and then 

music and theatres and clothing and     
books4 ,at present we use furniture and 
clothing as a means of manifesting our  
economic superiority to our fellowmen4  
,one of the most charming books in our  
language is ,veblen's ,theory of the    
,leisure ,class1 in which these         
processes are studied4 ,we shall1 of    
course1 have to raise up a new          
generation1 unaccustomed to the idea of 
class and of class distinction1 before  
we could undertake to supply people with
 all the clothing they wanted free of   
charge4  ,the ,russian theorists made   
haste to carry out these ideas all at   
once2 they tried to leap several        
centuries in the evolution of ,russian  
society4 ,they ordained complete        
,communism in land2 but the peasants    
would have nothing to do with such      
notions--each wanted his own land1 and  
what he produced on it4 ,the ,soviets   
have now been forced to give way1 not   
merely to the peasants1 but to the      
traders2 and so we see once again that  

it is better to take one step forward   
than to take several steps forward and  
then several steps backward4 ,the       
,russian revolution is not yet          
completed1 so no one can say how many   
steps backward it will be forced to     
take4  ,this revolution was an          
interesting combination of the ideas of 
,socialism and ,syndicalism4 ,the trade 
unionists seized the factories1 and made
 an effort at democratic control of     
industry4 ,at the same time the state   
was overthrown by a political party1 the
 ,bolsheviks1 who set up a dictatorship 
of the proletariat4 ,because of civil   
war and outside invasion1 the democratic
 elements in the experiment have been   
more and more driven into the           
background1 and the authority of the    
state has correspondingly increased4    
,this causes us to think of the ,soviet 
system as necessarily opposed to        
democracy1 but this is not in any way a 
necessary thing4 ,there is no inevitable
 connection between industrial control  

by the workers and a dictatorship over  
the state4 ,in ,germany the state is    
proceeding to organize a national       
parliament of industry1 and to provide  
for management of the factories by the  
labor unions4 ,the ,italian government  
has promised to do the same thing4      
,these1 of course1 are capitalist       
governments1 and they will keep their   
promises only as they are made to2 but  
it is a perfectly possible thing that in
 either of these countries a vote of the
 people might change the government1 and
 put in authority men who would really  
proceed to turn industry over to the    
control of the workers4 ,that would be  
the ,soviet or ,syndicalist system1     
brought about by democratic means1      
without dictatorship or civil war4      
,another group of revolutionary thinkers
 whose theories must be mentioned are   
the ,anarchists4 ,the word ,anarchy is  
commonly used as a synonym for chaos and
 disorder1 which it does not mean at    
all4 ,it means the absence of authority2

 and it is characteristic of people's   
view of life that they are unable to    
conceive of there being such a thing as 
order1 unless it is maintained by force4
 ,the theory of the ,anarchist is that  
order is a necessity of the human       
spirit1 and that people would conform to
 the requirements of a just order by    
their own free will and without external
 compulsion4 ,the ,anarchist believes   
that the state is an instrument of class
 oppression1 and has no other reason for
 being4 ,he wishes the industries to be 
organized by free associations of the   
people who work in them4  ,some of the  
greatest of the world's moral teachers  
have been ,anarchists3 ,jesus1 for      
example1 and ,shelley and ,thoreau and  
,tolstoi1 and in our time ,kropotkin4   
,these men voiced the highest           
aspirations of the human spirit1 and the
 form of society which they dreamed is  
the one we set before us as our final   
goal4 ,but the world does not leap into 
perfection all at once1 and meantime    

here we have the capitalist system and  
the capitalist state1 and what attitude 
shall we take to them8 ,there are       
impassioned idealists who refuse to make
 any terms with injustice1 or to submit 
to compulsion1 and these preach the     
immediate destruction of capitalist     
government1 and capitalist government   
responds with prison and torture1 and so
 we have some ,anarchists who throw     
bombs4  ,there are those who call       
themselves philosophic ,anarchists1     
wishing to indicate thereby that they   
preach this doctrine1 but do not attempt
 to carry it into action as yet4 ,some  
among these verge toward the ,communist 
point of view1 and call themselves      
,communist-anarchists2 such was         
,kropotkin1 whose theories of social    
organization you will find in his book  
,the ,conquest of ,bread4 ,there are    
others who call themselves              
,syndicalist-anarchists1 finding their  
centers of free association in the      
radical labor unions4  ,after the       

,russian revolution1 the ,anarchists    
found themselves in a dilemma1 and their
 groups were torn apart like every other
 party and class in ,russia4 ,here was a
 new form of state set up in society1 a 
workers' state1 and what attitude should
 the ,anarchists take toward that8 ,many
 of them stood out for their principles1
 and resisted the ,bolshevik state1 and 
put the ,bolsheviks under the           
embarrassing necessity of throwing them 
into jail4 ,we good orthodox ,americans1
 who are accustomed to dump ,socialists 
and ,communists and ,syndicalists and   
,anarchists all together into one common
 kettle1 took ,emma ,goldman and        
,alexander ,berkman and shipped them    
over to ,russia1 where we thought they  
belonged4 ,now our capitalist newspapers
 find it strange that these ,anarchists 
do not like the ,russian government any 
better than they like the ,american     
government6  ,on the other hand1 a great
 many ,anarchists have suddenly found   
themselves compelled by the ,russian    

situation to face the facts of life4    
,they have decided that a government is 
not such a bad thing after all--when it 
is your own government6 ,robert ,minor1 
for example1 has recanted his ,anarchist
 position1 and joined the ,communists in
 advocating the dropping of all         
differences among the workers1 all      
theories as to the future1 and          
concentrating upon the immediate task of
 overthrowing capitalist government and 
keeping it overthrown4 ,in every        
civilized nation the ,russian revolution
 has had this effect upon the extreme   
revolutionists4 ,it has given them a    
definite aim and a definite program upon
 which they can unite2 it has presented 
to capitalist government the answer of  
force to force2 it has shown the masters
 of industry in precise and definite    
form what they have to face--unless they
 set themselves immediately and in good 
faith to the task of establishing real  
democracy in industry4     ,,chapter    
,,lxv  ,,social ,,revolution       7,how

 the great change is coming in different
 industries1 and how we      may prepare
 to meet it47   ,from a study of the    
world's political revolutions we observe
 that a variety of governmental forms   
develop1 and that different             
circumstances in each country produce   
different institutions4 ,suppose that   
back in the days of the ,french monarchy
 some one asked you how ,france was     
going to be governed as a political     
republic2 how would elections be held1  
what would be the powers of the         
deputies1 who would choose the premier1 
who would choose the president1 what    
would be the duties of each8 ,who can   
explain why in ,france and ,england the 
executive is responsible to the         
parliament and must answer its          
questions1 while in the ,united ,states 
the executive is an autocrat1           
responsible to no one for four years8   
,who could have foreseen that in        
,england1 supposed to remain a monarchy1
 the constitution would be fluid2 while 

in ,america1 supposed to be a democracy1
 the constitution would be rigid1 and   
the supreme power of rejecting changes  
in the laws would be vested in a group  
of reactionary lawyers appointed for    
life8 ,there will be similar surprises  
in the social revolution1 and similar   
differences between what things pretend 
to be and what they are4  ,i used to    
compare the social revolution to the    
hatching of an egg4 ,you examine it1 and
 apparently it is all egg2 but then     
suddenly something begins to happen1 and
 in a few minutes it is all chicken4    
,if1 however1 you investigate1 you      
discover that the chicken had been      
forming inside the egg for some time4 ,i
 know that there is a chicken now       
forming inside our social egg2 but      
having realized the complexity of social
 phenomena1 ,i no longer venture to     
predict the exact time of the hatching1 
or the size and color of the chicken4   
,perhaps it is more useful to compare   
the social revolution to a child-birth4 

,a good surgeon knows what is due to    
happen1 but he knows also that there are
 a thousand uncertainties1 a thousand   
dangerous possibilities1 and all he can 
do is to watch the process and be       
prepared to meet each emergency as it   
arises4 ,the birth process consists of  
one pang after another1 but no one can  
say which pang will complete the birth1 
or whether it will be completed at all4 
,karl ,marx is author of the saying that
 force is the midwife of progress1 so   
you may see that ,i am not the inventor 
of this simile of child-birth4  ,there  
are three factors in the social         
revolution1 each of which will vary in  
each country1 and in different parts of 
the country1 and at different periods4  
,first1 there is the industrial         
condition of the country1 a complex set 
of economic factors4 ,the industrial    
life of ,england depends primarily on   
shipping and coal4 ,in the ,united      
,states shipping is of less importance1 
and railroads take the place4 ,in the   

,united ,states the eastern portion     
lives mainly by manufacture1 the western
 by agriculture1 while the south is held
 a generation behind by a race problem4 
,in ,france the great estates were      
broken up1 and agriculture fell into the
 hands of peasant proprietors1 who are  
the main support of ,french capitalism4 
,in ,prussia the great estates were held
 intact1 and remained the basis of a    
feudal aristocracy4 ,in ,america land   
changes hands freely1 and therefore     
one-third of our farms are mortgaged1   
and another third are worked by tenants4
 ,in ,russia there was practically no   
middle class1 while in the ,united      
,states there is practically nothing but
 middle class2 the rich have been rich  
for such a short while that they still  
look middle class and act middle class1 
in spite of all their efforts1 while the
 working class hopes to be middle class 
and is persuaded that it can become     
middle class4 ,such varying factors     
produce in each country a different     

problem1 and make inevitable a different
 process of change4  ,the second factor 
is the condition of organization and    
education of the workers4 ,this likewise
 varies in every country1 and in every  
part of every country4 ,there is a      
continual struggle on the part of the   
workers to organize and educate         
themselves1 and a continual effort on   
the part of the ruling class to prevent 
this4 ,in some industries in ,america   
you find the workers one hundred per    
cent organized1 and in other industries 
you find them not organized at all4 ,it 
is obvious that in the former case the  
social change1 when it comes1 will be   
comparatively simple1 involving little  
bloodshed and waste2 in the latter case 
there will be social convulsions1       
rioting and destruction of property1    
disorganization of industry and         
widespread distress4  ,the third factor 
is the state of mind of the propertied  
classes1 the amount of resistance they  
are willing to make to social change4 ,i

 have done a great deal of pleading with
 the masters of industry in my country2 
,i have written appeals to ,vincent     
,astor and ,john ,d4 ,rockefeller1 to   
capitalist newspapers and judges and    
congressmen and presidents4 ,i have been
 told that this is a waste of my time2  
that these people cannot learn and will 
not learn1 and that it is foolish to    
appeal either to their hearts or their  
understanding4 ,but ,i perceive that the
 class struggle is like a fraction2 it  
has a numerator and a denominator1 and  
you can increase the fraction just as   
well by decreasing the denominator as by
 increasing the numerator4 ,to vary the 
simile1 here are two groups of men      
engaged in a tug of war1 and you can    
affect the result just as decisively by 
persuading one group to pull less hard1 
as by persuading the other group to pull
 harder4  ,picture to yourself two      
factories4 ,in factory number one the   
owner is a hard-driving business man1 an
 active spirit in the so-called         

open-shop campaign4 ,he believes in his 
divine right to manage industry1 and he 
believes also in the gospel of all that 
the traffic will bear4 ,he prevents his 
men from organizing1 and employs spies  
to weed out the radicals and to sow     
dissensions4 ,when a strike comes1 he   
calls in the police and the             
strike-breaking agencies1 and in every  
possible way he makes himself hated and 
feared by his workers4 ,then some day   
comes the unemployment crisis1 and a    
wave of revolt sweeping over the        
country4 ,the workers seize that factory
 and set up a dictatorship of the       
proletariat and a red terror4 ,if the   
owner resists1 they kill him2 in any    
case1 they wipe out his interest in the 
business1 and do everything possible to 
destroy his power over it1 even to his  
very name4 ,they run the business by a  
shop committee1 and you have for that   
particular factory a ,syndicalist1 or   
even ,anarchist form of social          
reconstruction4  ,now for factory number

 two1 whose owner is a humane and       
enlightened man1 studying social        
questions and realizing his             
responsibility1 and the temporary nature
 of his stewardship4 ,he gives his      
people the best possible working        
conditions1 he keeps open books and     
discusses wages and profits with them1  
he educates the young workers1 he meets 
with their union committees on a basis  
of free discussion4 ,when the           
unemployment crisis comes and the wave  
of revolt sweeps the country1 this man  
and his workers understand one another4 
,he says3 ,i can no longer pay profits1 
and so ,i can no longer keep going under
 the profit system2 but if you are ready
 to run the plant1 ,i am ready to help  
you the best ,i can4 ,manifestly1 this  
man will continue the president of the  
corporation1 and if he trains his sons  
wisely1 they will keep his place2 so1   
instead of having in that factory a     
dictatorship and a terror1 you will have
 a constitutional monarchy1 gradually   

evolving into a democratic republic4    
,,chapter ,,lxvi  ,,confiscation ,,or   
,,compensation       7,shall the workers
 buy out the capitalists8 ,can they     
afford to do      it1 and what will be  
the price87   ,the problem of whether   
the social revolution shall be violent  
or peaceable depends in great part upon 
our answer to the question of           
confiscation versus compensation4 ,we   
are now going to consider1 first1 the   
abstract rights and wrongs of the       
question1 and1 second1 the practical    
aspects of it4  ,there is a story very  
popular among single taxers and other   
advocates of freedom of the land4 ,an   
,english land-owner met a stranger      
walking on his estate1 and rebuked him  
for trespassing4 ,said the stranger1    
,you own this land8 ,said the other1 ,i 
do4 ,and how did you get it8 ,i         
inherited it from my father4 ,and how   
did your father get it8 ,he inherited it
 from his father4 ,so on for half a     
dozen more ancestors1 until at last the 

,englishman answered1 ,he fought for it4
 ,whereupon the stranger took off his   
coat and rolled up his sleeves and said1
 ,i'll fight you for it4  ,this is all  
there is to say on the subject of the   
abstract rights of land titles4 ,there  
is no title to land which is valid on a 
historical basis4 ,everything rests upon
 fraud and force1 continued through     
endless ages of human history4 ,we in   
the ,united ,states took most of our    
land from the ,indians1 and in the      
process our guiding rule was that the   
only good ,injun was a dead ,injun4 ,we 
first helped the ,english kings to take 
large sections of our country from the  
,french and ,spanish1 and then we took  
them from the ,english king by a violent
 revolution4 ,we purchased our          
,southwestern states from ,mexico1 but  
not until we had taken the precaution of
 killing some thousands of ,mexicans in 
war1 which had the effect of keeping    
down the purchase price4 ,it would be a 
simple matter to show that all public   

franchises are similarly tainted with   
fraud4 ,proudhon laid down the principle
 that property is theft1 and from this  
principle it is an obvious conclusion   
that society has the right to scrap all 
paper titles to wealth1 and to start the
 world's industries over again on the   
basis of share and share alike4  ,but   
stop and consider for a moment4         
,property is theft1 you say4 ,but go to 
your corner grocery1 and tell the grocer
 that you deny his title to the sack of 
prunes which he exhibits in front of his
 counter4 ,he will tell you that he has 
paid for them2 but you answer that the  
prunes were raised on stolen land1 and  
shipped to him over a railroad whose    
franchise was obtained by bribery4 ,will
 that convince the grocer8 ,it will not4
 ,neither will it convince the policeman
 or the judge1 nor will it convince the 
voters of the country4 ,most people have
 a deeply rooted conviction that there  
are rights to property now definitely   
established and made valid by law4 ,if  

you have paid taxes on land for a       
certain period1 the land belongs to you2
 and ,i am sure you might agitate from  
now to kingdom come without persuading  
the ,american people that ,new ,mexico  
ought to be returned to ,mexico1 or the 
western prairies to the ,indian tribes4 
,such are the facts2 now let us apply   
them to the right of exploitation1      
embodied in the ownership of a certain  
number of bonds or shares of stock in   
the ,united ,states ,steel ,corporation4
 ,pass a law1 says the ,socialist1      
providing for the taking over of ,united
 ,states ,steel by the government4 ,at  
once to every owner comes one single    
thought--are you going to buy this      
stock1 or are you going to confiscate   
it8 ,if you attempt confiscation1 the   
courts will declare the law             
unconstitutional2 and you either have to
 defy the courts1 which is revolutionary
 action1 or to amend the constitution4  
,if you adopt the latter course1 you    
have before you a long period of        

agitation2 you have to carry both houses
 of ,congress by a two-thirds majority1 
and the legislatures of three-fourths of
 the ,states4 ,you have to do this in   
the face of the most bitter and         
infuriated opposition of those who are  
defending what they regard as their     
rights4 ,you have to meet the arguments 
of the entire capitalist press of the   
country1 and you have the certainty of  
widespread bribery of your elected      
officials4  ,the prospect of doing all  
this under the forms of law seems       
extremely discouraging2 so come the     
,syndicalists1 saying1 ,let us seize the
 factories1 and stop the exploitation at
 the point of production4 ,so come the  
,communists1 saying1 ,let us overthrow  
capitalist government1 and break the net
 of bourgeois legality1 and establish a 
dictatorship of the proletariat1 which  
will put an end to privilege and class  
domination all at once4 ,what are we to 
say to these different programs8        
,suppose we buy out the stockholders of 

,united ,states ,steel1 and issue to    
them government bonds1 what have we     
accomplished8 ,nothing1 say the         
advocates of confiscation2 we have      
changed the form of exploitation1 but   
the substance of it remains the same4   
,the stockholders get their money from  
the ,united ,states government1 instead 
of from the ,united ,states ,steel      
,corporation2 but they get their money  
just the same--the product1 not of their
 labor1 but of the labor of the steel   
workers4 ,suppose we carried out the    
same procedure all along the line2      
suppose the government took over all    
industries1 and paid for their          
securities with government bonds4 ,then 
we should have capitalism administered  
by a capitalist government1 instead of  
by our present masters of industry2 we  
should have a state capitalism1 instead 
of a private capitalism2 we should have 
the government buying and selling       
products1 and exploiting labor1 and     
paying over the profits to an hereditary

 privileged class4 ,the capitalist      
system would go on just the same1 except
 that labor would have one all-powerful 
tyrant1 instead of many lesser tyrants1 
as at present4  ,so argue the advocates 
of confiscation4 ,and the advocates of  
purchase reply that in buying the       
securities of ,united ,states ,steel1 we
 should fix the purchase price at the   
present market value of the property1   
and that price1 once fixed1 would be    
permanent2 all future unearned increment
 of the steel industry would belong to  
the government instead of to private    
owners4 ,consider1 for example1 what    
happened during the world war4 ,when ,i 
was a boy1 soon after the ,steel ,trust 
was launched1 its stock was down to     
something like six dollars1 and ,i knew 
small investors who lost every dollar   
they had put in4 ,but during the war1   
steel stock soared to a hundred and     
thirty-six dollars per share2 it paid   
dividends of some thirty per cent per   
year1 and accumulated enormous surpluses

 besides4  ,the same thing was true of  
practically all the big corporations4   
,according to ,secretary of the         
,treasury ,mc,adoo1 there were coal     
companies which paid as high as eight   
hundred per cent per year2 that is to   
say1 the profits in one year were eight 
times the total investment4 ,assuming   
that our government bonds paid five per 
cent1 it appears that the owners of     
these coal companies got one hundred and
 sixty times as much under our present  
private property system as they would   
have got under a system of state        
purchase4 ,even completely dominated by 
capitalism as our courts are today1 they
 would not dare require us to pay for   
industries more than six per cent on the
 market value of the investment2 and    
from what ,i know of the inside graft of
 ,american big business that would be   
restricting the private owners to less  
than one-fourth of what they are getting
 at present4  ,we have already pointed  
out the economies that can be made by   

putting industry under a uniform system4
 ,but all these1 important as they are1 
amount to little in comparison with the 
one great consideration1 which is that  
by purchasing large scale industry1 we  
should break the iron ring2 we should   
thenceforth be able to do our           
manufacturing for use instead of for    
profit1 and so we should put an end to  
unemployment4 ,our cheerful workers     
would throng into the factories1 to     
produce for themselves instead of for   
masters2 and in one year of that we     
should so change the face of our country
 that a return to the system of private 
ownership would be unthinkable4 ,in one 
year we could raise production to such a
 point that the interest on the bonds we
 had issued would be like the crumbs    
left over from a feast4     ,,chapter   
,,lxvii  ,,expropriating ,,the          
,,expropriators       7,discusses the   
dictatorship of the proletariat1 and its
 chances for      success in the ,united
 ,states47   ,i am aware that the       

suggestion of paying for the industries 
we socialize will sound tame and        
uninspiring to a lot of ardent young    
radicals of my acquaintance4 ,they will 
shake their heads sadly and say that ,i 
am getting middle-aged and tired4 ,we   
have seen in ,russia and ,hungary and   
other places1 so many illustrations of  
the quick and easy way to expropriate   
the expropriators that now there is in  
every country a considerable group of   
radicals who will hear to no program    
less picturesque than barricades and    
councils of action4  ,in considering    
this question1 ,i set aside all         
considerations of abstract right or     
wrong1 the justification for violence in
 the overthrow of capitalist society4 ,i
 put the question on the basis of cash1 
pure and simple4 ,it will cost a certain
 amount of money to buy out the owners1 
and that money will have to be paid1 as 
it is paid at present1 out of the labor 
of the useful workers4 ,the workers     
don't want to pay any more than they    

have to2 the question they must consider
 is1 which way will they have to pay    
most4 ,the advocates of the dictatorship
 of the proletariat are lured by the    
delightful prospect of not having to pay
 anything2 and if that were really      
possible it would undoubtedly be the    
better way4 ,but we have to consider    
this question3 ,is the program of not   
having to pay anything a reality1 or is 
it only a dream8 ,suppose it should turn
 out that we have to pay anyhow1 and    
that in the case of violent revolution  
we pay much more1 and in addition run   
serious risk of not getting what we pay 
for8  ,here are enormous industries1    
running at full blast1 and it is        
proposed that some morning the workers  
shall rise up and seize them1 and turn  
out the owners and managers1 and run the
 industries themselves4 ,will anybody   
maintain that this can be done without  
stopping production in those factories  
for a single day8 ,certainly production 
must stop during the time you are       

fighting for possession2 and the cruel  
experience of ,russia proves that it    
will stop during the further time you   
are fighting to keep possession1 and to 
put down counter-revolutionary          
conspiracies4 ,also1 alas1 it will stop 
during the time you are looking for     
somebody who knows how to run that      
industry2 it will stop during the time  
you are organizing your new             
administrative staff4 ,you may discover 
to your consternation that it stops     
during the time you are arranging to get
 other industries to give you credit1   
and to ship you raw materials2 also     
during the time you are finding the     
workers in other industries who want    
your product1 and are able to pay for it
 with something that you can use1 or    
that you can sell in a badly            
disorganized market4  ,and all the time 
that you are arranging these things1 you
 are going to have the workers at your  
back1 not getting any pay1 or being paid
 with your paper money which they       

distrust1 and growling and grumbling at 
you because you are not running things  
as you promised4 ,you see1 the mass of  
the workers are not going to understand1
 because you haven't made them          
understand2 you have brought about the  
great change by your program of a       
dictatorship1 of action by an           
enlightened minority2 and now you have  
the terror that the unenlightened       
majority may be won back by their       
capitalist masters1 and may kick you out
 of control1 or even stand you up       
against a wall and shoot you by a firing
 squad4 ,and all the time you are       
worrying over these problems1 who can   
estimate the total amount the factory   
might have been producing if it had been
 running at full blast8 ,whatever that  
difference is1 remember1 it is paid by  
the workers2 and might that sum not just
 as well have been used to buy out the  
owners8  ,if we were back in the old    
days of hand labor and crude1           
unorganized production1 ,i admit that   

the only way to benefit the slaves might
 be to turn out the masters by force4   
,but here we have a social system of    
infinite complexity1 a delicate and     
sensitive machine1 which no one person  
in the world1 and no group of persons   
understands thoroughly4 ,in the running 
of such a machine a slight blunder may  
cost a fortune2 and certainly all the   
skill1 all the training1 all the loyal  
services of our expert engineers and    
managers is needed if we are to remodel 
that machine while keeping it running4  
,the amount of wealth which we could    
save by the achieving of that feat would
 be sufficient to maintain a class of   
owners in idleness and luxury for a     
generation2 and so ,i say1 with all the 
energy and conviction ,i possess1 pay   
them6 ,pay them anything that is        
necessary1 in order to avoid civil war  
and social disorganization6 ,pay them so
 much that they can have no possible    
cause of complaint1 that the most       
hide-bound capitalistic-minded judge in 

the country cannot find a legal flaw in 
the bargain6 ,pay them so that every    
engineer and efficiency expert and      
manager and foreman and stenographer and
 office-boy will stay on the job and    
work double time to put the enterprise  
through6 ,pay them such a price that    
even ,judge ,gary and ,john ,d4         
,rockefeller will be willing to help us 
do the job of social readjustment6  ,ah1
 yes1 my young radical friends will say1
 that sounds all very beautiful1 but    
it's the old ,utopian dream of          
brotherhood and class co-operation4     
,that will never happen on this earth1  
until you have first abolished          
capitalism4 ,my answer is1 it could     
happen tomorrow if we had sufficient    
intelligence to make it happen4 ,that it
 does not happen is simply absence of   
intelligence4 ,and will anyone maintain 
that it is the part of an intelligent   
man to advocate a less intelligent      
course than he knows8 ,what is the use  
of our intelligence1 if we abdicate its 

authority1 and give ourselves up to     
programs of action which we know are    
blind and destructive and wasteful8 ,we 
may see a great vessel going on the     
rocks2 we may feel certain that it is   
going1 in spite of everything we can do2
 but shall we fail to do what we can to 
make those in the vessel realize how    
they might get safely into the harbor8  
,we have had the ,russian revolution    
before us for four years4 ,mankind will 
spend the next hundred years in studying
 it1 and still have much to learn1 but  
the broad outlines of the great         
experiment are now plain before our     
eyes4 ,russia was a backward country1   
and she tried to fight a modern war1 and
 it broke her down4 ,she had practically
 no middle class1 and her ruling class  
was rotten1 and so the revolutionists   
had their chance1 and they seized it4   
,perhaps it would be more correct to say
 that they came to the rescue of        
,russia1 saving her from the hands of   
those who were trying to force her to   

fight1 when she was utterly exhausted   
and incapable of fighting4  ,anyhow1    
here was your dictatorship of the       
proletariat4 ,it turned out all the     
executive experts1 or nearly all of     
them1 because they were tainted with the
 capitalist psychology2 and then        
straightway it had to call them back and
 make terms with them1 because industry 
could not be run without them4 ,and of  
course these engineers and managers     
sabotaged the revolution--every         
non-proletarian sabotaged it1 both      
inside ,russia and outside4 ,you        
denounced this1 and protested against   
this1 but all the same it happened2 it  
was human nature that it should happen1 
and it is one of the things you have to 
count on1 in any and every country where
 you attempt the social revolution by   
minority action4  ,they have got power  
in ,russia1 and they dream of getting   
power in ,america in the same way4 ,but 
there is no such disorganization in our 
country as there was in ,russia1 and it 

would take a generation of civil strife 
to bring us to such a condition4 ,we    
have a middle class1 powerful1          
thoroughly organized1 and thoroughly    
conscious4 ,moreover1 this class has    
ideals of majority rule1 which are bred 
in its very bones2 and while they have  
never realized these ideals1 they think 
they have1 and they are prepared to     
fight to the last gasp in that belief4  
,all that the leaders of ,moscow have to
 do is to bring about an attempt at     
forcible revolution1 and they will      
discover in ,american society sufficient
 power of organization and of brutal    
action to put their movement out of     
business for a generation4  ,a hundred  
years ago we had chattel slavery firmly 
fixed as the industrial system of       
one-half of these ,united ,states4 ,to  
far-seeing statesmen it was manifest    
that chattel slavery was a wasteful     
system1 and that it could not exist in  
competition with free labor4 ,there was 
a great ,american1 ,henry ,clay1 who    

came forward with a proposition that the
 people of the ,united ,states1 through 
their government1 should raise the      
money1 about a billion dollars1 and     
compensate the owners of all the slaves 
and set them free4 ,for most of his     
lifetime ,henry ,clay pleaded for that  
plan4 ,but the masters of the ,south    
were making money fast2 they knew how to
 handle the negro as a slave1 they could
 not imagine handling him as a free     
laborer1 and they would not hear to the 
plan4 ,on the other side of ,mason and  
,dixon's line were fanatical men of     
principle1 who said that slavery was    
wrong1 and that was the end of it4      
,there is a stanza by ,emerson          
discussing this question of confiscation
 versus compensation3      ,pay ransom  
to the owner       ,and fill the bag to 
the brim4     ,who is the owner8 ,the   
slave is owner1       ,and ever was4    
,pay him4  ,this1 you see1 is           
magnificent utterance1 but as economic  
philosophy it is reckless and unsound4  

,the abolitionists of the ,north took up
 this poem1 and the slave power of the  
,south answered with a battle-song3     
,war to the hilt1     ,theirs be the    
guilt1     ,who fetter the freeman to   
ransom the slave6  ,and so the issue had
 to be fought out4 ,it cost a million   
human lives and five billions of        
treasure1 and it set ,american          
civilization back a generation4 ,and now
 we confront exactly the same kind of   
emergency1 and are coming to exactly the
 same method of solution4 ,we have white
 wage-slaves clamoring for their        
freedom1 and we have business men making
 money out of them1 and exercising power
 over them1 and finding it convenient   
and pleasant4 ,they are going to fight  
it out in a civil war1 and which side is
 going to win ,i am not sure4 ,but when 
the historians come to write about it a 
couple of generations from now1 let them
 be able to record that there were a few
 men in the country who pleaded for a   
sane and orderly and human solution of  

the problem1 and who continued to voice 
their convictions even in the midst of  
the cruel and wasteful strife6          
,,chapter ,,lxviii  ,,the ,,problem ,,of
 ,,the ,,land       7,discusses the land
 values tax as a means of social        
readjustment1      and compares it with 
other programs47   ,the writer of this  
book has been watching the social       
process for twenty years1 trying to     
figure out one thing--how the change    
from competition to co-operation can be 
brought about with the minimum of human 
waste4 ,he has come to realize that the 
first step is a mental one2 to get the  
people to want the change4 ,that means  
that the program must be simple1 so that
 the masses can understand it4 ,as a    
social engineer you might work out a    
perfect plan1 but find yourself         
helpless1 because it was hard to        
explain4 ,as illustration of what ,i    
mean1 ,i cite the single tax1 a theory  
which has a considerable hold in        
,america1 but which politically has been

 utterly ineffective4  ,a few years ago 
a devoted enthusiast in ,southern       
,california1 ,luke ,north1 started what 
he called the ,great ,adventure to set  
free the idle land4 ,in the campaign of 
#aiah ,i gave my help to this movement1 
and when it failed ,i went back and took
 stock1 and revised my conclusions      
concerning the single tax4              
,theoretically the movement has a       
considerable percentage of right on its 
side4 ,land1 in the sense that single   
taxers use it1 meaning all the natural  
sources of wealth1 is certainly an      
important basis of exploitation1 and if 
you were to tax land values to the full 
extent1 you would abolish a large       
portion of privilege--just how large    
would be hard to figure4 ,i was         
perfectly willing to begin with that    
portion1 so ,i helped with the ,great   
,adventure4 ,but a practical test       
convinced me that it could never        
persuade a majority of the people4  ,the
 single tax proposal is to abolish all  

taxes except the tax on land values4    
,then come the associations of the      
bankers and merchants and real estate   
speculators1 crying in outraged horror1 
,what8 ,you propose to let the rich     
man's stocks and bonds go free8 ,you    
propose to put no tax on his cash in the
 vaults and on his wife's jewels8 ,you  
propose to abolish the income tax and   
the inheritance tax1 and put all the    
costs of government on the poor man's   
lot8  ,now1 of course1 ,i know perfectly
 well that the rich man dodges most of  
his income tax and most of his          
inheritance tax4 ,i know that he pays a 
nominal pittance on his cash in the bank
 and on his wife's jewels1 and likewise 
on his stocks and bonds4 ,i know that   
the corporations issuing these stocks   
and bonds would be far more heavily hit 
by a tax on the natural resources they  
own2 they could not evade this tax1 and 
they know it1 and that is why they are  
moved to such deep concern for the fate 
of the poor man and his lot4 ,i know    

that the tax on the poor man's lot would
 be infinitesimal in comparison with the
 tax on the great corporation4 ,but how 
can ,i explain all this to the poor man8
 ,to understand it requires a knowledge 
of the complexities of our economic     
system which the voters simply have not 
got4  ,how much easier to take the      
bankers and speculators at their word6  
,to answer1 ,all right1 gentlemen1 since
 you like the income and inheritance    
taxes1 the taxes on stocks and bonds and
 money and jewels1 we will leave these  
taxes standing4 ,likewise1 we assent to 
your proposition that the poor man      
should not pay taxes on his lot1 while  
there are rich men and corporations in  
our state holding twenty million acres  
of land out of use for purposes of      
speculation4 ,we will therefore arrange 
a land values tax on a graduated basis1 
after the plan of the income tax2 we    
will allow one or two thousand dollars' 
worth of land exempt from all taxation1 
provided it is used by the owner2 and we

 will put a graduated tax on all        
individuals and corporations owning a   
greater quantity of land1 so that in the
 case of individuals and corporations   
owning more than ten thousand dollars'  
worth of land1 we will take the full    
rental value1 and thus force all idle   
land into the market4  ,now1 the        
provision above outlined would have     
spiked every single argument used by the
 opposition to the ,great ,adventure in 
,california in #aiah2 it would have made
 the real intent of the measure so plain
 as to win automatically the additional 
votes needed to carry the election4 ,but
 ,i tried for three years1 without being
 able to persuade a single one of the   
,great ,adventure leaders to recognize  
this plain fact4 ,the single taxer has  
his formula1 the land values tax and no 
other tax1 and all else is heresy4      
,actually1 the president of a big single
 tax organization in the ,east declared 
that by the advocacy of my idea ,i had  
betrayed the single tax6 ,we may take   

this as an illustration of the          
difference between dogmatism and science
 in the strategy of the class struggle4 
,i first suggested my program           
immediately after the war1 with the     
provision that the land thrown on the   
market should be purchased by the state1
 and used to establish co-operative     
agricultural colonies for the benefit of
 returned soldiers4 ,but we have        
preferred to have our returned soldiers 
stay without work1 or to displace the   
men and women who had been gallantly    
doing their bit4 ,by this means we soon 
had five million men out of work1 and   
many other millions bitterly            
discontented with their wages4 ,again ,i
 took up the proposition for a graduated
 land tax1 with the suggestion that the 
money should be used to provide a       
pension1 first for every dependent man  
or woman over sixty years of age in the 
country1 and second for every child in  
the country whose parents were unable   
properly to support it1 whether because 

they were dead or sick or unemployed4   
,you may note that in advocating this   
program1 you would not have to convert  
anybody to any foreign theories1 nor    
would you have to use any long words2   
you would not have to say anything      
against the constitution1 nor to break  
any law1 nor to give occasion for       
patriotic mobs to tar and feather you4  
,to every poor man in your state you    
could say1 ,if you own your own house   
and lot1 this bill will lift the taxes  
from both1 and therefore it will mean   
fifty or a hundred dollars a year in    
your pocket4 ,if you do not own a home1 
it will take millions of idle acres out 
of the hands of the speculators1 and    
break the price of real estate1 so that 
you can have either a lot in the city or
 a farm in the country with ease4       
,furthermore1 you could say1 ,this      
measure will have the effect of drawing 
the unemployed from the cities at once1 
and so stopping the downward course of  
wages4 ,at the same time that wages hold

 firm1 the cost of food will go down1   
because there will be millions more men 
working on the land4 ,in addition to    
that1 the state will have an enormous   
income1 many millions of dollars a year1
 taken exclusively from those who are   
owning and not producing4 ,this money   
will be expended in saving from         
suffering and humiliation the old people
 of the country1 who have worked hard   
all their lives and have been thrown on 
the scrap-heap2 also in making certain  
that every child in the country has food
 enough and care enough to make him into
 a normal and healthy human being1 so   
that he can do his share of work in the 
world and pay his own way through life4 
,i submit the above measure to those who
 believe that the road to social freedom
 lies by some sort of land tax4 ,but    
before you take it up ,i invite you to  
consider whether there may not be some  
other way1 even easier4 ,there is a     
homely old saying to the effect that    
molasses catches more flies than        

vinegar2 and ,i am always looking for   
some way that will get the poor what    
they want1 without frightening the rich 
any more than necessary4  ,i know a     
certain type of radical whom this       
question always exasperates4 ,he answers
 that the opposition will be equally    
strong to any plan2 the rich will do    
anything for the poor except get off    
their backs--and so on4 ,in reply ,i    
mention that among the most ardent      
radicals ,i know are half a dozen       
millionaires2 ,i know one woman who is  
worth a million1 who pleads day and     
night for social revolution1 while the  
people who work for her are devoted and 
respectful wage slaves4 ,herbert        
,spencer said that his idea of a tragedy
 was a generalization killed by a fact4 
,i shall not say that the existence of  
millionaire ,socialists and parlor      
,bolsheviks kills the theory of the     
class struggle1 but ,i certainly say it 
compels us to take thought of the rich  
as well as of the poor in planning the  

strategy of our campaign4  ,and         
manifestly1 if we want to consider the  
rich1 the very last device we shall use 
is that of a tax4 ,nobody likes to pay  
taxes2 everybody agrees in classifying  
taxes with death4 ,each feels that he is
 paying more than his share already2    
each knows that the government which    
collects the tax is incompetent or      
worse4 ,stop and recall what we have    
proven about the iron ring2 the         
possibilities of production latent in   
our society4 ,realize the bearings of   
this all-important fact1 that we can    
offer to mankind a social revolution    
which will make everybody richer1       
instead of making some people poorer6   
,exactly how to do this is the next     
thing we have to inquire4     ,,chapter 
,,lxix  ,,the ,,control ,,of ,,credit   
7,deals with money1 the part it plays in
 the restriction of      industry1 and  
may play in the freeing of industry47   
,how is it that the rich are becoming   
richer8 ,the single taxer answers that  

it is by monopoly of the land1 the      
natural sources of wealth2 the          
,socialist answers that it is by the    
control of the machinery of production4 
,but if you go among the rich and make  
inquiry1 you speedily learn that these  
factors1 large as they are1 amount to   
little in comparison with another       
factor1 the control of credit4 ,there   
are hosts of little capitalists and     
business men who deal in land and       
produce goods with machinery1 but the   
men who make the real fortunes and      
dominate the modern world are those who 
control credit1 and whose business is1  
not the production of anything1 but     
speculation and the manipulation of     
markets4  ,money makes the mare go1 our 
ancestors used to say2 and money today  
determines the destiny of empires4 ,what
 is money8 ,we think of it as gold and  
silver coins1 and pieces of engraved    
paper promising to pay gold and silver  
coins4 ,but the report of the ,u4 ,s4   
,comptroller of the ,currency for #aiai 

shows that the business of the country  
was done1 #e by such means and #ie  by  
checks2 so1 for practical purposes1 we  
may say that money consists of men's    
willingness to trust other men1 or      
groups or organizations of men1 when    
they make written promise to pay4 ,in   
other words1 money is credit2 and the   
control of credit means the control of  
industry4 ,the problem of social        
readjustment is mainly but the problem  
of taking the control of credit out of  
the hands of private individuals1 and   
making it a public or social function4  
,who controls credit today8 ,the        
bankers4 ,and how do they control it8   
,we give it to them2 we1 the masses of  
the people1 who take them our money and 
leave it with them4 ,a very little real 
money in hand becomes1 under our banking
 system1 the basis of a great amount of 
imaginary money4 ,the ,federal ,reserve 
law requires that banks shall hold in   
reserve from seven to thirteen per cent 
of demand deposits2 which means1 in     

substance1 that when you leave a dollar 
with a banker1 the banker is allowed1   
under the law1 to turn that dollar into 
anywhere from seven to thirteen dollars1
 and lend those dollars out4 ,in        
addition1 he deposits his reserves with 
the ,federal ,reserve bank1 and that    
bank keeps only thirty-five per cent in 
reserve--in other words1 the seven to   
thirteen imaginary dollars are          
multiplied again by three4  ,under the  
stress of war1 this process of credit   
inflation has been growing like the     
genii let out of the bottle4 ,under the 
law1 the ,federal ,reserve banks are    
supposed to hold a gold reserve of #dj  
to secure our currency4 ,but in         
,december1 #aiai1 these banks held a    
trifle over a billion dollars' worth of 
gold1 while our paper money was over    
four billion4 ,in addition1 our banks   
have over thirty-three billions of      
deposits1 and all these are supposed to 
be secured by gold2 in addition1 there  
are twenty-five billions of government  

bonds1 and uncounted billions of private
 notes1 bonds and accounts1 all supposed
 to be payable in gold4 ,so it appears  
that about one per cent of our          
outstanding money is real1 and the rest 
is imaginary--that is1 it is credit4    
,the point for you to get clear is this3
 ,the great mass of this imaginary money
 is created by law1 and we have the     
power to abolish it or to change the    
ownership of it at any time we develop  
the necessary intelligence4 ,let us     
consider the ordinary paper money1 the  
one and two and five and ten dollar     
bills1 with which we plain people do    
most of our business4 ,these are        
,federal ,reserve notes1 and there are  
about three billions of them2 how do    
they come to be8 ,why1 we grant to the  
national banks by law the right to make 
this money2 the government prints it for
 them1 and they put it into circulation4
 ,and what does it cost them8 ,they pay 
one per cent for the use of the money2  
in some cases they pay only one-half of 

one per cent2 and then they lend it to  
us1 the people--and what do they charge 
us8 ,the answer is available in a recent
 report of the ,u4 ,s4 ,comptroller of  
the ,currency1 as follows3  ,i have the 
record of the loans made by one ,texas  
national bank to a hard-working woman   
who owned a little farm a few miles from
 town4 ,she borrowed1 in the aggregate1 
#b1cge1 making about thirty loans during
 the year4 ,listen to the details of the
 robbery3 #afb4ej for #cj days at #cf   
per cent2 #cgg4 for #cd days at #dd per 
cent2 #fbj4be for #bc days at #gg per   
cent2 #aa4 for #cj days at #abj per     
cent2 #ba4ej for #cj days at #ij per    
cent2 #cc4 for #b days at #ic per cent2 
#bg4 for #ae days at #aie per cent2     
#aaj4 for #cj days at #abj per          
cent--that was to buy a horse for her   
plowing2 #bj for #dh days at #ahg per   
cent2 #f for #aj days at #gbj per cent2 
#g for #c days at #b1jjj per cent1 and  
so on2 every cent paid off by what sweat
 and struggle only ,god knows4  ,in     

,oklahoma1 where the legal rate of      
interest is six per cent1 with ten per  
cent as the maximum under special       
contract1 harassed farmers paid all the 
way from #ab to #bdjj per cent1 with #dj
 per cent as the average4 ,in the case  
of one bank1 the ,comptroller proved    
that not a single solitary loan had been
 made under fifteen per cent4 ,he cited 
one particular case that he asked to be 
regarded as typical4 ,in the spring the 
farmer went to the bank and arranged for
 a loan of #bjj4 ,out of his necessity  
he was compelled to pay #ee per cent    
interest charge4 ,unable to meet the    
note at maturity1 he had to agree to    
#ajj per cent interest in order to get  
the renewal4 ,the next renewal forced   
him up to #abe per cent4 ,for four years
 the thing went on1 and all the drudgery
 of the father and the mother and the   
six children could never keep down the  
terrible interest or wipe out the       
principal4 ,as a finish the bank swooped
 down and sold him out2 the wretched    

man1 barefoot and hungry1 went to work  
clearing a swamp1 caught pneumonia and  
died2 the county buried him1 and        
neighbors raised a purse to send the    
widow and children back to friends in   
,arkansas4  ,this is the thing called   
the ,money ,trust in action1 and this is
 the power we have to take out of       
private control4 ,it is our first job1  
and all other jobs are in comparison    
hardly worth mentioning4 ,how are we    
going to do it8  ,the farmers of ,north 
,dakota have shown one way4 ,they took  
the control of their state government   
into their own hands1 and the most      
important and significant thing they did
 was to start a public bank4 ,the       
interests fought them tooth and nail2   
not merely the interests of ,north      
,dakota1 not merely of the ,northwest1  
but of the entire ,united ,states4 ,they
 fought them in the law courts1 up to   
the ,united ,states ,supreme ,court1    
which decided in favor of the people of 
,north ,dakota4 ,therefore1 make note of

 this vital fact--the most important    
single fact in the strategy of the class
 struggle--every state can1 under the   
constitution1 have a public bank2 every 
city and town can have one1 and no court
 can ever forbid it6  ,therefore1 ,i say
 to all ,socialists1 labor men and      
social reformers of every shade and     
variety1 nail at the top of your program
 of action the demand for a public bank 
in your community1 to take the control  
of credit out of the hands of           
speculators and use it for the welfare  
of the people4 ,make it your first      
provision that every dollar of public   
money shall be deposited in this bank   
and every detail of public financing    
handled by this bank2 make it your      
second provision that the purpose of    
this bank shall be to put all private   
banks out of business1 and take over    
their power for the people4  ,at        
present1 you understand1 it is taken for
 granted that the first purpose of the  
government is to foster the private     

credit system4 ,take1 for example1 the  
postal savings bank4 ,the private banks 
fought this for a generation1 and       
finally they allowed us to have it1 on  
condition that it should be turned into 
a device for collecting money for them4 
,our postal bank turns over all its     
money to the private banks1 at the      
grotesque rate of two per cent interest2
 and recently ,i read of the director of
 the postal bank appearing before a     
convention of bankers1 asking for some  
small favor1 and humbly explaining that 
it was not his idea to make the postal  
bank a rival of the private savings     
banks4 ,why should he not do so8 ,let us
 nail it to our radical program that the
 postal savings bank is to fight for    
business1 just as do the private banks1 
and lend its funds direct to the people 
on good security4  ,let our ,federal    
banking system also become the servant  
of the public welfare1 and let its      
energy be devoted to breaking the       
strangle-hold of predatory finance on   

our industry4 ,let the government issue 
all money1 and use it for the transfer  
of industry from private into public    
hands4 ,do we want to socialize our     
railroads1 our coal mines1 our          
telegraphs and telephones8 ,do we want  
to buy them1 in order to avoid the      
wastes of civil war and insurrection8   
,we have agreed that we do2 and here we 
have the way of doing it4 ,if the       
bankers can create1 out of our          
willingness to trust them1 billions upon
 billions of imaginary money1 then so   
can we1 the people of the ,united       
,states1 create money out of our        
willingness to trust ourselves4 ,and do 
not let anybody fool you for a single   
second by talking about fiat money and  
inflation of the currency4 ,if you are  
paying twice as much for everything as  
you did before the war1 you are paying  
it because the bankers have doubled the 
amount of money in circulation--for that
 reason and that alone4 ,that double    
money the bankers own2 the only question

 now to be decided is1 who is to own the
 double money that will be created      
tomorrow8  ,make note of the fact that  
it costs nothing to start a public bank4
 ,if you want to put the steel trust out
 of business by competition1 you have   
several hundred thousand dollars worth  
of rolling mills and ore land to buy2   
but the banks can be put out of business
 by nothing but a law4 ,the material    
parts of a bank1 the white marble       
columns and bronze railings and mahogany
 trimmings1 are as nothing compared with
 the inner soul of a bank1 its control  
of the life-blood of your business and  
mine2 and this we can have for the      
taking4 ,we can keep our own credit2    
instead of sending it to ,wall ,street1 
where speculators use it to bleed us    
white1 we can set it to building up our 
own community1 under the direction of   
officials whom we select4 ,also1 we can 
have our gigantic national bank1        
controlling all our thirty-three        
billions of dollars of deposits1 and    

likewise the hundreds of billions of    
credit built upon them4  ,the first time
 you suggest this plan to a banker or   
business man1 you will be told that     
increase of money by the government does
 not benefit labor or the general       
consumer2 inflation of the currency     
causes prices to go up correspondingly4 
,to this ,i will furnish an effective   
reply3 that at the same time the        
government issues new money1 the        
government will also fix prices2 and    
then watch the face of your banker or   
business man6 ,if he is a man who can   
really think1 and is not just repeating 
like a parrot the formulas he has       
learned from others1 he will perceive   
that the combination of currency        
inflation and price-fixing would catch  
him as the two parts of a nut-cracker   
catch a nut2 and he will know that you  
can take the meat out of him any time   
you please4 ,he may argue that it is not
 fair2 but point out to him that it is  
exactly what the big banks and the      

trusts have been doing to us right      
along--increasing the amount of money in
 circulation1 and at the same time      
raising the prices we pay for goods1 and
 so taking out the meat from us nuts6   
,we have agreed that we do not mean to  
be unfair either to the banker or the   
manufacturer2 we are simply going to    
stop their being unfair to us4 ,we are  
going to convince them that their power 
to catch us in a nut-cracker is forever 
at an end4 ,we allow them six per cent  
on their investments1 and guarantee them
 this by turning over to them some of   
our new money--that is1 government      
bonds4 ,when we have thoroughly         
convinced them that they can't get any  
more1 they will take these bonds and    
quit2 and thus simply1 without violence 
or destruction of property1 we shall    
slide from our present system of        
commercial cannibalism into the new     
co-operative commonwealth4  ,we have had
 cheap money campaigns in the ,united   
,states many times1 and as this book is 

written1 it becomes evident that we are 
to have another4 ,henry ,ford is        
advocating the idea1 and so is ,thomas  
,a4 ,edison4 ,the present writer would  
like to make plain that in supporting   
such a program1 he does it for one      
purpose1 and one only--the taking over  
of the industries by the community4 ,the
 creation of state credit for that      
purpose is the next step in the progress
 of human society2 whereas the creation 
of state credit for the continuance of  
the profit system is a piece of futility
 amounting to imbecility4 ,this         
distinction is fundamental1 and is the  
test by which to judge the usefulness of
 any new program1 and the intelligence  
of those who advocate it4     ,,chapter 
,,lxx  ,,the ,,control ,,of ,,industry  
7,discusses various programs for the    
change from industrial      autocracy to
 industrial democracy47   ,the program  
of the railway workers for the          
democratic management of their industry 
is embodied in the ,plumb plan4 ,you may

 learn about it by addressing the weekly
 paper of the railway brotherhoods1     
which is called ,labor1 and is published
 in ,washington1 ,d4 ,c4 ,it appears    
that our transportation industry can be 
at once socialized1 because of a clause 
in the constitution which gives the     
national government power over roads and
 communications4 ,through decades of    
mismanagement under the system of       
private greed1 the railroads have been  
brought to such a financial condition   
that they will be forced into           
nationalization1 whenever we stop them  
from dipping their fingers into the     
public treasury4  ,under the ,plumb plan
 the government is to purchase the roads
 from their present owners1 paying with 
government bonds4 ,the management is to 
be under the control of a board         
consisting in part of representatives of
 the government1 and in part of the     
workers--this being a combination of the
 methods of ,socialism and ,syndicalism4
 ,the same program can be applied       

constitutionally to telegraphs and      
telephones1 to interstate trolley       
systems1 express companies1 oil pipe    
lines1 and all other means of interstate
 communication and distribution4  ,the  
,plumb plan also deals with coal and    
steel and other great industries4 ,these
 could not be nationalized without a    
constitutional amendment1 but it appears
 that in the majority of the            
constitutions of the states are         
provisions that all corporate charters  
are held subject to the power of the    
legislature to amend1 modify1 or revoke 
the same4 ,that gives us a right to take
 over these corporations through state  
action4 ,the only preliminary is to     
elect state administrations which will  
represent us1 instead of representing   
the corporations4 ,also1 most state     
constitutions contain the provision that
 no corporation shall issue its stocks  
or bonds1 except for money1 labor1 or   
property actually received4 ,the word   
labor gives the opening wedge for the   

,plumb plan4 ,the state can purchase    
these industries1 giving bonds in       
exchange1 and can issue to the workers  
labor stock1 which stock will carry part
 control of the industry4  ,also1 the   
railroad brotherhoods have started their
 own bank1 in ,cleveland1 ,ohio1 and it 
is proving an enormous success4 ,make   
note of this point2 every large labor   
union can have its own bank1 to finance 
its industries and its propaganda4 ,stop
 and consider how preposterous it is    
that the five million organized workers 
of the ,united ,states should deposit   
their hundreds of millions of savings in
 capitalist banks1 to be used to finance
 private undertakings which crush unions
 and hold labor in bondage4 ,let every  
big labor union have its own building1  
its own banking and insurance business1 
its own vacation camp in the country1   
its own school for training its future  
leaders4 ,also1 let every labor council 
in every big city start a labor daily1  
to tell the workers the truth and point 

the way to freedom4 ,let every farmers' 
organization follow suit2 and let these 
groups get together1 to exchange their  
products upon a co-operative basis4     
,already the railway men are arranging  
with the farmers1 to buy the farm       
products and distribute them            
co-operatively2 they are getting        
together with the clothing workers1 to  
have the latter make clothing for them1 
and with the shoe-workers to make shoes4
  ,this is the co-operative movement1   
which has become the largest single     
industry in ,great ,britain1 and is the 
backbone of industrial democracy and    
sound radicalism4 ,it is spreading      
rapidly in ,america now4 ,it is taking  
the money of the people out of the      
control of the profit system1 and       
diverting it into channels of public    
service4 ,it is training men to believe 
in brotherhood instead of in greed4 ,it 
is giving them business experience1 so  
that when the time comes the taking over
 of our industrial machine will not have

 to be done by amateurs1 but by men who 
know what co-operation is1 and how to   
make a success of it4  ,this work will  
go on more rapidly yet when the workers 
have united politically1 and brought    
into power a government which will      
assist them instead of assisting the    
bankers4 ,a most interesting program for
 the development of working-class       
financial credit is known as the        
,douglas plan1 which is advocated by a  
,london weekly1 the ,new ,age1 and is   
explained in two books1 called ,economic
 ,democracy and ,credit ,power and      
,democracy1 by ,douglas and ,orage4     
,this program is in brief that the      
furnishing of credit shall become a     
function of organized labor1 based upon 
the fact that the true and ultimate     
basis of all credit is the power of hand
 and brain labor to produce wealth4 ,the
 labor unions1 or guilds1 shall pay the 
management of industry and pay capital  
for the use of the industrial plant1 and
 shall finance production and new       

industrial development out of their     
credit power1 their ability to promise  
production and to keep their promises4  
,this ,douglas plan seeks to break the  
,money ,trust by the method of          
,syndicalism4 ,another method of        
breaking it1 through state regulation of
 bank loans1 you will find most         
completely set forth in an extremely    
able book1 ,the ,strangle ,hold1 by ,h4 
,c4 ,cutting1 an ,american business man1
 whom you may address at ,san ,lorenzo1 
,california4 ,another method1 utilizing 
the third factor in industry1 the       
consumer1 is the method of banking by   
consumers' unions4 ,such are the        
,raffeisen banks1 widely known in       
,germany1 and a specimen of which exists
 in the single tax colony at ,arden1    
,delaware4 ,those who wish to know about
 the co-operative bank1 or other forms  
of co-operation1 may apply to the       
,co-operative ,league of ,america1 #b   
,west #acth ,street1 ,new ,york1 whose  
president is ,dr4 ,james ,p4 ,warbasse4 

,information concerning public ownership
 may be had from the ,public ,ownership 
,league1 #abg ,n4 ,dearborn ,street1    
,chicago2 also from the ,socialist      
party1 #bbj ,south ,ashland ,boulevard1 
,chicago1 and from the ,bureau of       
,social ,research of the ,rand ,school  
of ,social ,science1 ,new ,york4  ,also1
 ,i ought to mention the very           
interesting plan for social             
reconstruction set forth by ,mr4 ,king  
,c4 ,gillette1 inventor of the safety   
razor4 ,this plan you may find in your  
public library in two encyclopedic      
volumes1 ,gillette's ,social            
,redemption1 and ,gillette's ,world     
,solution4 ,the politician seeks to     
solve the industrial problem by means of
 the state1 and the labor leader seeks  
to solve it by the unions2 it is to be  
expected that ,mr4 ,gillette1 a         
capitalist1 should seek to solve it by  
means of the corporation4 ,he points out
 that the modern trust is the greatest  
instrument of production yet invented by

 man2 and he asks why the people should 
not form their own trust1 to handle     
their own affairs1 and to purchase and  
take over the industries from their     
present private masters4 ,it is         
interesting to note that ,mr4           
,gillette's solution is fully as radical
 and thorough-going as those of the     
,state ,socialists or the ,syndicalists4
 ,the ,people's ,corporation which he   
projects and plans some day to launch   
upon the world would be a gigantic      
consumers' union1 whose credit power    
would speedily dominate and absorb all  
other powers in modern society2 it would
 make us all stockholders1 and give us  
our share of the benefits of social     
productivity4     ,,chapter ,,lxxi      
,,the ,,new ,,world       7,describes   
the co-operative commonwealth1 beginning
 with its money      aspects2 the       
standard wage and its variations47   ,it
 has been indicated that the new society
 will be different in different         
countries and in different parts of the 

same country1 in different industries   
and at different times4 ,no one can     
predict exactly what it will be1 and    
anyone who tries to predict is          
unscientific4 ,but every man can work   
out his own ideas of the most economical
 and sensible arrangements for a        
co-operative society1 and in these final
 chapters ,i set forth my ideas4  ,one  
of the first things people ask is1 ,will
 there be money in the new society1 or  
how will labor be rewarded and goods    
paid for8 ,i answer that there will be  
money1 and the business methods of the  
new society will be so nearly the same  
as at present that in this respect you  
would hardly realize there had been any 
change4 ,the only difference will be    
that in the new society you will be paid
 several times as much for your labor2  
or1 if you prefer to put it the other   
way1 you will be able to buy several    
times as much with your money4 ,why     
should we waste our time working out    
systems of credit-cards1 when we already

 have a system in the form of gold and  
silver coins and paper currency8 ,why   
should we bother with labor checks1 when
 we have a banking and clearing-house   
system1 understood by everyone but the  
illiterate8 ,the only difference we     
shall make is that nobody can get gold  
and silver coins or paper currency1     
except by performing labor to pay for   
them2 nobody can have money in the bank 
and draw checks against it1 until he has
 rendered to society an equivalent      
amount of service4  ,when you have      
earned your money in the new world1 you 
will spend it wherever you please1 and  
for whatever you please2 the only       
difference being that the price you pay 
will be the exact labor-cost of         
producing that article1 with no         
deduction for any form of exploitation4 
,as ,i wrote sixteen years ago in ,the  
,industrial ,republic1 you will be able 
to get1 if you insist upon it1 a        
seven-legged spider made of diamonds1   
and the only question society will ask  

is1 ,have you performed services        
equivalent to the material and labor    
necessary to the creating of that       
unusual article of commerce8 ,of course1
 society won't put it to you in that    
complicated formula2 it will simply ask1
 ,have you got the price8 ,which1 you   
observe1 is exactly the question society
 asks you at present4  ,the next thing  
that everybody wants to know is1 ,shall 
we all be paid the same wages8 ,i       
answer1 yes and no1 because there will  
be three systems of payment4 ,there will
 be a basic wage1 which everybody will  
get for every kind of useful service    
necessary to production2 this will be1  
as it were1 the foundation of our       
economic structure4 ,on top of this will
 be built a system of special payments  
for special services1 which are of an   
intellectual nature1 and cannot be      
standardized and dealt with wholesale4  
,in addition1 there will be for a time a
 third arrangement1 applying to         
agricultural work1 which is in a        

different stage of development1 and to  
which different conditions apply4  ,let 
us take1 first1 our standard wage4 ,the 
census of our ,utopian commonwealth     
reveals that we have ten million        
able-bodied workers engaged in mining1  
manufacturing1 and transportation2 this 
including1 of course1 office-work and   
management--everything that enters into 
these industries4 ,by scientific        
management1 the best machinery1 and the 
elimination of all possible waste1 we   
find that they produce eighty million   
dollars worth of goods an hour4 ,a      
portion of this we have to set aside to 
pay for the raw materials which they do 
not produce1 and for the upkeep of the  
plant1 and for margin of error--what our
 great corporations call a surplus4 ,we 
find that we have fifty million dollars 
per hour left1 and that means that we   
can pay for labor five dollars per hour1
 or twenty dollars for the regular      
four-hour day4 ,this is our standard    
wage1 received by all able-bodied       

workers4  ,but quickly we find that our 
industries are not properly balanced4 ,a
 great many men want to work at the jobs
 which are clean and pleasant1 such as  
delivering mail1 and very few want to   
work at washing dishes in restaurants   
and cleaning the sewers4 ,there is no   
way we can adjust this1 except by paying
 a higher wage1 or by reducing the      
number of hours in the working day1     
which is the same thing4 ,the only other
 method would be to have the state      
assign men to their work1 and that would
 be bureaucracy and slavery1 the essence
 of everything we wish to get away from 
in our co-operative commonwealth4  ,what
 we shall have1 so far as concerns our  
basic industries1 is a government       
department1 registering with            
mathematical accuracy the condition of  
supply and demand in all the industries 
of the country4 ,our demand for shoes is
 increasing1 for some reason or other2 a
 thousand more shoe-workers are needed1 
therefore the price of labor in the shoe

 industry is increased five cents per   
day--or whatever amount will draw that  
number of workers from other            
occupations4 ,on the other hand1 there  
are too many people applying for the job
 of driving trucks1 therefore we reduce 
slightly the compensation for this work4
 ,there are more men who want jobs in   
,southern ,california than in ,alaska1  
therefore the payment for the same grade
 of work in ,alaska has to be higher4   
,all this is not merely speculation1 it 
is not a matter of anybody's choice2 it 
is an automatic1 self-adjusting system1 
subject to precise calculations4 ,the   
only change from our present system is  
from guesswork to exact measurement4 ,at
 present we do not know how many shoes  
our country will require next season1   
neither do we know how many shoes are   
going to be made1 neither do we know how
 many people can make shoes1 nor how    
many would like to learn1 nor how many  
would like to quit that job and take to 
farming4 ,it would be the simplest      

matter in the world to find out these   
things--far simpler that it was to      
register all our possible soldiers1 and 
examine them physically and mentally1   
and train them and feed them and ship   
them overseas to can the ,kaiser4  ,of  
course1 we drafted the men for this war 
job2 but in the new world nobody is     
drafted for anything4 ,it is any man's  
privilege to starve if he feels like it2
 it is his privilege to go out into the 
mountains and live on nuts and berries  
if he can find them4 ,nobody makes him  
go anywhere1 or makes him work at       
anything--unless1 of course1 he is a    
convicted criminal4 ,to the free citizen
 all that society has to say is1 if he  
buys any products1 he must pay for those
 products with his own labor1 and not   
with some other man's labor4 ,of course1
 he may steal1 or cheat1 as under       
capitalism2 our new world has laws      
against stealing and cheating1 and does 
its best to enforce them4 ,the          
difference between the capitalist world 

and our world is merely that we make it 
impossible for any man to get money     
legally without working4  ,under these  
conditions the average man wishes to    
work1 and the only question remaining   
is1 how shall he work8 ,if he wants to  
work by himself1 and in his own way1    
nobody objects to it4 ,he is able to buy
 anything he pleases1 whether raw       
materials or finished products4 ,if he  
wants to buy leather and make shoes     
after his own pattern1 no one stops him1
 and if he can find anyone to buy these 
shoes1 he can earn his living in that   
way4 ,he is able to get land for as long
 a time as he wants it1 by paying to the
 state the full rental value of that    
land1 and if he wants to farm the land1 
he can do so1 and sell his products4 ,as
 a matter of theory1 he is perfectly    
free to hire others to farm the land for
 him1 or with him4 ,there is no law to  
prevent it1 neither is there any law to 
prevent his renting a factory and buying
 machinery1 and hiring labor to make    

shoes4  ,but1 as a matter of practical  
fact1 it is impossible for him to do    
this1 because the community is in the   
business of making shoes1 and on an     
enormous scale1 with great factories run
 democratically by the workers1 and     
there is very small chance of any       
private business man being able to draw 
the workers away from these factories4  
,the community factories have all the   
latest machinery2 they apply the latest 
methods of scientific management1 and   
they turn out standard shoes at such a  
rate that private competition is        
unthinkable4 ,of course1 there may be   
some special kind of shoes1 involving an
 intellectual element1 in which there   
can be private competition4 ,this kind  
of manufacture is covered in our second 
method of payment2 but before we discuss
 it1 let us settle the problem of our   
most important basic industry1 which is 
agriculture4     ,,chapter ,,lxxii      
,,agricultural ,,production             
7,discusses the land in the new world1  

and how we foster      co-operative     
farming and co-operative homes47        
,farming the land is a very ancient     
industry1 and while its tools have been 
improved1 its social forms have been the
 same for a long time4 ,the worker on   
the land is conservative1 and the       
,russian ,bolsheviks1 who tried to rush 
their peasants into ,communism1 found   
that they had only succeeded in stopping
 the production of food4 ,we make no    
such blunder in our new society4 ,we    
have found a way to abolish speculation 
in land1 and exploitation based on      
land-ownership1 while leaving the farmer
 free to run his business in the old way
 if he wants to4  ,in our new society we
 take the full rental value of all land 
which is not occupied and used by the   
state4 ,the farmer and the city dweller 
alike own their land1 in the sense that 
they have the use of it for as long as  
they please1 but they pay to the state  
the rental value of the land1 minus the 
improvements4 ,so they cannot speculate 

in the land or rent it out to others2   
they can only use it1 and they only pay 
for what they actually use4 ,they may   
put improvements on the land1 with full 
assurance of having the use and benefit 
thereof1 and they may sell the          
improvements1 and the new owner enters  
into possession1 with no obligation but 
to pay the rental value of the          
unimproved land to the state4  ,the     
farmer goes on raising his products1 and
 if he wants to drive to town and       
deliver them to his customers1 he may do
 so2 but he finds it cheaper to market  
them through the great labor            
co-operatives and state markets4 ,as    
there is no longer any private interest 
involved in these activities1 no one has
 any interest in cheating him1 and he   
gets the full value of the products1    
less the cost of marketing4 ,if the     
farmer wishes to continue all his life  
in his old style individualistic method 
of working the land1 he is free to do   
so4 ,but here is what he sees going on  

within a few miles of his place3  ,the  
state has bought a square mile of land1 
and has taken down the fences and       
established an agricultural co-operative
 for purposes of experiment and         
demonstration4 ,the farm is run under   
the direction of experts2 the soils are 
treated with exactly the right          
fertilizers for each crop1 the best     
paying crops are raised1 the best seed  
is used1 and the best machinery4 ,the   
workers of this new agricultural        
co-operative receive the standard wage1 
and they live in homes specially built  
for them1 with all the conveniences made
 possible by wholesale production4      
,also1 these co-operators live in a     
democratic community2 they determine    
their own conditions of labor1 being    
represented on the governing board1     
along with the experts appointed by the 
state4  ,the farmer watches this        
experiment1 at first with suspicion2 but
 he finds that his sons have less       
suspicion than he has1 and his sons keep

 pointing out to him that their little  
farm is not making the standard wage or 
anything like it2 and1 moreover1 the    
standard wage is constantly increasing1 
whereas1 the price of farm-products is  
dropping4 ,and here is the state1 ready 
to direct new co-operative ventures1    
inviting a score of farmers in the      
community to combine and buy out the    
unwilling ones1 and establish a new     
co-operative4 ,sooner or later the old  
farmer gives way2 or he dies1 and his   
sons belong to the new world4  ,so      
ultimately we have our national         
agricultural system1 in which all the   
requirements of our people are studied1 
and all the possibilities of our soil   
and climate1 and the job of raising the 
exact quantities of food that we need1  
both for our own use and for export1 is 
worked out as one problem4 ,we know how 
much lumber we need1 and we raise it on 
all our hillsides and mountain slopes1  
and so protect ourselves from floods and
 the denuding of our continent4 ,we know

 where best to raise our wheat1 and     
where best to raise our potatoes and our
 cabbages1 and we do not do this by     
crude hand-labor1 nor by the labor of   
women and children from daybreak till   
dark4 ,we have special machines that    
plant each crop1 and other machines that
 reap it or dig it out of the ground and
 prepare it for market4  ,a few days ago
 ,i read a discussion in the ,chamber of
 ,commerce of ,calcutta4 ,some one      
called attention to the wastes involved 
in the current method of handling       
rubber4 ,one consignment of rubber had  
been sold more than three hundred       
separate times1 and the cost of these   
transactions amounted to three times the
 value of the rubber4 ,this is only one 
illustration1 and ,i might quote a      
thousand4 ,if you doubt my figures as to
 the possibility of production in the   
new society1 remind yourself that a     
large percentage of the things you use  
have been bought and sold many scores of
 times before you get them4 ,consider   

the cabbage1 for which you pay six or   
eight cents a pound in the grocery      
store1 and for which the farmer gets1   
say1 half a cent a pound4  ,in this new 
world the state has an enormous income1 
derived from its tax on land values4 ,it
 no longer has to send around men once a
 year to ask you how many diamond rings 
your wife has1 and to tax you on your   
honesty1 if you have any4 ,it no longer 
has to make its money by such lying     
devices as a tariff1 therefore its moral
 being is no longer poisoned by a       
tariff-lobby4 ,it taxes every citizen   
for the right to use that which nature  
created1 and leaves free from taxation  
that which the citizens' own labor      
created2 this kind of taxation is       
honest1 and fair to all1 because no one 
can evade it4 ,the state uses the       
proceeds of this land tax in the public 
services1 the libraries and research    
laboratories and information bureaus2 in
 free insurance against fire and flood  
and tempest2 and in a pension to every  

member of society above the working age 
of fifty-five1 or below the working age 
of eighteen4 ,of course1 the state might
 leave it to every man to save up for   
his old age1 but not all men are this   
wise1 and the state cannot afford to let
 the unwise ones starve4 ,it is more    
convenient for the state to figure that 
all men1 or nearly all1 are going to be 
old1 and to hold back some of their     
money while they are young and strong1  
in the certainty that when they are old1
 they will appreciate this service4     
,also the state takes care of the sick  
and incapacitated1 and the mentally or  
physically defective4 ,but we do not    
leave these latter loose in the world to
 reproduce their defects2 we have in our
 new world some sense of responsibility 
to the future1 and there is nothing to  
which we devote more effort than making 
certain that nothing unsound or abnormal
 is allowed entrance into life4  ,the   
problem of the care of children is a    
complicated one1 and our new society is 

in process of solving it4 ,we look back 
on the old world in which the having of 
children was heavily taxed1 in the form 
of an obligation to care for these      
children until they were old enough to  
work4 ,then the parents were allowed to 
exploit the labor of the children1 so   
that among the very poor the raising of 
children was a business speculation1    
like the raising of slaves or poultry4  
,but in our new world we consider the   
interest of the child1 and of the       
society in which that child is to be a  
citizen4 ,we decide that this society   
must have citizens1 and that the raising
 of the future citizens is a work just  
exactly as necessary and useful as the  
raising of a crop of cabbages4          
,therefore1 we pay a pension to all     
mothers while they are raising and      
caring for children4 ,at the same time  
we assert the right to see that this    
money is wisely spent1 and that the     
child is really cared for4 ,if it is    
neglected1 we are quick to take it away 

from its parents1 and put it in one of  
our twenty-four-hour-a-day schools4  ,we
 realize that the home is an ancient    
industry1 even more ancient than        
agriculture1 and we do not try to       
socialize it all at once4 ,but just as  
we demonstrate to farmers that the      
individual farm does not pay1 so we     
demonstrate to mothers the wastefulness 
of the single laundry1 the single       
kitchen1 the single nursery4 ,we        
establish community laundries1 community
 kitchens1 community nurseries1 and     
invite our women to help in these       
activities1 and to learn there1 under   
expert guidance1 the advantages of      
domestic co-operation4 ,we convince them
 by showing better results in the health
 and happiness of the children1 and in  
the time and strength of the mothers4   
,so1 little by little1 we widen the     
field of co-operative endeavor1 and     
increase the total product of human     
labor and the total enjoyment of human  
life4     ,,chapter ,,lxxiii            

,,intellectual ,,production             
7,discusses scientific1 artistic and    
religious activities1 as a              
superstructure built upon the foundation
 of the standard wage47   ,karl         
,kautsky1 intellectual leader of the    
,german ,social-democracy1 gives in his 
book1 ,the ,social ,revolution1 a useful
 formula as to the organization of the  
future society4 ,this formula is3       
,communism in material production1      
,anarchism in intellectual production4  
,it will repay us to study this         
statement1 and see exactly what it      
means4  ,material production depends    
directly upon things2 and as there is   
only a limited quantity of things in the
 world1 if any one person has more than 
his share1 he deprives some other person
 to that extent4 ,so there have to be   
strict laws concerning the distribution 
of material products4 ,but with         
intellectual things exactly the opposite
 is the case4 ,there is no limit in     
quantity1 and any one person can have   

all he wants without interfering with   
anybody else4 ,everybody in the world   
can perform a play by ,shakespeare1 or  
play a sonata by ,beethoven1 and        
everybody can enjoy it as much as he    
pleases without keeping other people    
from enjoying it all they please4 ,also1
 material production can be             
standardized2 we can have great         
factories to turn out millions of boxes 
of matches1 each match like every other 
match1 and the more alike they are the  
better4 ,but in intellectual affairs we 
want everyone to be different1 or at    
least we want everyone to be free to be 
different1 and if some one can become   
much better than the others1 this is the
 most important kind of production in   
the world1 for he may make over our     
whole intellectual and moral life4  ,for
 the production of material things our  
new society has great factories owned in
 common1 and run by majority vote of the
 workers1 and we place the products of  
that factory at the disposal of all     

members of society upon equal terms4    
,that is our ,communism in material     
production4 ,on the other hand1 in our  
intellectual production we leave        
everybody free to live his own life1 and
 to associate himself with others of    
like aims1 and we place as few          
restrictions as possible upon their     
activities4 ,this is the method of free 
association1 or ,anarchism in           
intellectual production4  ,our problem  
would be simple if material and         
intellectual production never had to    
mingle4 ,but1 as it happens1 every kind 
of intellectual production requires a   
certain amount of material1 and every   
kind of material production involves an 
intellectual element4 ,therefore1 our   
two methods have to be combined1 and we 
have a complex problem which we have to 
solve in a variety of different ways1   
and upon which we must experiment with  
open minds and scientific temper4       
,first1 let us take the intellectual    
elements involved in the production of  

purely material things1 such as matches 
and shoes and soap4 ,let us take        
invention4 ,naturally1 we do not want to
 go on making matches and shoes and soap
 in the same old way forever4 ,on the   
contrary1 we want to stimulate all the  
workers in these industries to use their
 wits and improve the processes in every
 possible way4 ,the whole of society has
 an interest in this1 and the soap      
workers have an especial interest4 ,our 
soap industry has an invention          
department1 with a group of experts     
appointed by the executive committee of 
the national council of soap workers4   
,all soap workers are taxed1 say five   
cents a day1 for the support of this    
activity4 ,likewise the state           
contributes a generous sum out of its   
income toward the work of soap research4
 ,in addition to this1 the soap industry
 offers prizes and scholarships for     
suggestions as to the improvement of    
every detail of the work1 and at        
meetings of every local of soap workers 

somebody makes new suggestions as to    
methods of stimulating their            
intellectual life--not merely as regards
 soap1 but as regards citizenship1 and  
art and literature1 and human life in   
general4 ,our soap workers1 you must    
understand1 are no longer wage-slaves1  
brutalized by toil and poverty2 they are
 free citizens of a free society4 ,our  
soap workers' local in every city has   
its own theatre and concert hall and    
lecture bureau1 and publishes its own   
magazine4  ,every industry has its      
immediate intellectual problems1 its    
trade journals in which these are       
discussed1 and its research boards in   
which they are worked out4 ,the         
ambitions of the young workers in that  
industry are concentrated upon getting  
into this intellectual part of their    
trade4 ,examinations are held and tests 
are made to discover the most competent 
men1 and written suggestions are        
considered by boards of control4 ,it is1
 of course1 of great importance to every

 worker that the channels of promotion  
should be kept open1 and that the man   
who really has inventive talent shall   
get1 not merely distinction and         
promotion1 but financial reward1 so that
 he may have time and materials to      
continue his experiments4  ,this        
research department1 you perceive1 is a 
sort of superstructure1 built upon the  
foundation of our standard wage2 and    
this same simile applies to numerous    
other forms of intellectual production4 
,for example1 our community paper mills 
turn out paper1 and our community       
printers are prepared to turn out       
millions of books4 ,how shall we        
determine what is to be the intellectual
 content of these material books8 ,there
 are many different methods4 ,first1    
there is the method of individualism4 ,a
 man has something to say1 and he writes
 a book2 he works in the soap factory1  
and saves a part of his standard wage1  
and when he has money enough he orders  
the community printers to print his     

book1 and the community booksellers to  
handle it for him1 and the community    
postoffice to deliver it for him4       
,again1 a group of men organize         
themselves into an association1 or club1
 or scientific society1 and publish     
books4 ,the ,authors' ,league takes up  
the work of publishing the writings of  
its members1 and the ,poetry ,society   
does the same4  ,this is the method of  
,anarchism1 or free association4 ,but   
there is no reason why we should not    
have along side it the method of        
,socialism2 there is no reason why we   
should not have state publishing houses1
 just as we have state universities and 
state libraries4 ,the state should      
certainly publish standard works of all 
sorts1 bibles and dictionaries and      
directories1 and cheap editions of the  
classics4 ,in this new world our school 
boards are not chosen by business men   
for purposes of graft1 they are chosen  
by the people to educate our children2  
so it seems to us perfectly natural that

 the ,national ,educational ,association
 should conduct a publication           
department1 and order the printing of   
the school books which the children use4
  ,in the same way1 anyone is free to   
write a play1 or to put on a play1 and  
invite people to come and see it4 ,but1 
like the individual farmers and the     
individual mothers of families1 the     
play-producer in our society is in      
competition with great community        
enterprises1 which set a high standard  
and make competition difficult4 ,the    
same thing applies to the opera1 and to 
concerts1 and to all the arts and       
sciences4 ,you can start a private      
hospital if you wish1 but you will be in
 competition with public institutions1  
and you can only succeed if you are a   
man of genius--that is1 if you have     
something to teach1 too new and         
startling for the public boards of      
control to recognize4 ,you try your new 
method1 and it works1 and that becomes a
 criticism of the public boards of      

control1 and before long the people by  
their votes turn out the old board of   
control and put you in4  ,that is       
politics1 you say2 but we in our new    
world do not use the word politics as   
one of contempt4 ,we really believe that
 public sentiment is in the long run the
 best authority1 and the appeal to      
public sentiment is at once a social    
privilege and a social service4 ,what we
 strive to do is to clear the channels  
of appeal1 and avoid favoritism and     
stagnation4 ,to that end we maintain1 in
 every art and every science and every  
department of human thought1 endless    
numbers of centers of free1 independent1
 co-operative activity1 so that every   
man who has an inspiration1 or a new    
idea1 can find some group to support him
 or can form a new group of his own4    
,this is our ,anarchism in intellectual 
production1 and it is the method under  
which in capitalist society men organize
 all their clubs and societies and      
churches4 ,devout members of the ,roman 

,catholic ,church will be startled to be
 told that theirs is an ,anarchist      
organization2 but nevertheless1 such is 
the case4 ,the ,catholic ,church owns a 
great deal of property1 and speculates  
in real estate1 and to that extent it is
 a capitalist institution4 ,it holds a  
great many people by fear1 and to that  
extent it is a feudal institution4 ,but 
in so far as members of the church      
believe in it and love it and contribute
 of their free will to its support1 they
 are organizing by the method which all 
,anarchists recommend and desire to     
apply to the whole of society4          
,anarchist clubs and ,christian churches
 are both free associations for the     
advocacy of certain ideas1 the only     
difference being in the ideas they      
advocate4  ,in our new world such       
organizations have been multiplied many 
fold1 and form a vast superstructure of 
intellectual activity1 built upon the   
foundation of the standard wage4 ,in    
this new world all the people are free4 

,they are free1 not merely from         
oppression1 but from the fear of        
oppression2 they have leisure and       
plenty1 and they take part naturally and
 simply in the intellectual life4 ,the  
old1 of course1 have not got over the   
dullness which a lifetime of drudgery   
impressed upon them1 but the young are  
growing up in a world without classes1  
and in which it seems natural that      
everyone should be educated and everyone
 should have ideas4 ,they earn their    
standard wage1 and devote their spare   
time to some form of intellectual or    
artistic endeavor1 and spend their spare
 money in paying writers and artists and
 musicians and actors to stimulate and  
entertain them4  ,these latter are the  
ways of distinction in our new society2 
these are the paths to power4 ,the only 
rich men in our world are the men who   
produce intellectual goods2 the great   
artists1 orators1 musicians1 actors and 
writers1 who are free to serve or not to
 serve1 as they see fit1 and can        

therefore hold up the public for any    
price they care to charge4 ,just now    
there is eager discussion going on in   
our world as to whether it is proper for
 an opera singer1 or a moving picture   
star1 or a novelist1 to make a million  
dollars4 ,our newspapers are full of    
discussions of the question whether     
anyone can make a million dollars       
honestly1 and whether men of genius     
should exploit their public4 ,some point
 out that our most eminent opera singer 
spends his millions in endowing a       
conservatory of art2 but others maintain
 that it would be better if he lowered  
his prices of admission1 and let the    
public use its money in its own way4    
,the extremists are busy founding what  
they call the ,ten-cent ,society1 whose 
members agree to boycott all singers and
 actors who charge more than ten cents  
admission1 and all moving picture stars 
who receive more than a hundred thousand
 dollars a year for their service4      
,these ,ten-centers do not object to    

paying the money1 but they object to the
 commercializing of art1 and declare    
especially that the moral effect of     
riches is such that no rich person      
should ever1 under any circumstances1 be
 allowed to influence the youth of the  
nation4 ,in this some of the greatest   
writers join them1 and renounce their   
copyrights1 and agree to accept a       
laureateship from some union of workers1
 who pay them a generous stipend for the
 joy and honor of being associated with 
their names4 ,the greatest poet of our  
time began life as a newsboy1 and so the
 ,national ,newsvenders' ,society has   
adopted him1 and taken his name1 and    
pays him ten thousand dollars a year for
 the privilege of publishing his works4 
,,chapter ,,lxxiv  ,,mankind ,,remade   
7,discusses human nature and its        
weaknesses1 and what happens to         
these in the new world47   ,we have     
briefly sketched the economic           
arrangements of the co-operative        
commonwealth4 ,let us now consider what 

are the effects of these arrangements   
upon the principal social diseases of   
capitalism4  ,the first and most        
dreadful of capitalism's diseases is    
war1 and the economic changes here      
outlined have placed war1 along with    
piracy and slavery1 among the           
half-forgotten nightmares of history4   
,we have broken the iron ring1 and are  
no longer dependent upon foreign        
concessions and foreign markets for the 
preservation of our social system and   
the aggrandizement of a ruling class4   
,we can stay quietly at home and do our 
own work1 and as we produce nearly      
everything we need1 we no longer have to
 threaten our neighbors4 ,our neighbors 
know this1 and therefore they do not arm
 against us1 and we have no pretext to  
arm against them4 ,we take toward all   
other civilized nations the attitude    
which we have taken toward ,canada for  
the past hundred years4  ,we have a     
small and highly trained army1 a few    
regiments of which are located at       

strategic points over the country4 ,this
 army we regard and use as we do our    
fire department4 ,when there is         
widespread damage by fire or flood or   
storm or earthquake1 we rush the army to
 the spot to attend to the work of      
rescue and rebuilding4 ,also1 we have a 
small navy in international service2    
for1 of course1 we are no longer an     
independent and self-centered nation2 we
 have come to realize that we are part  
of the world community1 and have taken  
our place as one state in the           
,international ,socialist ,federation4  
,we send our delegates to the world     
parliament1 and we place our resources  
at the disposal of the world government4
 ,however1 it now takes but a small army
 and navy to preserve order in the      
world4 ,we govern the backward nations1 
but the economic arrangements of the    
world are such that we are no longer    
driven to exploit and oppress them4 ,we 
send them teachers instead of soldiers1 
and as there are really very few people 

in the world who fight for the love of  
fighting1 we have little difficulty in  
preserving peace4 ,we pay the backward  
peoples a fair price for their products 
which we need4 ,our world government    
takes no money out of these countries1  
but spends it for the benefit of those  
who live in the countries1 to teach them
 and train their young generations for  
self-government4  ,next1 what are the   
effects of our new arrangements upon    
political corruption and graft8 ,the    
social revolution has broken the        
prestige of wealth4 ,money will buy     
things1 but it no longer buys power1 the
 right to rule other men2 it no longer  
buys men's admiration4 ,everybody now   
has money1 and nobody is any longer     
afraid of starvation4 ,it is no longer  
the fashion to save money--any more than
 it is the fashion to carry revolvers in
 drawing-rooms or to wear chain mail in 
place of underclothing4 ,so our         
political life is cleansed of the money 
influence4 ,people now get power by     

persuading their fellows1 not by buying 
them or threatening them4 ,the world is 
no longer full of men ravenous for jobs1
 and ready to sell their soul for a     
position4 ,so it is no longer possible  
to build up a machine based on desire   
for office4  ,the changes have resulted 
in an enormous intensification of our   
political activities4 ,we have endless  
meetings and debates2 we have so many   
propaganda societies that we cannot keep
 track of them4 ,and some of these      
societies1 like the ,catholic ,church1  
have a large membership1 and large sums 
of money at their disposal4 ,but a few  
experiments at carrying elections by a  
campaign-chest have convinced everybody 
that to have the facts on your side is  
the only permanent way to political     
power4 ,our new society is jealous of   
attempts to establish any sort of ruling
 class1 and the surest way to discredit 
yourself is to advocate any form of     
barrier against freedom of discussion1  
or the right of the people's will to    

prevail4  ,next1 what is the status of  
crime8 ,we have too recently escaped    
from capitalism to have been able to    
civilize entirely our slum population1  
and we still have occasional crimes of  
violence1 especially crimes of passion4 
,but we have almost entirely eliminated 
those classes of crime which had to do  
with property1 and we have discovered   
that this was ninety-five per cent of   
all crime4 ,we have eliminated them by  
the simple device of making them no     
longer profitable4 ,anybody can go into 
our community factories1 and under clean
 and attractive working conditions1 and 
without any loss of prestige or social  
position1 can earn the means of         
satisfying his reasonable wants by three
 hours work a day4 ,almost everybody    
finds this easier than stealing or      
cheating4  ,but more important yet1 as a
 factor in abolishing crime1 is the     
abolition of class domination and the   
prestige of wealth4 ,we no longer have  
in our community a ruling class which   

lives without working1 and which offers 
to the weak-minded and viciously        
inclined the perpetual example of       
luxury4 ,we no longer set much store on 
jewels and fine raiment2 we do not make 
costly things1 except for public        
purposes1 where all may enjoy them2 and 
nobody stores great quantities of money1
 because everyone has a guarantee of    
security from the state4 ,so we are     
gradually putting our policemen and     
jailers and judges and lawyers to       
constructive work4  ,next1 what about   
disease8 ,the diseases of poverty are   
entirely done away with4 ,we are now    
able to apply the knowledge of science  
to the whole community1 and so we no    
longer have to do with tuberculosis and 
typhoid1 or with rickets and anaemia in 
children1 or with heavy infant          
mortality4 ,we have sterilized our      
unfit1 the degenerates and the          
defectives1 and so do not have to reckon
 with millions of children from these   
wretched stocks4 ,we now give to the    

question of public health that          
prominence which in the old days we used
 to give to war and the suppression of  
crime and social protest4 ,our public   
health officers now replace our generals
 and admirals1 and we really obey their 
orders4  ,next1 as to prostitution4     
,just as in the case of crime1 we are   
still too close to capitalism not to    
have among us the victims of social     
depravity1 both men and women4 ,we still
 have a great deal of vice which springs
 from untrained animal impulse1 and we  
have some cultivated and highly         
sophisticated pornography4 ,but we have 
entirely done away with commercial vice1
 and we have done it by cutting the root
 which nourished it4 ,women in our      
communities are really free2 and by that
 we do not mean the empty political     
freedom which existed in the days of    
wage slavery--we mean that women are    
permanently delivered from economic     
inferiority1 by the recognition on the  
part of the state of the money value of 

their special kind of work1 the bearing 
and training of children4 ,this kind of 
work not merely receives the standard   
wage1 it also receives the best surgical
 and nursing treatment free4 ,housework 
and home-making are legally recognized  
services2 and the woman before marriage 
and after her children have been nursed 
is free to go into the community        
factories and earn for herself the      
standard wage1 with no loss of social   
position4 ,consequently1 no woman sells 
her sex1 and no man buys it4  ,this does
 not mean1 of course1 that we have      
solved the sex problem in our new       
society4 ,there are two great social    
problems with which we have to deal1 the
 first of these being the sex problem1  
and the second the race problem4 ,our   
scientists are occupied with eugenics1  
and we are finding out how to guide our 
young people in marriage1 so that our   
race may be built up1 and the ravages of
 capitalism remedied as quickly as      
possible4 ,also we are trying to find   

out the laws of happiness and health in 
love4 ,we are founding societies for the
 purpose of protecting love1 and1 as    
hinted in the ,book of ,love1 we have a 
determined social struggle between two  
groups of women--the mother-women and   
the mistress-women--those who take love 
gravely1 as a means of improving the    
race1 and those who take it as a        
decoration1 a form of play4 ,our men are
 embarrassed by having to choose between
 these groups1 and occupy themselves    
with trying to keep the struggle from   
turning into civil war4  ,second1 the   
race problem4 ,our economic changes     
have1 of course1 done away with some of 
the bitterest phases of this strife4    
,white workingmen in the ,north no      
longer mob and murder negro workingmen  
for taking their jobs1 and in the ,south
 our land values tax prevents the       
landlord from exploiting either white or
 negro labor4 ,but our white race is    
still irresistibly bent upon preserving 
its integrity of blood1 and the more    

far-seeing among the negroes have come  
to realize that there can never be any  
real happiness for them in a society    
where they are denied the higher social 
privileges4 ,there is a movement for the
 development of a genuine ,negro        
,republic in ,africa1 and for mass      
emigration4 ,also there is a            
proposition1 soon to be settled at an   
election1 for the dividing of the       
,united ,states into three districts    
upon racial lines4 ,first1 there are to 
be1 in the ,far ,south1 three or four   
states which are inhabited and governed 
solely by negroes1 and to which white   
men may come only as temporary visitors2
 a large group of states in the ,north  
which are white states1 and to which    
negroes may come only as visitors2 and  
finally1 a middle group of states1 in   
which both whites and black are allowed 
to live1 as at present1 but with the    
proviso that no one may live there who  
takes part in any form of racial strife 
or agitation4 ,this program gives to    

race-conscious negroes their own land1  
their own civilization1 their own chance
 of self-realization2 it gives to       
race-conscious white men the same       
opportunity2 and it leaves to those who 
are not troubled by the problem1 a      
country where black and white may dwell 
in quiet good fellowship4  ,finally1    
what has been the effect of our economic
 changes upon the purely personal vices 
which gave us so much trouble and       
unhappiness in the old days8 ,what1 for 
example1 has been the effect upon       
vanity8 ,you should see our new crop of 
children in our high schools6 ,there are
 no longer any social classes among     
them2 the rich ones do not arrive in    
private automobiles1 to make the poor   
ones envious1 and they do not isolate   
themselves in little snobbish cliques4  
,they arrive in community automobiles1  
and all wear uniforms--one of the simple
 devices by which we repress the impulse
 of the young toward display of personal
 egotism4 ,they are all full of health  

and happy play1 and their heads are     
busily occupied with interesting ideas4 
,our girls are trained to thinking1     
instead of to personal adornment2 they  
are developing their minds1 instead of  
catching a rich husband by sexual       
charms4 ,so we have been able1 in a     
single generation of training1 to make a
 real and appreciable difference in the 
amount of vanity and self-consciousness 
to be found among our young people4     
,and the same thing applies to a score  
of other undesirable qualities1 which1  
under the system of competitive         
commercialism1 were overstimulated in   
human beings4 ,in those old days        
everyone was seeking his own survival1  
and certain qualities which had survival
 value became the principal             
characteristics of our race4 ,those     
qualities were greed and persistence in 
acquisitiveness1 cunning and subtlety1  
also bragging and self-assertiveness4   
,in that old world people destroyed     
their fellows in order to make their own

 safety and power2 they wasted goods in 
order to be esteemed1 to preserve what  
they called their social position4 ,but 
now we have cut the roots of all these  
vile weeds4 ,we have so adjusted the    
business relationships of men that we do
 not have to have hysterical religious  
revivals in order to keep the human     
factors alive in their hearts4 ,we have 
established it as a money fact1 which   
everyone quickly realizes1 that it pays 
better to co-operate2 there is more     
profit and less bother in being of      
service to others4 ,so we have prepared 
a soil in which virtues grow instead of 
vices1 and we find that people become   
decent and kindly and helpful without   
exhortation1 and with no more moral     
effort than the average man can         
comfortably make4 ,of course1 we have   
still personal vices to combat1 and new 
virtues to discover and to propagate2   
but this has to do with the future1     
whereas we are here confining ourselves 
to those things which have been         

demonstrated in our new society4        
,,index   ,abortion1 #fa  ,abortions1   
#cj  ,advertising1 #afc  ,agricultural  
co-operative1 #bjf  ,anarchism1 #baj    
,anarchist1 #hi1 #ij  ,anarchy1 #agb    
,anglo-,saxon1 #fb1 #aaa  ,appeal to    
,reason1 #adi  ,aristocratic doctrine1  
#aaf  ,armour1 #abh  ,atherton1         
,gertrude1 #hg   ,babies1 #fc           
,bachelorhood1 #eb  ,bacon1 ,francis1   
#ea  ,banking system1 #aib  ,bankruptcy1
 #afb  ,barbarism1 #abd  ,barnum1 ,p4   
,t41 #bg  ,berkman1 ,alexander1 #agc    
,biology1 #ajc  ,birth control1 #fa1 #gf
  ,birth ,control ,review1 #fd          
,blatchford1 ,robert1 #ee1 #afa  ,blind 
love1 #eh  ,bolsheviks1 #agb  ,breach of
 promise suit1 #ia  ,brothel1 #ff       
,brothels1 #ca  ,burbank1 ,luther1 #ii  
,business man1 #adc   ,capital1 #aeh    
,capitalism1 #acf1 #afh  ,capitalists1  
#adb  ,carnegie1 #afh  ,catholic        
,church1 #bac1 #baf  ,celibacy1 #ea1    
#eb1 #fd  ,chastity1 #ea  ,chattel      
slavery1 #ahf  ,childbirths1 #gj        

,children1 #gj1 #gb1 #he1 #bjh          
,christianity1 #aae1 #acc  ,clarion1 #ca
  ,class struggle1 #acc1 #agg  ,clay1   
,henry1 #ahf  ,coleridge1 #he           
,collier's ,weekly1 #abb1 #afc          
,committee on ,waste1 #afj  ,commune1   
#abi  ,communism1 #aj1 #agj1 #baj       
,compensation1 #agi  ,competition1 #ajh1
 #abg  ,competitive wage system1 #adh   
,complex1 #di  ,comstock1 ,anthony1 #bj 
,confiscation1 #agi  ,congress1 #ach    
,contraception1 #fa  ,co-operation1     
#aji1 #aii1 #bjj  ,coquetry1 #ch        
,corporation1 #abg  ,courtship1 #ia     
,credit1 #aeb1 #aed1 #aib1 #bjj         
,credit-cards1 #bjb  ,crime1 #afd1 #baf 
,culture1 #fb  ,cutting1 ,h4 ,c41 #bjj  
,dances1 #ae  ,debs1 ,eugene ,v41 #aee  
,degeneration1 #aba  ,demi-monde1 #hj   
,democratic doctrine1 #aae              
,dictatorship1 #ahj1 #ahc1 #ahe  ,dill1 
,james ,b41 #be  ,disarmament1 #aeg     
,discouragement1 #afd  ,disease1 #bag   
,divorce1 #cb1 #ic1 #ig  ,double        
standard1 #e  ,douglas plan1 #aii       

,dumping1 #aeb   ,economic evolution1   
#abc  ,economic man1 #ajh  ,emerson1    
#ahf  ,emulation1 #aab  ,engagements1   
#gb  ,england1 #abj1 #aef1 #age         
,eugenics1 #eh  ,evolution1 #abb        
,exogamy1 #aje  ,exploitation1 #aha     
,exploiting1 #adh  ,exports1 #aec       
,factory system1 #abi  ,farming1 #bjf   
,favorable balance1 #aea  ,fear1 #abb1  
#afd  ,federal ,reserve ,act1 #aed      
,feminist1 #fi  ,feudal stage1 #abd     
,fires1 #afc  ,foreign trade1 #aea      
,free love1 #dd1 #hg  ,free lover1 #ib  
,france1 #age  ,france1 ,anatole1 #dd   
,freud1 #ajd   ,gens1 #i  ,germany1     
#aee1 #aef  ,gillette1 ,king ,c41 #bjj  
,goldman1 ,emma1 #agc  ,gonorrhea1 #cj  
,goode1 ,mary ,j41 #da  ,government1    
#aff  ,graft1 #abg1 #baf  ,great        
,adventure1 #ahh   ,hammurabi1 #gh      
,hamon case1 #bf  ,hard times1 #add     
,hardy1 #ac  ,harris1 ,frank1 #ba  ,high
 life1 #bc  ,home1 #db1 #bji            
,honeymoon1 #ef  ,hoover1 ,herbert1 #afj
  ,house of ,commons1 #acg  ,huguenots1 

#acd  ,human nature1 #ii  ,hunger1 #abb 
,ideals1 #acb  ,imports1 #aec  ,income  
tax1 #adc1 #ahh  ,industrial evolution1 
#abf  ,infant1 #ajc  ,infanticide1 #fa  
,inflation1 #aif  ,inheritance tax1 #ahh
  ,ingenues1 #ai  ,instinct1 #eg        
,insurance1 #afc  ,intellectual         
production1 #baa  ,iron ring1 #aeh      
,island1 #ade  ,i4 ,w4 ,w41 #afi        
,james1 ,william1 #af  ,jealousy1 #hi   
,jews1 #abg   ,kautsky1 ,karl1 #baj     
,king ,coal1 #aci  ,kropotkin1 #aji1    
#abi1 #agc   ,labor1 #aeh  ,labor       
checks1 #bjb  ,labor union1 #aii        
,laissez faire1 #aaj  ,land tax1 #aij   
,land titles1 #agi  ,land values1 #bjh  
,late marriage1 #fg  ,lecky1 #f1 #cc    
,leviticus1 #gh  ,liberty motor1 #afd   
,london1 ,jack1 #fb  ,los ,angeles      
,times1 #aeg  ,love1 #cd1 #dg1 #ajj1    
#aab1 #bah  ,lust1 #dh  ,luther1        
,martin1 #abi  ,luxury1 #fj             
,machinery1 #adi  ,magic gestures1 #ajd 
,magna ,carta1 #acd  ,malthusian law1   
#ajh  ,markham1 ,edwin1 #aci  ,marquesas

 ,islands1 #cc  ,marriage1 #d  ,marriage
 club1 #ga  ,marriage market1 #fh       
,marx1 ,karl1 #acb1 #ach1 #agf          
,materialistic interpretation1 #acb     
,material production #baj  ,maternity   
endowment #gi  ,meredith1 ,george #dc   
,merrie ,england #afa  ,metchnikoff1    
,elie #cc1 #df  ,mexico #aba  ,middle   
class #agf1 #ahf  ,minor1 ,robert #agc  
,mistress #ab  ,money #cg1 #aib1 #bjb   
,money ,trust #aid  ,monogamy #e1 #hc1  
#ij  ,moors #acd  ,moralists #ei        
,morgan #abh  ,mother's pension #gi     
,moving pictures #ag   ,negro #bah      
,negroes #aaf  ,neuroses #aje           
,neurotics #ajc  ,north ,dakota #aid    
,north1 ,luke #ahh   ,o',brien1         
,frederick #aj  ,oedipus complex #ajd   
,open-shop #agg   ,panic #aed           
,parasitism #gd  ,passion #eh           
,permanence #hg  ,piracy #aaa  ,pity #gd
  ,plumb plan #aih  ,political evolution
 #abc  ,political revolution #abe       
,politics #bac  ,pornography #bj        
,postal savings bank #aie  ,poverty #dj 

,primitive man #i  ,privilege #cf       
,professor ,sumner #abb  ,profit system 
#adh1 #aeh  ,progressive polygamy #ij   
,proletariat #adb  ,promiscuity #hg     
,property marriage #dd  ,prosperity #add
  ,prostitute #f  ,prostitution #d1 #ca1
 #da1 #bag  ,proudhon #agi              
,psycho-analysis #di1 #ajc  ,public bank
 #aid  ,publishing #bab   ,quick1       
,herbert #afe   ,race prejudice #fb     
,race problem #bah  ,racial immaturity  
#aaf  ,raffeisen bank #bjj  ,reeve1     
,sidney ,a4 #afj  ,republic #abe        
,research #bab  ,resurrection #ec       
,revolt #acd  ,ricardo #ajh             
,richardson1 ,dorothy #bf  ,ring #adh   
,robinson1 ,dr4 ,william1 ,j1 #ba1 #cj1 
#gj1 #gg  ,roman ,catholic church #ij   
,romance #ia  ,romantic love #ee        
,roosevelt #fa  ,rulers #aai  ,russia   
#abi1 #ahe   ,sanger1 ,margaret #fc     
,school of marriage #ge  ,selection #h  
,sex #h  ,sex education #gb  ,sex       
impulse #df  ,sex problem #bah  ,sex    
urge #hf  ,sex war #ha  ,shelley #ei1   

#hi  ,she-towns #bi  ,shop management   
#afh  ,sienkiewicz #ac  ,sims1 ,district
 ,attorney #bh  ,single tax #ahh        
,slavery #aj1 #abf1 #acf  ,smart set #bd
  ,smith1 ,adam #ajh  ,snobbery #fa     
,socialism1 #aff  ,social revolution1   
#abh1 #adg1 #age  ,soviets1 #acj1 #aga  
,speeding up1 #ach  ,spencer1 ,herbert1 
#abb  ,spirituality1 #fd  ,sport1 #aac  
,standard wage1 #bjc  ,steel ,trust1    
#acg  ,stopes1 ,dr4 ,marie ,c41 #gg     
,strikes1 #afb  ,syndicalism1 #afg      
,syphilis1 #cj   ,tabu1 #i  ,tariff1    
#aec  ,taxes1 #aia  ,tennyson1 #ch1 #abj
  ,the ,brass ,check1 #ca1 #acg  ,the   
,conquest of ,bread1 #agc  ,the ,cost of
 ,competition1 #afj  ,the ,industrial   
,republic1 #bjb  ,the ,jungle1 #aci     
,the ,lady1 #ab  ,the ,long ,day1 #bf1  
#bi  ,the ,nature of ,man1 #cc  ,the    
,profits of ,religion1 #acg  ,the       
,social ,revolution1 #baj  ,the         
,strangle ,hold1 #bjj  ,thompson1 ,a4   
,m41 #ca  ,tolstoi1 #ec  ,totem and     
,taboo1 #ajd  ,triangle1 #ef            

,unconscious1 #aje  ,unemployment1 #adg 
,vamps1 #ai  ,vanity1 #bai  ,varietism1 
#he  ,venereal disease1 #cj1 #fg1 #hc   
,voltaire1 #cf  ,voluntary ,parenthood  
,league1 #fd   ,war1 #afb  ,wars1 #aee  
,waste1 #afe  ,wells1 ,h4 ,g41 #hi      
,wharton1 ,edith1 #ie  ,wild oats1 #f   
,white man's burden1 #aag  ,white1      
,william ,allen1 #ag  ,worker1 #adj     
,workers1 #agf  ,working class1 #adj    
,woman1 #ab   ,young love1 #ef1 #gc     
99       99       99       99       99  
,,books ,,by ,,upton ,,sinclair         
,published by the ,author1 ,pasadena1   
,california  ,trade ,distributors3 ,the 
,paine ,book ,co41 ,chicago1 ,i4   ,the 
,brass ,check  ,a ,study of ,american   
,journalism  ,who owns the press and    
why8  ,when you read your daily paper1  
are you reading facts or propaganda8    
,and whose propaganda8  ,who furnishes  
the raw material for your thoughts about
 life8 ,is it honest material8  ,no man 
can ask more important questions than   
these2 and here for the first time the  

questions are answered in a book4  ,the 
first edition of this book1 #bc1jjj     
copies1 was sold out two weeks after    
publication4 ,paper could not be        
obtained for printing1 and a carload of 
brown wrapping paper was used4 ,the     
printings to date amount to #add1jjj    
copies4 ,the book is being published in 
,great ,britain and colonies1 and in    
translations in ,germany1 ,france1      
,holland1 ,norway1 ,sweden1 ,denmark1   
,italy1 ,hungary and ,japan4            
,,hermann ,,bessemer1 in the ,neues     
,journal1 ,vienna3       ,upton         
,sinclair deals with names1 only with   
names1 with balances1      with figures1
 with documents1 a truly stunning1      
gigantic      fact-material4 ,his book  
is an armored military train which with 
rushing pistons roars through the jungle
 of ,american monsterlies1              
whistling1 roaring1 shooting1 chopping  
off with ,berserker rage the            
obscene heads of these evils4 ,a        
breath-taking1 clutching1 frightful     

book is ',the ,brass ,check4'  7,prices 
of all books1 unless otherwise stated1  
cloth #a4bj1 #c copies #c1 #aj copies   
#i2 paper #fj;c1 #c copies #a4ej1 #aj   
copies #d4ej4 ,all prices postpaid47    
,,the ,,book ,,of ,,life  ,a book of    
practical counsel4 ,volume ,one--,mind  
and ,body4 ,discusses truth and its     
standards1 and the basis of health1 both
 mental and physical4 ,tells people how 
to live1 in order to avoid waste and    
pain1 and to find happiness and achieve 
progress4  ,volume ,two--,love and      
,society4 ,discusses health in sex2 love
 and marriage1 chastity1 monogamy1 birth
 control1 divorce4 ,explains modern     
economic problems1 ,socialism1          
revolution1 industrial democracy1 and   
the future society4 ,prices of volumes  
one and two bound in one1 cloth #a4ej1  
paper #a4jj4 ,either of the two volumes 
separately1 cloth #a4bj1 paper #fj;c4   
,,the ,,jungle  ,this novel1 first      
published in #aijf1 caused an           
international sensation4 ,it was the    

best selling book in the ,united ,states
 for a year2 also in ,great ,britain and
 its colonies4 ,it was translated into  
seventeen languages1 and caused an      
investigation by ,president ,roosevelt1 
and action by ,congress4 ,the book has  
been out of print for ten years1 and is 
now reprinted by the author at a lower  
price than when first published1        
although the cost of manufacture has    
since more than doubled4       ,not     
since ,byron awoke one morning to find  
himself famous has there      been such 
an example of world-wide celebrity won  
in a day by a book      as has come to  
,upton ,sinclair4--,new ,york ,evening  
,world4       ,it is a book that does   
for modern industrial slavery what      
',uncle      ,tom's ,cabin' did for     
black slavery4 ,but the work is done far
 better      and more accurately in     
',the ,jungle' than in ',uncle ,tom's   
,cabin4'--,,arthur ,,brisbane1 in the   
,new ,york ,evening ,journal4   ,,king  
,,coal  ,a novel of the ,colorado coal  

country4       ,clear1 convincing1      
complete4--,,lincoln ,,steffens4        
,i wish that every word of it could be  
burned deep into the heart      of every
 ,american4--,,adolph ,,germer4         
,,debs ,,and ,,the ,,poets3 ,edited by  
,ruth ,le ,prade1 with an introduction  
by ,upton ,sinclair4 ,a collection of   
poetry about ,debs4  ,,sylvia3 ,a novel 
of the ,south4  ,,sylvia',s ,,marriage3 
,a sequel4 7,both in cloth only47   #ajj
 ,a ,,story ,,of ,a ,,patriot  ,would   
you like to go behind the scenes and see
 the invisible government of your       
country saving you from the ,bolsheviks 
and the ,reds8 ,would you like to meet  
the secret agents and provocateurs of   
,big ,business1 to know what they look  
like1 how they talk and what they are   
doing to make the world safe for        
democracy8 ,several of these gentlemen  
have been haunting the home of ,upton   
,sinclair during the past three years   
and he has had the idea of turning the  
tables and investigating the            

investigators4 ,he has put one of them1 
,peter ,gudge by name1 into a book1     
together with ,peter's ladyloves1 and   
his wife1 and his boss1 and a whole     
group of his fellow-agents and their    
employers4       ,from ,,louis          
,,untermeyer1 ,author of ,challenge1    
etc43       ,upton ,sinclair has done it
 again4 ,he has loaded his ,maxim 7no   
,silencer attached71 taken careful aim1 
and--bang6--hit the bell      plump in  
the center4       ,first of all1 '#ajj' 
is a story2 a story full of suspense1   
drama1      'heart interest1' plots1    
counterplots1 high life1 low life1      
humor1      hate and other passions--as 
thrilling as a ,w4 ,s4 ,hart movie1 as  
interest-crammed as 7and a darned sight 
more truthful than7 your      daily     
newspaper4   ,,they ,,call ,,me         
,,carpenter3 ,a ,,tale ,,of ,,the       
,,second ,,coming  ,narrates how ,jesus 
came to ,los ,angeles in the year #aiba1
 and what happened to ,him4 ,to be      
published in ,september1 #aibb4   ,,the 

,,cry ,,for ,,justice  ,an anthology of 
the literature of social protest1 with  
an introduction by ,jack ,london1 who   
calls it this humanist ,holy-book4      
,thirty-two illustrations1 #hia pages4  
,cloth1 #a4ej2 paper1 #a4jj4       ,it  
should rank with the very noblest works 
of all time4 ,you could      scarcely   
have improved on its contents--it is    
remarkable in variety      and scope4   
,buoyant1 but never blatant1 powerful   
and passionate1 it      has the spirit  
of a challenge and a battle             
cry4--,,louis ,,untermeyer4       ,you  
have marvelously covered the whole      
ground4 ,the result is a      book that 
radicals of every shade have long been  
waiting for4 ,you      have made one    
that every student of the world's       
thought--economic1      philosophic1    
artistic--has to have4--,,reginald      
,,wright ,,kauffman4   ,,the ,,profits  
,,of ,,religion  ,a study of            
supernaturalism as a source of income   
and a shield to privilege4 ,the first   

investigation of this subject ever made 
in any language4       ,you have put a  
lot of work into it and you have        
marshalled your      facts in1 masterly 
fashion4--,,william ,,marion ,,reedy4   
99       99       99       99       99  
,the following typographical errors have
 been corrected by the text transcriber3
  worshipingworshipping  changes takes  
placechanges take place  is an impuseis 
an impulse  center of continouscenter of
 continuous  a starvling beggar at the  
gatesa starving beggar at the gates  of 
fool nations about sexof fool notions   
about sex  any personal right in        
contravenedany personal right is        
contravened  industrial                 
evolutonindustrial evolution  to the    
poepleto the people  ,social            
revoluton,social revolution  her hands  
and and feether hands and her feet      
,liebault,liebault  ,sienkewicz's       
,whirlpools,sienkiewicz's ,whirlpools   
,magna ,charta1 #acd,magna ,carta1 #acd