their gaze upon the distant dreamland, captivated by the vision
there beheld, entranced by its ideal effulgence, their eyes were
blinded to the real conditions of the human problem they had set
before them. Their enemies have not been slow to note such
weakness and mistake; and perhaps it may serve to clear up
misconceptions, perhaps it may serve to lessen cant and open the
way for fresh and vigorous thought, if we shall once convince
ourselves that altruism cannot be the rule of life; that its
logical result is the dwarfing of the individual man; and that
not by the death of human personality can we hope to banish the
evils of our day, and to realize the ideal of all existence, a
nobler or purer life.