LECTURE III
AN UNFRIGHTENED HOPE
If we were asked what we considered to be
the supremest motive in life, the motive
which does actually exercise the largest control
over human conduct, what would our answer
be? A generation ago men would have answered
glibly enough: "The desire for happiness."
That was then supposed to be the one
commanding motive of mankind. But it was
not long before the answer seemed unsatisfactory
and indefinite, because what brings happiness
to one man brings misery to another, or
what a man thinks will delight him in the end
disappoints and such experiences issue in confusion.
It was ethically indiscriminate also.
The same motive covered moral contradictions,
and men wanted some more consistent answer
to the question. Nowadays those who look despondently
at life often say in reply: "Avarice,—the
desire for wealth." Or, those who look a
little more deeply say it is not money, but the
power that money represents that men desire,
and that their real motive is to acquire sources of
influence and control. Some who look at life
more hopefully are likely to reply: "Love or
