WHAT IS MAN? AND OTHER ESSAYS OF MARK TWAIN

CRADLE TO HIS GRAVE A MAN NEVER DOES A SINGLE THING WHICH HAS ANY

FIRST AND FOREMOST OBJECT BUT ONE–TO SECURE PEACE OF MIND,

SPIRITUAL COMFORT, FOR HIMSELF.

Y.M. Come! He never does anything for any one else’s

comfort, spiritual or physical?

O.M. No. EXCEPT ON THOSE DISTINCT TERMS–that it shall

FIRST secure HIS OWN spiritual comfort. Otherwise he will not do

it.

Y.M. It will be easy to expose the falsity of that

proposition.

O.M. For instance?

Y.M. Take that noble passion, love of country, patriotism.

A man who loves peace and dreads pain, leaves his pleasant home

and his weeping family and marches out to manfully expose himself

to hunger, cold, wounds, and death. Is that seeking spiritual

comfort?

O.M. He loves peace and dreads pain?

Y.M. Yes.

O.M. Then perhaps there is something that he loves MORE

than he loves peace–THE APPROVAL OF HIS NEIGHBORS AND THE

PUBLIC. And perhaps there is something which he dreads more than

he dreads pain–the DISAPPROVAL of his neighbors and the public.

If he is sensitive to shame he will go to the field–not because

his spirit will be ENTIRELY comfortable there, but because it

will be more comfortable there than it would be if he remained at

home. He will always do the thing which will bring him the MOST

mental comfort–for that is THE SOLE LAW OF HIS LIFE. He leaves

the weeping family behind; he is sorry to make them

uncomfortable, but not sorry enough to sacrifice his OWN comfort

to secure theirs.

Y.M. Do you really believe that mere public opinion could

force a timid and peaceful man to–

O.M. Go to war? Yes–public opinion can force some men to

do ANYTHING.

Y.M. ANYTHING?

O.M. Yes–anything.

Y.M. I don’t believe that. Can it force a right-principled

man to do a wrong thing?

O.M. Yes.

Y.M. Can it force a kind man to do a cruel thing?

O.M. Yes.

Y.M. Give an instance.

O.M. Alexander Hamilton was a conspicuously high-principled

man. He regarded dueling as wrong, and as opposed to the

teachings of religion–but in deference to PUBLIC OPINION he

fought a duel. He deeply loved his family, but to buy public

approval he treacherously deserted them and threw his life away,

ungenerously leaving them to lifelong sorrow in order that he

might stand well with a foolish world. In the then condition of

the public standards of honor he could not have been comfortable

with the stigma upon him of having refused to fight. The

teachings of religion, his devotion to his family, his kindness

of heart, his high principles, all went for nothing when they

stood in the way of his spiritual comfort. A man will do

ANYTHING, no matter what it is, TO SECURE HIS SPIRITUAL COMFORT;

and he can neither be forced nor persuaded to any act which has

not that goal for its object. Hamilton’s act was compelled by

the inborn necessity of contenting his own spirit; in this it was

like all the other acts of his life, and like all the acts of all

men’s lives. Do you see where the kernel of the matter lies? A

man cannot be comfortable without HIS OWN approval. He will

secure the largest share possible of that, at all costs, all

sacrifices.

Y.M. A minute ago you said Hamilton fought that duel to get

PUBLIC approval.

O.M. I did. By refusing to fight the duel he would have

secured his family’s approval and a large share of his own; but

the public approval was more valuable in his eyes than all other

approvals put together–in the earth or above it; to secure that

would furnish him the MOST comfort of mind, the most SELF-

approval; so he sacrificed all other values to get it.

Y.M. Some noble souls have refused to fight duels, and have

manfully braved the public contempt.

O.M. They acted ACCORDING TO THEIR MAKE. They valued their

principles and the approval of their families ABOVE the public

approval. They took the thing they valued MOST and let the rest

go. They took what would give them the LARGEST share of PERSONAL

CONTENTMENT AND APPROVAL–a man ALWAYS does. Public opinion

cannot force that kind of men to go to the wars. When they go it

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