force the truth from him becausehe is "afraid to tell a lie." He has no fear, not even of perjury, for he knows that oaths are but devices to enslave the mind by anappeal to supernatural fears.And for all the other small, tenuous ideals, with which we have fettered our minds and to which we have shrunk our petty lives;they are for the egoist as though they were not."Filial love and respect" he will give to his parents if they have earned it by deserving it. If they have beaten him in infancy, andscorned him in childhood, and domineered over him in maturity, he may possibly love them in spite of maltreatment; but if theyhave alienated his affection, they will not reawaken it by an appeal to "duty."In brief, egoism in its modern interpretation, is the antithesis, not of altruism, but of idealism. The ordinary man - the idealist -subordinates his interests to the interests of his ideals, and usually suffers for it. The egoist is fooled by no ideals: he discardsthem or uses them, as may suit his own interest. If he likes to be altruistic, he will sacrifice himself for others; but only becausehe likes to do so; he demands no gratitude nor glory in return. ...
