CH. I EGOISTIC NATUEALISM 131

and thus there arises " a perpetual and restless desire
of power after power that ceaseth only in death." *
This desire for power is not original or primitive ; it
is derived from the fundamental desires for self-
preservation and self - gratification, the former being
generally the stronger. When it is recognised that
my desires coniiict with those of other persons, there
grows the secondary desire to control the actions of
other persons. Since the means of gratifying a great
many future desires are intrinsically more valuable
than the actual gratification of any single desire, the
Love of Power becomes the chief regulating principle
of ethical judgments. It is at the root of all our
admiration for " Virtue,'' which is defined as any
highly esteemed quality that gives a man social
eminence and sets him above his fellows. All
mental qualities and possessions are estimated by the
degree in which they gratify or oppose this passion.
