[Unlike some of the other of Help's epigrammatic statements I've added to the Victorian Web, this one is part (in this case one half) of a longer mini-essay. — George P. Landow.
elfishness, when it is punished by the
world, is mostly punished because it is connected with egotism. A man may help himself
to an exorbitant portion of the good things of
this life, if he will only keep quiet about it, and
not obtrude himself upon people's notice. The
cat takes the best place in the room, and nobody
grudges it to her, because her purring satisfaction is not loudly obtruded on the company.
But to bask like a cat in the warmest place, and
scream like a parrot in its cage, will never do.
It is not by any means, of necessity, that selfishness and egotism are combined: they are two distinct qualities. But frequently they run into one another; and then selfishness is liable to be punished for the faults of its noisy mate. [176-77]
Bibliography
[Helps, Sir Arthur]. Brevia: Short Essays and Aphorisms by the Author of “Friends in Council”. Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1871. The reverse of the title page has the following: “Chiswick Press: — printed by Whittingham and Wilkins, Tooks Court, Chancery Lane [London].”
Last modified 5 December 2011