“I don’t believe in dreams,” he said. “Give me reality, and make up your mind. Above all things don’t be influenced against me by—well, you know. That’s where the danger lies, in my opinion, and you’ll be going under your character if you let sentiment and silliness and a barrow-load of other people’s children come between you and your duty to yourself—not to mention me. Because I warn you, Lydia, that the grand mistake you make is that you forget your duty to yourself. A lot of good Christians do that; though your duty to yourself is quite as much a part of righteousness as your duty to your neighbour. We’re told to love our neighbour as ourselves, I believe, not better. And there’s another side; by doing that woman’s work, and coming between her and the lawful consequences of that litter of children, you’re not doing her any good, but harm. You’re ruining her character, and helping her to live a lazy life. You’ve taught her and your brother to take you as an every-day creature, and all as much in the course of nature as their daily bread, whereas the truth is that you are that rare thing, an angel in the house, and your qualities are clean hidden from their stupid eyes. It’s making a couple naturally selfish, ten times more so; and that’s what you unselfish people bring about so often as not. You toil and moil and work your fingers to the bone doing your duty, as you think, when half the time you’re only doing somebody else’s duty. And what’s the result? You’re not even respected for it. You’re taken for granted—that’s all the reward you get—you’re taken for granted—never a nice thing at best. And I tell you that you’re up against justice to me and yourself, Lydia. For though we’ve not known each other a year yet, there’s that in our natures that belongs to each other. It would be a very proper thing to happen, and we should be teaching your brother’s family a very simple but valuable lesson, which is that to have anything for nothing in this world is robbery.” “All as true as true,” she answered. “I never find myself questioning your sense, and I quite admit there’s often nobody so properly selfish as your unselfish sort. I’ve seen them play the mischief with other people’s lives, and create a very mistaken state of security in other people’s houses.”