"Not always intentionally."
"Well, not always, perhaps. But in the greatest and noblest enterprises, yes. And what is more, it is counted to a man an honour when he risks his life in a great cause. If you become a martyr for a great ideal I shall revere your memory."
Rufus winced, and looked uncomfortable. "I am not risking my life in the public interest," he said, "but in my own."
"It all amounts to the same thing," Muller said, cynically. "You are part of the public, and anything that benefits a part benefits, more or less, the whole. I am taking risks myself on the same chance of doing good."
"Doing good to whom?"
"To myself in the first place. Charity should always begin at home."
"And don't you think also that it should stop there?"
"Well, in the main, I do. I am no sentimentalist, as you very well know. Every man for himself is the first law of life."
"So while Nature sets no value on human life, you think that each individual should set great value on his own?"
"No, I don't. Everything depends on the individual, or on his circumstances. If a man thinks his life is worth preserving, well, let him preserve it by all means. But if he thinks it is worthless, why should he not let it slip?"