28 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



III. Human Justice. — The contents of the last chapter fore- 

 shadow the contents of this. As, from the evolution point of 

 view, human life must be regarded as a further development of 

 sub-human life, it follows that from this same point of view, hu- 

 man justice must be a further development of sub-human justice. 

 For convenience the two are here separately treated, but they 

 are essentially of the same nature, and form parts of a continuous 

 whole. 



Of man, as of all inferior creatures, the law by conformity to 

 which the species is preserved is that among adults the individu- 

 als best adapted to the conditions of their existence shall prosper 

 most, and that individuals least adapted to the conditions of their 

 existence shall prosper least — a law which, if uninterfered with, 

 entails survival of the fittest, and spread of the most adapted 

 varieties. And as before so here, we see that, ethically consid- 

 ered, this law implies that each individual ought to receive the 

 benefits and the evils of his own nature and consequent conduct : 

 neither being prevented from having whatever good his actions 

 normally bring to him, nor allowed to shoulder off on to other 

 persons whatever ill is brought to him by his actions. 



To what extent such ill, naturally following from his actions, 

 may be voluntarily borne by other persons, it does not concern us 

 now to inquire. The qualifying effects of pity, mercy, and gen- 

 erosity, will be considered hereafter in the parts dealing with 

 Xegative Beneficence and Positive Beneficence. Here we are con- 

 cerned only with pure justice. 



The law thus originating, and thus ethically expressed, is ob- 

 viously that which commends itself to the common apprehen- 

 sion as just. Sayings and criticisms daily heard imply a percep- 

 tion that conduct and consequence ought not to be dissociated. 

 When, of some one who suffers a disaster, it is said — u He has no 

 one to blame but himself/' there is implied the belief that he has 

 not any ground for complaint. The comment on one whose mis- 

 judgment or misbehavior has entailed evil upon him, that " he 

 has made his own bed, and now he must lie in it," has behind it 

 the conviction that this connection of cause and effect is proper. 

 Similarly with the remark — " He got no more than he deserved." 

 A kindred conviction is implied when, conversely, there results 

 good instead of evil. " He has fairly earned his reward " ; " He 

 has not received due recompense"; are remarks indicating the 

 consciousness that there should be a proportion between effort put 

 forth and advantage achieved. 



The truth that justice becomes more pronounced as organiza- 

 tion becomes higher, which we contemplated in the last chapter, 

 is further exemplified on passing from sub-human justice to 



