184 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



A falling stone crushes both the honest man and the scamp ! A bird 

 goes out to find food for its young, and after long search is returning 

 to its nest with its well-earned gains, when an eagle, the despot of the 

 air, swoops down and steals the food ; we think this iniquitous and 

 odious, and would not tolerate such an instance amongst us. Vigorous 

 Cain kills gentle Abel. Right and justice protest. They should not do 

 so, for it is the mere putting in practice " of the purifying process by 

 which nature weeds out the least powerful and prevents the vitiation 

 of the race by the multiplication of its inferior samples." Helvetius 

 admirably defines, for its condemnation, this Darwinian law which 

 Herbert Spencer would have society accept : 



"The savage says to those who are weaker than himself: Look up to the 

 skies and you see the eagle swooping down on the dove ; cast your eyes on the 

 earth and you see the lion tearing to pieces the stag or the antelope ; while in 

 the depths of the ocean small fishes are destroyed hy sharks. The whole of 

 nature announces that the weak must be the prey of the strong. Strength is a 

 gift of the gods. Through it I become possessor of all it is in my power to cap- 

 ture." ("De l'Homme," iv. 8.) 



The constant effort of moralists and legislators has been to replace 

 the reign of might by a reign of justice. As Bacon says, In socie- 

 tate aut vis end lex viget. The object is to subject men's actions more 

 and more to the empire of the law, and that the law should be more 

 and more in conformity with equity. Society has ever been, and still 

 is, to a great extent, too much a reflection of nature. Violations of 

 justice are numerous, and, if these are to be put a stop to, we must 

 oppose ourselves still more to the laws of nature, instead of contem- 

 plating their re-establishment. 



This is why Christianity, which is an ardent aspiration after jus- 

 tice, is in real accordance with true science. In the book of Job the 

 problem is tragically proposed. The unjust are equally happy with the 

 just, and, as in nature, the strong live at the cost of the weak. Right 

 protests against this, and the voice of the poor is raised against their 

 oppressors. Listen. What deep thought is contained in the follow- 

 ing passage ! " Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are 

 mighty in power ? Their seed is established in their sight with them, 

 and their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, 

 neither is the rod of God upon them." (Job xxi. 7-9). " Some remove 

 land-marks ; they violently take away flocks and feed thereof. They 

 cause him to go naked without clothing, and they take away the sheaf 

 from the hungry ; which make oil within their walls, and tread their 

 wine-presses, and suffer thirst" (Job xxiv. 2, 10, 11). 



The prophets of Israel raised an eloquent protest against the evils 

 then reigning in society, and announced that a time should come when 

 justice would be established upon the earth. These hopes of a Mes- 

 siah were expressed in such precise terms that they may serve as a 



