102 THE DESCENT OF MAN. [Part! 



tution " — with the aid of active intellectual powers and 

 the effects of habit, naturally lead to the golden rule, "As 

 ye would that men should do to you, do ye to them like- 

 wise ; " and this lies at the foundation of morality. 



In a future chapter I shall make some few remarks on 

 the probable steps and means by which the several mental 

 and moral faculties of man have been gradually evolved. 

 That this at least is possible ought not to be denied, when 

 we daily see their development in every infant ; and when 

 we may trace a perfect gradation from the mind of an 

 utter idiot, lower than that of the lowest animal, to the 

 mind of a Newton. 



89 'The Thoughts of Marcus Aurelius,' etc., p. 139. 



