130 The Descent of Man. Part j. 



acquired by the progenitors of man m a similar manner, namely, 

 through natural selection, aided by inherited habit. When two 

 tribes of primeval man, living in the same country, came into 

 competition, if (other circumstances being equal) the one tribe 

 included a great number of courageous, sympathetic and faithful 

 members, who were always ready to warn each other of danger, 

 to aid and defend each other, this tribe would succeed better and 

 conquer the other. Let it be borne in mind how all-important 

 in the never-ceasing wars of savages, fidelity and courage must 

 be. The advantage which disciplined soldiers- have over undis- 

 ciplined hordes follows chiefly from the confidence which each 

 man feels in his comrades. Obedience, as Mr. Bagehot has w T elI 

 shewn, 5 is of the highest value, for any form of government is 

 better than none. Selfish and contentious people will not cohere, 

 and without coherence nothing can be effected. A tribe rich in 

 the above qualities would spread and be victorious over other 

 tribes : but in the course of time it would, judging from all past 

 history, be in its turn overcome by some other tribe still more 

 highly endowed. Thus the social and moral qualities would 

 tend slowly to advance and be diffused throughout the world. 



But it may be asked, how within the limits of the same tribe 

 did a large number of members first become endowed with these 

 social and moral qualities, and how was the standard of ex- 

 cellence raised ? It is extremely doubtful whether the offspring 

 of the more sympathetic and benevolent parents, or of those 

 who were the most faithful to their comrades, would be reared 

 in greater numbers than the children of selfish and treacherous 

 parents belonging to the same tribe. He wiio was ready to 

 sacrifice his life, as many a savage has been, rather than betray 

 his comrades, would often leave no offspring to inherit his noble 

 nature. The bravest men, who were always willing to come to 

 the front in war, and who freely risked their lives for others, 

 would on an average perish in larger numbers than other men. 

 Therefore it hardiy seems probable, that the number of men 

 gifted with such virtues, or that the standard of their excellence, 

 could be increased through natural selection, that is, by the 

 survival of the fittest ; for w<e are not here speaking of one tribe 

 being victorious over another. 



Although the circumstances, leading to an increase in the 

 number of those thus endowed within the same tribe, are too 

 complex to be clearly followed out, w 7 e can trace some of the 

 probable steps. In the first place, as the reasoning powers and 



3 See a remarkable series of arti- April 1, 1868 ; July 1, 1869, sJBc* 

 cles on ' Physics and Politics ' in the separate 'y published. 

 4 Fortnightly Review,' Nov. 1867; 



