THE DOGMA OF EVOLUTION 



thought and character beyond those which were pos- 

 sessed by the more vigorous people of the earliest his- 

 torical times. A certain mechanical civilization has 

 been imposed upon them much as it has been imposed 

 upon the Negroes in the United States. But if we con- 

 sider real mental ability which consists in judging 

 what are the true and lasting benefits of life we must 

 agree with Spencer ; the average person cares only for 

 immediate and personal boons and cannot restrain his 

 appetites or know whether what he seeks is really for 

 the benefit of himself and of his race. 



As for the facts and laws of morality, it is conceded 

 that they have been known for thousands of years. It 

 is also true that the very highest communities have 

 not been able to attain to these standards or to make 

 them operative. These laws were given to us by men 

 who, so far as scientific power and knowledge are con- 

 cerned, were unenlightened barbarians. They have 

 been reiterated from time to time since the days of 

 Hammurabi and yet the best of our contemporaries 

 would be content to have lived according to their pre- 

 cepts. Europe is even now plunged in a state of fear, 

 hatred, and envy which could not be surpassed at any 

 time in its history however far backwards it might be 

 traced. Thus moral progress is not coincident with 

 scientific achievement or even causally related to it. 

 If morals were merely an adaptation to our environ- 

 ment as some have believed, or if they were conven- 

 tions of society, then they should rise and fall with 



t: 368 3 



