148 THE DESCENT OF MAN. 



with these social and moral qualities, and how was the 

 standard of excellence raised? It is extremely doubtful 

 whether the offspring of the more sympathetic and benevo- 

 lent 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 who 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 hardly seems probable, that the number 

 of men gifted with such virtues, or that the standard of 

 their excellence could be increased through natural selec- 

 tion, that is, by the survival of the fittest ; for we 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 we can trace 

 some of the probable steps. Jn^ilie first place, as the rea- 

 soning powers and foresight of the members became im- 

 proved, each man would soon learn that if he aided hi^ 

 fellow-men he would commonly receive aid in return. 

 I From this Ioav motive he might acquire the habit of aiding 

 I his fellows; and the habit of performing benevolent actions 

 certainly strengthens the feeling of sympathy which gives 

 the first impulse to benevolent actions. Habits, more- 

 over, followed during many generations probably tend to 

 be inherited. 



But another and much more powerful stimulus to the 

 development of the social virtues is afforded by the praise 

 and the blame of our fellow-men. To the instinct of 

 sympathy, as we have already seen, it is primarily due that 

 we habitually bestow both praise and blame on others, 

 while we love the former and dread the latter when applied 

 to ourselves; and this instinct no doubt was originally 

 acquired, like all the other social instincts, through nat- 

 ural selection. At how early a period the progenitors of 

 man in the course of their development became capable of 

 feeling and being impelled by the praise or blame of their 

 fellow-creatures we cannot of course say. But it appears 

 that even dogs appreciate encouragement, praise, and 





