124 MORALS. 



The three faculties of man the mental, moral, and 

 physical although not always keeping exactly in step, 

 began life together in a small way, and have continued 

 to live and advance together within one skin, and on 

 fairly equal terms. 



Moral science, although based on the wide under- 

 lying science of physiology, is open to the investigation 

 of all. Men have indeed elucidated sciences as complex 

 as moral science, and practised arts as difficult as the 

 moral art. The importance and universality of moral 

 science and art are no doubt incomparably greater ; 

 but just as the science of grammar consists of infer- 

 ences or laws drawn from the methods of speech of the 

 best speakers speakers endowed with fine intellectual 

 nerve ; and, furthermore, as the art of grammar is the 

 application of these laws to daily speech so, in like 

 manner, is the science of morals a body of inferences 

 or laws drawn from the moral conduct of the best- 

 conducted men men endowed with fine moral nerve. 

 The art of morals is nothing more than the application 

 of these laws to all those actions of life which relate to 

 right and wrong. 



It is sometimes objected by those who, too frequently, 

 permit predilection to tamper with veracity, that to 

 place immorality and crime on a physiological basis is 

 to regard the criminal as an irresponsible agent, and 

 the punishment of crime as a useless and an unjust 

 proceeding. But, assuming the physiological basis to 

 be the true basis, is the inference a correct inference ? 

 May it not be that, taking a large view, and ascribing 

 all mental, moral, and bodily phenomena primarily to 

 nerve states, we may contrive physiological methods of 

 repressing crime which shall be more efficient than 

 current methods born of ancient ignorance and modern 



