206 DARWINISM STATED BY DARWIN HIMSELF. 



man will not think of stealing food, or of wreaking his 

 vengeance. It is possible, or, as we shall hereafter see, 

 even probable, that the habit of self-command may, like 

 other habits, be inherited. Thus at last man comes to 

 feel, through acquired and perhaps inherited habit, that 

 it is best for him to obey his more persistent impulses. 

 The imperious word ought seems merely to imply the 

 consciousness of the existence of a rule of conduct, how- 

 ever it may have originated. Formerly it must have been 

 often vehemently urged that an insulted gentleman ought 

 to fight a duel. We even say that a pointer ought to 

 point, and a retriever to retrieve game. If they fail to 

 do so, they fail in their duty and act wrongly. 



If any desire or instinct leading to an action opposed 

 to the good of others still appears, when recalled to mind, 

 as strong as, or stronger than, the social instinct, a man 

 will feel no keen regret at having followed it ; but he will 

 be conscious that, if his conduct were known to his fel- 

 lows, it would meet with their disapprobation ; and few 

 are so destitute of sympathy as not to feel discomfort 

 when this is realized. If he has no such sympathy, and 

 if his desires leading to bad actions are at the time strong, 

 and when recalled are not overmastered by the persistent 

 social instincts and the judgment of others, then he is 

 essentially a bad man ; and the sole restraining motive 

 left is the fear of punishment, and the conviction that 

 in the long run it would be best for his own selfish inter- 

 ests to regard the good of others rather than his own. 



It is obvious that every one may with an easy con- 

 science gratify his own desires, if they do not interfere 

 with his social instincts, that is, with the good of others ; 

 but in order to be quite free from self-reproach, or at least 

 of anxiety, it is almost necessary for him to avoid the 

 disapprobation, whether reasonable or not, of his fellow- 



