66 EVOLUTION AND MAN S PLACE IN NATURE 



of all kinds. The artist will say wisely : I fall back 

 on this truth, that, after all, the greatest thing about 

 a picture is its conception the thought of it. 1 Man 

 is master of action and of circumstances, as the animal 

 never is. This Socrates taught, long years before the 

 Christian era, when he urged his lesson, Know thy 

 self. This Carlyle also saw and said, even when in 

 his own scornful way he was protesting against the 

 Socratic maxim, and at the same time proclaiming that 

 there are depths in human nature lying far beyond 

 reach of our sounding-lines. &quot;Know thyself!&quot; long 

 enough has that poor &quot;self&quot; of thine tormented thee; 

 thou wilt never get to &quot; know &quot; it, I believe ! Think it 

 not thy business, this of knowing thyself. Thou art an 

 unknowable individual ; know what thou canst work 

 at, and work at it like a Hercules. That will be thy 

 better plan. It has been written, &quot; an endless signi 

 ficance lies in work&quot; ; a man perfects himself by work 

 ing. 2 Even the common knowledge of ourselves 

 implied in direction of our daily conduct, may suffice 

 to guard against the fallacy of interpreting man s 

 work by reference exclusively to the functions of 

 organism. Organism is mechanism ; man is more 

 than a machine. Even if our greatest happiness be 

 made the basis of preference, it requires a conception 

 of our good on the whole, if we are to gain it. Hence 

 the force of J. S. Mill s words : It is better to be 

 Socrates dissatisfied than a pig satisfied. 3 Food, 

 drink, and sleep do not include the requirements of 

 our life; do not provide for its enjoyment; do not 



1 Life and Letters of James Smetham, p. 128. 



2 Past and Present, Bk. in. ch. xi. 



3 Utilitarianism, p. 11. 



