Darwin s Ethical Theory. 191 



vation, hunger, etc.; and were they stronger, it is 

 not easy to see how they could ever have been 

 overpowered by the weaker. But &quot; the social in 

 stincts are ever present and persistent.&quot; And a 

 being with mental faculties as high as man s can 

 not avoid reflecting upon past actions and motives, 

 and comparing the satisfaction of hunger, ven 

 geance, etc., at other men s cost, with the almost 

 ever present instinct of sympathy, which &quot; forms 

 an essential part of the social instinct, and is in 

 deed its foundation-stone.&quot; !N~ow, such desires as 

 hunger, vengeance, and the like, are in their nat 

 ure of short duration ; and after being satisfied, 

 are not vividly recalled. Hence, when the images 

 of these past and now weakened impressions are 

 compared with the ever enduring social instincts, 

 and with public opinion, the thief, or avenger, will 

 feel as if he had been balked in following a pres 

 ent instinct or habit, and find himself the prey of 

 remorse, regret, or shame. 



It is not conscience, therefore, as popularly 

 understood, but only remorse, whose genesis Dar 

 win is really tracing. Does he succeed even in 

 this limited endeavor ? 



The plausibility of the deduction is due to the 

 assumption that &quot; the social instincts are ever, 

 present and persistent,&quot; while hunger, vengeance, 



