THE ARBITER OF ETHICS 241 



We shall therefore confine ourselves to the law of 

 evolution only so far as it relates to man. And let us 

 in the first place reject rigorously the sentimental 

 opinions of a class of writers who twist the laws of 

 nature into a kind of beneficial providence. The inex- 

 orable forces of nature teach us the survival of the 

 strong and the elimination of the weak; the fatal 

 progress of the inanimate universe riding over and 

 crushing whatever disobeys its laws, without hate but 

 without ruth, is not calculated to inspire an enlightened 

 and exclusive student of science to regard with con- 

 sideration this personification of nature as a type of 

 human love which would cherish the sick and teach 

 self-abnegation to the strong. 



Nor can we discover, during historic times, much 

 change in the physique or in the character of men. And 

 we are forced to agree with Huxley, who believed that 

 the laws of natural evolution ceased to be operative on 

 man when self -consciousness became developed in him. 

 In the prolegomena to Evolution and Ethics he intro- 

 duces a vivid picture in which he portrays natural 

 evolution of animals and plants as life in a forest. The 

 characteristic feature of this life is an intense and 

 unceasing competition in the struggle for existence. 

 In the untamed forest, the cosmic forces use unre- 

 stricted multiplication as their principal aid ; for every 

 violet or for every oak that grows, thousands die, 

 crushed without a compunction. There must be 



