The Descent of Man 



As all men desire their own happiness, praise 

 or blame is bestowed on actions or m< 

 according as they lead to this end; and as 

 happiness is an essential part of the general 

 good the greatest-happiness principle indirectly 

 serves as a nearly safe standard of right and 

 wrong. As the reasoning powers advance and 

 experience is gained the remoter effects of cer- 

 tain lines of conduct on the character of the 

 individual and on the general good are per- 

 ceived; and then the self- regarding virtues come 

 within the scope of public opinion and receive 

 praise and their opposites blame. But with the 

 less civilized nations reason often errs, and 

 many bad customs and base superstitions come 

 within the same scope and are then esteemed as 

 high virtues and their breach as heavy crimes. 



The moral faculties are generally and justly 

 esteemed as of higher value than the intellectual 

 powers. But we should bear in mind that the 

 activity of the mind in vividly recalling past 

 impressions is one of the fundamental though 

 secondary bases of conscience. This affords 

 the strongest argument for educating and stimu- 

 lating in all possible ways the intellectual 

 faculties of every human being. No doubt, a 

 man with a torpid mind, if his social affections 

 and sympathies are well developed, will be led 

 to good actions and may have a fairly sensitive 

 conscience. But whatever renders the imagi- 

 nation more vivid and strengthens the habit 

 of recalling and comparing past impressions 

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