THE EVOLUTION OF THE MORAL SENSE 109 



been an instinct, and hence due to organic inherit- 

 ance. But when primitive man began to yield to the 

 impulse to obey there began to be exerted upon him 

 external forces urging obedience, and thus social 

 inheritance began to exert its influence in molding 

 him. Furthermore, since this pressure came from 

 without, it inevitably grew to extend beyond the 

 limits of the family as soon as the family became a 

 member of a clan or tribe. The individual first 

 learned to obey the family head, resenting the inter- 

 ference of outsiders. But, as the tribe developed 

 customs which served to keep the peace between fam- 

 ilies, the individual would inevitably feel the same 

 influence impelling him to obey tribal customs. If 

 his family had decided to accept a payment for a 

 murder instead of adopting the more primitive 

 method of retaliation, there would be exerted upon 

 the individual a most powerful tribal influence com- 

 pelling him to adhere to the family agreement. The 

 same feeling of authority impelling obedience would 

 be felt, and in time the simple agreements which 

 were entered into by families to preserve themselves 

 against their common enemies would receive the 

 same sanction that had been at first given to the 

 family relations. Since he felt himself forced to 

 obey all these customs, the individual would inevit- 

 ably in time develop a sense of obligation, that is, 

 duty, in connection with them. Hence would arise 

 the impulse to obey public law which would, however, 

 always be less keen than the impulses to obey family 

 rules, because they would be less frequent of appli- 

 cation and less remote from his daily life, besides 

 having been acquired at a later period in his life than 

 that at which he had developed his ideas of family 



