216 The Bible of Nature 



the naturalists are right who point out that what we 

 may call "crime" does not flourish in Nature, ex- 

 cept in a few rare cases such as that of the cuckoo ; 

 that it is the law of the forest that certain conven- 

 tions of mutual regard be observed (during hunting 

 at least even the wolves of the pack must forget 

 their private quarrels); and that the reward of 

 great success attends those creatures that excel 

 in sociality, such as the ants and the bees, the 

 rooks and the cranes, the beavers and the monkeys. 

 That man has almost exterminated the beaver 

 does not affect this argument. 



Besides, we should remember that what corre- 

 sponds to virtue in Man is in great measure neces- 

 sarily represented simply by vigor among animals, 

 and that here Nature's verdict is clear. Disease 

 is very rare unless man interferes. To say that 

 well-doing has only as much natural sanction as 

 ill-doing seems like saying that disease has as 

 much natural sanction as health. On the con- 

 trary, it has so little that in extra-human condi- 

 tions^ diseased organisms are in most cases 

 rapidly eliminated. Nature's verdict is quite 

 clear. 



(4) In general terms. Nature's method of or- 



* Professor Ray Lankester points out that almost the 

 only case of a persistent microbic disease among animals 

 in a state of nature is that of the phosphorescent sand- 

 hoppers on the French coast; and perhaps even this is due 

 to some human interference with their environment. 



