ETHICS AND ALTRUISM 243 



preserves his normal correspondence with physical en- 

 vironment, and an attractive, not repelling, attitude to 

 his fellow men. But if they do not harmonize with the 

 environment, then they are evil, immoral, and the vio- 

 lator, as well as the violated, suffers some pain, or un- 

 happiness. 



The laws of nature, which are also those of evolution, 

 are unchangeable in their method ; therefore, man 's wel- 

 fare, his morality, consists in adapting himself to these 

 laws. This he cannot do without understanding them in 

 a scientific way. That is, by a knowledge shorn of all 

 its fanciful, and mystical aspects. 



The man who so controls his functions, as to meet all 

 the varying phases of climate, gravitation, sustentation, 

 etc., is not injured, but benefited by them. An indirect 

 benefit is, that the effort, the exertion, he thus makes, 

 develops him into a self-reliant and powerful organism. 

 Figuratively speaking, nature can make no mistakes, and 

 does absolutely right at all times. Everything it does 

 is not only absolutely right, but it does, in every in- 

 stance, that which is for the best and moral welfare of 

 man himself. Whoever is in normal attitude, toward 

 his environment, would not be wishing for rain when it 

 is dry, nor for cold weather when it is hot. He will be 

 perfectly satisfied with whatever comes, because he will 

 be in proper correspondence with it, and will know he 

 cannot change it. 



The difference in the moral codes of the world is de- 

 termined by these differences in intelligence. It is a 

 gradation of intelligence and morals from savagery to 

 civilization. That people who takes the correct view of 

 nature and her laws, has a higher code of morals, than 

 the people who takes an incorrect view. 



DEATH. A perfect man, if such an organism were 



