262 UNIVERSAL EVOLUTION 



from the inquisition, and the holy wars, to the present 

 day conception of natural evolution, the reign of 

 cosmical law, that never changes ; tolerance of opinion ; 

 the freedom of religious views, and the evident 

 tendency of all countries toward peace, and good will. 

 THE UNIVERSAL APPLICATION OF NATURAL ETHICS. 

 This natural generalization of morality, viz., man's 

 normal adjustment to his environment, is appliable to 

 every condition and to every spot on the globe. It is a 

 universal method of religion. There will, of course, be 

 a certain local peculiarity, as said before, in the environ- 

 ment of every people, and in the greater, or lesser, de- 

 velopment of intellect, that will make the natural moral- 

 ity of individual correspondence with such environment, 

 different from that of other localities. But, men every- 

 where of equal development of intellect, and acquire- 

 ments of scientific knowledge, will, as a class be equally 

 naturally moral. The principle of conformity to natural 

 law, as the true basis of ethics, is not affected by these 

 local phases. The principle is really the Golden Rule, 

 "Do unto others as you would have others do to you." 

 Man's normal adjustment to his fellow man, as part of 

 his environment, could mean nothing else. This is a 

 normal adjustment of man to his fellow man. It is 

 just as moral for the East Indian to worship Buddha, 

 as it is for the Jews to worship Jahveh. The Golden 

 Rule is moral to both, and is common to both, because 

 it is a general principle, that should govern people 

 everywhere. Whoever conscientiously conforms to the 

 laws and customs of his tribe, or country, or locality is 

 in normal adjustment to his environment, and is moral. 

 His conscience has evolved in that mode, and regulates 

 his morality, because it is a creation of the locality. 

 Some Mohammedan tribes consider smoking, as one of 



