ETHICS AND ALTRUISM 263 



the worst of offenses, a sin in comparison with which 

 murder, and adultery, are trivial. An Arab chief is 

 unable to see how a man can be contented with one 

 wife. But were they less moral for these beliefs? 

 There is no natural law regarding marriage customs. 

 These are made by the communities themselves, and 

 are based, in every community, like all human laws, 

 upon the idea of that, which will bind the community 

 together more strongly. 



If man does violate some unimportant requirements 

 of the natural code he will suffer only in proportion to 

 their importance. For instance, should he imprudently 

 expose his person to a draught he takes cold. If he eat 

 indigestible food, or drink intoxicants, his digestion is 

 upset. If he violate any social law, or legal enactment 

 he suffers accordingly. 



It is stated above that a natural code of ethics is 

 applicable to every place, and is therefore universal. 

 This means that the correspondence of the organism 

 with its environment, so as to conserve its welfare, 

 its preservation and its perpetuation, and strengthen 

 the bond of society, is the same principle, in one 

 place, as in another. This correspondence included, 

 of course, his fellow man, the peculiar form of society, 

 under which he lives, and the laws and customs of that 

 society. These vary with the locality, and with the 

 state of evolution of the intellect of the society, and 

 the individual; but the principle is everywhere the 

 same and always natural. Therefore, this principle is 

 a universal religion. That is man's normal intellectual 

 adjustment to his environment, narrow, or broad. It 

 will be altogether different in form in the United 

 States, from what it can among the natives in Central 

 Africa. 



