i66 APHORISMS AND REFLECTIONS 



It is, in fact, an anthropomorphic rendering of the 

 doctrine of evolution. 



It may be'so, but the evidence accessible to us is, 

 to my mind, wholly insufficient to warrant either 

 a positive or a negative conclusion. 



CCCLXVI 



It may be well to remember that the highest 

 level of moral aspiration recorded in history was 

 reached by a few ancient Jews — Micah, Isaiah, 

 and the rest — who took no count w^hatever of what 

 might or what might not happen to them after death. 

 It is not obvious to me why the same point should 

 not by and by be reached by the Gentiles. 



CCCLXVII 



Belief in majorities is not rooted in my breast, and 

 if all the world were against me the fact might warn 

 me to revise and criticise my opinions, but would not 

 in itself supply a ghost of a reason for forsaking them. 

 For myself I say deliberately, it is better to have a 

 millstone tied round the neck and be thrown into the 

 sea than to share the enterprises of those to whom 

 the world has turned, and will turn, because they 

 minister to its weaknesses and cover up the awful 

 realities which it shudders to look at. 



CCCLXVIII 



Moral duty consists in the observance of those rules 

 of conduct which contribute to the welfare of society, 

 and by implication, of the individuals who compose it. 



The end of society is peace and mutual protection, 

 so that the individual may reach the fullest and 

 highest life attainable by man. The rules of conduct 



