32 EVOLUTION AND ETHICS I 



duct ; however confident one may be that average 

 men may be thoroughly depended upon not to 

 carry it out to its full logical consequences ; it 

 is nevertheless desirable to recognise the fact 



, that these consequences are incompatible with 



? the existence of a civil state, under any circum- 

 stances of this world which have obtained, or, 



1 so far as one can see, are, likely to come to 



^ pass. 



For I imagine there can be no doubt that thi- 

 great desire of every wrongdoer is to escape from 

 the painful consequences of his actions. If I put 

 myself in the place of the man who has robbed me, 

 I find that I am possessed by an exceeding desire 

 not to be fined or imprisoned ; if in that of the 

 man who has smitten me on one cheek, I contem- 

 plate with satisfaction the absence of any worse 

 result than the turning of the other cheek for like 

 treatment. Strictly observed, the " golden rule " 

 involves the negation of law by the refusal to put it 

 in motion against law-breakers ; and, as regards 

 the external relations of a polity, it is the refusal 

 to continue the struggle for existence. It can be 

 .obeyed, even partially, only under the protection of 

 Na society which repudiates it. Without such 



V shelter, the followers of the " golden rule " may in- 

 dulge in hopes of heaven, but they must reckon 

 with the certainty that other people will be 

 'masters of the earth. 



What would become of the garden if the gar- 



