MORAL MERIT. 187 



praise are apparently ignorant of the dilemma in which they 

 place themselves by all such futile efforts to distinguish the 

 lower animals morally or mentally from man. In so far 

 as they make good their case against other animals and it 

 is quite easy to make out a good case, seeing that there is so 

 much, on the one hand, that can never be proved, and, on the 

 other, that can never be disproved they make out an equally 

 good case against countless numbers of their fellow-men. For 

 the general scope of the present work is to show how superior 

 certain animals are to whole races or classes of mankind, 

 both morally and mentally, and how essentially alike moral 

 and mental influences and operations are in man and other 

 animals. 



Even in man, and in regard to the display of some of his 

 supposed highest moral virtues, it is difficult, if not impossible, 

 always to determine the presence or degree of moral merit. 

 Thus self-devotion may be the result of free choice, of mere 

 custom, of imitation, of impulse, of compliance with the 

 inevitable that is, of compulsion (Houzeau) . In other words, 

 self-sacrifice is not, even in man, necessarily associated with 

 moral merit of any kind or degree. The man or woman who 

 commits impulsively what is called a heroic act of self-sacrifice 

 may have done so without prior consideration as to the nature 

 of the act, without reflection as to its results, without delibera- 

 tion. In all probability reflection, deliberation, or considera- 

 tion would have deterred, not incited, to action ; would have 

 begotten a selfish over-cautiousness rather than a generous, 

 uncalculating rashness. 



It is an act of self-sacrifice on the part of a female ant 

 when she destroys the means of coition in order to devote 

 herself to the rearing of the young of other individuals of the 

 species. It is impossible, however, in such a case to prove 

 the presence or operation of consciousness, or knowledge on 

 her part, of the nature and object of her act of intention or 

 purpose, of choice of celibacy, of reasoning or reflection, of 

 moral merit. The phenomenon requires thorough investigation 

 to determine whether, in the first place, for instance, it is 

 common to all the females of a certain rank or caste (Houzeau). 

 The sacrifice of individuals for the general or public good in 



