IN HIGHER PEOPLES 179 



pentance means merely regret for missed oppor- 

 tunities for crime. Robber}^ and murder make the 

 hero, and the more atrocious the crime the greater 

 the hero. ' ' 



Darwin calls conscience ^Hhe most noble of all 

 the instincts of man.'' It is the one instinct which 

 more than all others distinguishes man from the 

 other animals. Man can thru long cultivation of 

 his conscience acquire sucli perfect mastery of 

 himself that his desires and passions will ^-ield in- 

 stant and perfect obedience. The hungry man 

 will not think of stealing food, nor will the injured 

 man wreak vengeance — except in special cases. 

 In the Ideal Man, all other instincts are slaves to 

 the Imperial Instinct of Conscience — all appetites 

 are dumb ivlien Duty speaks. 



The desire for progress, both individual and 

 racial, is lacking in savages. Many savages are 

 today in the same condition as when first discov- 

 ered several centuries ago. We are apt to think of 

 progress as a natural condition of mankind, but 

 this is not true. The ancients did not even enter- 

 tain the idea. And even today large parts of 

 mankind show no desire whatever for the im- 

 provement of themselves, their customs, or their 

 institutions. Even among higher peoples the re- 

 former is often looked upon with suspicion as a 

 disturber of the peace. There is a fundamental 

 tendency in human nature to stand still, or, if not 

 to stand still, at least to go round and round. This 

 tendency is thoroughly dominant in the savage. 



