290 Darwin's Theory of Social Progress 



to the lower animals is disputed by no one, were no 

 doubt acquired by the progenitors of man in a similar 

 manner, namely, through natural selection, aided 

 by inherited_habit.^ \ 



Darwin then proceeds to explain how, in response 

 to the need for promoting the welfare of the tribe, 

 the social virtues of truth, self-sacrifice, self- 

 command, and the power of endurance are 

 developed : 



There cannot be fidelity without truth; and this 

 fundamental virtue is not rare between the members 

 of the same tribe: thus Mungo Park heard the negro 

 women teaching their young children to love the 

 truth. This, again, is one of the virtues which becomes 

 so deeply rooted in the mind that it is sometimes 

 practised by savages, even at a high cost, toward 

 strangers; but to lie to your enemy has rarely been 

 thought a sin, as the history of modern diplomacy too 

 plainly shows. As soon as a tribe has a recognized 

 leader, disobedience becomes a crime, and even abject 

 submission is looked at as a sacred virtue. 



As during rude times no man can be useful or 

 faithful to his tribe without courage, this quality has 

 universally been placed in the highest rank; and 

 although in civilized countries a good yet timid man 

 may be far more useful to the community than a 

 brave one, we cannot help instinctively honouring the 

 latter above a coward, however benevolent. Prudence 

 on the other hand, which does not concern the welfare 

 of others, though a very useful virtue, has never been 



* The Descent of Man, p. 145. 



