Justice in Death 93 



And as man impresses the brutes with his standards raised 

 alongside those of nature, so he impresses his own kind. In 

 fact humanity is, toward individual man part of the environ- 

 ment; a fraction of surrounding nature, just as it is toward 

 the brutes and just as it was toward the lowest life. These 

 are unaware of the interference, while man sees environ- 

 ment modified, in kinship, and humanity, and moral obliga- 

 tion, and perceives its meaning in part, although still in a 

 very small part. 



The function of death as a way of removal of less suitable 

 creatures, and as a means of making room for others, is not 

 however, recklessly used by nature. When a race, whether 

 of humanity or of brutes, has achieved a fair occupation of 

 a certain place; and when opportunity and conditions re- 

 main substantially settled, and free from liability to great 

 destruction by enemies or accidents, there seems to be a 

 general tendency to avoid this lavish expense of reproduc- 

 tive effort. It seems to be endured as long as it affords 

 escape from evils ; but it is not practised as of any virtue in 

 itself. 



Some creatures enjoy safety or partial safety; while others 

 of the same race suffer terrific drain upon their populations, 

 inflicted by predatory animals, or by parasites, or by diseases. 

 These favored creatures are enabled or allowed to maintain 

 their numbers in proper relation to their space and food 

 supply, without any such expenditure or sacrifice. As soon 

 as their increase fills the territory and their life becomes 

 equal to the opportunity, then reproduction is discouraged 

 and lessened and a balance of population is reached with a 

 lesser output, proportioned to the lesser opportunity. At the 



