BARON CUVIER. 1^7 



that which you would not they should do unto 

 you ; and do to others as you would they should 

 do unto you. These are very simple rules, to 

 be comprehended even by children, and recog- 

 nised by them as equitable and necessary ; they 

 are the foundation of all morality, and why are 

 they not always followed ? It is because we are 

 blinded by our passions, our inclinations, and 

 our interests. We have just said that God has 

 given us the feeling of love towards our neigh- 

 bours, but he has also given us a love for our- 

 selves, for our own preservation ; this sentiment 

 is not less natural than the other, and is not 

 wrong, because it is necessary; it even teaches 

 us several virtues, such as temperance for the 

 sake of health, prudence to avoid danger, and 

 couraire for the means of extricatins; ourselves 

 from difficulty. God tells us to love our neigh- 

 bour as ourselves, that is, to tell us to love our- 

 selves ; but when this love of self is carried to 

 excess, then it is that it merits the odious ap- 

 pellation of egotism ; tlien it prompts us to sa- 

 crifice others to ourselves, to wisii to enrich 

 ourselves by their losses, to reckon others as no- 

 thing when our own satisfaction is concerned ; 

 then does it become a guilty feeling ; then does 

 it lead us to injustice and crime. It is even sad 



