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By these means and hj these laws — and so far as 

 science can perceive none other have ever operated 

 or now operate — the earth, instead of remaining the 

 ahode of rude and savage tribes, becomes more and 

 more the home of intelligent and civilised men, capable 

 of appreciating its bounties and comprehending the 

 power, wisdom, and goodness by which it has been 

 instituted and sustained. The higher the ascent of 

 the human race, the more clearly will they perceive 

 their relations to external nature, to God, and to 

 their fellow-men ; and thus the gradual extinction of 

 the inferior varieties and the spread of the higher 

 become, under the operation of a great natural law, 

 one of the means by which the Creator is glorified in 

 his works, and man more and more blessed through 

 their development. As the ascensive varieties of 

 mankind perceive more clearly their relations to ex- 

 ternal nature — and it is only ia the higher varieties 

 that this perception manifests itself — the more will 

 they conform their conduct to the methods of nature, 

 thereby not only augmenting their own happiness, 

 but accelerating the ascensive progress of their suc- 

 cessors. The more fully that man understands his 

 relations to the God of nature — and the most bigoted 

 opponent of these views must admit that it is only 

 among the higher races that anything like rational 

 notions are entertained of a Creator — ^the purer will 



