54 



MY LIFE 



IChap. 



"I look upon the doctrine of future rewards and punish- 

 ments as a motive to action to be radically bad, and as bad 

 for savages as for civilized men. I look upon it, above all, as 

 a bad preparation for a future state. I believe that the only 

 way to teach and to civilize, whether children or savages, is 

 through the influence of love and sympathy ; and the great 

 thing to teach them is to have the most absolute respect for 

 the rights of others, and to accustom them to receive pleasure 

 from the happiness of others. After this education of habit, 

 they should be taught the great laws of the universe and of 

 the human mind, and the precepts of morality must be placed 

 on their only sure foundation — the conviction that they 

 alone can guide mankind to the truest and most widespread 

 happiness. 



" I cannot see that the teaching of all this can be furthered 

 by the dogmas of any religion, and I do not believe that 

 those dogmas really have any effect in advancing morality in 

 one case out of a thousand. 



My article, by-the-bye, was considerably pruned, and I, 

 of course, think spoilt by the editor. 



" Yours very sincerely, 



"Alfred R. Wallace." 



In the year 1869 it was proposed to establish a scientific 

 weekly paper to serve as a record of progress for workers, to 

 furnish reviews of scientific books by specialists dealing with 

 them on their merits alone, to give reports of the meetings 

 of societies, and popular yet accurate accounts of all re- 

 markable new facts or theories of general interest. I took 

 part in the meetings at which the subject was discussed, 

 and undertook to contribute occasionally to its pages, and 

 for the next quarter of a century almost every volume of 

 NahLve, as the new periodical was called, contains either 

 reviews, letters, or articles from my pen. In the fifth issue 

 (December 2, 1869) there was an article on science reform, 

 giving an account of the report of a committee of the British 

 Association on a question suggested by a paper read by 

 Lieut.-Colonel Strange, entitled, " On the Necessity for State 



