Chap. Y. 
MORAL FACULTIES. 
163 
and still more highly endowed tribe. Thus the social 
and moral qualities would tend slowly to advance and 
be diffused throughout the world. 
But it may be asked, how within the limits of the 
same tribe did a large number of members first become 
endowed with these social and moral qualities, and 
how was the standard 1 of excellence raised ? It is 
extremely doubtful whether the offspring of the more 
sympathetic and benevolent parents, or of those which 
were the most faithful to their comrades, would be 
reared in greater number than the children of selfish 
and treacherous parents of the same tribe. He who 
was ready to sacrifice his life, as many a savage has 
been, rather than betray his comrades, would often leave 
no offspring to inherit his noble nature. The bravest 
men, who were always willing to come to the front in 
war, and who freely risked their lives for others, would 
on an average perish in larger number than other men. 
Therefore it seems scarcely possible (bearing in mind 
that v r e are not here speaking of one tribe being vic- 
torious over another) that the number of men gifted 
with such virtues, or that the standard of their excel- 
lence, could be increased through natural selection, that 
is, by the survival of the fittest. 
Although the circumstances which lead to an increase 
in the number of men thus endowed within the same 
tribe are too complex to be clearly followed out, w r e can 
trace some of the probable steps. In the first place, as 
the reasoning powers and foresight of the members 
became improved, each man would soon learn from 
experience that if he aided his fellow-men, he would 
commonly receive aid in return. From this low motive 
he might acquire the habit of aiding his fellows ; and 
the habit of performing benevolent actions certainly 
strengthens the feeling of sympathy, which gives the 
m 2 
