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diff --git a/43618-8.txt b/43618-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 3559154..0000000 --- a/43618-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3726 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Human Life, by Sherwood Sweet Knight - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Human Life - -Author: Sherwood Sweet Knight - -Release Date: September 1, 2013 [EBook #43618] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HUMAN LIFE *** - - - - -Produced by eagkw, Greg Bergquist and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - HUMAN LIFE - - BY - S. S. KNIGHT - - [Illustration] - - NEW YORK - R. F. FENNO & COMPANY - 18 EAST 17TH STREET - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1910, - BY S. S. KNIGHT - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - I. THE HABITAT OF MAN 9 - II. THE LENGTH OF TIME DURING WHICH MAN HAS EXISTED 29 - III. THE PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS OF EXISTENCE 56 - IV. THE PURPOSE OF LIFE 76 - V. KNOWLEDGE AND EDUCATION 99 - VI. RELIGION AND ETHICS 120 - VII. LOVE 156 - VIII. PROBLEMS OF THE FUTURE 180 - - - - -DEDICATION - - -This volume is dedicated to my Mother and my Wife--the two women whose -influence has most largely shaped my life, and whose companionship -has afforded me so much happiness. It was written with the hope that -it might be of value to my two children, and may they find as much -happiness in life as has the author. - - - - -HUMAN LIFE - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE HABITAT OF MAN - - -In reviewing the facts concerning humanity, which are well -authenticated at the present date, with the object of getting a -composite view of the greatest of all "world riddles"--"Life"--possibly -nothing tends so largely to expand our mental horizon as a study of -the earth itself or man's place of abode. The ideas of the educated -and cultured mind, at the beginning of the twentieth century, upon -cosmogony, are necessarily of such a character that man's heretofore -undisputed boast of being the objective and acme of creation or -evolution is forced into that great mass of theories which science has -proven to be absolutely untenable. Since the relative importance of the -factors of heredity and adaptation has become known, the environment, -or conditions surrounding man's existence in times past, is of -exceptional importance, as, from an understanding of these prehistoric -limitations, we are better able to judge what must have been the -achievement of the individual and the race than we could be when in -ignorance of these facts. - -The length of prehistoric time (so far as our earth is concerned) has -been the subject of much intelligent labor and thought, as well as -the occasion for much dissenting of opinion and more or less designed -misstatement. Until very recently, it has been difficult to reconcile -the theories, as promulgated by the authorities in the various -departments of science; but, notwithstanding this, some light may be -obtained by the summarization of the most plausible hypotheses now -advocated. We cannot take the space to go into detail concerning these, -but will merely touch upon the most salient points. - -The constancy of the supply of heat furnished by the sun and the -division of the year into definite seasons was one of the first -phenomena which attracted the attention of man at the dawn of history, -and in the many accounts of the creation which we find in literature -we see the feeble attempts of man to account for what he observed. -Although the knowledge which we have at the present time is not -complete enough to warrant any feeling of pride, yet we do know enough -to say, with certainty, some things concerning the solar system. We -know that our sun cannot forever radiate away its heat into space -without sometime becoming as cold or colder than we are, unless the -energy which it is losing in the form of heat be restored to it by some -means not at this time known. Sir William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) has -calculated that at the present rate of solar radiation, which amounts -to about twenty-eight calories per minute, per square centimeter, at -the distance of the mean radius of the earth's orbit, it would have -taken somewhat more than fifteen million years for the heat generated -by the contraction of the sun's mass from the orbit of the outer -planet, Neptune, to its present size, to have been radiated away into -space. This means that gravity, as a source of heat development, at the -rate of solar radiation now known, would account for, perhaps, twenty -million years' expenditure of energy in reducing the sun's diameter to -but one-thirteen-thousandth part of what it once was. Not only does -the nebular hypothesis fall short of accounting for the facts, as will -subsequently be shown in this one particular of the length of time -during which our solar system has existed, but it does not account for -the variation in the obliquity of the poles of the planets, which are -the attendants upon the sun; nor does gravitative attraction alone -enable us to account for the tremendous velocities of some of the stars -through space, such as Arcturus,--so that it may be safely assumed that -we shall be forced to modify our ideas as to the value of the nebular -hypothesis as a working basis, before we can harmonize our deductions -from astronomical and geological grounds. Fortunately, the study of -the spiral nebulæ has done much to elucidate our conceptions of the -formation of the planetary systems, and from the discoveries made -concerning these highly attenuated bodies of matter, a new hypothesis -has been formed which will completely harmonize, perhaps, with these -above stated facts, which could not be made to accord with the nebular -theory as previously held. - -One source of the continued acquisition of energy by our sun, whose -value is hard to estimate, is the shooting stars, or meteors, which -constantly fall into it. Astronomical records show that, from the earth -alone, no less than twenty million shooting stars are daily within -the limits of vision, and inasmuch as the solar system is moving with -a velocity of some twenty miles per second through space, it will be -seen that the number of meteors which would come within the influence -of the sun, being as it is about one and one-third million times the -volume of the earth, would be practically infinite. What then must be -said of the amount of energy acquired by the sun from these, although -each meteor may have a mass of but a few grams, and perhaps may be -only several hundred miles away from its successor? It is clearly -demonstrated that, if no such additions of energy were received by -our sun, in about ten million years its diameter would be reduced to -one-half of what it is now, and its mass, where now it exists as a gas, -would then become a solid, at least upon the surface, and the quantity -of heat received by the earth would become so small that life here, as -we know of it, would be an impossibility. But if it be granted that the -sun annually gathers, by its gravitative attraction, a combined mass -of matter equal to the one-hundredth part of our earth, at a distance -away from its center equal to the main radius of the earth's orbit, the -energy dissipated by its radiation of heat at its present rate would be -accounted for, while the sensible heat of the sun would not diminish, -and the supply would be kept up indefinitely. That such additions of -mass are made, there can be no doubt, but as to their quantity, we -cannot, with our present knowledge, even hazard a guess. - -In speaking of the solar heat and man's dependence upon it in a -constant definite quantity, as one of the conditions of his existence, -perhaps it will give us some just appreciation of his place in nature -when we consider that the earth receives somewhat less than one -two-billionth part of the heat radiated away by the sun, and while -this expression makes the quantity which we receive seem rather small, -it is, nevertheless, large enough annually to melt a layer of ice one -hundred and seventy-five feet thick--all over the surface of the earth, -and is a little more than one six-thousandth part of the quantity of -heat which would be generated by the burning of a mass of coal as large -as the sun. - -The researches of Halley and Adams have shown that from some cause, -probably the result of gravity acting in conjunction with the varying -eccentricity of the earth's orbit, the motion of the moon has been -slightly accelerated as time went on, while the diurnal motion of the -earth has been reduced by the action of the tides, and that the amount -of this loss, in time, is equal to about one second in the length of -our day, in 168,000 years. Now, this retardation in the earth's motion -has not taken place at a uniform rate if caused by the reaction of the -tides, as the nearer to the earth the moon was, the greater would be -the tides, and, consequently, the greater would be the reaction; -_i. e._, the retardation. But assuming that this retardation took -place, on the whole, at twice the rate now prevailing, we would still -have a period of six million years since the moon was thrown off by the -earth, when our days were but three hours long. - -Turning from the theories of astronomy, which are obviously more or -less inaccurate, owing to their very nature and the character and -duration of the observations upon which they are based, we come to -the nearer and more certain deductions of geology. Here we have the -phenomena of denudation and deposition with which to deal, and inasmuch -as these are measurable at many places, and under many conditions -upon the earth to-day, it is safe to assume that computations made -from these measurements cannot be far from the truth. We know that -practically all of the great formations of the earth were depositions -of material from water which contained them, and that, in many -cases, heat caused these strata to be metamorphosed or crystallized -ages after they were deposited, and that in this crystallization -many of the fossils remaining imbedded in the deposited matter were -destroyed. Concerning this deposition we know that it is going on -to-day in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, where, in the deeper -portions the Globigerina ooze is filling in these depressions with a -deposit, resembling chalk, at the rate of perhaps an inch per century. -We know that the Gulf of Mexico and several other ocean areas are -being filled in with silt at the rate of as high as three inches -per century. This silt is brought down in the tributary rivers and -emptied into the gulfs. We also know that large areas in the Indian -Ocean are being covered with coral and the débris from the coral -reefs. We are absolutely certain that every geological period has had -its characteristic fauna and flora, and that, in both the animal and -vegetable kingdoms, some persistent types have connected it with both -the past and the future, so that the fossils have become the "open -sesame" to the geological records. We further know that the strata -composing the earth's surface are subject to elevation and subsidence, -such as is now going on in the delta of the Nile, on the coast of the -Netherlands, and in many other places, and that such movement is a -measurable quantity, given only the necessary time. - -The total thickness of known strata measures but about one-three -hundred and twentieth part of the earth's diameter, or, in round -numbers, twenty-five miles. Thirty thousand feet of this is quite -readily identified as belonging to the old Archaic or Laurentian -period, and constitutes the oldest stratified deposit known. Even -in this, we find the remains of the Eozoon Canadense, which is now -universally acknowledged to be the petrifaction of a foraminiferous -living organism with a chambered shell. This means that, at this time, -the earth's atmosphere must have been very similar to what it is at the -present, and that the temperature of the sea was somewhere between the -boiling and the freezing points of water. What time had elapsed since -the earth was thrown off by the sun in an incandescent state can only -be faintly imagined. At the rate of deposition given for the deepest -of ocean deposits, this Archaic period would have taken perhaps -thirty-six million years; but inasmuch as the water may have been far -warmer then than now, and the rainfall more abundant, and the forces of -denudation in all respects more active, this figure may be excessive. -The next eighteen thousand feet of strata are easily identified as -Lower Silurian, by the Diatoms which occur imbedded in them, and these -formations include some of the largest deposits of limestone known. At -our rate of calculation, this deposit would require no less than nine -and one-half million years, and, in assuming this figure, no account -is made of the intervals of time during which no deposit took place, -although such periods of inactivity must necessarily have been. The -Upper Silurian strata consists of twenty thousand feet, the fossils of -which are the lower fishes, and for which we must assign a period of -time equal to no less than twenty-five million years, inasmuch as these -deposits are limestones and sandstones, or the remains of water-living -animals and plants. - -Coming now to the Devonian and Carboniferous periods, the strata -of the former, which is filled with fossils of the dipnoi, and the -latter with those of the amphibia; we have deposits aggregating about -forty thousand feet, and inasmuch as long intervals of time must have -existed during the subsidence and elevation, and _vice versa_, of the -land, while the process of coal-forming was going on, it is certain -that our rate of deposition as heretofore used, is entirely too high. -Dawson and Huxley have estimated, after most careful investigation, -that the period of time consumed in laying down the coal measures, -could not be less than six million years, and upon this basis it is -safe to assume that between seventy-five and eighty million years were -consumed in laying down the Devonian and Carboniferous deposits. This -makes Paleozoic time occupy about one hundred and fifty million years, -which is probably under- rather than over-estimated. The flora of the -Carboniferous period was composed of tree ferns of the Sagillaria -and Lepidodendron species which have since become extinct; but the -Lingula, a shell in the Cambrian and Upper Silurian formations, and -the Terbratula, another shell, is found in the Devonian rocks. Both of -these are found living to-day, of the same identical genus and species. - -In the Silurian rocks, we find the remains of an air-breathing -scorpion, very similar to that found to-day, which shows that the -atmosphere at that remote period was practically the same as we have at -the present time. - -In the Mesozoic time, we find deposits aggregating some fifteen -thousand feet, and inasmuch as the Triassic sandstones were formations -of slow deposition, our heretofore established rate will not answer -the conditions. It has been estimated, after the most careful study -of the Triassic and Jurassic measures, that probably no less than -thirty million years were occupied by these periods, and that the -chalk deposits of the Cretaceous must have taken at the present -known rate, in like formations, somewhat over six million years of -ceaseless activity. This gives to Mesozoic time a period of thirty-six -million years, as a minimum, and, from what we know of the rate of -biological evolution, this figure is conservative. The first period -of the Mesozoic time was characterized by monotremes, the Jurassic by -marsupials, and the latter by the first of man's direct progenitors, -the placentals. The flora of this period consisted almost entirely of -gymnosperms, or naked seed plants, and, as far as we know, at the close -of this second great division of geological time, conditions on the -earth were, in all respects, very much as they are to-day. - -Concerning the climatic conditions at the beginning of the Cenozoic -time, we have every reason to believe that from the commencement of -the Lower Silurian epoch, until then, there were no climatic zones -upon the earth. Not only have coral formations been found in what are -now Arctic waters, when we know that such reefs are formed only in -waters where a moderately warm temperature is constantly maintained, -but the cephalipods of the genus Ammonitoidea are found in what is now -the Antarctic zone, and in the torrid. While, at the present time, we -cannot see how the obliquity of the earth's poles to the plane of the -ecliptic could have been changed after the earth began its career as an -independent planet, yet the facts above stated show that the climatic -zones must have been unknown during the Tertiary period. Our common -cypress, which is now so plentiful in Florida and California, had -very close relatives living as far north as Spitzbergen, as lately as -Miocene time. Magnolias, which are now so abundant in all of the Gulf -States, are plentifully found in the Miocene strata of Greenland. - -Returning to the length of the Tertiary period, it is well to note -that, covering Wyoming and Nebraska, there was an immense lake, at -least as large as Lake Superior is to-day, and into which several -quite large rivers emptied, whose head waters were in the surrounding -mountain ranges. This lake was at one time at least five thousand -feet deep, and was completely filled up by the fine mud and silt, as -the formation now shows, although at the known rate of filling in of -smaller modern lakes, into which rivers, which originate in glaciers, -empty, this would have taken the better part of fifty thousand years. -This figure is particularly conservative, as during the Eocene period, -there could have been neither glaciers nor melting snowfields to assist -in the denudation at the head waters of the tributary rivers. During -the Miocene period, many of the best geologists hold that America and -Europe were connected, and there are certain similarities in their -fauna and flora which make this very probable. Supposing that this -depression which constitutes the bed of the North Atlantic Ocean, took -place at the highest known rate of subsidence, as measured upon the -coast of Sweden to-day, it is almost impossible to state the amount -of time that necessarily elapsed from the beginning of the sinking of -this strip until it finally went below the surface of the water. That -such changes in level did take place in the Tertiary period, no one -can doubt, as chalk deposits in England, which must have been laid -down in the deep oceans, have now an elevation of thousands of feet. -The Nummulite limestone of this same period is found in both the Alps -and the Himalayas, at an elevation as great as ten thousand feet. The -consideration of the fact that the greatest known rate of elevation or -subsidence is, perhaps, scarcely more than two feet per century makes -the figure of five hundred thousand years, as a minimum for Pliocene -time, seem rather conservative. - -Toward the close of the Tertiary era the finishing touches were placed -upon some of the greatest of the geological works. The folding of the -strata, which had been going on for a long period in Eastern New York, -was brought to an end by a violent rupture therein, and the out-rushing -igneous rock, which was subsequently cooled rapidly by the floods of -water flowing over it, gave us the beautiful palisades of the Hudson -River. In the west, this folding resulted in the Rocky Mountains and -the Coast Range, with their attendant high plateaux. In Europe, the -Alps and the Pyrenees Mountains both belong to this period, while the -grandest and highest of all mountain chains, the Himalayas, of Asia, -were the culminating effect of the gigantic foldings of the earth's -crust. - -The deposits of the Tertiary period will aggregate somewhat more than -three thousand feet, and, inasmuch as this entire time was one of -continued change in level, or the fluctuation between the subsidence -of the earth's strata on the one hand and the elevation on the other -(particularly in the Pliocene period), it is very hard to form any -conjecture as to the actual amount of time required to do this work. -Certainly, from what we know of the rate at which like phenomena are -taking place at the present time in Northeastern North America, in -Northwestern Europe, and Western Asia, the figure, as sometimes given, -of ten million years seems very conservative. - -In the brief review which we have just given, of what can be -conservatively considered the minimum limits of geological time, we -have taken into account generally only periods of activity, and in -but a few cases has any estimation been hazarded as to the proportion -which this was of the whole time consumed in bringing about the -changes which the fossils show so clearly to have taken place during -the various epochs. But one thing should be kept clearly in mind, and -that is, that no matter how long geological time may seem, it is but -an infinitely small fraction of the period which must have elapsed -since the world came into existence, as this globe had to cool down -to below the boiling point of water before any geological records -could be made. When thought of in this way, the Laurentian period -becomes as but yesterday, and even man's dwelling place, which seems -relatively so large, dwindles into nothingness, when compared with the -vastness of the interstellar spaces or the size of the larger stars. -Whoever conscientiously endeavors to form any idea of the teachings of -astronomy and geology, must necessarily feel any prejudice which he had -for man as the object and culmination of either the evolutionary or -creative power, shrink at a tremendous rate, while over his mentality -comes the sense of his diminutiveness, which awakens in him a brotherly -feeling for even the primitive single-celled Laurentian Eozoon -Canadensis, or the unnucleated monera of the present time. It must -have been this same sense-perception in the Hindoos which made them -worship and revere life wherever they found it, and which inspired them -with so active a sympathy toward all living things. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE LENGTH OF TIME DURING WHICH MAN HAS EXISTED - - -In the preceding chapter, no mention has been made of the length of the -Quaternary sub-division of Cenozoic time, and it will now be our aim to -briefly review this period and then investigate the evidence which we -have as to how much of this time man has been a portion of its fauna. - -With the opening of the Quaternary Period, we come to what is -undoubtedly the most remarkable era in all geological time. From a -climate which had been, heretofore, uniformly, warmly temperate, with -but few exceptions, we come to a period known as the Glacial, in which, -by a depression in the temperature, all vegetation and animals in high -latitudes were killed; _viz._: in the central west--almost to the Ohio -River; in Europe--to the northern part of Italy--while the addition of -vast quantities of ice to the oceans, destroyed all life in them to -about the latitude of the northern portion of the Gulf of Mexico. Nor -was this period of cold confined to the northern hemisphere, as the -southern part of South America and Africa show. Concerning the cause -of the Glacial Period, but little is positively known. Of the theories -which have been advanced, it seems very plausible that perhaps two more -clearly account for the conditions which must have then existed, if we -consider them together, than all the rest. - -The geological record teaches us that in the so-called Glacial Period, -at least two distinct epochs of low temperature, and the consequential -accumulation of ice, are to be definitely discerned. Still further -back, we see evidence of glacial action in the Permian Strata, and -possibly as far back as the Cambrian formations, although these eras -of cold are not comparable with the period at the beginning of the -Quaternary time. Croll, the Scottish physicist, first called attention -to the fact that at certain regular intervals of time, the precession -of the equinoxes, and the eccentricity of the earth's orbit, would -so act in conjunction as to render favorable a great many conditions -which would certainly all point toward a period of extreme cold. He -calculated that the earth was traveling around the sun in an ellipse -of maximum eccentricity, and that winter was occurring in the northern -hemisphere when the earth was furthest from the sun, for the last time -some quarter of a million years ago. About eighty thousand years after -this date, the coincidence of the two phenomena reached a maximum -effect, and about eighty thousand years later, climatic conditions -were again about as we have them to-day. Upon this hypothesis, another -period of extreme cold must have existed some one-half million years -earlier, as calculations upon the same premises as were used in the -last computation will show. It is likewise true that, according to this -theory, there must have been at least one other such period further -back in geological time, and it is now to be seen whether our records, -as shown by the strata, establish these facts. - -Prior to the enunciation of this theory by Croll, the famous English -geologist, Sir Charles Lyell, from measurements of the strata, had -calculated that the last period of glaciation occurred about as -Croll stated, and that a period of cold and ice far more intense and -extensive occurred some four or five hundred thousand years earlier. -Mr. Laing has shown that, in order to make such conditions as must have -existed at this time, not only is a low temperature necessary, but a -certain amount of land must have an elevation sufficient to give the -required initial fall to the ice river, so that it may move over the -obstacles in its way, and that the higher such elevations in the Arctic -zones, and the greater the humidity of the air when it strikes such -elevated polar plateaux, the more augmented will be the probability of -glacial activity. The rapidity of the glacier's movement can have no -bearing upon the duration of the glacial period, inasmuch as a certain -length of time may have been required for the ice-cap to form and push -forward to a certain place, and it may have remained there for an -indeterminate period, governed only by the amount of snow deposited -upon the original source, and the rapidity of melting at the moraine. -In Eastern England, no less than four distinct boulder clays have been -found separated by the débris deposited from the moraines of each ice -sheet, and a few hundred miles away in France, the record is so certain -that we know that the Arctic fauna and flora gave away twice for that -of the warmer parts of the Temperate zones. - -We are certain that both that portion of Scandinavia and Canada, which -were the centers of the great European and American ice-caps, had an -elevation greatly in excess of what it is to-day, at the time of the -glacial epoch. During the first glaciation, Eastern Canada, or that -part south of Hudson's Bay, was certainly twenty-five hundred feet -higher than it is now, and the area covered by ocean formations or -marine beds to the southward, show that at the same time these sections -were very much lower than they are at the present day. On the other -side of the Atlantic Ocean, the elevation in Norway was at least a -couple of thousand feet more than at present; while both England and -Ireland have risen a considerable amount since this period. - -There are other ways by which we may form some estimate of the time -which has elapsed since the melting away of the great glaciers, besides -that given by Croll. From measurements taken on Table Rock, at Niagara -Falls, which we know has receded in post-glacial times from Lewiston -to the place which it occupies at present, we are certain that Lyell -was not far wrong when he estimated this to have taken at least sixty -thousand years. Shaler, on entirely different grounds,--mainly the -redistribution of certain angiosperms--has arrived at figures in -excess of these. Calculations made upon the canyons of the Columbia, -San Joaquin, and Colorado Rivers, all show the estimations previously -given to be conservative. Of course, the figures given will apply -only to the time which has elapsed since the melting of the American -ice-cap, as we have no means of knowing that the American and European -glaciers acted at all in unison in their retreat to the northward. The -manner in which we can get some idea of the length of time required -to account for the enormous quantity of work done in the Champlain -period, is by taking into account the deposits which lie in almost -all of the great river valleys which were covered by the glaciers, or -whose watersheds were made into lakes by the subsidence of the land to -the north, and the rapid melting of that portion of the ice-cap which -contained stones, dirt, and other material picked up in the travels of -the glacier across the country. The Rhine, the Rhone, and the Danube -in Europe, and the St. Lawrence, the Connecticut, and the Mississippi -in America, all flow through valleys lined with cliffs of loess. These -accumulations overlying the coarser sands and gravels, and conforming -to the river valleys, have been measured in the case of the Rhine, and -were found to be about eight hundred feet in depth. It is unreasonable -to suppose that these deposits being, as they are, material thrown down -out of the water after the rivers had lost their transporting power, -could have accumulated at a greater rate than that now going on in the -rivers, such as the Mississippi and the Nile, to-day, and if this was -the case, these deposits must have taken no less than three hundred and -twenty-five thousand years to form. Inasmuch as this work was all done -during the Champlain period, this figure can be safely taken as the -minimum for the measure of the duration of that time. - -Arriving now at the recent period of Quaternary time, we find in Europe -evidences of a very short and less intense period of cold; in the -remains of the reindeer and other Arctic animals in southern France. -Associated with these, although of a later period, we find the bones -of the cave bear, hyena, and lion, and in many of the localities -intimately associated with these are the bones of man. In fact, since -the first discovery of the paleolithic implements in the gravels of -the Somme, there have been almost countless finds of human remains in -England, France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, and Greece, in Europe; Algiers, -Morocco, Egypt, and Natal, in Africa; in China, Japan, India, Syria, -and Palestine, in Asia; in Brazil and Argentina in South America, and -in no less than ten States of this country, associated with stone -implements or paleoliths, and all of which, dating from the beginning -of the Quaternary period, have established the certainty of human -existence during the entire Quaternary era, beyond the possibility of -doubt. - -The evidences of the existence of the human species during Tertiary -time are many, and hardly a year goes by without adding another -discovery of human remains in the deposits belonging to this period. To -begin with, the existence of man so generally and widely distributed as -we find him to be at the beginning of the Quaternary period, is almost -_prima facie_ evidence of his occupation of the earth for some time -previous. With the means of communication and the motives for it, such -as they must have been at this remote period, we know that thousands -of years would have been required to scatter any species all over the -earth, as we have seen that man was from the locations of the remains -found. Further than this, there are three well-authenticated cases -where the bones of Tertiary animals have been found, upon which there -were cuts made by edged tools, which could have been made only by human -agency. Since these have been discovered, crude implements as well as -human bones have been found in no less than a dozen places in both the -Eastern and Western Hemispheres, which attest, beyond doubt, to man's -having existed since the Middle Miocene or early Pliocene time. We not -only have the opinions of such authorities as Rames, Hamy, Mortillet, -Quatrefages, and Delauney, to accept in this matter, but the more -recent thorough investigations of Laing and Haeckel. - -Turning now from geological evidence to that founded upon other -observations, as to the length of time man has been an inhabitant of -the earth, perhaps one of the most interesting discoveries was that of -the Tumuli or mounds of shells of such animals as the oyster, cockle, -limpet, etc., and, along with this, the bones of birds, wild animals, -and fish, together with stone implements and rude pottery. These -kitchen-middens were first discovered in Denmark, but they have since -been found in many countries where savages have lived along the coast. -In many of the Swiss lakes, such as Zurich and Neufchatel, there have -been found piles driven into the ground, around which, in dredging, -human bones, as well as stone implements, have been brought up, and -which are now known to have been the dwelling-places and remains of -prehistoric peoples, who located in this manner so as to protect -themselves from prowling wild animals and from their savage neighbors. -From the amount and character of these deposits, we are forced to -assume that the habitations were used for a long period, and from -geological computation of the time required to deposit the silt around -these piles in the Swiss Lake-villages, and from the similarity of the -remains in the Danish peat-mosses and the kitchen-middens no period -could be assigned to their antiquity of less than seven thousand years. - -Our earliest record of historic man is found in the Valley of the -Nile, where we can say with certainty that, over seven thousand -years ago, there existed a high state of civilization under the old -Egyptian Empire. Menes was the first recorded king who sat on the -throne, and during the six dynasties of kings which composed this -period, we see the rise to supremacy of Memphis, the building of the -pyramids, the accumulation of a varied and extensive literature, and -the perfection of the industrial and fine arts. In fact, so faithfully -and indestructibly were the lines of human faces reproduced upon -stone and other materials, that, at this day, we have no difficulty -in identifying the different races of men from their resemblance at -the present time. Menes, himself, carried to completion the great -engineering feat of turning the course of the Nile so as to obtain a -site for his capital, at Memphis. His successor was not only a patron -but a practitioner of the art of medicine. From the monuments and -papyri of the great tombs of Ghizeh and Sakkara, we have learned so -much of the social and political life of Egypt at this period through -the deciphering of the Rosetta stone by Champollion, that we may be -said to have a very accurate knowledge of mankind, as his existence -was conditioned in Egypt from four to five thousand years before the -beginning of our present era. From Memphis, the seat of the government -first shifts to Heracleopolis, and then to Thebes, and, during these -changes, we see Egypt go back into the night of semi-barbarism -(comparatively speaking), and after a long period of time to again -develop a high state of civilization, under a new language and a new -religion, in the eleventh dynasty. Egyptian influence extended from -the equator on the south, to southern Syria on the north, and Isis -and Osiris were the deities that commanded the veneration of the then -civilized world. The kings of this dynasty built the famous labyrinth -of Fayoum, where in the desert was formed a large artificial lake -with tunnels and sluices so arranged that the annual inundations of -the Nile were partially controlled by allowing the surplus water -to fill this lake, and in the time of a drouth, letting it out to -irrigate the valley as needed. Many temples, obelisks, and statues -were erected, and the period was one of social and literary activity. -About two thousand years before Christ, the seat of the government was -transferred from Thebes to the Delta, and, shortly after this, the -Hyksos dynasty began with a conquest by these invaders, who laid all -Egypt under tribute. The conquerors adopted both the civilization and -the religion of their subjects, and reigned over Egypt somewhat more -than five hundred years. Their expulsion marks the beginning of the new -empire, which extended the Egyptian influence from the Persian Gulf to -the Mediterranean, and subjugated both Babylon and Nineveh. From this -time on, we are on certain and firm historical grounds, and with the -founding of the great library at Alexandria, by Ptolemy Philadelphus, -Egypt received her last great literary impulse, and since the fourth -century of this era the part which she has played in the struggle of -humanity has been inconsiderable. From other data gathered by Horner, -who sunk numerous shafts across the Nile Valley at Memphis, and who -brought up copper knives and pottery from depths approximately of -sixty feet, it has been calculated, from the rate of deposition in -that valley to-day, that these remains are upward of twenty-five -thousand years old. In other places, Paleoliths have been found that -are undoubtedly very much older than the oldest temples and tombs. -Furthermore, we know that in all the traditions of this country, the -first inhabitants are represented as being autochthonous, which, if -correct, must mean a very great state of antiquity, so far as man is -concerned; if it be granted that this Egyptian civilization, which is -known to have existed at Memphis, had to develop of its own accord in -the Valley of the Nile, abundantly fertile though it always has been. - -In the valleys of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, we have further -evidence of the existence of a high state of civilization, as taken -from the cylinder of Sargon I, which reads, "Sharrukin the mighty king -am I, who knew not his father, but whose mother was a royal princess, -who, to conceal my birth, placed me in a basket of rushes closed with -pitch, and cast me into the river, from which I was saved by Akki, the -water-carrier, who brought me up as his own child." The date of this -king is generally accepted as about four thousand years before Christ, -and his exploits have been found pictured and described on the relics -taken from Cyprus, Syria, and Babylonia. He did for Mesopotamia what -Menes did for Egypt, and the prestige of his arms, and the renown -of his civilization, spread over all Asia Minor. As a patron of -literature, he founded some of the most famous libraries in Babylonia, -and compiled a work of seventy-two volumes on Astronomy and Astrology, -which was even translated into Greek. From recent researches, which -have resulted in the finding of a great many clay tablets from the -libraries of Mesopotamia, it seems certain that this Sargon I, upon his -ascension to the throne, found the Accadian people (he was a Semite) -already enjoying a high civilization, with sacred temples, a sacred -and profane literature, and one who had a large and well-ordered -knowledge of astronomy, as well as of agriculture and the industrial -arts. From the archæological remains which have been discovered, and, -in particular, the marble statue of a king by the name of David, which -was recently found at Bisinya, and whose antiquity is probably greater -than 4,500 B. C., it is entirely conservative to assume that Chaldean -civilization was as old, if not older, than that of Egypt; while no -figure can be set upon the length of time which was required in these -fertile valleys for this state of affairs to develop from a condition -of barbarism. - -In China, strangely enough, where the oldest historical records would -be expected, we can find nothing to compare with the Egyptian papyri -or the Chaldean clay-cylinders, and competent authorities are well -agreed that there is great reason to suppose that much of the early -civilization was brought from Accadia. In any case, at the dawn of -history, we find China just as she is to-day:--an overpopulated, -agricultural country, where blind imitation of predecessors ruled, and, -consequently, progress, unless brought in by conquest, is extremely -slow. If the empire was founded, as has been supposed, by an Accadian -invasion or immigration, which must have occurred about 5,000 B. C., -or at least before the time of Sargon I, then these wanderers drove -out the aboriginal inhabitants, the Mioutse, who have been crowded at -last into the mountains of the western provinces. Certain it is that no -greater date can be assigned to the civilization of this country, at -the beginning of its historical record, than about 2,750 B. C., which -time is known in Chinese tradition as the "Age of the Five Rulers." - -Perhaps next in order of antiquity, comes the small country known as -Elam, lying between the Tigris River and the Lagros Mountains, and -extending to the south along the eastern shore of the Persian Gulf -to the Arabian Sea. As in both Egypt and Chaldea, this country was -brought into prominence by an aggressive and warlike king,--the famous -Cyrus of history,--and, fortunately, his clay-cylinder; from one of -the magnificent libraries of Susa, or Shushan; was recently found by -Mr. Rassam, amid the débris composing the mound, which is now the -only mark left to show where these great centers of population once -were, in the fertile valleys and coast plains of this part of Asia; -and this cylinder is now kept, with hundreds from like sources, in the -British Museum at London. On this memorial cylinder, Cyrus gives his -genealogy and an account of his exploits, and we find that he came from -a line of kings, and held to the popular faith of his country, thanking -and petitioning the whole Elamite Hierarchy of gods. Cyrus carried -the Elamite arms into southern Syria and Palestine, and overthrew -Mesopotamia about 2,300 B. C. It was the reaction from this conquest -that caused some of the most gigantic struggles of antiquity. - -Of the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon, no definite historical -record can be found earlier than from fifteen hundred to two thousand -years before Christ. The Hittite civilization and influence we find at -their height at about the same time, but here we can get no inkling of -a greater antiquity for man than that given in the Middle Egyptian -Empire. In the cities of Troy and Mycenæ, we find civilization at its -crest some five hundred years later, and it is not until we come to -Arabia that we again find evidence of such high antiquity as we find -in Chaldea and Egypt. The old kingdom of Saba was built upon the ruins -of a still older, known as Ma'in, and the former was in its decline -as an empire at the beginning of the eighth century, B. C. Now, -contemporary history shows that this country has gone through all the -transformations which Egypt and Chaldea had, and if this is also true -of the Ma'in kingdom, then a date of great antiquity must be given to -it. But these are not certainties, while in the cases of Chaldea and -Egypt there can be no mistake. The Israelite civilization was at its -height under David and Solomon, about contemporaneously with that of -Troy and Mycenæ, and even the Hebrew tradition does not attempt to -antedate the year 2,000 B. C., so that we can obtain no information -from this source. Greece flourished but five hundred years before the -present era, and even if we regard Homer as authentic, no more remote -date can be given to their earliest civilization than that of the -attack by the Hellenes upon Troy, which was about 1,000 B. C. - -In the Western Hemisphere archeologists are every year making valuable -discoveries in Mexico and Peru which will probably give a remote date -for the civilizations which flourished in these countries long before -the conquests of the Spaniards. The great pyramids of the Sun and -Moon on the Mexican plateau and the similarity of their design and -orientation with the Egyptian all point to an interchange of ideas -between the East and the West in prehistoric time. - -The geological table given at the close of this chapter may be of -interest, as a careful consideration of it, and the foregoing facts, -will show the real value of man in nature. That man is ascendent now, -does not, in the light of experience, mean necessarily that he will by -any means remain so. In the warm Champlain period, we know that brute -mammals thrived and attained gigantic size, and, as Dana aptly remarks, -"the great abundance of their remains and their conditions show that -the climate and food were all that could have been desired." Yet the -mastodon and the cave-bear have gone, together with countless other -species which have become extinct, and, if science teaches anything at -all, it tells us that nature delights in fostering one species at the -expense of another. In the case of man, we most clearly see this. "For -the historical succession of vertebrate fossils corresponds completely -with the morphological scale which is revealed to us by comparative -anatomy and ontology. After the Silurian fishes come the dipnoi of the -Devonian period,--the Carboniferous amphibia, the Permian reptilia and -the Mesozoic Mammals. Of these again, the lowest forms, the monotremes, -appear first in the Triassic period; the marsupials in the Jurassic, -and then the oldest placentals in the Cretaceous. Of the placentals, -in turn, the first to appear in the oldest Tertiary period are the -lowest primates, the prosimiæ, which are followed by the simiæ, in the -Miocene. Of the carrhinæ, the cynopitheci precede the anthropomorpha; -from one branch of the latter, during the Pliocene period, arises the -apeman, without speech, and from him descends finally the speaking man. - -"Since the germ of the human embryo passes through the same -chordula-stages as the germ of all other vertebrates; since it evolves, -similarly, out of the two germinal layers of a gastrula, we infer by -virtue of the biogenetic law, the early existence of corresponding -ancestral forms. Most important of all is the fact that the human -embryo, like that of all other animals, arises, originally, from a -single cell, for this stem-cell--the impregnated egg cell--points, -indubitably, to a corresponding unicellular ancestor, a primitive -Laurentian protozoon." - -In the foregoing quotation, Haeckel clearly states what every geologist -and embryologist plainly knows to be the truth, and in this case, as in -all others, does it hold good: - - "Because truth is truth, to follow truth - Were wisdom, in the scorn of consequence." - -For any human being, endowed with reason, to wilfully deceive himself -could be nothing less than the height of folly. There is nothing -more pitiful in all literature than Cicero, at the close of his "De -Senectute," bowed down with years, and crushed with grief over the -loss of his son and intimate friends, saying that if his belief in -personal immortality be illogical and untrue, as he almost intimates -that he thinks it more than likely to be, then he wishes to willingly -delude himself for the satisfaction which he will get therefrom. How -different from the man who, in his impeachment of Verres, or his -defense of Archias, runs the chance of public disfavor,--always little -less than death to the politician,--or even to that staunch patriot, -who, with almost his last breath, defied the powerful Antony, although -it cost him his life! How strange it is that Tully did not realize that -allegiance to the truth, regardless of whether it be for or against us, -carries with it, _per se_, the greatest of all virtues,--the virtue of -sincerity. Polonius' death demonstrated the truth of his philosophy: - - "This above all: to thine own self be true, - And it must follow as the night the day, - Thou canst not then be false to any man." - -In considering this problem of the origin and destiny of man, which, -axiomatically, includes ourselves, let us remember that it matters not -what we may wish, for we have no choice in the matter,--the truth is -inexorable, and, consequently, cannot be influenced. It is directly up -to each human being to work out this problem for himself, and this can -only be done by the fearless recognition of the truth, wherever found. -It is in this spirit that the preceding and the succeeding chapters are -written, and if they contain misstatements and errors, the author will -not only most cheerfully acknowledge the same, when proven to him, but -will accept the logical conclusions drawn therefrom, although they may -completely revolutionize the philosophy of life as he now sees it, and -is trying to live it. - - - Geological Table, showing Approximate Minimum Duration in Time. - Comparative Duration of Periods: Paleozoic, 12/16ths; Mesozoic, - 3/16ths; Cenozoic, 1/16th. Geological Time, at least 200,000,000 - years. - - Geological Epoch | Petrographic | Ascendant Form | Thickness - Sub-Division | Formation | of Life | of - of G. E. | | | Deposits - | | | - Paleozoic | | | - | | | - Laurentian | Archaic Igneous | Eozoon | - | Rocks | Canadense | 30,000 ft. - Cambrian or | | | - L. Silurian | Potsdam Sandstone |} | - | Magnesian Limestone |} Diatoms | 18,000 ft. - | Trenton Limestone |} | - | | | - Upper Silurian| Niagara Limestone |} | - | Medina Sandstone |} | - | Saline Formations |} Lower Fishes | 22,000 ft. - | Lower Helderberg |} | - | Oriskany Sandstone |} | - | | | - Devonian | Corniferous or |} | - | Upper Helderberg |} | - | Limestone, |} Dipnoi | - | Hamilton, |} | - | Portage and Chemung|} | - | Shales |} | - | | | - Carboniferous | Crinoidal Limestone |} | - | Lower Coal Measures |} | - | Mill Stone Grit |} Amphibia and | 42,000 ft. - | Upper Coal Measures |} Sagillaria | - | Permian Sandstone |} | - | | | - Mesozoic | | | - | | | - Triassic | Sandstones | Monotremes and | - | | Gymnosperms | - Jurassic | Wassatch Mountains | Marsupials | 15,000 ft. - | | | - Cretaceous | Sandstone and Chalk | Placentals | - | | | - Cenozoic | | | - | | | - Tertiary-- | | Lowest Primates | - Eocene | | and Angiosperms| 3,000 ft. - Miocene | | Simiæ | - Pliocene | | Catarrhinæ | - | | | - Quaternary-- | | | - Glacial | | | - Champlain| | | - Recent | | | - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS OF EXISTENCE - - -The tremendous strides made in the sciences of biology, histology, -physiology, and psychology in the latter part of the last century, in -connection with the development of the science of organic chemistry, -have done much to unravel the life-mystery from a physical point of -view. One by one the determining characteristics of the mentality -of the _genus homo_ have dwindled down until to-day even reason in -its broadest sense is granted by the most conservative to some of -the vegetable forms of life, and any unbiased mind will have hard -work to determine the difference between the so-called "Brownian" -movement of particles of gamboge when macerated in a little water, -or even of bits of camphor when dropped upon the surface of water, -and the movements of the particles of a protoplasmic mass; although -one is caused by temperature changes, and the other by chemism. The -selectative growth of a vertex of a crystal in a saturated solution, -and the claw of a crab, both of which have previously suffered the -loss of their respective parts, are perhaps not so different as -the words "organic" or "inorganic" would lead us to believe when -applied as a classification to their principals. We know that in the -life-process, as everywhere else, the law of substance and the law of -the conservation of energy are held inviolate, and the theory which -treats of life as a characteristic entity apart from the condition -which makes it possible, is certainly false. The matter which -composes the living body is chemically the same as that which we find -everywhere. The fact that some living bodies have the power to form -protoplasm out of its chemical elements or simple combinations of -them, or only assimilate such protoplasm after it has been formed from -inorganic matter, constitutes, in the broadest sense, the difference -between the vegetable and the animal life, as we now know it. But, -whether living or dead, the protoplasm has about the same composition, -and, therefore, it must be that life _per se_ is in reality only the -manifestation of a form of motion. Science, by deduction, teaches us -to look upon the living body very much as a theoretically perfect -motor-generator set, the line terminals of the dynamo being the feed -wires of the motor. Such a machine, standing still, would be "dead" in -all senses of the word, although, potentially, its integrity would be -the same as when in operation. But, once put in motion, this machine -would directly come up to speed, and maintain itself at its normal rate -of rotation until something interfered with it, or set up resistance -within its circuit. From this time on, its rate of rotation would -diminish until it stopped. If its integrity were suddenly violated, -this stop would come at once. - -Fifty years ago, heat, light, and electricity were all talked of, and -believed to be forces whose existence was in no way dependent upon -matter. Since the investigations of Thomson and Helmholtz, there is no -unbiased scientist who can for a minute think that the manifestation -of any of these could possibly exist without material of some sort, -such as in a general way we call matter. Even chemism, the most -obscure of all physical forces, we know to be very closely allied to -gravitative attraction, and to be so powerful since it operates through -such short distances. In fact, if we adopt the only known feasible -hypothesis to account for the formation of matter, we must, in the -end, admit that motion, and not matter, is the most potent of all the -primal causes which we can imagine to-day. If we could eliminate motion -entirely from the universe, we do not know of a single characteristic -which would be left, by which we could identify existence as we know -it, certainly not even matter itself. Every investigation or experiment -which has been made in the domain of the natural sciences has only -amassed additional evidence to the tremendous amount already gathered; -all going certainly to prove that at least the former two of the old -three universally accepted postulates were false, _viz._: the free -moral agency of man, the immortality of the soul, and the existence -of a personal God, or a power outside of and superior to nature. -The latter will in no wise interest us, inasmuch as experience has -taught us that, in general as well as in particular, the universe is -governed by law; all honor to Humboldt and Descartes for so clearly -demonstrating this. - -We are quite sure to-day that, roughly estimated, each pound of human -flesh represents an amount of potential energy equal to about sixteen -million foot-pounds, and that all of the life-processes are, in the -last analysis, purely physical, and that they follow physical laws. Any -exertion, either muscular or nervous, which we make, over and above -that supplied by the energy in our assimilated food, will have to be -taken from the stock as represented in the tissue,--consequently, -continued work means hunger; if continued longer without food, it means -exhaustion, and if continued longer without food and rest intervening, -it means the deterioration of the tissues. The recent investigations of -Matthews upon the manner of nerve action, and the fact that the same -is due to substances known as reversible gelatines, as well as to the -cause of the negative variation of nerves exposed to exciting stimuli, -all show that these most complex of life's processes are as purely -physical, in the largest sense, as the most simple ones. The artificial -fertilization of sterile eggs by the use of dilute solutions, whose -actions might almost be called catalytic, still further emphasizes -the fact that life's processes, even in the embryo, are essentially -physical. Take, for instance, the sterile egg of the sea-urchin; the -two per cent. solution of potassium cyanide; the continued constant -temperature for a definite time, and all of the other conditions which -enter into the development of this crude protoplasmic mass, are all -physical factors, regardless of the fact that the result is a living -organism, where we would, according to our old ideas, certainly expect -an undeveloped sterile egg, or a potentially dead body. As with this -ovum, so with the vegetable protoplasmic mass in the germinal radical -of a seed: if its development is once started, it must continue its -natural course without interference, upon pain of speedy degeneration -upon interruption, and, in this light, both the egg and the grain of -seed are places where life can be started (or motion on a larger scale -begun) rather than living things before their development began, or -while they were lying in their dormant state. - -The death-knell to the theory of the personal immortality of the -human soul, as ordinarily enunciated, was rung in 1875 by the German -biologist, Hertzig, when he succeeded in bringing the living ovum into -the presence of the ciliated sperm-cells under the microscope, while in -the field of a lens of sufficient power to enable him to see clearly -what took place. It is sufficient for our purpose to state that the -minute the spermatozoon had pierced the cell wall of the egg-cell, -the new individual of that species came into existence, and had, -potentially, all of the life-possibilities, or was, in fact, as much -alive as it would have been if this had happened under conditions which -would have been favorable to its further development. The fact that -the fertilized egg-cell immediately forms a mucous sheath the moment -that its nucleus coalesces with that of the spermatozoon to prevent -the further entrance of other spermatozoa, has done much to give rise -and impetus to the theory that each cell has a soul, and that when -these two nuclei completely fuse together, the resulting cytula, or -fertilized ovum or stem-cell, has a soul peculiarly its own; which is -made up in much the same way as two corresponding magnetic fields which -are blended when two magnets are brought within the territory of each -other's influence and unite to form a resultant field. That each of the -sexual una-cells is distinguished by a form of sensation and motion of -its own, and that this is true throughout the whole animal world, has -given peculiar significance to these empirical facts of conception; as -these will at once offer an explanation of the mysterious influence -of heredity, such as was never possible heretofore. That each human -individual has a beginning of existence with the coalescing of the -nuclei of the parent cells, just as he has an end of existence with the -violation of the integrity of his physical body, whether after the -lapsing of one second or one century, must, to anyone who has observed -biological phenomena like the above, be perfectly clear. - -With the recent development of the science of embryology, there is no -longer any ground upon which man can lay claim, in the largest sense, -to free moral agency. Conditioned as he is, even before birth, by the -influence of heredity, which science has now localized to the inner -nucleus of the cytula, not only are his natural tastes and temperament -quite largely determined for him, but often, in at least as large a -sense, his mental and physical possibilities. It was our genial Dr. -Holmes, who, some years ago, said, "If you would make a man, you must -begin at least four generations before he is born," and, as embryology -has since proven, he spoke more truth than he thought. Any person -possessing a normally trained observation cannot help but note in -their aptitude, or in their manner of doing certain things, their debt -to their ancestors. How seldom (we might say, never) do we find in -our friends what we had pictured and hoped for, owing, perhaps more -than anything else, to the baneful influence of heredity. Degenerate -features, scrofula, epilepsy, melancholia, etc., are all practically -in every case the gift of some progenitor. Tendencies to insanity and -crime are clearly recognized to-day by the administrators of the law, -in every civilized country, as possible a legacy as coin, real estate, -or chattels were a few centuries ago. - -Whatever influence can be ascribed to heredity, as a positive -limitation to human existence, we know absolutely that in a much -larger sense is man a victim of his environment, particularly during -the period of his childhood and adolescence. Professor Loeb has shown -that at least as large proportion (possibly one-half) of the influence -of heredity may be eliminated by the artificial fertilization of the -ovum of many species, but embryology tells us that it is beyond the -possibilities of science to ever render impotent the adaptive tendency -of the individual. With human beings, the importance of environment is -much greater under a high state of civilization than in the condition -of savagery or barbarism, since the possibilities of achievement are -infinitely greater in the individual well-educated than in a condition -of illiteracy. What would the mathematical genius of Newton or Leibnitz -accomplish in developing the calculus, had they been born among the -Patagonians or the bushmen of Australia? Would Napoleon's military -talent have availed him anything if he had been placed by birth among -the cliff-dwellers of Arizona instead of the fomenting political -corruption of overpopulated France? Even in a much more restricted -sense, Austerlitz, Marengo, and Lodi could not have become noted as -the stepping-stones toward his imperialism, had he not attended the -military school at Brienne. - -In the discussion of this question, of the freedom of the will, or the -free moral agency of man, it seems almost preposterous that educated -people still cling to a theory so at variance with all known facts. -That all men are created free and equal is not only relatively but -absolutely untrue in the largest sense, but that they are all entitled -to, and have equal possibilities, so far as is within their power, is -not only the meaning which the writer of the "Declaration" intended to -convey, but is what every fair-minded man must necessarily accord to -all of his fellow-men, even regardless of sex. In Jefferson's time, -the last clause could not have been inserted, but at the beginning of -the twentieth century, at least in four of the States of this country, -woman has been given her full property rights, and in one she has -full and complete citizenship on an equal basis with man. It cannot -be many years until culture and a sense of equity will have been so -disseminated that, at least under democratic forms of government, woman -will be given her full civil and political rights, and regarded, as -she justly should be, as no longer a forced parasite of man, but as -potentially his equal in every respect. - -While considering this matter, it is worthy of note that no less an -authority than Havelock Ellis has conclusively shown that, not only in -the moral world, where woman is and has been the acknowledged superior -of man, is she at least his peer, but also in her intellectual power -and physical development as concerns the evolution of the race when -surrounded by equally advantageous conditions has she occupied the -very van. The chivalrous and insane worship which man has bestowed -upon her as an exchange for her condoning his moral crimes, has tended -both to make him lax in his morality, by reason of her readily granted -forgiveness, and to rob her of her rights as his equal, by keeping -her in seclusion and incapacitated for self-support. Probably no one -thing has worked more harm to the race as a whole than this, and it -is perhaps the crowning glory of the age in which we are living that -woman, in America, no longer has to accept the physical and moral -derelict which the average man is when he comes to the age at which he -has finished "sowing his wild oats," and wishes to settle down to a -domestic existence, as a candidate for reform under the tutelage of a -pure and virtuous woman; or by refusing his proffer of marriage, become -the laughing-stock of not only her suitor, but of her own sex as -well, under the name of "an old maid." As woman has become capable of -self-support, man has lost his power over her, and his accountability -for his actions has directly increased, just as woman has gone from -under his power. That woman can have an honorable destiny to fulfill -other than as a convenience or source of amusement for man is, at last, -after countless ages of darkness, beginning to dawn upon the world of -culture and intelligence. - -Perhaps the greatest of all human limitations arises from the fact -that after the gratification of physical desire, of whatsoever kind, -comes satiety. The food which, to the starving man, was priceless, -and which afforded him keen delight as he ate it, but nauseates him -when temporarily his appetite is satisfied and try, as hard as he -may, he can contain no more. How many a man has failed to realize -this, and, after a youth of penury has, by the closest application, -obtained a competence, and by its use, a gratification of his desires, -but without consideration kept up his earning power, and hoarded his -wealth, only to find, to his sorrow, that it was impossible to furnish -gratifications when he no longer had the shadow of a desire! No matter -how much of a gormand a man is he can eat but a certain small quantity -of food per day, the amount of which varies directly with the manual -labor which he does, and, as a usual thing, the more he is able to -purchase, the less likely he is to do that labor which alone will make -his money of value to him from a gastronomic standpoint. Should his -desire be to pale "the lilies of the field" with his raiment, he is -still limited to a certain quantity and character of vesture, so that -in comparison with "unreasoning" vegetable life, his pride will not -be greatly gratified should he possess any sense of humor at all. If -prestige and prowess resulting as the outcome of any physical endeavor -be his ambition, he must realize that whatever pinnacle of popularity -he may attain to, it will be only a few years until he must acknowledge -a successful rival. - -In the constant mutation of all the conditions which surround human -existence, we find another most potent limitation to life. How few -of these vital conditions, from a physical standpoint, are under our -control? And yet how important some of the even trivial ones really -are? The extent to which we are dependent upon health, comeliness, -wealth, location, the physical aspects in the lives of our friends, and -all of those complex details which go to make up our routine of life, -can hardly be over-estimated. Starting, as the individual does, with a -complete lack of experience from which to judge, and without even the -power to exercise his reason, as this develops within him after years -of mistakes, until his fund of recollection of these errors constitutes -a basis of experimental knowledge, he is at best upon most dangerous -ground in early life. He is handicapped just in proportion as he has -not some guardian who pilots him until he is able to judge for himself -of the character of his actions. It is the most pathetic thought -which the human mind is capable of comprehending, that nature cannot -be imprecated, bribed, or frightened out of her relentless rule of -exacting full and complete consequence of our every action. Ignorance -is no plea for mercy before her court, and her penalties are exacted -without either fear or favor. Nor is her tribunal cognizant of any plan -of vicarious atonement, but in many cases partially are we visited -with the penalties of our progenitors' disobedience to her immutable -laws. In view of these truths, let us not falsely be inflated with -pride, because of any ephemeral successes. Let us in the moments of -aggrandizement remember Massillon, as he stood at the bier of "Le Grand -Monarch," and when we consider the truth in his opening statement, in -that magnificent funeral oration, "God only is Great," we must feel our -sense of importance leave us. Whoever stood erect with egotism over -the corpse of a friend, even though he be as mad as Lear, raving, "O -that a horse, a dog, a rat hath life, and thou no breath!"? Our control -over our physical condition is worthy of mention only on account of its -paucity, and we can never appreciate our true position on earth, until -at times we are filled with the sentiment, so well expressed by Bryant: - - "In sadness then I ponder, how quickly fleets the hour, - Of human strength and action, man's courage and his power." - -It is not for us to be crushed with the appreciation of our real lack -of importance, from a physical and moral viewpoint, but no scheme of -life can be built upon a sure foundation without an understanding of -what in the case of Schopenhauer, and some other brilliant intellects, -formed the basis of their pessimistic philosophy. That we are not -absolutely free, morally, to select our course, does not keep us from -being relatively so, and, after all, the destiny of the individual is -very largely within his power to shape. It is only through incessant -and vigorous struggle that anything worth while is accomplished, and -nature, in this and many other instances, is with us, since we become -capacitated for greater endeavor through practice, and the habit, once -formed, makes the effort for advancement become almost an instinct -within us, so that our mental activity does not have to be continually -consumed in holding our will to the course, but can be applied to -fighting our way upward along it. Just as fresh recruits are unable -to render the efficient service of veterans in actual warfare, so our -capabilities, morally and intellectually, become augmented by constant -practice. In the succeeding chapters, we shall attempt to show what is -possible to be got from life by the use of all of the advantages which -we have, and, in doing this, we shall elucidate a philosophy which is -as consistent with the facts of life as known to us as we can make it. - -In the days of the decadence of the Roman Empire, when perhaps life was -as uncertain as it ever was in the history of the world, the walls of -the banquet halls of a certain clique were always adorned with skulls -and other tokens of death, and according to all accounts, the mirth -was more furious, and the licentiousness greater, as the guests were -brought to realize the shortness of the time during which they had to -live. We moderns may well get an idea from these feasts, in which -the sentiment of Solomon, as voiced a thousand years earlier--than -the instance cited, and under similar conditions, "let us eat, drink, -and be merry, for to-morrow we die," is the dominating one, and, in -considering the shortness of life, realize that every minute should be -filled with effort, as time which is passed is gone forever. Even at -the best, whatever we may elect to accomplish, should take all of our -attention, and, although we may give it this, we will still be able to -find moments in which we did not live up to our possibilities. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE PURPOSE OF LIFE - - -In the preceding chapters, we have attempted to get a view of life -from a purely physical standpoint, and to show in what ways our race -is connected with the terrestrial past, and how much the individual -is dependent upon physical conditions, beyond his control, which -constitute both the background and the framework of his existence. But -as great as are these limitations, they are still not so important -as they at first sight would seem, since at least a portion of each -person's environment is of his own choosing, and both his body and his -mind are, to a greater or lesser degree, what he may elect to make -them. Diligence and pertinacity have accomplished wonders along this -line, and the poor struggling manual laborer very frequently turns out -to be the great discoverer, not only in the province of geography, -perhaps on the "Dark Continent," but along all the lines of truth. Nor -is even age a bar to achievement, as our own bard tells us: - - "Cato learned Greek at eighty; Sophocles - Wrote his grand Oedipus, and Simonides - Bore off the prize of verse from his compeers - When each had numbered more than fourscore years; - And Theophrastus, at fourscore and ten, - Had but begun his 'Characters of Men.' - Chaucer at Woodstock, with his nightingales, - At sixty, wrote the Canterbury Tales. - Goethe, at Weimar, toiling to the last, - Completed Faust, when eighty years were past." - -However, it is far more safe to assume that, whatever we have to -do, should be started early in life, for, if we are to carve out -our own destinies, we shall need all the time which we have at our -disposal. While fully realizing the limiting conditions of heredity and -environment, it is difficult to disprove the statement of Cassius, when -he says: - - "Men, at some time, are masters of their fates; - The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars - But in ourselves; that we are underlings." - -Perhaps Bulwer-Lytton has, in other words, more forcibly expressed a -similar idea when he says: - - "We are our own fates. Our own deeds - Are our own doomsmen." - -Let us not shift the responsibility of our being other than we desire -upon the shoulders of either our progenitors or circumstances, but, -taking what is, as a fact, we should try to so regulate our conduct -that what we wish may come to pass. It is not he who mourns the power -which he has not--who becomes either the master of himself or of -others, as the parable of the talents tells us, but it is he who, -with a strong heart, dares and does, that achieves the great things -on this earth. Perhaps as close an analogy as we can get to the real -life-condition, is to represent the individual's power over himself -and his destiny, by one line, and the power of heredity and forced -environment by one of equal length; then his power of accomplishment -will be the _vector sum_ of these two lines. The line representing the -uncontrollable condition will necessarily be longer (as the influence -is more powerful) in youth, while, during the life period, it gradually -shortens up until it reaches its minimum at the physical and mental -culmination of life, or when the individual is at his best, and -lengthens again as old age comes on, and the physical and mental forces -decline, and habit and environment become the prevailing factors. With -our responsibility clearly before us, then, let us investigate what is -worth having. - -At this particular time, when all of the Occidental world is hopelessly -insane with its Machiavelian money greed, it would seem that one of -Horace's sentiments, uttered satirically, had become the slogan of the -battle: - - "Get place and wealth, if possible, with grace; - If not, by any means, get wealth and place." - -Everything is thrown away by the average individual to-day, in his -haste to satisfy his desire for inordinate wealth;--friendship, -liberty, decency, humanity, honor, and even life itself, is hurled into -the maw of this Mammon, which is not satisfied with such sacrifices, -and gives only hard, cold gold as a return for the priceless jewels of -the human soul, and even this usually at a time in life when the little -value which the mental ever possessed has gone, since there are no -longer desires to gratify by it, with the one exception of that calling -constantly for more of the counters which have lost their purchasing -power. Our forefathers thought of wealth as worth having only -because with it came leisure, and with leisure came culture through -application. Sir John Lubbock has well said, "If wealth is to be valued -because it gives leisure, clearly it would be a mistake to sacrifice -leisure in the struggle for wealth." - -Unfortunately, our country is going through that period which all other -nations that have risen to "world power" have had to pass through, -only, in our case, we have reached this period much earlier in point of -time, owing to our vast natural resources, the activity of scientific -research, and the multitude of inventions resulting therefrom within -the last century. But, with the enormous increase in our national -wealth, the legislative branch of our Government neglected to pass -such restraining measures as would insure that no gigantic individual -fortunes were amassed, or, in case that they were to have such wealth, -bear its proportion of the tax; and, consequently, we are confronting -a condition of both anarchy and socialism, inasmuch as, to-day, our -law-making and higher judiciary branches of Government both have a -decided leaning toward whatever is favorable to capital, as against -the interests of the laboring people. Our lower judicial and executive -officials, however, are in this country and in England, owing to rank -partisan political influence, almost hopelessly under the domination -of organized labor, whose leaders (necessarily demagogues) use all the -means within their power to corrupt our system of jurisprudence to -further their own ends. It remains to be seen whether our Government, -owing to its democratic form, will be able to right these evils and -withstand the stress and strain which such a changed social system -must necessarily involve. Remembering our experience at the time of -the Civil War, which was brought about by very similar causes, we have -every reason to be hopeful of the outcome. Our vast alien population is -the only factor which would be decidedly against us at a time such as -this, since these foreigners have not had the privileges of citizenship -where they were born, and into them has been instilled the blind hatred -of all who possess wealth, owing to the monarchical feudal oppression -of the poorer laboring classes, by the titled and plutocratic nobility -of Europe. The most crying need of our time is a law equitable for poor -and rich alike, and a judicial and executive system which will see that -this law is enforced and its penalties are imposed impartially. - -Perhaps the worst feature about the possession of wealth, is that -it tends to dwarf and belittle the finer sensibilities of man. Its -acquisition becomes a passion of such violence that, in the majority of -cases, its possessor no longer cares for anything but the few paltry -pleasures which it will buy. And as few as these apparently are, they -are even less upon closer examination, since only the counterfeits -of anything of real moral value can be purchased for money. Purity, -sincerity, culture, or love, owing to their nature, never could be -bought for gold. Yet many an individual has acquired the opposite of -the four "pearls of great price" just mentioned, by having too much -money at his disposal; and most truly has it been said that "poverty is -one of the greatest teachers of virtue." In fact, if it were not for -the truth of our American aphorism, that "three generations cover the -time it takes one of our wealthy families to go from shirt-sleeves to -shirt-sleeves," our wealthy aristocracy would be much more profligate. -There can be no heritage of equal value to children, so long as -their poverty does not interfere with their fundamental education, -comparable to their being born in straitened, rather than in opulent, -circumstances. Consequently, we must accept the fact that beyond a -small competence set aside against age, money has no value of moment, -nor is it worthy of greater than a reasonable effort being spent to -acquire it. - -In this age of bustle and hurry, the nervous system is operated at -a very high tension, and as a result often refuses to do the work -demanded of it. As a consequence, artificial stimulants are resorted -to, with the most baneful effects upon our citizen body. Caffine, -thermo-bromine, nicotine, narcine, alcohol, and, frequently, chloral, -cocaine, morphine, and hyoscine, are used in some quantity, and often -under several forms, for this purpose by over seventy-five per cent. -of our population; and we have seen the statement that over ninety per -cent. of the males, over the age of twenty-one, are addicted to some -narcotic habit in this country. As a result of this, the vitality of -the individual, suffering from these habits, is eventually lowered, -owing to the effect which such stimulants have upon the involuntary -muscular fibre; while the over-wrought nervous system, sooner or later, -collapses, and we become, both mentally and physically, human wrecks. -Particularly is the taking of the weaker stimulants, such as are more -commonly used, harmful to children, inasmuch as, at this period of -development, nature has about all that she can well care for, without -interference from the outside, and abnormal activity of the imagination -at this time is not to be desired; since, under these circumstances -with the majority of human beings, the imaginative impulse runs more to -sensual than to æsthetic things. - -The demands of our present civilization upon the individual, especially -if he belongs to the coterie constituting the so-called social set, is -so great for both time and effort, that the use of narcotic stimulants -with this class is even greater than with the majority. Hence, it -happens in America, where wealth is often acquired very quickly, that -instead of bringing with it leisure, health, education, and refinement, -as it should, we see very frequently the opposite result. On this -account, in our country, we have no aristocracy, in any real sense of -the word, and, in general we are forced to believe that real culture -and refinement are becoming all the time more rare. The late Mark Twain -has well illustrated this tendency in his trite character sketch, "The -Man who Corrupted Hadleyburg." If our age tends toward degeneration -ethically from this cause, it does so even more from a physiological -point of view. It is becoming more imperative all the while that -we ascertain, for certain, that those with whom we must enter upon -intimate relationship, should be able to show a clean bill of health, -not only in a strictly physical sense, but in a moral sense as well. -To-day, luxury and vice in our centers of population are corrupting and -ruining a far larger proportion of our young and middle-aged men than -ever before. Since all branches of our Government are influenced by -plutocratic power, we are at a loss immediately to rectify these evils -by closing up the dens of vice, and raising the age of consent, to stem -the tide of infamy. - -Any system of ethics is valuable as a guide for conduct just to that -extent to which our interest is aroused. Inasmuch as with us all, self -is always the paramount consideration, the safest and surest basis -upon which we can build an ethical system is self-interest. Every -human being of intelligence must sooner or later realize that he is -on earth primarily by no choice of his own, and, since he is here, -it is of the first importance to him that he should know, early in -life, in just what way he will be able to secure the most out of his -terrestrial existence. Now, as we take it, happiness, in its broadest -and best sense, is alone the desideratum which is _per se_ worth the -individual's effort, and, in the aggregate, is worth the pains, both -as an end to be attained, and through the effects of the struggle -of obtaining it upon others. By happiness, we mean that feeling of -contentment and satisfaction which should, at all times, be with the -conscientious and sincere being, whether he is expecting to live a few -more decades, or if he has arrived at that inevitable hour which must -sometime come to all. In other words, let his end come when it will, if -he has happiness, in our sense, he feels and knows that he has had all -that he could get out of life, and, if he had to live it over again, -he would wish to operate upon only those principles which he had used -to guide his existence. In this sense, then, should happiness be the -purpose of life, we will now attempt to show what conditions must, of -necessity, be fulfilled in order to attain it. - -Happiness, for the individual, is but slightly dependent upon -circumstances outside of his control, and, in general, is the result of -living up to the highest moral possibility, which means the development -of self in the highest conception. Since any environment can be made -to serve the purpose, we are always so conditioned that some degree of -happiness may be ours. The presence of the objects of our affection, -in the form of human beings, is perhaps an actual necessary detail of -our environment, without which we cannot experience that feeling of -satisfaction and contentment which we call "happiness." - -The matter of the greatest importance is so ordering your life that, -in all your actions, you may be equitable in the most amplified sense -of the word. This has, at all times, been understood by those teachers -of humanity who have been reformers or saviors, from the priests of -Osiris in Egypt and Zoroaster in Bactria, more than five thousand -years ago, to Abbas Effendi in Palestine, within the last century. -And, strange as it may seem, the world has advanced perhaps less in -the understanding and practice of this, than in any of the truths of -lesser importance. The exposition of the Decalogue of the Pentateuch -is less refined and more constricted in meaning and application than -the Negative Confession in the Egyptian Book of the Dead, or the -Vedantic philosophy, as given in the older Hindoo writings, or in the -more modern Upanishads. From this point of view, the ethics of the -Zend or of the Chinese sages are infinitely beyond the best modern -practice of a majority of the people in any part of the earth. But -all conscientious and fearless thinkers, regardless of the date or -locality in which they existed, have realized that in every sense the -"Golden Rule" is the only safe guide for conduct, if contentment and -real happiness were the end sought. And if we once get thoroughly fixed -in the individual's mind that this is certain, and that, no matter -what the intention, if our acts are not ordered in accordance with -this fundamental principle of equity, we cannot be happy; we can rest -assured that the individual would no sooner pursue a line of action -which he absolutely knows will end in his own misery, than he would -wilfully take a dose of poison. It is the putting of ethical matters -upon a plain commonsense basis that will greatly assist, socially and -morally, in revolutionizing the world. We have too long deformed and -twisted facts to fit our fancies and prejudices, and we, as well as the -rest of the human race, have paid "a pretty penny" for our delusion. -The prevalence in all of the Western countries since Constantine raised -Christianity to the prominence of a State religion, of a belief in a -scheme of vicarious atonement, has worked inestimable harm to the human -race. Certainly, in one particular, the doctrine taught by the gospel -of Gautama Buddha is immeasurably further advanced ethically than that -of his subsequent rival, Jesus of Nazareth, if we accept their gospels -as correct reports of their teachings. Our blood, to-day, is tainted -with venereal diseases, and our minds with a predisposition to infamy, -because our ancestors were not taught, and did not know, that from the -consequence of their actions, both physically and mentally, they could -not escape. How many men would work day and night to accumulate wealth, -at the expense of their fellows, through unfair advantage and unjust -means, if they only knew that this could not, on account of immutable -law, add one iota to their happiness after they had secured possession -of their so much coveted gold? How many women, for the consideration -of a home of leisure and luxury, would rush into a marriage "of -convenience" with a man for whom they knew they had no semblance of -an affection, if they felt, with certainty, that nature does not -discriminate, even for a marriage license and a religious ceremony, -between prostitution within the bonds of wedlock, and without, and that -the horrors of remorse and disappointment are just as frightful in one -case as in the other? How many young men would go out into the world -with a Satanic sneer upon their faces, a cigarette between their lips, -and a glass of champagne in their hands, to sow their wild oats under -the tutelage of their older degenerate friends, if they fully realized -that, in this one act, they were forever incapacitating themselves for -the highest pleasure of life, and that no matter what their lives might -be thereafter, that nature would ruthlessly hold them to the strictest -accountability for their actions, and that ignorance would be no plea -for mercy before her bar? This inexorable impartiality of nature is at -once the saddest and the sublimest matter of contemplation, depending -entirely upon whether we are considering the awful weight of her -penalties or the magnificence of her rewards. The old axiom of prudery -that "knowledge often comes hard," is, in the cold light of fact and -reason, a most palpable absurdity. It is to-day, the man and woman -who _knows_; not necessarily from his or her own experience, but from -the authentic records of the results of the actions of others, whose -motives of narration cannot be questioned, who are well-equipped to -fight the battles of life, and get from terrestrial existence all the -real pleasure which is to be obtained. It is from such simple yet grand -souls that we have inspirations, and fortunate is that individual -who can call himself a friend to a man or woman whose life has, from -the earliest childhood, been so ordered that purity and sincerity -have been kept inviolate, and all of the fundamental conditions of -equity, as applicable to our fellow human beings, have been observed. -A friendship with this character of human being is one of the few -unalloyed pleasures of life, inasmuch as their company, when present, -or their memory, when absent, is equally delightful. But to get the -highest enjoyment from such a person, we must not only strive to reach -his or her level, but, just in proportion as we do attain their moral -altitude, we will have our capacity for enjoyment augmented. - -Perhaps in nothing more than in our moments of relaxation and amusement -should we be careful that we make our actions accord with this law -of equity. How many a careless thing we do without thinking what -the result will be upon someone else! While the indulging in some -amusements, such as a game of chance, for an insignificant stake, in -order to maintain the interest, may be done with impunity by parties -whose financial condition is such that the counters involved are of -no moment to them, and the stability of their temperament is sedate -enough so that the excitement of the game will not fascinate them -with a snake's charm; yet are these particular participants sure that -this is true of all of the company at such times? If not--and in no -gathering of this kind can we be sure--there is a possibility of great -harm being done. The same is also true of an occasional glass of -stimulant, so much in vogue on all social occasions; of the occasional -cigar or cigarette; of a little gossip or scandalous small-talk, which -we all enjoy so much; and of a thousand and one other things which, -in themselves, are almost positively not so harmful when properly -conditioned, but which may, and frequently do, become the means of -a fellow mortal's ruin. It is the lack of discerning and realizing -our responsibility in these matters of conduct that causes almost all -of the misery of the world. It is not, however, enough that we act -equitably only toward our friends and strangers, but we must, within -reasonable limits, follow the injunction which the Chinese philosopher -has so well enunciated twenty-five hundred years ago: "Requite hatred -with goodness." In this particular instance, Lao-Tse's philosophy is -more sensible than Christ's, who commanded us to turn the other cheek. -It is not the part of good judgment that we should throw ourselves -open to the ravages of our enemies, but it is essential that we do -not wilfully harm or wrong even the least of human beings. It has -been the most unfortunate thing for the Occidental world that those -in high authority in the Christian movement should have so belittled -their physical self in comparison with their spiritual natures, that -anything pertaining to the flesh was thought unclean and worthy of no -consideration. Everything which tends toward real beauty and sincerity, -and helps to make us learned, just, and charitable, must necessarily -be worth striving for; and the possession of this should be counted -above all other things. At the same time, we must appreciate the -awfulness of our responsibility, and continually test our actions in -the light of their equity toward others, if we would be following the -safe line of conduct. On the other hand, we should not be blind to -the evil in others, and we should be willing to go to any reasonable -self-sacrifice to better terrestrial conditions. - -The philosophy, as enunciated in the foregoing, is not at all -altruistic; it is, on the contrary, very selfish, and as such it has -its chief value. If we teach our children that they must be good, -not for the sake of doing the right thing, but for the purpose of -increasing their happiness, it would seem but reasonable that such -incentive in the latter case would be more potent than that given in -the former one. Above all, the idea of vicarious atonement must be -abhorred as a false conceit, and human beings should be taught that, in -the moral as in the physical world, consequences are always absolutely -true to their antecedents. As Orlando J. Smith so forcefully and -tritely says, "Know that the consequences of your every act and thought -are registered instantly in your character. This day, this hour, this -moment, is your time of judgment. He who deceives, betrays, kills--he -who entertains malice, treachery, or other vileness, secretly in his -heart--takes the penalty instantly in the debasement of his character. -And so, also, for every good thought or act, be it open or secret, he -shall receive an instant reward in the improvement of his character. - -"Every night as you lie down to sleep, you are a little better or a -little worse, a little richer or a little poorer, than you were in -the morning. You have nothing that is substantial, nothing that is -truly your own, but your character. You shall lose your money and your -property; your home shall be your home no longer; the scenes which know -you now shall know you no more; your flesh shall be food for worms; -the earth upon which you tread shall be cinders and cosmic dust. Your -character alone shall stay with you, surviving all wreckage, decay, and -death; your character is you, it shall be you forever. Your character -is the perfect register of your progress or of your degradation, of -your victory or of your defeat; it shall be your glory or your shame, -your blessing or your curse, your heaven or your hell." - -Truly has Plato said: "Character is man's destiny." "Whatsoever a man -soweth, that shall he also reap." - - - - -CHAPTER V - -KNOWLEDGE AND EDUCATION - - -In entering upon the consideration of the part which knowledge plays -in the making of human happiness, it seems impossible to secure a -view of satisfactory breadth. What we, as children, knew as recently -established facts was with our fathers, in many instances, entirely -undreamed-of, so rapidly has the fund of knowledge grown within the -last century. With us now, more than at any other time, is correctness -of judgment advantageous, since, with increased learning, has come a -fiercer competition in all the affairs of life, and more dependent -than ever before is the individual now, upon his intelligence for -his livelihood, as well as for his happiness. In this day, as never -previously, are the words of Bacon true: "Crafty men contemn studies; -simple men admire them, and wise men use them." - -At the present time, also, as at no time in the historic past, is -experience gained at the hands of others or through them; so that the -youth of to-day does not have to suffer the consequences of getting -experience "first hand" on account of the lack of books, or of the -prejudice or ignorance of his parents and teachers, as was so often -the case in the not remote past. Furthermore, intelligent parents are -taking their children into their confidence, and informing them upon -all subjects with perfect freedom, since, inasmuch as knowledge must -come to children at some time, it is vastly preferable that it should -come through those who have the interest of the inexperienced at heart, -so that the proper color and perspective may be given to each and every -fact. It is almost an axiom of pedagogics to-day that "ignorance is -the most potent cause of crime." With the unprecedented dissemination -of knowledge which has taken place during the past few decades, there -has necessarily been a proportionate advancement in the culture of the -masses, and, with culture, comes refinement and conscience. - -The cheapness and attractiveness of current literature, before the -decline in culture which engulfed this country with the rise of -commercialism and imperialism, was a thing of which America had every -reason to be proud; and while we are now in the trough of the wave of -progress, and will continue to be until money and commercial influence -lose their present prestige, yet it does not take an optimist to see -that, sooner or later, and somewhere, humanity will take advantage of -its hard-won victories of the past and commence again its march toward -better conditions. - -Here, again, as with the individual, so with the entire race. As we -outgrow the things of our childhood at the arrival of mature years, -so has and will the human family as a whole. Who cannot remember the -marvelous width and depth of the vistas of youth, as looked back at in -the transmuting light of memory; and yet, when, after years of toil, -we look at the same scenes again in reality, how disappointing and -dwarfed they are! It is not the actual physical distance which has been -altered, but we, ourselves. Our horizons have unconsciously widened -every day; our standards of comparison have been insidiously raised. -Just as an inch, when compared with a foot, seems relatively small, -with a yard, smaller, and so on until we reach the "light year," the -value of the fraction is reduced to almost an inappreciable sum; so, as -we progress through life, the momentous events of our youth lose their -importance, and we look at our past through the minifying glass of -experience, until at last we can hardly believe that the person whose -life we have been reviewing is, in reality, one with our present self. -Furthermore, events seen at a distance assume their true proportions, -and we are less influenced by passions and prejudices after the lapse -of time; hence it is only in retrospection that we are able to secure -a view of anything which we have experienced without distortion. All -normal human beings are so constituted that their psychic activity runs -through a long series of periods of evolution during each individual -life. As Haeckel has shown, five of these, at least, can be clearly -defined: - -1st--The Infantile Stage--from birth to the beginning of -self-consciousness. - -2nd--The adolescent stage--from self-consciousness to puberty. - -3rd--The idealistic stage--from puberty to the period of sexual -intercourse. - -4th--The mature stage--from the time of sexual intercourse to the -beginning of degeneration with age. - -5th--The senile stage--from the commencement of degeneration with age -until death. - -The investigation of a human life, according to this outline, will -prove, quite readily, the psychic possibilities of mundane existence. - -As is well known, the child enters life with its cerebellum almost -devoid of functions. The vital processes are carried on through the -cerebrum and the medulla oblongata, purely by virtue of the stamp of -heredity, and it is only after some days that the outside stimuli, such -as light, heat, pressure or contact, etc., of the most elementary and -primitive sort, are responded to by the infant. Its life is a matter -of little or no individual interest to it, and it is usually only -after many months, and, in some cases, years, before the child has any -conception of its own existence. Previous to the comprehension of its -existence, the infant has to learn to see and judge something of the -distance and size of objects by the use of its eyes, if not to invert -the retina image. In a non-monistic sense, the child, during this -period, has no soul, and its life or death is of absolutely no moment -to it. - -In the second, or adolescent stage, the most important of the -individual's concrete knowledge is obtained--that upon which the basis -of judgment rests in after-years. The developing mentality seizes -new facts with avidity, and the memory is more keen, potentially, -at this stage than at any other. The value of correct associations -at this era cannot be over-estimated, as ideas and habits formed in -this period cling tenaciously to the individual. So deeply seated do -they become that they form a part of what we call, in after-years, -our instinct, and upon these memories and the foundation of habits -we build our later intuition. Voltaire has somewhere remarked that -"Mankind is led more by instinct than by reason," and his observation -is a just one. The acquisition of concrete facts or knowledge, in -a specialized form, takes place at a very much more rapid rate at -this period than during any other one, and the child's mind is very -plastic, and absorbs information greedily. Nature has so arranged it -that at this time, when most is to be learned, learning comes more -easily than before or afterwards. In the normal child, the sense of -duty begins to make itself felt at this juncture, and while this may -be entirely an objective idea, nevertheless, it clearly shows an -appreciation of justice in a regard for the rights of others. Coupled -with this, there is a satisfaction which comes both from a sense of -our knowledge--little though it be--and the feeling that this is being -used as a guide to our conduct; a sentiment which Bacon eloquently -expresses in his aphorism: "No pleasure is comparable with the standing -upon the vantage ground of Truth." With this realization, life for -the first time becomes worth living, and our desire for more knowledge -follows directly upon our appreciation of the power which truth gives -over our destiny. The grasping and comprehension of this idea by the -child is one of the greatest, if not the most important, points to be -attained in any educational system. The absorption of abstract facts -does not constitute, primarily, any part of an education, as Spencer -has so clearly shown; but the implanting of the desire for truth, and -the manner in which we should assimilate and use it, does attain the -highest aim of any scheme of erudition. It is in this second stage -of development that this must be done rudimentally; consequently, -compulsory education must be carried at least through this period. - -At the beginning of the third subdivision in the life of the -individual, we find a peculiar nervous tension, which is invariably an -accompaniment of this stage of physical development. The imaginative -faculties are enormously stimulated, and, unless directed into the -right channels, are sure to work to the eternal harm of both male and -female children. They should have been given a general knowledge of -their physical peculiarities, previous to this time, by their parents, -and should be allowed the companionship of playmates of the opposite -sex so long as their characters are not objectionable. These close -acquaintances between girls and boys should be fostered and allowed -to become friendship, rather than be discouraged and ridiculed, by -the parents and guardians, as is so often the case. The polarity of -sex will assert itself at this early age, and the boys will strive to -appear manly, strong and noble, while the girls, in a less positive -sense, perhaps, but in an equally beneficial manner, will attempt to -assume the womanly peculiarities of reserved kindliness and sympathy, -which has made the female character so lovable and universally admired -through all the ages. In this matter of the intersexual association -of children, our public school system is usually in error, since, in -most towns, the playgrounds of the boys and girls are separated by -high fences, and communication is entirely cut off during play times. -The association with a large number of individuals of the opposite -sex gives the child a broader basis upon which to form a judgment -concerning any one, and if taught at the same time to use his mind -analytically, will mean a correspondingly high ideal of his own. The -ideal of the child is but the selected striking characteristics of his -own acquaintances, coalesced into an imaginative being. This ideal -is high or low, just as he has been taught to reverence and worship -beautiful or unlovely and vile things; but, all conditions being equal, -there is no other time in life when the human mind will so readily -respond to the pure and noble stimulation of æstheticism as against the -baseness and depravity of unbridled sensuality. - -Much has been said concerning the difference in the systems of -education and the class of facts to be presented to the male, as -distinguished from the female, mind. There can be no doubt that the -desired result of education in either case is broadly similar--the -fitting of the individual for a useful and happy life. But it -does not follow that, because in our present civilization, the -woman is necessarily the guardian of the æsthetic, while the man is -engrossed with the practical, that the same set of facts and power of -investigation and reason are not just as good a preparation with which -to meet the identical world-problems in the one life as in the other. -Truth is the same to the boy as to the girl, and the material facts -do not change whether faced by one sex or its opposite. Since in our -industrial life, we have allowed woman to assume already no mean part, -we have more than ever a valid reason for giving her the same course -of training in general which we prescribe for her brother. Nor are we -speaking of intellectual and moral education alone--but the physical -as well--and this in its broadest sense. If we can but stamp indelibly -upon the minds of our children that the natural consequences of their -actions are the punishments, _per se_, which they must suffer in -person, we have done about all possible toward making their pathways -through the world lead at least through negative enjoyment, in place -of absolute grief. There must be inculcated a frankness and sincerity -into the processes of their mentality, before correct judgment can -exist, and, without this, no scheme of education can fulfill its -mission. This honesty of character or intro-active integrity is a hard -matter to instill into the child, since our methods and actions are -very rarely consistent, as Richter, Rousseau, Spencer, and others--in -truth, all of our great educational thinkers--have so well realized. -The indispensability of this candor and fervor is none the less -appreciated, however, owing to the almost insurmountable difficulties -attending its procuration. It is just in this connection that intimate -friendships with members of both sexes so nicely supplement the work -accomplished by parental association, since the restraint certain to -come from the authority of the parent or guardian, is unknown as an -influence between those equal in age and station in life. - -In the use of the beginning of sexual intercourse, as a line of -demarcation between periods of human existence, it would seem that -a most natural and rational selection were made. As a proof of this, -it is but necessary to call to mind the large number of barbaric and -semi-civilized peoples who observe some initiatory rites or mysteries -connected with the arrival of the individual at puberty or nubility, -which with them is, to all intents and purposes, the same as, if not -absolutely identical with, the beginning of sexual indulgence. Under -our civic law, it is at this time that, through marriage, the human -being assumes his full responsibilities, and, by the beginning of an -independent family relation, becomes an integral, co-ordinate member -of the state. It is at this "stress and storm" period that the real -work of life--the fruition of existence--takes place. Beginning with -the intimate association with another human being, whose rights and -privileges are so interwoven with our own that it is frequently a -hard matter to respect them without becoming distant, tolerating the -idiosyncrasies, and lauding the virtues, in such a way that the former -are diminished, while the latter are increased; trying to anticipate -the wants and wishes of the other so that they may be gratified--not -for their own satisfaction, primarily, but for our own; seeing the -pleasures of sensuality transmuted in the crucible of pain into the -gold of a new existence; feeling the supplementary affection and -interest, which, for the want of a better name, we call parental -love, and, as the offspring grow older, the pride and elation which -comes with their achievements; standing at last beside the grave, -crushed with grief, raving like Macbeth in despair, or inspired with a -transcendental insanity like Richter's--these all are the vicissitudes -of mature human life, when at its best. - -But, great and varied as they are, we find them, in fact, very closely -fused together; and like all life-processes, they take place at a -comparatively slow rate, so that before we are aware, we have arrived -at the beginning of senile degeneration. - -Prior to the ending of this fourth stage, the education of the -individual has been finished, and it depends largely upon the -previous mode of living, and the manner of thinking whether he -may not remain at his best for a while, or must at once begin the -descent, from which there is no return. Fortunate, indeed, is he -whose "star remains long bright at the zenith." Considering now what -constitutes an education and the best means of obtaining it, we can -profitably review the principles involved. As Spencer has shown, -intellectual, moral, and even physical development for the human -being must proceed in one direction--call it what we will. There can -be no question that the infant, as an individuality, is homogeneous -in its ignorance and positive influence; that the first facts which -dawn upon its germinating intelligence are concrete and empirical, -and that all of its acts are simple, resulting from comparatively -simple stimuli. Education, in its broadest sense, is the development, -cultivation, and direction of all the natural powers of man, and -its purpose should be to fit the individual for a useful and happy -life. Education can come only through the acquisition of knowledge, -but knowledge can be obtained in two ways. By knowledge, we mean -assurance born of conviction, based upon sufficient evidence, that -a mental conception corresponds with that which it represents. The -primal way of gaining knowledge is by experience, and undoubtedly -this is the most satisfactory and thorough in all cases, where the -result of such experience is not of such a nature as to potentially -lessen the possibilities of the individual for future usefulness and -happiness. Where this would occur, or where, for any reason, such as -lack of time or opportunity, it cannot be resorted to, the accurately -recorded experience of others can be assimilated through the memory and -reasoning faculties, and added to the store of knowledge for the mind's -use. In using the second method of acquiring knowledge, we should not -only exercise the utmost care in selecting authorities who have a -reputation for keenness of perception and truthfulness of narration, -but we should not accept their dictum for what seems to be to us -contrary to our previous experience, and unsound to our reason and -judgment. Unless we are able to follow with our reason their narration -of the causes of events, it is of but little avail that we reach their -conclusion. - -The adoption of the scientific as distinguished from the Aristotelian -system of education by the leading teachers of all the Occidental -countries within the last century, has been of enormous benefit to -the human race. We know now that the first thing to be learned is -to maintain the body in as nearly perfect physical condition as -possible--since the mind, to a marked degree, reflects the pathological -state of the flesh. Consequently, hygiene becomes the fundamental -science in the education of the human being, and facts relating thereto -should take precedence generally over all others in the priority of -time in a youth's education. - -With the habit of health once established, the next matter is to see -that those studies which will place the individual in possession of -the greatest numbers of facts concerning his physical and mental -environments, and which will give him the best training in observation -and reasoning, are pursued. - -For this, natural science and its accompanying mathematics, are -supreme, although enough manual training and domestic science should be -included in the curriculum to insure an acquaintance with the matters -of everyday life. Human physiology and anatomy, as well as the subject -of parenthood, should also have a share of attention commensurate -with their importance--and this has long been denied them. Elementary -psychology must also have a place even in that course of education -which should be made compulsory in every State. A knowledge of the -elementary Latin and Greek is also to be desired in those countries -whose vernaculars are largely made up from word-roots to be found in -these dead languages. - -As a matter of amusement and erudition every individual should have -some line of work other than that of his daily routine, upon which to -devote his spare time, regardless of the educational advantages which -he may have had before assuming his responsibilities in the world's -work. This is equally true of woman. However, this should not be done -with the intention of winning fame--although that is not impossible, -since Newton developed his Calculus in his spare time after hours, -while working as a clerk upon a very moderate salary--or attracting the -attention of others, but as a means of self-development. Either some -particular unsolved problem may be taken hold of, such as the sciences -of chemistry, physics, or biology are so replete with, or the subject -of literature and _belles lettres_ may be studied most entertainingly -and profitably. This class of workers were very much more numerous -formerly than at present, owing to the rise of commercialism recently -over the whole world, and it is among these that labor for love, rather -than for profit, that much of the real accomplishment occurs. From -our standpoint, no plan of human existence can be complete, in the -highest and best sense of the word, which does not include this phase -of life, nor can any scheme of education be comprehensive which does -not lead up to it. There is probably no natural law, the knowledge -of which is of so much importance to the human race at large, as that -commonly known as the law of compensation. How many of the thinking -vulgar have for ages repeated the ancient adage: "You cannot have your -pie and eat it." But it has remained for modern science to demonstrate -how absolutely true this is, and Emerson only partly stated his case in -one of his best essays: "Tit for tat; an eye for an eye; a tooth for a -tooth; blood for blood; measure for measure, love for love. Give and -it shall be given to you. Nothing venture, nothing have. Thou shalt be -paid exactly for what thou hast done, no more, no less. Who doth not -work, shall not eat. Harm watch, harm catch. Curses always recoil on -the head of him who imprecates them. If you put a chain around the neck -of a slave, the other end fastens itself around your own. Bad council -confounds the adviser. 'What will you have?' quoth God; 'pay for it and -take it.'" It is one of the largest parts of any education, yea, it is -the major, to know that you must pay for what you get in life whether -you will or no, and that you are forced constantly to bargain and -barter what you have for what you have not, and it is imperative that -you see that you get something which you really want, and which will -add to your happiness. And, in spite of yourself, you will get what you -really want, for you can't help it; but for it you will have to pay out -something, as you are doing all the time. Be sure to get something back -of value, let your ideals be high, choose the thing which will give you -the most happiness, but, remember, that you must pay its price. It is -the sudden realization of the law of compensation, held possibly to an -untenable extreme, that accounts for the recent rapid proselyting of -the Christian Science cult. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -RELIGION AND ETHICS - - -Those who have noticed little children playing contentedly in the -early evening, when one of their number suggested the change of -amusement to the game of bugoo-bear, could not have failed to see the -almost immediate alteration in the infantile mind from the most happy -placidity to the most tense apprehension. Although the lights still -burned at their utmost brilliancy and the game was entered into with -perfect good faith by the children, nevertheless it was a matter of -but a short while until all were thoroughly scared and expected the -bugoo-bear to appear in any dark or shadowed place. This phenomenon -has always seemed to be a very close analogy to just what happens -with grown persons who are working up a religious fervor. Just as the -darker the room is, the more apprehensive the children become, so the -deeper the ignorance of natural science is which engulfs the mature -human individuals, directly in that proportion will be their capacity -for religious fanaticism. The consciousness of man that he is dependent -upon some supernatural being, has been and always will be the only -basis upon which religious belief can be postulated. If we insert -the idea of natural causes in place of the supernatural being in the -foregoing sentence, then instead of a religious belief, we have the -foundation for a system of ethics. - -The dissemination of scientific knowledge in the last century has -done more to break down religious caste and hatred than all other -influences combined previous to that time. The authority of age has -been appreciably lessened, the significance of miracles as certain -proofs of divinity on the part of religious teachers has changed, the -reasonableness or expediency of any system of vicarious atonement -as a means of attaining either spiritual or moral "grace," and the -realization of humanity in general that the individual expiates his -physical crimes by bodily suffering, and his moral sins by the -tortures of a guilty conscience, are all verifications of what has -occurred in the spiritual and moral world recently. The enormous -strides made in proselyting by monism within the last few decades, -speak volumes upon this topic. The statement has recently been made, as -the result of an ecclesiastical census conducted by one of the largest -Christian denominations, that less than twenty-five per cent. of our -people in this country regularly attend church service. The demand -of the age for demonstration does not well accord with the credulity -insisted upon by the powerful religious organizations of to-day. -Religious beliefs are of necessity mere matters of superstition, and -are based very largely upon the tendency of the human mind to bow -down before authority, particularly, if it is insolent, and the power -of a falsehood to put on the appearance of a truth, if it can but -gain sufficient repetition. "Credidi propter quod, locutus sum." The -brazenness of this in much of the literature of religious revelation, -particularly in the Hebrew, Christian, and Mohammedan collections, is -most readily apparent to the most cursory critic. In fact, no strictly -religious literature at the time of the supremacy of the belief is free -from it. - -It is true of all religions that into the warp of superstition the woof -of a code of ethics is interwoven. In the earlier stages of culture -it has long been one of the accepted criteria of any faith whether -its accompanying science of duty, as developed in it, was relatively -good or bad. That there is a logical connection between these two -elements no one can doubt, but this inter-relation is more frequently -accidental than it is essential. Facts show that the instituters and -early promulgators of all of the great religions of which we have -knowledge, have seized with avidity upon any moral stipulations which -were necessary for their locality or condition of life, and that if -capital could be made out of these peculiar provincial circumstances, -they were not slow in coining them to their advantage. An instance -of this will be readily recognized in the inculcating within their -tenets such doctrines as the existence of an omnipresent and omniscient -deity, whose favor may be won by supplication, humility, or sacrifice, -or that of a personal immortality for each individual in a pleasurable -condition as one of the rewards for belief and an endless existence of -pain for its lack. As the number of converts increased, there has, in -almost every case, grown up a powerful and wealthy sacerdotal class -having special privileges. This cult of priesthood is soon corrupted -by idleness and luxury, and the great influence which is attached to -it by virtue of its vocation, has sooner or later been largely exerted -to keep its parishioners under its control by means of ignorance and -superstition. No matter how pure and sincere may have been its founder, -or how elevating or altruistic its doctrines might be, practically -all religions have suffered from the infamy and gross selfishness of -their priesthoods, who by their short-sighted policies of opposing all -adjustment of its dogma to newly-discovered facts, or their advancement -along with contemporary civilizations, have but precipitated their -downfall. From one to another of the gods of heaven has the "sceptre of -power and the purple of authority" passed with advancing ages, until it -is no wonder that thinking people are asking, "Who will next occupy the -old throne?" - -The earliest religion of which we have any knowledge was that -prevailing in the Valley of the Nile over seven, and perhaps as long -as ten, thousand years ago. The origin of these Egyptian Aborigines -we do not know--some have supposed that they came from a mixture of -conquering Lybians, with the early dwellers along the lower courses of -the river. Time has effaced all record of any religious texts which -they may have possessed, yet we can tell from the manner in which -they buried their dead, when not dismembered, with their faces always -to the south, and lying upon their left side, while the corpse was -wrapped in the skins of gazelles or in grass mats--that their ideas of -a future life were tolerably well-defined. The civilization of this -people was modified by the arrival of the conquering immigrants who -probably came from Asia, either by way of Arabia or across the Red -Sea, and who, in turn, engrafted upon the religion of the conquered -certain tenets of their own, and in this way formed a new system, the -records of which we find in "The Book of the Dead," which is not only -the oldest book extant, but also the most antiquated collection of -sacred literature of which we have knowledge. Exploration in Egyptian -burying-grounds plainly shows that between the time of the disposition -of the dead, as first noted, and the date of the supremacy of the "Book -of the Dead," that there existed civilizations in this valley who no -longer buried their dead whole, with crude attempts at embalming with -bitumen, but who burned their corpses more or less completely, and -threw the remaining bones into a shallow pit. After this came a race -who dismembered the bodies of their dead, burying the hands and feet -in one place, while the trunk and the rest of the arms and legs were -placed in a grave, separate again from the head. It is impossible, of -course, to even guess at the length of time necessary to effect such -changes in the customs of people, but we do know that at least seventy -centuries ago the ritual contained in the "Book of the Dead" was -generally accepted. And from this remote pre-dynastic time down to the -seventh century after Christ, mummifying was, in some form or other, -continually practiced in the Valley of the Nile. At the earliest time -of which we have record, we find the Egyptians worshiping a number of -autochthonic gods, of whom Osiris and his sister Isis were the chief. -Their ideas of the deities were entirely anthropomorphic. Osiris having -lived and suffered death and mutilation, and having been embalmed, was -by his sisters, Isis and Nephthys, provided with a series of charms, -by which he was protected from all evil and harm in the future life, -and who had recited certain magical formulæ which had, in the world to -come, given him everlasting life. It is certain that the practice of -this belief changed in minor details many times as the semi-barbarous -and sensual North Africans were subjected to the influence of their -more highly moral and spiritual Asiatic conquerors. Their tombs changed -from shallow pits to brick sepulchres, and these were in turn replaced, -by those who could afford it, by pyramids--the most substantial -form of human architecture left by historic races. As showing the -height of the civilization reached by the ancient Egyptians, it is -worthy of note that the great Pyramid of Cheops is not only the most -gigantic tomb ever built, but that it was designed to serve also as an -astronomical observatory, and that its Orientation for this purpose is -very accurate, when we consider that the Egyptians had no transits or -other instruments such as we have now. Consequently, in the location of -this work, they were forced to either use the shadow or polar method, -and the latter being the most accurate was, in fact, selected by -them. Had they known anything of the refraction of light as it passes -from space into our atmosphere, and been able to make the correction -for horizontal parallax, their location would have been accurate. -The purposes of their astronomical observations, as made from this -pyramid, were astrological undoubtedly, as the completion of the tomb -shut off the galleries which had been so carefully located. - -According to the "Book of the Dead," the human economy was composed -of nine different integral parts, all of which, except the "ren" or -name, are comprised broadly within our idea of _body_ and _soul_. The -judgment of each individual took place after death, before the tribunal -of Osiris, and in his Hall of Judgment. Here the soul, stripped of all -chance of deceit or subterfuge, was forced to make, as his address -to Osiris, the justly famous "Negative Confession," and the truth -being apparent to Osiris and his forty-two associates, judgment was -given impartially and upon an absolute basis of fact. The standard of -ethics demanded of the individual can be realized from the fragments -quoted from this address:--"In truth I have come to thee and I have -brought right and truth to thee, and I have destroyed wickedness for -thee. I have not brought forward my name for exaltation to honors. -I have had no association with worthless men. I have not uttered -evil words against any man. I have not stirred up strife. I have not -judged hastily. I have not made haughty my voice, nor behaved with -insolence. I have not ill-treated servants. I have not caused harm to -be done to the servant by his master. I have not made to be the first -consideration of each day that excessive labor should be performed for -me. I have not oppressed the members of my family. I have not defrauded -the oppressed one of his property. I have neither filched away land, -nor have I encroached upon the fields of others. I have not diminished -from the bushel, nor have I misread the pointer of the scales nor added -to the weights. I have not carried away the milk from the mouths of -children. I have caused no man to suffer hunger. I have made no one -to weep. I have not acted deceitfully. I have not uttered falsehood. -I have not wrought evil in the place of right and truth. I have not -committed theft. I have not done violence to any man. I have done no -murder. I have ordered no murder done for me. I have not caused pain. -I have not done iniquity. I have not defiled the wife of any man. I -have not committed fornication, nor have I lain with any man. I have -not done evil to mankind. I have not committed any sin against purity. -I am pure. I am pure. I am pure." Those who were condemned before this -tribunal were instantly devoured by the "Eater of the Dead," while -the good were admitted into the realm of Osiris to enjoy everlasting -happiness and life. - -We turn now from the Valley of the Nile to that of the Tigris and -Euphrates, lying about one thousand miles eastward. Here we find the -home of the Assyrian and Babylonian empires, and interwoven with their -religion we find many of the old myths which, in a corrupted form, -occur in our own Bible. As the papyri of Egypt have been forced to give -up their secrets, so have the clay cylinders of Mesopotamia. These, -now lying in the British and Berlin Museums, tell in a purer and more -primitive form than that found in the Old Testament, the story of the -fall of man, and upon an old cylinder seal we have it illustrated, -apple tree, woman, serpent, and all. The story of the deluge is also -there taken from the library of Sardanapalus at Nineveh, just as it was -written upon the cylinder more than two thousand years before Christ. -All that is required to duplicate this deluge as far as the valley of -Mesopotamia is concerned, is a tremendous downpour of water, coincident -with a tornado blowing up the Persian Gulf, just as some thirty years -ago, in the delta of the Ganges, nearly a quarter of a million persons -perished during a like phenomenon in the Bay of Bengal. Here also we -find the creation myth, and how after a terrible struggle with the -engulfing waters, Marduk finally cut them in twain, and out of one-half -made the roof of heaven, while out of the other half he made the -earth. Then, too, out of mingled clay and celestial blood, he made the -first two human beings, man and woman. The Babylonians and Assyrians -believed in the immortality of the soul, dependent, of course, upon -the mode in which it lived here. Thus, we find the fifth, sixth, and -seventh commandments just as we have them in the Pentateuch, together -with injunctions of humanity, charity, mercy, and love on the part of -the follower of Babel. Speaking the truth and keeping one's word, as -well as freedom from deceit, are also commanded, and infringements -of these were regarded as sins punishable by human afflictions and -ailments of all sorts, including death. Their idea of heaven was fairly -well-developed, very greatly in excess of that of the Hebrews. Their -heaven was a place of delight and ease, while Sheol was a place full -of thirst and discomfort. It is also interesting to know that the Jews -got their ideas of angels from the Babylonians, with whom, as far as we -know, this idea was original, inasmuch as we find no mention of them in -the Egyptian religious system. - -Considering now the civilization which existed in the valleys of -Mesopotamia from five to six thousand years ago, the first thing which -arrests our attention is their knowledge of astronomy. In place of -the Egyptian pyramid, with its sides Oriented toward the cardinal -points, we find the ziggurat pointing the angles instead. This one -fact shows that Chaldea did not borrow from Egypt, but developed her -science independently of her western neighbor. The planets were all -known and named, eclipses were foretold with accuracy, and to Accadia -we owe not only our observance of Sunday, but our angular duodecimal -scale. What length of time must have been required to admit of such a -highly-developed civilization as this, with such advanced religious and -ethical ideas, is beyond the faintest conjecture. Far more remote than -that time, however, were the first settlements on the alluvial plains -by the rude aborigines of the highlands. - -On the plateau of Iran, in Central Asia, we find the location of the -oldest known habitation of the Aryan race. Here, in the earliest -twilight of our history, we find tribes of human beings who possessed -well-developed religious and ethical ideas, and whose descendants, -moving toward the southeast and into the valleys of the Himalayas, -formulated the hymns which, when compiled, constitute the Vedas or the -sacred literature of the Aryan Indians, while the portion who remained -behind, became the progenitors of the Aryan Iranians whose religious -lore we find in that wonderful collection known as the Avesta. In these -two literatures, both of which are worthy of the deepest investigation -and maturest deliberation, we have, so far as is known, the oldest idea -of a non-anthropomorphic deity. His attributes with the Indian were so -subdivided and abstracted as to allow this one god essence to almost -fill a panthenon. Their worship took the form of adoration for the -striking grandeurs of nature, each of whom they regarded as a separate -personal consciousness possessed of superhuman powers. Their religion -seems to the superficial investigator to be but an exceptionally -pure form of pantheism, but this is not, in fact, the case, since -philologists to-day recognize that the overwhelming spontaneous -impulse which forces the barbaric human mentality to give utterance -to its deepest emotions, is a certain index of a crude monotheistic -conception. It is Brahma who is the universal self-existent soul, -and who comprises, in his infinity, both the god and the adorer. -Of course, as time went on, these ideas became more gross, until, -with the introduction of caste, the ancient Vedic religion had lost -much of its beauty and purity. The religious system had become both -dogmatic and pretentious, and particularly insolent in its authority -with the rise in power of the sacerdotal class, the Brahmans. While -the Vedic religion is imbued with a spirit of strong belief in the -efficacy of sacrifice and prayer, we find that this steadily increases -in domination as we approach modern times. To all, except the Sudras -or Serfs, a course of life conduct is prescribed consisting of four -stages, _viz._: as a religious student, as a householder, as an -anchorite, and last, as a religious mendicant. Corresponding to these, -there were four sacred debts, _viz._: that due to the gods and paid by -worship; that due to the ancient sages and discharged by Vedic study; -that which he owes to his manes, and which he relieves himself of by -the perpetuation of his name in a son; and last, that which he owes to -mankind, and which demands his incessantly practicing kindness and -hospitality. They believed in the immortality of the soul and through -metempsychosis, in its reward or punishment, according to its existence -here. - -In the sixth century before Christ, there lived in India a member of -the Brahman class who was destined to more than restore Brahmanism to -its pristine purity. Gautama Buddha was born as the son of a local -ruler and his wife, whose conception was accomplished by her falling -into a trance and dreaming that the future Buddha had become a superb -white elephant, who, walking around her and striking her upon the -right side with a lotus flower, entered her womb. Such is the Hindoo -myth. This reformer altogether denied the existence of the soul, as an -entity or substance possessing immortality in the individual sense, -and he taught that the soul's future happiness in the abstract was -entirely dependent upon its performance while here, as distinguished -from any recollection or effect of its previous existences. He denied -the authority of the Veda and the efficacy of prayer--in fact, his -creed is best shown by a quotation from his gospel: "Rituals have no -efficacy, prayers are but vain repetitions, and incantations have no -saving power. But to abandon covetousness and lust, to become free -from all evil passions, and to give up all hatred and ill-will; that -is the right sacrifice and the true worship." This is the kernel of -the pure Buddhistic belief, and this declaration at once reduces his -system from a religious to a purely ethical one. Excepting the myth of -his conception, his life was a perfectly natural one. Nothing could -be more real than his discovery of sorrow and misery, and his inquiry -after its cause; nothing can be more touching than his parting from -his wife and son, whom he loved so much that he could not hazard the -pleasure of a last farewell. And under the stress of this situation, we -are particularly told that he was human enough to give way to tears. -No ethics could be higher in the aggregate than his--not once, but -time and again, does he speak thus: "Indulge in lust but little, and -lust, like a child, will grow. Charity is rich in returns; charity is -the greatest wealth, for though it scatters, it brings no repentance. -Better than sovereignty over the earth, better than living in heaven, -better than lordship over all the worlds, is the fruit of holiness. For -seeking true religion, there is never a time that can be inopportune. -The present reaps what the past has sown, and the future is the -product of the present. Far better is it to revere the truth than try -to appease the gods by the shedding of blood. What love can a man -possess who believes that the destruction of life will atone for evil -deeds? Can a new wrong expiate old wrongs? And can the slaughter of -an innocent victim take away the sins of mankind? This is practicing -religion by the neglect of moral conduct. The sensual man is the slave -of his passions, and pleasure-seeking is degrading and vulgar. But to -satisfy the necessities of life is not evil. To keep the body in good -health is a duty, for otherwise we shall not be able to trim the lamp -of wisdom, and keep our mind strong and clear. There is no savior in -the world except in truth; there is no immortality except in truth. -The truth is best as it is, have faith in the truth and live it. Not -by birth does one become an outcast; not by birth does one become a -Brahman; by deeds one becomes an outcast and by deeds one becomes a -Brahman." What could more strongly emphasize the position of Buddha in -regard to the infamy of the caste system, as it has been developed in -India, than the parable of the low-caste girl at the well who had been -asked by the disciple Ananda for a drink. This girl, seeing that he was -a Brahman, or member of the highest caste, replied that she could not -give him even a drink of water without contaminating his holiness. To -this, Ananda promptly replied: "I ask not for caste, but for water." -And when she came to Buddha with her heart full of gratitude and love -for Ananda, he spoke to her in the following language: "Verily, there -is great merit in the generosity of a king when he is kind to a slave, -but there is greater merit in the slave when, ignoring the wrongs which -he suffers, he cherishes kindness and good-will to all mankind. He will -cease to hate his oppressors, and even when powerless to resist their -usurpation will, with compassion, pity their arrogance and supercilious -demeanor. Blessed are thou, Prakrita, for although you are of low -caste, you will be a model for noblemen and noblewomen. You are of low -caste, but Brahmans will learn a lesson from you. Swerve not from the -path of justice and righteousness, and you will outshine the royal -glory of queens." - -Very little wonder is it that, from North Hindustan, the doctrines -of Buddha soon largely prevailed over Central, Southern, and Eastern -Asia. Of the almost numberless sects into which Buddhism is divided, -all go back for their inspiration to his teachings. In fact, he left -little for his disciples to do in the matter of enunciating a pure -and virtuous system of ethics, so thoroughly did he cover the ground -himself. When we remember that Confucius was living in China at almost -the identical time that Buddha was preaching in Hindustan, we cannot -help but wonder at the strangeness of the occurrence--both enunciating -a philosophy or system of ethics which was destined to affect the -conduct of so large a portion of the human race. As we read Lao-Tse's -injunction to "requite hatred with goodness," it seems that he must -have drawn his inspiration from an Indian source. - -We return now to the location in Central Asia, and to the remote -antiquity from which we digressed. At the same time the Indians in the -southeast have been developing their religion, the Iranians have not -remained quiescent. Their great sage, Zarathustra, or Zoroaster, had -been teaching his dualism--in many respects the most subtle religious -philosophy ever promulgated. From what little of the Zend lore that -has escaped the ravages of time, we are able to-day to trace the -outlines of a religion and philosophy based upon primal polarities. -Ahura is to Zoroaster the great Life-Spirit-Lord, the Great Creator, -the Great Wise One. His six characteristics are the fundamental laws -of a righteous universe; simple, clear, and pure. Ahura creates the -world during six periods: in the first, heaven; in the second, water; -in the third, earth; in the fourth, plants; in the fifth, animals; -and in the sixth, man. All of the human race is descended from a -primitive pair. There is a deluge, and one man is selected to save -and protect representatives of each species so that the earth may be -repeopled with a better race. Zoroaster questions Ahura on the Mount -of Holy Conversations, and receives from him answers. So far, the -parallel between Zoroastrianism and Judaism is complete. The difference -now appears, for the former held that the world was to last four -periods--during the first two, Ahura has complete authority. Then comes -Ahriman, the self-existent evil-principle, and their conflict fills -the third period. The fourth period, which opens with the advent of -Zoroaster, ends with the downfall of Ahriman, and the resurrection of -the soul for a future life. It is entirely within the power of the -individual as to whether he wishes to come under the power of the Good -or Evil Spirit, and with whom he chooses to ally himself. But the -struggle is incessant, and watchfulness must always be maintained. -So much for the religion--now for the ethics. To the Zoroastrian, -the natural and normal in life is not derided and scorned, nor is -woman looked upon as "a necessary evil," as is the case in Buddhism, -Christianity, and Mohammedanism. Here is a quotation from the Zend -Avesta from the mouth of Ahura himself: "Verily, I say unto you, the -man who has a wife is far above him who lives in continence; he who -keeps a house is far above him who has none; he who has children is far -above him who is childless; he who has riches is far above him who has -none." If we can use the moral code of the only remaining Zoroastrians -in the world to-day, the Parsees, as a criterion to judge by, we must -acknowledge that no religion enjoys a purer and more perfect course of -conduct. Dr. Haug tells us that the following are strictly denounced -by its code: Murder, infanticide, poisoning, adultery on the part -of men as well as of women, sorcery, sodomy, cheating in weight and -measure, breach of promise, regardless of to whom made, deception of -any kind, false covenants, slander and calumny, perjury, dishonest -appropriation of wealth, taking bribes, keeping back the wages of -laborers, misappropriation of religious property, removal of a boundary -stone, turning people out of their property, maladministration and -defrauding, apostasy, heresy, and rebellion. Besides these, there are -a number of special precepts relating to the enforcement of sanitary -regulations, kindness to animals, hospitality to strangers, respect to -superiors, and help to the poor and needy. The following are especially -condemned--abandoning the husband, not acknowledging the children on -the part of the father, cruelty toward subjects on the part of a ruler, -avarice, laziness, illiberality, egotism, and envy. Here we find a -system of religion whose predominating symbolism was the worship of -fire as the nearest human concept of Ahura, and well it might be, -for those primitive people who had so sacredly to cherish it. In the -Greek mythology, Prometheus was inconceivably tortured for filching -from heaven the divine fire and carrying it to mortals. But according -to the Zoroastrian philosophy, Ahura has placed all good within -the reach of man, and it is for him to choose whether he will avail -himself of this or become a slave of Ahriman. It seems strange that -from Bactria, either from the old Mazdaism or through Zoroaster, the -world should have conceived its only monotheistic conception reasonably -free from anthropomorphism, and whose associated code of ethics was -so reasonable, firm and pure. There is in Zoroastrianism no thought -of dogmatic bigotry any more than there is in ancient Buddhism, and -its philosophy of primitive polarity well corresponds with what modern -science has taught us within the last five decades. Both of these -systems are meditative rather than militant, and, consequently, have -not exercised the influence over the destiny of the human race which -Judaism has. - -In the consideration of the Jewish religion and its descendants, -Christianity and Mohammedanism, we are face to face with the most -warlike and combative monotheism which history has recorded. In the -earlier form, and as in the Hebrew worship of to-day, Jehovah shares -his authority with no one--in the Christian system, God and Christ -are equally powerful, while with Islam it would seem that Mahomet -had slightly the balance of power, notwithstanding the oft-repeated -declaration that "there is no God but Allah." Here we have the idea -of a chosen people of God carried to its logical conclusion; the -jealousy of Jehovah being in no wise an efficient operative cause for -the terrible butcheries of men, women, and children, such as we have -described in the Old Testament, as having befallen the enemies of the -Hebrews when they were victorious. This wild and fanatical worship of -a suspicious and revengeful God, although it called for the waging of -countless wars upon his supposed orders, and even for the immolation -upon the sacrificial altar of one's own children; yet it did not -promise, until the rise of the Pharisees into potent influence; the -pleasure of a personal immortality for his followers, or the punishment -by endless torture for his non-adherents. The effect of the selfish -idea of God-ownership we see inherited by Christianity with the ancient -heredity qualification changed to one of faith. There can be no -question that the historical Christ was, perhaps, next to Buddha, the -greatest religious reformer whom the world has known, if we accept as a -criterion the number of individuals affected, and the nature of their -work. As the enunciator of a system of ethics, it is impossible to see -how the Jew could be regarded as the equal of the Indian; although -no estimate of Christ can be consistently formed from the St. James -version of the Bible, owing to the many and important interpolations -of recent church enthusiasts. The plan of vicarious atonement is one -of the most immoral doctrines of which the world has a record, and the -contempt for woman which the Hebrew shows is not equalled by Buddha, -although he, too, was filled with that eastern asceticism which looked -with disdain upon intersexual affection. The narrowness and bigotry -which can regard an omnipresent and omniscient deity as working for -the benefit of but a few followers as against the great proportion of -human beings who have passed through an earthly existence entirely in -ignorance of Him, and who, on account of this, have to suffer eternal -torture, has been responsible for no less than ten million murders in -the name of Christ alone, to say nothing of the numberless victims of -war and famine who have perished as a result of the insatiable thirst -of Jehovah, Christ, and Mahomet for more influence in terrestrial -affairs and an augmentation of adherents. The code of ethics prescribed -by the Jewish régime was good--far in advance of that of the greater -portion of their neighbors. But Egypt and Chaldea both played a -very important part in this matter, as we must remember that Hebrew -chronology only places the creation some four thousand years ago, -and we now know that at least three and perhaps five thousand years -previous to the possession of the Garden of Eden by Adam and Eve, the -Valley of the Nile was teeming with a well-developed civilization. -Christianity in the Egyptian City of the Greeks, through Philo, became -deeply imbued with the spirit of Zoroaster, and the aid thus derived -has been of incalculable value to it. The religion of Islam remains -much as Mahomet left it, and it has been, and now is, well suited for -much of the territory over which it has dominion. While its code of -ethics is reasonably high, its conceptions are usually grossly sensual, -and, unfortunately, since shortly after the death of its founder, the -institution of the church and the political organization of the various -countries where it prevails, have both been under the same head, and -are both, consequently, full of corruption. - -Before taking up the possibility of a religious conception based -upon the best knowledge we have, there is an interesting point to be -considered. Between the two dates of 650 B. C., and 650 A. D., we have -the work of Buddha, Confucius, Mencius, Christ, Philo, and Mahomet, -as well as a score of lesser lights; in fact, all the great religious -reformers who have been instrumental in shaping the beliefs of the -majority of mankind since their time. And, stranger still, that since -Mahomet, the world has seen no reformer who could wrest a following of -any note from the established religions, although now, with modern -facilities for publication, it would seem to be a much easier task than -formerly. And so it would be, were it not for the dissemination of -knowledge, and the influence of the scientific system which has come -about during the last century, so that now there is not that fanaticism -prevalent concerning religious matters which was so rife at almost all -stages of the world's history until recently. More and more are people -beginning to realize the truth which Pope so well expressed in his -Alexandrine: - - "For modes of faith, let graceless zealots fight, - His can't be wrong, whose life is in the right." - -About 1850 A. D., there began to be felt among scientific men a -possibility that perhaps all of the natural phenomena of which we have -knowledge are so inter-related that all of our observations are but -different views of a few fundamental primary laws. These so-called laws -or statements of facts in their natural order of sequence were always, -and under all conditions, operative in natural affairs, had been quite -thoroughly understood since Humboldt's time. But it remained for -Herbert Spencer in England, and Ernest Haeckel in Germany, to correlate -the vast quantity of facts gained from experiment and observation -along the various lines of scientific research. Particularly has the -latter been a most potent factor in formulating the new and necessarily -predominating theology of the future--a system of belief which is -in accordance with everything which the individual knows, and which -is always ready to accept a new fact upon demonstration, although -its reception may revolutionize even its fundamental concepts. This -doctrine, which has been most aptly termed "monism," stands squarely -upon its basis of "empirical investigation of facts, and the rational -study of their efficient causes." In place of worshiping the trinities -of the old superstitions, it holds for reverence the "good, the true, -and the beautiful" wherever found, and in antithesis to the sacredness -of Sabbath and the church, it holds that for the contemplation of the -objects of its trinity, "all seasons to be summer and all climates -June." While denying the existence of a God outside of Nature, the -freedom of the human will and the possibility of an immortality for -the individual human soul, as usually understood, it does insist -upon the sequence of effect upon cause, and shows that here, in this -earthly existence, we are forced to be virtuous if we would be happy, -and that although we are not completely masters of our fates, yet -it fundamentally lies with us, in the vast majority of cases, to so -conduct our lives that either misery or happiness will result therefrom. - -Monistic ethics differ from those of any religious system, from the -fact that the good of all is selected and digested into a code which -looks toward the "greatest good to the greatest number." In doing -this, individual effort is lauded and not proscribed, and altruism -and egotism are developed with equal emphasis. The pleasures of this -life are not forfeited to gain delectation in another, nor is the -"illitative sense" considered a safe guide for conduct. Woman is not -looked upon as fundamentally "unclean," nor is she denied any right -or any privilege which man enjoys. The righteousness of intersexual -love and association is maintained, when in operation within a proper -constraint, and the family is not only the social and political unit, -but the religious as well. Love is held to be more potent than hate, -and justice more beneficial than charity. There is no such thing as -either the forgiveness or remission of sins--the responsibility of -our actions is ours, and ours alone, and can be assumed by no other. -The result is the same whether our acts come through ignorance or -intention--it is for the individual to know before doing. - -In the foregoing, a very brief outline of the progress which humanity -has made in historic times in religion and ethics has been attempted, -and, if an interest has been aroused in this subject, its purpose will -have been fulfilled. No matter what creed we hold, we cannot afford to -be bigoted, as simple investigation will show that in many ways we are -but little in advance of our progenitors of seven thousand years ago. -Only in the matter that we have a scientific basis to work upon, and a -vast accumulation of observed facts, have we any reason for pride. And -this has been gained, at almost all times, against every obstacle which -the church, as established at the moment, could bring into potency. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -LOVE - - -Without doubt, the greatest source of happiness, as known to human -beings, is love. Scott voiced the sentiment of all rational and normal -persons when he said: - - "Love rules the court, the camp, the grove, - And men below and saints above, - For love is Heaven, and Heaven is love." - -It is owing to the fact that we cannot enjoy anything to the fullest -extent alone, since our nature is so constituted that we must have -company in our pleasures, that friends are indispensable. Cicero -realized this over two thousand years ago when he said that, "The -fruit of talent, and worth, and every excellence, is gathered most -fully when it is bestowed upon every one most nearly connected with -us." Appreciating this, nature has given us the love and friendship -of parents in our childhood; of the companions of our youth as we -grow older; of our life-partner at a later period, and last, the love -of our children and grandchildren, so that, by an interest in their -lives, we may become ourselves rejuvenated. In this, as in everything -else of a physical or mental character, we start at the bottom, and, -by a crescendo movement, reach the acme of the condition which with -age diminishes, but in this instance the quality does not deteriorate. -Our likelihood of forming acquaintances and friends in later years -is very much less than in youth, and, certainly, with our habits -and idiosyncrasies established, as they are after middle age, the -possibility of forming intimate friendships is very much decreased. -In childhood and youth, we are more imaginative and less practical, -and, consequently, our inclinations in the line of friendships will be -more natural and less influenced by considerations alien to friendship -itself. Nothing can be more true than the axiom of Cicero, "Friendship -does not follow upon advantage, but advantage upon friendship." Clearly -demonstrated as this is, but few people seem to realize it. For the -fundamental truth at the bottom of this matter is, as he further -states, "the basis of that steadfastness and constancy which we seek in -friendship is sincerity. For nothing is enduring which is insincere." - -Of all virtues, sincerity is the greatest, yet, broadly speaking, how -extremely rare! There is almost no trouble and pains which people will -not take to make the world think that they are something other than -they really are, when but a fraction of the cost might make them what -they are trying to seem to be. The reciprocal relation of friendship -demands sincerity, just in proportion as it becomes intimate, and this -applies to all friendships, of whatsoever character. - -The love of children is perhaps the greatest of all affections in -the aggregate, because experience has not taught them to doubt and -impugn the motives of others, since everything to them is just what it -superficially appears to be. Our most violent heartaches come through -dissimulation toward others, and nothing tends to make so callous and -blunt our finer sensibilities as this. But just in proportion as we -are sincere, must we be careful as to who arouses an interest of more -than passing moment within us, as after affection is once started and -nurtured into luxuriance, it is not within our power to control it. -While love, when reciprocated, can afford an ecstasy and happiness, -otherwise unknown, it can, also, when not returned by the object of -our affection, become the most potent cause of superlative pain and -anguish. The expression of this truth by the greatest of all English -poets, would, in itself, make his name forever immortal had he never -written another line, and constitutes not only the soundest philosophy, -but the most sublime of all sentiments evolved from the human mind: - - "Love is not love - That alters when it alteration finds, - Or bends with the remover to remove. - Oh no! It is an ever-fixed mark - That looks on tempests, and is never shaken; - It is the star to every wandering bark - Whose worth's unknown, altho' his height is taken. - Love's not Time's fool; though rosy lips and cheeks - Within his bending sickle's compass come. - Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, - But bears it out e'en to the edge of doom." - -If all the race thoroughly understood the truth of these words, how -much more happiness there would be in the world! It is our trifling -with our affections, or the reckless manner in which we bestow them -upon others, which causes us our deepest sorrows. In childhood, with -ordinarily kind parents, we have such experiences as afford us pleasant -memories throughout life, simply because we lived in accordance with -nature's law, which she makes easy for us at this age to follow, when -we have no experience or reason by which we may be guided; but as we -grow older, we form those habits of dissimulation which lead us into -all sorts of trouble; simply because we can do certain things without -our friends and acquaintances becoming cognizant of our actions, we -are foolish enough to think that no harm can be done. If we would use -our intelligence at all, we would see at once, that while it may be -possible to deceive others in the matter of our thoughts and actions, -we cannot delude ourselves. We would also realize that our actions and -our thoughts are efficient causes in the making of our own characters. -We would further see that in order to get any real enjoyment out of a -friendship, of even the most Platonic kind, we must be able to play our -part sincerely; in other words, we must be all that we attempt to make -our friends think we are. The old proverb which tells us that we should -go courting in our old clothes, is true in the largest sense in which -we can apply it. - -When we consider how much we are dependent upon our after-affections -and their outcome for our happiness, we see that Coleridge resorted to -no hyperbole when he wrote: - - "All thoughts, all passions, all delights, - Whatever stirs this mortal frame, - Are but the ministers of Love - And feed his sacred flame." - -Nor did he overestimate the bearing which each and every act of our -life has upon our ability to either love or to be loved, since it is -only when we are capable of returning affection as pure and unsullied -as is given us, that we achieve the acme of delight. It is on account -of the necessity of the possession of these qualities which we have -found to constitute the only possible basis for really lasting love, -that we are so much interested in those of great affection. Emerson -truly said that "all mankind loves a lover," and equally valid is his -observation that "Love is not for levity, but for the total worth of -man." It is the affection of any human being which constitutes his -life and his friendships, both as living and when coming into his -companionship, and when dead, as forming the memories upon which the -imagination will fondly dwell, and that bring into his life whatever -real satisfaction he may have. As a means of æsthetic development, -nothing is of higher value than the affections, and, as a stimulant -for action along this line, they are without an equal. We have only to -remember the story of Damon and Pythias, to see that the ancients fully -realized the power of affection; or to read what Plato puts into the -mouth of Phoedrus, when he has him say, "Love will make men dare to -die for their beloved, and women as well as men." - -What we have noted, heretofore, refers to all affections. Now we come -to the culmination of all affairs of friendship,--that relationship -which is known as marriage. Upon the immensity of the importance of -this ceremony have almost all of the religious ideas of man been built, -and in many cases, if not in all, to the utter profanation of the thing -itself. - -In the old tribal civilization which prevailed, the idea of marriage -was ill-defined, and it was only as the desire for the ownership of -children grew that moral ideas in this relation became at all definite. -The fact that men wished to leave to their children property and -chattels, which they might not have the opportunity of disposing of -satisfactorily before their death, brought about a desire for marriage -upon the monogamous and monandrous basis; and the fact that man was -the owner of the property, and that the wife, until recently, had -no inherent right therein, made the matter of the ownership of the -children of primal importance, so that the wishes of the father in -regard to the inheritance might be fulfilled. It was on account of the -supremacy of man in his own home that the family became the unit upon -which the State is built, just as the male individual was the unit upon -which the family was built, and citizenship was primarily evolved and -applicable only to the male portion of the population, inasmuch as they -were necessary to the State both as tax-payers and as warriors. This -idea of the ownership of children enforced upon woman the moral code -under which she lives in Occidental countries to-day; and, at the same -time, and for the reasons above stated, kept man immune from it. - -The significance attached to the sexual desire in this relationship -is and has been greatly overestimated, to the greatest disadvantage -of mankind at large. The most distinguishing feature about connubial -affection as compared with Platonic friendship, is that in matrimony -there is the added unification of the parties thereto, owing to the -community of interest between them. Their individualities are merged -into one another; their development must be along similar or parallel -lines. Richter has given us a good account of what a man should select -in the character of his wife "to whom he may be able to give readings -concerning the more essential principles of psychology and astronomy -without her bringing up the subject of his stockings in the middle of -his loftiest and fullest flights of enthusiasm; yet he will be well -content should one possessed of moderate excellencies fall to his -lot--one who shall be capable of accompanying him, side by side, in -his flights so far as they extend--whose eyes and heart may be able to -take in the blooming earth and the shining heavens, in great, grand -masses at a time, and not in mere infinitesimal particles; one for whom -this universe may be something higher than a nursery or ball-room, and -one who, with feelings delicate and tender, both pious and wide, will -be continually making her husband better and holier." Since the time -of Jean Paul Richter, woman has been allowed educational advantages -more nearly equal to those of her brothers than heretofore; and, as a -consequence, in many instances and quite often, do we find the lady not -only the better but the larger half of the home, intellectually. - -As Geoffrey Mortimer has well shown, love among cultured people is -largely dependent upon the imagination. In savages and in the human -race, primarily, when at this period of their existence, it took the -form of hedonism, or even the more gross sex-worship, and it was not -until mankind was removed far from the brute that his imagination -developed, and his mind was capable of abstract thought, that his -æsthetic nature began to develop. As his intellect became more -profound, and his mental range wider, his power of abstract thinking -was accordingly augmented, until to-day, with the average human -being, love is only, in a restricted sense, dependent upon physical -gratification. Herbert Spencer has given a very sure test of love, -based upon its dependence upon the imaginative faculty. According to -him, when we are absent from the one we love, the mental picture -which we form of her, and the attributes which we at that time give -her, are all found in her when in her actual presence. Then, we are -really in love with the person whose faults we cannot see. The truth -of the old adage, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder," still further -shows the part which the imagination plays in love. There is no human -being who has been so fortunate as to marry the first object upon -which his affections settled, providing, of course, that his previous -life has been spent so that he can enter into this relationship -equitably, who did not find that if his love was reciprocated, life -possessed a transcendent charm which words cannot express. Such an -affection is necessarily based upon a most profound respect, and can -only continue when this deferential regard exists. While feeling a -security in its sense of ownership of the one loved, yet it asks and -demands nothing, and can only bud, blossom, and ripen into its fullness -in the atmosphere of kindness and absolute liberty. While sensual -gratification, in the earlier stages, has been the means of nature -in perpetuating the species, it is also the most powerful factor in -the evolution of that community of interest which is the very soul of -this attachment. The infinite number of little incidents which are -never to be forgotten by any real lover, are all of a purely physical -nature, but, in the aggregate, they form the nucleus of that "amazement -of love and friendship and intimacy" which is like the melodious -harmony of the sweetest sounds, which lead us into an ecstasy in every -way supersensual. It is in the realization of such delight that Gay -remarks, "Not to know love, is not to live." - -We can best understand the real potency of sensual gratification in -love, if we consider that those moments which are the subject of -our most pleasant memories, are not those in which our desires were -gratified, but those in which we ourselves practiced the most ascetic -self-denial. Well has Schlegel expressed this sentiment when he says, -in his essay upon the Limits of the Beautiful:--"Those who yield -their souls captive to the brief intoxication of (sensual) love, if -no higher and holier feeling mingle with and consecrate their dreams -of bliss, will shrink tremblingly from the pangs which attend their -awakening." But nature has here so arranged her course, that after -marriage, our children's, or, in their absence, our lovers' affairs, -become a part and parcel of our lives, and thus, what began as selfish -interest, from the pleasure which we obtain from the presence of our -loved one, is transmuted into altruism of the highest type. To those -who love, there is nothing of the spirit of boasting in the words of -"Valentine," when he says: - - "She is mine own, - And I as rich in having such a jewel - As twenty seas, if all their sands were pearls, - The water nectar, and the rocks pure gold"; - -but rather of a pious appreciation of the being who has brought him -such great happiness. There is something unaccountable about this -passion called love, and anyone who has experienced it does not wonder -at the words of Madame de Stael, "Love is the emblem of eternity; it -confounds all notions of time, effaces all memory of a beginning, all -fear of an end." - -In speaking of the happiness which is to be attained by means of love, -we should not fail to note the fact that in order to secure the most -enjoyment from it, we must be able to satisfy the conditions for which -such a close and reciprocal relationship calls. It is here that the -philosophy of living, based upon self-interest, is by far the safest -guide of conduct known, since once the fact that we must be able to -give to the ones whom we love all that we ask of them is instilled in -our minds, we will have a most powerful stimulant to virtuous living. -And in this matter, there is no chance for misunderstanding. If we -would get all the happiness out of love, we must go into it according -to the old injunction given to clients who were both about to try their -case before a court in equity: "You must enter with clean hands." It is -strange, that even in the affairs of a Platonic friendship, a citizen -of morally rotten Rome at the time of the decadence of the consulate, -should realize that "Nothing is more amiable than virtue; nothing -which more strongly allures us to love it," and yet, two thousand years -later, so few people are practicing this truth, and many, who, in their -ignorance, will utterly deny it. This has largely come about from the -fact that, in times past, man has been able to mold the opinions of -his sisters, and, consequently, virtue was not demanded from him. But -if we will teach our children that it is essential to their happiness -that they should be virtuous, so that they may enter into an _affair -d'amour_ with equity, and obtain from it the happiness which it only -can bring, we would sweep from their paths, with one stroke, the -temptations of licentiousness which are to-day proving to be the ruin -of the majority of the young men of this country. We should teach our -boys that they must be able to give to their wives a mind and body as -unpolluted by debauchery as they expect and insist upon receiving, -and that unless they are able to do this, the pleasures of love, as -it affects the marriage relationship, are forever beyond their power -to experience. We should teach our girls that they should demand, -from the man who asks for their hand, as clean and as spotless a past -as they are able to give him, and that, unless they insist upon this, -matrimony will not turn out to be the "grand, sweet song" which they -have been told about, but will be more like an "armed truce." Connubial -love is of such a nature that it will not find happiness in the -contemplation of the possibility of a rival, and of all of the exacting -passions with which humanity has to deal, undoubtedly this of love -is the strongest. The old saying that "familiarity breeds contempt," -is based upon this fact--that unless we are able to maintain, in the -one we love, the esteem for us, which under a smaller knowledge of -our individuality, we have excited, the sentiment of attraction soon -turns to one of repulsion even more potent than its opposite, and even -as great a source of misery as is the repulsion of hatred; not even -being secondary when compared with jealousy, which "mocks the meat it -feeds upon." What possibility of happiness is there in marriage where -there is constantly running through the mind a comparison of the -partner which you have, and a possibility of what you have given up? -How much happiness is possible when you are always comparing yourself -with some rival, and wondering what your lover sees in him which you -do not possess? It is the strongest argument in favor of monogamy and -monandry, that only under this condition can the marriage relationship -be equitably fulfilled, even more potent than the necessity of parental -guidance in directing the development of the growing mind. - -Man is, by nature, socially inclined, and it is only in the society -of his fellow-men that he really matures intellectually and morally. -Under the influence of love, in the most intimate association with a -limited number of others, preferably of his own kin, who will reprove -his faults gently and reasonably laud his courage and achievements--he -finds the perfect element for inspiration and development. Holmes has -expressed this sentiment beautifully in his lines: - - "Soft as the breath of a maiden's 'yes'; - Not the light gossamer stirs with less; - But never a cable holds so fast - Through all the battles of wave and blast." - -The enthusiasm which comes from the struggle of maintaining a home for -your loved ones, where privacy and comfort may be found; a retreat from -the cares and trifling annoyances of the work-a-day world, makes the -place of abode a shrine where all of our interests are centered. Most -truly has Longfellow said: - - "Each man's chimney is his golden milestone; - Is the central point from which he measures - Every distance, through the gateways of the world around him." - -Without having experienced a real and genuine affection, no man can -realize the highest possibility. Edwin Markham has most truly said that -the love adventure is the episode of every human life, and, without -it, no existence is complete. There is no other earthly possession -with which it can be compared; consequently, we cannot be too careful -in seeing that our lives conform to the necessary demands of the -nature of this passion. The effect of love upon human ethics cannot be -doubted. The finest faculty which we have is that by means of which we -are able to judge right from wrong, and is what we call conscience. -With this truth in mind, we have only to remember a portion of an -incomplete sonnet of Shakespeare's, saying, "Conscience is born of -love." - -In this observation, as in many of his others, the bard of Avon has -reached the heart of the matter at once. Without love, we would have, -and could have, no conscience, as we are only considerate of others -when we have much at stake ourselves, and wish this consideration for -reciprocal reasons. Had we no affection, we would have but little -incentive to moral discrimination. In this sense, as well as for its -happy memories, - - "It is better to have loved and lost - Than never to have loved at all." - -In considering the advantages of real love, it is also important that -the disadvantages of its counterfeits should be made clear. In the -first place, many of the noted teachers during the last decade have -called attention to the frightful reduction in our marriage and birth -rates; and this, notwithstanding the fact that we feel that we are -progressing upward in the scale of civilization. Now, while many of our -political economists believe that the increased cost of living has been -largely responsible for this, it seems that we should not, however, -attach too great importance to the claim. There has been a growing of -the moral sense among women of the Western nations, and particularly in -America, during the last few years, which has tremendously influenced -the foundations of our civilization. The Women's Christian Temperance -movement, under the guiding hand of Miss Willard, not only advocated -the prohibition of the sale of alcoholic stimulants, but also became -a tremendous power in the social purity crusade, which began to sweep -over this country some twenty-five years ago. The agitation, which -resulted from this reform movement, developed facts which were -previously unknown to the general public, and in every way caused -people to begin to think about subjects which had previously never -been brought to their attention in a specific way. When the statistics -were published that, in this country of eighty million people, we were -having one divorce for every twelve marriages, and that every year -showed a decrease in the marriage and birth rate, thinking people of -all classes began to seek to find the cause for such facts. - -It would seem that one of the primal causes for the decrease in the -marriage rate is the ease with which vice has been allowed to become -organized in this country into a regular system, which is conducted -upon a basis of cold-blooded business calculation. The fact that we -have between six hundred thousand and three-quarters of a million -of prostitutes in America, and that this class of people is being -recruited at the rate of over fifteen thousand per annum from foreign -countries and about seventy-five thousand per annum from our own -country, is certainly highly significant. Furthermore, the fact that -probably three-quarters of the women in America who marry are forced -to undergo major operations within the first five years of their -married life, on account of the moral delinquency of their husbands, -has certainly not given any impetus to marriage in our own country. We -have also to remember that over one-third of all the blindness in this -country is traceable to a like cause, and that this occurs in innocent -children, who usually are less than a week old when their sight is -lost, as the result of venereal infection. Furthermore, in many of the -homes which we all have an opportunity to observe, there is not that -happiness existing which would lead thinking people to rush ruthlessly -into matrimony, and the necessity for making divorce easy and the -marriage relationship hard to enter into was never as imperative as it -is to-day. The majority of the children being born, and in whose hands -the entire welfare of this state in the future will rest, are usually -those of parents who are either unfitted or unable, physically, -intellectually, and morally, to give them such character and education -as will make them good citizens; in other words, vice and crime are -breeding faster by far than moral restraint and virtue. Whenever we -are able to have our young men understand that self-control on their -part is a matter of first importance in the requirements of good -citizenship, and a prime requisite if individual happiness is desired, -then and only then will we begin to find marriage becoming more popular -and divorce less to be desired by those who have entered into this -relationship. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -PROBLEMS OF THE FUTURE - - -The close of the last century found humanity under a different aspect -than ever before. Westward and ever westward had swept the course of -empire until the early years of this decade found the Mongolian again -demonstrating his superiority over the Slavonic people of Eastern -Europe. For centuries the battles for individual freedom of body -and mind had been fought in torture chambers, at heresy trials, at -the stake of every auto-da-fé, as well as in the legislative halls -of insular and continental Europe, and finally this struggle has -culminated in the greatest, fiercest and most devastating war of -modern times, which was America's tribute to the cause of democracy -and freedom. The nations of Europe have looked with wonder upon the -growth and sudden rise into importance of the American Confederacy of -States, and crowned and titled tyrants, ruling by the "divine right," -have long dreaded the absorption of American ideas by their subjects -or American interference with the course of governmental procedure. -With the advancement and dissemination of learning, democratic -government has got to come, and woe to those who oppose it when the -time is ripe. Poor, bleeding, ignorant Russia is at this minute in -the throes of internecine strife, and no one realizes better than -those of the autocracy who by their selfishness and sloth have brought -upon themselves the engulfing tide of revolution, what was meant by -the dissolute associates of the French Court directly before the -horrors of the Commune when they used to say "After us the deluge." -And little as they expected it, this deluge did not wait for them to -leave, but in many instances helped to usher them from the field of -human activity, upon the block, before the guillotine. It is not at -this time even improbable that the great Siberian prisons may soon -be filled with the bluest blood of royalty, and perhaps the Kara -mines will yet be worked in by their owners, for the benefit of the -revolutionists. But whether this comes to pass or not, we know that -we have seen absolutism gradually give way to constitutional forms of -government, and these in turn become metamorphosed into republics. And -in these democracies we see a tendency to return to a centralized form -of government, particularly when the chief executive is an individual -whose judgment, although it is in error, has been actuated by motives -which no one can impugn. What then is the meaning of this--is humanity -traveling in cycles? Politically, we can answer emphatically, NO. The -ease with which knowledge is communicated among people to-day and the -unimpeachable integrity of the great middle classes are the surest -guarantee that never will we return to the degrading darkness and -servility of the past, while the trenchant manner in which our press -uses the weapons of ridicule and cartoon insures for our posterity -an even better and more active public conscience, which will demand -duty performed commensurate with privileges granted. Municipalities -and commonwealths may be full of political rottenness and corruption, -senates may be filled by the paid agents of capital, representative -halls may be packed by demagogues elected by the most radical element -of organized labor, but regardless of temporary mistakes, just as long -as we maintain an efficient public school system and make education -compulsory and leave the press unshackled, we cannot under a democratic -form of government, where tenure of office is for a short period only, -ever permanently retrograde. - -Students of contemporaneous American history who have followed closely -the exposure of municipal officials guilty of the worst forms of -malfeasance, will probably be led to believe that we are going from -bad to worse politically in our larger cities. Owing to the publicity, -however, which such matters get, and the fact that our citizen body in -the aggregate respect honesty and integrity, we have nothing to fear. -The reform wave which oftentimes sweeps with violence over our cities, -to be checked only when persons of much influence have their liberty -jeopardized, will inevitably bring about an understanding on the part -of the majority of the citizens that politics must not be corrupted by -people who make a business of seducing the electorate of our cities. -The commission form of government has already done much to lead the way -to a better state of affairs, and even if it had not, it would be only -a question of but a short time until publicity itself would bring about -a better, purer, and more economic administration of government. - -As a nation, we are more seriously menaced by the accumulation of -gigantic individual fortunes than from any other one and perhaps from -all other sources combined, as in but very few cases does a competency -mean the use of time for a leisure of culture and ennoblement, but -rather for the development of selfishness, avarice, cruelty, and -immorality. Christ certainly did not overrate the awful disadvantage -of riches, particularly if considered in relation to the recent -developments of our criminal trials in our great cities, when He said -that "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle -than for a rich man to enter Heaven." Wealth in the hands of the young -is the worst condition with which they can be surrounded--it almost -forces them into the company of irresponsible and immoral persons who -lead them into vice, thus sapping their vitality, as well as engrossing -them in habits of infamy, which their weakened mentality can usually -never shake off. The direst poverty, on the other hand, pinches and -confines both the body and mind through lack of proper nutrition and -time for rest and recreation, so that it is of double importance to -the State to see that enormous private accumulations of wealth do not -exist, and more especially that they cannot be inherited. A reasonable -sum should be fixed upon by our lawmakers as the maximum amount which -could be inherited by any one individual, and any part of an estate -which was not legally disposed of under this act, by will or otherwise, -should pass into the undisputed possession of the State and should -be spent, not for the ordinary administration of the law, but for the -building of schools, hospitals, parks, museums, and the purchase of -public utilities, such as water, lighting, power and transportation -companies. Should the means above suggested prove too slow in operation -or inadequate to meet present emergencies, an income-tax might, for -a decade or two, be a necessity--the returns from which should be -expended as suggested above. Unless something of this character is done -within the next century, it would seem that our country cannot continue -to advance in civilization, although she might in political prestige -and commercial importance, but would follow in the steps of so many -other great states, and sooner or later arrive at a time where her -present would be but a meagre shadow of her majestic past. - -If we would have the most that is to be got out of life, we should see -to it that more time and attention is paid to the development of the -æsthetic side of our natures. Our public buildings are to-day usually -designed upon grand and majestic lines; some of our public parks are -laid out with the idea of showing the beauty of simplicity and harmony; -a few of our private mansions are architecturally works of art; we -have in our large cities a few museums which are kept open a few hours -to the public upon days when it has leisure, but, further than this, -how little are we taught, or do we see, the beautiful aside from its -arrangement in nature in the ordinary routine of life? With all but the -wealthier class, the getting of a livelihood and the attention to other -material things, consumes all the time and energy available under the -present régime so that no leisure is left to cultivate an appreciation -or desire for the beautiful. It is the amount of development of the -æsthetic nature of the masses which is the surest and most certain -index of any civilization. Schlegel has most justly observed that -"when men are left to the sole guidance of artificial law, they become -reduced to mere empty shadows and soulless forms; while the undivided -sway of nature leaves them savage and loveless." It is therefore in -this middle ground that we should provide stimuli for the growth of -this cult of the beautiful, and to do this we must begin with the -children. It should be the care of the state to see that our streets -are kept clean, that grass plots and flower beds are harmoniously -and tastily arranged at the intersection of the highways, wherever -possible, and that all houses intended for tenement purposes be so -built that plenty of light and air can be always available. Powerful -and elevating music should be performed in public parks at frequent -intervals, whenever the weather will permit of general gatherings -in the open air. The best talent should be secured to address the -people upon subjects of a general nature, such as topics of the day, -political economy, popular science, etc. Our school rooms should not -only be clean and well ventilated, but their walls should be hung -with interesting and beautiful pictures, and our school libraries, -as well as our public libraries, should be numerous, and filled with -the best literature that money can buy. In our homes, we should see -that every refining influence possible is thrown around the children, -and, above all, they should be taught the beauty of self-sacrifice and -heroism. Particularly should they be taught the value and beauty of -affection, and they should be both told and shown that the pleasure -derived therefrom, and its value to the human species, depends almost -wholly upon the self-restraint and self-sacrifice which is exercised -in connection with the intimate relations arising from it. Schlegel -again speaks right to the point, "Every inordinate indulgence involves -a corresponding amount of suffering.... Others, on the contrary, who -devote themselves to glorious deeds and seek enjoyment only in the -intervals of more serious exertion, will have their best reward in the -pure, unchanging happiness purchased by such self-denial. Pleasure, -indeed, has a higher zest when spontaneous and self-created; and it -rises in value in proportion to its affinity with that perfection of -beauty in which moral excellence is allied to external charms." - -Our attention as a nation to the acquisition of material wealth to -the utter disregard of our æsthetic natures may very largely account -for the fact that America has produced but few of those literary and -artistic stars which are almost always coincident with commercial -prosperity. We seem to have neither passed the Elizabethan nor the -Victorian age in literature upon this side of the water--not because we -have not produced talent along these lines, but because the quantity -has been so small and seems to be growing less every year. Since the -opening of the present century, there has practically been nothing -produced which will demand recognition among literary and artistic -people after our own generation. - -There seems to be only one other great problem before humanity to-day. -Next to the distribution of wealth, it, however, is undoubtedly the -most perplexing question with which every democratic country will -sooner or later have to deal. In its two forms--as prostitution and the -restriction of birth--it constitutes what for a better name is commonly -called "the social evil." Under our civilization and in our system of -social caste we have no class of serfs; but as low, if not lower, than -these we have those women who sell their favors for money to anyone -who will pay the price. Unfortunately, we have not yet reached the -place where the majority of our male population decry moral looseness -on the part of women with whom they are not connected by blood or -matrimony; although this may or may not have been done for profit, as -the case may be. It is still largely a matter as to how general the -knowledge is, as to how great is the crime. Nevertheless, with those -unfortunates whose character is generally known, our modern society -has no place--they are outcasts in the true sense of the word. Worse -than all, is the fact that society refuses to proscribe immorality of -this nature in man as it does in woman--consequently, she alone before -the world is made to suffer for what he is as much to blame for as -she is, and very frequently more so. The incongruity of this, under -a democratic form of government, is readily apparent to anyone and -that such a condition of affairs may not exist permanently under our -civilization cannot be doubted. It would therefore seem that either -one of two things will have to come to pass in the future; either we -shall have to regard our prostitutes as a class, as they were probably -esteemed in ancient Greece, or we shall have to attach an equal calumny -to man as we now attach to woman in these relations. In the first -instance, we tacitly admit that the nature of man differs from that -of woman, in that continence and monogamy are not fitted for him but -are for her, which every fair-minded person knows to be a falsehood; -or else in the other alternative we have the entire sentiment of this -country upon this whole matter to make over and that against those who -are in power. Mrs. Parsons, in her carefully prepared and comprehensive -study, entitled "The Family," does not, it would seem, speak other than -satirically when she proposes that the same license be allowed woman -before she bears children as society now allows man. This would seem -to be a step backward, inasmuch as there is to-day, with no small -percentage of the people in this country, a decided stigma attached -to promiscuity on the part of man, and this should be fostered and -encouraged, at any expense. Her recommendation of early trial marriage -also smacks of the satirical, while her propositions "to make the -transmission of venereal diseases in marriage a penal offense, to -render identical the age of consent with the legal age of marriage, -and to abolish all laws requiring parental consent to marriage, to -consider parental duties the same in the case of an illegitimate as in -that of a legitimate child, and to abolish legal separation and divorce -law provisions prohibiting the defendant to remarry," must appeal to -all fair-minded persons as exactly what is needed. With sentiment once -well started in this direction, we can hope that the next two or three -decades will accomplish much--more particularly if we lose our money -madness and return from "the flesh-pots" to things that are of real -value. The happiness and virtue of our children will never be secure -until society is founded upon a basis of real monogamy, and male as -well as female continence before marriage, and the sooner this fact -is admitted and enforced the better will it be for the human race. In -this molding of sentiment, woman can be and is an important factor, -and her position becomes the more commanding as she becomes more -independent financially. If she demands purity on the part of her male -friends--sooner or later it will be accorded to her--if she insists -upon it in her lover, her Prince Charming will come forth with the -quality. - -Concerning that part of this question which deals with the restriction -of birth, it has always seemed that outside of voluntary childless -marriages the importance of "race suicide" was over-estimated. Where -there is no pathological reason why children should not be born, there -can be no question but that voluntary childless marriage is what has -been well termed "a progressive substitute for prostitution." But -where not used to consummate this end, but to keep within the limits -of the proper education and the bringing up of the progeny of a human -pair, such practice as does not involve infanticide cannot be against -the best interests of the race. Consequently, it would seem that, -before marriage, young men and women should become acquainted with -the fundamental phenomena of conception, with the purpose in view of -regulating the number of children which they bring into the world to -such a number as they can properly educate and equip for the struggle -of existence. Such biological knowledge as is necessary to attain this -should become the common property of humanity, and the state should -not restrict the sale of such articles as would further this end. On -the other hand, young men and women should be taught that it is their -duty to have what children they can care for, and at such times and -under such conditions during wedlock as will insure their descendants -the best physical and mental equipment. Infanticide in any form and at -any time, except when performed under the jurisdiction of a reputable -physician, should be made a crime and proper punishment provided -therefor. In this phase of the question, there is also a place for the -fostering of proper sentiment. Parents should show their children that -they constitute a very large proportion of their happiness, and that -child-bearing, within the limits above set forth, is a privilege and -not a burden. Under these conditions, voluntary childless marriage will -become less frequent and the family will occupy the position of primary -importance in the state to which it is entitled. - -It is impossible to estimate the far-reaching influence of the Woman's -Rights movement. The agitation to-day extends completely around the -world, and even such Oriental countries as Turkey, Japan, and China -are being forced to realize that they have it to face in the near -future. Politically, there can be no question but that the movement -will tend more towards the purity of the administration of justice -and the elimination of corruption in politics than any movement which -has been started within the history of man; and, as examples of this, -we have only to look for ample proof in countries where women have -been given full rights of citizenship, such as New Zealand, and in -Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, and Nevada States in this country. Socially, -we have already noticed the effect which this movement will have as -tending towards the purity of masculine morals. Economically, however, -it presents a far different aspect, since every woman who enters -commercial life, whether in the office or factory, diminishes the -child-bearing population of the earth, and with the greater sense of -justice and equity which comes from the higher education, the demands -of woman will not only become more and more exacting, but she will be -becoming constantly more potent in their enforcement. The economic -phase of this problem is so great that it is impossible to state at -this time what the outcome will be, but a still further tremendous -decrease in the birth rate is absolutely sure to come about; and it -would seem that possibly those evils which will, in the long run, -be most largely rectified by this movement will be augmented in the -immediate future, as a result of this agitation, until such a time as -the majority of our citizens may be given such education as will enable -them to reason more logically about the fundamental propositions of -life. - -We have looked at a few of the phases of human existence; what shall -be said of the value of life? Modern science has forever taken from us -the comforting delusions of a personal Deity, an immortality for the -soul in a personal sense, and the idea of our possessing a will, free -to force our direction whithersoever we elect. It has left, in place of -these, the idea of duty--individual and personal responsibility--which -cannot be shirked. George Eliot, in the epilogue of Romola, preaches -as strong a sermon as she ever could to Mr. Meyers, when she talked to -him upon that now famous evening in May at Cambridge. Carlyle, no less -than his countrywoman, realized, not only the importance of living up -to individual responsibility, but also understood how hard it often -was to know just what should be done. His rule, which is most worthy -of emulation, was: "Do the nearest duty that lies to your hand, and -already the next duty will have become plainer." In order that we may -be the better prepared to fulfill our responsibilities, we should -obtain all the knowledge possible, even although it may cause us lack -of insight temporarily, and much mental agony. Faith is not comparable -to knowledge, any more than wishing is equal to the obtaining of -results. We should therefore be aggressive in the discharge of our -duty--liberal and tolerant, pure and upright, loving and unselfish, -virtuous and truly religious, so that it may be said of us, when we -have finished, that the world is a little better, and life has been, -for as many as possible, a little happier for our having lived. - - -THE END - - - - -THE ~"HOW DOES IT WORK"~ SERIES - - -No. 1. =Electricity.= By THOMAS W. CORBIN. With many Illustrations. -Price, 75 Cents, Cloth. - -Explains in simple language the working of Dynamos, Motors, Heating and -Lighting Apparatus, Trainways, Railways, &c. - -"The information given is clear and easily understood, and many -excellent halftones and line drawings are given. It is an A1 book for -any boy or man with a leaning towards things electric."--_Publishers' -Circular._ - -"The descriptions are given in very plain language and there are -excellent illustrations." - - -No. 2. =Model Making.= By CYRIL HALL. Cloth. With many Diagrams. -Price, 75 Cents. - -Contains instructions for making a Steam Locomotive--Turbine--Steam -Boat--Electric Engines--Motors--Yacht--Printing Press--Steam -Crane--Telephone--Electric Bells--Telegraph, &c. - - -No. 3. =Modern Engines.= By THOMAS W. CORBIN. With many illustrations. -Price, Cloth, 75 Cents. - -Steam Engines, Gas Engines, Petrol Engines, Marine Engines, Steam -Pumps, Steam Boilers, &c., &c. - - - At all Booksellers or postpaid by - R. F. Fenno & Company - - - - -Transcriber's note - - -Text in italics has been surrounded with _underscores_, underlined -words with ~signs~, bold with =signs= and small capitals changed to all -capitals. - -The first two columns of the Geological Table at the end of Chapter II -have been combined to keep the width within limits. - -The following corrections were made, on page - - 91 "posession" changed to "possession" (after they had secured - possession of their) - 127 "formluæ" changed to "formulæ" (had recited certain magical - formulæ which had) - 175 ' changed to " (never to have loved at all.") - 200 " added ("The information given is clear). - -Otherwise the original has been preserved, including archaic and -unusual words, as well as unusual or inconsistent spelling and -hyphenation. 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