evolution and ethics and other essays-第12章

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Problems　settled　in　a　rough　and　ready　way　by　rude　men；　absorbed　in
action；　demand　renewed　attention　and　show　themselves　to　be　still
unread　riddles　when　men　have　time　to　think。　The　beneficent　demon；
doubt；　whose　name　is　Legion　and　who　dwells　amongst　the　tombs　of　old
faiths；　enters　into　mankind　and　thenceforth　refuses　to　be　cast　out。
Sacred　customs；　venerable　dooms　of　ancestral　wisdom；　hallowed　by
tradition　and　professing　to　hold　good　for　all　time；　are　put　to　the
question。　Cultured　reflection　asks　for　their　credentials；　judges　them
by　its　own　standards；　finally；　gathers　those　of　which　it　approves　into
ethical　systems；　in　which　the　reasoning　is　rarely　much　more　than　a
decent　pretext　for　the　adoption　of　foregone　conclusions。

One　of　the　oldest　and　most　important　elements　in　such　systems　is　the
conception　of　justice。　Society　is　impossible　unless　those　who　are
associated　agree　to　observe　certain　rules　of　conduct　towards　one
another；　its　stability　depends　on　the　steadiness　with　which　they　abide
by　that　agreement；　and；　so　far　as　they　waver；　that　mutual　trust　which
is　the　bond　of　society　is　weakened　or　destroyed。　Wolves　could　not　hunt
in　packs　except　for　the　real；　though　unexpressed；　understanding　that
they　should　not　attack　one　another　during　the　chase。　The　most
rudimentary　polity　is　a　pack　of　men　living　under　the　like　tacit；　or
expressed；　＇57＇　understanding；　and　having　made　the　very　important
advance　upon　wolf　society；　that　they　agree　to　use　the　force　of　the
whole　body　against　individuals　who　violate　it　and　in　favour　of　those
who　observe　it。　This　observance　of　a　common　understanding；　with　the
consequent　distribution　of　punishments　and　rewards　according　to
accepted　rules；　received　the　name　of　justice；　while　the　contrary　was
called　injustice。　Early　ethics　did　not　take　much　note　of　the　animus　of
the　violator　of　the　rules。　　But　civilization　could　not　advance　far；
without　the　establishment　of　a　capital　distinction　between　the　case　of
involuntary　and　that　of　wilful　misdeed；　between　a　merely　wrong　action
and　a　guilty　one。　And；　with　increasing　refinement　of　moral
appreciation；　the　problem　of　desert；　which　arises　out　of　this
distinction；　acquired　more　and　more　theoretical　and　practical
importance。　If　life　must　be　given　for　life；　yet　it　was　recognized　that
the　unintentional　slayer　did　not　altogether　deserve　death；　and；　by　a
sort　of　compromise　between　the　public　and　the　private　conception　of
justice；　a　sanctuary　was　provided　in　which　he　might　take　refuge　from
the　avenger　of　blood。

The　idea　of　justice　thus　underwent　a　gradual　sublimation　from
punishment　and　reward　according　to　acts；　to　punishment　and　reward
according　to　desert；　or；　in　other　words；　according　to　motive。
Righteousness；　that　is；　action　from　right　motive；　＇58＇　not　only　became
synonymous　with　justice；　but　the　positive　constituent　of　innocence　and
the　very　heart　of　goodness。

Now　when　the　ancient　sage；　whether　Indian　or　Greek；　who　had　attained　to
this　conception　of　goodness；　looked　the　world；　and　especially　human
life；　in　the　face；　he　found　it　as　hard　as　we　do　to　bring　the　course　of
evolution　into　harmony　with　even　the　elementary　requirement　of　the
ethical　ideal　of　the　just　and　the　good。

If　there　is　one　thing　plainer　than　another；　it　is　that　neither　the
pleasures　nor　the　pains　of　life；　in　the　merely　animal　world；　are
distributed　according　to　desert；　for　it　is　admittedly　impossible　for
the　lower　orders　of　sentient　beings；　to　deserve　either　the　one　or　the
other。　If　there　is　a　generalization　from　the　facts　of　human　life　which
has　the　assent　of　thoughtful　men　in　every　age　and　country；　it　is　that
the　violator　of　ethical　rules　constantly　escapes　the　punishment　which
he　deserves；　that　the　wicked　flourishes　like　a　green　bay　tree；　while；
the　righteous　begs　his　bread；　that　the　sins　of　the　fathers　are　visited
upon　the　children；　that；　in　the　realm　of　nature；　ignorance　is　punished
just　as　severely　as　wilful　wrong；　and　that　thousands　upon　thousands　of
innocent　beings　suffer　for　the　crime；　or　the　unintentional　trespass　of
one。

Greek　and　Semite　and　Indian　are　agreed　upon　＇59＇　this　subject。　The　book
of　Job　is　at　one　with　the　〃Works　and　Days〃　and　the　Buddhist　Sutras；
the　Psalmist　and　the　Preacher　of　Israel；　with　the　Tragic　Poets　of
Greece。　What　is　a　more　common　motive　of　the　ancient　tragedy　in　fact；
than　the　unfathomable　injustice　of　the　nature　of　things；　what　is　more
deeply　felt　to　be　true　than　its　presentation　of　the　destruction　of　the
blameless　by　the　work　of　his　own　hands；　or　by　the　fatal　operation　of
the　sins　of　others？　　Surely　Oedipus　was　pure　of　heart；　it　was　the
natural　sequence　of　eventsthe　cosmic　processwhich　drove　him；　in
all　innocence；　to　slay　his　father　and　become　the　husband　of　his
mother；　to　the　desolation　of　his　people　and　his　own　headlong　ruin。　Or
to　step；　for　a　moment；　beyond　the　chronological　limits　I　have　set
myself；　what　constitutes　the　sempiternal　attraction　of　Hamlet　but　the
appeal　to　deepest　experience　of　that　history　of　a　no　less　blameless
dreamer；　dragged；　in　spite　of　himself；　into　a　world　out　of　joint
involved　in　a　tangle　of　crime　and　misery；　created　by　one　of　the　prime
agents　of　the　cosmic　process　as　it　works　in　and　through　man？

Thus；　brought　before　the　tribunal　of　ethics；　the　cosmos　might　well　seem
to　stand　condemned。　The　conscience　of　man　revolted　against　the　moral
indifference　of　nature；　and　the　microcosmic　atom　should　have　found　the
illimitable　macrocosm　guilty。　But　few；　or　none；　ventured　to　record
that　verdict。

＇60＇　In　the　great　Semitic　trial　of　this　issue；　Job　takes　refuge　in
silence　and　submission；　the　Indian　and　the　Greek；　less　wise　perhaps；
attempt　to　reconcile　the　irreconcilable　and　plead　for　the　defendant。
To　this　end；　the　Greeks　invented　Theodicies；　while　the　Indians　devised
what；　in　its　ultimate　form；　must　rather　be　termed　a　Cosmodicy。　For；
although　Buddhism　recognizes　gods　many　and　lords　many；　they　are
products　of　the　cosmic　process；　and　transitory；　however　long　enduring；
manifestations　of　its　eternal　activity。　　In　the　doctrine　of
transmigration；　whatever　its　origin；　Brahminical　and　Buddhist
speculation　found；　ready　to　hand＇Note　4＇　the　means　of　constructing　a
plausible　vindication　of　the　ways　of　the　cosmos　to　man。　If　this　world
is　full　of　pain　and　sorrow；　if　grief　and　evil　fall；　like　the　rain；
upon　both　the　just　and　the　unjust；　it　is　because；　like　the　rain；　they
are　links　in　the　endless　chain　of　natural　causation　by　which　past；
present；　and　future　are　indissolubly　connected；　and　there　is　no　more
injustice　in　the　one　case　than　in　the　other。　Every　sentient　being　is
reaping　as　it　has　sown；　if　not　in　this　life；　then　in　one　or　other　of
the　infinite　series　of　antecedent　existences　of　which　it　is　the　latest
term。　The　present　distribution　of　good　and　evil　is；　therefore；　the
algebraical　sum　of　accumulated　positive　and　negative　deserts；　or；
rather；　it　depends　on　the　floating　balance　of　the　account。　For　it　was
not　thought　necessary　that　a　complete　settlement　＇61＇　should　ever　take
place。　Arrears　might　stand　over　as　a　sort　of　〃hanging　gale；〃　a　period
of　celestial　happiness　just　earned　might　be　succeeded　by　ages　of
torment　in　a　hideous　nether　world；　the　balance　still　overdue　for　some
remote　ancestral　error。　＇Note　5＇

Whether　the　cosmic　process　looks　any　more　moral　than　at　first；　after
such　a　vindication；　may　perhaps　be　questioned。　Yet　this　plea　of
justification　is　not　less　plausible　than　others；　and　none　but　very
hasty　thinkers　will　reject　it　on　the　ground　of　inherent　absurdity。
Like　the　doctrine　of　evolution　itself；　that　of　transmigration　has　its
roots　in　the　world　of　reality；　and　it　may　claim　such　support　as　the
great　argument　from　analogy　is　capable　of　supplying。

Everyday　experience　familiarizes　us　with　the　facts　which　are　grouped
under　the　name　of　heredity。　Every　one　of　us　bears　upon　him　obvious
marks　of　his　parentage；　perhaps　of　remoter　relationships。　More
particularly；　the　sum　of　tendencies　to　act　in　a　certain　way；　which　we
call　〃character；〃　is　often　to　be　traced　through　a　long　series　of
progenitors　and　collaterals。　So　we　may　justly　say　that　this
〃character〃this　moral　and　intellectual　essence　of　a　mandoes
veritably　pass　over　from　one　fleshly