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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43728 ***
+
+NATURAL MAN
+
+By Arthur B. Moss
+
+PRICE ONE PENNY.
+
+LONDON:
+
+THE PROGRESSIVE PUBLISHING COMPANY,
+
+28 Stonecutter Street.
+
+1884.
+
+
+
+
+NATURAL MAN
+
+Concerning the when and how of the origin of man nothing positive
+is known. Genesis states that "god made man," but as the greatest
+intellects of modern times doubt the existence of deity, a ready
+acceptance of the Mosaic account of the creation of the haman species
+can only take place among those who are not well qualified to weigh
+evidence, balance probabilities, and appraise the evidence of rival
+theories.
+
+The researches of men of science lead us to the belief that the
+authors of the first and second chapters of Genesis were mistaken. They
+formulated a theory and imagined it to be a fact.
+
+Darwin, Haeckel, Huxley, and other eminent scientists, dispute
+altogether the theory that man was created perfect, and in their works
+have proved to demonstration that the beings called men have evolved
+from lower organisms; that they have the same anatomical structure as
+the Catarrhini apes; that there is a distinct blood-relationship between
+them, and that they have both had a common parentage.
+
+To establish the truth of the evolution theory, it is enough to look
+fairly at the facts of nature; to observe man under various aspects;
+to consider him in barbaric times, or in countries where he is not yet
+civilised; to see him in a nude condition, with nothing to cover him but
+a mass of hair which nature provides; to watch him in his struggle for
+life with his enemies, the destructive lower animals and his fellow men,
+and to find in the course of years that a higher form of man has evolved
+out of this barbaric creature.
+
+The evolution theory accounts for the facts as they are observed in
+life--facts which upon any other theory are quite inexplicable. And it
+must not be supposed that because the theory does not give a complete
+explanation to all the phenomena that it therefore is not reliable.
+Haeckel says ("Pedigree of Man," p. 36): "If we can only prove the
+general truth of the Darwinian theory, our idea of the origin of man
+from lower vertebrata follows of necessity, and we are not obliged to
+give a special proof as to this latter view if the general proposition
+is well established." That the general proposition is well established is
+now admitted by the most enlightened of the opponents of Darwinism. What
+is called the "evolution theory" is generally acknowledged to be removed
+from the region of hypothesis to that of fact.
+
+But it is not my purpose further to pursue the subject of man's origin,
+which, while it is confessedly a most interesting question, is one upon
+which no man who is not a skilled scientist can write or speak with
+authority. I can only deal with probabilities. Nobody, so far as we
+know, was present to witness the first man spring into existence.
+Indeed, we do not know that there was a first man! And if there was a
+first, it does not follow that he was conscious of being made, or when
+he was completed that he had the pleasure of seeing his maker, who told
+him how it was done. Or, on the other hand, if he were evolved from
+some lower creature it does not follow that he was conscious of the
+evolution. But at least we can be sure that history speaks with no
+uncertain sound concerning man's progress in the world and the means by
+which it was achieved. As a civilised creature man is not many centuries
+old. Even now we find many savage races existing on the earth, and in
+type so low in the scale are they that they more nearly resemble the
+brute beasts, both in intellect and in physique, than the higher forms
+of men. Now if we would study the progress of the human race to any
+advantage, we must study it apart from all prejudice, and not allow
+religious or superstitious notions concerning the superiority of one
+class of people to warp our minds and prevent us from understanding the
+important part played by savage peoples in the battle of life. For it
+must always be remembered that man's history is one of fearful warfare,
+not only between men and men, but between man and the lower animals.
+
+It is no flight of the imagination to say that there exist the clearest
+proofs that man many ages ago lived in "holes in the earth," and went
+in constant fear of animals who sought him as their prey. Sometimes
+he would have to scramble up trees to elude the vigilance of these
+sagacious beasts; sometimes the tree would form no place of safety, and
+he would have to run for dear life or become a living sacrifice to these
+savage beings.
+
+In the course of time man learnt how to keep himself warm, while the
+beasts of the field perished from cold or parched with thirst and
+famished with hunger, sunk and died; he learnt how to huddle himself
+up close to a fire in his mud-hut, out of all danger from the enemy. In
+addition to this he learnt how to speak, to communicate his thoughts to
+his fellows. These were great steps in advance. Man was still in a nude
+condition. But now he began to form a theory as to the cause of the
+phænomena of the universe. He began to establish the reign of the gods.
+All his gods, naturally enough, at first were fetishes. Those animals
+which he considered superior to himself he elected as special objects of
+worship. As soon as he found that these were not superior, but inferior,
+to himself, he began to make gods after his own image.
+
+Out of small tribes in course of ages grew great nations. Men could now
+manufacture weapons of destruction with which they could procure food
+and destroy their enemies; thus little by little were built up the
+nations of the earth. All advance, all progress towards civilisation
+made by primitive man was made by opposing with all his strength and
+skill the destructive forces of nature, and by strenuous attempts at
+improving upon human nature itself. Was man then inherently depraved and
+prone to evil continually? Not so. The germs of evil and good were alike
+sown in his nature; and if either of these was developed by favorable
+circumstances an evil or a good result followed of necessity. That
+man was not depraved by nature is seen by the fact that in the general
+evolution of things, instead of growing worse he has continued to
+improve--from the low, brutal and immoral creature of the past, to the
+purer, loftier, nobler being--the highest that can be found to-day.
+
+In his natural state, it is true, man was a wicked being. He had no
+intuitive knowledge of right and wrong. He had to perform an act, and he
+was never sure until he felt the results whether it was good or bad. In
+his natural state he was dirty, untruthful, unjust. No god came to tell
+him that "cleanliness was next to godliness;" nor admonish him to be
+truthful and just in all his dealings. He was left alone to use his own
+unaided intelligence as best he might.
+
+To test the truth of these assertions one has only to turn to savage
+races existing to-day. It will be found on investigation that not only
+are they unclean in their habits and destitute of any idea of justice,
+but for the most part they are unblushing liars and ingenious thieves.
+
+All the characteristics in human nature that are called virtues are
+purely of artificial growth, and result from man's cultivation of his
+better self; or, in other words, from his improvement upon nature's
+spontaneous course of action.
+
+In support of this view I may here quote J. S. Mill, who says ("Essay on
+Nature," p. 48): "Children and the lower classes of most countries seem
+to be actually fond of dirt: the vast majority of the human race are
+indifferent to it: whole nations of otherwise civilised and cultivated
+human beings tolerate it in some of its worst forms, and only a very
+small minority are consistently offended by it. Indeed, the universal
+law of the subject appears to be that uncleanliness offends only those
+to whom it is unfamiliar, so that those who have lived in so artificial
+a state as to be unused to it in any form, are the sole persons whom
+it disgusts in all forms. Of all virtues this is the most evidently not
+instinctive, but a triumph over instinct. Assuredly neither cleanliness
+nor the love of cleanliness is natural to man, but only the capacity of
+acquiring a love of cleanliness." On page 57 the same writer declares
+that "Savages are always liars. They have not the faintest notion of
+truth as a virtue."
+
+Having then all these bad qualities of nature, how is it that man has
+been able to put them into subjection and advance along the road to
+civilisation even at the pace that we have seen? Such advance has been
+wholly dependent upon the energy and skill with which he has opposed the
+destructive forces of nature, using one law to counteract another, and
+upon the determination with which he has striven to improve upon human
+nature itself.
+
+For centuries man groped about in the dark. Nature was deaf to his
+appeals and blind to his sufferings, and her daily performances
+frightened and bewildered him. And yet he did his best to ascertain the
+causes of the phænomena of the universe. But his best guesses were wide
+of the mark. Outside of nature he sought for explanation. He thought he
+had scaled nature's heights and fathomed her debts when he had merely
+gazed a few miles into the vast expanse of space above; and when
+the most learned among them declared that god was the author of the
+universe, a great theological enterprise commenced. Every nation started
+a god on its own account, and if one proved to be insufficient, a few
+more were easily drafted in, with a devil to keep them company.
+
+These gods and devils, which were material or spiritual, according
+as occasion required, were hereafter put forward as explanations of
+nature's workings. And the people believed in them. How could they
+do otherwise? Their credulity was perfectly natural. They could not
+investigate; all their faculties were untrained. Even the most learned
+among them were superlatively ignorant; incapable by virtue of an
+untrained mind of accurately perceiving, recording, remembering, or
+judging of nature's manifold manifestations.
+
+And so the theologian had a good time of it. He believed thoroughly in
+his own pretensions; believed that he possessed the key which opened the
+door of all mysteries; that he was a god-appointed teacher of men; and
+in all the countries of the world he was looked upon as second only in
+importance to the gods themselves.
+
+But all this time the people were anxious to know not only what sort of
+deity it was they worshipped, but what kind of action would be likely
+to win his favor. They were told that god was a jealous being, and that
+their first duty was obedience to his will. They believed it.
+
+When, therefore, they were instructed to slaughter their neighbors who
+worshipped a different deity, they went to the task with all the ardor
+of their nature, imagining in their ignorance that the more brutally
+they executed the deity's will, the more pleasantly would he smile upon
+them. The Jews killed the Midianites, the Amalakites, the Baalites, and
+all other peoples they were capable of mastering who despised their god.
+Later, the Mahommedans with equal mercilessness followed the example
+of their Jewish brethren. Later still, the Christians persecuted and
+murdered many who stubbornly refused to acknowledge that Jesus was the
+Christ; and each nation could not only refer the deed back to the priest
+from whom the wicked instructions came, but the priest in his turn
+could point to the passage in his sacred book distinctly commanding or
+sanctioning such barbarities. The Bible contained instructions for the
+Jews not only to kill unbelieving people of other nations, but minute
+details were given as to how believers of their own kith and kin should
+be put to death (Leviticus xxiv., 16).
+
+The Koran was equally explicit in its directions to murder the infidels
+(chapter on the "Cow," p. 23); and the New Testament, which the
+Christians accepted as a guide, not only bade the believer have "no
+fellowship with unbelievers," but into whatever city they went, and the
+people were indisposed to give heed to their preachings, they were to
+"shake off the dust of their feet," and god would make it warmer for
+such people in the next world than for ordinary sinners. Nay more: the
+Christian could point to the strong declaration of Jesus: "But those
+mine enemies who would not that I should reign over them, bring hither
+and slay before me" (Luke xix., 27).
+
+The people were told that angels existed. They believed it.
+
+They were told that witches were displeasing to the sight of God; that
+he had given instructions that they were not to be "suffered" to live.
+They believed it; and did their best to remove the witches from the face
+of the earth.
+
+They were told that their God liked nothing so much as roast lamb. They
+believed it. And when they couldn't spare a lamb, they thought it would
+be pleasant at least for their deity to smell the flavor of it.
+
+They were told that God was the father of all men; that he was just and
+good; but that he liked some nations better than others; and considered
+some men fit only to be the slaves of others. They believed it.
+
+They were told that God made man. They believed it.
+
+They were told that he made all other animals for man's pleasure and
+assistance. They believed it.
+
+They were told that he made the sun and the stars to give light to the
+earth. They believed it.
+
+They were told that he made the earth. They believed it. That it was
+flat, and they were flats enough to believe that also.
+
+But they were not told who made God; what intelligent mind designed him
+before he was made; who made the intelligent mind that designed the God
+that made the world out of nothing. These matters were allowed to remain
+impenetrable mysteries.
+
+In course of time morality improved. The would-be murderer found that
+there were men in the nation who could defend themselves against all
+assaults of the enemy; and that the only way to be secure from attack
+was to promise not to be the aggressive party.
+
+And the thief found that if he stole others would steal from him; that
+only by being honest could he hope to have his own property protected.
+
+Though very early in the progress of man laws had been made against
+murder and theft, it was not until men saw that their own life and
+property were at stake, and that unless they were peaceful and honest
+themselves they ran a risk of losing all they had, that anything
+approaching harmony existed among the people of the nations that were on
+the high road to civilisation.
+
+Among savage races, murder, theft and other crimes are almost as rife
+as ever; and it is only when barbarous races come in contact with
+races higher up the scale of life that their morality manifests rapid
+improvement.
+
+Scepticism is the sign of a healthy mind. Doubt and unbelief invariably
+arise as the result of earnest inquiry and vigorous thought. Except
+among the philosophical Greeks and cultured Romans, doubts concerning
+the truth of theology were not openly expressed, even by the few, until
+many centuries after the Christian era began.
+
+Of course, among the early Christians there were many who doubted; some
+who denied the divinity of Jesus; many who questioned the truth of the
+resurrection; among the Brahmins and Buddhists, many who were sceptical
+on dogmatic points of their faith. But it was not until the middle of
+the sixteenth century that we find men questioning the pretensions of
+theologians, and exposing with admirable fearlessness and candor the
+errors of theology.
+
+Martin Luther early in the sixteenth century boldly questioned the
+dogmas of the Romish Church. He was ably supported by Philip Melancthon,
+but these reformers, although fighting bravely for the right of
+Freethought, were fearful lest others in the exercise of this freedom
+should go further than they did. Bruno, Telesio, Campanella and Vanini
+are among the first mentioned in history who courageously declared their
+disbelief in the prevailing theology.
+
+Bruno was a Pantheist. He denied that God was a person, and declared
+that he was an essence. He affirmed that matter was indestructible;
+that nature produced "all phænomena as the fruit of her own womb."
+He believed in the plurality of worlds, and denied the teachings of
+Aristotle. Telesio and Campanella held much the same belief.
+
+Vanini was an Atheist. For their heresies Telesio and Oampanella were
+imprisoned; Bruno and Vanini both died at the stake. No doubt there were
+many others who entertained doubts similar to those expressed by these
+noble philosophers; but when they found that their scepticism would be
+burnt out of them if they expressed it, they doubtlessly came to the
+conclusion that they had better keep it to themselves until men were
+more prepared for the reception of it. And probably the time would never
+have come had it not been for the heroism of a Bruno, the defiance of
+a Vanini, and the persistent teaching of other less known Freethought
+worthies.
+
+Galileo the astronomer must also be numbered among the sceptics. He
+denied that the earth was the centre of the universe, and in opposition
+to such teaching declared that it moved round the sun. For making known
+this now well-established fact the great astronomer was imprisoned,
+and a short interval allowed for him to recant or die the death of an
+infidel. He was an old man, and life was sweet. He elected to live.
+He had sown the seeds of doubt concerning the Church's teaching of
+astronomy--he left it to blossom in its own good time.
+
+In Europe periodical efforts had been made to improve the social and
+domestic life of the people. Feudalism having developed to its highest
+point, decayed, and upon its ruins were established strong monarchies,
+which vied with each other in voluptuousness and wickedness. But if the
+nation showed any signs of going forward in the march of progress, there
+was always one chain at least to drag them hopelessly back again.
+This was the Romish Church with, its slavish theology and horrible
+corruption.
+
+"For centuries the popes at intervals had embroiled Italy. Sometimes
+several popes ruled at once, and sometimes the Catholic Church had no
+pope at all. To unite and maintain, the temporal and spiritual power
+in their own persons was ever the ruling passion of the Catholic
+potentates; and for this they have spilt rivers of human blood.
+Under their absolute power the Church and its vices has grown up for
+centuries. Rooted into the heart of society the people had learnt to
+revere the ancient institution. Their imaginations were captivated by
+its showy services; its priesthood had the keeping of their consciences;
+was their only means of access to heaven; gave consolation in sickness;
+married, buried, and sent them to paradise. Its superstitions and
+centuries of cruelty had as yet only increased its power. Europe was
+filled with its images of saints and martyrs, real or counterfeit, and
+the people were instructed to fall down and worship them. Dead saints
+were made the medium of access to the deity; the services of religion
+were muttered in dead languages; priests were decked in dazzling
+garments; wax candles burnt in the churches at noonday; vessels of
+gold and silver stood on the altars; preaching had become rare, and had
+degenerated into frivolous talking; monks who lived a life of ease or
+idleness, and often of vice, were scattered in multitudes throughout
+every nation of Christendom; and in order to prevent inquiry and crush
+opposition, the Inquisition was established and the fire of persecution
+lit. Pope Alexander VI., a man of unusual depravity, burnt Savonarola
+for preaching reform in the Church. In short, a frightful spiritual
+despotism, such as Europe had never seen before, held the human mind in
+abject bondage" (Dr. Bollock's "History of Modern Europe," p. 23).
+
+After the Reformation the disputes between Christians, regarding
+the doctrines of the Protestant as well as the Catholic Church, were
+numerous and exceedingly bitter. But the masses of the people having to
+work hard for a small pittance and little leisure, took comparatively
+small notice of these theological disputes, and applied themselves
+with commendable zeal to more useful labor than watching the wretched
+encounters of fanatical religionists.
+
+The printing-press having now got into working order, began to disturb
+the peace of mind of the clergy and others in authority. Every shot from
+the armory of intelligence shook to their foundation the dogmas of the
+Church. The people continued to work. Scientific men, too, continued
+their labors quietly.
+
+Columbus discovered America, and frightened credulous believers in the
+flatness of the earth out of all the wits they ever had.
+
+Descartes in France, Spinoza in Holland, formulated a philosophy that
+knocked the anthropomorphic deity of the Christians quite off his
+pedestal; it was done, however, in such a learned manner that the common
+people heard scarcely anything about it.
+
+These continued the useful labors of the world. They tilled the soil;
+they bred cattle; they erected magnificent houses for the rich and small
+hovels for the poor; they made gaudy raiment wherewith to bedeck the
+persons of kings and priests, and plain dresses as a covering for the
+common people. Periodically, their progress was thwarted by being
+called upon to fight religious wars for the priests, and wars for the
+glorification or vanity of kings. Running rapidly over the pages of
+history one important fact stands prominently out. It is this, that
+as soon as the nations were at peace, for however short a while, the
+sceptics appeared again, and with the growing intelligence of the
+people, spoke in language of unmistakeable plainness about religion.
+
+Thomas Paine directed his powerful intellect against the upas tree;
+Voltaire's wit went like a javelin to its core; while Mirabaud and
+D'Holbach tore off the mask and left theology's errors exposed in all
+their glaring hideousness. And now the dawn of a new era for Freethought
+began to appear.
+
+The clergy maligned great sceptics, but scepticism increased
+notwithstanding. Heretical works were condemned and the authors
+imprisoned; but the seeds of doubt having been widely sown, nothing
+short of the wholesale destruction of persons suspected of entertaining
+these doubts was likely to prove effectual in the extirpation of them.
+
+From this point rapid progress towards the higher civilisation was made
+in all countries in Europe where the people were bold enough to
+free themselves from the dogmatism of the priests, read the works
+of scientific men, take advantage of every new discovery, interest
+themselves in the political and social movements of the country. In
+short, man advanced in proportion as he devoted himself to the work of
+the world, and left the next world and all opinions in regard to it to
+take care of themselves.
+
+So far we have seen the progress of man has been won by a vigorous
+struggling against the harmful forces of nature. In truth, nature has
+been a very useful servant to those who understand her, but a harsh and
+brutal master to those who were ignorant of her ways. She is not, nor
+ever has been, worthy of worship. She destroys every being that lives
+once, and sometimes by the most painful process it is possible to
+conceive. How many thousands she has starved with hunger, frozen with
+cold, poisoned, drowned, or swept away by earthquakes or other frightful
+calamities, mankind will never know. All we can know is that thousands
+have been thus sacrificed, and that in proportion as man used one force
+of nature to counteract the effect of another he has advanced.
+
+When the sceptical man had a chance of life, his advance towards
+civilisation was rapid. The sceptical mind investigated; new discoveries
+were made; the printing press increased in usefulness and power; new
+forms of industry were started, and a higher happiness made possible for
+the masses of the people. The art of agriculture steadily improved;
+and the shipping of merchandise from one nation to another was greatly
+facilitated by improved skill in navigation.
+
+Great, however, as were the strides towards civilisation in the
+seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, they were all eclipsed in the
+early part of the nineteenth century by the utilisation of steam-power,
+electricity, and other great natural forces, which had the effect of
+greatly increasing the wealth-producing power of those nations that
+adopted them. Nor was this all; for immediately following, machinery,
+which saved an enormous amount of labor, was introduced. Food and
+clothing became cheaper. The people multiplied rapidly, and with this
+increase of population grew a proportionate demand for food and labor.
+
+In a short time the struggle for existence was manifestly keener than it
+had ever been before; the rich became richer and richer, while among the
+poor the tendency was to get poorer and more poor. Uncomplainingly the
+people devoted themselves to the labor of each day. Theology they set
+aside for six days of the week, and concerned themselves about the gods
+on Sunday. Though they did not often say so, the majority of men thought
+it was far better for them to be diligent workmen, performing all
+the secular duties of daily life--building houses, making clothes,
+machinery, writing books; acting the part of good husbands, fathers, or
+citizens--than to have the most orthodox belief it was possible for a
+being to entertain. And this sentiment grew stronger and stronger, and
+proved of immense importance to mankind.
+
+For hundreds of years theologians had talked about the importance of
+saving men's souls; and those who possessed the smallest seemed to make
+the most fuss about them. But now the aspect of things was changed. Men
+began to talk about looking after their bodies; and some ventured to
+suggest that if they had souls in their bodies it would, perhaps, be no
+disadvantage to them if their bodies were well fed, well clothed, and
+their whole being well trained.
+
+Necessity forced all but a small minority into the labor market. And
+after years of labor the earth was converted from a howling wilderness
+into a home fit for habitation. Here let me distinctly affirm that all
+that is admirable in civilised life--the comfort of home, the pleasure
+of education, the fascination of the drama, the beauty of painting or
+sculpture, the usefulness of scientific acquirements--owe their value to
+the secular labor of mankind.
+
+Theology deserves no credit in respect to these things. Theology did not
+help man to supersede the sailing vessel by the steamship, the old coach
+by the railroad, the reaping machine by the scythe (vice versa, DW), nor
+the fastest locomotion by the telegraph wires. The theologian did not
+discover the telephone, nor did he learn how to light--with a brilliancy
+previously unknown to man--our streets and great public buildings by
+means of electricity.
+
+One Stephenson is worth a thousand theologians; one Edison of more
+value to the world than all the gods that men's imagination have ever
+pictured.
+
+But see what additional wonders the secular laborer has accomplished. He
+has removed forests of trees and converted them into houses, the hides
+of cattle he turned into boots and shoes, the wool of sheep he has
+transformed into robes of beauty and utility. He has bedecked our
+walls with paintings, put books upon our shelves, and with sweet music
+gladdened our hearts. To accomplish all this he has had to rely solely
+upon his reason. Yet theologians call this splendid attribute _carnal
+reason,_ and declare that it is no safe guide to man. It has been man's
+only guide; and when he has trusted it he has been more often in the
+right than otherwise. Even his errors have assisted hint in future
+labors. Faith he has had, but it has always been secular faith.
+Experience has been his guide, science a lamp unto his feet. Even when
+he has walked down the wrong path he has done so with his eyes open.
+
+Theological faith is sightless. It allures you to the brink of a
+precipice and precipitates you to the earth beneath. It is a ship
+without a rudder; the tempestuous waves toss it about recklessly, the
+wind drives it savagely against the rocks, and to-day this ship called
+"Theological Faith" is a dreary wreck.
+
+But reason grows stronger and clearer as the ages roll on. Man has
+discovered that he can trust it; that he can use it; that he can assist
+himself and others by the employment of it. In other words, he can do
+his own thinking, reason out his own principles, act his own life. He
+can be a man. And it is better for an individual to be a bad original
+than a good copy of somebody else. Man is civilised to-day. He has
+fought a good fight, he has conquered a foe; but better than all, he has
+converted an enemy into a friend.
+
+What is man's future policy? Is there not still plenty of labor for
+him to perform? Is there not an ocean of enigmas yet to be fathomed, a
+gold-mine of knowledge yet to be explored? Is there not poverty to be
+remedied, pain to be alleviated, ignorance to be removed? The reformer
+has yet something to inspire his fervid soul; the philanthropist plenty
+to touch his generous heart. Why even now the wealthy rogue struts
+pompously upon the stage of life in grand attire, and fares sumptuously
+every day; while honest poverty in rags lies hungry and fainting at his
+door. Even now the rich own all the land, and many poor have not where
+to lay their head. Even now all men are not equal in the sight of
+the law; and one man gets pensioned for work for which another is
+incarcerated in gaol. Even now our sisters are outraged and turned
+adrift upon the world to be the playthings of vicious men for evermore.
+Even now our workhouses are filled with men and women who are able to
+work for an honest living--if they could get it--but cannot because
+labor is cheap, and there are too many waiting to perform it. Even now
+our gaols are filled with society-made criminals, that education and
+better circumstances might have rescued from a life of misery and crime.
+Even now youth is stunted and starved, and men and women pine away,
+racked with some terrible disease which thoughtless and careless parents
+have transmitted to them.
+
+Reformers abate not your enthusiasm, but work bravely on. Through the
+world diffuse the glorious light of knowledge, let men learn that all
+crime is a mistake, that effects always follow causes, and that a good
+effect never follows from a bad cause in a nation that is governed on
+the principles of truth and justice.
+
+Remove poverty by sound advice to the poor and by strenuous efforts to
+improve men's surroundings. Stay the drunkard in his downward course,
+and assist unceasingly all social and political progress. Popularity you
+may never attain; even praise for your unselfish labor may be denied you
+while you live. But good work must leave its influence in the world;
+and your children's children will assuredly profit by it. For as Carlyle
+truly says: "Beautiful it is to see and understand that no worth, or
+known or unknown, can die even on this earth. The work an unknown
+good man has done is like a hidden vein of water flowing underground,
+secretly making the ground green. It flows and flows; it joins itself
+with other veins and veinlets, and one day it will start forth as a
+visible perennial well."
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Natural Man, by Arthur B. Moss
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43728 ***