{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_43728/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_43728","id":"gutenberg_43728","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/43728","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Human beings -- Origin","Rationalism"],"text":"NATURAL MAN\n\nBy Arthur B. Moss\n\nPRICE ONE PENNY.\n\nLONDON:\n\nTHE PROGRESSIVE PUBLISHING COMPANY,\n\n28 Stonecutter Street.\n\n1884.\n\n\n\n\nNATURAL MAN\n\nConcerning the when and how of the origin of man nothing positive\nis known. Genesis states that \"god made man,\" but as the greatest\nintellects of modern times doubt the existence of deity, a ready\nacceptance of the Mosaic account of the creation of the haman species\ncan only take place among those who are not well qualified to weigh\nevidence, balance probabilities, and appraise the evidence of rival\ntheories.\n\nThe researches of men of science lead us to the belief that the\nauthors of the first and second chapters of Genesis were mistaken. They\nformulated a theory and imagined it to be a fact.\n\nDarwin, Haeckel, Huxley, and other eminent scientists, dispute\naltogether the theory that man was created perfect, and in their works\nhave proved to demonstration that the beings called men have evolved\nfrom lower organisms; that they have the same anatomical structure as\nthe Catarrhini apes; that there is a distinct blood-relationship between\nthem, and that they have both had a common parentage.\n\nTo establish the truth of the evolution theory, it is enough to look\nfairly at the facts of nature; to observe man under various aspects;\nto consider him in barbaric times, or in countries where he is not yet\ncivilised; to see him in a nude condition, with nothing to cover him but\na mass of hair which nature provides; to watch him in his struggle for\nlife with his enemies, the destructive lower animals and his fellow men,\nand to find in the course of years that a higher form of man has evolved\nout of this barbaric creature.\n\nThe evolution theory accounts for the facts as they are observed in\nlife--facts which upon any other theory are quite inexplicable. And it\nmust not be supposed that because the theory does not give a complete\nexplanation to all the phenomena that it therefore is not reliable.\nHaeckel says (\"Pedigree of Man,\" p. 36): \"If we can only prove the\ngeneral truth of the Darwinian theory, our idea of the origin of man\nfrom lower vertebrata follows of necessity, and we are not obliged to\ngive a special proof as to this latter view if the general proposition\nis well established.\" That the general proposition is well established is\nnow admitted by the most enlightened of the opponents of Darwinism. What\nis called the \"evolution theory\" is generally acknowledged to be removed\nfrom the region of hypothesis to that of fact.\n\nBut it is not my purpose further to pursue the subject of man's origin,\nwhich, while it is confessedly a most interesting question, is one upon\nwhich no man who is not a skilled scientist can write or speak with\nauthority. I can only deal with probabilities. Nobody, so far as we\nknow, was present to witness the first man spring into existence.\nIndeed, we do not know that there was a first man! And if there was a\nfirst, it does not follow that he was conscious of being made, or when\nhe was completed that he had the pleasure of seeing his maker, who told\nhim how it was done. Or, on the other hand, if he were evolved from\nsome lower creature it does not follow that he was conscious of the\nevolution. But at least we can be sure that history speaks with no\nuncertain sound concerning man's progress in the world and the means by\nwhich it was achieved. As a civilised creature man is not many centuries\nold. Even now we find many savage races existing on the earth, and in\ntype so low in the scale are they that they more nearly resemble the\nbrute beasts, both in intellect and in physique, than the higher forms\nof men. Now if we would study the progress of the human race to any\nadvantage, we must study it apart from all prejudice, and not allow\nreligious or superstitious notions concerning the superiority of one\nclass of people to warp our minds and prevent us from understanding the\nimportant part played by savage peoples in the battle of life. For it\nmust always be remembered that man's history is one of fearful warfare,\nnot only between men and men, but between man and the lower animals.\n\nIt is no flight of the imagination to say that there exist the clearest\nproofs that man many ages ago lived in \"holes in the earth,\" and went\nin constant fear of animals who sought him as their prey. Sometimes\nhe would have to scramble up trees to elude the vigilance of these\nsagacious beasts; sometimes the tree would form no place of safety, and\nhe would have to run for dear life or become a living sacrifice to these\nsavage beings.\n\nIn the course of time man learnt how to keep himself warm, while the\nbeasts of the field perished from cold or parched with thirst and\nfamished with hunger, sunk and died; he learnt how to huddle himself\nup close to a fire in his mud-hut, out of all danger from the enemy. In\naddition to this he learnt how to speak, to communicate his thoughts to\nhis fellows. These were great steps in advance. Man was still in a nude\ncondition. But now he began to form a theory as to the cause of the\nph\u00e6nomena of the universe. He began to establish the reign of the gods.\nAll his gods, naturally enough, at first were fetishes. Those animals\nwhich he considered superior to himself he elected as special objects of\nworship. As soon as he found that these were not superior, but inferior,\nto himself, he began to make gods after his own image.\n\nOut of small tribes in course of ages grew great nations. Men could now\nmanufacture weapons of destruction with which they could procure food\nand destroy their enemies; thus little by little were built up the\nnations of the earth. All advance, all progress towards civilisation\nmade by primitive man was made by opposing with all his strength and\nskill the destructive forces of nature, and by strenuous attempts at\nimproving upon human nature itself. Was man then inherently depraved and\nprone to evil continually? Not so. The germs of evil and good were alike\nsown in his nature; and if either of these was developed by favorable\ncircumstances an evil or a good result followed of necessity. That\nman was not depraved by nature is seen by the fact that in the general\nevolution of things, instead of growing worse he has continued to\nimprove--from the low, brutal and immoral creature of the past, to the\npurer, loftier, nobler being--the highest that can be found to-day.\n\nIn his natural state, it is true, man was a wicked being. He had no\nintuitive knowledge of right and wrong. He had to perform an act, and he\nwas never sure until he felt the results whether it was good or bad. In\nhis natural state he was dirty, untruthful, unjust. No god came to tell\nhim that \"cleanliness was next to godliness;\" nor admonish him to be\ntruthful and just in all his dealings. He was left alone to use his own\nunaided intelligence as best he might.\n\nTo test the truth of these assertions one has only to turn to savage\nraces existing to-day. It will be found on investigation that not only\nare they unclean in their habits and destitute of any idea of justice,\nbut for the most part they are unblushing liars and ingenious thieves.\n\nAll the characteristics in human nature that are called virtues are\npurely of artificial growth, and result from man's cultivation of his\nbetter self; or, in other words, from his improvement upon nature's\nspontaneous course of action.\n\nIn support of this view I may here quote J. S. Mill, who says (\"Essay on\nNature,\" p. 48): \"Children and the lower classes of most countries seem\nto be actually fond of dirt: the vast majority of the human race are\nindifferent to it: whole nations of otherwise civilised and cultivated\nhuman beings tolerate it in some of its worst forms, and only a very\nsmall minority are consistently offended by it. Indeed, the universal\nlaw of the subject appears to be that uncleanliness offends only those\nto whom it is unfamiliar, so that those who have lived in so artificial\na state as to be unused to it in any form, are the sole persons whom\nit disgusts in all forms. Of all virtues this is the most evidently not\ninstinctive, but a triumph over instinct. Assuredly neither cleanliness\nnor the love of cleanliness is natural to man, but only the capacity of\nacquiring a love of cleanliness.\" On page 57 the same writer declares\nthat \"Savages are always liars. They have not the faintest notion of\ntruth as a virtue.\"\n\nHaving then all these bad qualities of nature, how is it that man has\nbeen able to put them into subjection and advance along the road to\ncivilisation even at the pace that we have seen? Such advance has been\nwholly dependent upon the energy and skill with which he has opposed the\ndestructive forces of nature, using one law to counteract another, and\nupon the determination with which he has striven to improve upon human\nnature itself.\n\nFor centuries man groped about in the dark. Nature was deaf to his\nappeals and blind to his sufferings, and her daily performances\nfrightened and bewildered him. And yet he did his best to ascertain the\ncauses of the ph\u00e6nomena of the universe. But his best guesses were wide\nof the mark. Outside of nature he sought for explanation. He thought he\nhad scaled nature's heights and fathomed her debts when he had merely\ngazed a few miles into the vast expanse of space above; and when\nthe most learned among them declared that god was the author of the\nuniverse, a great theological enterprise commenced. Every nation started\na god on its own account, and if one proved to be insufficient, a few\nmore were easily drafted in, with a devil to keep them company.\n\nThese gods and devils, which were material or spiritual, according\nas occasion required, were hereafter put forward as explanations of\nnature's workings. And the people believed in them. How could they\ndo otherwise? Their credulity was perfectly natural. They could not\ninvestigate; all their faculties were untrained. Even the most learned\namong them were superlatively ignorant; incapable by virtue of an\nuntrained mind of accurately perceiving, recording, remembering, or\njudging of nature's manifold manifestations.\n\nAnd so the theologian had a good time of it. He believed thoroughly in\nhis own pretensions; believed that he possessed the key which opened the\ndoor of all mysteries; that he was a god-appointed teacher of men; and\nin all the countries of the world he was looked upon as second only in\nimportance to the gods themselves.\n\nBut all this time the people were anxious to know not only what sort of\ndeity it was they worshipped, but what kind of action would be likely\nto win his favor. They were told that god was a jealous being, and that\ntheir first duty was obedience to his will. They believed it.\n\nWhen, therefore, they were instructed to slaughter their neighbors who\nworshipped a different deity, they went to the task with all the ardor\nof their nature, imagining in their ignorance that the more brutally\nthey executed the deity's will, the more pleasantly would he smile upon\nthem. The Jews killed the Midianites, the Amalakites, the Baalites, and\nall other peoples they were capable of mastering who despised their god.\nLater, the Mahommedans with equal mercilessness followed the example\nof their Jewish brethren. Later still, the Christians persecuted and\nmurdered many who stubbornly refused to acknowledge that Jesus was the\nChrist; and each nation could not only refer the deed back to the priest\nfrom whom the wicked instructions came, but the priest in his turn\ncould point to the passage in his sacred book distinctly commanding or\nsanctioning such barbarities. The Bible contained instructions for the\nJews not only to kill unbelieving people of other nations, but minute\ndetails were given as to how believers of their own kith and kin should\nbe put to death (Leviticus xxiv., 16).\n\nThe Koran was equally explicit in its directions to murder the infidels\n(chapter on the \"Cow,\" p. 23); and the New Testament, which the\nChristians accepted as a guide, not only bade the believer have \"no\nfellowship with unbelievers,\" but into whatever city they went, and the\npeople were indisposed to give heed to their preachings, they were to\n\"shake off the dust of their feet,\" and god would make it warmer for\nsuch people in the next world than for ordinary sinners. Nay more: the\nChristian could point to the strong declaration of Jesus: \"But those\nmine enemies who would not that I should reign over them, bring hither\nand slay before me\" (Luke xix., 27).\n\nThe people were told that angels existed. They believed it.\n\nThey were told that witches were displeasing to the sight of God; that\nhe had given instructions that they were not to be \"suffered\" to live.\nThey believed it; and did their best to remove the witches from the face\nof the earth.\n\nThey were told that their God liked nothing so much as roast lamb. They\nbelieved it. And when they couldn't spare a lamb, they thought it would\nbe pleasant at least for their deity to smell the flavor of it.\n\nThey were told that God was the father of all men; that he was just and\ngood; but that he liked some nations better than others; and considered\nsome men fit only to be the slaves of others. They believed it.\n\nThey were told that God made man. They believed it.\n\nThey were told that he made all other animals for man's pleasure and\nassistance. They believed it.\n\nThey were told that he made the sun and the stars to give light to the\nearth. They believed it.\n\nThey were told that he made the earth. They believed it. That it was\nflat, and they were flats enough to believe that also.\n\nBut they were not told who made God; what intelligent mind designed him\nbefore he was made; who made the intelligent mind that designed the God\nthat made the world out of nothing. These matters were allowed to remain\nimpenetrable mysteries.\n\nIn course of time morality improved. The would-be murderer found that\nthere were men in the nation who could defend themselves against all\nassaults of the enemy; and that the only way to be secure from attack\nwas to promise not to be the aggressive party.\n\nAnd the thief found that if he stole others would steal from him; that\nonly by being honest could he hope to have his own property protected.\n\nThough very early in the progress of man laws had been made against\nmurder and theft, it was not until men saw that their own life and\nproperty were at stake, and that unless they were peaceful and honest\nthemselves they ran a risk of losing all they had, that anything\napproaching harmony existed among the people of the nations that were on\nthe high road to civilisation.\n\nAmong savage races, murder, theft and other crimes are almost as rife\nas ever; and it is only when barbarous races come in contact with\nraces higher up the scale of life that their morality manifests rapid\nimprovement.\n\nScepticism is the sign of a healthy mind. Doubt and unbelief invariably\narise as the result of earnest inquiry and vigorous thought. Except\namong the philosophical Greeks and cultured Romans, doubts concerning\nthe truth of theology were not openly expressed, even by the few, until\nmany centuries after the Christian era began.\n\nOf course, among the early Christians there were many who doubted; some\nwho denied the divinity of Jesus; many who questioned the truth of the\nresurrection; among the Brahmins and Buddhists, many who were sceptical\non dogmatic points of their faith. But it was not until the middle of\nthe sixteenth century that we find men questioning the pretensions of\ntheologians, and exposing with admirable fearlessness and candor the\nerrors of theology.\n\nMartin Luther early in the sixteenth century boldly questioned the\ndogmas of the Romish Church. He was ably supported by Philip Melancthon,\nbut these reformers, although fighting bravely for the right of\nFreethought, were fearful lest others in the exercise of this freedom\nshould go further than they did. Bruno, Telesio, Campanella and Vanini\nare among the first mentioned in history who courageously declared their\ndisbelief in the prevailing theology.\n\nBruno was a Pantheist. He denied that God was a person, and declared\nthat he was an essence. He affirmed that matter was indestructible;\nthat nature produced \"all ph\u00e6nomena as the fruit of her own womb.\"\nHe believed in the plurality of worlds, and denied the teachings of\nAristotle. Telesio and Campanella held much the same belief.\n\nVanini was an Atheist. For their heresies Telesio and Oampanella were\nimprisoned; Bruno and Vanini both died at the stake. No doubt there were\nmany others who entertained doubts similar to those expressed by these\nnoble philosophers; but when they found that their scepticism would be\nburnt out of them if they expressed it, they doubtlessly came to the\nconclusion that they had better keep it to themselves until men were\nmore prepared for the reception of it. And probably the time would never\nhave come had it not been for the heroism of a Bruno, the defiance of\na Vanini, and the persistent teaching of other less known Freethought\nworthies.\n\nGalileo the astronomer must also be numbered among the sceptics. He\ndenied that the earth was the centre of the universe, and in opposition\nto such teaching declared that it moved round the sun. For making known\nthis now well-established fact the great astronomer was imprisoned,\nand a short interval allowed for him to recant or die the death of an\ninfidel. He was an old man, and life was sweet. He elected to live.\nHe had sown the seeds of doubt concerning the Church's teaching of\nastronomy--he left it to blossom in its own good time.\n\nIn Europe periodical efforts had been made to improve the social and\ndomestic life of the people. Feudalism having developed to its highest\npoint, decayed, and upon its ruins were established strong monarchies,\nwhich vied with each other in voluptuousness and wickedness. But if the\nnation showed any signs of going forward in the march of progress, there\nwas always one chain at least to drag them hopelessly back again.\nThis was the Romish Church with, its slavish theology and horrible\ncorruption.\n\n\"For centuries the popes at intervals had embroiled Italy. Sometimes\nseveral popes ruled at once, and sometimes the Catholic Church had no\npope at all. To unite and maintain, the temporal and spiritual power\nin their own persons was ever the ruling passion of the Catholic\npotentates; and for this they have spilt rivers of human blood.\nUnder their absolute power the Church and its vices has grown up for\ncenturies. Rooted into the heart of society the people had learnt to\nrevere the ancient institution. Their imaginations were captivated by\nits showy services; its priesthood had the keeping of their consciences;\nwas their only means of access to heaven; gave consolation in sickness;\nmarried, buried, and sent them to paradise. Its superstitions and\ncenturies of cruelty had as yet only increased its power. Europe was\nfilled with its images of saints and martyrs, real or counterfeit, and\nthe people were instructed to fall down and worship them. Dead saints\nwere made the medium of access to the deity; the services of religion\nwere muttered in dead languages; priests were decked in dazzling\ngarments; wax candles burnt in the churches at noonday; vessels of\ngold and silver stood on the altars; preaching had become rare, and had\ndegenerated into frivolous talking; monks who lived a life of ease or\nidleness, and often of vice, were scattered in multitudes throughout\nevery nation of Christendom; and in order to prevent inquiry and crush\nopposition, the Inquisition was established and the fire of persecution\nlit. Pope Alexander VI., a man of unusual depravity, burnt Savonarola\nfor preaching reform in the Church. In short, a frightful spiritual\ndespotism, such as Europe had never seen before, held the human mind in\nabject bondage\" (Dr. Bollock's \"History of Modern Europe,\" p. 23).\n\nAfter the Reformation the disputes between Christians, regarding\nthe doctrines of the Protestant as well as the Catholic Church, were\nnumerous and exceedingly bitter. But the masses of the people having to\nwork hard for a small pittance and little leisure, took comparatively\nsmall notice of these theological disputes, and applied themselves\nwith commendable zeal to more useful labor than watching the wretched\nencounters of fanatical religionists.\n\nThe printing-press having now got into working order, began to disturb\nthe peace of mind of the clergy and others in authority. Every shot from\nthe armory of intelligence shook to their foundation the dogmas of the\nChurch. The people continued to work. Scientific men, too, continued\ntheir labors quietly.\n\nColumbus discovered America, and frightened credulous believers in the\nflatness of the earth out of all the wits they ever had.\n\nDescartes in France, Spinoza in Holland, formulated a philosophy that\nknocked the anthropomorphic deity of the Christians quite off his\npedestal; it was done, however, in such a learned manner that the common\npeople heard scarcely anything about it.\n\nThese continued the useful labors of the world. They tilled the soil;\nthey bred cattle; they erected magnificent houses for the rich and small\nhovels for the poor; they made gaudy raiment wherewith to bedeck the\npersons of kings and priests, and plain dresses as a covering for the\ncommon people. Periodically, their progress was thwarted by being\ncalled upon to fight religious wars for the priests, and wars for the\nglorification or vanity of kings. Running rapidly over the pages of\nhistory one important fact stands prominently out. It is this, that\nas soon as the nations were at peace, for however short a while, the\nsceptics appeared again, and with the growing intelligence of the\npeople, spoke in language of unmistakeable plainness about religion.\n\nThomas Paine directed his powerful intellect against the upas tree;\nVoltaire's wit went like a javelin to its core; while Mirabaud and\nD'Holbach tore off the mask and left theology's errors exposed in all\ntheir glaring hideousness. And now the dawn of a new era for Freethought\nbegan to appear.\n\nThe clergy maligned great sceptics, but scepticism increased\nnotwithstanding. Heretical works were condemned and the authors\nimprisoned; but the seeds of doubt having been widely sown, nothing\nshort of the wholesale destruction of persons suspected of entertaining\nthese doubts was likely to prove effectual in the extirpation of them.\n\nFrom this point rapid progress towards the higher civilisation was made\nin all countries in Europe where the people were bold enough to\nfree themselves from the dogmatism of the priests, read the works\nof scientific men, take advantage of every new discovery, interest\nthemselves in the political and social movements of the country. In\nshort, man advanced in proportion as he devoted himself to the work of\nthe world, and left the next world and all opinions in regard to it to\ntake care of themselves.\n\nSo far we have seen the progress of man has been won by a vigorous\nstruggling against the harmful forces of nature. In truth, nature has\nbeen a very useful servant to those who understand her, but a harsh and\nbrutal master to those who were ignorant of her ways. She is not, nor\never has been, worthy of worship. She destroys every being that lives\nonce, and sometimes by the most painful process it is possible to\nconceive. How many thousands she has starved with hunger, frozen with\ncold, poisoned, drowned, or swept away by earthquakes or other frightful\ncalamities, mankind will never know. All we can know is that thousands\nhave been thus sacrificed, and that in proportion as man used one force\nof nature to counteract the effect of another he has advanced.\n\nWhen the sceptical man had a chance of life, his advance towards\ncivilisation was rapid. The sceptical mind investigated; new discoveries\nwere made; the printing press increased in usefulness and power; new\nforms of industry were started, and a higher happiness made possible for\nthe masses of the people. The art of agriculture steadily improved;\nand the shipping of merchandise from one nation to another was greatly\nfacilitated by improved skill in navigation.\n\nGreat, however, as were the strides towards civilisation in the\nseventeenth and eighteenth centuries, they were all eclipsed in the\nearly part of the nineteenth century by the utilisation of steam-power,\nelectricity, and other great natural forces, which had the effect of\ngreatly increasing the wealth-producing power of those nations that\nadopted them. Nor was this all; for immediately following, machinery,\nwhich saved an enormous amount of labor, was introduced. Food and\nclothing became cheaper. The people multiplied rapidly, and with this\nincrease of population grew a proportionate demand for food and labor.\n\nIn a short time the struggle for existence was manifestly keener than it\nhad ever been before; the rich became richer and richer, while among the\npoor the tendency was to get poorer and more poor. Uncomplainingly the\npeople devoted themselves to the labor of each day. Theology they set\naside for six days of the week, and concerned themselves about the gods\non Sunday. Though they did not often say so, the majority of men thought\nit was far better for them to be diligent workmen, performing all\nthe secular duties of daily life--building houses, making clothes,\nmachinery, writing books; acting the part of good husbands, fathers, or\ncitizens--than to have the most orthodox belief it was possible for a\nbeing to entertain. And this sentiment grew stronger and stronger, and\nproved of immense importance to mankind.\n\nFor hundreds of years theologians had talked about the importance of\nsaving men's souls; and those who possessed the smallest seemed to make\nthe most fuss about them. But now the aspect of things was changed. Men\nbegan to talk about looking after their bodies; and some ventured to\nsuggest that if they had souls in their bodies it would, perhaps, be no\ndisadvantage to them if their bodies were well fed, well clothed, and\ntheir whole being well trained.\n\nNecessity forced all but a small minority into the labor market. And\nafter years of labor the earth was converted from a howling wilderness\ninto a home fit for habitation. Here let me distinctly affirm that all\nthat is admirable in civilised life--the comfort of home, the pleasure\nof education, the fascination of the drama, the beauty of painting or\nsculpture, the usefulness of scientific acquirements--owe their value to\nthe secular labor of mankind.\n\nTheology deserves no credit in respect to these things. Theology did not\nhelp man to supersede the sailing vessel by the steamship, the old coach\nby the railroad, the reaping machine by the scythe (vice versa, DW), nor\nthe fastest locomotion by the telegraph wires. The theologian did not\ndiscover the telephone, nor did he learn how to light--with a brilliancy\npreviously unknown to man--our streets and great public buildings by\nmeans of electricity.\n\nOne Stephenson is worth a thousand theologians; one Edison of more\nvalue to the world than all the gods that men's imagination have ever\npictured.\n\nBut see what additional wonders the secular laborer has accomplished. He\nhas removed forests of trees and converted them into houses, the hides\nof cattle he turned into boots and shoes, the wool of sheep he has\ntransformed into robes of beauty and utility. He has bedecked our\nwalls with paintings, put books upon our shelves, and with sweet music\ngladdened our hearts. To accomplish all this he has had to rely solely\nupon his reason. Yet theologians call this splendid attribute _carnal\nreason,_ and declare that it is no safe guide to man. It has been man's\nonly guide; and when he has trusted it he has been more often in the\nright than otherwise. Even his errors have assisted hint in future\nlabors. Faith he has had, but it has always been secular faith.\nExperience has been his guide, science a lamp unto his feet. Even when\nhe has walked down the wrong path he has done so with his eyes open.\n\nTheological faith is sightless. It allures you to the brink of a\nprecipice and precipitates you to the earth beneath. It is a ship\nwithout a rudder; the tempestuous waves toss it about recklessly, the\nwind drives it savagely against the rocks, and to-day this ship called\n\"Theological Faith\" is a dreary wreck.\n\nBut reason grows stronger and clearer as the ages roll on. Man has\ndiscovered that he can trust it; that he can use it; that he can assist\nhimself and others by the employment of it. In other words, he can do\nhis own thinking, reason out his own principles, act his own life. He\ncan be a man. And it is better for an individual to be a bad original\nthan a good copy of somebody else. Man is civilised to-day. He has\nfought a good fight, he has conquered a foe; but better than all, he has\nconverted an enemy into a friend.\n\nWhat is man's future policy? Is there not still plenty of labor for\nhim to perform? Is there not an ocean of enigmas yet to be fathomed, a\ngold-mine of knowledge yet to be explored? Is there not poverty to be\nremedied, pain to be alleviated, ignorance to be removed? The reformer\nhas yet something to inspire his fervid soul; the philanthropist plenty\nto touch his generous heart. Why even now the wealthy rogue struts\npompously upon the stage of life in grand attire, and fares sumptuously\nevery day; while honest poverty in rags lies hungry and fainting at his\ndoor. Even now the rich own all the land, and many poor have not where\nto lay their head. Even now all men are not equal in the sight of\nthe law; and one man gets pensioned for work for which another is\nincarcerated in gaol. Even now our sisters are outraged and turned\nadrift upon the world to be the playthings of vicious men for evermore.\nEven now our workhouses are filled with men and women who are able to\nwork for an honest living--if they could get it--but cannot because\nlabor is cheap, and there are too many waiting to perform it. Even now\nour gaols are filled with society-made criminals, that education and\nbetter circumstances might have rescued from a life of misery and crime.\nEven now youth is stunted and starved, and men and women pine away,\nracked with some terrible disease which thoughtless and careless parents\nhave transmitted to them.\n\nReformers abate not your enthusiasm, but work bravely on. Through the\nworld diffuse the glorious light of knowledge, let men learn that all\ncrime is a mistake, that effects always follow causes, and that a good\neffect never follows from a bad cause in a nation that is governed on\nthe principles of truth and justice.\n\nRemove poverty by sound advice to the poor and by strenuous efforts to\nimprove men's surroundings. Stay the drunkard in his downward course,\nand assist unceasingly all social and political progress. Popularity you\nmay never attain; even praise for your unselfish labor may be denied you\nwhile you live. But good work must leave its influence in the world;\nand your children's children will assuredly profit by it. For as Carlyle\ntruly says: \"Beautiful it is to see and understand that no worth, or\nknown or unknown, can die even on this earth. The work an unknown\ngood man has done is like a hidden vein of water flowing underground,\nsecretly making the ground green. It flows and flows; it joins itself\nwith other veins and veinlets, and one day it will start forth as a\nvisible perennial well.\"","title":"Natural Man","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":5407}