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Show D4 THE DESCENT OF MAN. PA.RT I. cuts off the head of an unoffending person and dries it as a trophy. The murder of infants has prevailed on the largest scale throughout the worlJ,24 and has met with no reproach ; bnt infanticide, especially of females, has been thought to be good for the tribe, or at least not injurious. Suicide during former times was not generally considered as a crime,25 but rather from the courage displayed as an honourable act ; and it is still largely practised by some semi-civilised nations without reproach, for the loss to a uation of a single individual is not felt: whatever the explanation may be, suicide, as I hear from Sir J. Lubbock, is rarely practised by the lowest barbarians. It has been recorded that an Indian Thug conscientiously regretted that he had not strangled and robbed as many travellers as did his father before him. In a rude state of civilisation the robbery of strangers is, indeed, generally eonsidered as honourable. The great sin of Slavery has been almost universal, and slaves have often been treated in an infamous manner. As barbarians do not regard the opinion of their women, wives are commonly treated like slaves. 1\fost savages .are utterly indifferent to the sufferings of strangers, or even delight in witnessing them. It is well known that the women and children of the North-American Indians aided in torturing their enemies. Some savages take a h~rrid ple~sure in cruelty to animals/6 and humanity w1th them IS an unknown virtue. N evertbeless, feelings of sympathy and kindness are common, especially • 24 The fullest account which I have met with is by Dr. Gerland, in hts 'Ueber das Aussterben der N aturvi:ilker,' 1868 ; but I shall have to recur to the subject of infanticide in a future chapter. 25 See the very interesting discussion on Suicide iu Leaky's 'History of European :M:orals,' vol. i. 1869, p. 223. 26 See, for instance, Mr. Hamilton's account of the Kaffirs 'Anthro-pological Review,' 1870, p. xv. ' CIIAP. III. MORAL SENSE. 95 during sickness, between the members of the same tribe, and are sometimes extended beyond the limits of the tribe. Mungo Park's touching account of the kindness of the negro women of the interior to him is well known. Many instances could be given of the noble fidelity of savages towards each other, but not to strangers; common experience justifies the maxim of the Spaniard, " Never, never trust an Indian." There cannot be fidelity without truth; and this fundamental virtue is not rare between the members of the same tribe : thus Mungo Park heard the negro women teaching their young children to love the truth. This, again, is one of the virtues which becomes so deeply rooted in the mind that it is sometimes practised ,by savages even at a high cost, towards strangers ; but to lie to your enemy has rarely been thought a sin, as the history of modern diplomacy too plainly shews. As soon as a tribe has a recognised leader, disobedience becomes a crime, and even abject submission is looked at as a sacred virtue. As during rude times no man can be useful or faithful to his tribe without courage, this quality has universally been placed in the highest rank ; and although, in civilised countries, a good, yet timid, man may be far more useful to the community than a brave one, we cannot help instinctively honouring the latter above a coward, however benevolent. Prudence, on the other hand, which does not concern the welfare of others, though a very useful virtue, has never been highly esteemed. As no man can practise the virtues necessary for the welfare of his tribe without self-sacrifice, selfcommand, and the power of endurance, these qualities have been at all times highly and most justly valued. The American savage voluntarily submits without a groan to the most horrid. tortures to prove and strengthen his fortitude and courage ; and we cannot |
