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Show 296 was redeemed by s p i r i t u a l commerce with Nature. Did he believe that only an educated man l i k e himself was capable of absorbing the spiritual wealth of C a l i f o r n i a , as did a typical Californian intellectual, David Starr Jordan? If he did, then he wasn't fully convinced that Man should become part and parcel of Nature, and he may have l e t the concept he called "Lord Man" finally influence the d i r e c t i o n of his thought. Darwin, for instance, had not denigrated the human a b i l i t i e s of the Fuegans; when he looked at t h e i r sooty faces, he believed that they were men who could not or did not improve themselves. For Darwin, LeConte, or Marsh, Lord Man was not simply a biological species. He was the r e s u l t of s o c i a l i z a t i o n , c u l t u r a l progress, and civilization which fostered i n d i v i d u a l i t y - Lord Man was the animal who chose to take dominion. Men who could not take dominion might be despised, as Darwin despised the Fuegans. Men who chose not to take dominion might be seen as frivolous, hedonistic, or worthless. Muir sometimes described himself as a tramp. But was he serious? David Starr Jordan grouped Digger Indians with hobos, pointing out that the l a t t e r seemed even l e s s able to absorb anything from the scenery and climate of California than the former. From the perspective of Palo Alto, an Indian was not a man because he did not improve his condition. This was the very issue Muir had struggled with in "Wild Wool." Wasn't it enough for any species to l i v e in harmony with Nature? Muir wanted c i v i l i z e d Man t o improve his s p i r i t u a l condition hy immersing himself in the flow, not transcending i t . Was |