New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-03-30
THE MORAL INSTINCT.
4 Study of IT'S Development
Through the Ages.
MORALS IN EVOLUTION A Study in Compare
i've Ethics. By L. r. Hobhouse. Two Vols
tp. S'5 2S4 Henry Holt 4 Co.

a recent reviewer Of these volumes called Mr.
Hobhouse's work a study Of the curiosties and
inconsistencies Of human conduct. Attractive
as this designation may be- It misrepresents
both the content and the spirit OF this admirably
conceived and patiently executed study. What
Mr. Hobhouse has really done is to sketch the
lines along which human conduct has been de-
Velopins since the dawn of history, and to seek
in the development the underlying ideas which
nave impelleG men 10 act they have done.
II there is anything the writer has stTiven TO
avoid il IS formless collection of stories about
savage superstitions and civilized foibles And
if there IS any conclusion that the book refuses
TO warrant, it is the inconsistency Of man. But
one must read the two volumes in order TO know
all This.
Mr. aobhouse has had to fight against two
difficulties which invariably besst the student
Of morals. He has been Obliged to get at the
facts Of history and then TO interpret them;
both these tasks tax the patience and critical
sense Of the keenest Investigator. There is such
an enormous of information about the
customs of various races that the mere reading
Of it IS something 10 boast Of. But If this IS an
achievement, how much more is constituting
the meanings and motives of thousands CT acts
done by savages and barbarians of all ages?
So great is the temptation to read these in the
light Of current ideas and practices that hyper
chaser of wild geese. And that he nigh; be-
indeed. were it not for his long philosophical
training. which has lifted him wonderfully well
10 construe such facts impersonally.
He devOtes a volume 10 each OF his main
tasks. First concerned with the outward forms
taken on by human conduct in customs and insti-
tutions, the Investigator traces the growth OF
social organization. law. marriage relations, the
status Of women. the relations between COM
murities and classes and finally property and
property rights. TWO general observations
serve guides through the maze of facts: one
is that two forces. personal impulse and social
tradition. always combine 10 determine mems
acts; the other is that everything having human
interest moulds morals; economies. art and re-
ligion being factors involved in every mans de-
cisions. AS result OF this. Mr.. Hobhouse OBJ
serves keenly it IS hopeless 20 expect parallel
progress in civilization and morality. The very
conditions Of the development Of society are
sometimes hostile 20 moral growth for the time
being. Many curious instances are cited show
ing the moral superiority og ancient barbarism
in certain respects; thus, the position Of woman
in ancient BahyIonia was immeasurably higher
than in modern England down 10 the middle Of
the nineteenth century
a study Of laws in force among various peoples
reveals a progress away from personal, violent
button. The blood feud proved destructive to
whole communities that II gradually gave way
TO a system Of fines determined by clan leaders,
and then 20 a formal court Indictment. In saw
age law no line was drawn between act and
intent; every deed was punished according TO
its actual effects In commenting upon modern
law Mr.. Hobhouse observes that the system
whereby the attorneys for the prosecution and
the defence are pitted against each Other is a
faint survival Of the old trial by combat; legal
might makes right Ear too often. The most OBJ
vious escape from this evil is found in empow-
ering the state TO appoint mpartially attoi neys
for the defence as 1t does cor the prosecution
In criminal cases But Mr.. Hobhouse does not
state openly whether he approves OF this refol m
or not. The history OF marriage shows two
marked trends. one away from the action Of
marriage as a sacrament ard the other toward
a distinction between marriage and all other
kinds Of contracts. Whereas ordinary contracts
are voidable by agreement OF the contracting
parties. the marriage contract may be broken
only as relief 10 one party who suffers from
the others delinquency. MT. Hobhouse. like
every other unparalleled student OF morals. sees
that divorce cannot be suppressed without grave
injustice.
Nothing IS more conspicuous in the history OF
human conduct than the part played by group
tween communities the author very truly slys
that the one dominant fact in this field Cf IN
quiry is the principle that rights and duties 10
not attach TO the human being SUCH bat are
determined by extraneous considerations-sncia
political or religious This principle, instinct
lively held by all peoples is just beginning TO
be overthrow. Intellectual freedom. the rise Of
the doctrine OF equality before the law and the
slow growth of international law are three
strong evidences OF its decline Mr.. Hobhonse be-
ueves that the color line drawn most stro' ely in
America. is the last strong survival of group
morality. Evidently he does not look upon the
recently discovered "criminaiOid," the industrial
giant with moral atrophy. as a product Of an
equally stubborn caste feeling. Let us hope he
is right.
The first volume Is so replete with well Sc
lected Illustrations and keen interpretations that
even an outline is impossible here. There is
one point, though. which must be mentioned.
Mr.. Hobhouse after reading the records Of man
kind. refutes the poets lament about the wan
ing of individuality. 1t was Tennyson-was 1t
not ?-svho brought 10 the fore the gloomy fan
tasy that with the advance OF civilization the
individual wlthers. only a man who sees the
rigid and intricate structure Of social machin-
cry without noticing its usefulness could de-
fend such a view Nobody could read Mr.. Hob
houses historical sketch of property and is
tenure without being convinced that civilization
has granted even the humblest peasant powers
Of self-expresson which not even the lords of his
ancestors enjoyed. The second volume portrays
the ideas which have influenced and guided
human conduct what thoughts about man ana
his world have arisen and directed the course of
events? How did notions about right and wrong
take form? The investigator is driven into the
deeps OF psychology for answers 10 these and
kindred questions. In searching for character