thers to his
own, so by heroism he is led to sacrifice himself to the welfare of
others. When we see a mother struggling to death, and with admirable
self-devotion, against overpowering waves, or ferocious beasts, or
devouring flames, to save her child from certain destruction, it would
be stolidity and folly for us to bring into comparison with this act,
the cares bestowed by a brute in feeding her young, since as soon as the
latter has carried into effect the order of nature, she forsakes them,
and, when grown, does not even recognise them; whereas the love of a
mother endures beyond the grave. When a husband, bound with the
indissoluble tie of affection to the woman of his heart, voluntarily
sacrifices to her everything dearest in the world, and finds in her
affection ample recompense for his direst privations, who would dare to
attribute this to the physical sexual tendency common even to the
brutes? a tendency, which, besides manifesting itself only at detached
periods of time, disappears altogether in old age, whereas conjugal love
runs beyond the confines of time. The same may be said of a friend, who
would give his own life to save that of his beloved, of a generous
warrior who risks everything for his country's sake, and of a host of
others, who magnanimously devote themselves to the relief of suffering
humanity; in short, of every one who feels himself moved by a superior
force to cross over the boundaries of selfishness and sensuality, and to
become a hero.

XLV. In all these phenomena, a principle directly adverse to that of
physical nature manifests itself. While in the latter, self-love is a
necessary supreme law, in the spiritual life of man we see prevailing,
as a foundation to morality, a voluntary sacrifice of self, offered on
the altar of love. No pain or regret ever accompanies such an offering;
on the contrary, a sensible man undertakes it with cheerfulness, as a
manifestation of his exalted nature, and derives from its performance a
purer joy than all other earthly enjoyments could afford him. But this
love, which limits and conquers self-love, this love which so well
testifies to the excellence of man, whence does it proceed? Assuredly
not from physical nature; this is, on the contrary, based upon a law
which would destroy love. It must emanate, then, from a source, itself a
prototype of moral perfection, a perpetual spring of the purest love;
and this source is God. Through the effects and impr