It will not do for men to pretend that they do not know which is right
and which is wrong; what is civilization and what is barbarism. The
exception for the rule is as proper to adopt in the one case as in the
other. We cannot condemn civilization for the incidents of bad
government in some cases, false religion in others, and crime in
others, when the general tenor of civilization is to protect the weak
against the strong, give security to life and property, and by
developing the intellect and cultivating the moral faculties, elevate
and ennoble the race. Neither can we acquit barbarism if it affords
occasional instances of _immoderate instinct_, closely approximating
to intellect, or even intellect itself, and moral worth, or the
absence of ferocity, or the presence of positive amiability, render it
possible that the barbarian is not a fiend, or that he may be schooled
to tolerable docility, while the general tenor of barbarism is to
wrong, cruelty, violence, and self-annihilation.