The _wicked_ are those who have not formed such a purpose, and do not exhibit it in their daily life. In the common language of every‐day life, when a person is intensely interested in any pursuit, it is said to be “his life.” And when a man changes from a vicious to a virtuous course he is said to “begin a new life.” Thus it would be in agreement with the ordinary use of language to call a new‐formed purpose to obey all the laws of God the commencement of a new life. And as the beginning of natural life is the commencement of a life of _impulsive choices unregulated by law_, the commencement of a life of _obedience to law_ would, by a figure of speech, very naturally be called “a new birth.” We have seen, in previous pages, that the formation of a ruling principle or governing purpose is sometimes the result of a slow process of educational influences, and sometimes it is a marked and sudden change. In the history of mind we find, as a general rule, that it is the slow process of educational training that secures a virtuous character in childhood, while the more sudden and marked changes are incident chiefly to more advanced life. The term “_regeneration_” is used by theologians as meaning the formation of a ruling purpose to love and obey God, by man himself. By some, this change of mind is regarded as in all cases instantaneous, by others as sometimes a gradual and sometimes an instantaneous change. The preceding still farther exhibits the fact that the whole foundation of religion and of morals rests on the answer to the question, what is _true virtue_ or _right voluntary_ action? CHAPTER XXV. INCREASED CIVILIZATION INCREASES MORAL DIFFICULTIES. From the preceding it appears that the more our race advances in civilization, the more numerous and complicated are the laws of God which must first be discovered and then obeyed. By advance in civilization is signified increase in the capacities of the human mind for varied enjoyments, and increase in the appropriate supply of these capacities. The early history of the race resembles the early period of individual life, when the chief enjoyments are those of the senses. The refined and varied pleasures of taste are but little attained except by cultivation. So also the higher pleasures of the intellect and of the moral nature are dependent on culture. As every new avenue to enjoyment is opened, and every new capacity developed, there are inevitably resulting difficulties and temptations which, experience soon shows, must be regulated by laws and penalties. From this results the endless multitude of civil and statute laws, in addition to the various domestic and social rules enforced in the family, the school and the neighborhood.