What gives these interpretations of the ethical qualities of nature their importance for human morality is that man’s highest duty is to imitate the universe, to behave as nature behaves.[126] “Taoism is the exhibition of a way or method of living which men should cultivate as the brightest and purest development of their nature.”[127] “The true Taoist then is the man who unites in himself [the] virtues or qualities of the universe, including the constant virtues.”[128] Man’s way must be nature’s way (Tao). The perfect man must cultivate constancy, unselfishness, impartiality, benevolence, impassibility, serenity, humility, and quietness, for these are the characteristics of the universe.[129] This Taoist code is designed especially for rulers.[130] He who has assimilated all his virtues to the virtues of nature is qualified to administer government.[131] It is in the qualities of character cultivated by the highest-minded ministers and mandarins, and in the state worship and official customs that we are to look for the main ethical influence of the doctrines of Taoism.[132] [Sidenote: The conception of human nature as good] “The tendency of man’s nature to good,” says Mencius, “is like the tendency of water to flow downwards.”[133] Just as the theological dogma that man’s nature is hereditarily corrupt, with a proneness to evil, has shaped and colored a large part of Christian ethics, so has this opposing conception of human nature as good exercised a tremendous influence upon the ethical ideal of the Chinese race.[134] For if man’s nature is good, then for him to live conformably to his nature is to live rationally, that is, morally. “To nourish one’s nature,” declared Mencius, “is the way to secure heaven.”[135] Objections to this view of human nature, based on the fact that men are actually very different in moral character, are met by saying that this difference is the effect of environment, just as the inequalities in the yield of barley seed are due not to a difference in the nature of the grain but to the different qualities of the soil.[136] In a word, it is the social environment--instruction and example--which determines the character of men. “By nature,” says Confucius, “men are nearly alike; by practice they get to be far apart.”[137] As we shall see, it makes a vast difference in a man’s conception as to what he ought to do,--as to how he should regulate his life,--whether he believes his nature to be inclined to virtue and all his instincts, impulses, and appetites to be good, or believes his nature to be corrupt and all his instincts and appetencies to be evil. [Sidenote: Conception of the past as perfect]