RELIGION, in its primary sense of something to bind back, to bind fast, is a force which restrains a {57} man from acts temporarily attractive but eventually hurtful to himself and others. Some religions, like the Hebrew, promise in addition to spiritual benefits, long life, worldly success, peace, happiness, and blessings to the children, even to the third and fourth generations. The Brahmin and Buddhist promise a Nirvana--a dreamless rest from the troubles of life. The Christian and Mahometan promise an eternity of ineffable bliss. All of these are based upon the elements of moral science and, at least, {58} give a man a fairly reliable sailing chart for the voyage of life. Defective as many of them may be, they are the best that human intelligence has so far produced. Next in order but far inferior in saving power are statute laws and social ethics. All these influences are potent in that broad, middle ground which separates the best from the worst. They “pluck brands from the burning.” By their means the less aberrant are brought into nearer conformity with Nature’s stern requirements. But for the hopeless defectives,--the misfits in her tireless productiveness {59} --religion, laws, and society are alike weaker than woman’s tears. They themselves sharpen the scythe of the Grim Reaper who brings the only remedy. {60} End of Project Gutenberg’s The Economic Functions of Vice, by John McElroy