[Footnote 37: That the proper subject of moral judgment is the innate character was emphasised by Schopenhauer in his prize-essays on _Die Freiheit des Willens_ (_Sämmtliche Werke_, vii. 83 _sqq._) and _Die Grundlage der Moral_ (_ibid._ vii. 273 _sqq._). The innate character, he says, that real core of the whole man, contains the germ of all his virtues and vices. And though Schopenhauer be mistaken in his statement that a person's character always remains the same, it seems to me indisputable that the succeeding changes to which it may be subject are imputable to _him_ only in so far as they are caused by his innate character.] CHAPTER XIV PRELIMINARY REMARKS--HOMICIDE IN GENERAL WE have discussed the general nature of those phenomena which have a tendency to evoke moral blame or moral praise. We have seen that moral judgments are passed on conduct and character, and we have seen why this is the case. It now remains for us to examine the particular modes of conduct which are subject to moral valuation, and to consider how these modes of conduct are judged of by different peoples and in different ages. If carried out in every detail such an investigation could never come to an end. Among other things, it would have to take into account all customs existing among the various races of men, since every custom constitutes a moral rule. And the impossibility of any such undertaking becomes apparent when we consider the extent to which the conduct of man, and especially of savage man, is hampered by custom. Among the Wanika, for instance, "if a man dares to improve the style of his hut, to make a larger doorway than is customary; if he should wear a finer or different style of dress to that of his fellows, he is instantly fined."[1] If, during the performance of a ceremony, the ancestors of an Australian native were in the habit of painting a white line across the forehead, their descendant must do the same.[2] Dr. Nansen's statement with reference to the Greenlanders, {328} that their communities had originally customs and fixed rules for every possible circumstance,[3] is essentially true of many, if not all, of the lower races. [Footnote 1: New, _Life, Wanderings, and Labours in Eastern Africa_, p. 110.] [Footnote 2: Spencer and Gillen, _Native Tribes of Central Australia_, p. 11.] [Footnote 3: Nansen, _Eskimo Life_, p. 104.]