Cook visited these people when they were in their original physical and moral state. He praises their openness and generosity. "Neither does care ever seem to wrinkle their brow. On the contrary, even the approach of death does not appear to alter their usual vivacity. I have seen them, when brought to the brink of the grave by disease, and when preparing to go to battle; but in neither case, never observed their countenance overclouded with melancholy, or serious reflection. Such a disposition leads them to direct all their aims only to what can give them pleasure and ease."
The whole countenance is a certain silent language of the mind.
CICERO.
These mental traits have been preserved up to the present time. Melancholy and suicide are almost unknown in Tahiti. The people are happy, contented and free from care and anxiety and
Enjoy the pleasures of the passing hour, and bid adieu for a time to grave pursuits.
HORATIUS.
They seem to know that
Care and the desire for more
Attend the still increasing store.
HORATIUS.
Desire for great wealth does not exist among the natives. Nature has supplied them with nearly all they need, hence little remains for them to do to meet their modest desires.
Religion has not done away entirely with superstition, and has improved their morals little, if any. Old European residents of Papeete agree that the morality of the natives has not improved since they have been under the influence of civilization, forced on them by the European invaders. The greatest fault of the people is their incurable laziness, a vice for which they are not entirely responsible, as Nature has provided so bountifully for their needs. Robbery, stealing and murder are almost unknown; petty thefts, on the contrary, are quite common. The people, young and old, are affable, extremely courteous and hospitable to a fault; the family ties strong, and extending to the remotest relatives.
Man is a social animal, and born to live together so as to regard the world as one house.
SENECA.
Nowhere in the world are the people more sociable than in Tahiti. This sociability was perhaps more pronounced before the island was discovered than it is now, but it remains to this day as one of the prominent characteristics of the Polynesian race. Respect and love for parents, strong attachments to relatives and friends, are striking virtues of the Tahitians. They love social intercourse and have the highest regard for friendship. Poverty and misfortunes do not intercept friendships, on the contrary they cement them more firmly.