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diff --git a/44094-8.txt b/44094-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 2bbe1d2..0000000 --- a/44094-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7853 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Civilisation: Its Cause and Cure, by Edward Carpenter - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Civilisation: Its Cause and Cure - And Other Essays - -Author: Edward Carpenter - -Release Date: November 2, 2013 [EBook #44094] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CIVILISATION: ITS CAUSE AND CURE *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Curnow, Martin Pettit and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -+-------------------------------------------------+ -|Transcriber's note: | -| | -|Obvious typographic errors have been corrected. | -| | -+-------------------------------------------------+ - - - - -CIVILISATION: ITS CAUSE AND CURE - -_AND OTHER ESSAYS_ - -(NEWLY-ENLARGED AND COMPLETE EDITION) - -BY -EDWARD CARPENTER - -AUTHOR OF "TOWARDS DEMOCRACY," -"MY DAYS AND DREAMS," ETC. - -[Illustration: logo] - -LONDON: GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD. -RUSKIN HOUSE, 40 MUSEUM STREET, W.C.1 - - -First Edition, _June 1889_; Second Edition, _December 1890_; -Third Edition, _November 1893_; Fourth Edition, _July 1895_; -Fifth Edition, _September 1897_; Sixth Edition, _October 1900_; -Seventh Edition, _July 1902_; Eighth Edition, _March 1903_; -Ninth Edition, _January 1906_; Tenth Edition, _January 1908_; -Eleventh Edition, _October 1910_; Twelfth Edition, _Dec. 1912_; -Thirteenth Edition, _Aug. 1914_; Fourteenth Edition, _June 1916_; -Fifteenth Edition, _Sept. 1917_; Complete Edition, _Jan. 1921_ - -(_All rights reserved_) - - - - -PREFACE TO COMPLETE EDITION - -(1920) - - -In looking over this volume, first published in 1889, with a view to a -final Edition, I am glad to note that after all there is not much in it -requiring alteration. Considering that the original issue took place -more than 30 years ago, I had thought that the great changes in -scientific and philosophic thought which have taken place during that -period would probably have rendered "out of date" a good deal of the -book. - -As a matter of fact, the first paper--that on Civilisation--was given as -a lecture before the Fabian Society, in 1888; and I shall not easily -forget the furious attacks which were made upon it on that occasion. The -book--published as a whole in 1889--came in for a very similar reception -from the press-critics. They slated it to the top of their bent--except -in those not unfrequent cases when they ignored it as almost beneath -notice. The whole trend of the thought of the time was against its -conclusions; and it is perhaps worth while to recall these facts in -order to measure how far we have travelled in these 30 years. For to-day -(I think we may say) these conclusions are generally admitted as -correct; and the views which seemed so hazarded and precarious at the -earlier date are now fairly accepted and established. - -The word Civilisation has undoubtedly during this period suffered an -ominous change of color. It is no longer an easy term denoting all that -is ideal and delightful in social life, but on the contrary, carries -with it a sense of doubt and of criticism, as of something that is by no -means accepted yet, but is rather on its trial--if not actually -condemned! - -I am sorry to note, however, that the suggestion made more than once in -the course of my book--namely that the term (Civilisation) should -properly be given an _historical_ instead of ideal value, as applicable -to a certain period only in the history of each people, has not yet been -generally taken up. Yet a paper by some more competent person than -myself on the definite marks and signs of the civilisation-period in -History--their first appearance in the course of human progress and -evolution, and their probable disappearance again at a later -stage--would be greatly interesting and instructive. - -My little essay on this subject was written at the time of its -composition with a good deal of imaginative _élan_; and is of course -open to criticism on that side, as being mainly enthusiastic in -character and only slenderly supported by exact _data_, proofs, -historical illustrations, analogies, and so forth. But to largely alter -or amend the essay without seriously crippling it would be impossible; -and though the form may be hurried or inadequate, yet as far as the -actual contents and conclusions are concerned I still adhere to them -absolutely, and believe that time will show them to be fully justified. - -With regard to my views on Modern Science the last quarter of a century -has curiously corroborated them. For while on the one hand--as -expected--the progress in actual discovery and application of observed -facts has been enormous, the _theories_ on the other hand about all -these things have receded more and more into the background, and have -passed almost out of sight. While knowing, for instance, infinitely more -about electrical actions and adaptations than we did, we seem to be if -anything further off than ever from any valid theory of what Electricity -_is_. The same with regard to Heat and Light, to Astronomical, -Biological and Geological "laws," and so forth. On such matters Modern -Science is on the verge of confessing itself bankrupt, but not wishing -to do that, it keeps a discreet silence. - -The Atom, which I ventured (to the disgust of my scientific friends) to -make fun of 30 years ago, has now exploded of itself as thoroughly as a -German "coal-box"; and the fixed Chemical Elements of older days have of -late dissolved into protean vapours and emanations, ions and electrons, -impossible to follow through their endless transformations. As to the -numerous "Laws of Nature" which in the nineteenth century we were just -about to establish for all eternity, it is only with the greatest -difficulty that any of these can now be discovered--most of them having -got secreted away into the darkness of ancient text-books: where they -lead forlorn and sightless existences, like the fish in the caves of -Kentucky. - -Here again--in my chapters on Science--though some expressions remain -which are now out of date, I have thought it best to leave them as -originally written: the meanings and general conclusions being still -valid and as they were. It will be seen that the general drift of these -chapters is to point the moral that the true field of science is to be -found in Life, and that the best way to _know_ things is to _experience_ -their meaning and to identify oneself with them through Action. From a -study on these principles will ultimately emerge a Science truly humane -and creative, masterful, and capable of building a true home for -men--instead of the feverish, spectral and self-deluding thing which has -usurped the name up to now. - -Something the same will happen with the conception of Morality. The -abstract codes on this subject, which have wrought so much havoc by -their fatal intrusion on the field of human Life, are rapidly fading -away. These ghosts, like the ghosts of Nature's "Laws," are receiving -their _quietus_. And the general outline which was suggested in "The -Defence of Criminals" has now been traced more positively in the chapter -on "The New Morality" inserted at the end of the present volume. -Morality has at last to become truly human, and the real expression of -our organic need. Man has to be liberated from the cramps and -suppressions and fixations which have hitherto paralysed him in the -moral field. He has to emerge from the swathing bands of his pupal stage -into the free air of heaven, and to become in the highest sense -self-determining and creative. - -Thus three things, (1) the realisation of a new order of Society, in -closest touch with Nature, and in which the diseases of class-domination -and Parasitism will have finally ceased; (2) the realisation of a -Science which will no longer be a mere thing of the brain, but a part of -Actual Life; and (3) the realisation of a Morality which will signalise -and express the vital and organic unity of man with his fellows--these -three things will become the heralds of a new era of humanity--an era -which will possibly prefer _not_ to call itself by the name of -Civilisation. - -In order to corroborate and confirm the first paper in the book an -Appendix has now been added containing notes and _data_ on the life and -customs of many "uncivilised" peoples; for much of which Appendix I am -indebted to the assistance of my widely-read and resourceful friend, E. -Bertram Lloyd. - -E. C. - -_December, 1920._ - - - - -CONTENTS - - PAGE -PREFACE TO COMPLETE EDITION 7 - -CIVILISATION: ITS CAUSE AND CURE 15 - -MODERN SCIENCE: A CRITICISM 79 - -THE SCIENCE OF THE FUTURE: A FORECAST 120 - -DEFENCE OF CRIMINALS: A CRITICISM OF MORALITY 143 - -EXFOLIATION: LAMARCK _versus_ DARWIN 181 - -CUSTOM 206 - -A RATIONAL AND HUMANE SCIENCE 219 - -THE NEW MORALITY 243 - -APPENDIX--BEING NOTES ON SOME OF THE CHARACTERISTICS -AND CUSTOMS OF PRE-CIVILISED PEOPLES 265 - - - - -CIVILISATION: - -ITS CAUSE AND CURE - -The friendly and flowing savage, who is he? Is he waiting for -civilisation, or is he past it, and mastering it?--WHITMAN. - - -We find ourselves to-day in the midst of a somewhat peculiar state of -society, which we call Civilisation, but which even to the most -optimistic among us does not seem altogether desirable. Some of us, -indeed, are inclined to think that it is a kind of disease which the -various races of man have to pass through--as children pass through -measles or whooping cough; but if it is a disease, there is this serious -consideration to be made, that while History tells us of many nations -that have been attacked by it, of many that have succumbed to it, and of -some that are still in the throes of it, we know of no single case in -which a nation has fairly recovered from and passed through it to a more -normal and healthy condition. In other words the development of human -society has never yet (that we know of) passed beyond a certain -definite and apparently final stage in the process we call -Civilisation; at that stage it has always succumbed or been arrested. - -Of course it may at first sound extravagant to use the word disease in -connection with Civilisation at all, but a little thought should show -that the association is not ill-grounded. To take the matter on its -physical side first, I find that in Mullhall's Dictionary of Statistics -(1884) the number of accredited doctors and surgeons in the United -Kingdom is put at over 23,000. If the extent of the national sickness is -such that we require 23,000 medical men to attend to us, it must surely -be rather serious! And _they_ do not cure us. Wherever we look to-day, -in mansion or in slum, we see the features and hear the complaints of -ill-health; the difficulty is really to find a healthy person. The state -of the modern civilised man in this respect--our coughs, colds, -mufflers, dread of a waft of chill air, &c.--is anything but creditable, -and it seems to be the fact that, notwithstanding all our libraries of -medical science, our knowledges, arts, and appliances of life, we are -actually less capable of taking care of ourselves than the animals are. -Indeed, talking of animals, we are--as Shelley I think points out--fast -depraving the _domestic_ breeds. The cow, the horse, the sheep, and even -the confiding pussy-cat, are becoming ever more and more subject to -disease, and are liable to ills which in their wilder state they knew -not of. And finally the savage races of the earth do not escape the -baneful influence. Wherever Civilisation touches them, they die like -flies from the small-pox, drink, and worse evils it brings along with -it, and often its mere contact is sufficient to destroy whole races. - -But the word Disease is applicable to our social as well as to our -physical condition. For as in the body disease arises from the loss of -the physical unity which constitutes Health, and so takes the form of -warfare or discord between the various parts, or of the abnormal -development of individual organs, or the consumption of the system by -predatory germs and growths; so in our modern life we find the unity -gone which constitutes true society, and in its place warfare of classes -and individuals, abnormal development of some to the detriment of -others, and consumption of the organism by masses of social parasites. -If the word disease is applicable anywhere, I should say it is--both in -its direct and its derived sense--to the civilised societies of to-day. - -Again, mentally, is not our condition most unsatisfactory? I am not -alluding to the number and importance of the lunatic asylums which cover -our land, nor to the fact that maladies of the brain and nervous system -are now so common; but to the strange sense of mental unrest which marks -our populations, and which amply justifies Ruskin's cutting epigram: -that our two objects in life are, "Whatever we have--to get more; and -wherever we are--to go somewhere else." This sense of unrest, of -disease, penetrates down even into the deepest regions of man's -being--into his moral nature--disclosing itself there, as it has done -in all nations notably at the time of their full civilisation, as the -sense of Sin.[1] All down the Christian centuries we find this strange -sense of inward strife and discord developed, in marked contrast to the -naive insouciance of the pagan and primitive world; and, what is -strangest, we even find people glorying in this consciousness--which, -while it may be the harbinger of better things to come, is and can be in -itself only the evidence of loss of unity, and therefore of ill-health, -in the very centre of human life. - -Of course we are aware with regard to Civilisation that the word is -sometimes used in a kind of ideal sense, as to indicate a state of -future culture towards which we are tending--the implied assumption -being that a sufficiently long course of top hats and telephones will in -the end bring us to this ideal condition; while any little drawbacks in -the process, such as we have just pointed out, are explained as being -merely accidental and temporary. Men sometimes speak of civilising and -ennobling influences as if the two terms were interchangeable, and of -course if they like to use the word Civilisation in this sense they have -a right to; but whether the actual tendencies of modern life taken in -the mass _are_ ennobling (except in a quite indirect way hereafter to be -dwelt upon) is, to say the least, a doubtful question. Any one who -would get an idea of the glorious being that is as a matter of fact -being turned out by the present process should read Mr. Kay Robinson's -article in the _Nineteenth Century_ for May, 1883, in which he -prophesies (quite solemnly and in the name of science) that the human -being of the future will be a toothless, bald, toeless creature with -flaccid muscles and limbs almost incapable of locomotion! - -Perhaps it is safer on the whole not to use the word Civilisation in -such ideal sense, but to limit its use (as is done to-day by all writers -on primitive society) to a definite historical stage through which the -various nations pass, and in which we actually find ourselves at the -present time. Though there is of course a difficulty in marking the -commencement of any period of historical evolution very definitely, yet -all students of this subject agree that the growth of property and the -ideas and institutions flowing from it did at a certain point bring -about such a change in the structure of human society that the new stage -might fairly be distinguished from the earlier stages of Savagery and -Barbarism by a separate term. The growth of Wealth, it is shown, and -with it the conception of Private Property, brought on certain very -definite new forms of social life; it destroyed the ancient system of -society based upon the _gens_, that is, a society of equals founded upon -blood-relationship, and introduced a society of classes founded upon -differences of material possession; it destroyed the ancient system of -mother-right and inheritance through the female line, and turned the -woman into the property of the man; it brought with it private ownership -of land, and so created a class of landless aliens, and a whole system -of rent, mortgage, interest, etc.; it introduced slavery, serfdom and -wage-labour, which are only various forms of the dominance of one class -over another; and to rivet these authorities it created the State and -the policeman. Every race that we know, that has become what we call -civilised, has passed through these changes; and though the details may -vary and have varied a little, the main order of change has been -practically the same in all cases. We are justified therefore in calling -Civilisation a historical stage, whose commencement dates roughly from -the division of society into classes founded on property and the -adoption of class-government. Lewis Morgan in his _Ancient Society_ adds -the invention of writing and the consequent adoption of written History -and written Law; Engels in his _Ursprung der Familie, des -Privateigenthums und des Staats_ points out the importance of the -appearance of the Merchant, even in his most primitive form, as a mark -of the civilisation-period; while the French writers of the last century -made a good point in inventing the term _nations policées_ -(policemanised nations) as a substitute for civilised nations; for -perhaps there is no better or more universal mark of the period we are -considering, and of its social degradation, than the appearance of the -crawling phenomenon in question. [Imagine the rage of any decent North -American Indians if they had been told they required _policemen_ to keep -them in order!] - -If we take this historical definition of Civilisation, we shall see that -our English Civilisation began hardly more than a thousand years ago, -and even so the remains of the more primitive society lasted long after -that. In the case of Rome--if we reckon from the later times of the -early kings down to the fall of Rome--we have again about a thousand -years. The Jewish civilisation from David and Solomon downwards -lasted--with breaks--somewhat over a thousand years; the Greek -civilisation less; the series of Egyptian civilisations which we can now -distinguish lasted altogether very much longer; but the important points -to see are, first, that the process has been quite similar in character -in these various (and numerous other) cases,[2] quite as similar in fact -as the course of the same disease in various persons; and secondly that -in no case, as said before, has any nation come _through_ and passed -beyond this stage; but that in most cases it has succumbed soon after -the main symptoms had been developed. - -But it will be said, It may be true that Civilisation regarded as a -stage of human history presents some features of disease; but is there -any reason for supposing that disease in some form or other was any less -present in the previous stage--that of Barbarism? To which I reply, I -think there is good reason. Without committing ourselves to the -unlikely theory that the "noble savage" was an ideal human being -physically or in any other respect, and while certain that in many -points he was decidedly inferior to the civilised man, I think we must -allow him the superiority in some directions; and one of these was his -comparative freedom from disease. Lewis Morgan, who grew up among the -Iroquois Indians, and who probably knew the North American natives as -well as any white man has ever done, says (in his _Ancient Society_, p. -45), "Barbarism ends with the production of grand Barbarians." And -though there are no native races on the earth to-day who are actually in -the latest and most advanced stage of Barbarism;[3] yet, if we take the -most advanced tribes that we know of--such as the said Iroquois Indians -of twenty or thirty years ago, some of the Kaffir tribes round Lake -Nyassa in Africa, now (and possibly for a few years more) comparatively -untouched by civilisation, or the tribes along the river Uaupes, thirty -or forty years back, of Wallace's _Travels on the Amazon_--all tribes in -what Morgan would call the _middle_ stage of Barbarism--we undoubtedly -in each case discover a fine and (which is our point here) _healthy_ -people. Captain Cook in his first Voyage says of the natives of -Otaheite, "We saw no critical disease during our stay upon the island, -and but few instances of sickness, which were accidental fits of the -colic;" and, later on, of the New Zealanders, "They enjoy perfect and -uninterrupted health. In all our visits to their towns, where young and -old, men and women, crowded about us ... we never saw a single person -who appeared to have any bodily complaint, nor among the numbers we have -seen naked did we once perceive the slightest eruption upon the skin, or -any marks that an eruption had left behind." These are pretty strong -words. Of course diseases exist among such peoples, even where they have -never been in contact with civilisation, but I think we may say that -among the higher types of savages they are rarer, and nothing like so -various and so prevalent as they are in our modern life; while the power -of recovery from _wounds_ (which are of course the most frequent form of -disablement) is generally admitted to be something astonishing. Speaking -of the Kaffirs, J. G. Wood says, "Their state of health enables them to -survive injuries which would be almost instantly fatal to any civilised -European." Mr. Frank Oates in his Diary[4] mentions the case of a man -who was condemned to death by the king. He was hacked down with axes, -and left for dead. "What must have been intended for the _coup de grâce_ -was a cut in the back of the head, which had chipped a large piece out -of the skull, and must have been meant to cut the spinal cord where it -joins the brain. It had, however, been made a little higher than this, -but had left such a wound as I should have thought that no one could -have survived ... when I held the lanthorn to investigate the wound I -started back in amazement to see a hole at the base of the skull, -perhaps two inches long and an inch and a half wide, and I will not -venture to say how deep, but the depth too must have been an affair of -inches. Of course this hole penetrated into the substance of the brain, -and probably for some distance. I dare say a mouse could have sat in -it." Yet the man was not so much disconcerted. Like Old King Cole, "He -asked for a pipe and a drink of brandy," and ultimately made a perfect -recovery! Of course it might be said that such a story only proves the -lowness of organisation of the brains of savages; but to the Kaffirs at -any rate this would not apply; they are a quick-witted race, with large -brains, and exceedingly acute in argument, as Colenso found to his cost. -Another point which indicates superabundant health is the amazing animal -spirits of these native races! The shouting, singing, dancing kept up -nights long among the Kaffirs are exhausting merely to witness, while -the graver North American Indian exhibits a corresponding power of life -in his eagerness for battle or his stoic resistance of pain.[5] - -Similarly when we come to consider the social life of the wilder -races--however rudimentary and undeveloped it may be--the almost -universal testimony of students and travelers is that within its limits -it is more harmonious and compact than that of the civilised nations. -The members of the tribe are not organically at warfare with each other; -society is not divided into classes which prey upon each other; nor is -it consumed by parasites. There is more true social unity, less of -disease. Though the customs of each tribe are rigid, absurd, and often -frightfully cruel,[6] and though all outsiders are liable to be regarded -as enemies, yet _within those limits_ the members live peacefully -together--their pursuits, their work, are undertaken in common, thieving -and violence are rare, social feeling and community of interest are -strong. "In their own bands Indians are perfectly honest. In all my -intercourse with them I have heard of not over half-a-dozen cases of -such theft. But this wonderfully exceptional honesty extends no further -than to the members of his immediate band. To all outside of it, the -Indian is not only one of the most arrant thieves in the world, but this -quality or faculty is held in the highest estimation." (Dodge, p. 64.) -If a man set out on a journey (this among the Kaffirs) "he need not -trouble himself about provisions, for he is sure to fall in with some -hut, or perhaps a village, and is equally sure of obtaining both food -and shelter."[7] "I have lived," says A. R. Wallace in his _Malay -Archipelago_ vol. ii. p. 460, "with communities in South America and the -East, who have no laws or law courts, but the public opinion of the -village ... yet each man scrupulously respects the rights of his -fellows, and any infraction of those rights rarely takes place. In such -a community all are nearly equal. There are none of those wide -distinctions of education and ignorance, wealth and poverty, master and -servant, which are the product of our civilisation." Indeed this -_community_ of life in the early societies, this absence of division -into classes, and of the contrast between rich and poor, is now admitted -on all sides as a marked feature of difference between the conditions of -the primitive and of civilised man.[8] - -Lastly, with regard to the mental condition of the Barbarian, probably -no one will be found to dispute the contention that he is more -easy-minded and that his consciousness of Sin is less developed than in -his civilised brother. Our unrest is the penalty we pay for our wider -life. The missionary retires routed from the savage in whom he can awake -no sense of his supreme wickedness. An American lady had a servant, a -negro-woman, who on one occasion asked leave of absence for the next -morning, saying she wished to attend the Holy Communion? "I have no -objection," said the mistress, "to grant you leave; but do you think you -_ought_ to attend Communion? You know you have never said you were sorry -about that goose you stole last week." "Lor' missus," replied the -woman, "do ye think I'd let an old goose stand betwixt me and my Blessed -Lord and Master?" But joking apart, and however necessary for man's -ultimate evolution may be the temporary development of this -consciousness of Sin, we cannot help seeing that the condition of the -mind in which it is absent is the most distinctively _healthy_; nor can -it be concealed that some of the greatest works of Art have been -produced by people like the earlier Greeks, in whom it was absent; and -could not possibly have been produced where it was strongly developed. - -Though, as already said, the latest stage of Barbarism, _i.e._, that -just preceding Civilisation, is unrepresented on the earth to-day, yet -we have in the Homeric and other dawn-literature of the various nations -indirect records of this stage; and these records assure us of a -condition of man very similar to, though somewhat more developed than, -the condition of the existing races I have mentioned above. Besides -this, we have in the numerous traditions of the Golden Age,[9] legends -of the Fall, etc., a curious fact which suggests to us that a great -number of races in advancing towards Civilisation were conscious at some -point or other of having lost a primitive condition of ease and -contentment, and that they embodied this consciousness, with poetical -adornment and licence, in imaginative legends of the earlier Paradise. -Some people indeed, seeing the universality of these stories, and the -remarkable fragments of wisdom embedded in them and other extremely -ancient myths and writings, have supposed that there really was a -general pre-historic Eden-garden or Atlantis; but the necessities of the -case hardly seem to compel this supposition. That each human soul, -however, bears within itself some kind of reminiscence of a more -harmonious and perfect state of being, which it has at some time -experienced, seems to me a conclusion difficult to avoid; and this by -itself might give rise to manifold traditions and myths. - - -II - -However all this may be, the question immediately before us--having -established the more healthy, though more limited, condition of the -pre-civilisation peoples--is, why this lapse or fall? What is the -meaning of this manifold and intensified manifestation of -Disease--physical, social, intellectual, and moral? What is its place -and part in the great whole of human evolution? - -And this involves us in a digression, which must occupy a few pages, on -the nature of Health. - -When we come to analyse the conception of Disease, physical or mental, -in society or in the individual, it evidently means, as already hinted -once or twice, _loss of unity_. Health, therefore, should mean unity, -and it is curious that the history of the word entirely corroborates -this idea. As is well known, the words health, whole, holy, are from -the same stock; and they indicate to us the fact that far back in the -past those who created this group of words had a conception of the -meaning of Health very different from ours, and which they embodied -unconsciously in the word itself and its strange relatives. - -These are, for instance, and among others: heal, hallow, hale, holy, -whole, wholesome; German heilig, Heiland (the Saviour); Latin salus (as -in salutation, salvation); Greek kalos; also compare hail! a salutation, -and, less certainly connected, the root _hal_, to breathe, as in inhale, -exhale--French haleine--Italian and French alma and âme (the soul); -compare the Latin spiritus, spirit or breath, and Sanskrit âtman, breath -or soul. - -Wholeness, holiness ... "if thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be -full of light." ... "thy faith hath made thee _whole_." - -The idea seems to be a positive one--a condition of the body in which it -is an entirety, a unity--a central force maintaining that condition; and -disease being the break-up--or break-down--of that entirety into -multiplicity. - -The peculiarity about our modern conception of Health is that it seems -to be a purely negative one. So impressed are we by the myriad presence -of Disease--so numerous its dangers, so sudden and unforetellable its -attacks--that we have come to look upon health as the mere absence of -the same. As a solitary spy picks his way through a hostile camp at -night, sees the enemy sitting round his fires, and trembles at the -crackling of a twig beneath his feet--so the traveller through this -world, comforter in one hand and physic-bottle in the other, must pick -his way, fearful lest at any time he disturb the sleeping legions of -death--thrice blessed if by any means, steering now to the right and now -to the left, and thinking only of his personal safety, he pass by -without discovery to the other side. - -Health with us is a negative thing. It is a neutralisation of opposing -dangers. It is to be neither rheumatic nor gouty, consumptive nor -bilious, to be untroubled by head-ache, back-ache, heart-ache, or any of -the "thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to." These are the -realities. Health is the mere negation of them. - -The modern notion, and which has evidently in a very subtle way -penetrated the whole thought of to-day, is that the essential fact of -life is the existence of innumerable external forces, which, by a very -delicate balance and difficult to maintain, concur to produce Man--who -in consequence may at any moment be destroyed again by the -non-concurrence of those forces. The older notion apparently is that the -essential fact of life _is_ Man himself; and that the external forces, -so-called, are in some way subsidiary to this fact--that they may aid -his expression or manifestation, or that they may hinder it, but that -they can neither create nor annihilate the Man. Probably both ways of -looking at the subject are important; there is a man that can be -destroyed, and there is a man that cannot be destroyed. The old words, -soul and body, indicate this contrast; but like all words they are -subject to the defect that they are an attempt to draw a line where no -line can ultimately be drawn; they mark a contrast where, in fact, there -is only continuity--for between the little mortal man who dwells here -and now, and the divine and universal Man who also forms a part of our -consciousness, is there not a perfect gradation of being, and where (if -anywhere) is there a gulf fixed? Together they form a unit, and each is -necessary to the other: the first cannot do without the second, and the -second cannot get along at all without the first. To use the words of -Angelus Silesius (quoted by Schopenhauer), "Ich weiss dass ohne mich -Gott nicht ein Nu kann leben." - -According then to the elder conception, and perhaps according to an -elder experience, man, to be really healthy, must be a unit, an -entirety--his more external and momentary self standing in some kind of -filial relation to his more universal and incorruptible part--so that -not only the remotest and outermost regions of the body, and all the -assimilative, secretive, and other processes belonging thereto, but even -the thoughts and passions of the mind itself, stand in direct and clear -relationship to it, the final and absolute transparency of the mortal -creature. And thus this divinity in each creature, being that which -constitutes it and causes it to cohere together, was conceived of as -that creature's saviour, healer--healer of wounds of body and wounds of -heart--the Man within the man, whom it was not only possible to know, -but whom to know and be united with was the alone salvation. This, I -take it, was the law of health--and of holiness--as accepted at some -elder time of human history, and by us seen as thro' a glass darkly. - -And the condition of disease, and of sin, under the same view, was the -reverse of this. Enfeeblement, obscuration, duplicity--the central -radiation blocked; lesser and insubordinate centres establishing and -asserting themselves as against it; division, discord, possession by -devils. - -Thus in the body, the establishment of an insubordinate centre--a boil, -a tumor, the introduction and spread of a germ with innumerable progeny -throughout the system, the enlargement out of all reason of an existing -organ--means disease. In the mind, disease begins when any passion -asserts itself as an independent centre of thought and action. The -condition of health in the mind is loyalty to the divine Man within -it.[10] But if loyalty to money become an independent centre of life, or -greed of knowledge, or of fame, or of drink; jealousy, lust, the love of -approbation; or mere following after any so-called virtue for -itself--purity, humility, consistency, or what not--these may grow to -seriously endanger the other. They are, or should be, subordinates; and -though over a long period their insubordination may be a necessary -condition of human progress, yet during all such time they are at war -with each other and with the central Will; the man is torn and -tormented, and is not happy. - -And when I speak thus separately of the mind and body, it must be -remembered, as already said, that there is no strict line between them; -but probably every affection or passion of the mind has its correlative -in the condition of the body--though this latter may or may not be -easily observable. Gluttony _is_ a fever of the digestive apparatus. -What is a taint in the mind is also a taint in the body. The stomach has -started the original idea of becoming itself the centre of the human -system. The sexual organs may start a similar idea. Here are distinct -threats, menaces made against the central authority--against the Man -himself. For the man must rule or disappear; it is impossible to imagine -a man presided over by a Stomach--a walking Stomach, using hands, feet, -and all other members merely to carry it from place to place, and serve -its assimilative mania. We call such a one an Hog. [And thus in the -theory of Evolution we see the place of the hog, and all other animals, -as fore-runners or off-shoots of special faculties in Man, and why the -true man, and rightly, has authority over all animals, and can alone -give them their place in creation.] - -So of the Brain, or any other organ; for the Man is no organ, resides in -no organ, but is the central life ruling and radiating among all -organs, and assigning them their arts to play. - -Disease then, in body or mind, is from this point of view the break-up -of its unity, its entirety, into multiplicity. It is the abeyance of a -central power, and the growth of insubordinate centres--life in each -creature being conceived of as a continual exercise of energy or -conquest, by which external or antagonistic forces (and organisms) are -brought into subjection and compelled into the service of the creature, -or are thrown off as harmful to it. Thus, by way of illustration, we -find that plants or animals, when in good health, have a remarkable -power of throwing off the attacks of any parasites which incline to -infest them; while those that are weakly are very soon eaten up by the -same. A rose-tree, for instance, brought indoors, will soon fall a prey -to the aphis--though when hardened out of doors the pest makes next to -no impression on it. In dry seasons when the young turnip plants in the -fields are weakly from want of water the entire crop is sometimes -destroyed by the turnip fly, which then multiplies enormously; but if a -shower or two of rain come before much damage is done the plant will -then grow vigorously, its tissues become more robust and resist the -attacks of the fly, which in its turn dies. Late investigations seem to -show that one of the functions of the white corpuscles in the blood is -to devour disease-germs and bacteria present in the circulation--thus -absorbing these organisms into subjection to the central life of the -body--and that with this object they congregate in numbers toward any -part of the body which is wounded or diseased. Or to take an example -from society, it is clear enough that if our social life were really -vivid and healthy, such parasitic products as the idle shareholder and -the policeman above-mentioned would simply be impossible. The material -on which they prey would not exist, and they would either perish or be -transmuted into useful forms. It seems obvious in fact that life in any -organism can only be maintained by some such processes as these--by -which parasitic or infesting organisms are either thrown off or absorbed -into subjection. To define the nature of the power which thus works -towards and creates the distinctive unity of each organism may be -difficult, is probably at present impossible, but that some such power -exists we can hardly refuse to admit. Probably it is more a subject of -the growth of our consciousness, than an object of external scientific -investigation. - -In this view, Death is simply the loosening and termination of the -action of this power--over certain regions of the organism; a process by -which, when these superficial parts become hardened and osseous, as in -old age, or irreparably damaged, as in cases of accident, the inward -being sloughs them off, and passes into other spheres. In the case of -man there may be noble and there may be ignoble death, as there may be -noble and ignoble life. The inward self, unable to maintain authority -over the forces committed to its charge, declining from its high -prerogative, swarmed over by parasites, and fallen partially into the -clutch of obscene foes, may at last with shame and torment be driven -forth from the temple in which it ought to have been supreme. Or, having -fulfilled a holy and wholesome time, having radiated divine life and -love through all the channels of body and mind, and as a perfect workman -uses his tools, so having with perfect mastery and nonchalance used all -the materials committed to it, it may quietly and peacefully lay these -down, and unchanged (absolutely unchanged to all but material eyes) pass -on to other spheres appointed. - -And now a few words on the medical aspect of the subject. If we accept -any theory (even remotely similar to that just indicated) to the effect -that Health is a positive thing, and not a mere negation of disease, it -becomes pretty clear that no mere investigation of the latter will -enable us to find out what the former is, or bring us nearer to it. You -might as well try to create the ebb and flow of the tides by an -organised system of mops. - -Turn your back upon the Sun and go forth into the wildernesses of space -till you come to those limits where the rays of light, faint with -distance, fall dim upon the confines of eternal darkness--and phantoms -and shadows in the half-light are the product of the wavering conflict -betwixt day and night--investigate these shadows, describe them, -classify them, record the changes which take place in them, erect in -vast libraries these records into a monument of human industry and -research; so shall you be at the end as near to a knowledge and -understanding of the sun itself--which all this time you have left -behind you, and on which you have turned your back--as the investigators -of disease are to a knowledge and understanding of what health is. The -solar rays illumine the outer world and give to it its unity and -entirety; so in the inner world of each individual possibly is there -another Sun, which illumines and gives unity to the man, and whose -warmth and light would permeate his system. Wait upon the shining forth -of this inward sun, give free access and welcome to its rays of love, -and free passage for them into the common world around you, and it may -be you will get to know more about health than all the books of medicine -contain, or can tell you. - -Or to take the former simile: it is the central force of the Moon which -acting on the great ocean makes all its waters one, and causes them to -rise and fall in timely consent. But take your moon away; hey! now the -tide is flowing too far down this estuary! Station your thousands with -mops, but it breaks through in channel and runlet! Block it here, but it -overflows in a neighboring bay! Appoint an army of swabs there, but to -what end? The infinitest care along the fringe of this great sea can -never do, with all imaginable dirt and confusion, what the central power -does easily, and with unerring grace and providence. - -And so of the great (the vast and wonderful) ocean which ebbs and flows -within a man--take away the central guide--and not 20,000 doctors, each -with 20,000 books to consult and 20,000 phials of different contents to -administer, could meet the myriad cases of disease which would ensue, or -bolster up into "wholeness" the being from whom the single radiant unity -had departed. - -Probably there has never been an age, nor any country (except -Yankee-land?) in which disease has been so generally prevalent as in -England to-day; and certainly there has never (with the same exception) -been an age or country in which doctors have so swarmed, or in which -medical science has been so powerful, in apparatus, in learning, in -authority, and in actual organisation and number of adherents. How -reconcile this contradiction--if indeed a contradiction it be? - -But the fact is that medical science does not contradict disease--any -more than laws abolish crime. Medical science--and doubtless for very -good reasons--makes a fetish of disease, and dances around it. It is (as -a rule) only seen where disease is; it writes enormous tomes on disease; -it induces disease in animals (and even men) for the purpose of studying -it; it knows, to a marvelous extent, the symptoms of disease, its -nature, its causes, its goings out and its comings in; its eyes are -perpetually fixed on disease, till disease (for it) becomes the main -fact of the world and the main object of its worship. Even what is so -gracefully called Hygiene does not get beyond this negative attitude. -And the world still waits for its Healer, who shall tell us--diseased -and suffering as we are--_what_ health is, where it is to be found, -whence it flows; and who having touched this wonderful power within -himself shall not rest till he has proclaimed and imparted it to men. - -No, medical science does not, in the main, contradict disease. The same -cause (infidelity and decay of the central life in men) which creates -disease and makes men liable to it, creates students and a science of -the subject. The Moon[11] having gone from over the waters, the good -people rush forth with their mops; and the untimely inundations, and the -mops and the mess and the pother, are all due to the same cause. - -As to the lodgment of disease, it is clear that this would take place -easily in a disorganised system--just as a seditious adventurer would -easily effect a landing, and would find insubordinate materials ready at -hand for his use, in a land where the central government was weak. And -as to the treatment of a disease so introduced there are obviously two -methods: one is to reinforce the central power till it is sufficiently -strong of itself to eject the insubordinate elements and restore order; -the other is to attack the malady from outside and if possible destroy -it--(as by doses and decoctions)--independently of the inner vitality, -and leaving that as it was before. The first method would seem the best, -most durable and effective; but it is difficult and slow. It consists in -the adoption of a healthy life, bodily and mental, and will be spoken -of later on. The second may be characterised as the medical method, and -is valuable, or rather I should be inclined to say, _will_ be valuable, -when it has found its place, which is to be subsidiary to the first. It -is too often, however, regarded as superior in importance, and in this -way, though easy of application, has come perhaps to be productive of -more harm than good. The disease may be broken down for the time being, -but, the roots of it not being destroyed, it soon springs up again in -the same or a new form, and the patient is as badly off as ever. - -The great positive force of Health, and the power which it has to -_expel_ disease from its neighborhood is a thing realised, I believe, by -few persons. But it _has_ been realised on earth, and will be realised -again when the more squalid elements of our present-day civilisation -have passed away. - - -III - -The result then of our digression is to show that Health--in body or -mind--means unity, integration as opposed to disintegration. In the -animals we find this physical unity existing to a remarkable degree. An -almost unerring instinct and selective power rules their actions and -organisation. Thus a cat before it has fallen (say before it has become -a very wheezy fireside pussy!) is in a sense perfect. The wonderful -consent of its limbs as it runs or leaps, the adaptation of its -muscles, the exactness and inevitableness of its instincts, physical and -affectional; its senses of sight and smell, its cleanliness, nicety as -to food, motherly tact, the expression of its whole body when enraged, -or when watching for prey--all these things are so to speak absolute and -instantaneous--and fill one with admiration. The creature is "whole" or -in one piece: there is no mentionable conflict or division within -it.[12] - -Similarly with the other animals, and even with the early man himself. -And so it would appear returning to our subject--that, if we accept the -doctrine of Evolution, there is a progression of animated beings--which, -though not perfect, possess in the main the attribute of Health--from -the lowest forms up to a healthy and instinctive though certainly -limited man. During all this stage the central law is in the ascendant, -and the physical frame of each creature is the fairly clean vehicle of -its expression--varying of course in complexity and degree according to -the point of unfoldment which has been reached. And when thus in the -long process of development the inner Man (which has lain hidden or -dormant within the animal) at last appears, and the creature -consequently takes on the outer frame and faculties of the human being, -which are only as they are because of the inner man which they -represent; when it has passed through stage after stage of animal life, -throwing out tentative types and likenesses of what is to come, and -going through innumerable preliminary exercises in special forms and -faculties, till at last it begins to be able to wear the full majesty of -manhood itself--_then_ it would seem that that long process of -development is drawing to a close, and that the goal of creation must be -within measurable distance. - -But then, at that very moment, and when the goal is, so to speak, in -sight, occurs this failure of "wholeness" of which we have spoken, this -partial break-up of the unity of human nature--and man, instead of going -forward any longer in the same line as before, to all appearance -_falls_. - -What is the meaning of this loss of unity? What is the cause and purpose -of this fall and centuries-long exile from the earlier Paradise? - -There can be but one answer. It is self-knowledge--(which involves in a -sense the abandonment of self). Man has to become conscious of his -destiny--to lay hold of and realise his own freedom and blessedness--to -transfer his consciousness from the outer and mortal part of him to the -inner and undying. - -The cat cannot do this. Though perfect in its degree, its interior -unfoldment is yet incomplete. The human soul within it has not yet come -forward and declared itself; some sheathing leaves have yet to open -before the divine flower-bud can be clearly seen. And when at last -(speaking as a fool) the cat becomes a man--when the human soul within -the creature has climbed itself forward and found expression, -transforming the outer frame in the process into that of -humanity--(which is the meaning I suppose of the evolution theory)--then -the creature, though perfect and radiant in the form of Man, still lacks -one thing. It lacks the knowledge of itself; it lacks its own identity, -and the realisation of the manhood to which as a fact it has attained. - -In the animals consciousness has never returned upon itself. It radiates -easily outwards; and the creature obeys without let or hesitation, and -with little if any _self_-consciousness, the law of its being. And when -man first appears on the earth, and even up to the threshold of what we -call civilisation, there is much to show that he should in this respect -still be classed with the animals. Though vastly superior to them in -attainments, physical and mental, in power over nature, capacity of -progress, and adaptability, he still in these earlier stages was like an -animal in the unconscious instinctive nature of his action; and on the -other hand, though his moral and intellectual structures were far less -complete than those of the modern man--as was a necessary result of the -absence of self-knowledge--he actually lived more in harmony with -himself and with nature,[13] than does his descendant; his impulses, -both physical and social, were clearer and more unhesitating; and his -unconsciousness of inner discord and sin a great contrast to our modern -condition of everlasting strife and perplexity. - -If then to this stage belongs some degree of human perfection and -felicity, yet there remains a much vaster height to be scaled. The human -soul which has wandered darkling for so many thousands of years, from -its tiny spark-like germ in some low form of life to its full splendor -and dignity in man, has yet to come to the _knowledge_ of its wonderful -heritage, has yet to become finally individualised and free, to know -itself immortal, to resume and interpret all its past lives, and to -enter in triumph into the kingdom which it has won. - -It has in fact to face the frightful struggle of self-consciousness, or -the disentanglement of the true self from the fleeting and perishable -self. The animals and man, unfallen, are healthy and free from care, but -unaware of what they are; to attain self-knowledge man must fall; he -must become less than his true self; he must endure imperfection; -division and strife must enter his nature. To realise the perfect Life, -to know what, how wonderful it is--to understand that all blessedness -and freedom consists in its possession--he must for the moment suffer -divorce from it; the unity, the repose of his nature must be broken up, -crime, disease and unrest must enter in, and by contrast he must attain -to knowledge. - -Curious that at the very dawn of the Greek and with it the European -civilisation we have the mystic words "Know Thyself" inscribed on the -temple of the Delphic Apollo; and that first among the legends of the -Semitic race stands that of Adam and Eve eating of the tree of the -Knowledge of good and evil! To the animal there is no such knowledge, to -the early man there was no such knowledge, and to the perfected man of -the future there will be no such knowledge. It is a temporary -perversion, indicating the disunion of the present-day man--the disunion -of the outer self from the inner--the horrible dual -self-consciousness--which is the means ultimately of a more perfect and -conscious union than could ever have been realised without it--the death -that is swallowed up in victory. "For the first man is of the earth, -earthy; but the second man is the Lord from heaven." - -In order then, at this point in his Evolution, to advance any farther, -Man must first fall; in order to know, he must lose. In order to realise -what Health is, how splendid and glorious a possession, he must go -through all the long negative experience of Disease; in order to know -the perfect social life, to understand what power and happiness to -mankind are involved in their true relation to each other, he must learn -the misery and suffering which come from mere individualism and greed; -and in order to find his true Manhood, to discover what a wonderful -power it is, he must first lose it--he must become a prey and a slave to -his own passions and desires--whirled away like Phaethon by the horses -which he cannot control. - -This moment of divorce, then, this parenthesis in human progress, covers -the ground of all History; and the whole of Civilisation, and all crime -and disease, are only the materials of its immense purpose--themselves -destined to pass away as they arose, but to leave their fruits eternal. - -Accordingly we find that it has been the work of Civilisation--founded -as we have seen on Property--in every way to disintegrate and corrupt -man--literally to corrupt--to _break up_ the unity of his nature. It -begins with the abandonment of the primitive life and the growth of the -sense of shame (as in the myth of Adam and Eve). From this follows the -disownment of the sacredness of sex. Sexual acts cease to be a part of -religious worship; love and desire--the inner and the outer -love--hitherto undifferentiated, now become two separate things. (This -no doubt a necessary stage in order for the development of the -_consciousness of love_, but in itself only painful and abnormal.) It -culminates and comes to an end, as to-day, in a complete divorce between -the spiritual reality and the bodily fulfilment--in a vast system of -commercial love, bought and sold, in the brothel and in the palace. It -begins with the forsaking of the hardy nature-life, and it ends with a -society broken down and prostrate, hardly recognisable as human, amid -every form of luxury, poverty and disease. He who had been the free -child of Nature denies his sonship; he disowns the very breasts that -suckled him. He deliberately turns his back upon the light of the sun, -and hides himself away in boxes with breathing holes (which he calls -houses), living ever more and more in darkness and asphyxia, and only -coming forth perhaps once a day to blink at the bright god, or to run -back again at the first breath of the free wind for fear of catching -cold! He muffles himself in the cast-off furs of the beasts, every -century swathing himself in more and more layers, more and more -fearfully and wonderfully fashioned, till he ceases to be recognisable -as the Man that was once the crown of the animals, and presents a more -ludicrous spectacle than the monkey that sits on his own barrel organ. -He ceases to a great extent to use his muscles, his feet become -partially degenerate, his teeth wholly, his digestion so enervated that -he has to cook his food and make pulps of all his victuals, and his -whole system so obviously on the decline that at last in the end of -time a Kay Robinson arises and prophesies as aforesaid, that he will -before long become wholly toothless, bald and toeless. - -And so with this denial of Nature comes every form of disease; first -delicatesse, daintiness, luxury; then unbalance, enervation, huge -susceptibility to pain. With the shutting of himself away from the -all-healing Power, man inevitably weakens his whole manhood; the central -bond is loosened, and he falls a prey to his own organs. He who before -was unaware of the existence of these latter, now becomes only too -conscious of them (and this--is it not the very object of the process?); -the stomach, the liver and the spleen start out into painful -distinctness before him, the heart loses its equable beat, the lungs -their continuity with the universal air, and the brain becomes hot and -fevered; each organ in turn asserts itself abnormally and becomes a seat -of disorder, every corner and cranny of the body becomes the scene and -symbol of disease, and Man gazes aghast at his own kingdom--whose extent -he had never suspected before--now all ablaze in wild revolt against -him. And then--all going with this period of his development--sweep vast -epidemic trains over the face of the earth, plagues and fevers and -lunacies and world-wide festering sores, followed by armies, ever -growing, of doctors--they too with their retinues of books and bottles, -vaccinations and vivisections, and grinning death's-heads in the rear--a -mad crew, knowing not what they do, yet all unconsciously, doubtless, -fulfilling the great age-long destiny of humanity. - - -In all this the influence of Property is apparent enough. It is evident -that the growth of property through the increase of man's powers of -production reacts on the man in three ways: to draw him away namely, (1) -from Nature, (2) from his true Self, (3) from his Fellows. In the first -place it draws him away from Nature. That is, that as man's power over -materials increases he creates for himself a sphere and an environment -of his own, in some sense apart and different from the great elemental -world of the winds and the waves, the woods and the mountains, in which -he has hitherto lived. He creates what we call the artificial life, of -houses and cities, and, shutting himself up in these, shuts Nature out. -As a growing boy at a certain point, and partly in order to assert his -independence, wrests himself away from the tender care of his mother, -and even displays--just for the time being--a spirit of opposition to -her, so the growing Man finding out his own powers uses them--for the -time--even to do despite to Nature, and to create himself a world in -which she shall have no part. In the second place the growth of property -draws man away from his true Self. This is clear enough. As his power -over materials and his possessions increases, man finds the means of -gratifying his senses at will. Instead of being guided any longer by -that continent and "whole" instinct which characterises the animals, -his chief motive is now to use his powers to gratify this or that sense -or desire. These become abnormally magnified, and the man soon places -his main good in their satisfaction; and abandons his true Self for his -organs, the whole for the parts. Property draws the man outwards, -stimulating the external part of his being, and for a time mastering -him, overpowers the central Will, and brings about his disintegration -and corruption. Lastly, Property by thus stimulating the external and -selfish nature in Man, draws him away from his Fellows. In the anxiety -to possess things for himself, in order to gratify his own bumps, he is -necessarily brought into conflict with his neighbor and comes to regard -him as an enemy. For the true Self of man consists in his organic -relation with the whole body of his fellows; and when the man abandons -his true Self he abandons also his true relation to his fellows. The -mass-Man must rule in each unit-man, else the unit-man will drop off and -die. But when the outer man tries to separate himself from the inner, -the unit-man from the mass-Man, then the reign of individuality -begins--a false and impossible individuality of course, but the only -means of coming to the consciousness of the true individuality. With the -advent of a Civilisation then founded on Property the unity of the old -tribal society is broken up. The ties of blood relationship which were -the foundation of the gentile system and the guarantees of the old -fraternity and equality become dissolved in favor of powers and -authorities founded on mere possession. The growth of Wealth -disintegrates the ancient Society; the temptations of power, of -possession, etc., which accompany it, wrench the individual from his -moorings; personal greed rules; "each man for himself" becomes the -universal motto; the hand of every man is raised against his brother, -and at last society itself becomes an organisation by which the rich -fatten upon the vitals of the poor, the strong upon the murder of the -weak. [It is interesting in this connection to find that Lewis Morgan -makes the invention of a written alphabet and the growth of the -conception of private property the main characteristics of the -civilisation-period as distinguished from the periods of savagery and -barbarism which preceded it; for the invention of writing marks perhaps -better than anything else could do the period when Man becomes -_self-conscious_--when he records his own doings and thoughts, and so -commences History proper; and the growth of private property marks the -period when he begins to sunder himself from his fellows, when therefore -the conception of sin (or separation) first enters in, and with it all -the long period of moral perplexity, and the denial of that community of -life between himself and his fellows which is really of the essence of -man's being.] - -And then arises the institution of Government. - -Hitherto this had not existed except in a quite rudimentary form. The -early communities troubled themselves little about individual ownership, -and what government they had was for the most part essentially -democratic--as being merely a choice of leaders among blood-relations -and social equals. But when the delusion that man can exist for himself -alone--his outer and, as it were, accidental self apart from the great -inner and cosmical self by which he is one with his fellows--when this -delusion takes possession of him, it is not long before it finds -expression in some system of private property. The old community of life -and enjoyment passes away, and each man tries to grab the utmost he can, -and to retire into his own lair for its consumption. Private -accumulations arise; the natural flow of the bounties of life is dammed -back, and artificial barriers of Law have to be constructed in order to -preserve the unequal levels. Outrage and Fraud follow in the wake of the -desire of possession; force has to be used by the possessors in order to -maintain the law-barriers against the non-possessors; classes are -formed; and finally the formal Government arises, mainly as the -expression of such force; and preserves itself, as best it can, until -such time as the inequalities which it upholds become too glaring, and -the pent social waters gathering head burst through once more and regain -their natural levels. - -Thus Morgan in his "Ancient Society" points out over and over again that -the civilised state rests upon territorial and property marks and -qualifications, and not upon a personal basis as did the ancient _gens_, -or the tribe; and that the civilised government correspondingly takes on -quite a different character and function from the simple organisation -of the gens. He says (p. 124), "Monarchy is incompatible with -gentilism." Also with regard to the relation of Property to Civilisation -and Government he makes the following pregnant remarks (p. 505): "It is -impossible to over-estimate the influence of property in the -civilisation of mankind. It was the power that brought the Aryan and -Semitic nations out of barbarism into civilisation. The growth of the -idea of property in the human mind commenced in feebleness and ended in -becoming its master passion. Governments and Laws are instituted with -primary reference to its creation, protection and enjoyment. It -introduced human slavery as an instrument in its production; and after -the experience of several thousand years it caused the abolition of -slavery upon the discovery that a freeman was a better property-making -machine." And in another passage on the same subject, "The dissolution -of society bids fair to become the termination of a career of which -property is the end and aim; because such a career contains the elements -of self-destruction. Democracy is the next higher plane. It will be a -revival in a higher form of the liberty, equality and fraternity of the -ancient gentes." - -The institution of Government is in fact the evidence in social life -that man has lost his inner and central control, and therefore must -resort to an outward one. Losing touch with the inward Man--who is his -true guide--he declines upon an external law, which must always be -false. If each man remained in organic adhesion to the general body of -his fellows, no serious dis-harmony could occur; but it is when this -vital unity of the body politic becomes weak that it has to be preserved -by artificial means, and thus it is that with the decay of the primitive -and instinctive social life there springs up a form of government which -is no longer the democratic expression of the life of the whole people; -but a kind of outside authority and compulsion thrust upon them by a -ruling class or caste. - -Perhaps the sincerest, and often though not always the earliest, form of -Government is Monarchy. The sentiment of human unity having been already -partly but not quite lost, the people choose--in order to hold society -together--a man to rule over them who has this sentiment in a high -degree. He represents the true Man and therefore the people. This is -often a time of extensive warfare and the formation of nations. And it -is interesting in this connection to note that the quite early "Kings" -or leaders of each nation just prior to the civilisation period were -generally associated with the highest religious functions, as in the -case of the Roman _rex_, the Greek _basileus_, the early Egyptian Kings, -Moses among the Israelites, and Druid leaders of the Britons, and so on. - -Later, and as the central authority gets more and more shadowy in each -man, and the external attraction of Property greater, so it does in -Society. The temporal and spiritual powers part company. The king--who -at first represented the Divine Spirit or soul of society, recedes into -the background, and his nobles of high degree (who may be compared to -the nobler, more generous, qualities of the mind) begin to take his -place. This is the Aristocracy and the Feudal Age--the Timocracy of -Plato; and is marked by the appearance of large private tenures of land, -and the growth of slavery and serfdom--the slavery thus outwardly -appearing in society being the symbol of the inward enslavement of the -man. - -Then comes the Commercial Age--the Oligarchy or Plutocracy of Plato. -Honour quite gives place to material wealth; the rulers rule not by -personal or hereditary, but by property qualifications. Parliaments and -Constitutions and general Palaver are the order of the day. -Wage-slavery, usury, mortgages, and other abominations, indicate the -advance of the mortal process. In the individual man gain is the end of -existence; industry and scientific cunning are his topmost virtues. - -Last of all the break-up is complete. The individual loses all memory -and tradition of his heavenly guide and counterpart; his nobler passions -fail for want of a leader to whom to dedicate themselves; his industry -and his intellect serve but to minister to his little swarming desires. -This is the era of anarchy--the democracy of Carlyle; the rule of the -rabble, and mob-law; caucuses and cackle, competition and universal -greed, breaking out in cancerous tyrannies and plutocracies--a mere -chaos and confusion of society. For just as we saw in the human body, -when the inner and positive force of Health has departed from it, that -it falls a prey to parasites which overspread and devour it; so, when -the central inspiration departs out of social life, does it writhe with -the mere maggots of individual greed, and at length fall under the -dominion of the most monstrous egotist who has been bred from its -corruption. - -Thus we have briefly sketched the progress of the symptoms of the -"disease," which, as said before, runs much (though not quite) the same -course in the various nations which it attacks. And if this last stage -were really the end of all, and the true Democracy, there were indeed -little left to hope for. No words of Carlyle could blast that black -enough. But this is no true Democracy. Here in this "each for himself" -is no rule of the Demos in every man, nor anything resembling it. Here -is no solidarity such as existed in the ancient tribes and primæval -society, but only disintegration and a dust-heap. The true Democracy has -yet to come. Here in this present stage is only the final denial of all -outward and class government, in preparation for the restoration of the -inner and true authority. Here in this stage the task of civilisation -comes to an end; the purport and object of all these centuries is -fulfilled; the bitter experience that mankind had to pass through is -completed; and out of this Death and all the torture and unrest which -accompanies it, comes at last the Resurrection. Man has sounded the -depths of alienation from his own divine spirit, he has drunk the dregs -of the cup of suffering, he has literally descended into Hell; -henceforth he turns, both in the individual and in society, and mounts -deliberately and consciously back again towards the unity which he has -lost.[14] - -And the false democracy parts aside for the disclosure of the true -Democracy which has been formed beneath it--which is not an external -government at all, but an inward rule--the rule of the mass-Man in each -unit-man. For no outward government can be anything but a make-shift--a -temporary hard chrysalis-sheath to hold the grub together while the new -life is forming inside--a device of the civilisation-period. Farther -than this it cannot go, since no true life can rely upon an external -support, and, when the true life of society comes, all its forms will be -fluid and spontaneous and voluntary. - - -IV - -And now, by way of a glimpse into the future--after this long digression -what is the route that man will take? - -This is a subject that I hardly dare tackle. "The morning wind ever -blows," says Thoreau, "the poem of creation is uninterrupted--but few -are the ears that hear it." And how can we, gulfed as we are in this -present whirlpool, conceive rightly the glory which awaits us? No limits -that our present knowledge puts need alarm us; the impossibilities will -yield very easily when the time comes; and the anatomical difficulty as -to how and where the wings are to grow will vanish when they are felt -sprouting! - -It can hardly be doubted that the tendency will be--indeed is already -showing itself--towards a return to nature and community of human life. -This is the way back to the lost Eden, or rather forward to the new -Eden, of which the old was only a figure. Man has to undo the wrappings -and the mummydom of centuries, by which he has shut himself from the -light of the sun and lain in seeming death, preparing silently his -glorious resurrection--for all the world like the funny old chrysalis -that he is. He has to emerge from houses and all his other hiding -places wherein so long ago ashamed (as at the voice of God in the -garden) he concealed himself--and Nature must once more become his home, -as it is the home of the animals and the angels. - -As it is written in the old magical formula: "Man clothes himself to -descend, unclothes himself to ascend." Over his spiritual or wind-like -body he puts on a material or earthy body; over his earth-body he puts -on the skins of animals and other garments; then he hides this body in a -house behind curtains and stone walls--which become to it as secondary -skins and prolongations of itself. So that between the man and his true -life there grows a dense and impenetrable hedge; and, what with the -cares and anxieties connected with his earth-body and all its skins, he -soon loses the knowledge that he is a Man at all; his true self slumbers -in a deep and agelong swoon. - -But the instinct of all who desire to deliver the divine _imago_ within -them, is, in something more than the literal sense, towards unclothing. -And the process of evolution or exfoliation itself is nothing but a -continual unclothing of Nature, by which the perfect human Form which is -at the root of it comes nearer and nearer to its manifestation. - -Thus, in order to restore the Health which he has lost, man has in the -future to tend in this direction. Life indoors and in houses has to -become a fraction only, instead of the principal part of existence as it -is now. Garments similarly have to be simplified. How far this process -may go it is not necessary now to enquire. It is sufficiently obvious -that our domestic life and clothing may be at once greatly reduced in -complexity, and with the greatest advantage--made subsidiary instead of -being erected into the fetishes which they are. And everyone may feel -assured that each gain in this direction is a gain in true life--whether -it be the head that goes uncovered to the air of heaven, or the feet -that press bare the magnetic earth, or the elementary raiment that -allows through its meshes the light itself to reach the vital organs. -The life of the open air, familiarity with the winds and waves, clean -and pure food, the companionship of the animals--the very wrestling with -the great Mother for his food--all these things will tend to restore -that relationship which man has so long disowned; and the consequent -instreaming of energy into his system will carry him to perfections of -health and radiance of being at present unsuspected. - -Of course, it will be said that many of these things are difficult to -realise in our country, that an indoor life, with all its concomitants, -is forced upon us by the climate. But if this is to some small--though -very small--extent true, it forms no reason why we should not still take -advantage of every opportunity to push in the direction indicated. It -must be remembered, too, that our climate is greatly of our own -creation. If the atmosphere of many of our great towns and of the lands -for miles in their neighbourhood is devitalised and deadly--so that in -cold weather it grants to the poor mortal no compensating power of -resistance, but compels him at peril of his life to swathe himself in -greatcoats and mufflers--the blame is none but ours. It is we who have -covered the lands with a pall of smoke, and are walking to our own -funerals under it. - -That this climate, however, at its best may not be suited to the highest -developments of human life is quite possible. Because Britain has been -the scene of some of the greatest episodes of Civilisation, it does not -follow that she will keep the lead in the period that is to follow; and -the Higher Communities of the future will perhaps take their rise in -warmer lands, where life is richer and fuller, more spontaneous and more -generous, than it can be here. - -Another point in this connection is the food question. For the -restoration of the central vigour when lost or degenerate, a diet -consisting mainly of fruits and grains is most adapted. Animal food -often gives for the time being a lot of nervous energy--and may be -useful for special purposes; but the energy is of a spasmodic feverish -kind; the food has a tendency to inflame the subsidiary centres, and so -to diminish the central control. Those who live mainly on animal food -are specially liable to disease--and not only physically; for their -minds also fall more easily a prey to desires and sorrows. In times -therefore of grief or mental trouble of any kind, as well as in times of -bodily sickness, immediate recourse should be had to the more elementary -diet. The body under this diet endures work with less fatigue, is less -susceptible to pain, and to cold; and heals its wounds with -extraordinary celerity; all of which facts point in the same direction. -It may be noted, too, that foods of the seed kind--by which I mean all -manner of fruits, nuts, tubers, grains, eggs, etc. (and I may include -milk in its various forms of butter, cheese, curds, and so forth), not -only contain by their nature the elements of life in their most -condensed forms, but have the additional advantage that they can be -appropriated without injury to any living creature--for even the cabbage -may inaudibly scream when torn up by the roots and boiled, but the -strawberry plant _asks_ us to take of its fruit, and paints it red -expressly that we may see and devour it! Both of which considerations -must convince us that this kind of food is most fitted to develop the -kernel of man's life. - -Which all means cleanness. The unity of our nature being restored, the -instinct of bodily cleanness, _both_ within and without, which is such a -marked characteristic of the animals, will again characterise -mankind--only now instead of a blind instinct it will be a conscious, -joyous one; dirt being only disorder and obstruction. And thus the whole -human being, mind and body, becoming clean and radiant from its inmost -centre to its farthest circumference--"transfigured"--the distinction -between the words spiritual and material disappears. In the words of -Whitman, "objects gross and the unseen soul are one." - -But this return to Nature, and identification in some sort with the -great cosmos, does not involve a denial or depreciation of human life -and interests. It is not uncommonly supposed that there is some kind of -antagonism between Man and Nature, and that to recommend a life closer -to the latter means mere asceticism and eremitism; and unfortunately -this antagonism does exist to-day, though it certainly will not exist -for ever. To-day it is unfortunately perfectly true that Man is the only -animal who, instead of adorning and beautifying, makes Nature hideous by -his presence. The fox and the squirrel may make their homes in the wood -and add to its beauty in so doing; but when Alderman Smith plants his -villa there, the gods pack up their trunks and depart; they can bear it -no longer. The Bushmen can hide themselves and become indistinguishable -on a slope of bare rock; they twine their naked little yellow bodies -together, and look like a heap of dead sticks; but when the chimney-pot -hat and frock-coat appear, the birds fly screaming from the trees. This -was the great glory of the Greeks that they accepted and perfected -Nature; as the Parthenon sprang out of the limestone terraces of the -Acropolis, carrying the natural lines of the rock by gradations scarce -perceptible into the finished and human beauty of frieze and pediment, -and as, above, it was open for the blue air of heaven to descend into it -for a habitation; so throughout in all their best work and life did they -stand in this close relation to the earth and the sky and to all -instinctive and elemental things, admitting no gulf between themselves -and them, but only perfecting their expressiveness and beauty. And some -day we shall again understand this which, in the very sunrise of true -Art, the Greeks so well understood. Possibly some day we shall again -build our houses or dwelling places so simple and elemental in character -that they will fit in the nooks of the hills or along the banks of the -streams or by the edges of the woods without disturbing the harmony of -the landscape or the songs of the birds. Then the great temples, -beautiful on every height, or by the shores of the rivers and the lakes, -will be the storehouses of all precious and lovely things. There men, -women and children will come to share in the great and wonderful common -life, the gardens around will be sacred to the unharmed and welcome -animals; there all store and all facilities of books and music and art -for every one, there a meeting place for social life and intercourse, -there dances and games and feasts. Every village, every little -settlement, will have such hall or halls. No need for private -accumulations. Gladly will each man, and more gladly still each woman, -take his or her treasures, except what are immediately or necessarily in -use, to the common centre, where their value will be increased a hundred -and a thousand fold by the greater number of those who can enjoy them, -and where far more perfectly and with far less toil they can be tended -than if scattered abroad in private hands. At one stroke half the labour -and all the anxiety of domestic caretaking will be annihilated. The -private dwelling places, no longer costly and labyrinthine in proportion -to the value and number of the treasures they contain, will need no -longer to have doors and windows jealously closed against fellow men or -mother nature. The sun and air will have access to them, the indwellers -will have unfettered egress. Neither man nor woman will be tied in -slavery to the lodge which they inhabit; and in becoming once more a -part of nature, the human habitation will at length cease to be what it -is now for at least half the human race--a prison. - -Men often ask about the new Architecture--what, and of what sort, it is -going to be. But to such a question there can be no answer till a new -understanding of life has entered into people's minds, and then the -answer will be clear enough. For as the Greek Temples and the Gothic -Cathedrals were built by people who themselves lived but frugally as we -should think, and were ready to dedicate their best work and chief -treasure to the gods and the common life; and as to-day when we must -needs have for ourselves spacious and luxurious villas, we seem to be -unable to design a decent church or public building; so it will not be -till we once more find our main interest and life in the life of the -community and the gods that a new spirit will inspire our architecture. -Then when our Temples and Common Halls are not designed to glorify an -individual architect or patron, but are built for the use of free men -and women, to front the sky and the sea and the sun, to spring out of -the earth, companionable with the trees and the rocks, not alien in -spirit from the sunlit globe itself or the depth of the starry -night--then I say their form and structure will quickly determine -themselves, and men will have no difficulty in making them beautiful. -And similarly with the homes or dwelling places of the people. Various -as these may be for the various wants of men, whether for a single -individual or for a family, or for groups of individuals or families, -whether to the last degree simple, or whether more or less ornate and -complex, still the new conception, the new needs of life, will -necessarily dominate them and give them form by a law unfolding from -within. - -In such new human life then--its fields, its farms, its workshops, its -cities--always the work of man perfecting and beautifying the lands, -aiding the efforts of the sun and soil, giving voice to the desire of -the mute earth--in such new communal life near to nature, so far from -any asceticism or inhospitality, we are fain to see far more humanity -and sociability than ever before: an infinite helpfulness and sympathy, -as between the children of a common mother. Mutual help and combination -will then have become spontaneous and instinctive: each man contributing -to the service of his neighbor as inevitably and naturally as the right -hand goes to help the left in the human body--and for precisely the same -reason. Every man--think of it!--will do the work which he _likes_, -which he desires to do, which is obviously before him to do, and which -he knows will be useful, without thought of wages or reward; and the -reward will come to him as inevitably and naturally as in the human body -the blood flows to the member which is exerting itself. All the endless -burden of the adjustments of labour and wages, of the war of duty and -distaste, of want and weariness, will be thrown aside--all the huge -waste of work done against the grain will be avoided; out of the endless -variety of human nature will spring a perfectly natural and infinite -variety of occupations, all mutually contributive; Society at last will -be free and the human being after long ages will have attained to -deliverance. - -This is the Communism which Civilisation has always _hated_, as it hated -Christ. Yet it is inevitable; for the cosmical man, the instinctive -elemental man accepting and crowning nature, necessarily fulfils the -universal law of nature. As to External Government and Law, they will -disappear; for they are only the travesties and transitory substitutes -of Inward Government and Order. Society in its final state is neither a -Monarchy, nor an Aristocracy nor a Democracy, nor an Anarchy, and yet in -another sense it is all of these. It is an Anarchy because there is no -outward rule, but only an inward and invisible spirit of life; it is a -Democracy because it is the rule of the Mass-man, or Demos, in each unit -man; it is an Aristocracy because there are degrees and ranks of such -inward power in all men; and it is a Monarchy because all these ranks -and powers merge in a perfect unity and central control at last. And so -it appears that the outer forms of government which belong to the -Civilisation-period are only the expression in separate external symbols -of the facts of the true inner life of society. - -And just as thus the various external forms of government during the -Civilisation-period find their justification and interpretation in the -ensuing period, so will it be with the mechanical and other products of -the present time; they will be taken up, and find their proper place and -use in the time to come. They will not be refused; but they will have to -be brought into subjection. Our locomotives, machinery, telegraphic and -postal systems; our houses, furniture, clothes, books, our fearful and -wonderful cookery, strong drinks, teas, tobaccos; our medical and -surgical appliances; high-faluting sciences and philosophies, and all -other engines hitherto of human bewilderment, have simply to be reduced -to abject subjection to the real man. All these appliances, and a -thousand others such as we hardly dream of, will come in to perfect his -power and increase his freedom; but they will not be the objects of a -mere fetish-worship as now. Man will use them, instead of their using -him. His real life will lie in a region far beyond them. But in thus for -a moment denying and "mastering" the products of Civilisation, will he -for the first time discover their true value, and reap from them an -enjoyment unknown before. - -The same with the moral powers. As said before, the knowledge of good -and evil at a certain point passes away, or becomes absorbed into a -higher knowledge. The perception of Sin goes with a certain weakness in -the man. As long as there is conflict and division within him, so long -does he seem to perceive conflicting and opposing principles in the -world without. As long as the objects of the outer world excite emotions -in him which pass beyond his control, so long do those objects stand as -the signals of evil--of disorder and sin. Not that the objects are bad -in themselves, or even the emotions which they excite, but that all -through this period these things serve to the man as indications of -_his_ weakness. But when the central power is restored in man and all -things are reduced to his service, it is impossible for him to see -badness in anything. The bodily is no longer antagonistic to the -spiritual love, but is absorbed into it. All his passions take their -places perfectly naturally, and become, when the occasions arise, the -vehicles of his expression. Vices under existing conditions are vices -simply because of the inordinate and disturbing influence they exercise, -but will cease again to be vices when the man regains his proper -command. Thus Socrates having a clean soul in a clean body could drink -his boon companions under the table and then go out himself to take the -morning air--what was a blemish and defect in them being simply an added -power of enjoyment to himself! - -The point of difference throughout (being the transference of the centre -of gravity of life and consciousness from the partial to the universal -man) is symbolised by the gradual resumption of more universal -conditions. That is to say that during the civilisation-period, the body -being systematically wrapped in clothes, the _head_ alone represents -man--the little finnikin, intellectual, _self-conscious_ man in -contra-distinction to the cosmical man represented by the entirety of -the bodily organs. The body has to be delivered from its swathings in -order that the cosmical consciousness may once more reside in the human -breast. We have to become "all face" again--as the savage said of -himself.[15] - -Where the cosmic self is, there is no more self-consciousness. The body -and what is ordinarily called the self are felt to be only parts of the -true self, and the ordinary distinctions of inner and outer, egotism and -altruism, etc., lose a good deal of their value. Thought no longer -returns upon the local self as the chief object of regard, but -consciousness is continually radiant from it, filling the body and -overflowing upon external Nature. Thus the Sun in the physical world is -the allegory of the true self. The worshiper must adore the Sun, he must -saturate himself with sunlight, and take the physical Sun into himself. -Those who live by fire and candle-light are filled with phantoms; their -thoughts are Will-o'-th'-wisp-like images of themselves, and they are -tormented by a horrible self-consciousness. - -And when the Civilisation-period has passed away, the old -Nature-religion--perhaps greatly grown--will come back. This immense -stream of religious life which, beginning far beyond the horizon of -earliest history, has been deflected into various metaphysical and other -channels--of Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, and the like--during the -historical period, will once more gather itself together to float on its -bosom all the arks and sacred vessels of human progress. Man will once -more _feel_ his unity with his fellows, he will feel his unity with the -animals, with the mountains and the streams, with the earth itself and -the slow lapse of the constellations, not as an abstract dogma of -Science or Theology, but as a living and ever-present fact. Ages back -this has been understood better than now. Our Christian ceremonial is -saturated with sexual and astronomical symbols; and long before -Christianity existed, the sexual and astronomical were the main forms of -religion. That is to say, men instinctively felt and worshiped the great -life coming to them through Sex, the great life coming to them from the -deeps of Heaven. They deified both. They placed their gods--their own -human forms--in sex, they placed them in the sky. And not only so, but -wherever they felt this kindred human life--in the animals, in the ibis, -the bull, the lamb, the snake, the crocodile; in the trees and flowers, -the oak, the ash, the laurel, the hyacinth; in the streams and -water-falls, on the mountain-sides or in the depths of the sea--they -placed them. The whole universe was full of a life which, though not -always friendly, was _human_ and kindred to their own, _felt_ by them, -not reasoned about, but simply perceived. To the early man the notion of -his having a separate individuality could only with difficulty occur; -hence he troubled himself not with the suicidal questionings concerning -the whence and whither which now vex the modern mind.[16] For what -causes these questions to be asked is simply the wretched feeling of -isolation, actual or prospective, which man necessarily has when he -contemplates himself as a separate atom in this immense universe--the -gulf which lies below seemingly ready to swallow him, and the anxiety to -find some mode of escape. But when he feels once more that he, that _he_ -himself, is absolutely indivisibly and indestructibly a part of this -great whole--why then there is no gulf into which he can possibly fall; -when he is sensible of the fact, why then the _how_ of its realisation, -though losing none of its interest, becomes a matter for whose solution -he can wait and work in faith and contentment of mind. The Sun or Sol, -visible image of his very Soul, closest and most vital to him of all -mortal things, occupying the illimitable heaven, feeding all with its -life; the Moon, emblem and nurse of his own reflective thought, the -conscious Man, measurer of Time, mirror of the Sun; the planetary -passions wandering to and fro, yet within bounds; the starry destinies; -the changes of the earth, and the seasons; the upward growth and -unfoldment of all organic life; the emergence of the perfect Man, -towards whose birth all creation groans and travails--all these things -will return to become realities, and to be the frame or setting of his -supra-mundane life. The meaning of the old religions will come back to -him. On the high tops once more gathering he will celebrate with naked -dances the glory of the human form and the great processions of the -stars, or greet the bright horn of the young moon which now after a -hundred centuries comes back laden with such wondrous associations--all -the yearnings and the dreams and the wonderment of the generations of -mankind--the worship of Astarte and of Diana, of Isis or the Virgin -Mary; once more in sacred groves will he reunite the passion and the -delight of human love with his deepest feelings of the sanctity and -beauty of Nature; or in the open, standing uncovered to the Sun, will -adore the emblem of the everlasting splendour which shines within. The -same sense of vital perfection and exaltation which can be traced in the -early and pre-civilisation peoples--only a thousand times intensified, -defined, illustrated and purified--will return to irradiate the redeemed -and delivered Man. - - -In suggesting thus the part which Civilisation has played in history, I -am aware that the word itself is difficult to define--is at best only -one of those phantom-generalisations which the mind is forced to employ; -also that the account I have given of it is sadly imperfect, leaning -perhaps too much to the merely negative and destructive aspect of this -thousand-year long lapse of human evolution. I would also remind the -reader that though it is perfectly true that under the dissolving -influence of civilisation empire after empire has gone under and -disappeared, and the current of human progress time after time has only -been restored again by a fresh influx of savagery, yet its corruptive -tendency has never had a quite unlimited fling; but that all down the -ages of its dominance over the earth we can trace the tradition of a -healing and redeeming power at work in the human breast and an -anticipation of the second advent of the son of man. Certain -institutions, too, such as Art and the Family (though it seems not -unlikely that both of these will greatly change when the special -conditions of their present existence have disappeared), have served to -keep the sacred flame alive; the latter preserving in island-miniatures, -as it were, the ancient communal humanity when the seas of individualism -and greed covered the general face of the earth; the former keeping up, -so to speak, a navel-cord of contact with Nature, and a means of -utterance of primal emotions else unsatisfiable in the world around. - -And if it seem extravagant to suppose that Society will ever emerge from -the chaotic condition of strife and perplexity in which we find it all -down the lapse of historical time, or to hope that the -civilisation-process which has terminated fatally so invariably in the -past will ever eventuate in the establishment of a higher and more -perfect health-condition, we may for our consolation remember that -to-day there are features in the problem which have never been present -before. In the first place, to-day Civilisation is no longer isolated, -as in the ancient world, in surrounding floods of savagery and -barbarism, but it practically covers the globe, and the outlying -savagery is so feeble as not possibly to be a menace to it. This may at -first appear a drawback, for (it will be said) if Civilisation be not -renovated by the influx of external Savagery its own inherent flaws will -destroy society all the sooner. And there would be some truth in this if -it were not for the following consideration, namely, that while for the -first time in History Civilisation is now practically continuous over -the globe, now also for the first time can we descry forming in -continuous line _within its very structure_ the forces which are -destined to destroy it and to bring about the new order. While hitherto -isolated communisms, as suggested, have existed here and there and from -time to time, now for the first time in History both the masses and the -thinkers of all the advanced nations of the world are consciously -feeling their way towards the establishment of a socialistic and -communal life on a vast scale. The present competitive society is more -and more rapidly becoming a mere dead formula and husk within which the -outlines of the new and _human_ society are already discernible. -Simultaneously, and as if to match this growth, a move towards Nature -and Savagery is for the first time taking place from within, instead of -being forced upon society from without. The nature movement begun years -ago in literature and art is now, among the more advanced sections of -the civilised world, rapidly realising itself in actual life, going so -far even as a denial, among some, of machinery and the complex products -of Civilisation, and developing among others into a gospel of salvation -by sandals and sunbaths! It is in these two movements--towards a complex -human Communism and towards individual freedom and Savagery--in some -sort balancing and correcting each other, and both visibly growing up -within, though utterly foreign to--our present-day Civilisation, that we -have fair grounds, I think, for looking forward to its cure. - - -NOTES - - (See p. 26) The following remarks by Mr. H. B. Cotterill on the - natives around Lake Nyassa, among whom he lived at a time, 1876-8, - when the region was almost unvisited, may be of interest. "In - regard of merely 'animal' development and well-being, that is in - the delicate perfection of bodily faculties (perceptive), the - African savage is as a rule incomparably superior to us. One feels - like a child, utterly dependent on them, when travelling or hunting - with them. It is true that many may be found (especially amongst - the weaker tribes that have been slave-hunted or driven into barren - corners) who are half-starved and wizened, but as a rule they are - splendid animals. In _character_ there is a great want of that - strength which in the educated civilised man is secured by the - roots striking out into the Past and Future--and in spite of their - immense perceptive superiority they feel and acknowledge the - superior force of character in the white man. They are the very - converse of the Stoic self-sufficient sage--like children in their - 'admiration' and worship of the Unknown. Hence their absolute want - of _Conceit_, though they possess self-command and dignity. They - are, to those they love and respect, faithful and devoted--their - faithfulness and truthfulness are dictated by no 'categorical - imperative,' but by personal affection. Towards an enemy they can - be, without any conscientious scruples, treacherous and inhumanly - cruel. I should say that there is scarcely any possible idea that - is so foreign to the savage African mind as that of general - philanthropy or enemy-love." - - "In _endurance_ the African savage beats us hollow (except trained - athletes). On one occasion my men rowed my boat with 10 foot oars - against the wind in a choppy sea for _25 hours at one go_, across - Kuwirwe Bay, about 60 miles. They never once stopped or left their - seats--just handed round a handful of rice now and then. I was at - the helm all the time--and had enough of it!... They carry 80 lbs. - on their heads for 10 hours through swamps and jungles. Four of my - men carried a sick man weighing 14 stones in a hammock for 200 - miles, right across the dreaded Malikata Swamp. But for _sudden_ - emergencies, squalls, etc., they are nowhere." - - - (See p. 27) "So lovely a scene made easily credible the suggestion, - otherwise highly probable, that the Golden Age was no mere fancy of - the poets, but a reminiscence of the facts of social life in its - primitive organisation of village and house-communities." (J. S. - Stuart-Glennie's _Europe and Asia_, ch. i. Servia.) - - - (See p. 72) "It was only on the up-break of the primitive - socialisms that the passionate desire of, and therefore belief in, - individual Immortality arose. With an intense feeling, not of an - independent individual life, but of a dependent common life, there - is no passionate desire of, though there may be more or less of - belief in, a continuance after death of individual existence." - (_Ibid_, p. 161.) - - - Following is an extract from a letter from my friend Havelock - Ellis, which he kindly allows me to reprint. The passage is - interesting as indicating _one_ cause, at any rate, of the failure - of the modern civilisations. "Your remark that you are - re-publishing _Civilisation: its Cause and Cure_ has led me to read - it once again, and I see how well adapted it is for reissue just - now when there is so widespread a discontent with 'civilisation.' I - do not see any reason for changing the essay, though, no doubt, - much might be added to supplement it. What has, however, struck me - is that you leave out of account the _reason_ for the greater - health, vigour, and high spirit of savages (when such conditions - exist), and that is _the more stringent natural_ selection among - savages owing to the greater hardness of their life. You doubtless - know ch. xvii of Westermarck's _Moral Ideas_, where he shows how - widespread among savages (when they have got past the first crude - primitive stage), and in the ancient civilisations, was the - practice of infanticide applied to inferior babies and the habit of - allowing sick persons to die. That was evidently the secret of the - natural superiority of the savage and of the men of the old - civilisation, for the Greeks and Romans were very stringent in this - matter. The flabbiness of the civilised and the prevalence of - doctors and hygienists, which you make fun of, is due to the modern - tenderness for human life which is afraid to kill off even the most - worthless specimens and so lowers the whole level of 'civilised' - humanity. Introduce a New Hardness in this matter and we should - return to the high level of savagery, while the doctors would - disappear as if by magic. I don't myself believe we _can_ introduce - this hardness; and that is why I attach so much importance to - _intelligent_ eugenics, working through birth-control, as the only - _now possible_ way of getting towards that high natural level you - aim at."--HAVELOCK ELLIS (1920). - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] It is interesting to note that the "sense of Sin" seems now (1920) -to have nearly passed away. And this fact probably indicates a -considerable impending change in our Social Order. - -[2] For proof I must refer the reader to Engels, or to his own studies -of history. - -[3] Say like the Homeric Greeks, or the Spartans of the Lycurgus period. - -[4] _Matabele Land and the Victoria Falls_, p. 209. - -[5] A similar physical health and power of life are also developed among -Europeans who have lived for long periods in more native conditions. It -is not to our _race_, which is probably superior to any in capacity, but -to the state in which we live that we must ascribe our defect in this -particular matter. - -[6] See Col. Dodge's _Our Wild Indians_. - -[7] Wood's _Natural History of Man_. - -[8] See Appendix. - -[9] See Note at end of this chapter. - -[10] No words or theory even of morality can express or formulate -this--no enthronement of _any_ virtue can take its place; for all virtue -enthroned before our humanity becomes vice, and worse than vice. - -[11] It is curious that this word seems to have the same root as the -word Man, the original idea apparently being Order, or Measure. - -[12] And with regard to disease, though it is not maintained that among -the animals there is anything like immunity from it--since diseases of a -more or less parasitic character are common in all tribes of plants and -animals--still they seem to be rarer, and the organic instinct of health -greater, than in the civilised man. - -[13] As to the unity of these wild races with Nature, that is a matter -seemingly beyond dispute; their keenness of sense, sensitiveness to -atmospheric changes, knowledge of properties of plants and habits of -animals, etc., have been the subject of frequent remark; but beyond -this, their strong _feeling_ of union with the universal spirit, -probably only dimly self conscious, but expressing itself very markedly -and clearly in their customs, is most strange and pregnant of meaning. -The dances of the Andaman Islanders on the sands at night, the wild -festival of the new moon among the Fans and other African tribes, the -processions through the forests, the chants and dull thudding of drums, -the torture-dances of the young Red Indian bravos in the burning heat of -the sun; the Dionysiac festivals among the early Greeks; and indeed the -sacrificial nature-rites and carnivals and extraordinary powers of -second-sight found among all primitive peoples; all these things -indicate clearly a faculty which, though it had hardly become -self-conscious enough to be what we call religion, was yet in truth the -foundation element of religion, and the germ of some human powers which -wait yet to be developed. - -[14] There is another point worth noting as characteristic of the -civilisation-period. This is the abnormal development of the abstract -intellect in comparison with the physical senses on the one hand, and -the moral sense on the other. Such a result might be expected, seeing -that abstraction from reality is naturally the great engine of that -false individuality or apartness, which it is the object of Civilisation -to produce. As it is, during this period man builds himself an -intellectual world apart from the great actual universe around him; the -"ghosts of things" are studied in books; the student lives indoors, he -cannot face the open air--his theories "may prove very well in -lecture-rooms, yet not prove at all under the spacious clouds, and along -the landscape and flowing currents"; children are "educated" afar from -actual life; huge phantom-temples of philosophy and science are reared -upon the most slender foundations; and in these he lives defended from -actual fact. For as a drop of water, when it comes in contact with -red-hot iron, wraps itself in a cloud of vapor and is saved from -destruction, so the little mind of man, lest it should touch the burning -truth of Nature and God and be consumed, evolves at each point of -contact a veil of insubstantial thought which allows it for a time to -exist apart, and becomes the nurse of its self-consciousness. - -[15] See Alonso di Ovalle's _Account of the Kingdom of Chile_ in -Churchill's _Collection of Voyages and Travels_, 1724. - -[16] See Notes at end of this chapter. - - - - -MODERN SCIENCE: A CRITICISM - -[Greek: panti logô logos isos antikeitai.] - - -It is one of the difficulties which meet anyone who suggests that modern -science is not wholly satisfactory, that it is immediately assumed that -the writer is covertly defending what Ingersoll calls the "rib-story," -or that he wishes to restore belief in the literal inspiration of the -Bible. But, religious controversy apart, and while admitting that -Science has done a great work in cleaning away the kitchen-middens of -superstition and opening the path to clearer and saner views of the -world, it is possible--and there is already a growing feeling that -way--that her positive contributions to our comprehension of the order -of the universe have in late times been disappointing, and that even her -methods are only of limited applicability. After a glorious burst of -perhaps fifty years, amid great acclamations and good hopes that the -crafty old universe was going to be caught in her careful net, Science, -it must be confessed, now finds herself in almost every direction in -the most hopeless quandaries; and, whether the rib-story be true or not, -has at any rate provided no very satisfactory substitute for it. And the -reason of this failure is very obvious. It goes with a certain defect in -the human mind, which, as we have pointed out (note, p. 57), necessarily -belongs to the Civilisation-period--the tendency, namely, to separate -the logical and intellectual part of man from the emotional and -instinctive, and to give it a _locus standi_ of its own. Science has -failed, because she has attempted to carry out the investigation of -nature from the intellectual side alone--neglecting the other -constituents necessarily involved in the problem. She has failed, -because she has attempted an impossible task; for the discovery of a -permanently valid and purely _intellectual_ representation of the -universe is simply impossible. Such a thing does not exist. - -The various theories and views of nature which we hold are merely the -fugitive envelopes of the successive stages of human growth--each set of -theories and views belonging organically to the moral and emotional -stage which has been reached, and being in some sort the expression of -it; so that the attempt at any given time to set up an explanation of -phenomena which shall be valid in itself and without reference to the -mental condition of those who set it up, necessarily ends in failure; -and the present state of confusion and contradiction in which modern -Science finds itself is merely the result of such attempt. - -Of course this limitation of the validity of Science has been -recognised by most of those who have thought about the matter;[17] but -it is so commonly overlooked, and latterly the notion has so far gained -ground that the "laws" of science are immutable facts and eternal -statements of verity, that it may be worth while to treat the subject a -little more in detail. - -The method of Science is the method of all mundane knowledge; it is that -of limitation or actual ignorance. Placed in face of the great -uncontained unity of Nature we can only deal with it in thought by -selecting certain details and isolating those (either wilfully or -unconsciously) from the rest. That is right enough. But in doing so--in -isolating such and such details--we practically beg the question we are -in search of; and, moreover, in supposing such isolation we suppose what -is false, and therefore vitiate our conclusion. From these two radical -defects of all intellectual inquiry we cannot escape. The views of -Science are like the views of a mountain; each is only possible as long -as you limit yourself to a certain standpoint. Move your position, and -the view is changed.[18] - -Perhaps the word "species" will illustrate our meaning as well as any -word; and, in a sense, the word is typical of the method of Science. I -see a dog for the first time. It is a fox-hound. Then I see a second -fox-hound, and a third and a fourth. Presently I form from these few -instances a general conception of "dog." But after a time I see a -grey-hound and a terrier and a mastiff, and my old conception is -destroyed. A new one has to be formed, and then a new one and a new one. -Now I overlook the whole race of civilised dogs and am satisfied with my -wisdom; but presently I come upon some wild dogs, and study the habits -of the wolf and the fox. Geology turns me up some links, and my -conception of dog melts away like a lump of ice into surrounding water. -My species exists no more. As long as I knew a few of the facts I could -talk very wise about them; or if I limited myself arbitrarily, as we -will say, to a study only of animals in England at the present day, I -could classify them; but widen the bounds of my knowledge, the area of -observation, and all my work has to be done over again. My species is -not a valid fact of Nature, but a fiction arising out of my own -ignorance or arbitrary isolation of the objects observed. - -Or to take an instance from Astronomy. We are accustomed to say that the -path of the moon is an ellipse. But this is a very loose statement. On -enquiry we find that, owing to perturbations said to be produced by the -sun, the path deviates considerably from an ellipse. In fact in strict -calculations it is taken as being a certain ellipse only for an -instant--the next instant it is supposed to be a portion of another -ellipse. We might then call the path an irregular curve somewhat -resembling an ellipse. This is a new view. But on further enquiry it -appears that, while the moon is going round the earth, the earth itself -is speeding on through space about the sun--in consequence of which the -actual path of the moon does not in the least resemble an ellipse! -Finally the sun itself is in motion with regard to the fixed stars, and -_they_ are in movement too. What then is the path of the moon? No one -knows; we have not the faintest idea--the word itself ceases to have any -assignable meaning. It is true that if we agree to ignore the -perturbations produced by the sun--as in fact we _do_ ignore -perturbations produced by the planets and other bodies--and if we agree -to ignore the motion of the earth, and the flight of the solar system -through space, and even the movement of any centre round which that may -be speeding, we may then _say_ that the moon moves in an ellipse. But -this has obviously nothing to do with actual facts. The moon _does_ not -move in an ellipse--not even "relatively to the earth"--and probably -never has done and never will do so. It may be a convenient view or -fiction to say that it would do so under such and such -circumstances--but it is still only a fiction. To attempt to isolate a -small portion of the phenomena from the rest in a universe of which the -_unity_ is one of Science's most cherished convictions, is obviously -self-stultifying and useless. - -But you say it can be proved by mathematics that the ellipse would be -the path under these conditions; to which I reply that the mathematical -proof, though no doubt cogent to the human mind (as at present -constituted in most people), is open to the same objection that it does -not deal with actual facts. It deals with a mental supposition, _i.e._, -that there are only two bodies acting on each other--a case which never -has occurred and never can occur--and then, assuming the law of -gravitation (which is just the thing which has to be proved), it arrives -at a mental formula, the ellipse. But to argue from this process that -the ellipse is really a thing in Nature, and that the heavenly bodies do -move or even tend to move in ellipses, is obviously a most unwarrantable -leap in the dark. Finally you argue that the leap is warranted because, -by assuming that the moon and planets move in ellipses, you can actually -foretell things that happen, as for instance the occurrences of -eclipses; and in reply to that I can only say that Tycho Brahé foretold -eclipses almost as well by assuming that the heavenly bodies moved in -epicycles, and that modern astronomers do apply the epicycle theory in -their mathematical formulæ. The epicycles were an assumption made for a -certain purpose, and the ellipses are an assumption made for the same -purpose. In some respects the ellipse is a more convenient fiction than -the epicycle, but it is no less a fiction. - -In other words--with regard to this "path of the moon" (as with regard -to any other phenomenon of Nature)--our knowledge of it must be either -absolute or relative. But we cannot know the absolute path; and as to -the relative, why all we can say is that it does not exist (any more -than species exists)--we cannot break up Nature so; it is not a thing in -Nature, but in our own minds--it is a view and a fiction.[19] - -Again, let us take an example from Physics--Boyle's law of the -compressibility of gases. This law states that, the temperature -remaining constant, the volume of a given quantity of gas is inversely -proportional to its pressure. It is a law which has been made a good -deal of, and at one time was thought to be true, _i.e._, it was thought -to be a statement of fact. A more extended and careful observation, -however, shows that it is only true under so many limitations, that, -like the ellipse in Astronomy, it must be regarded as a convenient -fiction and nothing more. It appears that air follows the supposed law -pretty well, but not by any means exactly except within very narrow -limits of pressure; other gases, such as carbonic acid and hydrogen, -deviate from it very considerably--some more than others, and some in -one direction and some in the opposite. It was found, among other -things, that the nearer a gas was to its liquefying point, the greater -was the deviation from the supposed law, and the conclusion was jumped -at that the law was true for _perfect_ gases only. This idea of a -perfect gas of course involved the assumption that gases, as they get -farther and farther removed from their liquifying point, reach at last a -fixed and stable condition, when no further change in their qualities -takes place--at any rate for a very long time--and Boyle's law was -supposed to apply to this condition. Since then, however, it has been -discovered that there is an ultra-gaseous state of matter, and on all -sides it is becoming abundantly clear that the change in the condition -of matter from the liquid state to the ultra-gaseous state is perfectly -continuous--through all modifications of liquidity and condensation and -every degree of perfection and imperfection of gasiness to the utmost -rarity of the fourth state. At what point, then, does Boyle's law really -apply? Obviously it applies _exactly_ at only one point in this long -ascending scale--at one metaphysical point--and at every other point it -is incorrect. But no gas in Nature remains or can be maintained just at -one point in the scale of its innumerable changes. Consequently, all we -can say is that out of the innumerable different states that gases are -capable of, and the innumerable different laws of compressibility which -they therefore follow, we could theoretically find one state to which -would correspond the law of compressibility called Boyle's law; and -that, _if_ we could preserve a gas in that state (which we can't), -Boyle's law really _would_ be true just for that case. In other words, -the law is metaphysical. It has no real existence. It is a convenient -view or fiction, arising in the first place out of ignorance, and only -tenable as long as further observation is limited or wilfully ignored. - -This then is the Method of Science. It consists in forming a law or -statement by only looking at a small portion of the facts; then, when -the other facts come in, the law or statement gradually fades away -again. Conrad Gessner and other early zoologists began by classifying -animals according to the number of their horns! Political Economy begins -by classifying social action under a law of Supply and Demand. When -people believed that the earth was flat, they generalised the facts -connected with the fall of heavy bodies into a conception of "up and -down." These were two opposite directions in space. Heavy bodies took -the "downward"; it was their nature. But in time, and as fresh facts -came in, it became impossible to group animals any longer by their -horns; "up and down" ceased to have a meaning when it was known that the -earth was round. Then fresh laws and statements had to be formed. In the -last-mentioned case--it being conceived that the earth was the centre of -the universe--the new law supposed was that all heavy bodies tended to -the centre of the earth as such. This was all right and satisfactory for -a while; but presently it appeared that the earth was _not_ the centre -of the universe, and that some heavy bodies--such as the satellites of -Jupiter--did not in fact tend to the centre of the earth at all. Another -lump of ignorance (which had enabled the old generalisation to exist) -was removed, and a new generalisation, that of universal gravitation, -was after a time formed. But it is probable that this law is only -conceived of as true through our ignorance; nay it is certain that -belief in its truth presents the gravest difficulties. - -In fact here we come upon an important point. It is sometimes said that, -granting the above arguments and the partiality and defectiveness of the -laws of Science, still they are approximations to the truth, and as each -fresh fact is introduced the consequent modification of the old law -brings us _nearer and nearer_ to a limit of rigorous exactness which we -shall reach at last if we only have patience enough. But is this so? -What kind of rigorous statement shall we reach when we have got _all_ -the facts in? Remembering that Nature is _one_, and that if we try to -get a rigorous statement for one set of phenomena (as say the lunar -theory) by isolating them from the rest, we are thereby condemning -ourselves beforehand to a false conclusion, is it not evident that our -limit is at all times infinitely far off? If one knew all the facts -relating to a given inquiry except two or three, one might reasonably -suppose that one was near a limit of exactness in one's knowledge; but -seeing that in our investigation of Nature we only know two or three, so -to speak, out of a million, it is obvious that at any moment the fresh -law arising from increased experience may completely upset our former -calculations. There is a difference between approximating to a wall and -approximating to the North Star. In the one case you are tending to a -speedy conclusion of your labours, in the other case you are only _going -in a certain direction_. The theories of Science generally belong under -the second head. They mark the direction which the human mind is taking -at the moment in question, but they mark no limits. At each point the -_appearance_ of a limit is introduced--which becomes, like a mirage in -the desert, an object of keen pursuit; but the limit is not really -there--it is only an effect of the standpoint, and disappears again -after a time as the observer moves. In the case of gravitation there is -for the moment an appearance of finality in the law of the inverse -square of the distance, but this arises probably from the fact that the -law is derived from a limited area of observation only, namely the -movements (at great distances from each other) of some of the heavenly -bodies.[20] The Cavendish and Schehallien experiments do not show more -than that the law at ordinary distances on the earth's surface does not -vary _very_ much from the above; while the so-called molecular forces -compel us (unless we make the very artificial assumption that a variety -of attractions and repulsions co-exist in matter alongside of, and yet -totally distinct from, the attraction of gravitation) to suppose very -_great_ modifications of the law for small distances. In fact, as we saw -of Boyle's law before--the Newtonian law is probably metaphysical--true -under certain limited conditions--and the appearance of finality has -been given to it by the fact that our observations have been made under -such or similar conditions. When we extend our observation into quite -other regions of space, the law of the inverse square ceases to appear -as even an approximation to the truth--as, for instance, the law of the -inverse _fifth_ power has been thought to be nearer the mark for small -molecular distances. - -And indeed the state of the great theories of Science in the present -day--the confusion in which the Atomic theory of physics finds itself, -the dismal insufficiency of the Darwin theory of the survival of the -fittest; the collapse in late times of one of the fundamental theories -of Astronomy, namely that of the stability of the lunar and planetary -orbits; the cataclysms and convulsions which Geology seems just now to -be undergoing; the appalling and indeed insurmountable difficulties -which attach to the Undulatory theory of Light; the final wreck and -abandonment of the Value-theory, the foundation-theory of Political -Economy--all these things do not seem to point to very near limits of -rigorous exactness! An impregnable theory, or one nearing the limit of -impregnability, is in fact as great an absurdity as an impregnable -armour-plate. Certainly, given the cannon-balls, you can generally find -an armour-plate which will be proof against them; but given the -armour-plate, you can always find cannon-balls which will smash it up. - -The method of Science, as being a method of artificial limitation or -actual ignorance, is curiously illustrated by a consideration of its -various branches. I have taken some examples from Astronomy, which is -considered the most exact of the physical sciences. Now does it not seem -curious that _Astronomy_--the study of the heavenly bodies, which are -the most distant from us of all bodies, and most difficult to -observe--should yet be the most perfect of the sciences? Yet the reason -is obvious. Astronomy is the most perfect science _because we know least -about it_--because our ignorance of the actual phenomena is most -profound. Situated in fact as we are, on a speck in space, with our -observations limited to periods of time which, compared with the -stupendous flights of the stars, are merely momentary and evanescent, we -are in somewhat the position of a mole surveying a railway track and the -flight of locomotives. And as a man seeing a very small arc of a very -vast circle easily mistakes it for a straight line, so we are easily -satisfied with cheap deductions and solutions in Astronomy which a more -extensive experience would cause us to reject. The man may have a long -way to go along his "straight line" before he discovers that it is a -curve; he may have much farther to go along his curve before he -discovers that it is not a circle; and much farther still to go before -he finds out whether it is an ellipse or a spiral or a parabola, or none -of these; yet _what_ curve it is will make an enormous difference in his -ultimate destination. So with the astronomer; and yet Astronomy is -allowed to pass as an exact science![21] - -Well then, as in Astronomy we get an "exact science," because the facts -and phenomena are on such a tremendous scale that we only see a minute -portion of them--just a few details so to speak--and our ignorance -therefore allows us to dogmatise; so at the other end of the scale in -Chemistry and Physics we get quasi-exact sciences, because the facts and -phenomena are on such a _minute_ scale that we overlook _all the -details_ and see only certain general effects here and there. When a -solution of cupric sulphate is treated with ammonia, a mass of -flocculent green precipitate is formed. No one has the faintest notion -of all the various movements and combinations of the molecules of these -two fluids which accompany the appearance of the precipitate. They are -no doubt very complex. But among all the changes that are taking place, -one change has the advantage of being visible to the eye, and the -chemist singles that out as the main phenomenon. So chemistry at large -consists in a few, very few, facts taken at random as it were (or -because they happen to be of such a nature as to be observable) out of -the enormous mass of facts really concerned: and because of their -fewness the chemist is able to arrange them, as he thinks, in some -order, that is, to generalise about them. But it is certain as can be -that he only has to extend the number of his facts, or his powers of -observation, to get all his generalisations upset. The same may be said -of magnetism, light, heat, and the other physical sciences; but it is -not necessary to prove in detail what is sufficiently obvious. - -But now, roughly speaking, there is a third region of human -observation--a region which does not, like Astronomy (and Geology), lie -so far beyond and above us that we only see a very small portion of it; -nor, like Chemistry and Physics, so far below us and under such minute -conditions of space and time that we can only catch its general effects; -but which lies more on a level with man himself--the so-called organic -world--the study of man, as an individual and in society, his history, -his development, the study of the animals, the plants even, and the laws -of life--the sciences of Biology, Sociology, History, Psychology, and -the rest. Now this region is obviously that which man knows most of. I -don't say that he generalises most about it, but he knows the facts -best. For one observation that he makes of the habits and behaviour of -the stars, or of chemical solutions--for one observation in the remote -regions of Astronomy or Chemistry--he makes thousands and millions of -the habits and behaviour of his fellowmen, and hundreds and thousands of -those of the animals and plants. Is it not curious then that in this -region he is least sure, least dogmatic, most doubtful whether there be -a law or no? Or, rather, is it not quite in accord with our contention, -namely that Science, like an uninformed boy, is most definite and -dogmatic just where actual knowledge is least. - -It will however be replied that the phenomena of living beings are far -more complex than the phenomena of Astronomy or Physics--and that is -the reason why exact science makes so little way with them. Though man -knows many million times more about the habits of his fellow-men than -about the habits of the stars, yet the former subject is so many million -times more complicated than the latter that all his additional knowledge -does not avail him. This is the plea. Yet it does not hold water. It is -an entire assumption to say that the phenomena of Astronomy are less -complicated than the phenomena of vitality. A moment's thought will show -that the phenomena of Astronomy are in reality infinitely complex. Take -the movement of the moon: even with our present acquaintance with that -subject we know that it has some relation to the position and mass of -the earth, including its ocean tides; also to the position and mass of -the sun; also to the position and mass of every one of the planets; also -of the comets, numerous and unknown as they are; also the meteoric -rings; and finally of all the stars! The problem, as everyone knows, is -absolutely insoluble even for the shortest period; but when the element -of Time enters in, and we consider that to do anything like justice to -the problem in an astronomical sense we should have to solve it for at -least a million years--during which interval the earth, sun, and other -bodies concerned would themselves have been changing their relative -positions, it becomes obvious that the whole question is infinitely -complex--and yet this is only a small fragment of Astronomy. To debate, -therefore, whether the infinite complexity of the movements of the -stars is greater or less than the infinite complexity of the phenomena -of life, is like debating the precedence of the three persons of the -Trinity, or whether the Holy Ghost was begotten or proceeding: we are -talking about things which we do not understand. - -Nature is one; she is not, we may guess, less profound and wonderful in -one department than another; but from the fact that we live under -certain conditions and limitations we see most deeply into that portion -which is, as it were, on the same level with us. In humanity we look her -in the face; there our glance pierces, and we see that she is profound -and wonderful beyond all imagination; what we learn there is the most -valuable that we can learn. In the regions where Science rejoices to -disport itself we see only the skirts of her garments, so to speak, and -though we measure them never so precisely, we still see them and nothing -more. - -There is another point, however, of which much is often made as a plea -for the substantial accuracy of the scientific laws and generalisations, -namely that they enable us to _predict_ events. But this need not detain -us long. J. S. Mill in his "Logic" has pointed out--and a little thought -makes it obvious--that the success of a prediction does not prove the -truth of the theory on which it is founded. It only proves the theory -was good enough for that prediction. - -There was a time when the sun was a god going forth in his chariot every -morning, and there was a time when the earth was the centre of the -universe, and the sun a ball of fire revolving round it. In those times -men could predict with certainty that the sun would rise next morning, -and could even name the hour of its appearance; but we do not therefore -think that their theories were true. When Adams and Leverrier foretold -the appearance of Neptune in a certain part of the sky, they made a -brief prediction to an unknown planet from the observed relations of the -movements of the known planets; that does not show, however, that the -grand generalisation of these movements, called the "law of -gravitation," is correct. It merely shows that it did well enough for -this very brief step--brief indeed compared with the real problems of -Astronomy, for which latter it is probably quite inadequate. - -Tycho Brahé, excellent astronomer as he was, kept as we saw to the -epicycle theory. He imagined that the moon's path round the earth was a -fixed combination of cycle and epicycle. Kepler introduced the -conception of the ellipse. Later on the motion of the perigee and other -deviations compelled the abandonment of the ellipse and the supposition -of an endless curve, similar to an ellipse at any one point, and -maintaining a fixed mean distance from the earth, but never returning on -itself or making a definite closed figure of any kind. Finally the -researches of Mr. George Darwin have destroyed the conception of the -fixed mean distance, and introduced that of a continually enlarging -spiral. Certainly no four theories could well be more distinct from -each other than these; yet if an eclipse had to be calculated for next -year it would scarcely matter which theory was used. The truth is that -the actual problem is so vast that a prediction of a few years in -advance only touches the fringe of it so to speak; yet if the fulfilment -of the prediction were taken as a proof of the theory in each of these -different cases, it would lead in the end to the most hopelessly -contradictory results. - -The success of a prediction therefore only shows that the theory on -which it is founded has had practical value so far as a working -hypothesis. As working hypotheses, and as long as they are kept down to -brief steps _which can be verified_, the scientific theories are very -valuable--indeed we could not do without them; but when they are treated -as objective facts--when, for instance, the "law of -gravitation"--derived as it is from a brief study of the heavenly -bodies--has a universal truth ascribed to it, and is made to apply to -phenomena extending over millions of years, and to warrant unverifiable -prophecies about the planetary orbits, or statements about the age of -the earth and the duration of the solar system--all one can say is that -those who argue so are flying off at a tangent from actual facts. For as -the tangent represents the direction of a curve over a small arc, so -these theories represent the bearing of facts well enough over a small -region of observation; but as following the tangent we soon lose the -curve, so following these theories for any distance beyond the region -of actual observation we speedily part company with facts.[22] - - -To proceed with a few more words about the general method of Science. -Science passes from phenomena to laws, from individual details which can -be seen and felt to large generalisations of an intangible and -phantom-like character. That is to say, that for convenience of thought -we classify objects. How is this classification effected? It is effected -through the perception of identity amid difference. Among a lot of -objects I perceive certain attributes in common; this group of common -attributes serves, so to speak, as a band to tie these objects together -with--into a bundle convenient for thought. I give a name to the band, -and that serves to denote any unit of the bundle by. Thus perceiving -common attributes among a lot of dogs--as in an example already given--I -give the name foxhound to this group of attributes, and thenceforth use -the name foxhound to connect these objects by in my mind; again -perceiving other common attributes among other similar objects, I -invent the word greyhound to denote these latter by. The concept -foxhound differs from the objects which it denotes, in this respect that -these latter are (as we say) _real_ dogs with thousands and thousands of -attributes each: one of them has a broken tooth, another is nearly all -white, another answers to the name "Sally," and so on; while the concept -is only an imaginary form in my mind, with only a few attributes and no -individual peculiarities--a kind of tiny G.C.M. arising from the -contemplation of a long row of big figures. - -Now having created these concepts "foxhound," "greyhound," and a lot of -other similar ones, I find that they in their turn have a few attributes -in common and thus give rise to a new concept "dog." Of course this -"dog" is more of an abstraction than ever, the concept of a concept. In -fact the peculiarity of this whole process is that, as sometimes stated, -the broader the generalisation becomes the less is its depth; or in -other words and obviously, that as the number of objects compared -increases, the number of attributes common to them all decreases. -Ultimately as we saw at the beginning, when a sufficient number of -objects are taken in, the concept ("dog" or whatever it may be) fades -away and ceases to have any meaning. This therefore is the dilemma of -Science and indeed of all human knowledge, that in carrying out the -process which is peculiar to it, it necessarily leaves the dry ground of -reality for the watery region of abstractions, which abstractions -become ever more tenuous and ungraspable the farther it goes, and -ultimately fade into mere ghosts. Nevertheless the process is a quite -necessary one, for only by it can the mind deal with things. - -To dwell for a moment over this last point: it is clear that every -object has relation to every other object in the world--exists in fact -only in virtue of such relation to other objects; it has therefore an -infinite number of attributes. The mind consequently is powerless to -deal with such object--it cannot by any possibility think it. In order -to deal with it, the mind is forced to single out a _few_ of its -attributes (the _method of ignorance_ or abstraction already alluded -to)--that is a few of its relations to other objects, and to think them -first. The others it will think afterwards--all in good time. In thus -stripping or abstracting the great mass of its attributes from our -object, and leaving only a few, which it combines into a concept, the -mind practically abandons the real article and takes up with a shadow; -but in return for this it gets something which it can handle, which is -light to carry about, and which, like paper-money, _for the time and -under certain conditions_ does really represent value. The only danger -is lest it--the mind--carried away by the extensive applicability of the -partial concept which it has thus formed, should credit it with an -actual value--should project it on the background of the external world -and ascribe to it that reality which belongs only to objects -themselves, _i.e._, to things embodying an _infinite_ range of -attributes. - -The peculiar method of Science is now clear to us, and can be abundantly -illustrated from modern results. Our experience consists in sensations, -we feel the weight of heavy bodies, we see them fall when let go, we -have sensations of heat and cold, light and darkness, and so forth. But -these sensations are more or less local and variable from man to man, -and we naturally seek to find some common measure of them, by which we -can talk about and describe them _exactly_, and independently of the -peculiarities of individual observers. Thus we seek to find some common -phenomenon which underlies (as we say) the sensations of heat and cold, -or of light and darkness, or something which explains (_i.e._, is always -present in) the case of falling bodies--and to do this we adopt the -method of generalisation above described, _i.e._, we observe a great -number of individual cases and then see what qualities or attributes -they have in common. So far good. But it is just here that the fallacy -of the ordinary scientific procedure comes in; for, forgetting that -these common qualities are mere abstractions from the real phenomena we -credit _them_ with a real existence, and regard the actual phenomena as -secondary results, "effects" or what-not of these "causes." This in -plain language is putting the cart before the horse--or rather the -shadow before the man. Thus finding that a vast number of variously -shaped and coloured bodies tend to fall towards the earth, we erect -this common attribute of falling into an independent existence which we -call "attraction" or "gravitation"--and ultimately posit a universal -gravitation _acting_ on all bodies in Nature!--or finding that a number -of different substances, such as water, air, wood, etc., convey to us -the sensation we call sound, and that in all these cases the common -element is vibration, we detach the attribute vibration, credit it with -a separate existence, and speak of it as the cause of sound. But though -we may thus _think_ of the shadow as separate from the man, the shadow -cannot _be_ separate from the man; and though we may try to think of the -falling or the vibration as separate from the wood or the stone, such -falling and vibration cannot exist apart from these and other such -materials, and the effort to speak of it as so existing ends in mere -nonsense. More strange still is the fatuity, when, as in the case of the -undulatory Theory of light or the Atomic theory of physics, the concepts -thus erected into actualities are composed of purely imaginary -attributes--of which no one has had any experience--an undulatory ether -in the one case, a hard and perfectly elastic atom in the other. The -total result is of course--just what we see--Science landing itself in -pure absurdities in every direction. Beginning by detaching the -attribute of falling from the bodies that fall--beginning that is by an -abstraction, which of course is also a falsity--it generalises and -generalises this abstraction till at last it reaches a perfectly -generalised absurdity and thing without any meaning--the law of -gravitation.[23] The statement that "every particle in the universe -attracts every other particle with a force proportional to the mass of -the attracting particle and inversely proportional to the square of the -distance between the two" is devoid of meaning--the human mind can give -no definite meanings to the words "mass," "attract," and "force," which -do not overlap and stultify each other. The law in every way baffles -intelligence. Newton, who invented it, declared that no philosophic mind -would suppose that bodies could thus act on one another "without the -mediation of anything else by and through which their action might be -conveyed;" scientific men to-day are fain to see that a material -mediation of this kind would only make the law still more remote from -our comprehension than it already is, while, on the other hand, an -immaterial mediation or a fourth-dimensional mediation, such as some -propose, would simply remove the problem out of the regions of -scientific analysis.[24] Again, the form of the law is declared to be -the inverse square of the distance; but this is the law by the nature of -space itself of any perfect radiation, and if true of gravitation -involves the conclusion that that radiation of force (whatever its -nature may be) takes place without loss or dissipation of any kind. This -would make gravitation absolutely unique among phenomena. More than -this, its propagation is supposed to be _instantaneous_ over the most -enormous distances of space, and to take place always unhindered and -unretarded, whatever be the number or the nature of the bodies between! -What can be more clear than that the law is simply metaphysical--a -projection into a monstrous universality and abstraction, of partially -understood phenomena in a particular region of observation--a -Brocken-shadow on the background of Nature of the observer's own -momentary attitude of thought? - -Again, the undulatory theory of Light. Studying the phenomena of a vast -number of coloured and bright bodies, Science finds that it can think -about these phenomena--can generalise and tie them into bundles best by -_assuming_ that the bodies are all in a state of vibration; a vibration -so minute that (unlike the vibrations connected with Sound) it cannot be -directly perceived. So far good. There is no harm in the assumption of -vibration, as long as it is understood to be a mere assumption for a -temporary convenience of thought. But now Science goes farther than -this, and not only supposes a common attribute to all visible bodies, -but credits this common attribute with a real existence independent of -the visible bodies in which it was supposed to inhere--and makes this -the _cause_ of their visibility! Obviously now a common and universal -medium is required for this common and universal assumed vibration (just -as Newton required a medium for his universal "falling")--and so, hey -presto! we have the Undulatory Ether. And having got it we find that to -fulfil our requirements it must have a pressure of 17 million million -pounds on the square inch, and yet be so rare and tenuous as not to -hinder the lightest breath of air; that while it is thus rare enough to -surpass all our powers of direct scrutiny, its vibrations must yet be -capable of agitating and breaking up the solidest bodies; that it must -pass freely through some dense and close structures like glass, and yet -be excluded by some light and porous, like cork, and so on and on! In -fact we find that it is unthinkable. Against this adamantine, impalpable -Ether, as against this instantaneous, untranslatable gravitation, -Science bangs its devoted head in vain. Having created these absurdities -by the method of "personification of abstractions"[25] or the -"reification of concepts,"[26] it seriously and in all good faith tries -to understand them; having dressed up its own Mumbo Jumbo (which it once -jeered at religion for doing) it piously shuts its eyes and endeavours -to believe in it. - -The Atomic Theory affords a good example of the "method of ignorance." -When we try to think about material objects generally--to generalise -about them--that is, to find some attribute or attributes common to -them, we are at first puzzled. They present such an immense variety. But -after a time, by dint of stripping off or abstracting all such -attributes or qualities as we think we perceive in one body and not in -another--as for example, redness, blueness, warmth, saltness, life, -intelligence, or what not--we find an attribute left, namely resistance -to touch, which is common to _all_ material bodies. This quality in the -body we call "mass," and since it is only known by motion, mass and -motion become correlative attributes which we find useful to class -bodies by, not because they represent the various bodies particularly -well, but because they are found in all bodies; just as you might class -people by their boots--not because boots are a very valuable method of -classification, but simply because every one wears boots of one kind or -another. So far there is no great harm done. But now having by the -method of ignorance _thought away_ all the qualities of bodies, except -the two correlatives of mass and motion, we set about to _explain_ the -phenomena of Nature generally by these two "thinks" that are left. We -credit these "thinks" (mass and motion) with an independent existence -and proceed to derive the rest of phenomena from them. The proceeding of -course is absurd, and ends by exposing its own absurdity. Thinking of -mass and motion as existing in the various bodies _apart_ from colour, -smell, and so forth--which of course is not the case--we combine the two -attributes into one concept, the atom, which we thus assume to exist in -all bodies. The atom has neither colour, smell, warmth, taste, life or -intelligence; it has only mass and motion; for it came by the method of -divesting our thought of everything _but_ mass and motion. It is a -projection of a "think" upon the background of nature. And it is an -absurdity. No such thing exists in all the wide universe as mass and -motion divested from colour, smell, warmth, life and intelligence. The -atom is unthinkable. It is perfectly hard and it is perfectly -elastic--which is the same as saying that it bends and it doesn't bend -at the same time; it has form, and it hasn't form; it has affinities and -yet is perfectly indifferent. To justify to men the ways of their Mumbo -Jumbo has sorely exercised the votaries of the Atom. One philosopher -says that it is mere matter, passive, exercising no force but -resistance; another says that it is a centre of force, without matter; a -third suggests that it is not itself matter, but only a vortex in other -matter! All agree that it is not an object of sense, and there remains -no conclusion but that it is nonsense![27] - -And so on in all directions. Human thought flying off at its tangents -from Nature lands itself in infinite nothings afar off, poor ghostly -skeletons and abstractions from Nature--which indeed is all right, for -human thought as yet can only see ghosts and not realities; but let -there be no mistake, let these ghosts not be mistaken for realities--for -they are not even compatible with each other. The Atom that suits the -physicist does not suit the chemist. The Ether that does for the vehicle -of Light will not do for the vehicle of universal Gravitation. - - -It would be hardly worth while entering into these criticisms, were it -not evident that Science in modern times, either tacitly or explicitly, -has been seeking, as I said at the beginning, to enounce facts -independent of Man, the observer. Seeing that the ordinary statements of -daily life are obviously inexact and relative to the observer--charged -with human sensation in fact--Science has naturally tried to produce -something which should be exact and independent of human sensation; but -here it has of course condemned itself beforehand to failure; for no -statement of isolated phenomena or groups of phenomena _can_ be exact -except by the method of ignorance aforesaid, and no statement obviously -can be really independent of human sensation. When a man says _It is -cold_, his statement, it must be confessed, is deplorably human and -vague. _It_--what is that? _Is_--do you mean _is_? or do you mean -_feels_, _appears_? _Cold_--in what sense? Cold to yourself, or to -other people, or to polar bears, or by the thermometer? And so on. -Science therefore steps in with an air of authority and sets him right. -It says _the temperature is_ 30° _Fahrenheit_, as if to settle the -matter. But does this really settle the matter? _Temperature_--who knows -what that is? What is the scientific definition of it? I find -(Clerk-Maxwell's Theory of Heat, p. 2.) "the temperature of a body is a -quantity which indicates how hot or how cold the body is." This sounds -very much like saying, "the colour of a body is a quantity which -indicates how blue, red, or yellow the body is." It does not bring us -much farther on our way. But in the next paragraph Maxwell shows the -object of his definition (which of course is only preliminary) by -saying, "By the use, therefore, of the word temperature, we fix in our -minds the conviction that it is possible not only to feel, but to -_measure_, how hot a body is." That is to say he clearly maintains that -it is possible to find an absolute standard of hotness or coldness--or -rather of the unknown thing called temperature--outside of ourselves and -independent of human sensation. When the man said he was cold he was -probably just describing his own sensations, but here Science indicates -that it is in search of something which has an independent existence of -its own, and which therefore when found we can measure exactly and once -for all. What then is that thing? _What_ is temperature? say, what is -it? - -We cudgel our brains in vain. Perhaps the remainder of the sentence -will help us. "The temperature is 30° Fahrenheit." "The unknown thing is -thirty degrees." What then is a degree? That is the next question. When -the Theory of Heat went out from sensation and left it behind, one of -its first landing places was in the expansion of liquids--as in -thermometer tubes. Here for some time was thought to be a satisfactory -register of "temperature." But before long it became apparent that the -degree--Fahrenheit, Réaumur, or what-not--was an entirely arbitrary -thing, also that it was not the _same_[28] thing at one end of the scale -as the other, and finally that the scale itself had no starting point! -This was awkward, so a move was made to the air thermometer, and there -was some talk about an absolute zero and absolute temperatures; it was -thought that the Unknown thing showed itself most clearly and simply in -the expansion of air and other gases, and that the "degree" might fairly -be measured in terms of this expansion. But in a little time this kind -of thermometer--chiefly because no gas turned out to be "theoretically -perfect"--broke down, absolute zero and all, and another step had to be -made--namely, to the dynamical theory. It was announced that the Unknown -thing might be measured in terms of mechanical energy, and Joule at -Manchester proclaimed that the work done by any quantity of water -falling there a distance of 772 feet is capable of raising that water -one degree Fahrenheit.[29] Here seemed something definite. To measure -temperature by mass and velocity, to measure a degree by the flight of a -stone, or the heat in the human body by the fall of a factory -chimney--if rather roundabout and elusive of the main question--seemed -at any rate promising of exact results! Unfortunately the difficulty was -to pass from the theory to its application. The complicated nature of -the problem, the "imperfection" of the gases and other bodies under -consideration, the latent and specific heats to be allowed for, the -elusive nature of heat in experiment, and the variable value of the -degree itself--all render the conclusions on this subject most -precarious; and the general equations connecting the Fahrenheit or other -temperatures with a thermo-dynamic scale--while they become so unwieldy -as to be practically useless--are themselves after all only approximate. - -Finally, to give a last form to the mechanical theory of heat, the -conception of flying atoms or molecules was introduced, and a number of -neat generalisations were deduced from dynamical considerations. Of -course it was inevitable, having once started with a mechanical theory, -that one should arrive at the Atom some time or other--and (from what -has already been said) it was also inevitable that the result should be -unsatisfactory. It is sufficient to say that the molecular theory of -heat is _not_ in accordance with facts. Such things as the law of -Charles and the law of Boyle, which according to it should be strictly -accurate and of general application, are known to be true only over a -most limited range. This failure of the theory may be said to arise -partly from its being pursued by the statistical method; but if, on the -other hand, we were to try and follow out the individual movement of -each molecule we should be landed in a problem far exceeding in -complexity the wildest flights of Astronomy, and should have exchanged -for the original difficulty about "temperature" a difficulty far -greater. - -The result of all this has been that notwithstanding the talk about -energy and atoms, Science has sadly to confess that it can still give no -valid meaning to the word temperature: the unknown thing is still -unknown, the independent existence round the corner still escapes us. By -the very effort to arrive at something independent of human sensation, -Science has, in a roundabout way, arrived at an absurdity. When the man -said he was cold, his statement--deplorably vague as it certainly -was--had some meaning; he was describing his feelings, or possibly he -had seen some snow or some ice on the road; but when, in the endeavour -to leave out the human and to say something absolute, Science declared -that the temperature was thirty degrees, it committed itself to a remark -which possibly was exact in form, but to which it has never given and -never can give any definite meaning.[30] - -Similarly with other generalities of Science: the "law" of the -Conservation of Energy, the "law" of the Survival of the Fittest--the -more you think about them the less possible is it to give any really -intelligible sense to them. The very word Fittest really begs the -question which is under consideration, and the whole Conservation law is -merely an attenuation of the already much attenuated "law" of -Gravitation. The Chemical Elements themselves are nothing but the -projection on the external world of concepts consisting of three or four -attributes each: they are not more real, but very much less real than -the individual objects which they are supposed to account for; and their -"elementary" character is merely fictional. It probably is in fact as -absurd to speak of pure carbon or pure gold, as of a pure monkey or a -pure dog. There are no such things, except as they may be arrived at by -arbitrary definition and the method of ignorance. - -In the search for exactness, then, Science has been continually led on -to discard the human and personal elements in phenomena, in the hope of -finding some residuum as it were behind them which should not be -personal and human but absolute and invariable. And the tendency has -been (hitherto) in all the sciences to get rid of such terms as blue, -red, light, heavy, hot, cold, concord, discord, health, vitality, right, -wrong, etc., and to rely on any less human elements discoverable in each -case; as for instance in Sound, to deal less and less with the judgments -and sensations of the ear, and to rely more and more on measurements of -lengths of strings, numbers of vibrations, etc. Each science has been -(as far as possible) reduced to its lowest terms. Ethics has been made a -question of utility and inherited experience. Political Economy has been -exhausted of all conceptions of justice between man and man, of charity, -affection, and the instinct of solidarity; and has been founded on its -lowest discoverable factor, namely self-interest. Biology has been -denuded of the force of personality in plants, animals, and men; the -"self" here has been set aside, and the attempt made to reduce the -science to a question of chemical and cellular affinities, protoplasm, -and the laws of osmose. Chemical affinities, again, and all the -wonderful phenomena of Physics are emptied down into a flight of atoms; -and the flight of atoms (and of astronomic orbs as well) is reduced to -the laws of dynamics--which the student sitting in his chamber may write -down on a piece of paper. Thus the idea, formulated by Comte, of a great -scale of sciences arising from the simplest to the most complex, has -tacitly underlain modern scientific work. It--Science--has sought to -"explain" each stage by reference to a lower stage--"blueness" by -vibrations, and vibrations by flying atoms--the human always by the -sub-human. Going out from humanity dissatisfied, it has wandered through -the animal and vegetable kingdoms, through the regions of Chemistry and -Physics, into that of Mechanics. "Here at last, in Mechanics, is -something outside humanity, something exact in itself, something -substantial," it has said. "Let us build again on this as on a -foundation, and in time we shall find out what humanity is." This I say -has been the dream of Modern Science; yet the fallacy of it is obvious. -We have not got outside the human, but only to the outermost verge of -it. Mass and motion, which in this process are taken to be real entities -and the first progenitors of all phenomena, are simply the last -abstractions of sensible experience, and our emptiest concepts. The -_material_ explanation of the universe is simply an attempt to account -for phenomena by those attributes which appear to us to be common to -them all--which is, as said before, like accounting for men by their -boots:--it may be possible to get an exact formula this way, but its -contents have little or no meaning. - -The whole process of Science and the Comtian classification of its -branches--regarded thus as an attempt to explain Man by Mechanics--is a -huge vicious circle. It professes to start with something simple, exact, -and invariable, and from this point to mount step by step till it comes -to Man himself; but indeed it starts with Man. It plants itself on -sensations low down (mass, motion, etc.), and endeavours by means of -them to explain sensations high up, which reminds one of nothing so much -as that process vulgarly described as "climbing up a ladder to comb your -hair." In truth Science has never left the great world, or cosmos, of -Man, nor ever really found a _locus standi_ without it; but during the -last two or three centuries it has gone in this _direction_, outwards, -continually. Leaving the central basis and facts of humanity as too vast -and unmanageable, and also as apparently variable from man to man and -therefore affording no certain consent to work upon, it has wandered -gradually outwards, seeking something of more definite and universal -application Discarding thus one by one the interior phases of -sensation--as the sense of personal relationship, the sense of justice, -duty, fitness in things or what-not (as too uncertain, or perhaps -developed to an unequal degree in different persons, embryonic in one -and matured in another), drifting past the more specialised bodily -senses, of colour, sound, taste, smell, etc., as for similar reasons -unavailable--Science at last in the primitive consciousness of muscular -contraction and its abstraction "mass" or "matter" comes to a pause. -Here in this last sense, common probably to man and the lowest animals, -it finds its widest, most universal ground--its farthest limit from the -Centre. It has reached the outermost shell, as it were, of the great -Man-cosmos. - -Even this shell is partially human; it is not entirely osseous, and so -far not entirely exact and invariable; but Science can go no -farther--and there, for the present, it may remain! - -Some day perhaps, when all this showy vesture of scientific theory -(which has this peculiarity that only the learned can see it) has been -quasi-completed, and Humanity is expected to walk solemnly forth in its -new garment for all the world to admire--as in Anderssen's story of the -Emperor's New Clothes--some little child standing on a door-step will -cry out: "But he has got nothing on at all," and amid some confusion it -will be seen that the child is right. - - -NOTE - - "I fear I have very imperfectly succeeded in expressing my strong - conviction that, before a rigorous logical scrutiny, the Reign of - Law will prove to be an unverified hypothesis, the Uniformity of - Nature an ambiguous expression, the certainty of our scientific - inferences to a great extent a delusion." (Stanley Jevons, - _Principles of Science_, p. ix.) - -FOOTNOTES: - -[17] See note, p. 119. - -[18] Since the above was written there has certainly been a great -change, and the dogmatic confidence in the verity of the scientific -"laws" has now (1920) almost disappeared. - -[19] Such fictions, however, are (I need not say) quite necessary as our -only means of thinking out, however imperfectly, the problems before us -(1920). - -[20] It is not generally realised how feeble a force gravitation is. It -is calculated (Encycl. Brit., Art. Gravitation) that two masses, each -weighing 415,000 tons, and placed a mile apart, would exert on each -other an attractive force of only one pound. If one, therefore, was as -far from the other as the moon is from the earth, their attraction would -only amount to 1/57,600,000,000th of a pound. This is a small force to -govern the movement of a body weighing 415,000 tons! and it is easy to -see that a slight variation in the law of the force might for a long -period pass undetected, though in the course of hundreds of centuries it -might become of the greatest importance. - -[21] As another instance of the same thing, let me quote a passage from -Maxwell's _Theory of Heat_, p. 31; the italics are mine: "In our -description of the physical properties of bodies as related to heat we -have begun with solid bodies, as those which we can _most easily -handle_, and have gone on to liquids, which we can keep in open vessels, -and have now come to gases, which will escape from open vessels, and -which are generally _invisible_. This is the order which is most natural -in our first study of these different states. But as soon as we have -been made familiar with the most prominent features of these different -conditions of matter the most _scientific_ course of study is in the -_reverse_ order, beginning with gases, on account of the greater -simplicity of their laws, then advancing to liquids, the more complex -laws of which are much more imperfectly known, and concluding with the -little that has been hitherto discovered about the constitution of solid -bodies." That is to say that Science finds it easier to work among -gases--which are invisible and which we can know little about--than -among solids, which we are familiar with and which we can easily handle! -This seems a strange conclusion, but it will be found to represent a -common procedure of Science--the truth probably being that the laws of -gases are not one whit _simpler_ than the laws of liquids and solids, -but that on account of our knowing so much less about gases it is easier -for us to _feign_ laws in their case than in the case of solids, and -less easy for our errors to be detected. - -[22] All our thoughts, theories, "laws," etc., may perhaps be said to -_touch_ Nature--as the tangent touches the curve--at a point. They give -a direction--and are true--at that point. But make the slightest move, -and they all have to be reconstructed. The tangents are infinite in -number, but the curve is one. This may not only illustrate the relation -of Nature to Science, but also of Art to the materials it uses. The poet -radiates thoughts: but he sets no store by them. He knows his thoughts -are not true in themselves, but they _touch_ the Truth. His lines are -the envelope of the curve which is his poem. - -[23] See the report of the joint meeting of the Royal Society and the -Royal Astronomical Society, November 6, 1919, when Einstein's theory was -discussed. - -[24] It is obvious that the Einstein theory, in which Time enters as a -kind of fourth dimension in relation to Space, removes us at once out of -the whole field of ordinary scientific reasoning and lands us, so to -speak, in a new world. The nature of Space (or of the universal medium, -whatever it is) in any region--its possible fundamental accelerations -there, its "curvature" or non-Euclidean character, and so forth--is -supposed, according to this theory, to vary with the amount of matter -in, or density of, that region; and the movements of bodies are -consequently supposed to take on the characters (accelerations, etc.,) -which we ascribe to the action of Gravitation. Gravitation in fact in -any region is the manifestation in Time of the attributes of the -universal Medium in that region--which latter again is dependent on the -degree of Matter present. Thus, Matter, Time, and Space are _one -phenomenon_. - -The whole Einstein theory, in fact, is a device to present these three -Protean and variable elements of all material existence (Matter, Time -and Space) as so far involved and interlaced in each other that they -form always an absolute and complete unity. As such the theory is no -doubt suggestive, and along the line of future speculation: but it -awaits corroboration. If corroborated it will point the way to a new -conception of the Universe. - -[25] J. S. Mill. - -[26] See Stallo's excellent _Concepts of Modern Physics_. - -[27] See, for instance, the last new thing in this style--the Helmholtz -molecule as improved upon by Sir William Thomson; it is described as -follows: "A heavy mass connected by massless springs with a massless -enclosing shell; or there may be several shells enclosing each other -connected by springs with a dense mass in the centre (far more dense -than the ether)." It is not, of course, seriously maintained that this -nonsensical creation exists--but that if it did exist it would account -for certain unexplained phenomena in the dispersion of light, etc. - -Later still (1920) we have the following delightful verdict on the -Structure of the Atom, given by Sir Ernest Rutherford--and which I -commend to all lovers of clear thinking:-- - -"The Bakerian Lecture was delivered yesterday before the Royal Society -by Sir Ernest Rutherford, whose subject was 'The Nuclear Construction of -the Atom.' He said that during recent years much attention had been paid -to the nature and structure of atoms. The atomic theory of matter had -been definitely proved. The mass of the individual atoms, and the number -in any given weight of matter, were now known with considerable -accuracy. Not only was matter known to be made up of atoms, but -electricity was also atomic in nature, and there was a definite unit of -electrical charge which could not further be subdivided. The negative -electron, which was a constituent of all atoms of matter, was probably -nothing more than an isolated unit of negative electricity, and its -small mass was electrical in origin. It had long been considered -probable that the atom is an electrical structure, consisting of -positive and negative particles, held in equilibrium by electric or -magnetic forces. In recent years evidence had accumulated that an atom -consists of a positively charged nucleus surrounded at a distance by a -distribution of electrons to make it electrically neutral." (From _The -Morning Post_ of June 4, 1920.) - -[28] The very fact alone that the degrees on a thermometer are _equal_ -space divisions shows that they must bear a _varying_ relation to the -total volume of liquid as that expands from one end of the tube to the -other. - -[29] A statement obviously applying--from what has been already said--at -only one point in the scale. - -[30] I am not, of course, here arguing against the use of thermometers -or other instruments for practical purposes. This is certainly the -legitimate field of Science. But (as in the case of _prediction_ before -mentioned) the exactness of results obtained is a very different matter -from the truth of the generalities which are supposed to underlie these -results. In using a thermometer you need not even mention the word -"temperature." - - - - -THE SCIENCE OF THE FUTURE: A FORECAST - -Once let that [the human ideal] slip out of the thought, and science is -of no more use than the invocations in the Egyptian papiri.--RICHARD -JEFFERIES. - - -It would appear then, from the preceding paper, that in some sense a -mistake has been made in the method of modern scientific work; not that -the vast amount of labour expended in it has been altogether wasted, for -in return for this there is a mass of practical results and detailed -observations to show; but that in attempting to solve the problem of -science by the intellect alone, a radical mistake has been made which -_could_ only land us in absurdity, and that this mistake has for the -time being also vitiated the results that have been attained. For--in -reference to this last point--the divorce of the intellectual from the -emotional has caused a great portion of our scientific observations to -become merely pedantic and trifling; while it has turned the practical -results--as industrial and military machinery, etc.--into engines of -evil as often as into engines of good. - -Science in searching for a permanently valid and purely intellectual -representation of the universe has, as already said, been searching for -a thing which does not exist. The very facts of Nature, as we call them, -are at least half feeling. If we try to clean the feeling out of a fact -and to produce a statement which shall be devoid of the human or sense -element, it simply amounts to cleaning the meaning out; and though our -resulting statement may be exact it is nugatory and of no value. We -might as well try to take the clay out of a brick. It must never be -forgotten that the logical processes--important as they are--cannot -stand by themselves, have no standing ground of their own. They -presuppose assumptions and are the expression of things that are -unreasoning, perhaps illogical. The strictest logic is a mere hooking -together of links in a chain, and the last link is of no use--you can -put no stress on it--unless the first is secured somewhere. The strength -of the intellectual chain is no greater than that of the staple from -which it hangs--and that is a human feeling The strength of Euclid is no -greater than that of the axioms--and _they_ are feelings; they are -unreasoning statements of which all that we can say is, "I _feel_ like -that." In fact all the propositions of Geometry are nothing but the -analysis and elaborate expression, so to speak, of these primary -convictions--and the Geometry-structure stands and falls with them. -There is no such thing as intellectual truth--that is, I mean, a truth -which can be stated as existing apart from feeling. If, for instance, a -proposition in Geometry can be really shown to be based on the axioms, -it is true, not intellectually or absolutely, but as an expression of my -primary Geometrical sense; and if my giving a few pence to a crossing -sweeper is based not on a mere impression of duty, or an anxiety to -appear charitable, or wish to escape his importunity, but on genuine -regard for the man, then it is true, not in any absolute signification, -but just as an expression of what it professes to represent--namely my -primary sense of humanity. Indeed the truest truth is that which is the -expression of the deepest feeling, and if there is an absolute truth it -can only be known and expressed by him who has the absolute feeling or -Being within himself. - -This being so--and the nature of the intellectual processes being, like -the links in a chain, transitional--it becomes obvious that the -intellectual results may figure as a _means_ but never as an end in -themselves. To hang any weight of reliance on them in the latter sense -is like the Chinese Trick--described by Marco Polo--of throwing a rope's -end up in the air and then climbing up the rope. Hence it appears that -our scientific theories are perfectly legitimate, as long as they are -formed as a means towards _practical_ applications. In that sense they -are transitional; they are formed, not as substantial truths, but merely -as links in a chain towards some definite practical result. For this -purpose we may form whatever theories are convenient: if we are -calculating the strength of bridges, we may adopt what generalisations -we like concerning mechanical structure, as long as they give us actual -and practical results; if we are predicting eclipses, we may make use of -any theory that will do. The theory does not matter, as long as it hauls -the practical result after it, just as it does not matter whether your -cable is of iron or hemp or silk, as long as you can get your ship into -dock with it. In this sense our Modern Science is, I conceive, -admirable. For practical results and brief predictions it affords a -quantity of useful generalisations--shorthand notes and conventional -symbols and pocket summaries of phenomena--which bear about the same -relation to the actual world that a map does to the country it is -supposed to represent. It cannot be said to have any resemblance to the -real thing--but, when you understand the principle on which it is -formed, it is exceedingly useful for finding your way about. As long as -Science therefore keeps the practical end in view, and starting from -sense seeks to return to sense again, its intermediate theorising is -perfectly legitimate; but the moment it credits its theory with a -positive and authoritative existence, as an actual representation of -facts--and endeavours to pass by means of it into unverifiable and -abstract regions, as of invisible germs or atoms, or far distances of -space, or the remote past or future--it is simply throwing its rope's -end into the sky and trying to climb up! That "the wish is father to the -thought" is in its wide sense profoundly true. In the individual, -feeling precedes thinking--as the body precedes the clothes. In history, -the Rousseau precedes the Voltaire. There is, I believe, a physiological -parallel; for behind the brain and determining its action stands the -great sympathetic nerve--the organ of the emotions. In fact here the -brain appears as distinctly transitional. It stands between the nerves -of sense on the one hand and the great sympathetic on the other. - -Change the feeling in an individual, and his whole method of thinking -will be revolutionised; change the axiom or primary sensation in a -science, and the whole structure will have to be re-created. The current -Political Economy is founded on the axiom of individual greed; but let a -new axiomatic emotion spring up (as of justice or fair play instead of -unlimited grab), and the base of the science will be altered, and will -necessitate a new construction. - -So when people argue (on politics, morality, art, etc.) it will -generally be found that they differ at the _base_; they go out, perhaps -quite unconsciously, from different axioms and hence they _cannot_ -agree. Occasionally of course a strict examination will show that, while -agreeing at the base, one of them has made a false step in deduction; in -that case his thought does _not_ represent his primary feeling, and when -this is pointed out he is forced to alter it. But more often it is found -that the difference lies deep down at a point beyond the reach of -reason; and they disagree to the end. In this case neither is right and -neither is wrong. They simply feel differently; they are different -persons. - -The Thought then is the expression, the outgrowth, the covering of -underlying Feeling. And in the great life of Man as a whole, as in the -lesser life of the individual, his continual new birth and inward growth -causes his thought-systems also continually to change and be replaced by -new ones. Like the bud-sheaths and husks in a growing plant or tree they -give form for a time to the life within; then they fall off and are -replaced. The husk prepares the bud underneath, which is to throw it -off. The thought prepares and protects the feeling underneath, which -growing will inevitably reject it; and when a thought has been formed it -is already _false_, _i.e._, ready to fall. - -We are now, then, in a position to come back to the question of a -genuine Science, truly so-called. - -As there is no invariable and absolute datum on the fringe of -Humanity--no definable flying atom on which we can found our -reasonings--and as Modern Science, considered as an actual -representation of the universe, falls miserably to pieces in -consequence--is it possible that we have made a mistake in the -_direction_ in which we have sought for our datum; and may it be that we -should look for that in the very Centre of Humanity instead of in its -remotest circumference? In that direction evidently, if we could -penetrate, we should expect to find, not a shadowy intellectual -generalisation, but the very opposite of that--an intense immutable -_feeling_ or state, an axiomatic condition of Being. Is it possible that -here, blazing like a sun (if we could only see it--and the sun is its -allegory in the physical world), there exists within us absolutely such -a thing--the one _fact_ in the universe, of which all else are shadows, -_to_ which everything has relation, and round which, itself -unanalysable, all thought circles and all phenomena stand as indirect -modes of expression? - -Is it possible? That is the question--the question which each one of us -has to solve. At any rate, let us throw this out as a suggestion. Let us -suggest that as we have got nothing satisfactory by cleaning the -sense-element out of phenomena, we should take the opposite course and -put as much sense into them as we can! - -"Facts" are, at least, half feelings. Let us acknowledge this and not -empty the feeling out of them, but deepen and enlarge that which we -already have in them. Who knows whether we have ever _seen_ the blue -sky? Who knows whether we have ever seen each other? Is it not a -commonplace to say that one man sees in the common objects of Nature -what another is wholly unconscious of? "The primrose on the river's brim -a yellow primrose is to him--and nothing more." To what extent may the -facts of Nature thus be deepened and made more substantial to us--and -whither will this process lead us? - -Do we not want to feel _more_, not less, in the presence of -phenomena--to enter into a living relation with the blue sky, and the -incense-laden air, and the plants and the animals--nay, even with -poisonous and hurtful things to have a keener _sense_ of their -hurtfulness? Is it not a strange kind of science, that which wakes the -mind to pursue the shadows of things, but dulls the senses to the -reality of them--which causes a man to try to bottle the pure atmosphere -of heaven and then to shut himself in a gas-reeking, ill-ventilated -laboratory while he analyses it; or allows him to vivisect a dog, -unconscious that he is blaspheming the pure and holy relation between -man and the animals in doing so? Surely the man of Science (in its -higher sense, that is) should be lynx-eyed as an Indian, keen-scented as -a hound--with all senses and feelings trained by constant use and a pure -and healthy life in close contact with Nature, and with a heart beating -in sympathy with every creature. Such a man would have at command, so to -speak, the keyboard of the universe; but the mechanical, unhealthy, -indoor-living student--is he not really _ignorant of the -facts_?--Certainly, since he has not felt them, he is. - -The process of the true Science consists first in the naming and -defining of phenomena (_i.e._, the facts of human consciousness), and -secondly, in the discovery of the true relation of these phenomena to -each other; and since the definitions of phenomena and their relations -keep varying with the standpoint of the observer, the process evidently -involves all experience, and ultimately the discovery of that last fact -of experience to which and through which all the other facts are -related. It is therefore an age-long process, and has to do with the -emotional and moral part of man as well as with the logical and -intellectual. It is, in fact, the discovery of the nature of Man -himself, and of the true order of his being. - -Modern Science--though seeking for a unity in Nature--fails to find it, -because, from the nature of the case, any large body of knowledge in -which all people will agree is limited to certain small regions of human -experience--regions in which very likely no unity is discoverable. It -takes the emerald, and breaks it up; treats of its colour and -light-refracting qualities on the one hand; of its crystalline structure -and hardness on the other; of its weight and density; and of its -chemical properties; all separately, and producing long strings of -generalisation from each aspect of the subject. But how all these -qualities are conjoined together, what their relation is which -_constitutes_ the emerald--yea, even the smallest bit of emerald -dust--it (wisely) does not attempt to say. It takes the man and dissects -him; treats of his blood, his nerves, his bones, his brain; of his -senses of sight, of touch, of hearing; but of that which binds these -together into a unity, of their true relation to each other in the man, -it is silent. - -Yet the man knows of himself that he _is_ a unity; he knows that all -parts of his body have relation to _him_, and to each other; he knows -that his senses of sight and hearing and touch and taste and smell are -conjoined in the focus of his individual life, in his "I am;" he knows -that all his faculties and powers, however much they may belong to -different planes, spiritual or material, or may come under the -inquisition of different Sciences, have an order of their own among each -other--that there _is_ an ultimate Science of them--even though he be -not yet wholly versed in it. And he knows, moreover, that in a grain of -dust, or in an emerald, or in an orange, or in any object of Nature, the -different attributes of the object--which the Sciences thus treat of -separately--are only the reflexion of his different senses; so that the -problem of the conjunction of different attributes in a body comes back -to the same problem of the union of various senses and powers in -himself--each individual object being only a case, externalised as it -were, and made a matter of consciousness, of the general relation to -each other of his own sensations and feelings. Knowing all his--I -say--he sees that the understanding of Nature in general and of the laws -or relations which he thinks he perceives among external things must -always depend on the relations and laws which he tacitly assumes, or -which he is directly conscious of, as existing between the various parts -of his own being; and that the ultimate truth which Science--the divine -Science--is really in search of is a moral or psychologic Truth--an -understanding of what man is, and the discovery of the true relation to -each other of all his faculties--involving all experience, and an -exercise of every faculty physical, intellectual, emotional and -spiritual, instead of one set of faculties only. - -Not till we know the law of ourselves, in fact, shall we know the law of -the emerald and the orange, or of Nature generally; and the law of -ourselves is not learnt, except subordinately, by intellectual -investigation; it is mainly learnt by life. The relation of gravity to -vitality is learnt not so much by outer experiment in a laboratory as by -long experience within ourselves from the day when as infants we cannot -lift ourselves above the floor, through the years of the proud strength -of manhood scaling the loftiest mountains, to the hour when our -disengaged spirits finally overcome and pass beyond the attraction of -the earth; and just as the sense of weight--which first appears as a -quite external sensation--is thus at last found to stand in most -pregnant relation with our deepest selves, so of the other senses which -feed the individual life--the senses of light, of warmth, of taste, of -sound, of smell. Taste, which begins as it were on the tip of the -tongue, becomes ultimately, if normally developed, a sense which -identifies itself with the health and well-being of the whole body; the -pleasure of taste becomes vastly more than a mere surface pleasure, and -its discrimination of food more than a mere regard for the nutrition of -the ordinary corporeal functions. The sense of Light, which begins in -the material eye, grows and deepens inwardly till the consciousness of -it pervades the whole body and mind with a kind of inward illumination -or divine Reason, showing the places of all things and enfolding the -sense of beauty in itself. The sense of Warmth in the same manner is -related to and leads up to Love; and Sound, in the voices of our friends -or the divine chords of music, has passed away from being an external -phenomenon and has established itself as the language of our most tender -and intimate emotions. - -All the senses thus, as they develop and deepen, are found to unite in -the very focus of individual life. Slowly, and through long experience, -their relation to each other, _their very meaning_ unfolds, or will -unfold; and as this process takes place the man knows himself _one_, a -unity, of which the various faculties are the different manifestations. -Then further through his less localised feelings or more glorified -senses the individual finds his relation to other individuals. Through -his loves and hatreds, through his senses of attraction, repulsion, -cohesion, solidarity, order, justice, charity, right, wrong and the -rest--these feelings, each like the others deepening back more and more -as time goes on--he gradually discovers his true and abiding -relationship to other individuals, and to the divine society of which -they all form a part--and so at last, if we may venture to say so, his -relationship to the absolute and universal. At present, since our most -important relation to each other is conceived of as one of rivalry and -Competition, we of course think of the objects of Nature as being -chiefly engaged in a Struggle for Existence with each other; but when we -become aware of all our senses and feelings, and of ourselves as -individuals, as having relation to the Absolute and universal, -proceeding from it, as the branches and twigs of a tree from the -trunk--then we shall become aware of a Divine or absolute science in -Nature; we shall at last understand that all objects have a permanent -and indissoluble relation to each other, and shall see their true -meaning--though not till then. - -Is it possible then that Science, having hitherto--and we shall see in -time that this process has been really most valuable and important--gone -outwards from the centre towards the very fringe of Humanity--emptying -facts as far as possible as it went of all feeling, and reducing itself -at last to the most shadowy generalisations on the very verge of sense -and nonsense--is it possible, I say, that it will now return, and -_first_ filling up facts with feeling as far as practicable (that is, by -direct and the most living contact with Nature in every form, learning -to enter into direct personal sense-relationship with every phenomenon -and phase), will so gradually ascend to the great central fact and -feeling, and then at last and for the first time become fully conscious -of a vast organisation--absolutely perfect and intimately knit from its -centre to its utmost circumference--(the true cosmos of Man--the -conceptions of man and god combined)--existing inchoate or embryonic in -every individual man, animal, plant, or other creature--the object of -all life, experience, suffering, and toil--the ground of all sensation, -and the hidden, yet proper, theme of all thought and study? - -For this is it possible that Science will, speaking broadly, have to -leave the laboratory and become one with Life; or that the great -currents of human life will have to be turned on into these often Augean -stables of intellectual pruriency?--the investigation of Nature no -longer a matter of the intellect alone, but of patient listening and the -quiet eye, and of love and faith, and of all deep human experience, -bearing not superciliously its weight towards the interpretation of the -least phenomenon--every "fact" thus deepened to its utmost--all -experience (rather than experiment) courted, and filial walking with -Nature, rather than tearing of veils aside--the life of the open air, -and on the land and the waters, the companionship of the animals and the -trees and the stars, the knowledge of their habits at first hand and -through individual relationship to them, the recognition of their voices -and languages, and listening well what they themselves have to say; the -keenest education of the senses towards the physical powers and -elements, and the acceptance of _all_ human experience, without -exception--till Science become a reality. - -Is it possible that in some sense, instead of reducing each branch of -Science to its lowest terms, we shall have to read it in the light of -its _highest_ factors, and "take it up" into the Science above--that we -shall have to take up the mechanical sciences into the physical, the -physical into the vital, the vital into the social and ethical, and so -forth, before we can understand them? Is it possible that the phenomena -of Chemistry only find their due place and importance in their relation -to living beings and processes; that the phenomena of vitality and the -laws of Biology and Zoology--Evolution included--can only be "explained" -by their dependence on self-hood--both in plants and animals; that -Political Economy and the Social Sciences (which deal with men as -individual selves) must, to be understood aright, be studied in the -light of those great ethical principles and enthusiasms, which to a -certain extent override the individual self; and that, finally, Ethics -or the study of moral problems is only comprehensible when the student -has become aware of a region beyond Ethics, into which questions of -morality and immorality, of right and wrong, do not and cannot enter? - -Of this reversal of the ordinary scientific method Ruskin has given a -great and signal instance in his treatment of Political Economy; it -remains, perhaps, for others to follow his example in the other branches -of Science.[31] - -With regard to the absolute datum question we have seen that Science -has two alternatives before it--either to be merely intellectual and to -seek for its start-point in some quite external (and imaginary) thing -like the Atom, or to be divine and to seek for its absolute in the -innermost recesses of humanity. We have two similar alternatives in the -doctrine of Evolution, which looks either to one end of the scale or the -other for its interpretation--either to the amoeba or to the man--to -something it knows next to nothing of, or to that which it knows most -of. Goethe, when gazing at a fan-palm at Padua, conceived the idea of -leaf-metamorphosis, which he afterwards enunciated in the now accepted -doctrine that all parts of a plant--seed-vessel, pistil, stamens, -petals, sepals, stalk, etc.--may be regarded as modifications of a leaf -or leaves. In this view the distinctions between the parts are effaced, -and we have only one part instead of many--but the question is "what is -that part?" It is of course arbitrary to call it a leaf, for since it is -continually varying it is at one time a leaf, and at another a stalk, -and then a petal or a sepal, and so forth. What then is it? For the -moment we are baffled. - -So with the doctrine of Evolution as applied to the whole organic -kingdom up to man. Like the doctrine of leaf-metamorphosis it -obliterates distinctions. Geoffroy St. Hilaire proposed to show the -French Academy that a Cephalopod could be assimilated to a Vertebrate by -supposing the latter bent backwards and walking on its hands and feet. -There is a continuous variation from the mollusc to the man--all the -lines of distinction run and waver--classes and species cease to -exist--and Science, instead of many, sees only _one_ thing. What then is -that one thing? Is it a mollusc, or is it a man, or what is it? Are we -to say that man may be looked upon as a variation of a mollusc or an -amoeba, or that the amoeba may be looked on as a variation of man? Here -are two directions of thought; which shall we choose? But the plain -truth is, the Intellect can give no satisfactory answer. Whichever, or -whatever, it chooses, the choice is quite arbitrary--just as much so as -the choice of the "leaf" in the other case. There is no answer to be -given. And thus it is that _the appearance of the doctrine of Evolution -is the signal of the destruction of Science_ (in the ordinary -acceptation of the word). For Evolution is the successive obliteration -of the arbitrary distinctions and landmarks which by their existence -_constitute_ Science, and as soon as Evolution covers the whole ground -of Nature inorganic and organic (as before long it will do)--the whole -of Nature runs and wavers before the eye of Science, the latter -recognises that its distinctions _are_ arbitrary, and turns upon and -destroys itself. This has happened before, I believe--ages back in the -history of the human race--and probably will happen again. - -The only conceivable answer to the question, "What is that which is now -a mollusc and now a man and now an inorganic atom?"[32] is given by man -himself--and his answer is, I fear, not "scientific." It is "I Am." "I -am that which varies." And the force of his answer depends on what he -means by the word "I." And so also the only conceivable answer to the -absolute datum question is to be found in the meaning of the word -"I"--in the deepening back of consciousness itself. Man is the measure -of all things. If we are to use Science as a minister to the most -external part of man--to provide him with cheap boots and shoes, -etc.--then we do right to seek our absolute datum in his external part, -and to take his _foot_ as our first measure. We found a science on feet -and pounds, and it serves its purpose well enough. But if we want to -find a garment for his inner being--or, rather, one that shall fit the -_whole_ man--to wear which will be a delight to him and, as it were, a -very interpretation of himself--it seems obvious that we must not take -our measure from outside, but from his very most central principle. The -whole question is, whether there _is_ any absolute datum in this -direction or not. There have been men through all ages of history (and -from before) who have declared that there is. They have perhaps been -conscious of it in themselves. On the other hand there have been men -who, starting from their feet, declared that consciousness itself was a -mere incident of the human machine--as the whistle of the engine--and -thus the matter stands. On the whole, at the present day, the _feet_ -have it, and (notwithstanding their variety in size and boot-induced -conformation) are generally accepted as the best absolute datum -available. - -Under the foot _régime_ the universe is generally conceived of as a -medley of objects and forces, more or less orderly and distinct from -man, in the midst of which man is placed--the purpose and tendency of -his life being "adaptation to his environment." To understand this we -may imagine Mrs. Brown in the middle of Oxford Street. 'Buses and cabs -are running in different directions, carts and drays are rattling on all -sides of her. This is her environment, and she has to adapt herself to -it. She has to learn the laws of the vehicles and their movements, to -stand on this side or on that, to run here and stop there, conceivably -to jump into one at a favourable moment, to make use of the law of its -movement, and so get carried to her destination as comfortably as may -be. A long course of this sort of thing "adapts" Mrs. Brown -considerably, and she becomes more active, both in mind and body, than -before. That is all very well. But Mrs. Brown has a _destination_. -(Indeed how would she ever have got into the middle of Oxford Street at -all, if she had not had one? and if she did get there with no -destination at all, but merely to skip about, would there be any Mrs. -Brown left in a short time?) The question is, "What is the destination -of Man?" - -About this last question unfortunately we hear little. The theory is (I -hope I am not doing it injustice) that by studying your environment -sufficiently you will find out--that is, that by investigating -Astronomy, Biology, Physics, Ethics, etc., you will discover the destiny -of man. But this seems to me the same as saying that by studying the -laws of cabs and 'buses sufficiently you will find out where you are -going to. These are ways and means. Study them by all means, that is -right enough; but do not think _they_ will tell you where to go. You -have to use them, not they you. - -In order therefore for the environment to act, there must be a -destination. This I suppose is expressed in the biological dictum, -"organism is made by function as well as environment." What then is the -function of Man? And here we come back again to the meaning of the word -"I." - -Nothwithstanding then the prevalence of the foot régime, and that the -heathen so furiously rage together in their belief in it, let us suggest -that there is in man a divine consciousness as well as a -foot-consciousness. For, as we saw that the sense of taste may pass from -being a mere local thing on the tip of the tongue to pervading and -becoming synonymous with the health of the whole body; or as the blue of -the sky may be to one person a mere superficial impression of colour, -and to another the inspiration of a poem or picture, and to a third--as -to the "god-intoxicated" Arab of the desert--a living presence like the -ancient Dyaus or Zeus; so may not the whole of human consciousness -gradually lift itself from a mere local and temporary consciousness to a -divine and universal? There is in every man a local consciousness -connected with his quite external body; that we know. Are there not also -in every man the makings of a universal consciousness? That there are in -us phases of consciousness which transcend the limit of the bodily -senses, is a matter of daily experience; that we perceive and know -things which are not conveyed to us by our bodily eyes or heard by our -bodily ears, is certain; that there rise in us waves of consciousness -from those around us, from the people, the race, to which we belong, is -also certain; may there not then be in us the makings of a perception -and knowledge which shall not be relative to this body which is here and -now, but which shall be good for all time and everywhere? Does there not -exist, in truth, as we have already hinted--an inner Illumination--of -which what we call light in the outer world is the partial expression -and manifestation--by which we can ultimately see things, _as they are_, -beholding all creation, the animals, the angels, the plants, the figures -of our friends and all the ranks and races of human kind, in their true -being and order--not by any local act of perception but by a cosmical -intuition and presence, identifying ourselves with what we see? Does -there not exist a perfected sense of Hearing--as of the morning-stars -singing together--an understanding of the words that are spoken all -through the universe, the hidden meaning of all things, the word which -is creation itself--a profound and far pervading sense, of which our -ordinary sense of sound is only the first novitiate and initiation? Do -we not become aware of an inner sense of Health and of Holiness--the -translation and final outcome of the external sense of taste--which has -power to determine for us absolutely and without any ado, without -argument and without denial, what is good and appropriate to be done or -suffered in every case that can arise? - -And so on; it is not necessary to say more. If there are such powers in -man, then there is indeed an exact science possible. Short of it there -is only a temporary and phantom science. "Whatever is known to us by -(direct) consciousness," says Stuart Mill in his System of Logic, "is -known to us beyond possibility of question;" what is known by our local -and temporary consciousness is known _for the moment_ beyond possibility -of question; what is known by our permanent and universal consciousness -is permanently known beyond possibility of question.[33] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[31] Thus the study of Geometry would be primarily an education of the -eye, and the mind's eye, to the perception of geometrical forms and -facts, the judgment of angles, etc.--and secondarily only a process of -deductive reasoning--a body of empirical knowledge strengthened and tied -together by bands of logic; the study of Natural History would be -primarily an affectionate intimacy with the habits of animals and -plants, and classification would be treated as a secondary matter and as -a help to the former; Physiology would be studied in the first place by -the method of Health--the pure body--becoming gradually transparent with -all its organs to the eye of the mind--and dissection would be used to -corroborate and correct the results thus attained; and so on. - -[32] Compare the Sphinx-riddle: What is that which goes on four legs, -etc. - -[33] See for continuation of this subject the chapter on "A Rational and -Humane Science," p. 219 _infra_. - - - - -DEFENCE OF CRIMINALS: - -A CRITICISM OF MORALITY - -The State is the actually existing realised moral life. For it is the -unity of the universal essential Will with that of the individual, and -this is "Morality."--HEGEL. - - -A criminal is literally a person accused--accused, and in the modern -sense of the word convicted, of being harmful to Society. But is he -there in the dock, the patch-coated brawler or burglar, really harmful -to Society? is he more harmful than the mild old gentleman in the wig -who pronounces sentence upon him? That is the question. Certainly he has -infringed the law: and the law is in a sense the consolidated public -opinion of Society: but if no one were to break the law, public opinion -would ossify, and Society would die. As a matter of fact Society keeps -changing its opinion. How then are we to know when it is right and when -it is wrong? The Outcast of one age is the Hero of another. In -execration they nailed Roger Bacon's manuscripts out in the sun and -rain, to rot crucified upon planks--his bones lie in an unknown and -unhonoured grave--yet to-day he is regarded as a pioneer of human -thought. The hated Christian holding his ill-famed love-feasts in the -darkness of the catacombs has climbed up to the throne of S. Peter and -the world. The Jew moneylender whom Front-de-Boeuf could torture with -impunity is become a Rothschild--guest of princes and instigator of -commercial wars; and Shylock is now a highly respectable Railway -Bondholder. And the Accepted of one age is the Criminal of the next. All -the glories of Alexander do not condone in our eyes for his cruelty in -crucifying the brave defenders of Tyre by thousands along the sea-shore; -and if Solomon with his thousand wives and concubines were to appear in -London to-morrow, even our most frivolous circles would be shocked, and -Brigham Young by contrast seem a domestic model. The judge pronounces -sentence on the prisoner now, but Society in its turn and in the lapse -of years pronounces sentence on the judge. It holds in its hand a new -canon, a new code of morals, and consigns its former representative and -the law which he administered to a limbo of contempt. - -It seems as if Society, as it progresses from point to point, forms -ideals--just as the individual does. At any moment each person, -consciously or unconsciously, has an ideal in his mind toward which he -is working (hence the importance of literature). Similarly Society has -an ideal in its mind. These ideals are tangents or vanishing points of -the direction in which Society is moving at the time. It does not reach -its ideal, but it goes in that direction--then, after a time, the -direction of its movement changes, and it has a new ideal. - -When the ideal of Society is material gain or possession, as it is -largely to-day, the object of its special condemnation is the thief--not -the rich thief, for he is already in possession and therefore -respectable, but the poor thief. There is nothing to show that the poor -thief is really more immoral or unsocial than the respectable -money-grubber; but it is very clear that the money-grubber has been -floating with the great current of Society, while the poor man has been -swimming against it, and so has been worsted. Or when, as to-day, -Society rests on private property in land, its counter-ideal is the -poacher. If you go in the company of the county squire-archy and listen -to the after-dinner talk you will soon think the poacher a combination -of all human and diabolic vices; yet I have known a good many poachers, -and either have been very lucky in my specimens or singularly prejudiced -in their favour, for I have generally found them very good fellows--but -with just this one blemish that they invariably regard a landlord as an -emissary of the evil one! The poacher is as much in the right, probably, -as the landlord, but he is not right for the time. He is asserting a -right (and an instinct) belonging to a past time--when for hunting -purposes all land was held in common--or to a time in the future when -such or similar rights shall be restored. Cæsar says of the Suevi that -they tilled the ground in common and had no private lands, and there is -abundant evidence that all early human communities, before they entered -on the stage of modern civilisation, were communistic in character. Some -of the Pacific Islanders to-day are in the same condition. In those -times private property was theft. Obviously the man who attempted to -retain for himself land or goods, or who fenced off a portion of the -common ground and--like the modern landlord--would allow no one to till -it who did not pay him a tax--was a criminal of the deepest dye. -Nevertheless the criminals pushed their way to the front, and have -become the respectables of modern Society. And it is quite probable that -in like manner the criminals of to-day will push to the front and become -the respectables of a later age. - -The ascetic and monastic ideal of early Christian and mediæval ages is -now regarded as foolish, if not wicked; and poverty, which in many times -and places has been held in honour as the only garb of honesty, is -condemned as criminal and indecent. Nomadism--if accompanied by -poverty--is criminal in modern Society. To-day the gipsy and the tramp -are hunted down. To have no settled habitation, or worse still, no place -to lay your head, are suspicious matters. We close even our outhouses -and barns against the son of man, and so to us the son of man comes not. -And yet--at one time and in one stage of human progress--the nomadic -state is the rule; and the settler is then the criminal. His crops are -fired and his cattle driven off. What right has he to lay a limit to the -hunting grounds, or to spoil the wild free life of the plains with his -dirty agriculture? - -As to the marriage relation and its attendant moralities, the forms are -numerous and notorious enough. Public opinion seems to have varied -through all phases and ideals, and yet there is no indication of -finality. Modern investigations show that in primitive human societies -the affinities admitted or barred in marriage are most various--the -relation of brother and sister being even in cases allowed; in the -present day such a bond as the last-mentioned would be considered -inhuman and monstrous.[34] Polyandry prevails among one people or at one -time, polygyny prevails among another people or at another time. In -Central Africa to-day the chief offers you his wife as a mark of -hospitality, in India the native Prince keeps her hidden even from his -most intimate guest. Among the Japanese, public opinion holds young -women--even of good birth--singularly free in their intercourse with -men, _till they are married_; at Paris they are free after. In the Greek -and Roman antiquity marriage seems, with some brilliant exceptions, to -have been a prosaic affair--mostly a matter of convenience and -housekeeping--the woman an underling--little of the ideal attaching to -the relationship of man and wife. The romance of love went elsewhere. -The better class of free women or Hetairai were those who gave a -spiritual charm to the passion. They were an educated and recognised -body, and possibly in their best times exercised a healthy and -discriminating influence upon the male youth. The respectful treatment -of Theodota by Socrates and the advice which he gives her concerning her -lovers: to keep the insolent from her door, and to rejoice greatly when -the accepted succeed in anything honourable, indicates this. That their -influence was at times immense the mere name of Aspasia is sufficient to -show; and if Plato in the Symposium reports correctly the word of -Diotima, her teaching on the subject of human and divine love was -probably of the noblest and profoundest that has ever been given to the -world. - -With the influx of the North-men over Europe came a new ideal of the -sexual relation, and the wife mounted more into equality with her -husband than before. The romance of love, however, still went mainly -outside marriage, and may, I believe, be traced in two chief forms--that -of Chivalry, as an ideal devotion to simple Womanhood; and that of -Minstrelsy, which took quite a different hue, individual and -sentimental--the lover and his mistress (she in most cases the wife of -another), the serenade, secret amour, etc.--both of which forms of -Chivalry and Minstrelsy contain in themselves something new and not -quite familiar to antiquity. - -Finally in modern times the monogamic union has risen to -pre-eminence--the splendid ideal of an equal and life-long attachment -between man and wife, fruitful of children in this life, and hopeful of -continuance beyond--and has become the great theme of romantic -literature, and the climax of a thousand novels and poems. Yet it is -just here and to-day, when this ideal after centuries of struggle has -established itself, and among the nations that are in the van of -civilisation--that we find the doctrine of perfect liberty in the -marriage relationship being most successfully preached, and that the -communalisation of social life in the future seems likely to weaken the -family bond and to relax the obligation of the marriage tie. - -If the Greek age, splendid as it was in itself and in its fruits of -human progress, did not hold marriage very high, it was partly because -the ideal passion of that period, and one which more than all else -inspired it, was that of comradeship, or male friendship carried over -into the region of love. The two figures of Harmodius and Aristogiton -stand at the entrance of Greek history as the type of this passion, -bearing its fruit (as Plato throughout maintains is its nature) in -united self-devotion to the country's good. The heroic Theban legion, -the "sacred band," into which no man might enter without his lover--and -which was said to have remained unvanquished till it was annihilated at -the battle of Chæronæa--proves to us how publicly this passion and its -place in society were recognised; while its universality and the depth -to which it had stirred the Greek mind are indicated by the fact that -whole treatises on love, in its spiritual aspect, exist, in which no -other form of the sentiment seems to be contemplated; and by the -magnificent panorama of Greek statuary, which was obviously to a large -extent inspired by it. In fact the most remarkable Society known to -history, and its greatest men, cannot be properly considered or -understood apart from this passion; yet the modern world scarcely -recognises it, or if it recognises, does so chiefly to condemn it.[35] - -Other instances might be quoted to show how differently moral questions -are regarded in one age and another--as in the cases of Usury, Magic, -Suicide, Infanticide, etc. On the whole we pride ourselves (and justly I -believe) on the general advance in humanity; yet we know that to-day the -merest savages can only shudder at a civilisation whose public opinion -allows--as among us--the rich to wallow in their wealth, while the poor -are systematically starving; and it is certain that the vivisection of -animals--which on the whole is approved by our educated classes (though -not by the healthier sentiment of the uneducated)--would have been -stigmatised as one of the most abominable crimes by the ancient -Egyptians[36]--if, that is, they could have conceived such a practice -possible at all. - -But not only do the moral judgments of mankind thus vary from age to age -and from race to race, but--what is equally remarkable--they vary to an -extraordinary degree from class to class of the same society. If the -landlord class regards the poacher as a criminal, the poacher, as -already hinted, looks upon the landlord as a selfish ruffian who has the -police on his side; if the respectable shareholder, politely and -respectably subsisting on dividends, dismisses navvies and the -frequenters of public-houses as disorderly persons, the navvy in return -despises the shareholder as a sneaking thief. And it is not easy to see, -after all, which is in the right. It is useless to dismiss these -discrepancies by supposing that one class in the nation possesses a -monopoly of morality and that the other classes simply rail at the -virtue they cannot attain to, for this is obviously not the case. It is -almost a commonplace, and certainly a fact that cannot be contested, -that every class--however sinful or outcast in the eyes of -others--contains within its ranks a large proportion of generous, -noble, self-sacrificing characters; so that the public opinion of one -such class, however different from that of others, cannot at least be -invalidated on the above ground. There are plenty of clergymen at this -moment who are models of pastors--true shepherds of the people--though a -large and increasing section of society persist in regarding priests as -a kind of wolves in sheep's clothing. It is not uncommon to meet with -professional thieves who are generous and open-handed to the last -degree, and ready to part with their last penny to help a comrade in -distress; with women living outside the bounds of conventional morality -who are strongly religious in sentiment, and who regard atheists as -_really_ wicked people; with aristocrats who have as stern material in -them as quarry-men; and even with bondholders and drawing-room loungers -who are as capable of bravery and self-sacrifice as many a pitman or -ironworker. Yet all these classes mentioned have their codes of -morality, differing in greater or lesser degree from each other; and -again the question forces itself upon us: Which of them all is the true -and abiding code? - -It may be said, with regard to this variation of codes within the same -society, that, though various codes may exist at the same time, one only -is really valid, namely, that which has embodied itself in the law--that -the others have been rejected because they were unworthy. But, when we -come to look into this matter of law, we see that the plea can hardly be -maintained. Law represents from age to age the code of the dominant or -ruling class, slowly accumulated, no doubt, and slowly modified, but -always added to and always administered by the ruling class. To-day the -code of the dominant class may perhaps best be denoted by the word -Respectability--and if we ask why this code has to a great extent -overwhelmed the codes of the other classes and got the law on its side -(so far that in the main it characterises those classes who do not -conform to it as the criminal classes), the answer can only be: Because -it _is_ the code of the classes who are in power. Respectability is the -code of those who have the wealth and the command, and as these have -also the fluent pens and tongues, it is the standard of modern -literature and the press. It is not necessarily a better standard than -others, but it is the one that happens to be in the ascendant; it is the -code of the classes that chiefly represent modern society; it is the -code of the Bourgeoisie. It is different from the Feudal code of the -past, of the knightly classes, and of Chivalry; it is different from the -Democratic code of the future--of brotherhood and of equality; it is the -code of the Commercial age--and its distinctive watchword is property. - -The respectability of to-day is the respectability of property. There is -nothing so respectable as being well-off. The Law confirms this: -everything is on the side of the rich; justice is too expensive a thing -for the poor man. Offences against the person hardly count for so much -as those against property. You may beat your wife within an inch of her -life and only get three months; but if you steal a rabbit, you may be -"sent" for years. So again, gambling by thousands on Change is -respectable enough, but pitch and toss for half-pence in the streets is -low, and must be dealt with by the police; while it is a mere -commonplace to say that the high-class swindler is "received" in society -from which a more honest but patch-coated brother would infallibly be -rejected. As Walt Whitman has it, "There is plenty of glamour about the -most damnable crimes and hoggish meannesses, special and general, of the -feudal and dynastic world over there, with its personnel of lords and -queens and courts, so well-dressed and handsome. But the people are -ungrammatical, untidy, and their sins gaunt and ill-bred." - -Thus we see that though there are, for instance in the England of -to-day, a variety of classes and a variety of corresponding codes of -public opinion and morality, one of these codes, namely that of the -ruling class whose watchword is property, is strongly in the ascendant. -And we may fairly suppose that in any nation from the time when it first -becomes divided into well-marked classes this is or has been the case. -In one age--the commercial age--the code of the commercial or -money-loving class is dominant; in another--the military--the code of -the warrior class is dominant; in another--the religious--the code of -the priestly class; and so on. And even before any question of division -into classes arises, while races are yet in a rudimentary and tribal -state, the utmost diversity of custom and public opinion marks the one -from the other. - -What, then, are we to conclude from all these variations (and the far -greater number which I have not mentioned) of the respect or stigma -attaching to the _same_ actions, not only among different societies in -different ages or parts of the world, but even at any one time among -different classes of the same society? Must we conclude that there is no -such thing as a permanent moral code valid for all time; or must we -still suppose that there is such a thing--though society has hitherto -sought for it in vain? - -I think it is obvious that there is no such thing as a permanent moral -code--at any rate as applying to _actions_. Probably the respect or -stigma attaching to particular classes of actions arose from the fact -that these classes of actions were--or were thought to be--beneficial or -injurious to the society of the time; but it is also clear that this -good or bad name once created clings to the action long after the action -has ceased in the course of social progress to be beneficial in the one -case, or injurious in the other; and indeed long after the thinkers of -the race have discovered the discrepancy. And so in a short time arises -a great confusion in the popular mind between what is really good or -evil for the race and what is reputed to be so--the bolder spirits who -try to separate the two having to atone for this confusion by their own -martyrdom. It is also pretty clear that the actions which are beneficial -or injurious to the race must by the nature of the case vary almost -indefinitely with the changing conditions of the life of the race--what -is beneficial in one age or under one set of conditions being injurious -in another age or under other circumstances--so that a permanent or -ever-valid code of moral action is not a thing to be expected, at any -rate by those who regard morality as a result of social experience, and -as a matter of fact is not a thing that we find existing. And, indeed, -of those who regard morals as intuitive, there are few who have thought -about the matter who would be inclined to say that any _act_ in itself -can be either right or wrong. Though there is a superficial judgment of -this kind, yet when the matter comes to be looked into, the more general -consent seems to be that the rightness or wrongness is in the _motive_. -To kill (it is said) is not wrong, but to do so with murderous intent -is; to take money out of another person's purse is in itself neither -moral nor immoral--all depends upon whether permission has been given, -or on what the relations between the two persons are; and so on. -Obviously there is no mere act which under given conditions may not be -justified, and equally obvious there is no mere act which under given -conditions may not become unjustifiable. To talk, therefore, about -virtues and vices as permanent and distinct classes of actions is -illusory: there is no such distinction, except so far as a superficial -and transient public opinion creates it. The theatre of morality is in -the passions, and there are (it is said) virtuous and vicious -passions--eternally distinct from each other. - -Here, then, we have abandoned the search for a permanent moral code -among the actions; on the understanding that we are more likely to find -such a thing among the passions. And I think it would be generally -admitted that this is a move in the right direction. There are -difficulties however here, and the matter is not one which renders -itself up at once. Though, vaguely speaking, some passions seem nobler -and more dignified than others, we find it very difficult, in fact -impossible, to draw any strict line which shall separate one class, the -virtuous, from the other class, the vicious. On the whole we place -Prudence, Generosity, Chastity, Reverence, Courage among the -virtues--and their opposites, as Rashness, Miserliness, Incontinence, -Arrogance, Timidity, among the vices; yet we do not seem able to say -that Prudence is always better than Rashness, Chastity than -Incontinence, or Reverence than Arrogance. There are situations in which -the less honoured quality is the most in place; and if the extreme of -this is undesirable, the extreme of its opposite is undesirable too. -Courage, it is commonly said, must not be carried over into -foolhardiness; Chastity must not go so far as the monks of the early -Church took it; there is a limit to the indulgence of the instinct of -Reverence. In fact the less dignified passions are necessary sometimes -as a counterbalance and set-off to the more dignified, and a character -devoid of them would be very insipid; just as among the members of the -body, the less honoured have their place as well as the more honoured, -and could not well be discarded. - -Hence a number of writers, abandoning the attempt to draw a fixed line -between virtuous and vicious passions, have boldly maintained that vices -have their place as well as virtues, and that the true salvation lies in -the golden mean. The [Greek: epieikeia] and [Greek: sôphrosunê] of the -Greeks seem to have pointed to the idea of a blend or harmonious -adjustment of all the powers as the perfection of character. Plutarch -says (_Essay on Moral Virtue_), "This, then, is the function of -practical reason following nature, to prevent our passions either going -too far or too short.... Thus setting bound to the emotional currents, -it creates in the unreasoning part of the soul moral habits which are -the mean between excess and deficiency." - -The English word "gentleman" seems to have once conveyed a similar idea. -And Emerson, among others, maintains that each vice is only the "excess -or acridity of a virtue," and says "the first lesson of history is the -good of evil." - -According to this view rightness or wrongness cannot be predicated of -the passions themselves, but should rather be applied to the use of -them, and to the way they are proportioned to each other and to -circumstances. As, farther back, we left the region of actions to look -for morality in the passions that lie behind action, so now we leave the -region of the passions to look for it in the power that lies behind the -passions and gives them their place. This is a farther move in the same -direction as before, and possibly will bring us to a more satisfactory -conclusion. There are still difficulties, however, the chief ones lying -in the want of definiteness which necessarily attaches to our dealings -with these remoter tracts of human nature; and in our own defective -knowledge of these tracts. - -For these reasons, and as the subject is a complex and difficult one, I -would ask the reader to dwell for a few minutes longer on the -considerations which show that it is really as impossible to draw a -fixed line between moral and immoral passions as it is between moral and -immoral actions, and which therefore force us, if we are to find any -ground of morality at all, to look for it in some further region of our -nature. - -Plato in his allegory of the soul, in the Phædrus, though he apparently -divides the passions which draw the human chariot into two classes, the -heavenward and the earthward--figured by the white horse and the black -horse respectively--does not recommend that the black horse should be -destroyed or dismissed, but only that he (as well as the white horse) -should be kept under due control by the charioteer. By which he seems to -intend that there is a power in man which stands above and behind the -passions, and under whose control alone the human being can safely -move. In fact, if the fiercer and so-called more earthly passions were -removed, half the driving force would be gone from the chariot of the -human soul. Hatred may be devilish at times--but, after all, the true -value of it depends on what you hate, on the use to which the passion is -put. Anger, though inhuman at one time, is magnificent at another. -Obstinacy may be out of place in a drawing-room, but it is the latest -virtue on a battle-field, when an important position has to be held -against the full brunt of the enemy. And Lust, though maniacal and -monstrous in its aberrations, cannot in the last resort be separated -from its divine companion, Love. To let the more amiable passions have -entire sway notoriously does not do: to turn your cheek, too literally, -to the smiter, is (_pace_ Tolstoi) only to encourage smiting; and when -society becomes so altruistic that everybody runs to fetch the -coal-scuttle, we feel sure that something has gone wrong. The -white-washed heroes of our biographies, with their many virtues and no -faults, do not please us. We have an impression that the man without -faults is, to say the least, a vague, uninteresting being--a picture -without light and shade--and the conventional semi-pious classification -of character into good and bad qualities (as if the good might be kept -and the bad thrown away) seems both inadequate and false. - -What the student of human nature rather has to do is not to divide the -virtues (so-called) from the vices (so-called), not to separate the -black horse and the white horse, but to find out what is the relation of -the one to the other--to see the character as a whole, and the mutual -interdependence of its different parts--to find out what that power is -which constitutes it a unity, whose presence and control makes the man -and all his actions "right," and in whose absence (if it is really -possible for it to be entirely absent) the man and his actions must be -"wrong." - -What we call vices, faults, defects, appear often as a kind of -limitation: cruelty, for instance, as a limitation of human sympathy, -prejudice as a blindness, a want of discernment; but it is just these -limitations--in one form or another--which are the necessary conditions -of the appearance of a human being in the world. If we are to act or -live at all we must act and live under limits. There must be channels -along which the stream is forced to run, else it will spread and lose -itself aimlessly in all directions--and turn no mill-wheels. One man is -disagreeable and unconciliatory--the directions in which his sympathy -goes out to others are few and limited--yet there are situations in life -(and everyone must know them) when a man who is _able and willing_ to -make himself disagreeable is invaluable: when a Carlyle is worth any -number of Balaams. - -Sometimes again vices, etc., appear as a kind of raw material from which -the other qualities have to be formed, and without which, in a sense, -they could not exist. Sensuality, for instance, underlies all art and -the higher emotions. Timidity is the defect of the sensitive imaginative -temperament. Bluntness, stupid candor, and want of tact are -indispensable in the formation of certain types of Reformers. But what -would you have? Would you have a rabbit with the horns of a cow, or a -donkey with the disposition of a spaniel? The reformer has not to -extirpate his brusqueness and aggressiveness, but to see that he makes -good use of these qualities; and the man has not to abolish his -sensuality, but to humanise it. - -And so on. Lecky, in his "History of Morals," shows how in society -certain defects necessarily accompany certain excellences of character. -"Had the Irish peasants been less chaste they would have been more -prosperous," in his blunt assertion, which he supports by the contention -that their early marriages (which render the said virtue possible) "are -the most conspicuous proofs of the national improvidence, and one of the -most fatal obstacles to industrial prosperity." Similarly he says that -the gambling table fosters a moral nerve and calmness "scarcely -exhibited in equal perfection in any other sphere"--a fact which Bret -Harte has finely illustrated in his character of Mr. John Oakhurst in -the "Outcasts of Poker Flat;" also that "the promotion of industrial -veracity is probably the single form in which the growth of manufactures -exercises a favorable influence upon morals;" while, on the other hand, -"Trust in Providence, content and resignation in extreme poverty and -suffering, the most genuine amiability, and the most sincere readiness -to assist their brethren, an adherence to their religious opinions which -no persecutions and no bribes can shake, a capacity for heroic, -transcendent, and prolonged self-sacrifice, may be found in some -nations, in men who are habitual liars and habitual cheats." Again he -points out that thriftiness and forethought--which, in an industrial -civilisation like ours, are looked upon as duties "of the very highest -order"--have at other times (when the teaching was "take no thought for -the morrow") been regarded as quite the reverse, and concludes with the -general remark that as society advances there is some loss for every -gain that is made, and with the special indictment against -"civilisation" that it is not favorable to the production of -"self-sacrifice, enthusiasm, reverence, or chastity." - -The point of all which is that the so-called vices and defects--whether -we regard them as limitations or whether we regard them as raw materials -of character, whether we regard them in the individual solely or whether -we regard them in their relation to society--are necessary elements of -human life, elements without which the so-called virtues could not -exist; and that therefore it is quite impossible to separate vices and -virtues into distinct classes with the latent idea involved that one -class may be retained and the other in course of time got rid of. -Defects and bad qualities will not be treated so--they clamour for their -rights and will not be denied; they effect a lodgment in us, and we -have to put up with them. Like the grain of sand in the oyster, we are -forced to make pearls of them. - -These are the precipices and chasms which give form to the mountain. Who -wants a mountain sprawling indifferently out on all sides, without angle -or break, like the oceanic tide-wave of which one cannot say whether it -is a hill or a plain? And if you want to grow a lily, chastely white and -filling the air with its fragrance, will you not bury the bulb of it -deep in the dirt to begin with? - -Acknowledging, then, that it is impossible to hold permanently to any -line of distinction between good and bad passions, there remains no -course for us but to accept both, and to _make use_ of them--redeeming -them, both good and bad, from their narrowness and limitation by so -doing--to make use of them in the service of humanity. For as dirt is -only matter in the wrong place, so evil in man consists only in actions -or passions which are uncontrolled by the human within him, and -undedicated to its service. The evil consists not in the actions or -passions themselves, but in the fact that they are inhumanly used. The -most unblemished virtue erected into a barrier between one self and a -suffering brother or sister--the whitest marble image, howsoever lovely, -set up in the Holy Place of the temple of Man, where the spirit alone -should dwell--becomes blasphemy and a pollution. - -Wherein exactly this human service consists is another question. It may -be, and, as the reader would gather, probably is, a matter which at the -last eludes definition. But though it may elude exact statement, that is -no reason why approximations should not be made to the statement of it; -nor is its ultimate elusiveness of intellectual definition any proof -that it may not become a real and vital force within the man, and -underlying inspiration of his actions. To take the two considerations in -order. In the first place, as we saw from the beginning, the experience -of society is continually leading it to classify actions into beneficial -and harmful, good and bad; and thus moral codes are formed which eat -their way from the outside into the individual man and become part of -him. These codes may be looked upon as approximations in each age to a -statement of human service; but, as we have seen, they are by the nature -of the case very imperfect; and since the very conditions of the problem -are continually changing, it seems obvious that a final and absolute -solution of it by this method is impossible. The second way in which man -works towards a solution is by the expansion and growth of his own -consciousness, and is ultimately by far the most important--though the -two methods have doubtless continually to be corrected by each other. In -fact, as man actually forms a part of society externally, so he comes to -know and _feel_ himself a part of society through his inner nature. -Gradually, and in the lapse of ages, through the development of his -sympathetic relation with his fellows, the individual man enters into a -wider and wider circle of life; the joys and sorrows, the experiences, -of his fellows become his own joys and sorrows, his own experiences; he -passes into a life which is larger than his own individual life; forces -flow in upon him which determine his actions, not for results which -return to him directly, but for results which can only return to him -indirectly and through others; at last the ground of humanity, as it -were, reveals itself within him, the region of human equality--and his -actions come to flow directly from the very same source which regulates -and inspires the whole movement of society. At this point the problem is -solved. The growth has taken place from within; it is not of the nature -of an external compulsion, but of an inward compunction. By actual -consciousness the man has taken on an ever-enlarging life, and at last -the life of humanity, which has no fixed form, no ever-valid code; but -is itself the true life, surpassing definition, yet inspiring all -actions and passions, all codes and forms, and determining at last their -place. - -It is the gradual growth of this supreme life in each individual which -is the great and indeed the only hope of Society--it is that for which -Society exists: a life which so far from dwarfing individuality enhances -immensely its power, causing the individual to move with the weight of -the universe behind him--and exalting what were once his little -peculiarities and defects into the splendid manifestations of his -humanity. - -To return then for a moment to the practical bearing of this on the -question before us, we see that so soon as we have abandoned all codes -of morals there remains nothing for us but to put _all_ our qualities -and defects to human use, and to redeem them by so doing. Our defects -are our entrances into life, and the gateway of all our dealings with -others. Think what it is to be plain and _homely_. The very word -suggests an endearment, and a liberty of access denied to the -faultlessly handsome. Our very evil passions, so called, are not things -to be ashamed of, but things to look straight in the face and to see -what they are good for--for a use can be found for them, that is -certain. The man should see that he is worthy of his passion, as the -mountain should rear its crest conformable to the height of the -precipice which bounds it. Is it women? let him see that he is a -magnanimous lover. Is it ambition? let him take care that it be a grand -one. Is it laziness? let it redeem him from the folly of unrest, to -become heaven-reflecting, like a lake among the hills. Is it -closefistedness? let it become the nurse of a true economy. - -The more complicated, pronounced, or awkward the defect is the finer -will be the result when it has been thoroughly worked up. Love of -approbation is difficult to deal with. Through sloughs of duplicity, of -concealment, of vanity, it leads its victim. It sucks his sturdy -self-life, and leaves him flattened and bloodless. Yet once mastered, -once fairly torn out, cudgeled, and left bleeding on the road (for this -probably has to be done with every vice or virtue some time or other), -it will rise up and follow you, carrying a magic key round its neck, -meek and serviceable now, instead of dangerous and demoniac as before. - -Deceit is difficult to deal with. In some sense it is the worst fault -that can be. It seems to disorganise and ultimately to destroy the -character. Yet I am bold to say that this defect has its uses. Severely -examined perhaps it will be found that no one can live a day free from -it. And beyond that--is not "a noble dissimulation" part and parcel of -the very greatest characters: like Socrates, "the white soul in a satyr -form"? When the divine has descended among men has it not always, like -Moses, worn a veil before its face? and what is Nature herself but one -long and organised system of deception? - -Veracity has an opposite effect. It knits all the elements of a man's -character--rendering him solid rather than fluid; yet carried out too -literally and pragmatically it condenses and solidifies the character -overmuch, making the man woodeny and angular. And even of that essential -Truth (truth to the inward and ideal perfection) which more than -anything else perhaps _constitutes_ a man--it is to be remembered that -even here there must be a limitation. No man can in act or externally be -quite true to the ideal--though in spirit he may be. If he is to live in -this world and be mortal, it must be by virtue of some partiality, some -defect. - -And so again--since there is an analogy between the Individual and -Society--may we not conclude that as the individual has ultimately to -recognise his so-called evil passions and find a place and a use for -them, society also has to recognise its so-called criminals and discern -their place and use? The artist does not omit shadows from his canvas; -and the wise statesman will not try to abolish the criminal from -society--lest haply he be found to have abolished the driving force from -his social machine.[37] - -From what has now been said it is quite clear that in general we call a -man a criminal, not because he violates any eternal code of -morality--for there exists no such thing--but because he violates the -ruling code of his time, and this depends largely on the ideal of the -time. The Spartans appear to have permitted theft because they thought -that thieving habits in the community fostered military dexterity and -discouraged the accumulation of private wealth. They looked upon the -latter as a great evil. But to-day the accumulation of private wealth is -our great good and the thief is looked upon as the evil. When however we -find, as the historians of to-day teach us, that society is now probably -passing through a parenthetical stage of private property from a stage -of communism in the past to a stage of more highly developed communism -in the future, it becomes clear that the thief (and the poacher -before-mentioned) is that person who is protesting against the -too-exclusive domination of a passing ideal. Whatever should we do -without him? He is keeping open for us, as Hinton I think expresses it, -the path to a regenerate society, and is more useful to that end than -many a platform orator. He it is that makes Care to sit upon the Crupper -of Wealth, and so, in course of time, causes the burden and bother of -private property to become so intolerable that society gladly casts it -down on common ground. Vast as is the machinery of Law, and multifarious -the ways in which it seeks to crush the thief, it has signally failed, -and fails ever more and more. The thief will win. He will get what he -wants, but (as usual in human life!) in a way and in a form very -different from what he expected. - -And when we regard the thief in himself, we cannot say that we find him -less human than other classes of society. The sentiment of large bodies -of thieves is highly communistic among themselves; and if they thus -represent a survival from an earlier age, they might also be looked upon -as the precursors of a better age in the future. They have their pals in -every town, with runs and refuges always open, and are lavish and -generous to a degree to their own kind. And if they look upon the rich -as their natural enemies and fair prey, a view which it might be -difficult to gainsay, many of them at any rate are animated by a good -deal of the Robin Hood spirit, and are really helpful to the poor. - -I need not I think quote that famous passage from Lecky in which he -shows how the prostitute, through centuries of suffering and ill-fame, -has borne the curse and contempt of Society in order that her more -fortunate sister might rejoice in the achievement of a pure marriage. -The ideal of a monogamic union has been established in a sense directly -by the slur cast upon the free woman. If, however, as many people think, -a certain latitude in sexual relations is not only admissible but, in -the long run, and within bounds, desirable, it becomes clear that the -prostitute is that person who against heavy odds, and at the cost of a -real degradation to herself, has clung to a tradition which, in itself -good, might otherwise have perished in the face of our devotion to the -splendid ideal of the exclusive marriage. There has been a time in -history when the prostitute (if the word can properly be used in this -connection) has been glorified, consecrated to the temple-service and -honoured of men and gods (the hierodouloi of the Greeks, the kodeshoth -and kodeshim of the Bible, etc.) There has also been a time when she has -been scouted and reviled. In the future there will come a time when, as -free companion, really free from the curse of modern commercialism, and -sacred and respected once more, she will again be accepted by society -and take her place with the rest. - -And so with other cases. On looking back into history we find that -almost every human impulse has at some age been held in esteem and -allowed full play; thus man came to recognise its beauty and value. But -then, lest it should come (as it surely would) to tyrannise over the -rest, it has been dethroned, and so in a later age the same quality is -scouted and banned. Last of all it has to find its perfect human use and -to take its place with the rest. Up to the age of Civilisation -(according to writers on primitive Society) the early tribes of mankind, -though limited each in their habits, were essentially democratical in -structure. In fact, nothing had occurred to make them otherwise. Each -member stood on a footing of equality with the rest; individual men had -not in their hands an arbitrary power over others; and the tribal life -and standard ruled supreme. And when, in the future and on a much higher -plane, the true Democracy comes, this equality which has so long been in -abeyance will be restored, not only among men but also, in a sense, -among all the passions and qualities of manhood: none will be allowed to -tyrannise over others, but all will have to be subject to the supreme -life of humanity. The chariot of Man instead of two horses will have a -thousand; but they will all be under control of the charioteer. -Meanwhile it may not be extravagant to suppose that all through the -Civilisation-period the so-called criminals are keeping open the -possibility of a return to this state of society. They are preserving, -in a rough and unattractive husk it may be, the precious seed of a life -which is to come in the future; and are as necessary and integral a part -of society in the long run as the most respected and most honoured of -its members at present. - -The upshot then of it all is that "morals" as a permanent code of action -have to be discarded. There exists no such permanent code. One age, one -race, one class, one family, may have a code which the users of it -consider valid, but only they consider it valid, and then only for a -time. The Decalogue may have been a rough and useful ready-reckoner for -the Israelites; but to us it admits of so many exceptions and -interpretations that it is practically worthless. "Thou shalt not -steal." Exactly; but who is to decide, as we saw at the outset, in what -"stealing" consists? The question is too complicated to admit of an -answer. And when we _have_ caught our half-starved tramp "sneaking" a -loaf, and are ready to condemn him, lo! Lycurgus pats him on the back, -and the modern philosopher tells him that he is keeping open the path to -a regenerate society! If the tramp had also been a philosopher, he would -perhaps have done the same act not merely for his own benefit but for -that of society, he would have committed a crime in order to save -mankind. - -There is nothing left but Humanity. Since there is no ever-valid code of -morals we must sadly confess that there is no means of proving ourselves -right and our neighbours wrong. In fact the very act of thinking -whether _we_ are right (which implies a sundering of ourselves, even in -thought, from others) itself introduces the element of wrongness; and if -we are ever to _be_ "right" at all, it must be at some moment when we -fail to notice it--when we have forgotten our apartness from others and -have entered into the great region of human equality. Equality--in that -region all human defects are redeemed; they all find their place. To -love your neighbour _as_ yourself is the whole law and the prophets; to -feel that you are "equal" with others, that their lives are as your -life, that your life is as theirs--even in what trifling degree we may -experience such things--is to enter into another life which includes -both sides; it is to pass beyond the sphere of moral distinctions, and -to trouble oneself no more with them. Between lovers there are no duties -and no rights; and in the life of humanity, there is only an instinctive -mutual service expressing itself in whatever way may be best at the -time. Nothing is forbidden, there is nothing which may not serve. The -law of Equality is perfectly flexible, is adaptable to all times and -places, finds a place for all the elements of character, justifies and -redeems them all without exception; and to live by it is perfect -freedom. Yet not a law: but rather as said, a new life, transcending the -individual life, working through it from within, lifting the self into -another sphere, beyond corruption, far over the world of Sorrow. - -The effort to make a distinction between acting for self and acting for -one's neighbor is the basis of "morals." As long as a man feels an -ultimate antagonism between himself and society, as long as he tries to -hold his own life as a thing apart from that of others, so long must the -question arise whether he will act for self _or_ for those others. Hence -flow a long array of terms--distinctions of right and wrong, duty, -selfishness, self-renunciation, altruism, etc. But when he discovers -that there is no ultimate antagonism between himself and society; when -he finds that the gratification of every desire which he has or can have -may be rendered social, or beneficial to his fellows, by being used at -the right time and place, and on the other hand that every demand made -upon him by society will and must gratify some portion of his nature, -some desire of his heart--why, all the distinctions collapse again; they -do not hold water any more. A larger life descends upon him, which -includes both sides, and prompts actions in accordance with an unwritten -and unimagined law. Such actions will sometimes be accounted "selfish" -by the world; sometimes they will be accounted "unselfish"; but they are -neither, or--if you like--both; and he who does them concerns himself -not with the names that may be given to them. The law of Equality -includes all the moral codes, and is the standpoint which they cannot -reach, but which they all aim at. - -Judged by this final standard then, it may doubtless fairly be -said--since we all fall short of it--that we are all criminals, and -deserve a good hiding; and even that some of us are greater criminals -than others. Only of this real criminality the actual moral and legal -codes afford but ineffectual tests. I may be a far worse or more -self-included ("idiotic" or brutal) man than you, but the mere fact that -I have violated the laws and been clapped into prison does not prove it. -There may be, probably is, a real and eternal difference represented by -the words Right and Wrong, but no statement that we can make will ever -quite avail to define it. One use, however, of all these laws and codes -in the past, imperfect though they were, may have been to gradually -excite the consciousness in the individual of his opposition to society, -and so prepare the way for a true reconcilement. As Paul says, "I had -not known sin, but by the law," and, if we had not been cudgeled and -bruised for centuries by this rough bludgeon of social convention, we -should not now be so sensitive as we are to the effect of our actions -upon our neighbours, nor so ready for a social life in the future which -shall be superior to law. - -Of course, the ultimate reconcilement of the individual with society--of -the unit Man with the mass-Man--involves the subordination of the -desires, their subjection to the true self. And this is a most important -point. It is no easy lapse that is here suggested, from morality into a -mere jungle of human passion, but a toilsome and long ascent--involving -for a time at any rate a determined self-control--into ascendancy over -the passions; it involves the complete mastery, one by one, of them all, -and the recognition and allowance of them only because they are -mastered. And it is just this training and subjection of the -passions--as of winged horses which are to draw the human chariot--which -necessarily forms such a long and painful process of human evolution. -The old moral codes are a part of this process; but they go on the plan -of extinguishing some of the passions--seeing that it is sometimes -easier to shoot a restive horse than to ride him. We however do not want -to be lords of dead carrion, but of living powers; and every steed that -we can add to our chariot makes our progress through creation so much -the more splendid, providing Phoebus indeed hold the reins, and not the -incapable Phaeton. - -And by becoming thus one with the social self, the individual, instead -of being crushed, is made far vaster, far grander than before. The -renunciation (if it must be so called) which he has to accept in -abandoning merely individual ends is immediately compensated by the far -more vivid life he now enters into. For every force of his nature can -now be utilised. Planting himself out by contrast he stands all the -firmer because he has a left foot as well as a right, and when he acts, -he acts not half-heartedly as one afraid, but, as it were, with the -whole weight of Humanity behind him. In abandoning his exclusive -individuality he becomes for the first time a real and living -individual; and in accepting as his own the life of others he becomes -aware of a life in himself that has no limit and no end. That the self -of any one man is capable of an infinite gradation from the most petty -and exclusive existence to the most magnificent and inclusive seems -almost a truism. The one extreme is disease and death, the other is life -everlasting. When the tongue for example--which is a member of the -body--regards itself as a purely separate existence for itself alone, it -makes a mistake, it suffers an illusion, and descends into its pettiest -life. What is the consequence? Thinking that it exists apart from the -other members, it selects food just such as shall gratify its most local -self, it endeavours just to titillate its own sense of taste; and living -and acting thus, ere long it ruins that very sense of taste, poisons the -system with improper food, and brings about disease and death. Yet, if -healthy, how does the tongue act? Why, it does not run counter to its -own sense of taste, or stultify itself. It does not talk about -sacrificing its own inclinations for the good of the body and the other -members; but it just acts as being one in interest with them and they -with it. For the tongue _is_ a muscle, and therefore what feeds it feeds -all the other muscles; and the membrane of the tongue _is_ a -prolongation of the membrane of the stomach, and that is how the tongue -knows what the stomach will like; and the tongue _is_ nerves and blood, -and so the tongue may act for nerves and blood all over the body, and so -on. Therefore the tongue may enter into a wider life than that -represented by the mere local sense of taste, and experiences more -pleasure often in the drinking of a glass of water which the whole body -wants, than in the daintiest sweetmeat which is for itself alone. - -Exactly so man in a healthy state does not act for himself alone, -practically cannot do so. Nor does he talk cant about "serving his -neighbors," etc. But he simply acts for them as well as for himself, -because they are part and parcel of his life--bone of his bone and flesh -of his flesh; and in doing so he enters into a wider life, finds a more -perfect pleasure, and becomes more really a man than ever before. Every -man contains in himself the elements of all the rest of humanity. They -lie in the background; but they are there. In the front he has his own -special faculty developed--his individual façade, with its projects, -plans and purposes: but behind sleeps the Demos-life with far vaster -projects and purposes. Some time or other to every man must come the -consciousness of this vaster life. - -The true Democracy, wherein this larger life will rule society from -within--obviating the need of an external government--and in which all -characters and qualities will be recognised and have their freedom, -waits (a hidden but necessary result of evolution) in the constitution -of human nature itself. In the pre-Civilisation period these vexed -questions of "morals" practically did not exist; simply because in that -period the individual was one with his tribe and moved (unconsciously) -by the larger life of his tribe. And in the post-Civilisation period, -when the true Democracy is realised, they will not exist, because then -the man will know himself a part of humanity at large, and will be -consciously moved by forces belonging to these vaster regions of his -being. The moral codes and questionings belong to Civilisation, they are -part of the forward effort, the struggle, the suffering, and the -temporary alienation from true life, which that term implies.[38] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[34] Yet there is no doubt that lasting and passionate love may exist -between two persons thus nearly related. The danger to the health of the -offspring from occasional in-breeding of the kind appears to arise -chiefly from the accentuation of infirmities common to the two parents. -In a state of society free from the diseases of the civilisation-period, -such a danger would be greatly reduced. - -[35] Modern writers fixing their regard on the physical side of this -love (necessary no doubt here, as elsewhere, to define and corroborate -the spiritual) have entered their protest as against the mere obscenity -into which the thing fell--for instance in the days of Martial--but have -missed the profound significance of the heroic attachment itself. It is, -however, with the ideals that we are just now concerned and not with -their disintegration. - -[36] In the _later_ Egyptian centuries vivisection apparently became an -approved practice. - -[37] The derivation of the word "wicked" seems uncertain. May it be -suggested that it is connected with "wick" or "quick," meaning _alive_? - -[38] For further on the same subject see the last chapter, _infra_, on -"The New Morality." - - - - -EXFOLIATION - - "Creation's incessant unrest, exfoliation." - WHITMAN. - - -I think it may perhaps be agreed, once for all, that the human mind is -incapable of really defining even the smallest fact of nature. The -simplest thing, or event, baffles us at the last. It is like trying to -look at the front and back of a mirror at the same time. The utmost -squinting avails not. The ego and the non-ego dance eluding through -creation. To catch them both in any mortal object and pin them there, -surpasses our powers. And yet they are there. Montaigne quotes somewhere -the words of S. Augustine: _Modus quo corporibus adhaerent spiritus ... -omnino mirus est, nec comprehendi ab homine potest; et hoc ipse homo -est_. "The manner whereby spirits adhere to bodies is altogether -wonderful, and cannot be conceived of by men; and yet this _is_ man." -Man himself contains, or rather is, the reconcilement of this and -numberless other contradictions. We actually every day perform and -exhibit miracles which the mental part of us is utterly powerless to -grapple with. Yet the solution, the intelligent solution and -understanding of them _is_ in us; only it involves a higher order of -consciousness than we usually deal with--a consciousness possibly which -includes and transcends the ego and the non-ego, and so can envisage -both at the same time and equally--a fourth-dimensional consciousness to -whose gaze the interiors of solid bodies are exposed like mere -surfaces--a consciousness to whose perception some usual antitheses like -cause and effect, matter and spirit, past and future, simply do not -exist. I say these higher orders of consciousness are in us waiting for -their evolution; and, until they evolve, we are powerless really to -understand anything of the world around us. - -Meanwhile, since we _must_ have formulæ and generalisations to think by, -we are fain to accept our local views, and look on the world from this -side or from that. Sometimes we are idealists, sometimes we are -materialists; sometimes we believe in mechanics, sometimes in human or -spiritual forces. The science of the last fifty years has, as pointed -out in a preceding paper, looked at things more from the mechanical than -the distinctively human side--from the point of view of the non-ego, -rather than of the ego. Reacting from an extreme tendency towards a -subjective view of phenomena, which characterised the older -speculations, and fearing to be swayed by a kind of partiality towards -himself, the modern scientist has endeavoured to remove the human and -conscious element from his observations of Nature. And he has done -valuable work in this way--but of course has been betrayed into a -corresponding narrowness. - -In fact the main scientific doctrine of the day, Evolution, is obviously -suffering from this treatment, and the following remarks are merely a -few notes by way of suggestion of some things which may be said on its -more specially human side. For since each man is a part of nature, and -in that sense a part also of the evolution-process, his own subjective -experience ought at least to throw some light on the conditions under -which evolution takes place, and to contribute something towards an -understanding of the problem. - -If the question is: What is the cause of Variation among animals? some -approximation towards an answer ought to be got by each person asking -himself, "Why do I vary?" Why--he might say--am I a different person -from what I was ten years ago, or when I was a boy? Why have I varied in -one direction and my brothers and sisters from the same nest in other -directions? Though my individual consciousness only covers the small -ground of my own life, and does not extend back to that of my father or -forward to that of my son, still the intimate knowledge that I have of -the forces acting on me during that short period may help me to an -understanding of the forces that bring about the modification of men and -animals at large, and the discovery of some laws of my own growth may -reveal to me the laws of race-growth. - -In answer to such a question, it would speedily appear that there were -two general causes determining direction of change or growth in the -individual, which might be conveniently distinguished from each -other--an external and an internal. In the first place the supposed -person might say, "External conditions forced me along these lines. My -father was a town artisan, but he apprenticed me to a farmer. I grew up -a farmer's boy, and became an agricultural type as you see. I did not -particularly care for farming, sometimes indeed I would have been glad -to be out of it; but practically I succumbed to circumstances, and here -I am." But in the second place he might answer thus:--"My father was -himself a farmer; I was early used to the craft, and should no doubt -have grown up in it, had I not hated it like poison. I loved music, -broke away from home, joined a band, got on the musical staff of a small -theatre, and am now a professional musician. My frame is comparatively -slight, and my hands are of the nervous type, as you see. Of course, I -have some of the old agricultural stock left in me, but I feel that that -is dying out." The one cause would be a change of external conditions, -forcing the man to accommodate himself to them; the other would be a -change of internal conditions, an inward growth, expressing itself first -in the form of an intense desire, and compelling the man to change -himself and probably also his environment in obedience to it. Two such -general sets of causes, I say, could be roughly distinguished from each -other; and probably indeed are recognised less or more distinctly by -everyone as acting to modify his life. Nor can the life of a man at any -time be said to be ruled by one of these forces alone. No man is -modified by external conditions alone, without any play or reaction of -inner needs and desires and growth from within; nor is any man -transformed in obedience to an inner expansion without sundry lets and -hindrances from without. The two forces are in constant play upon one -another; but in some ways that would appear to be the more important -which proceeds from the Man (or creature) himself, since this is -obviously vital and organic to him, and therefore the most consistent -and reliable factor in his modification, while the external -force--arising from various and remote causes--must rather be regarded -as discontinuous and accidental. - -I propose, therefore, in these few pages to consider especially this -inner force producing modification in man and animals--to try and find -out of what nature it is, what is the law, and what are the limits of -its action--premising always, as already suggested, that this -distinction between "inner" and "outer," which is convenient and easy to -handle on certain planes of thought, may ultimately, and in the last -resort, prove very difficult or even impossible to maintain. - -It is often said by Biologists that _function precedes -organisation_--that is, man fights with his fellows before he makes -weapons to fight with; the rudimentary animal digests food (as in the -case of the amoeba) before it acquires a stomach or organ of digestion; -it sees or is sensitive to light before it grows an eye; in society -letters are carried by private hands before an organised postal system -is created. Such facts properly considered are of vital importance. They -show us, as it were by a sign-post, the direction of creation. They show -how any new thing or modification of an old thing may come into being. -They may be supplemented by a second statement--namely that _desire -precedes function_. That is, man desires to injure his fellow before he -actually fights with him; he experiences the wish to communicate with -distant friends before ever he thinks of sending such a thing as a -letter; the amoeba craves for food first, and circumvents its prey -afterwards. Desire, or inward change, comes first, action follows, and -organisation or outward structure is the result. - -In man this "order of creation," if it may so be called, _i.e._, from -within outwards, is very marked. Whenever a man creates anything new he -pursues it; when he builds a house, for instance, or composes a poem or -piece of music, or designs an Alpine tunnel, or whatever it may be. The -order seems to be: first, a feeling--a dim want or desire; then the -feeling becomes conscious of itself, takes shape in thought; the thought -becomes more defined and issues in a distinct plan; the plan is -committed to paper, models are made, etc.; and finally the actual work -is begun and completed. The process appears as a movement from within -outwards--the earliest and most authentic discernible source of the -movement being a feeling--(though there may lie something behind that). -Even in ordinary action the same order is manifest; for, though of -course _every_ action is not preceded by desire--since we know that -actions soon become habitual and more or less unconscious--still a vast -number of them are immediately so preceded; and in the case of any -action that is _new_, either to the individual or to the race, its -inception is generally accompanied by effort so painful that it would -not be exerted unless the desire were very strong. The difficulty which -a man experiences in learning any new art, and the records of the many -failures, struggles, oppositions, persecutions, etc., which have -attended every new invention or innovation of any kind in human history, -afford plenty of evidence of this last point. Certainly the effort that -accompanies a new action is not always faced so much from sheer desire -of the new thing itself as from fear perhaps of something else--as it -may be contended that monkeys did not take to climbing trees because -they loved trees, but because they feared the beasts below, or that the -giraffe did not stretch its neck because it particularly desired to feed -on leaves, as because it could not get food any other way--but still, -even in these cases the desire may be said to exist, though it is -secondary--being founded upon another and more elementary desire--the -desire namely of escaping pain or obtaining food. In either case a -desire of some kind is a precedent condition of the new action. And so -as we know of no case of a new action coming into play without being -preceded by desire, we seem to be justified in supposing that all our -actions when they were first initiated (in our forefathers, if not in -ourselves) were so preceded. If this is so, then, since function is -always preceded by desire, and organisation is preceded by function, -organisation must necessarily be preceded by desire. And if this is the -order of creation in man, should we not reasonably look in this -direction for the key to the variation of animals and the order of -creation in general?[39] - -If a farmer's son is occasionally born who hates farming and loves -music, and who ultimately through the force of his desire (driving him -into oppositions and difficulties and penurious struggles) transforms -himself into a musician, is it not also likely that occasionally an -animal is born who hates the customs of his tribe, and at last (also -through struggles) transforms himself into something else? Even if he -does not succeed (the animal) in entirely transforming himself, he -likely transmits the desire in some degree to his descendants, and the -transformation is thus carried on and completed later. For everywhere -among the animals there _is_ desire, of some kind or another, obviously -acting; and if in man, by our own experience, desire is the precursor -and first expression of growth, is there any reason why it should not -also be so among animals? Lamarck gives the instance--among others--of a -gasteropod; how the need or desire of touching bodies in front of it as -it crawled along would result in the formation of tentacles. The -gasteropod, he says, would keep making efforts to feel with the front of -its head, and the determination of consciousness that way would be -accompanied by a supply of nervous and other fluids, which would nourish -the part and cause growth there--the _form_ of the growth continuing in -the same way to be determined by need--till at last two or more -tentacles would appear. True, the inward determinations of consciousness -may not be so vivid and varied in animals as they are in men; but they -are persistent, and by the very cumulative force of habit which is so -strong in animals, must at length penetrate down through function into -organisation and external form. Who shall say that the lark, by the mere -love of soaring and singing in the face of the sun, has not altered the -shape of its wings, or that the forms of the shark or of the gazelle are -not the long-stored results of character leaning always in certain -directions, as much as the forms of the miser or the libertine are among -men? - -Such modification as this is very different from the "survival of the -fittest" of the Darwinian evolution theory. We may fairly suppose that -both kinds of modification take place; but the latter is a sort of easy -success won by an external accident of birth--a success of the kind that -would readily be lost again; while the former is the uphill fight of a -nature that has grown inwardly and wins expression for itself in spite -of external obstacles--an expression which therefore is likely to be -permanent. If the progenitors of man took to going upright on two legs -instead of on all fours, merely because a few of them by _chance_ were -born with a talent for that position, which enabled them to escape the -fanged and pursuing beasts, then when this danger was removed they might -have plumped down again into the old attitude; but if the change was -part and parcel of a true evolution, the fulfilment of a positive desire -for the upright position, a true _unfolding_ of a higher form latent -within--an organic growth of the creature itself, then, though the -moment of the evolution of this particular faculty might be determined -by the fanged beasts, the fact of such evolution could not be determined -by them. Besides, are we to suppose that Man, the lord and ruler of the -animals, came merely by way of _escape_ from the animals? Do lords and -rulers generally come so? Was it fear that made him a man? Were it not -likelier that in that case he would have turned into a worm? He would -have escaped better perhaps that way. Is it not rather probable that it -was some nobler power that worked transforming--some dim desire and -prevision of a more perfect form, the desire itself being the first -consciousness of the urge of growth in that direction--that prompted him -to push in the one direction rather than the other when he had to hold -his own against the tigers? In fact is it not thus to-day, when a man -has to meet danger, that the ideal which he has within him determines -_how_ he shall meet that danger, and others like it, and so ultimately -determines the whole attitude and carriage of his body? - -On the whole then, judging from man himself (and it seems most cautious -and scientific to derive our main evidence from the being that we are -best acquainted with), it certainly seems to me that, though the -external conditions are a very important factor in Variation, the -central explanation of this phenomenon should be sought in an inner law -of Growth--a law of expansion more or less common to all animate nature. -Partly because, as said before, the unfolding of the creature from its -own needs and inward nature is an organic process, and likely to be -persistent, while its modification by external causes must be more or -less fortuitous and accidental and sometimes in one direction and -sometimes in another; partly also because the movement from within -outwards seems to be most like the law of creation in general. Under -this view the external conditions would be considered a -secondary--though important cause of modification; and regarded rather -as the influences that give form and detail to the great primal impulse -of growth from within; while the creature's own ingenuity and good luck -would occupy the ground between the two--as the means whereby the -external conditions in each individual case would be turned to account -to satisfy the inner needs, or the inner life would be accommodated to -the external conditions. - -If we take the external view of Variation--which is the one most -favoured by modern science--modification or race-growth appears as an -unconscious or accretive process, similar to the formation of a coral -reef. There is no line of growth native in the race itself, but at any -moment it is supposed to have an equal tendency to vary in any -direction. Surrounding conditions act selectively; and by a process of -weeding out certain types survive; small successive modifications are -thus accumulated; and gradually and in the lapse of ages a more pliable -and differentiated creature, and more adaptable to a variety of -conditions, is produced--in whom however mind is incidental, and has -played but small part in the creature's evolution. This in the main is -the Darwinian-evolution theory. - -If we take the internal view, growth is from the first eminently -conscious. Every change begins in the mental region--is felt first as a -desire gradually taking form into thought, passes down into the bodily -region, expresses itself in action (more or less dependent on -conditions), and finally solidifies itself in organisation and -structure. The process is not accretive, but exfoliatory--a continual -movement from within outwards. When the desire or mental condition, -which at first was painfully conscious, has overcome opposition and -established itself in altered bodily structure, it has done its work, -and becomes unconscious--the bodily function continuing for a long -period to act automatically, till finally it is thrown off to make room -for some later development. Thus race-growth or Variation is a process -by which change begins in the mental region, passes into the bodily -region where it becomes organised, and finally is thrown off like a -husk. This may be called the theory of Exfoliation. - -To illustrate our meaning. Let us take the development of an eye. In the -amoeba there is a dim pervasive sensitiveness to light over the whole -body, but there is no eye, nothing that we should call vision. Still -this vague sensitiveness is of use to the amoeba. The shadow of its prey -falling upon the creature and exciting a sensation hardly yet -differentiated from touch helps to guide its movements. On this dim -sensation it relies to some extent; its attention is directed towards -it. Gradually, and in some descendant form, there comes to be a point on -the body on which this attention is most specially concentrated. The -faculty is localised; and from that moment a change is effected there, a -differentiation and a special structure; everything that favours -sensitiveness is encouraged at that place, everything that dulls it is -removed; and before long--there is a rudimentary eye. To-day we use our -perfected eyes, and are hardly conscious that we are doing so; but every -power of vision that we have was thus won for us by some lowlier -creature, step by step, with effort and with concentration. Or to take -an illustration from society. To-day society is ill at ease; a dim -feeling of discontent pervades all ranks and classes. A new sense of -justice, of fraternity, has descended among us, which is not satisfied -with mere chatter of demand and supply. For a long time this new -sentiment or desire remains vague and unformed, but at last it resolves -itself into shape; it takes intellectual form, books are written, plans -formed; then after a time definite new organisations, for the distinct -purpose of expressing these ideas, begin to exist in the body of the old -society; and before so very long the whole outer structure of society -will have been reorganised by them. After a few centuries the ideas for -whose realisation we now fight and struggle with an intense -consciousness will have become commonplace, accepted institutions, more -or less effete and ready to succumb before fresh mental births taking -place from within. - -The modern evolution theory would maintain that among many amoebas and -descendant forms, one would at last by chance be born having the usual -sensitiveness localised in a particular spot, and, surviving by force of -this advantage, would transmit this "eye" to its posterity; or that in -the progress of society, new economic conditions having arisen, that -people would prosper best which most effectually and rapidly adapted -itself to them. But though there is doubtless truth in this view, yet it -seems, when all has been said, to be inadequate and even feeble; it -omits at least one half of the problem. If we look at ourselves, as -already pointed out, we see the two forces--the inner and the -outer--acting and re-acting on each other. May it not be so in animals? -Lamarck, poorly off, blind, derided, was a true poet. "Animals vary from -low and primitive types chiefly by dint of wishing"--and the world -laughed and still laughs. But it was his deep sympathy even with the -worms and insects (which he studied till he could discern them with his -mortal eyes no longer) that led Lamarck to see the human nature and the -human laws that moved within them; and as his outward sight grew dim -there arose before him the inward vision of the true relationship which -binds together all living creatures--which was indeed a vision of divine -things, and as different from the mere mechanism-theory of the survival -of the fittest as the sight of the starry heavens is different from a -governess's lesson on the use of the globes. - -On the theory of Exfoliation, which was practically Lamarck's theory, -there is a force at work throughout creation, ever urging each type -onward into new and newer forms. This force appears first in -consciousness in the form of _desire_. Within each shape of life sleep -needs and wants without number, from the lowest and simplest to the -most complex and ideal. As each new desire or ideal is evolved, it -brings the creature into conflict with its surroundings, then gaining -its satisfaction externalises itself in the structure of the creature, -and leaves the way open for the birth of a new ideal. If then we would -find a key to the understanding of the expansion and growth of all -animate creation, such a key may exist in the nature of desire itself -and the comprehension of its real meaning. It is not certain that it can -be found here; but it may be. - -What then is desire in Man? Here we come back again, as suggested at the -outset, to Man himself. Though we see pretty clearly that desire is at -work in the animals, and that it is the same in kind as exists in man, -still, among the animals it is but dim and inchoate, while in man it is -developed and luminous; in ourselves, too, we know it immediately, while -in the animals only by inference. For both reasons, therefore, if we -want to know the nature of desire--even to know its nature among -animals--we should study it in Man. What then is this desire in Man, -which seems to be the instigation and origin of all his growth and -development? At first it seems a hydra-headed senseless thing without -rhyme or reason; but the more one regards it the more clearly one sees -that even in its lowest forms it is steadily building up and liberating -all the functions of the human being. In its most perfect form--as in -what we call Love--it is the sum and solution of human activities, that -in which they converge, for which they all exist, and without which -they would be considered useless. The more you look into this matter, -the plainer it becomes. The lesser desires--the self-preservation -desires--hunger, thirst, the desire of power--exist, but when they are -satisfied they empty themselves into this one; they find their -interpretation in it. The other desires are nothing by themselves--the -most absorbing, avarice, ambition, desire of knowledge, taken alone, -stultify themselves--but love perpetuates itself; it is a flame which -uses all the rest as its fuel. And this Love, which is the culmination -of desire, does it not appear to us as a worship of and desire for the -human form? In our bodies a desire for the bodily human form; in our -interior selves a perception and worship of an ideal human form, the -revelation of a Splendour dwelling in others, which--clouded and dimmed -as it inevitably may come to be--remains after all one of the most real, -perhaps the most real, of the facts of existence? Desire, therefore--as -it exists in man, look at it how you will--as it unfolds and its -ultimate aim becomes clearer and clearer to itself, is seen to be the -desire and longing for the deliverance and expression of the real human -Being. May it not, must it not, be the same thing in animals and all -through creation? Beginning in the most elementary and dim shapes, does -it not grow through all the stages of organic life clearer and more and -more powerful, till at last it attains to self-consciousness in humanity -and becomes avowedly the leading factor in our development? - -The desire which runs through creation is one desire. Rudimentary at -first and hardly conscious of itself, throwing out a tentacle here, a -foot there, developing an eye, a claw, a nostril, a wing, it seeks in -innumerable shapes and with ever partial success to realise the image it -has dimly conceived. The animal kingdom is the gymnasium, the school, -the antechamber, of humanity; to walk through a zoological garden is to -see the inchoate types of man, perched on branches, or browsing grass, -or boring holes in the ground; it is to witness a grand rehearsal of -some stupendous part, whose character we do not even yet fully see or -understand. From such half-conscious beginnings the desire grows, its -aim becomes clearer, till in the higher animals--the horse, the dog, the -elephant, the bird, and many others--it becomes a marked and -unmistakable force drawing them close to man, uniting them to him in a -kind of acknowledged kinship, and as obviously at work modifying their -structure as can be. Finally in man himself it becomes an absorbing -power; love becomes a conscious worship of the divine form; generation -itself is the means whereby, in time, the supreme object of desire is -realised. When at last the perfect Man appears, the key to all nature is -found, every creature falls into its place and finds its Interpreter, -and the purpose of creation is at last made manifest. - -The Theory of Exfoliation then differs from that very specialised form -of Evolution which has been adopted by modern science, in this -particular among others: that it fixes the attention on that which -appears last in order of Time, as the most important in order of -causation, rather than on that which appears first; and recalls to us -the fact that often in any succession of phenomena, that which is first -in order of precedence and importance is the last to be externalised. -Thus in the growth of a plant we find leaf after leaf appearing, petal -within petal--a continual exfoliation of husks, sepals, petals, stamens -and what-not; but the object of all this movement, and that which in a -sense sets it all in motion, namely the seed, is the very last thing of -all to be manifested. Or when a volcano breaks out--first of all we have -a cracking and upheaval of superficial layers of ground, then of layers -below these, then the outflow of lava, and _last of all_ the uprush of -the inner fires and forces which set it all agoing. What appears first -in time, or in the outer world is--in the case of the building of a -house, the making of bricks; in the case of the flower, the outermost -bracts; in the case of a volcano, the stirring of the surface of the -ground; and in the case of Life on the Earth, the appearance of -protoplasms and primordial cells. The bricks are not the cause of the -house (if indeed the word "cause" should be used here at all) but rather -the house--or the conception of the house--is the cause of the bricks; -and the cells are not the origin of Man, but Man is the original of the -cells. The rationale of sea-anemones and mud-fish and flying foxes and -elephants has to be looked for in man: he alone underlies them. And man -is not a vertebrate because his ancestors were vertebrate; but the -animals are vertebrate, because or in so far as they are forerunners and -offshoots of Man. - -It has been frequently said that great material changes are succeeded by -intellectual and finally by moral revolutions--as the conquests of -Alexander passed on into the literary expansion of the Alexandrian -schools and thence into the establishment of Christianity, or as the -mechanical developments of our own time have been followed by immense -literary and scientific activities, and are obviously passing over now -into a great social regeneration; but a reconsideration of the matter -might, I take it, lead us not so much to look on the later changes as -_caused_ by the earlier, as to look on the earlier as the indications -and first outward and visible signs of the coming of the later. When a -man feels in himself the upheaval of a new moral fact, he sees plainly -enough that that fact cannot come into the actual world all at once--not -without first a destruction of the existing order of society--such a -destruction as makes him feel satanic; then an intellectual revolution; -and lastly only, a new order embodying the new impulse. When this new -impulse has thoroughly materialised itself, then after a time will come -another inward birth, and similar changes will be passed through again. -So it might be said that the work of each age is not to build _on_ the -past, but to rise _out_ of the past and throw it off; only of course in -such matters where all forms of thought are inadequate it is hard to say -that one way of looking at the subject is truer than another. As before, -we should endeavour to look at the thing from different sides. - -We are obliged to use images to think by--_e.g._ the opening of a flower -or the accretive growth of a coral reef--and possibly it would save a -good deal of trouble if we did not disguise by long words the truth that -all our theories in science and philosophy are simply metaphors of this -kind--but the _fact_ still lies behind and below them. - -Perhaps, if we are to use the word Cause at all, we should do well to -use it in the old sense in which the _final_ cause and the _efficient_ -cause are one (the _eidos_ of Aristotle)--to use it not so much to link -phenomena or externals to _each other_ as to link each phenomenon in a -group to the thought or feeling which underlies that group. The notes in -the Dead March in Saul, for instance. We cannot say that one note is the -cause of another, but we might say that each note stands in a causal -subordination to the feeling which inspired the piece--which is the -_origin_ of the piece and the _result_ of its performance--the alpha and -omega of it. Similarly, the ground floor in a house is not the cause of -the first floor, nor the first floor of the second floor, nor that of -the roof; but these actualities and the whole house itself stand in -strict relationship to a mental something which is not in the same -plane with them at all, nor an actuality in the same sense. - -According to this view the notion that one configuration of atoms or -bodies determines the next configuration turns out to be illusive. Both -configurations are determined by a third something which does not belong -to quite the same order of existence as the said atoms or bodies. Chance -"laws" of succession may doubtless be found among physical events, and -are valuable for practical purposes, but at any moment--owing to their -superficiality--they may fail. Thus, an insect observing the expansion -of the petals of a chrysanthemum might frame a law of their order of -succession in size and colour, which would be valid for a time, but -would fail entirely when the stamens appeared. Or, to take another -illustration, physical science acts like a man trying to find direct -causal relations between the various leaves of a tree, without first -finding the relations of these to the branches and trunk--and so solving -the problem indirectly. It deals only with the _surface_ of the world of -Man. - -In thinking about such matters, Music, as Schopenhauer shows, is -wonderfully illustrative, because in creating music man recognises that -he is creating a world of his own--apart from and not to be confused -with that other world of Nature (in which he does not recognise any of -his handiwork). Supposing a non-musical person were to examine and -analyse the score of a Beethoven symphony, he would be in the same -position as a man examining and analysing Nature by purely scientific -or intellectual methods. He would discover the recurrence of certain -groups among the notes, he would establish laws of their sequences, -would make all kinds of curious generalisations about them, and point -out some remarkable exceptions, would even very likely be able to -predict a bar or two over the page; his treatise would be very learned, -and from a certain point of view interesting also, but how far would he -be from any real understanding of his subject? Let him change his -method: let him train his ear, let him hear the symphony performed, over -and over, till he understands its meaning and knows it by heart; and -then he will know at any rate something of why each note is there, he -will see its fitness and feel in himself the "law" of its occurrence, -and possibly in some new case will be able to predict several bars over -the page! The symphony is not understood by examination and comparison -of the notes alone, but by _experience_ of their relation to deepest -feelings; and Nature is not explained by laws, but by its becoming--or -rather being felt to be--the body of Man; marvellous interpreter and -symbol of his inward being. - -There is a kind of knowledge or consciousness in us--as of our bodily -parts, or affections, or deep-seated mental beliefs--which forms the -base of our more obvious and self-conscious thought. This systemic -knowledge grows even while the brain sleeps. It is not by any means -absolute or infallible, but it affords, at any moment in man's history, -the axiomatic ground on which his thought-structures, scientific and -other, are built. Thus the axioms of Euclid are part of our present -systemic knowledge, and afford the ground of all our geometry -structures. But as the systemic consciousness grows, the ground shifts -and the structures reared upon it fall. All our modern science, for -instance, is founded on the acceptation of mechanical cause and effect -as a basic fact of consciousness; but when that base gives way the -entire structure will cave in, and a new edifice will have to be reared. -Similarly, when the human form becomes distinctly visible to us in the -animals--as an unavoidable part of our consciousness--this consciousness -will form a new base or axiom for all our thought on the subject, and -the theory of evolution, as hitherto conceived by science, will be -entirely transformed. - -Thus, although the experimental investigatory coral-reef accretion -method of modern science is very valuable within its range, it must not -be forgotten that the human mind does not progress more than temporarily -by this method--that its progression is a matter of growth from within, -and involves a continual _breaking away of the bases_ of all -thought-structures; so that, while this latter--_i.e._, the progression -of the systemic consciousness of man--is necessary and continuous, the -rise and fall of his thought-systems is accidental, so to speak, and -discontinuous. - -It is then finally in Man--in our own deepest and most vital -experience--that we have to look for the key and explanation of the -changes that we see going on around us in external Nature, as we call -it; and our understanding of the latter, and of History, must ever -depend from point to point on the exfoliation of new facts in the -individual consciousness. Round the ultimate disclosure of the essential -Man all creation (hitherto groaning and travailing towards that perfect -birth) ranges itself, as it were, like some vast flower, in concentric -cycles; rank beyond rank; first all social life and history, then the -animal kingdom, then the vegetable and mineral worlds. And if the outer -circles have been the first in fact to show themselves, it is by this -last disclosure that light is ultimately thrown on the whole plan; and, -as in the myth of the Eden-garden, with the appearance of the perfected -human form that the work of creation definitely completes itself. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[39] This does not, of course, preclude the action of external -conditions, or imply that organisation is determined by desire _alone_. -In fact organisation may be regarded as the expression of desire acting -under conditions--as in the cases of the monkey and giraffe above. - - - - -CUSTOM - -"Whatever is off the hinges of custom is believed to be also off the -hinges of reason; though how unreasonably, for the most part, God -knows."--MONTAIGNE. - - -Every human being grows up inside a sheath of custom, which enfolds it -as the swathing clothes enfold the infant. The sacred customs of its -early home, how fixed and immutable they appear to the child! It surely -thinks that all the world in all times has proceeded on the same lines -which bound its tiny life. It regards a breach of these rules (some of -them at least) as a wild step in the dark, leading to unknown dangers. - -Nevertheless its mental eyes have hardly opened ere it perceives, not -without a shock, that whereas in the family dining-room the meat always -precedes the pudding, below-stairs and in the cottage the pudding has a -way of coming before the meat; that, whereas its father puts the manure -on the top of his seed-potatoes in spring, his neighbor invariably -places his potatoes on top of the manure. All its confidence in the -sanctity of its home life and the truth of things is upset. Surely -there must be a right and a wrong way of eating one's dinner or of -setting potatoes, and surely, if any one, "father" or "mother" must know -what is right. The elders have always said (and indeed it seems only -reasonable) that by this time of day everything has been so thoroughly -worked over that the best methods of ordering our life--food, dress, -domestic practices, social habits, etc., have long ago been determined. -If so, why these divergencies in the simplest and most obvious matters? - -And then other things give way. The sacred seeming-universal customs in -which we were bred turn out to be only the practices of a small and -narrow class or caste; or they prove to be confined to a very limited -locality, and must be left behind when we set out on our travels; or -they belong to the tenets of a feeble religious sect; or they are just -the products of one age in history and no other. And the question forces -itself upon us, Are there really no natural boundaries? has not our life -anywhere been founded on reason and necessity, but only on arbitrary -habit? What is more important than food, yet in what human matter is -there more unaccountable divergence of practice? The Highlander -flourishes on oatmeal, which the Sheffield ironworker would rather -starve than eat; the fat snail which the Roman country gentleman once so -prized now crawls unmolested in the Gloucestershire peasant's garden; -rabbits are taboo in Germany; frogs are unspeakable in England; -sauer-kraut is detested in France; many races and gangs of people are -quite certain they would die if deprived of meat, others think spirits -of some kind a necessity, while to others again both these things are an -abomination. Every country district has its local practices in food, and -the peasants look with the greatest suspicion on any new dish, and can -rarely be induced to adopt it. Though it has been abundantly proved that -many of the British fungi are excellent eating, such is the force of -custom that the mushroom alone is ever publicly recognised, while -curiously enough it is said that in some other countries where the -claims of other agarics are allowed the mushroom itself is not used! -Finally, I feel myself (and the gentle reader probably feels the same) -that I would rather die than subsist on _insects_, such is the -deep-seated disgust we experience towards this class of food. Yet it is -notorious that many races of respectable people adopt a diet of this -sort, and only lately a book has been published giving details of the -excellent provender of the kind that we habitually overlook--tasty -morsels of caterpillars and beetles, and so forth! And indeed, when one -comes to think of it, what can it be but prejudice which causes one to -eat the periwinkle and reject the land-snail, or to prize the lively -prawn and proscribe the cheerful grasshopper? - -It is useless to say that these local and other divergencies are rooted -in the necessities of the localities and times in which they occur. -They are nothing of the kind. For the most part they are mere customs, -perhaps grown originally out of some necessity, but now perpetuated from -simple habit and inherent human laziness. This can perhaps best be -illustrated by going below the human to the kingdom of the animals. If -customs are strong among men they are far stronger among animals. The -sheep lives on grass, the cat lives on mice and other animal food. And -it is generally assumed that the respective diets are the most "natural" -in each case, and those on which the animals in question will readiest -thrive, and indeed that they could not well live on any other. But -nothing of the kind. For cats can be bred up to live on oatmeal and milk -with next to no meat; and a sheep has been known to get on very -comfortably on a diet of port wine and mutton chops! Dogs, whose -"natural" food in the wild state is of the animal kind, are undoubtedly -much healthier (at any rate in the domestic state) when kept on -farinaceous substances with little or no meat, and indeed they take so -kindly to a vegetable diet that they sometimes become perfect nuisances -in a garden--eating strawberries, gooseberries, peas, etc., freely off -the beds when they have once learned the habit. Any one, in fact, who -has kept many pets knows what an astonishing variety of food they may be -made to adopt, though each animal in the wild state has the most -intensely narrow prejudices on the subject, and will perish rather than -overstep the customs of its tribe. Thus pheasants will eat fern-roots -in winter when snow covers the ground, but the grouse "don't eat -fern-roots," and die in consequence. A wolf of an inquiring turn of mind -would probably find strawberries and peas as good food as a dog does, -but it is practically certain that any ordinary member of the genus -would perish in a garden full of the same if deprived of his customary -bones. - -All this seems to indicate what an immensely important part mere custom -plays in the life of men and animals. The main part of the power which -man acquires over the animals depends upon his establishing habits in -them which, once established, they never think of violating: and the -almost insuperable nature of this force in animals throws back light on -the part it plays in human life. - -Of course, I am not contending in the above remarks upon food that there -is no physiological difference between a dog and a sheep in the matter -of their digestive organs, and that the one is not by the nature of its -body more fitted for one kind of food than the other; but rather that we -should not neglect the importance of mere habit in such matters. Custom -changed first; the change of physiological structure followed slowly -after. What happened was probably something like this. Some time in the -far back past a group of animals, driven perhaps by necessity, took to -hunting in packs in the woods; it developed a modified physical -structure in consequence, and special habits which in the course of time -became deeply fixed in the race. Another group saved its life by taking -to grazing. Grass is poor food; but it was the only chance this group -had, and in time it got so accustomed to eating grass that it could not -imagine any other form of diet, and at first would refuse even oysters -when placed in its way! Another group saw an opening in trees; it -developed a long neck and became the giraffe. But the fact that the -giraffe lives on leaves, and the sheep on grass, and the wolf on animal -matter, and that custom is in each so strong that at first the creature -will refuse any other kind of diet, does not of itself prove that that -diet is the best or most physiologically suitable for it. In other -words, it is an assumption to suppose that "adaptation to environment" -is the sole or even the main factor in the constitution of well-marked -varieties or genera; for this is to neglect (among other things) the -force of mere use or wont, which has about the same import in -race-growth that momentum has in dynamics; and causes the race, once -started in any direction, to maintain its line of movement--and often in -despite of its environment--even for thousands of years. - -Returning to man we see him enveloped in a myriad customs--local -customs, class customs, race customs, family customs, religious customs; -customs in food, customs in clothing, customs in furniture, form of -habitation, industrial production, art, social and municipal and -national life, etc.; and the question arises, Where is the grain of -necessity which underlies it all? How much in each case is due to a -real fitness in nature, and how much to mere otiose habit! The first -thing that meets my eye in glancing out of the window is a tile on a -neighboring roof. Why are tiles made S-shaped in some localities and -flat in others? Surely the conditions of wind and rain are much the same -in all places. Perhaps far back there was a reason, but now nothing -remains but--custom. Why do we sit on chairs instead of on the floor, as -the Japanese do, or on cushions like the Turk? It is a custom, and -perhaps it suits with our other customs. The more we look into our life -and consider the immense variety of habit in every department of -it--even under conditions to all appearances exactly similar--the more -are we impressed by the absence of any very serious necessity in the -forms we ourselves are accustomed to. Each race, each class, each -section of the population, each unit even, vaunts its own habits of life -as superior to the rest, as the only true and legitimate forms; and -peoples and classes will go to war with each other in assertion of their -own special beliefs and practices; but the question that rather presses -upon the ingenuous and inquiring mind is, whether any of us have got -hold of much true life at all?--whether we are not rather mere -multitudinous varieties of caddis-worms shuffled up in the cast-off -skins and clothes and débris of those who have gone before us, and with -very little vitality of our own perceptible within? How many times a day -do we perform an action that is authentic and not a mere mechanical -piece of repetition? Indeed, if our various actions and practices were -authentic and flowing from the true necessity, perhaps we shouldn't -quarrel with each other over them so often as we do. - -And then to come to the subject of morals. These also are -customs--divergent to the last degree among different races, at -different times, or in different localities; customs for which it is -often difficult to find any ground in reason or the "fitness of things." -Thieving is supposed to be discountenanced among us, yet our present-day -trade-morality sanctions it in a thousand different forms; and the -respectable usurer (who can hardly be said to be other than a thief) -takes a high place at the table of life. To hunt the earth for game has -from time immemorial been considered the natural birthright and -privilege of man, until the landlord class (whom wicked Socialists now -denounce!) invented the crime of poaching and hanged men for it. As to -marriage customs, in different times and among different peoples, they -have been simply innumerable. And here the sense of inviolability in -each case is most powerful. The severest penalties, the most stringent -public opinion, biting deep down into the individual conscience, enforce -the various codes of various times and places; yet they all contradict -each other. Polygamy in one country, polyandry in the next; brother and -sister marriage allowed at one time, marriage with your mother's cousin -forbidden at another; prostitution sacred in the temples of antiquity, -trampled under foot in the gutters of our great cities of to-day; -monogamy respectable in one land, a mark of class-inferiority in -another; celibacy scorned by some sections of people, accepted as the -highest state by others; and so on. - -What are we to conclude from all this? Is it possible, once we have -fairly faced the immense variety of human life in _every_ department of -arts, manners, and morals--a variety, too, existing in a vast number of -cases under conditions to all intents and purposes quite similar--is it -possible ever again to suppose that the particular practices which _we_ -are accustomed to are very much better (or, indeed, very much worse) -than the particular practices which others are accustomed to? We have -been born, as I said at first, into a sheath of custom which enfolds us -with our swaddling-clothes. When we begin to grow to manhood we see what -sort of a thing it is which surrounds us. It is an old husk now. It does -not bear looking into; it is rotten, it is inconsistent, it is -thoroughly indefensible; yet very likely we have to accept it. The -caddis-worm has grown to its tube and cannot leave it. A little spark of -vitality amid a heap of dead matter, all it can do is to make its -dwelling a little more convenient in shape for itself, or (like the -coral insect) to prolong its growth in the most favourable direction for -those that come after. The class, the caste, the locality, the age in -which we were born has determined our form of life, and in that form -very likely we must remain. But a change has come over our minds. The -vauntings of earlier days we abandon. _We_, at any rate, are no better -than anybody else, and at best, alas! are only half alive. - -If these, then, are our conclusions, is it not with justice that -children and early races keep so rigidly to the narrow path that custom -has made for them? Have they not an instinctive feeling that to forsake -custom would be to launch out on a trackless sea where life would cease -to have any special purpose or direction, and morality would be utterly -gulfed? Custom for them is the line of their growth; it is the -coral-branch from the end of which the next insect builds; it is the -hardening bark of the tree-twig which determines the direction of the -growing shoot. It may be merely arbitrary, this custom, but that they do -not know; its appearance of finality and necessity may be quite -illusive; but the illusion is necessary for life, and the arbitrariness -is just what makes one life different from another. _Till he grows to -manhood_, the human being, _he cannot do without it_. - -And when he grows to manhood, what then? Why he dies, and so becomes -alive. The caddis-fly leaves his tube behind and soars into the upper -air; the creature abandons its barnacle existence on the rock and swims -at large in the sea. For it is just when we die to custom that, for the -first time, we rise into the true life of humanity; it is just when we -abandon all prejudice of our own superiority over others, and become -convinced of our entire indefensibleness, that the world opens out with -comrade faces in all directions; and when we perceive how entirely -arbitrary is the setting of our own life, that the whole structure -collapses on which our apartness from others rests, and we pass easily -and at once into the great ocean of freedom and equality. - -This is, as it were, a new departure for man, for which even to-day the -old world, overlaid with myriad customs now brought into obvious and -open conflict with each other, is evidently preparing. The period of -human infancy is coming to an end. Now comes the time of manhood and -true vitality. - -Possibly this is a law of history, that when man has run through every -variety of custom a time comes for him to be freed from it--that is, he -uses it indifferently according to his requirements, and is no longer a -slave to it; all human practices find their use, and none are forbidden. -At this point, whenever reached, "morals" come to an end and humanity -takes its place--that is to say, there is no longer any code of action, -but the one object of all action is the deliverance of the human being -and the establishment of equality between oneself and another, the entry -into a new life, which new life when entered into is glad and perfect, -because there is no more any effort or strain in it; but it is the -recognition of oneself in others, eternally. - -Far as custom has carried man from man, yet when at last in the -ever-branching series the complete human being is produced, it knows at -once its kinship with all the other forms. "I have passed my spirit in -determination and compassion round the whole earth, and found only -equals and lovers." More, it knows its kinship with the animals. It sees -that it is only habit, an illusion of difference, that divides; and it -perceives after all that it is the same human creature that flies in the -air, and swims in the sea, or walks biped upon the land. - - -_The two following chapters--though not part of the original work--are -included in the present edition because they form continuations or -expansions of the chapters which criticise modern Science and modern -Morality respectively. The chapter entitled "A Rational and Humane -Science" is in fact a reprint of an address given before the -Humanitarian League in London in 1896. It was first included in the -present volume in 1906. The chapter entitled "The New Morality" is, with -slight alterations, a reprint of an article which appeared in the_ -Albany Review _in September, 1907, under the title "Morality under -Socialism"; and it now appears in the present book for the first time_. - - - - -A RATIONAL AND HUMANE SCIENCE - - -In bringing before you this subject of a Rational and Humane Science you -will perhaps forgive me if I dwell for a few moments on some points of -personal history in relation to it. After reading mathematics for some -four years at Cambridge, it happened to me for the next ten years or so -to be engaged in the study of the physical sciences, and in lectures on -these subjects. Naturally, during the earlier part of this period I -accepted the current methods and conclusions without any question. But -as time went on I became aware of a certain dissatisfaction; I felt that -many of the laws of Science, enounced as universal truths, were of very -limited application only, that many of the conclusions, so strongly -insisted on, were of quite doubtful validity; and at last this -increasing dissatisfaction culminated in a rather violent attack or -criticism of Modern Science which I wrote and published about the year -1884.[40] - -Now, looking back, at this interval of time, though I admit that my -attack was somewhat hasty and crude in detail, I feel that in its main -contention it was thoroughly justified, and I do not feel the least -inclined to withdraw it. - -What was that main contention? It was as follows. Modern Science is an -attempt (and no doubt it would accept this definition of itself) to -survey and classify the phenomena of the world in the pure dry light of -the intellect, uncoloured by feeling; and so far is an effort to -separate the intellectual in man from the merely perceptive, the -emotional, the moral, and so forth. It was in this very fact that my -criticism lay; for I contended that such a separation was in the long -run quite impossible. - -But before proceeding to defend this position, let me admit at once that -this attempt of Modern Science to get rid of human feeling and to look -at everything in the dry light of the intellect was in some respects a -very grand one. When you consider what the Old-time Science was, with -its fancies and prejudices, its dragons pasturing upon the sun and moon -in eclipses, its immolations of hundreds of human beings to appease some -god of pestilence or earthquake, its panics, its superstitions, and its -incapability of regarding anything except from the point of view of that -thing's influence on man's own comfort and his little hopes and fears, -it was indeed a grand advance to try and see _facts_, uncoloured and for -themselves alone. It was an effort of Man as it were to rise above -himself, to which I accord the fullest credit and honour. - -And yet, during the time spoken of, it kept growing on me: first, that -the attempt was an impossible one; secondly, that the Science so-called -was not a true Science; and thirdly, that in its pretence to an -intellectual exactitude which it did not really possess, this Modern -Science was leading to a narrow-mindedness and a dogmatism as bad as the -old. - -There is in fact (so I think) a fallacy in the attempt. But how shall I -describe it? Our relations to the world may, quite roughly speaking, be -divided into three groups--those that are sensuous and perceptional, -those that are purely intellectual, and those that are of an emotional -and moral order. Take any object of Nature--a bird, for instance. We may -look upon the bird as an object of sense-perceptions--its form, its -colour, its song, and so forth. Some people attain to extraordinary -skill and quickness in this department, recognising in a moment the note -or even the flight of a songster. Then again we may look upon the bird -from the intellectual side--we may study it in relation to its -surroundings--the form of its wings, the length of its leg, the -character of its beak, and their adaptation to its habits, to its -locality, to its food, and so forth. Thus we may get a whole series of -purely intellectual results--relations of the bird to the world in which -it lives. This is the special field of the present-day Science. But, -again, we may regard the bird in its emotional and moral relations to -_us_. One man at the sight of it may be affected with admiration of its -beauty, with tenderness towards it, or sympathy; another may be -stimulated to wonder whether he can kill it, or whether it is good to -eat! Modern Science is indifferent to what this last set of relations -may be; it does not concern itself much with the first; but it takes the -middle term, the purely intellectual, and seeks to abstract that from -the others, to study the bird, or whatever the object may be, in the one -aspect only. But can that really be done? The answer is, of course, No. - -To show my general meaning, and why I consider the claim an impossible -one, let us imagine a little cell--one of the myriads which constitute -the human body--professing in the same sort of way to stand outside the -body and explain the laws of the other cells and the body at large. It -is obvious that the little cell, swept along in the currents of the body -and swayed by its emotions, in close proximity and contact with some -portions of the organism, and far remote from others, cannot possibly -pretend to any such impartial judgment. It is obvious not only that it -would not have all the clues of the problem at its command, but that its -own needs and experiences would prejudice it frightfully in the -interpretation of such clues as it had. Yet man is such a little cell in -the body of Nature, or, if you like, in the body of the Society of which -he forms a part. - -There is, however, one way, it seems to me, in which a cell in the -human body _might_ come to an adequate understanding of the body; and -that would be rather through experience than through direct reasoning. -It is conceivable that there might be some cell in the body which, -through the nerves, etc., was in actual touch and sympathetic -relationship with every other cell. Then it certainly would have the -materials of the required solution. Every change in other parts of the -body would register itself in this particular cell; and its little brain -(if it had one), without exactly making any great effort, would reflect -sympathetically the structure of the whole body--would become, in fact, -a mirror of it. This will perhaps give you the key to my notion of what -a true Science might be. - -But before proceeding to that, I want to go a little more in detail into -the fallacy of the absolute intellectual view of Science. I say, first, -that a complete summary of any object or process in Nature is -impossible; secondly, that such summary as we do make is, and must -inevitably and necessarily be, coloured by the underlying _feeling_ with -which we approach that phase of Nature. - -To take the first point. You say, Why is a complete summary not -possible? A watch or other machine may be completely described and -defined; why should not (with a little more knowledge) a fir-tree, or -the human eye, or the solar system, be completely described and defined? - -And this brings us to what may be called the Machine-view of Science. -It is curious (and yet I think it will presently be seen that it is -quite what might have been expected) that during this century or so, in -which Machinery has played such an important part in our daily and -social life, mechanical ideas have come to colour all our conceptions of -Science and the Universe. Modern Science holds it as a kind of ideal -(even though finding it at times difficult to realise) to reduce -everything to mechanical action, and to show each process of Nature -intelligible in the same sense as a Machine is intelligible. Yet this -conception, this ideal, involves a complete fallacy. For the moment you -come to think of it, you see that _no_ part of Nature really even -resembles a machine. - -What is a machine in the ordinary sense? It is an aggregation of parts -put together to fulfil certain definite actions and no others. A -sewing-machine fulfils the purpose of sewing, a watch fulfils that of -keeping time, and they fulfil those purposes only. All their parts -subserve those actions, and in that sense may be completely -described--as far as just their mechanical action is concerned--the same -by a thousand mechanicians. But I make bold to say that _no_ object in -Nature fulfils just one action, or series of actions, and no others. On -the contrary, every object fulfils an endless series of actions. - -Let us take the Human Eye. And I choose this as an instance most adverse -to my position, for there is no doubt that the Human Eye is one of the -most highly specialised objects in creation. Helmholtz, as you know, is -said to have remarked concerning it that if an Optician had sent him an -instrument so defective he should have returned it with his compliments. -Helmholtz was a great man, and I will not do him the injustice to -suppose that he did not know what he was saying. He knew that, regarded -as a machine for focussing rays of light, the eye was decidedly -defective; but then he knew well enough, doubtless, _why_ it was -defective--namely, because it is by no means merely such a machine, but -a great deal more. - -The Eye, in fact, not only fulfils the action of focussing rays of -light--like an Opera Glass or a Telescope--but it might be compared to -another instrument, a Photographic Camera, in respect of the fact that -it forms a picture of the outer world which it throws on a sensitive -plate at the back--the Retina. But then, again, it is unlike any of -these "machines," in the fact that it was never made by any Optician, -human or divine, for any one definite purpose. On the contrary, as we -know, it has grown, it has evolved; it has come down to us over the -centuries, and over thousands and thousands of centuries, from dim -beginnings in the lowliest organisms who first conceived the faculty of -Sight, continually modified, continually shapen by small increments in -various directions, in accordance with the myriad needs of a myriad -creatures, living, some of them in water, some of them in air, requiring -some of them to see at close quarters, some at great distances, some by -one kind of light, some by another, and so forth. So that to-day it not -only contains a great range of inherited, yet latent, faculties, but it -is actually, in its complex structure, an epitome and partial record of -its own extraordinary history. - -As an instance of this last point, let me remind you that Sight was -originally a differentiation of Touch. The light, the shadows, falling -on the sensitive general surface of a primitive organism provoke a -tactile irritation. In the course of evolution this sense specialises -itself at some point of the surface into what we call Sight. Now, -to-day, when the little picture formed by the fore-part of the Human Eye -falls upon the Retina at the back, it falls upon a screen formed by the -myriad congregated finger-tips, so to speak, of the optic nerve--the -rods and cones, so-called--which cover like a mosaic the whole ground of -the Retina, and _feel_ with their sensitive points the images of the -objects in the outer world. And so Sight is still Touch--it is the power -of feeling or touching at a distance--as one sometimes in fact becomes -aware in looking at things. - -But then again on and beyond all these things--beyond the focussing and -photographing of rays, beyond the latent adaptations to the needs of -innumerable creatures, and the epitomising of ages of evolution--the -Human Eye has faculties even more far-reaching perhaps and wonderful. It -is the marvellous organ of human Expression. By the dilatations and -contractions of the iris, by the altering convexities of the lens and -the eyeball, and in a hundred other ways, it manages somehow to convey -intelligence of Command, Control, Power, of Pity, Love, Sympathy, and -all those myriad emotions which flit through the human mind--an endless -series--a perfect encyclopædia. It is difficult even to imagine the eye -without this power of language. And what other functions it may have it -is not necessary to inquire. Highly specialised though it is, it is -already obvious enough that to call it a Machine for focussing rays of -light is monstrously and ludicrously inadequate--even as it would be to -call the Heart (the very centre of emotion and life, and the symbol of -human love and courage) a common Pump. - -Nature is an infinitude, and can at no point be circumscribed by the -human intellect. Nor obviously is there any sense in taking one little -portion of Nature and isolating it from the rest, and then describing it -exhaustively _as if_ it really were so isolated. A thousand mechanicians -will agree, as I have said, in their description of a machine, because -in fact they will agree to view the machine just in the one aspect of -its particular action; but ask a thousand people to describe one and the -same face--or, better still, get a thousand portrait-painters, skilled -in their art, to paint portraits of the same face--and you know -perfectly well that all the likenesses will be different. And why will -they be different? Simply because every face, however rude, has infinite -sides, infinite aspects, and each painter selects what he paints from -his own point of view. And the same is true of every object and process -in Nature. - -Then if these things are true (you ask again) how is it that scientific -men _do_ arrive at definite conclusions, and do agree with each other so -far as they do? - -It is, and obviously must be, by the method of isolation; by the method -of selecting certain aspects of the problems presented to them, and -ignoring others. For since _all_ the relations of any phenomenon of -Nature cannot possibly be compassed, the only way _must_ be to ignore -some and concentrate attention on others; and when there is a kind of -tacit agreement as to which aspects shall be passed over and which -considered, there is naturally an agreement in the results. Thus by this -method, waiving all other aspects of the problem, the Eye may be -described and defined as an optical instrument, the Heart as a common -Pump, and the Solar System as a neat illustration of certain mechanical -laws discovered by Galileo and Newton. - -On the subject of the Solar System and Astronomy I will dwell for a few -moments, as here--in this great example of the perfection of Modern -Science--we have again a case apparently most adverse to my contention. -The generalisations by which Newton established the nature of the -planetary orbits has been a wonder to succeeding generations; the -positions of the planets can be foretold, eclipses can be calculated -with amazing accuracy. Yet every tyro in Mathematics knows that the -equations which give these results can only be solved by what is called -"neglecting small quantities"--that is, the problems cannot be solved in -their entirety, but by leaving out certain terms and elements, which do -not appear important, a solution can be approached. And naturally it has -been an important point to show that these small quantities _may_ be -safely neglected. In the case, for instance, of the orbits of the -planets round the sun, and of the moon round the earth, it was for a -long time taken as proved that the small variations in the shape and -position of each elliptic orbit would never be accompanied by any -permanent increase or diminution in its _size_--that is, that the _mean -distances_ of the planets from the sun, and of the moon from the earth, -would always remain within certain limits. Of late years however -Professor George Darwin, taking up one of these poor little neglected -quantities in the theory of the moon, found that it indicated after all -very vast and very permanent, though of course very slow, changes in her -mean distance from the earth; so that now it appears probable that the -Moon's true orbit, instead of being a limited ellipse, is a continually -though gradually enlarging Spiral, which may some day carry the Moon to -a great distance from the earth. If an eclipse were calculated for -twenty years in advance on the Elliptic theory or the Spiral theory, it -would probably--so slow would be the divergence--make no perceptible -difference; but in a hundred centuries the two theories would lead to -results utterly different. - -Thus the certitude of Astronomy as a Science arises largely from the -fact that our _times_ are so brief compared with Celestial periods. The -proper periods of Celestial changes are to be reckoned by thousands, -perhaps millions, of years; but we, ignoring _that_ aspect of the -problem, fix our observations on one little point of time, and are quite -satisfied with the result! - -As another illustration of my meaning, consider the Fixed Stars, -so-called. These stars in their groups and clusters, which we know so -well by sight, have remained apparently in the very same, or nearly the -same, relative positions during all the 2,000 or 3,000 years that we -have any record of the shapes of the Constellations. Yet now by minute -telescopic and spectroscopic examination we know that they are moving, -and have been moving all the time, in various differing directions with -great velocities, amounting to miles per second. Nevertheless, so great -are the spaces concerned, so great the times, that all this long period -has not sufficed to bring them into any greatly changed attitude with -regard to each other! What would you think of an intelligent foreigner -who, coming to England to study the game of cricket, remained on the -cricket field for a quarter of a minute--during which time the players -would have hardly changed their positions--and having noted a few -points, went away and wrote a volume on the laws of the game? And what -are we to think of poor little Man who, having noted the stars for a -few centuries, is so sure that he understands their movements, and that -he is versed in all the "ordinances of heaven." - -Thus it would appear that every Nature-problem is so enormously complex -that it can only be got at by what we have called the Method of -Ignorance. Let us take a practical Science problem like that of -Vaccination. The question here, put in its simplest terms, seems to be, -Whether Vaccination, with calf or human lymph, prevents or alleviates -Smallpox; and if it does, whether it does so without engendering other -evils at least as great. At first sight this may appear to you a very -simple question, and easy to solve; but the moment you come to think -about it, you see its extreme complexity. In the first place, it is -obvious that in a question like this, individual cases afford no test. -It is obvious that the fact that A. is vaccinated and has not taken -small-pox proves nothing, for there is nothing to show that he would -have taken it if he had not been vaccinated. And when you have got -people vaccinated by the hundred and the thousand, you still are not -certain; for these people may belong to a certain class, or a certain -locality, or may have certain habits and conditions of life, which may -account for their comparative immunity, and these causes must be -eliminated before any definite conclusion can be reached. Thus it is not -till the great mass of the population is vaccinated that we can expect -reliable statistics. But the introduction of a practice of this kind on -so great a scale necessarily takes a long period of years, and meanwhile -changes are taking place in the habits of the people, Sanitation is -being improved, customs of Diet are altering, possibly (as so often -happens in the history of an epidemic) the disease, having run its -course, is beginning spontaneously to decline. And thus another series -of possible causes has to be discussed. - -Then, supposing the question, notwithstanding all these difficulties, to -be so far settled in favour of the present system--there still arises -that whole other series of difficulties with regard to the possibility -of the spread of _other_ diseases by the practice, and with regard to -the _extent_ of such spread, before we can arrive at any finale. This -series of questions is almost as complex as the other; and it includes -that great element of uncertainty--the question what interval of time -may elapse between inoculation with a disease and its actual appearance. -For if in several cases children break out with erysipelas immediately -after vaccination, of course there is a certain presumption that -vaccination has been the cause; but if the erysipelas only appears some -years after, its connection with the operation may, though real, be -impossible to trace. - -The matter standing thus, it seems to us almost a mystery how it was -that the medical authorities of the early days of Jennerism were so -cocksure of their conclusions--until we remember that in arriving at -those conclusions they practically _ignored_ all these other points -that I have mentioned, like changes of Sanitation, spontaneous decline -of Small-pox, the spread of other diseases, etc., and simply limited -themselves to one small aspect of the problem. But now, after this -interval of time, when the neglected facts and aspects have meanwhile -_forced_ themselves on our attention, how remarkable is the change of -attitude as evidenced by the finding of the late Royal Commission! -(1896). - -From all this do not understand me to deride Science--for I have no -intention of doing that; on the contrary, I think the debt we owe to -modern investigation quite incalculable; but I only wish to warn you how -complex all these problems are, how impossible that notion of settling -even one of them by a cut-and-dried intellectual formula. - -But you will ask (for this is the second point I mentioned some little -time back) _how_ people's emotions and feelings come in to colour their -scientific conclusions? And the answer is--very simply, namely by -directing their choice as to what aspects of the problem they will -ignore and what aspects they will envisage; by determining their point -of view, in fact. To return to that illustration of several -portrait-painters painting the same face; just as each painter is led by -his feeling, his sympathies, his general temperament, to select certain -points in the face and to pass over others, so each group of scientific -men in each generation is led by its sympathies, its idiosyncrasies, to -envisage certain aspects of the problems of the day and to ignore -others. - -The whole history of Science illustrates this. We are all familiar with -the way in which the predilections of religious feeling in the time of -Copernicus and Galileo retarded the progress of astronomical Science. As -long as people believed that a divine drama of redemption had been -enacted on this earth alone, they naturally concluded that this earth -was the centre of the universe, and refused to look at facts which -contradicted their conclusion. When Galileo turned his newly-made -telescope on Jupiter and saw it circled by its satellites, he saw in -this an image of the Copernican system and of the planets circling round -the central Sun; but when he asked others to share his observation and -his inference, they would not. "O, my dear Kepler," he writes in a -letter to his fellow astronomer, "how I wish we could have one hearty -laugh together. Here at Padua is the principal Professor of Philosophy, -whom I have repeatedly and urgently requested to look at the moon and -planets through my glass; but he pertinaciously refuses to do so. What -shouts of laughter we should have at this glorious folly!" - -And though we laugh at the folly of those before us, we do the same -things ourselves to-day. Take the science of Political Economy. A -revolution has taken place in that, almost comparable to the change from -the geocentric to the heliocentric view in Astronomy. During the -distinctively commercial period of the last 100 years, the leading -students of social science, being themselves filled with the spirit of -the time, have been fain to look upon the acquisition of private wealth -as the one absorbing motive of human nature; and so it has come about -that the economists, from Adam Smith to John Stuart Mill, have founded -their science on self-seeking and competition, as the base of their -analysis. To-day another series of economists coming to the front--their -minds preoccupied with the great facts of Community of life and -Co-operation--have discovered that Society is in the main an -illustration of these latter principles, and have evolved a quite new -phase of the science. It is not that Society has changed so much during -this period, as that the altered point of view of the students of -Society has caused them simply to fix their attention on a different -aspect of the problem and a different range of facts. - -I have alluded already to the way in which the prevalent use of -Machinery in practical life has affected our mental outlook on the -world. It is curious that during this mechanical age of the last 100 -years or so, we have not only come to regard Society in a mechanical -light, as a concourse of separate individuals bound together by a mere -cash-nexus, but have extended the same idea to the universe at large, -which we look upon as a concourse of separate atoms, associated together -by gravitation, or possibly by mere mutual impact. Yet it is certain -that both these views are false, since the individuals who compose -Society are _not_ separate from each other; and the theory that the -universe, in its ultimate analysis, is composed of a vast number of -discrete atoms is simply unthinkable. - -When we come to a practical and modern question like Medicine, the -influence of the spirit in which it is approached on the course of the -science is very easy to see. For if the science of Medicine is -approached (as it perhaps mostly is to-day) in a spirit of combined Fear -and Self-indulgence--fear for one's own personal safety, combined with a -kind of anxiety to continue living in the indulgence of habits known to -be unhealthy--if it is approached in this uncomfortable and -contradictory state of mind, it is pretty obvious that its course will -be similarly uncomfortable: that it will consist for the most part in a -search for drugs which shall, without effort on our part, palliate the -effects of our misconduct; in the discovery, as in a kind of nightmare, -that the air round us is full of billions of microbes; in a terrified -study of these messengers of disease, and in a frantic effort to ward -them off by inoculations, vaccinations, vivisections, and so forth, -without end. - -If, on the other hand, the science is approached from quite a different -side--from that of the love of Health, and the desire to make life -lovely, beautiful and clean; if the student is filled not only with -this, but with a great belief in the essential _power_ of Man, and his -command in creation, to control not only all these little microbes -whose name is Legion, but through his mind all the processes of his -body; then it is obvious enough that a whole series of different facts -will arise before his eyes and become the subject of his study--facts of -sanitation, of the laws of cleanly life, diet, clothing and so forth, -methods of control, and the details and practice of the influence of the -mental upon the physical part of man--facts quite equally real with the -others, equally important, equally numerous perhaps and complex, but -forming a totally different range of science. - -In conclusion, you begin to see doubtless that I do not believe in a -science of mere Formulas, which can be poured from one brain to another -like water in a pot. I believe in something more organic to -Humanity--which shall combine Sense, Intellect and Soul; which shall -include the keenest training of the Senses, the exactest use of the -Brain, and the subordination of both of these to the finest and most -generous attitude of Man towards Nature. - -To come to quite practical aspects, I think that Physical Science, and -for that matter Natural History too, ought to be founded on the closest -observation and actual intimacy with Nature. It is notorious that in -many respects the perceptions, the Nature-intuitions, of savage races -far outdo those of civilised man. We have let that side go slack, and -too often the man of science when he comes out of his study is a mere -baby in the external world. I look back with a kind of shame when I -think that I studied the mathematical side of Astronomy for three or -four years at Cambridge and absolutely at the time hardly knew one star -from another in the sky. But such are the methods of teaching that have -been in use. They ought however to be reversed, and practical -acquaintance with the facts should come a long way first, and then be -succeeded by inductive and deductive reasoning when the difficulties of -the subject have forced themselves on the student's mind. - -Then in Natural History and Botany I think that we have hitherto not -only neglected the perceptive side, but also what may be called the -intuitive and emotional aspects. If any one will attend to the subject, -I believe they will perceive that there are dormant in the mind the -finest intuitions and instincts of relationship to the various animals -and plants--intuitions which have played a far more important part in -the life of barbaric races than they do to-day.[41] Primitive peoples -have a remarkable instinct of the medicinal and dietetic uses of herbs -and plants--an instinct which we also find well developed among -animals--and I believe that this kind of knowledge would grow largely -if, so to speak, it were given a chance. The formal classification of -animals and plants--which now forms the main part of these -sciences--would then come in simply as an aid and an auxiliary to the -more direct and human study. - -Again, let us take the science of Physiology. At present this is mainly -carried on by means of Dissection or Vivisection. But both these methods -are unsatisfactory. Dissection, because it amounts to studying the -organisation of a living creature by the examination of its dead -carcase; and Vivisection, because it is not only open to a similar -objection, but because it necessarily violates the highest relation of -man to the animal he is studying. There is, I believe, another method--a -method which has been known in the East for centuries, though little -regarded in the West--which may perhaps be called the method of Health. -It consists in rendering the body, by proper habits of life, pure and -healthy, till it becomes, as it were, transparent to the inner eye, and -then projecting the consciousness _inward_ so as to become almost as -sensible of the structure and function of the various internal organs, -as it usually is of the outer surface of the body. Of course this is a -process which cannot be effectuated at once, and which may need help and -corroboration by external methods of study, but I believe it is one -which will lead to considerable results. There is no doubt that many of -the Yogis of India attain to great skill in it. - -Similarly, from what we have already said about Political Economy, it -is obvious that satisfactory results in that science must depend -immensely on the high degree of social instinct and feeling with which -the student approaches it, and on the thoroughness of his acquaintance -with the _actual life_ of a people; and that the development of these -factors is fully as important a part of the science as that which -consists in the logical ordering and arrangement of the material -obtained. - -I need not, I think, go any further into detail of new methods in each -Science. You remember what I said at the beginning about the Cell -studying the Body of which it formed a part. We may imagine, if we like, -three stages in this process. In the first stage the Cell regards the -other cells and the Body simply from the point of view of how they -affect _it_, and its comfort and safety. This might be taken to -correspond to the Old-time Science. In the second stage the Cell, with -its tiny experience of the other cells and the small part of the body in -which it is placed, becomes highly intellectual, and professes to lay -down the laws of the structure of the body generally. This corresponds -to the attitude of Modern Science. In the third stage the Cell, growing -and evolving, and coming daily into closer sympathetic relationship with -all parts of the body, begins to find its true relation to the other -cells, not to use _them_, but to fulfil its part in the whole. Gradually -drawing all the threads together and coming more and more, so to say, -into a central position, it at last in its little brain spontaneously -and inevitably reflects the whole, and becomes the mirror of it. This -would answer to what we have called a really rational and humane -Science. - -Man has to find and to _feel_ his true relation to other creatures and -to the whole of which he is a part, and has to use his brain to further -this. Science _is_, as we all know, the search for Unity. That is its -ideal. It unites innumerable phenomena under one law; and then it unites -many laws under one higher; always seeking for the ultimate complete -integration. But (is it not obvious?) Man cannot find that unity _of_ -the Whole until he feels his unity _with_ the Whole. To found a Science -of one-ness on the murderous Warfare and insane Competition of men with -each other, and on the Slaughter and Vivisection of animals--the search -for unity on the practice of disunity--is an absurdity, which can only -in the long run reveal itself as such. - -I do not know whether it seems obvious to you, but it does to me, that -Man will never find in theory the unity of outer Nature till he reaches -in practice the unity of his own. When he has learnt to harmonise in -himself all his powers, bodily and mental, his desires, faculties, -needs, and bring them into perfect co-operation--when he has found the -true hierarchy of himself--then somehow I think that Nature round him -will reflect this order, and range itself in clear and intelligible -harmony about him. - -But I can say no more. I have dragged you by the neck, as it were, -through a recondite and difficult subject; and even so I do not feel -that I have by any means done justice to it. But it is possible, -perhaps, that I have cast the germ of an idea among you, which, if you -think over it at leisure, may develop into something of value. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[40] Afterwards reprinted in a modified form, as "Modern Science--a -Criticism," in the first edition (1889) of the present book. - -[41] Elisée Reclus, in his remarkable paper, _La Grande Famille_, points -out the wide-reaching _Friendship_, and free alliance for various -purposes, of primitive man with the animals, existing long before the -so-called "domestication" of the latter. See _Humane Review_, January, -1906. - - - - -THE NEW MORALITY - - -The tendency of the Evolution Theory, as it penetrates human thought, is -to rub out lines--the old lines of formal classification. We no longer -now put in a class apart those animals which have horns or cloven -hooves, because we find that continuous descent and close kinship weave -relations which are not bounded by horns or hooves. And, for a not -dissimilar reason, modern thought, based on the theory of evolution, is -tending to rub out the hard and fast lines between moral Right and -Wrong--the old formal classifications of _actions_ as some in their -nature good, and some in their nature bad. - -The Eastern, or at least Indian, thought and religion rubbed out these -lines long ago. Its philosophy indeed was founded on a theory of -Evolution--the continuous evolution or emanation of the Many from the -One. It could not therefore regard any _class_ of beings or creatures as -essentially bad, or any _class_ of actions as essentially wrong, since -all sprang from a common Root. The only essential evil was ignorance -(_avidya_)--that is, the fact of the being or creature not knowing or -perceiving its emanation from, or kinship with, the One--and of course -any action done under this condition of _avidya_, however outwardly -correct, was essentially wrong; while on the other hand _all_ actions -done by beings fully realising and conscious of their union with the One -were necessarily right. - -Of this attitude towards Right and Wrong there are abundant instances in -the Upanishads. The choice of the path does not lie _between_ Good and -Bad, as in the _Pilgrim's Progress_, but it lies above and in a region -transcending them both. "By the serenity of his thoughts a man blots out -_all_ actions, whether good or bad."[42] "He does not distress himself -with the thought, Why did I not do what is good? Why did I do what is -bad?"[43] All religions indeed, by the very fact of their being -religions, have indicated a sphere above morality, to which their -followers shall and must aspire. What else is St. Paul's reiterated -charge to escape from the dominion of sin and law, into the glorious -liberty of the children of God? And in all ages the great mystics--those -who stand near the fountain-sources of evolution and emanation--have -seen and said the same. Says Spinoza:--"With regard to good and evil, -these terms indicate nothing positive in things considered in -themselves, nor are they anything else than modes of thought, or -notions which we form from _the comparison of one thing with another_. -For one and the same thing may at the same time be both good and evil, -or indifferent."[44] - -Here indeed, in these pregnant words, we come upon the very root of the -matter. A thing, an action, may be called good or bad in respect to a -certain purpose or object; but in itself, No. Wine may be good for the -encouragement of sociability, but may be bad for the liver. The -Sabbath-day may be pronounced a beneficial institution from some points -of view, but not from others. A scrupulous respect for private property -may certainly be a help to settled social life; but the practice of -thieving--as recommended by Plato--may be very useful to check the lust -of private riches. To speak of wine as in its nature good or bad is -manifestly absurd; and the same of a pious respect for private property -or the Sabbath-day. These things are good under certain conditions or -for certain purposes, and bad under other conditions or for other -purposes. But of course it belongs and goes with the brute externalising -tendency of the mind, to stereotype the actual material thing--which -should be only the vehicle of the spirit--and give _it_ a character and -a cult as good or bad. The Sabbath ceases to be made for man, and man is -made for the Sabbath. Law, Custom, Pharisaism, and Self-righteousness -spring up and usurp the sphere of morality, and all the histories of -savage and civilised nations, with their endless fetishes and taboos -and superstitions and ceremonies, and caste-marks and phylacteries, and -petty regulations and proprieties,--including bitter scorn and -persecution of those who do not fulfil them,--are but illustrations of -this process. - -All the prophets and saviours of the world have been for the Spirit as -against the letter--and the teachings of all religions have in their -turn become literalised and fossilised! Perhaps there has been no -greater anti-literal than Jesus of Nazareth, and yet perhaps no religion -has become more a thing of forms and dogmas than that which passes under -his name. Even his counsels of Gentleness and Love--which one would -indeed have thought might escape this process--have been corrupted into -mere prescriptions of morality, such as those of Non-resistance, and of -philanthropic Altruism. - -It seems strange indeed that so great a man as Tolstoy should have lent -himself to this process--to the pinning down of the excellent spirit of -Christ (who by the way was man enough to drive the money-changers out of -the Temple) to a mere formula, as one might pin a dragon-fly to a -labelled card--_Thou shalt not use Violence: thou shalt not Resist!_ And -all the while to cleave to a formula only means to admit the evil in -some other shape which the formula does not meet--to forswear the stick -only means to resort to rebuke and sarcasm in self-defence, which may -inflict more pain and a deeper scar, and in some cases more injury, -than the stick; or if self-defence in any shape is quite forsworn then -that only means to resign and abandon one's place in the world -completely. - -And the same of the somewhat spooney Altruism, which was at one time -much recommended as the maxim of conduct. For all the while it is -notorious that the specially altruistic people are as a rule painfully -dull and uninteresting, and afford far less life and charm to those -around them than many who are frankly egotistic; and so by following a -formula of Altruism it seems they wreck the very work they set before -themselves to do--namely, that of making the world brighter! - -Against these weaknesses of Christianity Nietzsche was a healthy -reaction. It was he insisted on the terms "good" and "bad" being -restored to their proper use, as terms of relation--"good" for what? -"bad" for what? But his reaction against maudlin altruism and -non-resistance led him towards a pitfall in the opposite direction, -towards the erection of the worship of Force almost into a formula, Thou -_shalt_ use Violence, thou _shalt_ Resist. His contempt for the feeble -and the spooney and the knock-kneed and the humbug is very delightful -and entertaining, and, as I say, healthy in the sense of reaction; but -one does not get a very clear idea what the strength which Nietzsche -glorifies is for, or whither it is going to lead. His blonde beasts and -his laughing lions may represent the Will to Power; but Nietzsche seems -to have felt, himself, that this latter alone would not suffice, and so -he passed on to his discovery or invention of the Beyond-man,--_i.e._ of -a childlike being who, without argument, _affirms_ and creates, and -before whom institutions and conventions dissolve, as it were of their -own accord.[45] This was a stroke of genius; but even so it leaves -doubtful what the relation of such Beyond-men to each other may be, and -whether, if they have no common source of life, their actions will not -utterly cancel and destroy each other. - -The truth is that Nietzsche never really penetrated to the realisation -of that farther state of consciousness in which the deep underlying -unity of man with Nature and his fellows is perceived and felt. He saw -apparently that there is a life and an inspiration of life beyond all -technical good and evil. But for some reason--partly because of the -natural difficulty of the subject, partly perhaps because the Eastern -outlook was uncongenial to his mind--he never found the solution which -he needed; and his outline of the Superman remains cloudy and uncertain, -vague and variously interpreted by followers and critics. - -The question arises, What do _we_ need? We are to-day, in this matter, -in a somewhat parlous state. The old codes of Morality are moribund; the -Ten Commandments command only a very qualified assent; the Christian -religion as a real inspiration of practical life and conduct is dead; -the social conventions and Mrs. Grundy remain, feebly galling and -officious. What are we to do? Are we to bolster up the old codes, in -which we have largely ceased to believe, merely in order to have a -code?--or are we to let them go? - -Of course, if we have decided what the final purpose or life of Man is, -then we may say that what is good for that purpose is finally "good," -and what is bad for that purpose is finally "evil." The Eastern -philosophy, as I have said, deciding that the final purpose of Man is -identification with Brahm, declares _all_ actions to be evil (even the -most saintly) which are done by the self as separate from Brahm; and all -actions as good which are done in the condition of _vidya_ or conscious -union. But here, though a final good and evil are allowed and -acknowledged, as existing respectively in the conditions of vidya or -avidya, those conditions altogether escape any external rule or -classification. - -Mr. Gilbert Chesterton, taking up this subject not long ago in a -criticism[46] of Mr. Orage's little book on Nietzsche, said that all -this talk about "beyond good and evil" was nonsense; that we must have -some code; and that in effect, any code, even a bad one, was better than -none. And one sees what he means. It is perfectly true, in a sense, that -the harness, the shafts, and the blinkers keep a large part of the -world on the beaten road and out of the ditch, and that folk are always -to be found who, rather than use their higher faculties, will rely on -these external guides; but to encourage this kind of salvation by -blinkers seems the very reverse of what ought to be done; and one might -even ask whether salvation by such means is salvation at all--whether -the ditch were not better! - -Besides, what _can_ we do? It is not so much that we are deliberately -abandoning the codes as that they are abandoning us. With the gradual -infiltration of new ideas, of Eastern thought, of Darwinian philosophy, -of customs and creeds of races other than our own, with Bernard Shaw -lecturing on the futility of the Ten Commandments, and so forth, it is -not difficult to see that in a short while it will be impossible to -rehabilitate any of the ancient codes or to give them a sanction and a -sense of awe in the public mind. If with Gilbert Chesterton we should -succeed in bolstering up such a thing for a time--well, it will only be -for a time. - -And the question is, whether the time has not really come for us to -stand up--like sensible men and women--and _do without rules_; whether -we cannot trust ourselves at last to throw aside the blinkers. The -question is whether we cannot realise that solid and central life which -underlies and yet surpasses all rules. For truly, if we cannot do this, -our state is pitiable--having ceased to believe in the letter of -Morality, and yet unable to find its spirit! - -It is here, then, that the New Morality comes in, as more or less -clearly understood and expressed by the progressive sections to-day. -Modern Socialism, in effect, taking up a position in its way somewhat -similar to that of Eastern philosophy, says: Morality in its essence is -not a code, but simply the realisation of the Common Life;[47] and that -is a thing which is not foreign and alien to humanity, but very germane -and natural to it--a thing so natural that without doubt it would be -more in evidence than it is, did not the institutions and teachings of -Western civilisation tend all along to deny and disguise it. To liberate -this instinct of the Common Life, freeing it from hard and cramping -rules, and to let it take its own form or forms--grafted on and varied -of course by the personal and selective element of Affection and -Sympathy--is the hope that lies before the world to-day for the solution -of all sorts of moral and social problems. - -And the more this position is thought over, the more, I believe, will it -commend itself. The sense of organic unity, of the common welfare, the -instinct of Humanity, or of general helpfulness, are things which run in -all directions through the very fibre of our individual and social -life--just as they do through that of the gregarious animals. In a -thousand ways: through heredity and the fact that common ancestral blood -flows in our veins--though we be only strangers that pass in the street; -through psychology, and the similarity of structure and concatenation in -our minds; through social linkage, and the necessity of each and all to -the others' economic welfare; through personal affection and the ties of -the heart; and through the mystic and religious sense which, diving deep -below personalities, perceives the vast flood of universal being--in -these and many other ways does this Common Life compel us to recognise -itself as a fact--perhaps the most fundamental fact of existence. - -To teach this simple foundational fact and what flows from it to every -child--not only as a theory, but as a practical habit and inspiration of -conduct--is not really difficult, but easy. Children, having this sense -woven into their very being, grow up in the spirit and practical -habitude of it, and from the beginning possess the inspiration of what -we call Morality--far more effectually indeed than copy-book maxims can -provide. Respect for truth, consideration towards parents and elders, -respect for the reasonable properties, dignities, conveniences of -others, as well as for one's own needs and dignities, become perfectly -natural and habitual. And that this is no mere hypothesis the example of -Japan has lately shown where every young thing is brought up so far -drenched in the sentiment of community that to give one's life for one's -country is looked upon as a privilege.[48] The general lines, I say, of -morality would be secure, and much more secure than they now are, if we -could only bring the children up in an educational and practical -atmosphere of that solidarity which as a matter of fact is demanded -to-day by socialism and the economic movement generally. - -And on this ground-work, as I have hinted, Personal Affection and -Sympathy would build a superstructure of their own; they would outline a -society as much more beautiful, powerful and closely knit than the -present one founded on the Cash-nexus, as, say, the Athenian society of -the time of Pericles was superior to that of the Lapithæ who first -bitted and bridled the horse. - -While the general Life, equal, pervasive, and in a sense -undifferentiated, is a great fact which has to be acknowledged; so this -personal Love and Affection, choosing, selecting, and giving outline and -form to that life, is equally a fact, equally undeniable, equally -sacred--and one which has to be taken in conjunction with the other. - -I say equally sacred: because there has been a tendency (no doubt due to -certain causes) to look upon personal affection, in its various phases -from slight inclinations of sympathy to the stronger compulsions of -passion, as something rather dubious in character, at best an amiable -weakness not to be encouraged. Tolstoy, in one of his writings, figures -the case of a little household in days of famine not really having bread -enough for their own wants. Then a stranger child comes to the door and -pleads for food. Tolstoy suggests that the mother ought to take the -scanty crust from her own child to feed the stranger withal, or at least -to share the food equally between the two children. But such a -conclusion seems to me doubtful. - -Whatever "ought" may mean in such a connexion, we know pretty well that -such never _will_ be the rule of human life, we may almost say never can -be; perhaps we should be equally justified in saying, never "ought" to -be. For obviously there must be preferences, selections. Our affections, -our affinities, our sympathies, our passions, are not given us for -nothing. It is not for nothing that every individual person, every tree, -every animal has a _shape_, a shape of its own. If it were not so the -world would be infinitely, inconceivably, dull. Yet to ask that a mother -should in all cases treat strange children exactly the same as her own, -that a man from the oceanic multitude should single out no special or -privileged friends, but should love all alike, is to ask that these folk -in their mental and moral nature should become as jellyfish--of no -distinct shape or satisfaction to themselves or any one else. Profound -and indispensable as is the Law of Equality--the law, namely, that there -is a region within all beings where they touch to a common and equal -life--the other law, that of Individual predilection, is equally -indispensable. Try to reduce all to the one motive of the general -interest, and you might have a perfect morality, but a morality woodeny, -hard and dull, without form and feature. Try to dispense with this, and -to found society on individual affection and love, and on individual -initiative, without morals, and you would have a flighty, unstable -thing, without consistency or backbone. - -My contention, then, is that our hope for the future society lies in its -embodiment of these two great principles jointly: (1) the recognition of -the Common Life as providing the foundation-element of general morality, -and (2) the recognition of Individual Affection and Expression--and to a -much greater degree than hitherto--as building up the higher groupings -and finer forms of the structure. And in proportion as (1) provides a -solider basis of morals than we have hitherto had, so will it be -possible to give to (2) a width of scope and freedom of action hitherto -untried or untrusted. Conjointly with the strengthening of these -principles of Solidarity and Affection in society must of course come -the strengthening of Individuality--the right and the desire of every -being to preserve and develop its own proper _shape_, and so to add to -the richness and interest of life--and this involves the right of -Resistance, and (once more) the relegation of the formula of -non-resistance into the background. - -These considerations, however, are leading us too far afield, and away -from the special subject of our paper. I mention them chiefly in order -to show that while we are considering Morality as a foundation-element -of Society, it must never be lost sight of that it is not the only -element, and that it would be comparatively senseless and useless unless -grafted on and complemented and completed by the others. - -The method of the New Morality, then, will be to minimise formulæ, and -(except as illustrations) to use them sparely; and to bring children -up--and so indirectly all citizens--in such conditions of abounding life -and health that their sympathies, overflowing naturally to those around, -will cause them to realise in the strongest way their organic part in -the great whole of society--and this not as an intellectual theory, so -much as an abiding consciousness and foundation-fact of their own -existence. Make this the basis of all teaching. Make them realise--by -all sorts of habit and example--that to injure or deceive others is to -injure themselves--that to help others somehow satisfies and fortifies -their own inner life. Let them learn, as they grow up, to regard all -human beings, of whatever race or class, as ends in themselves--never to -be looked upon as mere things or chattels to be made use of. Let them -also learn to look upon the animals in the same light--as beings, they -too, who are climbing the great ladder of creation--beings with whom -also we humans have a common spirit and interest. And let them learn to -respect _themselves_ as worthy and indispensable members of this great -Body. Thus will be established a true Morality--a morality far more -searching, more considerate of others, more adaptive and more genuine -than that of the present day--a morality, we may say, of common-sense. - -For it may indeed be said that Morality--taking a downright and almost -physiological view of it--is simply _abundance of life_. That is, that -when a man has so abounding and vital an inner nature that his -sympathies and activities overflow the margin of his own petty days and -personal advantage, he is by that fact entering the domain of morality. -Before that time and while limited to the personal organism, the -creative life in each being is either non-moral like that of the -animals, or simply selfish like that of the immature man; but when it -overflows this limit it necessarily becomes social, and moves to the -support and consideration of the neighbour. Having formerly found its -complete activity in the sustentation of the personal self it now -spreads its helpful energies into the lives of the other selves around. -Altruism, in fact, in its healthy forms, is the overflow of abounding -vitality. It is a morality without a code, and happily free from -limiting formulæ.[49] - -And if it be again said that a morality of this kind, which rests on a -principle and a mental attitude only, is a danger, let us pause for a -moment to consider how much more dangerous is one which rests on -formulæ. If morality without a code is a serious matter, how much more -serious is one which is nailed up _within_ a code! For looking back on -history it would sometimes seem that the black-and-white, the -this-thing-right-and-that-thing-wrong morality has been the most wicked -thing in the world. It has been an excuse for all the most devilish -deeds and persecutions imaginable. A formula of the Sabbath-day, a -formula about Witchcraft, a formula of Marriage (regardless of the real -human relation), a formula concerning Theft (regardless of the dire need -of the thief)--and burnings, hangings, torturings without mercy! The -terrible thing about this Right-and-Wrong morality is not only that it -leads to these dreadful reprisals; but that it brands upon the victim as -well as upon the oppressor the fatuous notions that a certain _thing_ is -right or wrong, and that what one has to do is to save _oneself_--two -notions both of which are directly contrary to true Morality. A boy -tells a verbal lie--perhaps through fear, perhaps through inadvertence. -He has broken a formula and is immediately caned. Moral: he will keep to -verbal truth afterwards--however mean or insidious it may be--and be -pharisaically self-satisfied; but he will never realise that the -importance of truth and lies rests not in the words, but in the -confidence and mutual trust which they either create or destroy. The -peculiarly English worship of Duty is open to the same objection. -"Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds," and splendid as is the -conception and practice of Duty, as a self-oblivious inspiration and -enthusiasm, it becomes a truly revolting thing when it takes the -all-too-common form "I have done _my_ Duty, I'm all right!" "I am going -to do _my_ Duty, whatever becomes of you." Can anything be imagined more -disintegrating to society, more certain to split it up into a dustheap -of self-regarding units, than a formula of this kind? "It is my painful -Duty to condemn you to be hanged by the neck until you are dead," says -the Judge to the wretched girl who, in a frenzy of despair, has drowned -her baby. What he really means is that while he perfectly recognises the -monstrosity of the Law which he has sworn to administer, and the -soul-killing effect on the girl which his sentence may have, yet in -order to save _himself_ from the risk or the wrong of breaking that Law, -he is willing and ready to pronounce that sentence. "It is my duty to -burn you," says the Inquisitor to the heretic; and the implication is -really, "I am afraid that if I do not burn you I shall get burnt myself, -in the next world." - -The sooner an end can be made of this sort of morality, the -better--which under the cloak of public advantage or benefit is only -thinking about self-promotion and self-interest, either in this world -or the next, and which truly is calculated not to further human -solidarity but to destroy it. It runs and trickles through all of modern -society, poisoning the well-springs of affection, this morality which, -having paid its domestic servants their regular wages, is quite -satisfied with itself, and expects them to do _their_ duty in return, -but is silent about their real needs and welfare; which treats its -wage-workers as simple machines for the grinding out of profits, and -lifts its eyebrows in serene surprise when they retaliate against such -treatment; which can only regard a criminal as a person who has broken a -formula, and in return must be punished according to a formula; and a -pig as an animal for which you provide reasonable provender and a stye, -and which in return you are entitled to _eat_. Pharisaical, self-centred -and self-interested, materialistic to the last degree, and really -senseless in its outlook, this current morality is indeed, and very -seriously, a public peril. - - - Thou shalt not steal: an empty feat, - When it's so lucrative to cheat. - - -Keep _within_ the code, within the letter; always speak the nominal -truth (whoever may suffer thereby); keep up the accepted formulæ of -marriage and the sex-relation (though hearts may be bleeding and -perishing); pay every respect to property, and so forth; and you may -have the gratification of being looked upon as a bulwark of society. But -none the less it is probable that you are undermining and corrupting -that society to the core. Your outlook is merely on the surface, while -you are condoning deep-seated ill. - -Of course the New Morality--to look _within_, to feel and refer to the -needs of others almost as instinctively as to one's own, to refuse to -regard any _thing_ as in itself good or bad, and to look upon all -beings, oneself included, as ends in themselves and not as a means of -personal self-advancement and glorification--while it is the more -natural, is also the more difficult in a sense, as providing no set -pattern or rule. But surely the time has arrived for its adoption. It is -the morality which must underlie the freer, more varied forms of the -society of the future; and it is the only escape from the corruption of -the old order. - -To take particular examples. Truth, in word or act, is--we all -feel--very important, very fundamental. It is the basis of the common -understanding of which I have spoken. It is the basis of the expression -of oneself, and of the recognition of others. Any one who is deeply -imbued with the consciousness of the common life will necessarily have a -deep respect for the Truth; he will also have a deep respect for the -Life, the Property, the good Name, the Affections, and so forth, of -others, as well as for his own similar attributes. He will not be able -to say, as a formula: I will _never_ deceive another (tell a lie); I -will _never_ take the life of others, man or animal (kill); and so on, -because he knows there are situations in which that very Life arising -within him, or even his own absolute necessity, will demand such -actions, will compel him to the performance of them; but all the same he -will in his ordinary existence carry out the principle which underlies -these formulæ, and much more thoroughly, probably, than the formulæ -themselves would demand. - -Similarly about such matters as sexual morality. There are outcries -against Lady-Godiva-shows and living statuary--apparently because folk -are afraid of such things rousing the passions. No doubt the things may -act that way. But why, we may ask, should people be afraid of rousing -passions which, after all, are the great driving forces of human life? -Clearly it is because they think the other forces which should guide -these passions or give them a helpful and useful direction are too weak. -And in this last respect they are right. The guiding and inhibiting -forces in our present society are feeble--because they consist only in a -few conventional formulæ, which are rapidly being undermined. We are -generating steam in a boiler which is already cankered with rust. The -cure is not to cut off the passions, or to be weakly afraid of them, but -to find a new, sound, healthy engine of general morality and -common-sense within which they will work. And this is what in the future -we must try to do. - -This morality, this organic, vital, almost physiological morality of the -common life--which means a quick response of each unit to the needs of -the other units, and much the same in the body politic as health means -in the physical body--must underlie and be the basis of the societies of -the future. It will mean the liberation of a thousand and one instincts, -desires and capacities which since our childhood's days have lain buried -within us, concealed and ignored because we have thought them wrong or -unworthy, when really all they have wanted has been recognition and the -opportunity to become healthy _by_ recognition--by the process in fact -of balancing against each other, and against opposing and complementary -elements, and so finding their places in the Whole. On this new Morality -of acceptance and recognition and wide-reaching redemption, it will be -possible, as I have already said, to graft not only a stronger -expression of individuality all round, but also a higher and more varied -and more gracious life of _personal affection_--which now alas! lies -like a thing wounded and half dead. Its establishment will, I take it, -mean the oncoming of a society which will liberate personal affection -and love--will liberate forces hitherto artificially crippled because -their liberation would tear our current morality of formulæ to mere rags -and tatters. It means, I take it, the oncoming of a society whose main -motive will no longer be the struggle for Bread (since that is ruled out -by the enormous growth of our wealth-producing powers), but the desire -for the satisfaction of the Heart--thus preparing no doubt new and -unforeseen difficulties and sufferings, yet filling life with such -beautiful things that the motives of greed and the mean pursuit of -money, which now weigh upon the world, will be like an evil nightmare of -the Past from which the dawn delivers us. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[42] _Maitrayana-Brahmana-Upanishad_, vi. 34, 4. - -[43] _Taittiriyaka-Up_, ii. 9, etc. - -[44] Spinoza's _Ethic_, part iv. - -[45] It must be remembered that Nietzsche supposes three stages of the -spirit--(1) the Camel, (2) the Lion, and (3) the Child. And the -Beyond-man properly corresponds to the last stage. - -[46] _Daily News_, December 29, 1906. - -[47] I need hardly say that this does not mean, as Nietzsche so often -and sardonically suggests, the realisation of the _common-place_ life, -but something very different. - -[48] Many Japanese committed suicide on account of not being allowed to -join in the Russian War. See also Lafcadio Hearn's description of the -habitual dignity and courtesy of the youth of Japan.--_Life and -Letters_, vol. i, pp. 12, 113. - -[49] This morality, indeed, may be said to be implicit in much of the -teaching of Christ; yet, curiously enough, it has never been seriously -adopted by the Churches. And as to the regard for animals as ends in -themselves, the Roman Catholic Church, I believe, positively repudiates -any such attitude. - - - - -APPENDIX - - -As the author's attacks in the body of this book upon the Civilisation -peoples have sometimes been regarded as extreme and unjustified, it has -been thought appropriate, here in the Appendix, to collect a few notes -from reliable authorities on the characteristics and customs of -pre-civilised men--not so much of course with the object of proving the -latter always superior to the former, as of bringing to light the many -admirable virtues of the early peoples, which a cheap modern -civilisation has neglected or somewhat contemptuously ignored. - -No one would deny that there are many cases of primitive folk--folk -unclean and ignorant and absurdly superstitious--who can hardly be said -to command our admiration. On the other hand there are a vast number of -cases of an opposite sort--cases which present to us the realisation of -some remarkable human characteristic or social capacity well worthy of -consideration or even of imitation. If our Civilisation is ever to move -on to some form better than the present, it is these latter cases which -ought to be of assistance; for they not only direct our attention to -human possibilities, but by showing what has been realised in the past -assure us that such ideals are by no means unattainable now. - -It is therefore with a view to cases of this kind that the following -Appendix has been framed. - -E. C. - - -+Civilisation does not Engross all the Virtues.+ - - Quotations from Herman Melville's _Typee_, pp. 225, etc. (John - Murray, 1861.) - -"Civilisation does not engross all the virtues of humanity: she has not -even her full share of them. They flourish in greater abundance and -attain greater strength among many barbarous people. The hospitality of -the wild Arab, the courage of the North American Indian, and the -faithful friendships of some of the Polynesian nations, far surpass -anything of a similar kind among the polished communities of Europe. If -truth and justice, and the better principles of our nature, cannot exist -unless enforced by the statute-book, how are we to account for the -social condition of the Typees? So pure and upright were they in all the -relations of life, that entering their valley, as I did, under the most -erroneous impressions of their character, I was soon led to exclaim in -amazement: 'Are these the ferocious savages, the bloodthirsty cannibals -of whom I have heard such frightful tales! They deal more kindly with -each other, and are more humane, than many who study essays on virtue -and benevolence, and who repeat every night that beautiful prayer -breathed first by the lips of the divine and gentle Jesus.' I will -frankly declare, that after passing a few weeks in this valley of the -Marquesas, I formed a higher estimate of human nature than I had ever -before entertained. But alas! since then I have been one of the crew of -a man-of-war, and the pent-up wickedness of five hundred men has nearly -overturned all my previous theories. - - * * * * * - -"How little do some of these poor islanders comprehend, when they look -around them, that no inconsiderable part of their disasters originate -in certain tea-party excitements, under the influence of which -benevolent-looking gentlemen in white cravats solicit alms, and old -ladies in spectacles, and young ladies in sober russet low gowns, -contribute sixpences towards the creation of a fund, the object of which -is to ameliorate the spiritual condition of the Polynesians, but whose -end has almost invariably been to accomplish their temporal destruction! - -"Let the savages be civilised, but civilise them with benefits, and not -with evils; and let heathenism be destroyed, but not by destroying the -heathen. The Anglo-Saxon hive have extirpated Paganism from the greater -part of the North American continent; but with it they have likewise -extirpated the greater portion of the Red race. Civilisation is -gradually sweeping from the earth the lingering vestiges of Paganism, -and at the same time the shrinking forms of its unhappy worshippers. - -"Among the islands of Polynesia, no sooner are the images overturned, -the temples demolished, and the idolaters converted into _nominal_ -Christians, than disease, vice, and premature death make their -appearance. The depopulated land is then recruited from the rapacious -hordes of enlightened individuals who settle themselves within its -borders, and clamorously announce the progress of the Truth. Neat -villas, trim gardens, shaven lawns, spires, and cupolas arise, while the -poor savage soon finds himself an interloper in the country of his -fathers, and that too on the very site of the hut where he was born. - - * * * * * - -"During my whole stay on the island I never witnessed a single quarrel, -nor any thing that in the slightest degree approached even to a dispute. -The natives appeared to form one household, whose members were bound -together by the ties of strong affection. The love of kindred I did not -so much perceive, for it seemed blended in the general love; and where -all were treated as brothers and sisters, it was hard to tell who were -actually related to each other by blood. - -"Let it not be supposed that I have overdrawn this picture. I have not -done so. Nor let it be urged that the hostility of this tribe to -foreigners, and the hereditary feuds they carry on against their -fellow-islanders beyond the mountains, are facts which contradict me. -Not so: these apparent discrepancies are easily reconciled. By many a -legendary tale of violence and wrong, as well as by events which have -passed before their eyes, these people have been taught to look upon -white men with abhorrence. The cruel invasion of their country by Porter -has alone furnished them with ample provocation; and I can sympathize in -the spirit which prompts the Typee warrior to guard all the passes to -his valley with the point of his levelled spear, and, standing upon the -beach, with his back turned upon his green home, to hold at bay the -intruding European." - - -+Influences of "Civilisation"+ - - From R. L. Stevenson's _In the South Seas_, p. 43. (Chatto and - Windus, 1908.) - -[It is asked] "Was not the Polynesian always unchaste? Doubtless he was -so always: doubtless he is more so since the coming of his remarkably -chaste visitors from Europe. Take the Hawaiian account of Cook: I have -no doubt it is entirely fair. Take Krusenstern's candid, almost innocent -description of a Russian man-of-war at the Marquesas; consider the -disgraceful history of missions in Hawaii itself ... add the practice of -whaling fleets to call at the Marquesas and carry off a complement of -women for the cruise ... and bear in mind how it was the custom of the -adventurers, and we may almost say the business of the missionaries, to -deride and infract even the most salutary _tapus_ (taboos)." - - -+Captain Cook at Owyhee in 1799+ - - From his _Life and Voyages_, p. 379. (George Newnes, 1904.) - -"In the progress of the intercourse which was maintained between our -voyagers and the natives, the quiet and inoffensive behaviour of the -latter took away every apprehension of danger, so that the English -trusted themselves among them at all times and in all situations. The -instances of kindness and civility which our people experienced from -them were so numerous that they could not easily be recounted. A society -of priests, in particular, displayed a generosity and munificence of -which no equal example had hitherto been given: for they furnished a -constant supply of hogs and vegetables to our navigators, without ever -demanding a return, or even hinting at it in the most distant manner." -Of the island of Wateeoo (p. 309), "the inhabitants are very numerous, -and many of the young men were perfect models in shape." - - -+Natives of Tahiti+ - - From Havelock Ellis' _Sex in relation to Society_, p. 148. (1910.) - -"The example of Tahiti is instructive as regards the prevalence of -chastity among peoples of what we generally consider low grades of -civilisation. An early explorer, J. R. Forster (_Observations made on a -voyage round the World_, 1778), speaks of the fine climate and the -beauty of the females, as inviting powerfully to the enjoyments and -pleasures of love. Yet he is over and over again impelled to set down -facts which bear testimony to the virtues of these people. Though rather -effeminate in build they are athletic, he says. Moreover in their wars -they fight with great bravery and valour. They are, for the rest, -hospitable. He remarks that they treat their married women with great -respect, and that women generally are nearly the equals of men, both in -intelligence and social position; he gives a charming description of the -women. 'In short their character,' he concludes, 'is as amiable as that -of any nation that ever came unimproved out of the hands of -Nature'[!]"... - -"When Cook," continues Ellis, "who visited Tahiti many times, was among -this 'benevolent, humane' people, he noted their esteem for chastity, -and found that not only were betrothed girls strictly guarded before -marriage, but that men also who had refrained from sexual intercourse -for some time before marriage were believed to pass at death immediately -into the abode of the blessed." - - -+Radack--one of the Caroline Islands+ - - From Chamisso's _Reise um die Welt_, p. 183. (Leipzig.) - -"Thus we made acquaintance with a people who have endeared themselves to -me more than any others of the children of Earth. The very weaknesses of -the Radack folk removed mistrust on our side; their very gentleness and -goodness caused them to be trustful towards us, the all-powerful -strangers; we became declared friends. I found among them simple, -unsophisticated manners, charm, natural grace, and the pleasant bloom -of modesty. In the matter, certainly, of strength and manly independence -the O-Waihier [Owyhees] are greatly their superiors. My friend, Kadu, -who, though not belonging to this island-group, attached himself to us, -was one of the finest characters I have ever met and one of the most -dear to me of human beings; and he afterwards became my instructor with -regard to Radack and the Caroline Islands." - - -+Adaptation of Early Peoples to Surroundings+ - - THE DINKAS (Central Africa): from Grogan's _Cape to Cairo_, p. 278. - (Hurst & Blackett, 1900.) - -"Every one in Dinka-land carries a long spear, or pointed fish-spear, -and a club made of a heavy purple wood, while the more important -gentlemen wear enormous ivory bracelets round their upper arm; strict -nudity is the fashion, and a marabout feather in the hair is the essence -of _chic_. They are all beautifully built, having broad shoulders, small -waist, good hips, and well-shaped legs. The stature of some is colossal. -It was most curious to see how these Dinkas, living as they do in the -marshes, approximate to the type of the waterbird. They have much the -same walk as a heron, picking their feet up very high and thrusting them -well forward; while their feet are enormous. Their colossal height is -indeed a great advantage in the reed grown country in which they live. -The favourite pose of a Dinka (on one foot, with the other foot resting -on the knee) is in reality the favourite pose of a water bird.... They -are the complete antithesis of the pigmy, as the country in which they -live is the complete antithesis of the dense forest which is the home of -the dwarfs.... Our camp was near a large village where there were at -least 1,500 head of cattle, besides sheep and goats, and the chief -brought me a fine fat bull-calf--which settled the nervous question of -food for two days.... The rambling village with its groups of figures -and long lines of home-coming cattle, dimly seen in the smoke of a -hundred fires as I approached at sunset, was very picturesque." - - -THE PIGMIES: from _Cape to Cairo_, pp. 144 and 161. - -"The pigmies have no settled villages, nor do they cultivate anything. -They live the life of the brute in the forests, perpetually wandering in -search of honey or in pursuit of elephant; when they succeed in killing -anything, they throw up a few grass shelters and remain there till all -the meat is either eaten or dried. They depend upon the other natives -for the necessary grain, which they either steal or barter for elephant -meat or honey. All their knives, spearheads and arrow-heads they -likewise purchase from other people, but they make their own bows and -arrows. So well are these made that they are held in great esteem by the -surrounding people." ... "An hour later I met an elderly pigmy in the -forest and managed to induce him to talk. He was a splendid little -fellow, full of self-confidence, and gave me most concise information, -stating that the white man with many belongings had passed near by two -days before, and had then gone down to the lake-shore, where he was -camped at that moment. These people must have a wonderful code of signs -and signals, as despite their isolated and nomadic existence they always -know exactly what is happening everywhere. He was a typical pigmy as -found on the volcanoes--squat, gnarled, proud, and easy of carriage. His -beard hung down over his chest, and his thighs and chest were covered -with wiry hair. He carried the usual pigmy bow made of two pieces of -cane spliced together with grass, and with a string made of a single -strand of a rush that grows in the forests. The pigmies are splendid -examples of the adaptability of Nature to her surroundings; the -combination of strength and conciseness enabling them to move with -astonishing rapidity in the pig-runs that form the only pathway through -the impenetrable growth, and to endure the fatigue of elephant-hunting." - - -NATIVES IN RUANDA (near Lake Kivu): _Cape to Cairo_, p. 118. - -"Society in Ruanda is divided into two castes, the Watusi and the -Wahutu. The Watusi are the descendants of a great wave of Galla invasion -that reached even to Tanganyika. They still retain their pastoral -instincts, and refuse to do any other work than the tending of cattle; -and so great is their affection for their beasts, that rather than sever -company they will become slaves, and do the menial work of their beloved -cattle for the benefit of their conquerors. This is all the more -remarkable when one takes into account their inherent pride of race and -contempt for other peoples, even for the white man.... Many signs of -superior civilisation, observable in the peoples with whom the Watusi -have come into contact, are traceable to this Galla influence. - -"The hills are terraced, thus increasing the area of cultivation, and -obviating the denudation of fertile slopes by torrential rains. In many -cases irrigation is carried out on a sufficiently extensive scale, and -the swamps are drained by ditches. Artificial reservoirs are built with -side troughs for watering cattle. The fields are in many cases fenced in -by planted hedges of euphorbia and thorn, and similar fences are planted -along the narrow parts of the main cattle tracks, to prevent the beasts -from straying or trampling down the cultivation. - -"There is also an exceptional diversity of plants cultivated, such as -hungry rice, maize, red and white millet, several kinds of beans, peas, -bananas, and the edible arum. Some of the higher growing beans are even -trained on sticks planted for the purpose. Pumpkins and sweet potatoes -are also common; and the Watusi own and tend enormous herds of cattle, -goats and sheep. Owing to the magnificent pasturage the milk is of -excellent quality, and they make large quantities of butter. They are -exceedingly clever with their beasts, and have many calls which the -cattle understand. At milking time they light smoke-fires to keep the -flies from irritating the beasts.... They are tall slightly built men of -graceful nonchalant carriage, and their features are delicate and -refined. I noticed many faces that, bleached and set in a white collar, -would have been conspicuous for character in a London drawing-room. The -legal type was especially pronounced." ... - -"The Wahutu are their absolute antithesis. They are the aborigines of -the country, and any pristine originality or character has been -effectually stamped out of them. Hewers of wood and drawers of water, -they do all the hard work, and unquestioning in abject servility give up -the proceeds on demand. Their numerical proportion to the Watusi must be -at least a hundred to one, yet they defer to them without protest; and -in spite of the obvious hatred in which they hold their over lords, -there seems to be no friction." - - -+Natives of the Andaman Islands+ - -The following extracts, about the Andaman-islanders of the Bay of -Bengal, the Bushmen of South Africa, and the Eskimo tribes of Northern -latitudes, are specially interesting because they deal with peoples -whose present-day culture is undoubtedly on a par with, and in all -probability directly inherited from, the peoples of a long-past Stone -Age. Thus we get indirectly a glimpse of what the culture of the Stone -Ages was--both in its material acquisitions and its grade of social and -psychological evolution. - - - From _In the Andamans and Nicobars_, p. 184, by C. Boden Kloss. - (Murray, 1903.) - -"The Andaman Islands are inhabited by people of pure Negrito blood, -members of perhaps the most ancient race remaining on the earth, and -standing closest to the primitive human type.... It would be impossible -to find anywhere a race of purer descent than the Andamanese, for ever -since they peopled the islands in the Stone Age, they have remained -secluded from the outer world.... In stature they are far below the -average height; but although they have been called dwarfs and pygmies, -these words must not be understood to imply anything in the nature of a -monstrosity. Their reputation for hideousness, like their poisoned -arrows and cannibalism, has long been a fallacy which, though widely -popular, should now be exploded. The average heights of the men and -women are found to be 4 feet 10¾ inches, and 4 feet 7¼ inches -respectively, and their figures, which are proportionately built, are -very symmetrical and graceful. Although not to be described as muscular, -they are of good development, the men being agile, yet sturdy, with -broad chests and square shoulders." - - - From E. H. Man on _The Aborigines of the Andaman Islands_, p. 14. - (Trübner, 1883.) - -"No idiots, maniacs or lunatics have ever yet been observed among them, -and this is not because those so afflicted are killed or confined by -their fellows, for the greatest care and attention are invariably paid -to the sick, aged and helpless." - -Mr. Man also remarks (_Journ. Anthrop. Inst._ XII, 92): "It has been -observed with regret by all interested in the race, that intercourse -with the alien population has, generally speaking, prejudicially -affected their morals; and that the candour, veracity, and self-reliance -they manifest in their savage and untutored state are, when they become -associated with foreigners, to a great extent lost, and habits of -untruthfulness, dependence and sloth engendered." - - -+The Bushmen+ - - Extract from F. C. Selous' _African Nature-Notes_, pp. 344 and 347. - (1908.) - -"When I met with the first Bushmen I ever saw, on the banks of the -Orange River in 1872, I was a very young man, and, regarding them with -some repugnance, wrote in my diary that they appeared to be removed by a -very few steps from the brute creation. That was a very foolish and -ignorant remark to make, and I have since found out that though Bushmen -may possibly be to-day in the same backward state of material -development and knowledge as once were the palæolithic ancestors of the -most highly cultured European races in prehistoric times, yet -fundamentally there is very little difference between the natures of -primitive and civilised men, so that it is quite possible for a member -of one of the more cultured races to live for a time quite happily and -contentedly amongst beings who are often described as degraded savages, -and from whom he is separated by thousands of years in all that is -implied by the word 'civilisation.' I have hunted a great deal with -Bushmen, and during 1884 I lived amongst these people continuously for -several months together. On many and many a night I have slept in their -encampments without even any Kafir attendants, and though I was entirely -in their power I always felt perfectly safe among them. As most of the -men spoke Sechwana I was able to converse with them, and found them very -intelligent, good-natured companions, full of knowledge concerning the -habits of all the wild animals inhabiting the country in which they -lived.... I have never seen their women and children ill-treated by -them, and I have seen both the men and the women show affection for -their children." - -Elsewhere Selous speaks of "John"--a member of the close-related Korana -clan--who was in his service, as "of a pale yellow-brown colour, -beautifully proportioned, with small delicately made hands and feet." - - - From preface by Henry Balfour to the book _Bushmen Paintings - Copied_, by Helen Tongue. - -"It is certain that the designs representing animals, etc., which are -painted upon the walls of their caves and rock-shelters, frequently -exhibit a realism and freedom in treatment which are quite remarkable in -the art of so primitive a people. The skill with which many of the -characteristic South African animals are portrayed testifies not only to -unusual artistic efficiency, but also to a close observance of and an -intimate acquaintanceship with the habits and peculiarities of the -animals themselves.... The paintings are remarkable not only for the -realism exhibited by so many, but also for a freedom from the limitation -to delineation in _profile_ which characterises for the most part the -drawings of primitive peoples, especially where animals are concerned. -Attitudes of a kind difficult to render were ventured upon without -hesitation, and an appreciation even of the rudiments of perspective is -occasionally to be noted." - - - Note from the same book, by S. Bleek, daughter of the well-known - Dr. Bleek, of the Grey Library at Cape Town (1870). - -"Bushmen are called liars and thieves all over the Colony, but all those -who stayed with us were truthful and very honest. On no occasion did -they steal even a pocket-knife lost in the garden, or fruit from the -trees. They might have taken sheep from hostile farmers, but they would -never rob a friend or neighbour. They were cleanly in their habits, and -most particular about manners.... As a people they were grateful and -revengeful, independent in spirit, excellent fighters--who preferred -death to captivity.... Captives were sometimes made servants, but not -often well-treated, nor did they take to a settled life easily. Even -kind masters found their longing for freedom hard to conquer." - - -+The Nechilli Eskimo+ - - From Amundsen's _North West Passage_, vol. i, p. 294. (Constable, - 1908.) - -"We were suddenly brought face to face here with a people from the Stone -Age: we were abruptly carried back several thousand years in the advance -of human progress, to people who as yet knew no other method of -procuring fire than by rubbing two pieces of wood together, and who with -great difficulty managed to get their food just lukewarm, over the -seal-oil flame on a stone slab, while we cooked our food in a moment -with our modern cooking apparatus. We came here, with our most ingenious -and most recent inventions in the way of firearms, to people who still -used lances, bows and arrows of reindeer horn.... However, we should be -wrong if from the weapons, implements, and domestic appliances of these -people we were to argue that they were of low intelligence. Their -implements, apparently so very primitive, proved to be as well adapted -to their existing requirements and conditions as experience and the -skilful tests of many centuries could have made them." - - -+Ugpi, an Eskimo+ - - From Amundsen vol. i, p. 190. - -"Ugpi or Uglen (the 'Owl') as we always called him, attracted immediate -attention by his appearance. With his long black hair hanging over his -shoulders, his dark eyes and frank honest expression, he would have been -good-looking if his broad face and large mouth had not spoilt his beauty -from a European standpoint. There was something serious, almost dreamy, -about him. Honesty and truthfulness are unmistakably impressed on his -features, and I would never have hesitated for a moment to entrust him -with anything. During his association with us he became an exceptionally -clever hunter both for birds and reindeer. He was about thirty years old -and was married to Kabloka, a very small girl of seventeen." - - -+Eskimo and Civilisation+ - - From Amundsen vol. ii, p. 48. - -"During the voyage of the _Gjoa_, we came into contact with ten -different Eskimo tribes in all ... and I must state it as my firm -conviction that the Eskimo living absolutely isolated from civilisation -of any kind are undoubtedly the happiest, healthiest, most honorable -and most contented among them. It must therefore be the bounden duty of -civilised nations who come into contact with the Eskimo to safeguard -them against contaminating influences, and by laws and stringent -regulations protect them against the many perils and evils of so-called -civilisation. Unless this is done they will inevitably be ruined.... My -sincerest wish for our friends the Nechilli Eskimo is that Civilisation -may _never_ reach them." - - -+High Standard of Tribal Morality among the Aleoutes+ - - Witnessed to by the Russian missionary, Veniaminoff. See _Mutual - Aid_, pp. 99 and 100, by P. Kropotkin. - -The high standard of the tribal morality of the Eskimos has often been -mentioned in general literature. Nevertheless the following remarks upon -the manners of the Aleoutes--nearly akin to the Eskimos--will better -illustrate savage morality as a whole. They were written, after a ten -years' stay among the Aleoutes, by a most remarkable man--the Russian -missionary, Veniaminoff. I sum them up, mostly in his own words:-- - -Endurability (he wrote) is their chief feature. It is simply colossal. -Not only do they bathe every morning in the frozen sea, and stand naked -on the beach, inhaling the icy wind, but their endurability, even when -at hard work on insufficient food, surpasses all that can be imagined. -During a protracted scarcity of food, the Aleoute cares first for his -children; he gives them all he has, and himself fasts. They are not -inclined to stealing; that was remarked even by the first Russian -immigrants. Not that they never steal; every Aleoute would confess -having sometime stolen something, but it is always a trifle; the whole -is so childish. The attachment of the parents to their children is -touching, though it is never expressed in words or pettings. The Aleoute -is with difficulty moved to make a promise, but once he has made it he -will keep it whatever may happen. (An Aleoute made Veniaminoff a gift of -dried fish, but it was forgotten on the beach in the hurry of the -departure. He took it home. The next occasion to send it to the -missionary was in January; and in November and December there was a -great scarcity of food in the Aleoute encampment. But the fish was never -touched by the starving people, and in January it was sent to its -destination.) - - -+Home Life of the Eskimo+ - - By Villialm Stefansson. From _Harper's Monthly_, October, 1908. - -Stefansson lived for thirteen months in the household of a Chief, -Ovaynak, on the Mackenzie River, and knew his subject well. He says:-- - -"With their absolute equality of the sexes and perfect freedom of -separation, a permanent union of uncongenial persons is well-nigh -inconceivable. But if a couple find each other congenial enough to -remain married a year or two, divorce becomes exceedingly improbable, -and is much rarer among the middle-aged than among us. People of the age -of twenty-five and over are usually very fond of each other, and the -family--when once it becomes settled--appears to be on a higher level of -affection and mutual consideration than is common among us. In an Eskimo -home I have never heard an unpleasant word between a man and his wife, -never seen a child punished, nor an old person treated inconsiderately. -Yet the household affairs are carried on in an orderly way, and the good -behaviour of the children is remarked by practically every traveller. - -"These charming qualities of the Eskimo home may be largely due to their -equable disposition and the general fitness of their character for the -communal relations; but it seems reasonable to give a portion of the -credit to their remarkable social organisation; for they live under -conditions for which some of our best men are striving--conditions that -with our idealists are even yet merely dreams." - - -+Religious Beliefs among the Eskimos+ - - From Rasmussen's _People of the Polar North_, pp. 125 and 127. - (1908.) - -"Their religious opinions do not lead them to any sort of worship of the -supernatural, but consist--if they are to be formulated in a creed--of a -list of commandments and rules of conduct controlling their relations -with unknown forces hostile to man." - -"A wise and independent thinking Eskimo, Otag the Magician, said to me -of death: 'You ask, but I know nothing of death; I am only acquainted -with life. I can only say what I believe: either death is the end of -life, or else it is the transition into another mode of life. In neither -case is there anything to fear. Nevertheless I do not want to die, -because I consider that it is good to live.' This calm way of envisaging -death is not unusual; I have seen many pagan Eskimos go to meet certain -death without a trace of fear." - - -+Periodical Distributions to Obviate Accumulations of Wealth+ - - From Kropotkin's _Mutual Aid_, p. 97. (Heinemann, 1908.) - -"(The Eskimos) have an original means for obviating the inconveniences -arising from a personal accumulation of wealth--which would soon destroy -their tribal unity. When a man has grown rich he convokes the folk of -his clan to a great festival, and after much eating, distributes among -them all his fortune. On the Yukon river Dall saw an Aleoute family -distributing in this way ten guns, ten full fur dresses, two hundred -strings of beads, numerous blankets, ten wolf furs, two hundred beavers -and five hundred zibellines. After that they took off their festival -dresses, and putting on old ragged furs, addressed a few words to their -kinsfolk, saying that, though they are now poorer than any one of them, -they have won their friendship.[50] Like distributions of wealth appear -to be a regular habit with the Eskimos, and to take place at a certain -season, after an exhibition of all that has been obtained during the -year. In my (Kropotkin) opinion, these distributions reveal a very old -institution, contemporaneous with the first apparition of personal -wealth; they must have been a means for re-establishing equality among -the members of the clan, after it had been disturbed by the enrichment -of the few. The periodical redistribution of land and the periodical -abandonment of all debts, which took place in historical times with so -many different races (Semites, Aryans, etc.), must have been a survival -of that old custom." - - -+The Samoyedes+ - - From _Icebound on the Kolguev_, p. 384, by A. Trevor-Battye. - (Constable, 1895.) - -"Family affection among the Samoyeds is very strongly developed. It -would be impossible to find greater evidence of this among any people. -Another extremely marked character among them is family order. All -everyday offices and occupations are carried out by a well-defined -method and subdivision of labour. I never saw a single instance of -anything approaching a family quarrel.... They are very handy sailors, -patient and successful hunters and fishermen, and admirable workmen with -such tools as they understand. No man can repair a damaged boat more -quickly than a Samoyed, and from the roughest drift-wood (such as an -English carpenter would throw on the fire), they fashion bows, arrows, -sleighs, spoons, drinking-cups, bullet-moulds, and a variety of articles -of everyday use." - - -+The Belle of Kolguev+ - - From _Icebound on the Kolguev_, p. 130. - -"Her sister-in-law Ustynia was really, if you accept the type, a pretty -girl.... Her eyes were bright, and a pleasant smile played about her -lips. When she laughed--and these people are always laughing--she -betrayed the most perfectly beautiful teeth it is possible to imagine. -Indeed all these people, even old Uano, had most wonderful teeth--white, -regular and perfectly shaped. On her fingers Ustynia wore heavy rings of -white and yellow metal, and her hands, like those of all Samoyeds, were -faultless in shape and extraordinarily supple. If you add to this a -dress reaching to the knees, formed of young reindeer skin, worked in -many stripes of white and brown, the skirt banded with scarlet cloth and -dogskin fur, and foot and leg coverings of soft patterned skin reaching -above the knee--there you have Ustynia, the belle of Kolguev." - - -+The Todas+ - - Quoted from _The Todas_, by W. H. Rivers (1906). - -These people live on a very lofty and isolated plateau of the Nilgiri -Hills in South India; and are especially interesting to us because till -1812 "they were absolutely unknown to Europeans," and developed their -own customs untouched by Western civilisation. "They are a purely -pastoral people, limiting their activities almost entirely to the care -of their buffaloes and to the complicated ritual which has grown up in -association with these animals." (p. 6) ... They have a completely -organised and definite system of polyandry. When a woman marries a man, -it is understood that she becomes the wife of his brothers at the same -time. When a boy is married to a girl, not only are his brothers usually -regarded as also the husbands of the girl, but any brother born later -will similarly be regarded as sharing his older brother's rights." (p. -515.) - -"The men are strong and very agile; the agility being most in evidence -when they have to catch their infuriated buffaloes at the funeral -ceremonies. They stand fatigue well, and often travel great -distances.... In going from one part of the hills to another a Toda -always travels as nearly as possible in a straight line, ignoring -altogether the influence of gravity, and mounting the steepest hills -with no apparent effort. In all my work with the men it seemed to me -they were extremely intelligent. They grasped readily the points of any -enquiry on which I entered, and often showed a marked appreciation of -complicated questions.... I can only record my impression, after several -months' intercourse with the Todas, that they were just as intelligent -as one would have found any average body of educated Europeans.... The -characteristic note in their demeanour is their absolute belief in their -own superiority over the surrounding races. They are grave and -dignified, and yet thoroughly cheerful and well-disposed towards all." -(pp. 18-23.) - - -+Nudity+ - - THE PELEW ISLANDS: from J. G. Wood (vol. _America_, p. 447). _See_ - Captain H. Wilson, who was wrecked there in 1783. - -"The inhabitants are of a dark copper colour, well-made, tall, and -remarkable for their stately gait. They employ the tattoo in rather a -curious manner, pricking the patterns thickly on their legs from the -ankles to a few inches above the knees, so that they look as if their -legs were darker in colour than the rest of their bodies. They are -cleanly in their habits, bathing frequently and rubbing themselves with -coco-nut oil, so as to give a soft and glossy appearance to the skin.... -The men wear no clothing, not even the king himself having the least -vestige of raiment, the tattoo being supposed to answer the purposes of -dress.... In spite, however, of the absence of dress, the deportment of -the sexes towards each other is perfectly modest. For example, the men -and women will not bathe at the same spot, nor even go near a bathing -place of the opposite sex unless it be deserted." - - -+Natives of the Amazon Region+ - -Alfred Russell Wallace, in his _Travels on the Amazon_ (1853), speaks -most warmly about the aborigines of that district--both as to their -grace of form, their quickness of hand, and their goodnatured -inoffensive disposition. He says (chap. xvii): "Their figures are -generally superb; and I have never felt so much pleasure in gazing at -the finest statue as at these living illustrations of the human form." -In his _My Life_, vol. ii, p. 288, he says: "Their whole aspect and -manner were different (from the semi-civilised tribes); they walked with -the free step of the independent forest-dweller ... original and -self-sustaining as the wild animals of the forest ... living their own -lives in their own way, as they had done for countless generations -before America was discovered. The true denizen of the Amazonian -forests, like the forest itself, is unique and not to be forgotten." - - - From _The Putumayo, or Devil's Paradise_. By W. E. Hardenburg - (1912). - -"The Huitotos are a well-formed race, and although small, are stout and -strong, with a broad chest and a prominent bust; but their limbs, -especially the lower, are but little developed.... That repugnant sight, -a protruding abdomen, so common among the 'whites' and half-breeds on -the Amazon, is very rare among these aborigines.... Notwithstanding some -defects it is not rare to find among these women many who are really -beautiful--so magnificent are their figures, and so free and graceful -their movements." (p. 152). - -"Unions are considered binding among the Huitotos, and it is very rarely -that serious disagreements arise between husband and wife. The women -are naturally chaste, and it was not till the advent of the rubber -collectors that they began to lose this primitive virtue--so generally -met with among people not yet in contact with white men" (p. 154). - -[N.B.--These were some of the people so villainously tortured--men, -women and children--for the collection of rubber, by commercial -scoundrels, whose atrocities were exposed by Roger Casement and others. -E.C.] - - -+Fine Figures and Features of the Dyaks+ - - Quotations from Beccar's _In the Forests of Borneo_, pp. 325 and - 329. (Constable 1904.) - -"On the morning of October 19, as previously arranged, Ladja, with eight -other Dyaks, came to the fort duly equipped for the journey. Ladja was a -handsome young man, tall like most of his companions, slender, and -beautifully made. His profile was nearly regular, the nose perfectly -straight, but the cheek bones rather too prominent and the chin rather -pointed. His complexion was very light." ... "Our Arno boatmen in -Florence always pole where the river is shallow, and use their poles -exactly as the Dyaks do theirs, only they certainly cannot compare with -the latter in the length of the journeys thus performed with their light -canoes. Ours literally flew over the water handled with incomparable -dexterity by my six young savages. There is to my mind no lighter and -more pleasant mode of progression, and certainly no kind of work -displays so well the elegant movements and perfect proportions of these -young Dyaks, who, practically unencumbered with clothing, are truly -splendid specimens of humanity." - - - From Ida Pfeiffer's book _Meine zweite Weltreise_, vol. i, p. 116. - (Vienna, 1856.) - -"I must confess that I would gladly have journeyed longer among the free -Dayaks. I found them wonderfully honourable, gentle and modest; indeed -in these respects I put them above any people that I have as yet become -acquainted with. I could leave all my things about, and go away for -hours together, and never was the least thing missing. They begged me -occasionally for many an object they saw, but immediately gave way when -I explained that I needed it myself. They were never over-pressing or -tiresome. It will be said, in denial of this, that the beheading of -corpses and preservation of skulls does not look exactly like -gentleness; but it must be remembered that this sad custom is chiefly -the result of rude and ignorant superstition. I stick to my opinion, and -as a further proof, would cite their domestic and thoroughly patriarchal -mode of life, their morals and manners, the love that they have for -their children, and the respect their children show to them." - - -+A Rodiya Boy+ - -Ernst Haeckel in his _Visit to Ceylon_, describes the devotion to him of -his Rodiya serving-boy at Belligam near Galle. The keeper of the -rest-house there was an old man whom Haeckel, from his likeness to a -well-known head, called by the name of Socrates. And Haeckel continues: -"It really seemed as though I should be pursued by the familiar aspects -of classical antiquity from the first moment of my arrival at my idyllic -home. For as Socrates led me up the steps of the open central hall of -the rest-house, I saw before me, with uplifted arms in an attitude of -prayer, a beautiful naked brown figure, which could be nothing else than -the famous statue of the 'Youth Adoring.' How surprised I was when the -graceful bronze statue suddenly came to life, and dropping his arms fell -on his knees, and after raising his black eyes imploringly to mine bowed -his handsome face so low at my feet that his long black hair fell on the -floor! Socrates informed me that this boy was a Pariah, a member of the -lowest caste, the Rodiyas, who had lost his parents at an early age. He -was told off to my exclusive service, and in answer to the question what -I was to call my new body-servant, the old man informed me that his name -was Gamameda. Of course I immediately thought of Ganymede, for the -favorite of Jove himself could not have been more finely made, or have -had limbs more beautifully proportioned and moulded. - -"Among the many beautiful figures which move in the foreground of my -memories of the Paradise of Ceylon, Ganymede remains one of my dearest -favorites. Not only did he fulfil his duties with the greatest attention -and conscientiousness, but he developed a personal attachment and -devotion to me which touched me deeply. The poor boy, as a miserable -outcast of the Rodiya caste, had been from his birth the object of the -deepest contempt of his fellow-men, and subjected to every sort of -brutality and ill-treatment. He was evidently as much surprised as -delighted to find me willing to be kind to him from the first.... I owe -many beautiful and valuable contributions to my museum to Ganymede's -unfailing zeal and dexterity. With the keen eye, the neat hand, and the -supple agility of the Cinghalese youth, he could catch a fluttering moth -or a gliding fish with equal promptitude; and his nimbleness was really -amazing when, out hunting, he climbed the tall trees like a cat, or -scrambled through the densest jungle to recover the prize I had killed." -(p. 200.) - - -+Second Sight+ - - Native "diviners" in South Africa, from _The Spiritualism of the - Zulu_, by C. H. Bull, of Durban. - -"Many years ago I was riding transport between Durban and the Umzimkulu. -I checked my loads at Durban and found them correct with the waybill, -but when I reached my destination I discovered that I was one case -short, for which I had to pay. On my return to my farm, I mentioned the -fact to my brother, who proposed, more in the spirit of fun than -anything else, that we should visit a diviner, and endeavour to discover -what had become of it. I consented, and together we repaired to a native -diviner. He immediately informed us of the object of our visit, -although, so far as I can tell, it was morally impossible for him to -have known it through any ordinary channels, and then he went on -speaking as though in a dream: 'I see a waggon loaded with cases -climbing up the Umgwababa Hill; there has been a lot of rain and the -roads are slippery. Half way up the hill the rains have washed a gully; -into this the waggon lurches, displacing a small case, which falls to -the ground, but the driver, who is busy urging his team up the hill, -does not notice it. Now the waggon has passed out of sight, but I see a -Kaffir coming up the hill. When he reaches the spot where the case is -lying, he stops for a few moments to examine it, and then proceeds to -the top of the hill, where he stands for a few moments shading his eyes -with his hand, as though looking beyond. Now he returns to where the -case is lying, and lifting it up, crosses the road, and pushing his way -through some tall tambootie grass, he reaches a large indonie tree; -under the tree there is a stunted clump of wild bananas. He places the -case in the centre of the clump, and after concealing it with some of -the dry leaves, he goes on his way. The case is still there.' - -"Though wholly incredulous of the truth of the vision, I sent two 'boys' -to the spot indicated, and they returned bringing with them the lost -case, having found it exactly where the diviner said that he saw it." - - -+The Zulus+ - - THE ZULUS: Quotations from General Sir W. Butler's _Naboth's - Vineyard_, p. 263 (given in Blyden's _African Life and Customs_, p. - 43). - -"In all the sad history of South Africa few things are sadder than the -Zulu question. Where the Zulu came (in those days), no lock or key were -necessary. No man who knew the Zulu--not even the white colonist, whose -rage was largely the result of his being unable to get servile labour -from him--could say that he had not found the Zulu honest, truthful, -faithful; that the white wife and child had not been entirely safe from -insult or harm at the hands of this black man; or that money and -property were not immeasurably more secure in Zulu charge than in that -of Europeans or Asiatics." - - -From Blyden's _African Life and Customs_, p. 37. - -"There are to-day hundreds of so-called civilised Africans who are -coming back to themselves. They have grasped the principles underlying -the European social and economic order and reject them as not equal to -their own as means of making adequate provision for the normal needs of -all members of society both present and future--from birth all through -life to death. They have discovered all the waste places, all the -nakedness of the European system, both by reading and travel. The great -wealth can no longer dazzle them, or conceal from their view the vast -masses of the population living under what they once supposed to be the -ideal system--who are of no earthly use to themselves or to others.... -Under the African system of communal property and co-operative effort, -every member of a community has a home and a sufficiency of food and -clothing and other necessaries of life--and for life; and his children -after him have the same advantages. In this system there is no workhouse -and no necessity for such an arrangement." - - -+Over-government+ - - From Wallace's _Malay Archipelago_, p. 336. (1894 edition.) - -"This motley, ignorant, bloodthirsty, thievish population (Papuans, -Javanese, Chinese, etc.), live here without the shadow of a government, -with no police, no courts, and no lawyers; yet they do not cut each -other's throats; do not plunder each other day and night; do not fall -into the anarchy such a state of things might be supposed to lead to. It -is very extraordinary! It puts strange thoughts into one's head about -the mountain-load of government under which people exist in Europe, and -suggests the idea that we may be over-governed. Think of the hundred -Acts of Parliament annually enacted to prevent us, the people of -England, from cutting each other's throats, or from doing to our -neighbours as we would _not_ be done by. Think of the thousands of -lawyers and barristers whose whole lives are spent in telling us what -the hundred Acts of Parliament mean, and one would be led to infer that -if Dobbo has too little law England has too much." - - -+Society without Government+ - - From Morley's _Rousseau_, vol. ii, p. 227, _note_. (Eversley - edition, 1910.) - -"Jefferson, who was American minister in France from 1784 to 1789, and -absorbed a great many of the ideas then afloat, writes in words that -seem as if they were borrowed from Rousseau: 'I am convinced that those -societies (as the Indians), which live without government, enjoy in -their general mass an infinitely greater degree of happiness than those -who live under European governments. Among the former public opinion is -in the state of law, and restrains morals as powerfully as laws ever did -anywhere. Among the latter, under pretence of government, they have -divided the nation into two classes, wolves and sheep. I do not -exaggerate; this is a true picture of Europe.'" (From Tucker's _Life of -Jefferson_, vol. i, p. 255.) - - -+Security without Government+ - -From _Tafilet_, p. 353. By W. B. Harris. (Blackwood, 1895.) - -"The Moors have a proverb, and it is a very true one, that safety and -security can only be found in the districts where there is no -government--that is to say, where the government is a _tribal_ one." - - -+Degradation through "Civilisation"+ - - From _The Spiritualism of the Zulu_. By C. H. Bull, of Durban. - -"Thirty-two years ago, I lived for some time in a district in Natal, -then thickly populated with natives, still conforming to the primitive -customs of their race, yet honest, manly and intelligent people, with -very definite ideas in regard to moral questions. After an absence of -thirty years, just prior to my sailing for England, I again visited the -district and was amazed to observe the change which had taken place in -the people; their habits, characters and physique. Sordid poverty, -dressed in mean rags or tawdry finery, suggestive of service to vice, -had displaced the old dignity, born of conscious physical strength and -symmetry of form, which once, though attired only in the trappings that -simple art could devise from the rough products of nature, was -characteristic; whilst drunkenness, dishonesty and immorality sought -shelter under the meagre cloaks of the religion dispensed by the -different sections of belief, established in the little iron, or wattle -and daub churches, which everywhere disfigured the country side. The -change was complete and deplorable, nor were the natives unconscious of -their degradation, or without regret for the passing of the old days." - - -+Slavery+ - - From Waitz's _Anthropologie der Naturvölker_, vol. ii, p. 281. - (Leipzig, 1860.) - -"One finds that the fate of Slaves among the ruder peoples is much -happier than among the civilised; indeed it seems to grow worse and -worse in proportion to the civilisation of the ruling folk. Strange and -incredible as at first sight this seems, the following facts establish -it beyond doubt. And indeed it is not difficult to explain. The chief -reason is that with the increase of _merely material culture_, Time and -Labour-force are more and more prized, and consequently always more -violently and unscrupulously exploited, while on the contrary among -primitive people in general a lesser value is placed on these things." - - -+The Fraud of Western Civilisation+ - - Extract from "A Letter to a Chinese Gentleman," by Leo Tolstoy. - (Published in _Saturday Review_, December 1, 1906.) - -"Amongst all these Western nations there unceasingly proceeds a strife -between the destitute exasperated working people and the government and -wealthy, a strife which is restrained only by coercion on the part of -deceived men who constitute the army; a similar strife is continually -waging between the different states demanding endlessly increasing -armaments, a strife which is any moment ready to plunge into the -greatest catastrophes. But however dreadful this state of things may be, -it does not constitute the essence of the calamity of the Western -nations. Their chief and fundamental calamity is that the whole life of -these nations who are unable to furnish themselves with food is entirely -based on the necessity of procuring means of sustenance by violence and -cunning from other nations, who like China, India, Russia and others -still preserve a rational agricultural life. - -"Constitutions, protective tariffs, standing armies, all this together -has rendered the Western nations what they are--people who have -abandoned agriculture and become unused to it, occupied in towns and -factories in the production of articles for the most part unnecessary, -people who with their armies are adapted only to every kind of violence -and robbery. However brilliant their position may appear at first sight -it is a desperate one, and they must inevitably perish if they do not -change the whole structure of their life founded as it now is on deceit -and the plunder and pillage of the agricultural nations." - - - From O'Brien's _White Shadows in the South Seas_. (New York, 1919.) - -"A hundred years ago there were 160,000 Marquesans in these [South Sea] -Islands. To-day their total number does not reach 2,100." O'Brien -describes the bad effects of Christianity on these "savages." For he -says the so-called superstitions of these races had a great vitalising -influence. Their dancing, their tattooing, their religious rites, their -chanting and their warfare gave them a zest in life. But "to-day all -Polynesians from Hawaii to Tahiti are dying because of the suppression -of the play-instinct that had its expression in most of their customs -and occupations." And they are now "nothing but joyless machines" and -"tired of life." - - -+Failure of Our Civilisation+ - -For a searching comparison between our social conditions and those of -the many savage communities visited by him--and much to the general -advantage of the latter--_see_ A. R. Wallace's _Malay Archipelago_ (1st -ed. 1869), pp. 456, 7 (ed. 1894). And he ends the book by saying: - -"Until there is a more general recognition of this failure of our -civilisation--resulting mainly from our neglect to train and develop -more thoroughly the sympathetic feelings and moral faculties of our -nature, and to allow them a larger share of influence in our -legislation, our commerce, and our whole social organisation--we shall -never, as regards the whole community, attain to any real or important -superiority over the better class of savages. 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