454 A BRIEF SURVEY OF HUMAN HISTORY

by Science, and harness them to the service, instead of the
destruction, of Humanity. " A new gigantic material frame-
work for human affairs," as Mr. H. G. Wells has observed,
"has come into existence. Clearly it demands great re-
adjustments of our social, economical, and political methods/*

In comparing Europe and Asia, with regard to their res-
pective contributions to world civilisation, we had emphasised
that, although we are accustomed to draw a contrast bet-
ween them, ' Man, the universally progressive creature, is the
one subject of World History" There is no East and West
here, ' nor border nor breed.' ' Europe may be his workshop
and Asia his dormitory for the time-being; but time was
when the reverse was the case. The Sun may shine on only
one side of the globe at a time; but no part of the earth
is left in darkness for ever/ Hence, in our rapid survey,
we have not thought in terms of continents or countries
merely, but more in terms of Humanity as a whole. In
the words of Lord Acton (quoted earlier), Universal History
is ' distinct from the combined history of all countries, which
is not a rope of sand, but a continuous development, and
is not a burden on the memory, but an illumination of soul.
It moves in a succession to which the nations are subsidiary.'
Their story has been, therefore, told here ' not for their own
sake, but in reference and subordination to a higher series,
according to the time and the degree in which they have con-
tributed to the common fortunes of mankind/

The bifurcation of the World into Europe and Asia is as
untenable as the old assignment of its two hemispheres bet-
ween Spain and Portugal by Pope Alexander VI. This
Kiplingian dichotomy of

East is East and West is West
And ne'er the twain shall meet