The further evolution of man : a study from observed phenomena

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Presented to the
LIBRARY of the
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

by

Victoria College Library

The Further Evolution of Man

The Further

Evolution of Man

A Study from Observed Phenomena

By

W. Hall Calvert, M.D.

4

New York Chicago Toronto

Fleming H. Revell Company

London and Edinburgh

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A NOV 18 1915,

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^ITHDRAW^l FROM VICIORIA
UNIVERSITY LIBRtJIY

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MY WIFE

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Preface

I WISH to record that the thoughts and ideas ex¬
pressed in this work owe their origin largely to
the stimulation and encouragement received through
association with the fine intellectual vigour and acumen
of the minds of the Shakespeare Club of Melrose (where
I practised for many years the profession of medicine)
from the year of its origin in 1884-85 until I ceased
active membership in 1912. It is not intended to
convey the impression that all the members did or
do agree with the general trend of this book, or with
individual expressions of opinion contained in it. What
I do wish to convey is that but for association with
such minds it would never have been possible for
me to produce this volume, and that if there is
any merit in it I desire to express my grateful thanks
to one and all of the members past and present.
I desire to thank especially the Rev. John L. King,
M.A., for a long time the able Secretary, for his views
on good and evil,'’ punishment,” and “ im¬
prisonment.”

My indebtedness to Paulin is apparent throughout.
His masterly attack on the Darwinian hypothesis

7

8

Preface

provided the basis of the argument. Chapters III
and V may be said to be wholly his.^

W. HALL CALVERT, m.d.

“The Laurels,”

Melrose.

^ “No Struggle for Existence; No Natural Selection.” George
Paulin. Edinburgh, T. T. Clark, 1908.

Contents

CHAPTER

I. Introduction ....

II. Darwinism .....

III. The Cannibal Habit in the Male

/

IV. “Natural Selection”

V. Malthusianism and the Law of Population

VI. Heredity and Environment

VII. The Lesson of History .

VIII. The Spiritual Evolution of Society .

IX. The Ideal State ....

X. The Final Goal ....
Index ......

PAGE

II

19

31

43

69

loi

127

151

210

315

321

The Further Evolution of Man ;

A Study from Observed Phenomena

Chapter I
Introduction

Being a disdple of iEsculapius, my thoughts
have been constantly directed towards such
matters as the evolutionary process in nature, the
science of biology, the laws which regulate the relation¬
ship of the various species, and the origin and destiny
of Man.

After much study and thought I have been forced
to the conclusion that the Darwinian hypothesis, like
many other creeds of science which have held the
minds of men for generations, can remain an article
of faith no longer, and must wane before the search¬
light of truth. There are many arguments and dis¬
coveries which have told against it, and which will be
examined in detail ; but the most potent is the discovery
by Paulin of the applicability of the law of the ‘‘ can¬
nibal habit in the male ” to all prolific species of
carnivora and herbivora, and his complete exposure
of the fallacy of the doctrine of Malthus, which Darwin
homologated, and said “ applied with manifold force
to the whole animal and vegetable kingdom.’'

1 2 Introduction

If the former is true, there can be no “ survival of
the fittest,” depending upon a “ struggle for exist¬
ence ” ; natural selection no longer operates as a law
of nature ; and its inapplicability to the ** genus homo
sapiens ” becomes evident. Moreover, the downfall of
the Malthusian doctrine has shaken Darwinism to its
foundations, and we are assured that its collapse is
certain and cannot be long delayed.

Darwin attempts no explanation of how life origi¬
nated on the globe ; he does not boldly say, like
Haeckel, that certain atoms of carbon, hydrogen,
oxygen, and nitrogen, under the influence of sunlight,
combined fortuitously to form living protoplasm.
As he could not account for it, he ought logically to
have admitted a special creative act in order to explain
the origin of life. Pasteur*s law of omne vivum ex
vivo” holds the field. As Professor Bergson says:

chemical synthesis has never succeeded in recon¬
structing anything but the waste products of vital
activity.” As living protoplasm has never been
produced from its organic elements, Darwin was bound
to admit that life could not exist without a special
creative act. The more particularly do we realise this
since Pasteur’s demonstration that life does not exist
except from pre-existing life. It may be said that
Darwin should not be asked to say how life originated.
All he knew was that life began on the earth some
time, and he had only to deal with living matter as he
found it. But it ought to be remembered that, without
demonstration of any kind, he assumes the evolution
of man upwards through all the intermediate forms
directly from the primeval protoplasmic unit or cell
by the operation of a law which he calls natural
selection. We hold that this law cannot be proved to
rest on established and observed phenomena. Surely
if he is allowed this much of a hypothesis, we are

Introduction 1 3

entitled to ask for some proof of the primeval origin
in the form of this protoplasmic unit. He must
satisfy us as to the beginning ; this he makes no
attempt to do ; he assumes the Amoeba without any
account of its origin, and then postulates the theory,
that by means of the struggle for existence, and the
survival of the fittest, natural selection produced a
graduated scale of beings which, by a process of evolu¬
tion, gives us every variety of species from the one-
celled protozoon up to the beauty of the world — the
paragon of animals — the supreme and complicated

genus homo sapiens.

In regard to the latter we can look forward to a
brighter outlook once we discard the dread influence
of Darwin and Malthus upon his fate. The teaching
of the former meant that existence for him must ever
mean a struggle, constant and unvarying, wearing out
his “ little life in toil and pain, until its “ fitful fever ”
ends in death ; that of the latter, that only by means
of war, pestilence, and famine, and all causes,
whether of a moral or physical nature, which tend pre¬
maturely to weaken the human frame,” can the popu¬
lation be prevented from outrunning the means of
subsistence. As he said, it would be difficult to name
any check that did not come under some form of vice
or misery.” If this were true, woe betide the fate of
man. It could only increase his misery as the ages
roll, and of necessity all hope of a brighter and happier
future would have to be abandoned. Every bene¬
factor of the race, such as Lord Lister, ** the great
Life-Saver,” as he has been so appropriately named,
could only be considered a traitor to humanity.
No doubt Malthus and his followers would so con¬
sider him, but to-day we take a different view.
Lord Rosebery lately delivered an oration on the
science and art of medicine, and among other things

14 Introduction

is reported to have said : Let them take the great
names of history — the great conquerors, the Caesars,
the Charlemagnes, the Napoleons, the Wellingtons —
the names before whom they all bent the knee. They,
willingly or not, unconsciously or not, had been banes
and injuries to the generations in which they lived.
Let them take one single name from their profession,
that of Lister, and balance it against those great
historical figures who had devoted their lives and
energies to conquest and to bloodshed. Did any
intelligent human being hesitate to which side of the
balance the universal gratitude of mankind was due ?

In this connection it may not be inappropriate to
recall the fact that Mr. Gladstone, in one of his inspired
moments, looked forward with prophetic eye to the
time when the medical man would be the prime factor
in the State.

Believing that Darwinism, Malthusianism, and
natural selection — so long the accepted creeds of
science — have been weighed in the balances and found
wanting, our next endeavour was to look for some hope
of a brighter future for humanity, and this we found in
the study of history, which revealed a spiritual evolu¬
tion, of slow advance certainly, and found its origin
among men, with the advent of the altruism of the
teachings of Jesus.

When we recall the words of Huxley, probably in
himself the finest combination of scientific attain¬
ment, logical faculty, and honesty of purpose, the world
has ever known : '*1 do not hesitate to express the
opinion that if there is no hope of a large improve¬
ment of the condition of the greater part of the human
family ; if it is true that the increase of knowledge,
the winning of a great dominion over nature, which is
its consequence, and the wealth which follows upon
that dominion, are to make no difference in the extent

Introduction 1 5

and intensity of want with its concomitant physical
and moral degradation among the masses of the people,
I should hail the advent of some kindly comet, which
would sweep the whole affair away, as a desirable
consummation ; when we recall these words, and
realise “ the sorrow and the sighing of the world,’" it
is time to investigate the laws which are said to allow
of no escape from the present misery and to test their
infallibility or otherwise.

The question at once arises : “ Is a higher evolution
possible to man ? If so, how is it to be obtained ? Is
it actually in process now ? ” We all know that in our
Western civilisation, notwithstanding the awfulness of
the condition of the “ submerged tenth,” or, as we
might more justly say, the submerged third, a social
amelioration is going on, slow it is, to be sure, but
it is there ; and the standard of living is rising almost
imperceptibly. The movement in this direction is gain¬
ing strength, and, without fear of contradiction, we
are entitled to say, will gain momentum of such force
that ere long it will prove irresistible.

In regard to the evolution of man, we think history
teaches that physically and intellectually he cannot be
said to have reached a higher development than he
had attained between two and three thousand years
ago, during the period of the great Greek civilisation
when Plato, Socrates, Sophocles, Phidias, and many
other great names too numerous to mention, enriched
that marvellous age. If that is so, is there any further
form of evolution possible ? We are of opinion that
Mr. Benjamin Kidd, in his book Social Evolution,”
has proved that since the dawn of the Christian era
a process of evolution has been going on which has
moulded the history of our Western civilisation, and
is now, more markedly than ever before, influencing the
social welfare of humanity. In other words, a spiritual

1 6 Introduction

evolution is now operating, affecting not only the
relationship of man to man, but directing the State in
the devising of measures for the betterment of society,
and this in spite of man's primeval instinct of self-
preservation, which he has understood hitherto was
the only operating force, the only motive which
weighed in men’s minds, under the teaching of the laws
of Darwin and Malthus. Since men’s minds have
become permeated by the altruism of Christianity, the
whole history of legislation, more particularly recently,
in this our Western civilisation, has demonstrated the
gradual negation of this prime motive.

We have then every reason to believe that this
altruistic spirit — this spiritual evolution — will increase
with overwhelming force as time goes on, and must,
by means of a gradual amelioration of the condition
of the people, more particularly the poor and needy,
end in the “ ideal state,” where the aim and the reward
of each will be to work for all to the best of his ability,
and at the same time never forgetting the interests of
the generations which are to follow. A most necessary
part of this social betterment of the race will be the
security for every member of the State of sufficient
leisure in which he may cultivate to the highest his
physical, intellectual, and spiritual development.

We hold that it must be evident that this ideal
state ” is impossible without the negation of individual
wealth or property, and inherent in this is the annihila¬
tion of the gold standard. That this is capable of
accomplishment is evident from the self-abnegation of
many men of great possessions,” in helping the cause
of the poor, the wretched, the overwrought, and the
overstrained with the weary bitterness of life ” ;
and from the lives of self-sacrifice of the millions
who, humble and nameless, the straight hard pathway
trod,” and have died — following the example of the

Introduction 1 7

Founder of our religion, that others might live. And
we must not forget that the whole trend of modern
legislation is in the direction of raising all round the
standard of living of those least able to help them¬
selves.

No doubt it is essential to such a change in the body
politic that men’s views of property and “ many
possessions ” must undergo profound alteration.
They must come to a realisation of the brevity of
human life and the futility of purely material things :

I made me great works ; I builded me houses ; I
planted me vineyards : . . . I gathered me also silver and
gold. . . . Then I looked on all . . . and, behold, all was
vanity and vexation of spirit.”^ Nothing can be more
conducive to the development of this aspect of truth
than a study, deep and constant, of the thoughts of
the great minds of the past, for it is these that impress
us forcibly with the sublime wisdom of the scriptural
teaching: “The things which are seen are temporal,
but the things which are unseen are eternal.” No
doubt such a proposition as is here given forth will
meet with much scorn and derision, but we must never
forget that “ God hath chosen the weak things of the
world to confound the things which are mighty.”

Many may be inclined to believe that such ideas are
inappropriate and inconsistent in a work pretending
to proceed on scientific lines. I can only say that in
this volume I have never consciously departed from
what I believe to be the scientific method in the con¬
sideration of the observed phenomena of nature, and
I only ask to be judged without prejudice and in a
spirit of toleration.

In conclusion, I wish to state that the aim of this
volume is to prove that the social amelioration of
mankind is a necessity of the spiritual evolution in

^ Ecclesiastes ii. 4, 8, ii.

B

1 8 Introduction

process in our Western civilisation, and that from a
consideration of scientific data in regard to the laws
which regulate the universe and the world of living
matter, and more particularly the history of mankind,
we are justified in believing, or rather compelled to the
belief, that the plan of the universe and the graduated
scale of living organisms upon the earth is the result
of design on the part of an eternal, all-wise, in¬
telligent, omnipotent, directing Power, “ who maketh
for righteousness/’^ And further, we are forced to
adopt the logical outcome of this position — the teleo¬
logical view of the universe, which means an evolu¬
tionary plan pointing to the final goal so beautifully
expressed in the noble lines of the late Laureate :

“ That God, which ever lives and moves.

One God, one law, one element.

And one — far-off divine event.

To which the whole creation moves.”

1 Matthew Arnold, “ Literature and Dogma.”

Chapter II
Darwinism*

Darwin stated that, in nature, individual
variations were constantly being produced ;
some of these were successful or permanent ; others
not so, and evanescent ; some injurious, and there¬
fore also transitory. He called this process “ natural
selection ” ; it is a necessary complement of the
“ survival of the fittest.’' The process, to put it briefly,
is this : In nature the struggle causes the weak to die
and the strong to live in virtue of greater strength, or
cunning, or greater power of flight whether on land,
water, or air. Each species acquires some attribute
which enables it to overcome another and thus secure
the food by which it lives ; the constant struggle forces
nature to make special efforts to endow its various
forms with attributes which will make them more
certain of survival. The forms acquiring these attri¬
butes unite and perpetuate themselves — the others are
slain or starved and disappear. Natural selection by
means of the struggle for existence brings about the
“ survival of the fittest,” and as a result we have the
evolutionary process in nature.

It cannot be admitted that Darwin has any right to
claim the evolutionary process as his own. It had
been anticipated by other men of science, notably by
Lamarck, but until the publication of the “ Origin of
Species ” it had never seized the public mind. His
theory and processes were accepted almost unani-

* The Editor of the “Westminster Review” has kindly given
his consent to the incorporation in this work of the article on
“ Darwinism” published in his Journal in April, 1911.

19

20 Darwinism

mously by the scientific men of his day. There is no
doubt he was a man of the very greatest powers of
observation, of wide culture, fine literary style, and of
a high and noble character. These all combined to
aid greatly the acceptance of his views.

In this country they have met with little opposition.
The Church at first stood out, but unfortunately its
ministers did not possess the scientific knowledge
necessary to defend their position, and the result has
been that the theory has been largely absorbed by
the ecclesiastics. In Germany alone, so far as I know,
have scientific men actually been bold enough to
attack this established scientific creed. Professor von
Hartman is reported to have said : ''In the first
decade of the twentieth century it has become apparent
that the days of Darwinism are numbered.” Amongst
its latest opponents are such savants as Eimer,
Gustav Wolf, De Vries, Hoocke, Von Wellstein,
Reinicke, and many others. Professor von Fleischmann
maintains that " the Darwinian theory of descent has
not a single fact to confirm it in the realm of nature,
that it is not the result of scientific research, but purely
the product of the imagination.”

In this country I do not know of any men of science
who do not agree with Darwin — at least there are none
who have openly dissented. Some years ago I read an
article by the Reverend Professor Henslow which was
decided in its opposition. Among other things he
wrote : '" The Origin of Species by Means of Natural
Selection ' was published in 1859. Up to the present
day it is an indisputable fact that not a single variety
or species of any wild animal or plant has ever been
proved to have had its origin by means of ‘ natural
selection.' ” In 1908 a book was published in Edin¬
burgh entitled ''No Struggle for Existence ; No
Natural Selection,” by George Paulin. I believe this

Darwinism 2 1

to be the only strong onslaught on Darwinism which has
been produced. Although Paulin is not by training a
scientific man he has a strong logical faculty, and I am
of opinion that his arguments are of such force as to
destroy the basis on which the theory rests. He admits
a “struggle for existence,’' but not in the Darwinian
sense, and maintains that there is no such thing as
every individual of every species fighting continually
with its neighbour in order to secure sufficient food by
which to maintain life ; and that nature has made
special provision for the elimination of all excess of
reproduction. Darwin supposed they were slain in
internecine strife ; Paulin proves that no such state
of things exists ; that, in fact, as far more are born than
ever can or do survive, the process of elimination takes
place long before the individual reaches maturity or
can propagate his kind. He proves also that individual
variations play no part in this process, and that nature
does not make use of individual variations to originate
new forms.

Darwin admits his ignorance of the method of elimi¬
nation of excess of reproduction. He writes : ‘'A
struggle for existence follows from the high rate at
which all organic beings tend to increase. Hence as
more individuals are produced than can possibly sur¬
vive, there must in every case be a struggle for exist¬
ence, either one individual with another of the same
species, or with the individuals of distinct species, or
with the physical conditions of life.” Now, when we
look around, do we find starvation working havoc
among creatures unable to find food from being less
fitted than their fellows to struggle for it ? Do we find
the reign of tooth and claw everywhere prevailing, as
it must if Darwin is right. Darwin left out of account
that Nature might have some means of eliminating her
superfluous numbers without suffering and without

I!

2 2 Darwinism

internecine strife. He supported his belief in the
struggle for existence by bringing forward the fact
that the various carnivora are very prolific, and that
the means by which their numbers are kept within due
bounds are so “ obscure ’’ that in no single instance
have they come within the scope of man’s knowledge.
Darwin admits his ignorance of the method, and formu¬
lates a hypothesis to get over the difficulty.

Before going further at present in the direction of
showing how nature eliminates her excess, we may point
out that Paulin altogether denies that there is such
a thing as the “survival of the fittest ” ; that what we
find is really the survival of the average, as all varia¬
tions tend to be destroyed by the potent influence of
marriage.^ Man can by a process of selection originate
new breeds, but he cannot make them permanent.
He must be unremitting in his selection, otherwise the
strong generic influence will be too much for him.
Man by selection has produced many varieties of
pigeon. In regard to this Darwin writes : “ With
pigeons, however, we have another case, namely, the
occasional appearance in all the breeds of slaty blue
birds, with two black bars on the wing, white loins, and
a bar at the end of the tail, with the outer feathers
externally edged near their bases with white. As all
these marks are characteristic of the native stock
pigeon, we presume no one will doubt this is a case of
reversion, and not of a new yet analogous variation
appearing in the several breeds.” Now we think it will
be agreed this is not a case of reversion at all ; the
explanation is that the generic characters have over¬
come and replaced the individual variations, which
have by man’s accumulation become the char¬
acteristics of a breed derived from a form still extant,

^ Marriage is here used in the scientific sense, meaning the union
of the sexes.

Darwinism 2 3

and from which their derivation has been of very
recent date. Individuals belonging to different breeds,
such as the Tumbler, the Runt, the Carrier, the Bart,
the Pouter, the Turbit, the Jacobin, the Trumpeter,
the Laugher, and the Fantail, come into the world
devoid of their proper characters as such, and differing
in no respect from the wild wood-pigeon, their common
ancestor. There is nothing so evanescent as these
individual variations ; in a state of nature they are
immediately destroyed by the potent influence of
marriage. Let us take another instance : man has by
careful selection been able to produce on the one hand
the race-horse, on the other, the heavy and powerful
draught-horse. If the process of selection is not most
carefully guarded in either variety, their particular
characteristics disappear very rapidly and nature at
once brings back the average type. The same is true
of the various classes into which man is artificially
divided. Mr. Galton has pointed this out in regard to
the heredity of genius. Remarkable sons succeed
remarkable parents, and nephews of the first dis¬
tinguished man display as great, if not greater
talents than himself. But of many cases adduced, in
none is the inheritance carried beyond the fourth
generation, and he also points out that the highest
display of genius is found in the first or second genera¬
tion, after which decadence sets in.

Again, Darwin founded his theory largely upon the
geological record, but out of his own mouth we think
this particular argument may be confuted. He
especially insists upon the minuteness of the develop¬
mental accretion which occurs when each new variety
is produced, and upon the great number of these
necessary to the formation of a new species and upon
the long lapse of time required for each infinitesimal
change or variation. The same process is gone through

24 Darwinism

with every evolutional variety, until in the long result
of time a form emerges so far modified from the
original as to take rank as a new species. Thus a
measureless gulf of time has been traversed before one
species has succeeded to another, and numberless have
been the intermediate varieties which have been
extinguished. That no intermediate forms had ap¬
peared among the many distinct specific forms was a
surprise to Darwin, and he could only account for
their absence by showing the imperfection of the
geological record. As these intermediate forms must
have been infinitely more numerous than the perma¬
nent forms, we think it may be held that the absence
of the intermediate is truly most remarkable and is
alone sufficient to confute Darwin’s explanation of
how the evolutionary process works.

In the geological strata a true fish is sometimes
found in the midst of molluscs and crustaceans. The
first fish that so appears is, in regard to its external
form and internal structure, as perfectly developed as
the later fish forms, having no correspondence with
any antecedent type and preceded by no half-way
form, prophetic of its emergence. Then we may ask
how were mammals developed from fish forms ? How
did the earliest mammalia come into being without
father or mother, without having their appearance on
the stage of organic life heralded by a series of forms
in the making from the fish to the mammal ? It would
be not less than miraculous that while finished forms
were yielded to geological research in large and growing
numbers, not a single series of intermediate forms,
pointing to the origin of a perfect generic type, should
emerge.

In this connection we may consider for a moment
the Neanderthal skull — the most brutal of all known
human skulls— found near Dusseldorf in the valley of

Darwinism 2 5

the Rhine. This was held to be the veritable missing
link between the higher apes and man. But Huxley,
that most accurate and honest of scientists, declared
it to be human, and Wright, an American, in “ Man
and the Glacial Period,’’ declared it to be a skull which
still has representatives among all nations, and as a
matter of fact was a close reproduction of that of
Bruce, the Scots king. As was said in an article in the

Scotsman ” of 22nd December, 1908, on this subject :
“ This is, of course, very unpalatable news for us, and
just like the impudence of these Americans.”

Recently there has been discovered another of these
so-called links with our anthropoid ancestors at
Chapelle-aux-Saints in France. But the oldest re¬
mains yet found cannot be said to be the precursor of
man ; they are only man himself. Such is the opinion
of all scientific men capable of judging, and as, accord¬
ing to Darwin, there must have been millions upon
millions of intermediate forms bridging the abyss
between the anthropoid and the “ genus homo
sapiens,” are we not entitled to cry, “ Lo ! where are
they ? ” And the only answer to our enquiry is.

No one knows.”

Professor Arthur Keith in the Hunterian lectures,
delivered at the Royal College of Surgeons, in dealing
with the evolution of man, says : At what point of
geological history these two kinds of ‘ Man ’ had been
evolved from a common stock there is as yet no
evidence, but a good deal of light can be thrown on
the problem by a study of the African anthropoids —
the gorilla and the chimpanzee. Although these
modern anthropoids did not stand in the way of human
descent, there could be no question that their ancestral
stock did, for the resemblance between man and the
African anthropoids were so many and so close that
they could only be explained by a common origin.”

2 6 Darwinism

Judging this statement from the purely scientific
standpoint, one is warranted in describing it as most
unwarrantable. It is one thing to say the skeleton of
the anthropoids and man closely resemble one another
and suggest to the mind the possibility that the one
might have been evolved from the other, but to boldly
postulate a common ancestor, without a single trans¬
mission form, where the variations from the one to the
other must have been innumerable, and continued
through long ages, shows an assurance which, with
all due deference, we are entitled to consider proceeds
more from a desire to bolster up a theory sadly lacking
support from the observed phenomena of nature than
from belief in the evidence. Further, we are entitled
to state that observations of this kind eventually do
no good in supporting prevailing creeds, and in the
long run bring discredit upon the work of those whose
aim is to extend the province and beneficence of
science.

Dealing with this point, Huxley writes (“ Man’s
Place in Nature ”) : The granting of the polygenetic
premises does not in the slightest degree necessitate
the polygenetic conclusion. Admit that the negroes,
the Australians, the Negritos, and the Mongols are
distinctive species or genera, and you may yet with
perfect consistency be the strictest of monogenists and
even believe in Adam and Eve as the primeval parents
of all mankind,” and adds : “ it is to Mr. Darwin we
owe this discovery.” This we can accept in so far as
it admits that all races of mankind have probably
come from one common stock. But we can get no *
further back than the ancestral stock of “genus homo
sapiens.” There is no geological evidence of transition
forms, which must be demonstrated before we can
accept the evolution of man from the anthropoids.

If there is no such demonstration of a past evolution.

Darwinism 2 7

and we know none ever occurs as a phenomenon in
nature, from the standpoint of science we are bound
to conclude, and entitled to say : “ We cannot accept
a hypothesis which is a mere inference and is devoid of
support from the observed phenomena of nature/'

In regard to the different types of men upon the
earth, we, as Huxley says, have every right to assume
their descent from a single pair, and the modification
of different types through the force of environment.
Further, we make bold to state from the study of
observed phenomena that man remains “ man," but he
differs in appearance and in mental and moral char¬
acteristics, according to his environment. Once he has
acquired the necessary qualities suitable to the climate
and special features of the country he is living in, he
remains the same physically from age to age.

The most recent pronouncement on this question is
that of Professor Keith at the annual meeting of the
British Association. He said : “ The problem of

man’s antiquity is not yet solved. The picture I wish
to leave in your minds is that in the distant past there
was not one kind but a number of very different kinds
of men in existence, all of which have become extinct,
except that branch which has given origin to modern
man." He makes this scientific " statement on the
evidence of two forms — the Heidelberg man and the
small-brained man of Java, the size of whose brain is
said to be one half of that of a well-developed modern
man. This description would not be very exaggerated
in regard to that of many types of African negroes —
the pigmies and bushmen, for instance. We think most
thinking men will agree that again Professor Keith
draws unwarrantable conclusions from insufficienti
data. In fact there is no support for his statemenr
whatever. He can adduce no evidence to prove that
men of a different type existed then than do now, or

r*

2 8 Darwinism

may appear in our midst as sports. They are forms
typical of the “ genus homo sapiens/' even although the
one may have been brutal in aspect and the other low
in intelligence.

Moreover, as he tells us, Professor Ragazzoni dis¬
covered in the same strata — the Pleistocene — remains
of a man of quite a high and modern type, and his dis¬
covery is accepted as authentic by Professor Sergi, of
Rome. So that on the evidence we are entitled to
conclude, as was stated earlier, that the oldest remains
yet discovered cannot be said to be the precursor of
man, they are only man himself. Again we ask where
are the millions of intermediate forms between the
anthropoid and man ? And we decline to accept as
truth the statement as to the existence at any time of
different kinds of men, if by different kinds " is
meant that they were of so specific a character as to
make it impossible to include them within the species
as we know it to-day of the “ genus homo sapiens."

Darwin insists upon the causes which check the
natural tendency of each species to increase beyond
the means of subsistence being " most obscure." " We
know not," says Darwin, " what the checks are, even
in a single instance." In the animal kingdom the
individuals of each species reproduced in each genera¬
tion far exceed the number that could, if they all
survived, find maintenance. In the antelope and
other grass or herb-eaters it is easy to account for non¬
increase, as they produce only one offspring at a time
and afford sustenance to the carnivora or flesh-eaters,
to whom they supply the necessary amount of food.
If the carnivora became too numerous it is surely
evident that very soon the herbivora would be ex¬
terminated, while on the other hand if the carnivora
are too few, the herbivora would increase to an undue
extent. Thus nature maintains a uniform ratio

Darwinism 2 9

between the carnivora and the creatures on which
they prey.

The carnivora hold the key to the situation ; they
do not make war on each other in their native haunts ;
they prefer the succulent flesh of the antelope, of which
there is always plenty ; and thus a certain comity
prevails among the purely carnivorous tenants of the
jungle. Moreover, they are careful of their skins, and
prefer to get their food with as little danger as possible.
For example, the lion and leopard will not face an
adult wild boar or a full-grown buffalo as a rule, but
readily carry off a straggling pigling or an infant buffalo.
Battles ending in the death of one of the combatants
are rare indeed.

From these considerations it would seem that we
ought to pause and consider whether the theory of
Darwin rests on proved scientific data or otherwise.
In case this may be considered unwarrantable assump¬
tion on our part, it may be well at this stage to give
evidence that even some of our scientific men of
eminence are beginning to grow restive under the
domination of this law. Messrs. Dewar and Finn,
zoologists of high standing, in their book The Making
of Species,'’ give the following judgment in regard to
it : We think we may safely assert that scarcely

ever has a theory which fundamentally changed the
prevailing scientific beliefs met with less opposition.
It would have been a good thing for zoology had Darwin
not obtained so easy a victory. . . . Sir Richard Owen,
a distinguished anatomist, certainly attacked the
doctrine in no unmeasured terms, but this attack was
anonymous, and so cannot be considered very formid¬
able. Far more important was the opposition of Dr.
St. George Mivart, whose worth as a geologist has never
been properly appreciated. His most important work,
entitled the * Genesis of Species,’ might be read with

3 o Darwinism

profit even now by many of our modern Darwinians.
For some time after the publication of the * Origin of
Species ’ Mivart appears to be almost the only man of
science fully alive to the weak points of the Darwinian
theory. The great majority seem to have been dazzled
by its brilliancy. The main attack on Darwinism was
conducted by the theologians and their allies, who
considered it to be subversive of the Mosaic account
of the creation. . . . They confounded ‘ natural selec¬
tion * with ' evolution,' and directed the main force of
their attack against the latter, under the impression
that they were fighting the Darwinian theory. . . .
Had the theologians admitted ' evolution,’ but denied
the ability of ' natural selection ’ to explain it, the
Darwinian theory would not in all probability have
gained the ascendancy which it now enjoys.”

We can now go on to consider nature’s methods
for keeping down the excess of reproduction, which
Darwin acknowledged in his own words to be ” most
obscure.”

I

Chapter III

The Cannibal Habit in the Male

AS has been already stated, the carnivora hold the •
key to the situation, and we must therefore con¬
sider the applicability of Darwin’s law to this species
more particularly. Let us take a certain area of the
jungle enclosing approximately one hundred pairs of
tigers. A tiger on the average lives thirty years,
breeds seven times during that period and gives birth
to three at a time. In each generation, therefore,
2100 are born, and of these only 200 individuals or 100
pairs survive to replace their parents and to procreate
their kind. The Darwinian believes that 200 survive
by virtue of superior variations, which give them some
slight advantage over the others, who to the number
of 1900 perish from the non-possession of these or from
less advantageous variations. The weaker, as happens
all through organic life, have gone to the wall and
perished. How did the 1900 perish ? It is well known
to those familiar with their haunts that they don’t
attack or kill one another in the struggle for sustenance ;
such events are of the rarest occurrence. However,
let us strike off 100 killed in internecine strife — a num¬
ber which would be considered much too large by all
travellers and hunters of big game. There remains
1800 to be eliminated before they have reached the age
at which they can propagate their kind. They don’t
destroy each other, and they have no enemies which
can destroy them, for when the young are old enough
to come forth from their dens, their parents protect

31

32 The Cannibal Habit in the Male

them most effectively. How, then, does the elimination
take place ? The Darwinian would state positively
that it is the result of starvation. The food supply is
only sufficient for 200, and this number survive by
means of their superior variations, which enable them
to get their food and live. This infers that in the
limited area of the jungle which can comfortably
maintain in the aggregate 400 adults and cubs, there
perish from inability to get the necessary food 1900
in each generation. Yet the young that appear as food-
seekers are as well preserved and have their main¬
tenance assured to them, as long as they are feeble and
immature, by the protecting guardianship of their
parents, and are only left to their own resources when
able to hunt and kill for their own subsistence. The
limited tract of jungle certainly does not contain
enough food for 2100, or half of that number, for any
lengthened period, but it would certainly maintain
them for a space, until all available supplies were
reduced to the vanishing point. If such a multitude
of devourers were let loose their natural prey would be
exterminated and the end would be the extinction by
famine of all the tigers themselves — parents and
progeny. We hope this argument will be duly weighed,
as it is most important and seems irrefutable.

If the 1900 enter into the competition of feral life,
it must be admitted that very few are destroyed by
their own, or individuals of other, species. Internecine
warfare does not cause any considerable thinning of
their numbers, as testified by numerous hunters of big
game. While again, if all the progeny became food-
seekers, the only result would be a famine-stricken
existence, but not until they had made an end of their
natural prey. It is not possible to escape from this
conclusion. Ignoring this, however, let us assume that
1900 are doomed and unable to find food, and die of

The Cannibal Habit in the Male 33

starvation by reason of possessing inferior variations.
It will surely be admitted that in this case three out of
every four would be in a starving condition, yet no
traveller has ever encountered young tigers that were
not robust and in good condition of lusty health. No
sportsman has ever killed an emaciated tiger unless it
had become mangy and lean from old age.

If, as Darwinians hold, nine out of every ten perish
in the struggle for existence, either from starvation or
by the claws and teeth of their own and other species,
we must suppose that every haunt of the carnivora
would exhibit manifold traces and signs of such dire
and continuous slaughter, and yet, as has been stated,
the testimony of all travellers in the forest, the jungle,
and the desert is that they find no cases of famished
animals, and only very few carnivora done to death
in battle. If true, every mountain tract > jungle, and
desert home of feral life would abound in visible evi¬
dences of the demoniac struggle for existence, such as
would make it impossible for an acute observer of the
phenomena of nature to say that the causes which
check the increase of carnivorous animals were “ most
obscure.” This is a purely logical statement of the
case and cannot be confuted.

The only possible conclusion seems to be that the off¬
spring of the great proportion of the carnivora perish
in their immaturity. Adopt this explanation and the
causes which check the natural tendency of each
species to increase are no longer “ most obscure.”
Darwin found them so because he began to look for
them after they had fully operated. Nature would be
vastly more cruel if she sent her enormous reproduction
into the struggle to be starved, or mangled to death by
tooth and claw in their youthful prime. It is to prevent
such a struggle for existence and to preserve her off¬
spring from such a fate that she painlessly eliminates

c

34 The Cannibal Habit in the Male

them in the earliest stage of existence. Nature pro¬
duces her offspring in numbers that appear unneces¬
sarily large for a very practical and important end,
namely, in the event of any sudden calamity falling
upon the species to provide the means of speedily
recovering its numbers, while the waste is of no
moment and entails no suffering or misery. We do not
exclaim against the waste of life when we see Nature
producing from a plant or tree thousands of seeds,
“ of which she brings but one to bear.” The same
principle exists in the animal as in the vegetable world,
and its action is attended with as little pain in the one
case as in the other.

In beginning the investigation of the deletion of
immature offspring, two problems require solution :
first, the method of elimination of the excess of
reproduction, and secondly, the method by which the
necessary number of young, and no more, are preserved
to take the place of the parents. Paulin describes
how an accidental circumstance put him upon the
track of the first problem. He possessed two cats;
the female from time to time showed signs of preg¬
nancy ; suddenly she would appear lean and lank, but
there was never any brood. After a time and while the
female was pregnant the male happened to be killed, and
before long the female became a happy mother. This
made him ask, more in jest than in earnest, if this were
nature’s method of getting rid of the excess of repro¬
duction among the carnivora. He made further
enquiries as his curiosity was excited, and he found
that in every house where a tom-cat was tenant along
with a tabby, the litters were sure to be devoured by
the former. He also had observed and had been
informed that, when the female is pregnant, the male,
some days before parturition, follows her about per¬
sistently wherever she goes, while often in an access

The Cannibal Habit in the Male 35

of rage she flies upon him and drives him off for the
time being. He argues, if this behaviour is representa¬
tive of the carnivora, there must be some odour about
a female advanced in pregnancy which provokes the
male to keep her close company in expectation of a
feast to be shortly provided, and points to a pro¬
vision of nature in order to secure that the elimina¬
tion of young shall be sufficient for her purpose. This
method is at once the most direct and is effected with
the smallest amount of misery or suffering, for the
process of deletion, so far as the young are concerned,
is an absolutely painless one. Nature separates the
interests of the males and the females — the one to
bring forth in safety, the other to devour. In the
conflict the majority of litters perish, while a sufficient
number is preserved to ensure continuance of the
species. It has been pointed out by other observers
that the males of the rat, the rabbit, the cat, the
guinea-pig, the weasel, the pig, and other wild species
so act when they have opportunity. While on a visit
to a friend, and while this subject was occupying his
thoughts, it was announced that a sad mischance had
occurred. The gamekeeper had discovered a pair of
ferrets ; while the female was in the act of parturition,
the male was swallowing the infants as soon as they
appeared ; after the removal of the male one young
ferret was born, and was the sole survivor.

He asks naturalists to give this method some con¬
sideration, and goes on to aver that if they can prove
a single instance in which the male remains with the
female at the time of delivery without devouring the
young he will at once abandon the hypothesis ; and
adds that he is possessed of irrefragable evidence of
this instinct of the males, embracing every prolific
carnivorous and herbivorous species without exception.
He points out that Darwin is at a loss to account for

36 The Cannibal Habit in the Male

the huge pachyderms not increasing beyond measure,
even although they are non-prolific and breed slowly.
He writes : “ The elephant is reckoned the slowest
breeder of all known animals, and I have taken some
pains to estimate its probable rate of increase. It
begins breeding when thirty years of age, and goes on
until ninety, bringing forth six young in the interval
and surviving to 100 years ; if this be so, after a
period of 750 years there would be nearly 19,000,000
elephants descended from the first pair.” “ Again,”
he says, on the other hand, in some cases, as in the
elephant, none are destroyed by beasts of prey.” How
then did Darwin imagine the increase of the elephant
was checked ? Did he suppose that natural selection ”
was all-potent to arrest its increase without material
means being employed ? Some of the young are un¬
doubtedly destroyed by beasts of prey, notwith¬
standing Darwin’s statement to the contrary, for it has
often been reported by Anglo-Indians that elephant
babies are not infrequently swooped off by the rush of
a great cat, even from the presence of the protecting
parent. This is, of course, a rare occurrence, and is
of no avail in limiting the numbers of this wild
species. It is therefore impossible to come to any
other conclusion than that the young are destroyed
in their immaturity, and a uniform ratio survive to
continue the species. In the light of Paulin’s discovery
we can understand that which Darwin acknowledged
was an inexplicable phenomenon of Nature.

He once asked a gamekeeper if the fox was aware
of the particular den where the vixen brought forth,
and he replied that he did not think it was so at the
beginning, but that he frequently carried game and
other supplies to the vixen and cubs when quite young.
This means that the vixen does not reveal the cubs to
the fox until the danger period has passed.

The Cannibal Habit in the Male 37

In the autobiography of Faimali, the great lion-
tamer, we learn that the lioness must be allowed to bring
forth her young in total darkness, and if within nine or
ten days light be admitted to the cage the fierce mother
at once devours her own cubs. Boys know this danger
in regard to rabbits in the first fortnight. The limit of
time in which light is excluded must coincide with that
during which there is danger to the cubs from the
male. We see in this the beneficence of nature. A
great work of elimination is required, therefore the
appetite of the male is excited by some odour from the
callow offspring. This passes off after a few days, as
partial elimination and not extermination is what is
intended. Then the mother goes forth to seek her
mate and install him as protector and provider.
Faimali’s account recalls an incident in his father’s
house when he was a child. The family possessed a
cat, a great favourite on account of its gentleness ; it
was nursing a litter of kittens in an outhouse, when,
to everyone’s horror, it appeared one day its jaws
dripping with blood — that of its own offspring. A
large tom-cat had found its way into the outhouse, and
she, seeing their doom could not be averted, had
shared in the feast with the intruder.

Faimali’s statement as to the effect of light in the
lair is full of significance and suggestion as to what
takes place in the haunts of the carnivora. The lioness
steals away from her mate, most likely when he sleeps,
reaches her den or cave, makes her lair in the deep
darkness, and brings forth her whelps. She lies in
dread of her wandering lord ; the darkness alone
imparts security ; whenever this is broken instinct
impels her at once to devour them ; when the danger¬
ous period is successfully passed she goes forth to find
the male and install him as protector.

When he got thus far in his investigation he deter-

38 The Cannibal Habit in the Male

mined to put it to a test which would prove its truth
or falsehood. He consulted Mr. Bartlett, superin¬
tendent of the Zoological Gardens in London, who was
then alive. He informed him that in the case of every
prolific carnivorous and herbivorous species the male
was always removed at the time of delivery ; if not,
the brood was straightway devoured. Paulin denies
that there is any reason to think that this is due to
confinement rendering them savage beyond their
wont in the free state. He has proved that internecine
strife and starvation do not exist among them to any
appreciable extent in the wild state. Again, if all the
young, protected as we know them to be by their
parents during their early youth, should appear as
devourers of their natural prey, what would happen ?
Their increase would be prodigious ; their natural prey
would shortly be exterminated. But the latter never
undergoes diminution, so long as they have no other
enemies than their carnivorous destroyers. Therefore
the enormous reproduction of the carnivora do not all
appear as food seekers ; by far the greater number are
eliminated before they go forth to hunt the antelope,
the zebra, or any other grass-eaters. This habit
accounts for the fact that the young carnivora found
in their native haunts never appear to be more numer¬
ous in proportion to the adults than are required to
continue the species in undiminished numbers. The
absence of all knowledge of this process explains how
Darwin found the causes which check the increase of
these vigorous kinds, which ought otherwise to swarm
in great numbers, to be most obscure.'’ This elimi¬
nation Paulin showed to be not an argument of
Nature’s cruelty, but of her kindly care and regard for
her offspring, and is the mode by which she averts the
horrible fate contemplated for them in Darwin’s
“ struggle for existence.”

The Cannibal Habit in the Male 39

He goes on to point out a curious result of his
enquiries at the gardens. Darwin had observed that
as a singular result of confinement, while the carnivora,
even from the tropics, breed freely there, the bear
family breed very seldom. Paulin reasoned that this
must be due to her organisation, and that in all
probability she bred seldom in the free state. Nature
had provided this as a check upon the bears increasing
unduly, and consequently the male would have no
propensity to devour the young. He asked Mr. Seth,
who had charge of the bears, and his reply was that
they seldom breed in the gardens, and that the male
never touches the whelps when they are born, nor
afterwards, and he is therefore allowed to remain all
the time. He was then asked if all the different kinds
of bears produced young in the gardens, and his reply
was that they did, “ but they bred very seldom.” Even
among the bears, however, there is one exception to
this rule. We are able to state on the reliable authority
of a hunter of big game in the Rocky Mountains that
the “ grizzly ” male does devour the young. ^ And
this is readily explained by the fact that the “ grizzly ”
is a prolific animal, whereas the common brown bear
breeds seldom and brings forth only one at a time.
The bear is as savage as the lion, but all the
difference lies in the one being prolific and the other
not.

Paulin goes on to state that important as these
observations are to students of natural history, he has
never met a naturalist or a believer in “ natural selec¬
tion ” who was cognisant of the facts imparted by Mr.
Bartlett, and he observes that it is a curious fact that
Bartlett never refers to them in his various publica¬
tions, even when it seemed difficult to avoid doing so.

1 I was informed of this by Mr. Daly, an American, on his way
to shoot big game in British East Africa.

40 The Cannibal Habit in the Male

For example, in his book Wild Animals in Captivity,”
he mentions that the male wolf takes an active interest
in rearing the young ; as soon as they begin to run
about, the male throws up a considerable portion of
the contents of his stomach for the young to devour.
But who would imagine that “ begins to run about ”
means “ the male wolf after having been excluded
from the cage until the danger to the cubs has passed
is restored to the company of the female ” ? A very
different tale indeed ! The male has been transformed
from a creature ravening to devour its young to the
kind parent, feeding them with the contents of its own
stomach.

We must now ask what principle can be supposed
to govern the amount of elimination so that it shall
cease before the living broods become too few to
continue the species in due numbers ? And also the
means of recuperation when some sudden catastrophe
has reduced the species to the vanishing point ?
Nothing is left to chance ; in nature’s arrangements
the element of chance can never enter. Aberrations
from the normal are as surely the product of unvarying
law as the normal itself. The very conception of

chance ” argues the limitation of the human mind.
To go on with the problem : the individual pairs have
each their own territory, out of which they seldom
travel, as if they were kept within their bounds by some
physical constraint. The roaming ground is more or
less extensive according to plenty or scarcity of prey,
and nature has adjusted its prolific species numerically
to the capacity of their several coursing grounds to
maintain them comfortably, and thereby has arranged
that a certain unvarying proportion of the broods
shall escape the ken of the male. Nature has adjusted
to the finest issues the instinct of the male of prolific
species, so that the proportion saved to the proportion

The Cannibal Habit in the Male 41

destroyed is a fixed determinate quantity — constant
and unvarying.

Next, recuperation after decimation by forest fires,
organised battles, pestilence, or famine, is brought
about by the surviving females having a larger space
and greater ease in concealing their broods. The con¬
sequence is that more broods are saved, and conse¬
quently the gaps are quickly filled up. It thus becomes
evident that Darwin’s “ checks ” are not checks at
all, but only mere temporary calamities, which are soon
overcome and result in a return to the normal popu¬
lation very shortly after the cessation of the cause. It
will be seen that nature had a great economic end in
view when she endowed her species with such power
of procreation. Nature’s checks are not the same for all
species ; there is one for man, one for unprolific
another for prolific herbivora and carnivora, another
for raptorial birds, and many others. The destruction
of spawn and small fry by adult fishes is Nature’s
method in this domain. There is here no concealment
on the part of the females, or a special instinct on the
part of the males, in devouring the spawn, for the
females take as active a part as the males in this,
whether of their own or other kinds. But Nature has
provided against the annihilation of her finny species
from this universal propulsion to devour the spawn
by endowing them with enormous procreative powers.
The spawn of a cod amounts to the enormous total of
9,000,000 eggs. Assuming a cod produces in its life¬
time 50,000,000 eggs, of these only two may be hatched
and come to maturity. But the enormous destruction
of the cod in the various seas in which fishing is
carried on does not, from age to age, seem to affect their
numbers. The continual destruction of adults by
fishermen permits a multitude of young cod to grow
to maturity, which otherwise would have perished, and

42 The Cannibal Habit in the Male

the annual destruction by the fishing-net, great as it is,
is balanced by the number of young cod saved from
death.

The potentiahty of increase of prolific species shows
its actual power in a startling manner when the condi¬
tions of life by man’s intervention are altered. Take,
as an illustration, the introduction of the rabbit into
Australia. Its fecundity is so enormous that man
would find it difficult to keep its number within due
bounds, even in Great Britain, were it not that the far
greater number of the broods are destroyed by the
males, as all schoolboys know by bitter experience.
When this animal was introduced into Australia the
conditions of life were wholly changed; there were
few carnivora to destroy them, while illimitable space
was afforded by the female on every side to enable her
to hide her brood from the ken of the male. Accord¬
ingly it multiplied and spread with the rapidity of wild¬
fire, causing disastrous results to the agriculturists.

From a consideration of these observed phenomena
of nature we are now able to state that the theory of
Darwin does not rest on proved scientific data, and are
entitled to say that his “ checks ” upon increase of
population can no longer be held to be, in his own
words, “ most obscure.”

Chapter IV
“ Natural Selection ”

Mr. BALFOUR made some illuminating remarks
on this subject at the opening of the first
international Eugenics Congress in London in 1912,
under the presidency of Major Leonard Darwin. He
said : ‘'I read, for instance, as almost an ordinary
commonplace of eugenic literature, that we are
suffering at this moment from the fact that the law of
natural selection is, if not in abeyance, producing less
effect than it did when selection was more stringent,
and that what we have to do is, as it were, to go back
to the good old days of natural selection. I do not
believe that to be scientifically sound. I say nothing
about its other aspects. The truth is, that we are very
apt to use the word in two quite different senses. We
say that the ' fit ’ survive. But all that means is that
those who survive are fit. They are fit because they
survive and they survive because they are fit. It
really adds nothing to our knowledge of the facts.
All it shows is that here is a class of a race or species
which does survive and is adapted to its surroundings,
and that is a definition from a strictly biological point
of view of what ' fit ’ means.’' I have reproduced this
portion of his speech in order to demonstrate the
attitude of one of the most astute intellects of our time
towards the Darwinian hypothesis. “ Fitness ” and
“ survival ” are by no means one and the same thing,

43

“ Natural Selection ”

44

and yet Darwin’s whole theory of “ natural selection ”
rested upon the “ survival of the fittest.” Mr. Balfour
^ proves that this law does not operate, and that in fact
the only law in nature is the survival of those races or
species which ar^'' adapted to their surroundings. In
' other words, enviromh^nFis the sole agent determining
the evolution of species, and the Darwinian hypothesis
of “ natural selection ” is totally devoid of support from
^ the observed phenomena of nature. Mr. Balfour
I proceeds to pour forth satire upon this already dis-
i credited law ; he continues : “ Those who are

, interested in the subject will read constantly that
in certain cases the biologically fit are diminishing in
number through the diminution of the birth-rate, and
that the biologically unfit are increasing in number
because their birth-rate is high. But, according to the
true doctrine of ‘natural selection’ as I conceive it, that
is all wrong. The professional classes, we are told,
have families so small that it is impossible for them to
keep up their numbers. They are biologically unfit
' for that very reason. Fitness means — and can only
i mean from the naturalistic point of view — that you are
i in harmony with your surroundings. And if your
numbers diminish you are not in harmony with your
- surroundings, for there is not that adaptation which

I fitness in the naturalistic sense implies. In the same

i way I am told that the number of feeble-minded is

j greatly increasing ; that can only mean, from a natural¬

istic point of view, that the feeble-minded are getting
i more adapted to their surroundings.” The supreme

I logical faculty of Mr. Balfour is here used to slay

mercilessly the already discredited hypothesis of
' “ natural selection.” It reduces the conclusion to which

; it would lead us to a veritable travesty. If present-
day science is to remain logically sound, it must per-
force discard this theory, which has held sway too long,

“ Natural Selection ”

45

and has proved a barrier to the advance of scientific
investigation in so far as the laws of biology are
concerned.

Messrs. Dewar and Finn in their recent work, “ The
Making of Species,” have gone far to show the insecure
position of much of the Darwinian hypothesis, and
especially of the hitherto accepted infallibility of the
law of natural selection, and as a necessary conse¬
quence of the dogma of the “ survival of the fittest.”
But their lack of knowledge in regard to the operation
of the cannibal habit in nature has proved a stumbling-
block. Had they been aware of it, their arguments
would have been much more heavily weighted, and
their conclusions more trenchant and positive, and
would most certainly have altered absolutely their views
of the accepted creed of science in regard to evolution,
biology, and the whole Darwinian hypothesis.

Yet, unaware as they are of the existence of this
habit as a law in nature, they mention, in one short
paragraph, that in some animals, as for example the
hyaena, the. male occasionally devours his young ones,
and they state it as “a check on multiplication not
mentioned by Darwin, which is sometimes imposed
by the individuals of the species on one another.”
Now here we have a glimmering of the operation of
that universal law which prevails in all prolific
species. One would have thought that, reflecting on
the non-increase of the elephant, and particularly
of the lion, which inhabits the same regions as the
hyaena, they would have extended the operation of
this law to the king of beasts, which certainly is never
destroyed by its enemies. But their explanation of
the non-increase of lions in Africa is ‘‘ teething
troubles in the whelp.” Surely this is absolutely
futile : such an explanation can only be given when one
is forced to attempt to explain the unexplainable. It is

“ Natural Selection ”

46

an insult to nature. It amounts to this : that nature — in
order to prevent the earth being overrun by lions, and
the consequent destruction of the antelopes on which
they live, and thereafter of all other animals not cap¬
able of withstanding their onslaught, later, the ex¬
tinction of the human race, and finally, their own
annihilation through want of the means of subsistence —
was forced by some means of which we are entirely
ignorant to formulate an agency, operating in a fatal
manner during the process of dentition upon the
young of the greater cats only. This is our safeguard
against the war of species, the wreck of nature, and the
crack of doom !

Is it not pitiable in such able and competent
observers ? But they are not to blame — they were
ignorant of the real facts of nature in this instance.
It is true that a little of the divine gift of imagination
would have helped them much. It argues to a demon¬
stration the limitation of the human intellect, of
which we omit to remind ourselves as frequently as we
ought. Dewar and Finn are always fair to every
argument, and it is something that they should say :
“ Men of science not infrequently charge the clergy
with adhering to dogma in face of opposing facts ; it
seems to us that many of the apostles of science are in
this respect worse offenders than the most orthodox of
churchmen.’’ “ The average scientific man of to-day
makes facts fit his theory ; if they refuse to fit he
ignores or denies them.” On page 27 we find : “ Like
Darwin, we welcome all factors which appear to be
capable of effecting evolution. . . . We recognise the
strength and weakness of the Darwinian theory, we see
plainly it has the defect of the period in which it was
enunciated. The eighteenth century was the age of
cocksureness, the age in which all phenomena were
thought to be capable of simple explanation.” Again

“ Natural Selection ”

47

(page 28) : “ The theory of Natural Selection is no more
able to explain all the varied phenomena of nature
than is Ricardo’s assumption that all men are actuated
solely by the love of money capable of accounting for
the multifarious existing economic phenomena.” “ We
think (page 7) we may safely assert that scarcely ever
has a theory which fundamentally changed the pre¬
vailing scientific beliefs met with less opposition.

It would have been a good thing for Zoology had Darwip
not obtained so easy a victory. ...

“ Darwin thus became a dictator whose authority
none durst question, ii crowd of slavish adherents
gathered round him, a herd of men to whom he seemed
an absolutely unquestionable authority. Darwinism
became a creed to which all must subscribe.”

It is interesting to note that just fifty years
Huxley wrote an article in the '' Westminster Review
from which Messrs. Dewar and Finn quote : “ After
much consideration and with no bias against Mr.
Darwin’s views, it is our clear conviction, that as the
evidence now stands, it is not absolutely proven that a
group of animals having all the characters exhibited
by species in nature, has ever been originated by
selection, whether natural or artificial.” Fifty years
later I had the honour to write, in the same monthly,
an article on “ Darwinism,” which proved, I believe,
the truth of Paulin’s law of the prevalence of “ the
cannibal habit in the male ” of all prolific species of
carnivora and herbivora, and, consequently, of “no
struggle for existence, of no survival of the fittest,”
of the obliteration of all variation by the potent
influence of marriage, and of the survival of the average.::^
That which Huxley found could not be absolutely
proved was the cope-stone of the Darwinian structure,
and it is only now that we are able to appraise thoroughly
the fact that Huxley was — what Darwin unfortunately

“ Natural Selection ”

48

was not — a great logician, and had detected the weak
point in the arch, which would eventually give way and
thus shatter the entire construction. In fact, we now
know that the bridge is without a cope-stone, and
natural selection, being non-existent, has no power
over the forces of nature, and is not a determining
factor in evolution. It is a very striking fact and
attention must be drawn to it here, that Darwin
himself must have had grave doubts as to the operation
of this law, because Messrs. Dewar and Finn write, on
page 89 of their book, of “ the difficulty urged hy Darwin,
that isolated sports must he swamped hy continual
crossing of the normal type” If isolated sports are
swamped, which they must be by the continual crossing
of the normal type, we surely are able to demonstrate
that in nature Paulin’s law of the survival of the
average through the potent influence of marriage is
universal/ By continual crossing of the normal type,
all variations must be destroyed. Therefore, out of
Darwin’s own mouth we can prove that natural
selection is inoperative as a natural law. But apart
from that Darwin would require to prove that sports
were double, that is, male and female. If not, how
otherwise could the particular sport become per¬
manent ? This Darwin has never attempted to
explain. This statement proves the innate honesty of
the man, but there remained the difficulty of accounting
for the elimination of the excess of reproduction. Had
he only understood how this was accomplished, and
’that the '' cannibal habit of the male ” was a law
operating in such a manner throughout nature as to
regulate exactly to the needs of nature the numbers
of all species, we should have been to-day nearer to a
full understanding of the laws so far as living matter
is concerned.

“ Natural Selection ” 49

We now proceed to examine further some of the
statements in Messrs. Dewar and Finn’s very able
work. On pages 348 and 349 they say : We are

inclined to think that neither the food limit nor the
beasts of prey are a very important check on the
multiplication of organisms. The lion, for example,
was never so numerous as to reach the limit of its food
supply. Before the white man obtained a foothold in
Africa, vast herds of herbivores were to be seen in
those districts where lions were most plentiful.” As
was pointed out earlier, it ought to be patent to every¬
one that if the lions were not kept at uniform numbers,
the antelopes would be bound to be gradually ex¬
terminated by the excessive progressive increase of the
carnivores which feed on them. It is the food limit
which determines the numbers which shall survive in
any one area of the jungle. The number of the ante¬
lopes is determined by the supply of vegetable food.
After prolonged droughts the number of the antelopes
is greatly reduced by famine and pestilence. The
lions at once begin to suffer from starvation ; and
numbers die in greater or less proportion, according to
the extent and severity of the famine. Whenever the
food supply becomes limited, the male about the time
of parturition has to go much further afield, and thus
gives his mate a rare opportunity for bringing forth in
her secluded lair, and ere long the reduced numbers of
the tribe, with the return of the food supply, come
back automatically to the average. When the lions
are in average numbers and food supply abundant,
the female has great difficulty in finding concealment,
and the young are destroyed in numbers sufficient to
keep the tribe at a fixed ratio. If “ teething troubles
in the whelp ” were the cause of the limitation of
excess of reproduction, how could the losses through
famine, pestilence, and the rifle be made up ? If this

D

“ Natural Selection ”

50

were the cause, the tribe would soon disappear ; but the
balance of nature never varies, and nothing is left to
chance. But now that we know the law, there is no
difficulty in understanding the unvarying proportion
of all species. Darwin adopted Malthus’s doctrine to
prove the survival of the fittest, but as it is now
established that mankind or nations never do outrun^.,.^^
the means of subsistence and that the birth-rate
depends primarily upon the demands of the labour
market, so we know that animals maintain a direct
ratio to their means of subsistence, the antelope to
the amount of vegetation, the lions to the number of
antelopes. So much is this the case that the ratio is
constant and unvarying. As already pointed out, the
undue increase of the lions would shatter the scheme
of things entire,” but this is impossible under the
operation of the law regulating the cannibal habit in
the male.

It is very striking to observe how Wallace never
hesitates to contradict Darwin as to the workings of
“ natural selection,” and “ sexual selection.” For
example, in regard to the gaudy plumage of male birds,
he explains that the females are plain and non-
attractive in order that while sitting on eggs they may
not attract attention. Surely this is far-fetched and
shows the straits to which Darwinians have been
driven in order to maintain their hypothesis. As
Dewar points out, in some species, e.g. the Paradise
Fly-catcher, where the male bird is brilliantly coloured,
we find him sitting on the eggs quite as much as the
hen. Again, in the Indian Sunbirds the cocks are
brilliantly coloured and the hens not so, but as the
nests are well covered in, the latter might have
possessed all the colours of the rainbow.

On pages 340 and 341 they give instances of marked
variations which occur in the genus homo : (a) Colour

“ Natural Selection ” 51

blindness, which has been recorded, through the males
only, of seven generations, {b) similarly, cataracts in the
males of four generations, (c) “ Edward Lambert,
born 1717, is said to have been born covered with
spines. In his children this abnormality persisted for
five generations, and in the males only ; this pecu¬
liarity began to be manifest from the sixth to the ninth
month after birth.” Now, it must be evident to
everyone that these abnormal qualities never persist :
in other words, there is a return to the average through
the potent influence of marriage, just as in eight
generations all trace of the negro can be eliminated by
constant inter-marriage with the white. These
instances give additional support to Darwin’s own
dictum that “ isolated sports must be swamped by
continual crossing of the normal type.”

On page 347 Messrs. Dewar and Finn deal with the
“ struggle for existence.” Their remarks are so novel in
any present-day work on Zoology, that I feel impelled
to quote the passage in extenso : ‘‘As usual, Darwin’s
disciples have failed to improve upon the accounts he
gave of the nature of the struggle for existence. This
is set forth in Chapter III of the ‘ Origin of Species.’

“ ‘The causes,’ writes Darwin (new edition, p. 83),
‘ which check the natural tendency of each species
to increase in number are most obscure. Look at the
most vigorous species ; by as much as it swarms in
numbers, by so much will it tend to increase still
further. We know not exactly what the checks are^
even in a single instance.* This is perfectly true,” say
Dewar and Finn, “ nevertheless, elaborate theories of
protective and warning coloration and mimicry have
been built up on the tacit assumption that the checks
to the multiplication of all, or nearly all, species are the
creatures which prey upon them. Possibly no Wal-
laceian asserts this in so many words, but it is a

“ Natural Selection ”

52

logical deduction from the excessive prominence each
one gives to the various theories of animal coloration ;
for, if the chief foes of an organism are not the creatures
which prey upon it, how can the particular shade and
pattern of its coat be of such paramount importance
to it ? We shall endeavour to show that there are
checks on the increase of a species far more potent than
the devastation caused by those creatures which feed
upon it.” They then proceed to set forth some of the
checks on the multiplication of organisms mentioned
by Darwin in the “ Origin of Species” — the destruction
of eggs and very young animals which seem generally
to suffer most, and showing that once the average
animal becomes fully grown its survival is much
enhanced. This deduction is positively certain, and is a
necessary corollary of the cannibal habit of the male.

Darwin's second “ check ” is the limitation of the food
supply. This must of necessity regulate everything ;
but it has been clearly proved that the numbers of a
species never increase beyond the means of subsistence.
As we have demonstrated already, if the vegetation,
for example, in a certain area of the African jungle
keeps uniform, the antelopes do not increase beyond the
number which can comfortably feed thereon ; and
similarly the ferocious and unconquerable lion does not
increase, but bears a uniform ratio to the numbers of
the antelopes, which are its chief means of subsistence.
We have already pointed out a strange fact : that the
first effect of a diminished food supply is an increase
in the number of young which survive and escape the
all-devouring male parent. This is nature’s means of
restoring the loss among the adult members of the
tribe caused by starvation. Most famine periods are
temporary ; if by any chance the famine were long
continued, after a time the gradual extinction and
final extermination of the race would of^ necessity

“ Natural Selection ”

53

begin. And it is quite easy to understand how the
numbers would soon be restored after they had been
reduced to nearly the vanishing-point, if eventually
the famine came to a conclusion. At first the males
would have to roam far in order to secure food, and the
female would have ample time and opportunity to
see that her young were secluded in safety for the
necessary period. And thus in a comparatively short
time the population would come back to its former
standard and continue in direct ratio to the means of
subsistence.

But it must be said that Dewar and Finn have shown
far more insight in regard to the Darwinian hypothesis
than any other British naturalists. For instance, in
regard to this very matter they write : “ We are
inclined to think that neither the food limit nor the
beasts of prey are a very important check on the multipli¬
cation of organisms,’’ and they point out that the lion
was never so numerous as to reach the limit of its food
supply, and that “ vast herds of herbivores were to be
seen in those districts where lions were most plentiful.”

Moreover, they have the courage to attack the
generally accepted theories of animal coloration, which
are really ingenious devices to uphold the founda¬
tions of a stronghold now, at last, showing signs of
collapse.

Climate, damp, pestilence and parasites, all men¬
tioned by Darwin as “ checks,” are next dealt with by
Dewar and Finn, and in regard to these all that can
be said is that the discussion by these scientists would
have been very different if only they had understood
the operation of the cannibal habit and its universality.
But, as we have already pointed out, they do show a
glimmering of the light, and we have no doubt in time
would have discovered it, for it is mentioned on page
353, and deserves to be fully quoted : “A check on

“ Natural Selection ”

54

multiplication, not mentioned by Darwin, is that which
is sometimes imposed by the individuals of the species
on one another. Thus, in some animals, as, for
example, the hyaena, the male occasionally devours
his own young ones.’’ Paulin worked at his discovery
for ten years and published his book in 1908, and it is
surely a great triumph to his marvellous power of
logical deduction that in the following year a great
and illuminative work by scientific investigators of
the very first order, full of original observations and
arguments, attacking and subversive of the very
foundation of the Darwinian hypothesis, should
mention a check on the increase of species in one tribe
of carnivora — which Paulin had demonstrated applied
in the case of all prolific herbivora and carnivora.
“ The whirligig of time brings in his revenges,” and
he, who was attacked by nearly all the careless and
ignorant reviewers of the various journals which
pretend to deal with scientific matters, whether daily or
weekly, popular or scientific, has proved his case and
come into his own. He died in the following year, but
fully persuaded that at some not far-off date truth
would prevail. And he has not had to wait long, for
already, in the very year after, come these most
brilliant investigators and philosophers in matters
zoological with the positive assurance that in one tribe
and in others his law does operate, and one has little
hesitation in believing that in time they will appreciate
its universality and its application to all the prolific
carnivores and herbivores.

We have already pointed out that Dewar and Finn
have exploded the hitherto accepted views of “ natural
selection” in bringing about protective mimicry and
warning. They attack it also as the means of survival
of favourable variations, and point out that natural
selection may indirectly cause the survival of un-

“ Natural Selection ” 55

favourable variations, or of variations which are of no
utility to the organism,” because they happen to be
co-related with organs or structures that are useful.
They point out the great importance of the co-relation
of organs, and that this phenomenon has been quite
neglected by zoologists who have followed Darwin,
and add significantly : “ This is an example of the
manner in which the superficial theories which to-day
command wide acceptance have tended to bar the
way to research.” After such a statement — a direct
attack on the accepted creed of science, and the sole
basis of the “ survival of the fittest ” — surely we have
every right to expect due consideration of that which
explains the hitherto unexplainable, and relegates the
Darwinian theory to the position of a mere hypothesis
which has proved a barrier, although only a temporary
one, in the way of scientific discovery.

Dewar and Finn in discussing what Romanes calls
prototypic evolution, quote Darwin (“ Origin of
Species”), showing that he was of opinion that
natural selection is able to bring this about. They
write : “ Darwin tacitly assumes, in the illustration he
gives, that the various races of the carnivorous animals
are in some way prevented from intercrossing ; for, if
they breed indiscriminately, these races will tend to
be obliterated.” This is the first time, so far as we know,
that scientific men have pointed out the impossibility
of the survival of variation. We have only to use our
powers of observation in regard to the human race to
assure ourselves of this. We have diversities of races
produced through environment. Sports of all kinds
appear from time to time, but these particular charac¬
teristics, whatever they may be, are not perpetuated ;
they may be passed on for one, two, or three genera¬
tions ; but the inevitable always happens, and back we
come, as Paulin pointed out before any other observer.

“ Natural Selection ”

56

to the “ survival of the average, under the potent
influence of marriage.” And this is supported by
Professor Morgan Lloyd, who writes in “ Animal Life
and Intelligence ” : “ That perfectly free inter¬

crossing between any or all of the individuals of a
given group of animals is, so long as the characters of
the parents are blended in the offspring, fatal to
divergence of character, is undeniable.” Man, by
selection, can bring about varieties of pigeons and
horses, as everyone knows, but nature never does this.
As soon as man ceases to select and protect most
carefully, we get our pigeons back to the common rock,
and our horses, race and draught, similarly returning
to the average.

Dewar and Finn deal with this matter with clearness
and certainty. They quote Romanes in ” Darwin and
after Darwin ” to the effect that “ divergence between
the average qualities of a species, and those of an
isolated section, if the isolation continues sufflciently
long, differentiation of type is necessarily bound to
ensue.” Their comment on this is most illuminating
(p. 374) : “This assumption is unfortunately not
founded on fact. If we were to take one hundred
racehorses and shut them up in one park, and one
hundred carthorses and shut them up in another park,
and prevent the inter-breeding of the two stocks, we
should, if Romanes’ tacit assumption be true, see the
two types diverge more and more from one another.
We know that as a matter of fact they will tend,
generation after generation, to becoyne more like one
ayiothery In support of this, they bring forward
Gabon’s Law of Regression, and they show forth the
second fallacy in Romanes’ reasoning, which is “ based
on the assumption that there is no limit to the amount
of change which can be effected by the accumulation
of fluctuating variations ; but, as we have already

“ Natural Selection ” 57

seen, there is a very definite limit, and this limit is
quickly reached.’’

Now, what does this mean ? In the first place that
variation is a rare thing, and that when it does occur, it
is very soon extinguished, and secondly, that there is no
such thing as “ natural selection,” as all variations are
destroyed by the potent influence of marriage.

Dewar and Finn conclude : Isolation, then, is a
very important factor in the making of species, for
without it, in some form the multiplication of species
is impossible.” Here we come to a crux, because if
true, then mutations must constantly occur and

natural selection” must be the dominant law, which
accounts for the enormous number of species existing
on the earth. But where does isolation occur ? Is it
not another way of saying that environment does affect
species ? or, that species do adapt themselves to their
surroundings, such as climate, food supply, danger of
attack, and so on ? If so, that is a very different thing
from the suggestion in their conclusion, which means
that isolation prevails after mutations have occurred,
and these occur independently of environment and are
perpetuated in some mysterious way, when, as a
matter of fact, we know that all variations not induced
by environment are submerged by the influence of
marriage and the consequent return to the average.

Dewar and Finn close their book with a very able
and interesting summary of the methods in which new
species are made. They say : “ We have studied the
various factors of evolution — variation and co-relation,
heredity, natural selection, sexual selection, and
other kinds of isolation. How do these combine to
bring new species into being, and to establish the
same ? ” In reply to this as regards natural selection
they say that “it is an important factor in evolution,
but not an indispensable one. Suppose there is no

“ Natural Selection ”

58

such thing ; that numbers are kept constant by the
elimination of all individuals born in excess of those
required to maintain the species at the existing figure,
and that the elimination of the surplus is effected not by
natural selection, but by chance, by the drawing of
lots.” Is it not remarkable that these able observers
should talk of chance in regard to the operations of
nature? we constantly say that “miracles do not
happen,” because^ the Deity never violates the laws
which he has established, such as gravitation, con¬
servation of energy, “ omne vivum ex vivo,” etc., and
yet these most competent zoologists actually suggest
chance to explain the phenomenon which Darwin ad¬
mitted, of the method of which he was ignorant, and said
was “ most obscure.” It is surely evident at last with¬
out fear of contradiction, after all the evidence culled
from the best authorities on the subject, from men of
practical knowledge of all animals in captivity and in
the wild state, that the cannibal habit in the male is
the means of the “ elimination of all individuals born
in excess of the numbers required to maintain the
species at the existing figure.” Dewar and Finn go on
to say : “ Under such circumstances there may be evo¬
lution ; existing species may undergo change, but the
evolution will be determined 'solely by the lines along
which variations occur. If mutations take place only
along certain fixed lines and tend to accumulate in the
given direction, evolution will proceed along these
lines quite independently of the utility to the organism
of the mutations that occur. An unfavourable muta¬
tion will have precisely the same effect as a favourable
one. If, on the other hand, mutations occur indis¬
criminately on all sides of the mean, then these muta¬
tions which happen to occur most frequently will have
the best chance of survival, and they will mark the
lines of the evolution. Under such circumstances there

“ Natural Selection ” 59

will be no evolution, unless, by some cause or other,
portions of the species are isolated, because, in the
long run, the mutations will neutralise one another.”
They then suppose that natural selection comes
into play,” and endeavour to prove that in this case
“ the result of natural selection would be to accelerate
evolution, by weeding out certain classes of individuals,
and preventing them breeding with those it has
selected.” On the other hand, they point out that
'' natural selection would tend to diminish the number
of species which have arisen through mutation,
inasmuch as it weeds out many mutants which would
not have perished had their survival been determined
by lot.” This is very interesting, but inconclusive ;
surely it is not unjust to say it is more metaphysics
than science ; it is speculation, and not fair deduction
from the observed phenomena of nature. They admit
that natural selection does not make new species.
These make themselves, or rather originate in accord¬
ance with the laws of variation,” and finally we have
the following assertion : “ The real makers of species
are the inherent properties of protoplasm and the
laws of variation and heredity. We seem to be
tolerably near a solution of the problem of the causes
of the survival of any particular mutation. This,
however, is merely a side issue. The real problem is
the cause of variations and mutations, or, in other
words, how species originate. At present our know¬
ledge of the causes of variation and mutation is
practically nil. We do not even know along what lines
particular mutations occur. Wc have yet to discover
whether mutating organisms behave as though they had
behind them a force acting in a definite direction.’*

No one can dispute that the makers of species are
the inherent properties of protoplasm.” That is a
truism — an axiom of science. But we are still at the

“ Natural Selection ”

6o

“ How ? — the cause of mutations ; the survival of
mutations ; whether these are slow and progressive or
sudden and extensive. If natural selection is dis¬
credited — and Dewar and Finn have relegated it to a
very inferior place in the evolutionary process — what
are the determining factors in evolution ? Within
the dawn of history, although we know of species
becoming extinct, do we know of a single new species
having arisen ? It is here open to any Darwinian
to say: *‘You admit that a species has become
extinct. How could that occur except through the
operation of “natural selection’'? That question at
once takes us back to the Darwinian hypothesis, which
was founded upon the “ struggle for existence ” owing
to the excess of reproduction and the growth of the
species beyond the food supply. “It is the doctrine
of Malthus applied with manifold force to the whole
animal and vegetable kingdom,” said Darwin. This
must never be forgotten. The excessive numbers had
to “ struggle for existence.” This brought about the
‘ ‘ survival of the fittest . ” The struggle caused ‘ ‘ favour¬
able mutations ” to appear, these were perpetuated ;
new and stronger, swift or more cunning species arose,
and thus the method of evolution was proved. But
we know now that the excess of reproduction is never
allowed to reach the adult stage or to come into
competition for food with the rest of the species.
“ The cannibal habit of the male ” has regulated and
controlled the vast excess which nature has always in
reserve in order to replace any sudden or gradual
elimination of the parents which may be brought
about by famine, pestilence or hostile attack of any
kind.

A species may become extinct through a hostile
environment. This was known long before Darwin’s
day, and environment was the explanation given

“ Natural Selection ”

6i

before he propounded “natural selection/’ in order to
show the working of the evolutionary plan. As Dewar
and Finn point out, the great mistake of the early
opponents of Darwin was in confounding evolution
with natural selection. As in men’s minds evolution
became more and more an established belief, un¬
consciously, natural selection came to be accepted
simultaneously.

We are compelled, then, to come to the conclusion
that our knowledge of the process of evolution is much
as it was before Darwin propounded his now exploded
hypothesis. No doubt he did much to stimulate
research, and it may even be admitted that he has
helped the advance of human thought ; but the fact
remains that his hypothesis is not established, and
after all these years we are pretty much where we were
as to the method of the evolutionary plan.

If we endeavour to sum up our knowledge in this
matter, to what conclusion do we come ? Firstly, that
of Dewar and Finn : “ The real makers of species are the
inherent properties of protoplasm ” We do not think we
ought to add, “ and the laws of variation and heredity,”
as we are too profoundly ignorant of these; and
secondly, that we are carried back, through the force
of pure reason, to the argument of design, having its
origin in a Great First Cause, which alone has given
laws to matter, method to the universe, and life upon
the earth. And surely it is time to accord the meed of
praise to Paulin, who, more than any thinker since
Darwin, has brought to the knowledge of men’s minds
the actual phenomena of nature in regard to the control
of the excess of reproduction, and consequently how
unnecessary is the proposition of a “ struggle for exist¬
ence ” and a “survival of the fittest,” which formed
the basis upon which rests the central structure of the
Darwinian Theory — Natural Selection.

“ Natural Selection ”

62

It is indeed no small gain to present-day thought
that such an astute and accurate observer of the pheno¬
mena of nature as Henri Fabre should unhesitatingly
state his disbelief in the theory of natural selection.
He resembles Darwin in the possession of the greatest
gifts of precise and detailed observation ; unlike him,
however, he has no theory to establish. His observa¬
tion of nature’s facts and methods are so minute that
he is able positively to demonstrate the absurdity of the
conclusion that natural selection could have brought
about the phenomena which he has been able to
elucidate. As he says : “ Voyez d’ahord, vous argu-
menterez aprez.'* After the most minute observa¬
tion and study, he is able to declare unhesitatingly
that the animate world cannot be explained by
chemical and mechanical formulae. “ The facts that
I observe are of such a kind as to force dissent from
Darwin’s theories.” And in a noteworthy passage he
affirms that “ variations are superficial ; they never
affect essentials.” This declaration is one of the
greatest importance, and requires serious consideration
in that it is an affirmation of the truth of our thesis of
the obliteration of all variations and the return to the
average type as the generations proceed. And it is
with intense satisfaction from the point of view of
science and the cause of truth that we receive the
pronouncement of this marvellous observer, whose
knowledge of living matter and instinctive processes
is facile frinceps : “ The more I observe, the more
this intelligence shines out behind the mystery of things
— a sovereign order, controlling matter.”

In his account of the sand-wasp and the wonderful
process by which it slays its prey — the caterpillar — in
such a manner that it will be rendered motionless but
still retain its vitality, and so provide a fitting nutrient
for the egg deposited upon it, he is able to demonstrate

“ Natural Selection ”

63

the absurdity of the idea that natural selection could
have produced this instinct. It quietly stings the larva
in the three nerve centres of the thorax and in the
abdomen, and then is able to squeeze in the head,
further resistance being now impossible. A complete
paralysis is produced from which it cannot recover.
It is then carried to a convenient spot and there
the egg is deposited and finds a suitable pabulum
until such time as it has developed to maturity.
Fabre compares the skill of the sand- wasp to that
of the desnucador ” in South America, who, by
means of a method acquired by instruction and
constant repetition, is enabled to kill the cattle previous
to deportation, one after another, with enormous
rapidity. Fabre comments on this comparison in the
following manner A “ Now here is the sand- wasp, a
slayer of caterpillars by a far more cunning process.
Where are the professors of the art of stinging ? There
are not any. When the wasp rends her cocoon and
issues from under ground, her predecessors have long
ceased to live : she herself will perish without seeing
her successors. The sand-wasp is born a finished
* desnucador,’ even as we are born feeders at the
mothers’ breast. The nursling uses her suction-pump,
the sand-wasp her dart, without ever being taught,
and both are past masters of their difficult art from the
first attempt. Here we have instinct, the unconscious
impulse that forms an essential part of the conditions
of life and is handed down by heredity in the same
way as the rhythmic action of the heart and lungs.”

The mechanist school, with their blind dogmatism,
have a rough time at the hands of this keen observer :

Given half a dozen cells, a bit of protoplasm, and a
diagram for demonstration, and they will account to
you for everything. The organic world, the intellectual

1 “ English Review,” December, 1912.

“ Natural Selection ”

64

and the moral world, everything derives from the
original cell by means of its own energies. Instinct,
roused by a chance action that has proved favourable
to the animal, is an acquired habit ; and on this basis
they argue, invoking atavism, the struggle for life, the
survival of the fittest. I see plenty of big words, hut I
should prefer a few small facts. These little facts I have
been collecting and catechising for nearly forty years,
and their replies are not exactly in favour of current
theories. You tell me that instinct is an acquired
habit, that a casual circumstance (chance), propitious
to the animals’ offspring, was the first to prompt it.
Well, I avow in all sincerity that this is asking a little
too much of chance. When the difficulty becomes too
pressing, you take refuge behind the mist of the ages,
you retreat into the shadows of the past as far as
fancy can carry you. You call upon Time, the factor
of which we have so little at our disposal, and which
for that very reason is so well suited to hide our
whimsey. Then how did the series of nine stings (the
sand-wasp’s) at nine selected points emerge from the
urn of chance ? When I am driven to appeals to
infinity in time, I am very much afraid of running up
against absurdity. But, you say, there was a weeding-
out through natural selection, and instinct, as we
know it, developed gradually, thanks to the accumula¬
tion of individual capacities added to those handed
down by heredity. The argument is erroneous ;
instinct handed down by degrees is flagrantly impos¬
sible — the wasp must excel in it from the start or leave
the thing alone. Two conditions are, in fact, absolutely
essential : that it should be possible for the insect to
drag home and store a quarry which greatly exceeds
itself in size and strength ; and that it should be
possible for the newly hatched grub to gnaw peacefully
in its narrow cell a live and comparatively enormous

“ Natural Selection ”

65

prey. The suppression of movement in the victim is the
only means of realising these conditions, and this
suppression to be complete requires sundry dagger
thrusts, one in each nerve centre. If the paralysis
and the torpor be not sufficient, the grey-worm will defy
the efforts of the huntress, will struggle desperately
on the journey, and will not reach the destination ;
if the immobility be not complete, the egg fixed at a
given spot on the worm will perish under the con¬
tortions of the giant. There is no mean admissible,
no half-success. Either the caterpillar is treated
according to rule and the wasp’s family is perpetuated,
or else the victim is only partially paralysed and the
wasp’s offspring dies in the egg.

'' Yielding to the inexorable logic of facts, we will
therefore admit that the first sand-wasp on capturing
a grey-worm to feed her larva operated on the patient
by the exact method in use to-day. She seized the
animal by the skin of the neck, stabbed it underneath,
opposite each of the nerve centres, and if the monster
threatened further resistance munched its brain, for
an unskilled murderess, doing her work in a perfunctory
and haphazard fashion, would leave no successor, as
the rearing of the egg would become impossible. Save
for the perfection of her surgical powers, the slayer of
fat caterpillars would die in the first generation. What
chance has the operator of striking that one particular
spot were her lancet wielded without method ? The
chance is ludicrous. It is one against the countless
number of points whereof the caterpillar’s body is
made up. And yet, according to the theorists, it is on
this chance that the sand-wasp’s future depends.
What an edifice to balance on the point of a needle !
. . . The egg, laid on its (the larva’s) flank then, will
develop without risk. It is at most but a half of what
is absolutely necessary. Another egg is indispensable

E

66

“ Natural Selection ”

to complete the future couple and ensure offspring.
Therefore within a few hours a second sting must be
given as successful as the first. The sand- wasp does
not know, does not suspect, that she inserted a sting
opposite a nerve centre rather than anywhere else.
As there was nothing that led her to choose, she acted
at random. Nevertheless, if we are to take the theory of
instinct seriously, we shall have to admit that this
fortuitous action, though a matter of indifference to
the animal, left a lasting trace, and made so great an
impression that, henceforth, the wily stratagem,
which produces paralysis by injuring the nerve centres,
is transmissible by heredity. The sand-wasp' s successor,
by some prodigious privilege, will inherit what the
mother did not possess,

''If on her side the wasp excels in her art, it is
because she is born to follow it, because she is endowed
not only with tools, but also with the knack of using
them. And this gift is primal, perfect from the outset ;
the past has added nothing to it, the future will add
nothing to it. As it was, so it is, and will be. If you
see in it naught but an acquired habit, which heredity
hands down and improves, then at least explain to us
why man, who represents the highest stage in the evolution
of your primitive plasms, is deprived of the like privilege.
A paltry insect bequeaths its skill to its offspring and
man does not. What an immense advantage it would
be to humanity if we who belong to it were less liable
to se© the worker succeeded by the idler, the man of
talent by the idiot ! And why has not the protoplasm,
evolving by its own energy from one being into another,
kept also for us a little of that wonderful power which
it has bestowed so lavishly upon the insect ? The answer
is that apparently in this world cellular evolution is
not everything.

"For these reasons among others, I reject the modern

“ Natural Selection ”

67

theory of instinct. I see in it no more than an in¬
genious game, in which the observer, the man grappling
with reality, fails to find a serious explanation of
anything whatsoever that he sees.”

This long extract from the works of the master of
instinctive processes was necessary in order to arrest
the attention of the reader to the fact that Fabre
refuses to be hide-bound by any theory, however
great its author may have been or numerous its sup¬
porters. It is no small matter, indeed, it is of prime
importance, that such an observer should pinion the
Darwinian fallacy, and hold it up to public view.
The belief in natural selection has endured a long
time, but the end is in sight. It cannot withstand
such onslaughts for a much longer period. The com¬
plete study of the phenomena of nature is shattering
the foundations of the very theory by which the various
species of animate life were believed to have their
form and being, their instincts and their faculties.
We are at last coming to see that the religious concept
of the universe rests upon scientific data, while that of
the mechanist school is being gradually undermined
through the persevering study of those very phenomena
on which it was supposed to be established. Strict
mechanical sequence of cause and effect no doubt
operates in the sphere of inanimate nature, and our
mechanist philosophers have endeavoured to extend
its sphere over the entire universe. Indeed, Professor
Schafer would have us believe that there is no division,
that the animate world, even up to the highest
intellectual and physical manifestations of humanity,
is but a further modification of energy and matter in
the inanimate world. Fabre alone, were no other
authority to speak, has demonstrated that instinct is
something given, which cannot be explained in physico¬
chemical terms. Similarly, Bergson has shown that

68

“ Natural Selection ”

the simple cell can do things inexplicable by any law,
e.g. a living cell in a root fibre selects what it chooses as
nourishment while living : as soon as life goes, that
power goes. In other words, life has made a new
beginning in the world — it can do things that mechan¬
ism and chemistry will not account for. And there
will be few of unbiased mind who will not agree with
this Nestor among naturalists that instinct was never
the result of experience, and that natural selection
could not possibly have been the cause of its origin.
Instinct is there from the first, let the mechanists
explain it how they may. Certainly the disciples of
Darwin have failed to do so. And this conclusion
helps us on towards the spiritual evolution of humanity.
As Fabre himself has said in one grand forecast :

Mankind, alone capable of emerging from the slough
of the instincts, is bringing equity into being, is
creating it slowly, as its conception grows clearer.
Out of the sacred rushlight, so flickering as yet but
gaining strength from age to age, man will make a
flaming torch that will put an end among us to the
principle of the brutes, and, one day, utterly change the
face of society."’

Chapter V

Malthusianism and the Law of Population

WE have proved that in all prolific herbivora and
carnivora the checks upon increase of popula¬
tion are known positively. We must now go a little
further and ask if there are any checks to the excess
of reproduction in the case of the genus homo
sapiens.”

We must recall again Darwin’s words in defining his
struggle for existence : “ Hence, as more individuals
are produced than can possibly survive, there must,
in every case, be a struggle for existence, either one
individual with another of the same species or with the
individuals of distinct species, or with the physical
conditions of life. It is the doctrine of Malthus applied
with manifold force to the whole animal and vegetable
kingdom ; for in this case there can be no artificial
increase of food and no prudential restraint from
marriage. . . . The causes which check the natural
tendency of each species to increase are most obscure.
Look at the most vigorous species : by as much as it
swarms in numbers, by so much will it tend to increase
still further. We know not exactly what the checks
are, even in a single instance.”

As we have shown in a former chapter, we know
positively the checks in the prolific species, and that
they act automatically and without internecine strife,
and that necessarily the theory of natural selection
can be supported no longer. But we must now consider
how the prolific genus homo sapiens ” is affected

69

yo Malthusianism and the

by these considerations. It is quite evident that the
checks of the prolific herbivora and carnivora cannot
apply to man. From the quotation given above it is
evident that the “ doctrine of Malthus ” was adopted
by Darwin and extended, in that he applied it mis¬
takenly to the whole animal and vegetable kingdom.”

The doctrine of Malthus, to put it briefly, is simply
that the growth of population tends to outrun the
means of subsistence. He compared the potential
increase of population with the potential increase of
food supply obtained from the production of the soil ;
and enunciated the famous formula : that whereas the
food production of the soil, even under the most
favourable circumstances, cannot be supposed to in¬
crease in successive generations in more than an
arithmetical ratio, or as i, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, population is able
to increase in successive generations in a geometrical
ratio, or as i, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, doubling itself in the
course of each generation; and deduced the general
conclusion that population tends to increase faster
than the food supply. If this were true, then ulti¬
mately there could be nothing in store for the race but
extinction. Paulin deals with this matter, and proves
to a demonstration that the population does not tend
to outrun the means of subsistence, and that the
accomplishment of such disaster as Malthus forecasts
is impossible — just as impossible as in the case of the
carnivora.

War, famine, and pestilence have been great de¬
stroyers of large numbers of men, and were believed to
be the checks which had operated in the prevention of
excess of population in the past history of mankind.
Experience and observation abundantly testify that
where population has increased, the means of living
have increased in an equal degree, and in almost every
case in a much greater degree. That this must neces-

Law of Population 71

sarily be the case will be clearly demonstrated in
accordance with the universal law which governs the
movements of populations, and by means of which
Paulin has been able to confute absolutely the theories
of Malthus.

He deals with the case of Ireland and India, which
followers of Malthus had adduced as specially sup¬
porting the dogma that population tends to increase
faster than the means of subsistence. They regard the
rapid increase of the population of Ireland between
1690 and 1846, and the poverty of the people at the
close of that period, as exemplifying the operation of
the principle of Malthus, whereas a knowledge of the
facts would show that the truth lay in the opposite
direction. In the course of a century and a half the
numerical growth of the Irish people far exceeded that
of any other nation in the old world in a similar
period of time. In 1846 it was eightfold that of 1690,
but abundant evidence can be got to prove that the
people were much better off at the end than at the
beginning of that period, or indeed at any previous
period of Irish history. In 1690 the brief dream of
Celtic independence and predominance was for ever
dispelled, and the serf was returned to his serfdom and
his potato patch ; and the hand of his Saxon master
pressed cruelly and heavily upon him ; but the estab¬
lishment of a settled peace led to the resumption of
agricultural industry. There was much agrarian out¬
rage and disturbance, but the people began to multiply,
and continued to do so in an unexampled manner. At
the beginning Ireland was, for the most part, waste
land, but, as a result of the settled peace, room was
constantly being made for new inhabitants by the
reclamation of the disused land and the extension of
cultivation. Ireland was mainly pastoral to begin
with, but when the great natural fertility of the soil

72 Malthusianism and the

was discovered the people increasingly applied them¬
selves to tillage, and this change in agricultural method
— from pastoral to tillage — combined with the continual
accretion from waste land, increased largely and rapidly
the means of subsistence. As the area under cultiva¬
tion was extended it was portioned into farms, so that
the young peasants had no difficulty in making homes
for themselves, and were thus enabled to marry at an
early age. The superabundant population of Ireland
was in no way due to the operation of the theory of
Malthus. There took place in Ireland what almost
invariably happens where population is increasing, an
exemplification of the fact that the means of living
tends to increase faster than population ; for, whereas
in a century and a« half the population had grown
eightfold, the means of subsistence had grown from
twelve to twentyfold.

In dealing with India, the disciples of Malthus and
all who believe his theory as the impregnable rock
of the doctrine of natural selection speak of it as a
striking instance of the evils wrought by a systematic
attempt to thwart the operation of the checks by
which nature prevents over-population. They lament
the mischief caused by the benevolent British regime
— first, in attempting by sanitary means to lessen the
mortality from smallpox, cholera, and plague ;
secondly, by preventing inter-tribal wars with their
consequent depopulation ; thirdly, by the stamping
out of such customs as Suttee, Thuggism, and in¬
fanticide. They submit that these measures have
prevented the due working of the laws ordained by
nature to act as checks upon the increase of population,
and accordingly, in the course of a century, the census
has grown from 150 to 300 millions.

Without doubt the British Raj has diminished the
mortality of the inhabitants in many ways. This is

Law of Population 73

very true, but the increase is due much more to the fact
that the pax Britannica has given security to the gains
of agricultural and mechanical industry. The resources
of the country have been developed by railways and
canals and vast irrigation works. The latter fertilise
large districts which were formerly waste lands and
secure large and populous districts from seasons of
desolating drought. By this development of industry
the average condition of the native has been raised to
a much higher standard than ever before. This is the
testimony of all competent and intelligent observers
who have spent years in our great Dependency. The
greater ease of living is shown in the improved quality
of their clothing, of their domestic furnishings, and
every necessary article of daily use. So much is this
the case that we are warranted in saying that if, under
the shelter of the pax Britannica, the population has
grown twofold, its wealth has increased not less than
threefold. An increasing population is ever an indica¬
tion that man is energising in an increasing degree,
with the general result that each generation surpasses
its predecessor in the relation of the means of sub¬
sistence to the population.

We must now consider the positive checks which
Malthus assumed to be nature’s ordinance for the
prevention of the undue growth of population. It is
not necessary to discuss the preventive or prudential
check of moral restraint which consisted in a man’s
abstention from marriage until he had attained a
reasonable prospect of maintaining a wife and family
in the future, for Malthus states that he saw little trace
of the action of such a check ; and whatever hopes we
may entertain of its action in the future, it has un¬
doubtedly in past ages operated with inconsiderable
force. He says : “ The immediate check may be

stated to consist in all those customs and all those

74 Malthusianism and the

diseases which seem to be generated by a scarcity of
the means of subsistence, and all those causes inde¬
pendent of this scarcity, whether of a moral or physical
nature, which tend prematurely to weaken or destroy
the human frame.’' . . . “ The positive checks to popu¬
lation are extremely various, and include every cause,
whether arising from vice or misery, which in any degree
contribute to shorten the natural duration of human
life. Under this head, therefore, may be enumerated
all the unwholesome occupations, severe labour, and
exposure to the seasons, extreme poverty, bad nursing
of children, great towns, excess of all kinds, the whole
train of diseases and epidemics, war, plague, and
famine. . . . On examining these obstacles to the
increase of population, which I have classed under the
heads of preventive and positive checks, it will appear
that they are all resolvable into moral restraint, vice,
and misery.”

In his reply to Mr. Godwin, who differed from his
view, Malthus writes : “I believe that Mr. Godwin
would find it difficult to name any check which in past
ages has contributed to keep down the population to
the level of the means of subsistence that does not
fairly come under some form of vice or misery ” ; and,
thereafter, he eliminates, as I have already shown, the
theory of moral restraint as an operative check.

Here we must remember that Darwin incorporated
this part of the Malthusian theory and extended its
operation over the whole field of animated nature.
As he said, and as has been already quoted : “ It is the
doctrine of Malthus applied with manifold force to the
whole animal and vegetable kingdom ” ; and this he
called the “ struggle for existence,” resulting in the
“survival of the fittest,” or “natural selection.”

Unfortunately Malthus did not possess the means of
ascertaining the movements of population and their

Law of Population 75

causes ; the relation of the death-rate to the birth-rate,
which makes a high mortality in a community to be
accompanied by a high birth-rate, and a low mortality
by a low birth-rate. He perceived misery and miserable
conditions of life everywhere, and causes hostile to
human existence, and he concluded that by these con¬
ditions alone was mankind prevented from over¬
population and outgrowth of the means of subsistence.
The immorality of this theory drew many fierce attacks,
but the writers of these, like the clergy in their original
denunciation of the Darwinian theory of natural
selection, wanted the scientific data with which to
support their statements, and thus it was that ere long
the public settled down to the belief that it was founded
on an irrefutable basis. Thus it was that Macaulay,
voicing the opinion of his contemporaries, wrote :
“ The question is not, is the doctrine immoral, but, is
the doctrine true ? If it were indeed true that by
only “ vice and misery can the population be kept
in check, and that this constitutes the ordinance of
nature by which alone the human race can keep
within the limits of the means of subsistence, and to
which alone we must look for its preservation, then
would the lot of humanity be most deplorable, deprived
as it would be of all hope of a brighter and happier
future ; and the man who has endeavoured to
ameliorate the conditions of human life, in the way of
improved sanitation and building, supply of open
spaces, creation of garden cities, shorter hours of
labour, the removal of all conditions noxious to life in
many trades, the arrest of disease and pestilence,
could not be considered to be a benefactor of the
race. Lord Lister, whom all the world honours as the
greatest saviour of the race from disease and suffer¬
ing and death — if the Malthusian theory were true —
could only be considered a traitor to humanity in

76 Malthusianism and the

attempting to counteract and neutralise the beneficent
and necessary ordinance of nature. It is well known
that the younger Pitt, under the influence of this
theory, was actually dissuaded from carrying out a
poor law scheme which he had prepared.

During the last century the positive checks of
Malthus have been gradually eliminated, with the
result that there are few European countries in which
the average duration of life has not been doubled. In
Sweden, since Malthus wrote, the average has length¬
ened twofold, so that, while to a given population 200
died annually, each year only 100 die now. The
nineteenth century has witnessed a marvellous change
in improved conditions of life generally — in comfort,
food, and clothing ; and this has been invariably accom¬
panied by a lengthening in every country of the average
span of life. This is due not only to a reduction in
infantile mortality, but vital statistics show that this
applies to all ages of life in a corresponding proportion.

I will now submit a table drawn up by Paulin which
gives for each country the average life of its people in
the decennium 1876-85, and also in the eight years
1896-1903 ; this latter year being the last which was
available to him at the time of writing. The table will
show the remarkable increase in the average span of
life in so short a period, which would be almost in¬
credible if it were not attested beyond question. The
forces of civilisation have undoubtedly operated with
greater intensity than ever before, and resulted not
only in increased duration of life but in improved
sanitation, greater comfort, and material well-being.
In this way the social significance of the table can
hardly be over-estimated. It will be a revelation to
many that such differences should exist between the
average life -terms of the different countries. There are
few who would believe it possible that the average life-

Law of Population 77

term of one European people could exceed that of
another by a quarter of a century.

1000

1876-1885.

1896-1903.

Addition
made to life-
term

1880-1900.

Deaths
per 1000
annually.

Average

life-term

1876-1885.

Deaths
per 1000
annually.

Average

life-term

1896-1963.

Years.

Days.

Years.

Days.

Years.

Days,

England . .

20-1

49

274

17-1

58

175

8

286

Scotland . .

20-1

49

274

17-6

56

299

7

25

Ireland E . .

—

i8-i

55

91

—

—

Denmark .

18-9

52

332

i6'4

60

55

7

68

Norway . .

16-7

59

321

15*3

65

131

5

176

Sweden . . .

17-9

55

316

15*9

62

326

7

10

Austria . . .

30*37

32

338

25*2

39

172

6

199

Hungary . .

34*6

28

329

27*1

36

329

8

—

Switzerland

22-3

44

308

17-9

55

316

II

8

German

Empire

25*9

38

222

20*9

47

309

9

87

Prussia . . .

25*4

39

94

20-5

48

285

9

191

Nether-

lands

22*2

45

16

17-8

56

65

II

49

Belgium . . ,

2I-I

47

83

17-9

55

318

8

223

France . . .

22*3

44

308

20-2

49

184

4

241

Italy .

28-3

35

122

22-5

44

162

9

40

In the half-century previous to 1903 the decline in
the mortality of children under five years of age has
amounted to 19*2 per cent, while the decline in the
general mortality of the country is 28*7 per cent,
showing that the former has not kept pace with the
reduction in the general mortality of the country.

It must surely now be evident to every intelligent
observer that the heavy mortality in the past from
war, pestilence, and famine in no way operated in the
direction of keeping down or decreasing the population
of any country. Populations were not kept down or

^ Up to 1881 the registration of Ireland was very defective.

7 8 Malthusianism and the

restrained in their increase by all those causes which
tend prematurely to weaken and destroy the human
frame.” As Paulin remarks : Even in Europe the
checks of Malthus have since his day undergone an
elimination, and where not an elimination a loss of
energy that consigns the conception of them as
nature’s ordinance for keeping down and within due
limits the population of the globe to the limbo of
baseless and mistaken theories.”

We must now deal with Paulin’s “ Law of Popula¬
tion ” — a universal law, which governs every move¬
ment of population, whether of retardation or pro¬
gression. It is neither intricate nor abstruse. To put
it briefly, it depends upon the ability of the individuals
of the community to marry, and this again depends on
the state of the labour market. When there is stagna¬
tion in the labour market, there are no new posts being
created which young men can fill. There are only
those rendered vacant by the death of their seniors, so
that very few acquire sufficient means to enable them
to marry, and in these circumstances we find that the
population does not increase, the birth-rate doing no
more than keeping pace with the death-rate.

When industrial activity is at its height things
are very different. New posts of employment are
being constantly created, which enable young men
entering into occupation of these to marry. Soon
the birth-rate goes up and keeps well ahead of the
death-rate. Thus it is that cycles of trade activity,^
which occur with periodic regularity, and are be¬
lieved to be the result chiefly of excessive industrial
competition — have, as accompaniments, an increased
marriage and birth-rate. When the sources of in¬
dustry are being sapped by permanent causes, the effect

^ Good and bad harvests would seem to directly affect trade for
good and evil respectively.

Law of Population 79

is demonstrated more certainly still. Many posts of
employment are rendered vacant by employers being
unable to maintain them. The demand of the labour
market is thus reduced and, year after year, fewer
labourers are employed. Accordingly, the number of
young men who are enabled to obtain employment by
succeeding to posts rendered vacant by death tends to
grow smaller, and thus the marrying power of the
community is curtailed until the birth-rate actually
falls below the death-rate, and the population dwindles ;
the standard of living tends to deteriorate ; employers
are no longer able to offer the large wages they did,
while labourers compete with each other to obtain such
wages as employers can afford.

A man cannot enter into the wedded state unless he
possesses means of subsistence which suffice for himself
and his wife, and this subsistence must come in some
form or another from the labour market. Accordingly,
whoever is in possession of means to enable him to marry
— from the King to the humblest labourer — whether
he obtains these from the labour of his own hands or by
the industry of others, may be said to occupy a post of
employment that places marriage within his reach.
Even thieves and burglars must be placed in this
category, for if they marry it is because their gains
suffice for the married life. Now and again imprudent
marriages do occur. The means of subsistence are not
visible. But the percentage of these is so small that it
does not affect the general law nor interfere with the
general result. What is sufficient means upon which
to marry for one man may be quite insufficient for
another. It all depends upon the social scale in which
he finds himself. The law is that a man does not marry
until he has acquired means which will enable him, in
his degree, to marry. This law must not be confounded
with Malthus’s check of moral restraint. It is a law

8o Malthusianism and the

that must be obeyed, to whose dictates the non-moral
as well as the moral must conform.

Malthus, however, not perceiving the operation of
this law, which is manifoldly visible to any present-day
student of the statistical information supplied by the
bureaux of Christendom, entertained the belief that the
majority of marriages which took place were unaccom¬
panied by due reflection on the part of those marrying
as to whether they had a reasonable prospect of being
able to maintain a wife and family in the future.
Accordingly he held that the neglect of this check of
moral restraint was the main cause of the tendency to
over-population, which called for the action of his
positive checks to overcome it ; for, as he said, “ Moral
restraint, whatever hopes we may entertain of its
action in the future, has acted in the past history of the
race with inconsiderable force.”

The young working-man marries when his wage
suffices, as a matter of experience, to maintain a wife
and family. This necessarily implies maintenance of
average health in order that his wage may be constant.
This, however, cannot be assured to him, but on the
average he has a fair prospect of securing it. Were it
otherwise he could never face marriage at all. But the
working-man, justified as he is, in the light of experi¬
ence, of cherishing this confidence, is nevertheless in¬
capable of contemplating marriage until he is actually
in receipt of a living wage and has assurance of its
continuity. The labour market is supported by a
constant succession of young men to posts vacated by
death, debility, and age, or by those who have emi¬
grated ; and in addition there are always sufficient
young men to fill posts created by the expansion of
industry.

Most young men marry as soon as they attain a
position which enables them to do so, but it generally

8i

Law of Population

happens that marriage is deferred for some time after
the necessary post has been secured owing to the
necessity of saving enough to pay for furniture and
wedding expenses. The first three years after entry
into such posts are those in which the greater number
of marriages occur. This fact is revealed to the
statistical expert by the marriage returns of the years
following the outbreak of a devastating pestilence or a
sanguinary war. In 1866 the mortality of Austria was
raised to a great height by a visitation of cholera and
a war with Prussia : from 29-5 per 1000 in the preceding
decade, the mortality rose in that year to 40*9 per 1000.
The total increase of deaths above the normal was
230,000. Consequently, a large number of posts of
employment were vacated, and immediately filled by
young men, with the result that the marriage-rate in
the four years following rose from an average of 82*5
per 1000 to 97*5, the largest number being in the third
year after the pestilence, and amounting to 103-5 per
1000 of population.

Some men defer marrying for several years after
they become able to do so ; some never marry at all ;
but the principles of human action are much the same
everywhere, and the result is the established ratio
between the number of marriages, births, and deaths
in a community. Such questions as illegitimacy, the
relative fecundity of different peoples, and the marry¬
ing ages of different classes have no effect on the general
movement of population. The number of illegitimate
births in a community lessens, in its degree, the number
of marriages. Thus, in Vienna, where the proportion
of illegitimate births is excessive, the marriage rate is
correspondingly low. But the labour market is un¬
affected thereby, as the illegitimate children enter it in
the same proportion as the legitimate, and it is found
that the birth-rate bears the same proportion to the

F

82 Malthusianism and the

death-rate that it would if all the births were legiti¬
mate.

Where the fecundity of the average marriage is
greater the proportion of marriages is lower than in a
country where the fecundity is less, supposing the
demands of the labour market to be similar in both
countries. This can be clearly demonstrated by a
comparison of English and Scotch statistics for a period
of thirty-three years (1871-1903) . The average number
of births annually in 1000 persons was in England 32*0,
in Scotland 32*2. The equality, as he points out, is
surprising when we perceive that throughout the period
the number of marriages per 1000 persons amounted in
England to 7-8, in Scotland to 7*0 only. In order to
discover the relative productivity of English and
Scotch marriages we must take into account the rela¬
tive illegitimacy of the two countries. In Scotland it
was 8 per cent of the births, while in England it was
only 4-5. Deducting that from the sum total of the
births, we find that 78 English marriages produced
306 children, while 70 Scots produced 296 children.
The resulting difference in the fecundity of the marri¬
ages of the two countries is that in Scotland 100 marri¬
ages produce 423 children, in England they yield only
392, or 7*4 per cent fewer. The labour market of the
two countries called for an equal birth-rate, and this
was accordingly obtained, regardless of illegitimacy or
fecundity.

The ages at which men marry in different classes only
proves that, as a general rule, men marry when they
are able to do so. Men who labour with their hands
can marry at an early age, while men who live by their
brains, and require to establish a position before they
secure a sufficient income, are perforce compelled to
defer marriage to a later period of life. Mr. Benjamin
Kidd, in Appendix I to his “ Social Evolution,’' gives

Law of Population 83

an interesting table from which the following figures
may be quoted. The numbers are those out of every
1000 males in each class.

Marriages.

Artisans.

Shopmen.

Farmers.

Professional

or

Independent

Classes.

Under 25 years

598

467

284

I5I

Between 25 and 35

351

451

566

648

Above 35

51

82

150

201

With the improved social position, which means in¬
creased annual expenditure, we see a gradual diminu¬
tion in numbers of those who marry before 25 years,
a gradual increase in those between 25 and 35, and the
most marked gradual increase in those above 35 years.
Among the professional classes we find that one-third
more marry over 35 than under 25. How different
from the artisan, in which class 50 only marry over 35
in proportion to 600 under 25.

The limitation which the demands of the labour market
place upon the power of forming marriages prevents the
growth of a surplus population, for the reason that where
the demand for labour is not increasing no new posts are
created, and the popidation remains without material
increase or decrease. But whenever an abnormal
demand for labour is created, say by a decimating
pestilence, it is always found that there is sufficient
reserve of young men to fill the vacant posts. These
young men are called upon, earlier than was anticipated,
to occupy them, and are enabled to marry at an earlier
age ; and thus in a few years the fruit of these marri¬
ages raises the population to its former level ; for the
ravages of pestilence never act as more than a mere
temporary check upon population. The dread scourge
of cholera, within living memory, swept away one-third

84 Malthusianism and the

of the inhabitants of Mysore in India, but this proved
no permanent check, for within fifteen years, by the
natural increase of its people, the population was
greater than it had been before this visitation.

A community may suffer great reduction in its
numbers owing to a constant stream of emigration such
as is at present taking place from the Mother Country
to Canada, or as did take place in former times to the
Australian goldfields. But there is no permanent
reduction of the population. The labour market in¬
sists on a certain marriage and birth-rate for its own
necessities ; the stream of emigrants increases these as
long as it lasts, but in no way depletes the rates in each
case necessary to supply the home-labour market. The
emigration from Ireland to the United States in the
last three decades of the nineteenth century has been
of a different character, as the emigrants were com¬
pelled by distress to leave the soil owing to the enor¬
mous depreciation that had taken place in the pecu¬
niary value of agricultural produce. The margin of
profit in the smaller farms had been so reduced that it
was no longer sufficient to maintain a family, even in
the low standard of comfort that satisfies the wants of
the Irish peasant. The result has been that the small
farmers have been forced to emigrate, and a redistribu¬
tion of soil has taken place, so that, as the holders of
farms have become fewer the farms become larger.
It is a curious fact that this is attended by a marked
improvement in the standard of comfort of those who
remain. If emigration had not been available to relieve
the distress, the remedy must have come, and assuredly
would have come from a reduction, to the amount
required, of the number of marriages. The marriage-
rate of Ireland since 1845 has .been greatly below that
of any European country. Whereas in the years when
its population was going up by leaps and bounds its

Law of Population 85

marriage-rate must have amounted to io*o or i2*o per
1000 of the population ; from 1873 to 1883 it was only
4*5 ; from 1883 to 1894 it was 4-4 ; from 1893 to 1903
it was 5-0. The numbers for England, similarly, were
7’9» 7’7> 7*8. This is a striking illustration of how

the demand of the labour market in determining the
marriage-rate is imperative and must be obeyed. But
for emigration the power to marry would have suffered
a much more severe restriction. It is very easy to
demonstrate how this law operates in an agricultural
community such as that of Ireland : the small farms
cease to pay and the tenants have not sufficient means
to marry ; as depreciation continues larger farms are
affected similarly, until a large proportion of the
farming class is forced to remain single. The farms
are vacated in the course of time, and, not being occu¬
pied, are used to enlarge neighbouring holdings.
Marriages, perforce, become fewer and fewer, as has
already been demonstrated in the case of Ireland ;
deaths become more numerous than the births, and
the population must needs decrease.

In a stagnant community emigration acts as a
means of stimulating the marriage and birth-rate, as
the existing posts of employment are vacated by the
emigrants, and young men acquiring these are enabled
to marry much earlier than otherwise. As long as this
continues the marriage and birth-rate will keep up
correspondingly to fill the gaps made by the removals
from the community.

Emigration does not, therefore, tend to depopulate.
The only cause of this is a declining labour market.
“ We therefore reach the inevitable conclusion,” says
Paulin, that England is not by a single family less
populous than she would have been if she had not sent
forth the men who peopled the vast continents of
North America and Australia.”

86

Malthusianism and the

We must now consider the vital statistics of Europe,
drawn from the annual reports of the Registrar-
General of England. Malthus had no reliable statistics
upon which to argue or found his case ; for example,
in regard to Russia, he culled, from the St. Petersburg
authorities, statistics showing forth the average span
of life in the Government of Veronesch to be 79 years,
Tver 75 years, Novgorod 58 years, etc., the average
span of life made to work out at not less than 58 years ;
and this at a time when Sweden, which all along has
been foremost in the longevity of its people, could only
boast of 30 years. The reports of the Registrar-
General show conclusively how misinformed Malthus
was. The vital statistics he furnishes in his annual
reports prove that in the twenty-one years, 1879-99,
the death-rate of Russia transcends that of any
European country, and that necessarily the birth-rate
is also very much higher.

Russia { ^^79-88
Kussia \ 1889-98

Hungary < **

( 9f

Roumania ■! ”

Sweden ( ”

Norway 1 **

Death-rate per

ICX30 Persons.

Life Term.

Years.

Days.

34'3

29

56

346

28

137

33*5

29

305

307

32

309

28-6

34

352

295

33

328

i6-g

59

62

16-37

61

32

16*9

59

62

16-3

61

127

It must be remembered that the birth-rate is, more
directly than the marriage-rate, affected by the death-
rate. Illegitimacy is more prevalent in some countries
than in others ; and where it is so the marriage-rate is
diminished. Again, where the limitation of the family

Law of Population 87

is a recognised practice, we find the birth-rate does not
bear its due proportion to the marriage-rate. More¬
over, the difference in the fecundity of different peoples
renders it advisable to measure by the birth-rate
rather than by the marriage-rate the movement of
population.

We shall see now from the study of the following
table the effect of the high death-rate of Russia,
Hungary, and Roumania upon the birth-rate, and be
able to compare the results thus obtained with those of
other countries in which the death-rate is much lower.

1879-98.

Death-rate

per

1000.

Birth-rate

per

1000.

Natural
Increase
in two
Decades.

Actual

Increase.

Excess

of

Emigration.

Russia .

34*5

487

%

%

/o

Hungary .

32-1

42-2

25

22-3

27

Roumania .

29-6

407

30

25-9

4-1

Norway .

i6-8

30-5

29-8

13-8

i6*o

Sweden .

16-7

27-5

24-8

II7

I3'i

England .

i8-8

31-3

28*9

25*9

3-0

Prussia .

23-6

37*2

30-2

24'5

57

Netherlands . . .

/

20-2

337

30-9

27-4

3-5

Excess of
Immigra¬
tion.

France .

21*9

23-3

3-0

4-4

1*4

Belgium .

20*2

29-9

2I'I

2-1

807

No scientific statement can be made from the
Russian registration statistics as they are quite un-
rehable. The chief fact to be derived from these
statistics is, as has been pointed out over and over
again, that when the mortality declines from decade to
decade, as it tends to do in all civilised communities,
the birth-rate experiences a corresponding decline, but

88 Malthusianism and the

this is not always apparent, owing to its elevation by
the demands of the labour market and the process of
emigration. According to the degree in which these
factors operate is the visible effect of the declining
mortality upon the birth-rate neutralised. This is well
exemplified by the following table : —

England.

Scotland.

Annual No. of
Deaths per looo.

Annual No. of
Births per looo.

Annual No. of
Deaths per looo.

Annual No. of
Births per looo.

1864-1873

22*4

35-3

22*2

35*0

1874-1883

20*7

34-8

20-9

34*4

1884-1893

19*2

31-6

19*2

317

1894-1903

17*2

29-1

17*8

29-8

In the four decades in England the death-rate de¬
clined 23-2 per cent, and the birth-rate only 17-5 per
cent : in Scotland correspondingly ig-8 per cent and
14-9 per cent. This is explained at once by the two
factors mentioned above — first, the extension of the
labour market, shown by an addition in England of
62 per cent to her population in these forty years, and
in Scotland 46 per cent. The numerical increase was
accompanied by an enormous addition to the national
wealth, and corresponding elevation of comfort in all
classes. And secondly, both countries have poured
forth a steady stream of emigration to all the colonies,
more particularly to Canada and Australia, and also to
the United States, not driven by want or difficulty of
gaining a livelihood, but impelled by the spirit of
adventure and the prospect of greater opportunity for
improved material well-being in young and rapidly
developing countries which are calling out for an in¬
creased labour supply. These two causes have elevated

Law of Population 89

the birth-rate in that proportion in which its decline has
failed to equal the death-rate.

In Sweden and Norway the continuous stream of
emigration to the United States has been mainly the
elevating factor in the birth-rate. As the annual
reports of the Registrar-General go no further back in
the case of Norway than 1871, the period of thirty-
three years, 1871-1903, is divided into four parts, the
first three consisting of eight years, and the fourth of
nine years.

Norway.

Marriages
per 1000.

Deaths
per 1000.

Births
per looo.

Natural

Increase.

Actual

Increase.

Excess of
Emigration
over ^

Immigration.

1871-1878

7*2

17*3

30-9

0/

/o

II'I

%

8-3

%

2*8

1879-1886

6*6

16*5

31-0

11*9

47

7*2

1887-1894

6*3

17-1

30*3

10*7

3*3

7*4

1895-1903

6-8

15*3

29*9

12-6

10-2

2-4

Sweden.

The Swedish table begins with the decade 1854-63,
which preceded that in which the tide of emigration
began to flow, which has prevailed ever since in Sweden.

Marriages
per 1000.

Deaths
per 1000.

Births
per 1000.

Natural

Increase.

Actual

Increase.

Excess of
Emigration
over

Immigration.

1854-1863

7-6

20*9

33-3

/o

13-2

9/

/o

12-4

0/

/o

0-8

1864-1873

6*5

19-3

30-6

II-8

7-0

4-8

1874-1883

6-6

i8*4

30-1

12-3

7'4

4*9

1884-1893

6*1

16-9

277

I2-I

4'8

7-3

1894-1903

6*0

159

26-8

1 1 -6

8-2

3*4

90 Malthusianism and the

Attention must be called, firstly, to the great fall in the
marriage-rate in the first decade from 7*6 to 6-5, and
then to 6*0 in the last ; secondly, to the apparent retard¬
ation in the general prosperity of the country after the
first decade, as shown by the lower decennial actual in¬
creases from 12*4 per cent to 7 per cent, on to 4-8 per cent
in 1884-93. As the labour market is always satisfied
whatever the rate of emigration may be, the numerical
increase obviously shows forth the commercial pros¬
perity of a country ; thirdly, to the fact that, although
the labour market was calling for constantly diminish¬
ing numbers, the natural increase did not tend to fall,
e.g. in decade 1884-93 the labour market only required
an increase of 4-8 per cent, the natural increase
amounted to 12-1 per cent. Thus we see that the birth¬
rate made provision both for the labour and emigration
demand ; fourthly, to the rise of Swedish emigration
from the almost immaterial amount of 27,000 for the
decade 1854-63, till it reached 332,000 for the same
period, 1884 — 93, equivalent to 7-3 per cent of the
population.

The decade 1854-63 was one that seemed to be of
unexampled prosperity, due to an inflated industrial
and commercial activity, fostered to a great extent by
the contemporaneous introduction of railways into the
country. Emigration during this decade was of the
slightest. In the three that followed the aggregate
excess of emigration over immigration was equal to
47 per cent of the natural increase, and amounted to
730,000 persons. This large number of emigrants left
their several posts to be filled by younger men, who,
then being able to marry, brought about such an increase
in the number of births to replace the numbers who
had departed. In the last decade of the table the emi¬
gration movement suffers a very severe check, the bulk
of the natural increase being retained for the home

Law of Population 91

labour market. The same phenomenon is visible in
Norway. The population of Sweden, which in the
previous decade added only 4-8 per cent, made in this
an increase of 8-2 per cent, while the actual increase of
Norway was raised from 3-3 to io-2 per cent. Whereas
in the eight years 1887-94 the emigration from Norway
amounted to 147,000 persons, it amounted for the nine
years 1895-1903 to 47,000. These figures prove that a
season of prosperity had come to both countries,
marked by a great home-labour demand, accompanied
by an increased standard of comfort that neutralised
to a great extent the attractiveness of a settlement in
the United States.

In the second decade, 1864-73, Sweden suffered
from five disastrous years, during which the propor¬
tional number of marriages fell from 7-6 per 1000
persons to 6-5. In 1867 there fell upon Sweden and
Norway a terrible commercial crisis, such as happens
after a course of over-production and over-trading, the
effect of which, in throwing great numbers out of em¬
ployment, was continued throughout a series of years.
This was accompanied by agricultural depression. In
that period began the great efflux from Scandinavia to
the United States of America which has gone on
continuously up to the present time.

We next deal with Prussia, the Netherlands, and
Belgium, which show, as a common feature, a decline
in the birth-rate exceedingly small compared to the
death-rate — in each case due mainly to the expansion
of the labour market, and in a small degree, compara¬
tively, to the effect of emigration.

As the boundaries of Prussia were largely extended
in the decade 1864-73, Paulin was not able to give the
natural and actual increases until after that period.

92

Malthusianism and the

Prussia.

Population at
Beginning of
Decade.

Natural

Increase.

Actual

Increase.

Excess of
Emigration
over

Immigration.

1864-1873
1874-1883
1884-1893
1894-1903
Population in
1903

24,948,000

27,746,000

30,830,000

35,825,000

3,548,000

3,875,000

5,174,000

2,798,000

3,084,000

4,995,000

750,000

791,000

179,000

The next table contains the number of marriages,
deaths, and births annually in looo persons, with the
rates per cent of the natural and actual increases, and
in the last column the proportion of emigrants to the
natural increase.

Marriages.

Deaths.

Births.

Natural

Increase.

Actual

Increase.

Proportion

of

Emi¬

grants.

1864-1873

8-8

27-0

38-2

%

%

%

1874-1883

8*2

25-5

38-9

14*2

11*2

3*0

1884-1893

8-1

24-1

37*3

13-9

II'I

2-8

1894-1903

8-2

20-8

36*2

i6*7

i6-2

0-5

The death-rates and marriage-rates were quite
abnormal in the first of these decades. In 1870-71 the
mortality was greatly raised by the war with France :
in 1872 it was elevated in an almost equal degree by
the numbers dying at home from the effects of wounds
and exposure during the campaign. In 1873 came a
visitation of cholera, from which Prussia suffered
severely. The mortalities of these four years produced

Law of Population 93

an abnormal number of marriages, bringing the average
of the decade to the high figure of 8*8 per looo persons.
In 1871, 1872, and 1873 the number of marriages per
1000 persons were respectively 10-4, lo-i, and 9-7. The
explanation of the birth-rate being somewhat higher in
the decade 1874-83, which had no abnormal mortali¬
ties notwithstanding that the marriage-rate fell from an
average of 8-8 to 8-2 per 1000 persons, is found in the
fact that the large number of marriages in the last four
years of the first decade yielded the greater number
of their resultant births in the second.

The excess of emigration over immigration did not
amount to more than 5 per cent of the natural increase
before the war. But the access of militarism after it,
the stringency of the conscription, and the accom¬
panying burdens were the inciting causes of a vastly
increased emigration. In place of an annual departure
of 100,000 before the war, the excess of emigration over
immigration rose to an annual average of 750,000 in
the decade 1874-83, and 791,000 in the next.

There was great extension in the Prussian Empire of
industrial and commercial enterprise between 1893 and
1903, and one result was that while the death-rate
declined nearly 14 per cent, the birth-rate declined only
3-5 per cent, and the decennial increase of the popu¬
lation bounded from three millions in the decade 1884-
93 to five millions between 1894 and 1903, the rate of
increase having risen from ii-i to 16-2 per cent.

From 790,000 in the previous decade, the annual
excess of emigration fell to less than 180,000. This
decline in the amount of emigration was consequent
upon the great material betterment that had accrued
to the working-classes, and rendered them more con¬
tent with their surroundings in the home country.
Although few posts were vacated by death and by
emigration, the multitude of such created by the vast

94 Malthusianism and the

development that took place in the industries and
trade of Prussia called forth a continually greater
number of men to supply them, and thus an increase
of population proportionally greater than had been
made in any past decade was called into being.

Netherlands.

Marriages
per 1000.

Births
per 1000.

Deaths
per 1000.

Average Life
Term.

Children

to ICO

Marriages.

1854-1863

7-9

33*6

25*9

Yrs. Days.

38 222

425

1864-1873

7-3

35-5

257

38 332

485

1874-1883

7*8

36*0

22-7

44 19

464

1884-1893

7-1

33*7

20*6

48 198

476

1894-1903

7*5

32-2

17-2

57

432

Actual Increase.

Excess of
Emigration

Actual Increase.

1864-1873

310,000

44,000

9-0

1874-1883

458,000

69,000

12-2

1884-1893

502,000

82,000

12-0

1894-1904

688,000

69,000

14*6

It is to be observed that the second table tells us of
a country whose labour market is constantly expand¬
ing. Though the Netherlands have extensive pos¬
sessions beyond the seas, yet the emigration has always
been on a modest scale. Scotland, with a smaller
population, has greatly exceeded her in the number of
emigrants from her shores. That the last decade has
been singularly prosperous is evidenced by the larger
natural increase of i6-i per cent and actual increase of
14-6 per cent.

Law of Population 95

These tables show to a demonstration the fluctuation
of the marriage-rate as affected by the state of the
labour market and also by the decline of the death-rate.
Where a heightened marriage-rate is not caused by
a pestilential mortality or increased emigration, it in¬
variably signifies a greater degree of prosperity.

What is most noteworthy in the table is the small
drop of the birth-rate compared to the large fall in the
death-rate. In the forty years, 1864-1903, the average
life in the Netherlands has been lengthened by no less
than eighteen years, and if we compare the decade
1864-73 with that of 1894-1903, we find that in the
former 25-7 per 1000 died annually compared to 17-2
in the latter. But while the posts of employment made
vacant by death were reduced greatly in numbers,
those created by the expansion of trade and industries
of Holland had become so much more numerous as to
raise the natural increase of the population from 10-3
per cent decennially to 16 -i per cent ; the actual
increase from 9 to 14-6 per cent. The commercial and
industrial development of Holland may be estimated
from the fact that to a population of 3,431,000 in 1863,
she, in the space of forty years, added no fewer than
1,958,000 persons, an increase of rather more than 57
per cent, while the standard of comfort of the people
had been greatly elevated. If neither trade nor in¬
dustry had developed since 1864, but had remained in
status quo ante, the birth-rate would have fallen in
commensurate degree with the death-rate, and in 1894-
1903 would have amounted to 22*0 births annually to
1000 persons, instead of being, as it was, as high as 32-2,
showing clearly to how great an extent the birth¬
rate has been kept up and prevented from falling
by the commercial and industrial expansion of the
country.

96 Malthusianism and the

Belgium.

Marriages
in icxxD
annually.

Births
in 1000
annually.

Deaths
in 1000
annually.

Average

Life Term.

Births
in 100
Marriages.

1864-1873

7*5

32-0

24-1

Yrs. Days.

41 29

427

1874-1883

7*0

31*4

21*4

46 266

444

1884-1893

7*2

29*5

20*4

49 7

407

1894-1903

7-1

28*7

i8-o

55 203

354

In this table there is only one feature requiring
notice — the continuous decline of the birth-rate since
1874 in face of the continual elevation of the marriage-
rate. In the last decade the birth-rate makes an
extraordinary decline, the births per 100 marriages
falling from 407 in the previous decade, and from
444 in the decade prior to that, to 354. The only
possible explanation is the adoption by a considerable
proportion of the population of Belgium of the system
which prevails in France, of married people limiting
the number of their children. Were it not for its
adoption by the French people, the proportion of
marriages to population, which is as high in France as
in the Netherlands, would yield an increase far beyond
what there is room for in the labour market of France.

It is now impossible to doubt that Paulin has proved
the famous Malthusian doctrine to be one of those
creeds of science which holds the minds of men for one
or even several generations, but which ultimately
melts away before the accumulating light of truth. He
has proved that population never tends to outrun the
means of subsistence ; that population recedes when
industry and commerce do, and rises again with a
period of commercial prosperity. He has shown that
war, pestilence, and famine do not limit population ;

Law of Population 97

that, in fact, they act at once automatically as an
incentive to an increased birth-rate. At last we realise
that the doctrine of Malthus in regard to the genus
homo sapiens/’ which Darwin adopted and said “ ap¬
plied with manifold force to the whole animal and
vegetable kingdom,” has been proved to be contrary to
fact, to be unsupported by scientific data, and to have
been a mere temporary illusion whose “ ineffectual
fire ” has paled and finally disappeared before the
searchlight of truth.

One has heard it argued that it is all very well to
theorise, but that war, pestilence, famine, vice, and
miseryare absolutely essential; otherwise, in the process
of the ages, the population must of necessity outrun the
means of subsistence. Even in the “ ideal state,”
which I hope to prove later is a necessary consequence
of the social evolution of humanity, men will always
desire to marry, and as it is presumed that the indi¬
vidual struggle to acquire the means of subsistence will
become less and less as time goes on, the marriage-rate
will correspondingly rise, and, ere long, over-population
must become an accomplished fact. Moreover, this
process would be hastened by the gradual diminution
of the death-rate. We are told that not so very many
years ago the population of the world was given as
fourteen hundred millions ; now it is stated to be over
two thousand millions. The increase is easily accounted
for : it is due to fresh tracts of alluvial soil on the
earth’s surface being thrown open to the pioneer and
the cultivator, and thus more food is being constantly
produced : this brings about increased trade and
commerce, and consequent augmentation of the world’s
wealth ; and it necessarily follows that the marriage-
rate rises, with a corresponding increase of the birth¬
rate.

It is further argued that every acre of fertile soil

G

98 Malthusianism and the

must ultimately come under cultivation, and then the
population will increase to the utmost possible limit.
It is asked what is to happen then, with the natural
impetus towards still further increase ? We are
entitled to take the evidence of history in regard to this
point. The facts and figures given in this chapter prove
to a demonstration that the population never does
outrun the means of subsistence, and that this law
would operate just as effectually when the earth had
reached its limit of production. We have seen that in
some countries the population which at one time had
risen markedly had begun to recede from year to
year, notwithstanding the fact that the death-rate
had diminished progressively owing to improved
hygiene, sanitary laws, better housing, and preventive
medicine. We have proved that in these countries
there was abstention from marriage — “ the prudential
restraint,'' which Malthus said “ operated with incon¬
siderable force " — caused by the inability of the young
man to “ acquire means which will enable him in his
degree to marry." It is surely quite fair to argue that
if the prudential restraint is of such potency now, it
will act no less powerfully when we have reached the
limit of production of food supply, and that it will
operate with even greater force in the days of the
" ideal state," when men, trained by self-denial, and
influenced by a desire to benefit their fellow-men and
the unborn generations which are to follow, shall have
acquired a self-control which will effectually keep the
marriage-rate within the bounds required, just as
surely as it is now controlled by the demands of the
labour market.

In France the birth-rate has gone consistently down,
until quite recently it reached even a lower level than
the death-rate, so that the population for the time
being was actually receding. The labour market

Law of Population 99

demanded a smaller population than the country
possessed, and this was immediately granted. If such
a state of affairs can be demonstrated in a modern
European State — one of the great Powers in the van
of civilisation — surely we are entitled to argue that the
same laws will operate in the world as a whole once it
is fully cultivated and yielding its maximum of the
means of subsistence. The world will be able to allow
a certain number of marriages, resulting in a fixed
birth-rate, and automatically this, and no more, will be
supplied.

No doubt other forces will come into play. The
prevention of marriage on the part of the feeble-minded
will be an absolute necessity of the higher evolution of
the race, and this measure alone will have no small
effect in limiting the birth-rate. Moreover, man, in
increasing proportions under the influence of the
altruistic spirit, will tend to sacrifice his own personal
inclinations to the good of the race and the unborn
generations who are to come after. With a higher
spiritual evolution we cannot imagine men imbued
with the altruism of Christian ethics bringing children
into the world, knowing that their fate must be of a
most uncertain nature owing to the fact that the popu¬
lation has outgrown the means of subsistence.

The Eugenics Congress — the first of its kind — held
recently in London, brought prominently before the
public mind the question of the increase of the feeble¬
minded, and the corresponding decline in rate of in¬
crease of the professional classes. The explanation is
of the simplest. The feeble-minded are not of necessity
feeble-bodied. Physically, as a rule, they are at least
of average health, and they reproduce their kind in
large numbers because they are possessed of no thought
of “ prudential restraint ” ; in fact, their feeble¬
mindedness is the sole cause of their excessive fecundity.

loo Malthusianism & Law of Population

The professional classes are, on the other hand, so over¬
whelmed with prudence that they marry late as a rule,
and do everything possible to limit the number of their
families.

Of the various plans suggested, the Bill for the
segregation of the feeble-minded is the only possible.
Such measures as sterilisation are absurdities — the'
emanation of faddists and undeserving of considera¬
tion. The prevailing spirit of altruism would never
permit the attempt to cure a social disease by the pro¬
duction of mutilation and further extension of abnor¬
mality in the individual. Moreover, it must be re¬
membered that the so-called feeble-minded individual
is often a “ sport.” I have known more than one
family where the brothers and sisters of these were
much above the average in intelligence and mental
capacity. So that we do not know all regarding
this subject. I feel convinced when once we have
attained to a perfect environment for all the members
of the State, from infancy onwards, and for the mother
previous to the advent of the child, that ere long we shall
eliminate the causes which induce “ feeble-minded¬
ness,” and that before many generations are over the
Act shall have become a dead letter owing to the
complete elimination of the “ unfit.”

[/ am greatly indebted to Messrs. T. and T» Clai'k for
their kind permission to quote the foregoing tables from
Paulin's work : “ No Struggle for Existence."']

Chapter VI

Heredity and Environment

The law of the survival of the average of necessity
compels a remodelling of our ideas in regard to
heredity. The prevalent belief, particularly in schools
of conservative thought, was that there were good
families and common people, clever and stupid,
smart and dull, energetic and lazy, rich and poor,
thrifty and careless, and that these diversities were
produced through heredity or strains of blood. The
same was believed in regard to criminality or vice.
Now we know both by investigation and experiment
that it is not so ; that Man, like the ordinary animal,
inherits certain physical characteristics and instincts
which he cannot get over or depart from, otherwise he
would not be a normal type ; each individual man or
animal has certain characteristics apart from those of
the genus to which he belongs which make up what
we call his individuality, e.g. shape of nose, colour
of eye or hair, particular manner of walking, or speech,
or conduct, some of which are hereditary, some the
result of imitation or environment. But the really
important characteristics are entirely the result of
environment, which includes not only the class into
which a man is born, but every possible influence which
surrounds him as a child, whether of nature, home,
temper, culture, criminality or goodness of parents, the
education which he receives, and the religious influence
and guidance which is brought to bear upon him. A
child is often remarked to look, to speak, to act, to

lOI

102 Heredity and Environment

walk like his father or mother ; even these acts are not
necessarily hereditary at all ; they are the result of
environment ; the love and admiration of the child
causes him unconsciously to imitate every motion and
manner of the loved parent. A child is reared in a
slum, surrounded by vice and instigated from day to
day towards crime — it may be theft, this being the
means by which the family into which he is born sur¬
vives. Can it be expected that in such surroundings
anything else can happen than that the child shall
become a member of the criminal classes, with no other
possibility but a career of crime ? And yet in regard
to these we actually talk of the impossibility of eradi¬
cating a bad heredity ! It has become axiomatic, and
yet it is becoming daily more evident that heredity
has nothing to do with it. The State itself is to blame
for allowing such an environment to exist, and by its
negligence in regard to insanitary conditions, slum
dwellings, bad land laws, overcrowding, and la miser e,
which are all preventable, and which are the potential
causes of drink and crime. “ Ah,” you say, what
about one son in a large family, all brought up in a
healthy and good environment, who lapses, succumbs
to drink, and ends in crime ? How is it this one failure
occurs ? Is this not a reversion to some evil strain in
a remote or near ancestor ? ” The answer is that it
cannot be called the result of heredity ; the parents
and the other sons and daughters have lived good lives
and done their duty in this world ; this case is excep¬
tional and can only be treated from the standpoint of
disease. We have every right to assume that science
will yet demonstrate that in such cases there is impair¬
ment of some of the higher centres of the brain, prob¬
ably of the inhibitory nerve cells which control the
lower animal instincts, and in such a case we can only
conclude we are not dealing with a normal individual.

Heredity and Environment 103

These abnormal cases will tend to become less and less
under wiser methods of living, a healthier environment,
and a higher ethical evolution of the race as a whole.

Insanity has always been held to be a hereditary
disease, but we know that very few families have not
had some relative who has been peculiar, or has required
restraint under medical surveillance. From personal
experience in cases where it has appeared to be here¬
ditary, I am of opinion that it is mostly evidenced in
regard to women, and has been due to the daughters
being reared by a mother with insane characteristics,
which has created an atmosphere strongly predispos¬
ing to nervous breakdown on the part of the children.
They live in constant dread of sudden ebullitions of
the mother’s mental excitation, and the nervous strain
is severe.

You may ask, what of the epileptic ? Epilepsy can
be inherited, but its original cause is undoubtedly
preventable. Insanitary conditions, bad air, and
especially alcohol, produce a diseased condition of
brain which so affects the individual generally that it
would be absurd to expect that he could generate a
normal or average member of the race. And I have no
doubt that epilepsy will disappear when better methods
prevail.

I hold, therefore, that we are justified in coming to
the conclusion that the palmy days of the theory of
heredity are over : a child inherits very little more
from its parents than the characteristics of the genus
homo ; in other words, any healthy, normal, or average
child can, by means of a sufficiently early environment,
be so moulded as to be efficient : in one case, as an
emperor, in another as a scavenger, as a saint, or a devil.

The subject was very thoroughly gone into at the
annual meeting of the British Medical Association at
Oxford some years ago, and the majority of the mem-

104 Heredity and Environment

bers who took part in the discussion agreed with the
view which we have given. It was very well put by Dr.
A. T. Schofield, who said he rose to emphasize the
statement of Dr. Konig, that of all hereditary tendencies
that of alcohol was the most subject to the forces of
environment. They must remember that the public
followed with the keenest interest their remarks on this
subject. They long to be delivered from the dead
hand of heredity, and so eagerly did they welcome
any door of hope that he noticed last year when
one speaker pointed out that, after all, what was in¬
herited was merely a tendency which could be re¬
sisted and overcome, and therefore there was no need
for fatalism, that statement was copied into most
English papers. He therefore was very glad to em¬
phasize Dr. Konig’s statement that inherited alcoholism
followed the law of Herbert Spencer, that a man was
more like the company he kept than that from which he
was descended. But this force of environment applied
not only to alcohol, it applied to crime. Those who
knew anything of Mrs. Meredith’s work at Addlestone
(now carried on by Miss Lloyd) would bear him out
that children in these village homes were taken from
their mothers with four generations of hereditary crime,
and that these children were so acted on by their per¬
fect environment that those tendencies which became
criminal in their parents were directed into good
channels, so that they grew up into good, honest, and
moral men and women. This led him to mention one
more point of hope in which he believed all present
would agree, and that was, that what was inherited
was not ' vices,’ or ' virtues,’ or even ' diseases,’
but ' tendencies,’ which by bad training and sur¬
roundings could be degraded into vices or diseases, or
by good could be elevated into virtues or health.”

And we are glad to be able to call to the support of

Heredity and Environment 105

our ideas on this subject one of the greatest reputation
in the medical and scientific world, not only in the field
of the practice of physic, but a most able teacher and
thinker — the late Sir William Gairdner, of Glasgow
University. The ‘‘ British Medical Journal ” of
November 30th, 1912, quoted from a letter from Sir
William to the “ Scotsman ” newspaper (September
3rd, 1896) to the effect that he had sent a young clergy¬
man, one of the ablest and most open-minded men he
had ever known, to Tasmania for health reasons, and
suggested to him that he might keep his eyes open and
find out if the descendants of the criminal colony
(which was unquestionably the British stock inhabiting
Tasmania or Van Diemen’s Land) had retained in any
degree the criminal or otherwise undesirable taint, as
it was reasonable to suppose on the “ necessarian
atavistic theory,” as one might call it, that the traces
or stigmata,” or whatever a modern criminal an¬
thropologist might call them, of persistent “ degenera¬
tion ” and criminal tendencies might still be found
among such a population. The information he received
was on the contrary that the Tasmanians were remark¬
ably free from such apparent “ reversions ” of inherited
instincts; and that, whether judged by their actual
criminal record or by the number and quality of the
insane in their asylums, the race now inhabiting the
oldest and probably the worst of our penal settlements
was as orderly, flourishing, and well-to-do as any other
colony, and altogether bore most favourable com¬
parison with any other portion of the British stock at
home or abroad.

Mr. J. D. Shaw, Editor of the Tasmanian News,”
writing to the “ Scotsman ” of November 21st, 1912,
recalls this incident and letter. He mentions that he
had a correspondence with Sir William on this subject,
and that the latter wrote to the following effect : I

io6 Heredity and Environment

look upon the case of Tasmania as one of the most
hopeful and animating barriers to oppose to that kind
of quasi-scientific pessimism which tends to look upon
all criminal and insane tendencies as an ineradicable
taint, and thus to circumscribe the actions of free-will
in the individual, and discourage reformatory and
punitive measures alike on the part of the State/'

From the scientific standpoint it is impossible to
secure a more positive demonstration of the non¬
heredity of crime and of the benefit of a new environ¬
ment. This one instance alone would show that our
ancestors were not lacking in wisdom in dealing with
criminals by the method of transportation. Not only
was it wise in regard to the criminal and his de¬
scendants, but it resulted in no evil of a direct or con¬
taminating kind to the people among whom they were
sent. An observed phenomenon of this kind ought to
make the Eugenists pause. “ Facts are chiels that
wanna ding," and it ought to be realised that what
is wanted for the higher evolution of the race is not
breeding from a select few — of individuals or classes
— but a better environment for the people as a whole.
Degenerative tendencies of all kinds will soon be elimi¬
nated by this means alone, and the “ quasi-scientific
pessimism " of the Eugenists will be heard no more.
It is indeed cause for joy that such an authority can be
called to our aid in annihilating the prevalent idea that
‘‘ all criminal and insane tendencies are to be looked
upon as ineradicable taints and thus circumscribe the
actions of free-will in the individual."

Mr. Owen Seaman has emphasised this idea in his
beautiful poem on the late Dr. Barnado :

“ Naked, he clothed them ; hungry, gave them food ;
Homeless and sick, a hearth and healing care ;

Led them from haunts where vice and squalor brood
To gardens clean and fair.

Heredity and Environment 107

“ By birthright pledged to misery, crime and shame —
Jetson of London’s streets, her waifs and strays.
Whom she, the mother, bore without a name
And left, and went her ways —

“ He stooped to save them, set them by his side.

Breathed conscious life into the still-born soul.

Taught truth and honour, love and loyal pride.

Courage and self-control.

“ Till of her manhood here and overseas

On whose supporting strength her state is throned
None better serves the Motherland than these.

Her sons — the once disowned.”

We think we may say that most good people who read
this poem would agree with its purport and yet con¬
sider themselves justified in the same breath, almost, in
denying that the theory of heredity was exploded ; but
if the facts are as stated in regard to alcohol, and if the
results of a better environment are as good as has been
proved in the case of the noble work inaugurated by
Mrs. Meredith and now carried on by Miss Lloyd at
Addlestone, and at Dr. Barnardo’s Homes, then it is
not only absurd, but unscientific to uphold any longer
the “ dead hand of heredity. Moreover, our re¬
formatories, and asylums, and schools are regulated
nowadays in such a manner as to indicate that, con¬
sciously or unconsciously, we do approve of a good
environment, and that we do not believe heredity to
exert the fatal influence with which it was credited
until recently. Would that our jails and penitentiaries
were conducted on similar lines ! An attempt is
being made to improve these institutions, but a great
deal ought to be done in the way of moulding the
criminal, by a more beautiful and cultured environ¬
ment. The inmate of these places of detention has it
rubbed into him every hour of the day that he is the
enemy of society, and this is the treatment to be meted

io8 Heredity and Environment

out to him to the end. Unfortunately, the altruism of
Christianity has not penetrated so far as the interior of
our prison-houses, but once it does it will be better for
the criminal, and for the world to which many of them
will return. Is it not the height of folly to treat the
man who has lapsed in such a manner as to make him,
as long as he lives, the enemy of society, with his
heart full of hatred and desire of vengeance, when he
might by wise means be made contrite in heart and
consumed with a wish to do better ? When will men
overcome their prejudices in regard to this important
question ? They believe experience has taught certain
methods to be the only available ; unfortunately, the
limitation of the human intellect causes only a repeti¬
tion and perpetuation of their own errors ; the only
hope is that in time they will give ear to scientific in¬
vestigation and act accordingly. Of man’s folly in this
regard we are tempted to say with him who “ was not
for an age but for all time ” :

‘ ‘ Man, proud man, dressed in a little brief authority.

Most ignorant of what he’s most assured,

Plays such fantastic tricks before high Heaven
As make the angels weep.”

The Mendelian theory has given a fillip to the already
tottering position of this law of heredity. Messrs. Dewar
and Finn, in the “ Making of Species,” from which we
have already quoted, are of opinion that Mendel’s ex¬
periments are of great importance, but, they add, “ as
is usual in such cases, his disciples have greatly exag¬
gerated the value and importance of his work. They
apply only to a limited number of cases. . . . The
phenomena of inheritance seem to be far more complex
than the thoroughgoing Mendelian would have us
believe.” We are content to leave it at that, as it
would be quite impossible for us to elucidate anything
further from the experiments. We are quite prepared

Heredity and Environment 109

to argue, however, that they do not controvert any of
our previous statements, as, in any case, they prove
no thing more than we have admitted : that the individual
inherits only the characteristics of the genus from
which he was propagated, plus some physical features
of his parents or grandparents, which allow of that
slight individual variation which exists amongst the
different members of every species. In the case of
Man, the qualities of mind make the study of this
question immeasurably more intricate, but the fact
remains in equal degree for him that he inherits the
characteristics of the '' genus homo sapiens,’' with some
special features, such as colour of eye or hair, shape of
head or nose, height or breadth of body, but his ulti¬
mate condition physically, intellectually, and morally
depend entirely upon environment. Dewar and Finn
have an illuminating passage which bears on this
subject. Writing on the fertilised egg, they say :

Our conception is that it is composed of a number of
entities, to which we have given the name ' biological
molecules,’ because in certain respects their behaviour
is not unlike chemical molecules. The units which com¬
pose these molecules, being made up of protoplasm,
are endowed with all the properties of life, including
the inherent instability which characterises all living
matter.” This inherent instability must always be
borne in mind in explaining isolated cases of genius on
the one hand, or of degradation on the other. We are
too often inclined to use the word reversion,” and
thus give undue importance to the idea of heredity,
when the designation sport ” would be more appro¬
priate — one of those unstable productions which is
characteristic of all living matter. As we have pointed
out f already, nothing is so evanescent as these indi¬
vidual variations ; in a state of nature they are imme¬
diately destroyed by the potent influence of marriage.

no Heredity and Environment

Let us recall an instance already given : man has been
able by careful selection to produce on the one hand
the racehorse ; on the other, the heavy and powerful
draught-horse, such as the well-known “ Clydesdale/’
If the process of selection is not most carefully guarded
in either variety, their particular characteristics tend
ere long to disappear, and nature brings back the
average type. It is also a striking fact, as Dewar and
Finn have pointed out, that if you isolate the race- and
draught-horses, keeping them entirely apart, you will
find that instead of diverging more and more as time
goes on, which we would naturally expect, they tend to
become more and more like one another. This is not
reversion : it is the strong generic influence destroying
the mutations and bringing the different varieties back
to the average of the genus. That is what heredity
means and what heredity can do.

The same is true of the different classes into which
man is artificially divided. Mr. Galton has dealt with
this matter in regard to genius. Remarkable sons
succeed remarkable parents, he says, and nephews of
the first distinguished man display as great, if not
greater talents than himself. But of many cases
adduced, in none is the inheritance carried beyond the
fourth generation, and he also points out that the
highest display of genius is found in the first or second
generation, after which decadence sets in, or, as we may
say, the return to the average, which is what we would
expect.

If that is true of the aristocracy of intellect, it can be
proved to be as true of what is known as the “ aris¬
tocracy of birth,” implying, as the phrase does, that
the '' breed ” or “ blood ” can only be continued by
the heredity of the upper classes, who claim to be the
ruling classes, and until recently asserted their belief
in the possession of a special legislative instinct which

Heredity and Environment in

came solely by heredity. To the scientific and logical
mind it must always have been apparent that the
particular manners and attributes of this class were
solely the result of environmental influences brought
to bear upon the child born into these privileged
families, and that any legislative capacity of which a
scion of any great house might give evidence was either
the result of very careful training in this particular
direction, or appeared as a “ sport,’’ just as great
ability or genius may appear in any class of the com¬
munity. But the striking fact remains that great
literary ability and genius appear in less proportion
among the aristocracy than any other ; they are more
likely to appear in the middle or poorer classes. A few
examples will serve, such as Burns, Shakespeare, the
Elizabethan dramatists, Thomas Carlyle, Tennyson,
Keats, Wordsworth, and many others. Indeed, with
the exception of Lord Byron, it is difficult to recall men
of high literary attainment who have come from the
aristocratic class. The truth of the matter is that the
atmosphere of luxury in which they live tends to
produce a gradual loss of virility. The members of this
class tend to become effete, and die out sometimes in a
few generations. They require constant resuscitation
from the lower orders, from those who have remained
more in contact with nature, and are thus better fitted
to continue the species. This is evident every day
from the constant influx into the second Chamber of
the most brilliant intellects of the House of Commons.
They are sent to another place in order to reinvigorate
a chamber which would die of inanition if its legislative
capacity depended solely on hereditary gift.

The same applies to the mere survival of this class
as a whole. A writer in the “ Contemporary Review ”
some years ago stated — apparently on the authority of
Burke’s “Peerage” — that since 1840 thirty peers or

1 1 2 Heredity and Environment

eldest sons of peers have found wives in America, and
of these thirteen are childless ; other five have no
sons, and the remaining twelve have only thirty-
nine children, whereof eighteen are sons ; and that of
other forty-four titled Americans (excluding wives of
knights) seventeen have no child, and eight only one.
Thus of the seventy-four titled Americans (excluding
wives of knights) thirty are childless, fourteen have
only one, and the children of the seventy-four number
only 107 — an average of less than one and a half per
family. The writer points with satisfaction to the
superior fertility of the colonials, for of the wives of
twenty-three peers or eldest sons of peers who married
in the colonies, four have no children, but the remaining
nineteen have sixty-three, of whom twenty-nine are
sons ; while seventy-two colonial wives of Englishmen
with courtesy titles or of baronets have 203 children.
The ninety-five colonial wives have 266 children — an
average of two and three-quarters per family. The
estimated average English family in the same period
was over four, but probably the families in the cor¬
responding classes in England were no larger than the
colonial. The article goes on to ask if President Roose¬
velt or the Bishop of London dare say that the failure
of the eighteen American peeresses to have heirs was
wilful, or deny them an eager desire to have the glory
of presenting their husbands with an heir to the title.
Nature, to ensure maintenance of the species, has deeply
implanted in woman’s nature the maternal instinct,
and in some cases at least it is as potent as self-preser¬
vation. It may be defeated, as suicides defeat the
instinct to live, and perhaps the cases where a healthy
childless wife seeks, without some special reason more
or less excusable, to evade maternity, may compare in
number not very favourably with those of suicide. The
frivolities and follies of a small section of wealthy

Heredity and Environment 1 1 3

society are not a cause of infertility but a consequence.
A wife, without intellectual resources, disappointed in
her natural instincts, seeks distraction in society that
she would gladly exchange for motherhood and home.
Perhaps this ought to be stated as a general rule, for
there are no doubt mothers of children who prefer a life
of folly to that of duty, but we know that in such a
case we have to do with a form of morbidity induced by
a life of luxury, or it may be individual weakness of the
nerve centres with feeble power of inhibition, per¬
mitting the disregard of the maternal functions, which
are the desire of the average woman, who, fortunately,
is the good woman.

The loss of the power of child-bearing in this class is
due to two causes — inbreeding and the effect of an
environment of luxury. An aristocratic family in
which marriage is stringently limited to members of
other families of the same class is believed not to sur¬
vive longer than 200 years, and therefore requires
constant renewal from the more virile class which comes
next in the social scale. The middle classes are con¬
stantly receiving members from the workers ; so that
in this way a constant cycle goes on, and is very
necessary if the upper classes are to survive. It is not
only money that attracts the scions of our aristocracy
towards the daughters of wealthy Americans : it is
prompted, in addition, by the desire to preserve or
resuscitate the virility and energy of the family which
they represent.

We are therefore driven to the conclusion that, as
Dr. Schofield said, “ the palmy days of heredity are
over ” ; that a man inherits only the characteristics and
instincts of the genus homo, plus a very few attributes
of form and feature. His higher attributes and power
for good and evil, his evolution physically, intellectually,
and spiritually depend entirely on environment.

H

1 14 Heredity and Environment

We have proved that the environment of the ‘‘ sub¬
merged third ” of the British nation is the worst
possible environment for the evolution of the indie
vidual and the race, and that of the privileged aristo¬
cratic class is even worse, as it produces — what that
of the lower orders certainly does not — an incapaci¬
ty for the propagation of the species. So much is
this the case that but for its constant renewal from
below, as pointed out already, the aristocracy would
become increasingly sterile, and finally disappear.
This argument shows how fallacious it is to try to con¬
tinue the constitution of society on its present lines,
and that the first thing to do is to alter the environ¬
ment of the poor, not in the first place in their own
interest, but in order to improve the general stamina
of the nation. If society is constantly renewed from
below, it follows that at present we are doing our
utmost to keep down the general physique, because it
is poisoned at its source by bad air, filth, insufficient
clothing and food. We start society with a weak
strain, which is bound to be felt in the upper strata.
If we wish to benefit the nation as a whole, and par¬
ticularly the unborn generations which are to follow,
it is clear that we must give the children of the workers
of the nation the best possible environment, so as to
secure them a good start and the opportunity of stead¬
fast progress in well-being from infancy to manhood,
and not forgetting to surround them with the accumu¬
lated culture of the ages in the shape of education on
the best lines, and a wise selection of the best thought
of the best minds of the past. Before many generations
were over the impetus towards a higher order of things
would be felt ; society would be regenerated from be¬
low ; the physique of every class would benefit, and
health, happiness, and all-pervading culture would be
the order of the day.

Heredity and Environment 1 1 5

We have already quoted what Huxley has said in
regard to la misere ; and the Scots poet Burns, who
has been justly called “ the poet of democracy,” and
whose heart was full of love to all mankind, indeed to
all nature, was well aware from personal experience of
the misery of the poor, and the struggle required to
“ breast the force of circumstance, and break his birth’s
invidious bar,” and this it was that made him write
” Man’s inhumanity to man makes countless thousands
mourn.” Tennyson has given expression to the same
thought :

“ Ah yet, we cannot be kind to each other here for an hour ;

We whisper, and hint, and chuckle, and grin at a brother’s
shame ;

However we brave it out, we men are a little breed.”

Again :

“ Peace, sitting under her olive, and slurring the days gone by.
When the poor are hovell’d and hustled together, each sex,
like swine ;

When only the ledger lives, and not only not all men lie ;
Peace in her vineyard — Yes ! — but a company forges the
wine.” (“Maud.”)

While things are so in our midst it would seem quite
impossible to realise or even approach to the Christian
ideal. We hope to prove later that this is in progress
even now, and will be accomplished with the evolution
of a higher ethical development. At one extreme we
have the aristocracy without work — real work, bene¬
ficent work — of any kind to perform, only, as a rule, a
life of luxurious ease and the selfish grab for wealth
which labour alone creates ; at the other extreme,
poverty, misery, excess of labour, and no leisure or
comfort in which to develop the higher qualities of the
mind. As at present constituted, it is only among the
middle class that anything approaching the ideal life
is possible. In this class there is work, but not too

1 1 6 Heredity and Environment

much, and there is freedom from poverty and carking
care, and from the constant temptation towards excess
and vice, and there is leisure which can be devoted to
the higher development of each individual, physically,
intellectually, and ethically.

It is evident that it is no less necessary to alter the
environment of the “ idle rich,” “ who toil not, neither
do they spin,” than that of the millions in poverty,
whose hours of labour are much too long. No doubt
many of them work and do not spare themselves ;
some are philanthropists and statesmen, who scorn
delights and live laborious days ” in order to benefit
their fellow-men. These, who are the exception, do not
require any change in their surroundings as far as they
personally are concerned. But we have to do with
average men and women, who cannot thrive in an
atmosphere of luxury. It is bad for the individual and
for the raec, as the tendency is towards extinction in
process of time unless rejuvenated from the lower
orders. Until society ceases to have castes or orders,
and every man has sufficient for his needs and leisure
to develop his higher nature, there can be no improve¬
ment or rejuvenation of the race. A healthy environ¬
ment for all men, without distinction of rank or wealth,
is an absolute necessity if this is to be attained. As we
have said, we hope to prove that the attainment of this
ideal is in process now and will reach complete fulfil¬
ment in course of time. It will doubtless be a long
process, for the mills of God grind slowly. But there
must be few who, once they have grasped the possi¬
bility of the realisation of the ideal state, would wish to
preserve a system of evil environment for both the
workers and the privileged class, and an atmosphere of
misery and pain for the great majority of mankind.

We all know, as a matter of experience, that as a rule
the worst thing that can happen to a man is to attain

Heredity and Environment 1 1 7

great wealth. Very often he succumbs to luxury and
shortens his days. Every man of years and experience
must have known cases of this nature, and the sad
thing is that often these are valuable lives, which can
ill be spared — men of strong intellectual vigour and
kind hearts, who, losing the stimulus of work and
succumbing to the so-called joys of external things,
suffer the inevitable Nemesis of all departure from
nature and duty. Again, we have known many in¬
stances of misery to both parents and children from the
same cause. The sons of fathers who have acquired
wealth soon discover that work is not necessary to
livelihood, for money is plentiful, and they soon yield
to temptation ; ere long they are wallowing in the
sensual mire ; ■ they are soon cut off, and the place that

knew them knows them no more. We think without fear

•

of contradiction we may assert that it would be a good
thing for humanity and the world if the attainment of
great wealth were denied to all men, even in the present
circumstances.

All the religious bodies of the world understand the
power which environment gives them in maintaining
and increasing the numbers of believers in their re¬
spective creeds. One and all take care that, either
directly through the priest or indirectly by means of
the parent, the dogma of the Church shall be taught to
the child from its earliest years, and that its ritual shall
environ him. It is recorded that a great Cardinal of the
Roman Church once said : “ Let me instruct the child
up to seven years and I will let who will endeavour to
mould his thoughts thereafter." Doubtless this is an
exaggerated statement of a great truth — that the early
environment of the child moulds the whole course of
his life.

And not only the Church, but mankind as a whole
realises the power of environment. The old proverb.

1 1 8 Heredity and Environment

She who rocks the cradle rules the world/' proves
this. Of its truth and universal application there can¬
not be the slightest doubt ; and the mothers know their
power and exercise it, according to their lights, for what
they believe to be the greatest advantage of their sons
and daughters. It can be said, without fear of con¬
tradiction, that it is they who have preserved the
ideals of Christian ethics in our Western civilisation,
and in this way more than any other they can be said
to rule the world, because it is the pervading altruism
of Christianity in the minds of men which is regenerat¬
ing society, and is the motive force of that social
legislation which has as its aim the gradual ameliora¬
tion and elevation of the poorer classes of the people.

In this connection we may refer to the modern
movement of the emancipation of women. There
seems little doubt that the mothers of the nation have
little desire to depart from their own sphere and inter¬
fere with the duties of man, who has hitherto in the
world’s history always regulated, controlled, policed,
and defended the nation by land and sea. Woman
physically and intellectually is unfitted for such work,
and by interfering in legislation — for which she has
no faculty — will only damage the State which she has
done so much to build and elevate by means of her
maternity and influence upon the child. The scientific
position has been clearly and emphatically stated by
Sir Almroth Wright. There can be no doubt the
women who are forcing this movement and smashing
the windows of harmless tradespeople who have
shown no hostility to their cause, and who assault
Ministers of the Crown who are giving the best of their
lives in the service of the people, cannot be considered
responsible for their actions. If they claim that they
are responsible, then clearly they belong to the criminal
classes and must be treated as such without fear or

Heredity and Environment 119

favour. In any case their mental state is a diseased
one, and in the present constitution of society it is no
doubt a very difficult problem to discover means to
remove this morbid development. No doubt in time
this will be done, but in the meantime we must take
care that this movement shall not abrogate the true
function of woman, which gives her the privilege of
ruling the world by means of her influence upon the
mind of the child.

Environment, then, we are entitled to consider is the
chief force in moulding the lives of men and influencing
their thoughts and the future of the race for good or
ill. It is our duty to see that it is for good, and never to
forget that what is a good environment for one is good
for all. That is why we must act always in order to
benefit not one sect, one class, one tribe or nation, but
humanity. In this way only can we hope to bring
about that environment which shall eventually accom¬
plish the highest possible development of each unit of
the race physically, intellectually, and spiritually.

The Eugenics Congress brought prominently before
the public mind many interesting points in regard to
heredity and environment. We have already quoted
Mr. Balfour’s opening address, and it is with much
gratification that we again recall some of his statements.
“ The Eugenist thinks that he ought deliberately to
consider the health, the character, and the qualities of
succeeding generations. That is a characteristic of
domestication that is totally absent from animals in
the wild state. It is not a problem of the individual,
but of society. We sometimes see it stated that, after all,
society is the sum of the individuals that compose it.
In a sense that is true — the whole is always the sum of
its parts, but in that sense it is quite an unmeaning and
useless proposition. In the only sense in which it
means anything it is not true ; and whether we shall

120 Heredity and Environment

ever know exactly how a complex society should be
composed, and how we ought to lead up to its proper
composition — whether we shall ever get that degree of
knowledge I know not ; but the idea that you can get a
society of the most perfect kind by merely considering
questions about the strain and ancestry, and the health
and physical vigour of the various components of that
society — that, I believe, is a most shallow view of a
most difficult question.”

Mr. Balfour has fathomed the shallowness of the
views in regard to heredity which have held sway too
long. Strain and heredity will trouble us no longer, for
the reason that we know the species only requires a
perfect environment to secure the best possible indi¬
vidual units physically and intellectually, and, at the
same time, by conceding full play to that spiritual
evolution which is working and will continue to work
with ever-increasing power, to enable it to accomplish
marvels in its operation upon the sum of those units
which we denominate society. All we require to
seek after is the evolution of a better and better en¬
vironment, and all other things, such as the “ elimina¬
tion of the unfit,” will be added thereunto.

A good deal has been written in regard to the Galton
Laboratory conclusions from the Edinburgh statistics,
endeavouring to prove that the children of parents in
slum surroundings are not prejudicially affected by the
heredity of alcohol. It is not endeavoured to prove
that the alcoholic habit in the parent is beneficial ; it
only suggests that most probably the parent who can
take alcohol in large quantity is of stronger physique
than the parent who cannot. But, as a rule, the alcoholic
propensity is one absolutely regardless of consequences
— the sole desire of the alcoholic is to secure the
pleasures of approaching intoxication, which is craved
for just as often by the weakly as the strong. The real

Heredity and Environment 1 2 1

point, however, where the Galton school have gone
astray is their failure to perceive that the environ¬
ment of all the children is so essentially bad that the
addition of alcoholic heredity is incapable of making
it any worse. To adopt the deductions of these
observers is to interrupt the process of social ameliora¬
tion and the attainment, ultimately and progressively,
of a perfect environment. Scientifically their conclu¬
sions are devoid of support from observed phenomena,
and are undeserving of consideration from all imbued
with the scientific spirit. Altruistically they can only
be classified as deplorable, and ought to be a warning
to all sociologists to beware of the deductions of the
Galton Laboratory.

The observations of the same school on tuberculosis,
which seem to prove that a congested population and
limitation of the free air of heaven are not deleterious
to cases of phthisis, are opposed to all experience of
those best able to judge. Their observations upon this
subject must be treated as proceeding from too limited
a field of study. We must attend only to the advice
of experienced students of tubercle and its treatment,
and never cease to seek after the attainment of a
perfect environment for every member of the human
family.

The Eugenics Congress as a whole proved most in¬
structive. The trend of opinion of those best able to
judge was that the sole requirement of the human family
was a perfect environment . Heredity was relegated to its
proper place, and put out of account in race progress.
The stock of the human family will always be strong
and virile if it gets a fair chance, whatever its origin of
race or class may be. Given the environment best
suited to the race, and a continuance of the best condi¬
tions, it will be found impossible to have anything but
a continuously perfect physical strain.

122 Heredity and Environment

Sir John Macdonell’s remarks on the report of Mr.
Van Wagenen on the results of the law authorising or
requiring sterilisation of certain classes of defectives,
degenerates, and criminals in eight of the States of the
American Union were of the greatest importance, and
ought to arrest the attention of all students of sociology.
He protested against the habitual or even the confirmed
criminal being treated in this manner. The criminal,
he said, was really a by-product of the slums or other
forms of poverty, and there was no warrant for the
theory that he was the victim of certain mental or
physical defects which he could transmit to his progeny.
The criminal had in him the potentiality of good things.

Professor Smith, of Minnesota University, voiced the
true scientific attitude in regard to hereby and en¬
vironment by his striking assertion that he would
prefer to have as father a robust burglar rather than
a consumptive bishop, though he should he glad to he
adopted into another family very soon after hirth. With
a proper environment, consumption would soon cease to
be thought of from the hereditary standpoint. In the
past it was the compulsory environment of the tubercle
bacillus which created the widespread belief in the
heredity of phthisis. In all probability he would be as
well off as the son of a consumptive bishop if he were
at once adopted into a healthy family after his birth.
It is quite as necessary to remove him from the con¬
sumptive bishop from the physical point of view as
to separate him from the immoral influence of the
burglar parent from the ethical standpoint. But the
statement, as a whole, is an emphatic vindication of
the view advanced for the physical, intellectual, and
ethical evolution of Man — the progressive ultimate
achievement of a perfect environment, and of the ex¬
ploded influence of the “dead hand“ of heredity, which
is void of influence except in so far as it perpetuates

Heredity and Environment 123

the characteristics of the genus homo sapiens.”
There is continuity ot the germ-plasm — which Weis-
mann fathomed was the means by which continuity of
type was secured, and is the explanation of the fact
that variations are not perpetuated, but are quickly
submerged and a return to the average necessitated.

It establishes heredity as an unalterable entity,
limited in its operation to the anatomy and physiology
of the species, and conceding full play to environment,
which, for good or ill, so potently affects his health,
intellect, and morals.

Professor Smith’s statement gives strong support to
Mr. Balfour’s contention that you cannot get a society
of the most perfect kind by merely considering ques¬
tions about the strain and ancestry, the health and
physical vigour of the various components of that
society. He points out that although parents of talent
were able to give exceptional advantages to their
children, and ought to show a greater number of
successful offspring, yet we find not the slightest evi¬
dence that any particular talent is ever inherited.
Luther, Napoleon, Abraham Lincoln, Beethoven,
Mozart, Wagner, Shakespeare, Burns, Keats, Shelley,
Michelangelo, Hogg, Carlyle were all “ sports,”
or, what he aptly terms, ” biological surprises.” Saint¬
hood comes under the same category as genius ; St.
Francis d’ Assisi, Catherine of Sienna, Florence
Nightingale had no ancestry calculated to produce
their character and work. He points out, moreover,
that man}^ of the most efficient were in early years so
weak and diseased as to be classified as ” unfit,” and if
the views of some eugenists were to prevail, ought to
have been eliminated in the interests of society and of
the race. Immanuel Kant was warned of the danger
of study at the university ; he ignored his weak chest,
studied philosophy, and became the great teacher of

1 24 Heredity and Environment

the modern intellect. Herbert Spencer was so delicate
as to be unable to receive a regular education, yet he
became one of the most potent forces of his generation.
Sir Isaac Newton similarly was one of the frailest of
children. The conclusion of this epoch-making address
is deserving of continual repetition : “ Nearly all

children are well born. With a wider knowledge of
hygiene, a better distribution of wealth and leisure, and
a higher sense of personal responsibility on the part of
the parents, the problem of heredity from the physical
point of view would practically vanish. The tragedy of
the world was spoiled babies.'’

Dr. Devine, of New York, strongly supported his
compatriot. What was wrong, he said, with those who
were giving trouble to society was not that they were of
a defective ancestry, or had some evil in their blood,
but that they had not had a fair or decent opportunity.

Prince Kropotkin poured a wealth of satire upon the
crude idea of the sterilisation of the unfit. Who were
the people they proposed to sterilise ? he asks. The
idlers or the workers ? The women of the working
classes who suckled their children, or the women of the
upper classes who, by neglecting to do this, showed
their unfitness for maternity ? Those who produced
degenerates in slums, or those who produced them in
palaces ?

On the whole, the impression left on the mind by the
trend of thought of the Congress fills one with deep
satisfaction. In addition to the views expressed as to
the all-importance of a perfect environment and the
cessation of the undue preponderance formerly conceded
to heredity, there is evidenced on the part of men of
the widest thought, culture, and scientific attainment
a recognition of the lesson of history, and the spiritual
evolution underlying all advance, and compelling the
steady march on to the city of God. It was with the

Heredity and Environment 125

deepest satisfaction that one detected this influence
in the opening address of the president ; two passages
are well worthy of record. “ It was true/’ he said,
“ that they could not but glory in this saving of suffer¬
ing, for the spirit which led to the protection of the
weak and the afflicted was, of all things, that which was
the most worth preserving on earth. . . . The end they
had in view — an improvement in the racial qualities of
future generations — was noble enough to give them
courage for the fight. Their first effort must be to
establish such a moral code as would ensure that the
welfare of the unborn should be held in view in connec¬
tion with all questions concerning both the marriage
of the individual and the organisation of the State.”
We have here a complete vindication of Benjamin
Kidd’s law of the spiritual evolution of man, the main
theme of whose thesis is that man is every day becoming
more and more religious, as evidenced by the growth of
self-denial and altruism, this being shown more par¬
ticularly in regard to the perfecting of the environ¬
ment of the generations of men who are to succeed
those already existing. We may now say with confi¬
dence that our thesis is no longer tentative ; it is an
established fact, proved by the study of observed
phenomena, and must continue to mould the thoughts
and actions of men with ever-increasing power from
generation to generation.

Mr. Hector Macpherson in summing up the conclu¬
sions to be drawn from the Conference says some strik¬
ing things well worthy of attention. ” Man, unlike the
lower animals, is not completely at the mercy of mate¬
rial laws. We attribute the vast difference between the
man of to-day and his savage ancestor to civilisation,
but, after all, what is civilisation hut a colossal environ¬
ment as a check upon his hereditary animality. We hear
talk of the great work of natural selection when not

126 Heredity and Environment

interfered with leading to survival of the fittest. Why,
in the long ages of conflict, it was oftener the best that
were killed and the unfittest that survived. Complaint
is sometimes made that by our humanitarian methods
we are keeping alive numbers who in early times would
have been exterminated. It is forgotten that in earlier
times disease killed men of the highest type, men of
genius, who, had they been born in our day, would be
saved for the benefit of civilisation. By all means let
eugenists grapple with the problem of heredity, but do
not let them overlook the vast importance of environ¬
ment.” This is exactly what Professor Karl Pearson
and Miss Elderton have done in regard to the Edin¬
burgh statistics. They are so obsessed by “ heredity ”
that they cannot see the real factor — environment.
They want associated with them in such work a
medical man of experience and wide outlook who would
be able to point out their fallacies and direct them to
the true cause of our social evils.

Humanity has therefore every reason to hope, ” to
greet the unseen with a cheer,” for who can limit the
summit of attainment when a perfect environment has
become possible to all members of the species, by means
of the operation in men's minds of the sublime thought
and altruism of the New Testament, directing the
progressive spiritual evolution of the race ? May we
not in its completion be able to say of the whole human
family, to borrow the sublime apostrophe of Hamlet :
” What a piece of work is Man ; how noble in reason ;
how infinite in faculty ; in form, in moving, how
express and admirable ; in action, how like an angel ;
in apprehension, how like a god ; the beauty of the
world ; the paragon of animals ! ”

Chapter VII

The Lesson of History

The history of humanity, scientifically con¬
sidered, is not of very ancient date. The geolo¬
gists tell us that the remains of man which have been
found take one back very long periods of time ; so
long that the generally accepted idea of six thousand
years, which had been fixed by the theologians, is dis¬
credited from the point of view of established scientific
data. But this is quite immaterial in so far as the
ethical evolution of man is concerned. The Old Testa¬
ment is a historical account of the Jewish race, which
is most valuable from this point of view, and Matthew
Arnold deserves especial praise for his elucidation of
the lesson it teaches in his work “ Literature and
Dogma.'' He shows that there we have the evolution
of the idea of God, which will remain to the everlasting
credit of the Jewish people. Beginning with a purely
anthropomorphic conception, it develops by slow steps
and sure until we reach the exalted thought of “ the
Eternal — not ourselves — that maketh for righteous¬
ness," which, as a definition of the spiritual idea of God
and His relationship to man, has never been surpassed.
This concept has been the most potent influence in the
history of the Jewish people and of all peoples who have
come under the sway of Christian ethics. The same
author goes on to elucidate the teaching of the New
Testament, and elaborates the idea of the sweet
reasonableness " of Jesus, which has moulded the

127

128 The Lesson of History

thoughts of men and totally altered the history of our
Western civilisation. Nowhere has this influence been
more lucidly considered than in Mr. Benjamin Kidd’s
“ Social Evolution,” published in 1902. He there deals
with the great Greek civilisation and the rise and fall
of the Roman Empire. He shows that notwithstanding
the immense intellectual vigour of the ancient Greeks
and their ethical philosophy of a very high order there
was no permanence ; like a great meteor, it vanished
into the empyrean, never again to reappear. The
Roman civilisation — with its colossal military organisa¬
tion, with its great inherent force and energy, possessed
of a succession of rulers of extraordinary intellectual
gifts — passed away like a dream of the night. This rise
and fall of empires has created a caste of thought which
prevails at the present day among nearly all civilised
and intellectual men, and has established firmly as an
axiom of history the idea that all nations from small
beginnings come to maturity and, after a career of glory
and conquest more or less prolonged, decline and pass
into that obscurity whence they came, in obedience to
an immutable law. All great states in the world’s
history which have attained to pre-eminence have, in
the process of the suns, as surely declined and suffered
eclipse. It is therefore at the present time an article of
faith with the vast majority of mankind that just as a
man is born into this world, attains to full physical and
mental vigour, and with advancing years suffers decay
and eventually death, so it is with nations and empires ;
and none may escape this unalterable decree. It is
permissible, however, at this stage of the world’s
history to doubt the absolute necessity of the con¬
tinuity of the operation of this law, for the reason that
these ancient civilisations were founded on a purely
military organisation which necessitated the total sub¬
ordination of the masses of the people to the service of

The Lesson of History 129

the state. Thus it is that in all of them a system of
slavery is a necessity of its existence. There was no
thought on the part of the rulers of raising the mass of
the people to a higher plane of comfort or culture ; the
idea of social amelioration was unthought of, and would
have been abhorrent. The “ State ” meant the interests
of Empire, of military organisation and conquest, and
of the aristocracy who governed, and who held the
“ plebs ” as slaves. These existed for the sole purpose
of fulfilling the behests of those above them ; they were
pawns in the game, deserving no consideration but
such as was necessary to keep them alive, and efficient
when battles had to be fought or luxuries gratified.
The individual personal satisfaction of the members of
this caste was an idea unthought of, and would have
been scouted as absurd and subversive of all discipline
and continuity of government. This attitude of mind
has never received better expression than in the lines
put by Shakespeare into the mouth of Coriolanus when
incensed by the shouts and execrations of the plebs and
their demands for his expulsion from the city. In
indignation and scorn he hurls back their taunts and
demands, and with the recklessness of the true aristo¬
crat replies : ‘'You common cry of curs, whose breath
I hate as reek o' the rotten fens, ... I banish you ! "
The idea of patriotism was exploited in the same way.
It was only a call to arms addressed to all good Romans
to maintain the integrity and increase the greatness of
the Empire, which existed for the benefit of the few ;
its expansion was no help to the hewers of wood and
drawers of water ; no attempt was ever made or could
be made in such a civilisation to elevate the mind and
soul of the common people. The state was concerned
only with present-day material interests, and possessed
of no desire to benefit society as a whole or the genera¬
tions to come ; the future was no concern of theirs, as

I

130 The Lesson of History

it is in all governments to-day in the van of progress
in our Western civilisation.

We think it will be acknowledged that thus far we are
dealing with historical fact. Benjamin Kidd has dealt
with these points in such a fascinating way that, after
a study of his book, one feels impelled to advise every
one desiring further and detailed evidence to read and
absorb the facts and ideas contained in “ Social
Evolution.’' It is he who has discovered and revealed
the true lesson of history, and without his teachings on
this subject the study of the past and the present would
have been impossible from the scientific standpoint ;
it is therefore necessary to borrow from this most in¬
teresting and suggestive volume, if the teaching of the
lesson of the events and epochs of past ages is to be
satisfactorily expounded. He shows how the creation
of this caste of slaves, who were utilised to the utmost
limit without consideration of any kind, and being born
into this lot remained there without hope and without
freedom as long as life lasted, resulted ultimately and
of necessity in the disintegration of the state. This
caste of slavery was considered a vital element of the
continuance of power and empire, but eventually like a
canker it sapped the vigour of the body politic ; it was
like “ a goodly apple, rotten at the core,” and ere long
passed away as a thing of naught.

In our Western civilisation as it exists to-day it is
evident that a different conception of the state — of the
body politic — pervades men’s minds. Slavery as such
has been abolished in all countries which can be
described as leaders in the van of civilisation, acknow¬
ledging the sway of the Christian religion, and enlight¬
ened by the great liberating movement of the Reforma¬
tion. And it will be observed that it has been abolished
only as part of, and in consonance with, the progressive
social amelioration of all classes of the community, and

The Lesson of History 1 3 1

herein lies the force which has secured permanence,
and we are entitled to believe will continue in our
Western civilisation. And why ? Because for the first
time in the history of the ages we are approaching to a
form of government which “ maketh for righteousness.’'
Governors and statesmen are endeavouring to rule the
people after the pattern of the conception of the
“ Eternal,” which has been evolved in the Old Testa¬
ment. The Eternal was the “ not ourselves who maketh
for righteousness ” ; conjoined with this great idea of
the Supreme Power, under whose control and guidance
they lived and moved, we have the altruism of Chris¬
tianity. The teachings of Jesus, inculcating the sup¬
pression of the purely selfish element in human nature
and the idealisation of love towards all men, regardless
of class or power or wealth, has so permeated the minds
of men that all governments have been compelled,
consciously or unconsciously, to yield to this new
influence. This has resulted in the admission of the
masses of the people to the electorate which selects the
government and moulds the laws of the nation, and has
brought within near distance the consummation of the
idea of equality of opportunity ” for all. The aboli¬
tion of slavery, the extended franchise, the gradual
concession of the rights of man as man have been
granted by rulers possessed of power and every means
of maintaining their autocracy ; the “ haves,” from
time to time, have resigned their rights and privileges
to the “ have-nots,” notwithstanding the fact that there
was no compelling force urging them so to act ; they
could quite well have refused, and used the means at
their disposal in order to retain their wealth and power.
The instinct of self-preservation would have led them
to act solely in their own material interest, but they
have been led to disregard it, and to act in a manner
unknown hitherto in the world’s history ; a new in-

132 The Lesson of History

fluence has arisen, and the motive is not now self¬
aggrandisement, but the betterment of the condition of
those of our fellow-men who are in need of food, of
clothing, and better conditions generally. And thus it
is that within recent times we have witnessed great
amelioration of the lot of the people ; we have only to
think of the factory laws, those regulating employment
in mines — entailing shorter hours and better conditions
— controlling the employment of women and children,
enforcement of sanitation, better housing, garden
cities, small holdings, fever hospitals, state insurance,
the minimum wage, and the prevention of disease, and
now we are contemplating an adult franchise, conceding
even greater power to the toiling millions. No such
measures were ever dreamt of in the civilisations
previous to the dawn of Christianity ; then there was
only one thought on the part of the “ haves,” and that
was the maintenance of the institution of slavery ; now
the “ haves ” have abolished this mark of degradation
in all countries under the sway of the nations to which
they belong, and their chief idea is the betterment of
the “ have-nots.” In our Parliaments the opposing
parties vie with one another in making further and
further concessions to the workers whom they govern.
Our Western civilisation has been in existence now for
about a thousand years, and its main feature has been
the gradual amelioration of the lot of mankind ; at
first the efforts in this direction were feeble and slow of
accomplishment ; they were mostly concerned with
certain rights of man as man, and the assertion by slow
stages of the principle of the liberty of the subject. It
is only in more recent times, with the rapid progress of
our civilisation, that reforms in the direction of im¬
proving the lot of humanity have progressed by leaps
and bounds. We must now endeavour to give some
explanation of this new development in Western civili-

The Lesson of History 133

sation in contrast to those of ancient times. We survey
the face of history and can discover no reason why the
aspect of things should have changed, and why our
civilisation should not have fallen into decay like all
those which have preceded it, excepting the increased
respect paid to the liberty of the subject and the gradual
improvement of the lot of the people as a whole. It
would appear that a new era has dawned, characterised
by humanitarianism, and accompanying this the desire
to lift the burden from and increase the happiness of
our neighbour. We are now driven to an investigation
of the cause of this marvellous change in the history
of mankind, and it is not long before we discover that
coincidently we have the rise of the Christian religion.
It is now nearly two thousand years since the dawn of
Christianity, and even now it is not yet shining with
its full effulgence, but it is nearing the meridian, and it
will not be long ere its light-giving and fertilising power
regenerates the whole earth. The altruism of the
teachings of Jesus is the very essenee of Christian
ethics, and has appealed directly to the heart of man,
and so permeated his mind that quite unconsciously in
the early stages it affected his conduct towards his
fellow-men and compelled him to adopt measures to
ease their burdens and improve their lot ; and thus it is
that the amelioration of society became the outstanding
mark of all countries where Christian ethics prevailed.
The social betterment which has arisen has enabled all
the individuals of the body politic to act in concert, and
has brought nearer to every one the accumulated
culture of the ages, and hence the enormous strides in
modern times in the region of mechanical science and
discovery. This rapid advance is often explained as
being due to increased intellectual vigour and power ;
no doubt the intellectual capacity of the average man
has been raised to a higher level, and will be extended

134 The Lesson of History

until that of all men shall be elevated to a higher plane ;
but it must be insisted on once again that the human
intellect per se can never evolve to greater heights than
it has done in the past history of humanity. We have
only to consider how far behind we are even now to the
great Greek period and the Elizabethan Age. The
great point is that the average culture is improving and
is having its effect in stimulating, in a manner hitherto
unknown, mechanical invention and discovery, and it
becomes evident more and more as we study scientifi¬
cally the trend of human affairs that this is the direct
result of the social amelioration which exists to-day,
and has its origin in the altruism of Christian ethics,
inculcating as they do the suppression of the purely
selfish element in human nature and the idealisation
of the duty of love towards all men, regardless of rank
or wealth or power.

As the workers are in the majority in all great
societies or states, it follows now that it has been
recognised that every normal, every sane man has an
equal right with every other in the election of the
rulers, and, in framing the laws, that they as a class are
the dominant factor in the state. The most recent
catch- word of politics — that “ Labour is realising its
power ” — shows the trend of things. Many hear this with
alarm and fear, and no doubt it does mean eventually
a more even distribution of wealth and better con¬
ditions generally, but it is a grievous mistake to suppose
that “ labour means to bring pain or misery to any
other class. From what we know of the leaders of
the Labour party we are entitled to believe that their
demands will be in accordance with the Will of the
Eternal, ''who maketh for righteousness,” and especi¬
ally as shown forth in the teachings of Jesus, who pro¬
claimed the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood
of man — the gospel of sweet reasonableness.

The Lesson of History 135

It may be asked how, if this is so, the Church, which
was the means whereby the influence of the Christian
religion was perpetuated and handed down from one
generation to another, did not inculcate laws on such
lines as those which are now devised for the ameliora¬
tion of the lot of humanity ? The answer is that the
Church considered its duty was to inculcate attention
to its rites and sacraments in order to secure for the
individual the reward of material present-day interests.
It never seemed to occur to it that it might exert its
great power and influence to improve the general con¬
ditions of life and make the lot of humanity better.
Notwithstanding this attitude of the Church itself, in
the course of the ages the altruism of Christian ethics
pervaded the minds of ordinary men and distilled
its sweet influence there, ultimately inaugurating a
movement which has resulted in new methods of rule
unknown hitherto in the history of human affairs.
Gradually under this influence men by slow degrees
have come to feel that each has a duty towards his
fellow-man — that he is in truth his brother’s keeper.”
Some great souls have felt it to such an extent as to be
able to overcome even the primeval instinct of self-
preservation, and actually give their own lives to save
others, or in order that their fellow-men might realise
the secret of the revelation of the life of the Saviour of
mankind, who gave His life in order that all men
through His death might realise the necessity for a life
of righteousness, of reverence for the Eternal, and love
of one’s neighbour, whatever his race, caste, colour,
belief, or civilisation. The Church deserves credit for
keeping the lamp of Christian truth burning, but the
permanence of this faith can only be ascribed to its own
inherent merit and the responsiveness of the minds of
men to the teachings of love and self-sacrifice. This
would tend to show that there is implanted in man an

136 The Lesson of History

ideal which may be said to be more of the heart than
the head, and was only awaiting an appeal such as
Christian ethics supply to arouse it to life and action.
There is no doubt this ideal is gaining strength day by
day, and is the chief agent in the making of history
at the present time, and must enter more and more
into every measure affecting the welfare of men and
their relation to one another.

In regard to what has been said on this subject of the
attitude of the Church, it is not uninteresting to find
the view upheld by Lord Hugh Cecil, one of the most
intellectual members of that party in the state which
has endeavoured to run counter to the new order of
things : that the Church and religion have nothing to
do with the welfare of mankind as a whole ; they have
only to do with the personal salvation of the human soul.
It is difficult to understand how this attitude can be
maintained when we consider that the Author of our
religion inculcated the lightening of the burden of the
poor, the sad, and the afflicted. His gospel, if it meant
anything, urged the salvation of humanity by means
of all measures which could be devised to remove the
load of misery, emphasising this as the Will of the
Eternal — “ your Father, which is in heaven,” to quote
the words of the New Testament ; and His thought,
much as it was of the poor, was not confined to this
class ; His love extended to all men. To the young
man “ of many possessions ” He says : “Go and sell all
that thou hast and give to the poor, and ye shall find
treasure in heaven.” It is clear He did not consider
His gospel to mean only an individual life of righteous¬
ness which pointed the pathway to eternal bliss. No ;
He meant it to include every possible effort which could
be made to ease the burdens of a sad and downtrodden
humanity. And hence the all-pervading influence of
the altruism of His teaching in every social ameliora-

The Lesson of History 137

ing development of our time. And therefore it is that
the Church has failed to keep the hold which, as the
depository of the faith and dogma of the Christian
religion, it ought to have maintained upon the minds
and hearts of men. Fortunately the heart and mind of
the Master was one of such charm and attraction that
His teachings remain the greatest power unto salva¬
tion ” among men, notwithstanding the failure of the
Church to apprehend the magnitude of its mission.
But at last it is awakening, and fortunately the youth
of the Established Church of England at any rate has
been aroused, and with all the energy of “ eager hearts
and strong,’' by means of Students’ Conferences on all
the needs of the times, are doing their utmost to
arouse the Church^ to a full sense of its duties and
responsibilities.

Lord Hugh Cecil, in a volume entitled “ Conser¬
vatism,” adheres to the view that Christianity has to
do with the individual soul, and that states and govern¬
ments are outside its jurisdiction. Their business is
doing justice, respecting the rights of property, without
investigating the methods of their acquisition. He
wants the individual rich man to respect the Gospel
injunction as regards his wealth, but the state has no
right in its own capacity to apply the Christian
standard or require sacrifices of the rich man which can
be said to penalise. A critic of this volume in the
” Westminster Gazette ” gets to the root of the matter.
He says : '‘No state has adopted or ever can adopt
the non-ethical idea of property. So far as religion
enters into a community, it will enter into its state
policy. In some form or other the idea that the state in
the last resort 'has the right of controlling the property

^ By “ the Church,” I mean the Church as by law established —
the Anglican Church in England, the Roman Catholic in Austria,
the Greek Church in Russia, and so on. Nonconformity has always
been much more alive to the needs and sufferings of the poor.

138 The Lesson of History

of its members for the public well-being must enter into
public policy, whether it is a policy of a conservative
party or a liberal party ; but the idea of a non-ethical
state becomes the more difficult when advocated by
a writer who is a strong upholder of the state estab¬
lishment and endowment of religion. What is his
ground ? Not that the Church established is necessarily
the one depository of religious truth, for two different
churches are established, in England and in Scotland ;
nor that it represents the religion of the majority, for
the Irish establishment clearly did not do that. What
remains ? Simply that the establishment of a Church
is the recognition of religion by the state — the national
affirmation of the existence of God and the moral
responsibility to His judgment, which attaches to men
in their national no less than in their individual acts.
We may ask of what essential value is this formal and
public affirmation by the state if it is to be attached to
a doctrine that ethical considerations are irrelevant to
the greater part of the operations in which the state is
engaged ? The argument which pins the state to the
individualistic, competitive, non-ethical view of its
functions can be defended on many good logical
grounds, but it does not go well with a passionate
defence of establishments as the recognition of a
principle which is ex hypothesi excluded.'’ This is the
philosophy of the old style of Conservatism, but it is
already a thing of the past. And it is perhaps the most
striking evidence of the influence of altruistic Chris¬
tianity that, willingly or unwillingly, the Conservative
party is already committed, whenever it has oppor¬
tunity, to a programme of social, housing, and poor law
reform on the lines of the “ Minority Report.” The fact
is that the church or the state in a Christian country
which does not mould its practice on the lines of the
social improvement of the community, showing forth

The Lesson of History 139

thereby the compelling force of the altruism of its
gospel, is doomed, and this will become more and more
evident as time goes on.

The author of this volume makes another astounding
statement worthy of attention : The championship
of religion is the keystone of the arch upon which the
whole fabric of Conservatism rests.'’ If he had said
“ the championship of the Church," he would have
stated the case as it exists to-day. Unfortunately the
Church only champions a creed inculcated by authority ;
the true religion is in the hearts of men, quite apart
from the Church. The world is being saved by the
practical results of the teachings of Jesus, which both
the Church and Conservatism have done and are doing
their best to oppose. The practical results of these
teachings are all measures devised to ameliorate the lot
of the toilers below the poverty line, and these have
been consistently opposed by Lord Hugh Cecil and
Conservatism and the Church.

Lord Hugh’s dissertation is only “ window-dressing,’’
which cannot bear investigation, and that is why
Conservatism per se, as a potent force in the community,
is as dead as Queen Anne. The main object of Con¬
servatism is to “ dish the Whigs ’’ by the presenta¬
tion of Acts of Parliament previously suggested and
elaborated by the liberal party, and some of their
measures are actually drawn on exactly similar lines
to those which have been thrown out by the Second
Chamber while their opponents were in office. His cry
that Old Age Pensions and State Insurance should be
secured to all, rich and poor alike, to those earning over
one hundred and sixty pounds a year as well as those
below, is absurd at the present time, as it would only
throw fresh burdens on the community. To argue that
those who by greed, stealth, or unscrupulous disregard
of their fellow-men, or who, apart from such methods.

140 The Lesson of History

find themselves endowed with great possessions, are to
receive monetary benefits from the state, such as are
required as necessities of ordinary existence by the
poor, is to show a total incapacity for comprehending
the present-day condition of affairs, or the bearing of
true religion upon the social amelioration of the people.
Lord Hugh Cecil will do well to look into this matter
from the historical standpoint, and throw off the mantle
of the old Conservatism, which, after all, is concerned
only in the maintenance of present-day conditions.
No party can hope to endure which does not mould
its policy on the altruism of Christian ethics. Its main
thought must always be the betterment of the general
body of the people and of the future of the race ;
otherwise it is sure to be left out of account, stranded
on the bank and shoal of time.

It has been argued that there are countries in Europe,
in which the Christian religion has been established for
centuries, which, like the ancient civilisations, have risen
to greatness, and just as surely, as did Rome, having
reached the zenith, sunk again into eclipse. Portugal
and Spain are both striking examples. What is the
explanation ? It is simply that the Church in these
countries chose to keep the people in ignorance, and,
dominating the state for its own advantage, prevented
that social amelioration of the masses which is a neces¬
sity of all progress in art and science, and of that
prosperity upon which all advancing civilisation must
be founded. The Church maintained the personal view
of religion, dominating the individual, who was made
to find his present-day material interests by the ob¬
servance of its rites and sacraments : it prevented
anything like the enlightenment of the masses, and
succeeded by these means in maintaining its ascendancy
in the state. Instead of helping the people to lighten
their burdens and attain by degrees to a life of comfort

The Lesson of History 141

and culture, it held them down, and in this manner kept
its control of their entire existence and of the policy of
the government as well. The social condition of the
people, like slavery in ancient Rome, remained a canker
in the body politic, and in both states was the one
cause of failure to retain their position as world-powers.
The Spanish Main is a thing of the past, and the glory
of Portuguese colonial expansion has failed to preserve
its grandeur. Only recently the Government of
Portugal, which it must be remembered was supported
by the Church, has been overthrown. And one cannot
forget that France has disestablished the Church of
Rome, and is, I believe, the only great European power
which refuses to recognise state religion. The Church
has wrought its own destruction ; it endeavoured to
dominate the lives and thoughts of the most intel¬
lectual people in Europe, with the only possible result
that in the end it was rejected with scorn. It failed to
convey the message which the Author and the Finisher
of our faith came to preach — “ Peace on earth and good
will to men " ; and the people, through the force of their
strong intellectual faculty, recognised this failure of
duty and rejected the establishment of the Church as a
useless incubus on the state. Notwithstanding, social
amelioration has not fallen behind in that country,
because the altruism of Christian ethics has permeated
the minds of the people. France is an object-lesson to
the effect that the establishment of a State Church is
not a necessity of a great world power either in the
direction of its maintenance or the comfort and culture
of the people. The real necessity is the establishment
of the teachings of the Founder of our religion in the
hearts and minds of men, which brings about social
amenity and well-being, and thus gives the state a
stable foundation, securing permanence, and preventing
decadence.

142 The Lesson of History

The United States of America is another great power
which has no Established Church, yet it advances by
leaps and bounds, and without fear we can prophesy its
continued prosperity and greatness, because its policy
is founded on the high principle of Christian ethics and
acts in the interests of the welfare of the body of the
people. And this is the secret of the continued great¬
ness and power of all those European states who have
come under the sway of the great movement of the
Reformation. Historically viewed and scientifically
considered, the only explanation of this movement was
the rebellion of the forcible intellects of these peoples
against the dominion of a Church which had failed to
keep the lamp of truth — which lightens the darkness of
the world — shining, to show the way of peace and happi¬
ness and further spiritual evolution to suffering
humanity. The progressive countries, the leaders in
the van of civilisation to-day, are those who have
evolved a Reformed Church truly interpreting the
altruism of Jesus, under the watchful guiding eye of the
Eternal, who maketh for righteousness.” This is the
lesson of history. These states must endure because,
through the power of Christian ethics, they are broad-
based upon the people’s will,” and act in a progressive
manner solely with the view of improving the lot of
the masses of mankind ; and that is why we can afford
to prophesy, realising as we do, in the light of the past,
that Britain and the United States will not pass away
like the ancient empires, because they are founded on
the impregnable rock of Christian teaching, which in¬
evitably includes the social amelioration of the masses
of the people. Germany is one of our foremost world-
powers to-day, due to the influence of the Reforma¬
tion upon the minds of men, and consequently the
increased operation of the altruism of our common
religion. But one cannot help regretting the dominance

The Lesson of History 143

of militarism and the consequent retardation of social
betterment which exists at the present time. Germany
is not broad-based upon the people’s will, as is proved
by the autocratic power of the Emperor ; the franchise
is extensive, but it is effete ; the socialists are admitted
to number about half of the electorate, and yet they
do not have one-third of the representation in the
Reichstag. There are two elements of disintegration
here — militarism on the one hand and the autocratic
opposition of the will of the people on the other.
Fortunately for the continued existence of the State,
that wise, far-seeing statesman, probably as great as
the world has yet seen, Bismarck, thirty years ago
passed laws of State Insurance and other measures for
the social improvement of the masses, which are bearing
fruit now, and are doubtless the chief bulwarks of the
Government against the disintegrating forces at present
at work. The people are groaning under the burden of
excessive taxation, required to maintain the enormous
military organisation necessary to the greatest of
European powers. History tells that here we have a
house founded upon the sand, and doomed to inevitable
disintegration unless its rulers are wisely guided and
concede to the masses of the people “ equality of oppor¬
tunity,” a lessening of the burdens which bear upon
them, and a gradual betterment of their condition.
Thus only can the masses learn to be proud of the
greatness of their country as a world-power ; otherwise
they come to loathe the Government and all its works,
and mutter '' revolution ” until it becomes an accom¬
plished fact. And thus history repeats itself. Let
Germany take warning in time.

The state of things in the “ Fatherland ” is discon¬
certing to her neighbours as well, for this reason, that
one can never be assured that the Government will not
declare war on the slightest of pretexts in order to

144 The Lesson of History

endeavour to resuscitate the patriotism of the masses
and direct their thoughts into other channels, and for
the time being, at any rate, break the strong socialistic
wave which is flooding the country from one end to
the other. There can be no doubt that such a policy
would effect its purpose for a time, but ultimately it
would be disastrous, and recoil with ten-fold force upon
its authors whenever the people once again began to
feel the still greater burdens of excessive taxation and
military exaction. If the Emperor is wisely guided, he
will forthwith concede true representative govern¬
ment to the toiling millions over whom he holds sway ;
otherwise the consequences must be of a very disastrous
kind.

One word must be said in regard to Mr, Norman
Angell’s theory of war. Every day he is gaining adherents
to the idea that military conquest is a great illusion.’'
In the early phases of human existence the supremacy
of the purely physical was not to be wondered at, and
as men combined fortuitously into tribes and nations
through the accident of geographical conditions such
as mountain ranges, wide rivers, or ocean barriers, this
spirit continued to prevail. The sensus gregis,”
however, differed in this way : that while the peoples
fought as a whole against one another, they were often
possessed of hatred and division among themselves,
and thus, as Mr. J. M. Robertson shows in a work of pro¬
found learning and deep insight, war is precisely the
blindest, the least rational, the least human of all the
forms of human conflict.” ^ And he has little difficulty
in proving that without fail it brings its own Nemesis,
and most assuredly accomplishes the ruin and decay
of the state. The history of every past great civilisa¬
tion shows it. In ancient and mediaeval Rome we
have the same result as obtains in Turkey to-day as a

1 “ The Evolution of States,”

The Lesson of History 145

direct result of the operation of continuous warfare
upon the condition of the people. It must always
mean the frustration of democracy. Ethics must
needs worsen throughout the State when the primitive
instinct of strife developed into a policy of plunder ;
and worsened ethics means a positive weakening of a
society’s total strength.” ^ Similarly with the Greek
civilisation. “ Even the sinister virtue of uniting a
people within itself was lacking to the perpetual war¬
fare of the Greek ; the internal hatreds seem posi¬
tively to worsen in the atmosphere of the hatreds of
the communities.”^ That Aristotle had realised the
danger of continuous conflict he shows by an apt
quotation from his “ Politics.” As he (Aristotle)
profoundly observes, the training of a people to war
ends in their ruin, even when they acquire supremacy,
because their legislators have not taught them how to
rest.”^ In a chapter on “ Feudal England,” Robertson
asserts that nothing can hinder that foreign wars
shall in the end aggrandise the upper as against the
lower classes, developing as they do the relation of
subjection, and setting up the spirit of force as against
the spirit of law. . . . No nation, from Rome to
Napoleonic France, ever helped its own higher culture
by destroying other States.”^

The case of Turkey lends ample confirmation if any
were needed to the position taken up by Robertson,
and Angell has made striking use of it in demonstrating
the evils of continuous conflict. For four hundred
years it has lived on this alone, extracting tribute from
the subject Christian populations without any pre¬
tence whatever of government, administration, or pro¬
tection, while the Turkish people themselves, unfit for
anything but physical conflict, degenerated in every

^ Robertson, “ Evolution of States.” ® Ibid.

3 Ibid. 4 Ibid.

K

146 The Lesson of History

higher element of their being. Of organisation there
was none, and social betterment was impossible. In fact,
the whole process has been one of social anarchy and
confusion, which must inevitably accompany tyranny,
exaction, and oppression. And to-day the Nemesis
attending such processes is proved to a demonstration.
We rejoice in the present war, and there is no incon¬
sistency in such rejoicing, because it is the only means
by which the reign of force can be brought to an end.
And we rejoice for the further reason, as Mr. Angell says,
that ''if it is good for the Balkan States to abandon
conflict as between themselves in favour of co-opera¬
tion against the common enemy, it can only be good
for other Christian nations to abandon such conflicts
in favour of co-operation against their common enemy,
which is wild nature, and human error, and ignorance,
and passion.” Dr. Winslow Hall has given beautiful
expression to this idea in a wonderful poem — " More
than Conquerors ” — from which the following lines
are taken :

“ Trust will spread, trust will spread.

If we flout misconceptions and dread ;

We’ll make head, we’ll make head.

When the love-lighted lead the misled.

• •••••

“ Nevermore, nevermore.

Shall the nations be darkened with gore !

We shall soar, we shall soar,

On the wings of the wrath we forbore.”

As intelligent beings, appreciating the phenomena
of history, we are bound to agree with Norman Angell
and J. M. Robertson. It is only those who have an axe
to grind, or who are prejudiced by a military environ¬
ment, who can defend warfare, or continue to recom¬
mend a policy of compulsory military training or ser¬
vice. Nothing more disastrous to the higher evolution
of the human race could happen than that the United

The Lesson of History 147

Kingdom should change its policy in this matter. It
has hitherto shown the world the way ; and while in
this transitory period it is necessary to be prepared to
defend itself against attack, it must continue to main¬
tain its present position of opposition to further
conquest. It must continue to oppose the military
spirit per se, which is incompatible with social ameliora¬
tion or with the higher evolution of mankind, and is in
direct opposition to the teaching of Christian ethics.

Mr. Kidd always maintains that the basis of action
and feeling under the altruism of Christianity is ultra-
rational. He holds that when a man acts against his
own self-interest in order to benefit those around him
who are in need of food and housing and necessary
comforts, and particularly on behalf of the generations
which are to come, he is acting contrary to “ pure
reason.” Reason so interpreted means simply self-
interest, but, as a present-day concept, has come to
mean something entirely different ; pure reason ap¬
peals to the very ideal which the Christian religion
shows forth. Self-abnegation is self-realisation ; if,
then, by self-denial the true self is realised, reason
cannot mean self-interest ; it must mean its direct
opposite. As Lord Haldane showed in the Gifford
lectures delivered at St. Andrews, the “ Pathway to
Reality ” is by means of a life of self-denial towards the
realisation of the God in man — the immanence of the
Divine.^ And this brings us to a further stage in this
chain of thought. How are we to explain the gradual
uplifting of the human race ever since the dawn of
Christianity, the changed attitude of man to man, of
ruler to subject, of government to people, of the sub¬
mission of individual self-interests to that of the state,
or “ the unborn generations which are to come after,”

^ “ The purpose of the religious man is to die to self in order to
live in God.” — “ The Pathway to Reality,” 1904.

148 The Lesson of History

as Mr. Kidd has it ? The only explanation which is at
the same time logical and consistent with the facts of
history is that in all men there is an element to which
the Divine appeals ; that this appeal, although felt now
and then dimly, was only realised in its full intensity
with the advent of Christian altruism, and that now
this element is gaining the ascendancy in the thoughts
and actions of men, and will ultimately influence all
things more and more in accordance with the Will of
the Eternal, and moulded by the sweet reasonable¬
ness ” of the teachings of Jesus.

Man has evolved by slow but sure steps from a very
dim and distant past. Morrison has given expression
to this idea in his poem on “ the Evolution of Man ” :

“ With never a spark in the empty dark

To hint at a life to come.

• •••••

There came a time in the last of life
When over the nursing sod
The shadows broke, and the soul awoke
To the strange sweet dream of God.”

And Mr. W. Herbert Carruth gives us a similar thought :

” And caves where the cave men dwell.

Then a sense of law and beauty
And a face turned from the clod —

Some call it evolution.

And others call it God.

“ A picket frozen on duty,

A mother starved for her brood,

Socrates drinking the hemlock.

And Jesus on the rood ;

And millions who, humble and nameless.

The straight hard pathway trod —

Some call it consecration.

And others call it God.”

We are entitled to believe that physically and in¬
tellectually he has attained to the acme of his capacity

The Lesson of History 1 49

for evolution, but now that “ equality of opportunity ”
is becoming increasingly more and more possible for
every member of the state, we shall certainly have a
marked and general rise in physique, intelligence, and
culture. The point is that we are not at all likely to
attain a higher physical or intellectual evolution than
has been possible to man in the past, but the remark¬
able fact is now demonstrable that man is becoming,
as Mr. Kidd has proved, more and more religious.'’
You may take leave to doubt this and assert that the
contrary is the case ; that men who formerly attended
church service with the utmost regularity have
ceased to do so, and nowadays play golf instead.
No doubt this has occurred in many instances.
But that does not alter the fact that what was
known as pure materialism is dead ; that scientific
men have departed from what was considered a purely
logical standpoint and are enquiring into the secret and
power of ethical and spiritual agencies. Professor
Urwick, in his book “ A Philosophy of Social Progress,”
which is a searching plea for idealism in collective
action, referring to the mystical side of human life,
insists upon it as a reality, which men of science or
practical men will ignore at their peril. Moreover, the
general mass of the people of all classes act more and
more from day to day, consciously or unconsciously,
under religious influences, and every man in his heart
of hearts knows that he has a duty to humanity. It
ought again to be acknowledged that Mr. Kidd has
been the first to demonstrate that man is still in
process of evolution, not in the acquisition of greater
physical or mental power, but in the attainment
of a higher ethical or spiritual nature. The present
evolution of man is spiritual, and in this direction
only lies the path of further advance for the human
species.

150 The Lesson of History

“ For I dipt into the future, far as human eye could see.

Saw the Vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be ;

‘ Till the war-drum throbb’d no longer, and the battle flags
were furl’d

In the Parliament of man, the Federation of the world.

‘ There the common sense of most shall hold a fretful realm
in awe.

And the kindly earth shall slumber, lapt in universal law.

‘ Yet I doubt not thro’ the ages one increasing purpose runs.
And the thoughts of men are widen’d with the process of
the suns.” (“ Locksley Hall.”)

Chapter VIII

The Spiritual Evolution of Society

“ But heard are the voices, Here eyes do regard you
Heard are the sages, In eternity’s stillness ;

The worlds, and the ages ; Here is all fulness,

‘ Choose well, your choice is Ye brave, to reward you ;

Brief and yet endless ; Work and despair not.’ ” ^

IT may be asked why we have been made to wade
through pages of discussion as to the truth of
Darwinism, Malthusianism, Natural Selection, Heredity
and Environment in order to arrive at the beneficent
influence of Christian ethics and their practical appli¬
cation in the conduct of human affairs. These
subjects are no doubt interesting in themselves, but
what have they to do with such matters as spiritual
evolution in the ideal state ? It has been demon¬
strated already that humanity has cried for long to be
removed from the “ dead hand ’’ of heredity on account
of its blighting influence upon the minds of men which
has obstructed any movement in the direction of im¬
proving the environment. This sufficiently explains
why we discussed these subjects : but why Darwinism,
Malthusianism, and Natural Selection ? For the reason
that if these theories are true, it is quite useless for man
to attempt to attain social betterment or a higher
spiritual evolution. If the ‘‘ survival of the fittest ”
were the fundamental law, and “ vice and misery ” the
only bulwarks against the extinction of the race, then,

^ Carlyle’s translation of Goethe’s hymn, “ Mason’s Lodge.”

151

152 Spiritual Evolution of Society

indeed, the world is a vain show, the teaching of the
New Testament a sham and a delusion, and poor
humanity need only “ eat, drink, and be merry, for
to-morrow it dies.” The law of righteousness makes
no appeal to those doomed to die without hope, and
self-denial can have no power among men who only
survive by means of a selfish struggle, resulting in the
destruction of other members of their own species who
are less well-equipped for the conflict.

It must be clear that we had excellent reasons for the
discussion of these subjects. The demonstration of the
falsity of these doctrines became a necessity if we were
to believe in the possibility of the continued progress
and betterment of mankind, and of the truth and
permanence of Christian ethics, and the gradual up¬
lifting of humanity to a higher spiritual evolution and
a realisation of the immanence of the Divine in all
peoples, and nations, and tongues.

Under the sway of the Darwinian hypothesis all
educated men were very easily induced to accept as the
creed of science the law upon which they had moulded
their lives : that life was a struggle with one’s neighbour,
and that in the end the fittest must survive. This was
called “ Natural Selection.” Having been established
by experience in the past and found true in the present
among all sorts and conditions of men, animals, and
plants, it became an immutable law of nature, and even
among the orthodox it acquired the authority of the
law of God, by which He regulated the conditions of
existence of all living matter. The moral which man
drew was that only he who had the greater power of
struggle could attain to the acquisition of the means of
subsistence and survive ; and with smug complacency
he proceeded with the approval of science to acquire all
the wealth and property he could lay his hands on.
The animals, we are told, act in this way ; we hear

Spiritual Evolution of Society i 5 3

of nothing but “ nature, red in tooth and claw,’' as if
the world were a vast charnel-house. Doubtless some
species do prey more or less on others, but no further
than is necessary to maintain the balance of nature.
We have proved that the “ survival of the fittest ” is
only a catchword, and that any evolution as a result of
such law has never been demonstrated and never will,
as all species refuse to perpetuate their ‘‘ sports,” and
by the removal of all variations through the influence
of marriage, in a few generations return to the
average.

Darwin called Malthus to his aid and accepted his
law of population ; he believed with him that only by
means of war, pestilence, famine, vice, and misery could
the human race be kept within due bounds, that is,
within the limits required by the means of subsistence.
It is surely one of the strangest of facts in regard to
the domination of the human mind by a hypothesis of
this kind, that the educated men of his generation
accepted all Darwin’s statements as immutably true at
the very time they were demonstrating their disbelief
by acting in such a way as to prove their adherence to
the very opposite. They introduced measures into
Parliament to lessen or remove the miseries of men ;
they built hospitals and asylums to cure disease and
keep the wretched and feeble alive ; they prevented
famine by the abolition of the Corn Laws ; they regu¬
lated sanitation and removed slums and filth of all
kinds ; they took preventive measures against infective
diseases, so that now preventive medicine is one of the
most potent forces in increasing the happiness of man¬
kind ; they have built the Great Palace of Peace at the
Hague, and are pushing forward all means to secure
arbitration and prevent war. How long will it be before
men come to see that in “ turning their swords into
ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks,”

154 Spiritual Evolution of Society

they are proving their disbelief in the hypothesis of
Darwin and Malthus, and by their thoughts and actions
have declared their entire rejection of the basis on
which these theories were founded ? We do not think
we have had a better instance of the limitation of the
human intellect than in this particular history of an
exploded theory ; “ man, proud man/’ asserts from
generation to generation his particular theory of the
working of the Universe, only to find it wanting when
weighed in the balances. In the latter half of the
nineteenth century all men of scientific attainment
were of necessity materialists, and woe betide the
reputation of any who did not conform. To-day, how
different ! No doubt there will be many reactions
towards it, but there is every indication that we are at
the parting of the ways ; we see ahead “ the fair be¬
ginning of a time,” the beliefs and theories of which
shall be founded on the impregnable rock of Truth, all
the more firm and sure that man has come to doubt the
absolute greatness and finality of his own very im¬
perfect intellect.

Nietzsche may be said to be the great philosophic
protagonist of the Darwinian standpoint. He regrets
bitterly the changed condition of things — the world no
longer ruled by the “ Uebermenschen,” the supermen,
who had gained their ascendancy by pure force and
fitness and are fast losing their predominance. This
drives him to despair ; he rails against the relinquish¬
ment of power by the ruling caste, who have been
seduced by the beliefs and sentiments of our civilisa¬
tion into conceding their domination to a democracy
of whom they are the natural superiors. That is to say,
he looks upon Christianity as the absolute negation of
natural law, and therefore the most malign influence
among men, which can only result in the destruction of
the human race by a process of degeneration which

spiritual Evolution of Society 155

must progressively increase. Benjamin Kidd, in a
most illuminating chapter in his book “ Western
Civilisation,” points out that Nietzsche’s philosophy is
founded entirely on what he calls “ the ascendancy of
the present in the economic process,” and in this re¬
spect the two phases of modern thought, represented
by Marx on the one hand and Nietzsche on the other,
appear as complementary. The principles of Marx
represent, as it were, only the extreme socialistic ex¬
pression of the views of which Nietzsche may be said to
represent the extreme individualistic interpretation.
For in each case the principle which is held before us
is the same, viz. the ascendancy of the present in the
social process in history. In modern Germany Nietz¬
sche, equally with the Sozial Demokrat and Arsene
Dumont, anticipates the day when Vkypothese Dieu ”
shall be expelled from human affairs. The great Euro¬
pean narcotic of Christianity ” is associated with the
existing order of things. Only too true, asserts
Nietzsche in effect. It has enabled the serf population
in our midst to invent a slave ” morality, to enlist
sympathy to obtain votes, to slowly gain predominance
over their destined superiors. What is this ideal of
sympathy and brotherly love ? Mere contemptible
consideration for the inferior ; mere lack of self-con¬
sideration in the natural superior. What is democ¬
racy ? A declining type of the state in which the
natural superior is enslaved with sympathies so that he
may be kept out of his own. “ The best things belong
to me and mine, and if men give us nothing, then we
take them — the best food, the purest sky, the strongest
thoughts, the fairest women.” A new table, O my
brethren, I put before you: become hard.”

All these ideas proceed from the materialistic con¬
ception of history — the ascendancy of the present in
the ruling process. Mr. Kidd’s argument in regard to

156 spiritual Evolution of Society

the principles of Marx being merely the socialistic
expression of the same views of which Nietzsche repre¬
sents the extreme individualistic interpretation is un¬
doubtedly sound. Both Marx and Nietzsche founded
their philosophy on pure materialism, which has been
proved to be a false concept and of necessity doomed
to destruction, as all such have been in the past history
of mankind ; they are both unaware of any ethical
evolution in the upward path of man, and of the need
of such if there is to be any permanence in human
affairs. In other words, as long as governments, or
states, or parties proceed on purely selfish lines, they
become hopeless as permanent forces and must finally
disappear. Militarism, feudalism, capitalism have all
suffered on this account, and disaster awaits the
socialist party if they do not take warning and see to
it that in the rapid advance which they are making they
leave the path indicated by Marx, and think not only
of the ascendancy of their own caste, but of the perma¬
nent good of all mankind. To take an instance : in
the coal strike of 1912 there was no thought given to
the millions below the poverty line who were forced to
suffer far more than the miners themselves — poor
people in sweated industries, who had no reserves and
no trade union funds to fall back upon, were thrown
out of work, without a penny to buy coal to warm them
or food to feed them. The strike was unjustifiable, as
they could not take action without causing much
misery, and should have been delayed until they made
provision for the poorer and less able body of workers
who were compelled to suffer so terribly. Until the
present methods are remedied, the strikers will never
receive the sympathy of the people as a whole. And,
moreover, the strike will always collapse without the
attainment of all the demands of the strikers, just as it
did in this case. Their actions must be as just as are

Spiritual Evolution of Society 157

the demands they make of their employers. We are not
condemning the action of the miners in demanding a
minimum wage for all workers in their own trade ;
it was a noble deed on the part of many who had to live
on union funds and give up good wages for the time
being ; but if they had shown that all-round fore¬
thought and ‘‘ sweet reasonableness ” in regard to those
still lower among the wage-earners who were forced to
suffer in a way none of their own class did, the moral
force of their action would have been augmented a
thousandfold. This supplies a powerful illustration of
the ethical influence which is operating in society, and
it is only when we give it full play and yield to its
influence that we can help to bring about the better¬
ment and increase the happiness of mankind. As long
as men are blinded by philosophies of the materialistic
school, such as Nietzsche, Marx, and Arsene Dumont,
or are tempted to join in the cry demanding the expul¬
sion of “ rhypothese Dieu ” from human affairs, there
can be no advance whatever. The phrase “ the great
European narcotic of Christianity ’’ is an absolutely
false cry ; history has proved that by its influence alone
man has been aroused, trade and commerce stimu¬
lated, the culture of the ages brought within the reach
of all, mechanical invention advanced and encouraged,
society generally ameliorated and put upon a perma¬
nent basis, with advance all along the line. It has
brought about the ethical evolution which is saving
mankind, and will yet raise him to heights and possi¬
bilities hitherto undreamt of. But for its advent
civilisation would have followed civilisation in a dreary
round, with no advance, no hope. La misere ” would
have been the one certainty, and the only hope for
man the friendly comet ” of Huxley to blast the
scheme of things entire into nothingness.

Fortunately we can await the future with confidence,

158 Spiritual Evolution of Society

for the reason that it has been proved as clearly as any¬
thing can be that all things are ruled by the Eternal,
who maketh for righteousness, and that He has or¬
dained for man not only a physical and an intellectual,
but a spiritual evolution. The latter has been an
operating force since the advent of Christianity, which
has influenced men so that history has taken new shape
and departed from the evanescent military state to
one founded on the sweet reasonableness of Jesus,
establishing equality of opportunity for all, with
gradually increasing social betterment and the security
of permanence.

One word more must be said in regard to Labour.”
The subject has been treated in no party spirit. I
think it may be said without fear of contradiction that
every subject considered in this volume has been dealt
with from the strictly scientific standpoint, the only
object sought after being to ascertain from observed
phenomena what is the path which man must follow
and to forecast as nearly as is humanly possible his final
goal. It may be supposed that because we observed
that the present labour movement dealt hardly with
those confined within its own sphere who were least
able to take care of themselves, that the attitude taken
up was hostile to this new power. By no means is this
so, because no one can or has any right to deny the vast
amount of good it has accomplished in the past. At
present it is undoubtedly imperfect, and that for two
reasons ; firstly, it is not thoroughly organised so as to
serve the interests of all the workers of all grades down
to the victims of sweated industries ; secondly, its
organisers have not fully realised the fact of the
spiritual evolution in process in society and the neces¬
sity in all its methods of that spirit of altruism which
has come to us through the teaching of Jesus, towards
all men, if its power is to progressively increase and be

Spiritual Evolution of Society 159

of permanent value. It seems as certain as that to¬
morrow’s sun shall rise, that this will be accomplished,
and when it does act in harmony with the will of the
Eternal, its progress and power of amelioration of
society will be apparent.

Society as a whole is only now realising the power of
“ Labour,” and Labour itself has only now awakened
to its own commanding position. In the present state
of things it could not be expected that it would act in
any other way than it has done. But the more power¬
ful section in the party must give up the purely
materialistic attitude and extend their horizon not only
to every section of the workers, but to the interests of
the unborn generations which are to follow. The
evolutionary process is a slow one, and the ethical part
of it must of necessity be the slowest of all when we
consider that it has opposed to it the primeval instinct
of self-preservation. But what is possible for the indi¬
vidual is possible for the race, and as certainly as men
have given up their worldly possessions for their fellows,
so surely will the race as a whole devote its thought and
energies to the improvement of the lot of the genera¬
tions who are to succeed.

One word more must be said in regard to Nietzsche’s
philosophy. It is often argued that Nietzsche is right,
and that England is in the process of decay through
failure to maintain the supremacy of the ‘‘ Uebermen-
schen,” of the principle that might is right. Few go so
far as to appraise his negation of “ rhypothese Dieu,’*
or his gospel of ” Become hard,” or that logical outcome
of the Darwinian principle — “ The weaker go to the
wall, and we shall help them to ” ; but we are all con¬
scious that day by day such an attitude becomes more
and more of an impossibility. It is only the cynic,
whose God is Mammon, or the so-called scientist, who,
forsooth, refuses to recognise the mystical side of man’s

i6o Spiritual Evolution of Society

nature, to whom the ideal is a myth, and whose mind
remains unpermeated by the teaching of history in
regard to the advent of a spiritual evolution among
men, who are still willing to be fed on the husks of such
dead philosophies. Contrast for the moment this atti¬
tude with one of the sayings of the Master : “ It is not
the will of your Father that one of these little ones
should perish.'' Try the effect of this contrast upon
men and women brought up under Christian influences,
and mark ! all, without exception, members of the
strongest and most forward races at the present day
shout the Nietzscheian doctrine — “ the weaker go to
the wall, and we shall help them to," and listen to the
howls of execration : whisper the other, revealing the
love of the Father for “ these little ones," and behold
the tears rise in the heart and gather to the eyes of the
fathers and mothers of the generation to be ; and why ?
Because in their inner consciousness they realise in¬
tuitively they have listened to a truth transcendent
in its appeal, not only to their paternal and maternal
instincts, but full of that love which is a law of the
Eternal, and which is moulding all the generations of
men wherever the influence of the teachings of Jesus
has reached directly or indirectly. It is the power and
universality of this appeal which gives us proof of the
fact that in man there is the germ, awaiting the
fertilising power of Christian altruism to awaken it to
full vital vigour and activity ; and demonstrates to us
the method designed by the Eternal for the accom¬
plishment of the higher spiritual evolution of humanity.
It is proof also of the immanence of the Divine, re¬
quiring only “ the light which has enlightened the dark¬
ness of the world " to enable it to shine forth with ever-
increasing lustre until its radiance illuminates all
within its orbit. It would be well if the mechanistic
philosophers — those who still remain — would direct

Spiritual Evolution of Society i6i

their attention to this matter. They may rest assured
that from the point of view of science it is an absolute
necessity they should do so, otherwise they are open to
attack, in that science to them is not a study of the
observed phenomena of all nature, but only of that
limited field in which are the things they can see, and
taste, and feel, and smell. They refuse to recognise the
most potent force in the world’s history in moulding
man’s thought and accomplishing his further evolution ;
in other words, we are justified in believing them to be
partisans, a designation which ought to be unknown in
the field of science and unworthy of men who profess to
be our guides in regard to the observed phenomena of
nature.

In a criticism of the “ Church Missionary Review ”
(May, 1912) of Bishop D’Arcy’s “ Christian Ethics and
Modern Thought,” we get some illuminating ideas on
this matter. The editor quotes from an article by
Mr. Winston Churchill, the American man of letters,
communicated to the “ Atlantic Monthly,” entitled
“ Modern Government and Christianity,” in which he
says : “ What I claim is that Christianity is both social
and individualistic ; that it is a sublime blending of two
anomalistic and antagonistic principles. What shall
Nietzsche’s superman do with his power ? If he be
really a superman he will use it for the benefit of
humanity, because that spirit of God, of Christ within
his soul, will prevent him using it otherwise, whether
he will or no.” The editor of the “ Churchman,” in
criticising this article, had understood Mr. Churchill to
assert that Christianity is individualistic and not social.
Mr. Churchill replies : “ Christianity is individualism,
yet individualism that freely enters into sacrifices for
the common good. Just as it is the essence of Chris¬
tianity that the submission of our wills to God must be
a free admission (for only thus paradoxically do we

L

1 62 Spiritual Evolution of Society

develop our own strength of personality), so also is it
the essence of Christianity that the submission of
ourselves to mankind must be free, and not servile,
compelled. Submission to the Will of God is, in fact,
submission to the service of man.’’ This is very able
writing, but with all deference I submit that it shows
a certain amount of confusion of thought, and the
reason is that the writer is imbued with the ideas which
govern that portion of society at the present day which
may be said to have “ great possessions ’’ — the middle
and the aristocratic classes. They desire to see the
amelioration of the lower orders, but at the same time
they will not lose hold of their property. They desire
to do good to humanity as a whole, but on the lines of
the conditions which have hitherto prevailed in the
past, which means the ascendancy of the present in the
conduct of affairs. As long as man retains his indi¬
vidualistic strivings and acquisition of great possessions
it is quite impossible for him to “ submit himself to the
Will of God, which means submission to the service of
man.” The Founder of the Christian religion was able
to say : '‘I have overcome the world.” But how was
this done ? By absolute self-sacrifice, by the sub¬
mersion of His personal individualism in regard to
acquiring wealth, property, or possessions of any kind,
and by the greatest of all sacrifices — that of His own
life — in order that in far-off days the world might come
to realise that love of one’s neighbour was the true
service of God, was the ultimate goal of the law of
righteousness proceeding from the Eternal. Mr.
Churchill’s statement is only one of many transition
phases in the evolution which is proceeding towards
the “ final goal,” and which will only be reached when
all men come to view possessions ” with the contempt
necessary on the part of all who “ have overcome the
world,” and have realised the truth of the words of the

Spiritual Evolution of Society 163

Master : “ What shall it profit a man if he gain the
whole world and lose his own soul ? ”

If it were not for the traditions and influences of the
past we would soon realise the truth of this. We all
know it to be true, but we cannot act upon it. The
animal within us, the original sin ’’ of the theologians,
chains us to earthly things. How difficult it seems for
mankind to understand the truth of the most profound
of the teachings of the New Testament : ‘'The things
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are
unseen are eternal.'’ The master poet of all time had
an inkling of this great conception ; at least he realised
the futility of all earthly things when he wrote :

“ The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces.

The solemn temples, the great globe itself.

Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve.

And like this unsubstantial pageant faded.

Leave not a wrack behind.”

One other passage proves his knowledge of the thought
that the things which are unseen are eternal :

“ There’s not a single orb which thou beholdest
But, in his motion, like an angel sings.

Still quiring to the young-eyed cherubim.

Such music is in immortal souls,

But that the muddy vesture of decay
Doth rudely close it in we may not hear it.”

Does not this convey to us that the greatest intellect
of this world recognised the God in man — the im¬
manence of the Divine — that eternal element which is
unseen, too much concealed hitherto by the covering
of the flesh, the “ carnal mesh " of Browning, “ the
muddy vesture of decay,” and which only awaits the
discarding of the “ cloak of self ” to manifest itself
and, in the beautiful words of Scripture, allow “ the
spirit to return unto God who gave it,” when it becomes
capable of enjoying the music of immortal souls?

164 Spiritual Evolution of Society

‘‘ Man, proud man,” acquires great possessions :
they become his idol ; he lives for them ; his only
satisfaction is in acquiring more and more, yet he
knows full well in a few short years he must leave them
all behind.

“ Earth goeth upon earth glistening like gold ;

Earth goeth unto earth sooner than it wold ;

Earth buildeth upon earth castles and towers ;

Earth sayeth unto earth, ‘ All shall be ours.’

He does not even know if those who succeed shall use
them wisely or benefit by them ; he is often haunted by
a fear that the inheritance may prove their destruction.
How often do the sons of rich men show an utter in¬
capacity to use these possessions even for their own
benefit or comfort. As Scripture bluntly puts it, they
are “ sweet in the mouth, but bitter in the belly ” ;
they are left as a blessing, but prove a curse. It is no
rare thing to see a family of young men end in disaster
in their youthful prime for the reason that an in¬
dustrious and loving parent had left behind posses¬
sions to which the sons had a thousand times better
never have succeeded. These young men might have
seen a green and happy old age if only they had been
compelled to earn their bread by the sweat of their
brow. How long will it be ere men come to see the
truth, and learn that in mere wealth and aggrandise¬
ment is no satisfaction, that very often it proves but
bitter fruit, leading to ill-health, the unquiet mind, and
premature death ? And yet, whenever measures are
devised which tax the riches of the haves ” in order
to lighten the burden of the have-nots ” and increase
the happiness of their hard lot, the cry is ever — “ Con¬
fiscation ! ” But does this confiscation not, like mercy,
bless both him that gives and him that takes ? Are we

^ Inscription on an old tombstone in the churchyard of Melrose
Abbey.

spiritual Evolution of Society 165

not coming to see that men will only be happy when
they all can have the necessaries of life without excess
of labour, but only as the reward of some labour ex¬
pended in the service of society, with sufficient leisure
to be devoted to the highest physical, intellectual, and
spiritual development of each unit therein. The cry is
always that individualism cannot be suppressed, that
man must have a motive for exertion, and that his only
motive is gain. No doubt that has been the rule
hitherto on the average, but there have been many
instances fortunately in which “ the only way ” has
been the “ path of honour ” and has proved the “ path
of glory,’’ and has involved the renunciation of all that
the world holds dear — wealth, possession, and even life
itself. The only way for heroes like W. T. Stead,
Colonel Astor, Isidore Straus and his wife, Captain
Smith, and many others who, “ humble and nameless,
the straight hard pathway trod,” in the recent terrible
disaster, was to help the helpless, and, when no more
could be done, give up their lives that others might live.
Their worldly possessions have gone to others ; they
have parted with the seen and temporal, but theirs is
deathless fame and everlasting glory ; theirs is the
unseen and the eternal.

Canon Horsley, writing lately about the “ Factors of
Happiness,” gives the result of his experience in regard
to the acquisition of wealth : “I have known people
in all ranks of society come into money by legacies and
cannot recall an instance of their being morally or
spiritually improved — usually the contrary.” This is
valuable evidence, and accords with the experience of
all accurate and unprejudiced observers. Mr. Arthur
Machen also has written recently a series of articles on
the “ Secret of Happiness,” and in the first of these the
following sentence occurs : “ Men can only be happy
and enjoy a state of well-being through the exercise

1 66 Spiritual Evolution of Society

of that faculty which is peculiar to man ; that is, the
faculty of imagination.’’ There is no doubt an element
of truth in this somewhat categorical statement. No
doubt it is true of the man of many possessions who has
not solved the secret of happiness by the aid of ac¬
cumulated riches, but it cannot be said to be so in
dealing with the case of the poor man who from the
cradle to the grave is forced to live, as are one-third of
our population, below the poverty line. The right use
and ordering of the imagination cannot bring true
happiness and joy and peace when he has ever before
him the spectre of ill-health, of starvation for his wife
and family. Is it not the very travesty of consolation
to talk to such a man of the right use and ordering of
the imagination ? No doubt the exercise of this faculty
universally will be of the greatest benefit to humanity
when once society has been reorganised, so that there
is sufficient for all men’s wants and no one need suffer
the horrors of anxiety with regard to those they love
when illness cuts off the means of subsistence.

When such matters are discussed we constantly hear
the reiteration of the phrase : “As long as human
nature is what it is, the thing is impossible.” But
human nature has altered and is altering ; the outlook
has widened ; men have got away from “ self ” to a
very large extent ; the process is one of evolution, and
is therefore slow. To be lasting it must be so, and, as
pointed out already, it could not have originated nor
continued without a fundamental change in the nature
of man. This came with the advent of Christian
altruism ; it grew at first very slowly and imper¬
ceptibly, but latterly with greater and greater force,
until now it may be said to be the main factor in human
affairs, affecting as it does the relation between man
and man, master and employe, capital and labour, all
legislation for the betterment of humanity and

Spiritual Evolution of Society 167

amelioration of society generally, and even inter¬
national relations, and decisions as to peace and war.
It must be admitted that there remains much room in
human nature for the exercise of self-sacrifice and the
submersion of the old instinct of acquisitiveness, the
domination of the law of righteousness, and sweet
reasonableness, but we are consoled by the fact that
the spiritual evolution is in process, and can see no
reason why all the influences of the desire for happiness
for oneself and others, combined with the ideals of the
highest development for each and every unit of society,
should not augment the force of this ethical develop¬
ment, so that before many generations have passed we
may behold the ideal man in the ideal world.

Mr. H. G. Wells has been writing lately on Labour
Unrest.” He says some wise things conjoined with
some unwise ones ; we fear he lacks profound insight
into the lesson of history and into the fact that the
“ unrest ” and demands of labour are due entirely to an
advance in the process of ethical evolution, and repre¬
sent a phase which was bound to take place if further
development were to be a possibility. “ We are caught
short of scientific men,” he writes, “ just as in the event
of war with Germany we shall almost certainly be
caught short of scientific soldiers and sailors. You
cannot make that sort of thing to order in a crisis.”
Before proceeding further with this extract one must
point out here the limitation of mental vision, evidenced
sometimes in the minds of men of even considerable
brain power. One is inclined to call this literary small
talk, but admitting that Mr. Wells believes what he
writes, does it not show that he has not yet really studied
the matter ? He wants scientific men, but he refrains
himself from dealing with this important subject from
the scientific standpoint. The lesson of history is that
our navy has always known its work, that it has never

i68 Spiritual Evolution of Society

failed to defend our shores and maintain our supremacy,
that it is the one service in the State whose motto is
“ efficiency,’’ that British lads make the finest type
of sailor the world can produce, that their target
practice with big guns is as nearly perfect as can be
looked for, that all other countries stand in awe of our
sea power, that the country demands of all Govern¬
ments efficiency in this service, and therefore the
attempt to raise a panic of fear among our people is
unwarrantable and wrong. We ought never to cease
to be proud of our ships and sailors, and show our
appreciation as long as they may be necessary, and we
ought to be thankful that we have one department of
the State which remains efficient, and which will tend to
grow more so as time goes on. We have dealt with this
passage not because it bears on the theme of this
chapter, but simply to point out that all processes of
thought which are not guided by accuracy of observed
phenomena are sure to lead one away from the truth ;
and thus it is that Mr. Wells’s further remarks on this
subject of Labour Unrest ” are in the same manner
devoid of potency or guidance in this present-day
difficulty in our social organisation. He goes on :

Scientific education, and more particularly the
scientific education of our owning and responsible
classes, has been crippled by the bitter jealousy of the
classical teachers who dominate our Universities, by
the fear and hatred of the Established Church, which
so very largely controls our upper-class schools, and by
the entire lack of understanding and support on the
part of those able barristers and financiers who rule our
political life. Science has been left more and more to
men of modest origin and narrow outlook, and now we
are beginning to pay in internal dissensions, and
presently we may have to pay in national humiliation
for this almost organised rejection of stimulus and

Spiritual Evolution of Society i6g

power.” Now it is no doubt true that the Universities,
the Established Church, the barristers and financiers
who rule our political life, are all on the side of property
and the maintenance of present-day materialism,
which has caused and is causing “ la miser e,” against
which Labour ” has quite rightly rebelled. He must
know that the present condition of the masses is un¬
paralleled, and that nearly one-third earn less than the
minimum required to keep them in the necessary
amount of comfort. He declares himself a Socialist ;
the designation is strange, since talk of this kind is a
contradiction to such an appellation; he “breathes
the word of promise to the ear, and breaks it to
our hope ! ” The present state is one of “ national
humiliation,” and is much more to be ashamed of than
the fear of foreign conquest. If he is a Socialist, should
he not greet the present unrest with a cheer, and
join in the demand for higher wages and a universal
minimum wage for all workers, so that no household in
the land could be said to be in poverty, for improved
conditions of life all round, and equality of opportunity
universally ? Mr. Wells, we fear, has no appreciation
of the lesson of history, or of the evolutionary process
at present operating in the “ genus homo sapiens.”
Had he understood, he would have realised that the
present unrest is only a phase of the gradual change
which is being accomplished in the organisation of
society and must result in “ equality of opportunity ” of
happiness for every member of the State. He con¬
tinues : “ It is to the independent people of some
leisure and resource in the community that one has at
last to appeal for such large efforts and understanding
as our present situation demands.” This is indeed a
lame conclusion ; people of leisure under present-day
conditions are of necessity people of great possessions,
whose interests are entirely those of the present time

170 spiritual Evolution of Society

and are concerned solely with the maintenance of
present-day conditions. They are entirely opposed to
any drastic changes, and do not desire, even if they
understood, any ethical evolution which is destined to
remodel before long the face of society and the con¬
ditions of human existence. Mr. Wells shows a want
of knowledge or study of the scientific phenomena
existing in history and of the evolutionary process so
clearly delineated in the development of human affairs.

Mr. Machen follows Mr. Wells in attempts to diagnose
the cause of the disorder and point the remedy. But
although it may be admitted that he comes a little
nearer the truth, there is still observable the same lack
of the scientific study of observed phenomena and a
want of appreciation of the teaching of history. Let
us listen to him for a moment. By all means let us
put an end to vile conditions and slave conditions in
our labour market. . . . What is the great remedy ?
. . . The cure for our malady is contained in the words :
* Seek ye first the kingdom of Heaven, and all these
things shall be added unto you.' There is the beginning
and the end of the whole matter ; and the medicine
must be taken by rich and poor alike if any good is to
be done. What is wanted is not the extra bit of com¬
fort there, the extra bit of luxury there, but a radical
change in the interior man. . . . The search for the
kingdom of Heaven no doubt sounds vague and un¬
satisfying to people who are in search of the minimum
wage, but, as I say, there is no help for it, there is no
other way ; simply because happiness is a state of the
soul or spirit, and not of the body ; and spiritual
maladies cannot be cured by material means. Man can
only be happy and enjoy a state of well-being through
the exercise of that faculty which is peculiar to man,
that is, the faculty of the imagination. This is the true
stone of the philosophers, transmuting all it touches to

spiritual Evolution of Society 1 7 1

fine and pure and glittering gold. Having this, a man
will be in the state of bliss in the midst of all manner of
external and bodily miseries ; without it he will be an
unhappy wretch, though he possess a wilderness of
motor-cars, a covey of aeroplanes, and a house in Park
Lane. The body of man can never be well off unless his
spirit is engaged in the contemplation of the mysteries
and the beauties of the Universe ; unless he knows
something of the Bread of Heaven and the wine of
angels, his cottage loaf will be as ashes in his mouth,
and his beer will be a sour drench. . . . Man, by his
very constitution, is not made to do mechanical work ;
and the doing of it makes him wretched ; and for the
evil I can see no cure.

“ Secondly, in the sixteenth century England under¬
went a process which is called the Reformation — in
my opinion the most frightful disaster that ever over¬
took the race of man. Frightful because its whole work
and tendency were to deny the mysteries, to take the
logical understanding out of its place and set it on the
throne of the imaginative faculty, to deprive the spirit
of the Bread of Heaven and the wine of angels, which
are the true meat and drink of us, without which we
perish.” We do not apologise for this lengthy quotation,
because Mr. Machen here and there does show some
glimmering of the truth, the points are well put, and the
diction is of a high order ; but the perversion of ideas on
the part of this man of strong literary faculty, through
the unscientific study of history and humanity, calls
for examination. As we previously remarked, what is
the good of talking of the faculty of the imagination,
the true stone of the philosophers, to men who are
actually suffering physical and mental pain through
no fault of their own, as the result of a bad social
system ? Is it not absurd to talk in this way to men
who have been brought up in a miserable environment

172 Spiritual Evolution of Society

SO that good health is an impossibility, and who are
suffering mental torture from the dread of unemploy¬
ment or the sight of their loved ones gnawed with
hunger ? Would not imagination in this case add to
the misery ? It cannot be too strongly insisted that
until you create a healthy and comfortable environ¬
ment for the toiling millions, with leisure to devote
to intellectual pursuits, it is hopeless to talk of the
exercise of imagination.

Again, what profit can it be to tell a man whose wife
and family are starving, “ Seek ye first the Kingdom
of Heaven and all these things shall be added unto
you ? If the subject were not so painful, the advice
would be positively laughable ! The first thing to
do is to feed him and those dependent on him, and
see to it that such circumstances cannot occur again ;
then when his mental anguish as well as physical pain
have been relieved, talk to him of the Bread of Heaven
and the wine of angels. But not till then ; otherwise
one can expect and will receive nothing but curses
upon this hypocritical cant. The sympathy he feels
for his brother-man and the determination to stand
together until something like comfort is secured is
a far nobler and grander thing under the circumstances
than the study of the imagination.

In regard to the kind of work Mr. Machen is in error
again. No doubt the ideal work for man is the tillage
of the soil and the reaping of the fruits of the earth.
But mechanical work can be most interesting and
become a real pleasure provided the wages are suffi¬
cient to supply all necessary comforts and the hours of
labour not too prolonged. These are the two cardinal
mistakes in industrial life hitherto ; and they must be
remedied, so that for every man there shall be com¬
fort and leisure. Then only will he come under the
full influence of the spiritual evolution operating in

Spiritual Evolution of Society 173

society, and be willing to sacrifice himself more and
more in the interests of his fellow-men and with the
view of improving the lot of the generations yet to
come.

When Mr. Machen comes to deal with the Reforma¬
tion, which he drags in quite unnecessarily, it becomes
yet more evident that he has never attempted to apply
the scientific process to the study of history. If it were
‘‘ the most frightful disaster that ever overtook the
race of man,” how is it that the only races leading now
in the van of civilisation and the most advanced in the
social amelioration of their peoples are those who were
most affected by the great movement and who threw
off the thraldom of the Church ? Who are the back¬
ward nations of Europe to-day ? Are they not those
who remain under the domination of the priesthood
and maintain their allegiance to the Church of Rome ?
How different is Benjamin Kidd's interpretation of
this great historical movement ! And that he is right
will be acknowledged by all men trained to a scientific
study of the phenomena of history. Mr. Kidd writes

Social Evolution,” p. 189) : “ If we are to regard
our civilisation as a single organic growth, and if, for
the seat of these vital forces that are producing the
movements in progress around us we must look
to the ethical development which has projected itself
through the history of the Western races, it is evident
that it is from the epoch of the Renaissance and the
Reformation that we must, in a strictly scientific
sense, date the modern expansion of society. Erom
the point of view of science, the pre-Reformation and
the post-Reformation movement is an unbroken
unity seen in different stages of growth. But it is in the
period of the post-Reformation development that it
became the destiny of the religious system upon which
our civilization is founded to release into the practical

1 74 Spiritual Evolution of Society

life of the world the characteristic product which
constitutes such a powerful motive influence enlisted
in the cause of progress. The development which took
place at this stage in the life of the social organism
could only take place then. The time for it can never
recur. The subsequent course of social development
must be different amongst the peoples where it was
retarded or suppressed, and amongst those where it
was allowed to follow its natural course. The nature
of this difference caused by the greater development
of the humanitarian feelings and the greater extent
to which the deepening and softening of character
has proceeded amongst the peoples most affected
by the Reformation will be dealt with at a later stage.”
Mr. Kidd continues [ibid., p. 301-2) : The character of
the people had in fact not only been deepened and
strengthened, it had been softened to an extent hitherto
unknown. It is probable that the changes in doctrine
which had principally contributed to produce this
result were those which had tended to bring the in¬
dividual into more intimate contact with the actual life
and example of the Founder of Christianity, and there¬
fore with the essential spirit that underlay our re¬
ligious system and served to distinguish it from all
other systems. As has been frequently pointed out,
the characteristic feature of Latin Christianity was
different. This form has always tended as it still
tends to treat as of the first importance, not the re¬
sulting change in character of the individual but
rather his belief in the authority of the Church, and
of an order of men, and in the supreme efficacy of
sacramental ordinances, which the Church has decreed
itself alone competent to dispense. On the other hand,
the central idea of the Reformation was the necessity
for a spiritual change in the individual, and the
recognition, in virtue thereof of the priesthood in his

Spiritual Evolution of Society 175

own person. As Professor Marshall states : * Man
was, as it were, ushered straight into the presence of
his Creator with no human intermediary ; life became
intense and full of awe, and now, for the first time,
large numbers of rude and uncultured people yearned
toward the mysteries of absolute spiritual freedom.
The isolation of each person’s responsibility from that
of his fellows rightly understood was a necessary con¬
dition for the highest spiritual progress.’ Thus, on
the one hand, individual character tended to be greatly
strengthened by the isolation of individual responsi¬
bility, and on the other, to be deepened and softened
by being brought into close and intimate contact with
those wonderfully moving and impressive altruistic
ideals which we have in the simple story of the life
and acts of the Founder of Christianity.

“ The resulting difference in character, however,
assumes profound importance in the eyes of the
student of our social evolution. The fact must be
kept in view, which has been throughout insisted on,
that it is this softening and deepening of character
with the accompanying release in our social life of an
immense and all-pervading fund of altruistic feeling
which has provided the real motive force behind the
whole onward movement with which our age is identi¬
fied. It may be noticed, consequently, how much
further the development of the altruistic feelings has
progressed in those parts of our civilisation most
affected by the movement of the sixteenth century,
and more particularly among the Anglo-Saxon
peoples.”

He goes on to show that the power-holding classes
are in full, conscious retreat before the in-coming people,
that they have lost faith in their own cause, and either
openly or in their hearts are on the side of the masses :
and “ the only fighting policy of the party is one of

176 Spiritual Evolution of Society

temporising defence. The practical consequence is
of great significance. It is that the development in
which the excluded masses of the people are being
brought into the competition of life on a footing of
equality of opportunity, is proceeding and will ap¬
parently continue to proceed in Great Britain, not by
the violent stages of Revolution, but a gradual and
orderly process of social change. . . . The great pro¬
cess is proceeding as a natural and orderly develop¬
ment — we are adapting the old institutions to the new
wants. This is the real secret of that political genius
which the Anglo-Saxon peoples are now displaying.
When we turn to peoples amongst whom the Latin
form of Christianity prevails, we find that the situation
is not exactly the same. The profound change in
social character has not proceeded so far. The deepen¬
ing of individual character, resulting in a certain
inbred sense of integrity, which has rendered the
sense of wrong intolerable, and the softening process
which has made the Anglo-Saxon peoples so sensitive
to the sights of misery or suffering, have not pro¬
gressed to the same extent. The struggle among the
peoples who have not been so deeply affected by the
humanitarian movement tends to become more a sel¬
fish trial of strength in which each party is determinedly
and bitterly fighting for its own material interests,
and in which the issue swings, according to the relative
strength of the opponents, between successful resistance
on the one hand and successful revolution on the
other.’'

We have given this long extract to prove the fallacy
in Mr. Machen’s statement and also to show the enlight¬
enment which attends the scientific study of history.
Moreover, the passages quoted have a most important
bearing upon the social amelioration of the people and
the altruistic influences at work as a result of the

Spiritual Evolution of Society 177

ethical evolution originated by the Founder of our
religion.

After consideration of these ideas of Messrs. Wells
and Machen, we are forced to conclude that the present
'‘labour unrest must be allowed to work itself out, with
the assurance that the altruistic influences of Chris¬
tianity will raise men by slow steps and sure to a higher
spiritual plane, the chief feature of which will be an
increase in the spirit of self-sacrifice, of the love of
one’s neighbour, and a desire to raise the comfort and
well-being of the race to a higher standard, and thus
secure for succeeding generations a gradual better¬
ment in the conditions of existence. At present it
must be accepted that the only method is combination,
and as long as the workers are asked to work for in¬
sufficient reward, their only resource is to refuse to do
so until their demands are granted. Before long
Parliament will find it necessary by legislation to
enforce a minimum wage in all industries. All who
possess abundant means must accept the fact that
money won’t go so far, as everything will be dearer, -for
the reason that the existence of the workers must be
made tolerable, and no one need ever regret the
extra expenditure when it is realised that “ la miser e ”
is no longer the spectre shadowing our trade and com¬
merce. As a matter of fact the altruism possessing
our minds is urging on with all possible speed the
betterment of these deplorable conditions, and the
demands for reform are acquiring momentum which
ere long will prove irresistible.

Considering the long period during which the workers
have been compelled to toil in conditions of poverty
and misery, it is no wonder that at last, realising the
power they possess, they should use it somewhat
ruthlessly. When men are aching under a sense of
injustice and convinced beyond all doubt of the

M

178 Spiritual Evolution of Society

righteousness of their cause, in the interests of them¬
selves and their children it is only to be expected that
their action would be precipitate. Life is short, and
to men whose aspirations are infinite, action must be
taken and reform accomplished now or never. In the
last great strike, of 1912, no doubt thought should have
been given by the miners to the millions outside of
their own industry who were already in misery and
were only made to suffer in an increased degree. Had
the ‘'sweet reasonableness ’’of Christian ethics operated
with greater potency, the interest of all workers, and
especially of the very poor, would have met with every
consideration, and the trade unions would have seen to
it that help was given all round and that the interests
of the class of workers immediately concerned were
not allowed to injure those of others — equally necessary
to the body politic but not so able to defend them¬
selves. But the evolutionary process has not yet
developed sufficiently to allow of the organisation of
such a plan, and this imperfection in method was the
very reason why the strike failed to accomplish its
full intention. By degrees it became evident that the
mass of the people did not support the strikers on
account of the too great self-assertion of their own
interests to the neglect of greater sufferers outside.
When once Labour is so organised as to act on behalf
of each section without injury to others, when once it
is imbued with that altruism which is slowly pervading
the thoughts of all men, then only will it become the
supreme power in the State, and the greatest factor
in the higher evolution of the race and promoter of the
happiness of men.

Notwithstanding this defect in method, by their
efforts and self-sacrifice in the interest of burdened
members of their own class, the miners secured a
triumph, not only for themselves, but for all workers.

Spiritual Evolution of Society 179

The introduction and passing into law of the principle
of a minimum wage is of overwhelming importance,
and its full effect is not yet realised. It is the first real
assertion by the State of its intention to secure for
every worker in the land a wage sufficient to give him
all necessary comforts, to put an end once and for all
la miserej' which has been forced upon one-third
of the population, in order that a small section of the
community might accumulate unnecessary wealth and
property, or live in excessive luxury which only accom¬
plishes their degeneration and decay. Therefore^' it is
that the name of “ Asquith ’’ shall mark an epoch in
human evolution, and indicate the “ fair beginning of
a time”; for this one deed, if for no other, his name
shall be, “ as long as memory holds her seat,” em¬
blazoned on the page of history and immortalised upon
the scroll of heroes. No doubt it shall be said he was
forced to take this action, and to a certain extent this
is true, but a weaker man would have taken what is
commonly called “ strong ” action and precipitated
a revolution. The Prime Minister preserved the tra¬
dition of the nation’s past, and his own, and restored
order out of chaos, and shed the divine light of hope
over the spirit of the toiling millions. The late laureate
cried in despair :

“ Ah God, for a man with heart, head, hand.

Like some of the simple great ones gone
For ever and ever by.

One still strong man in a blatant land.

Whatever they call him, what care I,

Aristocrat, democrat, autocrat — one
Who can rule and dare not lie.”

But he reckoned without the spiritual evolution of
man, otherwise he would have known that God repeats
Himself in many ways, and that from age to age the
light of heaven is made to descend upon the race of

i8o Spiritual Evolution of Society

men and point the way to peace and joy. All who can
lay aside political prejudice will agree that in the
person of the Chief Minister of the Crown we have such
a man, and will join in this tribute in his honour, and in
gratitude for his help in the amelioration of society,
and aid in securing the opportunity of a higher spiritual
evolution, not only for the toilers of the land but for
the nation as a whole.

As a nation we ought never to forget our great men.
One of the greatest books ever written, we firmly believe,
was Heroes and Hero-Worship,” and we have often
thought if it were read in schools it would do more to
influence the young mind for good, to help it to learn
the real lesson of history, and give it a true love of
the best literature, and set it on the high road to a
wider culture than most of the so-called “ knowledge.”
And Thomas Carlyle was one of the greatest and
best who have been sent into this world to raise
the soul of man. Would that he were more studied
and revered — the enemy of all hypocrisy and cant,
and a true disciple of the Eternal, like one of the
prophets of old, warning men of the Nemesis of sin
and pointing the only way of rest for their souls.
“ We all love great men,” he says, ” love, venerate,
and bow down before great men. Nay ! Can we
honestly bow down to anything else ? And to me it is
very cheering to consider that no general insincerity,
triviality, and aridity of any time and its influences
can destroy this noble inborn loyalty and worship that
is in man. . . . One comfort is that great men, taken
up in any way, are profitable company. We cannot
look, however imperfectly, upon a great man without
gaining something by him. He is the living light
fountain which it is good and pleasant to be near — ^the
light which enlightens, which has enlightened the dark¬
ness of the world ; and this, not as a kindled lamp only,

spiritual Evolution of Society 1 8 1

but as a natural luminary shining by the gift of heaven,
a flowing light fountain, as I say, of native original
insight, of manhood, and heroic nobleness, in whose
radiance all souls must feel that it is well with them.”
Why do we quote this ? To show how necessary it is
that we study the thoughts of the great ones of the
past, for in them we possess the most potent factor in
helping on the spiritual evolution of humanity. A
general rise in intellectual development is necessary to
the spiritual evolution of man. In another notable
passage Carlyle makes this very clear : '' Beautiful it
is, and a gleam from the same eternal pole-star, visible
amid the destinies of men, that all talent, all intellect,
is in the first place moral ; what a world were this
otherwise. But it is the heart always that sees before
the head can see ; let us know that and know therefore
that the good is deathless and victorious, that hope is
sure and steadfast in all phases of this ‘ Place of Hope.’ ”
It is very necessary that the full meaning of this
sublime passage should be realised. Think of it — all
intellect, all talent is in the first place moral, therefore
the good alone is deathless and victorious. It follows
as a necessary consequence that leisure for culture is
necessary to the higher evolution of humanity.
Matthew Arnold, another great man, for whom we
cannot be sufficiently grateful, defined ” Culture ” as
” a knowledge of the best that has been known and said
in the world, and thus with the history of the human
spirit.” How necessary is it, then, that all men — the
children of the toiling millions as well as the sons and
daughters of the rich and privileged — should have
leisure whereby they can acquire this knowledge of the
best things which have been said by the best men, and
expressed in the best way — the radiance emanating from
those “ living light fountains which have enlightened
the darkness of the world . . . natural luminaries

1 82 Spiritual Evolution of Society

shining by the gift of heaven.” And Ruskin can be
called to witness in this regard : “ The Fine Art is that
in which the hand, the head, and the heart of man go
together. . . . Thoroughly perfect Art is that which
proceeds from the heart, which involves all the noble
emotions, associates with these the head, yet as
inferior to the heart ; and the hand as inferior to the
heart and head, and thus brings out the whole man.” ^

These three passages ought never to be forgotten ;
first, Carlyle’s : '' All talent, all intellect is in the first
place moral, therefore the good alone is deathless and
victorious ” ; secondly, Ruskin’s : Thoroughly per¬
fect Art is that which proceeds from the heart ' as the
prime factor,’ associates with these the head and the
hand, yet as inferior to the heart ” ; and thirdly,
Matthew Arnold’s : ” Culture is the knowledge of the
best that has been known and said in the world, and
thus with the history of the human spirit.” These
sayings of three of our greatest and best men do indeed
give us cause for hope and rejoicing. All intellect, all
pure Art is moral, and therefore the attainment of
culture should be made possible to every unit of society,
and when this is accomplished the spiritual evolution
of the race is assured. The culture of the ages, as a
matter of fact, is being brought nearer to every man,
woman, and child from day to day, and is helping with
increasing power the gradual advance of that spiritual
evolution which the advent of Jesus brought within the
compass of the human spirit.

The loyalty and worship of all men to the great ones
” gone for ever and ever by ” is a constant tribute to
the ascendancy and the supremacy of the spiritual in the
nature of man, and of the power it wields in moulding
the advance of the race. ” Man worships what is above

1 From a lecture on the “ Unity of Art,” and incorporated in
his book ” The Two Paths.”

spiritual Evolution of Society 183

him ” — the ideal is ever in the recesses of his mind, as
an essential element of his nature, and by constant
endeavour, unconsciously it may be, he hopes to attain
unto it. And if this ideal is an essential of his nature,
how did it originate unless implanted by the Eternal,
and does it not prove, as far as fair deduction can, the
immanence of the Divine ? We are now able to under¬
stand the appeal which the altruism of Jesus made to
this spark of the Infinite and the Eternal which is in
every man, and by this means stimulated its evolution
to higher and higher flights, until the supremacy of the
law of love and self-sacrifice has become the supreme
fact in the advance of the race. “ Self-abnegation
means self-realisation ’’ is a truth of pregnant force,
and that is why man only realises true happi¬
ness when he subdues self and sacrifices his own
interests to those of others. The hero in olden days
was ennobled by the thought :

“ How can man die better
Than facing fearful odds
For the ashes of his fathers

And the temples of his gods ? ”

This was a great thought and the highest of which
man was capable in the days when materialism was in
the ascendant. But with the advent of Jesus the
ascendancy of the spirit and the higher evolution of the
race became the potent factors. It will not be con¬
sidered inappropriate that we should recall a few of the
sayings and teachings of the Master and His dis¬
ciples after Him, and reflect upon the power they
exercise as from age to age they distil their “ sweet
reasonableness ’’ in the minds of men : “In lowliness
of mind, let each esteem other better than himself.’’
“ Be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving
one another, even as God, for Christ’s sake, hath for¬
given you.” “ Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so

1 84 Spiritual Evolution of Society

fulfil the law of Christ.’' Whosoever of you will be
the chiefest shall be servant of all.” Looking unto
Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who, for
the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand
of God.” “ Beloved, let us love one another ; for love
is of God ; and every one that loveth is born of God,
and knoweth God.” ” Beloved, if God so loved us, we
ought also to love one another.” These things I have
spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In
the world ye shall have tribulation : but be of good
cheer : I have overcome the world.” I lay down My
life for the sheep. No man taketh it from Me, but I
lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down
and I have power to take it again.” Come unto Me,
all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me ;
for I am meek and lowly in heart : and ye shall find
rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My
burden is light.” “ Sell all that thou hast, and give
to the poor.” '' Inasmuch as ye did it unto the least
of these My brethren, ye did it unto Me.” ” He that
saith he abideth in Him, ought so to walk even as He
walked.” ” Blessed are the poor in spirit : for theirs
is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that
mourn : for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the
meek : for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are
they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness :
for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful : for
they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart :
for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers :
for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed
are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake :
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye,
when men shall revile you, and persecute you. . . .
Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad : for great is your

Spiritual Evolution of Society 185

reward in heaven. But I say unto you, love your
enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them
that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully
use you.'' . . . He that is without sin among you,
let him cast the first stone."

Men ever since His time on earth have read and
repeated His sayings and teachings, and studied the
sweet beauty of His life, and aspired to reach the ideal
which He preached, through the practice of self-sacri¬
fice and love of the brethren. Many died, as He did,
for the faith ; they died, as He did, that we might live ;
they pointed the way by the supremest of all sacrifices ;
they stimulated us by a noble example, which influences
our thoughts consciously and unconsciously, and is
bringing about the betterment of mankind through
the operation of the law of Love. Many and great
things require to be done ; the path is steep and the
burden heavy, but the end is assured ; history proves
it, and the spiritual evolution of man is at work
now, not only in the interests of those who bear the
burden and heat of the day at the present time, but in
that of the unborn generations yet to appear. Do we
not all derive joy and satisfaction in the thought that
things are always getting better and conditions
ameliorating for our sons and daughters, and that
the prospect is improving increasingly for the future
of mankind ?

The lesson of history was a necessary study if the
argument was to have power with men, as the aim
of this volume is to demonstrate its truth as being
the only possible conclusion, after giving every
consideration to the observed phenomena of nature ;
and, in so far as we enter into the region of theory, that
this is the only logical sequence of the scientific pro¬
cess of thought founded upon these and the lesson of
history.

1 86 Spiritual Evolution of Society

The lesson of history demonstrated the phenomena
of our Western civilisation to be the improved social
condition of the people as the result of an ethical
evolution, which had progressively extended its in¬
fluence upon mankind ever since the dawn of the
Christian era, and the permeation of men’s minds with
a sense of duty in the direction of securing the welfare
of humanity as a whole. And the progress of this
spiritual evolution has been demonstrated to be a new
thing in the world’s history, and can be shown to be in
abeyance in the non-Christian peoples of to-day. And
there is the further fact that it is only the nations who
have given full play to this ethical principle who can
claim to be first-class powers in the van of civilisation
and world policy, and who are showing that capacity
for endurance and permanence which the ancient,
military, material empires of Greece and Rome were
unable to secure.

And this progressive spiritual evolution is leading us
slowly but surely towards the final goal as far as this
world is concerned — the “ Ideal State,” with which we
shall shortly deal. The cynic and the scoffer no doubt
can be heard railing against interference with

“ The good old rule, the simple plan,

That they should take who have the power,

And they should keep who can.”

The vast majority know that this is the rule by
which we are governed now ; the rights of property are
too secure to allow of any sudden change in method,
but much has been done which could not have been
done if such an evolution were non-existent. As we
have pointed out already, we have abolished slavery,
given free education, regulated the hours of labour in
such occupations as mines and factories, improved
conditions of work, of housing, of pay, established a
system of poor law which ere long will be greatly

spiritual Evolution of Society 187

improved, of preventive medicine, sanitation, town
planning, old age pensions, and state insurance. These
latter measures, of the utmost beneficence, have been
classed together as State Socialism. This term is
intended by those who use them to pour contempt on
this policy. Let us consider for a moment the objec¬
tions raised in opposition to the Old Age Pension Act
when introduced. It proceeded, of course, from the
rich man, not necessarily the immensely rich : by the
rich man we mean the tax-payer. We were told that
the great principle of thrift would be destroyed ; we
were attacking the independence of the poor and
pauperising the working classes, and shattering the
foundation of society by the negation of the sense of
duty of children towards their aged parents, by pre¬
venting the former from manifesting their affection by
maintaining the latter when too feeble to earn their
own livelihood. It is fortunately unnecessary now to
combat such arguments, and one only need be dealt
with to show the fallacy of all. We ask : Is it possible
for a married man with a family of his own, with wages
insufficient for his own wants, and thus himself living
below the poverty line, to maintain his aged parents ?
It is, of course, an utter impossibility; and when
attempted the only result was to increase the sum of
human misery. The fact remains, after scientific
examination of the effect of this measure, that by the
removal of the stigma of pauperism alone, and the
consequent ability of aged couples to remain in their
own dwellings and keep outside the dreaded workhouse,
it can be stated without fear of contradiction that it
has done more to increase the sum of human happiness
than any other legislation of modern times. This act
became law through the operation in men’s minds of
the altruism of Christian ethics ; it may not have been
carried by the votes of members who were adherents of

1 88 Spiritual Evolution of Society

our churches ; many may have professed no religious
belief whatever, but consciously or unconsciously the
influence of the teachings of the New Testament had
permeated their minds. This is a striking demonstra¬
tion of the spiritual evolution at present in process, and
of its method of amelioration of society, and of promo¬
tion of humanity step by step to a higher and noble
standard of being.

Before leaving this subject, it is essential that we
should deal with the mechanist philosophers, repre¬
sented by Haeckel in Germany and Lankester in
England. Matter and energy, according to them,
fulfil the entire requirements of the Universe, and
physics and chemistry explain the working of the
whole machine, and this applies to the organic as
well as the inorganic world. A volume has just ap¬
peared by Mr. Hugh S. R. Elliot, entitled “ Modern
Science and the Illusions of Professor Bergson,'’ and is
prefaced by Sir Ray Lankester. As this book con¬
tains a very categorical and emphatic statement of
the position of this school of thought, it may not be
unprofitable to examine its contents for a little.
Lankester writes : “ As to what, if anything, is out¬
side or behind this mechanism of Nature, as to whence
or how it came about, or whither it is going, as to what
it and what our consciousness of it really are, and why
it is, and why we are here, modern science has no
answer. . . . One may regard the utmost possibilities
of the result of human knowledge as a bracket, and
place outside that bracket the factor a; to represent
those unknown and unknowable possibilities which the
imagination of man is never wearied of suggesting.
The factor is the plaything of the metaphysician. Its
existence is vehemently denied by the strict materialist,
and as vehemently asserted by the founders of theologi¬
cal creeds and so-called metaphysical systems. The

Spiritual Evolution of Society 189

attitude of those who neither deny its existence nor
assert it, and in any case hold that it must never be
mistaken for, or confused with, the contents of the
bracket, was called by Huxley, ‘ Agnosticism/ It
was his own position, and one which is now very
general/’ As far as I have been able to discover, this
is only a partial truth in regard to Huxley. No doubt
he was the protagonist of the Agnostic school, but
the fact remains that he was ultimately forced to
the conclusion of an “ inscrutable power ” behind
the machine. I believe these were his own words ; at
present it is impossible for me to verify this statement ;
however, I am able to give one or two extracts from
the article on “ Huxley ” in the ‘‘ Encyclopaedia
Britannica,” which prove that he did arrive at this
conclusion : He insisted, however, that ' atheism

is, on purely philosophic grounds, untenable.’ ” His
theism never really advanced beyond the recognition
of the passionless impersonality of the unknown and
the unknowable, which Science shows everywhere under¬
lying the thin veil of phenomena ” {“ Life,” i. 239). We
have here clear proof that Huxley was compelled to
give up the purely materialist standpoint : his strong
logical faculty and power of reasoning, combined with
wide knowledge and outlook, demanded the concept of
an eternal, omnipotent Power, who must logically
be the designing and regulating Power, otherwise why
postulate Him at all ? The denial of Him was, on
purely philosophic grounds, untenable,” and even
Science proved in similar fashion unwarrantable, for
everywhere ” there is evidence of an inscrutable
Power underlying the thin veil of phenomena.” The
thin veil is most interesting, and is certainly damaging
to the mechanists, who look to Huxley as the high
priest of their dogma. Truly, out of their own mouths
have they been convicted of error.

1 90 Spiritual Evolution of Society

We are entitled to say that to-day the men of the
highest intellectual gifts demand the Deity as a neces¬
sity of thought. We know this statement will be denied,
and we are well aware that there still exist scientific men
who retain the agnostic position, but it must be ad¬
mitted that great scientific attainment is not neces¬
sarily accompanied with high intellectual capacity or
power of the imaginative faculty, and hence the satis¬
faction with the purely material. Moreover, the ab¬
sorption in dead matter and natural law unfortunately
seems to produce a cast of thought which cannot get
beyond the purely mechanical, and so the higher
faculties of the mind become blind and unappreciative
of the other phenomena around them — of consciousness,
thought, spirit, the search after the “ Ideal,’’ the
beauty of art, poetry, literature, the permanence of
intellect in contrast to the decay of matter. They always
profess to followTruth and cry aloud, “Magna est veritas
et praevalebit,” which is excellent and most desirable,
but not, when only one aspect is presented to us. The
true man of science not only sees the earth beneath
him, but looks around and above and takes cognisance
of every impression which humanity can convey, and
it is from such only that we can accept with reverence
ideas as to men and things, the laws of Nature, the
Cosmos, and the Eternal. The mere statement that
beyond finite knowledge there are “ unknown and
unknowable possibilities ” conveys nothing to us ; it
is arrogant and ought never to be made. He is quite
entitled to suppose the unknowable possibilities, but
as a man of science he has no right to state it posi¬
tively. We are entitled to ask him, why he endeavours
to follow a law of righteousness, why he is unhappy
when he violates it ; how or when did he acquire a
conscience ? Are consciousness, thought, conscience,
the law of righteousness, not as important as gravita-

Spiritual Evolution of Society 191

tion, and the conservation of energy ? These laws of
matter are a necessity of life upon the earth and the
continuity of the machine, but apart from conscious life
they need not be regarded, and for all we know may
be mere transient agencies ; they are the seen and the
temporal ; what of the unseen and the eternal ?
Why does he not penetrate the things of the mind ?
Why is he miserable, we repeat, when he is cruel and
unjust, or greedy and unscrupulous ? Why is he happy
when the cause of happiness in others ? These things
far transcend the laws of dead matter ; considering
the transitory nature of human life and the terrible
misery of a large proportion of mankind, the thoughts
of the best minds are far more important than the
forces of matter. Such things as thought and the
law of righteousness are entities which neither Pro¬
fessor Lankester nor anyone else has any right to
put aside. How did conscience arise ? Why did con¬
science evolve if it came only in later days ? How is
man impelled to self-sacrifice ? Why are men and
women to-day giving their lives to raise the standard
of well-being among the poor and miserable ? These
are not bodily secretions or excretions. They are not
mere brain products — the result of chemical action in
the cerebral nerve cells ; no doubt this is the medium
of their evolution and transformation into speech,
but it is absurd to postulate that conscience and self-
sacrifice are the result of chemical change in the
cerebrum — and nothing more. Such statements are a
travesty of science and only bring it into contempt.
These entities are knowable, and yet beyond sight,
taste, smell, sound, or sensation. They rest upon
consciousness, which implies thought, which implies
intuition ; and intuition implies a something apart
from the body and its purely physical functions, and
we are quite entitled to call it spirit or soul, if we so

1 92 Spiritual Evolution of Society

desire. It is such a process of deduction which causes
one to believe that Bergson is scientifically right and
the mechanists wrong ; again we say : let the
mechanists reject the spiritual side of man’s nature at
their peril.

Is history not science ? If it is, why do not the
mechanists investigate it ? We suppose because it is
not a concrete thing ; it is not a “ gross material fact.”
Surely the history of human thought, imagination, and
culture are worth investigating ; these are higher
things than matter, which, after all, is only the medium
of life : it fulfils no other purpose, and in the scheme
of things is subservient to the spirit of man. Apart
from consciousness, the whole cosmos may return to
chaos for all the purpose it would serve, colossal as it
is ! That being so, why make such a fuss about
matter, when we have such a marvellous force as the
mind to investigate? No; Bergson may be false in
many of his analogies and conclusions, but he is by no
means submerged ; he still holds the field against his
opponents of the mechanist school; and we believe
the majority of intellectual men will be more likely to
decide in favour of “ creative evolution ” rather than
the abstract theory of natural selection,” now at last
discovered to be a broken reed, and devoid of support
from the observed phenomena of nature.

One is surprised to find a man of Professor Lankes-
ter’s position and reputation resuscitating the stale
and well-worn platitude of '' the blind man in the dark
room hunting for a black hat, which isn’t there,” as
a satire on the metaphysician. It is both puerile and
futile ; the author of it may have been a great lawyer,
but we make bold to state that he was not a great
thinker ; no great thinker could ever have given ex¬
pression to such pusillanimous twaddle ; it may be
considered smart, but in scientific matters we do not

Spiritual Evolution of Society 193

heed such expressions ; we are only concerned with
Truth, and this definition is untrue. Fortunately for
humanity there are more things in heaven and earth
than are dreamt of in Sir Ray Lankester’s laboratory ;
we may appropriately quote him against himself and
say he “ becomes a maker of untruth and for those
who listen to him a harmful ‘ Confusions Meister.’ ”
Mr. Elliot begins his argument with Bergson in this
manner : “ Metaphysical systems generally, however
we may admire their wonderful ingenuity and subtlety,
can have no interest for science unless they are founded
on gross material facts which can be examined and
verified.” He believes the universe began with
matter in motion subject to certain laws, but as to
how it began or what force generated the initial
energy he does not know, and apparently does not care.
He might have known, if he had chosen as a man of
science to extend his purview to every possible
phenomenon of nature, and not turn a blind eye to
such phenomena as thought, consciousness, imagina¬
tion, etc. These things are not concrete — they are not
gross material facts, therefore he doesn’t know them.
But we know he does notwithstanding, and we take
no denial. One has only to read his book to see that he
is touched by the beauty and imagination of human
thought and the elevated ideas it originates. He
goes on to inform us that “ the feeling we have of
necessity to explain the Universe arises from the con¬
formation of our brains, which think by associating
disjoined ideas.” What is this but mere metaphysics,
of which he is never done accusing Bergson, who makes
very few, if any, statements more unwarrantable ?
To use Mr. Elliot’s own method of argument with his
opponent, we would ask : ” Did he ever see an * idea,’
or witness its evolution, as the result of chemical action
in the nerve cells of the brain ? ” No ; therefore

N

194 Spiritual Evolution of Society

there is no such process, and yet he asserts that he
founds his mechanistic theory on ideas of what he
would call visible and tangible evidences. And how
little he knows ! To go on with the catechism after
his own fashion : How did the Universe begin ? Has
it existed from all eternity ? If not, how did the laws
begin to operate in matter ? How did motion begin ?
How was the energy generated ? Can he conceive a
Universe such as he knows it, without intelligence
behind it, suddenly acquiring energy ? Can he com¬
prehend eternity of space or time ? Has the Uni¬
verse a limit or not ? Can he conceive it illimitable ?
If limitable, what is beyond ? He can only remain
dumb. He knows nothing ; even the material baffles
him.

It may be permissible now to put a few questions on
a subject of which he believes he possesses complete
knowledge. Why does he accept the Darwinian
theory ? It is an idea : therefore not concrete, there¬
fore unprovable. This, however, is Mr. Elliot’s method
of accounting for the diverse forms of plant and animal
life upon the earth’s surface. He has never seen
“ natural selection ” produce a new species, and yet he
accepts this purely abstract theory — this idea — as
the explanation without any demonstration — without
mechanistic proof. And this natural philosopher at
the same time chooses to refuse to accept the ideas of
the most cultured and elevated minds of the world,
such as Carlyle’s, to whom Huxley stated he owed
everything in the sphere of the intellect ; he refuses
to accept the movements of human thought. We ask :
What are the things which are seen- — the temporal —
compared to those which are not seen — the eternal — to
the best thoughts of the best minds — to the ideals which
mould mankind and alter the face of history ? And
yet Mr. Elliot cannot get along without ideas any more

Spiritual Evolution of Society 195

than Bergson ; the fight between them is only a wordy
warfare, and it cannot be said that the mechanists
carry off the palm. And why ? Because a man of
science must take cognisance of all the phenomena of
Nature, and Mr. Elliot cannot get away from the things
he can see, and taste, and feel ; the law of the auto¬
maton is final. Why does he not extend his range of
vision to those things which move humanity, to the
methods by which men are trying to alter the face of
history and make life better for all nations and peoples
and tongues ?

We can agree that modern science is further advanced
than mediaeval scholasticism, but the fact remains that
it is yet under the dominance of a creed just as much as
any of our modern systems of theology. The present-
day creed of science is the Darwinian theory, and until
recently to doubt it was proof of prejudice and ignor¬
ance, for the action of Natural Selection was as demon¬
strable as the sun at noonday. But there always have
been a few who did not find the evidence irrefutable, and
refused to bow the knee ; among others, as has been
shown, Paulin, who was the first to demonstrate the non¬
necessity of the operation of such a law. And to-day
two acknowledged observers and zoologists of the first
rank, Dewar and Finn, in their book “ The Making of
Species,"' adduce evidence to show the small part, if
any, which natural selection plays in the organic world
of Nature. It is to be hoped that the mechanistic phil¬
osophers will ponder the statements of these thinkers
and observers, and it is possible that even they will
come to doubt that we have got so very far from
mediaeval scholasticism. Doubtless there is extended
vision of many phenomena and of the natural laws
governing them, but we are a long way from finality,
and we have cause for humility when we reflect that
the creed which has held sway for over half a century

196 Spiritual Evolution of Society

is beginning to collapse and to cease to retain the
allegiance of men of science themselves. We can only
hope for less “cocksureness in the future, and we have
every reason to expect it, when we recollect that some
of the most intellectual men of science have declared
their allegiance to a belief in the eternal and the im¬
mortality of the soul. Our mechanists in this instance
appear to be hit with the recoil of their own guns : they
demand that Bergson shall produce “ time,” “ con¬
sciousness,” “ the vital impulse,” and when they have
demonstration of their existence as gross material
facts, they will recognise them as within the domain
of science ; at the same moment they assert their
absolute faith in the Darwinian creed, discredited by
two of the leading biologists of the day, and condemned
by the best minds of our era.

So confident is Mr. Elliot in his mechanistic theory
that he makes the following statement : “ The nebula
which preceded the solar system developed — under the
ordinary laws of matter and motion — ^^to the state in
which we now see it ; in such wise that a physicist,
who was supplied with exact data concerning the
original distribution of matter and energy in the nebula,
and armed with an all-powerful mathematic, could have
deduced the exact condition of the Universe in anv
required subsequent era.” No doubt Mr. Elliot believes
this, as all through the book he supports with all his
energy and powers the mechanist position. Eollowing
his method of argument with Professor Bergson, we
are entitled to believe that the evolution of the
Universe and its method are things of which he
has absolutely no consciousness, except by means
of a metaphysical process such as he scorns in people
who do not think as he does. Moreover, neither
he nor anyone else can account for the origin of
life by physical processes. “ Chemical synthesis has

Spiritual Evolution of Society 197

never succeeded in reconstructing anything but the
waste products of vital activity/' Man has never been
able to produce synthetically the diamond crystal,
although he can make something exactly similar in
chemical composition ; so with Life ; he may combine
carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen in any pro¬
portion he chooses, and expose the compound to radio¬
active or any other rays, and the result points to only
one conclusion — the law of Pasteur — “ omne vivum
ex vivo " — no life without pre-existing life. Therefore
science must account for its origin on the earth if we
are still asked to accept the Darwinian hypothesis, for
the reason that if life cannot be originated by artificial
means, and has never been demonstrated by natural
means, if Pasteur’s law is true, and we know it is, then,
by a purely logical process — by pure reason — we must
postulate an Omnipotent Power, who created Life in
the form of the unicellular protoplasmic unit, endowed
with “ the primitive impulse of life,” and so designed
as to be able to perpetuate its own form, and at the
same time to undergo evolution, resulting in the pro¬
duction of a graduated scale of beings represented by
the multitudinous forms of plant and animal life which
have existed and do exist upon the earth, their struc¬
ture and form varying according to the environment in
which they find themselves. Bergson has done a great
deal to widen our view, and he effectually demolishes
the mechanistic argument, but he will never be believed
until he adopts the logical outcome of his own position
— the argument of design on the part of the Eternal,
Omnipotent Power, and the teleological view of the
Universe, which means an evolutionary plan pointing
to the Final Goal.

“ I smiled to think God’s greatness
Flowed around our incompleteness,

Round our restlessness, His rest.”

198 Spiritual Evolution of Society

This is one of the finest conceptions of the Eternal,
which we owe to that sweet singer Elizabeth Barrett
Browning. Never has more beautiful expression been
given to this sublime thought.

Professor Schafer, in his presidential address at the
British Association meeting of last year, has en¬
deavoured to bridge the chasm between inorganic
matter pure and simple and organic living matter. He
revives the old belief — spontaneous generation — and
presents it in a somewhat new dress, and does so in a
most able and attractive manner. But it cannot be
said that he has brought us any nearer to a solution of
the question of the origin of life. No doubt he has
surprised scientific men generally by taking up a posi¬
tion which can only be described as antagonistic to the
axiom of Pasteur — than whom no greater chemist or
man of science has yet appeared — ‘‘ omne vivum ex
vivo."' In fact, it would appear, according to the new
doctrine, or rather the new statement of an old
doctrine, that multitudinous transmutations have in
all probability been going on — fortuitous combinations
of chemical atoms — with the resultant protoplasm full
of vital impulse. Without any demonstration of such
a process the scientific mind is bound to put these
suggestions aside — however striking and elaborate the
analogies presented for our consideration — as mere
efforts of the imagination. After all, it is only Haeckel
redivivus. No doubt the Monistic theory is a wonder¬
ful conception and deserving every consideration, but
scientific men cannot accept theories which do not
rest on solid fact. It may be asked : “Do you then
positively deny that the chemist in his laboratory
may not some day combine oxygen, hydrogen, carbon,
nitrogen, phosphorus, sodium chloride, calcium salts,
magnesium, potassium, and iron in water, so as to get
resultant living protoplasm ? “ The only answer

Spiritual Evolution of Society 199

possible is that it would be unwise to deny anything
concerning a matter of which men are profoundly
ignorant, but even at the risk of being proved wrong,
one is justified from a study of observed phenomena
in stating that it is most unlikely that any such result
will ever be obtained.

When we reflect that the experiments of Pasteur,
resulting in his famous axiom — “ omne vivum ex vivo ’’
— were those upon which Lord Lister founded the
present system of surgery, resulting in such untold
benefits — in the saving of pain, sorrow, and death — to
the human race, we are not likely to change our attitude
to this established law, proved to the hilt in our ex¬
perience from day to day. The earth at one time may
be said- to have been an aseptic mass just as water is
after sterilisation by boiling, and there being no source
of contamination we are entitled to believe in the
light of Pasteur’s experiments that no primordial
slime,” potential of life, by means of a purely chemical
and physical change, ever appeared. The primordial
slime was the result of bacterial infection. This is the
teaching of science — of observed phenomena as we
know them, and beyond that we are not entitled to
make assumptions which entail a departure from these.

In discussing Dr. Charlton Bastian’s experiments so
long discredited by the Royal Society, Professor
Schafer remarks : “ Nor should we expect the spon¬
taneous generation of living substance of any kind to
occur in a fluid, the organic constituents of which have
been so altered by heat that they can retain no sort of
chemical resemblance to the organic constituents of
living matter. If the formation of hfe — of living sub¬
stance — is possible at the present day — for my own
part, I see no reason to doubt it — a boiled infusion of
organic matter — and still less of inorganic matter — is
the last place in which to look for it.” With all due

200 Spiritual Evolution of Society

respect, we hold that this is burking the whole question.
It only means that experimental demonstration of the
origin of life de novo — of spontaneous generation — is
impossible. But why cannot we boil a watery solution
or compound, containing all the elements and salts
previously mentioned, without so altering them that it
becomes impossible to generate living organisms from
them, if such is one of the processes of nature ? More¬
over, all these elements in watery solution, which, we
are told, in the process of evolution brought life upon
the earth, had been subjected to far greater heat than
that of boiling water, and yet they combined fortuit¬
ously under certain influences, radium, sunlight, or
other unknown medium, or by a purely chemical and
physical transmutation, and formed vital protoplasm,
originating the lowest order of the biological scale of
beings — the Protista, or Protozoa. If the only answer
to this argument is that the process was so slow, and
that long periods of time were required, then of course
it is impossible for the chemist ever to demonstrate the
method. So that we are exactly where we were ; and
observed phenomena compel us to our original con¬
clusion of a special creative “ intervention in the first
production of life.”

He goes on to suggest that the evolution of life may
have occurred more than once, but points out that in
this case the geological record would reveal more than
one geological series, and he continues : “ Indeed, had
the idea of the possibility of a multiple evolution of
living substance been first in the field, I doubt if the
prevalent belief regarding a single fortuitous pro¬
duction of life upon the globe would have become
established among biologists — so much are we liable to
be influenced by the impressions we receive in scientific
childhood.” It is conceived as quite possible that the
evolution of non-living into living substance may be

Spiritual Evolution of Society 201

happening still. Quite so, and if so, why not univer¬
sally ? Why may not every fresh formation of “ slime ”
— that is, the fortuitous combination of the elements
which are capable of transmutation into living proto¬
plasm with all the marvellous properties of biological
evolution potential therein — result in what we can only
call a special new creative act ? And is it necessary it
should always take the same form or evolute on the
same plan ? What limits the substance and the
forms ? How is it we have a uniform biological
scale or tree of life ? As has been well said by the
Rev. R. J. Campbell : Scientists were dealing with

phenomena, but what was at the back of phenomena ? ”
It is very striking and not inappropriate to recall the
fact which has been already dwelt upon that Huxley,
the protagonist of agnosticism, acknowledged this.
He refers to the “ passionless impersonality of the
unknown and the unknowable, which science shows
everywhere underlying the thin veil of phenomena.”
Mr. Campbell continues : “ Science might tell us in the
future that there was no such thing as dead matter —
that, as a matter of fact, there was nothing but life.
But it could not tell them anything more about life.”
Admitting for the moment that Professor Schafer’s
suggestions are true, we are no nearer the explanation
of the plan of things, of the evolution of matter, of
energy, of life, of the plan of a graduated scale of living
beings on this earth, which, according to that grand old
man of science, Alfred Russel Wallace, is the only
sphere in the Universe where the conditions are such
that man could maintain an existence. After mature
consideration of these arguments, as logical beings deal¬
ing with observedphenomena, we are compelled toreturn
to the old belief of Design on the part of the Eternal.

Instinct is defined by Mr. Elliot as “ appropriate re¬
action to certain stimuli by means of the nervous

202 Spiritual Evolution of Society

system/’ This is no more true than many of Bergson’s
statements which meet with such strong disapproval
on the part of the mechanists. Some naturalists would
deny that the animal of widest range and necessarily
of longest existence — the primary unicellular proto¬
plasmic organism the Amoeba — had any nervous
system at all ; and yet it has perpetuated its species
through all the aeons of the past by continual division
of its own organism. No doubt there must be a
stimulus, and of necessity the action is appropriate as
the only means of perpetuating the species, but there
is no demonstration of such a stimulus. Like the
Darwinian theory, it is inferred ; such a process of
thought is not allowed to the metaphysician ; he must
not infer anything : he is tied down to gross material
fact. This being so, what right has the mechanist to
assume an abstract metaphysical postulate of this
kind ? He is hoist with his own petard. Again we ask.
Has the Amoeba a nervous system ? If not, how does
it react ? Here is instinct which he cannot define, and
of which Professor Bergson certainly knows more than
the mechanist, and his theory of vital impulse as the
chief agent of creative evolution appeals directly to
man’s reason, and particularly to his logical faculty.

Descartes is quoted to the effect that “ animals were
mere machines or automata actuated solely by physical
and chemical forces, and devoid of any subjective
correlate.” “ It can never be formally proved that he
was wrong ” is Mr. Elliot’s comment. One would only
like to ask for an explanation of the case of the dog
which dies on its master’s grave, refusing food and
shelter. Is this explainable by purely physical and
chemical forces, by “ the automaton theory ” ? Is this
the act of an automaton ? The mechanists know it
is not. Therefore we deny that it cannot be proved
that Descartes was wrong.

Spiritual Evolution of Society 203

In describing the “AutomatonTheory,” he states that
“ man may be defined as a machine for converting
chemical energy into motion ... all actions of men
are explicable as purely material and mechanical
sequences, without invoking the assistance of mind or
consciousness, or anything but matter and energy,
working under their ordinary laws. Consciousness
appears as an inert accompaniment of material cerebral
changes. This is the theory to which Huxley gave the
name of epiphenomenalism.” With Huxley’s definition
we have no quarrel : consciousness is something super-
added — something above phenomena, and shows that
the great scientist’s mind comprehended thoughts as
not only an inert accompaniment of material cerebral
changes. His lucidity of thought and power of logical
insight taught him that the plays of Shakespeare and
the writings of Carlyle were beyond this material
origin. It will take thought far beyond and infinitely
greater than the Automaton Theory to explain the
power of the imagination.

We are informed that “ the whole of science is built
upon materialism, as the whole of chemistry is built
on the atomic theory, and the foundation is secure.”
In reply we have only to say that pure materialism is
the negation of science. Stated categorically, material¬
ism is simply a refusal to recognise such an entity as
Thought — the faculty of the Imagination ; not the
process of ideation which the mechanist believes repre¬
sents solely chemical change in the nerve cells of the
brain. It is a refusal to recognise such things as history
and the ideas moulding it to-day, such as the evolution
of liberty, altruism, social amelioration, and the causes
of the rise and fall of empires. These are not gross
material facts, and must be put aside as of no
importance, because they necessitate a belief in the
spirit or soul of man, quite apart from the physical

204 Spiritual Evolution of Society

organism it inhabits. The present demands of the
mass of the people for a decent existence in every sense,
and the altruistic feelings of many of the “ haves
prompting them to surrender part of their property and
privilege in order to ameliorate the lot of the have-
nots,’' do assign an active role to spirit, whatever the
mechanist may say. If he refuses to recognise such
historical facts, and the method of their origin and
evolution, then he is not a man of science — he has
proved himself a prejudiced partisan ; like the Cal¬
vinist in heaven, who is not willing to believe that there
are any but Calvinists there, he would require special
accommodation in the form of an enclosed area, where
his own sect and no other can come within the range
of his vision.

Bergson’s philosophy is most suggestive, and his style
full of beautiful phrasing. Let us listen for a brief
space to some of the things he says in regard to Time,
which he believes to be concrete — real. “ My mental
state as it advances on the road of time, is continually
swelling with the duration which it accumulates ; it
goes on increasing — rolling upon itself, as a snow¬
ball in the snow.” “No staff, more resistant or sub¬
stantial.” “ We think with only a small part of our
past, but it is with our entire past, including the
original bent of our soul, that we desire, will, and act.”
“ Thus our own personality shoots, grows, and ripens
without ceasing. Each of its moments is something
new added to what was before. We may go further :
it is not only something new, but something unforesee¬
able.” “ For a conscious being to exist is to change,
to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating
one’sself endlessly.” Apartfrom twopointsof difference,
Bergson carries us with him. It seems unnecessary to
postulate Time as a stuff, resistant and substantial ;
it serves a purpose, however, in directing attention to

Spiritual Evolution of Society 205

a new aspect of regarding this entity — Time, for Time
is an entity, just as much as energy, but it is not matter.
The other point of difference is in regard to the thought
that a conscious being goes on creating one’s self end¬
lessly; if he had said evolving endlessly, he would have
been in full accord with his previous statement that we
think with our entire past. If that is so, then our present
is part of our past and is evolved from it, not created
afresh. Bergson ought to have limited creative evolu¬
tion to the first creative act of life, endowed with the
original psychical impetus, which, in a manner not yet
demonstrated, was able to evolve all the multitudinous
forms now existing, their form being the direct result
of their environment. And to complete his process of
thought he must find refuge in the Eternal, Omnipotent
Power, the all-wise, righteous. Designer of the Uni¬
verse.

His ideas in regard to time ought to assist the ethical
evolution of man, when he comes to realise the truth
that we think not only with the present, but with our
entire past. Every evil deed leaves its stain, and thus
the Nemesis of all departure from the law of righteous¬
ness ; every act of self-denial makes the altruism of
Jesus easier to follow, and thus are we evolving towards
the Ideal State.

In regard to memory he says : We cannot see how
memory could settle within matter ; but we do clearly
understand how — according to the profound saying of
a contemporary philosopher (Ravaisson) — materiality
begets oblivion.” With this we are compelled to agree¬
ment, but Bergson goes beyond scientific observation
when he refuses to admit that mind or memory has a
physical counterpart, and this no doubt arises from
want of opportunity of observing this relationship, so
evident in brain disease or accident. Without medical
training and experience it is most difficult for any man

2o6 Spiritual Evolution of Society

however gifted to deal with such matters, and no other
profession gives such opportunity for the observation
of the phenomena of nature scientifically considered.

Mr. Elliot devotes a chapter of this work to what he
calls ‘‘ The Origin of Fallacies,’’ and a consideration of
some of his statements may be of benefit. One of these
is to the following effect : “ Whether a man believes a
true theory or a false one appears to be a matter of
heredity as much as anything else. He derives from
his ancestors his mental tendencies just as much as the
shape of his nose. If he lives in an enlightened period,
his tendencies will of course crystallise in a more
reasonable form than if he had lived, in a period of
ignorance.” And quoting Lankester : Man, on the
contrary, is born with singularly few instincts or capa¬
bilities of acting ; but instead of this, he has enormous
capabilities of being educated.” Surely, for a logician
this fallacy is astounding ; he mixes up heredity and
environment ; talks about a child being born with a
belief, while at the same moment he admits it can only
have been communicated by its parents when possessed
of sufficient intelligence to appreciate it, and is there¬
fore solely the result of environment. Talk of the
origin of fallacies ; they are due to the limitation of the
human intellect resulting in confusion of thought, as in
this instance when we are told that mental tendencies
and the shape of the nose are both hereditary, and in
the same breath demonstrates the cause of the former
to be environmental only, and Lankester is actually
dragged in to prove it. The dogmatism characteristic
of this and other statements in this chapter calls to
mind the famous pronouncement of the late famous
Master of Balliol, put into his mouth by a witty under¬
graduate :

“ I am Principal of my college : my name is Jowett ;

Nothing is knowable, if I don’t know it.”

Spiritual Evolution of Society 207

It is difficult to conceive how men of such eminence
in their own sphere as Lankester and Elliot can limit
their range of vision to the narrow orbit of purely
mechanical laws as they affect matter and energy.
These constitute a very minute portion of science/’
and it is a pure travesty to expect intellectual men to
accept such a definition. In fact, as long as the
mechanists choose to talk of evolution, they are ad¬
mitting something, at any rate biologically, beyond
their grasp, and therefore logically are bound to reckon
at the same time with the thoughts which move men
individually and in the mass, which alter the face of
history, and throw one back upon the argument of
Design on the part of an Omnipotent Eternal Power,
of Whom is energy, matter, life, evolution, thought,
spirit, truth, righteousness, and love.

Consciousness is not unknown to science. It is
altering the trend of history to-day. The altruism of
Christian ethics is entirely a matter of consciousness,
and upon it the whole betterment of society depends,
and history proves that without it there can be no
permanence, for all civilisations based on the purely
material have declined and fallen ; they must of neces¬
sity decay. Thus we see consciousness to be a
far greater power, scientifically considered, than
astronomy, geology, physics, chemistry, or mathe¬
matics. These work by law, and the laws which regu¬
late matter are necessary to the existence of man upon
the earth, but the happiness of men, their advance to
a higher order of thought and outlook, and the con¬
summation of the spiritual evolution of the race,
depends upon consciousness alone.

We have said nothing as to the evolution of the idea of
God among men, and there is not space, nor is it neces¬
sary that we should deal with this fully here. We know
the idea of a Supreme Power has possessed the minds

2o8 Spiritual Evolution of Society

of men more or less from the dawn of history. All the
races, even the most ignorant, have a belief in the
supernatural. The earliest recorded conception was
anthropomorphic : ‘‘ God walked in the garden in the
cool of the day.” As man progressed in intelligence
God became the Moral Governor of the Universe. He
became the Eternal not ourselves, who maketh for
righteousness.” With the advent of Jesus He became
the “ Father of Men, the God of Love.” Wordsworth
has given boautiful expression to the idea of the Im¬
manence of the Divine :

“ I have felt

A Presence, that disturbs me with the joy
Of elevated thoughts ; a sense sublime
Of something far more deeply interfused.

Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns.

And the round ocean, and the living air,

And the blue sky, and in the mind of man

A motion and a spirit that impels

All thinking things, all objects of all thought,

And rolls through all things.”

It is only by means of the Immanence of the Divine
that such a conception as this is possible.

I hope we may be pardoned if in bringing this chapter
to a conclusion we give the lines of Matthew Arnold to
his father, written in Rugby Chapel, as a great and
striking example of the sweet influence of Christian
teaching upon one noble soul, whose conception of life
was duty, conjoined with “ sweet reasonableness ” and
love of his fellow-men :

“ If in the paths of the world
Stones might have wounded thy feet ;

Toil, dejection, have tried
Thy spirit — of that we saw
Nothing — to us thou wert still
Cheerful and helpful and firm.

Spiritual Evolution of Society 209

• But thou wouldst not alone
Be saved, my father, alone
Conquer and come to thy goal.

Leaving the rest in the wild.

Therefore to thee it is given
Many to save with thyself ;

And, at the end of the day.

Oh, faithful shepherd, to come.

Bringing thy sheep in thy hand.”

O

Chapter IX
The Ideal State

“ I will not cease from mental strife.

Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand.

Till I have built Jerusalem

In England’s green and pleasant land.”

William Blake.

The subject of history has never been taught
scientifically hitherto. The child is made to
acquire the names of kings and queens and the dates of
their accession and demise ; and thus finds it to be a
weariness to the flesh when the study might have been
made of absorbing interest. It is only in recent times
that attention has been drawn to its consideration from
the evolutionary standpoint, largely due to the genius
of Benjamin Kidd, who has shed the light by which
we are enabled to observe the slow progress upwards
from the “ dark abysm of time to the advanced stage
of science and civilisation at the present day. History,
in fact, has become a science, and all the observed
phenomena in the evolution of humanity are considered
in relation to one another. As Mr. Kidd has so ably
remarked : “ Human history can no longer be regarded
as a bewildering exception to the reign of universal law
— a kind of solitary and mysterious island in the Cos¬
mos, given over to strife and forces without clue or
meaning. Despite the complexity of the problems
encountered in history, we seem to have everywhere

210

21 I

The Ideal State

presented to us systematic development, underlying
apparent confusion. In all the phases and incidents of
our social annals we are apparently regarding only
the intimately related phenomena of a single vast
orderly process of evolution.”

We have observed the rise and fall of the ancient
civilisations previous to the dawn of the Christian era.
The feature to be noted is that all these were founded
on a purely military basis ; the whole organisation of
the State was devoted to the maintenance of the
present ; there was no progressive social amelioration,
which alone can give permanence, because it is “ broad-
based upon the people’s will”; there was no looking into
the future with the intention of making things better
for the race to come. With the advent of Christianity
and the permeation of the minds of men with its
ethical altruism, the whole trend of things became
profoundly altered, the State was influenced by new
considerations, *‘the thoughts of men were widened
with the process of the suns,” and most fortunately so,
otherwise civilisation could only succeed civilisation,
each in its turn to suffer inevitable ruin and decay.
But under our Western forms of government what do
we behold ? We see the State devoting its energies and
legislation to the one end and aim of improving the
condition of the people within its boundaries, and
framing its measures so as more and more to grant not
only political equality, but equality of opportunity to
every individual. If this were not so there could be no
stability : herein, alone, is permanence. The French
Revolution proves this to a demonstration. That
violent and terrible outburst was produced by the
conditions which preceded it, and its arrival was as
certain as the operation of natural law. No doubt it
was “ too rash, too unadvised, too sudden,” but it was
necessary, and it was a warning, and to all time it will

212

The Ideal State

remain a sign-post on the steep road of human en¬
deavour towards the higher evolution and the search
for permanence in our Western civilisation. For¬
tunately most of our European States are giving heed
to this warning, and are doing what they can to
ameliorate the condition of their people. Britain can
claim, without doubt, to be the most advanced. We
think it may be asserted that the British subject has
greater social advantages than that of any other nation.
He has a widely extended franchise, and is awaiting
now its extension to the only logical conclusion — adult
suffrage, which will mean as nearly as possible under
present-day conditions equal political opportunity ;
under free trade the trade and commerce of the country
is increasing marvellously, so that there is work for the
masses in abundance and unemployment is at a
minimum ; at the same time commodities are cheap
and money goes further than in any other country.
Free education is another great boon, and there are
many more which are too well known to require
mention, such as old age pensions.

But while this is so, we cannot shut our eyes to la
misere. It seems to be an increasing accompaniment
of present-day commerce and industry. Fortunately
for the toiling millions, “Labour" has begun to or¬
ganise, and has not been slow to threaten serious conse¬
quences unless the appalling conditions are removed,
and that very soon. We think we may say, without fear
of contradiction, that the time has come when all men
who have given the subject patient consideration, have
reached the conclusion that all who “ have " must be
prepared to do with less. Laws must be passed to give
the masses a better environment, sanitary dwellings in
pleasant surroundings and pure air, the possibility of
a higher culture, which can only be acquired by means
of a certain amount of leisure, and it is essential that

The Ideal State 213

every responsible head of a household shall have
secured to him, as long as he is willing to work, suffi¬
cient to meet all necessities and comforts, and in ill-
health this must not be allowed to lapse. The much-
abused Insurance Bill will help towards this ideal, but
without doubt it requires amendment in the interests
of the workman ; no head of a household, rejoicing in
the lordly sum of one pound per week, ought to be asked
to pay the weekly tax ; it is absurd to expect it.
Shorter hours must be conceded in many trades ; work
without the possibility of leisure is a potent cause of
discontent, and this, with the possibility of, and induce¬
ment to acquire, a higher culture, must be granted.
It is evident that higher wages, improved conditions,
and shorter hours must involve a higher price for all
commodities ; in this way the people of “ great pos¬
sessions ’’ are taxed for the benefit of those who “ have
not.’’ This many object to, but find themselves com¬
pelled to it by means of law and Government ; and
fortunately there are not a few who rejoice and are
willing it should be so under the influence of Christian
altruism. The former would like to oppose this
tendency absolutely, and use specious and varied argu¬
ments to uphold the policy of stagnation. The most
oft-repeated has acquired almost the authority of an
axiom, and it is that a nation must never break with
the tradition of the past. If the Government were to
act consistently on this principle it could only result in
absolute stagnation. The crux of the position now is,
that if we do not break with the tradition of the past,
in granting a minimum wage to the heads of all house¬
holds who are willing to work, so as to secure all
necessary comforts for every member of the family, the
masses, who are in poverty and la misere, and their
comrades, living under better conditions, but yet in
sympathy with their poorer brethren, will break with

214 Ideal State

this tradition, and, as in France a little over a century
ago, we shall be called upon to suffer the horrors of
revolution. This is by no means an extravagant
view. We have pointed out already that Mr. Asquith
by his wise action and sane methods saved the
country and the Crown from a revolution by placing
upon the Statute Book the Act securing a minimum
wage to miners, for the reason that the masses accept
this as an acknowledgment by the State of the principle
of this concession to all, whether employed by the State
or privately.

In order to soothe the minds of all who dread this
break with the tradition of the past, we may point out
that the granting of this principle is only a further
stage in the evolutionary process at work in our midst,
and is as certain to come as that to-morrow’s sun shall
rise. All students of the past who were imbued with
the altruism of Christianity knew that ere long it
could not fail of accomplishment, and were able to
predict its coming from the study of observed pheno¬
mena. The lesson of history conveys a wholesome
lesson to all classes of the body politic at the present
time — to the “ haves,” to act as far as possible, under
present conditions, in the spirit of the teachings of
Jesus, to be willing to sacrifice some of their possessions
in order to improve the lot of those who have none, but
who are entitled just as much as they are to all neces¬
sary housing, clothing, food, pure air and water,
perfect sanitation, and a natural environment, with
leisure sufficient to give opportunity for the acquisition
of the culture of the ages, as far as in them lies, of the
best thoughts of the best men, and chief among these
the Founder of our religion ; and to the “ have nots,”
to be content with the gradual social amelioration now
in progress, knowing full well that too precipitate
methods, a too sudden breaking of the tradition of the

The Ideal State 215

past, too complete a wreckage of “ the scheme of things
entire,” as at present constituted, mean for them only
disaster and the putting back the long result of time ”
for many a day. Let both sections of the community
take warning from that object lesson — the French
Revolution — the one to adopt fully and earnestly the
spirit of Christian altruism — “ Love thy neighbour as
thyself ” ; the other in the selfsame spirit to proceed by
peaceful methods, without resort to violence or blood¬
shed, to the necessary attainment of their demands.
Both sections must accept the lesson of history, that in
human society a process of evolution is proceeding
which has resulted and must continue to result in the
progressive betterment of human society, which alone
can give permanence and has been made possible
through the operation of Christian ethics consciously
or unconsciously upon the minds of men to whatever
grade or class they may happen to belong.

At this stage it may be useful to consider some of the
theories of modern times, which have held sway from
generation to generation in regard to the amelioration
of society. Hobbes and Locke enunciated the prin¬
ciples of the Utilitarian school, which were further
elaborated by Hume, Bentham, and John Stuart Mill,
proclaiming the ideal of the greatest happiness of
the greatest number.” Mill held that “ utility would
enjoin that laws and social arrangements should place
the happiness or (as speaking practically it may be
called) the interests of every individual as nearly as
possible in harmony with the interest of the whole.”
Mr. Herbert Spencer, in his “ Data of Ethics,” goes
further and sees a conciliation taking place between
the interest of each citizen and the interests of citizens
at large, tending ever towards a state in which the two
become merged in one, and in which the feelings
answering to them respectively fall into complete

2i6 The Ideal State

accord/’ and he contemplates a time in which the
individual will have reached such a stage of develop¬
ment that it will afford him the highest pleasure to act
in a manner conducive to the interests of the social
organism even when such conduct may appear antago¬
nistic to his own interests, and so, like parental sacrifice,
lead the individual to obtain the highest satisfaction
in voluntarily sacrificing himself in the interests of the
social organism.”

The theories associated with these names mark
stages in the evolution of thought in regard to social
amelioration, and they emphasise the influence of the
altruistic teachings of Jesus upon the minds of men.
No doubt this influence in its earlier manifestations
has been quite unconscious, but we behold it, there,
silently exerting its power, and altering gradually the
whole aspect of human society. And the names of
Hobbes, Locke, Hume, Bentham, J. S. Mill, and
Herbert Spencer ought not to be forgotten, and should
be inscribed in letters of gold among the scroll of great
ones who have made the history of modern times.

The greatest happiness of the greatest number ” was
a concept of a high order, and the further advance to
“ a stage of development in which it will afford the
individual the highest pleasure to act in a manner con¬
ducive to the interests of the social organism, even
when such conduct may appear antagonistic to his
own interests,” was a still greater. For the first time
we have an economic philosopher accepting the doc¬
trine of the necessity of self-sacrifice as a supreme factor
in the evolution of human society. It remained to
Benjamin Kidd to make two discoveries — one, that
this gradual effort to ameliorate the conditions of
society, upon which alone the permanence of our
civilisation depends, was the direct result of the in¬
fluence in men’s minds of the altruism of Christianity ;

The Ideal State 217

and the other, that this was operating not only to
improve present-day conditions, but to secure “ the
greatest happiness of the greatest number of the
generations yet unborn.” Mr. Kidd points out that Sir
Henry Maine, in “ Ancient Law and Popular Govern¬
ment,” was influenced by the conviction that the
modern philosophy of society had not as yet given us
the explanation of the difference between the recently
developed and rapidly progressive societies of our
Western world, and that almost stationary social state
which he perceived to have been normal to the race
throughout the greater part of its past. The cause of
this difference Maine held to be one of the great secrets
which enquiry has yet to penetrate.” At last the
secret has been fathomed, and to Kidd the credit of its
discovery must be accorded. It is entirely due to the
altruism of the teachings of Jesus. A new agency has
been introduced, and the whole face of history has been
thereby changed. This new force has made society
more and more stable as time advanced. The members
of the State feel the effects of better conditions and of
the consideration constantly exerted to ensure their
welfare ; the civilisation of which they form a part
becomes an object of interest and affection, and its
permanence is thus assured. In other words, society
becomes more efficient, and in this way the culture of
the ages tends more and more to become an environ¬
ment of the people. It is through the operation of such
a process that we are able to explain the great and
rapid mechanical evolution which has taken place with¬
in the last half century in our modern civilisation.
Increased social comfort and efficiency has enabled
the men of scientific instinct in the mechanical world to
acquire a knowledge of all the methods and principles
at work in previous epochs and among all peoples, and
more particularly the most recent developments in

2i8 The Ideal State

mechanics and science. We are all apt to flatter our¬
selves that the extraordinary evolution of the intellect
is the explanation of such marvels as the steam-engine,
the motor-car, the power-loom, the telegraph, the tele¬
phone, wireless telegraphy, the aeroplane, the hydro¬
plane, the modern warship, the perfection of surgical
art and science, but these are one and all only an
evolution, the most recent phase of development
possible up to the present time, but we are as much
indebted to the pioneers as we are to the actual
patentee of the final instrument. The rush of these
wonderful contrivances now has become possible
through increased social efficiency which the ameliora¬
tion of the conditions of life has permitted. These have
been made possible only through the growth of the
altruistic spirit, resulting not only in the display of
greater love towards our neighbour, but in the desire
to remove all conditions inimical to the health, the
necessities and comforts of the poor and miserable. We
have only to consider for one moment the care which
the State now exercises in the interest of the aged and
the child, and we know this is only a beginning. We
have already dwelt on the benefit of the old age pension,
not only to the aged poor, but all the other members of
the State, who are happier in the knowledge that they
who have borne the burden and heat of the day have
sufficient to keep the wolf from the door as long as life
endures, and that to a very limited extent they are
repaying a debt long overdue, and are relieved of a
weight of subconscious remorse which no longer
presses. We know from this scientific study of observed
phenomena that it was inevitable such a measure
should have been enacted, and many others, such as the
Children’s Bill, and all Acts limiting hours in shops,
factories, and mines, and we are able to prophesy
without fear or doubt that measures of greater and

The Ideal State 219

greater efficiency in ameliorating the ordinary existence
of the working classes will before long be accomplished.
This Mr. Kidd has been the first to demonstrate from
the scientific study of history, and it is well that we
should acknowledge our indebtedness for this profound
discovery, immeasurable in the range of its influence.

In the discussion of this question he endeavours to
prove that human evolution is not primarily intel¬
lectual. In other words, he means that man in his
evolution from the Stone Age — the age of the cave-
dwellers — upwards has developed physically and in¬
tellectually to his utmost limits. It must be evident,
however, that this only applies to the individual who
has had a fair opportunity, who has been brought up
in a good environment, who, as a child, has had every
necessary want supplied as far as pure air, good food,
suitable clothing, absolute cleanliness, and kindly
interest could secure, and at a further stage every suit¬
able form of athletic exercise necessary to physical
development, and at the same time the culture of the
ages presented in an attractive form. Hitherto these
have been only possible to the comparatively few ; but
we know that very soon, under the further evolutionary
process, these will become the environment of every
child born. It may be well to point out that this is not
only a matter of simple justice, it is an absolute essen¬
tial of the welfare of the State. The child does not ask
to be born ; it finds itself in the world without any say
in the matter whatever ; it has therefore every right
to demand the best possible environment in order to
ensure perfect growth and efficiency of man and
womanhood. This the State is at last endeavouring
to secure. Every child must have pure air, suitable
clothing, good food, absolute cleanliness, tender care,
and afterwards the culture of the ages. Patriotism
from the purely selfish standpoint demands this also in

220

The Ideal State

order to secure the best possible physical development
of the men who are to man our ships and defend our
shores'. There is in addition the • altruistic impulse to
procure the highest standard of physique of the races
yet unborn.

Taking this for granted, we can go on to consider
two aphorisms which Mr. Kidd presents. ‘‘ It would
appear,"' he says, “ that the process at work in society
is evolving religious character as a first product, and
intellectual capacity only so far as it can be associated
with this quality." With the first part no doubt most
will agree, and a fortunate thing it is for the world that
it is so, otherwise no other result is possible than the
ascendancy of the Nietzscheian philosophy, with the
revival of the rule of the “ superman," which can only
mean slavery, the gospel of ‘'Be hard " — a world
without kindness or sympathy or love, government by
the whip — the law of “ the weaker go to the wall, and
we shall help them to " — the cessation of all tenderness
or self-sacrifice in the hearts of men, which these two
greatest prophets of modern times and two of the
greatest of all time, Carlyle and Ruskin, have shown to
be the most potent influence for good in the world.
Either Nietzsche or Karl Marx must rule ; in the latter
case we shall be governed by the Social Democrat,
which would very soon prove as chaotic as the other,
for the reason that social stability can only be attained
by means of an all-pervading content which is only
procurable by willing self-sacrifice on the part of each
individual in the interest of the State as a whole. This
attitude of mind, which results in self-sacrificing action
not only for one’s neighbour and society generally, but
also for the generations to come, can only be attained
directly or indirectly through religious influence, and
the lesson of history is that the teachings of the Founder
of our religion alone are those which have so influenced

221

The Ideal State

mankind as to secure permanence in our Western
civilisation. Without doubt, therefore, we can accept
as a scientific aphorism founded upon observed pheno¬
mena that the process at work in society is evolving
religious character as a first product. The latter part
may be accepted, but with a certain amount of modi¬
fication. We have already come to the conclusion that
the further evolution of the human intellect is not to be
expected, and that the only evolutionary process
possible to humanity at this stage is a spiritual one.
But with an improved condition socially we are cer¬
tainly entitled to hope that for every man there will be
greater leisure in which to develop his intellectual facul¬
ties to the highest degree possible for him. Each man
will be so affected by the higher ethical plane to which he
has attained, that He will feel it to be his duty, not only
in his own interest, but in that of his fellow-men, to
do his fair share in the particular sphere of action
allotted to him and for which he is best fitted, and to
devote his leisure to the attainment of the best possible
intellectual and physical standard, so that he may keep
thoroughly efficient, and thus resist those degenerative
tendencies with which we are threatened if we do not live
our lives under the dominating law of the struggle for
existence. Mr. Kidd is quite entitled to urge that I
have only proved his point, and I am quite willing on
condition that he agrees as to the process by which the
ethical affects the intellectual development. The
general intellectual standard would undoubtedly im¬
prove, but this is quite a different thing from the state¬
ment that the intellect is capable of greater evolution
than has been evidenced in the time of the great Greek
civilisation — of iEschylus, Plato, Socrates, Sophocles,
or of the Elizabethan period, when the master mind
not only of his age, but of all time — the immortal
Shakespeare, of whom his rival, Ben Jonson, testified :

222

The Ideal State

I loved the man, and do honour his memory this side
idolatry as much as any” — poured forth the treasures
of his mighty genius.^

We are quite justified, then, in accepting this first
aphorism in its entirety, but we fear there will be
grave misgivings as to the second, and these will affect
not the conclusion but the method. He says : “ The
most distinctive feature of human evolution as a
whole is, that through the operation of the law of
Natural Selection, the race must continue to grow
ever more and more religious.” Now, do not think
it is possible to arrive at any other conclusion from
a study of observed phenomena than that ” the most
distinctive feature of human evolution as a whole is,
that the race must continue to grow ever more and
more religious.” We do not require to argue this
further ; it has been proved and firmly established,
notwithstanding all that can be said as to original
sin, the brute in man, the wickedness of all kinds

^ Mr. Elliot, in “ Illusions from Professor Bergson,” makes an in¬
teresting remark in regard to this subject. He says : “ The Greek
civilisation was merely a preface to the intellectual progress of
mankind. Without that clearance of the way, science never could
have developed ; so heavy were the obstacles to be removed, so
gigantic the task, that the greatest race of antiquity exhausted their
powers in the effort, and expired before its accomplishment.” This
statement is the result of an entire misconception. A great race
does not exhaust its powers by great intellectual effort : our great
men do not do so. Shakespeare, Carlyle, Scott, Burns never ex¬
haust their powers ; they become progressively feeble with advanc¬
ing age after crossing the meridian of life in the ordinary course of
nature. Men may die prematurely from disease, and that is exactly
what happened to the Greek and other great civilisations of the
past. They died from disease of the body politic — the State was
assuredly “ a goodly apple, rotten at the core.” The intellectual
effort would have evolved the race to the highest possible if it had
been directed towards the social betterment of ol iroXXof, and
have established it as a permanent force, and led the nations of the
earth to-day in all advance of intellect, art, drama, and ethics but
for the reason that it appeared too soon to benefit by those teachings
which are bringing to our civilisation that permanence which in no
other way is possible of attainment.

The Ideal State 223

everywhere evident in our great cities, the increase
of the so-called criminal classes, and the prevalence of
drunkenness and vice in all sections of society. These
are only imperfections of passing phases of evolution,
which we believe will be slowly eliminated, and with
ever greater rapidity as the spiritual development
proceeds. It is with deep regret that one observes
the domination of Mr. Kidd’s mind by that creed of
science rapidly declining to its fall under the search¬
light of the higher criticism. Even the most scientific
of our zoologists have been forced by the most ex¬
tended study of observed phenomena to conclude that
Natural Selection has never possessed and does not
now wield the power assigned to it by Darwin. It is
therefore impossible not to express surprise that Kidd
should make use of this law, which was the keystone of
the Nietzscheian arch, of the gospel of “ Be hard,” of
The weaker go to the wall, and we shall help them to,”
to support his own argument on behalf of spiritual
evolution, made possible to man through the operation
in his mind of the high ethical standard and self-
sacrifice of the teachings of the meek and lowly Jesus,
Who gave His own life to save mankind, in order that
they might learn the “ pathway to Reality ” by
means of sacrifice of the self — the assimilation of the
truth that self-abnegation is the only method of self-
realisation, and that the “ ideal is the real.” From
both points of view, therefore, we are entitled to con¬
sider that Kidd in this instance has allowed his other¬
wise strong logical faculty to be obscured by his devo¬
tion to the now discredited Darwinian philosophy,
and which in this instance he has dragged in to
explain a condition of things to which in its essence
it was absolutely opposed. Therefore it will be con¬
sidered justifiable to alter this second aphorism, and
in such a way as to allow of it still being acceptable to

2 24 The Ideal State

the author of “ Social Evolution The most dis¬
tinctive feature of human evolution as a whole is, that
through the operation upon men’s minds of the self-
denying ordinances and teachings of Jesus, the race
must continue to grow ever more and more religious.”

If these two aphorisms are true — and as far as the
human intellect is capable of judging we are entitled
to believe so — then there is hope for the world, and
its amelioration can be prophesied as a certainty. It
is therefore the duty of all social reformers to look
forward and consider on what lines the “ Ideal State ”
is to be moulded and what are the processes by means
of which it is to be evolved, attention being directed
mainly and persistently to the method by which every
individual shall be enabled to live that life which shall
result in the greatest happiness of all the members of
the State, and at the same time allow of the highest
physical, intellectual, and spiritual development to
him personally. This we know can only be attained
under a system of religion which insists as a prime
necessity upon a spirit of voluntary self-sacrifice in
which it will be the highest pleasure of each to sacri¬
fice himself for the good of the State as a whole, and
of the generations of men, which are to people the
earth after his own interest in the affairs of the world
are over, and which can in no material way affect his
own personality. It has been shown that this has
been the power promoting the betterment of the
social organism in our Western civilisation up to the
present time. It has been slow ; it has taken a
thousand years to accomplish the present stage of
development, but it is always so — “ the mills of God
grind slowly, but they grind exceeding small.” The
lesson of history is that social evolution gains momen¬
tum with the process of the suns, and we know that
recently it has come like a flood, and notwithstanding

The Ideal State 225

its many imperfections, which after all are only those
of human nature and are being gradually eliminated,
will grow with ever greater power and knowledge,
and approach nearer to perfection, so that we have
every reason to believe that it will not be long before
the world becomes cognisant of the approach of the
“ Ideal State,’’ which even at this time is looked upon,
by people of property and great possessions, as im¬
possible. It is thus that the study of history reveals
the impress of the Eternal upon human affairs. It
proves man to be in the grip of a law which makes for
righteousness and self-sacrifice. Humanity finds itself
moved on, impelled to action, contrary to the selfish
interests of the individual members, and resulting in
increasing welfare of the body of the people. Tennyson
asks in one of his poems —

“We are puppets, Man in his pride, and Beauty fair in her
flower ;

Do we move ourselves, or are moved by an unseen hand at
a game

That pushes us off from the board, and others ever succeed ? “

The lesson of history supplies the answer. The poet
is quite right — we are puppets, and do not move our¬
selves ; we are moved by an unseen hand — ‘‘ the
Eternal, the not-ourselves,” the designation by means
of which Matthew Arnold put into words the as yet
unconscious thought of the time, “ who maketh for
righteousness ” and, through the teaching and ex¬
ample of Jesus, for love and self-sacrifice. The
lesson of history in this manner becomes the revelation
of the Eternal, Who moves man as He lists for His own
purposes, which are full of love to mankind, and are
evolving him spiritually and raising him “ ever up¬
ward and onward ” to nobler deeds of self-sacrifice.
The Eternal is not only a hope, or even a faith ; the
Eternal is now a fact, better and better known from

p

226 The Ideal State

day to day by means of the operation of His laws. We
have a complete vindication of science here, which
has proved itself the friend of the theologian notwith¬
standing the scepticism often meted out to it. No
doubt the shortsightedness of man, owing to the
limitation of his intellect, has obscured the issue ; there
have been faults on both sides in the conflict between
science and theology. The apostles of both should
have understood that the study of observed phe¬
nomena, embracing “ all objects of all thought, all
thinking things,’' could only result in a knowledge
of “ the spirit that impels and rolls through all things.”
We have now reached this point — a knowledge of the
Eternal is no longer problematic ; it has become the
established creed of science ; and for mankind it is
fraught with the greatest issues, making certain the
dawn of better days when righteousness shall prevail,
war shall cease, permanence be given to society, and
peace and joy to all men by means of the reign of
love and self-sacrifice as the dominating principle of
existence. We can now say with positive assurance —

“ God’s in His Heaven ; all’s right with the world.”

It is right that a meed of praise should be accorded
to all who in the past have fought the fight of the
progressive party in the State. One must express the
hope that it will be understood that this is not a
political treatise ; it is what it purports to be, a
scientific study of observed phenomena. It is there¬
fore right that it should be acknowledged that the
non-progressives must not be condemned as useless
or as a mere hindrance to the betterment of man’s
social condition. In so far as this party has prevented
a too sudden break with the tradition of the past, it
has been of benefit ; such a break means chaos, out
of which order can only be slowly restored and the

The Ideal State 227

work of social amelioration accomplished. On the
other hand, progress must not be too long hindered
or delayed, as the inevitable result is social discontent,
which, if not pacified, must result in revolution. We
are not likely to have such violent manifestations
of popular wrath in England, because the non-progres¬
sive party has always allowed the advance of reform
whenever it became evident that the people were
determined it should come, and thus social discon¬
tent has never become sufficiently strong to result in
precipitate and revengeful acts. But while this is true,
it must be acknowledged that the names of all who
have trod the hard, toilsome path and fought the
weary uphill fight on behalf of the poor, down¬
trodden, overworked, underpayed toiling millions
of men and women are not sufficiently borne in our
memories. These names ought to be the outstanding
on the banner of history.

The action of such men is all the more noble in that
there is little or no acknowledgment of their services ;
it is only possible under the stimulus of a great ideal ;
the attainment of the end is for them sufficient re¬
ward, and it is good it is so, for how otherwise could they
face the lifelong obloquy meted out to them by their
own class ? It would be possible to give many in¬
stances in which a scion of the aristocracy, from pure
conviction, has adopted the toilsome path and fought
the good fight, from pure conviction, only to find
that his own caste have reviled and slandered his
reputation for no obvious reason beyond his desire to
alter the present-day condition of things and thereby
increase the happiness of men. And hitherto this
has invariably been the case when a man acts in
response to the appeal of the altruistic ideal, and
opposes the purely materialistic self-interest of those
who have ‘‘ great possessions.”

22 8 The Ideal State

The workers of the nation are too apt to forget the
efforts of such men. In all our schools their names
ought to be taught as the true makers of history.
The noble example of such lives would produce a
desire to emulate their endeavours, and fresh impetus
from day to day would be given towards the realisa¬
tion of the “ Ideal State.’' At present one notices
that the Syndicalists, the ultra-violent Socialists, at¬
tack the Labour Members in the House of Commons
because they are not able to secure a complete revolu¬
tion of industrial methods here and now. These ex¬
tremists never seem to realise that change must be
gradual ; that the Government cannot break with the
tradition of the past too suddenly, otherwise they
run the risk of “ wrecking the scheme of things entire,”
and thereby lose all opportunity to “ re-mould it
nearer to the heart’s desire.” As a matter of fact,
those Members of Parliament whom the extremists
contemptuously name the “ Lib-Labs,” do far more
for the general body of the workers by the pursuance
of the methods within their reach, which are slowly
ameliorating the social organism. And one is war¬
ranted in coming to the conclusion that the Labour
party is actuated much more by the spirit of altruism
than the Syndicalists. The latter, like the Social
Democrat, are actuated largely by the spirit of material¬
ism. “ The idea of the Syndicalist was that the
railways should belong to the railway men, and the
mines to the miners. The idea of the Socialist, on the
other hand, was that the mines, railways, and other
industries should belong to the people. The Syndi¬
calist was merely working for the transference of property
from one private owner to another.** Such was the
opinion of a member of the British Socialist party,
expressed at the Conference at Manchester in May,
1912. And the President of the Conference of Delegates

The Ideal State 229

of the Independent Labour party at Merthyr voiced
the same sentiment. He said : “ Syndicalism has made
no real appeal to the British workers, and offered them
no means to escape from exactions of landlordism and
capitalism.” It is good that the representatives of
the workers see through the folly of attempting to
bring about social betterment by the mere transfer¬
ence of property. Materialism brought about the
downfall of all our past civilisations, and as surely
it will effect that of present-day .industrialism. As
Mr. W. C. Anderson said at Merthyr ; “ Social justice
was the only remedy for labour unrest, and social
justice was not compatible with private ownership
of land and industrial capital. What was needed
was an industrial system that would have a conscience
behind it, that would not count dividends at the
expense of human wreckage and degradation. The
monopolies that had been set up in land, railways,
canals, mines, and many other industries were ripe
for the introduction of collectivist principles. Their
cause would stand to gain in every direction if they
could secure a national minimum for all, a minimum
of health and housing, of leisure, education, and
wages. As years went by their assurance of victory
was deepened not only by labour unrest against
capitalist tyranny, hid by the growth of the public con¬
science, by the spread of Socialism, by a widespread
desire to rescue nations from chaos, muddle, and
disaster, and to rebuild society on the foundation of
organisation, co-operation, and mutual aid.” Now it
is not only interesting, but gratifying to find this
acknowledgment of a growth of public conscience, and
a desire to rescue nations from chaos, and to rebuild
society on a basis of mutual aid. What is this but the
perception of Christian altruism, of the spirit of love
and self-sacrifice increasingly influencing men to think

230 The Ideal State

less of self and more of others — the final completion
of this spirit being the thought of self-sacrifice and
pleasure therein when directed towards the help and
the welfare of others. This is the Ideal, which the
Eternal has ordained for men. “ The growth of the
public conscience ? '' How do we explain the appear¬
ance of such a phenomenon, for it is so just as much
as the law of gravitation ? We can only reiterate
the lesson of history, that it is due to the operation
in men’s minds of the altruism, the sweet reasonable¬
ness, the love and self-sacrifice inculcated by the
Founder of our religion, distilling its influence in the
hearts of men, and establishing a public conscience
which becomes more potent from day to day in
ameliorating the evils and abuses of commerce and in¬
dustry in so far as the conditions of the workers are
concerned. But what we want now is public acknow¬
ledgment, from the Labour party and all organisations
desiring to secure social betterment, of this influence,
and expression of gratitude to the Teacher of this
ethical principle, who has made such things possible.
The world is every day becoming more and more
religious,” but it is time the Labourists recognised the
necessity of proclaiming their submission to the
Eternal, to the law of righteousness, in the spirit of
Him who inculcated love to all men, rich and poor
alike. There must be no desire of revenge ; indigna¬
tion there may be at the many injustices of the past,
but no gratification of the passion of hate ; the social
betterment will be much more rapid if it is pursued in
the spirit of love to all men irrespective of class. The
display of such a spirit will hasten the movement more
than any other method.

And this acknowledgment of the power of religion
is all the more necessary now that the enemies of
social evolution have pursued an active propaganda.

The Ideal State 231

They send broadcast pamphlets to prove that Socialism
means revolution. They quote Karl Marx to the
effect that “ violence must be the lever of our social
reform.” This is quite sufficient to prove to any
student of history that Karl Marx will not be followed.
Violence and revolution mean chaos — a complete rup¬
ture of the tradition of the past, which in Great Britain
will never be necessary and therefore will never be
accomplished. The Government is broad-based upon
the people’s will, and thus neither of these methods will
ever become necessary or be permitted. The sure and
safe social evolution of society will go on without any
sudden break with the past ; one reform will evolve
from another until the ideal state is realised.

We cannot wonder at threats of “ stirring up dis¬
content, of force, of actual conflict ” on the part of
men who know what la misere means among the
toiling masses of the great industrial centres. We can
sympathise with them, but we do not believe these
will go any further, owing to the ethical influence at
work among all classes. The threats against the
monarchy are not often heard, and are due to the
same cause. Every part of the governmental machine
is threatened ; even the Liberal party, which has given
to them most of the benefits they now enjoy, and is
still devising fresh measures for their betterment, is
to be smashed. These are the ravings of individual
enthusiasts, who have themselves endured la misere
and are determined that it shall cease, but who have
not yet learned the lesson of history.

Mr. Hyndman and Mr. Blatchford are only instances
of the limitation of the human intellect. They have
evidently joined Marx and Dumont in their intention to
destroy “ Thypothese Dieu ! ” Can we forbear again
to cry, Man, proud man, most ignorant of what he’s
most assured ! ” Another instance this of the material-

232 The Ideal State

ism of the world seizing the minds of men and leading
them to destruction as it did the ancient civilisa¬
tions. Let the enemies of social change rejoice as long
as their opponents refuse to recognise the law of the
Eternal, and self-sacrifice as taught by Jesus, because
history tells us that only under the influence of such
beliefs can man hope to progress individually and
socially. Mr. Hyndman and Mr. Blatchford will ere long
be recognised to be a danger to their party, notwith¬
standing any ability they may possess. Why do not
the members of the Labour party in the House of
Commons proclaim there and everywhere their belief
in the influence and power of our religion, and chiefly
— the altruism of Christian ethics ? It would be a good
thing if this were more generally understood. As a
matter of fact, it is this spirit of altruism which gives
this party the great power and influence it possesses
in moulding legislation at the present time.

Of all men of modern times who have penetrated
far into the mystery of the Unseen and the Eternal,
W. T. Stead stands pre-eminent. He never hesitated to
sacrifice himself for the salvation of society, and great
is the regret with which we part with his serene brave
soul. We are glad to know that he died as he lived,
like a hero, and passed to the Eternal with the same
confidence that he faced the world of his own day.
And why ? Because Love and self-sacrifice imbued
all his actions and thoughts as proceeding from the
Eternal, from whom alone they came. It may not be
inappropriate at this stage to consider his message
to all English-speaking folk,’’ written over twenty
years ago, when he issued the first number of the
‘‘ Review of Reviews.” His desire, as he said, was to
'' mirror the best thought of our time, done distinctly
as a religious principle. The revelation of the Divine
Will did not cease when St. John wrote the last page of

The Ideal State 233

the Apocalypse, or when Malachi finished his prophecy.’’
. . . “ God is not dumb that He should speak no
more,” and we have to seek for the gradual unfolding
of His message to His creatures in the highest and
ripest thoughts of our time. Reason may be a faulty
instrument, but it is the machine through which the
Divine thought enters the mind of man. Hence the
man who can interpret the best thought of his day in
such a manner as to render it accessible to the general
intelligence of his age is the true prophet of his time.
Like the greatest prophet of our time — Thomas Carlyle
— he recognised that the intellectual is essentially the
moral, and that the best thought of any time is of
necessity the Divine thought in so far as it has entered
the mind of the individual man, acknowledged to have
given forth the best thought of the epoch in which he
lives. We believe in God, in England, and in
Humanity.” The English-speaking race is one of the
chief of God’s agents for executing coming improve¬
ments in the lot of mankind. He is no Jingo, although
to him we owe the two-keels-to-one standard ” of
naval supremacy ; he believes in England on account
of her desire to alleviate human misery, and in the
advantage of her guiding hand in all the affairs of the
world, and more particularly in dealing with subject
races, and acknowledging this as the result of her more
advanced spiritual evolution.

He quotes Carlyle to the effect that the wise are
few,” and gives an extract from this greatest of modern
prophets, which it will not be inappropriate to repro¬
duce now. Stead calls it Carlyle’s last political will and
testament to the English people. “ There is still, we
hope, the unclassed aristocracy by nature, not in¬
considerable in numbers, and supreme in faculty, in
wisdom, in human talent, nobleness and courage, who
derive their patent of nobility direct from Almighty

2 34 Ideal State

God. If indeed these fail us — then, indeed, it is all
ended. National death lies ahead of our once heroic
England. Will there, in short, prove to be a recognis¬
able small nucleus of Invisible Aristoi, fighting for the
good cause in their various wisest ways, and never
ceasing or slackening till they die ? ’’ And Stead
applies this : “ The time has come when men and
women must work for the salvation of the State with as
much zeal and self-sacrifice as they now work for the
salvation of the individual. . . . But to save the
country from the grasp of demons innumerable, to
prevent this Empire or this Republic becoming an
incarnate demon of lawless ambition and cruel love of
gold, how many men and women are willing to spend
even one hour, a month, or a year. . . . The idea that
the State needs saving, that the democracy needs
educating, and that the problems of government and of
reform need careful and laborious study, is foreign to
the ideas of our people. The religious side of politics
has not yet entered the minds of men. What is wanted
is a revival of civic faith, a quickening of spiritual life
in the political atmosphere, the inspiring of men and
women with the conception of what may be done
towards the salvation of the world if they will but
bring to bear upon public affairs the same spirit of self-
sacrificing labour that so many thousands manifest in
the ordinary drudgery of parochial and evangelical
work. It may well seem an impossible dream. Can
these dry bones live ? Those who ask that question
little know the infinite possibilities latent in the heart of
manT Here we have the germ of Kidd’s theory as to
the process at work in our Western civilisation, but
Stead had not fully fathomed the lesson of history and
the certainty of a further evolution for humanity under
the stimulus of the altruistic teachings of Jesus. There
is no doubt it was latent in his mind, and it gives much

The Ideal State 235

additional force to our previous argument that such a
man as Stead, with his marvellous knowledge of the
world of men and things, should take such a spiritual
view. It must be remembered, enthusiast as he was,
that he was no dreamer : he dealt with affairs as he
found them, and by methods which were practicable.
And it is very striking and cheering to consider that
the man to whom we owe the two-keels-to-one
standard of naval supremacy should be the man who
cries for '' the quickening of spiritual life in the political
atmosphere.” And this it is that makes us eager to
know his method : “ What we have now to do is to
energise and elevate the politics of our time by the
enthusiasm and the system of religious bodies. Those
who say that it is impossible to raise up men and
women ready to sacrifice all that they possess and, if need
he, to lay down their lives in any great cause that appeals
to their higher nature, should spare a little time to
watch the recruiting of the Salvation Army for the
Indian Mission field. These missionaries have to face
certain disease, cruel privations, and probably an earl}^
death. But they shrink not” How can it be done in
the political atmosphere ? By the foolishness of
preaching,” he answers, ‘‘ we must look for the revival
of civic faith which will save the English-speaking race
— an active service of men and women, who will enlist
in self-sacrificing labour for the young, the poor, and
the afflicted. In this lies our hope for doing effective
work for the regeneration and salvation of mankind.”
He goes on to say that this involves a religious idea, and
many may consider that when religion is introduced
harmonious co-operation becomes impossible, but
he declines to believe that this will always be so,
for, as he quotes from a writer in the “ Universal
Review ” : “A new catholicity has dawned upon the
world. All religions are now recognised as essentially

236 The Ideal State

divine. They represent the different angles at which
Man looks at God. All have something to teach us —
how to make the common man more like God. The
true religion is that which makes most men most like
Christ. And what is this ideal which Christ translated
into a realised life? For practical purposes this : To
take trouble to do good to others. A simple formula, hut
the rudimentary and essential truth of the whole Christian
religion. To take trouble is to sacrifice time. All time
is a portion of life. To lay down one’s life for the
brethren — which is sometimes literally the duty of the
citizen who is called to die for his fellows — is the con¬
stant and daily duty demanded by all the thousand
and one practical sacrifices which duty and affection
call upon us to make for men.” Here we have the
secret of Jesus — to take trouble to do good to others.
And this is operating increasingly in the thoughts of
men, and resulting in active alleviation of the burden
of misery, weighing down and pressing heavily upon
poor long-suffering humanity.

We have a striking illustration of the dawn of truth
simultaneously upon separate minds. In science this
is well known and recognised. Discoveries in medicine
and mechanics seem to arrive coincidently. The
evolution of thought, gradually accumulating through
the long and weary process of past ages, suddenly
emerges with intense illuminating force and seizes the
mind of man, and as often as not, quite independently
two or more at one and the same period. There may
be diversities in the form of expression, but the same
truth or method of its application is the central idea of
the theory or process. In this case Stead gave ex¬
pression to the thought that religion was the potential
influence by which men were brought to deeds of self-
sacrifice, not only for their faith, but for the State.
Kidd was able to prove simultaneously and inde-

The Ideal State 237

pendently that Christian ethics had moulded, in fact
profoundly altered, the face of history, and was the
agency by which our civilisation had established itself
on a permanent basis. Stead’s belief was the outcome
of a stern, strong faith, conjoined with a perfervid
imagination ; Kidd’s was the outcome of the scientific
study of the observed phenomena of history. Truly
God fulfils Himself in many ways. We have here two
absolutely diverse personalities, and yet at the same
moment of time practically each was able to proclaim
without fear of contradiction the spiritual evolution
of humanity under the influence of Christianity as the
one ameliorating agency operating in society and giving
stability and endurance in our civilisation which had
not been possible in the past.

The gradual social amelioration throughout Europe,
and more particularly in Britain, has been demon¬
strated over and over again, and it would only waste
time to repeat in detail what is already known of the
removal of serfdom, the press-gang, the passing of the
first Reform Bill, the abolition of the Corn Laws, the
gradual extension of the franchise, shorter hours and
improved conditions of labour, especially as regards
women and children ; the minimum wage, the old age
pension, free education, and the assertion of the
principle of equality of political opportunity.

Of all the programmes pushed forward at the present
time, one would enter once more a protest against
women’s suffrage, for the reason that it is a mere cry, is
totally unnecessary and unscientific, and can only end
in disaster; its influence upon the sex can only be evil,
and in the process of time its abrogation in the interests
of society and the continuance of the race would become
inevitable ; in all probability such a measure would be
rescinded by the women themselves. Men have done and
are doing much more for women than they themselves

238 The Ideal State

can. They have not the faculty of legislating just as
they have not that of soldiering, sailoring, engineering,
policing, and a thousand and other one things. The
cry about voting and payment of rates being corollaries
is an absurdity ; they are not ; many men pay rates
who are unable to exercise the franchise through being
abroad at election times, or suffering from illness at
home. Men pay rates in return for policing and
defending of person and property. Moreover, at this
stage a property vote can never be given to women :
it can only be a universal franchise, and the
Labour party are demanding this now, for the
very excellent reason in their own interest that
it will double the Socialist vote, and in all proba¬
bility double their parliamentary power. But no
measure ought to be advocated for such a motive only ;
no measure ought ever to be supported, however great
the material advantage to any party, which is not
sincerely believed in as of benefit to the State as a
whole. Women’s suffrage is so potential of danger
that no party should light-heartedly advocate it.
Woman’s influence in society is greater than that of
man. By her maternal faculty, and the ethical teaching
with which she environs the mind and thought of the
child, she does far more to raise the standard of human
conduct and promote the spiritual evolution moulding
our legislation than all the powers of universal franchise
could confer upon her. Her sphere is in a higher, holier
plane, but the rough-and-tumble of the political arena
is not for her. The love of man for woman and woman
for man is a sacred thing, and ought to be kept apart
from the contaminating influence of an effort foreign
to her nature and degenerating to her faculties,
which ought to be fostered so as to be exercised
to the full extent in the discharge of her maternal
duties.

The Ideal State 239

It is a remarkable fact that many women of un¬
doubted intellectuality are opposed to this measure.
It is nevertheless commonly stated by the suffragist
school that all the strong-minded women are on their
side. This is a bold statement, but not therefore
true. It is argued with pride that nearly all women
doctors are in its favour ; but women doctors are not
necessarily either strong-minded or of great intellectual
calibre, as is proved by the fact that professionally they
have not attained to the high position at one time pro¬
phesied. Mrs. Humphry Ward, forinstance, one of the
most intellectual women of this generation, is the head
of an organisation whose aim is to prevent the passage
of any such measure. In the case of such a woman the
explanation is easy ; she has studied observed pheno¬
mena ; she knows the capabilities of the two sexes, and
she is aware of the evil effect such a measure would have
in regard to woman from the point of view of sex, and
that of the State as a whole. She recognises that there
is a sphere for woman in public life, in the administra¬
tion of Acts already passed concerning women and
children, primary education, and to a certain extent
higher education, the care of the sick, the insane and
the feeble-minded ; conditions bearing on infantile
mortality and epidemic disease ; the care of women in
childbirth, and the urgent moral questions that arise in
our large towns, and in connection with local administra¬
tion. As she says : “In all these matters we want
more good and qualified women to help their own sex,
to help children, to help the nation.” She urges that
women are not only wanted in local government
administration, but the education of women voters and
the wives of voters must be fostered so as to enable
them to take a deeper and more active interest than
they do now in the affairs of their own town and dis¬
trict. The Local Government Committee will specially

240

The Ideal State

endeavour to reach women voters and show them what
is now in their power quite apart from any extension of
the franchise. The Committee will support qualified
women candidates of anti-suffrage opinions who,
speaking generally, are accepted by the recognised
municipal or local associations ; and, if necessary, will
contribute to the election expenses of such candidates.
Whether for the county and borough councils, the
rural and urban district councils, or the boards of
guardians, the Committee is ready to give help as far
as it can.

As Mrs. Ward points out in a letter to The Times,’’
the prejudice against women candidates for these local
bodies is unfortunately great, owing largely to the
violent agitation of the extreme suffragists, and there¬
fore the Committee ask for anti-suffrage candidates,
carefully selected by an anti-suffrage committee, in
order to overcome this prejudice. She addresses an
appeal to “ public-spirited women who are anxious
to serve their locality and their country, while believing
with us that the suffrage agitation is in reality an un¬
patriotic agitation, the success of which would weaken
and hamper the English State, to come forward and co¬
operate with us. . . . We appeal to all those who
sympathise with this positive side of the anti-suffrage
movement, who believe, not in an identity, but in an
honourable division of public functions between the
men and women of this nation to support our com¬
mittee, to contribute to our funds, and help our work.”
This is the expression of opinion of one of the ablest
and most cultured women in Britain at the present day,
but who is not puffed up with vain conceit, and is
thereby able to take a sane view of the relations of the
sexes and their particular endowments, especially in
regard to the legislative faculty. So fully does she
recognise this that she has no doubt as to the danger

The Ideal State 241

to the English nation from the foisting of the parlia¬
mentary suffrage upon those not only incapable of, but
totally unfitted for its exercise. No doubt there is
present to her mind the danger to the maternal faculty,
which is a prime necessity of the State. The attitude
of such a woman ought to arrest the attention of all
thinking men and women. We say '‘thinking” ad¬
visedly, because the supporters of this unbalanced, ill-
thought-out scheme for woman’s emancipation (so-
called) are not those as a rule for whose judgment we
feel inclined to entertain much respect. We can only
trust that all women who have come within the spell of
Mrs. Humphry Ward’s literary work will give heed to
her earnest and most disinterested warning upon this
very serious matter.

As we have pointed out, Mrs. Ward has not hesitated
to designate this suffrage agitation as unpatriotic, and
so much so that its success would weaken and hamper
the English State. But she has gone further in that
she has drawn attention to the “ dark and dangerous ”
side of this movement, and Miss Godden, in a letter to
the “ Times,” emphasises this very serious aspect of
the question. An examination of the sixpenny books
and pamphlets to be purchased at “ suffrage shops ”
in the districts of Kensington, Paddington, and Charing
Cross Road proves the present suffrage movement to
be deeply involved in an unnatural and unseemly agita¬
tion quite distinct from purely political views. And
the statements in these publications are not only un¬
seemly, they are absurd, untrue, and unscientific. As
Miss Godden points out : “ Suffrage physiology teaches
that ' woman’s organism is more complex, and her
totality of function larger than those of any other thing
inhabiting our earth. Therefore her position in the
scale of life is the most exalted, the most sovereign
one.’ ' Science has abundantly proved that the male

Q

242 The Ideal State

element was primarily an excrescence, a superfluity,
a waste product of Nature/ In sociology and ethics
we hear that ' man-made social order has its founda¬
tions laid in ruined souls and bodies ; that mono¬
gamous marriage is monotonous ; that morals are
based as much upon convention as principle ; that sex
war is a necessary and desirable stage to sex peace/ ’’
We are assured that a woman wrote the Odyssey ;
that Priscilla is accredited with the composition of the
Epistle to the Hebrews ; that Adam was made of dust,
and to dust shall return, but that Eve was not ; that
“ we have even now a new revelation, and the name of
its Messiah is Woman,” and “ the cause for which men
have been torturing Mrs. Pankhurst is the same cause
for which Jesus Christ died.” Miss Godden concludes :

A mental condition which has been educated into
accepting these statements is precisely that condition
which confounds hammers with argument and suicide
with martyrdom. ... It is a condition bred and
fostered by the suffrage literature freely on sale at
suffrage shops, and the suffrage teaching sedulously
diffused from platforms, in drawing-rooms, at street
corners. ... It makes an immediate and public
dissociation from the promoters and disseminators of
these doctrines incumbent on every man and woman
who has at heart the honour and sanity of English
womanhood.”

It is significant of much that in the weekly edition
of the '' Times ” newspaper containing the above, there
is an article on the increase of lunacy, as evidenced by
the Sixty-sixth Report of the Commissioners in Lunacy
to the Lord Chancellor, which has been issued as a
Blue book. We find it there stated by Dr. Motts :

In the offspring of insane parents, daughters are
much more numerous than sons, viz. in the proportion
of 292 to 208. These figures show that the female sex

The Ideal State 243

in a stock is more liable to become insane. . . . Much
more striking is the sex difference with regard to the
predominance of the factor of mental stress. Sudden
stress was thus recorded in thirty-five males as com¬
pared with sixty-five females, a fact in harmony with
the greater susceptibility to emotional disturbance.
Prolonged stress, of which the recorded instances were
more than thrice as numerous, likewise appears to be
a more frequent precursor of insanity in females than
in males, but not to such a marked degree — namely,
forty-five males to fifty-five females."

It must be evident that already in the hysteria of
their so-called literature, history, and science, we have
distinct suggestions of insanity in the movement and
ample warnings of the dangers of its continuity, and
more especially of its success, which could only
result in a progressively insane development, not
limited to women, and which would of necessity
affect the race as a whole, and in time bring about
disaster. Fortunately we know that this awful cul¬
mination is not possible, in that Nature invariably
reasserts herself, and must inevitably interfere to save
the race from extinction. As already observed, in a
short time we would find the women demanding, in
their own interest and that of their sons and daughters,
a return to the old condition of things, in which men
resumed, as their own peculiar function, the making
and enforcing of the laws by which society is regulated,
and the great maternal function of women in the best
possible environment would continue to act in the
interests of society and the well-being of the race.

Sir Almroth Wright has already abundantly proved
the evils of political life upon the feminine mind ; in¬
deed he has proved from observed phenomena that the
ferocity and instability of the methods pursued in the
present agitation are the outcome of morbid tendencies

244 The Ideal State

arising out of social conditions which require remedy,
and which the franchise could not alter. Our creed
ought therefore to remain unchangeable.^

This controversy alone proves the necessity of a
ministry of medicine in the Government to instruct and
guide the nation in matters such as these, for which
special study and training is required in order to be
capable of sound judgment and necessary courage to
resist the cry of the hysteric and the psychopath. The
prime fact remains that the women of the nation do
not want the vote. The scolding of the morbid, discon¬
tented, vain woman has attracted too much attention.
All the more reason why it must be resisted if the
process of social amelioration is not to be interrupted
and the spiritual evolution of humanity delayed.

There is a deep-seated reason for the change in public
opinion, which at first seemed to be carried away by
the false arguments and system of terrorism which the
more violent advocates of this revolutionary move¬
ment adopted. But just in as far as these methods
departed from the “ sweet reasonableness,'’ which we
supposed characterised the actions of all good women,
they were doomed to failure — they violated the most
sacred obligations of womanhood — and not only that,
they were in direct antagonism to the altruism of our
religion, which has always appealed to woman through
the innate self-sacrifice of her maternity. For women
to violate in this manner the code of Christian ethics
was a proof of the morbid psychology of the whole
agitation. It was not long before it was hoist with its

^ “ Man for the field and woman for the hearth ;
Man for the sword and for the needle she :
Man with the head and woman with the heart
Man to command and woman to obey :

All else confusion. . . .

The bearing and the training of a child

Is woman’s wisdom.”

Tennyson’s “Princess.”

The Ideal State 245

petard ; the whirligig of time brought in its re¬
venges/’ and the clever women at the head of the
movement found the men turn and rend them for this
gross violation of their maternal instinct and the
modesty of nature ; and the real mothers of the nation
were not long in showing their disapproval 1 Truly,
“ these violent delights have violent ends and in their
triumph die ! ”

Another cause of the collapse of this ill- thought-out,
ill-digested programme was the fact that within its
borders were two hostile camps. The movement began
with the demand for the suffrage to women of property ;
before long the Labour members were not slow to dis¬
cover that Britain would never tolerate such a violation
of all democratic principle, and it appeared to them a
good political move to lend their support as thereby
securing the suffrage to all women on the same basis as
men and in all probability double their own parlia¬
mentary party. From the present-day political stand¬
point, the latter were quite right to advocate a measure
which would be likely to augment largely their parlia¬
mentary power. But this is at best a poor motive, and
until parties and Governments realise the advantage
in the long run which accrues to those who act solely
in conformity with Christian ethics, they will find
that such methods will fail and recoil on their own
heads.

We want, moreover, more reverence for scientific
opinion ; no body of men in Parliament or outside of it
have any right to advocate such a breach with the tradi¬
tion of the past, who have not referred the matter to
the leaders of psychological science, who have had
experience through the devotion of their entire lifetime
to its study, and have observed the mentality of both
sexes over a long period of years. Inexperience and
power are a sorry combination, and the sooner all men.

246 The Ideal State

however clever in the ordinary sense, learn that they are
quite incapable of deciding scientific matters not only
requiring training and observation over long periods of
time, but much accumulated thought and reflection, the
better it will be for the people as a whole ; otherwise our
parliamentary machine will be relegated to the limbo
of effete institutions. We have dwelt on this matternow,
because in the Ideal State some system must be devised
so that the accumulated experience and ripened judg¬
ment of men of special training and power may not be
lost to the State. Before long we shall have a State
Medical Service, answerable to a Ministry of Medicine as
one of the chief offlces of the State. Only then will pre¬
ventive medicine have full play and the general standard
of health be raised to a much higher level. Slums will
very soon be condemned and extirpated, and the life of
the child in our industrial centres made much happier,
with a resultant improvement in the physique of our
man and womanhood. As Mr. Gladstone foretold, it
cannot be long before the medical man becomes the
prime factor in the maintenance of the welfare of the
State. In the full realisation of the Ideal State, when
men work not for gain, but solely with the view of
“ taking pains to help others in the knowledge that
they are benefiting the race at present existing and the
generations yet to come, every individual will be able to
secure the ripened judgment of experience wherever
required, whether in his own interest or in that of
public affairs.

One word may be said here in regard to the question
of marriage and the present-day demand for a loosening
of its bonds in the direction of making divorce or
separation easier. It would certainly seem from the
point of view of common sense that where an unhappy
union tended to wear out the life, or destroy the useful¬
ness of either partner, that it would be better that

The Ideal State 247

greater opportunity should be allowed for its dis¬
solution. No doubt society will gradually devise a
better way than exists at the present time, when every
incentive impels towards the formation of an irregular
alhance, which, once admitted, opens the way to a ready
means of securing the desired separation. Every safe¬
guard must be taken against divorce becoming too easy
of accomplishment. The altruism of Christianity, as it
continues to influence humanity progressively, will
undoubtedly create a caste of thought and mutual
consideration which, as time goes on, will make part¬
ners in the marriage contract more tolerant towards
each other and cause them to vie in seeking each the
other’s good physically, intellectually, and ethically.
In the present transition period, however, the law
requires some amendment, which must be made to
apply equally over the United Kingdom.

The extension of the suffrage to women could only
result in chaos as far as the marriage bond is concerned,
for two reasons. In the first place, the diversity of
opinion, which would arise in a large number of cases
in regard to public affairs, could only result in anger,
animosity, and hatred. One may have a private friend
with whom one differs politically, but this is somewhat
uncommon, and certainly implies a spirit of mutual
forbearance not at all usual ; political agreement to¬
day is almost a necessity of private friendship in the
vast majority of instances. In any case, one is not
forced to live in constant companionship with this
private friend, but this is a sine qua non of the marriage
contract. Secondly, the exciting and disturbing effect
of the political arena upon the emotional nervous
temperament of the woman would either upset her
mental balance or disturb her physically and psychic¬
ally in such a manner as to unfit her totally for the
function of maternity, so necessary to the race, to the

248 The Ideal State

joy of home life, and to the well-being and happiness
of woman herself.

It may not be inappropriate at this stage to devote
a little time to the study of our legal system. No doubt
on the whole at the present time justice is secured,
although the system is by no means perfect. Our
judges endeavour honestly to administer the law, but
yet miscarriages do occur, and it is not always possible
for our Lord Justices to free their minds from prejudice
they may have acquired through an environment of
wealth and luxury. And therefore we have no hesitation
in saying that in the Ideal State where wealth shall have
no sway, and the judge no salary beyond the reward
of dispensing justice wisely and well, and thereby in¬
creasing the sum of human happiness, we look forward
to a time when all men shall be so imbued with the
spirit of love and self-sacrifice that judgment seats will
be as vacant as our prisons.

This being admitted, we are now free to consider the
methods of legal administration. We have no hesitation
in saying that it is devised not in the interests of the
body of the people, but entirely in order to fill the
pockets of the members of the Bar. The Bar, and not
the Bench, controls the great legal instrument. Being a
Scotsman, I know more of the Scots procedure than the
English, and therefore I shall presume that an action has
been raised against me in the Scots courts. I am a poor
man ; my total capital is two thousand pounds. A
rich man raises an action against me for fifteen hundred.
Now it may seem an absurd thing to say, but it is abso¬
lutely true, the best thing that can possibly happen as
far as I am concerned is that I should lose my case, pay
the fifteen hundred pounds, and a further sum to the
lawyers, which no doubt makes a large inroad on what
remains, and start the world afresh with the pittance
remaining. And why is this so ? Because in all proba-

The Ideal State 249

bility what will happen will be, that if I win my case
before the Lord Ordinary of the Court of Session, my
rich opponent will pursue the case before the Outer
Division of the Court. Suppose I win again : he
appeals to the Inner Division. I win again. He ap¬
peals to the House of Lords, where for various reasons
Scots decisions seem to be more often overturned than
confirmed. As the result of this appeal, I lose my case ;
at last, finding the decision against me, I am told there
is no appeal for me. I, the poor man, am ruined, and
my rich opponent is happy, by means of his greater
riches, in having smashed me, notwithstanding the fact
that I have won in three courts to his one. It must be
evident that there is neither sense nor justice in such
methods. There is only gain to the members of the
Bar, at the expense of every innate principle of right
and common sense. The feeling is increasing that
money is the only essential to winning a case in the long
run, and is almost certain to win if the opponent is
a poor man.

From the point of view of common sense, and keeping
in mind the hypothetical case just given, let us consider
what the law is — it is a series of Acts of Parliament in
conformity with which men and bodies of men must act,
as subjects of the realm. The Lord Justices or Senators
of the College of Justice are appointed on account of
their wide knowledge of these Acts. That being so, we
hold that one judgment should suffice and no appeal be
allowed. The appeal is always made in the hope of a
different view being taken by another judge as to the
meaning or purport of the Act involved. Our senators
are not slow to uphold the diverse views of members of
the medical profession in matters of expert opinion to
ridicule. They always appear to me to be quite
oblivious of the fact that if it were not for such diverse
views in the vast majority of cases in regard to the

250 The Ideal State

interpretation of Acts of Parliament, there would not
be half the number of judges required of those who now
adorn our seats of judgment. They forget also that
medicine can never be an exact science, on account of
the differences existing between all members of the
species, so much so that no doctor can be sure of the
effect of any one drug until he has administered it in
each particular individual. In the case we have men¬
tioned three verdicts in his favour were no good to the
poor man ; had he lost in the first instance before the
Lord Ordinary he could not have appealed, because he
had no money to enable him to do so with safety. This
is where wealth is given an undue weight in matters of
so-called justice. Before long we hope that the legal
instrument will become part of the Civil Service, and
thus the poor will be efficiently protected from the
onslaught of the rich, and the rich will find that
justice is above their gilded sway.

To pursue the argument, the judge is paid a large
salary, so that the legal expenses are apart from this
altogether. The main item in all legal expenses is the
payment of the barrister’s fees, whose charges vary from
five to a hundred guineas per day, according to experi¬
ence and reputation. Here again is another cause of
injustice ; the rich man buys up, in legal phraseology,
“ retains ” the ablest advocate on any given question
by huge payments, with the idea largely of preventing his
opponent getting the benefit of such help and advice.
We begin now to understand why the Law allows cases
to be appealed again and again. It is solely in the in¬
terests of the Bar, who require large incomes on account
of their social position, and for the reason that later
on, when Lord Justiceships and titles come to them,
they may be able to take their place with that of the
landed aristocracy. We have seen that this power of
appeal is bad from the people’s standpoint, and there-

The Ideal State 251

fore we believe, ere long, we shall find a reform of our
legal system demanded by the Liberal party, notwith¬
standing the overwhelming preponderance of legal
members in Parliament. The law must be systematised
and decisions by our senators made final, whether in
favour of rich or poor ; and the legal instrument must
become part of our civil service. Indiscriminate legal
action will not be allowed ; it will not be possible ; all
will be regulated as other departments of State are at
the present time, with one certain result — a gradual and
increasing diminution of actions at law, and conse¬
quently of legal officials, and thereby no small saving
to the coffers of the State.

We have now reached a point in this discussion in
which it becomes necessary to consider the lines upon
which further development must proceed. We have
found that much has been done in the way of social
evolution under the influence of Christian ethics, and
we have indicated certain reforms requiring immediate
attention, such as a State medical service with a
ministry of medicine, the drastic alteration of our legal
system, which must become part of the ordinary Civil
Service, a universal minimum wage, the nationalisation
of land, mines, and railways, and reform of the poor
law on the lines of the Minority Report. On further
examination we are forced to the conclusion that all the
evils of our system in methods of government are
financial ; it is as true to-day as when first uttered,
that “ the love of money is the root of all evil.’’ It will
therefore be found that on investigation of such things
as poverty, unhappiness, or injustice, in every instance
“ greed ” or ‘‘ Mammon ” is the fount and origin of
the misery. La misere depends solely upon the desire
for huge dividends, and we have already referred to
Huxley’s dictum that if this were to remain a char¬
acteristic of our advancing commerce and civilisation

252 The Ideal State

he would hail the advent of some friendly comet to
sweep it all away into nothingness. Huxley was a
great man, and as honest as the day, but he
was no Socialist, no idealist, as we understand the
word, yet even he, through the evidence of observed
phenomena, was forced to come to this conclusion.
That being so, la misere being of such awful horror as
to call forth this cry from one not professing a belief in
the dogma of the Christian religion, although doubtless
influenced by its altruism, it behoves all who profess
to follow the teachings of the New Testament — and
what is religion if it is not conduct — to endeavour to
bring about by every possible means the annihilation
of the system which produces such widespread misery
and vice and crime among the masses of the people.
Matthew Arnold asks in one of his books — What is
religion ? And the answer is supplied — “ Religion is
conduct, and conduct is three-fourths of life.'' If then
we profess the teachings of Jesus as the guide of our life,
and go to church Sunday after Sunday to hear again
these wondrous messages of love and self-sacrifice, and
yet in daily conduct traverse every one of these, what
are we ? “Woe unto ye, hypocrites and Pharisees. Ye
honour Me with your lips, but your hearts are far from
Me.'' If then we are imbued with the altruism of
Christian ethics, one of the first reforms which Parlia¬
ment ought to be asked to effect is the prevention by
law of the payment by any company to its shareholders
of high percentages procurable only by sweated pro¬
cesses for the reason given above, that la misere was
the result of the striving on the part of our managing
directors to pay big dividends. If this were enacted,
and a wage sufficient for all wants secured to every
householder, and a limitation of the hours of labour so
that no such thing as overwork would be possible, then
the sweating system would automatically cease. It

The Ideal State 253

ought to have been ended long ago, but the powers of
Mammon were too powerful ; but at last the trumpet
has sounded, and the walls of Jericho are about to fall.
Poor suffering humanity has had long to wait for this
simple act of justice, but at last the clouds are breaking,
and the sun of Christian love and self-sacrifice shall
shine forth in its full effulgence to enlighten and warm
the world with its cheering rays.

In a recent number of the ‘‘ English Review ” Mr.
H. W. Hobart, “ still struggling at fifty-eight years of
age for a bare subsistence in the industrial army, having
started as a breadwinner at nine,’' gives some “ Revela¬
tions of Industrial Life.” This article ought to be
circulated widely ; it is so obviously true, and would
do much to bring home to the well-to-do the folly of
attempting to continue society as at present consti¬
tuted. We can quite well remember the days when the
clergy were in the habit of rebuking the working classes
for discontent, and enforcing the duty of thanking God
for their manifold blessings. Now our ministers of
religion are deserving of honour and gratitude in so far
as they endeavour to carry out the teachings of their
Master, but in regard to this matter they act in entire
opposition to His message in many instances. One has
only to read this article in order to appreciate the fact
that it is quite impossible for the members of the great
industrial army to pay much, if any, regard to Christian
ethics as long as they are compelled to suffer at the
hands of professing followers of Jesus for no other
reason than that the latter are determined before they
die to accumulate hundreds of thousands of pounds,
become great landowners, and advance their position
in aristocratic society. And the methods by which
professing Christians attain to wealth are often such
as to proclaim the ideal of our religion as hypocritical
cant of the first order, or even worse, as of fraudulent

2 54 Ideal State

intent to deceive, a cloak to entrap the unwary. It
ought to be insisted on that if the profession of religion
is not accompanied by complete evidence of conduct
as far as possible consonant with the altruism of Chris¬
tianity it should meet with no attention or regard. If
religion is not conduct, it is only a mask, a hollow
mockery. And for anyone professing the religion of
Jesus to attempt to amass gold by means which
can only bring about the degradation of his fellow-
men physically, intellectually, and morally, is a self-
evident contradiction of such belief. One wonders
that the apparent contradiction has not become so
manifest that the hypocrisy of the whole situation, not
to mention the shame of it, would have forced other
methods in order to satisfy the prickings of conscience.
But no ! the lust of gold appeals with such force to the
natural man that it is only by Divine agency that
a revolution is being slowly wrought in human
society by the power of religion and gradual diffusion
of the altruistic spirit. The greatest wonder of the
world is now in operation, and is only dawning
upon the blind intelligence of mankind ; and that is the
very gradual overcoming and final conquest of the
strongest passion of the natural man — the love of
money — by the still small voice of conscience — the
God in man — guided by “ the sweet reasonableness,”
the love, and self-sacrifice of the gospel of Jesus.
Surely this is the greatest of all miracles ! I have
overcome the world ! ” He told His brethren while here
on earth, and only now, two thousand years thereafter,
do we begin to realise the truth of these words. By
dying on the cross, and showing forth the only way —
the path of self-sacrifice — the Pathway to Reality —
in other words, by dying that we might live. He became
indeed the Saviour of the world. And it is the only
way if we are ever to know happiness, for who can be

The Ideal State 255

happy as long as he or she realises that their own com¬
fort and luxury depend on the unhappiness of their
fellow-men — their brothers and sisters?

This brings us to a consideration of a common delu¬
sion of the middle and upper classes — the fetish of
family.” The sooner it is demolished the better for
humanity. The sooner it is realised as an axiom, the
better for everyone, and chiefly by those afflicted with
the delusion that “ there is no such things as ' family.’ ”
This soul-destroying doctrine has led to more foolish
pride and selfishness on the one hand, and snobbery
and deceit on the other, than any of our absurd pre¬
judices. The sad thing socially is that no sooner do
people rise from the industrial army into the moneyed
classes than they at once begin to lie about their
ancestors in the most barefaced manner, and of neces¬
sity this entails the shunning of their poorer ac¬
quaintances and the neglect even of near relatives.
“ Family ” has come to mean ‘‘ money ” ; “ nouveaux
riches ” may be whispered by the aristocrat about
some parvenu and his relatives who have pushed their
way into the higher ranks by the power of their
millions, but it does not last long. The man of so-
called “ ancient lineage ” is soon bowing the knee to
the trader or speculator whose wealth surpasses his
own. Is it not strange that men take so long to appre¬
ciate the truth of observed phenomena, that luxury
operates so adversely on humanity that in a few
generations it must result in decadence ? and hence our
aristocrats constantly require renewal from the masses,
who can generate a stock capable of virile power and
endeavour and maintenance of the standard of physical
well-being. So that, scientifically considered, it is the
lower orders who should be classed as “ good family,”
seeing it is upon them we depend for the force and
vigour of the race. It is not their fault that they cannot

256 The Ideal State

secure the accumulated culture of the ages as a con¬
stant environment. Were it so, we would soon see
universally that atmosphere of gentle breeding,”
which a constant environment of culture has made
possible to people of wealth, and leisure, and refinement,
and which has thrown a charm and a glamour over
many of the privileged members of our aristocracy.
One cannot help recalling Tennyson’s lines :

“ Howe’er it be.

It seems to me

’Tis only noble to be good ;

Kind hearts are more than coronets.

And simple faith than Norman blood.”

This beautiful and pregnant truth has been quoted
repeatedly as a pious opinion, but never believed or
acted upon. To deal with it from the scientific stand¬
point, Norman blood is no doubt the possession of
many who are poor and needy, but in their case it is
unrecognised ; it is devoid of merit and unworthy of
acknowledgment. Further, the inbreeding required to
preserve the pure strain of Norman blood results in
degeneracy : this is not only the rule in man, but in all
species of the vertebrates. New blood is constantly
required to keep the breed strong and healthy.

In regard to this matter we have an amusing illus¬
tration of the illogicality of human nature. The people
who believe most in their ancestry as a rule belong to
the orthodox religion, and profess an entire faith in our
common descent from Adam and Eve. That being so,
it follows that every member of the “ genus homo
sapiens ” can claim equal lineage and long descent with
any other. In fact, every one of the toiling millions can
claim to belong to as old family ” as that of the most
aristocratic peer. Moreover, any particular strain of
Norman or Celtic or any other is very soon swamped
by the potent influence of marriage. The result is the

The Ideal State 257

average type, with special characteristics which depend
solely upon environmental influences, and the lesson
from this study of observed phenomena is to improve
the environment all round, and we shall soon have
universally gentler manners and what is called good
breeding and that air of refinement which a knowledge
of literature and art tends to convey. There is not
much doubt that this fetish is tottering to its fall : the
majority of the people do not regard it, and think of it
only as one of those stupid superstitions which helci
sway among men until the enlightenment of Christian
ethics dissipated the mist which obscured their vision,
and demonstrated the native equality of man, when
robbed of those artificial distinctions which are as
useless as they are false.

The process of racial development going on in
America at the present day is most interesting, and
bears upon this point. Emigrants from Europe are
being poured into that continent as into a huge mortar,
and as a consequence we have a mixture there of all
the nations represented in our Western civilisation.
And what is the result ? A race possessed of intense
virility and energy, with a capacity for work which is
unrivalled. This proves the benefit from the union of
different strains in the white races at any rate, and
shows that we are more likely to get a strong, virile,
energetic race from this intermixture than we can get
on the average from any one of the individual strains.
Further, what do ethnologists tell us ? That a type is
being developed from this intermixture which from
generation to generation is becoming more and more
like the original inhabitants of the country — the Red
Indian. If true, what can this mean ? It can mean
nothing else than that the environment of this huge
continent, with its illimitable plains, mountains, rivers,
and forests, is evolving a type similar to that of the

258 The Ideal State

aborigines, who occupied the country long before this
intermixture of races, who represent the flower of our
Western civilisation, set foot upon its soil. This inter¬
mixture has brought with it the culture of the ages and
the altruistic spirit, and the result is the continued
betterment of society and a nation in the very
acme of civilisation and refinement. But yet the
type of feature and form is approximating more and
more to that of the aboriginal inhabitant, demonstrat¬
ing once again the power of environmental influences.
And yet we continue to uphold the superstition of
family and heredity !

After this digression we must return to Mr. Hobart’s
article, and we will begin with its conclusion : All
through life the trials and troubles of the industrial
community are incessant ; there is no rest ; no re¬
laxation : scarcely a pause, but like the ever-rolling
sea, just a brief calm, to be followed by a fierce storm
of the bitterest severity.” This is a strong indictment,
and one which must be remedied if we are to maintain
any consistency whatsoever in our profession of the
Christian religion. As in days of old, it can be said of
us to-day : “Ye honour Me with your lips, but your
hearts are far from Me.” Mr. Hobart points out that
the child of the working-man is handicapped from birth.
It has neither proper food, suitable clothing, cleanli¬
ness, tender care, nor pure air — all absolutely necessary.
Indeed everything seems to be done to hamper the
growth and development of the child by a bad en¬
vironment. Mr. Harold Begbie, in his graphic de¬
scriptions of London slum life, has made us well aware
of the terrible environment as far as morals are con¬
cerned. We seem positively to do everything to en¬
courage the growth of disease, vice, and crime, and there¬
after in sanctimonious fashion talk superiorly of the sad
and deplorable growth of criminality amongst the lower

The Ideal State 259

orders ! When shall we learn wisdom ? Can anyone
honestly argue that we are bound to maintain laws
which enable a few individuals to draw exorbitant
rents from land and housing if we thereby create
misery, insanitation, poverty, drunkenness, vice, and
crime in increasing degree among the masses of our
citizens ? Most certainly not. Property has been
conserved too long to the detriment of humanity ; and
we believe to-day that no law can endure which acts
prejudicially to the physical and moral welfare of the
individual man. In the first place, it is a gross viola¬
tion of the law of righteousness ; in the second place,
the laws at present established have been made by
man and can be repealed or amended whenever in his
wisdom he thinks fit. That being so, we demand
alteration in land and property laws, which violate the
health and happiness of the people, and are in direct
opposition to the altruistic principles at present
operating in human society. Such reforms will be
stigmatised as confiscation and robbery. This we can
pass unheeded ; the robbery has been all from the
poor man hitherto, and that must cease ; the rich man
has more than he requires, and will not suffer through
curtailment of unnecessary wealth or luxury, which are
only a stumbling-block in the path of his own ethical
development. Moreover, in many ways such reforms
would benefit the plutocrat. His class are ever crying
over the decadence of the race and the decline in
stamina of our soldiers and sailors, who, after all, are
the only real defence against the confiscation of their
property. Once our soldiers and sailors are defeated
by a foreign foe the rich man will soon discover that his
property is either confiscated or that it yields a very
small return comparatively. That being so, if his eyes
were not blinded by pure selfishness and greed, he
would see by the light of reason that it was his business,

26o The Ideal State

if not his duty, to secure the best possible environment
for the children of the workers, so as to rear strong
virile men to man the ships and defend the shores. As
he cannot see it, and will not, he must be compelled, and
ere long, let us thank God, in his interest and in all our
interests, physically, intellectually, and spiritually, the
reforms which are necessary to this great end shall be
accomplished.

Mr. Hobart gives many instances of the trials to
which the workers are subjected. '' Who is there
amongst the advanced democratic writers of to-day
who fully appreciates the extent of suffering and even
agony inflicted in many working-class homes by the
late arrival at its destination of a workman’s train ?
Hot, tired, exhausted, and fatigued, they arrive at
their workshop one minute after the gate is closed,
there to wait and worry for a quarter of an hour, an
hour, or a quarter of a day. And what does this mean ?
The loss of a few paltry pence ? Ah ! no. It means
perchance a long spell of unemployment, for some
employers are so precise and attach so much import¬
ance to punctuality, that they will discharge a man
immediately for being late in the morning. It may
mean another week of shoeless feet for one of the
children, or the lack of some necessary comfort for
a delicate wife ... or a further accumulation of
arrears of rent, and this in its turn may mean the
hastening of the day of the broker’s man’s visit, and of
eviction from the place called ' home.’ Those who
talk glibly of the thousands of pounds lost in wages
through a lock-out, or strike, do not know that
thousands of pounds of wages are lost every year
by the workers through late trains, tramcar delays,
cheap alarm clocks that will not ‘ alarm,’ sleepless
nights through toothache, baby’s restlessness, wife’s
illness, and scores of other causes, and none of them

The Ideal State 261

due to any fault of the workers themselves, and with
no balancing satisfaction of a righteous endeavour to
improve bad conditions, such as is looked for in a strike.
The struggles of industrial life are fraught with tragedy.”

Truly, as Burns has said, “ Man’s inhumanity to man
makes countless thousands mourn.” Is it not dis¬
graceful that to-day one man is able to inflict such
injury on his neighbours and is enabled to do this
by the power of the wealth created by the industry of
the workman. It ought never to be forgotten that
without the efforts of working-men there would be
no possibility of the accumulation of great wealth by
any one individual, and that to use this wealth so
acquired to damage those who helped him to obtain
it is an act of the meanest description. The only de¬
fence ever attempted is, “ It’s business.” If so, it is
bad business, and the methods pursued in our trade
and commerce call loudly for remedy. At present the
only cure for evils such as have been described by
Mr. Hobart is representation of the workers, with
powers, in the board of management of every business
concern which requires to employ many hands.

The worker is of greater advantage to the State in
many instances than the employer, and it is very
wrong that the State should not protect the toiler who,
after all, must labour if he is to live. And yet, people
revile trade unions. How otherwise could the artisan
have security of work, or livelihood, or home, food, or
family ? What we want is the extension of the
principle of trade unionism to all trades, and every
kind of worker, male or female, if the cup of human
misery is in any degree to be lessened. Methods of
compulsion are of necessity required at this time
to restrain the evils due to the tyranny of capital and
monopoly ; but we fortunately can look forward with
confidence to a further stage when all men shall be

262 The Ideal State

possessed of the altruistic spirit to such a degree that
they will vie with each other in their endeavours to
secure the universal happiness of the race and of the
generations to follow hereafter. It is evident that
this is a necessary consequence of the spiritual evolu¬
tion we have demonstrated to be in process in human
society.

Mr. Hobart proceeds to expatiate on the difficulties
experienced by the working-man in his endeavour to
keep home and family up to the minimum of existence
on a pound a week or less. He points out that philan¬
thropists have divided and subdivided the workers into
sections according to the different degrees of poverty,
and this is his comment thereupon : “ But they are
merely cold, lifeless figures. They do not convey to
the reader the slightest indication of the mental tor¬
ture endured by loving parents, when they see their
children gradually but surely becoming weak and
emaciated for want of wholesome food and home com¬
forts. . . . We hear of neurasthenia and business
breakdown among the business men of to-day, as
being due to the rush and scramble of commercialism
and the anxieties of city life. But not a word is said
about the nerve strain and tension of the industrial
population, to keep pace with the speeding-up methods
in vogue everywhere. . . . Look at this position.
With a minimum wage of thirty shillings weekly — con¬
sidered too high by our comfortable legislators — and
any number of hours per week from fifty upwards, a
man is expected to turn out healthy and responsible
citizens of a future generation. His weekly outlay is :
rent, 7s. ; travelling expenses, 2s. ; clubs and in¬
surances, 3s. (for a man must be thrifty and careful,
no matter what his income, or he will be dubbed a
* waster ’) ; his church or mission, 6d. ; . . . occa¬
sional gratuities to charitable institutions, averaging

The Ideal State 263

6d. ; pocket money for children, 2d. ; pin money for
the wife, od. ; for breakfast and dinner away from
home, 3s. ; total, i6s. 2d. This leaves 13s. lod. for
food for the whole family for a week, his own tea and
supper for the week, and all his meals on Sunday ;
also boots, clothes, fuel, and light and for replenishing
the home (for every business man allows for deprecia¬
tion). What a travesty of life ! And close on his
heels, dogging his footsteps at every turn, follows the
nemesis of sickness, short time, wet weather, increase
of family, and accidents." As regards the woman he
says most truthfully : “I venture to say there is
no comparison between the alleged anxieties of
middle-class women, and the mental tortures per¬
petually endured by the wife of the average working¬
man. Their anxieties begin with their life and end
with their life."

It was very necessary to dwell at length upon this
subject for the reason that the belief is prevalent in the
middle and upper classes that the workers have no
call upon their purse, having no position to maintain ;
that their wants are few and that therefore livelihood
presents no difficulties to them. The investigations of
Booth and Rowntree led to the discovery that nearly
one-third of the people was below the poverty line,
that is to say, were members of families whose bread¬
winners were earning one pound per week or less ; and
the appeal of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman to the
nation to take steps to remove this social sore of the
body politic, marked an epoch in social evolution.
Since then the minimum wage has been granted in
one trade and the principle is now established in the
minds of all thinking men imbued with the altruistic
spirit, so that very soon we have every reason to
believe that to the bread-winner of every household,
man or woman, a living minimum wage wiU be

264 The Ideal State

secured. Think of the gain in human happiness, the
peace of mind and physical well-being to the toiling
millions, and they “ who toil not, neither do they
spin,'’ will realise the joy of those who have helped
to lift the weight of sorrow and anguish from the
heavy burden of poor suffering humanity.

Legislation is fortunately proceeding on these lines ;
it is providing better housing, garden cities, destruc¬
tion of slum property, and is about to reform the
land laws so as to make it easy for people to have
ample room and gardens and fresh air. These measures
must be secured if the development of the child is to
have a fair start. Upon this we are practically all
agreed nowadays. The child is the future citizen and
from both the material and the ethical standpoint it
is the duty of the State in its own interests as well as
in that of future generations to see to it that every
possible means are taken to give him the healthiest
environment possible ; and if capital or property inter¬
fere with this in any degree, they must yield to the
paramount interests of the future of the race. The
child finds itself in the world ; it has not asked to be
born ; it is not responsible for its parents, and if they
neglect it, the State must interfere and see to it that
in the interests of this entity, who has his rights as a
member of the human species, and as a unit in society,
and in the interest of the State itself, the child shall
have every necessary comfort and care in order to
secure in the early days its highest possible physical
development, and later on the opportunity of a still
higher evolution by the environment of every oppor¬
tunity of culture and refinement.

We think we hear the cry which has always arisen
when reforms have been mooted : ‘‘ What of the inde¬
pendence of the people ! Nothing but pauperisation !
What made the men of the past ? The struggle for

The Ideal State 265

existence, to be sure/' The independence of the
people has been ever a false cry, used as an excuse
for doing nothing and spending nothing to alleviate
poverty and distress — a mere selfish refusal to give
to the brothers and sisters of the race the same healthy
and comfortable environment which we consider
necessary to ourselves. As regards the struggle for
existence and the making of men, I can assert without
fear of contradiction that poverty and starvation
never made men or contributed to their higher physi¬
cal development. Poverty has slain millions of
healthy infants who would have been a valuable
asset to the State, and who had every right to demand
healthy conditions of food, clothing, and pure air.
This is all so evident surely that we do not need to
pursue this aspect of the method of social evolution.
It is in process now and must continue to advance.

It must now be evident that if once we have this
treatment of the child physically, intellectually, and
ethically thoroughly established, in a generation at
most we shall have to deal with a class of workers who
are contented and happy, who realise that they are
cared for by the State, and who will do all in their
power to help the process of social amelioration in all
classes of society. The altruistic feelings will operate
with vastly greater power and intensity, and the
spirit of love and self-sacrifice will everywhere prevail,
so that we shall have reached a much greater advance
in the betterment of the conditions of life among the
people, with the prospect of attainment hitherto un¬
dreamt of.

The spiritual evolution of the people has not been
confined to any one class. It has been evident in its
operation in society as a whole, but I think we are
entitled to consider that in the generation just con¬
cluded it has been more evidenced among the lower

266 The Ideal State

orders than in those above them. The growth and work
of the Salvation Army is the most outstanding feature
of modern times, both ethically and socially. In
this organisation we find men and women giving
their lives to save others from “ sin and misery."'
Harold Begbie's “ Broken Earthenware" has brought
home to all of us the self-abnegation of those whose
lives have been changed by the altruism of Jesus, and
through the power of His teaching have overcome the
world. In this they find their joy and exceeding re¬
ward. In this work of self-sacrifice they realise them¬
selves. In sacrificing the flesh they realise the soul,
and know the peace and joy of the Divine Immanence ;
they come to the full recognition of the truth that
“ the ideal is the real," which brings the only lasting
satisfaction to their spirit ; they come to the know¬
ledge of the truth that “ the things which are unseen
are eternal." It means, as Eugels has admirably stated,
" the ascent of man from the kingdom of necessity
to the kingdom of freedom." When freed from the
cloak of self," men are enabled to grasp the unseen,
to breathe the air of heaven, and become one with
eternity. Carlyle, in one of his finest passages, has
said : “In the grimmest rocky wildernesses of exist¬
ence there are blessed well-springs ; there is an ever¬
lasting guiding star " ; and the Salvation Army has
been the means of bringing the grandeur and the joy
of this thought to many weary souls.

It has been given to few men, as it was to the late
leader of the “ Army," to see the triumph of his schemes
for the betterment of mankind thoroughly established.
One of the finest tributes ever paid to a man at the end
of the day, took the form of an article in “ The Times,"
in which the work of W. Booth and Livingstone was
compared. There it was said : “ The words of Sir Bartle
Frere, describing Livingstone, are not less applicable

The Ideal State 267

to Booth. ‘ The work of his life will surely be held up
in ages to come, as one of singular nobleness of design,
and of unflinching energy and self-sacrifice in execu¬
tion.’ This is a combination which compels the ad¬
miration of all save the dull and the base. The men
who have it are rare, and we may be thankful for
them. They may not succeed, and, indeed, it is diffi¬
cult to say of either of these missionaries how far he
succeeded in his aim. Nor does it greatly matter.
The great thing is that they had the aim and pursued it
with unflagging energy and unflinching self-sacrifice.
They are an example and a light ; they raise the whole
standard of conduct in their generation in a way which
men with different gifts cannot compass. As for
visible success^ no one ever failed, according to the common
ideas of success, so utterly as the Master they both served.’'

The Times ” is here consciously or unconsciously
helping the ethical evolution of man. In this con¬
clusion it idealises self-sacrifice and shows forth its
belief in the ideal regardless of worldly success or
substantial gain or possession ; indeed, indirectly, it
may be said to pour contempt on “ the common ideas
of success.” It must be evident surely that here is
visible proof, if such were needed, of the triumph of the
teachings of the Master, Whom, to-day, consciously or
unconsciously, we all serve or try to serve, and thus help
on towards the glorious consummation of the ideal state,
when, indeed, “ Good shall be the final goal of ill.” The
ascent of man through the ages has been long and
steep, but at last we are within reach of his final
evolution by means of the permeation of his thoughts
by the ideal of love and self-sacrifice. It may be long
in coming, but the indications are strong that the
Will of the Eternal approaches completion and the
realisation of the ideal is nearing accomplishment.

It is impossible to refrain from inscribing here Mr.

268

The Ideal State

Owen Seaman’s poem/ full as it is, as was that already
given on the late Dr. Barnardo, of the noblest Christian
ideal, and perfection of expression :

In Memoriam.
WILLIAM BOOTH,

Founder and Commander-in-Chief of the Salvation Army.

Died August 20th, 1912.

Born 1829.

As theirs, the warrior knights of Christian fame.

Who, for the faith, led on the battle line.

Who stormed the breach and swept through flood and flame
Under the Cross for sign.

Such was his life’s crusade ; and as their death
Inspired in men a purpose pure of taint —

In some great cause to give their latest breath —

So died this soldier saint.

Nay, his the nobler warfare, since his hands
Set free the thralls of misery and her brood —

Hunger and haunting shame and sin that brands —

And gave them hope renewed.

Bruised souls and bodies broken by despair —

He healed their heartache, and their wounds he dressed.
And drew them, so redeemed, his task to share.

Sworn to the same high quest.

Armed with the Spirit’s wisdom for his sword.

His feet with tidings of salvation shod,

He knew no foes, save only such as warred
Against the peace of God.

Scorned or acclaimed, he kept his harness bright.

Still, through the darkest hour, untaught to yield.

And, at the last, his face towards the light.

Fell on the victor’s field.

No laurelled blazon rests above his bier.

Yet a great people bows its stricken head
Where he who fought without reproach or fear.

Soldier of Christ, lies dead.

^ By kind permission of Mr. Seaman and the Proprietors of “ Punch.”

The Ideal State 269

There are many sublime thoughts in this poem.
He healed the broken-hearted, “ and drew them, so
redeemed, his task to share,’' and around his tomb
“ a great people bows its stricken head where he who
fought without reproach or fear, soldier of Christ, lies
dead.” But these are not only great thoughts, but
facts, and we are entitled to point to them as evidence
that the Great Miracle is in process of accomplishment,
and that “ the despised and rejected of men, the Man
of sorrows and acquainted with grief,” has triumphed
and “ overcome the world.”

We have referred to trade unions. No doubt there
must be an extension of these organisations so as to
include every worker in the land, so that poverty,
as a result of insufficient wages, will be demolished,
and have passed to the limbo of forgotten things. The
most recent development of trade unionism is known
as Syndicalism, and the subject has already been dealt
with generally. It was pointed out that in so far as
the workers desire to become the possessors of the
different trades to the exclusion of the capitalist and
the people as a whole, they are on wrong lines ; and
that if a new condition of things, to be secured by the
abolition of the present capitalistic system, is to be
permanent, it must be founded on altruistic and not
on materialistic principles. An exchange of posses¬
sion may be necessary as a step in the evolutionary
process at work in society, but it cannot be permanent.
The only permanence possible is that which shall be
established on a basis of collectivism. In other
words, all landed property and all industry and com¬
merce must become an integral portion of the State,
all being controlled and worked for the benefit of every
individual according to his necessary requirements.
This entails the abrogation of individual wealth, of
greed, of the desire to accumulate possessions, which

270 The Ideal State

can only be accomplished when the natural man
shall have come to realise that true happiness is only
possible when he has discarded the cloak of self, and
adopted the teachings of Jesus as his rule of conduct.
Man all along has been “ Time’s fool.” The immortal
Shakespeare had fathomed this truth, as he had all
truth, for what is there in the nature of man and
things to which he has not penetrated ? “ Love’s not
Time’s fool,” he says ; which means that love is not
of time, but of eternity. In the consummation of the
spiritual evolution which is at the present time slowly
operating in society, and will ultimately obtain the
mastery, we shall be able to say to the race of men in
the beautiful words and illuminating thought of a
recent poet :

“ Wert thou Time’s fool ? I am Love ; I set thee free ;

I am the door into Eternity.”

Is it not one of the greatest miracles of history that
the salvation of the world is about to be accomplished
by the application of the teachings of One who, two
thousand years ago, was the“ despised and rejected of
men ; a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief,”
Who died a felon’s death ? Men of all Christian coun¬
tries have professed all through the ages since that
time their belief in His teachings, but only now is it
coming to be realised that they must not only be pro¬
fessed, but acted upon. Let no man seek his own,
but every man another’s good.” Having food and
raiment, let us be therewith content.” But they that
will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into
many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in
destruction and perdition.” “ God hath chosen the
foolish things of the world to confound the wise ; and
God hath chosen the weak things of the world to con¬
found the things which are mighty ; and base things

The Ideal State 271

of the world, and things which are despised, hath God
chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to
naught things that are : that no flesh should glory in
His presence.” We know these are true ; we believe
they are the very truth of God ; and yet how slow we
have been to act upon them. But secretly they have
been leavening the whole lump, and now all the powers
of wealth, of property, of pomp, and empire are be¬
ginning to realise that the temporal must yield to the
eternal, that the vain passing show is naught, and can
only be considered worthy of attention when it acts in
conformity with the universal and the infinite, and the
sufferings of men can only disappear when all submit
wholly and unreservedly to the guidance of Him who
overcame the world by the supremest act of self-
sacrifice.

To return to the consideration of “ Syndicalism,”
we hope we may be permitted to quote from a recent
article^ by Odon For and F. M. Atkinson, in order to
show that the workers are quite alive to the fact that
it is not possible to expect any substantial social
regeneration with the human material of the present
order unchanged, and accordingly they endeavour
to combine the creation of the new society with the
creation of the new man.” Does not this prove the
falsity of the statements contained in the pamphlets
issued by the anti-Socialists, who state that the denial
of God, of Christianity, of all religion, is the cardinal
doctrine of the Socialist propaganda ? There need be no
fear on this score, as the social regeneration which has
been accomplished, and is now ameliorating the lot of
humanity, is entirely the result of the diffusion of
Christian ethics in men’s minds, and by this means
alone have such things become possible. “ They firmly
believe that such a future depends entirely upon their

1 “ English Review/’

2'] 2 The Ideal State

personal qualities and efforts, and upon their moral
value, and so they consciously seek out ways of in¬
creasing the technical capacities of the industrial
worker, knowing that through this he will desire a pro¬
found change in the organisation of the industries in
particular, and in society in general.” G. Beaubois, a
clerk in the French Post Office, writes in regard to this
aspect of the question : “ Syndicalists must take care
of the technical, moral, and social perfection of the
young workers ; they must guide and advise them, and
awaken in them the spirit of observation, the qualities
of initiative and energy. They must efface the painful
and repugnant features that accompany labour under
the present organisation of production. The problem
of progress lies in saving work from monotony, and
routine from fatality and servitude. In other words,
the problem of progress lies in freeing work, and
ennobling it. To initiate every worker into the progress
of industry and the marvels of human activity, to show
them the usefulness of their efforts and the grandeur of
their work — that is, to give them a passion, a soul, a
conscience. The labour organisations should become
paternal homes for the young workers, protecting
them from all temptations and leading them into life.
A revolution does not improvise itself, and it is neces¬
sary that in the industrial groups new ideas, new
collective sentiments should be born, and should
develop and prepare the social change.”

It ought to be understood that this is one of the most
recent pronouncements by one of the most advanced
advocates of industrial reform on collectivist lines, and
yet, instead of doctrines of atheism, anarchism, and
“ rhypothese Dieu,” we have the inculcation of the
technical, moral, and social perfection of the young
workers, of guidance and advice so as to awaken
the spirit of observation and qualities of initiative and

The Ideal State 273

energy, of freeing work and ennobling it, showing forth
the usefulness of effort and the grandeur of work, thus
giving them a passion, a soul, a conscience. Does not
this show clearly the subtle influence of the altruistic
ethical evolution moulding men and history and guiding
them towards a higher and higher spiritual plane ?
The labour organisations are to protect the young
workers from temptation and lead them into life.
Surely a movement of this kind with such noble ideals
ought to be encouraged by every possible means, and
advised wherever it may appear to deviate from the
path of true altruism. It ought to be observed, how¬
ever, that never before in the history of trade or busi¬
ness has it been considered that the care of the youth
morally came within its province. Seldom has the rich
employer taken steps to guard the unwary and the
inexperienced setting forth on life’s precarious journey,
with its many pitfalls, particularly in its first stages.
It must be evident to all — he who runs may read — that
the social betterment of the working classes must of
necessity mean a moral betterment, for both the social
and the moral are phases of the spiritual evolution
which is the fount and origin of the whole propaganda.

The reader will be interested to learn how the work¬
men have proceeded in one or two instances where
Syndicalism has taken concrete form. The Industrial
Union of the Bottle Blowers of Italy had been in
existence for ten years ; it was a Socialist organisation
endeavouring to realise its aims by political action.
In Italy the bottle-making industry now lies between
the factories of the Industrial Union and the Bottle
Trust. A strike occurred against one glass manu¬
facturer who refused the demands of the Bottle Blowers’
Union, to which all workers in the bottle industry,
whatever their trade, belong. After a year of struggle,
the members of the Union raised funds, some even

s

2 74 The Ideal State

selling their beds, and built factories, in which employ¬
ment was given to their brethren on strike. Soon a
new furnace was required, and the workers, without
help from mechanics or masons, built the second one in
about a fourth of the time usually required, and gave
work to other members of the Union out on strike or
unemployed. The manufacturer was beaten and was
finally absorbed by the Trust, which granted all the
demands of the Union for its members.

The Trust endeavoured to crush the Union, but the
latter was able to build new factories, so that the Trust
found its business curtailed and profits reduced. The
Trust then tried underselling and inducing the banks to
refuse credit. This failed, for the superiority of their
manufactured article won the day. Each factory was
able to produce a bottle of such quality that although
it was necessary to sell at higher prices than the Trust,
the Union could dispose of its whole output in advance.
At the present time there are 3500 members in the
Union, of whom the Trust employs 1000 and the co¬
operative factories 2500. Every member is a share¬
holder, even those working for the Trust.

Por and Atkinson point out the two factors which
have secured their success. The first is their technical
efficiency, their professional consciousness brought out
in their effort to create collectively something new and
positive. The second factor is their moral solidarity,
evolved by their Socialist training. ... In their
struggle they forgot their immediate interests and
worked with all their energy for the liberation of their
whole class from capitalism. They were dominated by
a social vision, by a greater sense of human fraternity.
A wonderful discipline prevails, which guarantees a
continuous process of production, and fires each worker
to work at his best. In all the factories there is not a
single overseer. The moral solidarity created by the

The Ideal State 275

struggle awaked the conscience of workers in all
directions. For example, glass blowers the world over
are heavy drinkers, but these men gave up drinking.
Their life being filled with an ideal, a social purpose,
and a continuous concentration on various problems,
they find pleasure in it, and have no need to drink for
solace.'’ They renounced their legitimate dividends,
accepting the same wages as their comrades working
for capitalist concerns, and turned over all the net
profits of their co-operation to mutual aid funds.
They have no intention of becoming capitalists. They
want to free themselves from capitalism and to set an
example to other workers. With the profits of their
enterprise they help the Socialist and Labour move¬
ments, they provide schools for their own children and
for the children of other workers, and were actually the
first to adopt the now famous Montessori system of
kindergarten education. They built workmen’s houses,
providing better homes, better nucleuses for the new
social life. Their factories are model factories in the
industry ; they are the best equipped in the world
with labour-saving machinery, labour-protecting de¬
vices, hygienic arrangements, and they are prepared to
introduce any new technical or financial method in
their industry. Experts from all countries come to
them to learn and profit by their experience. ... In
short, they have improved the conditions of their own
life and work, making both healthier and less irksome,
accomplishing their higher duty to themselves, since
a revolutionary working-class must elevate its material
level in order to make itself fit for fulfilling its social
mission. This movement, then, represents the new
fact of Syndicalism in operation. An industrial union
of workers has found within itself all the necessary
elements for resistance against organised capital and
all the necessary factors of progressing towards the

276 The Ideal State

positive and thorough conquest of the means of pro¬
duction. . . . The force which these workers have
substituted, for individual and associated capitalist
initiative and efficiency of their organised class, fore¬
shadows to syndicalists the future, for they declare
that just this professional consciousness and moral
training is the force which will lead to the future social
order, and on which it will depend, and as it is at
the present, so will it be in the future, a source of
increasing economic progress and continuously growing
moral development.''

We have given this long extract from the article in
order to show that the modern cry of the country
going to the dogs " ; “ revolution rampant " ; '' the
wreck of the constitution," is the result of ignorance
and prejudice. Social betterment, as we have reiterated
again and again, must mean moral improvement.
Raise a man’s mental outlook, and he at once becomes
possessed by an ideal, which causes him to shed the gross
and the degrading, and concentrate his energies on the
attainment of higher effort. As instanced above, the
drunkards cease to drink. Moreover, the love of their
fellows is proved in this instance to be the direct out¬
come of better conditions. Having known the evils of
capitalism, these men have no desire to accumulate
wealth, and therefore they devote their superfluous
means to help the movement which has done so much
for them, to provide schools, workmen’s houses, and
better homes.

A similar movement has been applied to the land in
Italy, where 200,000 acres have passed into the hands
of the farm labourers, and to the satisfaction of the land¬
lords. They have improved the land, regulated em¬
ployment, and eliminated the heartless sacrifice of the
unemployed, of the old and the less fit workers. The
Italian Government has recognised the importance of

The Ideal State 277

this new departure by introducing a Bill with the
purpose of leasing the Italian State lands, amounting
to several million acres, to these co-operative societies,
and at the same time to establish a co-operative bank,
so as to give credit to the land labourers on favourable
terms, and encourage their collective organisations.
May we not join in the cry of Wake up, England ! ’’
Surely it is time we were seeing to it that we were not
left behind in the path of reform.

It will be observed that this movement is a great
advance ; it means the control of the industry by the
workers collectively, for their own advantage and that
of the trade concerned. What is wanting at present is
a further collectivism of all trades acting together, for
the benefit of every member of the State. This will
necessarily follow, and when the abolition of the gold
standard is an accomplished fact and the attainment
of individual wealth becomes impossible, each will seek
the other’s good and find his chief happiness therein.
As a stage in the process of social evolution, which
deserves every encouragement, it must be guided so as
not to take up a too independent or isolated position ;
each trade or industry must recognise that it is part of
the body politic, and as it seeks its own social better¬
ment, it is its duty to take every possible means to
secure better conditions for every other member of the
State. Already we may see a movement in this direc¬
tion — the syndicalists desire to make the movement
international and universal and bring about an inter¬
national affiliation and co-operation. The syndicalist
believes that his ideal society will only be attained by
the organised will of the working-classes. It will be
attained much quicker and more thoroughly, however,
when they come to understand that what they have
done has been possible only by means of the spirit of
love and self-abnegation, generated in men’s minds by

278 The Ideal State

the ethics of the Christian faith, and that all is con¬
trolled by the Eternal, who maketh for righteousness.

It may appear that this law of spiritual evolution is
too often repeated and insisted on. We do not admit
this, and do not think it can. If it is not realised and
acted upon, the social evolution and higher spiritual
development of mankind can only be delayed, and the
struggles to improve his lot rendered fruitless and vain.
The sooner man universally comes to a knowledge of
the operation of this law of spiritual evolution, under
the guiding hand of the Eternal, the more rapid of
necessity will be the advance of the social amelioration
of humanity, and the voluntary self-sacrifice of each
individual for the benefit of all.

We must now, for a brief space, consider the theory
of value ’’ of Mill and Marx, which means that every
article must be valued according to the amount of
labour expended upon it. This definition can hardly
be said to be exact, as many articles are of value
according to the rarity of the original substance, or the
difficulty of securing it, before any actual labour has
been expended in the way of producing the finished
product. And the awful condition of those engaged in
the sweated industries proves that the amount of
labour is a small factor, and that unless the interests
of those engaged in these are safeguarded — in other
words, until they form a trade union to defend their
own interest — the workers cannot expect to receive a
return in proportion to the labour expended. Mill and
Marx contend that the share of the value of a given
total of products, which is taken by the employer as
his profits, is due to the fact that labour produces more
than is necessary for its own support. Mr. Mallock, on
the other hand, contends that the labour of average
men, when directed by a man whose mind is above
the average, produces indefinitely more than it would

The Ideal State 279

produce were it operating solely under the direction of
the minds of the labourers themselves. This can no
longer stand as a stable proposition, considering the
businesses managed and controlled by the workers
alone in Italy, as just explained in the glass-blowing,
agricultural, and railway industries under the Syndi¬
calist regime at present in vogue there. A great deal
might be written in regard to this “ theory of value,”
but in relation to the evolution of the ideal state it
would be weary, flat, stale, and unprofitable.” No
doubt in the earlier stages of such an evolution a system
of barter such as has been tried in London among a
band of social enthusiasts even under present-day con¬
ditions would be founded upon a certain value, attach¬
ing to each product supplied or service rendered by the
different members of the community. To take a con¬
crete example, the doctor for, say, a week’s work will
receive according to his labour so many barter tickets,
which will be exchanged for so much bread, meat,
clothing, and housing such as he requires. The pur¬
veyor of all the necessaries of life simply returns these
tickets to the doctor, lawyer, clergyman, or school¬
master for their services, and each exchanges them as
he requires. Thus the cycle works among all members,
who are also workers, in the community. As already
urged, all are labourers in the ideal state ; we cannot
talk of classes, for in the New Utopia there can be no
such luxuries, except in so far as men are of outstanding
merit intellectually and morally. It is not possible to
secure and it is not desirable to attain a dead level of
uniformity ; one cannot eliminate the power and
domination of the intellect. But as the ideal state will
only become possible when man has become purged
from much of his dust and dross, it is quite fair to argue
that men of great intellectual calibre will use their
talents for the benefit of their brethren, and take their

2 8o The Ideal State

chief delight therein, well content with the gratitude
and appreciation of their fellow-men, and deriving
serene satisfaction and elevation of soul from the
thought that by taking trouble they have been able to
do good to others.

As man grows in spiritual attainment, which we
believe we have proved is a necessary result of the
present evolutionary process at work in our Western
civilisation, it seems right to believe that all idea of
value will be discarded. Each man will have food,
housing, and clothing secured to him without payment
of any kind, simply in return for good work well done.
As we have indicated, the gold standard must be
abolished ultimately if the race is to evolve to a higher
spiritual nature. A higher evolution is quite impossible
as long as man has the opportunity of giving way to
greed, to the accumulation of unnecessary wealth and
property. Each unit will find his niche in the great
temple of the State, and be willing to do there the work
for which he is best fitted, in the interests of his fellow-
men, and realising in supremest degree his own happi¬
ness. Each works for all, and all for each, and are
thereby content. The spirit of love and self-sacrifice
inculcated by the Saviour of men shall have overcome
the world under the guidance of the law of righteous¬
ness which proceedeth from the Eternal.

There are difficulties not a few, and of no mean order,
which must be faced — “ the way is long, and the path
is steep '' — but the overcoming of these is demanded
by the spiritual evolutionary process, as necessary to
its fulfilment, and in order to allow of the realisation of
the ideal state, where selfishness will be unknown and
altruism the one rule of life. Just to mention one
difficulty : let us imagine that a great intellect is found
to inhabit a member of the State engaged in a menial
occupation. Is he to be removed from his work and

The Ideal State 281

allowed to develop his higher faculties, and who is to
adjudicate in this important matter ? Such difficulties
as these will in the course of time settle themselves ;
they will doubtless be dealt with by bodies of men of
ability and sound judgment specially selected. In
many cases it would be wise to relieve the exceptional
man of his ordinary duties altogether, so as to devote
his entire energies to the intellectual, artistic, or
spiritual betterment of society, and so contribute in a
greater degree to the further happiness of the race.

Bellamy deserves our gratitude for his delightful
book “ Looking Backward,’' and we shall always
honour him as one of the pioneers of the ideal state.
All endeavouring to help on the higher trend of
things must acknowledge their indebtedness to him for
the thinking out of many details which but for his in¬
sight might have appeared insuperable. One of the
great difficulties has always been the performance of
menial and disagreeable duties, and the conduct of
trades of specially severe effort or noxious conditions.
Bellamy points out that there is only one way in which
this difficulty can be solved, and that is by all young
men and young women for a certain number of years
(three is the limit suggested) giving their time and
effort to the performance of such duties. Only a
limited portion of each day would be required for this
with such an army of workers. It does not need to be
pointed out that this would be most carefully super¬
vised, and that young women would be spared the very
disagreeable duties, or those to which they objected
or were unfitted, and that they would never be asked
to undertake severe labour or that in which the condi¬
tions were unsuitable. Such duties would not be under¬
taken until maturity had been attained ; and as only
a limited portion of each day would be required for
this with such an army of workers, everyone would

282 The Ideal State

have ample time for physical and intellectual effort,
such as would fit them to be efficient in their future
work on behalf of the State. The future work suitable
to every individual would be decided by special
committees and sub-committees, such as have been
indicated, who would carefully study the inclination,
the faculties, and previous record of every individual.
No doubt it would be arranged that if in process of
time it were discovered that a change of occupation
was desirable, the decision would be reconsidered, and,
if thought advisable, altered.

In Bellamy’s system all artistic pleasures — the
drama, painting, sculpture, and music — can be enjoyed
by everyone without limitation, as at present to those
of large means. The artists, loving Art for Art’s sake,
and recognising that “Life is short, but infinite; Art
is long, but inexhaustible,”^ give their powers and
talents to the higher evolution of the race, and find
therein the truest happiness and reward. They receive
from the State all needful requirements and necessities
of existence, with equal advantages similar to those
possessed by everyone, in the privilege of enjoyment
of all forms of art and culture they may desire, with all
literature within their reach, and the pursuit of the
study of any subject which interests them in the State
Universities. Similarly, the experts in all subjects of
philosophy, science, and learning, as professors in the
Universities of every large town, imbued as they all are
with the altruistic spirit, delight to pour forth the
treasure of their minds, the results of long years of
study and reflection in order to raise their fellow-men
to a higher standard of being.

We think we hear someone say : “ This is very well
for literary people, professors, and artists, but it won’t
do for business men. Who is going to take the trouble to

^ Frederic Harrison, "Among My Books," in " English Review.”

The Ideal State 283

import, for instance, such a substance as cotton, super¬
vise factories, and send the finished product over the
length and breadth of the land to help to clothe the
multitude if there is to be no reward for this labour and
thought ? It would certainly be very difficult to get
anyone to do such work at the present time for a mere
livelihood, even with all the advantages of art, litera¬
ture, and learning, which, as we have already indicated,
are open to all. It is surely, however, not a difficult
thing to believe that in a more advanced stage of
spiritual evolution a man of energy would find the
greatest satisfaction in the knowledge that in his own
particular sphere, and according to his ability, he was
serving mankind to the utmost extent of his capacity.
There is no reason why the idea of acquiring wealth or
property should ever occur to his mind, as it is never
possible for him to forget the many and great advan¬
tages which the State confers in every possible way, and
not least in showing him the pathway to reality — of
true self-realisation.

It may be asked : Can no one, then, obtain any
special work of art to adorn his own household ? ’’ We
have no doubt, and cannot conceive that the desire for
artistic beauty would not be encouraged in every way,
but it must not be allowed ever to interfere with the
general advantage, and therefore all great works must
find a home in special galleries where they can be
studied and admired by the general body of the people.
The collections of great paintings on the part of rich
men in their own residences is not to be encouraged or
admired ; the pleasure derived from their contempla¬
tion is of so thoroughly selfish a character that it can
confer no elevation of soul : it is a stream of pure water
polluted at its source. There are some men of large
outlook and possessed by true altruism who have
been able to enjoy the delight of self-sacrifice and given

284 The Ideal State

their art treasures for the enjoyment of the nation as
a whole. If this is possible for one, is it not for all ?
And in a further stage of evolution it will be the only
thinkable way of fostering and developing Art.

As we continue it becomes more and more evident
that such a state is only possible by the subordination
to the utmost of all selfish interests. Before this can be
secured, the State must take steps to prevent the
accumulation of wealth, and this can only be done by
the abolition of the gold standard. This is necessary
not only in the interests of the lower strata of society,
but in that of the clever, the greedy, and unscrupulous,
who take their chief pleasure in the hoarding of gain
and the acquiring of property ; for nothing is more
deteriorating to man’s higher nature and productive
of the greatest evil to his own physical condition
and mental capacity than the gross satisfaction of
luxurious and sensual tastes which the power of money
enables him to gratify. We are therefore entitled to
conclude that such a system is the only one which can
do anything to alleviate the present “ la mishe"' As
long as gold is the vehicle of exchange, the burdens of
industrialism must continue to weigh upon the shoul¬
ders of the poor to a greater or less extent. And such a
system is quite as workable as the present, and brings
with it what the other does not — the peace which
passeth all understanding — to all who have seen beyond
the mere material aspect to the light which enlightens
the darkness of the world.

No doubt it will be maintained that even with the
abolition of the gold standard and the negation of
private property the greedy individual will always
be able to appropriate more of the goods common to
the State than is his proper and fair share, and in this
way will acquire possessions even although the amount
be limited. In regard to this objection one cannot

The Ideal State 285

doubt that the State through its officials would be able
to guard its own commodities in the interests of all.
Moreover, this act would be a gross violation of that
ethical system which alone has made the existence of
the State possible, so that attempts of this nature are
almost inconceivable, and in any case must be very
rare. The dread and certainty of discovery would be a
deterrent of no mean force. In fact, a case of this kind
in such a community would be dealt with from the
point of view of mental aberration, and would entail
special treatment.

Luxury has been stated to be bad for the individual
who succumbs to its attractions. It deteriorates the
body of man, and degeneration of soul invariably
accompanies that of body induced by such causes.
This was one of the main arguments against the
accumulation of wealth from the point of view of the
welfare of the individual. Its effect on the family was
also considered, in that the sons of men who had
accumulated wealth were tempted by the seductions of
alcohol and vice. But the subject deserves considera¬
tion from another aspect. It is commonly believed
that it does not matter how money is spent ; that the
great point is the spending of it, as thereby it is circu¬
lated and society as a whole eventually gets the benefit.
It must be evident, however, that money spent on the
racecourse in the form of gambling losses or in alcoholic
debauch not only injures the individual so indulging,
but injures others, in so far as it is being used for a
purpose damaging to society in fostering gambling and
helping a trade which, in most instances, is deleterious
to the members of the State. Moreover, the money so
misspent might have been devoted to the purchase of
commodities the manufacture of which deserves en¬
couragement, to foster the general trade and prosperity
of the country, and in this way pass on to the workers

2 86 The Ideal State

who make the necessaries of life the means of subsistence.
Or it might have been devoted to the acquisition of
works of Art, which is ever deserving of encourage¬
ment, and is the means by which the happiness of the
people can be increased and their culture promoted.

All luxurious use of wealth is injurious to the State
in so far as it interferes with industry, as it must be
evident that all money so misspent might have been
used to develop or foster trade and so increase the food
supply or augment the purchasing power of the labour¬
ing classes. If a farmer, for instance, spends his in¬
come on alcohol, or racing, or buying unnecessary
horses, which ought to have been devoted to manuring
and working his land and thereby securing larger
crops, he is not only injuring himself by misspending
it and in diminishing his own income from the land, but
he is reducing the food supplies which it ought to be
his aim to augment to the fullest possible extent.

We thus see how it is the duty of every man under
present conditions to consider his wealth as a trust to
be devoted to his own highest good and that of the
greatest benefit to the society in which he lives, as by
misspending he is interfering with the purchasing power
and even the food of the workers of the land, who in
the first place produce wealth by labouring the soil,
which is the primary source of all wealth.

Some unthinking people among reformers at the
present time — we think it is a cry of the more advanced
of the Syndicalist party in England — are demanding the
control of the industries by the workmen, who would
work them for their own private gain without regard
to parliamentary control. Parliament is too slow for
them, and they mean to anticipate governmental
action and act independently of its controlling power.
Such a state of matters is unthinkable ; it means chaos,
and can only end in disaster to themselves. It is quite

The Ideal State 287

impossible to imagine the working of a great industrial
concern depending upon the governmental machine
of a great nation for its own security and protection,
and for the regulation of the food supply and safety of
the homes and physical well-being of the workers, un¬
less its own actions and proceedings are controlled in
similar fashion by the central Parliament. There must
always be a central, controlling, guiding body maintain¬
ing the scheme of government and securing the method
which the common sense and ethical development of
the people have decided shall be the rule of life and
conduct. No doubt in such a State it is inconceivable
that compulsion would be necessary, as all men shall
have come to realise the beauty and delight of the
altruistic life ; but in order, particularly in the earlier
phases of evolution, to guard against chaos or tumults,
or failure in individual cases to conform to the ideals of
the State, a central body must always be maintained.

A barter system may require to come into force
during the transition period until the evolution shall
have attained to completion, but such a system would
be difficult to control, and jealousies would tend to
arise as to the amount of goods to be given for so much
work done. The progress of the altruistic tempera¬
ment would solve this difficulty very soon.

In a country such as our own, with steamships and
colonies which can provide all our needs, it would be
comparatively easy to secure our food supply and raw
material without purchase or expenditure of money,
but these could not be secured in a country without
colonies and supplies of their own. In such a case no
doubt the State would require gold to pay for these,
and would require to raise money by taxation of the
people in order to go on. In such circumstances the
abolition of the gold standard could not be accom¬
plished until territory was conceded to this particular

2 88 The Ideal State

State by some other which had more than was necessary
for its own requirements, and desired to enable it to
secure the benefits of its own ’system without such
effete methods as taxation and the raising of money.
An act such as this could only be prompted by the in¬
spiration of the ideal, and no doubt it would. The
desire of the ideal state would be to extend its blessings
over the whole earth, and would never rest until this
had been accomplished. Only then shall we attain to
the ideal man in the ideal world. In thinking over this
matter it has often appeared to me that the enthusiasm
of the missionary is intended not only to secure the
happiness of those converted to the Christian faith in a
future world, but consciously or unconsciously it is the
means by which the social betterment of mankind will
be attained, with the ultimate realisation of the ideal
state ; we see, in faith, the approach of the poet’s
dream — “ the Parliament of man, the federation of the
world.” If this is ever to be attained, it is the duty of
every man professing Christianity to do all that in him
lies to bring about the glorious consummation of the
ascendancy of the altruism of the teachings of Jesus
among all nations and peoples and tongues. We have
been told in the colonies that Christianity demoralises
the negro and makes him less fit to be a servant to the
white man. After much study and reflection we have no
hesitation in classifying this as a prejudiced statement.
In many instances the methods of the missionary may
be wrong. For instance, in the present stage of their
civilisation it is a mistake to tell the negro that he is
the white man’s equal in the sight of God, for this state¬
ment conveys an entirely different meaning to his mind
from that which the missionary intends. He should
be told very little dogma, and that of the simplest, for
he cannot comprehend it. The doctrine of the Trinity —
the Three in One, and the One in Three — is not for him

The Ideal State 289

at his present stage of non-ethical existence : the
Fatherhood of the Eternal, the law of righteousness,
and the teachings of Jesus, with their idealisation of
love and self-sacrifice, are all he requires, and by con¬
tinued reiteration and absorption can only result in a
gradual uplifting of the race. First and foremost, it
ought to be emphasised that religion is conduct, and
that profession of faith without a righteous life is an
absolute contradiction. This necessitates on the part
of the white man the same rule of life, otherwise the
black can only conclude it is a mere garment of
hypocrisy, and refuse to be guided by it as a conse¬
quence. In South Africa the Kaffir is a very intelligent
man : he is forming syndicates and taking large farms,
requiring, in one instance at least, a capital of five thou¬
sand pounds ; he is learning all the trades and is fast
becoming a skilled mechanic.^ As many have said to
me : What does this mean, seeing there are 9,000,000
Kaffirs to 1,000,000 white men in the South African
colonies ? It means that, as the white man is not there
in sufficient numbers to carry on the skilled trades and
work the soil, one day the Kaffir will oust the white
man. This is very likely to prove true. How necessary
it is then, that instead of sneering at missionaries and
running counter to them in every way, and refusing to
help the cause of the religion we profess, we should do
everything in our power to help the only cause which
will regenerate the lives of these future masters of the
country, and gradually uplift them to a higher plane,
so that they may act in no vindictive spirit, but in
that of the altruism of Jesus, thinking only of the wel¬
fare of their fellow-men.

To progress on these lines we shall require to alter our
ideas of patriotism which have held sway over men’s

1 There are already two Kaffirs practising as barristers in the
High Court of Pretoria.

T

290 The Ideal State

minds for a long period of time : no doubt it fulfilled a
great purpose in the past, but to-day its tendency is to
smother the interests of humanity. The boundary of
a country is an artificial thing, and we are too apt to
extol the merits of the people on one side, and decry
those on the other side. How much better that we
should all act for the betterment of the men and women
of all countries, and not with the selfish view of bene¬
fiting only those of our own. This no doubt will be the
last phase of the ideal state, and then the whole earth
shall behold the rule of the law of Righteousness and
Love, and individual possession, like many another
fetish of the past, like many another evidence of the
foolishness of men, shall have passed to the limbo of
forgotten things. All a dream ! you say. Alas ! it
may be, but we think not, and have given many strong
and powerful reasons for this faith and hope. The
world can never certainly be so miserable under a reign
of self-denial as it has been under that of its opposite.
The rich have accumulated only pain, even for them¬
selves ; money has not brought good in its train as they
had hoped and believed ; all this wretchedness — this
dead-sea fruit — will be eliminated ; all will have enough,
and the cry of the poor and the needy will be heard no
more.

We must now consider a very ancient evil, for which
the cure can only come effectively through the elimina¬
tion of the lust for gold and the power of money, and
that is the white slave traffic. That is how we know it
in the country of the white man, but in some of our
Protectorates the name of the black slave traffic might
be more appropriate. In the latter, however, prostitu¬
tion does not exist ; it is rather a system of concubin¬
age, and is certainly not attended by anything like the
misery, suffering, disease, and early death which accom¬
pany this canker of the body politic in the countries in

The Ideal State 291

the van of civilisation. Miss Jane Addams has brought
out a remarkable book on this subject, and she calls it

A New Conscience and an Ancient Evil.” She shows
forth the awfulness of this traffic ; the deceit used
to trap young girls into it, who, ignorant in many
instances of the most elementary matters of sex,
become an easy prey ; the insignificant salary which
young women receive in many establishments forcing
them to seek other means to augment their income so
as to have any security of lodging or any ordinary
comfort in life ; and the impetus given to the traffic
by alcohol. As General Bingham, formerly Police
Commissioner of New York, says : There is not

sufficient depravity in human nature to keep alive this
very large business. The immorality of women and the
brutishness of men have to be persuaded, coaxed, and
stimulated in order to keep the social evil in its present
state of business prosperity.” This would show that,
without the evil stimulus of alcohol, chastity and self-
control possess men and women much more than is
at present understood. The desire for purity is of the
essence of the soul, and when this is nourished by the
love and self-sacrifice of Christian ethics it becomes a
potent force in the direction of abatement of this ever¬
present evil.

The Vice Commission appointed by the Mayor and
City Council of Chicago reports that “ prostitution in
the city is a commercial business, controlled largely by
men, and producing a profit of more than three millions
sterling a year.” The number of women engaged in
it is approximately five thousand. As A. J. Allen
says in a recent number of the '' Church Quarterly
Review ” : “ The annual revenue of three millions a
year profit made by men from the moral and physical
damnation of five thousand women is probably one
of the very blackest spots on the escutcheon of any city,

292 The Ideal State

almost enough to justify the laconic description given
by a visitor to the Great Lake City : * Chicago is hell/
This description would, sad it is to tell, apply to many
great cities of the world — with certain modifications.
Now this terrible state of matters is the result of one
cause only — the lust for gold. Men find in it an easy
livelihood, or even affiuence; and when stranded through
the committal of some offence which bars the way to
future employment they take up this awful traffic as a
ready means of subsistence, and associate with it the
gambling den and the drinking saloon. But men are
not alone to be condemned : it is only recently that
men have taken up this foul business : women were at
one time the sole, as they are now partially the pro¬
curers of our white slaves,^ whom Lecky calls “ the
most mournful and awful figure in history, who remains
while creeds and civilisations rise and fall, the eternal
sacrifice of humanity, blasted for the sins of the people.”

Miss Addams argues that this evil will only be
remedied by the extension of the franchise to women.
This is unfair and unjust. In England it was W. T. Stead
who took up the cause and sacrificed himself, suffer¬
ing no end of obloquy and slander, but who by his
action secured the passing of the Criminal Law Amend¬
ment Bill. It is doubtful if women would be joining in
the cry now but for the valiant efforts of Stead, that
noble man who moulded his life upon that of his
Master, and did more for the reign of righteousness and
self-denial than any other of his generation. An Act of
greater power has recently become law, and will do
much to control and ultimately smash the traffic. The
altruism of Christianity moulding the thoughts and
lives of men will cure this malady of the body politic
— not the extension of the suffrage to women. This

^ Just recently an aunt got five years’ penal servitude for trying
to “ procure ” her own niece in London,

The Ideal State 293

the wives and mothers of the nation know very well,
nnd that men are much more able to secure all such
reforms than they are themselves.

Medical men have for long tried to establish the
State regulation of vice, which would have cured and
prevented disease which has wrought such havoc to
innocent women and children, and would eventu¬
ally have reduced prostitution to the lowest possible
limit. Reform of this nature has been prevented by
agitation on the part of people unable to appreciate
facts, with the result of continual increase of the very
evil they wish to remove.

Acts of Parliament are very useful things, but they
will never accomplish the final destruction of vice of
this nature. Its ultimate destruction will only come
with a universal spirit of self-sacrifice as the law of life,
and the removal of the great temptation to acquire gain
by the abolition of the gold standard, and consequently
the power of acquiring riches by means of the foulest
and most degrading traffic known to our civilisation.
In the meantime it must be dealt with drastically and
without fear ; and, coincidentally, gambling dens must
be summarily swept away and the liquor traffic rigidly
controlled by Government, and drunkenness in every
case punished by detention, the period of imprisonment
to be increased according to the number of offences.

But we must go further. Presuming that popula¬
tion increases to the utmost limit of the food supply,
and that the gold standard and private property
has been abolished ; in such circumstances the
young men and women will wish to marry. If they
all do so, how is the growth of the population be¬
yond the means of subsistence to be prevented?
As has been proved, the population at present
is controlled by the labour market ; a man does

not marry until he has acquired sufficient to enable
\

294 The Ideal State

him in his degree to marry ; when the barrier of the
want of the means of subsistence is removed, what is
there to prevent him satisfying his desires in this
respect ? Undoubtedly we have a very difficult
problem before us here, but it is not insoluble to the
believer in the spiritual evolution of society. The State
would undoubtedly do everything in its power to
regulate marriage. In our own time the age of inci¬
dence of marriage, particularly among the professional
and more highly educated classes, has been gradually
extending, and in all probability this would be extended
and fixed by statute in order to enable men and women
in the most active period of their lives to do work for
the State, always provided the limit of age was not so
advanced as to affect the physical welfare of the child.
A certain number from motives of pure altruism would
desire to remain unmarried ; others would be pre¬
vented altogether from marrying by the State, and
would readily acquiesce, as all are trained to do in every
measure devised for the advantage of the people and
the generations who are to succeed. The further ques¬
tion we have to answer is : Would those compelled to
remain unmarried be able to exert sufficient self-
control to prevent the creation of some such traffic as
that with which we have to deal to-day ? In answer
we can only point out that in such an advanced state
of spiritual evolution, and with no temptation to
private gain, such developments common to our earlier
civilisation will not only be impossible, but unthink¬
able. We are well aware that we are dealing with one of
the most powerful primeval instincts, and one which is
absolutely essential to the perpetuation of the species,
and know the difficulty of asserting that impulse to
vice would cease to exist, but we can only contend that
it would be effectually prevented in the highest state of
evolution attainable to man by self-control and the

The Ideal State 295

ever-present desire to save others from suffering of any
kind.

The abolition of the gold standard and the conse¬
quent impossibility of gratifying the desire of gain
would ere long result in the complete annihilation of
greed or the vice of acquisitiveness. Through disuse,
one of the morbid developments of a primeval instinct
would cease to exist. And with its extinction there
would largely disappear the “ impulse unto crime ” ;
theft and burglary would die from want of incentive,
and our prisons and penal settlements would rapidly
empty. With the State regulation of the sale of al¬
cohol, and at a further stage its total prohibition, the
present incentives would cease to operate altogether.
Any criminal developments which might appear would
be of the nature of insane impulses, requiring treat¬
ment in our mental hospitals. A gradual diminution of
the inmates of these institutions would be a certain
result of a perfect environment, not only from the
purely material and physical condition of things, but
the spirit of love everywhere pervading would create
an atmosphere of joy and peace which would bring rest
to the souls of the weary and distraught. Two of the
chief causes of lunacy are alcohol and syphilis ; as we
have indicated, both are preventable by strong legisla¬
tive enactment, and when once this has been accom¬
plished we will be entitled to look for a reduction of at
least fifty per cent in the number of our insane. Of the
remainder — occurring in people of neurotic tempera¬
ment who have suffered from disease such as influenza,
which has a marked depressant effect on the nervous
system — we can look forward to the elimination of all
such. The admirable environment which we have
secured for all, and the consideration extended to
everyone suffering from nerve strain or exhaustion,
the removal of anxiety as to ways and means, and

2g6 The Ideal State

of necessity to keep on working when weighed down
by illness, would in time effectually cure all such ten¬
dencies. Moreover, the bright outlook which the
spiritual evolution brings with it would be a potent
force in the prevention of all tendency to depression,
and would dispel the gloom of melancholy which at
the present day settles down on many a weary soul.
We make, therefore, bold to state that in the further
evolution of mankind we can look forward without
fear to the ultimate elimination of these blots upon
our civilisation — the criminal and the insane.

The soul of man is essentially good and not evil.
This is not in accord with the orthodox belief in original
sin, but we are entitled to consider that as only a
priestly doctrine inculcated as a necessary preliminary
to the souks salvation. When Carlyle said that might
was right, he meant that Right is always the strong
thing, the thing that conquers, because it is in harmony
with the Eternal — with the Ultimate Reality or Abso¬
lute Mind. The heart of the Eternal is good ; His law
is righteous, and it is only when man gets into harmony
with it that he is strong — that it is well with him.
Hegel meant the same thing when he gave expression
To the thought — “ The real is the ideal.’' When you
get to the real man — the essential nature of man — you
find it will only be content with the Good — with the
ideal. It is a remarkable fact, however, that in most
men it is the surface-nature — the unreal part of him,
the accidental, we may call it — that speaks loudest.
As man is at present, it would seem that Evil is most
congenial to his nature. Lord Haldane writes in the
Pathway to Reality ” : “ Man has a double nature,
out of which arises for him, on the one hand the con¬
sciousness of separation from God or evil ; on the other,
potential union with God or religion. Though finite
spirit, man is none the less spirit ; consequently he is

The Ideal State 297

essentially free and therefore responsible.” We have
here a concrete statement of man’s essential nature
which must be borne in mind throughout the whole of
this argument. How, then, do we explain man’s
preference for evil ? How is it that dirt and ugliness
seem most congenial to many people ? It is without
doubt due to the fact that their circumstances — an evil
environment — have habituated them to the bad. They
have never known the better, and therefore they
assimilate the inferior. They are unwillingly deprived
of the better environment, and as long as they adhere
to the evil their nature is divided against itself. The
unwillingness may not have risen into clear conscious¬
ness, but it is seen in the unhappiness that comes from
the division in their life. If we looked merely to man’s
nature as it appears on the surface, it would be quite as
true to say that it is essentially bad. A contradiction
of this kind is found in every creature undergoing
evolution. If you take it at any particular stage there
is always much in its actual condition that is alien to
its real nature and ultimate end.

It is not necessary to demonstrate here that '' crime ”
is almost invariably the result of a bad environment.
That is why the criminal classes are to be found largely
in the slums of our big cities ; and with the amelioration
of social conditions and better surroundings we know
that crime will suffer gradual diminution. But thus far
we must realise we have only made a beginning. Man
has still to fight the cravings of the flesh, and most of
all “ greed ” — the vice of acquisitiveness — the morbid
development of the primeval instinct of self-preserva¬
tion. It is a necessity of existence that he must seek
food and housing, but when he makes it his aim to
acquire more than he needs, and seeks after “many
possessions,” then the natural instinct becomes a vice,
and the essential nature — the spirit — “though finite

298 The Ideal State

. . . none the less spirit ” — is obscured and submerged.
But the spirit of man — his inner and true nature —
is essentially free, and man himself is therefore re¬
sponsible. It therefore rests with himself to rise above
the merely surface nature — the “ cloak of self,"' the
carnal mesh,'’ “ the muddy vesture of decay," as it has
been so aptly termed by some of the great and good of
the past — and give full play to the essential good in
him — the soul or spirit — by means of which he acquires
potential union with God. Man is miserable when he
does evil because it is foreign to his real nature. We
will do well to recall here some of the utterances of the
greatest of modern prophets. In Sartor Resartus " ^
we read : Well did the wisest of our time write !

It is only with Renunciation that Life, properly speak¬
ing, can be said to begin." . . . “ Art thou nothing other
than a Vulture then, that fiiest through the Universe,
seeking after somewhat to eat ; and shrieking dolefully
because carrion enough is not given thee ? Close thy
Byron; open thy . . . '' Esleuchtet mir ein : I

see a glimpse of it ; there is in man a higher than love
of Happiness : he can do without happiness, and instead
thereof find Blessedness. Was it not to preach forth
this same Higher that sages and martyrs, the Poet and
the Priest, in all times, have spoken and suffered ;
bearing testimony through life and through death of the
God-like that is in Man, and how in the God-like only
has he strength and freedom ? Which God-inspired
doctrine art thou also honoured to be taught ; O,
Heavens ! and broken with manifold merciful afflic¬
tions, even till thou become contrite, and learn it ! O
thank thy destiny for these ; thankfully bear what yet
remain : thou hadst need of them ; the self in thee
needed to be annihilated. By benignant fever-par¬
oxysms is Life rooting out the deep-seated chronic
1 The everlasting Yea, Chapter IX, " Sartor Resartus.”

The Ideal State 299

Disease and triumphs over Death. On the roaring
billows of Time, thou are not engulfed, but borne aloft
into the azure of Eternity. Love not pleasure ; love
God. This is the everlasting Yea, wherein all contra¬
diction is solved ; wherein whoso walks and works it
is well with him.”

Again, we must put to ourselves another question. If
men find blessedness in the Good, why do they so
universally choose the Evil ? As was said before,
environment accounts for much. We needs must love
the highest when we see it,” and it is therefore our duty
to bring the highest within the reach of all by means of
a perfect physical, intellectual, and ethical environ¬
ment. Further, we know that the mists of passion
obscure the mental and spiritual vision. These will
come more and more under control when men uni¬
versally attain to realisation of the true self by means
of the renunciation of the baser elements ; and this
must follow the permeation of men’s minds with the
altruism of Jesus’ thoughts and teaching.

We must further ask : Is it the case that men are
miserable in doing evil if their evil is successful ? We
know that the best minds of the past and the present
say they are. With success and a good digestion a man
may have little misery over his wrong-doing for a long
time, but ultimately his real nature, his true self, will
speak, not in the next world, but here. But even if it
did not, the argument remains as strong as ever, for
the men who are most fully men — who, by common
consent, have reached nearest the ideal of manhood,
who have seen the beauty and feel the peace of the
good — would look and do look upon the fate of such a
man as the most miserable of all. He is so false to his
higher nature that he has almost ceased to recognise
the fact. Whenever a man gets into the region of the
true in thought, the beautiful in Art or Nature, and

300 The Ideal State

the noble in deed, even although they demand sacrifices /
of him, he knows and he says : It is good for me to
be here.’’ They are so congenial to his nature that he
never can again be satisfied with the inferior. So much
is this the case that those who are best acquainted with
the Good declare with one voice that it is better to
have it with suffering than to have the whole world
without it — that is the meaning of “ gaining one’s
own soul.”

To pursue the argument, we are entitled to say that
society supports the belief in the essential good of man’s
nature in the punishment inflicted on those who do
evil. But it is fortunate that in European countries
we are beginning to pay heed to the idea of reform in
punishment. We are coming to see that punishment
that does not reform is sheer brutality. The very fact
that society punishes evil shows that men have got the
conviction from experience — and from experience be¬
cause the Divine is immanent within them — that evil
is anti-social — that man’s nature is such that it hurts
him — that it is the enemy. If it were not, they would
not punish evil at all. It has been said that society
punishes not from any interest in the Good, but from
interest in self — in pure selfish protection of its in¬
dividual interests. It must be admitted that this does
affect the question, but it could not be otherwise in our
state of society, which is so largely controlled by
present-day material interests. It must be remembered,
however, that this just proves that man’s nature is such
that it is his interest to crush the Evil and cultivate the
Good. In the “Ideal State” the aim of punishment must
be more and more to reform the evildoer and get rid of
the Evil ; and much more attention must be given to
prevention than to punishment. Dickens — one of the
greatest of benefactors of the poor and the afflicted —
pointed out long ago that the first time the Government

The Ideal State 301

thinks it is its duty to take account of the wretched is
when they have committed a crime. He asks if the
judges and others had no duty to them before that ?
Since his time we have endeavoured to do something.
We try to educate them and give them a better chance ;
but in the present state of society it is a very slow pro¬
cess of betterment. Multitudes are still brought up in
an atmosphere of evil and trained to crime, in semi¬
starvation and foul dwellings ; and it is only when they
commit, what we consider, some flagrant act of evil,
that we take an active interest in them, and once we
commit them to prison we are satisfied in the thought
that there our duty ends. As a matter of fact, it is
there our duty begins. If we consider their circum¬
stances there is room for infinite compassion, which can
only be satisfied when every means have been taken to
remove some of the causes. The bad environment
must first be seen to, and we are glad to think is being
seen to. The possibility of work for every man and a
living wage in return is another necessary reform. It
will then be possible to deal effectively with the
Weary Willies ” and the Won’t works.” The
further progress of the spiritual evolution of man must
necessarily ultimately remove all crime, not only by
raising the whole standard of being but by removing
any motive which could act as an impulse towards evil.
These same influences must ere long teach us that in
punishment there is little satisfaction either to society
or to the offender. Its only justification can be that the
period of detention is used as a means to re-awaken the
higher nature of the prisoner — to show him the direc¬
tion in which true happiness lies, and take every
possible means to prove to him that society is not his
enemy but his friend ; that his fellow-men love him
and only desire to do him good and get good from him.
And to do this he must have a sound environment from

302 The Ideal State

every point of view, and every endeavour made to raise
him intellectually and morally.

In actual practice it ought to be stated whenever it
becomes apparent that the criminal acts are the out¬
come of mental disease — acute or chronic — such cases
can only be benefited in our hospitals for the insane ;
and where it is evident the disease is incurable, it is
clear that a return of the individual to society becomes
impossible. All such cases in our ideal state must
of necessity become less and less, and be finally ex¬
tinguished under a perfect environment physically,
intellectually, and spiritually.

Socialism has been defined as the nationalisation of
all the means of production, distribution, and exchange.
If a definition is required for the principle upon which
the '‘ideal state’' is to be conducted and maintained, we
believe this is as exact and comprehensive as any which
can be formulated. We do not for a moment imagine
that such a means of conducting the affairs of our
nation could be adopted and put into action immedi¬
ately ; it must be a gradual process, and legislation
must lead up to its accomplishment by easy stages ;
there must not be too sudden rupture with the tradition
of the past; otherwise we return to chaos, and bring
confusion worse confounded ” and delay the wheel
of progress, maybe, for centuries. It will require as a
necessary accompaniment, without which it is im¬
possible, the continuously higher ethical evolution of
man’s nature. Notwithstanding the many sad facts,
the awful extent of misery and vice prevalent in our
present stage of civilisation, we are confident that such
an evolution is now in process, and is leading on towards
the glorious consummation of the '' ideal state.” In the
heart of every member of the community we must do
everything to stimulate the spirit of self-sacrifice and
of willingness to suffer on behalf of all with whom

The Ideal State 303

are brought into contact, not only in our own interest
and theirs, but with the aim of helping the still higher
evolution of the State in the interests of the genera¬
tions who are to come after us. Everything depends
on the spiritual evolution of man, and the certainty of
this as the plan of the Eternal, and we believe this to be
the only conclusion possible from the study of observed
phenomena in the past history of mankind.

Even at the present day we have many conditions
existing which were declared utter impossibilities. For
instance : in the profession of medicine, any member
who conceals a remedy or a means of benefiting mankind
for his own private gain is looked upon as an outcast,
and is treated as such. He is at once ejected from his
college or university. Everyone imbued with the true
spirit of his profession derives more than sufficient
compensation from the fact that he has been able to
reduce the sum of human misery, and that the work he
has done has met with the approbation of his brethren.
Indeed, the members of the profession who make the
great discoveries which benefit humanity are not those
who become wealthy ; the most scientific members of
the faculty give away willingly the fruits of their dis¬
coveries without any reward of a monetary nature.
At present, moreover, they are the only profession who
give their time and skill in our hospitals, dispensaries,
and even privately, without reward in many instances.
It is true that this work may lead to profit, owing to the
distinction which appointment to a hospital confers ;
on the other hand this does not necessarily follow, and
the fact remains that no other profession works as they
do for humanity without return. It may be well to
take this opportunity of pointing out that the provoca¬
tion to revolt against the clauses of the Insurance Bill
compelling work for fees which were insufficient must
have been considerable, No doubt the poorest mem-

304 The Ideal State

bers of the profession would have benefited, but the
vast majority would have suffered from a marked
reduction of income — a most unjust procedure towards
the only men in the State who for long years have given
a large proportion of their services without reward and
with the sole aim of easing the pain and lifting the
burden of sorrow from the back of poor suffering men
and women. So that even at the present day we find,
in one profession at any rate, the effects of the teach¬
ings of the altruism of Christianity and a system at work
which does not depend upon gold, and where the gospel
of self-sacrifice is actually at work moulding the actions
and lives of men. We have here a demonstration of
such a system as has been forecast at work, and there¬
fore we are encouraged to go forward without fear to
the final accomplishment and universal application of
this principle of life and conduct to all men within the
State.

All the powers of wealth and property are, as a
matter of course, opposed to such an evolution. The
amassing of wealth, the power which it confers, the
privileges it secures, and the luxuries always within
call, are potent influences which will not yield to any¬
thing but overwhelming odds. It is of no avail to
demonstrate to the rich man the risks to which he is
exposed in the way of temptation to excess, and conse¬
quent degeneracy and the shortening of his days. It
is of no avail to repeat the warning of Scripture : “It
is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.”
It is of no avail to point out the dangers of an environ¬
ment of luxury in the case of his sons, and the possi¬
bility of headlong destruction in their youthful prime.
He is quite uninfluenced by the argument that the
amassing of riches is a soul-destroying process and
takes all the real charm out of life, robbing it in most

The Ideal State 305

instances of the intellectual and the ideal. The fact
remains that even for the rich it were much better that
they had never known more than enough. It is they
who never weary of telling us that riches do not bring
happiness ; and we know that as often as not they
bring misery. True, you say ; but have you not been
telling us ad nauseam that it is poverty — the want of
riches — which is the cause of all the misery among the
poor? Yes, we reply; and all that is asked is that to
every head of a household shall be secured means to
give all the necessary comforts of life and sufficient
leisure to devote to artistic or intellectual development
in exchange for a certain amount of work to be regu¬
lated and controlled by the State for the best advantage
of all its members. Ultimately, as already stated, it is
hoped to reach the ideal of each for all and all for
each,'" when the gold standard shall be non-existent
and private wealth and property a thing of the past.

It is now necessary to endeavour to sum up as
succinctly as possible the various ideals to be sought
after in the higher evolution of the race. The aim in
the first place is that of a perfect environment — or as
near to its attainment as possible — for every unit
therein : every child to breathe the purest air, to have
the clothing most suitable to the climate in which he
is reared, and good food and water. Later, to be helped
in every way to acquire the culture of the ages, and
encouraged always in the development of his physical
and intellectual faculties, and necessarily coincidently
his ethical faculty ; his personal inclination as well as
capacity to be considered in deciding upon the labour
or profession best suited to his individuality.

All necessary * requirements and comforts to be
secured for everyone ; these to be fixed by committees
or sub-committees of the State.

The amount of work allocated to each to be so
u

3o6 The Ideal State

guarded that it never goes beyond the strength of the
individual concerned ; and for everyone there must
be sufficient leisure to allow of physical and intellectual
culture.

All art, music, and drama to be within the reach of
all ; all lectures and university teaching to be free to
all during times of leisure.

All men working with their hands to retire at
fifty-five or sixty years, according to their physical
necessities ; all brain workers, such as professors and
lecturers, to retire at the same age, but still available in
giving counsel in regard to all matters where their ripe
experience is likely to be of benefit.

The gold standard must ultimately be abolished of
necessity. There is no payment of money wages, and
consequently no accumulation of wealth, resulting in
such absurd distinctions as those which divide our
classes into rich and poor. There are neither rich nor
poor; all have enough and all are happy. The vice
of acquisitiveness has been overcome as a result of the
ripe experience of the past and the altruism of Christian
ethics. The aim of everyone is “ to take trouble to
do good to others,’’ finding thereby their own chief est
good and soul’s satisfaction. Men individually and
collectively seek to devise means to improve the con¬
ditions under which succeeding generations will be
called upon to live.

'' Eugenics ” are an automatic result of the improved
environment which from day to day finds betterment.
In the meantime such an Act as that recently before
the House of Commons for the care of the feeble¬
minded is necessary.

The State must assume complete control of the liquor
traffic. It is universally admitted to be the cause of
much widespread misery, not only to those who over¬
indulge, but, in even a greater degree, to many innocent

The Ideal State 307

people who otherwise would lead happy and profitable
lives. In all probability the State would find total
prohibition a necessary procedure at this imperfect
stage of man’s ethical evolution.

The white slave traffic to be stringently and relent¬
lessly supervised until prostitution is abolished.

All women, for a certain number, say three years,
to take their share of such work as domestic service ;
as daughters of households this would be nothing more
than their simple duty ; the nursing of children comes
under the same category. All men similarly to take
their share of what are called the more menial occupa¬
tions, such as work on drains and other trades necessary
to the accomplishment of a perfect sanitation. It is
well for men and women to have practical knowledge
of every department of work and method, and par¬
ticularly everything pertaining to the wise conduct of
a household. This could not but be beneficial to the
individual and to society.

The system of punishment for criminal offences to be
revised and altered. The soul of man is essentially

good ” ; it has become attracted to its opposite
through the force of a bad environment upon the husk
of the soul — the “carnal mesh” — the “muddy
vesture of decay.” Therefore we must effectually
change the environment, and especially in prison,
where the defaulter should only be detained until, with
safety to himself and others, he can be restored to the
society of his fellows. At present we do all we can to
make him the enemy of society, and confirm this by
our attitude when he returns to it. We must endeavour
to remove the evils of his previous bad environment,
to shed the spirit of love into his soul, and reawaken
the true self — the Divine element, immanent and ever
awaiting the light from the Eternal to arouse its
dormant energies. Therefore, in future, until all crime

3o8 The Ideal State

has disappeared by means of a perfect environment
physically, intellectually, and spiritually, we must en¬
deavour to conquer the misguided, or rather ill-treated,
member of society who has transgressed the laws of
righteousness, by the spirit of love. We must prove
to him that society desires nothing more than to re¬
absorb him, to take him to her large heart, and do
everything to make his lot happy, and receive his help
in return. He ought to be taught useful work, given
ample leisure for physical exercise in the open air,
supplied with good literature, and advised from the
ethical side by men specially trained and chosen for
such work. The present method of choosing chaplains
— without special qualification, indiscriminately from
a body of men who have signed the nine-and-thirty
articles ” — can only be said to be deplorable. On
leaving, the prisoner must be met and receive every
care from people specially appointed ; and work secured
and his footsteps guided until society has re-established
faith in him.

All castes and orders will undergo a process of
gradual elimination. In process of time it will possess
men’s minds that no other honour is necessary than the
esteem and gratitude of their neighbours, conjoined with
the consciousness of self-abnegation and of good work
well done — the best possible attainment for the in¬
dividual under the law of the Eternal and in accord
with the teachings of Jesus.

We are entitled to look for the gradual disappearance
of the Army and Navy. These remain as evidences of
a still semi-barbarous phase of existence. At present,
no doubt, they are necessities of our continuance as
nations and great powers. With a higher plane of
ethical evolution, however, they will become unthink¬
able and intolerable ; all disputes of ever}^ kind will be
settled by means of arbitration. The beginning of this

The Ideal State 309

'' method of reason ” is already in operation at the
Hague, and will increase in power and influence as we
secure the gradual attainment of the poet’s dream —

the Parliament of Man — the Federation of the
World.”

Until we reach the stage of the abolition of the gold
standard we must secure as rapidly as possible a uni¬
versal minimum wage for the heads of all households,
men and women alike, so that no one in the land shall
be without every necessary comfort, ample leisure, and
the means of culture, in return for work done in any
capacity for the benefit of the State.

Every household must have sufficient room for each
unit, so that an abundant supply of fresh air and the
means of privacy and decency are brought within the
reach of everyone. The housing must be on thoroughly
sanitary lines, with ample supplies of hot and cold
water, of light and heating.

Garden cities must be planned for all congregations
of people so that there can be no congestion of air, or
space, or other conditions tending towards insanitation
or disease.

Preventive medicine must eventually become the
chief thought of the governmental machine, with a
Ministry of Medicine, in all probability held by the
Prime Minister as the chief officer of State. A State
Medical Service will be a vital necessity, and will, before
long, extinguish the absurd methods of private practice.
At the present moment the poor are not, except in
hospitals, efficiently and scientifically attended. Under
the present system it is impossible. This will be
totally altered under a State Medical Service. The
medical man will benefit materially. At present he is
either underwrought and underpaid, or he is over¬
wrought and — it maybe — overpaid. Very often he is
both underpaid and overwrought. It is unfortunately

310 The Ideal State

true that there are at least 4000 medical practitioners in
our big industrial centres who never know what it is
to have a holiday from the cradle to the grave of their
professional life ; who are compelled to work at ex¬
cessive pressure all their waking hours, with many
inroads on what ought to be their sleep, for a bare
pittance of £200 to £250 a year. Mr. Lloyd George has
at any rate done good to this section of the profession,
in that he has brought what is comparative affluence
within their reach. Their income will be doubled, and
perhaps trebled ; they will be able to work less
and enjoy a little leisure ; and the annual holiday will
begin to illumine their imagination and bring balm to
their souls and health to their bodies. But under a
perfected State Medical Service no doctor will be over¬
wrought : he will not work into decrepitude and
senility ; at fifty-five or sixty a pension will enable him
to rest from his labours and devote such energies as
remain to advise the State for the welfare of the body
politic.

A body of specially selected scientific advisers to be
formed, and consulted by the Ministry, when required,
and to be final in its decisions, so as to avoid the
possibility of too sudden change, potential of great
danger to the continuity of the State.

It is most unlikely that Britain will ever be called
upon to face Revolution. Her constitution is broad-
based upon the people’s will. There has been in the
past, there is in the present, and there will continue in
the future a gradation of concessions to the demands
and needs of the people by the Government. Indeed,
we may now say it is truly government of the people,
by the people, for the people. It is not at all likely
that our Government will ever declare war from no
other motive than political exigency, such as has been
done by other European powers in the past and may

The Ideal State 31 1

be used by others in the future. The internal dis¬
content of Germany is a menace to the peace of Europe
in that the Kaiser may find it necessary to provoke
hostilities in order to arouse the patriotic fervour of his
subjects, and thus evade revolution temporarily, with¬
drawing attention from their own misgovernment.
For it is to misgovern when the interests of the
people of a great nation are sacrificed to military
aggrandisement and power.

The influence of Christian altruism, under the law of
righteousness of the Eternal, is evidenced with greater
potency in our own country than in any other, and will
insist from day to day upon the progressive betterment
of society, which alone can and does give permanence
to our civilisation. In the words of Benjamin Kidd,
already quoted, Society is evolving religious char¬
acter as a first product, and intellectual capacity only
so far as it can be associated with this quality,'’ and
the most distinctive feature of human evolution as
a whole is that through the operation upon men's
minds of the self-denying ordinances and teachings
of Jesus the race must continue to grow ever more
and more religious.

A scroll of heroes to be displayed in all our schools,
so that the youth may know the men who in the past
have done most to advance the State in all lines of
noble thought and enterprise. The teaching of all
history ought to cluster round such names.

The legal system must eventually be merged in the
Civil Service. All cases presented will receive con¬
sideration in an outer Court as to whether they are un¬
deserving of trial on account of such faults as triviality
or mere litigiousness. The latter would require careful
repression, as it would tend towards the abuse of the
legal instrument. One judgment to be final in all
cases ; barristers to be civil servants, paid by Govern-

312 The Ideal State

merit as the judges are ; to receive no private fees, and
promoted according to their knowledge, ability, and
experience. ^

The State must do everything to foster the per¬
meation of the mind of the child with the ethics of the
teachings of Jesus. Under our present system the
main idea inculcated in the educative system is “ Get
on, or get out,'" with the perpetuation of self-seeking
and its attendant evils evident everywhere, and not
least in business,” where the ruin of one’s neighbour
is quite “ fair game ” as long as we ourselves profit
thereby — most inconsistent and deplorable in a
country boasting of its Christian religion and govern¬
ment.

It is not intended that any Church shall be estab¬
lished, but it will be the duty of the Ministers of State
to act under the guidance of the lesson of history and
see that the child is thoroughly instructed in this par¬
ticular by means of the schoolmaster, so that he may
come to realise the influence of these teachings in the
evolution of the social betterment of mankind and the
amelioration of his lot, giving assurance of peace and
joy to his own existence, and permanence to civilisa¬
tion, and the removal of all risk of sudden rupture
with the tradition of the past as a result of social dis¬
content in the form of Revolution, which interferes for
long periods with the process of human advance.

The general physique must be maintained by every
opportunity of exercises, whether gymnastic or in the
form of open-air sport — these to be wisely directed and
scientifically guided so as to get the best results for the
individual and to secure that they are not overdone,
as do many of the idle rich ” at the present day.
They make it their work, which is as bad as neglecting
it altogether.

1 This applies only to immediate reform.

The Ideal State 313

Every opportunity for intellectual advance to be
accorded to all by means of a constant environment of
the best thoughts of the best minds of the past and the
present in the form of access to literature and lectures
on every kind of literary and scientific lore. By this
means the general intelligence and culture is raised and
the individual is enabled to make more of his abilities
and capacities, and in this way serve the State better.
The knowledge of the best thoughts of the best
minds tends ever to elevate the soul of man and help
onwards his spiritual evolution ; for to quote again
the greatest prophet of the nineteenth century —
Thomas Carlyle, whom may we all bear ever in most
reverent memory : “ All intellect, all talent is in the
first place moral — what a world were this otherwise ;
therefore the Good alone is deathless and victorious.’'
So that an atmosphere of culture serves a double pur¬
pose — and the highest of all purposes — in helping on
the ethical evolution in process among men. Like all
other evolutionary processes, this is necessarily of slow
growth. Hence the need by every possible means to
augment all agencies which have helped or can help
towards the Final Goal.

That eminent man. Lord Morley, in an address
delivered at Blackburn recently, quoted the Arch¬
bishop of York to the effect that an educated man was
a man who knew the difference between knowing and
not knowing. It is not easy to discover this by any
means, and that is why we must all endeavour not only
to study observed phenomena, but we must learn how
to study and weigh the conclusions which we draw.
Lord Morley went on to extend his definition of the
educated man, quoting another prelate to the effect
that he was a man with a clear view of some purpose
running through life, with which he identified himself
and tried to co-operate. An educated man, among

314 The Ideal State

other qualities, knows what is evidence and when an
assertion is proved and disproved ; and he added, and
this is very important and gives support to the whole
contention and argument maintained throughout this
treatise : The educated man should have an ardent
care for the well-being of his own species, and his own
countrymen to begin with.” Therefore it is that we
are bound to conclude that it is the duty of every man,
and particularly every educated man, regardless of self,
to seek after the attainment of a perfect environment
not only for his fellow-men but in the interests of the
unborn generations of men and women who are to
succeed.

See ! In the sands of the world
Marches the host of mankind,

A feeble, wavering line.

Where are they tending ? A God
Marshalled them, gave them their goal.

• •••••

“ Ye fill up the gaps in our files.

Strengthen the wavering line.

Stablish, continue our march.

On, to the bound of the waste.

On, to the City of God ! ”

Chapter X
The Final Goal

' we approach the end of our thesis we must en-

deavour to sum up the whole argument and prove
a logical sequence onwards to our conclusion. As long
as the theory of Darwin held the field, it was evident
that anything in the nature of a higher or spiritual
evolution of the race was impossible. His theory
rested on the assumption that man, like the units of
every other species, was in a state of constant struggle
with the other members for the means of subsistence.
This struggle was necessary to his own existence and to
that of the genus, otherwise the units would cease to
continue “fit,” and would therefore be exterminated
by other genera. This he called the “ Law of Natural
Selection.” As Darwin based his case on the carnivora,
we have taken up the argument from observed phe¬
nomena of this species of vertebrates, and have given
proof of the law of the cannibal habit in the male which
is the means of repression of all excess of reproduction.
The method by which this was controlled was acknow¬
ledged by Darwin to remain “ most obscure.” There
is therefore no necessity of a struggle for food, and
therefore the Law of Natural Selection goes by
default and is proved to be a false doctrine. As Darwin
had homologated the doctrine of Malthus, which he
said applied with manifold force to the whole animal
and vegetable kingdom, it was necessary to demon¬
strate the unsoundness of this theory, and without

315

I

3i6 The Final Goal

difficulty we were able to show that growth or decrease
of population in man is controlled entirely by the labour
market. An increased death-rate will temporarily
affect the birth-rate and cause it to rise ; emigration
from a country has a similar effect. But there is no
tendency whatever for the growth of population to out¬
run the means of subsistence, which was the dread
doctrine preached by Malthus and caused him to pro¬
claim that only by means of war, pestilence, famine,
vice, and misery could the numbers of the species be
kept within due bounds. This we absolutely confuted ;
and it is fortunate for the race that this awful doctrine
has been destroyed, otherwise the only possible fate of
man was one of despair and devoid of hope or cheer.

The destruction of these false doctrines was necessary
if man were to retain any prospect of a brighter future.
One other dread doctrine remained, and that was the
“ dead hand ” of heredity. It was proved that by
means of continuity of the germ plasm man inherited
the characteristics peculiar to his own genus, with
occasional physical features — such as shape of nose,
colour of eye or hair — ^which might resemble those of
one parent or grandparent. But the fact remained that
the essential man, his mental and moral qualities, even
his physical powers, depended largely upon his environ¬
ment. “ Sports ” of genius or remarkable intellectual
gifts do occur from time to time, but are not the result
of heredity, and the descendants of such extraordinary
individuals return at once to the average under the
potent influence of marriage. It was demonstrated
that poor physique, undeveloped mentality, and a low
morality could all be eliminated, and the higher
faculties physically, intellectually, and spiritually
stimulated and developed by a good, sound and suitable
environment. Therefore it is the duty of the State in
every regard to grant to each individual, and especially

The Final Goal 317

to the child from its earliest years, the best possible
environment. This can only be realised by slow grada¬
tions; but there ought to be no cessation of effort
until the full complement of the “ideal state"' has
been obtained.

It was proved that the lesson of history supports
our contention. The fact of social betterment at
present existing and in process is an entirely new
phenomenon on the stage of the world's progress and
has only become apparent within recent times in this
our Western civilisation. Such social amelioration was
unknown in any of the great empires of the past, even
although high physical and intellectual evolution had
been attained. The only difference existing was shown
to be an all-pervading altruism, first demonstrated by
Benjamin Kidd in his work “ Social Evolution" ; and
this again was proved to have its origin and subsequent
growth in the teachings of love and self-sacrifice under
the law of Righteousness of the Eternal, proclaimed in
the New Testament by the Founder of our religion.
Man was shown to have completed his physical and
mental evolution. This means that higher attainment
in these directions was not possible for him, but this
does not preclude a very considerable rise in the general
standard of such among the body of the people. But
for everyone the process of spiritual evolution is not
yet by any means on a high plane. It began with the
diffusion in men’s minds of Christian altruism. It has
been operating for a thousand years in our own civilisa¬
tion and it has yet a very long way to go ; but such a
process acquires momentum as it proceeds, and ere long
will be a much greater fact in the world’s history and in
man’s long climb upwards on the ladder of being. As
this spiritual evolution proceeds, the approach of the
“ ideal state ’’ comes nearer, and its completion within
reach of attainment. In the chapter on this subject.

3i8 The Final Goal

details were given as far as possible of all the objects
to be sought after, and the most important of these
was shown to be the abolition of the gold standard, for
the reason that until the vice of acquisitiveness and
greed has been overcome, the tyranny and persecution
of the toiling millions must continue and crime of many
kinds be fostered and encouraged. This must inevit¬
ably take a long time, and indeed seems wellnigh
impossible at present, but the mills of God grind slowly,
and the progress of man’s spiritual evolution will make
all things possible which are proved to be necessary to
the higher progress of humanity. This explains why
the idealists at the present time, regardless of obloquy
and slander, pursue the path of beneficent legislation
with infinite pains. Humanity in its heart knows this
to be a true outcome of the study of observed phe¬
nomena, and men and women will before long demon¬
strate their belief, and as they progress will show their
willingness to act always in the spirit of sweet reason¬
ableness,” and find their chief happiness in taking
trouble to do good to others. At present what is the
world of commerce but a wretched scramble in the effort
to “ down ” one’s neighbour with the aim of increasing
one’s own possessions? “Great possessions” were
shown not to be by any means a blessing, but a curse
in the vast majority of cases both to those who acquire
them and to those who succeed.

It was shown that the essential nature of man was
good — is only and can only be content with the good.
We have already quoted from Lord Haldane’s book,
“ The Pathway to Reality,” “ Man has a double nature
out of which arises for him, on the one hand, the
consciousness of separation from God or evil ; on the
other, potential union with God or religion. Though
finite spirit, man is none the less spirit, consequently
he is essentially free and therefore responsible.” If

The Final Goal 319

man is free and responsible, his plain duty is to seek
truth and pursue it, so that he may learn the way
of righteousness and never flag. Carlyle has told
us: Love not pleasure; love God. This is the ever¬

lasting Yea, wherein whoso walks and works, it is
well with him.” And why so ? For this reason, that
the finite spirit in man comes from the Eternal, who
maketh for Righteousness. It is the Divine Spirit
immanent in man, and this explains why the self-
sacrifice and love inculcated in the teachings of Jesus
are bringing about the salvation of the world. They
have so appealed to the true self — the soul — the
immanent spirit of the Divine in man — that the cloak
of self ” is discarded. Man has ceased to be “ Time’s
fool,” and become one with Eternity. This is the ex¬
planation of Kidd’s axiom that The most distinctive
feature of human evolution as a whole is that the race
must continue to grow ever more and more religious ;
religious character is being evolved as a first product,
and intellectual capacity only in so far as it can be
associated with this quality.” We endeavoured to
show that the concept of the Eternal, the Great First
Cause, the All-righteous, All- wise. Omnipotent Designer
and Controller of the Universe was a necessity of
Thought to which we were compelled by logical pro¬
cess from the study of observed phenomena. Indeed,
any other concept, any negation of the idea of the
Eternal is unthinkable. The purely material concept
is impossible to human reason, and has been abandoned
by the world of science to-day. We say this notwith¬
standing Sir Ray Lankester and the Mechanist school,
whose theories are as impossible of belief and as want¬
ing in continuity of method or demonstration of law as
any fairy-tale of Jules Verne. In the last century no
man was considered deserving of scientific reputation
who did not uphold the purely materialistic stand-

320 The Final Goal

point and the agnostic position. That was the age
of cocksureness/' but nevertheless it was intellec¬
tually doomed, and the ethical evolution at work in
society gave it the finishing stroke.

With the advance of spiritual evolution has come
the idea of the Divine Immanence. This means that
the Eternal has given to every individual a portion of
the Divine Spirit — the soul of man — the real self — the
true self, imprisoned in the muddy vesture of decay.
The greatest intellect of this world — he who “ was not
for an age, but for all time ” — recognised the God in
man, too much concealed or altogether hidden by the
covering of the flesh ; and he perceived that when freed
from the muddy vesture the music of the immortal soul
would then manifest itself. In the beautiful words of
Scripture, “ the Spirit shall return unto God who gave
it.’^

It has been said that man is the only animal who goes
through life conscious of his death sentence, and this is
very true if there is no Hereafter. To approach death
without fear we must have absorbed the teachings of
the Master, and realised the only pathway to happiness
and peace by means of a life spent unreservedly in the
service of others. This is the true self-realisation. The
spirit or soul of man, free and responsible, by realising
itself has come into harmony with the Divine, has
become one with God. We know not what is beyond,
but we are entitled to say with the poet : ‘'On earth
the broken arc ; in heaven the perfect round.’' In
God we find the “ Ultimate Reality.” ^ With us “ the
Ideal has become the Real,” and the spirit returns unto
God who gave it. This, without doubt, is the Final
Goal.

^ Haldane’s “Pathway to Reality.’’

I

Index

Addams, Miss Jane, 291-2
Ag-nosticism, 189
Allan, A. J., 291
America, 257
Anderson, W. C. , 229
Ang-ell, Norman, 144-5
Anthropoids, 25
Aristotle, 145

Arnold, Matthew, 18, 127, 18 1,
225

Art, 282-306

Asquith, H. H., Prime Minister,
179-80, 214
Astor, Col., 165
Atkinson, F. M., 271-7
“Atlantic Monthly,” 161
Australia, 42
Automaton Theory, 203

Balfour, A. J., 43, 119, 123
Balkan States, 146
Bannerman, Sir Henry Camp¬
bell-, 263

Barnardo, Dr., 107
Bartlett, 38

Bastian, Dr. Charlton, 199
Beaubois, 272
Beethoven, 123
Beg-bie, Harold, 258
Belgium, 96
Bellamy, 281
Bentham, 215

Berg'son, 12, 67, 188, 192, 196,
202, 204

Bingham, General, 291
Bismarck, 143
Blake, William, 210
Blatchford, 231
Booth, William, 263
Booth, General, 266-8

! Bottle-blowers of Italy, 273-7
Browning, Mrs. Barrett, 198
Bruce, King Robert, the, 25
Burns, Robert, iii, 123
Byron, Lord, in

j

Caesar, 14

Campbell, Rev. R. J., 201
Carlyle, Thomas, in, 123, 151,
180, 220-2, 233, 266, 296, 298,
313, 319

Carruth, W. Herbert, 148
Catherine of Sienna, 123
Cecil, Lord Hugh, 136-40
Charlemagne, 14
Child, The, 264

Christianity, 16, 133, 144, 147,
154-60, 174, 214
Church, The, 135-42
“Church Missionary Review,”
161

Churchill, Winston, 161
Corn Laws, 153
Consciousness, 207
Conservatism, 137-9
Crime, 104-8, 297-9, 307

Daly, 139

D’Arcy, Bishop, 161
Darwin, n-14, 16, 20-30, 31-42,
43-68, 151, 315
Descartes, 202
Devine, Dr., 124
Dewar and Finn, 29, 45, 48, 49-
55, 57-61, 108, in
Dickens, 300

Dieu, I’hypoth^se, 155-7, 160,231,
272

Dumont, Arsine, 155-7
Drama, 306

X

321

Index

322

Eimer, 20

Elderton, Miss, 126
Elizabethan Age, iii, 134, 221
Elliot, Hug-h S. R., 188, 193-6
Emigration, 84
Eng’land, 88
Environment, 100-26
Eugenics, 43, 99, 106, 306

Fabre, Henri, 62-8
Faimali, 37

“ Fallacies, Origin of,” 206
Fleischmann, Professor Von, 20
France, 98, 141-5
Francis d’ Assisi, 123
Frere, Sir Bartle, 266

Gairdner, Sir William, 105
Galton, 23, 56, III
Garden Cities, 309
George, Lloyd, 310
Germany, 142-4
Gladstone, W. E., 14, 246
Godwin, 71

Gold standard, 277, 284-7, 295,
306

Gooden, Miss, 241

Greek Civilisation, 128, 134, 221

Haeckel, 188, 198
Haldane, Lord, 147, 296, 318,
320

Hall, Dr. Winslow, 146
Hamlet, 126
Harrison, Frederic, 282
Hartman, Prof. Von, 20
Hegel, 296
Heidelberg man, 27
Henslow, Rev. Prof., 20
Heredity, 100-26
Hobart, H. W., 253, 258-63
Hobbes, 215-16
Hogg, 123
Hoocke, 20
Horsley, Canon, 165
Hume, 215-16

Huxley, 14, 25-6, 47, 189, 203
Hyndman, 231

Immanence, Divine, 163, 266, 307,
320

Imprisonment, 300-2, 307

India, 71

Indian, Red, 257

Insanity, 103

Instinct, 62, 201-2

Insurance Bill, 143, 213, 303, 310

International Relations, 287-8

Ireland, 71

Java man, 27

Jesus, Teachings of, 183-5, 270-1
Jonson, Ben, 221
Jowett, Dr., 206

Kaffir, The, 289
Kant, Immanuel, 123
Keats, III, 123

Keith, Professor Arthur, 25, 27
Kidd, Benjamin, 15, 128, 130, 155,
173, 210, 217-23, 237, 317
Konig, Dr., 104
Kropotkin, Prince, 124

Labour, 134, 158-9, 167, 177, 212,
228, 245
Lamarck, 19

Lankester, Sir Ray, 188, 193, 319
Legal system, 248, 31 1
Lincoln, Abraham, 123
Lister, Lord, 13, 199
Livingstone, 266
Lloyd, Miss, 104, 107
Lloyd, Prof. Morgan, 56
Locke, 215-16
London, Bishop of, 112
Lunacy, 242
Luther, 123
Luxury, 285

Macaulay, Lord, 75
Macdonell, Sir John, 112
Machen, Arthur, 165, 170-7
Macpherson, Hector, 125
Maine, Sir Henry, 127
Mallock, 278

Malthus, II, 67-100, 151-3, 315

Marshall, Prof., 175

Marx, Karl, 155-7, 220, 231, 278

Index

323

Medicine, Ministry of, 246, 309
Melrose, Abbey of, 164
Memory, 205
Meredith, Mrs., 104, 107
Michelangelo, 123
Mill, J. S., 215-16, 278
Minimum wage, 179
Missionary, The, 288
Mivart, Dr. St. George, 29
Mongols, 26
Morley, Lord, 313
Motts, Dr., 242
Mozart, 123
Music, 306

Napoleon, 14, 123
Natural Selection, 14, 19, 43-68,
151-2, 222, 315
Navy, The, 167
Negritos, 26
Negro, 26, 288
Netherlands, 94
Newtown, Sir Isaac, 124
Nietzsche, 154, 160-220
Nightingale, Florence, 123
Norway, 89

Old age pensions, 187
Owen, Sir Richard, 29

Palace of Peace, 153
Parliament, 286
Pasteur, 12, 197, 199
Paulin, George, 8, ii, 20, 34-42,
47-48, 54, 61-70, 96, 195
Pearson, Prof. Karl, 126
Peerage, iii
Phidias, 14
Pitt, 76
Plato, 14, 220
Pleistocene, 28
Por, Odon, 271-7
Portugal, 140
Poverty, 265
Protista, 200
Prussia, 92

Ragazzoni, Prof., 28
Ravaisson, 205

Reformation, 130, 142, 193
Reinicke, 20
Renaissance, 173
Revolution, 143, 214, 312
Revolution, French, 21 1, 215
Robertson, J. M, , 144-5
Roman Empire, 128-9, ^45
Romanes, 55
Roosevelt, 112
Rosebery, Lord, 13
Rowntree, 263
Ruskin, 182, 220
Russia, 86

Salvation Army, 129-31
Schafer, Prof., 67, 198-201
Schofield, Dr., 104, 113
Scotland, 88
Scott, Sir Walter, 222
Seaman, Owen, 107, 268
Sergi, Prof., 28
Seth, 39

Shakespeare, iir, 123, 126, 129,
163, 221-2, 270

Shaw, J. D.,“ Tasmanian News,”
Editor of, 105
Shelley, 123
Slavery, 129-31
Smith, Capt., 165
Smith, Prof., 122
Socialism, 169, 210-314
Socrates, 14, 220
Sophocles, 14, 220
Spain, 140

Spencer, Herbert, 104, 124, 215-
16

State Medical Service, 309
State religion, 136-42, 312
Stead, W. T. , 165, 232-6, 292
Straus, Isidore, 165
Syndicalism, 228, 271-8, 286
Sweden, 89

Tasmania, 105

Tennyson, 18, iii, 150, 225, 244,
256

Testament, New, 126
Time, 264
“Times, The,” 267
Turkey, 144-6

Index

324

Ultimate Reality, 320
United States of America, 142
Universities, 282
Ur wick. Prof., 149
Utilitarian school, 215
Utopia, New, 279

Verne, Jules, 319
Vries, De, 20

Wagenen, Von, 122
Wagner, 123

Wallace, Dr. Alf. Russel, 50, 201
Ward, Mrs. Humphry, 239-41
War, 144

Weismann, 123
Wellington, 14
Wells, H. J., 167-70
Wellstein, Von, 20
Western civilisation, 186
“Westminster Review,” 47
“Westminster Gazette,” 137-8
Wolf, Gustav, 20
Won’t-works, 301
Wordsworth^ in, 208
Working-classes, 258-65,
Wright (American author), 25
W’right, Sir Almroth, 118, 243

York, Archbishop of, 313

THE END

1