T HE WO R K S A N D LI F E O F

WA LT E R B A G E HO T

VOL . VI I I .
T HE W O RK S A N D L I FE

WA LT ER B A G E HO T

EDITED BY

MRS . R U S S E LL B A R R I N G T O N

T HE WO R K S I N N I N E VOL U M ES
T HE L I FE I N O N E V O L U M E

VO L V I I I O F T HE WO R K S
. .

LO N G M A N S , G R E E N ,
A N D CO .

39 P A T E R N OST E R R O W, LON D ON

FO U R T H A V E N U E SOT H S T R E E T , N E W YO R K

B O M B AY, C A LC UTTA ,
AN D S
M AD R A
 C O N T E N T S O F VO LU M E V I I I .

P AG E

P HY SICS AN D P OL I T ICS— no d a te g iv e n
I . Th e Pre l i m i na ry A g e

II . Th e Us e O f Co n fli c t

I II . N at i o n - m a i n k g
IV . N at i o n- m a ki g
n

V . T h e Ag e o f D i scu s s io n

VI . Ve r ifi ab l e P r o gr e ss P o l i t i c al l y Co n s i d e r e d

AR T IC LE I —T H . E U
C RR E N CY M O N O P OL Y (fr o m The P r osp ecti ve R evi e w ,
1 848 . p ub l i sh ed by Wa l t e r B ag e ho t)
F i rs t e s s ay

AR T IC LE I I —P R I N CI P LE S O F P OL I T IC A L E C O N O M Y (fr o m T he P r osp ec t i ve
.

R e vi e w 1 8 4 8, T h e se c o n d ar ti cl e p u b l i s h e d by Wa l te r B a g e h o t )
.

E SS AY O N T H E C O M P A R A T I V E A D V A N TAG E S O F T H E S T UDY OF AN CI E N T
A N D M O D E R N LAN G U A G E S

T H O U G H T S ON D E M O C R A C Y

O N T H E C H AR A C T E R O F M I R AB E A U A N D H I S I N F L U E N C E O N H I S AG E
 E R R A TA .

Pa ge 190 , l ine 24 , for s t ude n t ,du r in g r ea d s t u d e n t , c o nc e r n e d d u ri n g

$7 19 1 , H 12 , a ny t h i n g
r ea d a n y t hi n g ,

191 , 37 13 , a pp x
ro i m at i n g e q u a l r ea d a ppro xi m ate l y e q u a l
19 2 , 9, n or n o r r ea d o r or
I 94 , 3 ) 6, t h e m w e m e a n n o t r ea d t h e m , w e m e a n , n o t
1 95 , 1 0, o n e w e th i n k
i s r ea d o n e , w e t h i n , i s k
196 , 71 23 , w a s r e a d w ere
1 98 , p g ph
a ra r a f
2 , l i n e 1 1 , for u s e d , o t e n r e a d u s e d o t e n , f
2 1 4 , l i n e 1 3 , or e ac h
f a r e r ea d e a c h
. is
2 18, 13 , caus e o f r e a d c a u s e s
227, H 18, e n co u n t e r r ea d co u n t e r
2 29 , 9) 4, a ffe ct r ea d a fle c t s
’

23 3 , 8, S t u d y , r e a d S t u dy
23 5 , f
7 , d e l e t e c om m a a t e r u n h a r m o n i o u s
23 6 , f
7 r om e n d , for n e e d r ea d n e e ds
 P H Y S I C S A N D P O L I T I CS .

T H E PR E LI M I N A R Y A GE .

1 .

ON E pecu liarity of this age i s t h e tSy d d e n acqu isition of m uch

physical k n o w l e d gg T here is scarcely a departm ent of sci ence
or art which i s the sam e or at al l the sam e as i t was fifty
, ,

years ago A n ew world of i nventions — o f r a il w ay g and of

.

— has grown up around u s which we cannot help

elegg ph
t s
seeing ; a new world of i deas i s i n the air and affects u s ,

though we do not see it A fu l l estimate of these effect s

.

would require a great book and I am sure I coul d not write

,

it ; but I think I m ay u sefu lly i n a few papers show how , , ,

upon on e or two great poi nts the n ew ideas are m odi fyi ng
,

two old sci ences— p ol itics a n d p o li t i caLecono my E ven u po n

.

.
f

these poi nts m y i deas m u st be i ncom plete for th e subj ect i s ,

novel but at any rate I m ay suggest som e conclusions an d so

, , ,

S how what i s requisite even i f I do not supply it .

I f we wanted to describe one of the m ost m arked resul ts ,

perhaps the m ost m arked result o f late thought we should , ,

say that by it everything i s m ade an anti q ui ty When i n ,

form er ti m es ou r ancestors thought of an antiquari an they

, ,

descri bed hi m a s occupied with coin s and m edals and D ruid s

’

, ,

stones these were then the characteri stic records of th e deci

p h e ra bl e past and it w a s with these that d eci pherers bus ied
,

them selves But now there are other rel i cs indeed al l m atter is
.
,

becom e s u ch S cience tries to fi nd i n each bit of earth the r e

.

cord O f the cau ses which m ade i t precisely what i t i s ; those

forces have left thei r trace s h e k nows a s much as the tact a nd
, ,

hand of the artist left their m ark on a cla s sica l gem I t w ou ld .

VOL V I I I
. . I
 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS

be tediou s (an d it i s not in my way) to reck on up the i n

g e n i o u s qu estioni ngs by which geology has m ade part of the
earth at least tell part of i ts tale ;a nd the answers woul d have
, ,

been m eaningl ess i f physio lo g y and conchol ogy and a hundred

si m i lar sci ences had n ot brought their aid (S u m subsidiary .

l
sciences are to the decipherer of the presen t day what O l d l an
;
guages were to the antiqu ary of other days they con stru e for
hi m the words which he d iscovers they give a ri chness and a ,

tru th like com plexity

-

— to the pictu re which he paints even i n ,

cases where t hC p ar ti cu l ar detai l they tel l i s not m uch B ut -

.

what here concerns m e i s that m fl him se li h as to th e eye of ,

sci ence b ecom e an an tiq u ity

,
Sh e tri es to read is begin ,

ni ng to read knows s h e ought to read i n the fram e of each m an

, ,

the re s u l t of a who l e history of al l hi s li fe of what he i s and what ,

m akes hi m s o — o f al l hi s forefathers o f what they were and

, ,

of what m ade them 5 0 E ach nerve has a sort of1133 1119 3 ;

.
3

i t s past l i fe fi s trained o r not trai ned dul l ed o r qui cken ed

fi
, ,

a s the case m ay be ; each feature i s shaped a nd characterised ,

or left loose a nd m eani ngl ess a s m ay hap pen ; each ha nd i s ,

m arked wi th i ts trade and li fe subdued to what it work s i h — zf

’

we cou ld éu t s ee it .

I t may be a nswered that i n this there i s nothing new ;that

’
we a lways k new how m uch a m a n s past modified a m a n s ’

fu tu re ; that we a l l k new how m u ch a man i s apt to be l ik e

‘ ‘

hi s a n ce s t o r s fth a t the exi st ence o f nationa l charact er i s the

.

greatest commo np lace i n the worl d) that when a phi l osopher

ca n n o t a c c o u n t for a nythi ng in a ny other manner he boldly
‘

ascribe s it to a n occu lt qu a li ty i n so m e race t what physi

ca l s ci ence does i s not to discover the hereditary elem ent bu t
.

@
, ,

to render i t d isti nct — to give u s a n ac curate conception of

,

what we may ex pect a nd a good accou nt o f the evidence by

,

which we a re led to expect I O L e t u s s e e what that sci ence

T

teaches o n the s ubj ect ;and a s far a s m ay be I wi l l give i t i n

, ,

the words O f those who have m ade i t a pro fessional study bo th ,

that I may be m ore su re to state it rightly a nd vividly and ,

becau se— as I a m a bout to a pply these pri nciples to subj ects

which are m y own pursuit— l wou ld rather have i t quite clea r
that I have not made my prem ises to su it m y own con c lusi ons .
 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS

I s t, then as respects the i ndividual we learn as fol low s

, ,

“
E ven whi le the cerebra l hemispheres are enti re and i n ,

ful l possession o f thei r powers the bra i n gives rise to actio ns ,

which are as com pletely reflex a s those of the spi nal cord .

“
When the eyel ids wink at a flash o f light or a threatened ,

blow a reflex action takes place i n which the afferent nerves

, ,

are the optic the efferent the facial When a bad smel l cau ses a
, ,
.

gri m ace there i s a reflex action throu gh the sam e m otor ner ve)
,

whi le the ol factory nerves constitute the afferent Channel s I n .

these cases therefore reflex action m u st be e ffected through

, ,

the brai n a l l the nerve s i nvolved being cerebra l

,
.

When the whol e body starts at a loud noi se th e afferent ,

audi tory nerve gi ves ri se to an impu lse which passes to the

m edulla oblongata a nd thence a ffects the great maj ority o f the
,

moto r nerves o f the body ‘

I t m ay be said th at these are m ere m echanica l actions ,

and have nothing to do wi th the acts which we associate wi th

i ntelligence But let u s co nsider what tak es place i n such a n
.

a c t as reading aloud I n this case the whole attention o f the

.
,

mind i s or ought t o be bent upon the subj ect matter o f the

, ,
-

book ;whi l e a mu l titude of most delicate muscu lar acti ons are g o
i ng on o f which the reader i s not i n the slightest degree aware
, .

Thus the book i s held i n the hand at the right distance from ,
x

the eye s ; t h e e y e s are moved from side to side over the l i nes , , ,

and u p and down the pages F u rther the m ost deli .

,

c a te l adj usted a nd rapi d movements o f th e m u scles of

y
the l ips tongu e and throat of l a ryngeal and respiratory
, , ,

muscle s are involved i n the production o f speech P erhaps

, .

the reader i s standi ng up and accompanyi ng the lectu re wi th

appropriate gestu res A n d yet every one of the s e m uscu lar .

acts may be performed wi th u tter u nconsciousness on h i s part , ,

O f a nything but the sense o f the words i n the book I n other .

words they are reflex acts

, .

Th e reflex actions proper to the spi nal cord i tsel f are

n a tu r a l and are i nvo lved i n the structure of th e cord and the
,

properties o f i ts constituents B y the hel p o f the brai n we .

may a c qu ire an a ffinity of a r tzfi cz a l reflex actions T hat i s to

'

sa
y an action may requ ire all our attention and al l ou r voliti on
,
 4 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS

for its first or second or third performan c e bu t by frequent

, , ,

repeti tion i t becom es in a manner part of ou r organisation , , ,

and is performed wi thou t vo l ition or even consc iou sne ss , .

A s every one k nows it takes a soldier a very lon g ti m e ,

to lear n his drill — to put hi msel f for instance i nto the attitude , ,

‘ ’
of attention at the i nstant the word of c om man d is heard .

B ut after a ti me the soun d of the word gives ri se to the act

, , ,

whether the so l dier be thi nk ing of i t o r n ot T here is a story .

,

wh ich i s c redi bl e enou gh though i t m ay n ot be true o f a , ,

practical j oker who seei ng a discharged veteran carryi ng home

, ,

‘
h i s dinner suddenly call ed out A ttention " whereu pon the
’
,

m an instantly brought h i s hands d own and lost his m u tton ,

and potatoes i n the gutter Th e dri l l had been gone through .

,

and i ts effects had become em bodied i n the ma n s n ervou s ’

stru ctu re .

“
Th e possibi l ity of a l l ed ucation (of which m i l i ta ry d ri l l i s
only one particu lar form ) i s based u pon the existence of thi s
power which the n ervou s system p o s s e s s e s @f organising con
scious actions into m ore or less u nconsciou s o r reflex opera , ,

tio n§> I t may be laid down as a rul e that i f any two menta l ,

states be ca l led u p together or i n succession with due frequency , ,

a nd vivid ness the subsequent production of the one of them

,

wi l l su ffice to cal l u p the other and that whether we desire i t ,

”
or not 1 .

e body o f the a cc om plis h ed man has thus become by

n g d i fferent from what i t once was and di fferent from ,
'

t h a t of the ru de man ; i t is charged wi th stored vi rtue and

f

acqu i red facu lty which come away from i t u nconsciously .

A gain as to race a nother au thority teaches : Man s life

’

, ,

tru ly represents a progressive d evelopm ent of the nervous

system none the l ess s o because it takes place ou t of the wom b
,

i nstead of i n i t Th e regu lar tra nsmu tatio n o f moti ons which

.

are at first vol u ntary i nto seconda ry a utomatic m otions a s ,

H art l ey ca ll s them is du e to a gradually effected organisati on

,

and we may rest assu red of this that co o rd i nate activity a lways ,
-

te s ti fies to stored u p power either innate or acqu ired

-
, .

“
Th e way i n which an a c quired fa c ulty of the parent
1
Hu x l e y ’
s E l e m en ta ry P hy s i ol ogy , pp . 2 8 4 - 28 6.
 P H YSI CS A N D POLI TI CS 5

ani mal is sometimes distinctly tran sm itted to the progeny as a

heritage i nsti nct or i nnate endowment furni shes a strik ing
, , ,

confirmation of the foregoing observation s P ower tha t ha s .

been laboriou sl y acqu ired and stored u p a s statica l in one

generation m ani festly i n such ca se becom es the i nb orn facu lty
of the next ; and the development tak es place i n accordance
with that law of i ncreasin g special ity and com plexity o f adap
t a t i o n to externa l nature which i s traceable through the animal
ki ngdom ; o r i n other words that l aw of progre ss from the
, ,

genera l to the specia l in development which the app earance of

nerve force a m ongst natural forces an d the complexity of the
nervous system of m an both i llustrate A s the vital forc e .

gathers u p as it were into itsel f i nferior forces an d m ight be

, , ,

said to be a developm ent of them or a s in the a ppea ra nce of , ,

nerve force sim pler and m ore genera l forces are gathered up
,

and concentrated i n a m ore s pecia l and co m plex m ode o f

energy ; s o agai n a fu r th e r speciali sati on takes p lace i n the
‘

developm ent of the nervou s system whether watched through ,

generations or through individual li fe I t i s not by l im i ti ng .

ou r observations to the li fe o f the i ndividual however who i s , ,

but a li nk i n the chai n o f organic beings connecti ng the past

with the future that we shal l com e at the ful l t r u t h ;@h e
,

present i ndividual i s the i nevitable consequence o f his a nte

cedents in the p a sfi a n d i n the exam i nation of these alone do we
arrive at the adequate ex pla nation of hi m I t behoves u s then .
, ,

havi ng fou nd any facu lty to be i nnate not to rest content ,

there bu t s teadi ly to fol low backwards the l i ne of cau sation

, ,

and thu s to display i f possi ble i ts man ner of origi n T his i s

, ,
.

the m ore necessary with the lo wer ani mal s where s o m uch i s ,
” 1
i nnate .

Th e specia l laws of i nheri ta n ce are i ndeed as yet u nk nown .

A ll whi ch i s clear a nd al l which is ,

i s that there ,

i s a tendency a probability greater or less accordi ng to ci r

, ,

c u m s ta n ce s but al ways considerabl e that th e des cend an t s _of

, , _ _

C
w m by born nervou s o rgan i sation a ,

r e a t e r a ptitude for than the descendants of such

1
M au d s l e y on th e P fiy r z ol ogy
’

and P a tlz ol ogy f t i re M i n d

o ,
p .
73 .
 PHYS I CS AN D POLI TI CS

as are not c u ltivated ; and that thi s tendency augm ents i n ,

s om e enhanced ratio for m any g en erations, .

I d o not th i nk a ny who d o not acqu ire —and it tak es a

hard effort to acqu ire — th is n otion of a transmitted nerve
elem ent wi l l ever u nderstand the connective tis su e of civi l i
sation We have here the cw
.
m g h b in di ggg
tp_ ag § which enabl es each to begi n with som e i mprovem ent
,

o n the l ast i f the last di d itsel f i m prove ; which makes each

,

civ i li sation not a set o f de ta c he d d ots b u t a

SE M a n c i ng shad e by shade T here i s by thi s d octri ne
.
, ,

a physical cau se of i m provement from generation to g e fle r a t i o n

and no i m agi natio n which has ap prehended i t can forget i t ;
bu t u nless you appreciate th at cau s e i n its subtl e materi a li sm ,

u nless you see i t as i t were pl aying u pon the nerves of men

, , ,

and age after age m aki ng nicer m usi c from fi ner chords you
, , ,

cannot com prehend the pri nciple o f i nheri tance either i n i ts

mystery or i ts power .

T hese pri nci ples are qui te i ndependent O f any theory as to

th e natu re of m atter or the n ature o f m ind T hey are as
, .

true u pon th e theo ry that m i nd acts o n m atter — though sepa

rate and altogether di fferen t fro m i t — as u pon the th eory o f
Bishop Berk el ey that there i s no m atter bu t only m i nd ; or ,

upon the contrary theory — that there i s no m ind bu t o nly ,

m atter ; o r u pon the yet subtler theory now often held — that
both m ind and matter are d ifferent m odifi cations o f som e one
A ll these theories
’
’

te r l z n rn gn za some hidden thi ng or force

,
.

adm it —i ndeed they are bu t variou s theories to accou nt fo r

the fact that udjat we call fi
-
i n what we
’
I
C 3 “ m i nd and t é
.
) hM éw b s L al l mi n d p m dus e s resul ts i n what
a

w e cal l m atte r; an d the doctrines I qu ote assu m e only that .

O u r mi nd i n som e strange way acts on o ur n e ry e s and ou r p ,

n erves i n som e equal ly strange w a

y
a m o m e h o w the resu lt as a ru le and com monly enough
, ,

goes d o wn to ou r descendan ts ; these pri m i tive facts al l

theories ad mi t a nd al l o f them l abou r to exp lain
,
.

N or have these pl ai n pri nciples any relation to the o ld

di fficulties of necessity and freewi l l E very F r e e w i l l i s t hold s
.

that the specia l force of free vo l ition is appl ied to the pre exist -
 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI C S

i ng forces of ou r corporeal structu re ; he does not co nsider it

as an agency acting i n v a cu o but as an agency acti ng u pon
,

other agencies E very F r e e w i l l i s t holds that u pon the whol e

.
, ,

i f you strengthen the m oti ve i n a given direction m ank ind ,

tend more to act i n that direction .

—
W
better
i m pulses rather—co m e fro m a g o c bg d y; worse m otives or
,

worse i m pulses co m e fro m a bad body A F r e e w i l l i s t m ay .

adm it as m uch as a N ecessaria n that su ch i m proved con

d i t i o n s tend to i m p rove hu m an action an d that deteriorated
,

conditions ten d to deprave hu m an action N O F r e e w i l li s t .

’
ever expects a s m u ch from St G i l e s s as he ex pects from
.

B elgravi a : he adm its an hereditary nervou s system as a d a zu m

for the wi l l though he holds the wil l to be an extraordi na ry
,

”
i ncom i ng so mething N o doubt the m odern doctri ne o f t he
“
C o n se rvation of F orce if a pplied to dec ision i s i nconsi sten t
, ,

wi th free w i l l i f you hold that force i s never lost or gained

“
,

you cannot hol d that there i s a real gai n — a sort o f new

creatio n of i t i n free vo li ti on B ut I have nothing to do here
.

”
with the u niversal C onservation o f F orce
“
Th e conception
of the nervo u s organs as stores of wi l l m ade power does n ot -

ra ise or need so vast a d iscussi on .

S til l less are these pri nci ples to be confounded w ith M r .

’
B uck le s idea that m ateria l forces have been the m ain springs -

o f progress an d m oral causes secondary and i n com parison

, , , ,

not to be thought o f .

@
n the c ontrary m o ral cau ses are the

first here I t i s the acti on o f the wi l l that causes the u n co n

,

scious habi t ; it i s the continua l effort of the beginn ing that

creates the hoarded energy of the en d i t i s the si lent toi l of
the first generation that becom es the trans m itted aptitude o f
the n ext . H ere physical causes do not create the m ora l but ,

moral create the p h y s i caD here the beginn i ng 15 by the higher

energy the con servation and propagation on ly by the lower
,
.

But we thus perceive how a science of history i s possible a s ,

Mr B uck le said a science to teach the laws of tendencies

.
,
-

created by the mind and trans m itted by the body —which act
,

upon and i ncline the wi l l of man from age to age .

8 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS

B ut how d o these pri nciples change the phi losophy of ou r

politics I thi nk in m any ways and first i n one particularly ,
.

P olitical economy i s the most system ati sed and m ost accurate
pa rt o f pol itical philosophy ; an d yet by the hel p o f what ha s
,

b een la id down I thi nk we may travel back to a s g rt 9£i_p r_e

, _

econom ic when the very assu m ptions of pol itical e co n ofn y

d i d n ot exist when its precepts woul d have been rui nou s and
, ,

when the very contrary precepts were requ isite an d wise .

F o r this pu rpose I do not need to d eal with the dim ages

which ethn o logy j u st revea l s to u s — with the stone age an d ,

the flin t i m plem ents an d the refuse heaps Th e tim e to

,
.

which I w o u ld go back i s only that jus t b§m —t he d a p _ _

M — coeva l with the dawn perhaps

,
i t would be
,
right to
s ay -
for the first historia ns saw su ch a state o f soci ety though ,

they saw other an d more advanced states too : a perio d of

which we have d i sti nc t descri ption s from eye witn esses an d o f -
,

w hich the traces an d con sequ ences abou nd in the oldest law .

”
“
Th e effect says S i r H en ry Maine the greatest of ou r livi ng
, ,

j u rists— the on ly one perhaps whose wri tings are i n k eepi ng

, ,

wi th ou r best phi losophy— o f the evidence derived fro m com

“

p a r at i ve j u ri sprudence i s to establish that Vi e w of the p ri m eval

co n di tion of the hu m an rac e which i s k nown as th e P atriarchal

T heory T here i s no doubt of cou rse that this theory w a s
W
.
, ,

( i ly based on the S cri ptu ra l hi story o f th e H ebrew

patriarchs in L ower A sia but as has been expla in ed a l ready
, ,

i ts conn ectio n with S cri pture rather m i li tated than otherwise

against i ts receptio n as a com plete theo ry si nce the maj ority ,

o f the i nqu i rers who ti l l recently add ressed themselves with

m ost earnestness to the col li gati on of social phenom ena were ,

either i nfluenced by the stronges t prej u dice against H ebrew

a ntiquiti es o r by the strongest desi re to c onstruct thei r system
without the assistance o f religi ou s records E ven n ow there is .

perhaps a d isposition to u ndervalu e thes e accou nts o r rather ,

to decl in e generali sing from them as formi ng part o f the

,

traditions o f a S em itic p eopl e It is t o be noted however

.
, ,

that the l egal testim ony com es nearly excl u sively from the
 PHYSI C S AN D POL I TI CS 9

institutions of societies belongin g to th e I nd o E u ropea n stock -

,

the Rom ans H i ndoos and S clavonians su pplying the greater

, ,

part of i t ; and i ndeed the di ffi cu lty at the present stage of ,

the i nqu i ry is to know where to stop to say of what races o f

, ,

m en it i s n ot al l owab le to l ay down that the soci ety i n w hich

they are u nited was original ly o rganised o n the patri archal
m odel T h e Chi ef l ineam ents of such a soci ety a s col lected
.
,

from the early chapters i n G e n e s i s I need n ot attempt to ,

depict with any th ey a re fami l iar to

m ost of u s from ou r earl iest chi ldhood and because from the , ,

interest once attachi ng to the controversy which tak es i ts

nam e from the debate between Locke a nd F il m er they fi l l a ,

whole chapter though not a very profitabl e o ne i n E nglish

, ,

litera tu re Th e p oi nts which li e on the surface o f the history

.

are these — Th e el dest male parent — the eld es t ascendant— i s

t O l i fe and d eath and is as unqu a l ified over hi s chi ld ren and

,

th ei r ho uses as over h i s sl aves i ndeed thu e l at io n s m fl son:

shi p and serfdom app e_ar to d i ff
,

er I n litt l e beyon d th e higher

_ _ _

capacity which the child i n b lood possesses of becomi ng one

d ay the head o f a fa mi ly him sel f 6 h ; flock s a nd herds O f
.

the Chi ldren are the flock s and h erds of the fa t h ef b a n d the

possessi o ns o f the parent wh ich he ho l ds i n a representative

,

rather than i n a propri etary character are equally d ivided ,

at his death am ong h i s descendants i n the fi rst d egree the ,

eldest son s om etim es receivi ng a doubl e sha re u nder the n am e

of birthright but m ore ge n eral ly endowed wi th no hereditary
,

advantage beyond a n honora ry precedence A less obviou s .

inference from the S criptu ral accou n ts i s that they seem to

plant u s on the traces of the breach whi ch i s fi rst effected i n
the em pi re of the parent T he fami lies o f Jacob and E sau
.

separate and form two nations ; but the fam ilies of Jacob s ’

chi ldren hold together and becom e a people T his look s l ik e .

the i m m ature germ of a state or c om m onwea lth a n d of an ,

order of rights superior to the cl aim s of fami ly relation .

“
I f I were attem pti ng for the more special pu rposes o f the
j u ri st to express compendiously the Characteristics of the situ a
tio n in which m anki nd di scl ose them selves at the dawn o f thei r
 0 P HYSI CS A N D POLI TI CS

history I shou ld be sati sfied to qu ote a few verses from the

,

O dyssey of H om er
‘ ” "
mv O dyop a i B ovl n dp o c 0171 s dép w r e c
'

r oi 71
01
'
.

dep t a r efre t Be gr a d -
’
r oe

ilt d x
'
8a w 9 0“;v
’
1r a t c w v, 1 dk éy ov o t v .

T hey
’

have neither assembli es for consultation nor t/re m z r ter ,

but every o n e exercises j u risdiction over hi s wives and hi s

chi ldren and they pay no regard to one another
, .
’

A n d t hi s descripti on of the begi nni ngs o f history i s con

firmed by what m ay be cal led the last l esson of prehistoric
ethnology P erhaps i t i s the most valuable as it i s clearly
.
,

the m ost su re result of that science that it has d ispel led the ,

dream s of other days as to a pri m itive high civi l i sation .

ry catches man as he e merges from the patri archal state

logy sho ws how he l ived grew and i m proved i n that , ,

T h e concl usive argu ments against the i magined original

civi l isation are i ndeed plain to every one N othi ng i s m o re .

i ntel ligible than a mora l deterioration of m ankind — nothi ng

than an ms th e t i c d egradation — nothing than a political d egrada
tion B ut you cannot i m agine m ankind givi ng up the plain
.

u tensi ls of personal comfort i f they once k new them sti ll less

,

c a n yo u i magi n e them giving u p good weapons — say bows

and arrows — i f they once knew them Y e t i f there were a .

pri m itive civi li sation these thin gs m us t have been forgotten for ,

tri be s can be fou nd i n every degree of ignorance and every ,

grade of k no wledge as to pottery as to the m etal s as to the , ,

m eans o f com fort as to the i nstru m ents of war A n d what i s

,
.

m ore these savages have not fai led from stu pidity ; they are
, ,

i n variou s degrees of original ity i nventive abou t these m atters ,

.

an old perfect system vari ou sly

sly dyi ng ; you cannot fi nd i t a s you find ,

i n language i n the m edi aeval d i alects O n .

the co ntrary you find i t begi nning— as new sci entifi c d i s

,

co v e r i e s and i nventions no w begi n —

her e a

l ittle the same thing hal f done i n vari ous hal f ways a n d s o as
,
- -
,

no o ne wh o k new the best w ay wou l d ever have begun A n .

i dea u sed to prevai l that bows and arrows were the pri m i tive
weapons —the weapon s of universal savages ; but m odern
”
 PH YSI CS AN D POL I TI CS 11

1
science has m ade a tab l e an d som e savages have them and ,

som e have not and some have su bsti tu tes of one so rt and som e
,

have substitutes of another— several of these substitutes bei ng

‘
l i ke the boom erang so m uch more d i ffi cul t to hi t o n o r to,
’

-V

u se than the bow as wel l as so m uc h l ess effectual A nd n o t

,
.

only m ay the m iscellan eou s races O f the world b e j ustl y d e

s c ri bed as bei ng u pon vario u s edges o f i ndustrial civi l i sati on ,

approaching i t by vari o u s sides and fal ling short o f i t i n vari ou s ,

particulars but the mom ent they see the real thing they know
,

how to use it as wel l or better than civi li sed m @ Th e S outh

, ,

A merican u ses the horse which the E uropean brought better

than the E uropean Many races use the r i fle — the especi al and
.

very com plicated weapon of civi li sed m an — better u pon an aver ,

age than he can u se it T h e s avage wi th si m ple tool s — tool s he

, .

appreciates— i s li ke a chi ld quick to learn not lik e an O l d , ,

ma n who has once forgotten and who cannot acqui re again

,
.

A gai n i f there had been an excel lent aboriginal Civilisation in

,

A ustralia and A m erica where botanists and z oologists a sk , , , ,

are its vestige s ? I f these savages did care to cu ltivate wheat ,

where i s the wi ld wheat gone which thei r abandoned cultu re

m ust have left ?i f they did give u p u si ng good d o m e s t ?
ani m als what has becom e of the wi ld ones which wou ld ac
, ,

cording to al l n atu ral laws have sprung u p out O f them ? ,

T hi s m uch i s certai n that the dom estic ani m al s o f E urope ,

have si nce what m ay be cal led the di scovery of the w or l d

,

during the last hu ndred years ru n u p and down i t T h e , .

E ngl ish rat— not the pleasantest of ou r dom estic creatures

h a s gone everywhere ; to A u stral ia to N ew Z ealand to , ,

A m erica : nothi ng but a co m p licated rat miracle cou ld ever -

root hi m out N or cou ld a co m m on force ex pel the horse

.

from S outh A m erica since the S paniards took hi m thither ; if

we did not k now the contrary we shou l d s u ppos e hi m a
pri nci pal aborigi nal ani m al QVh e re then s o to s ay are the .
, ,

rats and horses o f the pri m itive civi lisation)> N ot only can
we not fi nd them but zoological science tel l s us that t hey never
,

”
existed for the feebly pronou nced the i neffectual m arsu pial s
, , ,

1
Se e th e ve ry ca e u r f l ta ble an d ad m ira b l e d i s cu s s i on in Sir John
Lu bb ock s ’
P r e H z r tor z c Tz m es
-
' ' '

.
 12 P H YSI CS A N D POLI TI CS

o f A ustral ia an d N ew Z ealand cou ld never have s u r v i v e d a

competiti on wi th better creatu res such as that by which they ,

are now peri shing .

We catch then a first gli m pse of patri archal m an not with ,

any i ndu s trial rel ics of a p ri m itive Civi li sation but with som e ,

grad ual ly learnt k nowledge of the si m p ler arts with s om e ,

tam ed anim al s and som e l ittle k nowledge o f the cou rse o f

natu re as far as it tel l s upon the seasons and affects the condi
‘
L io n o f si m pl e tribes T hi s i s what accordi ng to ethnology we
.
, ,

shoul d ex pect the fi rst hi storic m an to be and thi s is what ,

we i n fact fi nd hi m B u t what . how are we to

describe that ?
(

I believe the general descri ption i n which Si r John L ubbock

su m s u p hi s esti m ate of the savage m i nd s ui ts the patriarchal
”
m i nd . S avages
“
he says u ni te the character of chi ldhood
, ,
“

wi th the passio ns and stren gth of m en A n d i f we open the

’
.
_

first record of th e pagan world — the poem s o f H ome r —how

m uch do we find that su its this descri pti on better than any
o ther C ivi l i sation has i ndeed al re ady gone forward ages b e
.

yond the tim e at which any s uch descri pti on i s com pl ete M an .
,

i n H om er i s a s good at oratory M r Gladstone seem s t o say

, , . ,

as h e has ever been a nd m u ch as that m eans other and better

, , ,

thi ngs m ight be added to i t B ut after a ll ho w much of the .

,

“
sp lendi d savage there i s i n A chi ll es and how m uch O f th e ,

”
spoi led chi ld su lk ing i n hi s tent I m pressi bi l ity and ex .

c i t ab i l i ty are the m ai n characteri sti cs of the oldest Greek

history and i f we tu rn to the east the sim ple and violent
, ,
“

worl d as Mr K ingl ake cal ls it o f the fi rst ti m es m eets u s

, .
,

every m om ent .

A n d this is precisel y w h at we shou ld expect A n i nherited .

”
d ril l s c i ence says m ak es m od ern nations what they are ;
, ,
“

their born structu re b ears the l aws o fthei r

bu t the anci ent na tions cam e into n o such inheritance ; they
were the descendants of people who d id what was right i n their
ow n eyes they were born to no tu tored habits no preservative ,

b o nds and therefore they were a t the m e rcy_ o f

, _

an d blown by every passion .

Th e condition o f the prim itive m an i f we conceive o f hi m ,

 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI C S I 3

r ightly is i n several respects different from any we k now

, , , .

We u nconsciously assum e around u s the existence o f a great

miscel laneou s soci al m achine work i ng to ou r han ds md not ,

only su pplying ou r wants bu t even tell i ng and deci di ng whe n

,

those wants shal l com e N 0 o ne c a n now wi thou t di ffi cu lty

.

conceive how people got on before there were clocks and

watches ; as S i r G Lewi s said . i t tak es a vigorou s effort of,
“

”
the i m agi nation to real ise a period when i t w a s a seriou s d i ffi
cu lty to k now the hou r of day A n d m uch more i s i t di ffi cu l t .

to fancy the u nstable m i nds of such m en a s neither k ne w

natu re which i s the c lock work of m ateri al civi li sation nor
,
-
,

W e d a p olity whi ch i s a k ind of clock work to m oral

,

civi l isation .

the whole ha ’
hich m akes
our m i n d s w h at they are m u st have been whol ly foreign t o
,

thei rs .

A gai n I at least cannot cal l u p to mysel f the loose con

,

they m ust have been) of m oral s whi ch then existed .

si de al l the e lem ent derived from law and pol i ty

“

which runs throu gh ou r cu rrent moral notions I hardly know ,

what we shall hav e l eft Th e residu u m w a s som ehow and in

.
,

som e vague way i ntelligi ble to the ante po l itical m an but i t

,
-
,

m u st have been u ncertain wavering and u nfit to be dep ended

, ,

upon I n the best cases i t ex i sted m uch as the vague feeling

.

of beau ty n ow ex ists i n m inds sens itive bu t u n t au g h t ba sti ll

sm all voice of u ncertain mean i ng ; an u nk nown som ethi ng
m odifyi ng everything el se and higher than anything else yet
, ,

i n form s o i ndisti nct that when you l ooked for i t i t was gone ,

— o r i f this be thought the delicate ficti on of a later fancy ,

m oral ity was at least to be found i n the wil d spasm s o f

d j ustice hal f puni shm ent half ou trage —
”
, but anyhow , , ,

u nfixe d by steady l aw i t was i nterm ittent vague and

, , ,

hard for u s to im agine E verybody who has stu died m at h e i

'

m a t i cs k nows how m any shadowy diffi cu lties he seem ed to

have before he u nderstood the problem and how i m possi ble i t ,

was when once the dem onstration had flashed upo n him ever ,

to com prehend those indistinct di ffi c ulties again or to cal l u p ,

the m ental con fusion that adm i tted them S O i n these days .
,
 4 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS

when we can not by any e ffort d rive out of ou r m i nds the

r O o n of l aw
’

fi t i we cannot i m agi ne the m,

i nd of one wh o had
never k now n i t and who cou l d not by any effort have con
,

ce i v e d i t .

A gain the prim itive m an could not have i magined what

,

we m ean by a nati on We on the other ha n d cannot i m agi ne .

those to whom i t 13 9 diffi c u lty ; we k now what it i s when .

“

”
you do not ask u s bu t we c annot very qu ickly ex plai n o r de
,

fi ne i t B u t so m uch as this i s p lai n a nation m ean s a l i k e

.
,

body of m en because of that l ikeness capable of acting together

, ,

and becau se of that l ikeness inclined to O bey si m ilar ru le s ;

a nd even this H om er s Cyclops — u sed only to sparse hu m a n ’

bei ngs — cou ld not have conceived .

‘ T O s u m u — l a w — rigid defini te concise l aw— i s the

T ' M
'

p , ,

of ear l y m ank i nd ; that which they need above

hi ng else that which is requisite b efore they c an gai n
,

anythi ng el se B ut it is their greatest di ffi cu l ty a s wel l as thei r

.
,

fi rst requ is ite ; the thi ng m ost out of thei r reach as wel l as ,

th at most b e neficia l to them i f they reach it I n later ages .

many races h ave gained much of thi s discip li ne quick ly though ,

p ain fu l ly ; a l oose s e t of scattered clans has been often and

O ften forced to substantial s ettl em ent by a rigid conqueror ;

the R om an s did hal f the w ork for above half E u rop e B u t .

where cou l d the first ages find Rom ans or a conqueror ?

c onqu er by the po w er of governmen t a nd i t was e ,

governm ent which then was not Th e fi rst ascent of civilisa .

tion was at a steep gradi ent though when now we l ook down ,

u pon i t it seem s al m ost nothing

, .

III .

H o w the step from no poli ty to polity was m ad e di sti nct

"

does no t record — on thi s point S i r H en ry M ai ne ,

h as draw n a most interesting conclusi on from h i s pecu l iar

studies
I t wou l d be he tel l s u s
“
a very si m pl e explanation of
, ,

the origi n of soci ety i f we cou ld base a genera l conclusion on

the hint fu rnished u s by the Scriptura l exam p l e al ready adverted
to a nd could su ppose that com m u ni ties began to exist where
,
 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS 15

ever a fam i ly hel d together i nstead of separating at the d eath

of i ts patri archal Chi eftai n I n m ost o f the Greek states and i n
.

R om e there long remained the vestiges of an ascending seri es

of groups out of which the state was at first constituted T h e .

fam i ly house and tribe of the Romans may be taken as a type

, ,

of them and they are so described to u s that we ca n scarcely

,

help conceiving them as a system of concentri c circles which

have g radually expanded from the sa m e point The el e .

m entary grou p i s the fam i ly , connected by co mm on subj ection

to the highest mal e ascenda nt The a ggre gation of fam ili es .

form s the g ens or hou se T h e aggregati on o f h o uSé Smak e s the

, .

tri be Th e aggregati on O f tri bes constitu tes the common

.

wealth A r e we at l iberty to foll ow these i ndicati ons and to

.
,

lay down that the commonwealth i s a co llection of persons

united by com mon descent from the progeni to r of a n origina l
family ? O f this we may at lea st be certain that al l ancient ,

societies regarded them selves as having proceeded from one

original stock and even l aboured u nder an i ncapaci ty for c o m
,

prehending any reason except thi s for thei r holding together

i n poli tical u nion (Izhe h i s to r y of political ideas begi ns i n
.
,

fact with the assumption that ki nship in blood i s the sole

,

possi bl e grou nd of comm unity i n pol itical fu n cti o n s fi n o r i s

'

there a ny of those su bversions of fee l i ng which w e term ,

em phatical ly revol utions so startling and s o complete a s the

,

cha nge which i s accom pl ished when som e other principle

such a s that for i nstance of l oca l eon l zgu i ty — establ ishes itsel f
, ,

for the fi rst tim e as the basi s of com m o n political action .

I f this theory were true th e origi n of pol iti cs wou l d n ot

,

seem a great change or i n early days be real ly a great change

, , , .

T h e prim acy of the elder brother in trib es casually Cohesive , ,

wou ld be slight ; i t wou ld be the begi nning of much bu t i t ,

would be nothing i n i tsel f ; it wou ld b e — to tak e an il lustration

from the o p posi te end of the pol itica l seri es— i t wou ld be l ik e
the headshi p of a weak P arl ia m enta ry leader over adherents
who m ay divide from hi m in a m om en t ; it was the germ of
sovereignty— i t w a s hardly yet sovereignty itsel f .

I do not mysel f believe that the suggestion O f S i r H enry

Maine— for he does not it wi l l be s een O ffer it a s a confiden t
, ,
16 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS

theory—is a n adequate accoun t o f the tru e origi n o f po li tics .

I shal l i n a subsequent essay sho w that there are a s i t seem s ,

to m e abu ndant evidences of a ti m e sti ll older tha n that which

,

he speak s of But the theory of S i r H en ry M aine serves m y

.

present purpose wel l I t describes a nd tru ly d escribes a k ind

.
, ,

D
o f li fe antecedent to ou r present p o l i t ii s a nd the conclusion I
‘

have drawn from it will be strength ened not weakened when , ,

we com e to ex ami ne an d deal wi th an age yet ol der a nd a ,

social bo nd far m ore rudi mentary .

Bu t when once poli ties were begu n there is gg fi fi cu l ty ,

i n ex plai ning w h y t h e y lasted Whatever m ay b e said a gfi fi éf

— m -
.

the princi pl e o f nafu ra l s election i n other d epartm ents

f
‘ ”
,

there is no doubt o f its predom ina nce i n early hu m an histo ry .

Th e strongest k i ll ed out the weak est as they c ould A nd I , .

need not pause to prove th at any form of poli ty i s m ore e ffi c i

ent than n one ; that an aggregate o f fa m il i es owni ng even a
sl ip pery a l l egi ance to a si ngl e head wou l d b e s u re t o have the
,

b etter o f a s e t o f fa m il ies ack nowledgi ng no obedience to any

one b u t scattering l oose ab ou t the world and fighting where
,

th ey stood H om er s C ycl ops woul d be p owerless agai nst th e

’
.

feeb l e s t band ; s o far from i ts being si ngu lar that we find no

o ther record of that state of man s o unstabl e and su re to peri sh
,

was i t that we shou l d rather wonder at ev en a single vesti ge

lasti ng down to the age when for pictu resqueness i t becam e
val u ab le in poet ry .

B ut though the origi n of polity i s dubious we are upon

, ,

the te r r a j i r rn a of actual records when we speak of the preserva

tio n of p ol i tics P erhap s every you ng E nglishm an who co m es
.

struck wi th
t i s m : fresh from the l iberal doctrines o f the present age he ,

wonders at finding i n thos e recognised teachers s o m uch

contrary teaching They bo th — u nlike a s they are— hold wi th
.

X enophon —s o u nl ike both — t h a t hm a n i s the hardes t o f al l

“

anim al s to gover n ” ) O f P lato i t m ight i ndeed be p lau si b ly

said that the adherents o f an i ntu itive phi l osophy being the ,
“

”
T ori es o f spe c u lation have com m only been pro ne to conserv a
,

ti sm i n govern ment ; but A ri stotle the fou nder o f the e xp e r i

'

ence phil osophy o ught accord ing to that doctrine to have

, , ,
 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI C S I 7

been a Liberal i f anyone ever w as a Liberal

,
I n fact both of .
,
”
these m en l ived when men had not had tim e to forget the “

di fficu lties of governm ent We h ave forgotten them altogether

. .

on as the basi s of o u r cu lture u pon an am ount of

, ,

tacit obedienc e o f prescri ptive governabi l ity which

, ,

h i l o s o p h e r s hoped to get as a pri nci pal resu l t of thei r

We tak e wi thout thought as a d a tu m what they ,

a s a gn a wi tn rn .

early ti m es the quantity of governm en t i s m uch

than its qual ity What you wa nt i s a com .

prehensive ru le bi ndi ng m en together maki ng them do m uch ,

the same thi ngs tel l i ng them what to expect of each other
,

fashioning them alike and keeping them s o What this rul e 15

,
.

does not matter so m uch C good ru le i s better than a bad

.

one but any ru l e i s better than none whi le for reasons

, , ,

which a j urist wil l appreci ate none can be very good B ut ,

.

to gai n th at rul e what may be call ed the im pressive el ements

,

of a po lity are incomparab ly more im portant than i ts useful

elements H ow to get the obed ience of men i s the hard
.

what yo u do with that ob edience is l ess cri tical .

the pri mary condition i s the

the sam eness — o f what we now
A rnold fresh from the study of ,

h istory used to preach that thi s ,

iden tity was the great cu re for the m isgui ded modern world .

B ut he spoke to ears fil led with other sou nds and m inds fi l l ed

with other thoughts and they hardly k new his meaning much
, ,

l ess heeded it . B u t though the teaching w as wrong for the

modern age to which i t was app l i ed i t was excel lent for the ,

old world from wh i ch it was learnt What i s there requ isi te .

i s a single government— ca l l it C hu rch or S tate a s you lik e ,

regulati ng the whole of hu man li fe N o divisi on of power i s .

then endurable w i th o u t d a ng e r— probably wi thou t destructio n;

the priest m ust not teach one thing a nd the king a nother ; king
must be priest and prophet ki ng : the two mu st say the same
, ,

because they are the sam e Th e idea of difference .

spiritual penalties and legal penal ties m ust never be a w a k e n e d J

I ndeed early Greek thought or early Rom a n thought wou ld
,

VO L V I I I
. . 2
 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS

n ever hav e comprehended i t T here was a k ind O f rough publ ic .

O pi ni on and there were rough very rough hands which acted , ,

o n i t We now talk of pol itical penalties and eccl esiastical

.

prohibitio n and the social cen su re but they were al l one the n
, ,
.

N othing is very l ik e those O l d com mu nities now bu t perhaps a ,

’ ”
“
trade s u nio n is a s n ea r as m ost things ; to work Cheap i s
”
thought to be a wicked thing and so som e B roadhead puts ,

it down .

obj ect of such orga nisations i s to c reate what may be

ca k e of cu s tom A ll the actions of l ife are to be s u b
.

In i t t e d to a si ngle ru l e for a singl e obj ect ; that gradual ly

”
created the hered ita ry d ri l l which science teaches to be
“

essential and wh ich the early i nstinct of men s a w to be essentia l

,

too T h at thi s reg z rn e forbids free thou g h t 18 n ot a n evi l ;

.
’

_ _

rather though a n CYII it is the n e ce s fi aly basis fo r the greatest

, ,

good ;Lt is II g c2 531Ly for mak ing the m ou ld O f c ivi li sation and
_ _ _ ,

hardening the soft fi bre of e arly man .

Th e first recorded h istory of the A ryan race shows every

whe re a k i ng a counci l a nd a s the necessity of early conflicts
, , ,

_ e
_r quired the
,
k i ng i n much prom i n ence an d with much power .

th e re coul d be i n such ages anything li ke an ori ental

t i s m or a C e sarean despotism w a s impossible
, the out ,

side extra political army which m ai ntains them could not exi st
-

when the tribe was the nation a nd when a l l the men i n the ,

tribe were warriors H ence I n the tim e of H omer i n the fi rst

. , ,

times of Rom e i n the fi rst tim es of ancient Germ any the king
, ,

i s the m ost visible part of the pol ity because for m om entary ,

wel fare he is the most u sefu l Th e cl ose ol igarchy the p a t r i c i

.
,

ate which a lon e cou l d know the fixed law al o ne cou l d apply
, ,

the fixed law which was recogni sed as the authorised custo
,

dian of th e fix ed law had then sol e comm and over the pri m ary
,

social want I t al one k n ew th e code of dril l ; i t alone w a s

.

obeyed ; it al one coul d d ri l l Mr G rote has adm irably d e . .

scribed the ri se o f the pri m itive oligarchies u pon the face of the
fi rst m onarchy bu t perhaps because he so m uch loves historic
,

A thens he h a s n ot sym pathised with prehistoric A thens

,
He .

h as not shown u s ghe need o f a fixed li fe when al l else w as

u n fix e d l i fe .

)
 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS 19

I t wou ld be schoolboyish to expla i n at le n gth how wel l th e

two great repub lics the two wi nning republ ics o f the ancient
,

world embody these concl usi ons é om e and S parta were dri ll
, .

ing ari stocraci es and succeeded because they were su ch A thens

, .

was i ndeed o f anot h er and higher o r d ef} at least to u s i n ,

stru cted mode m s who k now her a n d have been ta u ght by her .

‘
But to t he P hi li stines of those days A thens was o f a lower
Sh e was beaten s h e l ost the great visible gam e

i s al l that short sighted contem poraries k now

-
Sh e .

”
e great “
free fai lure of the ancient worl d She .

began s h e annou nced the good thi n gs th at were to com e ;

, ,

bu t sh e was too weak to d isplay and e nj oy them ; s h e was

trodde n down by those of coarser m ake and better trained
frame .

H ow m uch these principles are confirmed byJewi l lLi sLOI y '

i s obviou s T here wa s doubtless m uch el se i n Jewish histo ry

.

— whole e l em ents w ith w hich I am n o t here concerned B ut .

so m u ch i s plain Th e Jews were i n the beginn ing the m ost

.

u nstable of nation s t hey were submitted to thei r law and they ,

c ame out th e m ost stabl e o f n ati ons T hei r po li ty w a s i ndeed

.

Q e fe c t i v e i n u nity A fter they asked for a ki ng th e spiritual

.

and the secular powers (as we shou l d speak ) were never at

peace and never agreed) A n d th e ten tri bes who lapsed from
,

thei r law melted away i nto the neighbouring nations Jero

, .

”
boam has been call ed the first Liberal “
a nd rel igi o n apart , ,

there i s a m eani n g i n the ph rase H e began to break u p the .

binding po l i ty which was what men wanted i n that age though ,

eager and i nventive m i nds a l ways disl ik e i t B ut th e Jews .

wh o adhered to thei r law becam e the Jews O f the day a natio n ,

o f a firm set i f ever there was o ne .

I t i s connected wi th thi s fixi ty that j u rists tel l u s that the

”
ti tle contract i s hardly to be di scovered i n th e O ldest l aw .

’
I n modern days i n civilised days m en s Choice determi nes
, ,
"

nearly al l they do But i n early tim es that Choice determ ined

.

scarcely anything Th e guidi ng rule was the l aw of s ta i n s

. .

E verybody was born to a pla c e i n the com mu ni ty : i n that/

place he had to stay : i n that place he found certain du ties
which he had to fu lfil a nd which were all he needed to thi nk
,

i ll
2
2o PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS

of. Th e net of custo m caught m en i n distinct spots and kept ,

each where he stood .

/ What are cal led in E u ropean pol itic s the princi ples O f I 7 8 9 ,

with the early wo rl d they are fitted

the new world i n which society has gone through its
sk when the i nherited o rganisati o n i s already co nfi rmed
ed ; when the so ft m ind s and stro ng passions of yo u th
fu l natio ns are fixed and g g i dg d by h ar d transm itted i nsti ncts
,
a .

T i ll then not equali ty before the l aw i s necessary but inequal ity ,

for what i s m ost wanted i s an elevated el i te who k now the law ’

not a good G overnm ent seek ing the h appi ness of i ts subj ects ,

bu t a dignified and overawing Governm ent getting its subj ects

to obey : not a goo d law but a com prehensive l aw bi nding al l
,

l i fe to o n e rou tin e Later a re th e ages of freedo m ; first are

.

the ages i e r sd t ud e
s I n 17 8 9 when the great men o f the
,

C on sti tuent A ssembly l ook ed on the l o ng past they hardly ,

s a w anything i n i t which c ou ld be prai sed o r adm i red or i m i , ,

t a t e d : al l seem ed a b l u nder— a comp l ex error to be got rid o f

as soo n as m ight be B u t that error had made them selv es

. .

O n their very physical orga n isatio n the hereditary m ark of

old ti m es was fixed thei r brai ns were hardened and their nerves
were steadied by the t ransm itted resu l ts of tediou s u sages .

Th e ages o f monotony had thei r u se fo r th ey trai ned m en fo r ,

ages when they need not be m o noton ou s .

IV .

But even yet we have not reali sed the ful l ben efit of those
early polities and those early laws T hey no t o nly bound .
“

”
u p men i n gro ups not on ly im pressed on m en a certain s e t of
,

co m m on usages bu t often at least i n a n in direct way su g

, , ,

gested i f I m ay u s e the expression national character

, ,
.

e cannot yet explai n — I am su re at l east I ca n not , ,

attem pt to explai n — al l the singu lar phen omena of nationa l

Ch aracter : how completely and perfectly they seem to b e at
fi rst fram ed ; h o w slowly how gradu al ly they c a n alone be
,

altered i f they c an be altered at al l

,
B ut there is one analog .

ou s fac t which may help u s to see at l east dim ly how such , ,

phenomena a re caused ( There i s a character of ag es a s we l l

.
,
 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS 21

as of natio n s) and a s we have full hi stori es of ma ny such

periods we c a n exam i ne ex actly when and how the m ental
,

pecu li arity of each began and al s o exactly when and how that ,

m ental pecul iarity passed away We have a n idea of Q ueen .

’
A nne s time for example o r of Q u een E li z abeth s time o r
’

, , ,

’
George I I s ti m e ; or again o f the age of Loui s X I V or Lou is
. .
,

X V o r the F rench Revol u ti on ; an idea m o re or l ess accu rate

.
,

i n proportion a s we study bu t probably even i n the m ind s ,

who k no w these ages best and m o st m inu tely m o re specia l , ,

more sim ple m o re u nique than the truth w as We throw aside

, .

too m uch i n mak i ng u p ou r i mages o f eras that which i s com

, ,

mon to a l l eras Th e E ngli sh character was m uch the sam e

.

’
i n many great respects i n Chaucer s time as i t was in E li z a ,

beth s tim e or A nne s time or as i t i s no w B ut som e qualities

’ ’

, .

were added to thi s com mon ele ment i n one era and som e i n
another ; som e qu alities seemed to overshadow an d ecl ipse i t
i n one era and o thers I n another fi fe overlook and hal f for
,
.

get the c o nstant whi l e we see and watch the vari able) But
for that i s the present poi nt —w thi s variab l e ?
E very one m ust I think have been pu z z led abou t it
, S uddenly
, .
,

in a qui et tim e— say i n Qu een A n ne s tim e —arises a special

,
’

l iteratu re a marked va riety of human expressi on pervadi ng

, ,

what i s then wri tten and pecu lia r to i t surely this i s si ngular .

T he true explanation i s I think somethi ng like thi s O ne , , .

considerable writer gets a sort of start because what he writes

i s somewhat m ore —on ly a littl e m ore very o ften as I believe ,

—congeni al to the m inds around hi m than any other sort .

Thi s wri ter i s very often not the one whom posteri ty remembers
—not the one who carri es the s tyle of the age farthest towards its
ideal type and gives i t i ts charm and i ts perfecti on I t was not
,
.

A ddison who began the essay writing of Queen A nne s ti me

’
-
,

but S teel e ; i t was the vigorous forward m an who struck ou t

the rough notion though it was the wise and meditative m an
,

who im proved u pon i t and el aborated i t and whom posterit y ,

/
,

reads S om e strong writer or group of writers thus sei z e o n

.
, ,

the public m i nd and a Cu riou s process soon assi mi lates other

,

writers i n appearance to them T o some extent no dou bt thi s .

, , ,

assim ilation i s effe c ted by a process m os t i ntel ligi ble and not ,
22 PHYSI CS AN D P OL I TI CS

at al l cu riou s the process of con sciou s i mitati on ; A sees that

-

B s style of wri ting answers and he i m itates i t B ut defi nitely

’

, .

aimed m im i cry lik e this is al ways rare ; o rigi nal m en wh o l ik e

their own thoughts do not wi l lingly clothe them i n word s they
feel th ey borro w N 0 m an indeed ca n thi nk to m uch pu rpose
.
, ,

when he i s studyi ng to write a styl e not hi s own A fter al l .

,

very few m en a re at al l equ al to the steady l abou r t he stu pi d ,

and m istaken l ab ou r m ostly o f m a k i ng a style fi o s t m en

, .

catch the words that a re i n the air and the rhythm whi ch comes ,

to them they do not k now from when c e ; an u nconsci ou s i m i

t a t i o n determ i nes their wo rds a nd mak es them s ay what o f ,

themselves they wou l d never have thought of sayi ng } E very

o ne who has written i n m ore than one ne w s p a p e r fi o w s how
i nvariably h i s styl e catches the to n e of each paper whi l e he i s
wri ti ng for i t and Changes to the tone o f another when i n
,

tu rn he begi ns to write fo r that H e probably wou ld rather .

w rite the traditio na l style to which the readers o f the j o u rnal

are u sed but he does not set himsel f to Co py it ; h e wou ld
,

h ave to force hi m self in o rder n ot to wri te it i f that was w hat

h e wanted E x actly in this way j u st as a writer for a j ourna l
.
,

with out a di sti nctly framed purpo se gives the readers o f the
j ou rnal the so rt o f w o rds and the so rt o f thoughts they are
u sed to —s o o n a larger scale the writers o f an age withou t
, , ,

think ing o f it give to the readers of the age the so rt o f words

,

and the sort o f thoughts— the specia l l iteratu re i n fact— which ,

those readers like a nd prize An d no t o nly does the wri ter.

,

wi thout think ing choo se the sort o f styl e and m eaning which
,

are m ost i n vogue but th e writer is him sel f c h o s efi ) A writer

,
.

does no t begin to w rite i n th e traditi ona l r hyflfih o f an age

u nl ess he feels o r fanci es he feel s a sort o f aptitude fo r wri ti ng
, ,

it any m ore th an a wri ter tri es to write in a j ournal i n which

,

the styl e is u ncongenial o r im possibl e to hi m I ndeed i f he .

,

m istakes he i s soon weeded o ut ; the edito r rej ects the age ,

wi l l no t read his com posi t i o n s H ow painful ly thi s trad itiona l

.

styl e cram ps great writers whom it hap pens n o t to su it i s ,

cu riously seen i n Wo r d s w o r ® who was bold enough to break

through it and at the risk of contem porary neglect to fra m e
, , ,

a styl e of h i s own B ut he did s o k nowi ngly a nd he did s o

.
,
 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS 23

with an effort I t is supposed he says th at by the act o f

.
“
, ,

writing i n verse an author m ak es a forma l engagem ent that

he wil l grati fy certain known habits o f associ ati on ; that he
not only then appri z es the reader that certain classes of ideas
a nd expressions wil l be fou nd i n h i s book but that others wil l ,

be carefully esch e wed Th e ex ponen t o r sym bo l held fo rth

.

by m etrical language must i n different ages o f l iteratu re have , ,

exci ted very different expectatio ns ; fo r exam ple i n the age ,

of C atu l l us T erence o r L ucretiu s and that o f S tati u s o r

, , ,

Claudian and i n o u r ow n country i n the age of S hak espeare ,

and Beau m ont and F letcher and that o f D o nne and Cowley , ,
”
o r P ope. A n d then i n a k i nd of vex ed way Wo rdsworth
, ,
’ ’
goes on to explain that he hi msel f can t and wo n t d o what i s
expected fro m him bu t that he wi ll write his ow n wo rds and
, ,

only h i s own words A strict I w a s go i ng to s a y a P u ri tan

.
,
‘

genius wil l act thus bu t m o st m en of geniu s are su sceptible

,

and versatile and fal l i nto the style of thei r age O n e very
,
.

unapt at the assi m ilati ng process but o n that acco u nt the m ore ,

cu ri ou s about it says ,

Ho w we
T rack a l i e l on g d ay gr at h e a e n and w atch o u r s h a d ow
v ,
e v ,
s I

What o u r h do w e e m fo rsoo th w e w i ll o rs e l e s b e
s a s s , ,
u v .

D o I l o o k l i k e t h a t ? Y o u t h i n k m e th a t th e n I m th a t a .

ters are expected to write they w rite o r el se they ,

at al l but like the wri ter of these li nes stop dis, ,

e disheartened and die leaving fragments which ,

thei r friends treasu re but which a rushing world never heed s

, .

Th e N onconfor m ist writers are neglected the C onform ist writers ,

are encouraged u ntil perhaps on a sudden the fashion shi fts

, .

A nd a s with the writers s o i n a less degree with readers ,

Many .

men — most m en — get to like or thin k they l ike that wh ich i s

/
ever before them and which those a rou nd them l i k e a n d whi ch
,

received opi nion says they o ught to l i k e>o r i f their m inds are
too marked and o ddly m ade to get i nto the mou ld they give ,

up reading a l together or read O ld bo o ks an d foreign books

, ,

form ed under a nother code and appeal ing to a di fferent taste .

” ”
i m i na t i o n th e u s e an d disu se of ,
“

ts speak of work s here What i s used ,

.
 24 P HYSI CS A N D POL I TI CS

strengthens ; what i s disu sed weakens : to those who have ,

”
m ore i s given settl es u pon an age, a nd
’
i m pri nti ng i t s e else i n m en s m em ories
becom es al l that i s thought of abou t it .

cha racter arose i n very

m uch the sam e way A t fi rst a so rt o f chance predom in ance
.

mad e a m odel and then i nvi ncible attracti o n the n ecessity

, ,

which rules a l l bu t the strongest men to i m itate what is before

their eyes and to be what they are ex pected to be m ou l ded
, ,

m en by that m od el T hi s i s I think th e very process by

.
, ,

which new national characters are being m ade i n our own tim e .

i n A ustral i a a n e w m odificati on o f what we

Sax onism i s growi ng A sort of type of character
.

from the d i fficu lti es of colo n i al l i fe — the di fficulty of

'

l ing with the wi lderness ; and t h i s ty p e has given i ts

to the mass o f characters because the mass of characters
i have unconsci ously i mitated it M any of the A merican char
.

a ct e r i s t i cs a re pl ai nly u sefu l in such a l i fe a nd consequen t on ,

such a li fe T he eager restlessness the highly strung nervou s

.
,
-

organ isati on are usefu l i n contin ual struggle and al so are pro ,

m oted by i t These tra its seem to be arisi ng i n A ustralia

.
,

too and wherever else the E ngl ish race i s placed i n l ike ci rcu m
,

stances But even in these u s

. i nnate tendency
of the hu man m ind to becom e l ike w h arou nd iDh a s _

effected m uch ; a sl uggish E n gl ish man wi l l often c a t Ch the

eager A meri can look i n a few years ; a n I ri shman or eve n a
Germ an wil l catch it too even i n al l E ngl ish particu lars A n d
, , .

a s to a hu ndred m inor poi nts — i n s o m any that go to mark

the typical Y ankee— u sefuln ess has had no share either in thei r
origi n or thei r propagati on Th e acci dent of some p r e d o m i
.

nant person possessi ng them s e t the fashi on and i t h a s been ,

i m itated to this day A nybody w ho i nqu ires wi l l find even in

.

E ngl and and even i n these days O fa ss i m i l a t i o n parish pecu l iar

, ,

i ties whi c h arose n o doubt from some old accident and have
, , ,

been heedfu l ly preserved by cu stomary copying L A national .

character i s bu t the successfu l parish character ; j u st as the

nati onal speec h i s bu t the successfu l parish d i a l g zz )the dial ect ,

t hat i
,
s O f the district w h
hic ca m t
e o be more — i n many cases
 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS 2 5

but a l ittl e m ore— i nflue nt i a l than other di stricts and so set its ,

yok e on b ooks and on society .

I cou ld en large much o n this for I believe thi s u nconsciou s ,

i m itation to be the principal fo rce i n the mak ing of national

characters but I have a lready said m ore about it tha n I need .

E verybody who weighs even hal f these a rguments wi l l ad mit

that it i s a great force i n the matter a pri ncipal agency to be ,

acknowledged and watched : and fo r my present purpose I

want no m ore I h ave only to S h ow fie e ffi cacy of the tight
.

Q
early poli ty (s o to speak ) and the st rict early l aw on the
creation of corporate Characters T hese settled the p r e d o m i .

nant type s e t u p a sort of model m ade a sort o f i d ol }; thi s w a s

, ,

wo rshi pped copied and O bserved from al l m anner o f m ingled

, , ,

”
feelings bu t m ost o f al l because i t w a s the thing to d o the
,
“
,

then accepted fo rm of hu m an action Whe n o n ce the pre

‘

domi nant type was d etermi ned the co pyi ng propensity o f ma n ,

did the rest Th e traditi on ascri bing S partan legislation t o

.

Lycu rgus was litera lly u ntrue but its spi ri t w as qu i te true , In .

the origin o f states strong and eager ind ividual s got hol d O f
sm al l knots o f men and made fo r them a fashi on which they
,

wer attached to and kept

e .

I t i s o nly after duly apprehending the si lent m anner i n

which national characters thus form themselves that we c a n ,

rightly appreci ate the di sl i k e which o ld Governm ents h ad to

trade T here m ust have b een something pecu liar about i t for
.
,

t h é best philo sophers P lato a nd A ristotle shared i t T hey

'
‘

.
, ,

regarded cg m m e r c e as the sou rce o f corru ption a s natural ly a s

.

a m odern M
_

I ST co nsiders it the sp ring of i ndustry and a l l ,

the old Governments acted in this respect u pon the phi loso phers ’

”
maxi ms .Wel l sai d D r A rno ld s peaking iro nical ly a nd i n
“
, .
,

the spi rit of modern ti me s We l l i ndeed might the po licy o f , ,

the old priest n obles of E gypt and I n dia endeavou r to divert

-

their people from beco m ing fa milia r wi th the s e a and r e p r e ,

sent the occu pati on o f a seaman as i ncompa tibl e with the

pu rity o f the highest castes Th e sea deserved to be hated by .

the O l d aristocracies i nasmuch as i t h a s been the m ightiest

,

”
instrument i n th e civi li satio n o f mank ind B ut the o ld .

oligarchies had thei r o wn work a s we now k n ow T hey were , .

26 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS

im posing a fash i oni ng yok e ; they were mak i ng the hu man

n atu re which after times e m pl oy They were at thei r labou rs .
,

we have entered i nto these l abours (A n d to the u nco nsciou s .

i mitation which was their principal t o d lj n o i mpedi ment was s o

x
fo rm idabl e a s foreign i n t e rc o u fs e ) Men im itate what i s b efore .

thei r eyes i f i t i s befo re t h e i i e y e s a lo ne but they d o not

,
‘
,

i m itate i t i f i t i s o nly o n e a mong m any present things— o ne

competito r am o ng o th ers al l O f which are equa l and som e ,

o f which seem b etter Whoever speaks two languages i s a

.
“

”
rascal says the sayi ng and i t rightly represents the feel ing
, ,

of pri m itive com m u niti es when the sudden i mpact o f n ew

thoughts and new exam ples break s down the co mpact des
p o t i s m o f the si ngl e co nsecrated co de and leaves pliant a nd ,

im pressible m an — such as h e th en i s — to fo l l ow h i s u np leasant

wi l l without distinct guidance by h eredita ry m oral ity and here
d i t a ry rel igio n T h e o ld o ligarchies wanted to k eep their type
.

perfect and fo r that en d they were right not to a l low fo reigners

,

to to uch i t .

D istinc tions of race says A rnol d him sel f e lsewhere i n a

,

remarkabl e essay— for i t w a s his last on G reek history h i s ,

farewell wo rds on a long favourite subj ect were not of that

odiou s a n d fantastic Character which they have been i n m odern
ti mes ; they i mp li ed real d ifferences of the m ost i m porta nt
k ind religiou s and m oral
, A n d after exemplifyi ng thi s at
.

l ength he goes on I t i s not then to be wondered at that

,
“

T hucydides when speak ing of a City fou nded j oi ntly by

,

I onia ns and D oria ns should have thought i t right to add

,

that the prevai l ing i nstitu tions of th e two were I onian for ,
’

according a s they were derived from one or the other the

prevai ling type wou l d be different fi n d therefore the m ix ture .

O f persons O f di fferent race i n the sam e com m onwealth u nl ess ,

one race had a com pl ete ascenda ncy tended to confu se al l the ,

’
relati ons o f hu man l ife a nd a l l m en s notions of right and
\
,

wrong or by co m pel l ing m en to tolerate i n s o near a relation

,
/

a s th at o f fellow ci tizens di ff erences u po n the mai n points of

-

huma n l ife led to a general carelessness and sceptici sm and

, ,

encou raged the notion that right an d wrong had n o real

”
ex istenc e but were mere creatu res o f hu man O pinion
, Bu t .
 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS 27

i f this be s o the oligarchies were right C om m erce brings

,
.

thi s mingling of i deas thi s break ing down of old creeds a nd

, ,

bri ngs i t i nevi tably I t i s nowadays i t s greatest good that

.

”
i t does so the change i s what we cal l enl argement of m i nd .

n early t i m es Provid ence s e t apart the nati ons “

and
not til l the fram e of their moral s is set by long ages of
a s m i tte d disci pl ine that such enlargement
,
can be borne .

Th e ages of isolation had th eir u s e for they trai ned m en for ,

ages when they were not to be isolated .

NO . II .

T H E U SE O F CO N FL I C T .

I .

Th e difference between progressio n and stati o nary i n

”
action says one o f ou r greatest l ivi ng writers i s on e of the
, ,
“

”
great secrets which sci ence h as yet to penetrate I a m su re .

I do not pretend that I can com pletely penetrate i t ; bu t i t

undoubtedly seem s to m e th at the p robl e m i s o n the verge
O f solution a nd that sci entifi c successes i n k indred fields by
,

analogy suggest som e pri nciples wh i ch wholly remove m any

o f i ts di fficu lties and in dicate the sort O f way i n wh ich those
,

which rem ai n m ay hereafter be removed too .

B u t what i s the problem ? Common E ngl ish I m ight ,

perhaps s ay com m on civi l ised thought igno res i t Our , .

habitu al i nstructors ou r ordin ary co nversation our i nevi table

, ,

and ineradicabl e prej udices tend to m ak e us think that P r o

res
g __
’’
s i s the normal fact I n hum an so c iety the fact which we _ _ ,

should ex pect to see the fad which we shou ld be su rpri sed i f

,

we did not s e e B u t hi story refutes this The anci ents had

. .

rgsg ; they d id n ot fi d
w f
ipd —
fi u
'

m e p ti o n O c h as rej ect
' f
u

n g
T

the idea ; they did n ot even entertai n the idea O riental .

nations are j u st the sam e n ow S ince h istory bega n they .

have always been what they a re S avages again do not .

, ,

improve ; they hardly seem to have the basis on which to

build m uch less the m aterial to put up a nythi ng worth havi ng
, .

O nly a few nations and those of E uropean ori gin advance ;

, ,
 8 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS

and yet these think — seem i rresi sti bly com pel led to thi nk
such advance to be i nevi table natu ral and eternal Wh y , ,
.

then i s this great contrast ?

Before we c a n a n swer we m u st i nvesti gate more accu rately
, .

u b t hi story shows that m ost nations a re statio nary no w

affords reason t o thi nk that all nation s once advanced .

T hei r progress w a s arrested at vari ou s po ints ; but n owhere ,

pro bably n o t even i n the hi l l tri bes o f I ndia n ot even i n the ,

A n dam an I slanders n o t even i n the savages o f T erra del

,

F uego do we fi nd m en who have no t got so m e way

, They .

have m ade thei r l ittle pro gress i n a hun dred different ways ;
they have fram ed with i nfinite assiduity a hu ndred cu ri ous
habits ; they have s o to s ay s cr e w ed them selves i nto the
, ,

u n co m fortabl e c o rners o f a co m plex l i fe which i s o dd an d ,

d reary but yet i s po ssibl e A n d the c orn ers are n e ve r i h e

,
. .

sam e i n any two parts o f the wo rld O u r reco rd begi ns with .

a thousand unchanging edifices but it sho ws traces o f previ ous,

b ui ldi ng (I n histori c ti mes there has been l ittle progress i n

?
.

prehisto ri c ti m es there m ust have been m uch )

I n solving or trying to so lve the questi o n we m ust take
, , ,

n otice of this rem arkab l e differen ce a nd expl ai n it to o o r , , ,

else we m ay be sure our prin ciples are u tterly i ncom plete and ,

perhaps a ltogether u nsou n d B ut what then i s that solutio n

.
,

o r what are the pri nciples which tend towards i t ? T hre e l aws ,

o r appro xi m ate laws m ay I thi nk be laid down with only

, , , ,

o ne o f which I can deal in this paper but al l three o f which it ,

wi l l be best to state that i t m ay be seen what I am a i m ing at

,
.

F i rst . I n every particular state of the world those nati ons ,

which are strongest tend to p revai l over the others ; and i n

certai n m arked pecu liari ties the stro ngest tend to be the best .

S econdly .Wi thi n every particu lar nation the type or

types of character then and there most attractive tend to pre
vai l and the m ost attractive though wi th exceptions i s what
, ,

we cal l the best chara cter .

T hi rd ly . N either o f these com petitions i s i n most histori c

conditions intensified by extrinsic forces but i n som e conditions , ,

su ch a s those now prevai ling i n the m ost i nfluential part of the

world both are s o i nten sified
, .
 PHYSI CS A N D P OL I TI CS 29

T hese are the so rt of doc tr i n es with which u nder the nam e ,

”
“
N a tu ral selectio n i n physica l science we have become ,

fam i liar ; and as every great scientific conception tends to a d

vance i ts boundaries an d to be of u se i n solving probl em s not
thought of when i t was started s o here what w as put forward
, ,

for m ere anim al history m ay with a change o f form but an

, ,

i dentica l essence be ap plied to hu m an hi story

,
”
.

A t first som e obj ection was rai sed to the pri nciple of
F
’
‘
n atu ral selection i n phys ical science upon religiou s grou nds
i t was to be expected that s o active an idea and s o large a
shi fti ng o f thought wou ld seem to im p eri l m uch which m en
'

valu ed B ut i n this as i n other cases the obj ectio n i s I thin k

.
, , , ,

passing away ; the new pri nci pl e i s m ore and m ore seen to be
fatal to m ere outwork s of rel igion not to religion itsel f A t
,
.

al l events to the sort of appl ication here m ade of it which on ly

, ,

am ounts to sea rchi ng o ut and fol lowi ng up an analogy suggested

by i t th ere i s plai nly no obj ection E very one n o w adm its
,
.

that hu m an history is guided by certain laws and al l that i s ,

here aimed at i s to indicate i n a m ore or l ess disti nct way an

, ,

i nfi n i t e s i m all y s m al l portion of such laws .

Th e d iscu ssion of these three pri nciples can not be kept

quite apart except by pedantry ; bu t i t is al most excl usively
wi th the fi r s t— that of the competition between n ati on and
n ation or tribe and tri be
, (for I m u st use these word s i n their
largest sense and s o as to incl ude every coheri ng aggregate of
,

hu man beings)—that I c a n deal now ; an d even as to t h a t I

c a n but set down a few pri ncipal c onsiderati on s

?
.

( I he progress of the m il ita ry art is the most conspicuous )

I was about to say the m ost s /z owy fa c t i n human history , .

A ncient civi lisation m ay be com pared with m odern i n m any

respects and pl au sibl e argu m ents constructed to show that i t
,

i s better ; bu t you can not compare the two i n m i litary power .

N apoleon cou ld indisputably have conquered A lexander ; ou r

I ndian army wou ld not think m uch of the Retreat of th e Te n
T housand A n d I su ppose the i m provement has been con
.

t i nu o u s I have not the slightest pre tence to specia l knowledge

but looking at the m ere su rface of the facts i t seem s likely
, ,

that the ag g reg a t e _ b attl e array s o to say of m anki nd the

, , ,
 30 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS

fighting force of the hu m an race has constantly and i nvari ably ,

g rown . I t i s true that the ancient civi lisati on l ong resi sted the
”
ar arians and was then destroyed by the barbarians B u t
, .

the barbarians had im proved By degrees says a most ac

.
“
,

l
co m pl ished writer barbaria n m ercenaries cam e to form the
,
“

largest or at least the m ost effective pa rt o f the Rom an armi es

, , .

Th e bodyguard of A ugu stus had been so composed the p r a

t o r i a n s were general ly selected fro m the bravest frontier troo ps ,

”
m ost o f them Germ ans T hus . he co ntinues
“
i n many , ,
“

ways was the o ld antagonism bro ken down Ro mans adm i tti ng ,

barbari ans to rank and o ffi ce ; barbarians catching som ething

o f the m anners an d culture o f thei r neighbo u rs A n d thus .
,

when the final m ovem ent cam e the T e uto nic tri bes sl owly ,

establi shed themselves thro ugh the provi nces knowi ng som e ,

thi ng o f the system to which they cam e and n o t u nwi ll i ng to ,

”
be co nsidered its members Tak ing friend and fo e together
.
,

i t may be doubted whether the fighti ng capacity o f the two

arm i es was no t a s great at l ast when the E m pi re fell a s ev er, ,

i t wa s i n the l ong peri od whi le the E m pi re prevai led D u ri ng .

the M i ddle A ges the co m bi ning power o f m en o ften fai led ; i n

a d ivi ded tim e you cannot co l l ect as m any so ldiers as i n a c o n
c e n t r a t e d ti m e B ut this di fficu lty i s po litical no t m i l itary
.
, .

I f you added u p the m any littl e ho sts of any century o f separa

ti on they woul d perhaps be found equal o r greater tha n the
,

si ngle host or the fewer ho sts o f previ o u s centu ries which w ere
, ,

m ore u nited T ak en as a who le and al lowing fo r possible ex

.
,

ce p t i o n s the aggregate fighting power o f m ank ind has grown

,

i m mensely and has been growi ng co nti nu ously si nce we k n ew

,

anything abou t i t .

A gain thi s force has tended to co ncentrate i tsel f m ore and

,

”
o re i n certain grou ps which we call civi lised nati o ns Th e .

l z te m tz of the last century were fo r ever i n fear of a new c o n

' '

quest o f the barbarians but o n ly because their i m agi natio n w as

,

overshadowed an d frightened by the o ld co nquests A very .

little co nsiderati on wo uld have shown them that si nce the ,

m onopo ly o f m i li tary i nventio ns by cu ltivated states rea l and ,

effective m i litary power tend s to co nfine i tsel f to those states .

1
Mr . B ryce .
 P H YS JCS A N D POL I TI C S I
’

Th e barbarian s are n o l o nger so m uch a s van qu ished competi

tors ; they have ceased to compete at al l .

Th e mi l ita ry vices too of civi li sation seem to d ecli ne j u st

, ,

as its m i litary stre n gth augments S omehow or oth er civi l isa

.

tion d oes not make m en effem inate o r u nwarlik e now as i t

once d id T here i s a n i mprovement i n ou r fib r e — m oral i f
.
,

not physical I n ancient tim es ci ty people cou ld n ot be got

.
,

to fig h t— seemi ngly cou ld no t fight ; they lost thei r m ental

courage perhaps thei r bodi ly nerve
,
Bu t nowadays i n a l l
.

countri es the great cities cou ld pou r ou t mu ltitu des wanting

nothing bu t practice to make good soldiers and abounding in ,

bravery and vigou r T his was so in A merica ; i t was so in

.

—
P ru ssia ; and i t wou ld be so i n E ng l and t oo T h e breed o f .

ancient tim es was i mpaired for war by trad e and l u xu ry bu t / ,

the modern breed i s not so impai red .

A c uriou s fact i ndicates th e sam e thing probably if not ,

certa away b efore modern civi li sation ;

they seem t o have held t T here
is no l amen t i n any classical writer fo r the barbarian s Th e .

N ew Z ealanders say that the land wi l l depart from th eir chi ldren ;
the A ustralia n s are vani shing ; the Tasma n ians have vanished .

I f anythi ng like thi s had happen ed i n a ntiquity the classical ,

moral i sts wou ld have been sure to m use over it ; for it i s j ust
the l arge solemn k ind of fac t that su ited them O n the con .

t rary i n Gau l i n S pain i n S ici ly— everywhere that we know

, , ,

o f— the barbari an endured the contact of the Roman and the ,

Roman a l lied hi m sel f to the barbarian Modern science ex .

la ins the wasting away of savage m en ; it says that we have

_

W hich we can bear though they cannot and that they d ie

, ,

away before them a s our fatted and protected cattle died ou t

before the ri nderpest wh ich i s i nnocuou s i n comparison to
, , ,

the hardy cattle of the S teppes S avages i n the first year of

.

the C hri sti an era were pretty much what they were i n the
1 8 00t h ; and i f they stood the contact of ancient civilised men ,

and cannot stand ours i t follows that ou r race i s presu mably

,

tougher than the ancient ; for we have to bear and do bear , ,

the seeds of g reater diseases than those the ancients carried

with them 0 51
. e m ay u se perhaps the
,
u nvaryi ng savage
,
as a
 m etre to gauge the vigour of the c on stitutions to whose c ontact
he is
P articu lar consequ ences m ay b e d ubiou s but as to the ,

m ai n fact there i s no doubt : the m i l itary strength o f m an has

been growi ng from the earli est tim e k nown to our hi story ,

straight on ti l l now A n d we m u st not l ook at t i m es k now n

.

by wri tten record s only ; we mu st travel back to older ages ,

k nown to u s only by what l awyers cal l r ea l evidence— the

evidence of things Before hi story began there was at least
.
,

as m uch progress i n the m i litary art a s there h a s bee n si nce .

Th e Ro m an l egion aries or H om eric G reek s were abou t as

s u perior to the m en o f the shel l m ou nds and the flint i m p l e
l
f
f
me nts as w e are superior to the m T here has b een a con stant
”
.
'

acqu isition of m il i tary strength by m an since we k now a nything

o f hi m either by the docu m ents he ha s c om p osed or the i ndica
,

tions he has l eft .

Th e cause of this m il i tary growth i s very plain Th e .

strongest nation has al w ays b een conqu eri ng the weak er ; som e
tim es even subdu ing it bu t a l ways prevail ing over i t E very
,
.

i ntellectual gain so to s p eak that a n at ion pos sessed was i n

, ,

the earl iest ti mes m ade u s e o f— was i n ves ted an d tak en out
i n war ; al l else peri shed fi ch natio n tried constantly to
.

be the stronger and so m ade or copied the best wea pon s ; by

,

consciou s a nd u nco nsci ou s i mitati on each nation form ed a type

o f character su itabl e to war and con quest C o nqu est i m proved .

m ank in d by the i ntermixture o f s tr e ng th fi t h e a rm ed truce

—
m
,

which was then ca l led peace i mproved the by the co m petitio n

,

o f training a n d the consequ ent creation of new power S ince .

the long headed men first drove the sho rt headed m en ou t o f

- -

the best l and i n E urope a l l E uropea n hi sto ry has been the

,

history o f the su perpositi on o f the mo re m i li tary races over the

less m il itary— o f the e fforts som eti mes successful someti mes
, ,

u nsuccessful o f each race to get m o re m il itary ; and so the art

,

o f war h a s constantly i m proved .

B t u why is one natio n stro nger than another ? I n the

m —
‘-

ej l i e s
-

b el iev
fi '

an sw e r i pa l pro gress
r i fic

o fearly civi lisatio n and to some o f the progress o f a l l civi lisation

, .

T h e an swer is that there are very many advantages — some smal l

 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS 33

and som e great— every o ne of which tends to m ak e the nati o n

which has it superi o r to the n atio n which has it no t ; that
m any o f these adva ntages c an be i mparted to subjugated races ,

or im itated by com peting races ; and that thou gh some o f ,

these advantages may be peri shabl e o r i nim itabl e yet on the , ,

w h o l e /t h e ener gy of civi li sati o n grows by t h e coal escence o f

strengths an d by the com peti tion o f stren gt
®
II .

By far the greatest advantage i s that o n which I ob s erved

before— that to which I drew al l the attenti o n I w a s able by
maki ng the first o f these essays a n essay o n the P rel im i nary
thing to acquire i s i f I may s o express it the
, ,

l i ty fi r s t — what sort of polity i s i m material a

law fi r s t— what kind of l a w i s seconda ry ; a per so n o r set of
perso ns to pay deference to —though who he i s o r they are , ,

by co m parison scarcely signifies .

”
T here i s i t has been said
,
hard ly any exaggerating the
,
“

difference between civil ised and u ncivi lised men ; it i s greater

than the di fference between a tam e and a wil d a n i mal b e ,

cause man c a n im prove m ore B ut the difference at fi rst wa s

.

gai ned i n much the sam e way Th e tam ing of an i mal s as i t

.

n ow goes on among savage nations and as travel l ers who have,

seen i t describe it is a k i nd of selectio n T he most wi ld are

, .

ki lled when food i s wanted and the m o st tame and ea sy to

,

manage kept because they are m ore agreeabl e to human i ndo

,

lence and so the keeper l ikes them best Captain Ga lton who
,
.
,

has often seen strange scenes of savage and o f an i ma l li fe had ,

better describe the process Th e i rrecl aimably wi ld m embers

o f every flock wou ld escape and be utterly l o st ; the wi lder o f
those that rem ained would assu redly be sel ected for slaughter
whenever it w a s necessary that one of the flock sh ou l d be k i l led .

Th e tam est cattl e— those which sel dom ran away that k ept the ,

flock s together an d those which led them homeward — would

,

be preserved al ive l o n ger than any of the others It i s there .

,

fore these that chiefly become the parents o f stock and b e

,

u e a t h their dom estic aptitudes to the future herd I have

q .

co nstantly witnessed t h i s p r o ce s s of selectio n among the pastoral

‘

VOL V I I I
. .
3
 34 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS

savages o f S outh A frica I bel ieve i t to be a very i mportan t

.

one on accou nt of i t s rigou r an d i t s regu lari ty I t mu st have .

existed fro m the earl iest times an d have been i n co ntinu ou s ,

o peration gen eration after generati on d o wn to the present

, ,

1 "
day .

M an being the strongest of a l l a n i m als di ffers from the

, ,

rest ; h e was ob l iged to b e hi s own domesticator ; he had to

tame himsel f A n d the way i n which i t ha ppened was that
.
,

the m ost obed ient th e tamest tribes are at the first stage i n
, ,

L_
t h e real stru ggl e o f l i fe the strongest and the conquerors , .

A l l are very wi ld th en the ani m al vi gou r the savage virtu e ,

of the race h as di ed ou t i n non e and al l have enough of i t , .

But what m ak es on e tri be— one i ncipient tribe one b it of a ,

tribe—to di ffer from another i s thei r relative fa cult y pf c o _ __

h e r e n ce T h e s l ightest symptom of legal development the

.
,

l east i ndication of a m ilitary bond i s then enough to tu rn the ,

scale T h e compact tribes wi n and th e com pact tribes are

.
,

the tam est C ivi li sati on begi ns becau se the beginning o f

.
,

civi l i sation is a m ili tary adva ntage .

P robably i f we had historic records of the ante historic -

ages — i f som e su perhu m an power had s e t do wn the thoughts

and actions of men ages before they cou ld set them down for
them selves—w e sh ou ld k now that this fi r s t step i n civili sation
was the hardest step B ut when we com e to history as it i s
.
,

we are m ore stru ck wi th the di ffi cu l ty t h e n e x t s t ep A ll - - .

the absol u tely i ncoherent m en al l the— Cyclopes

”
—have “

been cleared aw ay long before there w a s an au thenti c accou nt

of them A n d the l east coheren t only rem ain i n the
. pro “

”
tected parts of the world as we m ay ca l l them O rdi nary
, .

civi lisation begins near the M editerranean S e a ; the best ,

doubtless of the ante hi storic civil isations were not far off
,
-
.

F rom this centre the conquering s w a r m — for such i t is — has

grown and grown has wi dened i ts subj ect terri tories steadily ,

though not equably age by age B ut geography l ong defi ed

,
.

it . A n A tlantic O cean a P acific O cean a n A ustralian O cean

, , ,

an u napproachabl e i nterior A frica an i naccessi bl e and u n ,

desi rabl e hil l I ndia were beyond its range I n su ch remote

, .

1
E tl mol og z ca l S oci ety
’
’
s Tr a n s a ct i o n s , vol . ii i .
,
p . 13 7 .
 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS 35

places there was no real com petition and on them i nferior ,

hal f com bined men continu ed to ex i st B u t i n the regions of

- .

rival ry— the regions where the better m an pressed u pon the
worse m an— such half made associ ation s cou l d n ot last T hey
-
.

di ed ou t and history di d n ot begi n til l after they were gon e

,
.

T h e great d i fficul ty which history records i s n ot that of the

first step bu t that of the second step What i s m ost evident
,
.

i s n ot the di fficu lty of getti ng a fixed law bu t getting ou t o f ,

a fix ed l aw ; not of cementing (as u pon a form er occasion I

phrased i t) a cak e of custom bu t of break ing the cak e of
,

custom ; not o f mak i ng the fi rst preservative habi t bu t of ,

break ing through i t an d reachin g s o m e tw

,

T hi s I s the precis e c as e with the whole fam i ly of arrested

civi lisation s A l arge part a very large p art of the world
.
, ,

seem s to b e ready to advance to som ething g ood — to have

a l l the m eans to advance to som ething good and ,
-

stopped and not advanced I ndia Japan China

, .
, , ,

al m ost every sort of O ri ental civi l i sation tho u gh di ffering i n ,

nearly al l other things are i n this alike T hey l ook as i f they

, .

had pau sed when there w as n o reason for pau sing— wh en a

m ere observer from wi thou t wou ld s a y they were l ik ely not
to pause .

reason i s that on ly thos e n atio n s can progress which

,

an d use the fundamental peculiarity which was given

e to m an s o rganism as to al l other o rganism s B y
’
.

a law of which w e k n ow no reason but which i s am ong the

,

fi rst by which P rovidence gu ides an d govern s the world there ,

i s a ten dency I n descend ants to b e l ike thei r p rogen i tors and ,

yet a tendency al so i n d escendants t a dz fien fro mfl mr m

'

T h e work of nature i n m ak ing generations i s a

g ng zrs
e c .

patchwork — part resem blance part contrast C n c ertai n r e

, .

s p e ct s each born generati on i s not l ik e the l ast born ;

and i n certai n other respects i t is l ike the last B u t the .

pecul iarity o f arrested civi li sati on i s to ki l l ou t varieti es at

birth al mos g ; that I s i n early childhood an d b efore they can
, ,

develop . Th e whi ch pu bl ic opi nion alone

tol erates i s impo sed m inds wheth er i t suits them or not
, .

I n that case the com m uni ty feel that thi s custom i s th e only
36 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS

shelter fro m b are tyranny and the on ly secu rity fo r what they
,

valu e . M o st O riental com mu niti es live on lan d which i n

theo ry i s the p roperty o f a d espo tic sovereign a n d neither ,

they nor thei r fam i lies cou ld have the el emen ts of decent ex
i s t e n c e un less they held the lan d u pon so m e sort o f fixed
term s L and in that state o f society i s (fo r all but a petty
.

sk il led m i nori ty ) a necessary of l i fe an d al l the u nincreas able

,

land being occu pi ed a m an who i s tu rned o u t of his hol di ng

,

is turned o u t of this world and m ust di e A n d ou r n otio n

, .

of w ritten leases i s as ou t of pl ace i n a world wi thou t wri t

i ng a nd wi thou t reading as a H ou se of C o m mo n s am ong
A ndam an I slan ders O nly one check o ne so l e shi eld fo r li fe
.
,

an d good is then possi bl e — usage A n d i t is but too plai n

, .

how i n such pl aces and p eriods m en cl ing to custom s because

cu stom s alon e stand between them and sta r vation .

A sti l l more powerfu l cause co operated i f a cause m ore -

,

powerful can be i magi ned D ryden had a drea m o f an early

.

”
age when wi ld i n woods the noble savage ran ; but when
,

lon e i n wood s the cringing savage crept wou l d have been

m ore l i ke al l we k now o f that early bare pai n ful period N ot , , .

only had they no co m fort n o conveni ence not the very b e

, ,

ginnings o f an epicu rean li fe bu t their m i nd within was as

,

painfu l to them as the worl d without I t was ful l of fea r So . .

far as the vestiges inform u s they were a frai d of everything ;

,

they were afraid o f ani m als of certai n attacks by near tribes

, ,

and o f possible i nroads from far tribes B ut above al l things .

, ,

”
they were frightened o f the wo rld the spectacle o f nature
fi l led them wi th awe and dread T hey fanci ed there were .

powers behin d i t which m u st be pleased soothed flattered and , , ,

this very o ften i n a nu m ber o f hideo u s ways We h ave too .

m any su ch religi o ns even am o ng races o f great cultivati o n

,
.

M en change thei r rel igi o ns m ore s lowly than they change

anythi ng else ; and acc o rdi ngly we have religio ns o f the “

ages —(i t i s M r J owett who s o cal ls them )— o f the ages

.
“

befo re m o rality ; o f ages o f which the civi l li fe the co m m o n ,

m axims and al l the secu l ar thought s have l o ng been dead

,
.

”
E very reader o f the classics said D r Jo hnso n fi nds their
, . ,
“

mytho logy tedio us .I n that o ld wo rld which i s so lik e our ,

 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS 37

modern wo rl d i n s o m any thi ng s s o m uch mo re l i ke than

,

m any far m ore recent or som e that l ive beside us there i s a

, ,

part i n which we s eem to have no k i ndred which we stare at , ,

o f which we can no t thi nk ho w i t cou l d be credi bl e or how it ,

cam e to be thought o f This i s the archaic part o f that very

.

”
wo rld which we l ook at a s s o anci ent ; an antiqu ity wh ich “

descended t o them hardly al tered perhaps fro m ti m es l ong

, , ,

antecedent which were a s u ni ntel ligi bl e to them as to u s o r

, ,

m o re s o. H o w thi s terri bl e rel igion — fo r such i t w as i n al l

l iving detai l though we m ake and the anc ients then m ade a n
, , ,

artisti c u s e o f the m o re attractive bits o f i t— weighed o n m an ,

the great poem o r L ucretius the m o st of a ni neteenth centu ry

,
-

poem o f any i n antiqu ity bri ngs before u s with a feel

,

i ng s o vivi d as to be al m o st a feel i ng o f our own Y e t the .

cl assical rel igi on i s a m i l d and t ender s p ecimen of the preserved

— —
religi o ns T o get am e worst yo u shou l d l ook where the
'

.
,

destroyi ng com petition has been least— a t A m erica where ,

sectio nal civi lisatio n w as rare and a pervading coercive civil isa
,

ti on did no t ex i st ; at such religio ns as those o f the A z tec s .

A t fi rst sight i t seem s im po ssible to i m agine what c o n ce i v

able functi o n such awfu l rel igi o ns can p erform i n the econom y
o f the worl d A n d no one can fu l ly ex p lai n them B ut o ne
. .

u se they assuredly had the y fi xed custo m

t horo ughl y T hey were the pri m e agents of the
era T hey p ut u po n a fixed law a sanctio n s o fearfu l that no
.

one cou l d dream of no t conform i ng to i t .

N o one wi l l ever com prehen d the arrested civi l isatio n s u n

less he sees the strict di lem ma of early society E ither m en .

had no law at al l and lived i n confused tri bes hardly ha nging

, ,

together or they had to obtai n a fi xed law by processes of i n

,

credible d i fli cu l t y T hose who surmou nted that difficu lty soon

.

destroyed al l those that l ay i n their way who di d not A n d .

then they th e rrl s_e_ly_e s w e rg g ug hL m th g iL a yoke Th e

fl
.

custom ary disci pl ine which could onl y be i m posed o n a ny

,

early m en by terri bl e sanctio ns conti nued with those sanction s

, ,

and ki lled out of the whole society the pro p e ns iti es to vari a
tio n pri nci pl e of progress -
.

E x perience shows how inc redi bly d i ffi cu l t i t i s to get m en

38 PHYSI CS A N D POL I TI CS

real ly to encou rage the pri nci ple of origi nali ty T hey wi l l ad .

m it it i n theo ry bu t i n practice the o l d error — the error which

,

arrested a hundred civi lisations— r e t u m s again M en are too .

fond of thei r own life too credu l ou s o f the compl eteness of thei r
,

own i d e a s C Q
t_ o angry,
at th e pain o f new thoughts to b e abl e to ,

bear easi ly with a changing e xi s t e n ge} or el se h a v i ng new ,

i deas th ey want to enforce th em o n m ank i nd — to m ak e them

,

heard and adm itted and ob eyed before i n sim pl e co mpeti tion
, , ,

with other i deas they wou l d ever be so natu ral ly A t this

, .

very m om ent there are the m ost rigid C o m tists teaching that
we ought to b e governed by a hi erarchy— a combi nati on o f
s a wa n s orthodox i n sci ence Y e t who c a n doubt that C om te
.

would have b een hanged by hi s own hierarchy that hi s ess or

m a ter i el which w a s i n fact troubled by the
,
theologians and “

m etaphysicians o f th e P o lytechni c S chool woul d have been ,

more i m p eded by the governm ent he wanted to mak e ? A n d

then the secular C omti sts Mr H arrison and M r B e e s ly who , . .
,

want to F renchify the E nglish institu tions that i s to i ntro -

,

d uce here an i m itation of the N apoleo ni c system a dictatorship ,

fou nded o n the proletari at— who c a n doubt that if both these
clever writer s had been real F rench m en they wo u ld have been i r
as ci b l e anti B onapa rtists and have been sent to C ayenne long ere
-
,

now ? Th e wish of these writers i s very natural T hey want to .

“
organise soci ety to erect a d espot who wi l l do what they
,

l ike and work ou t their i deas bu t any d espot wi ll do what he

,

hi m sel f lik es an d wi l l root ou t new ideas ni nety ni ne tim es for

,
-

o n ce that h e i n troduces them .

de by side wi th these C omtists and warring with

l east with one of them — i s M r A rnold whose poems .
,

by heart and who has as m uch as any livi ng E nglish

, ,

m an the genu i n e literary i m pu ls e ; and yet ey en he fl ag s to

,

p u t a y o k e u po n y s — and worse tha n a po l i ti cal ,

yoke an a ca d e ,

m i c yok e a yok e u pon ou r m inds and ou r styl es H e too

, .
, ,

ask s us to im itate F rance 1 and what else can we s ay than

what the two m ost thorough F renchm en of the l ast age
d id say D an s l es corps a tal ent nu ll e disti nction n e fai t ,

o mbrage s i ce n est pas cell e d u talent U n duc e t pair honore

’
.
,

l A ca d é m i e F r an ca i s e qu i n e veu t poi nt de Boi leau refu se l a

’

, ,
 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI C S 39

B ruy ere fai t attendre V o ltaire m ai s r e co i t tou t d a b o r d C hape

, ,
’

l ai n e t C o n ra r t D e m em e nou s voyons a l A c a d é m i e G recque

.
’

l e vico m te i nvité C or ai repoussé lorsque Jo r m ar d y entre

, ,
”
com m e dans u n m ou lin T hus speak s P aul Lou is C ou rier
.
-

i n h i s o wn bri ef inim itable prose A n d a stil l greater writer .

—a real F renchm an if ever there w a s one and (what m any

, ,

cri tics wou ld have den i ed to be possible) a great poet by reason

o f his m os t F rench characteristic s— B eranger tell s u s i n ,

verse
Je cr oyai s voir l e p re s i d e n t ’

F a i r e b ai ll e r—e n r é p o n d an t
Q u e l o n v i e n t d e p e r d r e u n g r a n d h om m e
’

Q u e m o i je l e v a u x D i e u s a i t co mm e , .

M ai s c e p re s i d e n t s an s fa co n
’
1

N e p é ro r e i ci q u e n c h a n s o n
’

Tou j ou rs tr o p t ot s a h a r an g ue e st fin i e .

N o n, n o n , cc n e s t
’
p oi n t com e a l A ca d e m i e
’ ’

Ce
’
n est p o i n t c omm e a l A ca d é m i e
’
.

Ad mi s e n fin, a u a r i je a l or s
-
,

P o u r to u t es p ri t ,
l e s p ri t
’
rp s
de co

Il re n d le b on s e n s, q u oi q u o n di s e
’
,

d i e de
S ol i a r la s o tt s e i
M ai s d a n s
,
'

v o tr e s oc i é té ,

L e s p ri t
’
de co r ps ,
c e st
’
l a g a i té .

Ce t es p ri t la r eg n e s an s tyr ann e i .

N on , n o n , ce n e s t
’
p o i n t comm e a l A ca d ém i e
’

Ce
’
n est p o i nt com e a l A ca d ém i e
’
.

A sylu ms of com monplace he hi nts academies m ust ever , ,

be B ut that sentence i s too harsh ; the true one

.

academ ies are asylu m s of the ideas and the tastes of

? ”
age ) By the ti m e I have heard a m ost em inent m an of
“
,

s c1e n c e observe by the ti m e a m an o f science attains em i

“
,

n e n ce on any subj ect he beco m es a nu i s ance u pon i t

,
becau se ,

he is sure to retai n errors which were i n vogue when h e w a s

you ng but which the new race have refuted
,
T hese are the .

sort o f ideas which fi nd their ho me i n academ i es and out o f ,

their dignified wi ndows pooh pooh new thi ngs -

.

I m ay seem to have w a n d e re d far fro m early society bu t i

,

1
D é s au gi e r s .
 40 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI C S

I have not wandered Th e true scientific m ethod i s to ex pl ai n

.

the past by the p resent— what we s e e by what we do not see .

can on l y com p rehend why s o many nations have not varied ,

n w e s e e how hatefu l variation i s ; how everybody tu rn s

Lg
a a i n s t i t ; how not only the conservatives o f specu lati on try

to root i t ou t but the very i nnovators i nvent m ost rigi d

,

m achines for crushing the m onstrosi ties and a n om alies — the

new form s ou t of which by com p eti ti on and trial the best i s
, , ,

to b e selected for the futu re Th e point I am bringing ou t i s

.

si m ple —one m ost i m portant p rerequisite of a p revai ling

nation i s that i t should have p assed out of t h e first stage of
civi li sation i nto the second stage ou t of the stage where per
m a n e n ce i s m ost w anted i nto that where variabil ity I s most
wanted h and you ca nnot com p rehend why progress i s s o slow
ti l l you s e e how hard the m ost o bsti nate tendencies o f h u m an
natu re m ak e that step to manki nd .

O f co u rse the nati o n we are supp o si ng m u st

vi rtu es o f i ts a s i t passes in to the after stage else i t ,

wi l l be trodden ou t ; i t wi l l have l ost the savage vi rtu es i n

getting the begi nni ng o f the civi li sed vi rtu es and the savage
vi rtues which ten d to war are the dai ly bread o f hu man natu re .

C arlyl e s aid in his graphic w ay

, Th e u l tim ate qu estio n b e
,

tween every two hu m an beings i s Ca n I ki l l thee o r canst , ,

thou k il l m e ? H istory i s strewn with the w recks o f nati o ns

’

which have gai ned a l ittl e p rogressiveness at th e cost o f a

great d eal of hard m an l i n ess and have thu s prepared them
,

selves for destruction as soon as the m ovem ents of the world

gave a chance for it B ut thes e nations have com e ou t o f the
.

pre econom ic stage too soo n ; they have been pu t to l earn

-

whi l e yet only to o apt to u nlearn S uch cases d o not viti ate
.
,

they confirm the princi pl e—

, { h at a nation which has j ust gained

vari abi lity wi thou t l osi ng legal ity has a singu la r l ikelihood to
b e a prevalent n ati on )
N o nation a dm its of a n abstract definiti o n ; a l l nation s are
b ei ngs of m any qu al i ties and m any sides ; n o hi storical event
exactly i llustrates any one pri nciple every cause i s i ntertwi ned
and su rrou nd ed wi th a hu nd red others Th e best histo ry i s .

bu t lik e the art o f Rem brandt ; i t casts a vivid light o n certain

 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI C S 4 1

selected causes on those which were best and greatest ; i t

,

l eaves al l the rest i n shadow and u nseen To m ake a si ngle .

nation il lu strate a pri nci pl e you mu st exaggerate m uch an d,

you m ust o m it much B ut no t forgetting th i s cautio n did

.
, ,

not Ro me— the prevalent nation i n the anci ent wo rld— gain
p redom i nance by the princi pl e on w h i ch I hav e d welt ?
the thick crust of her legal ity there was hidden a l ittle seed of
'

a d a p t i v e n e s sh E ven i n her l aw itsel f no one can fai l to s e e

that bi nding a s was the habit of obedi ence coercive a s u s e
, ,

and wont at fi rst seem a hi dden i m pu lse o f extricatio n d i d

,

manage in som e qu eer way to change the substance whi le

, ,

conform i ng to the accidents— to do what w a s wanted fo r the

new ti me whi le seem ing to do o n ly what w a s di rected by the
old tim e A n d t he m oral o f thei r whol e history i s the sam e ;
.

Roman generation so far as we know d i ffers a li ttle

, ,

and i n the best ti mes often bu t a very littl e—fro m i t s prede

c e s s o rs. A n d therefore the histo ry i s s o conti nuous as it goes ,

i t s two ends are s o u nlike Th e hi sto ry o f m any

.

nations i s l ik e the stage o f the E nglish dram a : o ne scene i s

su cceeded on a sudden by a scene qu ite different —a cottage ,

by a palace and a wi ndmi ll by a fortress B ut the hi story o f

,
.

R ome changes as a goo d di oram a changes ; whi le you look ,

you hardly s e e i t alter ; each m om ent i s hardly di fferent fro m

the last m oment ; yet at the c l ose the m etam orphosi s i s c o m
p l e t e an d sca rcely anything i s as i t bega)
, n Just so i n the
histo ry of the great prevaili ng city you begin with a town ,

and you end with a n em pi re and this by u nm arked stages ,

.

S o shrouded so shiel ded i n the coarse fibre of other qu alities

W
, ,

was the
it w a s never broken .
”
P :o f progress that i t never fa iled and , ,

O n e standing instance no doubt show s that the union of

, ,

progressiveness and legality does not secure suprem acy in war .

Th e Jewi sh nation has its type of p rogre s s i n the prophets side ,

by s ide with i t s type of perm anence i n the l aw and Levites ,

more distinct than any other ancient peopl e N owhere i n .

com mon history do we s e e the two fo rces — both s o nece s sary

and both s o dangerous —s o apart and so intense Jud ae a
changed i n i nward thought j ust a s Rome changed i n exterior
,
42 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS

power E ach change was continuou s gradu al and good

.
, , .

I n early times every sort o f advantage tends to beco m e a

m i litary advantage ; such a s the best way then to k eep i t , ,

alive B ut the j ewish advantage never did s o ; beginni ng i n

.

rel igio n contrary to a thousand anal o gies it rem ai ned rel igiou s
, , .

F or that we care fo r the m ; fr om that have issued en d less

co nsequences B ut I cann ot deal with su ch m atters here no r
.
,

are they to my purpo se A s respects this essay J u d ae a i s an

.
,

exam ple o f co mbined variabi l ity an d legal ity n ot i nvesti ng itsel f

i n warl i ke p ower an d s o perishing at last but bequeathi ng
, ,

nevertheless a legacy o f the c ombi natio n i n i m perishab le m en ta l

effect s .

I t m ay be obj ected that this pri nciple i s l i ke saying that

men wal k when they d o wal k an d s i t when they d o s i t Th e
,

problem i A n d the an swer suggested

seems to when they have a certai n
s u fli ci e n t a m ou nt o f variabi l ity i n their nature } T his seem s to
be the old style o f explanatio n by occul t qual ities I t see m s .

l ike sayi ng that O piu m sen ds m en to sleep because i t h as a

s o p o r i fi c virtue an d brea d feeds because it h as an al i m entary
,

qual ity But the expla natio n i s n o t s o absurd

. It says : .

Th e begi n ni ng o f civi l isati o n i s m arked by an i ntense lega l ity ;

that legal ity is the very conditio n o f its existen ce the bond
“

which ties i t together ; M — m

n al y f
i
t that/
tendency to i
p ose a settled custo m ary yoke upo n al l m en an d a l l actio ns
k i l l s out the vari abi lity i mplanted by nature an d ,

e s facsi m iles o f o ther m en

a n d o ther ages as we s e e them s o often ( Br o g re s s i s o n ly

, .

possible i n tho se happy cases where the fo rce of legali ty h a s

go ne far en ough to b ind the n atio n together but n ot far ,

?
’
enough to k i l l out al l varieties an d destroy nature s perpetua l
tendency to change ) T h e po i nt of the so l utio n i s no t the i n
v e n t i o n o f an i magi nary agency but an assign men t o f co rn
,

ara t i v e magnitu de to two k nown agenci es

p .

III .

T his adva ntage i s o ne of the greatest i n early civi l isatio n

- one o f the facts which give a decisive turn to the battle of
 PHYSI C S AN D POL I TI C S 43

natio ns ; butthere are many others A l ittl e perfectio n i n

.

p o l i t i ca l i ns t i tu ti on s m ay do i t T ravel.lers have n oticed that

am ong savage tribes those seem ed to answer best i n which the
m o n archical power was m ost predom i nant and those wo rst i n ,

which the rul e of m any w a s i n its vigour (So l ong as war

“ ”
.

i s the m ai n bu si ness o f nations te m p o a ry\cl s p

r
,
e o t i s m — despotism
— )
during the cam paign i s i ndispensabl e x Macau lay j ustly said .
r

that m any an army h as prospered u nder a bad co m m ander but ,

”
no arm y h as ever prospered under a debating society “
that
m any headed m onster i s then fatal
-
D espotism grows i n the
.

first societies j ust as dem ocracy grows i n m o re m odern

,

societies i t i s the Govern m ent answeri ng the pri m ary need and ,

co ngenial to the who l e spirit of the ti m e B ut despotism i s u m

favourable to the p r i n ci p lg p fj ari abil ity am
.

y m
h
‘

,
f
I t tends to k eep m en in the cu sto mary stage o f civi lisation ; ~

i ts very fitness for that age u n fi t s i t for the n ext I t prevents .

m en from passing into the first age of progress — the very slo w
and very gradual ly i m proving age S om e stan ding system .

of sem i free discu ssi o n i s as n ecessary to break the thick crust

-

of custo m and begi n progress as i t is i n later ages to carry on

progress when begun ; probably it i s even m o re necessary .

And i n the m ost pr o gressive races we find i t I have spoken .

o f the j ewish pro phets the li fe of that nation and the

, ,

princi ple of al l i t s growth Bu t a sti l l m ore progressive race

.

that by which secul ar civi l isation w as once created by which it ,

i s now m ainly adm i nistered —had a sti l l better instru m ent o f

”
progression .I n the very earl iest gl i mpses says M r F ree
“
, .

m an o f T eutonic pol itical li fe w e fi nd the m onarchic the

“
, , ,

aristocratic and the democratic el em ents al ready c learl y m arked

, .

T here are leaders with or wi thou t the royal title ; there are
men of noble birth whose n oble bi rth (in whatever the original
,

nobi lity m ay have co n s i sted ) entitles them to a p re em inence -

i n every way ; but beyond these there i s a free and arm ed

peopl e in whom i t i s clea r that the u ltim ate sovereignty re
,

sides S m al l m atters are deci ded by the chiefs alone ; great

.

m atters are subm itted by the chiefs to the assem bled nati on .

S uch a system i s far m ore than T eutonic ; it i s a com

m on A ryan possession ; i t i s the co nstitution o f the H om eric
44 PHYSI C S AN D POL I TI C S

A chaians on earth an d of the H om eric gods on O lympus .

P erhap s and i ndeed probably this consti tuti o n m ay be that

, ,

of the pri m i tive tribe which Romans l eft to go one way an d ,

Greek s to go another and T euto ns to go a third Th e tribe

,
.

took i t with them a s the E nglish tak e the com m o n law with
,

them because i t w a s the one k i nd of po l ity which they cou ld

,

conceive and act up o n or i t m ay b e that the em igrants from

the pri m itive A ryan s tock only took wi th them a goo d aptitude
— a n excel lent pol itical nature which sim i lar ci rcu m stances i n
,

di stant cou n tries were afterwards to develop i nto l ik e form s .

Bu t anyhow i t i s i m possi ble not to trace the su prem acy of

T eutons Greek s and Rom ans in part to their com m o n form
, ,

of govern m en t L .
y l e contests of the assem bly cheri shed the

principl e o f change ; the i nfluence of the elders i nsure d sedate

ness and preserved the m ou l d of thought ; and i n the best ,

cases m i li tary di sci pli ne was n ot i mpai red by freedom though

, ,

m i l itary i ntel l igence w as enhanced with the genera l i ntelligence .

A Rom an arm y w a s a free body at i t s o wn choice governed by

,

a perem ptory d e s p o t i s rnj m

as the old worl d believed i n pu re blood i t h ad very l itt le o f i t

, .

M ost historic nati ons conquered pre hi storic nations and though
-
,

they m assacred m any they d id not m assac re a ll T hey e n

, .

slaved the su bj ect m en and they marri ed the su bj ect wom en

, .

N o d ou bt the whole bond o f early society was the bond o f

descent ; no doubt i t was essential to the notion s o f a new
nation that i t s hou ld have had com mon ancestors ; the m odern
idea that vici nity o f habi tati on i s the natu ral cement of civi l
u n ion wo ul d have been repel l ed as an im pi ety i f i t coul d
have been conceived as an i dea B u t by one o f tho s e legal
.

fictions which S i r H enry M ai ne describes s o wel l pri mitive ,

nations contrived to do what they found convenient a s wel l a s

'
,

to adhere to what t h e y fa nc i e d to be right When they d id .

not beget they solem nly m ade believe that new

persons were descended from the old stock though everybody
x
,
t

k new that i n flesh and blood they were n o t They ma de an

ar t i fic i a Lu ni ty i n fi e f
a ul t fl f a and wh at i t i s not
easy to u nderstand now the sac red Senti m ent requi ring unity
,
 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS 45

of race was somehow satisfied what was m ade d id as wel l as

what was born N ations with these sort o f maxim s are not
.

l ikely to have u nity of race in the m odern sense and as a ,

physiologist u nderstands i t What sorts of u nion s i m prove .

the breed and which are worse than both the father race and
,
-

the mother i t i s not very easy to say Th e subj ect w a s reviewed

,
.

by M Quatrefages i n a n elaborate report u pon the occa sion

.

of the F rench E xhibi tion o f al l thi ngs i n the world ,

M . .

Quatrefages quotes from another writer the phrase that S outh

A merica i s a great laboratory o f experi m ents i n the m i xtu re
o f races and reviews the different resu lts which different cases
,

have shown I n S outh C arolina the m u latto race i s not very

.

prol ific whereas i n Louisiana and F lorida i t deci dedly i s so

, .

In Jam aica and i n Java the mu latto cannot reproduce i tsel f

after the third generati o n ; but o n the co nti nent o f A m erica ,

as everybody k nows the mixed race i s now m ost nu m erous

, ,

and spreads generatio n after generati o n witho u t i m pedi ment .

E qual ly various l ikewise i n vari ous cases has been the fate o f
the m ixed race between the white man and the native A m erican
s ometimes i t p ro spers so m eti m e s i t fai l s A n d M Quatrefages
, . .

concludes his description thu s : E n acceptant co m m e vrai es “

toutes les observatio ns qu i tendent a fai re ad m ettre qu i l en ’

’
sera autrement dans les l ocalités do nt j ai parlé plu s hau t quel le ,

est la conclusio n a ti rer de faits au ssi peu sem blabl es ?E v i d e m

ment o n est o bligé de re c o n na i tre qu e l e développem ent de
,

la race m ul atre e s t favorisé retardé o u e m p é ch é par des , ,

circonstances locales ; en d a u t r e s termes qu i l dé pend des ’

,
’

i nfl u ences exercées par l e n s e m b l e des conditio ns d e xi s t e n ce

’ ’

”
par l e m i l i eu By which I u nderstand hi m to mea n that the
.

m ixture o f race som eti mes bri ngs o u t a fo rm o f character

better su ited than either parent fo rm to the place and ti me ;
that i n such cases by a k i nd o f natu ral selectio n i t dominates
, ,

over both parents and perhap s supplants both whereas i n

, ,

other cases the m ixed race i s not as good then and there a s
other parent form s and then it passes away soo n and o f itsel f
,
.

E arly i n histo ry the co nti nual m ixtures by co nquest were

j ust so many experi ments in m ix ing races as are goi ng on i n
S outh A meri c a now N ew races wandered i nto new districts
.
,
46 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS

and ha l f ki l l ed hal f mix ed w ith the o ld races A n d the resu lt

,
.

was doubtless as vari ous and as di ffi cu lt to accou nt for then

as no w ; someti m es the crossing answered som eti m es it failed , .

B ut when th e m ix t ure was at its b est it m u st h ave excel led ,

b oth parents i n that of whi ch so m uch has been said ; that i s ,

variabi li ty and consequ ently p rogressiv eness T here i s m ore

,
.

l i fe i n mi xed nati ons F rance for i nstance i s j u stly said to

m
.
, ,

m e a n term between th e Lati n and the G erm an races .

A N orm an as you m ay see by l ook i ng at hi m i s of the n orth ;

, ,

a P roven cal i s of the south of al l that there i s m ost sou thern

, .

Y o u have i n F rance L ati n C eltic Germ an com pou nded in an

, , ,

infi nite n u m ber of prop o rtion s : o ne as she i s i n feeli ng s h e ,

is variou s not only i n the past history o f h er vari o u s pro

vi nces but i n thei r present temperaments Lik e the I ri sh
,
.

element and the S cotch el ement i n the E ngli sh H ou se of

C om mons the variety of F rench races contri bu tes to the p l ay
,

o f the pol ity ; i t gives a chance for fitti ng new things which
otherwise there wou l d not be A n d early races m u st have .

wanted m i xing m ore than m o dern races I t i s sai d i n answer .

,

to the Jewish boast that thei r race sti ll p rosp ers though it i s
“
,

sc attered and breeds i n and i n {L -

”
Y o u p rosper beca u s e you are
-
,

so scattered ; by accli m atisatio n i n vari ou s regions your nation

has acqu ired singul ar el ement s of va riety ; it contai n s withi n
i tsel f the pri ncipl —
e o f variabi lity which other nation s m ust seek
by i ntermarriage J I n the begi nning o f thi ngs there was
”

certain ly no co sm opo li tan race lik e the Jews each race was a
”
sort of pari sh race narro w in thou ght a nd bou nded i n
,

n d it wanted m i xing accordingly .

the mixtu re o f races h as a si ngu lar danger as wel l a s

ar advantage i n the earl y wo rld We kno w now the .

(T
”
A ngl o I n dian suspic i on o r co ntem pt fo r
-
hal f castes h e
“
-
.

u n io n o f the E nglish man and the H indoo produces something

not o nly between races b ut Oetw ee n m om /i ti es T hey have
,
.

n o inherited creed or plai n place i n the world ; they have no ne

o f the fi xed traditi ona l sentim e n ts which are the s tays o f hu man
natu re} I n the earl y wo rl d many mixtu res m ust have wrought
m any r u I n s ; they m u st have d estroyed what they c ou ld no t
replace —a n i nb red pri nciple of disci pli ne and o f o rder Bu t .
 PHYSI C S AN D POL I TI C S 47

i f these u ni o ns o f races did n ot work thu s ; i f fo r ex am ple , ,

the two races were s o near ak i n that thei r m orals u nited as

wel l a s thei r breeds i f o ne race by i ts great n u mbers and pre
,

potent o rganisati on so presided over the other as to tak e it u p

and assim ilate i t an d leave no separate re m ains o f i t ti t en the
, ,

admix tu re was i nvaluable I t added to the probabi l ity of .

va riabi lity and therefo re of i m provem ent ; an d if that i mprove

,

m ent even i n part took the m i litary line it m ight give the ,

mixed an d amel i o rated state a steady advantage i n the battle

of nations and a greater chance o f l asti ng i n the wo rld
,
.

A nother mode i n which one state acqui res a su peri o ri ty

over competing states i s by p r ov i s i on a l i nstitution s i f I may I ,

so cal l them Th e m ost i m portant o f these— slavery — arises

.

out o f the sam e early conqu est a s the m ix ture o f races A .

slave i s an u nas si mi lated a n u ndigested atom ; som ething

,

which i s i n the body politic but yet i s hardly part of ,

i t S lavery too has a bad nam e i n the later worl d a nd very

.
, , ,

j ustly We connect i t with gangs in chains with laws which

.
,

keep m en ignorant with laws that hi nder fam il ies CB u t the

, .

evi l s which we have endured from sl avery i n recent ages mu st

not bli nd us to or m ak e u s forget the great service s that
, ,

sl avery rendered i n early age s; T here i s a wonderfu l pre

su mpti o n in its favou r ; i t i s one of the i nstitu tions which at ,

a certai n stage of growth al l nations i n a l l cou ntri es choose

,

”
and cl eave to S lavery
. says A ri stot l e exi sts by the law
, ,
“

of nature m eaning that it wa s everywhere to be fou nd — was

”
,

a rudimentary u niversal point of poli ty T here are very .

“

many E nglish col onie s sai d E dward Gi bbo n Wak efield as

, ,

late a s 1 8 4 8 who wou ld keep sl aves at once i f we wou ld let

,
“

”
them and he was speak ing not o nly o f old colonies trained
,

i n sl avery and raised upon the products of it but likewise o f

, ,

new colonies started by freemen and which ought one wou ld , ,

think to wish to contai n freemen on ly B ut Wakefield knew

, .

what he was saying ; he was a care fu l observer of rough

societies and he had watched the m i nds o f m en i n them
, He .

had seen that l ei su r e is the great need of early societies and ,

slave s only ca n g _i_ve men leisu re A ll freemen i n new countries .

m u st be pretty equal ; every one has labou r and every one ,

48 PHYSI CS AN D P OL I TI C S

has l and cap ital at l east i n agricult u ra l c ou ntrie s (for p astoral

,

cou ntri es are very different) is of l ittle u se ; i t cannot hire

,

l abo u r ; the labou rer s go a nd work for them selves T here i s .

a sto ry often tol d of a great E ngl ish capital ist who went out
to A ustral ia with a shi pl oa d of labourers an d a carriage ; his
pl an was that the labou rers shou l d bu il d a house for him an d ,

that he wou l d keep his carriage j ust as i n E ngland B ut (s o ,

.

the story goes) he had to try to l ive in his carriage for hi s ,

labourers left hi m an d wen t a way to wo rk fo r them selves

, .

I n such countries there ca n be few gentlem en and n o ladies .

iR e fi n e m e n t i s on ly possi bl e when l eisure i s possibl e ; and

fi rst m akes it possibl e I t creates a s e t o f person s .

work that others m ay n ot work and not to think i n ,

think Th e sort o f original ity which

.

first practical advantage i n early c om

e s ; an d the rep ose i t gives i s a great artistic advantage

they com e to be descri bed i n history T he patriarchs .

A braham I saac and Jacob cou ld n o t have had the steady cal m
, ,

which m arks them i f they had them selves been teased an d

,

hu rried about thei r flocks an d herds Refine men t o f feel i ng .

and repo se o f appearance have i n deed no m arket val ue i n the

early bidding o f n ati o ns they do n o t tend to secure them selves
a l o ng futu re or any future B ut origi nality i n war does an d
.
,

slave owning nation s havi ng ti m e to think are l ikely to be

-
, ,

m ore shrewd i n pol icy and m ore crafty i n strateg y

, .

m o m entary gai n i s bo ught at a ruinou s

other sou rces o f leisu re beco m e possibl e ,

:the one u se o f slave ry i s past B ut al l i t s evi ls rem ain and

.
,

\even gro w wo rse Reta

. il ”
slavery
“ — the sl avery i n which
a m aster owns a few slaves who m he wel l k nows an d dai ly ,

sees — i s not at al l an i nto lerable state ; the slaves of A braham

had n o doubt a fai r l i fe as thi ngs went i n that day B ut
,
.

wholesale slavery where m en a re but o ne of the i nvestm ents

,

o f large ca pital and where a great owner s o far from k n owi ng

, ,

each slave can hard ly tel l how m any gangs o f them he works
, ,

is an abo m i nable state T his i s the slavery which has m ade

.

the nam e revol ting to the best m i nds a n d has nearly rooted ,

the thing out o f the best o f the world T here i s no out o f— the .
-
 P H YSI CS A N D P OLI TI CS 49

way m arve l i n this Th e w ho l e history o f civi lisation i s strewn

.

with creeds and institutions which were i nval uable at fi rst and ,

deadly afterwards P rogress wou ld not have been the rarity

.

i t i s i f the early fo o d had not been the late poiso n A fu l l .

exam i natio n of these provi sio nal i nstituti o ns wou ld need hal f a
vol u me and wou l d be out o f place and useless here V ener
,
.

abl e o ligarchy august m o narchy are two that wou l d al o ne

, ,

need large chapters B ut the so le po i nt here necessa ry i s to

.

s a y that such preli m inary fo rm s a nd feelings at fi rst often

bring m any graces and many refinem ents and often tend to ,

secu re th em by the preservative m il itary virtue .

T here are cases I n t ch som e step I n z n tel l ectu a l progress

l
gives an early society so m e gain i n war ; m o re obvi ous cases
are when som e kind o f m or a l quali ty gives som e s uch gai n "
War both needs and generates certain Vi rtues ; no t the highest 3 ,

bu t what m ay be cal led the prelim inary virtues a s v a l o u r , ,

I

veracity the sp irit o f o bedien ce the hab it o f di scip l i ne A ny

, ,
.

o f these and o f others l ike them when possessed by a nati o

, , ,

and n o m atter how g e ne ra t e d w i ll give them a m i litary a d v a n

,

tage a nd m ake them m o re likely to s tay i n the race o f nations

, .

Th e Romans probably had as m uch of these e fficaci ous vi rtues

a s any race o f the ancient wo rld — perhaps as m uch as any ,

race i n the m odern worl d too A n d the success o f the nations

.

which possess these m artia l virtues h a s been the great m ean s

by which thei r conti nuance has been sec u red i n the wo rl d and ,

the destruction o f the o pposite vices ensured a l so C onqu est .

i s the m issio nary m p ac t o f m i litary

vi rtues beats m ean
I n the last centu ry i t wou ld have sou nded s trange to speak ,

as I am goi ng to speak of t h e m flit ar xa d v a n t ag a of r e l gf i on

, .

S uch an i dea wou l d have been opposed to ru l ing prej udices ,

and would hardly have escaped philosophical ridicul e B u t .

the notion i s bu t a com m onpl ace i n ou r day for a m an of ,

genius has made it h i s own M r C arlyle s book s are deform ed

. .
’

”
by phrases l ike i n fi n i t i e s and verities and a l together are ,

ful l of faults which attract the very you ng and deter al l that
, ,

are older I n spi te of his great gen ius after a long l i fe of

.
,

writing it i s a question still whether even a single work o f his

,

V OL V I I I. .
4
5 0 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS

can tak e a l asting place in high l iterature T here is a want .

of san ity i n thei r manner which throws a suspicion o n thei r

substance (though i t i s often profound ) ; and he b randishes
one or two fa llacies of which he has himself a high noti o n
, ,

bu t which pl ai n people wi l l always detect and deride B ut .

whatever m ay be the fate of hi s fa m e M r C arlyl e h as taught , .

th e present generati o n m any lesso ns and o ne o f these i s that ,

m B
”
G
d feg armies are the best armies efo re his time
“

o g .

people laughed at Crom w el l s saying

’
T rust i n God an d ,
“
,
”
keep you r powder d ry Bu t we now k now th at the trust
.

w a s of as m uch u se a s the powder if not of m o re C hat high , .

concentratio n o f steady feeli ng m akes men dare everythi ng

and do anything 3 .

T his subj ect wou l d ru n to an i nfinite extent i f any o ne

were ; competent to hand le i t T ho se k inds of m oral s a nd
.

that kind of religion whi ch tend to m ake the fi r m e s t a nd most

effectua l character are sure to prevai l a l l else bei ng the same ; ,

a nd creeds or system s that c o nd uce to a soft li mp m ind tend

t o perish except som e hard extrin sic fo rce keep them al ive
,
.

T hu s E picu reanism never p rosp ered a t Ro me but S toicism ,

di d ; the sti ff seri ous character of the great preva i ling nati on
,

was attracted by what seemed a co n fi r m i n creed a nd deterred ,

by what l ooked like a relax ing creed LIjh e i nspiriti ng doc

’

tri nes fe l l u po n th e a rdent cha racter and s o confirmed its ,

energy S trong bel iefs wi n stro ng m en and then mak e them

.
,

s t ro n e f
g f f S uch i s n o doubt one cause why Mon otheism tends
fl

'
,

to p r e I7a il over P olytheism ; i t produces a higher steadier ,

character cal m ed and co n centrated by a great single obj ect ;

,

it i s not co nfu sed by competi ng rites or distracted by m i s ce l ,

l a n e o u s dei ties P o lytheism i s religio n i n com m i ss i on and it

.
,

i s weak accordi ngly B u t i t wi l l be sa id the Jews who were

.
,

m onothei st were conquered by the Rom ans who were poly

, ,

theist Y e s i t must be an swered becau se the Roman s had

.
, ,

other gi fts ; they had a capacity for po l i tics a habi t of ,

di scipl ine and o f these the Jews had not the least
,
Th e .

rel igious advantage w a s a n advantage but i t w a s counter ,

weighed .

N o one shou l d be surpri sed at the pro m i nen c e given to

 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS 5I

war We are deal ing with early ages ; nati on m a ki ng is the

.
- r

occupatio n o f man i n these ages and it i s war that m akes ,

natio ns N atio n clz a ng i ng com es a fterwards and i s m ostly

.
-
,

effected by peaceful revo lutio n though even the n war to o , , ,

plays i ts part T h e i dea of an indestructible n ation i s a

.

m odern i dea i n early ages a l l nation s were destructi b le an d ,

the furt back the m o re incessant was the w ork o f

,

destruct internal d eco ratio n of nati o n s i s a so rt o f

secondary process which succeeds when the main forces that
?
,

create nati ons have pri ncipal ly done their wo rk ) We have

here been concerned with the pol itical scaffo lding ; i t wil l b e
the task of o ther papers to trace the process of pol itica l fi n i s h
ing and b ui ld ing T h e nicer pl ay o f fi ner forces m ay then r e
.

quire m ore pleasi ng thoughts than the fierce fights o f ear l y

ages ca n ever suggest I t belongs to the idea o f progress that
.

begi nni ngs ca n never seem attractive to those who l ive fa r on

the price of i m provem ent is that the u ni m proved wi l l always ,

look degraded .

B ut how far are the strongest natio ns real ly the best n ati ons
how far i s excel lence i n war a cri terion of o ther excel lence ?
I ca nn o t a ns w er thi s now fu l ly bu t three o r fou r considera ,

tions are very pl ain I have said n ourishes t h e pre

.
,

l im inary virtues a nd this is al m ost as m uch 5 to say that

,

there are virtues which i t does not nouri sh 11 which m ay .

”
be cal led grace as well a s virtue i t does not nou ri sh
“

hu m anity chari ty a nice sense o f the ri ghts o f others i t

, , ,

certai nly does not fo stE Th e i nsens i bility to hu m an suffer

'
.

ing which is so striking a fact i n th e wo rl d as it stood when

,

history first reveals it i s d oubtless due to the warl ike origi n

,

of the o ld civi l isation B red in war an d nursed i n war i t

.
, ,

cou ld n ot revolt fro m th e thi ng s of war and one o f the pri n ,

c i p a l of these is hu m an pai n S i nce war has cea sed to be the .

movi ng force in th e world m en have becom e m o re tender one ,

to a n o th efi a n d shrink fro m what they used to i nflict wi thou t

caring ; and this not s o m uch because men are i m p roved
(which m ay o r m ay not be i n variou s cases) b u t because they ,

have no longer t h e dai ly habit o f war— have no longer form ed

their notio ns u pon war and therefore are gu ided by thoughts
,
 52 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS

and feel ings which soldiers a s such — soldiers educated si m p l y

by their trade—are too hard to u nderstand .

V ery l ike thi s I S the conte m pt for physical weakness and

for wo m en which m ark s early society to o T h e non combat .
-

ant popu lation i s su re to fare i l l du ri ng the ages of com bat .

B u t these d e fe ct s t o o are cu red o r lessened ; wo m en have

, _ ,

now m arvel lo us means of winning thei r way i n the world and

m ind wi tho u t m u s_p l_e has far g lge ateL e ce than m u scle witho ut
_

m ind T hese are som e o f the after changes i n the interior o f

.
-

nations o f whi ch the causes m u st be scrutinised and I now

, ,

m enti on them o nly to bring o ut h o w m any so fter gro wths

have no w half hidden the old a nd harsh civi lisatio n which war
-

m ade .

i t i s very d ub iou s whether the s pi ri t o f war does not

l
s t i ll colou r ou r m oral ity far too m uch M etaphors from l aw a nd
m eta phors from war m ak e m ost of our c u rrent m oral phrases
.

a i d a n ice exam i nation wou l d easi ly ex plai n that both rather

vi ti ate what both often i l l ustrate The — m i l i ta r y h abi t m ak es
.

D L d e fi n i t e acti on and far too l ittl e ,

of b ro od i n gi n e d i tat i o n . cam p a i gn but an ,

i rregu lar wo rk and the m ai n fo rces i n i t are no t over t r e

,

so luti o ns bu t latent a nd ha l f i nvo l untary prom ptings The

,
-
.

m istak e o f m i li tary ethics I s to e xa gge ra t e the co ncepti o n o f “

d i sci pl i ne and s o to p resent t h e m o ral fo rce o f the wi l l i n a

,
‘

barer fo rm than i t ever ought to tak e M i litary m o rals ca n .

d irect the axe to cu t d own the tree bu t i t kn ows n othi ng o f ,

the quiet force by which the fo rest gro ws .

What has been sai d i s eno ugh I ho pe to bring ou t that , ,

there are m any qu al ities and m any i nstituti o ns of the m o st

vari ou s sort which give nati o ns a n advan t age i n m i litary c o m
petitio n that m o st o f these and m ost warli k e qu al ities tend
pri nci pal ly to good ; that the co nstant wi n ning o f these
favoured co m petito rs i s the particu lar m ode by which the
best qua l ities wanted i n elementary civi l i s ati o n are p ro pagated
and pre s erved .
 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS 53

No . III .

N ATI ON - M A K ING .

I n the l ast essay I endeavou red to show that i n the early

age o f m an — the fighting age I cal led i t — there was a co n
“

s i d e ra b l e though not certai n tendency towards progress

, , Th e .

be s t nati ons co nquered the wor s t ; by the po ssessi o n o f o n e

advantage or an o ther th e best c o m petitor overcame the i nferi o r
com petito r S o l ong a s there was co nti nual fighti ng there
.

was a likel iho od o f i m provem en t i n m artial virtu es a n d i n ,

early ti mes m any virtu es are real ly m artial — that i s tend ,

to success i n war — which i n l ater ti m es we d o n o t thi nk o f so

cal l ing becau se the o rigi na l usefu l ness is hi d by thei r la ter
,

usefu l ness We j udge of them by the p resent e ffec t s n ot by

.
,

their fi rst Th e l ove o f l aw fo r exam pl e i s a vi rtu e which

.
, ,

no one n ow wou l d cal l martial yet in early ti m es it di sci p l i ned

,

nations and the discipl ined nati o ns won

,
Th e gi ft o f co n .

s e rv at i v e innovati o n —the gi ft of m a tchi ng new insti tutio ns

to o l d— i s n ot nowadays a warl i ke vi rtue yet the Ro mans ,

owed much o f their success to i t A l one a m o ng a nci ent .

natio n s they had the deference to u sage which co m bi nes

nati o ns and the parti al perm issi o n of sel ected change which
,

i mproves nati on s ; and therefore they succeeded Just so i n .

m ost cases al l thro ugh the earl iest tim es m artial m eri t i s a
, ,

token o f real m erit : the nati o n that wi ns i s the nati o n that

ought to win T h e si m ple vi rtu es o f such ages m o stly make
.

a m an a soldier i f they m ake hi m anything N o d o ubt the .

brute fo rce of nu mber m ay be too potent even then (as s o o ften

it is afterwards) : c ivi lisatio n m ay be throw n back by the
conqu est o f m any very rud e m en over a few l ess rude m en .

But the fi rst el ements of civi l isatio n are great m i litary a d va n

tages an d roughly i t i s a rul e of the first ti mes that you can
, , ,

infer merit from conqu est and that progress i s prom oted by
,

examination of constant war .

e explai ns at once why the protec ted regi on s

of conti nents l ike A frica ou tlying ,

necessi ty
54 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS

fi ack w a r d . are stil l in the preparatory school ; they

T hey
h ave not been tak en o n class by class as N o I I being a l ittle , . .
,

better rou ted and e ffaced N o I and as N o I I I bei ng a

,
. . . .
,

li ttl e better stil l rou ted and effaced N o I I A nd i t exp l ai ns

, . .

[
why Western E urope was ear l y i n advance of other cou ntries ,

because there the contest of races was excee d i ngl y severe .

U nlik e most regions i t was a tem pti ng part of the world and
, ,

yet not a corru pting part ; those who d id not possess i t wanted
it and those who had i t not being enervated c oul d strugg l e
, , ,

hard to keep i t (Til e con flict of nati ons i s at fi rst a m ai n

.
~

force in the i mprovement of n a t i o n sif}

B um ba t az gp a t i o n s ? What aTe these groups which are
so fam il iar to u s and yet i f we stop to thi nk s o strange ;whi c h
, , ,

are as o ld a s history ; which H erodotu s fou nd i n al m ost as

great n u m bers and with qui te as mark ed di stinctio ns as we s e e
them now ? What break s the h um a n race u p into fragments
so u nl i ke o ne ano ther and yet each i n its i nteri o r s o m o no to n
,

o us ? Th e questi o n i s m ost pu z z l ing though the fact is s o ,

fam i l iar and I wou ld no t ventu re to say that I can answer it

,

c om pl etely th ough I can advance som e consi derations which

, ,

as it seems to m e go a certai n way towards answeri ng i t

, .

P erh aps these sam e consi derati ons th row som e light too o n , ,

the fu rther and sti ll m ore i nteresting qu esti on why som e few
nation s progress and why the greater pa rt do not
,
.

O f cou rse a t first all such di sti nctions of nati o n an d nati on

were ex pl ained by original d iversity of race T h ey a r e di s .

sim i lar i t was said b e c ause they were created dissi m ilar B u t
, ,
.

i n m ost cases this easy su pposition wi l l n ot d o its work Y o u .

cannot (consistently with plai n facts) i magine e n ough origi n al

races to m ak e i t tenabl e S om e half do z en or m ore great
.
-

fam ili es of m en may or m ay not have bee n descended from

separate fi rst stock s bu t sub va ri eties have certainly not so
,
-

d esc e n ded Y o u may argu e rightly or wrongly that a l l

.
, ,

A ryan nations are of a si ngle or pecu li ar origin j u st as i t was ,

l ong be l ieved that al l Gre ek speak ing n ations were o f o ne su ch

-

stock . B u t you wi l l not be l istened to i f you say that there

were on e A dam and E v e for S parta and another A dam an d ,

E ve fo r A thens A l l Greek s are evidently of one origin bu t

.
,
 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI C S 55

withi n the l im i ts of th e Greek family as of al l other fami lies , ,

there is some contrast mak i ng force which causes city to be -

u nlik e ci ty and tri b e u nlik e tribe

,
.

Certainly too nati ons di d not originate by si m pl e natural

, ,

sel ection as wi ld vari eties o f ani mal s (I do not speak now of

,

species) no doubt arise i n natu re N atural selection m e an s t h e . i

preservati on of those individual s which struggl e best with the

forces that oppose thei r race B u t you cou l d not show that .

the natu ral obstacl es opposing human l ife m uch differed

between S parta and A thens or i ndeed between Rom e ,

and A thens ; and yet S partans A theni ans and Rom ans , ,

di ffer essential ly O l d writers fancied (and i t was a ve ry

.

n atu ral idea) that the direct effect of cl imate or rather of land , ,

sea and ai r and th e su m total of physi cal conditi o n s varied

, ,

man from m an and changed race to race B u t experience

,
.

refutes this Th e E ngl ish im migrant lives i n the sa m e c l imate

.

as the A u strali an or T asm anian but he has not becom e lik e ,

those races nor wil l a thou sand years in m ost respects mak e , ,

him like them T h e P apuan and the Malay as M r Wal lace

.
, .

fi nds l ive n ow and have l ived for ages side by si de in th e

, , ,

same tropical regions wi th eve ry sort o f diversity E ven i n

, .

an imal s his researches show as by an obj ect lesson that the ,

-
,

”
di rect e ffi cacy of physical conditi ons i s overrated B orneo .
,

he says ,
cl osely resembles N ew Gu inea not only i n its vast
“
,

si z e and freedom from volcan oes bu t i n its variety of geol ogical ,

structu re i ts u ni formity of cl im ate and the general aspect of

, ,

the forest vegetation that clothes its su rface Th e M ol uccas .

are the counterpart o f th e P hi lippi nes i n their vol can ic

structure their extrem e fertility their lu xu riant forests
, , ,

and their fre q uent earthquak es ; and Bal i with the east end ,

of Java has a cli mate al most as arid as that o f T i mor Ye t

, .

between these corresponding grou ps o f islands constructed a s , ,

i t were after the sam e pattern su bj ected to the sam e cl im ate

, , ,

and bathed by the sam e oceans there exi sts the greatest ,

possible contrast when we com pare thei r animal productions

, .

N owhere does t he anci ent doctri ne —that di fferences or sim i l

a ri t i e s i n the various forms of li fe that i nhabi t di fferent
countries ar e due to correspo nding physical di fferences or
 56 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS

si m i l ari ties i n the cou ntries them selves — m eet with so di rect
and pa l pable a c ontradiction B orneo and N ew Guinea .
,

as al i ke physical ly as two distinct cou ntries can be are z oologi ,

cal ly as w ide as the pol es asunder ; whi le A u stral i a with i ts ,

d ry wi nds its O pen pl ains its stony deserts and i ts tem per
, ,

ate cli mate yet produces bird s and quadrup eds which are
,

c losely rel ated to those i nhabiting the ho t dam p luxu riant , ,

fo rests which everywhere clothe the plai ns and m ountai ns of

”
N ew Gu inea T hat i s we have li ke l ivi ng things i n the most
.
,

d issimi lar situations and unl ike l ivi ng things i n the m ost
,

sim ilar o nes A n d though som e of M r Wall ace s specu lati ons
. .
’

on ethno l ogy may be doubtfu l n o one doubts that i n th e ,

a rchi pelago he h as studied so wel l as often el sewhere i n the ,

world though rarely with such ma rk ed em phasis we find l ik e

, ,

m en i n contrasted places and u nl ike m en i n resem bl ing places , .

C l i mate i s cl early no t fir e fo rce which makes nati ons fo r i t does ,

n ot a l ways m ak e them and they are often made without i t ,

.

Th e r o b l e m__p f nati on mak i ng — that is the explanation

_
-
,

o f the origin of n ati ons Euch as we now s e e them an d such as ,

i n historical tim es they have al ways b een Q a nn o t a s i t seem s -

,

to me be solved withou t separating i t i nto two : one th e

, ,

m ak ing of broadly m arked rac es such a s the negro or the , ,

red man o r th e E uro pean ; and the second tha t of m ak i ng

, ,

the mi no r distinctions such as the di stincti on between S partan

?
,

and A th e n i afi o r between S cotchman and E ngl i shman .

N ations as we see them a re (i f my a rgu ments prove tru e) the

, ,

pro duce of two great forces : o ne the race m ak i ng force -

which whatever it was acted i n antiqu ity an d ha s n ow who l ly

, , , ,

or al m ost given over acting and the o ther the nati o n —

,
making
force properly s o cal led which i s actin g n ow a s m uch a s it
, ,

ever acted and creati ng a s m uch a s it ever created

,
.

T h e stro ngest light o n the great cau ses wh ich have fo rmed
and are fo rm ing nati o ns i s thrown by the sm al ler causes which
a re alteri ng nati o ns T h e way i n which nati o ns change gen
.
,

e ra t i o n after generati on i s exceedi ngly curiou s and the change

, ,

occasi o nal ly ha ppens when i t i s very ha rd to acco u nt fo r .

S o mething seem s to steal over society say of the Regency ,

ti m e as co m pared with that o f the present Q ueen I f we read .

 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI C S 57

o f l i fe at Windsor (at the cottage now pu l led down ) or o f ,

Bo nd S treet as it was i n the days of the L o ungers (an extinct

race ) o r o f S t James s S treet a s i t w a s when M r F o x and hi s
, .
’
.

”
party tried to m ak e po l itical ca pi tal out o f the di ssi patio n o f
“

a n heir apparent we seem to be readi ng no t o f the places we

,

k now s o wel l but o f very distant a nd u nlike l ocalities O r let

, .

any on e thi nk how l ittle i s the externa l change i n E ngland b e

tween the age o f E lizabeth and the age o f A n ne co m pared with
the national change H ow few were the alteration s i n phy s ical
.

co nditi o n how few (if any ) the sci entific i nventio ns affecting
,

hu m an l ife which the later period po ssessed but the earlier did ,

n o t " H ow hard i t i s to say what has cau sed the change i n the
peopl e " A n d yet how total i s the contrast at l east at first sight ,

I n passing fro m Baco n to A ddi son fr o m Sh ak e s p e a r e to P ope ,

=
,

we seem to pass i nto a n ew wo rld .

I n the first o f these essays I spo k e o f the m ode in

the literary change happens an d I recu r to it becaus e lite, ,

being narrower and m o re d efinite than li fe a change in the l ess ,

serves as a m odel an d i llustration o f the change i n the greater .

_

S om e writer as was explained n ot necessari ly a very excel l ent

, ,

writer o r a remem bered o ne hit o n so m ething which suited the

,

public taste he went o n w riting and others i m itated hi m and , ,

they so accu stom ed thei r readers to that styl e that they wou ld
bear nothing else T ho se readers who did n o t l ik e i t were
.

driven to the works o f other ages and other c ountri es — had to ,

”
despise the trash o f the day as they wou ld cal l i t Th e age ,
.

o f A nn e patro ni sed S teele the beginn er o f the essay and

, ,

A ddi so n its perfecter and it neglected wri tings in a who lly

,

d isco rdant key I have heard that the founder o f the Ti m es

.

was asked how al l the articles in the Ti m es came to seem

to be wri tten by one m an and that he repl ied ,
there i s
al ways som e o ne best contribu tor and al l th e re s t c o py } A n d , .

this i s doubtless the true account o f th e m anner i n which a

n trade m ark a cu ri ou s and i n d e fi n a b l e u nity settles o n
, ,

newspaper P erhaps it wo u ld be po ssibl e to nam e the

.

m en who a few years since created the S a tu r d ay R ev i ew

style now i m itated by ano ther and a younger race B ut when
, .

the style o f a peri odical i s o nce fo rm ed th e continuan ce o f i t ,

 58 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS

is preserved by a m uch m o re despotic i mpu lse than the tendency

to i m itati o n — b y the sel f interest o f the edi to r who acts as
,
-
,

t r u s tee i f I m ay s ay so for the subscribers

, ,
T h e regu lar buyer s .

o f a peri o di cal want to read what they have been u sed to read
— the same so rt of thought th e same so rt o f wo rd s Th e , .

editor sees that they get that so rt H e selects the sui table the .
,

co nfo rm ing articles and he rejects the no n co nform ing fi h at

,
-
.

the editor does i n the case o f a peri odical the readers do in the ,

case o f literatu r e i n general They patro nise o ne thing and .

rej ect the res t)

.

O f course there was always so m e reaso n (i f we o n ly co u ld

fi n d it) which gave the pro m in ence i n each age to so m e parti
cu l a r win n ing l iterature There always i s so m e reaso n why
.

the fashi on o f fem ale dres s i s what it i s B ut j u st a s i n the .

case o f dress we k n o w that n o w a days the determ inin g ca use

\
‘

i s very m uch o f an a cc i d e n t so i n the case o f l iterary fashio n

, _ ,

the o rigi n i s a go o d deal o f a n accide n)t What the m i l l iners

o f Pari s o r the d em i m on d e o f Paris enj o i n o u r E ngl ish ladies
,
-
, ,

i s (I supp ose) a goo d deal chan ce but as soo n as it i s decreed ,

those who m it su its an d those whom it does n ot al l wear it .

Th e i m itative propensity at o n ce en sures un i fo rm ity ; an d that “

horri d thing we wore l ast year (a s the phrase m ay go ) i s soo n

n owhere to be seen J ust so a l iterary fashi on s preads though
.
,

J a m far fro m saying with equal pri m itive u nreaso nabl enes s
a l iterary taste a l ways begin s o n som e decent reaso n b ut on ce ,

started i t i s propagated as a fashi o n i n dress i s propagated ;

,

even tho se who do n ot l ike it read it beca use it i s there an d ,

becau se n othi ng else i s easily to be fo u n d .

r Th e sam e patro nage o f favo ured fo rm s an d persecuti o n o f

"

ld i s l i k e d fo rm s are the m ai n causes too I believe which change

, , ,

n ati o nal character S o m e o ne attractive type catches the eye

.
,

M o speak o f the nati o n o r a part o f the nation as servants

, , ,

catch the gait o f their m a sters o r as m obil e girls c om e ho m e ,

speak ing the special wo rds and acting the l ittle gestures o f each
fa m i ly who m they m ay have been vi siting n ot k n o w i f .

m any o f m y reader s happen to have read r N ewm an s ’

celebrated ser mo n P erso nal I nfluence the Mean s o f P r 0 p ag a t

,
“

i ng the T rut h ” ) i f n ot I stro ngly reco m m en d them to do so

,
.
 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS 59

They wi l l there s e e the opi nion o f a great practical leader of

m en o f one who has led very m any where they l ittle thought
,

o f go ing as to the m ode i n whi ch they are to be l ed

,
and what
he says put shortly and si m ply an d taken o ut o f his delicate
, ,

language i s b ut this— that m e n

,

ar u m ent that som e win n ing instance m u st be set up before

them o r the serm on wi l l be vai n an d the doctri ne wi l l n o t
, ,

spread . I do n o t want to i l l ustrate this m atter fro m religio u s

history for I sho u ld be led far from m purpose and after al l
, ,

I can b ut tea c h the co m m onplace t h a i p i s the li fe of teachers

which is ca tc/z i ng n ot thei r tenets A n d again i n p ol itica l
‘

, ,

m atters how qu ickly a leadi ng statesm an c a n change the tone

,

of the co m m u nity " We are m ost o f u s earnest with M r .

Gladstone ; we were m ost o f us n ot s o earnest i n the tim e o f

Lo rd Pal m ersto n Th e change i s what every one feels though
.
,

no one ca n define it E ach predo m i nant m in d cal l s out a c o r

.

responding senti m ent i n the cou ntry : m ost feel it a l ittle .

T ho se who feel i t m u ch express i t m uch ; th ose who feel it

excessively express it excessively ; tho se who dissent are si lent
or u nheard .

A fter such great m atters as rel igi o n and pol itics i t m ay ,

seem tri fling to i l lustrate the subj ect fro m i l e bo y s But it m /

.

i s n ot tri fling The bane o f phi l o sophy i s pom posity : peopl e

.

wi l l not s e e that sm al l things a re the eg er W ,

and it seem s a l oss of abstract dignity to freshen thei r m ind s

by obj ect l essons fro m what t hey know B ut every boa rding .

school changes as a natio n changes M ost o f u s m ay rem em .

‘
ber think ing H ow o dd it i s that this hal f shou ld be so
,
“ ’

‘ ’
u n like last hal f : n o w we never go out o f bounds l ast hal f ,

we were always go ing fi gyv we play ro un ders then we played ,

” ’
s base and so through al l the easy l i fe of that tim e
) .

som e Yfi l i n g spirits som e one o r two ascendant boys

, ,

o ne or two others had co m e an d s o al l was changed .

re changed and the copies changed a di fferent

,

thi ng was prai sed a nd a di fferent thing bu l lied A cu riou s

, .

case of the same tendency was n oticed to m e only l ately A .

friend o f mine— a Liberal C onservative— addressed a m eeting

of working men at Leeds and was m uch pleased at finding ,
 60 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS

his characteri sti c and perhaps refi ned poi nts bo th apprehended
, ,
”
an d applauded But then as he na rrated
.
“
up rose a, ,
“

blatant Radical wh o said the very opposite thi ngs and the ,

work i ng m en cheered h i m too a nd quite equ al ly H e was , .

pu zzl ed to accou nt for so rapid a change B u t the mass o f .

the m eeting wa s n o d oubt n early neutral and i f s e t go ing , , ,

quite ready to appla ud any go o d wo rds withou t m uch thin king .

T h e ri ngleaders changed Th e radical ta i l o r started the radi

.

cal cheer the m ore m oderate shoemak er started the m oderate

cheer and the great bu l k fol l owed su it O nly a few in each .

cas e were s ilent and an abso l u te contrast w as i n ten m i nutes

,

presented by the sam e el ements .

truth i s that the propensity o f man to i m itate what

him i s o ne o f the strongest parts o f hi s nature A n d .

o n e sign o f it i s the great pai n which we feel when our i mi ta

tio n has been u nsuccessfu l There i s a cyni cal doctri n e that
.

m ost m en wou l d r ather be accused o f wickedness than o f

<g a u ck e r i e
'
A
. n d this i s bu t ano ther way o f sayi ng that the
bad copying o f predom i nant manners i s fel t to be m o re o f a
disgrace th an co m m on c o n sideratio n wou l d account fo r i t s
bei ng since g a u ch er i e i n al l but extravagant cases i s n ot an
, <

offence against rel igi on o r m o ra ls but is si m ply bad i m ita ,

ti o n .

We m u st n ot thi nk that thi s i mitatio n i s vo l untary or even ,

ic o n s ci ou s O n the contrary i t has its seat m ainl y i n very

.
,

ObS Cu r e parts o f the m ind whose notio ns s o far from having

, ,

been co nsciously prod uced are hardly felt to exist ; s o far ,

fro m b ei ng co n ceived befo rehand are no t eve n felt at the ,

ti m e Th e m ain seat o f the i m itative part of our nature i s

.

ou r bel ief an d the cau ses p redisposing u s to believe this o r

, ,

disincli ning u s to bel ieve that a re am o ng the obscu rest pa rts ,

of ou r natu re But as to the i m itative n ature o f credu lity

.

there can be no doubt I n E at/z en there is a capital de

.

scripti on of ho w every so rt o f E u ropean resid ent i n the E ast ,

”
even the shrewd m erchant and the post captain with hi s “ -
,

bright wakeful eyes o f com m erce co mes soo n to bel ieve i n

, ,

w itchcraft and to assure you i n co nfidenc e that there real ly

, , ,
“

”
i s so mething i n it H e has n ever seen anything convi nci ng
.
 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS 61

hi msel f but he has seen those wh o have seen those who have
,

seen those who have seen I n fact h e h a s l ived in _an a t

.
,

m o s p he r e of infecti ou s bel i ef and he has i nhal ed it Q pa r ce ly

,
.

a ny one can help yielding to the cu rrent i nfatu ations o f h i s

sect or p a r tfi Fo r a short ti me— s ay som e fortnight — he i s
—
resol ute ; h e argues an d obj ects ; but day by d ay the poi son , ,

thrives and reason wanes Wha t he hears from hi s friends

, .
,

what he reads in the p arty organ pro duces i ts effect Th e ,

.

plain palpable co nclu sio n w hich every one around hi m b e

,

li e ve s h a s an i nfluence yet greater and m ore subtle ; that

,

conclusio n seems s o so li d and unm istakable good

arguments get dai ly m o re and more l ik e S oo n the
gravest sage shares the fo lly of the party with which he acts ,

and the sect wi th which he worships .

I n true m etaphysics I bel ieve that contrar y to com mo n ,

opi n ion u nbel ief far o ftener needs a reason and requ ires an
,

effort than belief N atural ly and i f m a n were made according

.
,

t o the pattern of the logicians he wo u ld s ay When I s e e

, ,
“

a vali d argument I wi l l believe an d ti l l I s e e such argument

,

I wil l not believe B ut i n fact every idea vividly before ITS

, ,
“

soo n appears to u s to be true u n less we keep u p o ur per ,

ce p t i o n s of the arguments which prove i t u ntrue and vol u m ,

ta r i l y coerce o ur mi nds to remember its falsehood All .

“

”
clear ideas are true w a s fo r ages a phi l osophical maxim and
, ,

though n o maxim ca n be m o re u nsound n o ne ca n be m ore ,

exactly co n formable to o rdinary human nature Th e chi ld .

reso l utely accepts every idea which passes thro ugh i ts brai n a s
true it has n o distinct co nceptio n of a n idea which i s strong ,
'

bright an d permanent b ut which i s false too Th e mer e y

, , .
‘

presentation o f an idea u nl ess we are carefu l abo ut it o r l

, ,

unless there i s withi n some u n usual resistance makes u s , ,

bel ieve it an d this i s why the bel ief of others adds to ou r .

belief s o q uick ly for n o ideas seem s o very clear as those

,

i ncu lcated o n u s fro m every side .

Th e grave part o f mank ind are quite a s l iable to these

i mitated beliefs as the frivol ou s part Th e belief of the money .

market which i s mainly composed o f grave people i s as

, ,

imitative a s any bel ief Y o u wi l l find o ne day every one enter

.
 62 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI C S

p ri s m g ,
enthusiasti c vigoro us eager to b uy an d eager to o rder
, , ,

i n a week or s o yo u wi l l fi nd a lmost the whole society de

pressed anxio us and wanti ng to sel l
, I f yo u exam i ne the
, .

reasons for the activity or for the i nactivity o r for the change , , ,

you wi l l hardly be abl e to trace them at al l an d a s far a s yo u ,

ca n trace them they are of l ittle force I n fact these opin ions
, .
,

were n ot fo rmed by reaso n b ut by mim icry S o mething hap , .

pened that l ooked a l ittle go od o n which eager sangui ne men ,

tal ked l o udly a nd com mo n people caught their ton e A l ittle

, .

whi l e afterwards and when peop l e were tired o f tal k ing this
, ,

s omething al so happened l ook ing a l ittl e bad on which the ,

dismal a n xi o u s people began and al l the rest fo l l owed their

, ,

words A n d i n both cases a n avowed dissentient i s s e t down

.

” ”
as
“
crotchety I f yo u want said S wift “
to gain the , ,
“

reputatio n of a sensibl e man yo u sho u ld be o f the opin i o n o f ,

”
the person with who m fo r the time bei ng yo u are co nversing .

T here i s m uch qu iet i ntel lectual persecutio n among reaso n “

”
abl e men ; a ca uti o us pers o n hesitates before he te l l s them
anything n ew fo r i f he gets a name fo r such things he wi l l be
,
”
cal led fli g h ty and i n times o f decisio n he wi l l n ot be
,

attended to .

this way the i nfecti o n of i mi tatio n c atches m en in thei r

i nward and intel lectual part — thei r c reed B u t it a l so .

m des men— by the m ost bodi ly part of the m i nd—s o to

speak — the l i nk between sou l and b ody— the m anner No .

o ne needs to have thi s expl ained we a ll k now how a k i nd of

subtle influenc e mak es us i m itate or try to i m itate the m anner
o f those around u s T o conform to the fashion of Rome .

whatever the fashi on m ay be and whatever R om e we m ay for ,

the tim e be at— i s am ong the most obvi ou s needs of hu man

n atu re But what is not s o obvi ous though as certain i s that
.
, ,

the i nflu ence o f the i m i tation goes deep a s wel l as extends

”
wide . Th e m atter
“
as Wordsworth says of style very
, ,
”
m uch c o m es ou t o f the manner I f you wi l l endeavou r to .

write an i m itation of the thoughts of S wi ft in a copy of the

styl e of A ddison you wi ll find that not o n ly i s it hard to wri te
,

A ddison s sty l e fro m i ts intri nsic excellence bu t al s o that the

’

, ,

m ore you approach to i t the m ore you l ose the thought o f

 PHYSI C S AN D POLI TI CS 63

S wi ft . Th e
eager p assion of the m eaning beats u pon the m ild
d rapery of the w ords S o you cou ld not express the plai n
.

thoughts of an E nglishman i n the grand m anner of a S pani ard .

I nsensib ly and as by a sort of magic the k ind of mann e

, ,

a m an catches eats i nto him and mak es him i n the en ,

at first he only seem s .

T hi s i s the principal m ode in which the greatest minds o f

an ag e produce their effect T hey set the tone which others
.

take and the fashi on which others u se T here i s an o dd id ea

,
.

”
th at those who take what is cal led a scientific view of
hi s tory need rate lightly th e influence of i ndivi du al character .

I t wou ld be as reasonable to say that those who take a s ci e n

t i fic vi ew of n ature need think l i ttl e of the i nfluence of the s u n .

O n the scientific view a great m an is a great new cau se (com

pounded or not ou t of other causes for I d o not here or , ,

el sewhere i n these papers raise the question of freewi ll ) bu t

, , ,

anyhow new i n al l its effects and al l its resu lts G reat m odels
, ,
.

for good and evi l som eti m es appear among m en wh o fo l low ,

them either to i m provement or degradati on .

I am I k now very long and tediou s i n setting ou t this ;

, ,

but I want to bri ng hom e to others wh at every new observa

tion of soci ety bri ngs m ore and more freshly to mysel f— that
@ i s unconsci ou s i mitati o n and encouragem ent of appreciated
character and this equ al ly unconsciou s shrink i n g from and
,

persecution of disliked character is th e mai n force which m oulds

,

and fashio ns m en in society as we no w s e e i t S oon I shal l .

try to Show that the m o re ack nowl edged cau ses su ch a s change ,

of cli mate alterati on of political i nsti tutions progress o f science

, , ,

act principally through thi s cause ; that they change the obj ect
of imitati on and the obj ect of avo idance and s o work thei r ,

effect B ut first I must speak of the origi n o f nations — o f

.

nation m ak ing as one m ay cal l i t— the prop er s ubj ect of this

-

pape n
Th e process of natio n mak i ng i s one of which we have o b
-

v i o u s exam ples i n the m o st recent ti m es and which i s goi ng ,

o n now . e m ost si m pl e exam pl e i s the foundation o f the

first State of A m erica s ay N ew E ngland which h a s such a
, ,

m arked and such a deep n ati dn z l character A great nu m ber .

 64 P H YSI C S AN D POLI TI C S

o f perso ns agreei ng i n fu n d a m e n ta l dispo sitio n agreei ng i n

z
,

religi on agreei ng i n pol itics form a separate settl em ent ; they

, ,

exaggerate their own d ispositio n teach thei r own creed s e t , ,

u p thei r favo urite govern ment ; they disco u rage a l l o th e r c_l is __

positio ns persecu te o t hp rj gel iefs forbid other forms or hab its

-
, ,

OT EOx ieI n m e n t
fl g

O f co u rse a nati o n s o m ade w it

. aye a m

separate stam p and m ark Th e origi na l settlers began of o ne .

typ e ; they s edu lously i m itated it ; and (tho ugh other cau ses
have i ntervened and disturbed it) the necessary o perati on o f
the pri nci ples o f i nheri tance h a s transm itted m any origi na l
traits stil l u naltered a nd h a s l eft a n entire N ew E ngl and char
,

acter— i n no respect unaffected by i ts fi rst chara cter .

T his case is wel l k no wn b ut it i s not s o that the sam e ,

process i n a weak er shape i s going on i n A m erica n ow

, , .

COn g e n i a l i t y o f senti m en t i s a reaso n o f selection an d a bond

h

”
of co hesi on i n the West a t presen t C om petent obse rvers
“
.

s a y that to wnships grow u p there by each pl ace tak ing i t s own

religion i ts o wn m an ners and i ts own ways T hose who have

, , .

Tlfias e m oral s an d that religio n go to that pl ace a nd stay there ,

and those who have n ot these m o ral s a n d that religio n either

settle els ewhere at first or soo n pass on T h e days of col on i, .

”
sati o n by s udden swarms o f l ike creed i s alm o st over but
“
,

a l ess visible pro cess of attracti on by si m i lar faith over sim i lar
i s stil l i n vigo u r and very l ikely to co ntin ue
,
.

A n d i n cases where this p ri nci p l e does not o perate a l l new

”
settlem ents being form ed of emigrants a re sure to be co m
, ,

posed o f rather restless p eople mainly Th e stay a t ho m e ,

.
- -

people are no t to be fou nd there and these are the quiet easy , ,

peo ple A new settlem ent vo lu ntari ly form ed (fo r o f o ld

.

ti m es when peopl e were expell ed by terror I am not sp eaking )

, ,

i s su re to have i n i t m u ch m ore than the ordinary p roportio n

o f a ctive m en an d m u ch less than the ordinary proportion o f
,

i nactive ; and this accou nts for a large part thou gh not perhaps ,

a l l of the di fference between the E ngl ish in E ngland and the

, ,

E ngl ish i n A ustral ia .

T h e cau ses which formed N ew E ngland i n recent ti m es

c annot be conceived as acti ng m uch u pon mankind i n thei r
i nfancy S ociety i s not then formed upo n a
. vol u ntary “
 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS 65

system b ut u pon an i nvol u ntary A m an in ear l y ages is .

born to a certai n obedience and cannot extricate himsel f ,

an inherited government S ociety then is m ade u p .

,

individuals but of fam i li es creeds then descend by i nh

,

i n those fami li es L ord Melbou rne once i ncu rred the r i d i c u l e l

.

o f phi losophers by saying he should adhere to th e E ngl ish

C hu rch beca u s e it was the rel igion of his fathers Th e phil o .

’ ’
sophers of cou rse said that a m an s fathers b eli eving anythi n g
, ,

was no reaso n for hi s bel ieving it u nless i t was tru e B u t .

L ord M elbourn e was only u ttering out of season and i n a ,

m odern ti m e one o f the m ost fi rm and accepted maxim s o f

,

old times A secessi on on religious grou nds of isol ated Romans

.

to sai l beyond sea wou ld h ave seemed to the anci ent Romans
an impossibili ty I n sti l l ruder ages the religio n o f savages i s
.

a thing too feebl e to create a schism o r to fou nd a comm u ni ty

‘

We are deal ing with p eo pl e capabl e of hi sto ry when we speak

of great ideas not with prehistoric fli n t men o r the p resen t
,
-

savages Bu t though u nder v ery different forms th e sam e

.
,

essenti al cau ses — the i m itation of preferred characters and the

elimi nati o n of detested characters — were at work i n the old est
times and are at work am ong rude men now S trong as the
, .

propensity to i mi tati on i s among civili sed men we mu st con ,

ce i v e i t as an impulse of which their minds h ave been parti al ly

denuded L ike the far seei ng sight the infallibl e heari ng th e

.
-
, ,

m agical scent of the savage it is a half lost power I t was ,

- .

strongest i n ancient ti m es and i s strongest i n u nciv i l ised

,

regions .

T hi s extreme propensity to i mitati on is one great reaso n

of the ama z ing sameness which every observer n otices i n savage
nations When you have seen one F uegian you have s een
.
,

al l F uegi ans— o ne T asmanian al l Tasmani ans Th e higher , .

savages as the N ew Z eal anders are l ess u nifor m they have

, ,

more o f the varied and co m pact structure of c ivi li sed nations ,

b ecause i n other respects they are m ore civi l ised T hey have .

greater m ental capaci ty— larger stores of i nward though t .

B u t m uch of the sam e monotonous natu re cl ings to them too .

av a e tribe resembles a herd of gregariou s beasts ; where

g
leader goes they go too ; they copy bl indly h i s habits and ,

VO L V I I I . .
5
66 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS

thu s soon become that which he al ready i s Fo r not only the .

tendency bu t al so the p ower to i mitate i s stronger i n savages

, ,

than civi l ised men S avages copy q u icker an d they copy

.
,

better C hildren i n the same way are bo rn mim ics ; they

.
, ,

ca nn ot hel p im itati ng what comes befo re them T here i s .

n othing i n their m inds to resist the p ropen sity to cop y E very .

ed ucated ma n h a s a large i nward supply o f i deas to which

he can retire a nd i n which he ca n es c ape from o r al leviate u n
,

pleasant o utward o bj e c ts B ut a savage o r a chil d has n o

.

reso urce Th e external m ovements befo re i t are its very l ife ;

.

i t l ives by what it sees an d hears U n educated people i n .

civi lised n atio ns have vestiges o f the same co nditio n I f yo u .

sen d a ho u semaid an d a phi l osopher to a foreign co u ntry o f

which n either kn ows the language the chances are that the ,

housemaid wi l l catch i t befo re the phi lo sopher H e h a s some .

thing else to d o ; he can l ive in h i s own tho ughts B ut un less .

s h e ca n im itate the utterances s h e i s l ost ; s h e has n o l ife ti l l

,

s h e ca n j oin i n the chatter o f the k itchen

( Th e propensity to .

m imicry an d the power of m imicry are m o stly stro ngest i n

, ,

‘
those who have least abstract min di : Th e most wo nderfu l
exam ples o f i mitatio n i n the wo rld are perhaps the im itatio n s
o f civi l ised men by savages i n the u s e o f martia l weapo n s .

T hey l earn the k n a ck a s sportsmen cal l it with i nco n ceivable

, ,

rapidity A N o rth A m erican I n dian — a n A u stral ian even

.

can shoot as wel l a s any white man H ere the m o tive i s at its .

m ax im um as wel l a s the i n nate power E very savage cares

,
.

m ore fo r the power o f k il l ing tha n for any other power .

he persecuting tendency of al l savages and indeed o f al l , , ,

ign oran t peopl e i s even m o re striki ng than their imitative

,

tendency N o barbarian ca n bear to s e e one o f his natio n

.

fro m the o ld barbaro u s customs a nd u sages o f thei r

tribe. V ery co mm o n ly al l the tribe wou ld expect a pun ish
m ent fro m the gods i f any o ne o f them refrai n ed fro m what
was o l d o r began what was n ew I n m o dern times and i n
,
.

cu ltivated co u ntrie s we regard each perso n a s respo n sible on ly

fo r his o wn actio n s an d do n ot believe o r think o f believin g
,
c
, ,

that the m iscondu ct o f others can bring gu i lt on them G u il t .

to u s i s an i n divid ual tai nt c o nsequent o n choic e a n d cl eavin g

 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI C S 67

to the chooser B ut i n ear l y ages the act o f on e member of

.

the tribe i s co nceived to make all the tribe impiou s to offend ,

its pecu liar god to expose al l the tri be to penalties from heaven
, .

T here i s n o l imited liabi lity i n the po litical n otions o f that

“

time Th e early tribe o r nati o n is a religiou s partnershi p on

.
,

which a rash m ember by a sudden impiety may bri ng utter

ruin I f the state i s conceived thu s toleratio n becomes wicked
.
, .

A perm itted deviatio n from the tran smitted o rdinances becom es

simple fo l ly I t i s a sacrifice o f the happi ness o f the greatest
.

’
n umber I t is a l l owing on e individual fo r a m o ment s plea sure
.
,

or a stupid whim to bring terri ble an d irretrievable calam ity

,

upon al l N 0 one wi l l ever u nderstand even A thenia n history

.
,

who forgets this idea o f the o ld wo rld though At he n s w a s in , ,

compari son with others a ratio nal an d sceptica l pla ce ready

, ,

for new views an d free from old prej udices When the street
,
.

statues of H ermes were m utilated a l l the A then ian s were ,

frightened and furi ous ; they tho ught that they sho u ld a ll be
’
ruined beca use some one had m utilated a god s image and s o ,

o ffended him A lmost every detai l of l ife i n the classica l times

.

—the times when real history o pen s — was invested with a

rel igiou s sancti on ; a sacred ritual regu lated huma n action ;
”
whether it w a s cal led law or not m uch o f it w a s older than
“
,
”
the word law “
it wa s part of an ancient u sage co n ceived a s
emanating from a superhuman authority an d not to be trans ,

g re s se d withou t risk of pun ishment by more tha n m orta l power .

T here w a s such a s ol i d a r i te then between citizens that each

’

might be led to persecute the other fo r fear o f harm to him sel f .

I t may be said that these two tendencies o f the early wo rld

— that to persecution and that to i m itatio n — mu st conflict that
the i mitative impul se wou ld lead men to copy w h at i s new and ,

that persecuti o n by traditional habi t wou l d p revent thei r copy

i ng it B ut i n practice the two tendencies co operate T here
.
-
.

i s a stro ng te n denc y to copy the m o st com mon thing and that ,

common thing i s the o ld habit D ai ly i mitati o n is far often est j .

a conservative force for the m ost frequent mode l s are ancient

“

O f course however som ething new i s n ecessa ry for every m an

and for every nation We m
, ,

ay wi sh i f we p l ease that to
.
, ,

morrow shall be like to day but i t wi l l not be lik e it N ew

-
,
.

5
68 PHYSI C S AN D POLI TI CS

forces wi ll i m pinge u pon u s n ew wi nd new rain and the l ight , ,

of another sun ; and we m u st a lter to meet them B u t the .

persecu ting habi t and the i m itative combi ne to ensure th at the

new thing shal l be i n the old fashion it m ust be an alteration , ,

but i t sha l l contai n as l itt le of variety as p o s s i bD Th e

i m itative i m pulse tends to this bec au se me n m ost easi ly i mitate
,

what thei r m inds are best prepared for — what i s like the old , ,

yet with th e i n evitab le m in i m u m of alteration ; what throw s

them least out of the ol d path and pu zzles l ea st their m i nds
,
.

T h e doctri ne o f devel opm ent mean s this —that i n u navoidab l e ,

changes m en l ik e the n e w doctrine whi ch i s m ost o f a preserv

ative addi tio n to thei r old doctri nes Th e i m i tative and the .

persecuting ten dencies mak e al l chang e I n earl y nation s a k i nd _

o f selective conservati s m the m s ar t k eepi ng what 15 old

W m
, ,

C new bu t li k e practi c e—
r

X I IM t
- -

ddi tiOn al turret

i n the old sty l e .

I t I s this process o f addi ng su itab l e thi n gs and rej e c ti ng

di scordant thi ngs which h as raised those scenes of strange
m anners which i n every part o f the wor l d pu z z le the civi l ised
m en who com e up on the m first L ike the o l d head dress of .
-

m ou ntain vi llages they m ake t he trave ller thi nk not s o m u ch

,

whether they are good or whether they are bad as wo nder how ,

a ny one cou ld have com e to thi nk of them ; to regard them

”
a s monstrosi ties which only so m e wild abnorm al i ntellect
“
,

cou ld have hit u pon A n d wild a nd abnorma l i ndeed wo u ld

.

be that intel lect i f it were a single on e a t al l B ut i n fa cp sxu ch .

.

m anners a ge i ng R oman l aw o r the British

C onstituti on . N 0 o ne man — n o o ne generation — cou ld have
tho ught of them —on ly a series o f generati ons trained i n the
,

habits o f the last and wanting some thing aki n to such habits ,

co u l d have devised them S avages p et their favo urite habits

.
,

s o to s ay an d preserve them a s they d o thei r favou rite a nimal s

,

ages are re q u i r e dfi j i t at l ast a n atio na l character i s formed by

the co nfluence o f co ngenia l attracti on s and accordan t detesta

ca u se he l ps
A nother I n early states o f civi l isatio n there
.

i s a g geat morta l ity of i n f

an t l i fe and thi s I s a kind o f se l ectio n
i n itsel f— the chi ld m
_ _ ,

ost fit to b e a good S partan 15 most li kely

_
 PHYSI CS A N D P OL I TI CS 69

to su rvive a Spartan childhood T he habits o f the tribe are

W
.

en forced on the Chi ld ; i f he i s abl e to catch and copy them he

lives ; i f he canno t he dies Th e imitati o n which assim ilates .

early nations conti n ues through l i fe but it begin s with su itabl e ,

form s an d acts o n picked specimens I suppose too that there .

, ,

is a k ind o f parental selectio n operating i n the same way and

probably ten ding to keep al ive the sam e i ndivid ual s T hose .

chi ldren which gratified their fathers a n d m others most wo ul d

be most tenderly treated by them an d have the best chance to ,

l ive and as a ro ugh rul e their favo urites wo u ld be the children

,

o f m ost promi se that is to s ay those who seemed m ost

“
, ,

l ikely to be a credit to the tribe according to the l eading tribal .

man ners and the ex isti ng tribal ta stes he most grati fyi ng .

chi ld wo u ld be the best l ooked after and the m ost grati fyin g ,

wou ld be the best specimen of the standard then and there

raised u p .

E v efi so I thin k there wi l l be a disi ncl inati on to attribute

,

s o marked fixed alm o st physica l a thing as nati onal character

, ,

to cau ses so evanescent as t h e imitati o n o f appreciated habit

and the persecutio n o f detested habit B ut a fter a l l national .
, ,

character is but a name fo r a co l lection o f habits more or less

u niversal A n d thi s i mitatio n and this persecutio n i n l on g
.

generation s have vast phy sical effects mi nd o f the parent .

( as we speak ) passes somehow to the o f the chi ld T h e .

”
transmitted somethin g i s mo re affected by habits than i t i s
“

by anything else I n time an i ngrai ned type i s sure to be

.

forme an d sure to be passed o n if o n ly the causes I have

specified be ful ly i n actio n a nd without impediment .

A s I have said I am not expl ai ning the origi n o f races but

, ,

o f nation s o r i f you l ike of tribes I ful ly admit that n o

, , , .

imitation of predom inant manner o r prohibiti o n s of detested ,

manners wil l o f themselves account for the broadest contrasts

,

of human nature S uch means wou ld n o m ore make a N egro

.

out of a Brahmin o r a Red man out o f an E n glishman than wash

,
-
,

ing would change the spots of a leopard or the colour o f an

E thiopian S ome more po tent ca uses m ust c o operate o r we
.
-
,

should n ot have these en orm ous diversities Th e mino r ca uses .

I deal with made Greek to differ from Greek but they did n ot ,
70 P HYSI CS A N D POLI TI CS

m ak e the Greek race We can n ot precisely mark the l imit .

,

b ut a l imit there clearly i s .

I f we l ook at the earl iest m o n u men ts o f the hu m an race ,

we find these race ch an ltp r s a s decide d as the race characters

- -

now Th e earl i est pai ntings o r scu l ptu res we anywhere have
.
,

give u s the present co ntrasts o f dissim i lar types a s strongly

as present o bservati on Wi thin hi sto rical m em o ry n o such .

di fferences have been created as those betw e en N egro and

G reek between Papu an and Red I ndian b etween E squ im au x
, ,

an d G oth (We start with cardi n al diversi ties ; we trace o nly

.

m i nor m odificati o ns and we o n ly s e e m inor m o d i fic at i op Q

,

A n d i t i s very hard to s e e how any nu m b er o f such m o d i fi c a

tions cou ld change m an as he i s in o ne race type to m an a s he -

i s i n some oth er O f thi s there are but two explanations ;

.

on e that th e se great types were origi n al l y separate creati ons

, ,

a s they stand — that the N egro was m ade so and the Greek ,

m ade so B u t this easy hypo thesis of special creation ha s

.

‘z
b een tri ed so o ften an d h a s brok en d own so very o ften t h aff
, ,

i n n o c ase prob ably d o any great nu m ber of carefu l inquirers

, ,

very fi rm ly beli eve it T hey m ay accept it provi sional ly as .

,

th e best hypo thesis at present but they feel abou t it as they ,

c annot hel p feel ing as to an army which has always been

beaten however strong i t seem s they thi nk it wi ll b e beaten ,

agai n What the other expl an ati on i s exactly I canno t pre

.

ten d to $3 P ossibly a s yet the data for a confident o pi ni on

“

are not b efd re u s ( Bgu t by far the m ost plau sibl e suggesti o n
.
A

is that o f Mr Wal lace that these race m arks are living record s
.
,
-

o f a ti m e when the i ntel lect o f m an w a s no t as able as i t i s

no w to ad apt hi s l i fe an d habits to change o f regi on ; that
co nsequen tly early m ortal ity i n t h e first wanderers was b e
yo nd co ncepti o n great ; that o n ly those (s o to say) hap
ha z ard i nd ividuals throve who were born wi th a protected
n atu re — that i s a n ature su i ted to the cli m ate and the count r y
, ,

fitted t o u se its advantages shiel ded from its natu ral disea s es , .

A ccording to Mr Wal lace the N egro i s the rem nant of the

.
,

o ne vari ety of m a n who withou t m ore adaptiveness than then

existed cou ld l ive i n I nterior A frica I m m igrants di ed o ff ti l l .
 PHYSI CS A N D I P OLI TI CS 71

they produced hi m or som ething like him and s o of the ,

E squ i m aux or the A m erica n

— .

A n y p ro t e c fi v é h ab i t al so struck out i n such

'
'

tim e wou l d
'

w —
have a fa r g r eaferéffeEt th an i t c oul d a fte rw
n

gregariou s
tri be whose leader was i n some im itable respects adapted to
,

the struggle for li fe and which copied i ts ,

woul d hav e
an enorm ou s advantage i n the struggl e I t wou ld b e
sure to win and l ive for i t woul d be coherent and adapted , ,

whereas in compari son com peting tribes wou ld be i ncoheren t

, ,

a nd u nadapted A n d I suppose that i n early ti m es when

.
,

those bodies did not a l ready con tai n the records and the traces
of endl ess gen erations a ny n ew habi t would m o re easi ly fix ,

its mark on the heri table el ement and wou l d be transm itted ,

more easily and m ore certainly I n such a n age m an being .

,

softer and m ore pliab le d eeper race m ark s w ou ld be m ore ,

-

easi ly inscribed and woul d be m ore l ikely to conti nue legible .

B ut I have no pretence to speak on such m atters ; thi s

paper as I have s o often expla ined d eals with m m
m m
, ,

with race m aki ng I a s s -

of m ark ed
m
.

want t o show how l ess m ark ed

contrasts woul d probably and natural ly aris e in each Given .

l arge hom ogeneou s popu lati ons some N egro some Mongolian , , ,

som e A ryan I h ave tri ed to prove how smal l contrasting

,

groups w ould ce rtai nly spri ng up within each— som e to last

and som e to perish T hes e are the .

W W
which vary its surface and are sure to last ti l l some new force ,

changes the current T hese m inor vari eties too wou l d be .

, ,

i nfinitely com pou nded n o t only with those of the sam e race , ,

bu t with those of others Si nce the begi nning o f m an stream .

,

has been a thou sand_Li m e s _

sluggi sh d ark i nto p ale— and eddies and w aters have tak en
w

new shapes and new colou rs affected by what went befo ,

not resem bling it A n d then on the fresh m ass th e old

.
,

of com position a nd el im ination again b egin to a ct and ,

over the new su rface another world M otl ey was the wear .

of the world when H erodotus first l ook ed on i t and d escrib ed

it to u s and thu s as i t seem s to m e were its va rying colou rs
, , ,

produced .
 72 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS

I f it be thought that I have m ad e ou t tha t these for c es of

i m itatio n and eli m inatio n be the m ai n o n es or even at al l
m
,

m j fi m fi nat i o n o f nati onal characte r i t wi l l

'

fol l ow that the e ffect of ordinary agenci es u pon that chara c ter
wil l be m ore easy to u nderstand than i t often s eem s and i s
pu t down i n book s We get a notion that a change o f govern
.

ment o r a change of cl im ate acts equ al ly on the mass o f a

_ _

n ation a n d so are w e [TE E — a t l east I have been pu z z led

, ,

—to conceive ho w i t acts B ut such changes do not at first.

act equal ly o n al l peopl e i n the natio n O n m any for a very .

,

l ong tim e they do not act at al l B ut th ey b ri n g o u g n e w

, . ‘ fl

qual i ties and adverti se the effects of new hab its A change
—
, .

m a d é pr e s s m g t a an inv i gorati ng on e s o
"

( ,

acts E verybody feel s i t a l i ttl e but the m ost active feel it

.
,

exceedi ngly T hey l abo u r a nd p rosper and thei r prosperi ty

.
,

i nvites im itation Just so with the contrary change fro m an

.
,

ani m ating to a rel axing place — the natu ral ly l azy l oo k so ,

happy as they do n othing that the natural ly active are co r ,

r u p te d Th e effect of any co nsiderabl e change on a nati on

.

i s thu s a n i nten sifying an d accu mul ati ng effect Wi th its .

maxi m u m power i t acts o n som e prepared a n d co n genia l i n

d ivi d u al s i n them i t i s seen to p roduce attractive resu l ts and ,

then the habits creating tho se resu lts are copied far and wi d e .

A n d a s I b eli eve i t i s i n th is si m pl e bu t no t qu ite obviou s

, ,

way that the process o f p r o g e s s and of d egradati on may

,

general ly b e seen to ru n .

No . IV

N AT I O N - M A K IN G .

A ll theories a s to the prim itive m a n m u st be very u n certain .

the doctrin e o f evol uti on to be tru e m a n m ust b e ,

hel d to have a co
B ut then we do n ot k n ow what their com m on a ncesto r was
l ike . I f ever we are to have a d istinct co n cepti o n of hi m i t ,

c a n on ly be a fter l ong years of future researches and the labo ri

o u s accu m u lation o f m aterials scarcely the begin ning o f whi ch,

now exi sts B ut scien ce has al ready don e som ethin g for u s
.
.
 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS 73

not yet tel l u s o u r first an c estor but i t ca n tel l us m uch ,

ancestor very high up i n the l ine o f descent We can not .

get the least i dea (even u pon the fu l l assu mption o f the theory
of evol uti on ) of the first m an but we ca n get a very to l erabl e
idea o f the W W i f I may so say — o f m an a s ,

he exi sted som e sho rt ti m e (a s we n ow reckon shortness) som e ,

ten thou sand years before histo ry began I nvestigators whose

,
.

acu teness an d diligence can hard ly be su rpassed— S i r John

Lubbock and Mr Tylor are the chiefs among them —have.

col lected so m uch and expl ained so m uch that they have l eft
a fairly vivid resul t .

T hat resu l t is or seem s to m e to be i f I may su m i t u p i n

, ,

my own words that the modern prehistoric m en — those of

,

whom w e have collected s o m any rem a ins and to whom are ,

d ue the anci ent strange cu stoms of historical nations (the fossil

,

custom s w e m ight cal l them for very o ften they are stuck by
, ,

themselves in real civil isation and have no m ore part i n i t ,

than the fossi l s i n th e surrounding strata ) —prehistoric m en I n "

thi s sense were savages wi th out the fixed habits of savages ;

that i s that l ik e savages they had stron g passi ons and VI c5ik
, , ,
-
I
j
reason ; that l ik e savages they preferred short spasm s o f
, ,

greedy pl easu re to mi ld and equabl e enj oym ent ; that lik e ,

savages they cou ld not po stpone the present to the futu re ; that
, ,

l ik e savages thei r ingrained sense of m oral ity was to s ay th e

, ,

best of i t rudimentary and defective Bu t that u nl

, .
,

savages they had not com plex custo m s and s i

,

odd and seem ingly i nex pl icabl e ru les gui ding al l

A n d the reasons fo r these co ncl usions a s to a race too
to l eave a histo ry bu t no t too ancient to have left memorial s
, ,
‘

a re briefly these : F i rst that we canno t i m agine a s t ,

reason withou t attai nm ents ; and pl ainly prehisto ric men , ,

not attainments T hey would n ever have l ost them i f

.

had I t i s utterly incredible that whol e races of m en i n the

.

m ost distan t parts o f the world (capable o f cou nti ng for they ,

quick ly learn to count) shou ld have lost the art of cou nti ng ,

i f they had ever possessed i t I t is incredi ble that whole races

.

coul d lose the elements o f co m m on sense the elementary ,

k nowledge a s to thing s material and things m ental — the Ben

74 PH YSI CS AND POLI TI CS

j am in F rank l i n phil osophy i f they had ever known i t With

-
.

ou t som e data the reasoning facul ti es o f ma n can not work .

”
A s Lo rd B acon said the mi nd o f m an m ust ,
work u po n stuff .

A n d i n the absence of the co m mon k nowledge which trains u s

i n the el ements of reaso n as far as we are trained they had no ,

stu ff ”
.E ven therefore i f thei r passio ns were not abso lutely
"
, ,

stronger a n ou rs rel atively they were stro nger for their

“

, ,

rea son was weak er th an ou r r e as o rn A gain i t i s certain that ,

’

races o f m en capable of p o s t p o n i flg t h e present t o the future

(even i f such races were conceivable wi thout an educated reason)
would have had s o huge an advantage i n the struggles of nations ,

that no others woul d have su rviv ed them A s ing l e A u stral ia n .

tri be (real ly ca pable o f such a habit and real ly practisi ng i t) ,

wo u ld have conquered al l A u stral ia al m ost as the E ngl ish

have conqu ered it S u ppose a r ace of long headed S cotchm en
.
-
,

even as igno rant as the A u stral ians and they wou ld have got ,
’
from T o rres to Bass s S traits n o m atter how fierce was the ,

resistance o f the other A u stral i an s The whol e territory .

,

wo u ld have b een theirs and theirs o nly (31 ,

Ve cannot i magine .

i nnu merable races to h ave l ost i f they had once h ad i t the , ,

m ost u sefu l o f al l habi ts of m ind— the habi t which woul d m ost

ensure thei r victory i n the i ncessant co n t e sh vh i ch ever since ,

they began m en have carried on wi th one another and wi th

,
.

nature the habit which i n h istorical tim es h as above any o ther

, ,

received for i ts possession the Victory in those co ntests .

m ay be su re that the m orali ty o f prehistoric m an

n d as rudim entary as hi s reason Th e sam e .

sort of argu ments apply to a sel f restraining morality of a high -

type as apply to a settled p o stpon em en t o f the present t o t h e

futu re u pon grounds recomm ended by argu ment Both a re s o .

i nvolved i n d i fli cu l t i ntel lectua l id eas (and a high m oral ity th e

m ost of the two ) that it is al l bu t im possibl e to conceive thei r
existence am ong people who cou ld not count m ore than five
who had only the grossest an d sim plest forms o f langu age
who had n o k i nd of writi ng o r readi ng— who a s i t has been ,

roughly said had no pots a nd no pans

,
“ —who cou l d indeed
m ake a fi re bu t who cou ld hardly do anything else — who cou l d
,

h ardly com mand nature any fu rther E xact l y al so like a .

 P H YSI CS AN D POLI TI CS 75

shrewd far sightedness a sou nd morality on elem entary trans

-
,

actions i s far too u sefu l a gi ft to the human race ever to have

been thoroughly l ost when they had o nce attai ned it B ut Tn .

numerabl e savages have lost al l bu t com pletely many of the

m oral rules m ost conducive to tri bal wel fare T here are .

many savages who can hardly b e sai d to care fo r hu ma n li fe

who have scarcely the fami ly feel ings — who are eager
all old peopl e (thei r own parents in c l uded) as soon as th ey get
ol d and become a bu rden — who have scarcely the sense o f
truth — who probably from a constant tradition of terror wish
, ,

to conceal everything and woul d (as observe rs s ay) rather

,
“

l i e than not —whose i deas o f marriage a re s o vagu e and

slight th at the idea commu nal marriage (in wh ich al l the
,
“

wom en of the tri be are comm on to al l the men and them only) , ,

has been invented to denote it N ow i f we con sider how .

cohesive and how fortifyi ng to human societi es are the l ove o f

truth and the love of parents and a stable m arriage ti e how
, , ,

su re such feelings would be to m ake a tribe which possessed

them whol ly and soon victoriou s over tri bes whi ch were desti
tute of them we shal l begi n to comprehend how un l ik ely it i s
,

that vast masses of tribes throughout the world shou ld have

l ost al l these moral hel ps to con qu est not to speak o f others,
.

IT a ny reaso nin g i s safe as to p rehistoric man th e reaso n ing

I

which imp utes to h i m a defici ent sense of morals i s safe for al l ,

;the arguments suggested by al l ou r late researches converge

B B it and concur i n teaching it
J Pl , .

N or on thi s point does the case rest whol ly o n recent i n

ve s t i g a t i o n s any years ago M r Jowett said that the classica l
. .

religions bore relics of the ages b efore morality 3 A n d this

”

is only one of several cases i n which that great thi nk er ha s

proved by a chance expression that he had ex hausted i mpend
i ng controversies years before they a rrived and had perceived ,

more or l ess the conclusion at which the dispu tants woul d ar

rive long before the publ ic issu e w as j oined T here is no oth er .

explanation o f such rel igions than this We have but to open .

”
M r Gladstone s H omer in o rder to s e e with how intense an
.
’

antipathy a real ly moral age wou ld regard the gods and god
desses of H omer how inconceivab l e i t i s that a real ly m oral
 76 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS

age shou l d fi rst have invented a nd then bowed down before

them ; how pl ai n i t i s (when once ex pl ained ) that they are
antiquities l ik e an E ngli sh cou rt su it or a s tone s a c r i fi c i a l k ni fe
,
-
,
-
,

for no on e wou ld u se su ch things as im pl ements o f cerem ony ,

except those who had i nherited them from a past age when ,

th ere was n othing better .

nythi ng i n c onsistent with ou r present m oral

theories of whatever k i nd i n so thi nk ing abou t ou r ancestors .

T h e i ntu itive theory of m oral i ty which wou l d be that n atural ly

i ,

m ost opposed to it has l ately tak en a new devel opm ent I t

,
.

i s n ot n ow m ai ntai ned that al l m en h ave the sam e am ount of

conscienc e I ndeed only a m ost shal l o w dispu tant who di d
.
,

not u nd erstan d even the plai nest facts of hu man nature cou ld
ever have mai ntained i t ; i f m en differ i n anything they differ
i n the fi neness and the delicacy o f thei r m oral i ntu ition s how ,

ever we m ay su ppose those fee l i ng s to h ave b een acqu i red .

We need not go as far as savages to l earn that l esson we n eed

only talk to the E ngl ish p oor o r to ou r own s erva n ts and we ,

shal l be taught it ve ry com pl etely Th e lower cl asses i n civi

.

l i s e d cou ntries like all classes i n u ncivi li sed countries a re

, ,

clearly wanting i n the n icer part o f those feeli ngs which taken ,

together we c al l the s ens e of m o rality A l l this an i ntuitionist

, .

wh o k nows hi s case wi l l n ow adm it but he wi l l add that , ,

though the a m ou nt o f the m ora l sen se m ay a nd does di ffer i n

d ifferent persons yet that as far as it goes i t i s al ike i n al l
,
.

H e likens i t to the i ntu ition o f n u m ber i n which som e savages ,

a re s o de fective that they can n ot real ly a n d easi ly cou nt m ore

than three Ye t as far as three his i ntuiti on s are the sam e as
.

those of civi lised people U n questionab ly i f there are intuition s

.

at all the pri m ary truths of n u m ber are such There i s a felt
,
.

necessity i n them i f i n anythi ng and it wou ld be peda ntry to

,

say that a ny propositi on of m o rals was m or e certain than that

five an d five m ake ten ®he truths of arithm etic i ntu itive or
.
,

not certai n l y ca nnot be acqui red i ndependently o f experience

,

n or can those of m ora l s be s o either U nquestionably they .

were a roused i n l ife and by e xp e r i e n

c
t h o u g h after that

com es the di fficul t a nd a ncient controversy whether a n y thi ng

§
pe c u lia r to them a nd not t o be fou nd i n the other facts of l i fe
 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS 77

i s superadded to them i ndependently of ex perience ou t of the

vigou r of the m i nd itsel f N o i n tuitionist therefore fears to
.
, ,

speak of the conscience o f his prehistoric ancestor a s i m perfect ,

ru di m entary o r hard ly to be discerned fo r he h a s to adm it

, ,

m uch the sam e s o a s to square h i s theo ry to plain m odern

facts and that theory i n the m odern form m ay consi stently be
,

held along with them O f course i f a n i ntu itionist c an accept

.

this conclusion as to prehistoric m en s o assu redly m ay M r , .

S pencer who traces a l l m orality back to ou r i nherited ex

,

p e r i e n ce o f uti l ity or Mr D arwi n who ascribes it to a n i nherited

, . ,

sym pathy or M r Mi l l who with char acteristic courage u nder

,
.
,

takes to bui l d u p the whole m oral nature of m an with no hel p

whatever either from ethica l intui tion or from physi ological i n
s t i n ct
. I ndeed of the everlasting questions such a s the real ity ,

of freewil l or the n atu re o f c onscience it i s a s I have before

, , ,

explai ned altogether i nconsistent with the design o f these

,

papers to speak T hey have been discussed ever si nce the

.

history of discussi on begins ; hu m an O pinion i s sti ll divided ,

a nd m ost people sti l l feel m any di fficu l ties i n every suggested

theory a nd doubt if they have heard the last word of argu
,

m ent or the whole solu tion of the problem i n any o f them I n .

the interest of sound k nowl edge it i s essentia l to narrow to th e

utm ost the debatable territory ; to s e e how m any ascertained
facts there are which a re consistent with al l theories how m any ,

m ay a s foreign lawyers wou ld phrase i t be equal ly held i n

, ,

cond om i n i u m by them ,
.

But though i n these grea t c haracteri stics there is reason to

i m agine that the prehistori c m an —a t least the sort of pre
histori c m an I a m treating of the m an so m e few thousand ,

years before history began and not at al l at least n ot n e ce s

, ,

s a r i l y the pri m itive m an — was identi c al with a m odern savage

, ,

i n another respect there 15 equal o r greater reason to suppose

that he was m ost u nl ik e a m odern savage Q m o d e r n savage .

i s anythi ng but the si m ple being which philosophers of the

eighteenth century im agined hi m to be ; on the contra ry hi s ,

life is twisted i nto a thousand cu riou s habits ; h i s reason i s

darkened by a thousand strange prej udices ; h i s feelings are
frightened by a thousand cruel su pe rsti tions ) T h e whol e
78 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS

m i nd o f a m odern savage i s s o to s ay ta ttooed over wi th , ,

m onstrou s i m ages there i s not a s m ooth place anywhere

,

about it Q it there I s n o reason to su pp ose the m i nds o f pre

.

historic m en to be so cu t and m arked ; o n the co ntrary the ,

creation of these habits these superstitions these prej udices

, , ,

m u st have tak en ages I n his nature it m ay be said pre

.
, ,

histori c m an wa s the sam e as a m odern savage ; it is o nly in

his acqui siti on that he was
I t m ay be obj ect ed that i f m an was developed ou t of any ”

'

(an d this i s the doctri ne of evoluti on w h i ch i f ,

i t be not p roved conc l usively has great probabi l ity and great
,

scientific analogy i n its favou r) he wou ld n e ce s s a r i ly/ at fi rst w

s s e s s a ni m a l i nsti ncts that these wou l d on ly gradu ally be

pp ,

l ost ; that i n the m e afi ti m e they would serv e as a p rotection

a
“

and a n aid and that prehisto ri c men therefore wou ld have

, , ,

i m portant hel ps a nd feelings which existin g savages hav e not .

A n d probably of th e the first beings worthy to be

s o call ed this w a s tru e : they had or m ay have h ad certai n
, , ,

W
i s te n c e andM
i j n s t i n ct s which ai ded them I n the s truggle of ex
n gradu al ly ca m e these i nsti ncts m ay have
,
“

wa ned awa y S om e I nst i nct s c e r t aI n ly d o wa ne wh en t h e I h

.

te l l e ct 15 appl i ed steadily to thei r subj ect matter Th e curious .

”
“
co unti ng boys the arithmetical p rodigies who can work by
, ,

a stra nge in nate facul ty the m ost wonderfu l su m s l ose that ,

facul ty al ways parti al ly som etim es com pletely i f they are

, , ,

taught to reckon by ru l e l ike the rest of m ank i nd I n l ik e .

m anner I have heard it said that a man co u ld soon reason

him sel f out of the i nstinct o f d ecency if he wou ld only take
pai ns and work hard enough A nd perhaps other pri m itive .

i nsti ncts may have i n lik e m anner pas s ed away B ut this d oe s .

n o t affect my arg um ent I am only saying that thes e i nsti ncts

.
,

i f they ever existed d,

i d —
pass away that there was a period ,

prob ably a n i m m ense period a s we reckon ti me i n hu m an

hi story when prehistori c m en lived m uch a s savages l ive now
, ,

withou t any i m porta nt aid s and helps .

Th e proo fs o f this are to be foun d in the great work s o f

S i r Jo hn Lubbock an d M r Tylor o f which I j ust n ow spoke
.
, .

I ca n on ly bri ng out two o f them here F irst it i s plain tha t .

,
 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS 79

the first prehistoric m en had the fli nt tool s w hich the lowest

savages u se an d we ca n trace a regular im provem ent i n the
fi nish and i n the effi cien cy o f thei r si m
,

ple i nstru ments co rre

s p o n d i n g to that which we s e e at this day i n the upward transi

tio n fro m the l owest savages to the highest N ow it i s not .

conceivab l e that a race of beings with valuabl e i nstincts support

ing their exi stence an d supplying thei r wants would need these
sim ple tools T hey are exactly those needed by very poor
.

people who have no instincts and tho se were u sed by s uch , ,

for savages are the poorest of the poo r I t woul d be very .

"

strange i f these same utensi ls n o m o re n o less were used by

, ,

beings whose discerni ng instincts made them i n compariso n

altogether rich S uch a being wo u ld k n ow how to manage
.

witho ut such things o r i f it wanted any wo ul d k n ow how to

, ,

make—better .

( A ri d secondly o n the moral side we k no w that the pre

”

, ,

h istoric age was one o f m uch l icence an d the proof i s that i n ,

fhat a ge descent w a s reck oned through the femal e o n ly j u st a s ,

”
it is amon g the l owest savages Maternity it h as been said
.
“
, ,

“
i s a matter o f fact paterni ty i s a matter o f opin io n
,
an d this
n o t very refi ned expre ssion exactly co nveys the co n necti o n o f
—
the l ower hum an societies I n al l slave owning comm u n iti esj
.
-

— i n Rome formerly and i n V irginia yesterday— such w a s the

,

accepted ru le ofl a w ; the chi ld kept the conditio n of the m other ,

whatever that condition was nobody i n qu ired a s to the father}

the law once for all assumed that he coul d n ot be ascertai ned
, , .

O f course n o remains exist which prove this o r anything else

about the morali ty o f prehistoric man ; an d moral ity ca n only
be descri bed by remain s am ounting to a histo ry B ut o ne o f .

the axioms o f prehistoric i nvesti g ation bi nds u s to accept thi s

as the moral ity o f the prehistoric races i f we receive that axiom .

It is plai n that the widespread absence of a cha racteristic w hich

greatly aids the possessor in the conflicts between race and race
probably indicates t hat the primary race d id not possess that
q ual ity I f 03 2 m p e o pl g e xi s te d alm ost everywhere i n
.
r

every continent ; i f people were fou nd i n every intermed iate

stage some with the mere germ o f the second arm; some with
,

the second arm hal f grown some with it nearly complete ; we

-
,
80 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS

sho u l d then argue the first race cann ot have had two arm s ,

beca use men have al ways been fighti ng and as two arms a re a ,

great advantage i n fighti ng one armed a nd hal f armed peopl e

,
- -

wo u ld im mediately have been k i l led off the earth ; they never

co ul d have attai ned any n umbers A diffu sed deficiency i n a .

warl i ke power i s the best attai nable evidence that the prehisto ric
men did n ot possess tha t power { l ms axi om be received i t .

E
i s palpably a pplicable to the marriage b ond o f prim itive races -
.

g
”
A cohesive fami ly i s the best germ fo r a campaigning n a t i o
“

I n a Rp rpi ni a m i ly tfi b oy s fro m the tim e of thei r birth were

fl fi
/ w , ,

bred to a d o m e s ti c d e s p o ti s m which wel l prepa red them fo r a

,

s ubj ectio n i n to d i s ci l i n e a m i l itary dri l l , ,

and a m i l itary despotism T hey were ready to obey thei r

.

generals because they were co mpel led to obey their fathers ;

they conquered the wo rld i n m a n hood beca u se as chi ldren they
were bred i n homes where the tradition of passion ate va l ou r
w as steadied by the habit of im placabl e order fi g d noth ing .

of this i s possib le i n l oosely bo u nd fam i ly gro u ps (i f they ca n

-

be cal led fami l ies at al l ) where the father i s more or less u n ce r

ta i rb w h e re descent i s not traced through him w here that i s , , ,

property does no t come from him where such pro perty as he ,

has passes to his s u r e relations — to h i s sister s chi l ’

i l l k nit nation which does not recognise paternity as

-

l ati on wo u ld be con quered l i ke a m ob by any o t

,

which had a vestige o r a begi n n ing of the p a tr i a p o

therefore al l the fi rst men had the stri ct moral ity of fam i lies
, ,

they wo u l d no m o re have permitted the rise of s em i m o ral -

n ations anywhere i n the worl d than the R om ans wo u l d have

permitted them t o arise i n I taly T hey wou l d have conquered
.
,

k i l led an d pl u n dered them befo re they becam e n ations ; a n d

,

yet sem i — m ora l n ations exist al l over the world .

I t wi l l be said that this argument proves too m uch F .

i t proves that n ot o n ly the som ewhat befo re hi story men b - -

,

the abso l utely first m en co u ld no t have h ad cl o se fa m i ly i

,

s t i n ct s an d yet i f they were l ike m ost tho ugh n o t a l l o f

,

an imal s n earest to man they had such i nstincts T here .

great sto ry o f som e A frican chief who expressed hi s disgust at

”
adhering t o o ne wife by say i ng i t w a s l ike the m o nkeys
,
“
.
 P H YSI CS A N D P OL I TI CS 81
’

Th e semi brutal ancestors of man i f they exi sted h ad very

-
, ,

likely a n i nstinct o f co nstancy which the A frican chief and ,

others l ike h im had lost Ho w then i f i t w a s so beneficial

,
.
, , ,

co u ld they ever l ose it ? The an swer i s plain they co uld l ose

it i f they had i t as an irrationa l propen sity a nd habit and ,

not a s a moral and rati o nal fe e l i n When reason came ,

i t wo u ld weaken t hat habi t lik e a l other i rrati o nal habits .

A nd r
W W
i ng a gent of such i ncomparable e ffi ci e n cy —that its c ontin u
afi

a lly diminishing val uable instincts wil l n o t matter i f it grows

i tsel f steadily al l the while Th e strongest competi to r win s
.

i n both the cases w e a re imagi ni n g ; in the fi rst a race with ,

i ntell igent reason but without bl ind in stinct beats a race with
, ,

that i nstinct b ut without that reason ; i n the second a race ,

with reason and high moral feeling beats a ra ce with reason

b ut wi thou t high moral feeling A n d the two are palpably
.

consistent .

is every r eason therefore to su ppose prehistoric m an

, ,

i e n t in m uch o f sex ual m orality a s we regard that ,

”
A s to the detai l o f pri mitive m arri age or n o
“ “

for that i s pretty m u ch what i t co mes to there i s ,

‘
m uch roo m fo r discussion B o th M r M Cl e n n an
. .

and S i r John L ubbock are too acco m pli shed reaso ners and too
careful i nvestigato rs to wish concl u sions so co m plex and re
fined a s theirs to be accepted al l i n a mass besides that o n ,

some critical poi nts the two B u t the main issue i s not
dependent on nice a r g u m e n pon broad grounds we m ay
believe that i n prehi storic ti m es men fo ught both to gai n and
to k eep their wives ; that the strongest m an to ok the best w i n
away from the weaker m an ; and that i f the wi fe was restive
? ,

di d not l ike the change her new husband beat her ; that (a s
,

i n A ustralia now ) a pretty woman was su re to undergo m any

such changes and her back to bear the marks of m any such
,

chastisem ents ; tha t i n the principal departm ent o f hu man

conduct (which i s the m ost tangibl e and easily traced and there ,

fore the most obtainable speci men of the rest) the m i nds of
prehistoric m en were not so much i m m o ral as u n m oral : they
did not Viol ate
 82 PHYSI C S AN D POLI TI CS

not s u fli c i e n t l y devel oped fo r them to feel on thi s poi nt any

conscience or fo r i t to prescribe to them a ny ru l e
, .

Th e sam e argu ment a p T h ere are i ndeed , ,

many poi nts o f the greatest obscurity bo th i n the pres ent ,

savage religion s an d i n the scan t y vestiges o f prehi sto ric

religio n B ut one po i nt i s clear A l l savage religio n s are ful l
. .

OfS
M EI Q Q i fg m dc a l uc k S avages . bel ieve that casua l
omens are a sign o f coming events ; that some trees are l ucky ,

that so m e a nimals are l u cky that some places are l ucky that
, ,

some i n different actions — i ndifferent apparently an d i n di fferent

real ly— are l u cky an d s o o f others i n each class that they are
, ,

u nl ucky N or c a n a savage wel l distin g u ish between a sign o f

.

”
“
l uck o r i l l l uck as we sho ul d say and a deity which cau ses
, ,

the good o r the i l l t lfi fl dfifl p gj re ce d e nt an d the causing

,

being are to the savage m i n d much the same ; a steadin ess o f

W
__

he y o n d savages i s re qu ired Co n sistently to distingui sh

them A n d i t is extremely natural that they sho u ld beli eve
.

so . T hey are playi ng a gam e — the game o f l ife — with n o

k n owledge o f its r u les T hey have n ot an idea o f the law s
.

o f nature ; i f they wa nt to cu re a m an they Have n o conceptio n

W
,

r u e scientific remedies I f they try anyt hing they

.

m ust try it u po n bare chan ce Th e m ost u sefu l m odern

.

remedies were o ften discovered i n this bare empirica l way , .

What coul d be m ore improbable — at least fo r what c o uld a ,

prehistoric man have less given a goo d reaso n — than that som e
m ineral spri ngs shou ld stop rheumatic pai n s or mi neral s p ml gs , .

make wou nds heal quick ly ? A n d yet the chance kn owledge

o f the marvel l ou s effect o f gifted springs i s probably a s ancient
as any sou n d k n owledge a s to medici ne whatever CNO d o ubt .

i t was mere casua l l uck at fi rst that tried these spr i ngs a n d
fo u nd them a n s w e if b S omebody by accident tri ed them a n d
by that accident w a s instantly cured Th e chance which happil y
.

directed men i n this o n e case m isdirected them i n a thou san d

,

cases S ome ex pedition had an swered when the resol utio n to

.

u ndertake it w as reso lved o n u nder a n ancient tree an d accord ,

i n g l y that tree became l ucky an d sacred A n other expediti on .

fai led when a magpie crossed its path an d a magpi e w as said ,

to be u n l ucky A serpent crossed the path of an other expedi

.
 PHYS I CS AN D POLI TI CS 83

tion and it had a marvel l o u s victo ry and accordingly the

, ,

serpent became a sign o f great luck (and what a savage cann ot

disti ngu ish from i t — a potent deity which mak es l uck ) A ncient .

medicine i s equal ly u nreasonable as l ate down as the Middle

A ges it was ful l o f superstitio n s fo unded o n mere l uck Th e .

co llection o f prescripti ons p ubl ished u nder the direction o f the

M aster of the Ro l ls abou nds i n such fancie s as we shou ld cal l
them A cco rding to o ne o f them u n less I forget some disea se
.
, ,

—a fever I think — i s supposed to be cured by placing the

,

patient between two halves o f a hare and a pigeon recently

k il l ed 1
N othing c an be plainer than that there i s n o gro u nd
.

for this k ind o f treatment and that the i dea o f it arose out o f ,

a chance hit which came right an d succeeded ( There was

,
.

nothing s o absurd or so co ntrary to comm o n sense a s we are apt

-

to imagin e abo u t ié Th e lying between two halves o f a hare

'

o r a pigeo n was (2p r z or z a n d to the i nexperienced mi nd quite

'

, ,

a s l ikely to c ure disease as the drinki ng certain draughts

o f nasty mi neral water B oth somehow were tried ; both .
, ,

answered— that i s both were at the first time or at some , ,

memorable tim e fol l owed by a remarkable recovery ; and the

,

o n ly di fference i s that the cu rative power o f the mi neral i s

,

persistent and happens constantly ; whereas o n an average o f

, ,

trial s the proximity of a hare or pigeo n i s found to have n o

,

effect and cu res take place a s often i n cases where it i s not

,

tried a s in cases where it i s T h e nature o f m inds which a re .

deeply engaged i n watching events o f which they do not k now

the reason is to singl e out some fabul ou s accompa niment or
,

some wo nderful series o f goo d luck o r bad l uck and to dread ,

ever after that accompan iment i f i t bri ngs evi l and to love i t ,

and long for it if it bri ngs good A l l savages are i n thi s positi on .
,

and the fasci nating effect of s tri king accompaniments (i n some

1
Rea d e rs of Scott s l i fe wi ll re m e m b e r th at an adm ire r o fh i s i n hu m b l e
’

l i fe p o p os e d to cu re h i m o f i nflamm ati o n o f th e b ow e l s b y m aki n g h i m

r

s l e e p a w h o l e n i gh t o n tw e l v e s m oo th s t on e s p a i n fu ll y co l l e c t e d b
y th e ,

ad m i e r fro m t w e l e b ook s w h i ch w a s i t a pp e a e d a
r v r , e cip o f s o e r e i gn
,
r ,
r e v

t ra d i t i o n a l p o w e r Sco tt g a e l y to l d th e p o p o s e r th a t h e h ad m i s t ak e n
. r v r

t h e ch a rm and th a t t h e s ton e s w e r e o f n o v ir t e n l e s s w ra pp e d u p i n th e
, u u

p e tt i coa t o f a wi d o w w h o n e e r w i sh e d to m arry a gai n and a s no s u ch

v ,

w i d o w s e e m s to h a e b e e n for th com i n g h e e s ca p e d th e r e m e d y
v , .

1K'
‘
6
84 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS

single case) o f singula r good fortun e an d singu l ar calamity i s ,

eat source o f savage religi o n s .

Gam blers to thi s day are with respect to the chance part ,

thei r game in mu ch the sa m e plight a s savages wi th respe c t

,

the mai n events o f thei r who l e l ives A n d we wel l k now .

w superstitiou s they al l are To thi s day ve r y sensible .

whist players have a certai n beli ef— not o f course a fixed

-
, ,

co nviction but sti l l a c ertai n i m pression — that there is l uck

,
“

”
u nder a b lack deuce and wi l l hal f m utter s o me not very
,

gentle maledictions i f they tu rn u p as a tru m p t h e fou r of

”
c lu bs because i t brings i l l l uck and i s the d evi l s bedpost
,
-
,
“ ’
.

O f course grown u p ga mbl ers have too m uch general k n ow

-

l edge too much o rganised co m mon se n se to pro l ong or ch eri sh

, ,

such i deas ; they are ashamed of entertai ning them th ough , ,

n evertheless they cannot entirely drive them ou t of their

,

m inds B u t chi ld gambl ers —a nu m ber o f l ittl e boys set to

-

m
.

pl ay loo — are just i n the o s i t i o n o f sa va ges for their fancy i s

w
,

sti l l i m p r e m t been thorou ghl y

subj ected to the confuting experience o f the real wo rld ; an d
chi ld gambl ers have idolatri es — a t least I k now that years ago
-

a s e t of boy l oo pl ayers of whom I w as one had considerab l e

-
, ,

”
fai th i n a certai n p retty fish which w a s l arger and m ore
“
,

nicely m ade than the other fish we h a d We gave the best .

evidence of ou r belief i n its power to b ri ng l uck we fought “

for it (i f ou r el ders were out of the way) ; we offered to buy i t ,

with many other fish from the envi ed holder and I am su re ,

I have often cried bi tterly i f the chance of the ga m e took i t

away from m e Persons who stand u p for the dignity o f
.

ph il osophy i f any such there sti l l are wi l l say that I ought

'

, ,

not to m ention this because i t seems trivial ; bu t the m ore

,

m odest spiri t of m odern thought pl ainly teaches i f it teaches ,

anythi ng the cardi nal val u e o f occasi o nal l i ttl e facts I do

,
.

not hesitate to s ay that many l earned and el aborate expla na

ti ons of the totem — th e clan deity—the bea st or bird who “
,

i n som e supernatura l way attends to the clan and watches ,

over i t—do not seem to m e to be nearly as aki n to the reality

as i t work s an d l ives a mong the l ower races a s the pretty “

fi sh of my ea r l y boyhood A n d very natu ral ly s o for a grave .

,
 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS 85

phi losopher is separated from p rim itive thought by the whol e

l ength of human cul ture ; but an i m pressible chi l d is a s near to ,

and its thoughts are as m uch l ike that thought a s anything ,

ca n now be .

of these su perstitions i s that they a re easy to

hard to destroy A singl e ru n o f l uck h as made the
.

fortune of m any a charm a nd many i dol s I doub t i f even a .

single run of l uck be necessa ry I am sure that i f an elder boy

.

sai d that the p retty fish w a s l ucky — o f cou rse i t w a s a l l the ,

lesser boys wou l d bel i eve i t an d i n a week it wou ld be a n a c

,

c e p te d idol . A n d I su spec t the N estor o f a savage tribe— the

aged repository of gu iding experience — wou ld have a n equal
power of creating superstition s B u t i f once created they are
.

most di ffi cu lt to eradicate I f any one said that the am u let

.

was o f certai n e ffi cacy — that it a lways acted whenever it w a s

applied — i t woul d of cou rse be very easy to disprove ; bu t no
”
one ever said that the pretty fi sh al ways b rought l uck ; i t
w as only said that i t did s o on the whol e and that i f you had ,

it you were more l ikely to be l ucky than i f you were witho u t

i t B ut it requi res a long tabl e o f statistics of the resu lts of
.

games to disprove thi s thoroughly ; and by the tim e people

ca n make tables they are al ready above s uch beli efs and do not ,

need to have them disproved N or i n many cases where omens

.

or am ulets are used wou ld such tab l es b e ea sy to m ake for the ,

data cou ld not be fou nd ; a nd a rash attempt to subdue the

superstition by a striki ng instance may easi ly end i n co nfirming
i t F rancis N ewman i n the remarkabl e n arrative o f h i s ex
.
,

p e r i e n ce as a missiona ry i n A sia gives a curiou s exampl e o f

,

this A s h e w a s setting o ut on a distant and somewhat hazard

.

o u s expedition his native servants ti ed rou nd the neck of the

,

m u l e a sm al l bag supposed to b e of preventive and mystic

vi rtu e A s the pl ace w a s crowded an d a whol e townspeopl e
.

l ooking on M r N e w man thought that he wo uld take an

, .

O ppo rtunity of disprovi ng the superstition S o he m ade a .

l ong speech of expla n ati o n i n h i s best A rabic and cut off the ,

bag to the horror of al l about him Bu t a s il l fortune wou ld

, .
-

have it the m ul e had not got thi rty yards up the street before
,

s he pu t her foot i nto a hol e and brok e her leg ; u pon w h ich
 86 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS

al l the natives were confirmed i n thei r former faith i n the power

of the bag and said , Y o u s e e n o w what happens to u n
,
“

”
believers
f / N o w the present poi nt as to these su perstitions is thei r
i nexpediency A nati on whi ch w a s m oved by these
.

ions as to l uck wou l d be at the m ercy of a nati on i n ,

3 equ al which was not subj ect to them

, I n his .

t o r i ca l times a s we k now the pani c terror at ecl i pses h a s been

m
, ,

the ru in of the arm ies w h w hr m ad e them

'

delay to do somethi ng necessa ry or rush to do som ethi ng de ,

stru ctive Th e necessity of consu lting th e au spices whil e i t

.
,

w as si ncerely practised and before i t becam e a trick for d i s

gu ising foresight was i n classical hi story very dangero u s A nd
, .

m uch worse i s i t with savages whose l i fe i s o ne of o mens who, ,

m u st always consu l t thei r sorcerers who m ay be turned this ,

way or that by som e chance accident who i f they were , ,

i ntel l ectu al ly able to fram e a co nsisten t m i l itary po l icy — and

som e savages i n war s e e farther than i n anythi ng el se — are
yet l iab l e to b e p ut out distracted co n fu sed a nd tu rned aside
, , ,

i n the carrying ou t o f it b ecause some event real ly innocu ous

, ,

bu t to thei r m inds forebodi ng arrests and frightens them A ,

.

rel igion fu l l wi l l bri ng

tion at al l equa l
otherwise who had a religion wi tho u t o m ens C learly then
, .
,

i f al l early m en u nanimously o r even m uch the greater n u m ber

,

o f early m e n had a religio n w z tk ou t omens no rel igio n or

'

, , ,

scarcely a rel igion anyw here i n the worl d could have com e
,

into existence w i t/z om ens ; the I m mense maj o ri ty possessing

the su perio r m i litary advan tage the sma l l m inority desti tute ,

of it wou ld h ave been crushed o ut and d e s t r o y e d < l§u t o n

the con trary a l l over the worl d religions with om ens o nce
j ,

existed i n m ost they sti ll exist ; al l savages have them and

, ,

deep i n the m o st a ncient civi l isations we fi nd the plainest traces

U nqu esti onably therefore the prehistori c rel igio n
at of savages —v i a i n this that it l argely co n sisted
,

i n the watching of omens and in the worshi p of l ucky beasts

an d thi ngs which are a sort o f embodi ed a nd perm anen t
,

om ens .
 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI C S 87

may indeed be obj ected —a n anal ogou s obj ecti on w a s

tak en as to the ascertai ned m oral deficienci es o f prehistoric
m anki nd — that i f this rel igi o n of om en s was s o pernici ous an d
s o l ikely to ru in a race n o race would ever have acquired it
,
.

B ut it i s on ly l ikely to rui n a rac e contending with another

t h e r w i s e equal T h e fancied discovery of these om ens
.

— n ot an extravagant thing i n a n early age a s I have ,

tried to show not a whit then to be di s tinguished as i m

,

probable from the discovery o f healing herbs o r springs which

prehi storic m en also did discover— the discovery of om ens w as
m
”

an a ct o f rea son a s fa r a s i t went A n d i f in reason

.

t u r e , t hat
~

e
y wo n and pre
vai led i n every latitude and i n every zone .

I n al l particulars therefore we wou ld keep to ou r form u la ,

an d s ay that prehisto ric m an w a s substantial ly a savage l ik e

p resent savages i n morals intel lectual attainm ents an d i n
, , ,

religion ; but that he di ffered i n this fro m o u r present savages ,

that he had not had ti m e to ingrai n his nature s o d eepl y with

bad habits and to i m press bad be l iefs s o u nalterably on h i s
,

m i nd a s they have They have had ages to fix the stai n o n

.

them selves but pri m itive m an w a s yo u nger and had no such

,

ti me.

I have elabo rated the evidence for this co ncl usio n at what
may seem needl ess and tediou s l ength but I have done s o on ,

acco un t of its im portance I f we accept i t an d i f we are sure

.
,

of it i t wil l help u s to m any m o st im po rtant concl u sions

, .

S om e of these I h ave dwel t upon i n previou s papers but I wi l l ,

down agai n .

i t wi l l i n part explai n to u s what the worl d w a s

to speak before history I t was m aking s o to s ay
, .
, ,

n n e c t e d and coherent habits ,

the preference of equ able to vi olent enj oym ent the abiding ,

the future to the present the ,

h ich civilisation could not begi n

wou ld soon cease to ex ist even
had i t begu n Th e pri m itiv e m an l i ke the present savage
.
, ,
88 PHYSI CS AN D P OLI TI CS

h ad n ot these p re r e q u i s i t e Gfiu t u nl ik e the present savage , ,

he w a s capabl e o f acqu iring them and of bei ng trained in them ,

for h i s nature was still soft an d stil l i m p r e s s i b l eé an d possibly

‘

strange a s i t m ay seem to s ay h i s o utward circu m stances were

,

m ore favourable to an attainm ent of civi l isati on than those of

ou r present savages A t any rate the prehistoric ti m es were
.
,

spent i n m ak ing m en capabl e o f writing a history and having ,

so m ethi ng to put i n it whe n it i s written and we c an s e e how ,

i t w a s done .

Tw o preli m i nary processes i ndeed there are which seem

i nscrutabl e T here w a s som e strange prel i m inary process by
.

which the m ai n races of men were form ed ; they began to

exist very early a nd except by interm ix ture n o new ones have
,

been fo rm ed si nce I t was a process singul

. ive i n early
ages and singul arly qu iescent i n l ater ages
,
di fferences .

as exist between the A ryan the T u rani an the negro the red
, , ,

m an and the A u stral ian are di fferences greater altogether

, ,

than any causes no w active are capable of creating i n present

i n a ny way expl i cabl e by u s A n d there i s .
,

presum ptio n that (as great a uthorities n ow

hol d ) t hfi sfl e
’ M W W Q f met a

especi al ly befo re the m i nd an d the adaptive natu re of m en ,

had taken thei r existing consti tu ti on A n d a second condition .

p recedent o f civi l isati o n seem s at l east to m e to have been , ,

equ al ly i nheri ted i f the ,

evol utio n be true from ,

s om e previou s state or co n di tio find it difficu l t to

co nceive of men at al l l ike the
,
u nl ess existing i n
som ething l ike fam i t is in gro u ps avowedly connected
, ,

at l east on the m side and probably al ways with a ,

’
vestige o f co nn ecti on m o re o r less on the father s side a nd u m
, , ,

less these gro ups were like m any ani m als gregarious u nder a , ,

lead er m ore or l ess fixed I t i s al m ost beyond i maginatio n

.

how m an as we k now m an cou l d by any sort of process have

, ,

gai ned this step i n civi lisation A n d i t i s a great advantage

.
,

to say the least of i t in the evol utio n theory that i t enables u s

,

r em it this difficu lty to a pre existing peri od i n n atu re where

-
,

n s t i nct s and powers than ou r present ones m ay perhaps

can hardly
 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI C S 89

travel A t any rate fo r the present I m ay assu m e these two

.
,

steps in hu m an progress m ade and these two condi tions realised , .

rest o f the way i f we grant these two co ndi tio ns i s

, ,

T h e first th ing i s the erectio n o f w hat we m ay cal l a

making p ower that i s o f an au tho rity which ca n enfo rce
, ,

rule o f li fe which by m eans o f that fixed rul e ca n i n

, , ,

some degree create a cal culable future which can make it ,

ratio nal to postpone resent vi o len t but m o m e n ta r p leasure _

for future co ntin ual pl easure because it ensures w hat else 15

__
, ,

not sure that i f t he sacrifi c e o f what 15 in han d be made enj oy

, ,

ment o f the contingent expected recompen se wi l l be received .

O f co urse I am not saying that we shal l fi nd i n early society

any a utho rity o f which these shal l be the m o tives We m u st .

have travell ed ages (un less al l our evidence be wro ng) from the
first m en befo re there was a comprehensio n o f s uch m otives .

I on ly mean that the first thing i n early society was an a uthor

"

i ty o f whose actio n thi s shal l be the resu l t l ittle a s it k new ,

at it w a s do ing l ittle a s i t wo u ld have cared i f it had

,

kn own .

co nscio u s end o f early societies wa s n o t at al l o r ,

at al l the pro tectio n o f life and property as it w a s

, ,

assumed to be by the eighteenth cen tury theory o f government -

.

E ven i n early historical ages— i n the youth o f the human race ,

not its chi ldhood— such i s n ot the nature of early states S i r .

H enry Maine has taught u s that the earliest subject o f j uris

prudence i s not the separate property o f the i ndividual but ,

the common property o f the fami ly group ; what we sho u l d

cal l p rivate pr ope rt y ha t dl y then exi stg d ; o r i f it did w a s s o
w
g
fl w
,

smal l a s to be of n o importance : it w a s l ike the things little

children are n ow a l l owed to ca l l their own which they feel i t ,

very hard to have taken from them b ut whi ch they have n o real ,

right to hold and keep S uch i s our earliest property la w and

.
-
,

earliest l i fe law i s that the l ives o f a l l members o f the

-

i ly gro u p were at the m ercy o f the head of the gro up A s .

far a s the individual goes n either h i s goods n o r h i s existence

,

were protected at al l A n d this may teach u s that something

.

else w as lacked i n early societies besides what i n ou r societies

we n ow think o f .
90 PH YSI C S AN D POLI TI CS

I do n ot t hink I put this to o high when I s ay that a m ost

n o t the m ost important obj ect o f early legi slation
was t cement o f l u cky rites I d o n ot l ike to s ay r e li g i .

o u s rites beca use that wo ul d i nvo lve me i n a great co ntroversy

,

as to the power o r even the existence o f early religions

,
B ut , .

there i s no sava g e tri be w i th o ut a and perhaps , ¢

there i s hardly any which has n ot a conceptio n o f l uck fo r the

tribe a s a tri be o f which each member h a s n ot som e such a
,

bel ief that h i s own acti o n or the actio n o f any other member
o f i t— that he o r the others doing anyth ing which w a s u n l ucky
o r wo u ld bri n g a curse — m i g ht ca u se evi l n ot o n ly to him
sel f but to al l the tri be a s wel l
,
I have said s o m uch abo ut .

”
“
l uck and ab o ut i t s n atu ral ness before that I o ught to s ay ,

n othing agai n B ut I m ust add that m .

n
i dea of . _ i s remarkabl e It does n ot at a l l l ike the . ,

n oti on o f desert cleave to the doer T here are peopl e to this

,
.

day who wo u ld n ot perm it i n their ho use peopl e to s i t down

thirteen to din ner They do n ot expect any evi l to t hem selves.

particu larly fo r perm itting it o r sharing i n i t but they canno t ,

get o ut o f their heads the idea that some o ne o r mo re o f the

n umber wi l l come to harm i f the thing i s done T his i s what .

Mr Tyl o r cal ls surviva l i n cu lture The fain t bel ief i n the

. .

corpo rate l iabi lity o f these th irteen i s th e feeble relic and last
dyi ng representative of that great principle o f corporate l iabi l ity
to good and i l l fo rtu ne which h a s fi l led such an i mmense place
i n the world .

Th e traces o f it are en dless Y o u ca n hardly take u p a .

book o f travels i n rude regio ns without fi nding I wan ted to “

do so an d s o B ut I was n ot perm itted for the natives feared

.
,

‘ ’
it m ight br i ng i l l l uck on the party or perhaps the tribe , .

Mr Galton for i nstance co u ld hardly feed his people Th e

.
, , .

D amaras h e says have n u mberless superstiti ons abo ut m eat

, ,

which are very tro ubleso me I n the first place each tribe o r .
, ,

rather fam ily i s prohibited from eat ing cattle o f certain co lo urs
, ,

”
savages wh o co me fro m the s u n eschewing sheep spotted
,
“

i n a particu lar way which tho se who come from the rai n ,
“

have n o obj ectio n to As he says there are five or s i x .

“
, ,
“

e a n d a s o r descents a nd I had men from m o st of them with me , ,

 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI C S 91

I co u l d hardly ki l l a sheep that everybody wo u ld eat ; and he

co u ld not keep his meat fo r it had to be given away because
,

it was commanded by o n e su perstiti on no r buy m i l k the , ,

staple food o f tho se parts because i t w a s pro hibited by an o ther

,
.

A n d so o n without end D o in g anyth in g u n l ucky i s i n their

.

idea what putting o n something that a ttracts the electric flu id

i s i n fact Y o u can n ot be sure that harm wil l n ot be do n e
.
,

n o t on ly to the perso n i n fa u lt b ut to those abo ut him to o ,

.

A s i n the S criptura l phrase doing what i s o f evi l omen i s

,
l ike “

”
o ne that letteth ou t water H e can n o t tel l what are the con
.

sequences o f hi s a ct who wi l l share them or how they ca n

, ,

be prevented .

I n the earliest historica l nati o ns I need n ot s ay that th e

W i s to a modern student their m ost
curio us feature T h e bel ief i s indeed rai sed far above the
.

”
n otion o f mere l uck because there i s a distinct b
“
,

o r a god who m the act offends .

aM M u r vi ve s n ot o n ly the m uti lato r

o f the H erm ae b ut a l l the A then ians — n o t only the vi olato r o f
,

the ri tes of the 8 07 m d ea but a l l the Ro mans — are liabl e to

,

curse engen dered ; an d s o al l thro ugh anc ient hi story .

strength o f the corporate a nx i ety s o created i s known to

y o ne N ot o nly w a s it greater t han any anxiety about
personal property bu t it was immeasu rably greater N aturally
,
.
,

even reaso nably we m ay s ay it was greater Th e dread of ,

.

the powers of nature o r o f the beings who ru le those powers

W
, ,

n d s o f reason as much greater than any ,

other dread a s the m ight o f the powers of nature i s superio r to

that o f any other powers I f a tribe o r a nati o n have by a
.
,

contagi o u s fancy co m e to bel ieve that the doing o f any o ne

,

thing by any n umber wi l l be u n lucky that i s wi l l bring an “

, ,

intense and vast l iabil ity on them al l the n that tribe and th at ,

natio n wi l l preven t the do ing o f that thing mo re th an anything

else T hey wi ll deal with the most cherished chief who even
.

by chance sho u ld do i t a s i n a sim i lar case the sail ors dea lt

,

with j onah .

I do not o f c ourse mean that thi s strange condition o f min d

a s i t seems to u s w a s the sole sou rce of early cu stoms On .
92 PHYSI CS A N D P OLI TI CS

a nim al with more j u stice than by many of the short d e s cr i p

t fifi w whatever way a ma n h a s d one a nythi ng once he ,

has a te en cy to d o it a g a i g f he has done it several tim es

he has a great tendency s o to do i t and what i s m ore he , ,

has a great tendency to m ake others do i t al so M s .

,

m its hi s formed c u stom s to hi s child ren by exampl e and by

teachi ng T his i s tru e now o f human natu re and wi l l a lways
.
,

be tru e n o dou bt
,
li t what is pecu l iar i n early soci eti es i s
.

that over m o st of these c u stom s there grows sooner o r l ater a

sem i su pernatu ral s a n ct i a) T h e whole com m u nity is possessed
-

with the idea that i f the primal u sages o f the tri be be broken ,

harm unspeak abl e wil l happen i n ways you cannot thi nk of ,

and from so urces yo u can not i m agi ne A s peopl e n owadays .

bel i eve that m u rder wi l l out an d that great crime wi l l bri ng

,

even a n earthly p uni shm ent s o i n ea rly ti mes peopl e bel ieved
,

that for any breach o f sacred cu stom certain retribution wou ld

happen T o thi s day m any semi civi l ised
.
-
great m
d i fficu lty in regardi ng a ny arrangement as bi nding and c o n
e l usive unl ess they can al so m anage to l ook at i t a s an inheri ted

u sage S i r H Maine i n hi s l ast work gives a most c uriou s

. .
, ,

cas e Th e E n gl ish Governm ent i n I ndia has in many cases

.

made new and great works o f i rrigation of which no an cient ,

I ndian Governm ent ever thought ; an d i t has genera l ly l eft i t

to the native vi llage com m u ni ty to s ay what share each man
of th e vi l l age shou ld have i n the water ; and the vi l lage a u
t h o r i t i e s have accordi ngly l aid down a seri es o f m ost m in ute
ru l es about i t B u t the pecu l iarity i s that i n n o case do these
.

ru l es p urport to emanate from the personal a uthori ty of thei r

“

author or au thors which rests on grou nds of reason not on

,

grou nds of i nnocence and sanctity ; n o r d o they assum e to be

dictated by a sense of equ i ty ; there i s al ways I am assu red , ,

a sort of ficti on u nder which som e custom s as to the d i s tr i b u

tion of water are supposed to have emanated from a remote
antiqu ity al though i n fact no such arti ficia l supply had ever
, , ,

”
been s o m u ch a s thought o f S o di ffi cu l t does thi s ancient race
.

—l ike probabl y i n thi s respect so m uch of the anci en t worl d

, ,

fi nd i t to i magine a ru l e which i s ob l i g atory bu t not tradi tional , .

 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS 93

formati on of c ustom mak ing groups i n early -

m u st have been greatly hel ped by the easy divisi o ns

society Much o f the worl d — al l E urope for exam pl e
.
,

—was then covered by the primeval forest ; m en had only con

quered and as yet co u ld only conqu er a few plots and corners
, ,

from it T hese narrow spa c es were soon exhau sted and i f

.
,

nu mbers grew som e of the new peop l e m ust m ove A ccord .

i ng ly , constant and were necessary A n d

, .

these i ke those of m odern times T here .

was no such feeli n g as bi nds even A m erican s who hate or ,

speak as i f they hated the present p o l itical E ngland —n ever

,

th e le s s the old hom“

e T here was then no orga ised
to n
m eans o a o practical comm u nication we ,

may s a y between parted m embers of the same grou p ; those

,

who onc e went out from the parent s ociety w ent out for ever ;
they l eft no abiding reme mbranc e and they k ept no abiding
W
,

r e a r dT e parent tribe a nd of the de

g
scended tribe wou l d differ i n a generation o r two T here being .

no wri tten literatu re and n o 5 p oken intercours e the speech o f

m
,

gf s u ch com m uniti es is a lways

varyi ng) and wou ld vary i n di fferent di rections O ne set o f
, .

causes events and associations wou l d act on one and ano ther
, , ,

s e t on another ; SQ M M M B Q a nd ,

for speak ing purposes what phi l ol ogists cal l a di al ectical di ffer
,

ence often am ou nts to rea l and total difference : no connected

m
i nterchange of thought is possible any longer

custom s acqu ire and k eep a d istinct an d specia l l uck

,
S e pafafé g ro um

the early s oci eties b egi n a new set o f

.

I f i t were not for thi s faci li ty o f new form ati ons one good ,

”
or bad custom woul d long si nce have corru pted the worl d ; “

but even this wou l d n ot have been enough but for those con
t i nu a l wars of which I have spoken at s uch l ength i n the essay
,
”
on Th e U se of Conflict that I n eed s ay nothi ng now T hese
“
,
.

are by their incessant fractures of ol d i mages and by their ,

constant infu si on of new el em ents the real regenerators o f ,

soci ety A n d whatever b e the truth o r falseh ood of the general

.

di sl ike to m ix ed an d hal f bred races n o such s uspici on was

-
,

p robably appl icab l e to the early m ixtures o f primitive society .

94 PHYSI C S A N D P OLI TI C S

S upposing , as i s l i kely each great aboriginal race to have h ad

,

its own qu arter of the wo rl d (a qua rter as i t woul d seem c o r , ,

responding to the specia l qu arters i n which pl a n ts and anim als

are d ivided ) then the im mense m aj ority of the m ixtures wou l d
,

b e i3 i and
thi s no on e wou l d obj ect to but every one wo u ld praise,
.

n gen eral too the conqu erors wou l d be better than the
, ,

u e re d
(most m erits i n early society are m ore or less
ary merits ) bu t they wou l d not be very m u ch better for
, ,

the lowest steps i n the l add er of civi lisatio n are very steep ,

and th e effo rt to m ou nt them i s slow and tedi ou s A n d this .

i s probably the better if they are to produce a g ood and qu i ck

e ffect i n civi lising those they h ave conqu ered \ T he experi ence .

o f the E ngl ish in I ndia shows — i f i t shows a nythi ng— that a

highly c ivi li sed race m ay fail in produci ng a rapidly excel lent
effect on a l ess civi lised race because it i s too good and to o,

d ifferent T h e two are not e n r app or t together ; th e m eri ts of

.

the o n e a r e not the m eri ts pri z ed by the other the m anner

‘

l anguage of the one is not the m an ner l anguage of the other -

.

Th e higher b eing i s not a nd can not b e a model for the lower ;

h e could not m ou l d him sel f o n i t if he wou l d and wou ld not ,

i f he could C onsequ ently the two races have l ong lived

,

together n ear and yet far o ff d ai ly s eei ng one a nother and

, ,

d ai ly i nterchanging su perficial thoughts but i n the d epths ,

of their m i nd separated by a whol e era of civi lisati on and so ,

affecting o ne another only a l ittl e i n co m parison with what

m ight have been hoped A u t i n early societi es there were
.

n o such great d i ffe r e n c

e ‘ fi
n d the rather superior co nqu ero r

m ust have easi ly i m proved the rather inferi o r conquered .

i n the i nterior of these cu sto mary grou ps that n ational

rs are fo rm ed A s I wrote a whol e essay o n the
.

m ann er o f this before I can not speak of it now By pro

, .

scribing no nco nformist members for generatio n s a nd cher ,

i s h i n g a nd rewardi ng co nform ist m emb ers n onconformists ,

beco m e fewer and fewer and conform ists m o re and m ore

, .

J
Most m en mostly I rmt atE what they s e e and ca tch the to n e
— ,

of w
'

ha t th ey héaf a n d so a settl ed type— a persistent char

-

a c ter— i s form ed .N o r i s the process whol ly mental I .

 P I I YSI C S AN D POL I TI CS 95

cannot agree though the greatest authori ties say it that n o

, ,

‘
M ”
has been at work— at the b reed o f
m an I f neither that nor consciou s s e l e ctE fi has been at work
. ,

how did there co m e to be these b reeds and such there are ,

i n the greatest nu mbers though we cal l them nations ? I II

,

societies tyrannical ly custo m ary u ncongenial m inds beco m e ,

fi rst cowed then m elancholy then out of health and at last d i g)

, , ,

A S helley i n N ew E ngl and cou ld hardly have l ived and a ,

race of S hel leys wou ld have been i m possi bl e M r Gal ton . .

wishes that breeds of men shou ld be created by m atching m en

with m arked characteri stics wi th wo m en of l ike characteri stics .

Bu t surely thi s i s what natu re has been doi ng ti me o ut of

m ind and m ost i n the rudest nations and hardest ti m es
, .

disheartened i n each generation the il l fit te d mem bers -

custo m ary grou p so dep rive d them of their fu ll vigou r

, ,

l l ed them T h e S partan character .

was formed because none bu t peopl e with a S partan m ak e

o f m ind cou ld endu re a S partan existence Th e early R om an .

character was so form ed too Perhaps al l very m ark ed national

.

characters can be traced back to a ti m e of rigid and pe r vading

disci pli ne In m odern ti mes when society i s more tolerant
.
, ,

new national characters are neither so strong s o featu rely nor , ,

so u ni form .

I n this m anner society was occu pied i n prehistori c t i m es ,

- i t i s consistent with and exp licable by ou r general pri nci ple

as to savages that society shou ld fo r ages have been so o ccu
,

pied strange as that conclusion i s and i ncredible as i t wou ld

, ,

be i f we had not been taught by ex perience to beli eve strange

,

thi ngs .

S econdly thi s pri nci p l e and thi s conception o f prehi storic

,

ti mes explain to u s the m eaning and th e origi n of the oldest

and s t m a l anomal ies — a n anomaly which i s among

the fi rst thi ngs history tel ls “ _ w

N othing is at fi rst sight stranger than the aspect of those
communities where several nations seem to b e b o M p togeth er;
— where each i s governed by i ts own ru l e of l a w where no on e
I

pays any deference to the rul e of law of any of the others Bu t .

i f ou r pri nci ples be tru e these are j ust the nations most l ikely
,
 96 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS

to last which wou l d h ave a special advantage i n early tim e s

, ,

and woul d probably not on i n t ai n themselves bu t con ,

qu er and k il l ou t others also e characteri stic necessity o f

early soci ety as we have seen i s st rict u sage and bi nding
,

coercive cu stom B u t th e obviou

.

— s resu l t and i nevi tabl e evi l

of that is m onotony i n society Pam one can b e m uch di fferent
fro m h i s fello w s or can cultivate h i s d ifferenc e
, .

S uch societi es are n e ce s s

i n t h e im
w kw
La fl e nati on i s vari ou s and composite ;
'
w

and has I n a m ode su ited to early societies the constant cc

op eration o f<c On t ras t e d persons which i n a later age i s o ne
,

of the greatest triu m phs o f c i v i l i s a t i o b I n a prim itive age

“

the division between the ww st m m e s fly caste

i s especial l y advantageous Little popu l ar and littl e d eservi ng

.

to be popu lar nowadays as are priestly hierarchies m ost ,

p robably the begi nnings of sci ence were m ade i n su ch and ,

w ere for ages transm itted i n such A n i ntel lectual class wa s

.

i n that age only p o ssibl e wh en i t was p rotected by a notion

th at whoever hu rt them wou l d certai nly b e pu nished by heaven .

I n this cl ass apart discoveries were s l owly made an d som e

begi nning of m ental di sci pl i ne w a s slowly m atu red B ut su ch .

a com mu n ity i s necessarily u nwarlike and the superstiti on ,

which protects pri ests from hom e murder wil l no t aid them i n
con flict wi th the fo reigner F e w nations mi nd k i l l i ng thei r
.

enemi es priests and m any priestly civi li sations have peri shed
’

without record before they wel l began But such a civi li sati o n .

wi l l not peri sh i f a warri or ca s te i s tacked on to i t and i s bou nd

to defend i t O n the contrar y such a civi lisation wi l l be singu
,

l a r l y l ik ely to l ive .T he head of the sage wil l hel p the arm of

th e s o l d i eTf)
T hat a n ati o n divided i nto ca s tes m ust be a m ost di fficult
thing to fou nd i s plai n P robably i t co u ld o n ly begi n in a
.

cou ntry several times c onquered a nd where the bo undaries o f

,

each caste rudely co i ncided with the bo undaries o f certa in sets

o f victors and va nqu ished B ut as we n ow see when fo u nded
.
, ,

t i tLi s a l i ke l y m a t i on t o l a s t
_ - '
A party col o ured comm un i ty o f
-

many tribes and many usages i s m o re l ikely to get o n an d ,

hel p itsel f than a nation o f a single l i neage an d o n e m o n o

,
 P HYSI C S AN D POL I TI CS 97

ton ou s rule I s ay at first beca u s e I a p prehend that i n

.
,

thi s case a s i n s o many o thers in the p uz z ling hi sto ry of pro

,

gress the ver y institution s which most aid at step n u m ber o ne

,

are preci s ely tho s e w hich m ost i m pede at s t ep n um b er two Th e .

whole of a c aste n ation i s mo re vari ous t h an the w ho l e o f a

no n ca ste na tio n but ea ch caste i ts el f is m o re m o noto n o u s
-
,

tha n any hi ng i s o r ca n be i n a n o n ca ste natio n Gra dual ly

t , ,
- .

a habit of acti o n and type o f mi n d for ces its el f o n ea ch cas te ,

an d it i s l ittle likely to be rid o f it fo r al l who en ter it are ,

ta ught i n one w ay and trai ned to the sa me e mpl oyment .

" veral n o n c a ste nation s have sti ll co ntin ued to progress

- .

B ut al l caste nati o ns h ave st op p ed early tho ugh some h ave ,

lasted long E ach co lou r i n the singu lar com po si t e o f these

.

tess ela t ed s ocieties ha s an i ndel ible an d i nvar iable shade .

ly we see why s o few nation s have made rapid a d

,

d how many h a v e b ecome sta tio nary It is i n the .

process o f b ecom ing a natio n an d i n o rd e r to become s uch , ,

th at they subj ected ;he m s e v e s to the i n flu en ce wh ich ha s made r

them s tation a r y Gh e y co u ld n ot b e come a r e a l nation w i th

.

out bindi n g them sel v es b y a fixed law a nd u sa ge and i t i s the ,

fi xi ty of t h a t la w an d u sage w hich h as kept them as they were

ev er sin ce I w r o t e a w ho le essay o n th s before so I n e ed
.
i
,

say noth i n g n o w ; and I o nly n ame it b e ca u se it i s one o f the

most i m p o r ta nt co n sequen c es of this view o f society i f n ot ,

indeed the most im po rt an t .

A gain we can thu s explai n on e o f the m ost curi o u s facts

of the present w orld M ann er says a s hr ewd o b s erv er
.
“
, ,

w h o ha s se en m uch o f e xist i ng li fe m a nn er gets regularly “

,

worse a s yo u go from the E ast to the W es t ; i t i s best i n A sia

'

not so good i n E urope an d a l together bad i n the w est ern ,

”
states of A meri ca the rea s o n i s th i s a n imposing
.
-

al so all o m m g u s ages alon

g w it h itse l f I t ten ds to
¢
i nduce th e b b e d i e n ce o f ma nkind O n e o f the cleveres t .

n ovelists o f the pres ent day ha s a cu riou s dis s e r ta tio n to se t t l e

w h y o n the hunti ng fi e l d an d in al l co ll ect i ons of men s ome
-
, ,

”
men sn ub an d so me men get sn ubbed ;a n d why s ocie ty
“

m
—
a?
‘

c h ca s e the a s ndancy or the u b o r d ifia Ti an

r
eg g
ce T "
s

V OL V I I I
. .
7
98 P HYSI C S AN D POLI TI C S

M . I t i s n o t at al l M r T ro l l o pe fu l ly expla
,
ins .
,

“
rare ability which gai n s the supremacy ; very o ften the ill
treated man i s quite a s clever a s the man who i l l treats him -
.

N or does it abso l utely depen d o n wealth ; fo r tho ugh great ,

wealth i s almost a l ways a protecti o n from social ign o miny an d ,

wi l l always ensure a passive respect it wil l n o t i n a m i s ce l ,

l a n e o u s gro up o f men o f itsel f gai n an active power to sn u b

others S choo lboys i n the same way the novelist adds let
.
, , ,
“

”
some boys have domini on and make other boys slaves ,
And .

he decides n o do ubt tru ly that i n each case something i n

, ,
“

the man ner o r gait of the suprem e boy o r man h a s m uch to

d o with it { O n thi s acco unt i n early society a dignified man n er
.

i s o f essential impo rtance ; it i s then n o t o n l a n a u x iliary , ,

m ode of acqu iring respect but a pri ncipal m o e Th e co m ,

peti ng i nstitutio ns whi ch have n ow m uch superseded it had ,

n ot then begun A ncient i n stitutio n s o r venerated laws did

.

n ot then exist a n the habi tual ascendancy o f grave man ner

was a primary fo rce i n winn ing
thi s day it is rare to fi nd a savage almost
al ways they greatly excel i n it O n . I n dian
chief cam e from the prairies to s e e P resident Gra nt and every ,

body declared that he had the best man ners i n Washington .

T h e secretaries and heads o f departments seemed vu lgar to

him tho ugh of co urse i n trinsical ly they were i nfi n it e ly ab ove
, ,

”
hi m fo r he was only a pl un dering rasca l
,
“
B u t a n impres .

sive manner had been a traditi o n i n the societies i n which he

had l ived beca use i t was o f great val ue i n those societies an d
,

i t i s not a tradi tion in A merica for n owhere i s it less tho ugh t ,

o f o r of less u se than i n a rough E nglish co l ony ; the essen

, ,

i v i l i s at i o n there depend on far different infl uences .

manner being s o u seful and s o important u sages and

, ,

grow u p to devel op i t A siatic society is ful l of such .

things i f it sho u ld n ot rather be said to be compo sed of

,

them .

F rom the spiri t an d decisio n o f a p ublic envoy upo n cere

”
monies and forms says S i r j ohn Malcolm the P ersians very
, ,
“

general ly form their O pi ni on o f the character of the co untry

he represents T his fact I had read in books an d a l l I s a w
.
,
 P H YS I C S A N D POL I TI C S 99

convi nced me of its truth F o rtu nately the E lchee had resided .

at some of the pri ncipal courts of I n dia who se u sages are ve ry ,

similar H e w as therefo re deeply versed i n that impo rtan t

.
, ,

science deno mi nated K aida e n i s he s t o o b e r kh as t (or the a rt - - - -

of sitting and rising) i n which i s i n cl uded a kn owledge of the

,

form s an d man ners of good society an d particu larly those o f ,

A siatic k i ngs and their cou rts .

“
H e was quite aware on h i s first arrival i n P ersia o f the , ,

con sequence o f every step he took o n such delicate points he

was therefore an xi o us to fight al l h i s battles regarding cere
, ,

mo nies befo re he came near the footstool of royalty We were .

consequently plagued from the momen t we lan ded at A m ,

b u s h e h e r til l we reached S hiraz with daily alm ost ho u rly

, ,

dril ling that we might be perfect i n o ur demeano u r a t al l

,

places and u nder al l circum stances We were care ful ly i n

,
.

s tructed where to ride i n a processio n where to stand o r s i t ,

within doors when to rise from ou r seats how far to advance

-
, ,

to meet a visitor and to what part of the ten t o r house we

,

were to fol low him when he depart ed i f he was of s u fficient ,

ran k to make u s sti r a step .

T h e regu lati ons of ou r risings an d standings and m ovings ,

and re s e at i ng s w ere however of comparatively l ess i m por

, , ,

tance than the time a nd manner of smoki ng ou r K e l l i an s and

taking our coffee I t i s qu ite asto nishing how m uch depends
.

u pon coffee and tobacco i n Persia Men are gratified or .

offended accordi ng to th e m ode i n which these favou rite

,

refreshments are offered Y o u wel co m e a vi sitor or s end hi m .

,

off by the way i n which you cal l for a pip e or a c u p o f

,

coffee T hen you m ark i n the m ost m i nu te m anner every

.
, ,

shade of attention a nd consideratio n by the m ode i n which ,

he i s treated I f he b e above you you presen t th ese refresh

.
,

m ents you rsel f and do not partake ti l l com m anded ; i f equ al

, ,

you exchange pipes and presen t hi m with c offee taking the , ,

next c u p yoursel f ; i f a l ittle below you and yo u wish to pay ,

hi m attention you l eave hi m to sm oke h i s own pipe bu t the

, ,

servan t gives him according to you r co ndescending nod the

, ,

first cu p of coffee ;i fm u c h i nferio r you keep your distance an d ,

m aintain you r rank by taki ng the first cup of coffee you rsel f
, ,
 oo PHYSI C S AN D POL I TI C S

a nd then di recti ng the servan t by a wave of the hand to hel p

,

the guest .

When a vi sitor a r rives the coffee an d pipe are cal led for to
,

we l c o m e him a seco nd cal l for these arti c les an no u nces that

he m ay depart ;bu t this part of the cerem ony varies acco rding
to the relative rank or i ntimacy of the parties .

T hese m atters m ay appear light to those with wh om

O bservances of this ch aracter are habi ts n ot ru les ; but i n thi s ,
’
c ou ntry they are of prim ary consideration a m an s i m portance ,
”
with him sel f an d wi th others d epen ding on them .

n ancient c u sto m ary soci eti es the influence of m anner ,

h 18 a pri m ary i nfluence h as been settled into ru les s o that

, ,

a y aid established u sages and n ot thwart them — that i t

m ay above al l a ugment the fia bz t of go ing by c u stom an d not

’

, , ,

break an d weaken it E very aid a s we have seen was wanted

.
, ,

to i m pose the yoke o f custom upo n s uch societies ;a n d im pressi ng

the power o f m an ner to serve them was o ne o f the greatest aids .

A n d l astly we now u nderstan d hy order and ci v i lisati o n

,

are s o u n stable even i n progressive co m m u n ities We s e e fr e .

quently in states what physi o l ogis ts ca l l Atavism — the r e

part to the u nstable natu re o f their barbarous an cestors
,
.

h scenes o f cruel ty a nd h orror a s happen ed i n the great

F r ench Revol uti o n and a s happen m o re or less in every great
rim av e al ways been said to bring o u t a secret an d suppressed
, , ,
T

side o f h um an nature a n d we n ow s e e that they were t h e\ou t

,

break o f i nh eri te d pas s i ons l ong r e p r e bu tW

Starting i nto li fe a s s oon a s that repression w a s catastrophically
rem oved an d when s udden choice w a s given Th e irritabil ity
,
.

o f manki nd to o i s on ly pa rt o f thei r i mperfect transitory

, , ,

civi lisatio n and o f thei r o rigi na l savage nature They cou ld .

n ot l ook steadi ly to a given en d for an hou r i n their prehistori c

state ; an d even now when excited o r when sudden ly and
,

whol ly thrown ou t of their o l d grooves they ca n scarcely do s o ,

.

E ven som e very high races a s the F rench a nd the I rish seem
, ,

i n tro ubled ti m es hardly to be stable at a ll bu t to be carried ,

everywhere a s the passions of the m om ent and the ideas gen

c rated at the hou r may determ ine B u t tho roughly to deal
.
,

with such phenom ena a s these we m u st exam ine the m ode in

,
 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI C S 10 1

which nati onal characters can be em ancipated fro m the rul e o f

custom and ca n be prepared fo r the u se o f choice
,
.

No V .

T H E A G E OF D I S C U SS I O N

I .

Th e greatest l iving contrast i s between the o ld E astern

, f

and custom ary civi li sati o ns an d the new Wgsi gg La n d change fi

~

abl e civilisat ion s A year o r two ago an i nquiry was made o f

.

ou r m ost in tel ligent o fficers in the E a st n ot as to whether the ,

E ngl ish Govern m ent were real ly doing good i n the E ast but ,

as to whether the natives of I ndia them selves th ought we were

'

do ing good ; to whi ch in a m aj o rity o f cases the officers who ,

were the best a uthority an swered thu s : N o doubt yo u are

,

givi ng the I ndians m any great benefits : you give them con
t i n u e d peace F ree T rade the right to l ive a s they li ke subj ect to
, , ,

the laws i n these poi nts and others they are fa r better o ff than
they ever were ; but sti l l they can no t m ake yo u o ut What .

pu z zles them is you r constant dispo sition to change or as yo u ,

cal l it i mprovem ent

,
.T heir own l i fe i n every detai l being
regu lated by an cient u sage they cann ot co m prehend a pol icy
,

which i s a lways bringing so m ething n ew ; they d o no t a bit

bel ieve that the desire to m ake them com fortable an d happy is
the roo t of i t ; they bel ieve o n the contrary that you are aim
, ,

i ng at som ething which they do not u nderstan d— that you m ean

‘ ’
to tak e away their rel igion ; i n a wo rd that the end an d ,

object of al l these continual changes i s to m ak e I ndian s n ot what

they are and what they l ike to be but so m ething new an d ,

different fro m what they are and what they wou l d n ot l ike to
,

the E ast i n a word we are attem pting to put n ew

, ,

e s — to pou r what we ca n o f a civi lisation

whose s pi ri t is progress i nto the form o f a civi lisation who se

spirit is fi xi ® and whether we shal l succeed o r n o t i s perha p s
the m ost i nteresting questio n i n an age abo unding al m o st
beyo nd exam ple i n questi on s o f pol itical i nterest .

H istorical i nqu iri es show that the feeling of the H i ndoos

i s the old feeli ng and that th e feel ing of the E nglishm a n is a
,
 oz PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI C S

m o dern feeling O l d law rests

. Maine pu ts,

it not on contract bu t on statu s

, n c i e n t civi li
.

sati o n so far as l egal reco rd s go r

,
wh en
,

every i mportant particu l ar of l ife was sett l ed by a u sage which

was soci al politica l and rel igi o u s as we shou ld n ow say al l
, , , ,

those who ob eyed i t cou l d not have been ab le

those distincti ons had no pl ace i n th eir m i nd
and language bu t which they fel t to b e a usage of i mperishabl e
,

i m port and ab ove al l

,
form er
papers I have shown or at l east tried to sh ow why thes e c u s
, ,

t o m a r y civili sations were th e o nly on es which suited a n early

society ; why so to say they alone c ou l d have b een fi rst ; i n
, ,

what m an ner they had i n thei r very structu re a decisive ad v an

B ut now com es th e further qu esti on
i nvariab l e i ngredi ent i n early civi lisations how ,

civi lisation becom e u n fi xe d ? N o doubt most

civi l isations stuck where they first were ; n o dou bt we see now
why stagn ation i s the rul e of the world and why progress i s the
m
,

v ery rare excepti on ;b n what it i s which has

caused progress i n these few c ases or the absence of what i t i s ,

which has denied i t i n al l others .

T o thi s qu estion history gives a very clear and very r e

markabl e answer / Tfis that the c han ge from the ag e of statu s
.

to th e age o f choice was first m ad e i n states where the govern

ment was to a great and a growi ng extent a government by
d i s cu s silofi) and where th e subj ects o f that discussi on were i n
i

stract or as we sh ou l d say m atters of princi pl e

, , , .

smal l repub lics o f Greece and I taly that the

as fi rst broken L iberty said Le t there b e
.
,

l ight and lik e a su nrise on the s e a A thens arose says S h el ley

, , , , ,

and hi s histori cal ph i losophy i s i n thi s case far more correct

than i s usual with hi m A free state—a state with l i berty .

means a state cal l i t republic or cal l it monarchy i n w h ich th e

, ,

sovereign power i s divided between m any person s and i n ,

which there is a discussi on a m ong those persons O f these .

the Greek republ ics were the first i n hi story i f not in ti m e and , ,

A the ns was the greatest o f those republ ics .

g
(g t e r the event i t is easy to see why the teaching o f hi story
i
 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS 10
3

should be thi s a nd nothi ng el s €> I t is easy to see why the

common discu ssion of com m on actions or com mon interests
should become the root of change and progre s s In early society .
,

o riginality I n l i fe was forbidden and repressed by the fi xe d rule of

m
1 m so i n ancient G reece as
in som e other parts of the world B u t it was v ery much s o even
.

there A s a recent writer h a s wel l said L

.

M
a w then presented
,
“

u "

i tsel f to m en s m inds as som eth ing venerabl e and u nc ha ng e

’

abl e as old a s the ci ty it had been delivered by the founder

,

h i rfi s e l f when he l aid the wal ls of the ci ty and k indled i t s

‘

, ,

”
sacred fire A n ordinary m an who wished to strik e out a
.

new path to b eg{ fl e w and important practice by hi msel f

, ,

wou ld have been perem ptori ly required to abandon hi s novel

ties o n pain of death he w as devi ating he woul d be told from , ,

the ordinances imp osed by the gods on his nati on and he m u st ,

not do so to please himself O n the contrary others were

.
,

deeply i nterested i n h i s acti ons I f he disob eyed the god s

.
,

might i nflict gri evou s harm o n al l th e people as well as hi m .

EM n c i e n t k ind of partnerships was

su pposed to have the power of attracting the wrath of the

divi nities on the entire fi rm upon the other partners ,

qu ite as much as u pon himsel f T h e qu aking bystanders .

i n a su p erstitious age woul d soon have slai n an isolated

bold man in the b eginning o f his i n novations What .

Macau lay so reli ed on as the incessant sou rce of progress— the

desire of m an to better hi s conditio n — was n ot then perm itted
man was required to live as hi s ancestors had lived .

further awa y from those ti mes were the free “

and the advanci ng sciences of which we now hear

“

Th e fi rst and m ost natura l subj ect upon which

human thought concerns i tsel f i s religi on ;the first wish o f the
hal f emancipated think er i s to u s e hi s reason on the great
-

probl em s of human destiny— to fi nd ou t whence he cam e

and whither he goes to form for hi msel f the most reasonable
,

i dea of God which he ca n form B ut as Mr Grote happi ly .

,
.

said — This i s u su ally what ancient tim es would not let a man
“

do H i s g ens or his gbp a/ Tp fa requi red hi m to bel ieve a s they

.

bel ieved T ol erat ion i s o f al l idea s the most m odern b e

. ,
 1 04 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS

cause the notion that the bad religion o f A can not i m pai r here or ,

hereafter the w el fare of B i s strange to say a modern idea

, , , , .

”
A n d the hel p of s cience at that stage of thought i s sti l l
“
, ,

m ore nugato r y P hysical science as w e co nceive i t — that i s

.
, ,

the system ati c i nvestigati on of external natu re i n detai l — did

not then ex i st A few i solated observations on su rface things
.

a hal f correct cal endar secrets m ainly of priestly invent n

- -
,
io ,

and i n p riestly cu stody— were all that was then i m agined

® e

i dea o f using a settled stu dy o f nature as a basis for the d i s c o v

ery of new i nstru ments and new things did not then ex i® I t ,

i s i ndeed a m odern i dea and i s pecul iar to a few E u rop ean

,

countries even yet I n the m o st i ntel lectual city o f the ancient

.

world i n its m ost i ntel lectual age S ocrates i t s m ost i ntel lect
, , ,

ual i n habi tant di scou raged the stu dy of physi cs because they e n
,

gendered uncertainty and did not augm ent hu m an h ap pi ness

, .

Th e k i nd of k nowl edge which i s m ost connected with hu m an

progress now was that l east connected wi th i t then .

discu ssi on i f i t can be borne at o nce , ,

yoke o f fixed cu sto m T h e idea of the two .

A s far a s it goes th e m ere pu tti ng up o f a ,

s ubj ect to discussion wi th the obj ect o f being guided by

,

that di scu ssi o n i s a clear adm issi on that that subj ect i s
,

i n no degree settled by establ ished ru le and that m en are free ,

to choose i n it I t i s an adm ission too that there i s no sacred

au thority—mo o ne transcendent and divinely appo i n ted m an
.

whom i n that m atter the com m u nity i s b ou n d to obey A n d .

i f a singl e subj ect or grou p of subj ects b e once ad m itted to

discu ssion ere long the hab it o f discu ssion com es to b e estab
,

l i s h e d the sacred charm of u s e and wont to be di ssolved

, .

”
D em ocracy i t ha s been sai d i n m odern ti m es i s lik e the
, ,
“

”
i t tak es b ut i t does not give
, Th e sam e i s tru e o f .

O nce effectual ly su b m it a su bj ect to that ordeal ,

er withdraw it agai n you can never agai n clothe

by consecration ; it rem ai ns for
ex posed to profane del iberatio n .

ti l l a very late age o f civi lisation can be sub m itted to di scussio n

i n the co m m u nity are the q u estions i nvolving the vi si bl e
,
 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI C S 10 5

W U hu o mm u ni ty q
they are pol itica l
questions o f high and urgent im port I f a n ati o n has i n any .

considerable degree gained the habit an d exhibited the capacity , ,

to discuss these questions with freedom and to decide them ,

with discretion to argue m uch o n po litics and no t to argue

,

ruinou sly an eno rm ou s advance i n o ther kinds o f civ i li satio n

,

m ay confidently be predicted fo r it A n d the reaso n i s a pl ain .

deduction fro m the principles which we have fou nd to gu ide

early civilisation Th e first p rehistori c men w ere passio nate
.

savages with the greatest di fficu l ty coerced into order and

,

com pressed i nto a state F o r ages were spent i n beginning

.

that order an d foun di ng that state ; the only su ffici ent and
effectual agent i n so doing was consecrated custom ; bu t then
that C
ress
W
and the origina i y of m an k ind I f
M
therefore a
g , “ S tayed lt .
, ,

nation is abl e to gain the benefit o f cu sto m without the evil

i f after ages of waiting i t can have order and choice together
— at once the fatal clog I s a y d and the ordi nary springs
_ g rnp e
_ ,

o f progress as in a m odern com m u nity we conceive them

, ,

b e g i fiT Hé i r elastic acti o n .

D i s cu s s i o too has incentives to progress pecu liar to itsel f

, .

I
k w m T o s e t out the argum ents
requi red to determ in e po l itical actio n with such fo rce and
effect that they really shou l d determ ine it is a high and great ,

exerti o n of intellect O f course al l such a rgum ents are pro

.
,

d u ce d under condition s the argu m en t abstractedly best is not

necessari ly the winni ng argu m en t P olitical discussio n must
m ove those who have to a ct ; it m u st be fram ed i n the ideas ,

and be consonant with the precedent of i ts tim e j u st as i t , ,

m ust speak its language B ut within these m arked con diti on s

.

goo d discussio n i s better than h a d ; no people c a n bear a

governm en t o f discussio n fo r a day which does not withi n , ,

the boundaries of its prej udices and i t s ideas prefer good ,

reasoning to bad reaso ning sound argu m ent to un sou nd A,

.

pri ze for argu m entative m in d i s given i n free states to which ,

n o other states have anyt hi ng to com pare .

T olerance too i s learned in discu ssion a nd as history

m
, ,
I

n e d f I n al l cu stom a ry S ocieties bigotry

‘

s how
f ’
106 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS

i s the ru l ing princip l e I n rude pl aces to thi s day any o ne

.

who says a nythi ng new i s l ook ed o n with su spicion and i s ,

persecuted by o pi n ion i f n ot i nj ured by p ena lty @ e of .

the greatest pains to hu m an nature i s the pai n of a new

ide a} It i s as com m o n peopl e say s o
,
u psetting i t m akes ,

you thin k that a fter a l l you r fav ou rite n otio ns m ay be wro ng

, , ,

you r fi r m e s t bel iefs i l l fou nded i t i s certain that til l n ow there

-

was no place al l otted i n your m in d to the new an d sta rtli ng

i nhabitant and n ow that i t has co nquered an entrance you do
,

not at o nce see which of you r o l d i deas it wi l l or wi l l not turn

out with which o f them i t can be reco ncil ed an d with which
, ,

it i s a t essenti al en m i ty N atural ly therefo re com m on m en

.
, ,

hate a new idea and are dispo sed m o re or l ess to i l l treat the
,
-

o rigi nal m an who brings it E ven nati o ns with lon g habits of

.

discu ssion are i ntol eran t en o ugh I n E ngl and where there .
,

i s o n the whole probably a freer discu ssi o n o f a greater n u mber

of subj ects than ever was befo re i n the wo rld we kn ow how ,

m uch power b i g ot ry r e tai ns B ut discu ssion to be successfu l

.
, ,

I t fai l s wherever as i n a F rench political ,

assem bly a ny o ne wh o hear s anythin g which he d isl ikes tries

,

to how l i t down GPwe k no w that a nati o n i s capable o f e n

.

d urin g conti nuou s d i scu ssion we k no w t h at i t i s capabl e o f ,

practi sing with equan i m i ty co ntin uous t o l e r a n cb

T h e power of a govern m ent by di scussi o n as an i n stru m ent
of elevati o n plain ly depends— other things bei ng equal — o n
the greatness or l ittle ness of— thg thj ngs tg he d i s c us sed T here ‘
.

are periods when great id e as are i n the air and when from , ,

so m e cau se or other even com m on perso n s seem to pa rtak e

,
-

o f a n u nusua l elevatio n The age of E l i z abeth i n E nglan d

.

was conspicu ously such a ti m e T h e new idea o f the R e fo r .

m ation in reli gi on and the en largement of the m ce m a m u nd z

' ’

by the discovery o f n ew an d si ngu lar lan ds taken to gether , ,

gave a n i m pu l se to thought which few i f any ages can equ a l , , .

Th e discu ssion though n o t whol ly free was yet fa r freer than

, ,

i n the average of ages and countries A ccordingly every .

,

pursu it seem ed to start forward P oetry science a nd archi .

, ,

tecture di fferent a s they are and rem oved as they al l are at

, ,

fi rst sight from su ch an i nflu ence as discussi o n were sudden ly ,

 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI C S I 9 7

started o nward Macau lay wou ld have said yo u m ight rightly

.

read the power o f discussion i n the poetry of S hakespeare “

,

i n the prose of Bacon in the ori el s o f Longl eat and the

, ,

stately pi nnacl es o f B urleigh T his i s i n truth but another , ,

case of the pri nciple of which I have had occasion to sa y s o

much as to the character of ages and cou ntri es I f any parti .

c u l a r power i s m uch pri z ed i n a n age those possess ed of that

,

power wil l be i m itated ; those defici ent i n that power wi l l be

despised I n co nsequence an u nusual quantity of that power
.

wi l l be developed an d be conspicu ou s Within certai n li m its

,
.

vigo rous and elevated thought w as respected i n E lizab eth s ’

ti m e and therefore vigorou s an d elevated thi nkers were many

, , ,

and the effect went far beyon d the cause I t penetrated i nto .

physical science for which very few m en ca red ; an d i t bega n

,

a reform in phi losophy to which al m ost a l l were then opposed .

f the age encouraged originality and ,

sequence origi nal m en started i nto promin ence wen t ,

hither and thither where they liked a rrived at goals whi ch the ,

age never expected and s o made it ever mem orabl e

,
.

I n this m anner al l W
ancient and m odern times have been nearly c on nected i n time
g h t i n

ian
e n e ra l

have al l had a special and pecu liar quicke n

ing influence which they owed to thei r freedom a nd which
, ,

states witho ut that freedom have never comm u n icated A n d .

i t h as been at the time of great epochs o f tho ught— a t the

-

P e l o p o n n e sia n War at the fal l o f the Ro man Republ ic at the

, ,

Reformation at the F rench R evol uti o n — that such l iberty o f

,

speaking an d think ing have produced their ful l effect .

I t i s o n thi s account that the discussions o f savage tribes

have produced s o l ittle effect in emancipating those tribes
from their despotic customs T h e o ratory o f the N orth
.

A merican I ndian — the first savage whose pecu l iarities fixed

themselves in the public imagination — has become celebrated ,

and yet the N o rth A merican I ndians were scarcely i f at a l l , ,

better orators than many other savages A lmost al l of the .

savages who have melted away before the E nglishman were

 better speakers than he i s B ut the orato ry o f the sava es has
.

led to n othi ng a nd was l i kely to l ead t o no thi n g

,
It is a .

disc ussi o n n ot o f prin cipl es but of u ,

an d sho u ld be u ndertaken
whether expedition B wi l l not an swer and sho u ld n ot be u nder ,

taken ; whether vi l lage A i s the best vi l lage to pl under o r ,

whether vi l lage B i s a better S uch discussi on s a ugment the

.

vigo u r o f language M , y an d devel op ,

those gifts o f demean o ur an d o f gesture which gxci te the co n

fid e n ce o f the hearers B ut they do n ot excite the specu lative
.

i ntel l ect do n ot l ead men to argue specu lative (W

, M
hu e s t i o n ancient pri nciples T hey i n so me material respects
.
, ,

improve the sheep within the fo l d b ut they d o n ot hel p them

o r i ncl in e them to l eap out o f the fo ld .

T h e n ext questi o n therefore i s Why did discu ssi on s i n

, , ,

some cases relate to pro l ific ideas and why d id discu ssion s i n ,

other cases relate o n ly to i solated transacti on s ? Th e reply

whi ch histo ry suggests i s very clear a nd very remarkabl e .

S om e races o f m en at o ur earliest k n owledge o f them have

already acqu ired the basis o f a free co n stituti on ; they have
already the rudiments o f a complex po l ity— a m o narch a ,

senate and a gen eral m eeti ng o f citizen s The Greeks were

,
.

o ne o f those races and it happened a s w a s natural that there

, , ,

was i n process o f time a struggl e the earl iest that we k n ow o f , ,

between the aristocratical party origi nal ly represented by the ,

senate and the po pu lar party represented by the general

, ,
“

”
meeting T hi s is plai nly a questi o n o f pri ncipl e and its
.
,

bei ng s o has l ed to its history being written more than two

thou sand years afterwards i n a very remarkable man ner .

S ome seventy years ago a n E ngl ish co u ntry gentleman nam ed

M itford who l ike so many o f hi s age had been terrified i nto
, ,

aristocratic opin i o ns by the first F rench Revo l uti o n sudden ly ,

fo u nd that the history o f the P el opo n nesia n War wa s the reflex

of h i s own time H e took up hi s T hucydides and there he
.
,

saw as i n a m irro r the pro gress an d the struggles o f hi s age

, , .

I t requ ired some freshness of m ind to s e e this at least it had ,

been hidden fo r many centuries A l l the m odern histo ries o f .

G reece before Mitfo rd had but the vaguest idea o f it and n ot

 PHYSI CS AND POL I TI C S 10 9

being a man o f supreme o rigi nality he wou l d do ubtless have ,

had very l ittle idea o f i t either except that the anal ogy o f ,

what he s a w helped him by a tell ing obj ect lesso n to the ’

-

u nderstan di ng o f what he read cjust as i n every co u ntry o f .

E urope i n 1 7 9 3 there were two factio n s one o f the old wo rld ,

-

aristo cracy and the other o f the incom ing democracy j ust
, ,

s o there w as i n every city of ancient Greece i n the year 4 00

W
,
‘

B C
. . one party o f the many and an other o f the fe w f Th i s M r
,
.

M itford perceived and being a stro ng aristocrat he wrote a

, ,

history w hich i s l ittle except a party pamphlet and which

, , ,

i t must be said i s even n ow readabl e on that very accou nt

,
.

Th e vigo u r o f passio n with which it was written puts l i fe i nto

the words an d retai ns the attenti o n o f the reader A n d that
,
.

i s not al l Mr Grote the great schol ar who m we have had

. .
,

l ately to mou rn also recognising the identity between the

,

struggles o f A thens a nd S parta and the struggles of o u r

m odern world a nd taking vi o lently the co ntra ry side to that
,

o f M itford being a s great a democrat a s M itford was an ari sto

,

cr a t wrote a reply far above M itford s history i n power an d

’

, ,

learning bu t being i n i ts main characteristic a lm ost i dentical

, ,

being above al l things a book o f vigo ro us pol itical passio n ,

written fo r person s who care fo r po l itics and not as a lmost , ,

all histo ries o f antiqu ity are an d m u st be the book o f a man ,

who cares for scholarship more than fo r a n ytll i n g else written a

,

main ly i f not excl usiv ely fo r scholars A nd the effect o f ,

.

fundamental political discussio n was the same i n a ncient a s i n

m odern times Th e who le cu stomary ways o f thought were
.

at once shaken by it n d shaken n ot on ly i n the closets o f ,

phil osophers b ut in e commo n tho ught an d dai ly busi ness

,
"

”
o f o rdinary men Th e liberatio n o f humanity a s Goethe
.
“
,

used to cal l i t — the deliverance o f men fro m the yoke o f

i nherited usage an d of rigid u n questi o nable law —w a s begu n
, ,

i n Greece and had many of i t s greatest effects good and evil

, , ,

o n Greece I t i s j ust beca use of the anal o gy between the

.

controversies o f that time and those o f o ur times that some

one has said C lassical history i s a part o f m odern hi story ;
,
“

it i s m e d i mva l history only which i s anci ent

I f there had been n o discussion of princi ple i n G reece ,
1 10 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI C S

p robably s h e wou ld sti l l have pro duced wo rks o f art H om er .

contains n o such di scussio n Th e speeches i n the .

which M r G ladsto ne the m o st co m petent o f l ivi n g j udges

.
, ,

mai ntain s to be th e fi nest ever com posed by man are not d i s ,

c u s s i o n s o f pri nci pl e T here i s n o m o re tendency i n them to

— .

cri ti cal dfi lfi i s i t i o n than there i s to po l itica l eco n omy I n .

Herodotus yo u have the begi n ning of the age o f di scussion .

He bel o ngs I n h i s essence to the age whi ch 13 go i ng o ut

n -

He .

refers with reverence to establ ished ordina nce an d fix ed re

l ig io n . S ti l l i n h i s travel s through G reece he m ust have
, ,

heard en dl ess po litica l argum ents ; and acco rdingly you c an

fi n d i n h i s b o ok m any incip ient traces o f abstract po l itica l d i s

q u is iti o n T h e discou rses o n dem ocracy aristo cracy a nd

.
, ,

m o n archy which he puts into the m o uth o f the P ersian c o n

,

s p i ra t o r s when the m on archy w a s vacant have j u stly been cal led ,

absu rd as speeches suppo sed to have been sp oken by those

,

persons N o A siatic ever tho ught of s uch things Y o u m ight

. .

a s wel l i m agi ne S au l or D avi d speak ing them a s th ose to whom

H ero dotu s attri b utes them They are Greek speeches ful l o f .
,

free G reek di scu ssio n a nd su ggested by the experience already

, ,

con siderabl e o f the Greek s i n the resu lts o f discussio n Th e

, .

age of deb ate i s begi nn in g an d even H ero dotu s the least o f , ,

a wra ngler o f any man an d the m ost o f a sweet and si m ple ,

n arrator felt the effect When we c om e to Thucydides the

, .
,

res u lts o f di scussion a re as ful l a s they have ever been ; h i s

”
light 15 p ure dry l ight free fro m the hu m ou rs of h abi t
, , ,

and pu rged fro m co nsecrated m ag }; A s Gr o te s history often ’

reads lik e a repo rt to Parl iam ent s o hal f T hucydides reads l ike ,

a sp eech or m aterials fo r a speech i n the A thenian A ssem bly

, ,
.

O f later ti m es it i s u nn ecessary to sp eak E ve ry page o f .

A ristotle and P lato bears a mple and indel ible trace o f the age
of l ived an d tho ught cannot possibly
be d el iverance of the sp ecu lative in tel lec t from tra
d i t i o n a l and cu sto mary authori ty w a s al together c o m p le te
”
D
N o doubt th e detachm ent from prej udice and the s u b ,

je ct i o n to reason which I as c ri be to ancient A thens on ly

, ,

went down a very l ittle way among the pop u lation o f it Tw o

. .

great cl asses o f the people the slaves and wom en were al m ost , ,
 PHYSI C S AN D POL I TI C S I l

excl uded from such q u ali tf s; even the free popu lati on dou bt
l ess contai ned a far greater propo rti on of very ign orant and
very superstiti o us perso ns than we are i n the habit o f i m agin
i ng We fix ou r attention on the best speci m ens of A thenian
.

cu lture— o n the books which have descended to u s an d we ,

forget that the co rpo rate action of the A thenian peopl e at

vari ou s critical j unctu res exhi bited the m ost gross superstition .

S ti ll a s far as the i ntel lectual and cu ltivated part o f society i s

,

concerned the triu m ph of reason w as com pl ete ; the m i nds of

,

the highest phi losophers were then as ready to obey evidence

and reason a s they have ever been since ; probably they were
m ore ready Th e ru l e o f cu stom over them a t least had been
.

whol ly broken and the pri m ary conditions of intel lectual pro
,

gress were i n that respect satisfied .

a
y be said t hat I am giving to o m uch weight to the
classical idea of hu m an devel op m ent ; that history contains the
rec o rd of an other progress a s wel l ; that i n a certain sens e
there was progress i n j u d a a as wel l as i n A thens A n d u n .

questionably there w as progress bu t it w as o nly progress upon

,

I f we except religion a nd om i t also al l that

“

the j ews had learned from foreigners it m ay be dou bted i f ,

there be m uch else n ew between the ti me o f S am uel and that

o f Malachi I n rel igi on there was progress b ut without it there
.
,

was not a ny This w a s du e to the cau se o f that progress A l l

. .

over antiqu ity al l over the E ast and over other parts o fflfi
h
'

world which g em
, ,

s nearly their ancient condition ,

4 e
“ 3

_
o ’

the possessor of a l ike present i nspi ration C urtius describes .

the disti nction wel l in relation to the condit ion of Greece with
w hich history first presents u s

Th e mantic art i s an institution total ly different from the

priesthood . I t i s based on the belief that th e gods are i n con
stant proxi m ity to m en and i n thei r governm ent of the world
, ,

which com prehends every thing both great and sm al l wi l l not ,

disdai n to m ani fest their wi l l ; nay i t seem s necessary that

, ,

whenever any hitch has ari sen i n the m oral system of the
hu m an world this shoul d al so m an ifest itsel f by som e sign i n
,
112 P HYSI CS A N D POL I TI C S

the world of natu re i f on ly m orta l s are abl e to u nderstand a nd

,

avai l them selves of these d ivine hi nts .

F o r thi s a speci al c apacity i s requ isite ; not a capacity

which c a n b e l earnt l ik e a hu m an art or science bu t rather a ,

pecu li ar state of grace i n th e case o f singl e in dividu al s and

singl e fami li es whose ears and eyes are opened to the divi ne
revel ations and who partici pate m ore l arge l y than the rest
,

of m ankind i n the divine spi ri t A ccordi ng l y it i s th ei r o ffice

.

an d cal ling to assert themselves as orga ns of the d ivin e wi l l ;

they are j u stified i n opposing their au thority to every power of
the world O n this head co n flicts were u navoidabl e and the
.
,

reminisc ences living i n the Greek people o f the agency of a ,

T iresias and C a l chas prove h ow th e H eroic k ings experienced

,

not on ly support and aid but al so oppositi on and viol ent pro
,

”
tests fro m the mouths of the me n of prophecy
, .

u d ze a there w a s exactly the sam e opp os ition as e l se

re A l l that is new com es from the prophets ; al l which

.

( 1 i s retai ned by th e priests B ut the pecu l iari ty of j u da a

.

a pec u l iarity which I d o n ot for a m om ent pretend that I

-

c a n explai n — i s that the p rop eti c revel ati ons are taken as a
h ,

whole i ndisputably i m provem ents ; that they contain as tim e

, ,

goes o n at each succeedi ng epoch hi g her

,
better vi ews o f
,

eli
r g — i on B ut
. the pecu liarity i s n ot to m y present purpose .

Myp o
h

Tn t is that there i s no such s p re ad i n g i m p e t u s i n progress

thu s c au sed as there is i n progress cau sed by di scu ssion To .

receive a particu l ar co ncl u sion upon the zps e u pon the

accepted au tho rity of an ad m ired i nstructor i s obviously not ,

s o vivifying to the argu m entative and qu estioning i ntel lect a s

to argue ou t concl usions for you rself .

progress caused by the p rophets

ancient cod e o f au tho ri tative u sa e) O n the contra ry the two
g
W
,

w i n e y
r — I n each generatio
fl n th e ann ab e

“
bu ilt the sepu lchres and accepted the teaching of past pro
p h e ts even
,
whil e i t w as sl aying and persecu ting those who

w ere l ivi ng B u t discussi on and c u stom cannot be thu s com

.

”
b i n e d ; their m ethod as modern philosophers wou ld s ay i s
“
, ,

a n tagon istic A ccordingly the progress of the c l assi cal states

.
,

gradually awakened the whole i ntell ect ; that of Ju d a a w a s

 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS 1 13

partia l a nd i mproved rel igion only A n d therefore i n a history .

, ,

of i ntel lectual p rogress the classical fil ls the su perior and the

,

Jewish the i n ferior pl ace j ust as in a special history of theology

o nly the pl aces o f the two might be i nterchanged
, .

A second experiment h a s been tried o n the sam e subj ect

matter Th e characteri stic of the M iddle A ges m ay be a p p r o xi
.

mately though on l y approximately— described as a retu rn to

-

the peri od o f authoritative u sa e and as a n abandon ment of the

not for an instant m ean that this i s an ex act description of the

mai n m edi ae va l characteri stic ; n or can I discuss how fa r that
characteristi c was an advance u pon those o f previ ous times ;
its friends say it i s far better than the pecu liarities of the classical
peri od its enemi es that it is far wo rse B u t both fri ends and .

enem ies wil l admi t that the most m ark ed featu re of the M iddl e
A ges may ro ughly be describ ed as I have described it An d .

my point i s that j u st as thi s medi aeval characteristi c was that

o f a retu rn to the essence of the c u stomary epoch which had
'

mark ed the pre A thenian times s o it w a s disso lved much

-
,

i n the sam e mann er as the i nfluence of A thens an d other ,

i nfluences like it claim to have di ssolved that custom ary

,

epoch .

Th e pri nci pal agent i n breaki ng u p the persi stent medi aeval
customs which were s o fixed that they seemed l ik ely to last
,

for ever or ti l l some hi storical catastrophe overwhel med them

, ,

was the popu l ar element in the ancient pol ity which was eve ry
where di ffused i n the M iddl e A ges Th e Germani c tribes .

brought w ith them from their anci ent dwel ling place a poli ty -

containi ng lik e the classical a k ing a cou nci l and a popu l ar

, , , ,

assembly ; and wherever they went they c arried these elements ,

and varied them as force com pel led o r circumstances requ ired
, .

A s far as E ngland i s concerned the excel lent dissertati ons of ,

M r F reeman and M r S tubbs have proved this in the amplest

.
.

manner and brought i t hom e to persons who can not claim to

,

possess m uch antiquarian l earning Th e history of the E nglish .

C o nstitution a s far as the world cares for it i s i n fact the

, , , ,

complex history of the popu lar el ement i n this a ncient pol ity ,

which was sometimes weaker a nd sometimes stronger but w hich ,

VO L V I I I . 8 .
1 14 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS

has never died o ut has comm on ly possessed great though

,

varying power an d i s now entirely predominant T h e history

,
.

o f this growth is the history of the E ngl ish peopl e ; a nd the

discu ssions about this Constitutio n and the discu ssions withi n
it the controversies as to its structu re an d the co ntroversies a s
,

to i ts true effects have m ainly trained the E ngl i sh pol itical i n

,

t e l l e c t i n so far as it i s trai ned ( 8 t i n m uch o f E urope an d

,
.
,

i n E ngland particu larly the i n fl u ence o f religio n has b een very

,

di fferent from what it was i n an tiqu ity It h a s been an i nfluen c e .

’
o f discussion S i nce L uther s tim e there has been a conviction
.

m ore or less rooted that a m an may by an intel lectual process

,

thi nk o ut a religion fo r h i m s e lffia n d that a s the highest of al l ,

duties he o ught to do s o Th e i nfluence of the po l itical discu s

,
.

si o n and the i nfluence o f the rel igiou s discussio n have been s o

, ,

lo ng and s o firm ly c o mbined an d have s o effectu al ly enfo rced

,

o ne another that , an d
a uthority as t h ,
over
th e best m i nds alm o st no effect .

It i s true that the i nfl u ence o f discussi o n i s not the on ly

for c e which has produced this vast effect Both in anci ent an d .

i n m odern tim es other fo rces c o operated with it M aj or ‘

-
.

exampl e is obvious ly a fo rce which h as done much to bring

,

m en of different c ustom s a nd different beli efs i nto cl ose co n

t i g u i ty an d has thu s aided to change the cu sto ms and the b e
,

l i efs o f them al l Co l o n i sati on i s an other such i nflu ence : it

.

settl es m en am ong ab o rigines o f al ien race and usages an d it ,

c om monly compel s th e col on ists n ot to be over strict in the -

choice of their own elements ; they are obl iged to coalesce with
”
and adopt u sefu l bands an d u sefu l men though their a n
“
,

ce s t r a l custom s m ay n ot be identica l n ay though they may be , , ,

i n fact opp o site to thei r o wn

,
In m odern E urope the ex istence
.
,

o f a cos mopol ite C hurch) cl ai m ing to be above nations a n d

m
,

rea lly e foug h n ations and the scattered rem ai ns of ,

R o man l aw and Rom an civil isatio n c o o perated with the l i ber -

ating i nfluence o f po litical discussion A n d s o did other cau ses .

al so But perhaps i n n o case have these subsidiary ca uses alo ne

.

been abl e to generate in tel lectu al freedom ; certainly i n al l the

most remark able case s presided
 PHYSI CS AN D P OLI TI CS I I 5

at the creat ion o f that freedo m and h as b een active and ,

d o minant i n it
N o doubt apparent cases of exception m ay easily be found .

I t m ay be said that i n the court o f A ugustu s there w a s m uch

general intel lectual freedom an almost entire detachment from
,

ancient prej udice b ut that there was n o free po l itical discussio n at

,

al l B ut then the ornaments of that time were derived fro m

.
, ,

a time o f great freedom : it was the republ ic which trained the

men whom the empire ruled Th e cl ose congregation of mo st .

miscel l aneou s elements u nder the empire w a s n o do ubt of , , ,

itself u n favourabl e to i nherited prej udice and favo urabl e to i ntel ,

lectua l exertion Y e t except in the in stance of the C hurch

.
, ,

which i s a pecul iar subj ect that requires a separate discu ssion ,

how l ittle was added to what the republ ic left " Th e power of
free i nterchange o f ideas being wanting the id eas them selves ,

were barren A l so n o doubt m uch i ntel lectual freedom may

.
, ,

emanate from co u ntries of free po l itical discussion an d pene ,

trate to cou ntries where that discussion is l imited T hu s the .

intell ectual freedom of France i n the eighteenth century was i n

great part owi ng to the prox im ity of and incessant i ntercou rse
with E ngland and H ol land V oltai re resided among u s and
.

’
every page o f the E sp r i t a es Loz s proves how m uch Montes
'

q u i e u learned from l iving here B ut of course i t was only .

, ,

part of the F rench culture which w a s so derived : the germ

might be foreign bu t the ti ssue was native A n d very natu r
, .

al ly for it wo u ld be absurd to cal l the a n cz en r eg z m e a gover n

' '
’

ment without discussion : discussi o n abo unded there only by , ,

reason o f the bad fo rm o f the government i t was n ever sure ,

with ease a nd certai nty to affect pol itical action Th e despotism .

“
tempered by epigram was a governmen t which permitted
,

argum ent of l icentio u s freedom wi thin changing l im its and ,

which was ru l ed by that argu m ent spa sm odical ly and practic

ally though not i n nam e o r c o n s i s te n t ly I
.

But though in the earli est and i n the latest tim e government
by dis cus sion h as been a principal organ for i m provi ng manki nd ,

yet from its o r i g i n k i t is a p lant of singular del icac y A t first

, .

the chances are much agai nst ig l fvi fi F Q Tn7 he beg i n n i ng the
u

'
-

members of a fr e e s t at e are o f n ecessity few T h e e ssence of i t

i .

ale
8
 1 16 PH YSI CS AN D POL I TI CS

requ i res that discussion shal l be brought hom e to those members .

7 B ut i n early tim e when writing i s d i fli cu l t reading rare and

, , ,

representation u ndiscovered those who are to be gu ided by th e ,

d iscussi o n m ust hear i t with thei r own ears m u st be brought ,

face to face w ith the o rato r an d m u st feel hi s i nfluence for ,

them sel ves Th e fi rst free states were l ittl e towns sm al ler than
.
,

a ny political divi sion which we n ow have except the Republ ic ,

o f A ndorre which is a sort o f vestige of them

,
I t i s in the .

m ark et place of the cou ntry town as we shou ld n o w speak

-
‘

, ,

m
'

anfl fi é
'

r s é fi ce r n i n
g t h e m arket town that disc u s
v '

-
,

sion began and thither al l the long trai n o f i ts consequences

,

may b e t r ace d back S om e historical i nqu i rers l ik e mysel f

'

.
, ,

c a n hard ly l ook at su ch a place without som e senti m ental

m using poor and trivial as the thi ng seems But such sm al l
, .

t o wns are very feeble N u mbers i n the earl iest wars as i n th e

.
,

l atest are a m ai n sou rce of vi cto ry A n d i n early tim es one

,
.

k ind of state is very com m o n and is exceedi ngly nu merous .

I n every qu arter o f the g l obe we find great populations com

a c t e d by traditiona l cu stom and cons e crated senti m ent which
p ,

are rul ed by som e s ol dier— general ly so me soldi er of a foreign

tribe who has conquered them and as i t has been said
, , , ,
”
“
vau lted on the back of them o r whose ancestors have done ,

so T hese great popu l ation s ruled by a si ngle wi l l have

.
, ,

dou btl ess trodden d own and d estroyed innu m erable li ttl e cities
,

who w ere j ust beginni ng thei r freedom .

I n this way the Greek cities i n A si a were su bjected to the

P ersi an power and s o oug h t the citi es i n Greece proper to have
,

been subj ected al so E very schoolboy m ust have fel t that

.

nothi ng bu t a ma z ing fol ly an d unm atched m is managem ent

saved Greece from conquest both i n the tim e of X erx es and
i n that o f D ariu s T h e fortu nes of i ntel l ectu al civi l isation were
.

then at the m ercy o f what seem s a n i nsignifica nt probabi l ity .

I f the P ersia n l eaders had only shown that d ecent sk i l l and

ordinary m il i tary prudence which i t was lik ely they wou l d
show G reci an freedom wou l d have been then a t a n end
,
.

A thens l ike so m any I onian ci ties on the other si d e o f the

,

I Eg e an wou l d hav e b een absorbed i nto a great despoti sm ; al l

,

we now remember her for we shoul d not rem em ber for i t ,

 PHYSI C S AN D POLI TI C S 1I 7

wou ld never have occu rred H er citi zen s m ight have been
.

i ngeni ous and imitative and c lever ; they coul d not certai n ly
, ,

have been free an d o riginal R ome w as preserved from sub

.

je ct i o n to a great empire by her fortun ate distance from one .

Th e early wars of Rom e are with cities like Rome— abou t

equ al i n si z e though i nferi or i n val our I t was only when s h e
,
.

had conquered I taly that s h e began to m easure hersel f agai n st

A siatic despotisms . Sh e becam e great enough to beat them
before s h e advanced far enou gh to c ontend wi th them B ut .

such great good fortun e w as and m u st b e rare U n num bered .

l ittle citi es which might have rival l ed Ro m e or A thens doubt

l ess perished withou t a sign l ong before history was imagi ned .

Th e smal l size and slight strength of early free states m ad e

them a lways l iabl e to easy destruction .

A n d thei r internal frailty i s even gre a ter A s s oon as

"

discussion begi ns the savage propensities o f m en break fo r tlLL L ‘

even in modern com m u ni ties where those propensitie s too

, , ,

have been weakened by ages of cu lture a n d repressed by ages ,

o f obedience as soon a s a vital topic for di scu ssion i s wel l

,

started the keenest and m ost vi ol ent passi o ns b reak forth .

E asily d estroyed as are early free states by forces fro m with

out they are even m ore l iable to destructio n by fo rces from
,

within .

O n t hi s ace o u n t s uch s t a te s are very rare i n history

f
U pon .

the first vi ew of the facts a speculation m ight even be s e t u p

that they were pecul iar to a particul ar race By far the most .

i m portant free institutions and the o nly ones which h ave left
,

l iving representatives i n the worl d are the offspring either o f

,

the first co nstituti o ns of the cl assical n_at_ i9 n s or o f the first _

constitu tions o fthe Germ anic n ations Al l l i vi ng freedom ru ns , _ _

\
back to them and t h o s e t r u th s which at fi rst sight woul d seem
,

W h i s t o r i ca l freedom ca n be traced to them

,
And .

both the Germ ani c and the cl assical nati on s bel ong to what
ethnol ogists cal l the rac e P l au sibly i t might b e?
“
.

argued that the powe r o f form ing free states was superior i n
and peculiar to that fam ily o f m anki nd B ut u nfortu nately .

fo r this easy theo ry the facts are inconsistent w ith i t I n the .

first p lace al l the s o cal led A ryan race certainly is n ot free

,
-
.
1 18 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI C S

Th e eastern A ryans —those for exam ple who speak l angu ages
, ,

derived from the S anscrit— are a m o n g s t the m ost slavish

divisio ns o f m ank ind To offer the B engal ese a free c o n
.

s ti t u t i o n and to ex pect them to work o ne woul d be the

, ,

m aximu m o f hu m a n fol ly T here then m ust be so m ethi ng

.

else besides A ry a n descent w h m

f
aryfi t m e n for
di scussi on and train them fo r liberty a nd what i s worse fo r ,

the argu m ent we are opposi ng so me no n A ryan races h ave ,

-

been capabl e of freedom C arthage for ex am pl e w a s a

.
, ,

S em itic republic We d o not k now all the detail s o f i ts con

.

s t i t u t i o n bu t we k now enough fo r ou r present pu rpose

, We .

k now that i t was a government in which many propo sers

took pa r t an d u nder which discussion was constant active
, , ,

a n d co ncl u sive N o doubt Tyre the parent ci ty of C a rthage

.
, ,

the other co l on ies of T yre besides Carthage a nd the col on ies ,

of Carthage w ere al l as free a s C arthage We have thu s a

,
.

whol e grou p of anci ent repu b li cs o f non A ryan race and on e -

,

which b ei ng m ore ancient than th e cl assi cal republ ics cou ld

, ,

not h av e borro wed from or i m itated them S o tha t the theo ry .

which wou ld m ak e governm ent by discussio n the excl usive

patri m ony o f a si ngl e ra c e of m anki nd i s on the face o f it
u nten abl e .

not prepared with a ny sim pl e cou nter th eo ry

ro fe ss to expl ai n com pl etely why a v ery s mal l
I )
m inim u m of m ank i nd were a s l ong as w e k now of them , ,

possessed o f a pol ity which as tim e went o n suggested d i s

c u s s i o n s o f princi pl e a nd why the great m aj ority of m ank ind
,

had nothi ng l ik e it T his i s a l m ost as hopel ess a s ask ing

.

why M i l ton was a geniu s and why Bacon was a phi l osoph er .

I ndeed i t i s the sam e b ecause the causes which give birth to

,

the startlin g vari eties of i ndivi du al character and those which ,

give bi rth to si mi l ar vari eti es of nationa l character are i n , ,

fact the sam e I have i ndeed endeavou red to show that a

, .
, ,

m ark ed type of i ndivi du a l character o nce originati ng i n a

nation and o nce strongly p referred by it i s l ik ely to be fi x ed ,

on i t and to b e perm anent i n it from cau ses which were stated ,

.

Granted the begi nning of th e type w e m ay I thi nk explai n , , ,

i t s developm en t and aggravation but we c annot i n the l east

 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI C S 1 19

expl ai n why the incipient type of c u r i o u s ch ara ct e r s e out '

,

i f I may s o say i n one pl ace rather than in another

,
i mat e .

”
and physical su rrou ndings in the largest sense have u n
“
, ,

qu estionably much i nfluence t tor in the cause ,

but they are not the on ly fact most dissimi lar

races of men living in the s a m é cli mate an d affected by the
’

sam e su rroundings and we have every reason to bel i eve that

,

those un li k e races h ave so lived as neighbou rs fo r ages Th e .

cau se of types m ust b e som ethi ng outsid e the tribe acting o n

som ethi ng within — so m ething i nherited by th e tri be Bu t .

what that som ething i s I do not k n ow that any on e c an i n

the l east ex pl ain .

T h e fol l g m in g g og diti on s m ay I think be histori cally

g , ,

traced to the nation capab l e of a pol ity which su ggests p ri n ,

ci p l e s for discussi on and s o l eads to progre ss

, Ei rs t t he .
fi
c

n at i g u n ust p o s s e s s the
fi
“ M M Q
‘ i n som e form s o marked

m
-v

tie d i s t i n w
fi
i

3 5 to i v e i g rrfi ly ll— and to mak e

g c ’

a ho ni e education and a hom e d iscipl ine probabl e a nd

‘

possible Whi le descent i s traced only through the m other

.
,

and whi l e the fam i ly i s therefore a vagu e entity n o progress ,

to a high polity is possible S e co n d l t h . d see _

fam ilies i nto cla ns o r g e n res ,

W d e n i n g of
nation s s o a s to i nclude circum ,

j acent outsiders a s wel l a s the firs t co mpact an d sacred group

,

—the n u mber of parties to a discussion was at fi rst augm ented

ve ry slowly Th i d l s u b e ct s — as
'

we should say nowadays— that is o f subjects on which public ,

opi nion was optional and on which discussion w a s ad m itted

, ,

l ed eve rything original ly ,

argum en t w a s enlarged bu t very sl owly .

I f I am a t a l l right that area cou ld on ly b e en larged thus

,

sl owly for custom was i n early days the cem ent of society
, ,

and i f you sudden ly questioned such custom yo u wou ld

destroy society B u t though the exi stence of these conditi ons
.

m ay be traced histo rica lly an d though the reason of the m ,

i
may be explained p h i l o s o p h i ca lly f h e y do not com pl etely
so lve the questi on why som e n ations have the polity and som e
 z o PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI C S

the contrary they plainly l eave a l arge

,
residu al
”
p no m e n o n u nexplai ned an d u nknown .

I n this m an ner pol itics or discu ssi on broke u p the old

bonds of custom which were now strangli ng m ank ind though ,

they had once a ided a nd helped it B u t this i s o nly one of the .

m any gifts which those po liti es have conferred are conferring , ,

a nd wi l l confer on m ank i nd I am n ot goi ng to write an

.

eu logium o n l iberty bu t I wish to set down three points which

,

have not been su ffi ciently noticed .

sed ages i nherit the hu man n atu re which was vi cto riou s
ous ages and that natu re i s i n m any respects not at al l
, , ,

to civi lised circu m stances A m ai n and pri ncipal excel

.

n the early ti m es o f the hu m an races i s the im pu l se to

Th e problem s before m en are then plai n and si mple .

an who work s hardest the m an who k il l s the m ost deer

, ,

the man who catches the m ost fi s h — even later on the m an who ,

tends the largest herds or the m an who til l s the l argest fi e ld

,

i s the m an who succeeds the nation which i s qu ick est to

k i l l i ts enem ies or which k ill s most of i ts enem ies i s the nation
, ,

which suc ceeds A l l the inducem ents of early soci ety tend to
.

foste r i mm ediate action ; a I ts pena t I e s fa Tori the m an who

pauses ; t e tra I I ona wisdom o f those ti mes w a s n ever weary
”
of i nculcati ng that delays are dangerous
“
and that the ,

s luggish man — th e man who roasteth n o t that which he to ok

i n hunting wil l n ot prosper o n the earth and indeed wi l l
-
,

very soo n perish o ut o f it A n d in c o nw .

to sta y quiet a n i rritabl e desi re to act directly i s o n e o f the

, ,

fai lings o f manki nd .

’
that m ost o f th e evil s o f l i fe a ro se from man s “

”
to sit stil l i n a roo m a nd though I do not go
t is certai n that w e shou ld have been a far wiser
race than we a re i f we had been readi er to s i t qu iet — w e shoul d
‘

have k n own m uch b e t t e i;the way i n which it w as best to a ct

when w e cam e to act KI Qr rise o f physic al science the first
.
-

great body o f practica l truth p rovab l e to a l l m en exem pl ifi es ,

 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS 121

this i n the plain est way I f it had no t been for qui et peopl e
.
,

who s at sti l l an d studied the secti ons of the c o naj f other

quiet p eopl e had not s a t sti l l and studi ed the th eory o f i n
fi n i t e s i m a l s or other qu iet people had not sat sti l l a nd worked
,
”
out the doctri n e o f chances the m o st d reamy m oonshine as , ,

the pu rely practical mind wou ld co nsid er o fa l l human pursuits ,

i f id le star ga z ers had no t watched l ong and carefu l ly the

“
-

m oti ons of the h eaven ly bodi es — ou r m odern astro nomy wou ld

have been i m possibl e an d wi thout our astronomy o u r ships
,
“
,

”
ou r co lon ies o u r seamen al l which makes m odern l i fe
, , ,

m odern li fe could no t have existed A ges o f sedentary qu iet .

,

thinking peopl e were required befo re that no i sy existence began ,

and witho ut those pale prelim i nary students it n ever cou ld

have been brought i nto being A n d n ine tenths o f .
-

sci ence i s i n this respect the sam e : i t i s the produce

whom their co ntem pora ries thought dream ers —w h
laughed at for cari ng fo r what di d not co ncern them —w h o a s ,

the proverb went w alked i nto a wel l from looking at the

,

stars — who were believed to b e u seless i f any o ne coul d be ,

'

such A n d the conclusi on i s plai n that i f there had been

.

m ore such people i f the world had not laughed at those there
,

were i f rather i t had encou raged them there wou l d have been
,

a great accu m u latio n of proved sci ence ages b efore there was .

”
I t was the i rritabl e activi ty the wish to be doing something , ,

that prevented it Most m en inheri ted a natu re too eager and

.

too restl ess to be qui et and fi n d o u t things ; and even w orse t

W ith their idl e cl amour they di sturbed the b roodi ng hen “

,

they wou l d not let those be qu iet who wished to be so an d ,

out of whose cal m thought m uch good might have come

fo rth .

I f we con sider how m uch science has done and how much
i t i s doing fo r m ank ind a nd if the over activity o f men i s
,
-

proved to be the cause why scien ce came s o late into the

world an d i s s o sm al l and scan ty sti l l that wi l l convince m ost
, ,

peo ple that ou r over activity i s a very great evi l But this i s
-
.

o n ly part and perhaps n ot the greatest part of the harm that

,

over activity does A s I have said it i s i nheri ted from times

-
.
,

when li fe was sim ple obj ects were pl ain and qu ick action
, ,
122 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI C S

general ly led to desi rable ends I f A k il ls B befo re B k ill s A

.
,

then A su rvives an d the hu ma n race i s a race of A s B ut

,
’
.

the issues o f li fe are plain n o l onger act rightly in .

m o dern society requires a great dea l o f study a great ,

deal o f assimi lated i nformation a great deal o f sha rpened i m

,

a g i n a t i o n ; an d these prerequ i sites of sound actio n requi re

”
m uch tim e and I was go ing to say much lyi ng i n the su n
, , ,
“
,

a l ong period of mere passiveness

>
one another which at fi rst particular y trained men to be qu ick
,

now requ ires them to be slow A hasty genera l is the worst of

.
:
E ven the art o f k i l l ing
,

genera l s nowadays ; the best is a sort o f V on M oltk e who i s ,

passive i f a ny m an ever w a s passive ; who i s silent i n seven “

”
l angu ages who possesses more and better a ccu m ul ated i n fo r
m ati on as to the b est way o f k i ll ing people than any one who
ever l ived T his m an pl ays a restrain ed and c o n siderate
.

game of chess wi th hi s enemy I wish the art of ben efi ti ng .

men had k ept pace wi th th e a rt o f destroying them ; for

though war has become sl ow phi lanthropy has rem ai ned ,

hasty Th e m ost m elancholy o f hu man reflectio ns perhaps i s

.
, ,

that on the whole i t i s a qu estion whether the benevol ence o f

, ,

m ank i nd does m ost good or harm Great good n o doubt .

, ,

philanthropy does but then i t al so does great evi l I t aug

,
.

ments s o m uch v ice it mu ltipl ies s o m uch su fferi ng it bri ngs

, ,

to l i fe such great popul ations to su ffer and to be vici o us that ,

it is open to a rgu m en t whether it be or b e n ot an evi l to the

w orld and this i s entirely because exce l lent peop le fancy that
,

—
they c a n do m uch by rapid acti on that they wi l l m ost benefi t
the wor l d when they m ost rel ieve their ow n feel ings ; that as
soo n as an evil i s seen som ethi ng ought to be do n e to stay
and prevent i t O n e m ay i nc li ne to ho pe that the balance o f
.

good over evi l i s i n favou r o f benevol ence : one c a n hardly

bear to thi nk that it i s not s o ; bu t anyhow it i s certai n that
there is a m o st heavy deb it of evi l and that thi s bu rden m ight ,

a l most all have b een spared u s i f phi l anthropists a s wel l a s

others had not i nheri ted from their barbarou s forefathers a

d_
w i l p a s s i o n for i nstant action .

E ven i n commerce which i s n ow the mai n occ upati o n of

,

a nd o ne i n which there is a ready test o f suc c ess

 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS 1 23

and fail ure wanting i n m any higher pursu its the same di sposi ,

ti o n to excessive acti on i s en t to careful observers .

art o f every mania is c m p o s s i b i l i ty to get people

to con fine themselves to t h 3 5 for which thei r

capital i s s u ffi ci
®
a n d i n which they can engage sa fely

some degree o f co u rse this i s ca u sed by the wi sh to get rich ;

In .

, ,

b ut i n a c o nsiderable degree too by the mere l ove of activity

, ,
.

i s a greater propensity to action i n such men tha n they

the mean s of gratifying O perati on s with their own.

1 wi l l o nly occupy four hours of the day a nd they wi sh

“

to b e active and to be i ndustriou s for eight hours and s o they ,

are rui ned . If they cou ld only have s a t idle the other four
ho urs they wo uld have been rich men T h e am usements o f
,
.

mank ind at least o f the E ngl ish part of mank ind teach the
,
’
,

same lesson .O u r shooting ou r ,

o ur travel l ing o u r ,

cl imbing have ézom e laborio u s p u I t i s a com mon say

i ng abroad that an E ngl ishman s notion o f a hol iday i s a
“ ’

fatigu ing j ou rney and this i s only another way o f saying

that the immense energy and activity which have given u s our
place in the world have i n many cases descen ded to those who
d o n ot find i n m odern l ife any m ode of u si ng that activity and ,

o f v ent ing t hat energy .

E ven the abstract speculations o f mank ind bear conspicuo us

traces of the same excessive im pu lse E very sort o f p h i l o s o .

been systematised an d yet as these philosophies utterly

,

i ct on e another m o st of them can n o t be tru e

,
Un .

proved abstract pri nciples wi tho ut n umber have been eagerly

caught up by sangu in e men and then carefu l ly spu n out i nto
,

books and theories which were to explai n the who le wo rld

,
.

B ut the world goes clear agai nst these abstraction s and it ,

m ust do s o as they r e q u I r e it to go i n antagon istic directions

,
.

Th e mass of a sy s tem attracts the yo u ng and im p resses the

u nwary ; bu t cu l tivated people are very d ubio us abo ut it .

T hey are ready to receive hi nts and suggestio n s a n d the ,

smallest real tru th i s ever wel com e B u t a la rge book o f de .

d u ct i v e phil osophy i s m uch to be suspected N o doubt the .

deductio ns may be right ; i n most writers they are s o ; bu t

where did the premises come from ? Who i s sure that they
 24 PHYSI C S AN D POLI TI CS

are the wh o l e tru th an d nothi ng b u t the truth of the matter

, ,

i n han d ? Who i s n o t al m ost sure befo rehand that they wi l l

co ntai n a stran ge mixtu re of tru th an d erro r an d therefo re ,

that i t wi l l not be worth whi le to spend l i fe i n reason i ng over

the ir consequ ences ? I n a wo rd the superflu o u s energy ,

manki nd h as flowed over i nto phil osophy a nd h ,

big 5 stem s what sho u l d have been l eft a s l ittle suggestions

Y
.

-
7§n d i f the old systems o f tho ught are n o t tru e a s s y s t e rfi s,
’
’
/

neither i s the new revo lt from them to b e trusted i n i ts whole

” vigo ur T. here i s the sam e origi nal vice i n that al so T here .

I s an excessive energy i n revol utio n s i f there i s such en ergy

a nywhere C T h e passi o n fo r acti o n is qu i te as ready to p u l l

\
.

down as to b ui ld u p , probably it i s m o re ready for the task ,

i s easi er .

O l d th i n gs ne e d n ot b e f
th e r e or e t u e , r
0 b ro th e r m e n, n or y e t th e n e w
Ah , sti ll awh i l e th e o l d th o u h g t re tain ,

ye t con s i d e r i t a gai n
”
An d .

B ut this is ex actly what the h uman m i nd wi l l n ot do It .

wi l l act someho w at once I t wi l l not con si der it agai n

.
“

B u t i t wi l l be said What ,
to
do wi th these things ? Wi l l i t prevent them or even m itigate ,

them ? I t c a n an d does d o b o t h i n the ve ry pl ai nest way (If

’

yo u want to stop i n stan t an d im medi ate actio n always make ,

i t a conditi on that the acti o n shal l n ot begi n ti l l a considerable

n u mber o f person s hav e talked over i t and have agreed o n If ,
/
?
I f thos e persons be peopl e o f di fferent temperam ents di ffer ent ,

ideas an d di fferent ed ucati o ns yo u have an alm o st i n fal lib l e

, ,

security th at nothing or al mo st n othing wil l be done with ex

, ,

c e s s i v e rapidi ty E ach k i nd o f perso ns wi l l have their spok es

.

m an ; each spok esman wi l l have h i s characteristic obj ectio n ,

an d each hi s c haracteri sti c co u nter proposition and s o i n the -

,

en d nothing wil l probably be do n e o r at l east o n ly the m i n i ,

m um which i s p l ai nly urgent I n m any cases this delay may

.

b e dangero u s ; in m any cases qu ick action wi l l be preferable

\
.
fl
K

A campaign as M acau lay wel l says cannot be d i rected by a

, ,
”
“
debating society ; and m any other k i nds o f a ction also
requ ire a si ngle and abso l ute gen eral B ut for the p u rp os e .
 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS 12
5

now i n hand — that of preventing hasty action and ensuring ,

el aborate consideration — there i s n o devi ce l ike a pol i ty of

di scu ssi on .

T h é e ne m i e s of this obj ect — the peop le who want to act

‘

qu ickly— s e e this very They are for ever explaining

”
that t present i s an a e of co mmittees that the committees
“
,

do nothing that al l evapo rates i n tal k T hei r great enemy is

, .

Parl iam entary government ; they call i t after M r Carlyl e the

; they add up the h o u r m ns u m
.
, ,

a t i o n a l pal ed

i n it and the speeches which are made I n i t and they sigh fo r

, ,

a time when E nglan d m ight again be r ul ed a s it o n ce was , ,

by a C ro mwel l— tha t i s when a n eager absol ute man m ight

, ,

do exactly what o ther eager m en wi shed and d o it imme d iately , .

A l l these invectives are perpetua l and many sided ; they come -

from phi l osophers each of whom wa n ts s ome new scheme

,

tri ed ; from philan thropi sts who want some evi l abated ; from,

revol ution ists who wan t som e old i nstitution destroyed ; from
,

n ew a ra i s t s who wan t their n e w se ra started forthwi th A n d

,
.

they a l l are d istinct adm iss ion s that a polity of di sc u ssion

i s the greatest hindrance to the i nherited m istake of h uman
natu re to the des i re to act promptly wh ich in a simple a ge
, ,

i s s o excellent b ut which i n a later a n d com plex tim e leads

,

ation agains t ou r age s ometimes takes a

a l fo rm I t i s al leged that our en ergies are diminish
.

o rdinary and average men have not the quick

ion n owadays which they used to have when the
younger ; that not o n ly do not com mittees and
P arl iaments act with rapid decisiven ess but that n o one now ,

s o acts . A n d I hope that i n fact this I s true fo r accor di ng t o ,

it prove J h at the W
ar b a r i c M e cay i ng

fi
J
“

ut S o far fro m thi nkin g the qu ality attributed to

m
.

am w i s h that those who compl ain of i t were far more

/

right than I m uch fear they are S ti l l certainly eager and .

, ,

vi olent actio n i s somewhat diminished t hough o nly by a smal l ,

fraction of what i t ought to be A n d I b e l i e ve that this i s .

i n great part due i n E nglan d at l east to ou r government by

, ,

di scu s sion which has fostered a general i ntel lectua l tone a

, ,
 26 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI C S

di ffu sed di sposi tion to weigh evidence a convi ction that m u ch ,

m ay b e said on every side of everything which the el der and

m ore fanatic ages of the world wanted T hi s i s the real reason .

m s o m uch less than tho se o f ou r fathers .

a definite end i n View which we k now we want , ,

think we k now h o w t o obtai n we can act wel l ,

T h e cam paign s of o u r s o l d i e rs are as energ etic as

t

any campaigns ever were ; the specu lations of ou r m erchants

have greater pro mptitude greater audacity greater vigou r than
, ,

any su ch s pecu lati o ns ever had before I n ol d t i mes a few .

i deas got possession of m en and com m unities bu t thi s i s ,

happi ly now possib le n o longer We see how i ncom p lete .

these o l d ideas were ; how al most by chance one sei z ed on on e

nati o n and a n other on an other ; how o ften on e se t of m en
,

have persecuted a nother set for opin ions on subj ects o f which
neither we n ow perceive k new anything I t m ight b e wel l
, ,
.

i f a greater nu m ber o f effectual dem onstrati o ns exi sted am ong

m ankind but whi le no such dem onstrations exi st and whi l e ,

the evidence which completely convi nces one man seem s to

another trifli ng and i nsu ffi cient l et u s recognise the plai n posi
,

ti o n o f i nevi tabl e doubt Le t u s n ot be bigots with a doubt

.
,

and persecutors without a creed We are begi nni ng to s e e thi s

.
,

an d we are rai led at fo r s o begi nning B ut i t i s a great benefit

.
,

and i t i s to the i ncessant prevalence of detective di scussio n that

o u r doubts are du e ; and m uch of that d iscussi o n i s du e to the
l ong ex istence of a governm ent req ui ring co nstant debates ,

written and o ral .

T hi s i s one of the u nrecogn ised benefits o f free govern m ent ,

one o f the m odes i n which it counteracts the excessive i nherited

i mpul ses o f h um anity T here i s another al so fo r whi ch i t does
.

the sam e but which I can o nly touch deli cately and w hi ch at
, ,

first sight wil l seem ridi cu l ou s Th e m ost su ccessful races oth er

.
,

In
the con flicts of m ank i n d n u m bers have ever been a great
power Th e m ost nu merou s group h a s always had an a d v an t
.

gg e o ve r T
_ _
h e l es s nu m erous and the ,
fastest breedi ng gro u p
has a l ways tended to be the m ost numerous I n consequ ence .
,

hum an nature has de s cended i nto a co mparatively u n co n t e n

 PHYSI CS AN D P OLI TI C S I 27

tious civi lisati o n with a desi re far in excess o f what i s needed

,

”
with a felt want as pol iti cal econom ists woul d say altogether
, ,
”
greater than the real want “
A walk i n Lo ndon is al l which
.

i s necessary to establ ish this Th e great s i n of great cities

.
“

i s one vast evi l consequ ent upon i t A n d who is to reckon up .

how much these words mean ? H ow m any spo i led l ives how ,

m any broken hearts how many wasted bodies ho w many

, ,

ruined m i nds how m uch misery pretending to be gay how m uch

, ,

gaiety feeli ng itsel f to be m i serable how m uch after m ental ,

pain how much eating an d transm itted di sease A n d i n the

,
.

moral part of the worl d how m any m inds are racked by i n ce s

,

sant anxiety how many tho ughtfu l imagi nation s whi ch might
,

have left something to mank ind are debased to m ean cares ,

how m u ch every su ccessive generatio n sacrifices to the n ext ,

how l ittle does any of them mak e o f itself in c omparison with

what m ight be A n d how m any I rela nd s have there been in
.

the worl d where men woul d have been co ntented and happy
i f they had only been fewer ; how m any m o re I relands wo uld
there have been i f the i ntru sive nu mbers h a d no t been k ept
down by infanticide and vice a nd m isery ow painfu l i s the .

co ncl usi on that i t i s dubi o u s whether a l l the machines and

’
i nventions of mank ind have yet l ightened the day s l abour o f
“

”
a human being They have enabl ed m ore peopl e to exi st
.
,

but these peopl e work j ust as ha rd and are j u st as mean and

miserabl e as the elder and the fe w eb
B ut i t wi l l be said of this p as srsa j u st as i t was said o f the
passion of activi ty Granted that i t i s in excess how can you
.
,

say how o n earth c a n any one s ay that government by discu s

,
i
,

sion can i n any way cu re or dimi nish i t ? C ure this evi l t hat
government certainly wi l l not but tend to dimi ni sh i t— I thi nk
i t does an d m ay T o show that I am not m aki ng premi ses to
.

su pport a concl usion s o abnormal I wi l l quote a passage from,

W ,
the phi losopher who has done m ost to i ll ustrate

ogress o fcivi lisatio n which the never ceasing -

on m ust produce wi l l be accompan ied by

,

I n dividuatio n both i n structure and

,

al ly in nervo u s structure and function .

1 28 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI C S

T he peaceful struggle for existence in s ocieties ever growi ng ,

m o re crowded an d m o re c o m p li cate d Lgnu s t have fo r i t s c o n

comitant a n in he great nervo us centres i n mass in ,

complexity i n , b ody o f em o tio n n eeded

as a fo u ntain o f energy fo r men who have to ho l d their places
an d rear thei r fam i l ies u nder the i n tensifying competiti o n of
social l i fe is other things equal the co rrelative o f l a rger brain
, , ,
.

T hose higher feel ings presupposed by the better sel f regu latio n -

which i n a better soci ety c a n al o ne enab le the i ndividu al to

, ,

leave a persistent posterity a re other things e q ual the c o r , , ,

relatives of a m ore compl ex brain ; a s are a lso those m ore

numerou s m ore varied m o re general and m o re abstract ideas
, , , ,

which mu st al so beco me i nc reasingly requ isite for successful l ife

I Ah d the genesis o f thi s l arger quantity
’
a s society advances
x
.

o f feel ing and t h o u g h m a brai n thu s augmented I n s i z e and

devel oped I n structure i s other things equal the correlative o f
, , ,

a greater wear of nervous ti ssue an d greater con sumpti o n o f

materi al s to repai r i t S o that both i n o rigi na l cost o f c o n
.

struction and i n s ubsequent cost o f work ing the nervou s system ,

m ust become a heavier tax o n the l r e ad y the

brai n of the civi lised ma n i s la rger y per cent .

than the brai n o f the savage A lready too it presen ts an .

, ,

i ncrea sed hetero genei ty—especial ly i n the distribu tion o f i t s

~

convol uti o n s A n d further changes l ike these which have

.

taken place u nder the discipl ine of civi li sed l i fe we i nfer wi l l ,

continu e to take place B ut everywhere an d a l ways

.
,

n i s t i c to procreati

m aintenance whether it be i n thei r added

,

structure o r whether i t be i n their higher a ct i v i

,

tio n o f the required material s impl ies a dim i ni

materia l s for race m a i n t e n a n ég A n d we have seen reaso n to
-

bel ieve that thfi a M i vi d u a t i o n a nd Genesis

beco m es u nusual ly mark ed where the nervo u s sy s t e m fi s c on f
' '

cerned becau se o f the co stl iness o f n ervo u s structure and

,

fu nctio n I n 34 6 was po inted o ut the apparent co n n ecti o n

.

between high cerebra l devel opm ent and pro l o nged delay of
sex ual m aturity ;and i n 3 6 6 3 6 7 the evidence went to sho w , ,
 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS 1 29

that ere exceptio nal ferti lity ex ists there i s sl uggishness of

m in an d that where there has been during educatio n e xce s
r

sive expenditure i n mental acti on there frequently foll ows a

‘

complete or partial infertility H ence the p a r t i cu l a .

fu rther evol uti on which Man i s hereafter to undergo i s ,

which m ore than any other m ay be expected to c a u

, ,

decli ne i n hi s power of reproduction .

5 means that men who have to live an i ntel l ectual l ife ,

c a n b e i nduced to lead o ne wi l l be l ikely not to have ,

chi ldren as they wou l d otherwi se have had In .

cases thi s m ay not be true ; such m en m ay even

have many chi ldren — they may be men i n al l ways o f u nusual
power and vigour But they wi l l not have their m axi m um o f
.

posterity— wi l l not have s o many as they wou l d have had i f

they had been carel ess or thoughtl ess men ; a nd s o u pon an ,

average ,
e i ssu e o f su ch i ntel lectualised m en wi l l be l es s
numerous than those of the u n i n t e ll e ct u a fl N
'

N ow su pposi ng thi s phi l osophical doctri ne to be tru e

,

and the best phil osophers I think bel ieve i t— its appl icatio n
, ,

to the case i n han d i s pl ain N othi n g p rom otes i ntellect

.

l ike intel lectual discussi on and nothing p romotes i ntel lectual

,

di scussion s o much as government by discu ssio n Th e per

,
.

p e t u a l atm osphere of i ntell ectual i nqu iry acts powerful ly a s ,

every one may s e e by looking abou t hi m i n L ondon upo n ,

the constitution both of men and wom en T here i s only a .

‘
certai n gu a m u m of po wer i n each of our race ; i f it goes i n o ne
way it i s spent and can n ot go i n another T h e in tel lectual
, .

atmosphere abstracts strength to i ntel l ectua l matters ; i t tends

to divert that strength which the circum stances o f early
society directed to the mu ltiplicati on of nu mbers ; and a s a
pol ity o f discussion tends above a l l things to produce a n
, ,

i ntel lectu al atmo sphere the two things which seemed s o far
,

off have been shown to be n ear and free government h a s in , ,

a second case been shown to tend to cure an i nherited excess

,

o f hum an nature .

Lastly a pol ity o f discussion not o nly tends to dimini sh

,

our inherited defects bu t al s o i n one case at least to augment

, , ,

a heri table excellence It tends to strengthen and increase a

.

VO L V I I I
. .
9
130 PHYSI C S AN D POL I TI C S

qual ity o r co mbi nation o f qu alities singularly usefu l in

cal l i fe— a qual ity which it i s not easy to describe exactly ,

he issues o f which i t wou l d requ ire n ot a remnan t o f an

essay but a whol e essay to el u cidate co m pletely M
,
.

a ni m a ted m od er a t i on .

t o describe what i t i s which d i s

t i n g u i s h e s the writings of a man of gen ius who i s also a great
m an of the wo rld fro m a ll other wri tings I thi nk he wou ld use ,

these sam e wo rds an imated moderati o n

,
“
H e wou ld say
that such writings are never slow are never ex cessive are never , ,

exaggerated ; that they are al ways i nsti nct with j ud an d

yet that j udgment i s never a du l l
mu ch sp irit i n them as wou ld go to m ake a wi ld writer a nd
ve a s d
,

yet that every li ne o f them is the pro duct of a sane and sound
writer Th e best and QL
i s S g p tt
. ’’
E of this i
H omer was perfect i n i t a s far as we can j udge
.
n C W
E ngl ish
, ,

S ha k espea re i s often perfect i n i t fo r l ong together though ,

then fro m the defects of a bad educati o n and a vi cious age

, ,

a l l at on ce he l o ses him self i n excesses S ti l l H o m er and .

, ,

S hakespeare at hi s best and S cott tho ugh i n o ther respects s o

, ,

u nequal to them have this remarkable quality i n commo n

,

this u ni o n of life fi t wj tb r e aso nat

g
n acti on i t i s equal ly this qual i ty I n which the E n glish
at l east s o I cl aim i t for them — excel all other n ations T here .

i s an i nfinite deal to be l ai d against u s and a s we are u npopu lar ,

with most others an d a s we are always gru m b li ng at ou rselves

, ,

there i s no wa n t of peopl e to s a y it Bu t after all in a certai n .

, ,

s ense E ngl and i s a success i n the world her career has had
,

many fau l ts bu t s t i l l it h as been a fi ne and wi nni ng career

,

upon the whole A n d thi s on accou nt of the exact possession

.

o f this particu l ar qu ali ty What i s the m aki ng of a successfu l

.

m erchant ? T hat he has plenty of energy and yet that he ,

does no t go too far A n d i f you a s k fo i a d escription of a

.
'

great practical E ng l ishm an you wi l l be su re to have this or , ,

som ething lik e i t Oh he has plenty of go i n hi m ; but h e

,
“
,

k nows when to pu l l u p H e m ay have al l other d efects

i n him ; he m ay be coarse he may be i l literate he may b e , ,

stupid to ta l k to ; sti l l this great u nion o f s p u r an d brid l e of ,

 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS 13 1

energy and m oderation wi l l rem ai n to him P robably he wi l l

,
.

hardly be abl e to explai n why he stops when he does stop or ,

why he conti nued to m ove as long as he in fact moved ; but , ,

still as by a rough i nsti nc t he pul ls up pretty mu ch wh ere he

, ,

shou though he was goi ng at such a pace before .

re i s no better exam ple of this quality in E nglish states

P a lmerston T here are of cou rse m any m ost
.
, ,

0 be m ade agai nst him Th e sort o f hom .

age with which he was regarded in the last years o f hi s li fe

has passed away ; the spel l is brok en and the m agic cannot ,

be agai n revived We m ay thi nk that hi s i nformation was

.

meagre that hi s imagination w as narro w that hi s aim s were

, ,

short sighted and fau lty B ut though we m ay often o bje t to

é
- .

his obj ects we rarely fi nd m uch t o cri tici se i n his m e a n s

, He
”
went it has been said with a great s w ing
, ,
b u t he n ever
tumbled n a e d to pu l l u p before there “
g
was any an odd man to have inherited
H a m p d e n s motto ; sti ll in fact there was a g reat trace i n him
’
, ,

of m ed z ocr z a fi r m a — as m uch probably as there cou l d be i n

' ’

, ,

any one of such great vivacity and b uoyancy .

I t is plain that this i s a qu ality whi ch as m u ch as i f n ot ,

more than any other m u lti plies good resul ts i n practica l l i fe

, .

It W W M e m intell ect

W ie nt e rc e p t i o n ; bu t i t does not mak e m

“
_

al l i ntellect ; i t does not sick ly them o er with the pal e cast bf

en
’

ot h i ng§ They see to

as wel l as to s e e that they are good A n d i t i s plai n .

that a government by popular di scussi on tends to produce thi s

qual ity A strongly idiosyncratic m ind vi ol ently disposed to
.
,

extrem es of opinion i s soon weeded ou t o f pol itical l ife and a

, ,

M e n a n I ne ffe ct u a l sch ol a r ca nnot even l ive there

L

for a
_ m oderateness I n mind and body 15 the
w w g u ss i oa a nd U pon the a ,

whol e i t i s the ki nd of temper m ost su ited to the active li fe o f

,

such a being a s man i n such a worl d a s the present one .

T hese three great benefits o f free government though ,

great are entirely secondary to i ts conti nu ed u seful ness i n the

,

mode i n which it origina l ly w as u s e fu l Th e fi rst great bene .

flfi
9
13 2 PHYSI CS AN D P OLI TI CS

fit was the de l iverance of m ank i nd from the su p erannuated

yok e of custom ary l aw by the gradua l developm ent of a n
,

i nqu isitive origi nality . A n d it c onti nu es to produce that

e ffect u pon persons ap p arently far re mote fro m its in fluence ,

and on su bjects with which i t has nothing to do T hu s Mr . .

M u n d e l l a a m ost ex perienced a nd capabl e j udge tel l s u s that

, ,

the E ngl ish artisan though so m uch less sober less instructed
, , ,

and l ess refi ned than the a rtisans of some other countri es i s ,

yet m ore i nventive than any other arti san Th e master wil l .

get more good suggestions from him than from any other .

A gai n u pon pla u sibl e grou nds — look ing for exa m pl e to
, , ,

the position of Lock e and N ewton i n th e science o f the last cen

tury and to that of D arwi n i n ou r own — i t may be argued that
,

there i s so m e qual ity i n E ngl i sh thought which makes them

stri k e ou t as m any i f n ot more fi r s t ra te and origi nal s u gg e s
, ,
-

tions than nations 0 re a t e r scienti fic cu ltu re and m ore d i ffused

sci entific interest . both cases I bel ieve the reason of the
E ngl ish origi nali t hat govern ment by di scussi on
q u icken s a nd enl ivens thought al l through soci that i t
m ak es peo ple th i nk no harm may come of th in k that i n
E ngla nd thi s force h a s l ong been operating and s o it has de ,

v e l o p e d m ore o f al l k i nds of people ready to use thei r m ental

energy i n thei r o wn way and not ready to u se i t i n a ny other

,

way than a despotic governm en t A n d s o rare is great origin

,
.

al ity am o n g m anki nd a nd so great are i ts fru its that this on e

, ,

benefi t of free govern m ent probably outweighs what a re i n

m any cases its accessory evi ls O f i tsel f i t j ustifies or goes far
.
,

to j ustify our saying with Montesqu i eu Whatever be the cost

, ,
“

of thi s gl o ri ou s l iberty we m ust be content to pay it to heaven

,

No . VI .

VE R I F I AB LE PR OG R E SS P O LI T I CALLY C ON S I D E R E D :

e original publicatio n of these essays was i nterru pted by

l l n e s s and by l ong co nsequent i ll health and now that -
,

t t i n g them together I wish to add ano ther which shal l

explain the m ain thread o f the argum ent which they

 P HYSI CS AN D P OL I TI CS 133

contain I n doing s o there i s a ri sk o f tedi ous repetition but

.
,

o n a subj ect both obscu re and i mpo rtant any defect i s better ,

than an appearance o f vagueness .

I n a form er essay I attem pted to show that sl ighter causes

~

than i s com m on ly thought may change a natio n fro m the

stati onary to the progressive state o f civi lisati on an d fro m the ,

stationary to the degradi ng C om m o nly th e effect o f the agent

.

i s looked o n i n the wron g way I t i s considered as o perating

.

o n every individ ual i n the nati on an d i t i s assume d or half , ,

assu m ed that it i s o n ly the effect which the agent directly

,

produces o n every o ne that need be co nsidered B ut besides .

this diffused effect o f the first i mpact o f the cau se there i s a

'

seco n d effect al ways co nsiderable an d co m m on ly m ore poten t

W
, ,

—a me tho se
m od e" i n c h Q LM
D

c l e I t are enco uraged a nd m u ltiplied ;

those co ntrasted with it are persecuted and m ade fewer .

generatio n o r two the l ook o f the nati on becom es qu ite

,

ent ; the characteristic m en who stand o ut are di fferent the ,

m en i m itated are d i ffe r e nDthe result o f the i m i tati o n i s di ffer

ent A lazy nati on m ay be changed i nto an in du strious a
.
,

rich into a poo r a religi ou s i nto a profan e as i f by m agic i f

, , ,

any single cause tho ugh slight o r any co m binatio n o f causes

, , ,

however subtl e i s strong en ough to change the favourite and

,

detested types of character .

principle wi ll I think hel p u s i n tryi ng to so lve the

, ,

why so few nati o ns have pro gressed though to u s ,

progress seems s o natura l — what i s the cau se o r s e t o f causes

which have prevented that progress i n the vast maj ori ty o f
cases and produced it in the feeb l e m i nority B ut there i s
, .

re li m i n s d e cl i n e
a
‘ p afy if
d fi y cu l t
p rogre ss and what i , j
E ven in the anim al world there is no applicable rul e accepted
by physiol ogi sts which settl es what animal s are higher o r
,

lower than others ; there are controversi es about i t S ti l l .

more then i n the m o re complex co m bination s and politics o f

hu man bei ngs i t i s li kely to be hard to fi n d an agreed criterion
fo r sayi ng which n ation i s before another o r what age of a ,

nation was m arching forward and which was fal li ng back .

A rchbishop Manning wou l d have one ru l e of progress and

 134 P H YSI CS A N D P OLI TI CS

decli ne ; P rofesso r H ux ley i n m ost im portant points quite

, ,

an opposite ru l e ; what on e wou ld s e t d own as a n advance ,

the other wou ld set d ow n as a retreat E ach has a distinct .

end which he wishes an d a disti nct calam ity which he fea rs ,

bu t the d esire of the on e i s pretty nea r the fear of the other ;

books wou ld not ho ld the controversy between them A gai n .
,

i n art wh o i s to settl e what i s advance and what decline ?

,

Wou l d Mr Ruski n agree wi th any one else on this subj ect

.
,

wou l d he even agree wi th him sel f or co u l d a ny com m o n i n

q u i r er venture to s ay whether he wa s right o r wro n g ?
I am a fraid that I m u st as S i r Wm H am i l to n u sed to s ay
, .
,

”
ate a problem which I can not solve I m ust d ecli ne .

to s i t i n j udgm ent o n di spu ted poi nts of art m oral s o r rel igi o n , ,
.

B ut withou t so doing I thi nk t h i s such a t hing as verifiab l e

”
progress i f we m ay say s o that is progress whi ch ninety n i ne
, ,
-

M h s or m ore of m ank i nd wi l l adm it to b e such against ,

which there i s n o establi shed o r organised opposition creed and ,

the obj ecto rs to which essentially varying in o pini o n them

,

selves an d bel ievi ng o n e one thi ng and another the reverse

, ,

may b e safely an d a l together rej ected .

L e t u s con sider i n what a vi l lage o f E ngl ish col onists i s

superior to a tribe o f A ustralia n natives who roam abou t them .

I ndisputably i n one and that a m ai n sense they a re

, ,

su perior T hey ca n beat the A u stra lians i n war when they

.

lik e ;they ca n take fro m the manything they lik e and k i l l any ,

o f them they choose A s a ru le i n a l l the outlying and u n

"

.
,

contested di stricts o f the world the aborigina l native li es at the

,

m ercy o f the i ntruding E u ropean N or i s thi s a l l I n d i s p u t

. .

ably i n the E ngli sh vi l lage there are m ore m eans of happi ness ,

a greater accu m u lation o f the i nstru m ents of enj oym ent than ,

i n the A u stralian tribe Th e E ngl ish have al l manner of books

. ,

uten si ls and m achines which the others do not u se value or

, , ,

u nderstand A n d i n addition and beyond particu lar i n v e n

.
,

tions there i s a gen eral strength which i s capable o f bei ng u sed

,

i n conquering a thousa nd di fficu lties and is an ab idi ng source ,

o f happiness becau se those who possess it always feel that they

,

ca n se i t
u ’
.

I f w e om it the higher but disputed topics of m orals and

 P HYSI CS A N D POL I TI CS 13 5

religion we sha l l fi nd I think that the pl ain er an d agreed o n

, , ,
-

su periorities o f the E nglishm en are these : first that they have ,

a greater com mand over the powers of natu re u pon the w h o lD

Though they m ay fal l short of I n d i v I d u a l A ustralians i n certai n
feats of petty sk i l l though they m ay not throw the boom erang
,

as wel l or l ight a fire with e a r t h s t i ck s as wel l yet on t h e w ho l e

, ,
i

twenty E nglishm en wi th their i m plem ents and ski l l can change

the m aterial world i m m easu rably more than twenty A ustral ians
and thei r machines S econdly that thi s po wer i s not external
.
,

w
T

onl y ;it i s a l so i nternal fi h e E ngl i s

‘

b r
’

p o s ss et te
m
y
.
se
are the mselves better m a
m M r Babbage taught us years ago that one great us e o f
.

m achinery was not to augm ent t h e force of m an but to register ,

and regu late the power o f m an ; and this i n a thou sand ways
civi lised m an c an do an b e t t e r a n d m ore pre
’

c i s e ly than the barbari an sed m an not only has

greater powers over n tt e r how to use them ,

and by better I here m ean better for the heal th and com fort of
hi s present body and m i@ H e ca n lay u p for ol d age which ,

a savage having no durabl e m eans of su stenance cannot ; he 13

ready to lay u p because he can distinctly foresee the future ,

which the vague m i nded savage cannot he i s m ai n ly desi rous

-

of gentl e continuou s pleasu re whereas the barbarian l ikes wil d

, ,

excitem ent and l ongs fo r stupefying repletion Much i f not

,
'

.
,

all of these three ways m ay be su mm ed u p i nG

, V I r S pencer s .
’

phrase progress i s an i ncrease of adaptation B f man to his

,

t
th a
e n v i r o n m en that is of his i nternal powers and wishes to h i s
~
,

external lot and li fe S omething o f it too i s expressed in the

.

”
old pagan idea m en s sana i n corpore sano
“
A n d I think .

thi s sort of progress may be fai rly i n v estigated quite separately ,

as i t i s progress in a sort of good every o ne worth reckoning

with adm its and agrees in N o doubt there wil l remai n people
.

l ike the aged savage who i n his old age went back to h i s
,

savage tribe and said that he had tri ed civili sation for forty “

years an d it was not worth the troubl e

, B ut we need not
take account o f the m istaken ideas o f unfit m en and beaten
races O n the whole the plainer sort of civil isati on the simpler
.
,

m o ral training and the m o re elem enta ry education are plain

,
13 6 P H YSI CS AN D P OLI TI CS

b enefits A nd though there may be doubt as to the edges o f

.

the co ncepti on yet there certainly i s a broad road of veri fiabl e “

progress which not only discoverers and admirers wil l l ike ,

but which al l tho se who com e upon it wi ll use and value .

U nless som e kind of abstraction like this i s m ade i n the

subj ect the great probl em What cau ses progress ? wi ll I “ ”
,

a m confi dent long rem ain u nsolved , U nless w e are content .

to solve si m ple problems fi rst the whol e hi story of phi losophy ,

teaches that w e shal l never solve hard probl em s T hi s i s the .

m ax im o f scientific hu m i lity so o ften insisted on by the highest

i nqui rers that in in vestigations as i n l i fe those who exalt
, , ,
“

them selves shal l be abased and those who hu mble them selves ,

shal l be exa lted and though we m ay seem mean only to

look for the laws of pl ai n co m fort and si m pl e present happi
ness yet we m ust wo rk ou t that si m pl e case fi rst before we
, ,

encounter the i ncredi bly harder addi tio nal difficu lties o f the
higher art m oral s and rel igi on
, .

T h e di ffi culty o f solving the problem even thu s l i m ited

i s exceedingly great T h e m ost pal pabl e facts are exactly
.

the contrary to what we shou ld expect L ord Macau lay tel ls .

u s that I n every ex peri m ental science there i s a tendency

“

towards perfection I n every hu m an being there i s a tendency

.

to a m el iorate his cond i tion ; and these two p rinci ples oper
ati ng everywhere and al ways m ight w el l have been ex pected ,

I ndeed tak ing veri

”
to car ry m anki nd rapidly forward
“
.
,

fi a bl e progress i n the sense which h a s j ust been given to i t ,

we m ay say that natu re gives a pri ze to every singl e step in it .

E very one that m akes an i nvention that benefits hi m sel f or

those around hi m i s l ikely to be more co m fortabl e hi m self
,

and to be m ore respected by those arou nd h fi T o produce

new things serviceabl e to m an s li fe and c o fi dII i ve to m an s
“ ’ '

fi ’

”
estate is w e shou l d s ay l ikely to bring i ncreased happi ness to
, , ,

the pro ducer I t often b r i n g s i m m e n s e reward certai nly n ow a

. .

n e w form of good steel pen a way o f m aking so m e k i nd of ,

clothes a l ittl e better or a l ittl e cheaper have brought men ,

great fortunes A n d there is the same k ind o f pri ze for indu s

.

trial i m provement i n t h e ge a r l i e s t tim es as i n the latest ; though

the benefi ts s o obtainabl e i n early society are poor i ndeed i n
 P HYSI CS AN D P OL I TI CS

c om pariso n with those o f advanced soci ety . N atu re is l ik e a

school master at l east i n th is s h e gives her finest prizes to her
, ,

high and most i n structed classes S til l even i n th e earli est .

,

society nature hel ps those who can hel p themselves and hel ps
, ,

them very much .

A ll thi s shou ld have m ade the progress o f mankind — pro

gress at least i n thi s li mited sense— exceedi n gly com mon ;
but i n fact any p
, , As a rul e (and
a s has been i nsiste i s b y far t h e . .
. _

M g r
;
as far as history describes
that condition the progressive state i s on ly a rare and an o c
ca s i o n a l exception .

B efore histo ry began there m ust have been i n the nation

which writes i t m uch progress ; el se there cou ld have been
no history I t i s a great adva n ce i n civi lisati on to be abl e
.

to descri be the co mmon facts o f l i fe and perhaps i f we were , ,

to ex ami ne i t we shou ld find that i t w a s at least an equa l

,

advance to wish to describe them B ut very few rac es have .

made this step o f progress ; very few have been capabl e even
of the mean est s ort o f history ; and as for writing such a
history as that of T hucydides most nations cou ld as soon have
,

constructed a planet When hi story begi ns to record s h e fin

.
,

most of the races i ncapable of hi story arrested u n p ro g r e , ,

and pretty much where they are now .

Why then have not the obvi ou s and natural cau ses of
, ,

progress (as we should cal l them) produced those obvious and

natu ral effects ? Why have the real fortunes of manki nd been
s o diff erent from the fortunes which we should ex pect ? T hi s
i s the problem which i n variou s forms I have tak en up i n these
papers and thi s is the outline of the solution which I have a t
,

tempted to propose .

Th e progress of m a n requi res the c o operation of m en for -

i ts developm ent T hat which any one man o r any one fam ily
.

could i nvent for themselves i s obviou sly exceedingly l i m i t e df

q
' '

A n d even i f this were not true i solated progress cou ld never,

be traced Th e rudest sort of co operative soci ety the

.
-
,

tribe and the feeblest Govern ment is s o much 5 ,

i solated man that i solated ,

13 8 PHYSI CS A N D P OLI TI CS

shape which cou ld be cal led man ) m ight very easily have ,

ceased to exi st T h e fi rst pri nci pl e o f the subj ect i s that man
.

”
can only mak e progress in c o operative grou ps ; I m ight
“
-

s a y tribes and nation s but I u se the less com mon word becau se
,

few peop le wou ld at once see that tribes and nations a r e c o

operative grou ps and that it is their being s o which mak es thei r
,

valu e ; that un l ess you c a n m ak e a strong c o operative bond -

,

you r society wi l l be conquered and k il l ed out by som e other

soci ety which has su ch a bond and the second pri nciple is
the m em b ers o f such a group shou ld b e si m i lar enough to
another to co operate easi ly and readily together Th e
-
.

operation in al l such cases depends heart and

spiri t ; and this i s on ly felt when a great degree o f
real l ikeness i n m i nd and feeling ho wever that l ikeness m ay ,

have been attai ned .

T his needfu l c o O per ati o n an d thi s requ isite l iken ess I b e

-

l i eve to have been produced by o ne o f the s t r o n ge s tg zg k e s

(as we shou ld thin k i f it were to be reimpo sed n ow) an d the
m ost terrible tyran ni es ever k n own am ong men — the a uthority
Of I n its earlier stage thi s i s n o pleasant
ater a uthority a s C arlyl e wo u ld have ,

cal led i t — but a stern i ncessant i mplacabl e ru le A n d the

, ,
.

ru le i s o ften of m ost chi ldi sh o rigin beginn ing i n a casual ,

”
superstition o r l o cal accident T hese peopl e says Captai n
.
“
,

P al mer o f the F ij i are very co nservative A chief wa s o ne

,
.

day go ing over a m ountai n path fol l owed by a l ong str ing o f
-

hi s people when he happened to stumbl e and fal l al l the rest

,

o f the peopl e i mm ediately did the sam e except one man who ,

was s e t u po n by the rest to k no w whether he co n sidered h i m

”
sel f better tha n the chi ef What can be worse than a li fe
regu lated by that sort o f obedience and that s ort of im itati o n ? ,

T his i s of course a bad specim en b ut the nature o f customary

, , ,

law as we everywhere fi nd it i n its earli est stages i s that o f

coarse casual comprehensive usage begi nn ing we cannot tel l , ,

how deciding we can not tel l why but ru l ing every o n e in

, , ,

almos t every acti o n with an i nflexible grasp .

he necessity o f thu s forming c o operative grou ps by fi xed -

c u stom s explain s the necessity o f iso latio n i n early society .

 P HYSI CS A N D P OLI TI CS 139

As a matter o f great nati on s have been prepared i n

privacy and i n They have been composed far away
from al l distractio n Greece Ro me Jud ae a were framed each
.
, , ,

by itsel f and the an tipathy o f each to men o f di fferent race and

,

di fferent speech i s o ne o f their m o st marked peculiarities a n d ,

qu ite their s trongest comm on property A n d the i nstinct of .

early ages i s a right guide fo r the needs of early ages I nter .

co urse with fo reigners then broke down in states the fi xed ru les
which were fo rming the ir cha racters so a s to b e a ca u se of ,

weak fibre of mi nd o f d esulto ry an d un settled acti on ; the

,

living spectacle o f a n admitted u nbelief destroys the binding

author o f rel igio u s c usto m an d snaps the social co rd .

”
we s e e the u s e of a so rt o f prelim inary age i n “

when trade i s bad becau se it prevents the separation

s beca use it i nfu ses distracting ideas a mong occupi ed
,

ties because it bri ngs al i en m inds to alien sho res

,
“

which we now thi nk o fa s an in cal culable good ,

/
f
i s in that age a formi dabl e evi l and destructive ca lamity ;/ s o
war and conquest which we commo n ly an d j ustly s e e to e
,

now evil s are in that age often singular benefits and great a d
,

vantages I t i s o n ly by the competitio n o f customs that bad

.

customs can be eliminated an d good cu sto ms m u lti pl i Co n

q uest i s the premi u m given by natu re to those national characters
which their national cu sto m s have made m ost fit to wi n in
war an d i n many mo st materia l respects those win n ing char
,

a ct e r s are real ly the best characters Th e characters which do

.

wi n i n war are the characters which we sho u ld wish to wi n

i n war .

i l a r l y the best in stitution s hav e a natural m il itary

,

over bad institutions T h e first great victo ry o f

.

was the co nquest o f nation s with i l l d e fi n e d fami l ies -

having l egal descent through the m other o nly by natio n s of ,

definite fami lies tracing descent through the father a s wel l a s

the mother or through the father on ly S uch compact fami l ies
,
.

are a m uch better basis fo r mil itary discipl ine than the i l l bou nd -

fami lies which i ndeed seem hardly to be famil ies at al l where ,

”
“
paternity i s for tribal purposes an u nrecognised idea and
, , ,

”
where on ly the phys ical fact o f maternity i s thought to be “
 14 0 P H YSI CS AN D P OLI TI CS

certai n eno ugh to be the fou ndatio n of law or c u stom The

nati o n s with a thoroughly co m pacted fami ly system have pos
”
s essed the earth that is they have taken al l the fi nest districts
, ,

i n the m ost competed — fo r parts ; and the nation s with loose

systems have been m erely left to m ou ntai n ranges and l onely
i slands Th e fami ly system an d that in its highest form has
.

been so excl usively the system o f civi li satio n that literature ,

hard ly recogn ises any other an d that i f it were n ot fo r the , ,

l ivi ng testim ony of a great m u ltitud e of scattered communities

”
which are fashioned after the structure of the elder worl d
“
,

we shou l d hard ly adm i t the possibil ity o f som ething s o c o n

t rar y to al l which we have lived am ongst and which we have ,

been u sed to thi nk o f A fter such a n exam ple of the frag

.

mentary n ature of the evidence it is i n co mpari son easy to

believe that hu ndreds of strange i n stituti o ns may have passed
away and have left behi nd them not only no memori al but not ,

even a trace o r a vestige to help the i maginati on to figure what

they were .

I can n ot expa nd the subj ect but i n the same way the better
l
,

rel igi on s have had a great physical advantage i f I may say s o , ,

over the wo rse They hav e given what I may cal l a confi d en ce
.

W e u n i ver s e The savage subj ected to a m ea n superstition

.
,

i s afraid to wal k simply about th e world — h e c an not do th i s

because i t i s om inous or he mu s t do I na " becau se i t i s lucky
, ,

or he can not do anything at al l ti l l the gods have spoken and

given hi m leave to begi n But u nder the higher religions.

there is no si mi lar slavery a nd n o sim i l ar terror Th e beli ef .

of the Greek
’ I

a s o a i wos‘ ép w r o s , dp v v e o da c 7T€
p L m i r p rj s
'

the belief o f the Roman that he was to trust i n the gods of

Rom e fo r th ose gods were stronger than al l others ; the bel ief
,
’
of C ro m wel l s soldiery t hat they were to tru st i n God and “

keep thei r powder d ry are great steps in upward progress

,
)
,

u si ng progress i n i ts narrowest sense al l enabled those .

”
who believed them to take the wo rld as it comes to be
“
,

guided by no u nreal reason and to be li m ited by no mystic ,

scrupl e ; whenever they fou nd a nythi ng to do to do i t with ,

 PHYSI CS A N D P OLI TI CS 14 1

their mi
éfig A nd
more directly what I may cal l he fi zd zfi z ng
'

M t h a t 15 to s ay those which l ay the plainest stre s s o n

the m anl y parts of morality —u pon valo ur on truth and i n
,

, c.

d u s t ry — have hfi p la i n ly the most obvi ous effect 1nstrengthen

ing the races which believed them and m making those races ,

the winni ng races .

N o doubt m any sorts of prim itive i m provement are perni

clou s to wa r an exqu i site sense of beauty a love of m edi tation , ,

a tendency to cu l tivate the force of the mi nd at th e expense of

the force of the body fo r exam pl e help in thei r respective de
, ,

grees to mak e men less warl ike than they wou ld otherwi se be .

B ut these are the virtues of other ages Th e first work o f .

fi rst ages i s to bind m en together i n the stron g bond o f a rou

coarse harsh cu sto m ; and the incessant conflict of natio n s
,

effects this i n the best way E very nation i s an h e re d i t ar

.
“

”
co operative grou p
-
bound by a fixed custom and o ut of those
,

groups those conquer which have the m o st bi ndi ng and m ost

i nvigorating customs and these are a s a ro ugh rule the best
, , ,
”
custom s T h e m ajority of the grou ps which wi n and con
.
“

quer are better than the maj ority of those which fail and perish ,

and thus the fi rst world grew better and was i mproved .

T hi s early cu stomary world no doubt co n ti nued fo r ages .

Th e fi rst histo ry del ineates great m onarchies each composed ,

of a hund red custom ary groups al l of which believed themselves

,

to be o f enormous antiqu ity and al l of wh ich m ust h ave existed

,

for very many generations Th e first historical wo rl d i s n o t a

.

new looking thi ng bu t a very ancient and acco rding to principl e

-
,

i t i s necessary that i t shou l d ex ist fo r age s I f human natu e .

was to be gradual ly i mproved each generation m ust be born,

better ta m ed more calm more capable of civi l isation —l n a

, ,

word more l eg a l tha n the on e before i t and such inherited

, ,

improvem ents are al ways slow and dubious T hough a few .

“

gi fted peop le may advance m uch the m ass of each generation ,

ca n i m prove but very l ittle on the generation which preceded

i t ; and even the slight i mprovem ent s o gai ned i s l iable to be

destroyed by so m e mysterious atavism— so m e strange recu r
rence to a pri m itive past ( I fo n g ages of dreary monotony are
.

the first facts i n the history o f hu m an com m u ni ties bu t those

 14 2 PH YSI CS A N D P OL I TI CS
’

ages were not lost to m anki nd for i t w a s then that was formed ,

the com paratively gentl e and gu i dabl e thi ng which we now cal l

fi —
fl i ndeed the greatest di ffi cu lty i s not i n preservi ng such
nd

a world but i n ending i t We have b rought i n the yoke o f

.

custom to i m prove the wo rld and i n the world the cu stom ,

zi ck s I n a thousan d cases — i n the great maj ority o f cases

s .

the progress o f m ank in d has been arrested i n thi s i t s earl iest

shape i t has been c l oi e u
,
b a l m e d i n a m um m y l ike imi t a -

t ion of i t s primi ti ve ex istence I h ave endeavou red to show .

1n w lfi f m a nne r W
fi

how s l o w l y and m how few cases thi s

,
“ fl

yok e o f custom was removed I t was government by discu s .

sion whi ch broke the bond o f ages and s e t free the origi nality
o f m ank i nd T hen and then on ly the motives which Lord
.
, ,

M acau lay counted o n to secu re the progress of m anki n d i n ,

fact begi n to work ; Men the tendency i n every m an to

,
“

am eliorate his condition begins to be i m portant because then ,

m an can al ter h i s condi tion wh i le before he is pegged down by

ancient u sage ; fil m the tendency i n each m echanical art to
wards perfection begi ns to have force becau se the arti st is at ,

last al lowed to seek perfection after having been forced for ,

ages to m ove in the straight furrow o f the ol d fi xed way .

A s soon as thi s great step U pw a rds i s once m ade al l or ,

almost al l the higher gifts and graces of hu m anity have a rapi d

,

and a defi nite effect on verifiabl e progress o n p rogress i n -

the narrowest because i n the m ost u niversal ly admitted sense

,

”
S f the term S uccess i n l ife then depends as we have seen
.
, , , ,

”
m ore than anything else on anim ated m oderation on a “
,

certai n com bination of energy of m ind and bal ance of m i nd ,

hard to attai n and harder to k eep A n d this subtle excel l ence .

i s aided by al l the fi ner graces of humanity I t i s a matter of .

com m on observatio n that though often separated fi ne taste , ,

an d fi ne j udgment go very m uch together and especial ly that a ,

m an wi th gross wa n t o f taste though he may act sensibl y and ,

.

correctly for a whi le is yet a pt to break ou t soo ner or later

, , ,

i nto gro ss practical error I n m eta physics probably both taste

.
,

”
and j udgm ent invo lve what i s term ed p o i s e of m ind that i s “

the power o f true passiveness— the fa c u ity

,

ti ll the ”
W
 PHYSI CS AN D POLI TI CS 14 3

stream of whether those of l ife o r those of art have

don e all that they have to do and c u t their ful l type pl ai nly
,

u pon the m i nd K I he i ll j udging and the untaste ful are both

‘
-
.

over e a g e j 7o o th m ove too quick and blu r the 1m age I n this

-

r
.

way e union between a subtle sense of beauty and a subtle

oh i n conduct is a natural
d i s c re tT Qi é fl ae cau s e i t rests o n the

common possession o f a fine power though i n matter of fact , , ,

that uni on may be often distu rbed A compl ex sea of forces .

and passions troubles men in l ife and action which i n the ,

region o f art are hardly to be felt at a ll A n d t h e re fo .

,

cultivation of a fi ne taste tends to promote the functio

fine j udgment which is a mai n hel p i n the complex
,

civi lised existence j ust so too the manner i n which the m ore
.

deli cate parts of religion da ily work i n producing that m odera

tion which u po n the whole and as a ru le i s ess entia l to l ong
, , ,

success defini n g success even i n i t s most narrow and mundane

,

way might be worked ou t i n a hu ndred cases though it woul d

, ,

not suit these pages Many of the finer intel lectua l tastes have
.

a si milar re strai n ing effect ; they prevent or tend to preven t , ,

a greedy voracity a fter the good things of l i fe whi ch makes ,

bo th men and nations i n excessive haste to be rich an d fa mous ,

often makes them do too much a nd do i t il l and s o often leaves ,

the m at last wi thou t m oney an d withou t respect .

B ut there is n o n eed to ex pand this fu rther Th e pri ncip le .

i s plain that though these better and higher graces of humanity

,

are im pediments and encu mb rances i n the early fighting period ,

yet that i n the later era they are am ong the greatest he l ps i n d
benefits and that as soon as govern ments by di scussion have
,

become strong enough to secu re a stable ex i stence and a s soon ,

as they have broken the fixed rul e o f old custom and have ,

awakened the dorm ant inventiveness of men then for th e fi rst , ,

time al most every part of hu m an n atu re begins to spring fo r

,

ward and begins to contribute i ts quota even to the narrowest

, ,

”
even to verifiable p rogress A n d this i s the true reaso n of
“
.

"
”

al l those panegyrics on liberty which are o ften s o m easured i n

expression but are in essence s o true to l i fe and nature Liberty .

i s the strengthening and developing power— the light and heat

of politica l nature ; and when som e Cae sari sm exhibi ts as it
144 PHYSI CS AN D POL I TI CS

sometim es wi l l an originality of m ind i t i s only b ecau se it has ,

m anaged to make i ts own the products of past free tim es or

neighbouring free cou ntri es ; and even that origi nality is on ly
b rief and frai l and after a l i ttl e whil e when tested by a gener
, ,

atio n or two i n time of need i t falls away

,
.

I n a com plete investigatio n of a l l the co ndition s o f v e r i fi “

”
abl e progress much el se wou l d have to be s e t out ; fo r ex
,

am ple science has secrets o f her own

,
N ature do es n o t wear .

h er m o st usefu l l esso ns on her sleeve ; she only yields her m ost

productiv e secrets tho se which yield th e m ost wealth and the
,
”
m o st fruit to tho se who have go n e through a l o ng process
,

of preli m i nary abstractio n T o m ak e a perso n real ly u nder

stan d the l aws o f m oti on i s n o t easy and to solve even
“
,

si mple probl em s i n abstract dynam ics i s to m ost peopl e exceed

i n g l y hard A n d yet it i s o n these o u t o f the way investiga
.
- - -

tio ns s o to speak that the art o f n avigation al l physical

, , ,

astro nomy and al l the theory o f physical m ovem ents at last

,

depend B u t n o natio n wo u ld b eforehand have thought th at

.

i n so cu riou s a manner such great secrets were to be discovered .

A n d m any n ation s therefore which get o n the wrong track

, , ,

may be di stanced —supposi ng there to be n o com m uni catio n

by som e n atio n not better than any o f them which happen s to
stu mble on the right track I f there were no B radshaw and .

no one kn ew the time at which train s started a m an wh o ,

caught the ex press wo u ld not b e a wiser or a more busi ness

l i k e man than he who mi ssed i t and yet he would a rrive whol e ,

hou rs sooner at the capital both are goi ng to A n d u nless I .

m isread the m atter such was often the case wit h early k now
,

l edge A t any rate before a compl ete theory of verifiable

.
“

”
pro gress coul d be made i t wou ld have to be settled whether ,

thi s i s so o r not an d the conditions of the devel opm ent o f

,

physical science wo u ld have to be fully stated ; o bviously you

cannot ex plain the d evelopment of h uman comfort u nless you
k now the way i n which m en l earn and discover com fortabl e
things T hen again for a com plete discussion whether of pro
.
, ,

gress o r degradation a whol e cou rse of analysis i s n ecessary as

,

to the effect of n atu ral agencies on m an and of change i n those ,

agencies B u t u pon these I can not to uch ; the on ly way to

.
 PH YSI CS AN D POLI TI CS 14 5

solve these great problems i s to take them separately 1 only .

profess to ex plai n what seem to m e the pol itica l prerequisites

of progress and especially of early progress I do this the
, .

rather becau se the subj ect i s i n s u fii c i e n t ly examined s o that

,

even i f my views a r e fou nd to be fau lty the discussion u pon

,

them m ay bri ng out others which are tru er and better .

VO L. VII I .
 A R T I CLE I .
-
T HE C U RR E N CY M O N O P O LY

(F r om Tli e P r osp e cti v e R ev i e w , I 84 8 . Fi r s t es s ay

p l nea
u Ois
’

by Wa l ter B ag M ot -
.
)
1 . C ap i ta l , Cu r r e n cy , a nd B a nki n
g ; ein b a g co ll e cti on of a S e ri e s of

A rti cl e s p b li sh e d i n
u t he E con om i s t i n 1 8 4 5, on t h e P ri n c i ple s
of th e B a n k C h a r te r A ct of 1 84 4, and in 1 8 4 7 , on t h e R e ce n t
M one tari al an d C o mm e rci a l C ri s i s , con c u l d i n g w i th a P l an for a

S e cu re and E co n o m i c a l C u rr e n cy .

2 . Th e P r i n cip l es a nd Pr a cti ca l Op e r a ti on f
o Sir R . Pe e l s ’
B i ll e x
d efe n d ed
g a i n s t tl t e OO
'
vl a i n ea a nd j ect i on s of Tooé e , F u l l a r ton ,
a
,

a n d Wi l s on B y R T o r re n s , F R S
. . . . .

3 . A fi i s tory of Pr i ces a n d of t b c S ta t e of tl t e Ci r cu l a t i on fr o m 1 8 3 9
to 184 7 g e n e r a l R e v i e w of tb e Cu r r en cy
i n cl u s i v e ; w i t"; a

Qu es t i on , a n d R e m a r ks on t i l e Op e r a t i on of tne A ct 7 a n d 8
Vi ct , c 3 2
. . B y Th o m a s T o o e , E s q , F R S
. k . . .

N OT on ly do the circu mstances of the recent m ercantil e

crisis n atu ral ly create an interest i n the subj ect of currency ,

but there i s also a d eeper and a m ore permanent reason why

i t should occu py th e m inds of those who l ive i n the present
age . I t cannot be denied that the success o f the F ree T rade
agitation i n E ngland h as now fam i liarised the m aj ority of
educated E nglishm en with a schem e of poli tical doctri ne which
at any previous ti m e wou ld have been deemed to say the ,

l east eccentric and pa radox ical A l most al l i n any other

,
.

ge neration wou ld have regarded even the cha racteri stic truths
of the l a i s s ez fa i r e system as u tterly stra nge and i ncred ibl e ;
-

a nd even the most far seeing woul d have thought i ts character

-

i s t i c errors too futi l e to need a detailed refutati on I n ou r .

t i m e however it has been cl early and convi nci ngly a rgued

, , ,

that when no bl inding passion p revent s i nd ividua ls from dis

cerning what is their greatest pec u niary i nterest ; when thei r
pecu ni ary interest co inci des with that of the nation at la rge ;
and when al so the pecu niary i nterest of the natio n i s c o
1 46
 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y 14 7

incident with its highest i nterests and highest duties —the ,

wel fare of the nation wi l l be better prom oted by l eaving every

m a n to the exercise of hi s own u nfettered di scretion than by ,

laying down a general l egi slative rul e for the observance o f a ll .

We do not think that when the bou ndaries of the argu m en t

are thu s guarded and defined the proof of the la i s s ez fa i r e
,
-

system can rightfu l ly be gainsaid .T o u s i t appears evi

dent that a Govern m ent can not exercise that m inute i n s p e c
ti on of detail s and wi l l not devote to the m that continu ou s
,

attention which are essentia l to the su ccess o f tradi n g s p e cu

,

l a t i o n s : nor even i f th e whol e d etai l of cases were laid before

them have the habits of ru lers i n general trained them for
,

com ing to a deci sion s o correct as that of mercantile men

nor what i s more to the point than al l ca n a n y law drawn
, ,

up i n vagu e and genera l l anguage su pply a u niversal ly bene

fic i al ru l e for the multi fariou s and ever varying operations of
-

commerce F ro m an habitua l contem plati on of these truths

.
,

a senti m ent of disl ike to the i nterference of Govern m ent h a s

grow n u p i n the mind s o f m oney making men : thos e o f them
-

especial ly who have most acc u rately stud ied th e m achi nery
by which capital a nd labour are transm itted to thei r most
profitable em ployment are prone to speak contem ptuou sly o f
Govern ment i nterference as though i t were proposed that
those who were wholly ignorant o f the constructi o n of a nicely
adj usted machi ne shou ld have the d iscretionary privil ege o f
placing a clog upon its work ing T his sentime n t i s u sefu l
.

a nd healthy when confi ned to i ts legiti m ate fu nction ,

viz. when watching that Government does not a ssum e to

know what wi ll bri ng a trader in m oney better than h e knows
i t hi m self ; but i t i s a sentiment very su scepti ble of h urtfu l
exaggeration : i n the mi nds of many at this day i t stands
O pposed to the enforcement of a moral l aw throughout the
w nol e sphere of hu man acts susceptible of attestation : to the
l egislative pro m oti on o f those i ndu stri al ha bits which conduce
to the attai nment o f national morality or national happiness
at a sacrifice of nationa l wealth : to efforts at a nationa l
edu cation or a compulsory sanatory reform : to al l national
,

ai d from E ngland towards the starvi ng peasantry o f Ireland

I O
14 8 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y

to every m easu re for i mprovi ng the cond ition of that peasantry

which woul d not be the spontaneou s choice of the p r o fit hu nti ng -

capitali s t Whoever speaks against these extrem e opin ions

.

is sure to be sneered at as a benevo lent sentimental i st an d

econom ists are perpetu al ly assu m ing that the notion of Govern
m ent i nterference is agreeabl e only to those whose hearts are
more devel oped than their brains : who are too fond of poeti c
dream s to endure the stern real iti es o f scienc e U nder these .

ci rcu mstances the o pp onents o f the l a i s s ez fa i r e system w i l l

,
-

be interested to inqu ire whether there b e no ex ception t o i t

withi n the l i m its of P ol itica l E cono my itsel f ; whether i nstances
can not be foun d where the pecu niary i nterest of i ndivi dual s ,

though not gu iding them to actions m oral ly wrong does ,

neverthel ess come into col l isio n both with the pecuniary and
with the real i nterest o f the nation ; where the sedulou s atten
tion of a Governmen t i s need ed to guard the elab orate m achi nery
of nati onal i ndustry against the di sturbing agency of i ndividual
selfi shness S uch a subj ect according to an im mense pre
.
,

ponderance of au thori ty accordi ng to the almost u niversal

,

bel i ef o f the greatest n ation s i s the subj ect of cu rrency Th e

, .

vast m aj ori ty of natio ns have vested in the hand s o f Govern

m ent the monopoly o f what i n the hand s of i ndividual s wou l d
be a l ucrative branch of i nd u stry v i z the trade of co i ning
, .

m etal l i c m oney Th e progress of opinion i n this country has

.

during the last few years sensibly tended towards fol l owi ng
the exam pl e of several conti nental nation s and givin g to ,

Govern m ent of cou rse w ith due respect to vested i nterests the
, ,

monopo ly al so of the i ssue of paper money I n the fol lowi ng .

essay it i s proposed after a brief prel i mi nary noti ce of the

,

books before u s to i n dicate the grou nds u pon which we

,

b el ieve that there i s a great wi sdom i n ack nowl e d ging thi s

exception to the princi ples of F ree Trade : to d efend the
practice of confining to Govern m ent both the coining of the
preciou s metals and as far as possi ble the u tterance of money
, , ,

destitute o fi n t r i n s i c val ue : and al so to notice so me interesting

points o f cu rrency theo ry which i ncidentally arise i n the
progress of th e d iscu ssion and which are treated o f at length
,

i n the work s u nder revi ew .

 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y 14 9

T hese works have all ari sen ou t of the terrible monetary

crisi s of 1 8 4 7 and for thei r mai n and characteristic object to
,

decide whether i t were al leviated caused o r aggravated by the

, ,

B ank B i l l passed at the instance of S i r R Pee l i n 18 4 4 Th is . .

measure had a fourfold pu rpose : i t w a s designed to li m i t to

sterling the am ount o f paper money i ssu able by
the B ank of E ngland on securi ti es ; to divide the B ank of
E ngl and into t w o D epartments i n on e of whi ch call ed the I s s u e
, ,

D epartm ent there shou l d be bu l lion for al l bank notes over and
,

above the before m entioned -

either i n the ti l l of
the other or B a n/ri ng D epartm ent or i n the hands of the ,

trading public of E ng land ; thirdly to preclude the existi ng

,

country bank s of i ssu e from going beyond the i ssu e o f a

certai n maxi mu m of notes founded on a particu la r average o f
the previou s circu lation of each ; fourthly to provide against ,

the establishment of any new banks of issue an d for the s u b ,

s t i t u t i o n of Bank o f E ngland paper i n the room of the circu la

‘

tion of any existing banks who may consent to i t T hi s A ct .

i s clearly an approach to the principle of a Government

monopoly of paper money : most obviousl y by i t s last provi
sion but not less by the constitution of a separate Issue D e
,

p a r t m , e n t w hich as a m ere piece of mechanism to keep bu ll ion

i n reserve to represent notes in circulation and to give bul lion ,

i n exchange for them on demand i s beyond the control o f

,

Bank D i rectors and might a s we l l be i n the hand s of N ational

,

Com m issioners appointed by the C rown U nder thi s l aw the

.

moneta ry affai rs of the country were transacted u nti l O ctober ,

25 ,
18 4 7
,
w h e n a letter from L ord John Russel l and the

C hancel lor of the E xchequer empowered the Bank of E n g

land to enlarge the amount of their di scounts a nd advances
”
upon approved securi ty at the rate of 8 per cent at th e
, .
,

risk of an extraord inary i ssue o f bank note s unrepresented by

bu l lion ; thu s a b o l i s h i n g p r o te mp or e that porti on o fS i r R P eel s .
’

Bi l l whi ch li mited the a mount o f notes not represented by

b ul lion i n the I ssu e D epartment O n thi s measu re a n d on
.
,

the deviation from it there i s eve ry kind of di fference of

,

opinion ; but those m ost entitled to respect are adequately

represented by the three works at the head o f this A rticl e .
150 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y

Mr Wi l son the e dito r of the E con om i s t has here em

.
, ,

bodied i n a perm anent form several very abl e and i nstruct ive
arti cles fi rst publ ished i n that n ewspaper durin g l ast year
, .

H e i s a d ecided opponent of the Bi ll of 1 8 4 4 and i n h i s ow n ,

words has never been able to discover any good groun d for
“

the obj ections which appear to exist in the m i nds of a porti on

o f even the m ost u ncom prom ising free traders again st the
appl ication o f the s am e pri nci ples to bank i ng and esp eci a l ly to ,

”
notes payabl e on demand H e enu merates five assumptions .

wh ich he thi nk s are contained i n the A c t of 1 8 4 4 and pro

, ,

fesses to refute the m at great l ength T hes e are first that .

, ,

bank notes though payable i n coi n at the opti on o f the

,

hol der are sti ll l i able to be i ssued i n excess and are c o n s e

, ,

qu ently s ubj ect to d eprec iati o n S econdly that convertibi li ty .

,

o f notes i nto coin at the pleasure of the holder alone is not a

su ffi cien t guarantee that a m i xed currency of bank notes and
coi n shal l con form i n i t s var iati on s to the same l aws which
regu late a pu rely metal l i c cu rrency Th i rdly that i ssuers o f .
,

notes have power to i ncrease or decrease the circula ti o n at

pleasure F ourthly that by an ex pansion or contracti on of
.
,

the i ssu e o f bank notes at pl easure the prices o f com mod ities ,

can b e inc reased and di m i ni shed F ifthly that by such an i n .

,

crease o r d imin ution o f prices the fo reign exchanges can be ,

corrected and an undu e e fflu xor i nflux of bul lion as the case may
, ,

1
be co rrected
,
B eside this el aborate attempt a t the refutation
.

o f the p r i nc i p l e s of S i r R P eel M r Wi ls on has given u s a .

, .

d i ssertation o n the distincti o n whi ch he d raws between capital

and circu lation on the di fference between floating and c i r c u
,

lating capital o n rai l ways and o n th e pri nci pl es o f bank i ng ;

, ,

s o that the work form s altogether a very com pl ete di scu ssion
o f the cau ses which are asserted to hav e prod u ced the cri sis
o f 18 4 7 O n each of the five proposi ti ons which Mr Wi lson
. .

has en u merated we shal l be obliged to say something here ,

after : they are evid ently m ost materi a l i n d eciding on the

rule by wh ich the i ssuer or is suers whoever they may be are , ,

1 T h e s e fiv e p ti o n o u g h t t o b e o n l y f r ; b e c
as s um s ou au s e M r Wilson
.

a d m i ts t h a t i f t h e th ir d i s g r a n te d th e fo u r th fo ll o w s
, ,
. M r F u ll arton
.

a l s o th i nks th e i n fe re nce l e g i ti mate .

 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y I 5I

to be gu ided i n the managem ent of the ci rcu l ating m ed iu m .

We do not i magine that hi s obj ections inval idate the essential

argu mentative supports o f the A c t o f 1 8 4 4 ; but we are quite
ready to conced e that he has effectual ly dem ol ished certai n
outworks which had been reared by the excessive z eal o f i n
cautious defenders We m ay be excused for remark ing that
.

we much wi sh that the book had been sub m itted to an atten

tive revi sion There are we thi nk many inaccurate expres
.
, ,

si ons which wou ld pass i n a newspaper wi thou t occasioning

ei ther rem ark or mi stake bu t wh ich occasion perpl ex i ty and ,

even error when su b m itted i n a permanent work to the eyes

o f attentive students and acute opponents Mr Wi lson con . .

c l u d e s with a plan o f hi s own for a secure and econom ical

”
cu rrency ; the princi pal feature of which i s a substitu ti o n “

of o ne pound notes for sovereign s with the Vi ew of obtai ning ,

a conveni ent pu rchase money fo r the fo reign corn i mported -

last year .

C o l onel T orrens pamphlet (i f 1 7 7 pages d o n ot mak e a

’

book of too great m agnitude for a name s o trivi al ) shows in

the strongest light the peculiar talents o f i t s au thor A lthough .

long i n consequ ence of the nu mber of the subj ects wh ich i t

,

d iscusses i t i s by no means p ro li x o r d iffu se ; for the style i s

,

marked by that d i sti nctness and preci s ion wh ich characterise

a writer who has a cl ear and scientific acquai ntance with the
subject wh ich he handles N o E ngl ish econo mi st wi th whose .

work s we are acquainted has at al l equalled C olonel T orrens

in the l iterary sk i lful ness which resu lts i n the em phatic state
ment o f a bstract truths 1
H i s wel l k now n controversi al abi l
.
-

i ty has never been m ore strik ingly d isplayed than i n his presen t
production H e has been thoroughly rou sed by the obj ection s
.

to the pri nci ples of the A ct of 1 8 4 4 of whi ch he i s the greatest ,

theoretical expou nder ; and he has the advantage of contending

agai nst adversaries m ore em inent for di ligence good s ense , ,

1
Mr . Lo y d
gre at p ract i cal e xpo n d e r o f the p ri nci p l e s o f Si R
,
th e u r .

P l h s e x pl ai n e d t h e l s s t h o t i ca l p a ts o f t h e
ee ,
a e bj e ct w i t h g re a te r
e re r su

l rne t h n C l l T o rre n
c ea ss a n d ha
o o ne d i l te d n s om p a t o f th e
s, a s a o e r s

subj t w i th
ec l q e n e ne x a m p l e d i n cu r e n cy p m p h l t nd a d mi
an e o u c u r a e s
,
a r

ab l y d p te d t the s bj e ct
a a o u .
I 52 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y

and acquaintance wi th the actu a l cou rs e o f busi ness than for ,

the faculty o f scien tific abstraction C olonel T orrens is not .

,

however s o great a worshi pper of t he A c t of 1 8 4 4 as to d i s

,

approve o f the i nterpositio n of M ini sters i n O ctober l ast O n .

the other hand he regards this A ct of the G overnment as a

,

masterpi ece of pol itical sagacity c onceived wi th great spe e n ,

l a tive abi lity and execu ted with fi r s t rate practical d exteri ty
,
-
,

neither begun too earl y nor deferred too late .

’
M r T ooke s book cannot b e l ooked on a s a masterpiece of
.

l iterary sk i l l I t i s swol l en with qu otati ons which those who

.

are i n terested i n the subj ect wi l l mo st probably have read i n

the works from which they are sel ected and which wi l l not ,

a lways be i ntel ligibl e to those who m eet them here for the
fi rst ti me Th e styl e is prol ix and di ffuse ; very di fferent from
.

what the author of the London peti tion o f 1 8 2 0 an d the pre

v i o u s vol u mes o f the H i s tory of P r i ces has at times shown

him sel f capab l e o f B u t Mr T ook e cl aim s respectfu l attenti on

. .

on grou nds which al low hi m to sacrifice the attractions of

verbal el egance H e began h i s career as an econom ical author
.
,

m any years ago by writing i n d e fe n ce o f the currency doctri nes

, i

mai ntained by R icardo and the B u l l ionists o f 1 8 10 ; but by

a more detail ed attention to the cond itio n o f E ngl and from
1 7 9 3 to 1 8 3 9 h e was led fi rst to modi fy and afterward s to ,

d i scard th i s cel eb rated schem e of econom ical theory A t th e

,
.

presen t ti m e thi s circum stance i s particu larly i mportant becau se ,

the pri nci ples of the B i l l of 1 8 4 4 are according both to fri ends ,

and opponents l ogical ly correct dedu ction s from the tenets

,
’
o f Ricardo M r T ooke s own substitute for these views has
. .

been embodi ed for some years i n the H i s tory of P r i ces of which ,

the work before u s is the concluding volum e .

I t wi l l be more c onvenient to descri be thes e new specula

tions i n connection wi th thos e parts of the subj ect to which
they particu larly refer We are not prepared with C olonel.
,

T orrens to designate the H i s tory of P r i ces as

,
the most “

il logical work which h as ever b een contributed to the worl d

”
on a sci entific subject : bu t we are sti l l less ready t o hai l
M r T ooke as the d i scoverer of principl es that wi l l su persede
.

everythi ng yet advanced u pon the subj ect of cu rrency H e .

 TH E C UR R E N C Y M ONOPOL Y 153

appears to us simply an abl e and ind ustrious col lector o ffa c t s ,

who h a s done a great service to P ol itical E cono my by a

narrative of the rise and fa l l of E nglish prices during the
present centu ry H e does not appear to u s to understand
.

what are the n eces s a ry supports of the theory o n which the

A c t of 1 8 4 4 is grounded H e conti n u ally al leges facts as
.

“
obvious disproo fs of that theo ry which i n reali ty are per , ,

fe c t ly consistent with i t and seem to u s som eti mes co n fi r m

,

a t o r y of it M r T ook e is a mu ch more vi ol ent opponent o f

. .

the principl es of S i r R P eel s B i l l than Mr Wilson

’
. It . .

will go down to posterity i n thi s vol um e of the H i s tory of

P r i ces that the i nterference o f M in i sters with the work ing
of that A c t i n O ctober l ast was a m anifest indication o f
utter falsity of principl e and that the A ct i tsel f has been a
,
“

tota l u n m i t ig a ted
,
u n comp e n s a te d
,
a nd i n i t s consequ ences a
, , ,
”
l a m en ta bl e fai lure Th e greatest cause o f the diversity o f
opi nion prevail i ng o n the subj ect of cu rrency and conspi cuou s ,

even i n the books wh ich we have j ust d escribed i s an i ndistinct ,

conception of the circum stances a ffecting exchangeabl e value .

Money i s for commercial purposes the standard of valu e and

, , ,

no one ought to wonder that m istakes as to valu e itsel f may

cau se that whi ch measures i t to be m isappli ed A few words .
,

therefore on elementary pri nciples wil l not be thrown away i f

,

they clear from the minds of a ny m isco nceptions a s to the ,

fundamental truths on which al most al l politica l economy i s

grou nded .I n doing this we shall fol l ow the rule of science
,

and comm on sense by consideri ng first the most simpl e cases

, ,

and then advanci ng to those more com pl icated ; first com

puting the e ffects d ue to the pri ncipal and constant causes ,

and then goi ng on to the consideration o f secondary an d d i s

t u r b i n g agencies We m ay state that i n ou r j udgment t here
.
,

i s a con s e ns u s o f econo m ists for wh at we sh a l l advance

particul ar writers as Mr T ook e and M r Wi lson tak e e xce p
, . .
,

tion to particular tenets but the prevai ling course o f teaching ,

as exhibited i n the wri tings of the most accomplished e c o n o

m i sts tends to a united belie f in the proposition we are about
,

to maintain A s the simplest possib le m ode of conducting

.

m ercantil e bu si ness i s by barter we are met at the threshold ,

1 54 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y

o f P o li tical E cono my by the question m uch di scussed some

thirty years ago —v i z what u nd er this sim pl e system regul ates
.
, ,

exchangeabl e value T h e doctri ne general ly received at

. .

present and a s we think the true o ne i s as fol lo ws : the

, , , ,

pri ce u niversal ly i s regul ated by th e qu antity brought to

m arket an d the dem a n d for it ; by the s carci ty of the arti cl e
, ,

and i t s u ti li ty : that is by i t s scarcity and by that po wer o f

, ,

satisfyi ng human wants o f which the market demand i s the -

s ole attainabl e evi den ce H ence i t i s assu med as an axio mati c

.

t ruth that articles equal ly i n demand excha n ge o ne agai ns t ,

another i nversely as thei r supply : and articles of which the

supply is the sam e exchange on e agai nst another i n direct
,

proportion to the dem and B ut i t i s obvious that these causes

.
,

viz . d emand and supply can no t i n th e case o f articl es cap

, ,

abl e of being produ ced i n i ndefi ni te quantity by hu man labour ,

be an ul ti mate regu lato r o f exchangeabl e val ue Th e su pply .

o f su ch articles i s not a si mpl e casual ty : m en have som e

m otive fo r pro d uci ng when they d o pro du ce and fo r ceasi ng ,

when they cease ; and this motive it i s the busi ness o f

P o l itica l E co no mi sts who h ave i n view the discovery o f the
men tal l aws affecting the P roducti o n a s wel l as the Co n s u m p
tion o f weal th to exhibit with cl earness and ful ness N o r i n
,
.

al l o rd inary cases is that motive hard to seek : since those

arti cles ex change o ne agai nst another w h i c h a re e q u a lly i n = ~

supply and equal ly i n dem and i t i s obv iou s ly the i nteres t o f

,

every m an to supply that o ne amo ng equally desi red articles

which he can s upply with the greatest ease H ence cases o f .
,

monopoly ex cepted arti cles which i t i s easy to produ ce w i l l

,

be suppl i ed i n i nvers e propo rtion to thei r cost o f production ;

becau se producers wi l l flock to those b ranch es of trade which
are attended by an extra faci lity o f production : and w i l l
k eep clear of those where there i s a n extra d i fficu lty A n d .

therefore it appears as a final resu lt that i n al l pursu its open ,

to u n l imited co mpetitio n articl es fo r which the demand i s the

,

same wil l h ave an exchangeabl e valu e di rectly proportioned to

thei r cost o f produ ction : that i s to the labou r and capital ex ,

pend ed upon bringing them to mark et I t i s i m portant to .

c al l attentio n t o the fact that thi s resu lt i s brought about by

 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y I 55

al terations i n the q u a n ti ty of articl es offered for sal e s o that ,

di min ution of the cost o f prod uction woul d cau se a fal l i n ex

ch angeable val u e ; until producers shall have su ited them selves
to the new state of ci rcu mstances and u nti l a gen eral i ncrease
,

i n the quantity of the comm odi ty throughout al l i t s uses and

al l its products shal l have s o gl utted the market as to render
i t too abu ndant to bear i t s old value .

A specu lative thi nk er wou ld ex pect to fi nd that the mai n

cou rse of trade would not b e much altered after the i mprove
ment superi nduced upon the system of barter by the intro
duc tion of a general i nstrument of i nterchange under the nam e
of m oney When men find ou t an i nstru ment to faci litate the
.

performance of any work they wi l l general ly take care not to

,

overl ook the end i n a su perfl uou s anxiety abou t the means .

M anki nd are a race of being s wiser i n action than in speech

the mass of energetic i ntel l igence wh ich i s co n centrated on the
i ndustri ou s occu pati ons of practical l i fe though u nrepresented
,

i n book s and o ften u ndervalu ed by l iterary men w ill general ly ,

keep mere i nstru m ents in d ue subservi ence to their u ltimate

ends S o it i s obvi ously w ith m etal lic m on ey Gold does
. .

not cease to have i ts valu e determ ined a s befo re because every

thing is pu rchased wi th i t and all debts are p ai d in i t T hough
, .

a convenient it i s a mislead ing expression to S peak of the state

of barter as havi ng ceased ; i n point o f fact gold i s bartered ,

for everything and everything i s bartered for go ld j ust as in .

the state of thi ngs before the i ntrodu ction of money to expedite
the transfer of comm odities a di m inution i n the cost o f pro
,

duction i s followed by a n increase i n the quantity of it that i s

brought to ma rket and consequently by a reduction o f value
, .

E verybody i n pl ain E ngl ish could have i t more easily : the

, ,

su pply of i t wou ld i n crease : the quanti ty of i t made i nto plate

wou ld be greater and the val ue of p late less : the quantity
,

made i nto sovereigns wou l d be i ncreased and the pu rchasing,

power of sovereigns would be di mini shed A n d here i t i s i m

.

portant to rem ark that i t i s an increase i n the amoun t of the

circul ating mediu m that raises the pri ces which are estimated
i n that medi u m : that the quanti ty of money i n circulatio n i s
the cause of that rise and not the consequence of i t : that a
,
156 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y

faci lity in obtai ning the med iu m of i nterchan ge raises the price
w hen m easured i n that mediu m N or will the c ase be altered.

when bu l l ion i s i m ported from foreign cou ntries : an influ x of

bul li o n w i l l cau se an addi tional qu a ntity to be made both o f
plate and sovereign s : by cau si ng that increase o f quantity i t
wi l l also caus e a d i m i nu tion i n their purchasi n g power N or .

i s the case altered by the fou ndation of b a nks of deposit Th e .

necessity o f these arises thu s : every m an has to keep a certain

”
am ou nt o f coi n ready to m eet demands u po n him : Money “
,
”
says A ri stotl e i s barren ,
n o m an gets a profit on what i s i n
“

his til l ; and a natu ra l desi re ari ses in consequence to reduce

its amount to the m inim um consistent with safety and solvency .

This desi re i s parti al ly satisfied by an offer from a person whose

respectabl e character an d pecu ni ary m eans afford the public
what they thi nk an adequ ate guarantee fo r h i s not becoming
i nsolvent to receive the superfl uou s cash of in dividual s and
, ,

to pay i t back ei ther u p on demand or upon the receipt o f a

certain notice A part of thi s m oney he l ends out agai n at
.
,

a profit to him sel f ; a part he holds as a reserve to meet de

mands u pon hi m .

N ow u nder the i nflu ence o f a cheapening o f bul lion it

appears that both the m oney i n the hands o f the publ ic and
i n the bankers reserve wi l l inc rease S overeigns and p l ate
’
.
,

a s we s o o ften s a y wil l be m u ltipl ied and wherever either i s

, ,

used there wi l l be an i ncreased su pply o f them I t i s a very .

secondary question whether with C olonel T o rren s we shal l , ,

’
s ay that money i n b ank ers reserve i s in circul ation or with , ,

Mr Wi lson confine that appel lation to mo n ey i n the hands of

.
,
’
person s no t b ank ers M r W i l so n s d isti nction seem s to u s
. .

l
very a r b i t r a ry z the reserve o f m o ney i s an equ ivalent for a
l arger amoun t which i f there had been no bank s of deposit
,

1
Mr . W i l s on a pp e ar s to h a ve be en m i s le d b y n ot o b s e rvi n g the
d i ffe re nce b e tw e e n e s e r e s h e l d a g ai n s t ci cu l a ti on an d e s e r e s h e l d to
r v r r v

p ya b ac k d e p o s i t s w h e n c a ll e d fo r Th e fo rm e r d o n o t l e s s e n t h e a m o u n t
.

o f ci r cu l a t i o n i n t h e h a n d s o f th e p u b l i c w h i ch i s t h e e s s e n t i a l c h a ra te r
,
c

i s ti o f th e l att e r
c T o e ck on t h e fo rm e r a s cir cu l a t i o n i s r e ck o n i n g th e
. r

s a m e s u m t w i ce o e r a n d m ak e o u t t h a t t h e u s e o f a
v ,
e p r e s e n ta t i e
r v

m e d i u m i n cr e a se s p e rman e n tl y th e a m ou n t of m on e y i n u s e th rou gh o u t a
co u n t ry .
 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y 15 7

wou l d have been i n th e hands of the publ ic ; i f the k eeping

one fi ft h o f the currency of a country i n a bankers reserve
-
’

enables i t to dispen se with the empl oyment o f two fi ft h s it -

,

seems confusi ng to apply the n ame circu lati on to the three

fifths i n previous use and n ot to apply it to the one fi ft h which
,
-

is substituted for them What renders the difference of .

opi nion important is the d octri ne of the exchanges When .

there is an i nflux of bul lion the exchange i s i n co nform ity , ,

with certai n old mercantile supersti tions cal led favou rabl e and , ,

also u nfavou rable when there i s an export of bul l ion N ow the .

’
theory of S i r R P eel s b il l assu mes that with the influx o f
.

bul l ion there wou ld b e an i ncrease i n the quantity of a purely

metallic circul ation becau se as a ru le that i nflux woul d be
,

atten ded with a cheapening o f bu l l ion and m u ta ti s m u ta nd i s ,

a si mi lar proposi tion i s thought to hol d i f an e fflu x A lso .

it i s stated as a fact of ex perience that d rain s of bu l l ion fo r , ,

the pu rpose of supplying an adverse exchange act fi rst o n ,

the reserves of bankers ; and M r Wi lson reasons that these .

reserves a re n ot circu lation and that as the drain acts on them

, , ,

the circu lation is not reduced by it ; and he bel ieves himself to

have thu s overthrown a materi al support to the A c t of 1 8 4 4 .

E ven however i f it were admitted that the drai n acted on ly on

, ,

the reserves we shoul d answer that they were as much i n c i r cu

,

lation i n the ti ll o f the banker as i n the til l of a m erchant

but we altogether doubt i f a d rai n coul d act on them only .

A reserve i n general ought to bear a fixed proportion say ,

a thi rd to the deposits which it is kept to m eet : i f a half o f

,

the reserve were d rawn o ut the deposi ts wou ld evi dently be ,

red uced only a si xth and the reserve would only be one fi fth
,
-

o f the deposits A prudent banker would i n such a case

.
, ,

increase his m oney reserve by the sal e of securities and an

abstraction of the proceeds from the m oney i n the hands of the
general publ ic O n the whol e we cannot but regret that Mr
. .

Wi lson should have suffered a point of deta i l like this to

obscu re his perception of the pri nci pl e that an influx of bu l lion
wi l l be attended by a cheapeni ng o f bul lion : and that the
latter wil l when the n umber of m onetary transactions has
,

undergone no dim inution be accompan ied by an increase of ,

1
58 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y

circu lation We q u ite concede to Mr Wi l son that i t may

. .

happen that the transactions of the country m ay be si m u l

t a n e o u s ly d im ini shed with an im port o f bul l ion and i ncreased
si multaneously with an ex port Th e amou nt of transactions .

depends o f cou rse on the amount of commodities in the coun try

and on the wish to i nterchange them C i rcu m stances could .

no d oubt be i magined wh ich might by a ffecting these reduce

, , ,

the mercantil e busi ness o f the country j ust when bu ll ion w a s ,

fast flowing i nto the cou ntry but thi s adm ission obviou sly does
not affect t he p ri nci ple which w e have here adva nced I t is .

also proper to rem ark that we have been al l al ong speak ing of a
,

purely metal lic currency where all barter was extinct a nd al l

, ,

bargai n s were effected by the passage o f s o much coi n fro m

hand to hand We are qu i te wil ling to concede to M r Wi l son
. .
,

that i f any remains o f a system o f barter should have l i ngered

long after the r est o f i t was abandoned and i f this l ast rem n ant ,

o f the prim itive state of things were swept awa y du ring an

ad verse exchange an d a n e fflu x o f bu ll ion an i ncrease i n the ,

ci rcul ati on of a purely metallic cu rrency wi ll be coincident with

a foreign drai n of bu l l i on A s Mr Wilso n hi mself remark s
. .

i n a recent n umber of the E con om i s t the downfal l of the con ,

acre system and th e i ntrod u cti on of money wages i nto m any

,

parts o f I relan d m ay have l ast year rendered necessary an

,

i ncrease of I rish si lver currency although there was si mul ,

t a ne o u s l y a d rai n of bullion from the whole U nited K ingdom

to pay for foreign corn .

I t i s obvi ou s that the i ntroduction of a meta l l ic cu rrency

i nd uces the practices of est i m ating the prices of articl es i n
m oney or as i t i s phrased m akes money the standard of
, , ,

valu e .

O n thi s accoun t i t very early beca m e necessary to k now

what a mou nt of gol d i s be ing paid and received at any given
time s o that when the price purports to be a certai n qu antity
of gol d no m ore and no less shou l d be paid and received
, .

F o r this purpose either Governments o r i ndivi d ual s of

,

sufficiently respectabl e character m ust pl ace a stam p or o ther

mark on the bu l l io n to i nti mate what i t consists of : and this
i s the prerogative o r privi lege of coi ning I t has been ex .
 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y 159

believed that G overnments were the only persons

t e n s i v e ly
who were competent to give a credible assurance that metallic
money contained a certai n amou nt of bullion N evertheless .
,

at Rome the patricians had for a long period the right of

, , ,

coi ni ng money and it i s evidently an i n fraction of the

,

principles of Free T rade and u nlimited competition to

vest i n Governments the monopo ly o f stamping metal li c
'

money I t is evident that trad e woul d go o n i f B aro n

.

Rothschild s head were on our coin i nstead of Queen V icto ria s

’ ’

and Mr S L oyd s assu rance that

. .
’

3 1 7 s I O % d of h i s cu rrency .
'
.

contained an o unce of gold and no m o re would be as good ,

as a simi lar assu rance from the M aster of the M int S uch a .

system m ight be worked u nder a severe law against instances

of frau d and u nder legislative provisions enu merati ng what
, ,

coins sho u ld be al lowed by law to be a legal tender and what ,

amount of gold and si lver they shou ld respectively contain .

These provi sion s wou ld be n ecessary i n order to free u s from

the confusi o n o f di fferent systems o f coinage w i th di fferent ,

n ames and with the same names and diff

,
eren t weights who se ,

complexities wou ld rival those o f the S wiss Oa tz en So long .

as the pi eces of c oin real ly contained that amount of bul lion

which they were certified to contai n no effect wou l d be pro ,

d u ce d except that the expense of coining now defrayed by the ,

S tate wo u l d be borne by the publ i c i n the shape of a per

,

manent di fference of value between the manu factu red article

—sovereign and the raw materia l — bul lion and that the
, ,

coiners wou ld get the ord i nary rate of profi t on the capital
employed i n thei r business B ut i f debasement were once .

i ntroduced i f sovereigns did n ot contain that amount of

,

bul l ion which they were certified to co ntain bu t only a less ,

amoun t sovereigns wou ld be supplied by the fraudulent pro

, ,

d u ce r with less cost and in greater qu an ti ty tha n by others

, ,

wou ld be i ssued by him upon loan and i n purchase resale or , , ,

consu mpti on to an undu e extent N e w pu rchasers wou ld

, .

be brought into the market who wou ld not have come there ,

i f the currency were u ndebased Th e pri ce of goods would .

rise ; the rise i n the price of goods wou ld act as a sti mu lu s to

production ; the stocks o f goods for sale wou l d be largely i n
 1 60 TH E C URRE NC Y M ON OPOL Y

creased ; at last the debasem ent woul d be discovered ; the

debased coi n would be at a discou nt ; prices wou ld return to
thei r original metal li c standard and wou ld i n c onsequence , , ,

u ndergo a considerable nomi nal fal l ; and that fal l would

probably go beyon d its true l i mi ts becau se few l ik e to make ,

purchases i n a fal l i ng m ark et and most hang back i n ex pecta ,

t ion of an i m pend ing additional fal l o f prices .

H ere there i s obviou sly co nsiderab le derangement of i n

d u s t ry and considerable evi l ari sing out of the custom of
,

coinage by i ndivid uals Besides thi s it mu st be remarked .

that the ch ief uti li ty o f u nli m ited competition is its qu al ity of

red uci ng the cost of production to the m ini m um which N ature
admits of I n al l mechan ical processes for exampl e u nli m ited
.
, ,

competiti on produces conti nu ally new i nventions and additi onal

economy i n the worki ng of old ones ; and i n general this has ,

the adva n tage of supplyi ng hu man wants at the least possi bl e

sacrifice of l abour and capital B u t i m provements i n the pro .

cess o f coining brought abou t by the com petition of i ndividu a l

coiners wou ld have a d i fferent a nd less beneficial effect .

1
What i s wanted i n money i s fisci ty o f val u e .

1 Th e p h ra s e fi xi ty o f a l u e h as b e e n o bj e cte d to b y s om e
“
v
”

o n th e gr ou n d th at w h e n th e v a l u e o f o n e th i n g a l te r s th e va l u e o f al l ,

o th e r s i s c o n s e q u e n t l y ch an g e d ; th u i t i s s a i d i f cot ton goo d s fa ll i n

s ,

p ri ce th e va l u e of go l d i s a ffe cte d b e cau s e i t w i ll e x ch an g e for l e s s co tton

, ,

th a n b e fo re M r Se n i or h a s p e rs pi cu ou s l y e xp re ss e d wh at a pp e ar s to u s
. .

t o b e t h e b e s t d e fi n iti on o f th e w o rd s fix e d an d s te ady i n th fo ll ow
”
e

i n g e x tra ct from th e E n cy cl op e d i M e tr ofi ol i t n a a Th e flu ct u at i on s i n
a
“

v al e t o w h i ch a c om m o d i t y i s s u bj e c t b y al te r ati on
u i n w h a t w e h a e c a ll e d
s v

t h e e x tr i n s ic c a s e s o f i t s va l u e o
u i n o th e r w o rd s b y a l t e r a ti on s i n th e
,
r, ,

d e m an d o s pp l y o f oth e r com m o d i ti e s h a e a t e n d e n cy l i k e all oth e r

r u ,
v ,

e x te n s i e com b i n a ti on s o f ch an c e s
v to n e u t r a l i s e o n e an o th e r
,
Wh i le i t .

r e t a i n s th e s a m e u ti l i t y a n d i s l i m i te d i n s pp l y b y th e s am e ca u s e s
,
u a ,

g i e n q u an ti ty o f it tho u gh i t m ay e x ch an ge for a gre ate r o r l e s s q u anti ty

v ,

o f d i ffe re nt s p e ci fi c com m o d i ti e s wi ll i n g e n e ra l co m m an d th e s am e
,

a e r a g e q u an ti t y a s b e fore o f t h e
v ge n e ral m as s o f com m o d i t ie s what
i t ga i n s o r l o s e s i n o n e d ir e ction b e i n g m a d e u p i n an o th e r I t m ay b e .

s a i d w i th o u t i m p ro p ri e t y t h e re fo re t o r e m a i n s t e a d y i n
, ,
l e B t th e va u . u

r i s e an d fa ll w h i ch a c o m m od ity e xp e ri e n ce s i n co ns e q e n ce o f a n u

a l te ra t i on i n i t s u t i l i t y o r i n th e o b s t acl e s t o i t s s u pp l y i s
,
i n fa ct e n tire l y , , ,

u n co m p e n s a t e d A co m m o d i ty t h e re fo re w h i ch i s s t i k i n g l y s u bj e c t to s u ch
. r
 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y 16 1

Th e d i scovery of a new m i ne i s a very questionabl e advantage ,

i f it shou l d throw others out of e mpl oyment and reduce the ,

cost o f production o f bu ll i o n and thereby dim i nish its ex

,

changeable val ue A ll m oney prices wou l d ri se 10 per cent

. .

i n consequ ence of such an alterati on i n the cost of money to

the extent o f 10 per cent the cause woul d not at first be recog
.

n i s e d as prices rise :the rate of production w i l l be accelerated and

the stock o f good s on hand augmented : the cou rse of events i n

fact wou ld exactly resemble that rise o f price and extension o f
supply which we have shown to be a consequ ence o f a debase
ment of the coinage by individual com peting coi ners I t has .

been contended that thi s i s no evi l : that the quantities o f al l

goods i n the market are equal ly augm ented and that therefore ,

as i n a state of barter each wou ld soon find out what he wanted

,

to exchange his own commod iti es for s o in the present more , ,

artifici al state o f th ings every one wou ld sell at the reduced

,

rate and would buy what he wanted and no more Th e

, .

va l ue of commodities 1n rel ation to one another it i s contended , ,

has not been affected and the ri se i n their money prices it i s

, ,

therefore l egitim ately deduced woul d only be nom ina l and ,

immaterial This argument i s so far correct that the rise of

.
,

the prices o f al l com m o diti es to the exten t o f 10 per cent i n .

consequence of a correspond ing fall in th e val ue of money ,

being common to al l a rticl es does not affect thei r relative

,

value B u t the increased rate of p roduction which we have

.

shown to b e con sequent on that rise has a very di fferent

effect : an add iti o n of 1 0 per cent to al l th e com modi ties i n a
.

m ark et very material ly al ters thei r rel ati ve exchangeabi l ity .

T h e effect of a very smal l supply of so m e articles i s enormou sly

to lower thei r valu e whi le a m uch larger sup ply of others
,

hardly d i minishes the val ue at all F o r i nstance of those .

,

articles of which only a li mited amount i s wanted a smal l ,

increase above that amou nt wi l l cause a great reducti on of

price T here i s a certai n amount of pl ai n food for exampl e
.
, ,

which wil l thoroughly feed a population : the demand fo r i t as ,

i i
v ar a t o n s is p ro p e l y
r i d to b e u n s te a d y i n va l u e
sa .
”
W h e n th e n th e
i n t r i n s i c cau s e s o ft h e v a l u e o f a co mm o d i t y h a v e u nd e r g o n e n o a l te ra tio n ,

we s h a ll h e r e a ft e r s a y t h a t i ts v a l u e i s fixe d or s te ad y .

VOL V I I I
. . I I
162 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y

A dam S mi th long ago observed i s li m ited by the narro w

,

capacity of the hu man stom ach A seri es of very plentifu l

.

harvests which shou ld prod uce a quan tity o f corn exceeding ,

i n however sm al l an amoun t thi s fixed max i mu m o f demand

, ,

wou l d bri ng down the pri ce of corn enor mou sl y O n the .

other hand arti cles of more l uxu ry are o ften i ndefinitely

,

desi red A fall i n the price of j ewel l ery of 2

.
;
per cent m ight .

bring i t w ithi n the reach of a new class and m ight b e a ,

consequenc e o f an increase of 1 per cent or m ore i n quantity

. .

T herefore i t is pl ai n that an i ncrease in the qu a ntity o f al l

comm odities wou ld n ot equal ly a ffect the val u e o f them al l ,

but wou l d cha nge thei r rel ations to each other very consider
ably We mu st al so b ear i n mi n d that all articles are not
.

produ ced i n the s ame ti me A ri se i n th e price o f one wi l l

.

i nsu re an i mm ediate change in the quantity of i t which i s

produ ced an d b rought to market : bu t it takes years to affect
the quantity o f an articl e wh ich i t tak es year s to manu facture .

S o that no t only woul d an equal i ncrease i n the qu antity of pro

duce cause a d ifference of val u e but al so an equal i ncrease i n
,

the rate of i ncrease of a l l com m odi ti es does not i mmediately

ensu re an equal augm entati on i n their su pply : and both these
i t appears are the consequence of a d i m inu tio n i n the value of
the cu rrency H ence i t appears that fi xi ty of valu e is the o n ly
.

essential i n the standard o fvalue that the i mprovements whi ch

competitio n woul d introd uce i nto i ts m anu facture wou ld not
compensate for the derangement o f i ndustry wi th which they
woul d be inevi tably accom panied that what i s wanted i s not
the cheapest money bu t the m oney whose val ue is most
,

stable : that what we wish i s not to diminish the cost of pro

d uction of coi n bu t to render i t a constant quanti ty
,
Mo reover.
,

by givi ng Governm ent the monopoly o f coin in g we c an n ot

only give coi n a fi xi ty o f value by the di fference between the
progressive i mprovements of individual co mpetitors and the
conservative habits o f an u ni nventive monopolist ; bu t w e can
d o away altogether with the whole sou rce of alteration i n th e
val u e of m o ney arisi ng from i ts havi ng to go through the
mechanical process o f being coined Government coi ns g r a ti s
. .

T h e nation defrays the expense ou t of the taxation Coi n i s .

 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y 163

the only manu factured article of no greater valu e than the raw
1
materi al out o f which i t i s made .

H ence beside debasement by i ndividual coiners we find a n

other great source o fdestruction — derangem ent i n th e machi n
ery o f industry which is enti rely c losed u p by giving to Govern
,

ment the mo nopoly of coi ning m etal l i c money O n these .

grounds Governments have deemed it n ecessary to keep the i ssu e

of m etal l ic mon ey i n thei r own hands T o u s they appear amply .

su fficient : but we regard with wonder that no thorough going -

disci ple of the anti corn l aw l eague has yet advanced the pro
- -

position that there ought to be F r e e Tr a d e i n S over eig ns T h e .

derangement which debasement i ntroduces into the pursu its of

i ndustry i s in ou r View a sufficient reason for keeping it out o f
hands in which there i s a ri sk o f possi bl e fraud B u t there i s .

such capital a d cap ta n du m case by appeal ing to what our pou nd

was origi nally by pointing out how much ou r Governm ent has
,

i n past times debased it by i nsisting on the expense and m i s ma n

,

a g e m e n t of the nat ional M i nt and the wan t o f n ew openings

,

for national capital that we real ly wond er exceedi ngly at not

,

hearing any one clai m for i ndividual industry the lu crative

employment of coi n ing the precious m etal s We especial ly .

wonder that those who with M r H u me are s o strenuous for .

unl imited free trade i n p ap e r money should not take bolder

ground and assert that Government is overstepping its proper
,

limits in meddling with money at al l We shal l proceed now .

to give reasons for bel ieving that al l the grounds for entrusting
the Govern m ent wi th a monopoly of coining money hol d with
i ncreased force for giving them a monopoly o f the issue of paper
m oney .

We have seen that the in troduction of banks of deposit

enables a smal ler amou nt of coin to do the work o f a l arger .

1
Out i i th e i n ci d e n ta l a d van tage th a t c i r cu l a ti o n i n E n g l a n d
o ft h s ar s e s

p as se s h e re a t i ts va l u e an d i n othe r co u n tri e s al s o Q u e e n V i c to ri a s s tam p

.
’

i s w o rth n ot h i n g i n F r an ce a n d b y c h a r gi n g n o th i n g fo r i t h e r e w e d o a w a y

w i th a p e r m an e n t d i fle r e n ce o f v a l u e b e tw e e n t h e v a l ue o f a s o ve re i g n
'

i n Fra n ce an d a s o v e re i gn i n E n g l a n d . I t s h o u l d b e r e m a r k e d h o w e ve r
, ,

th a t n o i n te r e s t i s p a i d b y t h e G o v e rn m e n t t o th o s e w h o h a v e d e p os i t e d

b u l l i o n a t th e M i n t a n d thi s l os s o f i nte re s t d u ri n g th e ti me o ccu pi e d b y

,

th e p r oce s s o f co i n i n g am o u n ts t o a v e ry s m a l l s e i gn o ra g e .

11
 1 64 TH E C UR R E N C Y M ON OPOL Y

Th e first effect o f this i f the i ntrod uction were sudd en wou l d

, ,

undeniably be to throw coin on the m arket i n i ncreased quantity

as compared with the transactions of the cou ntry and there ,

fore to depreci at e i t Whatever econom i ses the am ou nt of coi n

.

i n u se m u st i nevitab l y cause a temporary su perabu ndance o f

i t : o n thi s w i l l com e a redu cti on o f valu e and on this agai n , ,

i f it goes far eno ugh a melti ng o f coin : the d epreci ati o n of

,

bu llion itsel f i n consequ ence o f the additi ona l su pply and

, ,

consequ ently an exportat ion to foreign cou ntri es not affected

by this l ocal dim i nu ti on of exchangeab l e val ue N ow exactly .

this very sam e course o f events appears to tak e pl ac e i n co u se

q u e n ce of the i ntroduction o f paper money which has also the ,

e ffect of economising the u se o f coin I n i ts origi n paper m oney .

i s a prom ise to pay speci e I t i s used by a banker i n purchases

.

for consu m ption i n loans and in discounts O f course i t is h i s

,
.

i nterest to pay i n prom ises when he wou l d otherwise have paid

i n coi n because h e thu s ob tain s the u s e of the co in where h is
,

promises wou ld have been u seless A lso there i s a likel ihood .

that he wi l l lend i t when he wou l d not have lent coin because ,

he w i ll get i nterest on a l oan withou t having to find intrinsic

value to the amount l ent N ow the effec t o f both these
.

cou rses o f actio n i s to bri ng new pu rchasers i nto the m arket ;

and thereby to rai se prices We before ex pl ained that a .

faci l ity of obtai ning bu l lio n as the mediu m o f interchange had

a tendency to raise the price when m easu red i n that medium .

1
Th e case is not al tered when m edi a is written for m edi u m .

Th e i ncreased faci l ity o f obtain ing bargain making i nstrum ents -

wou l d cau se more persons to attem pt to m ak e bargains ; n ew

buyers wou ld come i nto the market when they cou l d obtai n more
easi ly the m eans of buying T h e com ing of new b uyers i nto the
.

market whi l e the qu anti ty o f commodities remai ns the sam e wi l l

rai se the price o f those commodities Th e ensu ing effects are ex .

a c t l y those which we have shown to arise from a d ebasement o f

species by frau dulent competing coiners : v i z a great der ange .

m ent o f i ndustry an i ncreased rate of production a rise in the

, ,

val ue of artic les not quickly su p p lied i n additional quanti ties

1
Thi s s te p in ou r re a s o ni n g is ve h e me ntly d e n i e d b y M r T o ok e. We
s ha ll sa
y p re se ntl y w h at s e e ms to us ,
s uffici e n t i n re p l y t o h i m .
 THE C URRE NC Y M ON OPOL Y 1 65

as compared with those which are o f speedy growth and qu ick ly

made ; a fal l i n the valu e o f articles m uch affected by smal l
increase o f su pply as compared with others comparatively
,

i nsensible to thi s sou rce of fluctu ation T hese effects are we

.
,

admit only temporary T h e d ebasem ent of the coi n is found

, .

out and s o i s th e depreciation by means of the issue o f paper

, .

Th e rise i n the price of commodities affects the price of bu l lion

a s a com mod ity ; the good coin i s melted down ; bu l l ion itsel f

i s depreci ated and i f the extent of the d epreciation be s u ffi

ci ent to cover the cost of carriage becomes an articl e of ex port
,

to other co untri es On e way of obtaining coin for ex port or

.

melti ng is by returning n ote s on the i ssu ers for coin and i t i s

evident that the return of on e hal f the notes i ssu ed and the
-
,

withdrawal of th e coi n thus obta ined from circulation would ,

bring the cu rrency back to its form er qu anti ty and prices to ,

thei r former level Th e i nj u r i ous effects o f d epreciation by

.

converti bl e paper and o f debasement by i ndividu al coiners

are exactly the same : both productive of extensive mi schief
whi le they last O n e great difference i s that deba s em ent i s a
.
,

m atter that can be tested by the senses : whereas deprec i ation

by paper may conti nue for a long period of ti m e withou t any ,

sign that wil l certainly convi nce all i nquirers and controversies,

concerning it may be mu ltipl ied i ndefinitel y by the confu si on

of philosophers and the mistak e of sel f i nterested traders -
.

A nother great difference ho w ever i s that when the final result

,

has been the s u bs ti tu ti on of paper fo r coin a good effect is ,

produced whi ch i s not produ ced by the di scovery o f a de

,

basement a machi ne produced with very littl e labou r has been

made to do work before o nly to be accomplished by o ne of
very considerabl e cost ; hu man exertio n i s e co n o m i s e d an d the ,
1

empi re of m an over the powers of e xternal natu re i s extended

and confirmed by an increase i n the e ffi cacy of hi s industry .

T h e debasement o f the coin by a m onopol i st l ike Govern

ment has a somewhat di fferent effect I t i s i n general known
.

from the fi rst though its effects i n detai l have rarely been
,

correctly i nterpreted : there i s seldom any l aw co m p e l l i ng a '

return to the origi nal standard as w e have supposed to be the

,

case wi th com peting coiners : and i n the great maj ority o f

1 66 THE C URR E N C Y M ON OPOL Y

cases there i s no return to the state of thing s i n existence

previous to the dep reciation I f issued as it always i s where
.
, ,

g o o d c o i n w a s not obtainabl e by the Government i t gives an

i '

extra faci l ity of obtai ning the m edi a of i nterchange to the

extent o f the di fference between the cost of prod ucti on of the
d eba s ed and the u ndebased coi n I t s effect on i ndust ry i s .

therefore sim ilar to that before explai n ed : prices ri se and

m oney i s depreci ated T here i s an exactly si mi lar case wi th
.

a particu l ar k i nd of paper m oney issued by the G overnm ent ,

or a m onopo list bank o r s e t o f banks T his k i nd i s gener

, .

al ly i n form a promissory note bu t it i s not s o i n real ity : i t

,

i s not payabl e in anything : it is i n intentional l anguage i n co n

ve rt ibl e O f this k ind were the F rench A s s i gn a ts and such
.
,

are the notes o f the B ank o f F rance at the present mo m ent .

A s its cost o f prod uction i s nothing com pared wi th the cost

o f prod ucing gold an issue of inconvertibl e paper may be c o n
,

s i d e r e d as a debasem ent without l i m it O bviou sly therefore.

, ,

the monopolist ca n i ssu e as much as he pl eases : he w i l l find

peo ple al ways to tak e the m o ney : the o nly l imi ting cau ses to
depreciation are the habit s of i ssue to which he conform s vol
u n tar i ly I f by an i nfal l i bl e insti nct he foun d out what
.

quantity o f purely m etal lic money wou l d have s u ffi ced for the
wants of the com mu nity and u sed only that am ou nt there
, ,

wou l d be no depreciatio n We know that there is n o s uch

.

instinct and w e do not bel ieve that there i s any m ean s o f

,

calcu l ating the dem and for a purely metal lic cu rrency except ,

by the use o f i t or o f somethi ng not more easi ly attai nabl e

,

than it A gain i f this i nconvertible cu rrency were issu ed by

.
,

persons who used to issu e a convertibl e cu rren cy an d i f trade , ,

Happ e n i ng to be pretty steady they i ssued only that amou nt,

o f cu rrency whi ch they had bee n accustomed to issue when

obliged to give gol d i n exchange for thei r notes no e fle ct ,

woul d be produced by the l aw em poweri ng them to issue i n

co nvertible paper B ut this state is clearly one of unstabl e
.

equi libriu m : i f trade altered t h i s fi xe d amoun t of cu rrency

,
- '

would beco m e redundant or i nsu ffi cient i n no way has i t any

tend ency t o right itsel f after receiving the slightest derange
ment T here i s ind eed a certai n theory known by the n am e
.
 TH E C UR R E N C Y M ONOP OL Y 1 67

o f the Law of Reflux by which Mr Wi l son contends that

“
, .

the quantity of an i nconvertibl e currency suits itsel f i mm e

d i a t e ly to that of a convertibl e cu rrency to the quantity o f a
pu rely metall ic circu lation I n substance it i s thi s : that when
.

i ssu ed u po n l oans they are retu rned to the i ssuer i f not

,

wanted for the gen eral transactions o f the country : thu s M r .

F u ll arton says very perspicuously : B ank notes are never “

issued but on loans and an equal a mo u nt o f notes must b e

,

returned to the B ank whenever the loan becomes due B ank .

notes therefore can n ever clog the market by thei r redun

, ,

dance T h e B ank has only to take care that they are lent on
.

su ffi c i ent security and the refl u x and the i ssue wi l l in the long
,

ru n balance each oth er P erfect con v ertibi l i ty i s no doubt

.

one essential condi tion o f every sound and perfect system of

curren cy I t i s the only effectu al p rotection again st i nternal
.

discredit and the best preventive against any viol ent aberra
,

tions of the exchange with other countri es B ut it is not so .

much by convertibi lity i nto gold as by the regu l arity of the ,

refl ux that i n the ordi nary course of thi ngs any redundancy
i n the bank note i ssuer i s rendered i mpossible
-
A n d both .

Mr T ooke and Mr F u l l arton have el sewhere written copiou sly

. .

to the sam e effect B u t it i s hardly true as a fact that al l

.

bank notes are issued as l oa n s Th ey are we beli eve not u m .

, ,

frequently i ssu ed by cou nt r y bankers i n purchases for con

sum ption A lso on the gen eral qu estion C olonel T orrens
.

well writes : Mr F ul larton reiterates this argum ent through

“
.

severa l pages innocently unconscious of the fact that i n order

, ,

to give it any weight and val idity it i s necessary that the ,

loans shou ld be repai d on the instant they are granted Al low .

any interval to elapse between the l oan and the repayment ,

and n o regu l arity of reflux c a n prevent redundancy from

”
being increased to any conceivabl e extent It is certainly .

very strange to find a distinguished practical m an o f business

l ike M r Wi l son laying down the old doctrin e of the B ank
.
,

directors that i n co nv e rt i b le bank notes cou ld not be depreciated

i ,

no matter at how low a rate o f interest they are issued Why .

those who hold thi s doctrine do not go further and maintain ,

that everybody shou l d be al lowed to issu e debased coin a d

1 68 TH E C URRE NC Y M ON OP OL Y

l i bi tu m, is more than we c an unde rstand E very argu ment .

here a lleged i s at l east equ al ly val i d for coin o f less intrinsi c

value than i t purports t o be as it i s for paper which i s al mo st
,

d estitute of i ntrinsic value : and M r H u me i s ever ready to .

give ample evidence of the management o f the N ational Mint .

M r T o oke who i s m ore m oderate though perhaps less

.
,

stri ctly logical contends for the l aw of refl ux on ly when the

,

notes are l ent at the ex isting rate of i nterest B ut to select .

on e obj ecti on out of many i s it to be supposed that the co m

,

petition o f issuers or the sel f interest o f the monopol i st B ank

,
-
,

wi l l not delay the ri se o f the rate o f interest by contin ui ng to

o ffer loan s and discou nts at the m arket rate and then at least ,

quantities of m oney which Mr T ook e adm its to be ex cessive

, .
,

wil l be i ssu ed u pon the mark et and wi l l h ave the effect so ,

often insi sted on i n raising prices and depreciating money ?

Moreover i t i s qu ite unp roved that the fac i lity for lending
,

afforded by the pri vilege of i ssu ing m oney d estitute of i n

t r i n s i c valu e wi l l no t cause quanti ties of it to be i ssued which
wou l d not have been i ssu ed under l ess favourabl e c ircu mstances
the obviou s presu m ption i s that they wi l l be i s s u ed T h e,
.

m arket rate of interest i s affected by v ery m any different c i r

c u m s t a n ce s m any of them qu ite u nconnected w i th m on ey and
,

is therefore an unsatisfac tory gu ide for regu lating i ssu e of i t

especial ly since the qu antity issued h a s a reflu x effect on the
rate of i nterest Mr Wi lson we doubt not wou ld reply that
. .
, ,

m ore money would not b e k ept ou t than the transactions of

the country requ ire : we venture to oppose to hi s great
au thority the sti l l greater au thori ty of Mr R i cardo : Th e .
“

p l ea that no m ore i s i ssued than the wants o f com merce requ i re

i s of no weight ; b ecau se the s u m requi red for such a purpose
cannot b e defined C om merce i s insati able i n its demands
.
,

a n d the sam e porti on o f i t may em pl oy ten m i l lions or o n e

hu ndred m i l lions of ci rcu lating m ediu m ; the quantity wholly

depends on its va lue I f the m ines had been ten ti mes m ore
.

productive ten tim es more m oney wou l d the sam e co m

,
” ”
merc e empl oy .Mon ey says Mr S enior
“
,
is abstrac t .
,
“

”
w e alth z anyone who wants anything wants that which ,

wi l l buy everythi ng O nce l essen the difficu lty o f obtai n

.
 TH E 1 C UR RE N C Y M ONOP OL Y

i ng m oney and there wi l l be no want of c la im ants for the

,

use o f i t .

Mr T ooke has another theory whi ch i s we bel ieve

.
, ,

pecu liarly hi s own s o far as writers of any nam e a nd author

,

ity are concerned I t i s sometimes stated i n the form that

.

cha n ges in the am ou nt of circul ati on do not affect pri ces at

al l U pon thi s point we c a n o nly refer ou r readers to what
we have said before : we have nothi ng new to s ay and we ,

mu st not repeat argu ments al ready wearisom ely insisted on .

C ircu lation i s bartered for commod ities and commod ities are ,

bartered for ci rculation M r T ooke strenuously maintains . .

everywhere i n his H i s tory of P r i ces that the quantity o f com ,

m o d i t i e s brought to m ark et affects their price as m eas ured

in circul ation ; and why the com mod ity ci rcu l ati on should not
be depreciated by super abundance and appreci ated by scarcity
-
,

’
i s to u s i nscrutabl e A nother of M r T ooke s d i cta i s that
. .
,

an increase of circu lation i s a con sequ ence not a cause of a , ,

rise of prices We believe that sometim es i t i s a cause and

.

sometimes an effect We have pointed ou t variou s i nstances

.
,

as the debasement of the coi n i n wh ich ou r increase o f cir ,

cu lation is a cause and not a consequ ence o f a rise of prices .

But we fu l ly concede to M r T ook e that i f money circu lates .

,

1
at an u naltered rate the sam e amount of commodities might
,

requi re a greater amount of m o n e y to circu late them at som e t

times than at other because there would be p eriods of ,

speculation in which there was a great wish to i nterchange

comm odities and times of depressi on i n w hi ch the des i re to
,

interchange i s com paratively w eak T here are also no doubt .

, ,

cases i n which a sl ight di m i nution i n the supply o f articl es of

pri mary necessity cau ses a great i ncrease i n their price not ,

i mmediately cou nterbalanced by a correspo nding fal l in other

articles ; and thi s m ight cau se a general ri se of prices and ,

1
Th e r a te of c ircu l a ti o n at d e s e rve s p e r h ap a m ore
d i fi e r e n t ti m e s
'

,
s,

a ccu rat e t re at m e n t t h a n i t h a e ce i e d Si n ce i n t i m e s o f p e l a t i o n m n
s r v . s cu e

a e m o e e a g e r t o p r ch ase a n d m on e l te m or e ra p id l y a n d
r r u y w i l l ci
,
r cu a ,

i f a n u n d u e i s s u e of n o te s cau s e a n i n cr e a s e o f s p e c l ati o n i t a pp e a s th a t u ,
r

t h e y w i ll n o t o n l y act o n p i c b y i n cre a s i n g th e q
r e n t i ty o f m o n e y b u t ua ,

a l s o b y i n cre as i n g th e e ffi c i e n c o f w h a t w e re o i g i n al l y i n ci c l a ti o n r r u
y .
1 70 THE C URRE N C Y M ON OPOL Y

requ ire more money to cir c u late them A l l this and severa l.
,

other cases of a si m ilar character may b e admitted by the

,

stau nchest advocate for the B i ll of 1 8 4 4 although Mr Took e .

no t u nfrequently a rgu es that any i ncrease of prices not caused

by an increase o f circu lation i s fatal to i t N o one deni es that .

i f a case c an b e fo u nd o f a general rise of prices not Origi nating

i n su ch a scarcity as wou ld cou nterbalance the rise of price by
the diminution o f quantity either an i ncrease i n the quantity of
,

ci rculation or an enhancem ent of i ts val u e wi l l necessari ly tak e

p lace B ut i t i s proposed al so to lay down that a general
.
, ,

fal l of pri ces wi l l ensue o n an i ncreased diffi cu lty o f obtai n ing

mo ney . Fe w wi l l al lege that alterations i n the val u e of money
are more than disturbi ng causes ; few wi l l deny that the
alteration s in the su pp ly and demand of com m odities are the
m ai n constant causes of thei r exchangeab le valu es .

N everthel ess though we can not concu r i n the extravagant

,

eu l ogiu m s which som e writers have recently l avished upon

the opinion of M r T ooke we are not d is posed with C olonel
.
,

T orrens to pu t them aside as worthless or treat them as a ,

”
psychological study . Th e evidence o f a distingu ished
practical man of bu siness against any l aw the working of which ,

he has m inutely studied wi l l rarely be found entirely destitute

,

of i nstru ction O n one point we thi nk h e i s decidedly

.

vi ctorious over C olonel Torrens M r T ook e conten ds that

. .

though no n e w p urchasers ca n u nder the present l aw be

, ,

brought i nto the mark et by an u ndu e i ssu e o f bank notes ,

nevertheless other m edi a o f i nterchange can be fou nd such as ,

bi l ls of exchange and book credits that w i l l do the work i f

, ,

not so conveniently yet not wi th i ntolerabl e i nconvenienc e .

Mr j ohn M il l has wel l said that B ank notes are to credit

.
“

what coi n i s to bu ll i on they are that i s the most , ,

convenient and e fficaciou s mode of em ploying it B ut M r . .

M i ll urges that a banker can find other m eans of giving hi s

customers credit when he pleases : there are other ways of
bringing new purchasers into the mark et who wou ld not have
com e there i f the bank er had been obliged to procu re coin to
make the nec essary advances O n this poi nt M r Took e
. .

writes
 THE C URRE N C Y M ON OP OL Y 171

When the Bank of E nglan d or a country banker makes

an advance or d iscounts a bi l l the borrower or d iscounter i s
, ,

ask ed how he wishes to have the amount I n the case o f the .

B ank of E ngland the borrower when the d iscount o r loan i s ,

agreed on has the option o f receiving gold o r n otes o r a book

,

credit I ii by far the l arger propo rtion of i nstances I bel ieve

.

the book credit i s preferred a chequ e o n the Bank i s passed ,

and placed by the borrower to his account with his banker ,

who as between hi msel f and the B ank of E ngl a n d set s off the '

amount agai nst acceptances to bi l ls o r cheques upo n h im held

by the Bank o r simply places i t to the c redit of his deposit
,

account with the B ank I n this case not a si ngle note is .

created or issued agai nst several m il l io ns of securities u pon

,

which advances are m ade either to indivi du als o r to govern

”
ments .

E vidently s o long as transact ion s tak e plac e between

customers of the B ank of E nglan d the transfer o f certain
’
fi gures from on e man s accou nt to another i s enough to transfer
a very large amou nt o f wealth through any number of con
s e c u t i v e hands A gai n i t i s a wel l known fact that bi ll s of
.
,
-

exchange were m edi a of i nterchange com peting against bank

notes i n L ancashire and were for a ti me i n great measure,

successfu l N ow these substitutes we admi t tak e away c o n

.
, ,

s i d e rab l
y from the advantage of giving to the Government a
monopoly o f the issu e o f bank notes and co in thei r existence
i s a very serious s e t o ff aga inst the u ti li ty o f S i r R P eel s
-
.
’

measure B ut we cannot m ak e with M r T ook e and M r M il l

.
, . .
,

the nex t step and deduce that they entirely destroy that
,

uti lity B ank notes are by very much the most efficacious and
.

cu stomary substi tute for coi n ; for one transaction performed

by means of bi lls of exchange or book credit perhaps a l arge ,

1
number are perform ed by means of notes payable on dem and .

1 Mr . F u l l ar t on a pp e ars to t hi n k b a nk n o te s i ns i gn i fi ca nt a s ”

co m p a r e d w i th b i ll s W e a r e g l a d to b e a b l e t o o pp o s e t o h i m th e
.

a u th o ri t y o f M r j S M i ll w h o s t a te s t h a t a s b i l l s a r e m o r e p o w e r fu l fo r m s
. . .
,

o f cr e d i t t h a n b o o k cre d i t s o b a n k n o t e s ar e m o r e p o w e r fu l t h an b i ll s
,
.

T h i s s t a t e m e n t i s gi v e n i n h i s r e ce n t l y p u b l i s h e d P r i n cip l es of P o l i t i ca l
E con omy a ft e r a n e l a b o r ate e x a mi n at i o n o f t h e s u bj e ct a n d i s o f t h e
, ,
172 TH E C UR RE N C Y M ON OP OL Y

Fe w fac ts c a n show thi s m ore c l early than the fact that able
m en very fam i li ar with the cou rse o f events have been a c
customed to ignore these substitutes altogether to treat notes ,

an d spec ie as the on ly med ia o f i nterchange re qu i ri ng the

attention of specul ators and l egislators Bank notes and coi n .

circul ate from ha nd to hand withou t endo rsement and therefore ,

fi nal ly close transactions at once whi l e b ills of exchange d o

,

not close them u ntil final ly pai d C o i n and no tes are capabl e
.

of being u sed by those who d o not k eep thei r accounts wi th

the same b ankers and i n this are far more efficient than book
,

cred its A lthough therefore we ad mit that these substitutes

.

fo r the use o f coi n and notes exist and that they mu st o f ,

necessi ty be l eft i n the hands o f i ndivid uals al tho ugh we also

concede that a habi t of givi ng excessive cred its o f l ong d ura
tion wi l l d erange indu stry i n the same manner as a d epreci a
tion o f paper o r a debasem ent of the coi n we sti l l feel ,

d isincl ined to give the i ssu e of either coin or b ank n otes (for
the argu ment tel ls it wi l l b e observed equ al ly again st both )
, ,

to the hapha z ard of u nrestricted com pet iti o n ; we mu st n ot

allow more potent i nstru ments of derangem e n t to work u nim
p e d e d because l ess potent ones are working side by side with
,

them it is the d uty of a wi se S tate to secu re the m ass o f the

nation against evil s produced by the selfishness of i nd ividuals
s o far a s it is possib l e : to bri ng withi n Governm ent contro l

even the m o st li mited causes of comm ercial convu ls ion .

A verbal pu z zl e al so i s raised and prolixly argued by M r .

T ooke a s to what co nstitutes m on ey : he co nfin es the word to

coi n and i nconverti bl e paper and m aintai ns that convertible
,

paper and bi l ls are only form s of circu l atin g credit Th e .

terminol ogy i s not i n ou r vi ew very i nteresting yet we m ay

, ,

observe that i n o ur eyes i t i s a superfluou s su btlety to say

,

that metall i c m oney d oes not ci rcu l ate on the credi t of the
co i ners : the G overn ment stam p is an assertion concerning the
amoun t o f b ul l i on contai ned i n the coin and the u ser o f i t ,

uses it o n the fa i tb that this assertion is true and it i s hard to ,

gre a t e r a u th ori ty fro m th e re se m b l an ce b e tw e e n th e i e ws o f M r M i ll an d

v .

M r F u ll art on o n m an y p ar ts o f th e s bj e ct W e r e g re t th at M r M i ll s
. u . .
’

b o ok d i d n ot re ac h u s b e fore th i s art i cl e w as w ri tte n .

 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y 1 73

draw the l i ne between this and cred it A gai n i nconvertible .

,

paper for the most part circu lates becau s e i t i s bel ieved that
,

no issu e of i t i n quantities su ffi ci ent to cause depreciation wi l l

i mmedi ately tak e pl ace : n o trader who cou ld help sel l ing
woul d take a s s igna ts i n exchange for his goods i f he knew that
the Government were go ing to i ssue i m medi ately an enormou s
amount of them . We think i t i nexpedient to draw thi s fine
disti nction between trust and credit i n the definitio n o f a word
s o o ften to be used .C ol onel T orren s as we thi nk says truly
, , ,

that i n ordi nary speech a paym ent i n bank notes i s a ready

money paym ent : and that
T h e terms m oney and currency have hitherto been em
ployed to denote those i nstrum ents o f exchange whi ch pos
sess i ntri nsi c or derivative val u e and by which fro m l aw or
, ,

custom debts are d ischarged and t ransactions fi nal ly clo sed

,

We shou l d somewhat d iffer from C ol onel T orrens as to

what th is definition wou l d incl ude ; bu t as we woul d not
weary ou r readers with m ere questions of n om encl atu re we ,

shal l o n ly add that even i f Co lonel T o rrens cou ld make ou t

,

that bil ls o f exchange and book cred its are not currency i n the
technical sense o f the word thi s wou ld not j usti fy his i nference
,

that thei r operation u pon the transfer of com modities i s s o di f

fe r e n t from that o f bank notes as not to interfere with the
consequences of l eaving the issu e o f the latter i n the hands -

o f Government alone .

’
I n answer to Mr T ooke and M r Wi lso n s obj ections to
. .

S i r R P eel s measure we may use an a rg u m en tu m a d b om i n em

’
.
,

of som e pl au sibi l ity Both these writers adm i t that the con
.

”
vertibil ity of bank notes i nto coi n i s an essenti al condition
of their safest and m ost beneficial e m pl oyment I t i s also .

clear that the fail u re of individual i ssu ing bank ers reduces to a
nu llity the legal obl igation to give coi n i n exchange for notes .

While the issue o f notes i s a matter left to u nrestricted com

peti tion and when as M r Wil son s pri nci pl es o f F ree T rade
, ,
.
’

i n Banking and Currency imperatively dem and no more care ,

i s taken to secure the convertibil ity o f notes than to secu re the

payment o f deposits a very seriou s fractio n o f the ci rculatio n
,
”
cred it o f the realm i s m ischievou s credi t fou nded o n no real ,
1 74 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y

b as i s bu t restin g on a bel i ef i n the ri ches o f i nso l vent bankers

, .

E ven with the restricted nu mber o f i ndividual i ssuers admitted ,

by the present law there have been fou r fai lu res of i ssu ing
,

bank s i n the cou nti e s west of L ondon and som e of these ,

appear i n the papers as havi ng al most no assets “

I f n ew
bank s o f i ssue had been al lowed to spri ng u p du ri ng the rai l
way m an ia who can doub t that a large n um b er o f i n solvent
,

concerns wou ld have come i nto ex i stence and h ave gone down ,

at the fi rst appearance of d epression l eavi ng the hol ders of ,

their notes w ith papers not on ly i nconvertibl e but valu el ess ? ,

E ven were it adm itted that i ssu es o f converti bl e paper ca n

never d epreciate coin we shou ld stil l co ntend that there woul d
,

be a case for the i nterference of Governm ent to secure the con

vertibi l ity o f the coin ; and as an a rg u m en tu m a d b om i n em
against M r Wi lson we ho ld i t to be perfect
.
, .

T hese reaso ns appear to us to answer the obj ections of M r .

T ook e and Mr Wi lson to the B i l l of 1 8 4 4 which relate to the

.
,

internal transactions of the cou ntry Wi th respect to ou r .

foreign rel ations we shal l speak presently and al so with r e ,

spect to the i nterference o f Govern m ent i n O ctober last B u t .

first we shal l s u m u p what we have al ready advanced i n the

a s sertion that the i ssu e o f m oney i s a fit case for a Government
,

monopoly because the obj ect ai m ed at i s not to redu ce the

,

cost price but to render it fix ed because fluctu ations i n val ue

-
,

are attended with a great d erangem ent o f i nterna l comm erce

becau se the i nterests o f i ndividual co iners and i ssu ers i s at
vari ance with the i n terest of the com m u nity and becau se as a ,

resu lt o f the whole the pri ncipl e of i nd ivi du al sel f interest

,
-

canno t here be tru sted to as a security for the welfare of the

com m unity .

We hope we have made good our assert ion that the argu ,

m ents wh ich are held to be sufficient i n relatio n to a G overn

m ent monopoly of coi n ing are equal ly good for a Governm en t
m onopoly of paper money A n d this i s the m ore worthy o f .

remark because we have not as yet ava il ed o urse l ves o f one

of the m
,

o st powerfu l argu ments against those who pu rpose to

su peradd to ou r present system of m etal l ic money a free “

trad e i n paper currency A t present the who l e ex pen se o f

.
 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y 17 5

procu ri ng money from the m i ne is borne by the com mun ity

at large and the expense o f coining i s defrayed by the S tate
, .

S urely it appears bu t fai r that those who bear the expense of

provi ding this costly i nstru m ent shoul d derive the advantage
accruing from the use of an equal ly e fficient but m ore e co n o
mical substitute N everthel ess u nder the system of F ree
.
,
“

”
Trade i n B ank ing the profit derived from the substitution of
paper for gold goes to the banker and not to the communi ty
i t resembles the profit of debasem ent by i ndividu al coiners of
which we have spok en s o often : i t i s as i f on e partner w ere
to derive the whol e advantage from an economy of the paid u p -

capital belo n ging to the whol e m ercanti l e concer n .

Th e argu ments which we have here u sed are based entirely

on the i nternal ci rcu m stances o f the cou ntry and we thi nk ,

they afford groun d for sayi ng that u nl ess serious dangers arise
out of i t s external rel ations the pri ncipl es we recommend are
,

worthy of adoption T hat no such dangers exi st i s pre

.

sum abl e from the fact that the advocates o f the measu res o f
,

1 8 4 4 are prone to select these external relations as the strong

ho ld o f their argument T h e obj ect o f ou r proposition s o u r

.
,

readers wi l l rem ember has been to prese r ve fi xi ty of valu e

,

i n the currency and i t remai ns to be seen wheth er the e ffects

,

u pon foreign trade o f those dep rec iati ons and appreciations
of which we have been speak i ng are i nj uri ou s or beneficial : i f
they are inj uriou s they w ill be confirmatory of our case ; if
,

benefi cial a set off against i t T h e state of this part of the

,
-
.

case we believe to be as fo llows I f al l the world u sed the sam e

coi ns and regarded the same preci ou s metal as the standard
,

of valu e the trade between two nations woul d not so far as

, ,

currency is concerned differ fro m that o f the same nation ;

,

the trad e between L ondon and P ari s wo ul d be like that

between L o ndon and Glasgow except that a s i n the territories
, ,

of the German Z ol lverei n the sam e coi n wou ld i n eve ry

,

d i fferent place bear the stamp of its own special Governm ent .

N or i s t h e case materi ally altered when the currencies of two

countries are not the same bu t di fferent bu t when the sam e ,

metal i s the standard of both : an equation is then settled by

esti mating the amou nt of the standard m etal (the Govern
1 76 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y

ment stamp cou nting o f cou rse for nothing beyond i t s own
terri tories) and thi s equati on i s cal led i n m ercanti le l a n guage
,

the p a r of exchange When two di fferent metal s are used as

.

the standard the p a r consi sts of the qu anti ti es of the two

,

which exchange one for another i n the m ark et an d here the

p a r is n o t as i n the fi rst c ase an i nvariabl e physical fact a s ce r
t a i n ab l e by the senses but somethi ng which depends o n th e
,

flu c t uations o f the market and can only be k nown by noting

,

d own the results o f each day s bargai ning N ow it i s p lai n

’
.

that i n either of these cases the deprec iation of what i n on e

country i s the standard of va lu e wi l l tend to cause i ts ex porta
t ion a n d si mi larly its appreciati on wi l l act as a premiu m on
its importation I f E ngl ish bu ll ion goes ab road to a country
.

having no previou s debt du e from E ngl and som ething m ust ,

return i n order to pay for i t ; and in this case depreciati on of

the cu rrency by provi ding a profitabl e article o f ex port wi l l
, ,

act as a premi um upon im port I f bu ll ion i s exported to a

.

country having a credit o n E ngland there i s no occasion why ,

any commodity shoul d return i n ord er to pay for the bu lli on ,

becau s e the latter i s real ly transmi tted to pay off a debt .

T here i s no special i nconven ience i n these events i n them

selves ; but one parti cular case exi st s i n which they cer tainly
aggravate very seri ou s evi ls I f from any cause a s a defici ent
.
,

harvest bu l lion and coin are bei ng drained out o f this cou ntry
, ,

there i s a certain point at which they woul d b e s o el evated i n

val u e as to render i t n o longer profitabl e to export them B ut i f .

by a n issu e of paper s imu l tan eou sly with the conti nuance o f
the drai n we provide an efficient substitute the supply wi l l seem ,

not to be dim in ished the value wi l l no t rise coi n wi l l be ex

, ,

ported i nstead o f commodities ; the drai n o f bu ll ion wi l l not

cease where it would have ceased u nder a pu rely metall i c c ir
culation ; i t wi l l be for a longer period the m os t profitab le
.

arti cle of export S u ch a management of the paper ci rcu la t ion

.

i s at varianc e with the first pri nci pl e of a metal lic cu rrency ,

which we have shown to be that cmter i s p a r i bu s the circu lation

, ,

should i ncrease w ith the cheapeni ng and di m inish wi th the

appreci ati on of bul l ion A lso i f the paper circu lation were
.
,

augmented by t h e in c rease of the notes o f i ssu ing bank e rs

 TH E C UR R E N C Y M ONOPOL Y 1 77

competi ng with one another another serious i nconveni ence wi l l

,

of necessity arise I t appears to be an attested fac t of ex

.

p e r i e n ce that the depo s it reserve of bank s i s the first place

,

from which bu ll ion i s obtained for exportatio n : a continuance

of a foreign d rain i s therefore accompanied with a steady drai n
on the deposits and thi s we are now to suppose accompanied
,

by a steady i ncrease of the note c ircu latio n We bel i eve that .

no one wi l l deny the great danger of such a cou rse to the

solvency o f the bank I f the circu l ation were to get ou t of
.

credit the danger wou l d be m ost seriou s : al l the m ost avail

,
'

abl e resou rces are expended i n meeting the drai n on the

deposits ; al l that c an be most advantageously o r at l east ,

disadvantageously sold has been sold to meet this drain and

,

i f a new drai n were added i n th e shape of a ru n caused by di s

credit o f the circul ation the solvency of the bank s and the
, ,

convert ib il ity of the notes i n the hands o f the pu bl ic would be

i nstantly threaten ed by a danger from which it wou ld be
di fficu l t to escape T hese two seriou s di fficu lties arisi ng out of
.

the foreign rel ati ons of the country a ppear to u s to strengthen

the argum ent against the system of comp eting issu ers which
was derived from those internal circu m stances which are affected
by the depreciati on of the cu rrency B ut because we are pre .

pared to defend the m easu re of S i r R P eel on this grou nd it is .

,

the more incu mben t o n u s to state that we are qu ite at i ssu e

with certain persons who a s Mr Wi l son has concisely stated
, .
,

loudly proclaim to the worl d that the great and leading “

pri nci pl e o f the A ct of 1 8 4 4 is that i n the event o f advers e

,

exchange against their cou ntry ou r system has a sel f acti ng

,
-

princi pl e o f co ntraction by which the pri ces o f com moditi es

shal l be redu ced so that they m ay be exported in preference to
gol d
We b el i eve it to be a demonstrated truth o f science that ,

rises and fal ls of price cau sed sim ply by a contraction and
enlargement o f the c irculation d o not of them selves affect
foreign trade at all T h e depreciation of bullion provi des a
.

more profitable article o f export ; bu t i f it were profitable to

export commod ities before we bel ieve it wi ll be profitable
,

stil l : the appreciati on o f bu l l ion provi des a m ore profitabl e

V OL V I I I
. . 12
1 78 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y

a rticl e o f co m fort bu t if before i t w ere profitable to im port

,

c o m m od ities no di m inu tion of profit wi l l ensu e on the change

,

o f price due to a contractio n of the cu rrency A mode of co n .

ducti ng business i mportant to be noticed i n thi s co nnection i s

thu s described by M r B l ake : Th e merchant i s regul ated i n the
.

conduc t of h i s bu si ness by a co mpari son o f the prices which

com m odi ties bear i n the hom e and i n the foreign market h is
attention i s di rected to the prices current accounts o f which are ,

co nstan tly pu bl ished and i mm edi ately com m uni cated to his
,

correspondents abroad I f he fi nds that th e price of the sam e

.

comm odity abroad i s so m uch higher than i n the h om e

m arket that its sal e ab road wi l l pay the expense of freight
,

and i nsu rance and a t the sam e ti me leave hi m an adequate

,

profi t for h i s troub l e he wil l i mm ediatel y pu rchase and export

,

the com mod ity i n qu estion A s soon a s the b i l l o f l ad i ng i s

.

received by his correspondent to whom the good s are consigned ,

h e wi l l draw his bil l u po n hi m for the amou nt ; and i f th e ex

c hange be at p a r wil l have n o di fficu l ty in procuring m oney
,

equ al to the val ue spec ifi ed i n the bi l l by negoti ati ng i t i n the

mark et at hom e B u t i f the ex change be not at p a r i t i s evi den t
.
,

that h is calcu lations u pon the profit he is likel y to derive from

the export mu st i nclude the premi um or d iscount which he
” 1
wi l l receive or pay i n th e di sposal o f h i s bil l .

N ow i t appears clear that any cause wh ich raises or l owers

the prices o f al l com moditi es wi l l also rai se or l ower the price
of b il l s of whi ch the val ue i s regu l ated by the sam e causes as
th e val u e o f al l other k i nds of m erchandise Fo r exam ple an .
,

i ncreased facil ity o f obtai ning money wi ll bring new purchasers

i nto the bill market j ust a s into al l other m arkets and the ,

price o f bi ll s wil l ri se i n c on sequence H ence although a .

merchan t w ishi ng to export woul d receive a di scou ragement

from th e rise o f pri ces 10 p er cent i n consequence o f a de .

r e c i a t e d cu rrency neverth el ess by the mode o f c onducti ng

p ,

business above descri bed he wou l d obtai n a prem iu m of 1 0

per cent on his bil l
. S i mi l arly an i ncreased di ffi cu lty o f
.

obtaining money w il l not on ly l ower the premiu m o n bill s bu t ,

1
B l a ke on th e E xc/z a ng e . Th e w or d Re al h as b ee n om i tt e d b e for e
E x ch a n g e as fore ig n t o ou r p re s e n t p rp o se
u .
 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y 1
79

perhaps change it i nto d iscou nt S o that a depreciatio n of

.

the cu rrency does n ot l essen the profit o n the exportation of

c om modities nor when the m erchant l ooks to deriving a part
,

o f hi s profit fro m the sale of his bi l l does the appreci ation

o f the currency i ncrease that profit i n the least A gain i n the
.
,

foreign bi l l market the depreciation of E ngl ish cu rrency wi l l

l ower the price o f bil l s i n E ngland A l l persons who wi sh
.

for E ngl ish coi n to p u rchase goods i n E ngl an d for exporta

ti on or imm ediate consum ption wi l l be less wi l l ing to bid fo r
the m oney order when the purchasi n g power of that money i s
-

dimini shed . H ence it i s clear that the depreciation of E nglish

currency reduces the price of b il ls on E ngland i n the foreign
mark et so that a foreigner m ight be no less ready to ex port
com modi ties from E ngl and after than befo re the rise i n the
price of goods owing to a depreciation of the currency and ,

obtain by the less price he pays for a bi l l a profit correspond

ing t o the loss o ccasi oned by the additional price which he has
to pay for hi s com mod ities I t may therefo re be lai d down
.

that the price of bil l s of exchange on foreign cou ntries i n the

hom e m arket ri ses and fal l s with the prices o f comm odities
when these are affected by alterations i n the valu e of the c u r
r e n cy : that is the price of such bi l ls varies di r e ctly wi th the pri ce
,

of commodities wh ile the price of bi ll s on E ngland i n the foreign

markets varies i n ver s ely with the price of articles here i n c r e a s
,

i ng when they di m i ni sh and dimi ni shing when they i ncrease

, .

T herefore an ex porting merchant who sel l s his bil l at home wi ll

sel l it fo r more when the pri ce of com modi ti es rises ; and i f he
buys his bill on E ngl an d in the foreign market he wi l l pay less
for it ; and an i mporting m erchant who sell s hi s bi l l abroad
wil l have to pay less for i t and wi l l be able to get l ess for the
,

bi l l on foreign cou ntries which he m ight sel l i n the E nglish

market Therefore i t i s evident that when the bu siness i s
.

managed by means of bi lls al terations i n the va l ue of the

,

currency do not of themselves act as prem iums on the export

or import o f commodities they neither i ncrease nor dim i nish
the profit of the merchant When therefore the cu rrency can
.

not be itself exported its e ffect on fo reign trade i s nothing at

,

all T h e depreciation of F rench a ss i gn a ts was not of itsel f

.

12
180 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y

calculated either to i ncrease or to d i mi nish the F rench i mports .

When the currency consists o f articl e s o f i ntrinsic val ue l ik e

bull ion which are capable o f export i t s depreci ation of course
, , ,

as previ ou sly stated wil l be a bou nty on i ts ex po rt and there

, ,

fore often on the i m port o f com modi ties returning to pay for
i t : and simil ar proposi tio ns m u ta ti s m u ta n di s are true of
appreciation F oreign trade then i s barter l ike other trades
.

and the depreciati on o f one articl e has an effect not only on

the p r o fit a b l e n e s s of i t s ex port bu t leaves unaffected the
,

profit on the export of these Money i s bu t a single com .

m o d i ty and changes i n its local val u e only cause its export

, ,

bu t have no tendency to d im ini sh the profit o r th e export of

o ther commodities Men have not al lowed themselves to be
.

mastered by their ow n i nstru ment ; what trade was before

m oney exi sted it is still i n the m ain and essential ly On e
,
.

articl e h as attai ned an additio nal u sefu l pro perty and the ,

dem and for it is subj ected to another cau se o f fluctuation but

this has not power enough to alter the ge n eral course of i nter
national commerce .

I t i s evident that the ex portabi l ity o f co in i s oftenti mes

a sou rce o f variations i n i ts value : s o m uch may be ex ported
to pay for a deficient harvest that what rem ai n s may b e ,

dearer I t has therefore often enough been p roposed to pro

.

vid e a cu rrency independen t of the exchange and not su s ,

c e p t i b l e of this spec i es o f appreci ation and depreci atio n We .

have never seen any pl an whi ch appeared to u s successfu l to

m eet this obj ect a nd we doubt whether there i s any one both
,

theoreti cal ly u nobj ecti on ab le and practical ly feasi ble T hose .

p l ans whi ch propose a cu rrency wi th intri nsic value have

failed becau se the materi al which they have proposed was
,

possessed of other u sefu l properties besi des se rving a s currency ,

and cou l d therefore be exported l ik e bu l lion T hos e plan s .

which adopt a currency withou t intrinsic val ue seem as yet

defective in l ayi ng down any thoroughly sati s factory ru l e fo r
regulating its amou nt O n e m ethod of arriving at the end de
.

si red i s by fi ndi ng so m e com mod i ty which on ly has u ti lity i n

, ,

consequ ence of the convention o f a particu lar state to u se i t

a s m oney but of wh ich neverthel ess the supply i s determ ined
,
 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y 18 1

by the cost of production Thi s cou ld not be exported b e

.
,

cau se its val ue wou l d be lim ited by the fro ntiers of the
cou ntry whi ch agreed to u se i t as cu rrency ; an d yet its
amou nt would be determinab l e j ust a s gold and s ilver now are .

N 0 su ch commodity however appears to exist and the con

, , ,

ce p t i o n of it i s only a theoretic dream as to what wou ld

consti tute the best cu rrency for the i nternal traffi c of a

nation .

M r Took e h a s a viol ent phi lippi c agai nst Ricardo for

.

havi ng dared to assert that coi n was never ex ported except

from a redundancy i n the cu rrency ; and obj ects that the facts
of 1 8 4 7 are of themselves enough to prove that coi n i s ex
ported to pay for a defici ent ha rvest B u t we wou ld ask .
,

what i s R icardo s test of a redu ndant cu rrency ? We bel ieve

’

that he wou ld have called any cu rrency redundan t when coi n

becam e the m ost profitabl e articl e o f export : so that this c o n
t r o v e r t e d prop osition reduces itsel f to the simple truth that ,

coin i s not as a ru le ex ported when there is any other more

profitable article o f expo rt To this we do not think M r .
.

Took e has offered any vali d obj ection I t i s qu ite ind i sputabl e
.

that the tendency of trad e sets most strongly toward those

transactions whi ch yi eld the greatest pecuniary return Th e .

reason i s that there i s an i m m en se amou nt of capi ta l not

,

u sed by its owner s but lent to those who wi l l bid highest for
,

it -
o f course those whose trade yi elds them the greatest r e

turn wi ll bi d most for the capital which aids them i n car ryin g
it o n We are bound however to concede to Mr T ooke that
.
, ,
.

R icardo has not ex pressed with su fficient cl earn ess the pro
position that the ri sk of sudden fal l s of price is one element
i n the determination of the profit requi si te to ensure the e n
trance o n a mercanti le speculation I n the case of a deficient .

harvest we are obliged to ransack countries for our subsistence

,

which are unu sed to employ ou r manu facturers to any great

extent I t i s therefore certain that a smal l i ncrease i n thei r
.

qu antity wil l produce a glut of them and a great fal l i n thei r

value and therefore a great l oss to the merchant But bul l i on
, .
,

a s M r Blake h as well observed

. i s the articl e of the steadiest
,

possi ble value : a very s l ight lowering of i t s price very greatly

182 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y

increases the quanti ty o f i t em ployed and therefore the risk ,

of ex porting coin i s less than the risk of bu l l ion H ence i s i t .

that bu l l ion l eaves the coun try before the pri ce cu rrent alone
wou l d seem to rend er i t advisable ; therefore i s i t that bu ll ion
merchants seem to trade on smal ler profits than other
mercantil e m en A s a resu l t then o f wha t has been said i t
.
, , ,

a ppears that s o far from the foreign relations of the S tate

affording any obj ection to fi xi t y i n the s tand ard of valu e at ,

l east on e serious danger arises ou t of on e case of d epreci ation ,

v i a an u nd ue prolongation of a foreign drai n o f bu l lion

.
; an
ex port that i s of bu llion when com modi ties wou ld have been
, , ,

otherw ise ex ported : as a consequ ence o f this an i ncrease in ,

the hom e stock s of commodities an alterati on o f thei r prices , ,

and as h as been shown a con siderabl e derangem ent o f

, ,

domestic i nd ustry H ere then we find an add itional reason

.

to approve of the Government monopo ly o f the cu rrency an d ,

of the A ct o f 1 8 4 4 as an approxi mation to that system

, .

I n deference to the censures o f M r T ook e we pass to a .

consideration o f the i nterference of M i nisters i n O ctober l ast ,

which he co nsiders a convi ncing proof o f the fai l ure o f S i r R .

P eel s A c t Th e m easure o f S i r C Wood an d L ord j R u ssel l

’
. . .

m ay be defended on two d isti nct grounds one resti ng o n co n

si deration of currency ; the other on considerati ons derived
from bank i ng Th e cu rrency argu ment i s this— I t i s a great
.

defect o f a purely m etal li c ci rcu lation that the quantity o f i t

cannot be readi ly suited to any sudden dem and it takes ti m e
to get new suppl ies o f gold and s i lver and i n the meantime , , ,

a temporary rise i n the va lu e of bu l l ion takes pl ace N ow a s .

paper m oney can be supplied i n u nlim i ted qu anti ti es however ,

sudden the deman d may be it does not appear to u s that there

,

i s any obj ecti on on pri nciple to sudden i s sues o f paper m oney

t o meet sudden and large ex tens io ns o f demand I t g ives to .

a pu rely metal l ic circu lati on that greater constancy of purchas

i ng power possessed by articles whose quantity c a n be qu ick ly
su ited to the dem and I t wil l be evident from what we have
.

said be fore that thi s power o f i ssu ing notes i s one ex cessively
,

l iable to a buse because as before shown i t may depreciate the

, , ,

currency ; and o n that ac c ou nt such a power ought only to be

 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y 18 3

lodged i n the hands of Government a nd not of a body o f ,

traders derivi ng profit from th e i ncrease o f their note ci rcu l a

tion I t shou ld only be u sed also i n rare an d exceptional
.

cases B u t when the fact o f an extensive s u dd en demand i s

.

proved we see no obj ection but decided advantage i n i ntro

, , ,

d u c i n g this new element i nto a m etal lic circu lation We s e e .

here only one other case of Government i nterventi on to ensure

steadiness i n the standard of v al ue N ow som ething l ike this .

happens in periods of extensive d iscredi t especi a lly u nder the ,

present system o f provi ncial bank s of issue E very banker i s .

obliged to k eep a new reserve to meet the augm ented danger

of a run fo r hi s paper T his requires a large increase of circula
.

tion and i t i s di fficult to obtain gol d to satisfy s o unexpected

,

a demand A l so no merchant k nows whom to tru st : he i s

. ,

not d isposed to give h i s banker so much credi t as hereto fore ,

but to keep i n hi s til l m oney which he wou ld otherwise have

put i nto the bank and this material ly restricts the economy
,

which banks of deposi t i ntrodu ce into the ci rcu l ati on ; and

when the cu rrency has suited itsel f to the business o f the
cou ntry u nder a system o f economy it becomes di fficu l t to ,

make it do the same work u nder a system comparatively

costly We here s e e an additional reason for giving Govern
.

ment the so le i ssue o f paper money becau se the discredit of ,

individual bankers s o m uch aggravates other specie s of d is

credit as to requ i re the i ssue of add i ti onal Bank of E ngland
notes T his pri nciple we wou l d s ay i n answ er to Mr T ook e
.
, .
,

i s recognised i n the A ct o f 1 8 4 4 I t provi des that Bank o f

.

E ngland notes may be issued i n a extra amount i n the place

of country paper which from an a pprehension of its fal ling
, ,

into discredi t its i ssuers may be desirou s to relinqu ish alto

,

gether Th e i ntervention of Ministers there fore s o far from

.
, ,

being a proof of fai l ure i n the A ct i s bu t a further extension ,

of a principle wh ich i t recognises : an application to one case

of apprehended distrust of the very remedy which the A ct
itself prescribes for another .

A further and sti l l more u rgent reason arose from the con
di tion of the B ank i ng D epartment O n the 3 o th of O ctober
.

thei r r e serve w a s reduced says Co l onel Torrens

,
below ,
“
1 84 TH E C URRE NC Y M ON OPOL Y

6
7 agai nst l iab i lities amounting to and
i t was believed that at a later peri od the c oin and notes i n the
ti l l of the Bank i ng D epartment fel l short of I
S uch a state of things w as obviously a near approx im ation
to fail ure Moreover the failu re of the B ank of E ngland
.
,

wou ld be equ ival ent to a tem porary stoppage of the m ercanti le

bu sin ess of the cou ntry Colonel T o rrens agai n wri tes
. Th e “

stoppage o f the B ank o f E ngla nd wou ld be tantamoun t to a

general stoppage o f the L ondon private bank s and discou nt
hou ses T hi s great establishment from the vast amount o f
.
,

cap it al at i ts d isposal from i ts being the depository o f the

,

pub l ic revenue and o f the banking re s erve of the sub ordi nate
bank ing establishments o f the metropol is wi elds a tremendou s ,

power the m isdi rection of which might lead not only to its
,

own insolvency but to a general i nso l vency of a l l subordi nate

,

concern s and to a national bank ru ptcy

,
N o Government .

wou ld be j u s tified i n a l low ing thi s to come about whi le there

remai n ed a cha nce of preventing it by th e u se of any m eans
whatever T hat th e B ank directors were ex cessively to blam e
.
,

we have n o d oubt at all T hey ru n a risk o f fai lu re which

.

might have i nj u red the p ropri etors of Bank stock whose ,

agents they are ; u nder si m i lar m anagement any sm al ler ,

banking establishm ent wou l d have been utterly rui ned .

N o do ubt thi s i nterference of Governm ent to su pport the

Bank i ng D epartm ent i s very different fro m the currency regu
l a t i o n s o f which we have spok en before I t goes far beyon d
.

the i ntervention of Governm ent to give fi xi ty to the standard

o f valu e i t amounts to the admi ssion that Governm en t may
settl e when m oney of fixed value shal l be lent to one m an and
borrowed from another A p erson wel l i nstructed i n the
.

princi ples o f free trade wi l l be apt to wonder at thi s H e wi l l .

ask ,
Why i s the whole mechani sm of i nd ustry liabl e to be set
“

wro ng by the misconduct of o ne body of m en ? I n n o other”

trade but bank ing are we dependent on the conduct o f on e

firm E ither what I have been taught i s a mi stak e and trad e
.
,

wi l l n ot m anage i tse l f withou t external superi ntendence or ,

there has been some previou s derangem ent by form er l aws ;

either the i ntervention o f Governm en t to k eep trade i n a right
 TH E C UR R E N C Y M ONOPOL Y 18 5

cou rse i s always and essenti al ly necessary or we are now ,

sufferi ng from the evi l consequences of form er mistak en i nter

ve n t io ns. H istory supplies the answer i n a sentence Govern .

ment for a long period gave the B ank o f E ngl and al m ost a
monopoly o f B a nk i ng i n L ondon T hey gave privil eges to a .

singl e corporati on which enabled i t to pu t all competitors at

defiance Th e experi ence of S cotl and woul d i n i tsel f b e a
.

strong argument that thi s interference was the cause of the

excessive preponderance o f the B ank o f E ngland over the
other establ ishments I n S cotland there has been no m on opoly
.
,

bu t al l other c ircu mstances are pretty si mi lar and there we ,

are no t dependen t o n the goo d management o f a single over

grown establ ishment bu t o n the prud en ti al sk i l l o f a m oderate
,

n umber o f tried tru stworthy

,
and experi enced c orporati on s
,
.

Th e ded ucti on s of the theo ry come to confirm the i nduction s

o f experi ence I n the competi tion o f capital against capital
.
,

each has up to a certai n poi nt an advantage proporti oned to

, ,

i ts comparative magnitude T hu s Mr B abbage writes i n hi s

. .
,

E con omy of M a n ufa ctu r es When fro m the peculiar nature

“
,

o f the prod uce o f each manu facture the n u mber o f processes ,

i nto wh ich it i s most ad vantageous to divide it is ascertained ,

as wel l as the number o f i ndividuals to b e em ployed then all

other manu factori es which d o not em ploy a direct mu ltiple of
”
thi s nu m ber wi l l produce the article at a greater cost Th e .

same is true of the extra r i s k which small capi tals run in co m

parison with large ones When the i nsu rance prem iu m i s 1 0
.

per cent a m an with twenty ships o f equal val ue and run ning
.
, ,

equal disti nct risks c an obvio usly insure him sel f : i t i s the sam e
,

thing to him whether he loses o n e ship o r pays the i nsu rance

and the same w ith any multi ple of twenty S i mi larly if tak ing .
,

the who le of any busin ess i ts risk s are as 1 0 to 100 on a per

p e t u a l average that is i f ten of i ts transactions fai l in every
, ,

hu ndred a man who u nder any ru n o f luck can always go

, , ,

through one hu ndred tran sactions wou l d gain an advantage

over those wi th less ; and no one wou ld have an advantage
over him Th e tendency of things i s toward capital s arranged
.

on a certain scale wi th a fixed m i ni mu m and multiples o f it

, .

So that we may lay down that the n atural government of al l

186 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y

trades i ncluding bank i ng i s an oligarchy according to the

, ,

stri ct A ri stotel ic conception o f i t where a few govern because

,

of their wealth ; bu t the B ank of E ngland i s obviou sly a

T U a m/ o s who h as obtained aid from w i thou t to overthrow
‘
p ,

the consti tution and establ ish h is own rul e .

T hese consi derations weigh strongly with us against the

system o f Mr T ooke H e wi shes i t to be a law or al most a
. .
,

law that there shou l d al ways be a reserve o f

, in
both d epartm ents T his i t seems to u s i s perp etu ati ng that
.
, ,

system o f Government i nterference wi th bank ing from which

so many evi l s have ari sen We qu ite admit that i t m ay b e
.

necessary to i nterfere again because we have interfered befo re ;

but a permanent system shou l d i n our j u dgm ent be founded , ,

o n permanen tly right pri nci ples : the effects of past mis c o n
duct wil l wear ou t i n the course o f ti me ; bu t M r T ook e pro .

poses to found a l a s t i ng s ys t e m on the rotten basis o f anti

,

u ate d errors to transm i t n i m d to posterity the evi ls

q ,
u p a re

which we have to our m i sfortun e i nherited from our

, ,

fathers .

I n conclusion we cannot refrai n from remark i ng that the

ad option of the m easu re o f 1 8 4 4 s o nearly contemporaneou sly
with the com mencement o f the F ree T rade L egi sl ation in thi s
country i s a nother very remarkabl e i nstance o f the practical
,

sagaci ty of the E ngl ish peop le and of that soundness o f u nder

,

standi ng wh ich com prehends the widest pri nci pl es and yet
d i scern s thei r tru e l i m its which i s abl e to s tand the most
,

searchi ng test of the thorough com prehen sion of a pri nciple ,

viz. the k nowing what are its excepti o ns and what are not .

T h e E ngl i sh are fa r excell ed by the F rench i n logical accuracy

and i n the taste for sym metry o f co nstruction B ut we never .

’
heard a F renchm an s j okes against the bi z a r r er i es of the E ng
l i sh con stitu ti on wi thou t bearing i n m ind that the di staste for
sweeping generali sation and the habit o f decidi ng on each
case in and for itsel f which have produced su ch a m ass o f
,

u nsystematised legislation are nearly al l ied to a deep convi e

,

ti on o f the necessary i ncom pl eten ess o f al l system and of the ,

necessity for constant watch ful ness to avoid the appl ication of
a formula to cases not compreh end e d i n i t s proo f .
 TH E C URRE NC Y M ONOPOL Y 18 7

P S . .
-
S i nce
thi s essay l e ft the hands o f the writer the ,

first report of the C ommittee of the H ou se of Common s a p

poi nted to i nvestigate the cau ses o f the l ast crisi s has been
laid on the tabl e of the H ou se I t states that after a carefu l
.
,

review of the evidence the com m ittee are of opinion that i t

,
“

is not exped ient to m ake any al teratio n i n the Bank A c t o f

184 4 . They approve ho wever of a recent change i n the con
, ,

s t i t u t i o n of the Bank of E ngland by which a permanen t

,

governor is appoi nted i n place of the old system of annual

election Th e com m ittee decided ly approve o f the i nter
.

v e n t i o n of Govern m en t i n O ctober l ast ; and d ecl i ne to suggest

any machinery which might obvi ate for the future the
necessity o f a recou rse to the D eu s ex m a cb i n ci ”
T his i s .

disappointing to u s as we had hoped that some u n e xc e p t i o n

, ‘

”
able ex pansive clause m ight have been fram ed to save future
C hancellors o f the E xchequer from the anxiety which S i r
C harles Wood has so feelingly descri bed T hi s problem i t
.
,

appears i s considered beyond ou r present means o f sol ution

, ,

and m ust b e l eft to future ti mes .

We al so desi re to s ay that when i nsisting so strongly

,

on the necessity of fi xi ty o f valu e i n the ci rcu lating m ediu m ,

we have om itted to mak e u s e of the m ost obviou s argum ent

i n favour o f it v i z that changes in the standard of valu e i ntro
,
.

d uce frauds i nto al l fi xed contracts T hu s the depreciation .

Of coi n is an advantage to debtors who have to pay fixed

su ms and a di sadvantage to cred ito rs who have to receive
,

them This i s too obvi ou s to need statem ent in detail but

.
,

its practical im portance requ ires at least that i t shou ld be

mentioned .
 A R T I C LE I I — P RI N C I P LE S O F
. P O L I T I CA L
E CO N O M Y .

(F r om Tb e P r osp ecti v e R ev i e w , 18 4 8 . Tfi e s e con d a r ti cl e

p u bli s b ed by Wa l ter B ag eb ot .
)
E con omy , w i t b s om e o App l i ca t i on s to S oci a l
P r i n cip l es f P ol i t i ca l
o f t/z e i r
P b i l os op /ty . By j . S . M i ll .

T HE work on wh i ch we are abo ut to co m m ent seems to u s ,

unavo idably to present great di ffi cul ties to a reviewer Th e .

adm irabl e qualiti es of m i nd displayed i n i t and the exten sive ,

resear c h o ut of whi ch i t has sprung m ak e i t necessary for the ,

criti c to practise a h u m i lity to which he i s perch ance bu t l ittle

accustomed Moreover the great si z e o f the work the nu mber
.
, ,

of valuabl e d i scu ssions which i t contain s and more than al l , , ,

the great im porta nce o f al most the whol e o f its subj ect matter -
,

exact from u s a di ffi cu l t selection of topic s i n order that our ,

articl e m ay not be u npl easing to ou r readers or altogether

u n worthy of the work u nder revi ew .

Th e cou rse which we shal l take wil l be first to m ark M r .

’
M i ll s position a mong economi cal and so far as a few words ,

w i l l go am ong general thinkers : and after thi s i ntrodu ction

,

to select a s ingle l arge c l ass o f consid erations vi z those , .

bearing on the con di tion of the l abouring classes and to de ,

vote ou r attention to these excl usively We choose this branch .

o f the subj ect not only becau se of its own i ntri nsic interest
, ,

’
but al so because i t co ntains a l arge pro porti on o f M r M i l l s .

pecu li ar and characteristi c i deas H e i s the firs t among great

.

E ngl ish E co nom ists who has ventured to mai ntai n that the
presen t division o f the i ndustri al com mu nity i n to labourers
and capi tal ists i s neither desti ned nor adapted for a l o ng co n -

t i n u e d ex istence : that a large prod uction o f wealth i s much

18 8
 PRI NCI PLE S OF POLI TI CA L E CONOM Y 189

less im portant than a good distributio n o f i t that a state o f

i ndustry i n which both capi tal and popu lation are stationary
i s as favourable to nati o nal wel l b eing as one i n which they
-

are advancing : that fixed cu stoms are perpetual ly modi fying

the e ffects whi ch u nrestrai ned competition wou ld o f i tsel f
i nevitably produce that a large body o f peasant proprietors
i s u sual ly a source o f great nationa l advantage : and that a
system of emigration on a great scal e wou ld be prod uctive o f
m uch benefit to the E nglish peasantry by raising thei r hab itual
stan dard o f com fort an d therefo re putti ng a check o n the
,

reck less i ncrease o f a m i serabl e popu lation T hese proposi

.

t i o n s (which are n ot al l that m ight be s e t down ) wi l l be

enough to prove that the subject we have selected fo r discu ssio n
wi th M r Mil l co n tai ns a su ffi cien t n u mber o f hi s pecul iar
.

opi nio ns and therefore ask ing ou r readers to ac qu i esce in our

,

selecti on o f a special topic we shal l pass on to the general and

,

introduc tory portion of ou r article .

I n the preface to h i s work M r M il l states that he wishes

.

his work to compri se both the theoretic ex posit ion of purely

eco nom ical doctri ne and also the extraneou s co nsiderati o ns
,

most necessary for its co rrect application to the real world i n

wh ich we have to l ive and act T hi s he says because he
.
,

habi tually bears i n m ind that P ol i tical E conomy i s founded

o n certai n assumption s o f which it i s very co nvenient to trace
out the consequences separately but which being seldo m
,

accurately true and being o ften very wid e o f the mark wi l l

, ,

lead l ogical ly to consequences that i t m ay be hazardou s to

apply without correction to the actual condi tion of mankind .

T hu s i t i s perpetu al ly assu med that m en w i l l always buy what

they want as cheaply as they can whereas i n m atter o f fact ,

vanity l iberality and i ndol ence are perpetual ly preventi ng

, ,

purchasers from b eating d own p rices to the fu l l ex tent o f their

abil ity
.

Th e existence of such excepti on al considerations distributes

eco nomists i nto two classes What we may cal l com mon sense
.
-

thinkers have a lways seen that these extraneou s influ ences

were very important matters for thei r attenti on wherever actual
practice was at al l co ncerned A dam S mith for exam ple i s
.
, ,
1 90 PR I NCI PLE S OF POL I TI CA L E CONOM Y

the most strik ing speci m en of thi s class of thinkers H e i s .

very em inent in making short i ndu cti ons from ad m i tted facts ,

and i n applyi ng them wi th consi stency and ski ll H e i s not .

emi nent for precision of statement o r for micro scopic accuracy

o f thought but he i s i n general very successfu l i n rather vagu e
descri ptions o f conspicuous phe n om ena and i n tracing them ,

back to the m o st i nfluential of thei r prox imate cau ses It is .

evident that a m i nd so habitual ly starti n g with observed facts

would be u nl ik ely to neglect i m portant agencies or to bi nd
i tself by p u rely hypothetical as su mptions R icardo on the .

other hand i s the most i m portant of what may be cal led the
abstract thinkers on the phi l osophy of weal th H e sets out .

from certai n pri mitive assu m p tions and from these he proceeds
,

to evolve al l his result s by mere deduction H e bu t rarely .

com es i nto contact with the actual wo rl d at al l b ut frames a

hypothetica l on e which exists no where ou t of his own i magina
tion A ccord i ngly hi s views of hi s subj ect mu st be cal led
.

d eep rather than wide ex pl ain ing a l i ttle very wel l bu t ,

l eaving much w ithout remark : givi ng a little truth which i t

was difficu l t to arrive at rather than a com prehen sive su m mary
,

o f a l l the prin ciples that modify the phenomena which he i s

consideri ng I n reference to thes e pec u l i ari ties o f thei r m inds
.
,

it i s certai n ly very remark able that A d am S mi th sh ou l d have

been a recl use student duri ng hi s whole l i fe alm ost excl u sively
,

with abstracti ons and that Ricardo who is so em inently an

, ,

abstract thinker shou l d have been b red u p i n actu al busi ness

, ,

and shou ld have attained his powers of deductive reasoning

wi thout any early phi losophical di sci pl in e I t wou l d certain ly
.

have been expected i f we had not known how little outward

,

c i rcum stances avail against the i ntri nsi c apti tu des of a stron g
m ind that A dam S mith wou l d have l ooked on nature pri n
,

c i p a lly through the spectacles o f books and that Ricardo

“
,

wou ld have taken that general vagu e bu t i n the mai n suffi c ient
, ,

j udgment u pon matters o f fact whi ch i s general ly cal led

“
com mon sense and which alone among the higher i ntel lectual
,

gi fts i s habitual ly exercised i n everyday practica l l i fe .

I n that part of his p reface to whi ch we j ust n ow al l uded ,

Mr M i l l has substantial ly expressed h i s i ntenti on of c o n c i l i a t

.
 PRI NCI PLE S OF POLI TI CA L E C ONOM Y 19 1

i ng the two modes of deal ing with h i s su bj ect ; that is of com ,

bi n ing the abstract deduction and l ogical accu racy which are
exem plified i n Ricardo w ith that l argeness o fview and thorough
acquai ntance with d iversified m atters of fact for which the
IVe a l tb of Na ti on s i s so em i nently remarkable .

A n d this great undertak ing he has so far as we can j udge , ,

admi rably accompl ished Th e pri ncipal appl ication s of a h

.

stract sc ience are here treated of with a fu lness of informa

tion an impartiality of judgment and a command over general
, ,

principles any one of which woul d have by i tsel f been enough

,

to mak e the wo rk tak e rank as o ne o f em inent m eri t and to ,

the un ion of which we have never seen anythi ng i n an eco

n o m i ca l wri ter even approx im at i ng equal
,
N o great subj ect .

within the range o f Pol itical E conomy appears to u s to have

been wholly om itted and i f we acknowledge that al l the
,

larger considerations wh ich we cou ld w i sh for are not on al l ,

occasions i ntroduced we al so adm it that m i nds trained i n dif

,

fe r e n t schools of thought an d seeing l i fe general ly under a

,

somewhat d ifferent aspect mu st inevitab ly form confli cting

,

j udgments as to what was and what was not rel evant to par
, ,

t i cu l a r social probl em s We are bou nd to add that in almost

.
,

al l cases there i s evi dence that Mr Mi l l h a s given much and .

earnest attention to al l ki nds of argu ment which seemed to

hi m capable o f bei ng opposed to hi s opi nions N o r with the .

excepti on o f the Sy s tem of Log i c have we read any co n

temporary pub l ication i n which the desire for the mere d i s
c o ve r
y o f tru th was either so strong i n i tsel f o r s o im m ensely
preponderant over every other consideration T h e false colours .

o f prejud ice an d pas s ion have n o place i n an i n tellect so

thoroughly achromatic .

We feel i t therefore to be a lmost presu m ption i n u s to

, ,

attempt as we promised a description even in the m ost

, , ,
’
general way of Mr Mi l l s positi o n i n the l i st o f general
, .

thinkers Y e t i t seems to u s incu mben t on the criti c of such

.

a man to try h i s hand at some su ch task M r Mi ll has treated . .

with fi r s t rate abi lity o f subj ects which i nvolve a di scussion of

-

m any p roblem s which concern m ost i ntimately the highest

interests of m an ; and i f we give a notion o f the place he
1 92 PRI NCI PLE S OF POLI TI CA L E CONOM Y

appears to u s to o c cu py among im portant thi nk ers i t wi l l be ,

seen why i n so me i n stances we differ from him and agree

, , ,

with those whom we should pl ace h igher on the scal e of worth .

M r Mi ll then belongs we thi nk to the A ristoteli c or u nspi ritu al

.
, ,

order o f great thinkers A phi losopher of this sor t starts .

al ways from c onsiderations o f p ure intel lect H e never assu mes .

the teachings of conscience : he never that is treats a s prim , ,

o rdial facts either th e exi stence of a law of du ty independent

of conseque n ces nor a m ora l govern ment o f the world n o r a
, ,

con nectio n either between virtu e an d a reward or between sin ,

and retributi on H e may have a great mastery over trai n s of

.

reasoni ng a great sk i l l i n applying com prehensive principles

,

to com pli cated phenomena ; he m ay hav e robu st sense like

Lock e or A dam S m ith a power of exhau sting a s ubj ect l ik e
,

A ristotl e or B entham or subtlety l ike the former or d e fi n i t e

, ,

ness i n s chemi ng lik e the latter : but whatever be his m erits

o r deficienci es this rem ains as hi s great characteri stic that the
, ,

light of his i ntellect i s exactly what B acon ca l ls dry light “

i t i s unsteeped i n the hu mou rs of the affection s i t rests on

what i s observed to be : i t n ever grou nds itself on a n y i nward
assurance of what ought to be : i t disregards what B u tl er cal ls
”
the presages of conscience and attends only to the senses
“
,

and the inductive intell ect I n P hysica l S cience and i n M eta.

physics the vi ews o f such men m ay be ext ensive su btl e o r

, ,

profou nd : i n P oliti cs also they m ay and often wi ll excel i n

traci ng the different ki nds o f ad m ini strative m achinery they
wi l l i n general b e excel lent j udges of means though not wel l ,

fitted to app reciate what a thi nker o f a d i fferent order would

be apt to consider the highest ends o f G overnm en t : in moral s
,

thei r views wi l l i n general be vagu e and not sel dom erroneous ,

for their consci ence is n ot lum i nou s enough to give them vivid
or wel l d e fi n e d convictions on the su bj ect of duty ; an d o n r e
-

l i g i o n it is wel l i f thei r tone be n ot that of P rotagoras 7 2 yey e

Uv x

¢
'
va ZO L 7r a 2 8é9 r e [ca l yep ovr e c y a fie éb/I e vm 96 0 159
’
r r
, ,
’'
5?1 1) l s e y io i n r e 7 X é ye w
’
re 6 cz f o vr e s ,
y oi f
7 01 f
K a i 3
7 01 7 p ci ew

w ep i 3
0 9 e a Z iv i}039 mi n e i a fv,
S uch
are the leadi ng characteri stics attachi ng to the schoo l
of thinkers of whom L ocke and A ristotl e are perhaps the mo s t
,
 PRI NCI PLE S OF POL I TI CA L E C ONOM Y 1
93

attractive representatives and am ong whom A ugu s te C omte

,

i s assu redly the l east valuabl e specimen com pati bl e wi th any

remarkable abi li ty I t woul d l ead u s too far from our subj ect
.

to explai n at length that the extreme opposi te o f that school

,

of thi nkers i s to be found in the schoo l o f P l ato and B utler , ,

and Kant wh o practical ly make the consc ience the u ltim ate
,

basi s o f al l c ertainty ; who i nfer fro m its i nward sugge sti o n

the moral governm ent of the world ; the co nnectio n between
shame a nd fear and between si n and retribu tion from whose
,

principles i t m ay perhaps be deduced that the grou nd fo r ,

trusti n g ou r other facu ltie s i s the d uty revealed by conscience ,

of trusting those of t hem essential to the performance of the

task assigned by G od to m an think ers in short whose pecu liar , ,

fu nction it i s to establish in the minds o f thoughtful perso ns

that pri mitive T heol ogy which i s the necessary basi s o f al l
posi tive Revel ation .

To what may be called the mor a l g en i u s o f these writers

the author before us makes no preten s ion ; he wou ld we ,

apprehend i ndeed deny that i t was possi ble for any man to
, ,

possess what we reckon as thei r characteristic merits O n .

the other hand in all the merits of the purely i ntel lectual class
,

of thinkers we m u s t travel far back i nto the past before we

,

ca n find anyone whom we know to be possessed of them i n an

equal measure O u r author i s not indeed in our j udgm en t

.

em inently qu al ified either to perceive or to appreciate nice

and exqu isite di stinctions ; h e does not therefore at al l m ak e
pretension to that combi nation of meta physical subtlety and
practica l shrewdness whi ch so many ages have agreed to
wonder at i n A ristotle ; but nevertheless we hard ly know o f
anyone who has so much o f that union o f sense and science s o
remarkable i n the A ristotel ic treatises on the b usi ness o f man
kind A n d i n the firm ness of grasp with which his u nder
.

standing retains whatever has once com e withi n i ts range and ,

in the undeviating consistency with which he applies every

pri nciple that he esteem s ascertained to every case that fai rly ,

comes wi thi n i t s scope we k now not where to fi nd h i s equal

,
.

F rom the shortcom i ngs habi tual to the school to which he

belongs we ca nnot hol d hi m altogether ex empt ; but we are
,

V OL V I I I
. . 13
1 94 PR I NCI PLE S OF POLI TI CA L E C ONOM Y

bound to add that these blem i shes have rarely been presented
in a form s o littl e cal culated to offend th ose whose conception
of li fe m ay be cast i nto a som ewhat d i fferent form I t is as .
,

we have hinted always evident that M r Mi l l has stu di ously

,
.

endeavoured to m aster the opini ons of those from whom he

differs : to m aster them we mean not i n order to coll ect al l
arguments that may possibly be mad e avai l able i n thei r c o n
fu ta t i o n bu t what i s m uch rarer with a View of el iciting from
, ,

them i f possible the l atent truth wh i ch al l large m asses o f

, ,

hu man bel ief may b e charitab ly su p posed to contain With .

these few words we must abruptly conclu de a train of thought

which wou l d not stop o f i tsel f u nti l our l im its were exhausted .

I t i s seldo m i ndeed that i n this age o f book s we com e i nto

contact with a m i nd worthy to b e compared with the few
great authors of the past ; and i t i s seldom therefore that we , ,

are called to begin a discussion such as the brief one which We

a re i n the act of ending .

We shal l n ow go on to the more special purpose of ou r

A rticle nam ely of describi ng and s o far as we c an discussing
, , , ,
’
those of M r M i l l s specu lations which most i nti mately co ncern
.

the condi tion of the labouri ng classes We shal l first d iscu ss .

the qu estion on the suppositio n that the pop ulatio n which we

are consideri ng i s like that o f E ngland d ivi ded i nto the three
classes of rent owners capital i sts and l ab ou rers : each with
-
, ,

separate i nterests and each capable of sep arate and with

, ,

respect to the others antagonistic action A n d thi s di scu ssion

, .

wil l natu ral ly subdivi de i tsel f i nto two parts : first what settl es ,

the rates o f wages i n a cou ntry with any given am ount o f

capi ta l and any given nu mber o f labourers ; secondly what i s ,

the l aw of the growth of capital and what the l aw accordi ng ,

to whi ch population i s augmented We s h al l a ft e r w a r d s mak e .

som e rem ark s o n the changes wh i ch M r M i ll wou ld i ntroduce .

i nto the social fram ework o f Great B ritai n an d I relan d : inas

mu ch as he has two plans for altering the present threefold
d ivision of the productive classes and one plan for raising the ,

wages pai d to the hired labou rer under the present system o r
,

u nder any other a t a l l simi lar to i t .

Th e first question then before u s i s What in su c h a c om ,

 PR I NCI PLE S OP POL I TI CA L E C ONOM Y 19 5

mu nity a s E ngland settles the rate o f wages when the number of

labourers and the amount of capital are both give n ? O n this
’
point we thi nk M r M i l l s expositi on m uch les s complete tha n
.

i n any other equal ly important portion of hi s work ; and it

wi ll therefore be m ost convenient to u s to state shortly ou r
own vi ew and then to sho w what portions o f the truth seem
,
’
to us to be om itted i n M r M il l s solu tio n o f the problem . .

A mong the c ircu mstances which wou l d first strik e a phi l o

S ophical observer o f a cou ntry possessing much accu mu lated
wealth one we think i s that the po rtion of the exi sting a c
,

cum u lati on which i s employed i n obtai ni ng new additional

wealth naturally divi des i tsel f i nto two classes : one w hich
may be cal led th e Co o perative and which assists and -
,

econom ises the productive agency o f m a n ; and another which

may be fai rly cal l ed th e Remunerative the characteri stic ,

fu nctio n of which i s to reward the exertion o f hu m an l abour ,

by subsisti ng for exam ple the labourer and hi s fami ly or by

, , ,

conferring on them any enj oyments in which thei r habitual

circumstances enabl e them to fi nd a pl easure T h e m ost .

obvious instance of c o operative capita l are steam engines - -

,

power looms and m achi nery i n general

-
, Rem u nerative .

capi tal (or what is som etimes call ed the wages fund of a nation) -

consists of corn and clothi ng tea and sugar and other si mi lar , ,

c om m odities which the l abou rer consents for the sake o f thei r ,

i ntrinsic qu alities to receive as a com pensation for h i s m ental

,

or muscu lar exerti on I t is obviou s that i n considering the

.

rate of wages the latter k ind of capi tal is the one more certai nly
to ou r pu rpose T hese two c ommoditi es Labou r and Rem u
.
,

n e rat i v e Capital come i nto the m arket and exchange o ne

,

again st the o ther and their relative val ue seem s to be settled

,

exactly a s i n other cases by the supply o f each an d al so the

, ,

dem and for i t : i f there be an addi tional su pply o f corn o r

coarse clothi ng a nd the dem and fo r l abour be u naltered the
, ,

work ing cl asse s wi l l be abl e to com m and more of these articles

i f their supply be less the sam e c lasses w i ll certai nly more
, ,

or less be strai tened T h e i nterventi o n of m oney makes no

, .

di fference here : i t i s the same th i ng ex cept fo r convenience ,

sake whether the capital ist purchase the co mmodi ti e s d e sire d

,

13
 PRI N CI PL E S OF POL I TI CA L E CONOM Y

by the l abou rer and barter them di rectly fo r thei r labour or ,

whether he gives the l abou rers mone y tickets by presenting

-
,

which they wi l l obtain from certa i n sellers those identical

comm od ities .

A lso i t i s to b e borne in m ind that the q uan tity o f such

com moditi es and o f l abou r i s not the only point which it i s
necessary to consi der the demand for these commodities als o
d eserves mu ch carefu l atten tion I f an additional numbe r of
.

u nproductive consumers were to co me i nto a nation and were

not to empl oy any of i ts l abourers it i s ap parent that thei r
,

consumptio n entrenches on th e fund set apart fo r the m a i n t e n

ance of the i ndustri al classes u nless the evi l be corrected by
,

the i mportation of corn from abroad or by i ncreased economy

,

i n the u nproductive cl asses previously form ing part of the

n ation O n the other hand i f those u nproductive consumers
.
,

were to bri ng wi th them a stock o f ne c essaries adequ ate to

thei r own consumption and i f they were to employ labourers
,

on a l arge scal e and to pay them either i n m o ney or i n com

,

m o d i t i e s it is evident that the com mand of l abou rers over

,

wages payi ng com mod i ties wou l d be increased and that the
-
,

un produ ctive classes m u st expend a larger s u m i n order to

obtai n the sam e qu antiti es of the nec essaries o f li fe Un .

d oubtedly i f i n this insta n ce there was no i mportation from

abroad and no decrease i n the consu m ption o f the more
opu lent classes the labou ri ng cl asses woul d d erive no benefit
,

from the i n crease i n the d emand for l abou r the demand for
wages paying comm od ities wou l d have been also i ncreased and
-

their price wou l d have risen ; but as a ru l e that higher price

woul d en force a stricter eco nomy i n the more opu lent classes ,

and thu s the labourers wou l d be ben efited though not to the
fu l l extent of the i ncreased demand fo r the arti cl e in which
they deal I n the first case which we noticed the remu neration
.
,

for labou r was attended by an increased d emand i n other

qu arters for wages payi ng com mod ities and i n the second by
-

an increased d em and fo r labou r i tsel f at a time when the

su pply and d emand fo r remu nerative capi tal received— from
other c auses — nei ther i ncrease nor d i m i nu tion Th e rel ative.

val u e of labou r and wages paying c ommodities i s settl ed exactly

-
 P RI N CI P LE S OF POLI TI CA L E C ONOM Y 19 7

as the rel ative value of C loth and H ats i s ascertai ned Th e .

i ntervention o f m oney complicates the phenomena i n either

case bu t as every one acquainted with the elements of the
, ,

subj ect wil l ad mi t withou t i ntro d ucing any n ew matter of

,

fund am ental princi ple .

’
Before proceeding further we shal l quote M r M il l s o b s e r .

va t i o n s on this portion of the su bj ect T h e fo l lowi ng pas sage .

does not strik e u s as a complete rati onal e of the e ntire topic

’
but i t contains a val uable summary of ou r author s opi nion
Wages l ike al l other things may be regul ated either by
competition or by c ustom but the last is not a comm on case .

A custom on thi s su bj ect could not easi ly mai ntain i tsel f i n

a ny other than a stati onary state of Society A n i ncrease or .

a fal l i ng off in the demand fo r labou r an i ncre a se or d i m i n u

“

tion o f the l abou ring pop u lati on cou l d hard ly fai l to engender
,

a competiti on which would break down any cu stom respecting

wages by givi ng either to one si d e or the other a stro n g d irect
i nteres t i n infringing it We may at al l events speak of the
.

wages of l abou r a s determ i ned in ordi nary circumstances by

competition .

“
Wages then depend u pon the dem and and supply o f
l abour or as i t i s often ex pressed on the propo rtion between
, , ,

P opu lation and Capital B y P opu lati o n i s here meant the

.

number only of the worki ng c lass or rather of those who work ,

for hire and by C api tal on ly circu lating capital and not the
, ,

whole of that but the part which i s expended i n the d irect

,

purchase o f l abou r— to thi s however m ust b e added al l the

, ,

funds which without form ing a part of C apital are paid i n ex

change for labou r such as the wages of soldiers domesti c s e r
, ,

vants and other unproductive labourers T here i s unfortunately

, .

no m ode o f expressing by one fam i l iar term the aggregate of

what may be cal led the wages fund of a cou ntry and as the -
,

wages o f productive labou r form nearly the whol e o f that fund ,

i t i s usua l to overloo k the smal ler and l ess impo rtant part ,

and to say that wages depend on populati on and capital I t .

wi l l be conveni ent to em ploy this exp ression rem embering , ,

ho wever to consider i t as el l i ptical and not as a l iteral state

,

ment of the enti re truth .

 P R I NCI PLE S OF P OLI TI CA L E C ONOM Y

With these l imitations o f the term s wages not only de ,

pend u pon the rel ative amount o f capi tal and p opul ation bu t ,

cannot be a ffected by anythi ng else Wages (meaning there .

by of cou rse the genera l rate) cannot rise except by an i n

, ,

crease i n the aggregate funds em pl oyed i n hiri ng labourers ,

or a d i m inu tion i n the nu mber of co m petitors fo r ri s e ; nor

fal l except ei t her by a di mi nution of the fu nds d e v o lv ab l e on
,

payi ng l abour o r by an i ncrease i n the num ber o f labourers to

,

be paid .

We thi nk the simpl er form ul a wh ich we have ventured to

l ay down wi l l obviate the necessity of a recourse to an ex
press i on which is not co rrect and which i s calcu l ated to throw
,

a m i st over the rea l relation s between m achi nery and manual

labo u r M r Mi l l is also inconsistent w i th hi msel f i n speak
. .

i ng of the wages fund as a part o f circu lati ng capital for h e

-
,

has defined the latter to be the portion of capi tal which is

“

”
only capab le of being u sed once now food is the only wages
paying com modity of i m portance that i s only c apabl e of a
singl e u se ; i n every sens e in which machi nery i s capabl e o f
bei ng u sed often clothing and cottages are so too Ricardo
, .
,

i t i s tru e u ses habitu al ly l angu age of this sort bu t then h e

, ,

d efines ci rcu lating capital to be al l capita l rapid ly peri shable ,

and the error i s therefo re i n hi m m u ch l ess considerable b ut ,

neve rtheless i t i s o n every account u ndesirab le to pay such

spec i al attention t o that shortness o f du ration which i s at best
bu t an accidental qu ality o f remunerative ca pital .

F rom thi s passage i n spi te of th e ambiguity i n i ts con

,

cl udi ng fo rmu la i t i s evident that M r Mi l l mu st in co n

, .

’m a
sistency hold that an increase of m achinery y be inj u ri ou s
to the lower cl asses I n o ther parts of his work he ful ly ex
.

plai ns that such i s his opinion and i n thi s we entirely agree

,

with hi m I f for example a shifting o f i ndustrial relation s

.
, ,

shou l d ever diminis h the rem u nerative k ind of capi tal and at ,

the sam e tim e i ncrease the c o operative the proportion as i t

-
, ,

i s phrased of l abou r and capi tal has i ndeed rem ai ned u n

,

altered ; but the am ou nt o f that portion of capital which i s s e t

apa rt for the com pensatio n o f hu man i ndu stry has u ndergone
a d im i nution which m ay be very serious A gai n if cap it a l .
,
 P RI NCI P LE S OF P OLI TI CAL E C ONOM Y 1 99

has been transferred from A gricu l tu re to the producti on o f

Rai lroads or S team E ngi n es there i s no question bu t that
, ,

ca te r i s
p a r i bu s the work ing cl asses wi l l be stra itened by th e
change : thei r l abour was befo re devoted to i ncreasing the
fun d out o f which labou r wou ld be remu nerated ; after the
alterati on i t is devoted to manu facturing articl es which though ,

perpetu ally productive of new weal th do not in the sam e de ,

gree contribute to the m ain tenance o f a labou ring popul atio n .

I n thi s case machinery has been shown to be hurtfu l to

the lower classes because i t s creati on h a s d iverted resources
,

which would otherwise have been em pl oyed i n remunerating

labou r to the essential ly different fu nction of ai ding the pro
duction of com modities which the labou rers do not consum e .

I t i s al so qu ite possible that the i ntroducti on o f machinery .

m ay be inj urious to the l ower classes by d im i nishing the de

m and for thei r labou r I f machinery be substitu ted for
.

manual l abour i n any manu factu ring em ploym ent com mon ,

sense as M r:M i l l observes sees that the l abourers are , worse

, ,

off i n that parti cular em ploym ent and the on u s p r oba nd i,

clearly lies u pon those who assert that the labouring c lasses
are not worse off generally for the change What i s u sual ly .

said i s that the wages fund or rem unerative capital of the

,
-

cou ntry remains the same : the use of a certain portion of i t

i s rendered u nnecessary i n a parti cular department o f i n
d u s t ry ; but the same aggregate a m ou nt ex ist s : i t ca n (it is
said) only be shifted fro m one em pl oyment to another and i t ,

is believed that the dep ression of a sort of l abourers wi l l i n

fal libly be compensated by the extra remunerati on o f another .

B ut i t i s in ou r j udgment an entire m i stak e to contend that

remu nerative capital i f released from one employm ent i s
necessarily employed i n a si mi lar capaci ty i n some other I t .

i s one of the points i n wh ich thi s description of capital

di ffers from the co operative so rt that the latter i f not u sed
-
, ,

for i t s own characteristi c functio n of aiding human labour ,

cannot be pu t to any other u s e M achi nery i f not worked as

.

such i n produ cing wea lth ca n never be made to produce

,

pleasure to any one ; bu t rem unerative capital w hich consists ,

of food clothing and other comm odities adapted to satis fy

, ,
 P RI N CI P LE S OF P OLI TI CA L E CON OM Y

c ertain prim itive wants of man ca n at once be turned i n part

,

at l east to the produ ction of transitory enj oymen t T hi s so rt .

o f capital when released from on e manu factu ring em ployment

, ,

i s evidently capable o f bei ng u sed i n sati sfyi ng t h e wants o f

u n prod uctive consu m ers Th e process wou ld be that l ess
.
,

money wages wou l d b e pai d i n consequ ence of the s u b s t i t u

-

ti on o f m achinery for m anual labou r ; that the worki ng classes

would have l ess to spend on such art icl es as food and clothi ng
that th ese com mod iti es wou l d therefore fal l i n price : that the
fall i n price wou ld c ause an increased consumption by the
u npro ductive classes and that thei r extra consu m ption wou ld
,
i

entrench on the fu nd that previ ou s to the i ntroduction o f

m ach i nery was s e t apart a s a co mpensation for i ndustri al
e r ti o n
. O n thi s point w e have some reason to think that Mr .

M i l l wou ld agree with us ; though this i s i n consistent with h i s

gen eral princi ple which we have qu oted an d with many ,

argu m ents which assu me that the deman d for l abou r i s not an
effective force operating on the rate o f wages B ut ou r author .

is continu al ly right i n detai l where h i s fo rmu l ae woul d l ead

hi m wrong ; and we k now o f no i ntell ectua l qu al i ty more
thorough ly chara c teristic of a fi r s t rate think er -
.

T here is we believe al so another c ase in which the i ntro

, ,

du ction o f machi nery i s detrimen tal to the labo u ring cl asses .

It was poi nted out by M r S en ior several years ago M r

. . .

Mi l l has o mitted al l considerati on o f i t probably because i ts

,

practical i mportance i s exc eedingly slight This case i s where .

,

the m achinery cons um ed more wages -paying commoditi es than

the labourers whose ex ertions i t h a s superseded O f thi s k i nd .

it i s supposed that certain employments of the low er ani mals

m ay be reckoned these creatures being for our present purpose
simply ani mated mach i nes and it being perfectly possible that
,

they m i ght consu me more food than th e l abourers whose work

they w ere em pl oyed to perform Th e pecul i arity of this case
.

i s an additio nal demand fo r remunerative capital consequent

on the i ncreased u s e of m achinery T h e price o f the former
.

would consequ ently ri se and a c ertai n po rt ion o f i t be put b e

,

yon d the reach of those l abou rers who woul d o therwise have
con su med it .
 P R I N CI P LE S OF P OLI TI CAL E C ON OM Y 20 1

A nother m ode exists besides that j ust now mentioned i n

which the substitu tio n of co operative for remunerative capital
-

may be effected and in which that su bstitu tion might be de

,

t r i m e n t a l to the i nterests of the labou ring cl asses Ricardo .

was i t i s believed the first who worked out this view of the
, ,

subj ect which i s somewhat m ore recondite than any considera

,

tion with which we have yet had to deal H is instance i s i n .

principle as fol lows : S uppose that a m anu facturer o f remunera

tive com mod i ties shoul d be in the habi t of employi ng
per annum i n paying labourers ; then i f profits were 10 per
cent i t i s clear that he wou l d have a revenue o f
.

annu al ly ; bu t i f i nstead o f s o do ing he chose to expend the

,

same s u m i n the purchase of a machine which wil l last ten ,

years i t i s apparent that h i s thousand pou nds wi l l be returned

,

to hi m together with the o rdinary profit by a revenu e of £1 1 0

per annum and i t i s cl early im materia l to him as a capital i st
,

which cou rse he decide to p ursue B u t i f the commoditi es

.

represented by the £1 10 be not s o nu merou s as those re p r e

sented by the the consu mer of those comm odi ti es wi l l
obviou sly b e worse o ff than before I n the case we are s u p
.

posing the subj ects o f manu facture are wages payi ng c o m -

m o d i t i e s and the consu mers we are speak ing of are the

,

labouring classes I t i s cl ear therefore that they are straitened

.
, ,

by whatever diminishes the aggregate annual proceeds of

agriculture and of what m ay be called for shortness wages
mak ing m anu factu r es bu t that the capital ist is benefited only
by the profit wh ich i s l eft after deducting the expense I n .

mercantile language this i s expressed by sayi ng that the con

sumer i s dependent on the g r oss and the capitalist o n the n et
return ; i n more popu lar phraseology it may be said that the
consumer has o nly to heed the amou nt o f com modities pro
d u ce d whereas the capitalist i s excl usively concerned with the
,

pecuniary excess of income over o utlay I t i s evident that .

the operating cau se i s as we said the substi tutio n of co opera

, ,
-

tive for remunerative capital there w a s a ce rta in amount pro

d u c e d to support the labourers during the ensu ing year there
i s i n lieu o f them a m achine of equa l pecu n iary val u e : the
nation al capi tal is the sam e in amount and the capital ist
202 P RI NCI P LE S OF P OLI TI CAL E CONOM Y

o btai ns as before hi s accustomed profi t ; but neverthe l ess the

c ondition o f the l abou rer and the consu m er i s d eteri orated b e
cause they have a d i m i nished su pply of articl es adapted to
sati sfy thei r wants .

T o su m u p then the three cases i n which the increase o f

, ,

machi nery i s detrim ental to the labou ring po pulation are first , ,

when i ts i ntrod uction di m in i shes the su pply o f remunerative

capi tal seco ndly when the i ntroduction i ncreases the demand
,

for such capi ta l thi rd ly when the demand for labour i s

,

dim inished by the change We are very far from think in g

.

that any one o f these cases i s o f frequent occurrence or that ,

any part of t h e present depressed state of the l ower orders i s

i n any considerable degree owi ng to an extension o f m achi nery .

I n our j udgment Mr M i l l has ampl e grou nds for contendi ng

.

that by far the greater part of n ew m achinery is merely an i n

vestm ent fo r the annual s a v i ng s of the cou ntry ; and being on
that account a new creation of weal th d o es n ot di m inish t h e
ex isti ng a m ou nt o f rem unerative capita l n or do wages payi ng -

com modi ties except in th e not very important instance of

,

coal appear to be consu med to any con siderabl e extent by

,

existing machi nery We shou l d al so hold contrary to the

. ,

opi ni on o f Mr M i l l that th e increased demand for labour

.
,

som etimes eventually caused by the i ntro ductio n of machi ne ry

i s decidedly benefi cial to th e l ower orders Th e cotton t rade .

i s a n obvi ous i nstance o f thi s ; the re i s n o reason however , ,

fo r wearying ou r readers with an exa m ination of ou r d ifferences

o n thi s po i nt from M r M i l l becau se ou r reasons are only the
.
,

reverse side o f those which we have al ready exhibited i n behalf

o f our opinion that any decreas e i n the demand fo r labou r
from a si mi lar cause i s detri mental to the real i nterests of the
l abou ri ng cl asses .

We have now exami ned the whol e of what M r M ill cal l s .

th e statics o f the subj e c t ; that i s we have i nqu i red what i n

,

any given state of capi tal and po pu lati o n adj usts the remun era
tion of labou r ; and we have foun d that the two efficient c auses
were the supp ly and demand fo r labou r and the su pply and
demand for a particu lar speci es of capital We have now to .

treat of what i n the conti nuatio n o f the new scientific metaphor

 P RI NCI P LE S OF P OL I TI CAL E C ONOM Y 2 03

i s cal led the D ynamics of P oli tical E conomy ; i n other words ,

we m ust consider the Laws accord ing to which C apital i s

augmented and P opulation i ncreases We shall i ncidental ly .

treat o f a problem which M r Mi l l has om itted formal ly to

.

consider ; v i e what i n a progressive state of capital apportions

.

how much of it shal l be of the remu nerative and how m uch of

the c o operative sort I t is obviou s that i n our view thi s
-
.

question i s of great i m portance i n reference to the interests o f

the labouri ng c lasses ; we b eli eve also that we shal l show
’
strong rea sons fo r thi nking that M r M ill s omission to con .

sider i t has led him i nto somewhat seri ous erro r .

Th e growth of capital which we select for first considera

,

tion vari es it i s clear d irectly with the productiveness of

, , ,

i ndustry an d the disposition to save Th e productiveness or .

efficiency depends on a vari ety of causes of which only the ,

principl e can here b e specified and of which M r M i l l h a s

,
.

nowhere attem pted a complete enum eration H o wever i t .

,

may b e stated with su ffici ent tru th for al l real ly i m portant

purposes that the e fficiency of i ndustry i ncreases with the
,

k n owledge o f the produ ctive a rts the genera l i ntel l igence o f

,

the peopl e and i n agricu ltura l commu nities with the natu ra l
,

fertili ty and favourabl e situation of cu ltivab l e l and F i fty .

years ago i t m ight have been not u nimportan t to dwel l on the

im portance o f the cult ivati o n of the productive sciences and
thei r corresponding arts b ut the prodigiou s and evident strides
,

wh ich the scientific arts have recently made and the exi stence
o f such conspicuou s resu lts as rai l road s a nd steam engi nes ,

an d el ectric tel egraphs m ak e it no l o nger necessary to dil ate

,

on what has becom e a m atter o f fam i l iar and popular know

ledge I t wi l l now also be generall y ad m itted that the i n t e ll i
.

gence of the work m en em ployed both i n agricu l ture and sti l l

more i n manu factures is an i mportan t element i n the efficiency
of industry I t is incu mbent o n u s to rem ark that M r M i l l
. .

has col lected co nsiderabl e evidence to prove that of al l work

men the E nglish stand particu larly i n need of some general
education ; other nations the I talian i t i s said especially
, ,

seem to possess a natural qu i ckn ess o f perception by which ,

they are able read ily to m aster at any ti m e o f their l ives new
, ,
2 04 P R I N CI PLE S OF POLI TI CAL E CON OM Y

single processes o f m anu fa c ture E ngl ish l abourers on the

.
,

other hand have no such natu ral powers bu t are as a rule

, , , ,

i nd ebted to a ge neral education for whatever power they

p ossess o f work i ng at any branch of i nd u stry save the particu l ar
one i n which they have been brought u p T h e great authority .

for this observati on i s the evi dence taken before the P oo r L a w

C ommission on the subj ect of the traini ng of P au p er C hi l dren .

T here was i f we rememb er right i n th e same e v i d e n ce a n d we

, , ,

are a l ittl e surprised that Mr M i l l o m its to refer to i t a rather

.
,

remark abl e body of testi mony to the effec t that tho ugh special ,

branches and si ngl e processes of manu factu re m ight be learnt

by perso ns almost entirely u ned ucated yet that the power o f ,

mak ing general arrangem ent s o r superintending efficiently

the work of others w a s al m ost always dependent on school
teaching or on an equ ival ent sel f ed ucation These two -
.

elements i n the p roductiveness of i ndu stry are i n an advancing

state of society al most a l ways on the i ncrease I t i s very .

d ifferent with the thi rd element the i ntri nsic ferti l ity o f the
,

soi l . I t i s obvious that as a ru l e the most productive l and

, ,

wil l be the fi rst taken i nto cu ltivation those who have the fi rst
,

choice wi l l in a general way choose th e best Mo reover the .

,

si tuation of land has an ex actly si m i l ar effect the l ands fro m ,

which the greatest produce can be most easi ly obtained are

those nearest to th e consumer ; and these wi l l i n general be
the fi rst selected for cu ltivation We m ay add though i t i s a
.
,

m atter m ore of cu riosity than of i mportance that there i s a ,

case i n whi ch this l ast cau se wi l l counteract the effect o f the

fi rst v i z where the l ands l east favou rably si tu ated have th e
, .

greatest natu ral ferti l ity H ere i t might happen that the addi
.

t i o n a l l abou r requ i red to bring food from a greater di stance

was exactly cou nterb al anced by the addition al ferti lity
possessed by the more distant soi ls and therefore that thei r
,

cu ltivation wou l d not i ncrease the cost pri ce o f food B ut .

thi s case o f exception is too i mprobable to n eed any particu lar

attenti on and i n general i t may be l aid down that the fi rst
,

so i ls taken i nto cu l tivation wil l yi el d a greater retu rn to the

same labour than those that are left withou t ti l lage unti l a
later peri od I t i s a l s o a fact o f experi ence and i s deducible
.
,
 PR I NCI PLE S OF POLI TI CA L E C ONOM Y 205

from s im i lar c onsiderati ons that doubli ng the capi tal and
,

l abou r on the sa m e land wi l l not double the produce i n an

u naltered state of agricu l tu ral knowledge I t is obviou s that
.

m en wi ll choose to u s e first the best mean s o f cu l tivation

w hich they k now o f H ence it appears that i n the progress of
.

c ivi l isation the productive art and the general i ntel l igence
o f the cou ntry are i n constant i ncrease bu t that thi s i ncrease
,

is ever i n part cou nteracted and sometim es m ore than over

balanced by the constant necessity o f reso rting to the cu l tiva
tion of poorer soils .

S o m uch for the productiven ess of i ndustry which is one ,

cause of the i ncrease of capital Th e propensity to save which

.
,

is the other cause means in mo re distinct word s the disposi

, , ,

tion o f the peopl e to postpon e a present enj oyment for the

futu re advantage of themselves and others T his wil l o b v i
.

o u s l y vary with the estimate which the peopl e in questio n are

abl e to form of what is distantly fu tu re — a ki nd of i ntel ligence

in which children savages and al l u ni nstructed persons are
, , ,

pecu l iarly defici ent and on the effects o f which M r M i l l has

,
.

accu mul ated variou s i nteresting testimo ni es T h e saving .

habit wil l also be fostered by a general securi ty that those ,

who save to day wi l l be able to enj oy to morrow o r at least

- -
,

be abl e to make over their enj oym ent to who m they please ;
by a bold ness to meet whatever risk there i s that this event
wi ll not tak e place ; and by the com parative desirablenes s o f
the station which is conferred by a c cu m u lated wealth Th e .

two fi rst seem as a ru le to augment i n strength d uring an a d

vance of civi li sation ; the third is perhaps at its m ax imu m i n
a rather rude and boisterous conditi on of society ; the fou rth
attai ns its greatest effi ciency i n that state o f purely commercial
i ndust ry through which the mercantil e and manu factu ring
classes o f E ngland as wel l as th e N orthern S tates o f the
,

A merican U nion appear at present to be passing

,
To these .

fou r cau ses m ust be added the rate of profit which can be de
rived from the empl oyme nt of capital I t i s evi dent that men
.

w ill be more likely to save coete r i s p a r i bu s when they get

, ,

2 0 per cent . o n their capital than when they get 2 per cent
bu t the e ffici ency o f thi s cause at different times and
206 PR I NCI PLE S OF POLI TI CA L E C ONOM Y

circu m stances i t w il l be better to cons ider after e xa m i n

ing th e s ubj ect of popu lation T hen al so we shal l be better
.

ab le to esti mate the causes which apportion capital into the

two divisions that have b een before mentioned .

We have now then exam ined the disposi tion to save and
the productiveness of i ndustry We have fou n d that th e .

great cau ses accel erating the growth o f capi tal are the i ncrease
o f foresight and productive power consequent on the advance
o f civi l isation : the great retarding cause i s the d i m i ni shing
proportion of return w ith which the soil o f th e earth rewards
the increasing i ndu stry o f the cultivator An d this i s al l .

which can at present be sai d wi th advantage wi th reference to

the growth o f capital .

We now go to th e subj ect of P opulati on — a topi c whi ch i s

of obvi ous i mpo rtance i n reference to ou r pecu liar subj ect and ,

about which there has been and sti l l i s a considerabl e amount

, ,

o f co ntroversy We are n ot however abl e to afford to i t a

.
, ,

portion of ou r space proportionable ei the r to its interes t or i t s

diffi culty I t may b e broadly stated a t the ou tset that M r
. .

M i l l does not beli eve the doctri ne o f M althu s a nd Ricardo

that a n increase o f the com forts or a dec rease i n the m isery of
the l abou ri ng classes i s i nvari ably fol lowed by an accelerated
i ncrease of popu lation or o n the other hand that a d i m i n u
, ,

ti on of thei r comforts or an i ncrease i n thei r mi sery wi l l i n

1
variably retard the i n cr e a s e o f thei r nu m ber O u r author
f
.

i s habi tual ly aware that extrem e m ise r y is a great sti mu l ant

t o popu l ation by begetti ng reckl essness and im providence
,

since it may b e safely a ffi rm ed that an I rishman who i s as

badly off as he can be and who has no hope and scarcely an
,

opportunity of becom i ng better wi ll a s a general ru le practise , , ,

no prudential restraint whatever .

Mr Mi l l al so hol ds what i s less obvious that a very great

.
,

i ncrease i n the com forts o f the popu l ation thou gh i t m ay be ,

1
T h i s w a s th eri g i n a l M al th u s i an d o ctri n e th ou gh i ts au th o r m u ch
o ,

m o d i fi e d i t i n th e la t e r e d i ti on s o f t h e E s s ay on P op u l a t i on R i car d o .
,

h o w e v e r w h o t h ou g h t hi m s e l f a M a l t h u s ian a s s e r ts it i n t e r m s ( Wor Rs p
, , , .

2 4 8 E d M Cu ll o ch ) an d e v e r yw h e re t a c i t l y o r av o w e d l
‘
,
.
, y r e as o n s o n th e

a s s u m p ti o n o f it .
 PR I NCI PLE S OF POLI TI CA L E CONOM Y 207

an im mediate sti mu lus t o popu lation wil l n evertheless in all ,

li kel ihood on the whol e retard i t s i ncrease T his propositio n

, ,
.

was adm i rably brought i nto Vi ew by M r T hornton i n hi s essay .

,

on O ver P opul ation I t i s sti l l however opposed by many

-
.
, ,

reasoners ; there is in the m inds of som e E conom i sts a n i n

v e t e r a t e idea almost i f not qu ite
,
am ou nting to a prej udice
, , ,

to the effect that the most com fortabl e classes wi l l always i n

crease the most ra pi d ly I f thi s proposition were not a .

frequent assu mption s i lently or ex pressly taken for granted

,

i n many influenti al argum ents it would have no intrinsic m erit ,

requ iring a particular noti ce F e w ideas on thi s or on any .

other subj ect c a n be m ore clearly opposed to very obviou s

facts I t might be urged that i n N o rway w here th e p o p u l a
.
,

tion i s nearly stati onary the m ass o f the popu lation enj oy a
,

degree of co mfort certai nl y u nsurpassed and m est probably ,

u nequalled i n any other portion of E u rop e B ut far m ore

,
.

obvious facts are i n every country at hand to correct thi s very

erron eous idea I s it by the i ncrea se of the N obl ess e that the
.

population o f any cou ntry i s particu larly augm ented ? D o

the m iddle the opu l ent or the com merc ial portions of any
, ,

nation increase too rapidly ? I t i s clear that a s we ascend i n ,

the social scal e we pass through classes which have at each

,

step of ascent a dim inishing rate of i ncrease ; the fact being

that com fort the habi tu al sense of havi ng somethi ng valu able
,

to lo se and the d esire o f parents t hat thei r chi ldren shal l not
,

be below bu t i f possibl e above the posit ion in which they

, , ,

themselves live are al l m otives which operate most as a check

,

on popul ation among the opulent and com fortabl e c l asses .

T hi s being so i t i s clear that i t i s the habit of the several

,

c lasses o f mank ind to have a rate of i ncrease of their own fairly ,

determ ined by the desi re o f not fal ling them selves and not
al lowing thei r children to fal l below the c ond i tion which they
themselves have be e n used to occu py A s a consequence of .

this it i s contended as we think j u stly that though a large

, , ,

imp rovement i n the condition of th e peopl e might be attended

wi t h an immediate acceleration i n the rate o f increase yet the ,

next generatio n wou ld grow u p i n habits which they wou ld

be u nwil l ing to for fei t by a general system of improvident
2 08 PRI NCI PLE S OF POL I TI CA L E CONOM Y

marriage A s a practi ca l qu estion M r M i ll think s that no

.
, .

prudential restraint i s practised by the agricu ltural labou rers ,

and that i f the i ncrease of popul ation were i n the hands of

,

that class only the E nglish people wou l d i ncrease as fa s t as

,

the A meri can So that there c an b e no ground for sayi ng

.

that an i ncrease of com fort would i n ou r case at least dim i nish , , ,

the providence o f the l abouri ng class O n the means by which .

M r M il l wou ld effect t h i s d e s i ra b l e change we shal l s peak

.

herea fter and at pres ent shal l only add that he wou l d very
, ,

largely i nc rease the fu nds expended on national education s o ,

as to obtain if possible not only the econom ic but also the

, , ,

moral an d i ntellectu al requ i sites of a provident popu lati on .

A s to the general d octrine that a great i ncrea s e i n the ,

com forts of the labouri ng classes is often a check to the i n

crease o f their numbers i t fortu nately happens that there is a
,

case i n poi nt to which Mr M i l l has an op portu nity of appeal

.

i ng A n i mmense i ncrease i n the com forts of the F rench

.

p easantry was i t i s wel l known an i m m ediate c onsequence o f

, ,

th eir fi rst Revol ution O ver an d above th is the depopu lati on

.
,

and extra demand for l abou r caused by the w ars o f N apoleon

were all circu m stances tending to rai se the rate of wages and , ,

therefore according to the vul gar doctrine to stimulate p o p u l a

, ,

tion Y e t the fact has been that the i ncreased comfort and
.
,

the new di stri bu tion o f landed prop erty have p rodu c ed a

slack ened increase o f popul ation and that the F rench p o p u l a ,

tion i ncreases very m uch more slowly than the average rate of
E u ropean nations .

We have pu rpo sely u sed language which i mpl ies ou r

’
assent to this portion of M r Mil l s doctrine I t is not how
. .
,
'

ever to b e looked u pon as a princi pl e wh ich l ik e a physical

, ,

l aw w i ll certainl y operate with an u nvarying energy u nder al l

,

ti mes and circu mstances The m u l tip l icity o f motives that i n

.

cl ine m en to contract m arriages render t h e theo ry o f pop a l a

tion the m ost compl ex part of el em entary political economy ;
the conclu sions o f sci ence upon it are a s yet very rough and
general P a rticul ar cases o f natu ral habit and unlook ed for
.
-

conj u nctu res of events may wel l rend er fu ti l e the best adj usted
theory o f hu m an acti on O n this specia l subj ect pol i tical
.
 PRI NCI PL E S OF POL I TI CA L E C ONOM Y 2 09

economy is m ore vague than perhaps i t need be ; but al l that

it c an ever do i s to i nd icate general ru les ; an d no one c an
ever be exempted from the necessi ty of studying each case
that occurs i n practice with a du e attention to disturbi ng
agencies O n thi s particular poi nt we may s ay that i t is con
.

s i d e r ab ly more l ikely than not that a general i ncrease of

habitual com fort will slack en the advanc e o f populati o n but ,

not that i t wi l l do s o o f necessity and i nvariably .

’
I n thi s chapter of M r M il l s book and also i n som e other
.
,
'

parts o f it there seems to u s to be a want o f concise formu l ae

,

summi ng u p and stamping o n the m emory the previous p roo f

and explanation We cannot attem pt here fully t o supply
.

thi s defici ency ; but we wi l l set dow n a few bri ef sentences for
the consideration of others We do not mea n that none of
.

the princi ples which we are about to mention c a n be reduced

to more el ementary considerations ; but we wish to see d rawn
ou t a s e t of intermediate princi ples to obviate t h e tiresom e
necessity o f a conti nual resort to th e fi rs t assu mptions and
axioms of sci ence I t shou ld be remembered that the founders
.

o f both the great schools of logic have comb ined to teach that
i n the skil fu l u se of those axi om a ta m edi a consi sts the practical
uti lity o f k nowl edge I t m ay then be perhaps said : F irst
.
,

That mi sery so extreme as to cause di sease and death i s an

obviou s check to the i ncrease of popu l ation S econd ly T hat .
,

extreme degrees of misery short of thi s sti m u late population

by producing recklessness ; in technic a l Mal thusian language ,

this i s expressed by saying that the posi tive and preventive

check never act together in any force Thi rdly That the .
,

greatest econom ical preventive check on populatio n i s the de

si re of not fall i ng i n consequ ence of marriage in to a state of
society lower than that which when u n married they have bee n
accu stomed to occupy ; and next i n efficiency i s the desi re
that their chi ldren shal l not occu py a posi tion i n li fe i nferi o r
to thei r own . F ourthly T hat thes e desires at least am ong
, ,

the industrial classes increase with amount o f com fort enj oyed
,
.

F i ft h ly T hat improvements i n the condition of a peopl e s u ffi

,

cient to raise the habi tu al standard of com fort act as a check ,

and not like sm al ler i mprovements as a sti m ulus to the i n

, ,

V OL V I I I
. . 14
2 10 PR I NCI PL E S OF POL I TI CA L E C ONOM Y

crease o f popul ation ; and the converse principl e that an a c

cession of m isery and d iscomfo rt su ffici ent to depreciate that
standard wil l be an incentive an d not a check to su ch an i n
crease S ixthly T hat the desire o f preservi ng their own co n
.
,

d i tion is a m ore and m ore e fficacious preservative agai nst

over popul ation in proportion as persons feel that their own
-

co nditi on is dependent on themselves and n ot on others ; and

’
s o al so the d esire for chi ldren s wel fare strengthens proportion
’
ably to the certainty o f the ch i ldren s condition being depen
dent o n the condu c t o f thei r own parents and not on the actions
of other peo pl e .

T hi s last cons iderati o n of the absence o f u ncertai nty i s a

point on which S ismond i has powerfu lly enl arged i n vari ous of
his writings I t i s a great reason with hi m for preferring the
.

statu s of a p easant proprietor to that of a hired labourer Th e .

l atter i s at the m ercy of the specu l ations of capital ists and the
vicissitu des of com merc e Wi thout k no w i ng why his trade
.
,

m ay be depressed for years ; neither h i s prosp erity nor his

adversity are of his own creation V e ry d ifferent i s the posi.

tio n of a peasantry who have a footing on the so i l — i f each

m an c an cu ltivate h i s own l and thoro ughly hi s posi tion i s ,

secu red ; as he canno t be ruined by the conduct of others h i s ,

com fo rt i s not d ependent o n ei ther capi tal ist o r landlord he

m ay su ffer fro m the elem ents an d from P rovidence but s o far ,
”
as m an i s concerned he h as w ithi n reach the S axon U topi a
,
“
,
’ ’
a fai r d ay s wages for a fair day s work .

V ery si mi lar i s the e ffect of the two system s o n p O p u l a

tion A peasant p ro prietor feels that h i s children wi l l
.

certai nly descend i n the scal e of society i f h i s freehold be at

his death d ivided among a numerou s fam i ly H e either there .

'

fore does not have s o m any child ren o r he s aves a fu nd ou t ,

of which tho se who do not i nheri t the land m ay be p rovi ded

for H e knows how many persons hi s land wi l l maintain
.
,

and for how many he i s l ikely to have other funds I t is o f .

n o i mportance at a l l to hi m what others o f his class may do ;

i f he i s him sel f provident the conditi on of h i s chi ldren is i n
,

the m ai n secure Thi s k ind of causes keeps the popu l ation of

.

N orway as the retu rns show very nearly stationary Fa r

, , .
 PR I NCI PLE S OF POLI TI CA L E C ONOM Y 2 11

different is the positi on of a cou ntry l ike E ngland where the

lower orders are mere hi red labourers possessi ng as a ru le no , , ,

accumu lated capital A l l thi s class knows i s that they are

.

dependent on the present position o f the labour market and -

,

that their chi ldren wi ll be i n l ike manner dependent on its future

condition E ach individua l feels that the number of b i s chi ldren
.

i s but a slight point i n determi ning the cond ition of each .

H e has no reason at al l to think that if he has only o ne chi l d

that o ne wi l l necessari ly o r probably be better o ff than if he
have a do z en T hi s depends on the conduct o f the whol e
.

class to whi ch he belongs and he has n o data and at present

, ,

no m ental abi l i ty to determ i ne what that cond uct is l ikely

,

t o be
.

A capi tal ist i t shoul d be observed i s i n a posi tion exactly

, ,

simi lar to that o f the peasant propri etor I f he can l eave each .

o f his chi l dren the amou nt w ith which he started i n l i fe h e ,

h a s every reason to think that they wi l l on a n average be in a

position not i nferi or to hi s own It i s no matter to hi m that
.

hi s neighbours are not equ a lly saving : i f h i s chi ldren have

capital they wi l l not be worse b ut possibly better off for their
,

n eighbours n ot being possessed of it too T his certainly i s a .

main element in producing the providence in marriage which ,

perhaps even to an u n favourab l e extent is characteristic of the

middle cl asses in E ngland .

F rom this i t i s clear that i f the work ing cla sses cou l d b e
raised to a state i n which savi ng was a p relim inary to mar
r i a e there wou ld be an e fli ca c i o u s obstacl e to their reck less
g
and indefin ite i ncrease I f dependence on m ere wages cou ld
.

i n any way be superseded by the habi t o f saving for themselves

and for thei r children i f the work i ng cl asses cou ld be brought
,

within the range of the m otives which now a ct on the rest

of t he com mu nity w e might confidently anticipate a great
,

i m mediate improvement i n thei r physica l condition I t is .

consolatory to remember that thi s i s one of the points on

which purely i ntell ectual education is real ly most serviceabl e .

I nstructio n i s to the mind what the tel escope i s to the eye .

T o an uncu l tivated i ntel lect what i s d istant wi l l al ways be i n

v isible but a wel l trained m i nd i s habitual ly able to look i nto
,
-

14
2 12 PRI NCI PLE S OF POLI TI CA L E C ONOM Y

the future and to deal with the absent as though it were

,

present I t is to be hoped and perhaps ex pected that the

.
, ,

present exertions for the s pread o f edu cation wi l l not fai l in a

few years to increase material ly the forethought of the l abouring
classes .

Y e t by i tsel f this i ntel l ectu al improvement wi l l not be

su fficient B efore people can save they must have a su rpl u s
.
,

to save ou t o f I t wi l l be necessary to rai se the condi tions of

.

the l ower orders considerably above thei r present condition

before they wi l l become habi tual ly a saving c lass I n the .

m iddle ranks a smal l amount of sel f restraint w il l make a -

considerable difference both i n thei r property and i n thei r

social position : but i t wou ld tak e much m ore than ca n be
expected of mank i n d general ly to m ak e much i mprovement
_

i n the conditi on of the l ower orders H esiod s proverb that .

’

the hal f i s more than the whol e am ou nts i n E co no m ics to ,

saying that the s mal ler the i ncom e the harder i t i s to save a ny
,

give n proportio n of i t .

M r M i ll however w e m ust pause to observe i s of opi n ion

.
, , ,

that popu lati on wi l l b e check ed i n a somewhat different

manner H e ex pects that there wi l l ari se an u nfavou rabl e
.

popular senti men t agai nst those who overstock the l abou r
mark et and that operating a s a penalty thi s feeling wi l l
, ,

di mi nish the nu mber o f s uch offenders We wi l l not a ssert .

that this i s i m possible M r M i l l has p ronou nced that a l l

. .

who deny i t are pro fou ndly ignorant o f the tru e motives o f
human action When the teacher gets dogmatical the l earner
.
,

becomes nervou s and we feel therefore i ncl ined to be cau tious

, .

We on ly wi sh to observe tha t there i s as yet no su ffi cient ,

basi s o f fact for u s to look u p on it as a very well establi shed -

doctrine We doubt al so i f the act of overstock i ng the labou r

.

market be an act sufficiently marked and defin ite to excite

popu lar reprobat ion M r M i l l adm i ts that no s uch feeli ng
. .

anywhere exists no w not even where there i s the greater ,

amount of thi s sort of restraint ; but a s i n these countries the

l abouring popul ati on are m ainly peasant proprietors there i s ,

no occasion and i ndeed no oppor tunity for any suc h popu l ar

senti ment We can understand that where saving i s an
.
 PRI NCI PL E S OF POLI TI CA L E CONOM Y 2 1
3

habitual prel imi nary to marriage those wi l l be looked down

,

upon and di sliked who neglect it A s to much more than .

thi s we are i ncl ined to be sceptical We do not know enough .

to speak confidently as to the factory popu l ation but though

we are not used to be over ti mi d i n theorising we are not bo l d
-
,

enough to expect anything at al l l ik e thi s o f E ngl ish agri

cultu ral labourers A t al l events i t i s safer and more practica l
.

to assert that the ex istence o f a strong saving habit among

the l o wer classes i s both a necessary and a su ffi cient condition
of thei r economical wel fare .

We have n ow di scussed the subj ect of the growth of Capita l

and the increase of P opulation I n the course o f the discussion
.

we om i tted avowedly to co nsider two questions What i s the

cause whi ch divides Capital i nto its two distinct d ivisions ?
second ly What are the causes regu lating the r ate of profi t ?
,

We shal l now discuss the fo rmer which a s we stated is omitted

,

by ou r author Th e latter i t wi l l be expedient sti l l fu rther to

.

postpone .

’
We do not here enj oy the benefi t of M r M i l l s gu idance .
,

but th e problem does n ot appear to co ntai n any pecul iar

’
d i fli cu l ty
. I t i s a princi pl e i n the theory o f val u e that articles ,

producibl e at equal cost wi l l b e suppl ied in proportion to the

demand for them : t hose m ost in demand wi ll be most i n
number those l east i n dem and wi l l b e fewest i n supply F o r .

i f the supply of any shou ld fal l short o f thi s proportion thei r ,

price wil l rise and an extra profit wil l b e obtained by th e

,

producer i n consequ ence of which capita l w i ll be attracted to

,

the employment and the su pply wi l l be augmented T hi s

, .

pri nciple appl ies to the case before u s Th e respective amounts .

i n which equal ly costly portions of the two kinds of capital

are supplied wi ll be determ ined by the demand for each T h e
, .

demand for remu n erative capital depends on the rate of r e

m u n e r a t i o n (which wil l be discu ssed presently) multipl ied by ,

the number of l abourers em ployed at that rate Th e demand .

‘
for the co operative sort o f capi tal depends on i t s e fli ci e n cy i n
-

satisfying ex isti ng wants I f new discoveries i n machinery

.

m ake that porti on of capital able to supp ly more readi ly any

desirabl e articles profit wil l b e higher i n t h e i m p r o ve d depart
,
2 14 PR I NCI PLE S OF POLI TI CA L E C ONOM Y

ment of industry and an i ncreased portion o f the annu al

,

savi ngs of the cou ntry w il l be attracted tow a rds i t I mprove .

ments i n m achinery may therefore be detrim ental to the

work i ng classes by drawing o ff som e capital which wou ld hav e
,

been devoted to thei r mai ntenanc e to aid the producti on of

com moditi es which they have no opportu nity o f consu ming .

A l l i mprovements which increa se the su pply o f wages paying -

c om modities are of course beneficial to the labo u rer I t m ay .

als o hap pen that a s al l m achinery requires l abo u r to work i t ,

the demand for the l atter may be a benefi t compen sating the
labourer for the harm done i n the way which we have poi nted
out O ther adva ntages of m achinery migh t al so b e named
.
,

but each of them are consistent wi th saying that an i ncrea se in

the efficiency of machi nery may affect the di stribu tion o f capita l
between its divisions i n a manner detri menta l to the work ing
classes .

Th e rate of rem u neration has been mentioned above as a

’
cause i nfluential i n deciding how much of a cou ntry s cap ital
shal l be remunerative and how m uch c c operat ive
,
I t h as -
.

been shown i n ou r remark s on P opu lati on u nder how many ,

l i mitations it i s true there i s a certain amou nt of comm odities

which the lower classes wi l l be content to re c eive and wi thou t ,

which they wi ll not c onti nue to i ncreas e I t has been shown .

that this m i nimum o f remunerati on is of t wo sorts one ,

physical which i s the min imu m that wi l l k eep al ive the

,

ex isti ng nu mber o f labou rers ; secondly a m ora l m inimu m , ,

susceptible u nder pro per ci rcu m stan c es both o f increas e and

d i mi nution N ow i t is clear that i f the demand for labou r be
.

u naltered i t is essentia l to the i ndustry o f the cou ntry that

,

the work i ng classes shal l have the physica l minimu m of wages

and also that u nl e s s circu mstances occur t o depreciate the
m oral standard they wi l l receive what that standard m etes
,

ou t to them .

A l though M r Mil l has not in quired i nto the cau ses which
.

determine how m uch capi tal shal l tak e the form of wages
payi ng com mod ities he has repeatedly declared h is bel ief that
,

the l abou ring cl asses wi l l in general enj oy the co m forts a c

c ompanying this l atter variable m i ni mu m of remu neration .
 PRI NCI PL E S OF POL I TI CA L E C ONOM Y 2 1
5

H e has al so i n some places gone further and attempted to ,

show that they cannot permanently receive more H e has .

indeed an enti re chapter on popu lar remedies for low wages ,

which i s devoted to the elucidation of thi s opi nion Th e .

pop ular remedies to which he refers are those i n which l aw or

publ ic opi ni on affords a higher remu neratio n to l abour than
would be given by unrestri cted com petition M r M il l teaches . .

that s uch law s or customs must b e wholly inoperative H e .

appears to think that there i s a p r i m e? fa ci e absu rdity i n

”
attempting to support m ore labou rers than the capital of “

the country wi l l maintain or to give the same num ber of

,

l abourers a l arge recom pense fo r thei r ex ertions N ow i f as .

,

certain economists are prone to assume a l l capital were o f one ,

sort and i f i t could be u sed only fo r production an d were not

, ,

consumable by u nproductive consu mers i f i n sh ort by som e , , ,

law o f nature capital cou l d only b e u sed i n supporting

l abourers thi s argument would certai nly be a good one
, .

N ature would i n that case have enacted that the rem uneration
shal l be of such and such an amount and no human legi sla ,

ture cou ld g o fu rther or i m pai r her work

, .

B u t since rem u nerative capi tal can be consum ed by u n

productive c onsum ers this argument wi l l not hold I f wages
, .

were rai sed 10 per cen t by law wages paying com modities
.
,
-

would rise i n price and the more opu lent consum ers would
,

probably restrict their consum ption an d labourers wou l d ,

command more o f the existing su pply M oreover the ri se o f .

,

price wou ld cause an i ncreased p roduction of wages paying com -

m o di ti e s
. Capital which was going to be em pl oyed i n manu
fac t u r i n g steam engi nes o r pl ate or some such articl es wou l d
, ,

be e m ployed i n agriculture or i n preparing the coarser k i nds o f

,

m anu facture which are u sed by labou rers C api tal wou ld be .

shifted from the man u facture of l uxuries for the opulent t o

the production of n ecessaries for the i ndigent H ow much .

the labouri ng classes wou ld gai n wou ld depend o n the agri

cultu ral ci rcu mstances o f the tim e I f the new appl ication of
.

capital to the land only yielded such a retu rn a s wou ld keep

the pri ce at the l evel which i t occu pied when the l aw came
i nto operation the labou ri ng classes wou ld obvi ously gai n
,
 '

2 16 PRI NCI PLE S OE P OLI TI CA L E C ONOM Y

sti l l exactly what they gained i n that year and no more I f ,

.
,

on the other hand foo d co u l d be suppl ied at the price i t

,

occupied p reviou s to the enact ment of the n ew l aw it is ,

obviou s also that the labou rers wou ld gain by the fu l l amoun t
i n which the l aw raised their pecu ni ary resources ; the price
wou ld be a s before and their money wages wou l d b e greater
,
- .

I n general something i nterm edia te between these two cases

,

wou ld happen the l ab ou rer wou l d gain mo re than i n the first ,

and less than i n th e second But i n either case such a l aw

.

wou ld be advantageou s to labou rers : and i n relati on to al l

rem u nerative commodi ties except food the m o st favou rabl e ,

co ntingency i s al m ost certai n to ha ppen .

We do not defend such a law ; no t o nly because i t cou ld

not be work ed i n any known system o f i nd ustry bu t also ,

becau se i t could not b e urged on the capital ist as a duty to

give s o much additional wages S omethi ng mu st be known
.

of h is position i n l i fe h i s duties to hi s fa m i ly and those

,

dependent u pon hi m before any such princi pl e could b e

,

affi rmed But i t seem s to u s obvi ous that capita l ists ought
.

not to beat down l abou rers to the lo west possibl e amount .

T hey have no m ore right to be greedy and avaricious than

any other cl ass ; and i t i s discredit able i n eco nom ists to teach
that such conduct i s n ot hurtfu l to the publ ic and i ndefensible
i n i tsel f
.

Th e effect o f such a law o n popu l ation i s a distinc t

question Ricardo wou ld o f co u rse assum e that i f i t were for
.

the benefit o f the l ower orders i t wou l d sti mu l ate their increase ,

and wages wou ld b e reduc ed to their former standard E ven .

so the wages fun d o f the cou ntry i s i ncreased the rate o f

,
-
,

remuneration i s the sam e but the persons paid a re more Mr

,
. .

M i l l reasons here after the manner o f Ricardo N or do we .

p retend to s ay that any such l aw or cu stom cou ld of itsel f

and al one raise the rate of wages materi al ly B u t it m ay be .

one of many concu rrent agenci es i n so raisi ng it and i ts exist ,

ence may p revent i ts decli ne by counteracting other agencies

’
that m ay be depreci ati ng the l abourer s habitu al standard of
com fo rt ; and therefore m ight be rather a check o n popu lation
than a sti mu lus to i t .
 PRI NCI PLE S OF POL I TI CA L E CONOM Y 2 17

On the whole therefore as to the rate of remuneration i t

, , ,

may be sai d wi thout wearying o u r readers by u nnecessary

,

detai ls first that when the dem and for l abou r i s u naltered
, , ,

the physi cal m ini mu m m ust be m aintai ned ; secondly that ,

moral m ini mu m wi l l al ways be m ai ntained when the demand

fo r labou r i s not much raised and much diminished or when ,

the su ppl y of wages payi ng co m moditi es does not beco me

-

m u ch m ore easy o r more di fficul t ; thirdly that the b e n e v o l ,

ence o f the higher classes answers all the pu rposes of an extra

demand for labou r T hese are the main princi ples regulatin g
.

the rate of remuneration Th e proportion between wages

.

payi ng and what may be cal led i nstru m ental capital i s settled ,

as h as been seen by the demand for each sort ; the deman d for
the first varying directly as the rate of remuneration multi pl ied
by the num ber o f labou rers em ployed : the demand for the
second being determ ined by the productive power of m ach in
ery i n m i ni stering to hum an wants .

Revi ewing therefore what has been said we find that we ,

have considered the dem and and supp ly of remu nerative

capital and u nder the head of population we have di scu ssed
,

the supply o f labou r Th e dem and for labour the only re

.
,

m aining facto r of our original formu la wi l l not perhaps detai n ,

u s long .I t depends as a whol e on the power which each

singl e act of i m m ediate labour possesses t o satisfy human
wants mu ltipli ed by the number of such acts wh ich are
,

desired F rom thi s i t i s c lear that i t i s m ore beneficial to the

.

lower classes to be em ployed i n quickly recurri ng acts than -

,

i n acts which when once done do not require any second or

at al l events any but a deferred repeti tion Th e pyram ids o f .

E gypt once bui lt no one cared a bou t the bui lders : and i t is
,

to be feared they were pu t on reduced rat ions of onions .

’
T h is i s the ground of a part of the truth i mpl ied i n Ricardo s
doctrin e that it w a s better for labou rers that ca pital should be
,

lai d out i n services than i n com modities S upposing that the .

labourer sold the commoditi es th i s wou ld only be true when ,

the service req uired m o re frequent repeti tion than the acts
neces sary to the production o f the com m odities When the .

capi tal i st sel l s the com modi ty as i s now most usua l i t i s not
, ,
2 18 PRI NCI PL E S OF POL I TI CA L E C ONOM Y

so good i f we l ook only to the i nterest of the l abourer s to

, ,

buy the article as to em ploy labo u r more directly ; since the

capi tali st wi l l n ot always o r i ndeed often em ploy the whole
,

purchase money for thei r benefit

-
.

We have there fore now pretty n earl y solved the problem

, ,

wi th which we s e t out namely what u nder present circu m

, ,

stances regulates the rate of wages ? We found that this w a s

determ ined tem porari ly by the su pply and demand for r e
m u n e ra t i v e cap ital a s compared with su pply o f labou r and the
demand for it We have now inquired so far as o u r l im its
.
,

w il l al low what are the cau ses perm anently determin in g the
,

su pply and demand both for remu nerative capital and for
lab our O n e prob lem has been omitted v i z the cause o f
.
, .

determ ining the rate of profit and these Wi l l even now be ,

treated of more conven iently hereafter .

’
We are now therefore able to go o n to discuss M r M ill s
, , .

plans for the benefit of the l ower orders Th e di ffi culty i s .

,

that the rate o f wages i s so lo w ; and the great problem for

E uropean and especial ly fo r E nglish statesmen i n the ni ne
t e e n t h century i s how shal l that rate be raised and how shal l
, ,

the lower orders b e im p roved .

Whatever be the evi l o r the good of democracy i n itsel f ,

i t i s evident that the com bination of democracy and low w ages

wi l l infal li bly be bad I n al l ages the rul ers of mank ind
.

have for the most part agreed i n havi ng a predominating

i ncl ination for making themselves com fortable I f power be .

given to a mi serabl e democracy that d emocracy wil l above all ,

things endeavou r not to be m iserable T his i t wi l l attempt .

by whatever schem es are co ngenial to m inds and co nsciences ,

corru pted by ages of heredi tary ignorance and h ereditary

suffering A n d woe to those who u nder su ch a Governm ent
.
, ,

propou n d plans for the benefit o f thei r ru l ers : S wvi p r oxi m i s

i ng r u u n t . Th e favou ri te theorist o f yesterday i s pu nished
to day because the M i lle n n i u n is not yet com e S uch i s the
-
.

l esso n w h ich the a nnals of E urope i n the year 1 8 4 8 teach to

E ngli sh statesmen Th e only effectual secu rity agai nst the
.

ru le of an ignorant miserabl e and vicious democracy is to

, , ,

take care that the demo c racy shall be ed ucated and com fort ,
 PRI NCI PLE S OF POLI TI CA L E C ONOM Y 2 19

abl e and m oral N ow i s the ti me for schem ing deliberating

, .
, ,

and acting T o tel l a mob how thei r condition may b e

.

i mproved i s talking hydrostatics to the ocean S cience i s o f .

u se now becau se s h e may be heard and u nderstood I f she be .

not heard before the democracy c ome when i t i s come her ,

voice wil l be drowned in the u proar .

S o great and so urgen t i s i n ou r j udgment the i mportance

of plans for the i mprovement of the work ing classes : we
regret therefore that s o much o f ou r space has been taken u p
, ,

with the explanatio n of the existing state of things in E ngland ,

’
that w e mu st be brief i n our account of Mr M il l s schemes .

for the el evation o f the labouring classes H e h as schemes .

fo r both E ngland and Ireland ; and we wi l l take the l atter

first.
5

Th e econo mical condition of I rel and is probably far worse

than that of any other country possessi ng equal n atural a d
vantages Th e rate of wages scarcely com es u p to the m i ni
.

m um that wil l su pport li fe and fal ls far short of that need fu l

,

to maintain the human body in fu l l working strength Th e .

l and tenure appears to be about the worst possible I t has .

nearly al l the di sadvantages both of l a g r a nd e and l a p eti te

cu l tu r e withou t any o f their corresponding advantages
,
T hi s .

tenure i s k now n a s the c otti er system which Mr M il l h a s , .

here defined a s th e system i n which the peasant rents by c o m

peti tion o nly and not at al l by fi xed custom
,
I t is not .

d i fficu l t to s e e that i n a country with a rapi dly i ncreasing

popu lation and but a l ittl e non agricu l tural e m
,

,
pl oyment a
-
,

great prepo nderance o f such a land tenure ensures the u tter

m isery of the labouring classes Lan d is i n such a country
.
, ,

the first necessary o f l i fe and the landlords have a monopoly

,

of it Th e peasants wi l l promi se to pay a ny rent i n order to

.

obtai n possessi on of the soi l T his nomi nal rent they wil l be
.

u nabl e to pay and the l andlo rd wi ll take whatever m ore i s

,

produced than i s necessary to give the tenant a bare subsist

ence A s population increases the competition strengthens ;
.
,

the rents increase i n amount the tenant is m ore and more

,

oppressed with debt and he h a s to work harder and harder i n

,

order to o btain the most mea g re su stenanc e N e ce s s ari e s are .

2 20 PR I NCI PLE S OF POLI TI CA L E C ONOM Y

bei ng bartered for luxu ri es and tho se who need the former are ,

at the mercy of tho se who possess them It i s obviou s that .

what has been desc ribed as the prevalent practice of I ri sh

landlord s i s m orally u nj ustifiable We do not charge al l the .

I r i sh landlords wi th abetting such a system Th e better part .

o f them do not tak e into accou nt th e biddings of the peasants

i n settling the rent bu t act on thei r own notio n of what he i s
,

abl e and ought to pay yet though the evi dence taken before
Lord D evon s C omm issio n shows that such more respectable
’

landl ords are not absolutely few it seems also certai n that ,

they form an inconsi derab le fraction of the whole rent own ing -

c l ass .Th e ownersh ip o f land however gives no moral titl e , ,

to i nflict su fferi ng o n i ts occupants T h e lan dlord u nder thi s .

system takes habitu al ly a cru el advantage o f the necessiti es

of the poor ; and that such c an be the constant cou rse of
events i n a C hri sti an count ry shows how l ittle the j ewish ,

P rophets are heeded by those who pro fess at l east to acknow

ledge thei r au thority .

Th e qu esti on then ari ses how are these cotti ers to be got ,

ri d of ? N o m an defends them ; but i t i s di fficu l t to devi se

’
plans for i ntroducing a better system M r M i l l s answer is . .

that a large nu mber o f them may be provi ded for by m ak ing

them peasant proprietors T here are i n rou nd n u mbers a mill ion
.

1
and a ha l f o f waste lands i n I re land which there i s every ,

reason to thi nk woul d repay ti l lage T his l and is no w lying .

usel ess and it does seem a very obvi ous course to bring i t into
,

1
T he e x a c t n u m b e rs ar e

F i t for Pa s tu r e .

3 4 51000

T o ta l 2,

Th is is n ot the l l i
c a c u a t on of a th e o ri s t , b u t th e e st i m at e of M r Gri ffi th
.

th e l an d l -
for th e I ri s h l an d tax w h o i s n o t i n
va ue r -
, an y w ay p l e dge d t o
th e w a s te l a n d s ch e m e
-
T h e fig ur e s ar e g i v e n i n
. th e re p o rt o f Lord
D e vo n s C o mm i s s i o n
’
.
 PR I NCI PLE S OF POL I TI CA L E C ONOM Y 22 1

’
c u ltivation To any such scheme as M r Mi l l s there i s
. .
,

however a strong d i slike i n very m any E ngl ish m inds I t

, .

seem s to u s that the evi l s o f I reland have created a prej udice

against this thei r appropriate rem edy A n i nveterate i dea .

prevai ls that the existence o f smal l holdings i s the cau se of

I rish m isery and that th e schem e o f peasant propri etorshi p i s
,

a mode of perpetuati ng the exi sting system of l and tenure .

We feel sure that this is a fai r statem ent o f much i nfl uential

opi nion B u t yet both these two propositi o ns are ridicu l ou sly
.

u ntrue I t is not the smal l ness of the hol dings that i s the
.

cau se of the evi ls of I rel and ; for i n U lster where the condi ,

tion of I ri sh soci ety i s fa r better than elsewhere the divi sion ,

of land i s more mi nute tha n i n any other porti on of the

cou ntry A gain the sy s tem which n ow prevail s i s one o f
.
,

rack rents where al l su rpl u s beyon d the bare subsistence o f

,

the tenant goes of necessi ty to the l and lord the system pro
posed as a remedy i s that i n so me cases no rent at al l should
,

be paid ; and i n the case of more fertile so i l tha t a fixed s u m ,

shou ld be reserv e d a system which wo u ld obviously give the

,

tenant a secu re enj oyment o f w h atever su rplus produ ce h i s

i ndustry m ight exact from the soil I s there a ny connection .

there fore between th e existing system and that proposed a s a

rem edy for i t ? I n the one the mai n feature i s unli mited ex
action ; in the other the main featu re i s the fi xi ty of the quit
rent which is to be paid T his point of fixi ty is one which Mr
. .

M ill has i n al l its b earings adm i rably elucidated and a s it ,

seems to us with very great original ity .

Th e only other remedy proposed for I reland i s the whole

sale eviction system S ome persons who wish to adapt I re
.

l and i n al l respects t o the model of E ngland have wished to

i ntroduce l arge ti llage farms and to m ak e d ay labourers of
,

the l ower classes We have before given som e reason and

.
,

Mr Mil l has collected alm ost demonstrative evidence that on

.
,

grounds principally derived from the theory o f popu lation a

n atio n of peasant proprietors is m uch preferable to one of
hired agricu ltura l l abou rers , B ut putting this aside there i s
, ,

strong reason pecul iar to the i nd ividual case for preferring to

introduce i nto I rel and the system of peasant proprietors T h e .
222 PRI NCI PLE S OF POL I TI CA L E C ONOM Y

P oor Law Comm i ssioners for I reland state that agri cu ltura l
“

wages va ry from S i xpence to on e shi ll i ng a day ; that the

average of the cou ntry i n general is abou t 8 5d and that the : .
,

e arnings of labou rers com e on an average to fro m 2 5 to

, ,
.

25. 6 d a week or thereabouts

. N ow the nu mber of the
cottier popu l ation i s exceedingly large an d i t i s evi dent that
,

the addi tion of anything l ike it to the nu m ber of hired

labourers would bring down the rate o f wages enorm ously .

I t is obvi ous that bad as the cottier system may b e this

, ,

remedy for i t i s worse than the disease Wages are now .

25. 6 d a week ; what wil l they be after a great r e d u c

.

ti on ?
I t i s sai d that capital wi ll come from E ngland to em ploy
the addi ti on al labou rers Bu t Mr Mi l l ju stly repl ies that
. .

cap ital wil l not come fro m E ngland u nti l th e soci al state of
the lower classes i s im proved and therefore i f we adopt the
,

scheme o f large farm s we are forced on the di lemm a th at

capital wi l l not come ti l l the peop le are i mp ro ved and th at the ,

peop le will n ot b e i mproved b efore the capital co mes A lso .

there i s no l ik el ihood that a su ffi ci ent am ou n t o f capital wou l d

com e Th e P o or La w C ommi ssioners s tate that there are in
.

I rel and five agricu ltu ral l abou rers to the extent of soi l which
em ploys two in Great B ri tain I t i s obviou s that i f the
.

agri cu ltu re of I reland i s assi m i lated to that o f E ngland this ,

i mm ense su rpl u s o f l abourers wou ld be thrown out o f em

pl oyment .

Moreover the system of peasant proprietors has been tried

,

i n I reland and has worked wel l T here exi sts i n U lster a

.

k in d of i ncipient copyhol d from which a tenant at will cann ot

,

be tu rned out s o long as he p ays a fixed customary rent .

F rom this i t i s an obviou s consequ ence that the consen t of

the occupying tenant m ust be pu rchased before a new one c an
have possession of the soi l I t i s this i nsti tution of tenant
.

right which has m ade the people of U l ster s o superior to those

i n other parts o f I rela nd T hey have this system becau se
.

bei ng E ngli sh and S cotch they were a better race of people i n

the begi nning ; b u t peculiarities o f race act n ot by m agi c bu t ,

by creati ng social h abits an d i nstitutions : the cau se o f a wel l

 PR I NCI PL E S OF POL I TI CA L E C ONOM Y 2 23

organ ised ind ustry when it is not improved from wi thou t

must always be an appro priate di sposition of the i ndustrious
cl asses yet i t is not the less true that the happiness of the
,

labourers resu l t s i mmediately from the beneficial organi sa

tion H ence it appears that the i nstitution which i t i s pro
.

posed to extend has been already tried and has succeeded

admirably .

A s to the effect of peasant proprieto rship o n I rish p o p u l a

tion there i s every reason to bel ieve that the c lass of people
,

whom we are now concerned with practice no prudentia l

restrai n t whatever and there ca n therefore be no reason for
,

saying that any new system wi l l be productive o f increased

improvidence I t has als o been shown that M r M il l has
. .

ground for sayi n g that against over popu lation peasant

,
-
,

proprietorship i s the best preservative yet k nown But .

,

besi des these two weighty co nsi derati ons t here i s reason to ,

prefer thi s system to that o f hired labourers becau se Govern ,

ment may lay down rul es to preserve the i ntegrity of properties ,

and these ru les may act as a check on popu l ation over and
above the natural e ffects of peas ant proprietorshi p T hese .

ru les should be en forced becau se brute cu stom i s of great

“

force i n matters of popu lation and h abits of im providence

,

cannot h e s uddenly erad icated B u t o n the opposite plan of

.

replacing the cottiers by hi red labou rers n o check at al l wou ld

,

be put to the increase o f population ; the l abourers would be

abandoned entirely to thei r own control and as they most ,

l ikely wou ld not become a saving c lass they wou ld i n al l ,

li kelihood soon be no better off than at present although we ,

grant the fal se assumption that thei r condi tion wou ld for a
b rief period be i m proved O n thi s accou nt therefore we
.
, ,

should hold that whether or not the nomi nal proprietorship

,

shou ld be reserved for the Government i t would be certainly ,

advisabl e to keep a watch over the subd ivision of properties

exactly as i s now done by the mo re intel ligent and respectable
of I rish l andlords .

T hese argum ents are it is obviou s quite i ndependent of

, ,

any opinion on the i ntrinsic m erits of the sm al l system o f

cul tivation A ll that it i s necessary to show for ou r present
.
2 24 PRI NCI PLE S OF POLI TI CA L E C ONOM Y

purpose is that there i s no such en ormou s evi l i n the smal l

,

system of cu ltivatio n as to overbal ance that good which we

hop e wou ld accru e from the i nstitu tion of peasant proprietor
shi p M r M il l s j udgment seem s however to u s so ad m i r
. .
’
, ,

abl e o n this poin t that we wi l l sum it u p and present i t to

,

o ur readers ; a study of it wi ll serve to rem ove from the m inds

o f many econom ists those opini on s which where they a re not ,

mere prej udices are conclu sions drawn from a very limited and
,

exceptional ex perience Mr Mi ll s conclusions are that the

. .
’
,

smal l system is a social nu isance when the rent i s u n fixe d and ,

c a n be rai sed i n consequ en c e o f the i mprovem ent o f the pro

perty and that i t does more harm than good when the proper
,

ties are too smal l to employ the whol e ti me o f the proprietor

a nd those dependent on him when the p ro perty is too s m al l
to give the owner a fu l l secu rity agai nst any probabl e acci dents
o f crop ; and also that thi s system wastes m uch time when the
properties d o not l ie in one p lace but are divided i nto sm al ler ,

ho ldings between which the tenant has often to go to a nd fro

,
.

A lso that in the case of crops no t requ iri ng very m inut e at

tention the sam e labou r w i l l extract from the same land a
,

greater retu rn u nder the l arge system of cu ltivati o n bu t that ,

the smal l system wi l l yi el d a larger gross produce tha n the

large t o the sam e n u mber o f hands em pl oyed becau se o f the ,

greater i ndu stry and forethought which are devel oped i n the
m in ds of the peasant proprietors by the certai n hope o f enj oy
i ng the fru its of thei r own labou r .

I t i s a consequence of thi s l ast proposi tion t hat the surplu s

produce avail abl e for su p porti ng a non agricu ltu ral population -

wi l l be greater u nder a system o f peasant proprieto r than

u nder any system of l arge far m s on which the hi red labourers
are equ al ly w el l fed I t is ou t of this surplu s that al l the
.

mo st val u abl e porti ons of the comm u ni ty— al l tho s e whose

trade i t i s to i nstruct govern and educate the community— are
, ,

fo r the m ost part su bsisted When therefore the agricu ltural

.
, ,

popul ation have a fai r share o f co mfort thi s su rplu s i s th e real ,

test of the advantages or d isadvantages accruing from any

agricu ltural system but i n any other case it i s no test at al l
, .

T here is no advantage but much evi l i s giving the l abou rers

 PRI NCI PLE S OF POLI TI CA L E C ONOM Y 225

1
(as is done i n S omerset and Wi ltshi re ) l ess food than wil l
keep men i n fu l l working condition in order that a large s u r ,

pl us may be left to support non agricultural classes L arge -

.

masses of men are always degraded morally by extrem e

physical su ffering I n matter o f fact a large portion of thi s .

surplu s i s expended on the producers of luxuri es and o n tho se

non productive classes who do n othing ei ther for the wealth
-

o r the i mprovement of the community and it i s preposterou s ,

to benefit these at the expense of a m ore u seful cl ass B u t .

even i f the who l e su rplu s were expended o n the education of

the commun ity it would be no adequ ate co m pensation for the
,

moral d egradation of a large portion of those who are to be

educated T hou shal t not m u z z le the ox which treadeth out
“

the co m 13 the true ru le of E conomics and i t i s disgracefu l ,

that think ers enough are fou nd to ho ld and i m ply i f not i n ,

term s to state a di fferent doctri ne ,

.

O n the whol e therefore there i s n o ground for u niversal ly

, ,

preferring the l arge system o f cu ltivation which i ndeed a p , , ,

pears to be more beneficia l only where it is necessary to e n

force the utm ost econo my o f labou r T here is therefore n o .
, ,

obj ection arisi ng from the theo ry of agriculture against i ntro

d uc i n g the smal l system i n to I reland We have advanced .

strong positive reasons almost whol ly derived from M r Mil l s .

’

work for recom mend ing thei r immediate introduction : we

,

have o nly to add on this poi nt that i f the waste lan ds shou ld ,

prove insuffici ent to provide for the whol e of the cottier

popul ation Mr Mi l l wou ld turn thei r present hold ings u nder
,
.
,

proper restrictions as to si z e into farms at a fai r qu i t rent , ,

-
,

tendering of course to the proprietors of the soi l the fai r

m arket val u e o f the l and ; a meas u re which assumes no m ore
-

powers over the soi l than a n ordinary railway bi l l and wh ich ,

i s certainly justifi abl e i f experience shou l d prove i t to be

necessa ry .

S uch i s Mr M i l l s remedy for I re l and

’
F o r E ngl and he
. .

M r T h ornt on th e b e s t au tho ri ty o n th e s ubj e t s tate tha t e c ru i t

1 .
,
c ,
s r

i n g e g e an ts fi n d a m k e d d i ffe re n c e o f m s cu l r s t e n g th b e tw e e n th e
- s r ar u a r

s o u th w e s t o f E n g l n d an d th e b e tte r fe d co n ti e s o f t h e n o r t h a n d e a s t
-
a -
u

(Ov e r p op u l ti on p
-
a ,
.

VO L . VI I I .
2 26 PR I NCI PL E S OF POLI TI CA L E C ONOM Y

has two rem edies one whi ch we wi l l m enti on first i s d esigned

, ,

to modi fy the i ntense and angry feeli ng o f com petitio n between

l abourers and capitalists that i s observable at present Th is .

i s the scheme which was fi rst recom mended fo r general adop

tion by M r B abbage and which according to Mr Mi l l has
.
, ,
.
,

been tried with excel len t resu lts both i n A merica and i n
F rance and also i n thi s cou ntry for a l ong ti me past i n the
, ,

N orthern Whal e F isheri es and the Corn i sh Min es I t essen .

t i a ll y consists i n m ak i ng the work m an the partner o f th e

capi talist ; in other word s i t i s proposed to pay them not a
,

fi xed sala ry but a p roportio n of the p rofits We need n ot .

h ere d wel l much on the meri ts o f this schem e b ecau se i t was

not long since discu ssed i n thi s revi ew by one more com petent
to the task .I ts merits chiefly consi st i n giving the l abourers
an interest i n the su ccess of thei r work F ro m th is i t wou ld .

ensue that industry would be sti mu lated and the gross produce
be augmented both o f m anu facture and agricu ltu re A good .

feeling be tween l abourers and capi tali sts would al so faci litate
al l productive operations ; and on thi s account there i s every
reason to bel ieve that the adoption o f thi s plan wou ld raise to
som e extent the remuneration of labour because the fund o u t ,

o f which labourers are pai d woul d be greater tha n u nder the

present system B ut i t i s not i n the leas t l ikely that this
.

alteratio n i n the m od e of paying wages would i n itsel f b e

adequ ate to meet the present di ffi culty I t may be d ou b ted .

whether a pl an could not be devised as a development of this

schem e for combining the advantages both o f the large and
the smal l systems o f cultivation a n d also for mak ing th e con
,

d ition of child ren as exc lusively dependent on the actions o f

thei r parents as i s the case wi th the chi ld ren o f peasant pro
,

p ri e to rs. But whether this be s o or not it i s clear the p resent ,

rate o f wages is too l ow to be su ffi ciently raised by any i m

provement i n the mechani s m of d istri bu ti on Th e ad ditiona l .

amount produ ced would be qu ite i nsu ffi ci ent to effect s o great

a change as i s necessary .

.M r Mil l has therefore provid ed another scheme m ore

capable of producing great and immediate effect Thi s re m edy .

is a large scheme o f E m igration H e re c o m mends t he trans

.
 PRI NCI PLE S OF POL I TI CA L E C ONOM Y 22 7

plantation o f a nu mber o f labou rers large enough to change

the standard of com fort i n which the remainder wou l d l ive ,

and i n which the nex t generatio n wou ld be habitually reared .

T his plan i s not to be confounded w i th that recom m ended by

Tb e Ti m es newspaper and extensively cou ntenanced by many
,

i nfluential persons T hi s latter schem e apparently contemp lates

.

an annual emigration as a permanen t outlet for th e ove rflow

o f the popu lation T hi s latter wi l l not rem edy the present
.

state of the lower classes though i t m ight keep one which was
,

’
always good from any deterioration M r M i l l s scheme on . .
,

the other hand i s d es igned fo r the elevation of the lower

,

o rders as a whole I t wil l be evi dent th at we are i n constancy

.

bou nd to maintai n that no obj ectio ns from the theory of p o p u

l ation coul d be raised to this schem e because we have l aid ,

down that large al terations i n the stand ard of comfort general ly

rai se what has been call ed the m ora l m i ni mu m of wages .

Th e only other i m portant di fficulty l ikely to be started i s

the ex pense and thi s Mr M i ll has a theory to encounter H e
, . .

remark s that i t i s of no consequence that taxation entrench o n

the capital of a co u ntry i f th e capital appropriated by Govern
,

m ent were about to expatriate itself on account of a prevai ling

lo w rate of profit I f Government borro w the m oney the
.
,

process is that the coming of a new trustworthy borrower i nto

the market raises the rate of i nterest and keeps capi tal at home .

I f the am o unt i s raised by taxation the effect i s that a certai n , ,

portion of capital which was on i ts way to the loan m arket -

,

and from thence to foreign cou ntries is i ntercepted by the ,

Govern ment and transferred to purposes of a nati onal instead

,

o f i ndividu al utility I n the case of E ngland this argu ment

.

certainly appl ies I t i s a fact o f experience that when the

.

1
i nterest of m oney i s 2 per cent capital habi tually emi grates
.
,

or what i s here the same thi ng i s wasted on foolish specu la

, ,

tions which never yield any adequate return I t wou ld cl early

,
.

be no national l oss if this capital were appropriated by the

Government for national purposes : the best mod e perhaps , ,

bei ng to take it direct from capital on a term inabl e annu i ty of

1 Se e F u l l e r ton on t h e Cu r r e n cy , p . 16 1 .

15
228 PRI NCI PLE S OF POLI TI CA L E C ONOM Y

thirty years duration S o that M r Mi l l has clearly answered

’
. .

those E cono m i sts and Manchester m anu facturers who ex clai m

against entrenching on the N ationa l C apital for any pu rpose ,

however phi lanthropic H e has shown by an argu ment which

.
,

i s s o obvi ous when seen as to d isgu i se the merit of seei ng it

, ,

that there exists a n am ple fund out o f wh ich al l th e higher

i nterests of S tate can be satisfied without di m inishing the per ,

manent O pu lence of the country N or is there any service s o .

much n eeded from a pol itica l phi losopher at the present tim e .

T hi s argum ent though weighty a s i t stands cann ot be fully

, ,

appreciated except by taking i nto account one or two genera l

,

c ircu mstances affecti ng the rate o f profi t the consi deratio n o f ,

which we accordingly postponed u nti l the present time Th e .

fi rst of these propo si tions i s that an u nl imited am ount of

,

capital cannot be em ployed i n a n old country withou t a d i m i n u

tion of the rate of profit I t has been shown that an i ncreas e
.

of c o operative capita l is of n ecessity accom pani ed by some

-

in crease of rem u nerative because machi nery can no t be worked

,

without manual l abou r and the extra demand for labou r wi l l

,

requ ire more funds to com pensate for i ts exertion B ut a . .

large portion of rem u nerative capital consists o f food which as ,

we have seen requi res the application of capital to land u nder

circu mstances which i n any fi xed co ndi tion of the productive
arts reduce the rate o f retu rn i n proporti on as the capital ex
pended is from ti me to ti me augmented Th e pri ce o f corn .

therefore rises and it m ay be assumed that either the phys i ca l

,

m ini mum of wages exi sts and mu st be m aintained or that the , .

mora l m i ni m um ex ists an d wi l l be m aintained I n ei ther of .

these cases the m oney wages of l abou r must rise or the real
,
-

remunerati o n of labou r wi ll fal l o ff Moreover it i s cl ear that .

,

i f money wages ri se and th e price o f commodities d o not rise

-
,

al so profi ts must fal l Th e capi ta li st has m ore to pay for

,
.

gettin g his work done a nd he has a lso less for himsel f i n c o n

,

sequence T hat prices cannot ri se i s clear because the cause

.
,

here assigned acts wi th an exception here u nimportant equal ly

, ,

on al l employments I f m o ney were produced i n the country

.
,

the wages o f the m iners would rise as well as the wages of ,

other l abou rers or the sam e cause whi ch i s su pp os e d to O perate

,
 P RI NCI PLE S OF POLI TI CA L E C ONOM Y 2 29

to raise the valu e of com m odities as com pared with money , ,

i s equal ly operative to rai se the value of money as com pared

with comm odi ti es I t is obvi ou s that no ci rcu mstance can
.

change the relative value of two com moditi es which affect

equ al ly the supply of both and does n ot at al l a ffect the de ,

mand for either .

T herefore wi th an i ncrease of capital i t i s proved that there

must be an i ncrease o f food that an i ncreas e o f food i s most
1
frequ ently accompanied by an inc reased cost of hand wo rk ,

and that an i ncreased outl ay on manua l labou r wil l be a c

compani ed by a dim i nution o f profit .

T hi s assu mes that the indus tri al arts undergo no i mprove

ment suffici ent to compensate fo r the i n feri or retu rn from
poorer soi ls and to prevent the pri ce o f food from rising
,
.

M r Mi ll is o f opi ni on that in general the progress o f industrial

.

i mprovement is a less powerful force than the necessi ty of

resorti ng to inferior land T h e price of food from century to .

century is the obvious cri terion o f thi s fact i f on ly money be ,

of an unaltered cost Tak i ng into account any deran ging .

ci rcu m stances affecting the rate o f wages i t i s also c lear that ,

the history o f the rate of i nterest wi l l b e an adequat e i ndi ca

tion of the forces respectively ex erted by e ach of these t w o
antagonistic agencies Th e history of the rate of interest i n
.

E ngl and has yet to be wri tten and therefore we cannot find ,

any com plete test by whi ch to discover the relative progress

,

of these two forces Fe w subj ects so i nteresti ng to a phi lo

.

sopher yet remai n so thorough ly u ninvestigated .

Th e obvious bearing of this theory o n the emigration o f

capital is that si nce the rate of profit is bei ng gradual ly
,

lowered in an ol d cou ntry som etim es it wi l l come to a point ,

at which persons wi l l rather seek a higher rate abro ad There .

1Wh at w e ca ll i n th e t e x t th e ar t o f work or h an d w or k i s s all y .

,
u u

c a ll e d t h e c os t o f l a b o r b t t h i s p h ra e e xp e s se s n atu all y th e ate o f a

u u s r r r

l a b o e w ages p e d i e m Th e o n l y s e o f s p e ci a l p h ra s e i s to m rk
ur r s
’
r . u a a

t h at th e l a b o re r i s con ce rn e d w i th w h at h e g e t s a s p a y fo r a gi e n e x
u e v r

ti on d i n g a g i e n ti m e i h i w a ge s and th at th e ca pi tal i s t i s co n ce rn e d
ur v ,
. e . s

w i th th e re s u l t o f th a t e x e rt i on i e t h e w o k d o n e ,
. T h e co m m o n p h ra se
. r .

s e e m s to u s to fai l s i gn a ll y i n w o rk i n g o t th i s d i s t i n c ti o n u .
230 P RI N CI PL E S OF P OLI TI CA L E C ONOM Y

i s a l way s a certai n mini m u m rate for anythi ng below which

persons wi l l not thi nk i t wo rth whi le to accu mul ate That .

m i n imum varies i ndeed with the habi ts o f a peopl e yet in any ,

one generati on there i s a poi nt beyond which i t will not go

and there i s obviously a m i ni mum beyond which i t wi l l not go
at al l I n an old country l ik e E ngland thi s mini m u m rate
.

wi l l not bear mu ch reduction and therefore we m ust c o n

,

t e n t e d ly l ook for the em igration o f capital an d what is worse

‘

, ,

to the world though nati onal ly the sam e i ts destruction by

, ,

foolish specu lations of which commerc ial crises are the i n e v i t

,

abl e resul ts .

H ence i t i s clear that there wi l l be i n thi s country fo r ,

many years a fu nd fro m which the higher purposes of Govern

,

ment may be achieved without entrenching on the su pport of

the l abouri ng people o r the real opu l ence of the nation In .

reference to the E m igrati on schem e i t may b e said that the , ,

e ffect of G overnment i nter ference si m ply i s to determ i ne that ,

capita l which was goi ng to leave the cou ntry shal l go to that
, ,

particular forei gn country to whi ch the labou rer has been

removed . I t was before fixed that cap ital shou l d e migrate :
the direction of that migration i s settl ed by the operation s o f
Governm ent O n such groun ds as these therefore M r M i l l
.
, , .

contends that hi s scheme i f adopted i s i n the highest degree

beneficial . I t i s greatly preferabl e to any that we h ave ever
seen proposed for remedyi ng the econom ical wants o f the
lower classes ; and i ts adoption i s i n our j udgm ent the very
best measure open to the selecti on o f an E ngl ish G overnmen t .

T o u s it seem s the best attainab le m eans o f attaining a n e ce s

sa ry conditi on of al l future social i m provem en t .

We have now arrived at the end o f our l ong l abou r We .

have discussed the ci rcumstances no w affecti ng the condi tion

o f the labou ring cl asses a nd also the schem es prop osed for
,

thei r advantage O f M r M il l s specu lati on s on thi s subj ect

. .
’

we have shown ou rselves no l ukewarm adm i rers A n d on .

this account we are at l i berty to s ay that hi s cha pter on the

future conditions of the l abou rin g cl asse s very much d i s a p
pointed u s T h e l ower orders are there t reated as i f they
.

were beings o f pure i ntel lect We d o not for a mom ent deny
.
 PRI NCI PL E S OF POL I TI CAL E C ONOM Y 23 1

that i t i s o f great consequence to give the working cl asses

i ntel lectual cu ltivati on and to develop i n their m inds a reli sh
,

for intel lectual pleasures yet we al so thi nk that the pecul iar
,

qu al i ti es of Mr M il l s m ind have led hi m to assign to such

.
’

considerations a space out o f proportion to their i m portance .

T h e most important m atters for the labouri ng classes as for ,

al l others are restrai ning discipline over their passi on s and an

,

e fle ct u a l cu ltu re of thei r co nscience I n recent tim es these

'

wants are m o re pressing than ever Great towns are depots .

of temptation and unless care be taken corru pters o f al l deep

, , ,

moral feel ings T h e passions al so a ct with m ore viol ence

.

than elsewhere i n the i ntervals o f a m on otono us occu pation ,

an d o wing to the increasi ng division of l abour th e i ndu strial

tasks of manki nd are every day becom i ng more an d more
’

monotonous T o these considerat ion s Mr Mi l l has not

. .

al luded nor has he enlarged o n the dangers of that un ion

,

between democracy and low wages which i n ou r view make

h i s plans for the elevation o f the popu lace of su ch u rgent and
practi cal i nterest I f M r M il l had been a mere pol itica l
. .

econom ist no bl ame wou ld have atta c hed to him But

,
.

he considers besides the abstract and isol ated co n sequences

,

of the m ere desire for weal th the application also of these ,

consequ ences with a l l necessa ry c orrections to th e real world

, ,

of hu man action H e was therefore bound to have noticed

.

the deeper consideration s we have nam ed and to have neglected ,

to notice them is an om ission not less u np leasing becau se

decidedly congenial to a purely intell ectual and secu lar thinker .

A n d now as we are i n the act o f concl udi ng o u r remarks

o n thi s admirab l e work i t i s fu ll ti m e to m ention what is
,

perhaps i ts most pecu l iar meri t I t has been wel l remarked .

that a writer on detached poi nts i n a sci ence need o nly show
h is reader where he h a s succeeded : the author of a systematic
treatise must al so show them where he has fai led Th e l atter .

m u st follow the cou rse of his subject though i t lead hi m to ,

problems which he fai ls to so lve— the former by sel ecting hi s

favourite p oi nts may easily conceal from his readers that he
has ever been vanquished at al l Th e most appropriate praise .

to this work i s that it evades no di ffi cul ty and of the problem s

, ,
23 2 PRI NCI PLE S OF POLI TI CA L E C ONOM Y

which occur solves r i g h t ly a proportion o n i ts p ecu l iar subj ect

, ,

beyond al l precedent large N o doubt a severe j udge wi ll

.

d ecide that this book is far from pe rfect H e wil l we think

.
, ,

find there som e i ndistinctness o f expressi on and some di ffuse

ness of expl anati on an occasion al dogmati sm where there is
,

grou n d for doubt an excessive aversen ess to subtl e specu la

,

tion and a d efective appreciat ion o f so m e moral and rel igiou s

,

consideration s B ut after al l abatements have been m ade the

-
.
,

severest j udge wil l unhesitati n gly pronounce that though there

have been i n E ngland many acu te specu lato rs who h ave by
their econom ical wri tings gai ned m uch credit i n thei r day and
generation three men only have by su ch m eans attained per
,

manent rank am ong the great thi nkers of thei r c ou ntry and ,

that these three are A dam S m ith Ricardo and j ohn Mil l
, , .
 E SS A Y ON T HE C O M PA R A T I V E A DVA N TA G E S
O F T H E ST UD Y O F A N C I E N T A N D MODE RN
LA N G U A G E S .

( Wr i tten at tb e Ag e of S ixteen .
)
T HE q u e s t io n , whether A ncient or M odern Languages are
'

best adapted for our S tudy considered with regard to the

,

ed ucation of youth possesses co nsiderable practical i mportance

,
.

T his i s pecu li arly the case a t this ti me when the recent form a
,

tion of a new U niversi ty conducted on less exclu sive pri nci ples
and a more extended plan than O x ford an d C am bri dge wil l ,

obl ige these venerable i nstitutio ns to i ncl ud e i n their cou r s e

of S tudy subj ects now beyond i ts l i mi ts and to give u p
, ,

enough of thei r ti m e hal l owed bu t now obsolete cu stoms to

-
,

enabl e them to keep u p wi th the S pirit of the age .

B efore enteri ng o n this subj ect it may not be amiss to

,

enqu ire what i n this respect was the con ditio n of the A nci ents
,

themselves and whether they had any pecul iar features which
, ,

may be derived from the c ircumstances in which with respec t ,

to this they w ere placed .

Th e Greek s are an exampl e o f a nati on ri sing to a high

place in the scale o f li terat ure w ithout any acquai ntance wi th
,

writers i n any tongue save thei r own T his singu lar fac t .

formed at once thei r h ighest excel l ence by stam ping on al l

their productions the m ark of true gen i us origi nality ; and ,

al so gave rise to the greatest d efect i n the Greek mind verbal ,

qu i bbling and their great tendency to m i stake si m ilarity o f

expression for real resembl ance With the Romans the case
.

was extrem ely di fferent T hei r standard of l iteratu re was

.

partial ly lowered by too cl ose i m itation o f thei r Greek i n

s t ru c t o r s and therefore with greater refinement o f expression ,

they are very much thei r i nferiors i n that vigour which i s th e

23 3
234 COM PA RA TI VE A D VA NTA GE S OF TH E S T UD Y

pecu l iar characteristic o f original thought We have not .

i ndeed any speci mens of the ol d S aturn i an verse ; which ,

although u nd oubtedly harsh m ight perhaps have aton e d i n

,

part for thi s defect by the v igorou s conceptions i t contai ned

,

and we know certainly from H orace that i n the A ugustan age ,

there was a great tend ency to prefer these early and home
grown flowers to the rich exotics which the bard s o f that
,

period prod uced .

Ho s e d i s ci t, e t h os r
a ct o s t i p ata th e a tro
Sp e cta t R om a p ot e n s , h a b e t h os n u m e r atq u e p oe tas ,

says H orace speaki ng o f E nn i u s and the fathers of Ro man

song ; and i t mu st be remembered that thi s was no transient ,

i mpression bu t that it co ntinu ed i n ful l force through the best

period of the E m pi re although exposed to the v i rulent sati res
of later bards B ut be this as i t m ay the E n ei d of V i rgi l i s
.
,

certai n ly a close im itation o f the I l i a d and Ody s s ey of H omer

and the best phrases i n the odes o f H orace are m erely t r a n s l a
ti ons from S imo nid e s and the other emi nent lyric poets of
Greece .

Th e G reek s then were a natio n alm ost enti rel y d estitute

o f acquaintan c e with foreign l iteratu re ; and the R omans a ,

peopl e whose writi ngs were considerably i m paired by i m itation .

A n d hence i t may b e concluded that a total d is regard o f

foreign langu ages has a decided ly bad effect on th e m i nd o f
a nation and that a too close attent ion to one l anguage has a
tendency to upset original i nvention .

Th e case of our forefathers i s another and far worse i nstance

of excessive i m i tation this howeve r was probably unavoidable ,
.

When the thick gloom whi ch had hung over the regions o f
l iterature duri ng the M idd l e A ges began to clear away the ,

o nly sources whence the requ isite light cou ld com e was the
Greek and Roman l anguages O u r anc estors studied them .

deeply partic u larly the Lati n and perceivi ng the barrenness

, ,

of thei r mother tongue i n word s to the l iterary ideas and also ,

with a View to m ake the resem blance of their writings closer

to thei r el egant m odels they adopted the Latin language and
, ,

bu t fo r Chaucer and ou r earl ier bards there might for a very ,

 OF A N CI E N T A N D M ODE RN L A N G UA G E S 2
35

co ns iderable period have ex isted no E ngl ish l iterature properly

so cal led at al l ; but for the cu l tivation o f poetry ori ginal i n
, ,

v e n t i o n is requi site ; m en never can becom e poets by m ere

i mitati o n ; and i nstead of i m i tating the styl e o f the classic

poets the s e rugged bards struck out a li ne fo r themselves
, .

T hey ex pressed their hom ely ideas i n their n ative tongue

rugged and u nharmoniou s i t was withou t doubt at that tim e ;
,

but stil l i t was wel l calcu lated to ex press the forcible bu t u n

polished truths whi ch th ey sought to i nculcate T hey have .

at l east the praise of origi nali ty which poem s i n a dead

,

l anguage mu st al ways want ; and i n reading the simpl e de

s c r i p t i o n s o f E nglish li fe and manners which thei r writings

contai n i t shou l d be recol lected that i f Chaucer had no t

,

formed ou r language ou r annal s wo u l d never have been

,

graced by the names of a M i lto n a Byron or a S hak espeare

, , .

Th e Reformation and i ts parent the i nvention o f printing

, ,

also produced great effects on the E u ropean languages .

Lu ther throughou t the whol e of his un d au nted struggl e wi th

the papacy publ ished his tracts in German and hi s opponents ,

rather than leave him i n possession of the field were forced to ,

d o the same Th e course of events i n the other reform ed

.

nations was precisely simi lar ; and thu s a necessi ty arose fo r

engrafting o n m odern l anguage terms expressive o f l iterary
ideas T hi s wan t was supplied in different ways ; bu t i n most
.

cases as i n E ngl ish and F rench by deriving wo rds fro m the

, ,

Lati n and Greek o r as in Germ an by co m pound i ng w o rd s

, , ,

from the original elements of the language F rom the era of .

the Reform ation modern l iterature has gradual ly arisen a l

, ,

tho ugh the learned hesi tated to give up the use of L ati n and ,

thus open to the m ass of the peopl e those stores o fi n fo r m at i o n

which had before been their exc l u sive property T h e d iversi ty.

of national character and o ther ca s ual ci rcum stances modified

, ,

i n each state the development o f these general causes .

T hus has arisen the difference of the prom inent featu res
which characterise the writings o f the several states of E u rope .

A t the commencem ent of the revival o f learning as has been ,

seen Lati n was a ki nd of u niversal language to the learn ed

,

m en of E u rope T his i t has in a great m easu re ceased to be

.
,
23 6 C OM PA RA TI VE A D VA NTA GE S OF TH E S T UD Y

and no other c an ari se entirely to su pply its pl ace i n thi s r e

s p ect bu t the nearest approach made to it i s by the F rench
l an g uage T his tongue although the com positi o ns i t contains
.

are neither so val u abl e nor so nu merou s as those which orna

ment the l iterature o f som e other E u ro pean n ations i s pec u liarly
,

adapted to conversation and from thi s c i rcu msta n ce and also ,

from the infl uential positi on o f France on the C o ntinent it i s ,

extensively k nown throughou t the wh ol e of E u rope H ence .

French i s an i nd ispensabl e acqu isi tion to al l who intend to

travel beyond the bounds o f thei r own l and and also to hold
,

verbal i ntercou rse with the learned of other n ati ons .

Th e German contain s the m ost volu minous l iteratu re which

at present exi sts s o mu ch so i ndeed that a large proportion
, ,

o f the wel l i nfo rm ed among them are A uthors and the works ,

of each general ly extend to a considerable si ze T heir prose .

l i terature is general ly devoted to comm entari es on ancien t

writi ngs and the history of past ages ; o ne reason fo r thi s
,

may perhaps be that their Government has prohi b i ted al l tho s e

,

discu ssions o n events occu rring at the present ti m e wh ich

, ,

comprise s o large a propo rtion of the B riti sh writings Thei r .

poets are al so volum inou s but contai n great originality o f

,

thought combi ned wi th grace o f expression . S chil ler has been

styled the m ost classic dra m atist o f modern tim es and though ,

he i s i nferior to Sh akespeare i n that origina l vigou r of thought

wh ich i s the pro m inent characteri stic of that great dramat i st ,

he excel s hi m in taste and del icacy .

Th e I talian li terature i s alm ost entirely co m p osed o f poets ,

an d mo st o f these flou ri shed two cen turies ago ; nor has the
language received any i m provem en t si nce their ti m e and the ,

greater part o f their m odern p r o d u bt i o n s are i m itatio ns of these

old bard s .

N othing n eed to be said about the advantages of studyi ng

ou r n ative l iteratu re and ou r language with the three which
, ,

h ave been bri efly m entioned are the chief l i terary languages of
,

E u rope . Th e books wri tten i n Russia n and o ther northern

tongues are ch iefly transl ated from F rench and E ngl ish works
,

although the fi rst of these contains some works o f consi derabl e

reputation on variou s branches of scien tific enqui ry which are ,
 OF A NCI E NT A N D M ODE RN LA NG UA G E S 23 7

i n deed the only su bj ects on which the strict surveil lance o fthei r
ru lers over the press al lows the national m i nd to ex ert i ts u n
shackled energies T hese last mentioned languages then are
.

little worth the troubl e o f learning except to those who are ,

going to travel i n the N o rth or have o ther reason s o f a casual

,

nature for their acqu i sition .

A m ong the reasons for learni ng the moder n l anguages ,

the first and m ost obvi ous o ne i s that of com mu nicati ng wi th

foreigners easi ly F rom what has been said o f F rench a s a
.

un iversal langu age it w i ll be seen that thi s i s almo st the

, ,

o nly one which i t i s necessary to learn for thi s pu rpose .

A nother advantage is the i nsight which several modern

tongues give into the ro ots o f ou r own in which respect the
German i s peculi arly i mportant a s a k indred to ngue to the
E ngl ish ; and the N orwegian sti l l m ore so a s more closely ,

con nected with the ol d S axon from which al l are derived .

A com petent k nowledge of F ren ch to a l l who wi sh to travel

on the C onti nent and an extensive acqu aintance with Ger
,

m an is desi rabl e for the learned a n d i s every day becom ing

, ,

m ore and m ore so and a kno wl edge o f I tal ian i s a polite ac

,

c o m p li s h m e n t which may be l earned with considerabl e a d v a n

tage ; whi l e the other l anguages are of no i m portance except ,

to those who inten d residing in the cou ntri es where they are
spoken .

A fter this short summary of the advantages atten d ing the

acqu isition of modern languages it wi l l be necessary to take
,

a brief revi ew o f the m ost prom inent of those which arise

from the study of cl assics .

Th e fir s t a n d most i mportant i s the one which results from

i

thei r effects on the youthful mind I t is i n youth that most

.

m en must lay in the greater part o f those stores of inform a

t ion which are i n these days requi red to j oi n with usefu ln ess
i n society S tudious m en m ust always b e rare and the short
.
,

i nterval s which those who are engaged i n act ive l i fe c a n snatch

for s tudy and rel axation wi l l scarcely su ffice for doing m ore
,

than keeping u p a knowledge with the cou rse o f pa s si ng

events Y outh too is the s eason of l i fe i n which th e m i nd
.
,

requ i res to be d isci pl i ned and the intel lectu al faculties e n

,
23 8 C OM PA RA TI VE A D VA NTA G E S OF TH E S T UD Y

l a rg e d .
What c a n be better for thi s than the study o f
c lassi cs ; than extendi ng ou r i deas by an acqu aintance w ith
1

the sub lim e work s o f antiquity with the productions of those

,

m aster m ind s which were our i nstru ctors i n civi l i sati on ?

:

Wou ld not thi s be a su ffici ent reason for spendi ng ou r tim e i n

acquiring them even i f a s i s someti me s al l eged they are of
, , ,

no u se i n after l ife ? B ut thi s i s not the case— c lassica l l itera

ture i s always a ll uded to a s a subj ect w i th wh ich every wel l
educated m an i s supposed to be fam i liar ; and they are of great
service i n givi ng the m i nd that pol i sh wi thou t which i t i s
i mpossible to give or receive pleasure i n soci ety and what ,

can compensate for the loss which they ex perienc e who are
unabl e to study the wri ters of a nti qu i ty i n thei r origi nal
languages ? T ranslat ions only shi n e with a reflected l ight
a nd i n proportion as this l ight is more or l ess bright they ,

present a more or less vivi d i m age o f the sou rce whence they
derive thei r bo rrowed splendou r and to wh ich at best they
,

bear b u t a pale and shad owy resemblance B u t i nd ependen t .

of these considerations of the effects of a classica l education

on the m ind another reason fo r i t i s the great assi stance
,

which i t gives i n s tudying modern l anguages ; i n m ost o f

which bu t especi al ly i n F rench a classi c element has gradu
, ,

al ly blended with the ori ginal root divid ed from the northern
barbarian s who overthrew the Roman emp i re Th e term s .

u sed i n every branch of scientific enquiry are d erived from th e

G reek and L ati n and w ithout a k nowledge of these the
, ,

m ean ing o f such word s w i ll be l iabl e to be constantly fo r

gotten o r at best indistinctly remembered : whi le thei r s i g n i fi
,

cation s are obvi ou s on mere i nspectio n to those who have a

competent acqu ai ntance with thei r pri m itives l n the classic
l angu ages .

I n the earl i er portion of thi s E ssay those evi ls were ex

,

e m p l i fi e d wh ich accrued to the G reeks from a total neglect o f

,

every language but their own and al so those to wh ich the

,

Romans su bj ected them selves by a too extensive study o f one

,

l anguage ; and i n ho w much more aggravated fo rm our fore

fathers ex peri enced them i n consequence o f thei r slavi sh
,

i m i tation and bou ndl ess adm i rati on of the ancients

, I t has .
 OF A NCI E NT A N D M ODE RN L A NG UA O E S 25 9

al so b een seen that from the several reason s which render

,

each of the m odern l anguages i n d i fferent ways i mportant ,

that i n these days to be u nacquai nted wi th them is a great

hindrance to the schola r and to al l persons who either i ntend
,

to travel in foreign lands or to extend their knowledge to the

,

literatu re of other nations B ut reasons at least equally stron g

.

have been al leged to show that the classics are essenti al to

every educated person al ik e for thei r intri nsic elegance and
, ,

al so for their extensive uti lity as a grou ndwork for other

pu rsuits A n d hence i t may be fi nal ly i nferred that too great
.

appl icati on to the study of either i s extrem ely prejudicial ;

but that a j udicious m ean between the two extremes of sl avi sh
i mitation and total neglect i s by far the most desi rabl e course
which manki nd even in these d ays p ursu e A n d this course
.

o f proceedi ng i s s o much the more desirabl e as the study o f

,

s everal languages i s l ikely to correct the evi ls and d i s a d v a n

tages which i nfallibly resu l t from too c l ose attention to one ,

however beauti fu l and elegant that one may be B ut it mu st.

be remembered that the pu rsu its of foreign or anci ent litera

tu re are at best but of secon dary i m portance and that an ,

ignorance of the best writers of our own language i s a neglect

which cannot be excu sed by any acquai ntance no matter how
,

extensive with the productions o f other l and s or older

, ,

times .
 T H O U G H T S ON D E M OC R A CY .

( Wr i t t en i n E a r ly You tb .
)
T HE R E i s l ittl e u s e i n attempti ng to deduce the su perior a d
vantages o f l i beral governmen t fro m l on g and obscure m eta
physical reasonings abou t th e s ocial con tract fram ed when ,

men were in the fi shi ng an d h unt ing state for I cannot b ut

thi nk i t very doubtful whether anythi ng l ik e th e whol e m ass
of m ank in d were ever i n that conditio n at once and i f they ,

were not the co ntract cou ld not have been agreed to by the
,

whole race and con sequently cann ot be bi ndi ng on them

,
.

T h e deductio ns from the soci al contract are exactly

adapted to be s e t off agai nst th o se from the divin e right o f
-

k ings and i n the foll owi ng part of this paper i t i s by no

,

m eans my purpose to rely o n either O n e great d isti ncti on .

,

often lost sight o f bu t by calm enqui rers necessary to b e k ept

,

i n Vie w i s that between d em ocr a cy and a u tocr a cy between the

, ,
'

rul e o f th e people and the ru l e o f th e m ob B u t these two .

h ave very l i ttl e i n co mmo n scarcely anythi ng i n fact bu t that

,

the mob are often persuaded by thei r demagogu e ru l ers to

c arry on their designs u nder the nam e o f the peopl e .

D emocracy i n i ts proper sense is that fo rm by whi ch a wi se

, ,

an d enl ightened nation govern themselves i t i s a govern ment

which guarantees equ al poli tical rights to al l i ts members i t
i s a government which effectual ly provides for the equ itable
d ispensation o f j ustice an d gran ts even to the most ou trageous
, ,

poli tica l cri m i nal a fai r trial and an opportu nity for defence
, .

A utocracy o n the other hand c a n scarce be cal l ed a govern

, ,

ment s ince i t prov i des n o tri al no fai r heari ng for any

, ,

cri m i nal — tumu l tuary prej udice i s to b e the j u dge t u m u l t u ,

a ry vi ol ence the execu ti oner ; i n i t there i s no del i berati on .

Th e peo pl e d isdain to govern them selves by the l aws they ,

mak e the i r un s table whim s thei r only gu id e I t i s s o far from .

being a free governm ent that i t i s the only uncontro lled

2 40
 THO UG HTS ON DE M O CRA C Y 24 1

d espoti sm i n exi stence for i n the most unl i mi ted monarchica l

,

de s poti sm s there i s the restraint and it m ay b e a very power ,

ful one that the peopl e wi l l take u p arm s to res ist the
,

tyranny of thei r sovereign ; but when a m ob ru l es who c a n ,

take u p arms agai nst them ?whence can rel i ef com e ?where
must help h e sought ? I am aware that this i s the topic m ost
enormously i nsi sted on by the opponents of pol itical freedom
i n general ; they reason as i f al l p opular governme n t m ust
general ly be o f this n atu re but I see not why I d o not s e e
,
.

why a whol e peopl e should not be as l ikely to govern them

selves well as a smal l k not of i n dividu al s cou ld govern them
m u ch more so i ndeed for i n proportion as a greater amoun t
,
“

”
of i ntel l igence i s d i rected to a s ubj ect the m ore light i s
thrown on it T hose i deas which remai ned d ormant as long
.

as the m ind i n which they were desti ned t o origi nate co n

t i n u e d sol ita ry may be struck ou t by the contact of di fferent
m ind s C an a subj ect be darken ed i n stead of i llu minated by
.

having the l ight of reason d i rected to i t ?does po l itical

science d i ffer i n thi s respect from al l other sc iences ?would
astronomical science have ever advanced so far i f only the
l abou r of one mi nd had been d i rected to i t ? On e man m u st
indeed be several ly devoted to a parti cu l ar branch o f k now
ledge but i n a wel l constitu ted m i n d this wi l l never be to the
,
-

exclu sion o f a l l others T ak e the most favou rabl e i nstance

.

conceivabl e : Man was sent i nto the world to govern himsel f ,

but i ntense and excl usive devotion to that object wou ld end
i n m ak ing us al l mani acs I t i s one great advantage of free
.

government that it O pens the way t o eminen ce to talent i n , ,

whatever station i t b e placed T h i s advantage i s inestimabl e . .

A dvers ity i s so much the best and most effectu al in stru cto r ,

that even absolute monarchs when they have had opportuni ties ,

of j udging have di scovered that ministers selected from th e

,

lower ranks w ere i n general more abl e to b e u sefu l in the

prosecution of thei r designs than those whose nobl e birth
and consequent h igh stati o n have given to them an exemption
from its teachings B u t how ca n this choice which m ay
.

depend on whi m very likely i nfluenced by personal appear

,

ance a gi ft s o fortuitous as never to be rel i ed on by any

,

VO L V I I I. . 16
24 2 TH O UG HTS ON DE M OCRA C Y

i n the common a ffai rs of l i fe how can s u ck a choic e be

,

com pared with that j udiciou s selection o f m erit which m u st be

the confidence o f that m eri t showi ng itself ?T here are cert ainly
certai n qu alities certain cl asses of merit more adapted than
,

others to gain popu lar favou r : bu t where the p redilection for

these is the result of cal m d el iberation and not o f hasty whi m
these qual iti es wi l l general ly be fou nd to be the ones most
u sefu l for their station s What members are o f m ost estim a
.

tion in the H ou se of Com m ons ?those whose cap aci ty for

business i s most ful ly relied on and the l u m i nou s clearness of
,

whose statements i m medi ately places that assemb l y and the

country i n a position to j udge of their conduct and pu ts them
i n i mm ediate possessi on of the k nowl edge requ isite for de
cidi ng on the conditi on o f affairs brought before them and
for determ ini ng on the course to be pu rsued C a n i t not be
.

bel ieved that these qualities are the ones of greatest uti lity i n
m anaging pub l ic bu siness Th e reservation which I m ade i n
.

the last paragraph namely that the deci si o n mu st be the

, ,
“

”
resu lt of cal m del iberation not of hasty whi m
,
contai ns ,

m atter o f considerable i m portanc e To secu re thi s i s sai d to

.

b e i mpossib le . I deny the fact Th e peopl e wi l l be more

.

l ike l y to j udge ri ght l y than a smal l body of indivi d ua l s if they ,

c a n bu t be brought to giv e due attention to the subj e c t They .

are notoriou sly more l i abl e to be led away from the path of
thei r tru e i nter est bu t i f they are allowed ti me for lengthened
,

consideration they wi l l soon return to it : this can only be

,

secu red by d elegating to an assembly of moderate members

those powers which a who l e peop le cannot i n a state of con
s i d e ra b l e d iversity conveniently exerci se ; i f the measu res
ad opted by this assembly b e good wh en su bm itted to th e ,

j udgm ent of the p eople they wi l l be applau ded I say when .

su bmi tted to the peopl e by this m eani ng when a s i n the

, ,

E nglish H ouse o f Commons by periodical elections the consti

,

t u e n t s are called to decide on the cond uct o f thei r m embers ,

whether they wi l l o r wi l l not conti nue to be represented by

them . I n th is way the d ecisio n of the people i s the u lti mate
tribu nal before which the ru lers m ust be w eighed by whi c h ,

decision they must stand or fal l .

 O N T HE C H A R A CTE R O F M I R A B E A U A N D H I S
I N F LU E N C E O N H I S A G E .

( Wr i tte n i n E a r ly You t/t ) .

M I R A B E A U w a s the first great c h aracter brought to l igh t by

the F rench Revolution H e partook strongly of the pecu l iar
.

spi rit of the tim es Th e new o pinio ns which clai med to the
.
,

excl usion o f al l others the character o f phi l oso p hical had take n ,

deep root i n h i s m ind and had borne their mo st fatal fru i t

,

rel igio us scepti cism O n political question s h i s views were fa r

.

m ore correct a s far as they were fi xed

,
H e by no mean s
.

went the ex travagant length of Rousseau and h i s more devoted

,

fol lowers who s carcely tolerated the bonds of society i tsel f r e

, ,

je c te d wi thou t scru p le all ari stocratic d isti nctions and ri dicu l ed

the fu ndam ental pri nciples of monarchy a nd representation .

M i r ab e au s vi ews went no farther than the erection of a kingly

’

commonwealth l ike that of E ngland . H e wou l d have e rad i

ca t e d withou t scruple the o ppress ive pecu niary privi leges of the

feu dal n obl es s e ; he wou ld have opened to the t i er s e ta t a

’

chance of ri sing to the highest stations i n the c ountry then ,

whol ly denied to them B ut he wou ld no t have demanded o f

.

the nobi lity to coalesce w i th the com mo n s and to reli nqui sh ,

thei r right to vote i n a separate chamber which th ey possessed

,

i n E ngl and the most democratic o f feudal m onarchi es Mi ra

, .

beau seems to have shared the favou r with which un iversa l

su ffrage w as then regarded in F rance H e s e e m s t o have r e
. i

garded political power as a right not as a trust : an error very

,

excusable i n a n ation j u st emerging fro m despotism who have ,

experienced al l the ev ils of excl usion from a share in the

government but very pernicious when those who hold i t deem
themselves obliged to exten d any power to those classes o f the
comm unity whose ignorance and credul ity u nfit them for its
T
243 I O
24 4 ON THE C HA RA C TE R OF I ll I R A B E A U A N D

ex erc ise A l l are entitled to receive thi s tru st who show them
.

selves worthy o f i t and those who have abu sed i t may right
,

fu lly be exclu ded from i t s possession .

Th e bane of Mi rabeau w as his excessive vanity Th e .

Grand Monarque i n past ti m es had b een the idol of the F rench

p eople T hat age had passed away D A l e m b e r t i n 1 7 8 0
. .
’
, ,

on the b irth o f the D au ph in said I a m old enou gh to re

, ,
“

m ember when such a n event wou ld have excited transports o f

j oy bu t the peopl e n ow regard the bi rth of a new master with
,

great i ndifference This homage i t w as thought by M irabeau , ,

w as more j ustly du e to the leader i n the natio nal A ssembly ,

and i t w as h i s a i m to be hi msel f that leader and to engross ,

the popu lar applau se H e rose to be d read ed an d feared ; h i s

.

sarcasm w as the dread o f h i s rivals and the A ssemb ly w a s led ,

by h i s skil l i n sel ecting those topi cs that had most influ ence on
their u nderstand ing and those modes of presenting them most
,

cal cu lated to move thei r sympathy B ut before hi s death Th e .

,
”
great treason o f the Cou nt o f Mi rabeau resou nded i n th e
streets of P a ri s A t that momentous stage of the Revolutio n
.

when in the A ssembly the m embers of the j acobi n C lub thi rty ,

i n number and afterwards s o fatally celebrated d ared to ex

, ,

p ress disapprobat ion at h i s oppo sition to the cruelties towards

the em igran ts he exclaim ed Y ou r m urm urs are u navai ling
, ,
“

to please you i s my happi ness to warn you my duty the p o p u ,

l a r i ty which I d e s i re i s not a feebl e twig fanned by the b reath

of momentary favou r ; i t i s an oak whose roots are spread i n
the soi l — that i s to s ay fix ed on the i mmutable basis ofj ustice
,

and l iberty I u nderstand the vexation of those w h o no w s o

.
,

ardent or rather s o p e r fid i o u s i n thei r love o f freedom wou ld

, , ,

”
b e pu z z led to tel l when i t arose i n thei r bosom s A t these .

concludi ng words a vi ol ent u proar w a s m ad e among the

,

”
j acobins S i lence those thi rty voi ces cried Mirabeau i n a
“
.
,

voice o f thu nder and i t w a s i nstantly quel led : such w a s h i s

,

power when exerted i n the cause of order to which he wi shed ,

”
to devote the last years of l i fe I would no t wish he said.
, ,

”
“
to be always em ployed i n the work of destruction and wi th ,

this vi ew he had alli ed hi m sel f to the sinki ng cau se of monarchy

when death c u t short hi s plans I f hi s l ife had been prolonged .
 H I S I NF L UE NC E ON H I S A G E 24 5

he m ight have preserved the throne Th e boldness o f his .

geniu s and the grandeu r of his plans mark him out as the only
m an who was equal to the achievement A part of hi s plan .

the King attempted to execute when deprived by death of his

a id and fled to V arennes B ut it was i n vain— the mainspring
, .

of the enterprise was gone— the head that had pl ann ed i t was
laid in the tom b and the so u l whose u nrival led daring alone
,

was equal to its execution w a s fled fo r ever When every i n .

e ident i s attractive it i s difficul t to avo id tediousness but som e

, ,

n otice i s requi red by the m ore promi nent points o f his career ,

and a few of hi s sayings mu st be mentioned to show the

character o f hi s el oquen c e .

O n his death bed he excl ai med to D umont

-
,
H ow right ,

were we my friend to oppose the ti er s e ta t i n thei r attempt

, ,
’

to adopt the title o f S tates General ;si nce tha t day they have
”
done nothi ng but show them selves u nworthy of i t His .

whole death scene though c loud ed by the dim u ncertai nty

,

which his rej ection of revel ation shed over the future i s ex ,

ce e d i n g l y affecting I t is the effort of a great sou l by i ts own

.

u naided strength to preserve that cal m ness w hich C hristi an ity

has pl aced within the reach o f the weakest and the hu mbl est .

Th e connection of M i rabeau with the D uc d O r l é a n s

’

whose nam e i s i nfamy has been a question much argued

,
.

T hat he had some i n tercourse with hi m can scarcely be d oubted

a fter a du e exam i nation of the evidence bu t who c a n believe ,

that he placed any relia nce on a fi ck l e n e s s so wayward or that ,

he preferred the u nmingled b lackness of his character to the

good i ntentions mi ldness and consci en tious though m istaken
, ,

patriotism of Louis ? Th e influence of th e D uke on the

R evoluti on w a s unmixed evil but that evi l has been overrated , .

H e squandered h i s fortu ne i n corru pting the popul ace but the ,

despotism of centu ri es had l ai d the trai n ;and tho u gh had he

never existed though the whole royal fam ily had united
,

round the Ki ng som e other sparks wou ld have gone forth

,

and scattered thei r league to the wind s Th e most u n fo r t u n .

ate scene i n M i ra b e a u s career is the sitting of the 2 3 r d o f

’

j u ne Th e Ki ng on that occasion presented a free constitutio n

.

to F rance and mai nly through Mi ra be a u s means it w a s refused

,
’
.
24 6 ON TH E C HA RA C TE R OF M I RA B E A U AN D

T here i s it i s true another side to the qu estion N o e xcu l

, ,
.

p a t i o n can be attem pted for the fatal i m prudence of the King ,

m u ch less for the secret treachery o f his cou rtiers who se

dearest wish was the fai l u re of the Revo l ution T h e altera .

tions from the draft which N eck ar had prepared were so great
that the Minister sent i n his resignati on and absented hi msel f
from the A ssembly at the im portant m om ent when he was
m o st wanted for its defence A t the concl usion o f h i s speech
.

the King desired the A ssembly to break u p for that d ay and ,

he him sel f i m mediately l eft the hall Th e m embers of the .

t i e r s e t a t d id not fol l ow him fo r M irabeau was addressing

’

them on thei r wrongs i n a speech of u nequ alled power Th e .

m a s ter of the ceremonies the Marqu is de B reze entered to, ,

’
remi nd them as he said of the Ki ng s i n tentions When his
, ,
.

m essage had been del ivered a mu rmu r of disapprobation ran

through the A ssembly but al l hesitated to reply T hen
,
.

M irabeau started from hi s seat and ex cl ai m ed with th e thu nder

o f his powerfu l vo ice Y e s s i r we have heard the i ntentions
,
“
, ,

of the King and yo u wh o cannot be h i s agent at the States

,

Genera l you who have here n either seat nor vo ice are not
, ,

the person to rem ind u s of hi s speech Go " tel l you r m aster .

that we are here by the power o f the peop l e an d that noth ,

”
i ng save the point of th e bayonet shall expel u s l Wi th
an offi cial answer i n this spi ri t the messenger retired ,
.

T here is somethi ng very spi rited and undau nted i n this reply ,

but was i t wise ?o r was i t even j ust ? E ven i f the A ssemb ly

shou ld be u l tim ately obliged to rej ect this consti tu tion ought ,

the irrevocab l e resol u tion to have b een taken i n a m om ent o f

excitement ? T h e questio n was a momentou s one I t cou l d .

never have been the proper moment fo r deci sion when the ,

p lan was bu t j ust lai d before them and coul d not have been ,

d igested i n thei r m i nds Th e King shoul d not u ndou bted ly

.
, ,

have concluded with a proposi ti o n s o u nsk i l fu l a s th e order to

adj ourn i mm ediately A party decisi on was by thi s mean s
.

’
rendered u navoidable which the monarch s in terest m ost ex
,
-

pressly forbade B ut a fter all shou ld the A ssembly have

.
,

thrust back the King s proffers with such disdai n ? D oubtless

’

t h e p l a n w a s i n som e res p ects defe c tive bu t shou l d they not

‘
,
 H I S I NFL UE NCE ON H I S A G E 24 7

have forgi ven this as exactly what they had to expect and ,

trusted to the progress o f ti m e and the gradual diffu si on of

m ore enlightened vi ews fo r thei r correction ? Th e duty of the
A ssembly was to secu re the fi rm establi shment o f a regu lar
system o f representati on When they had done this they had
.
,

d one al l that was absol utely needful bu t they desired to do

everything i n a m om ent ti m e hal lowed opini ons were swept
-

’
away ancient i nstitutions i nterwoven w ith the people s every
,

day li fe were overthrown a nd the conseque n ce was the reign

,

of terror B ut to return to Mirabeau — was his conduct on thi s

.

o ccasion noble ?s u rely not H e yielded to hi s passions when

.

he should have restrai ned them with h i s who le strength ; he

should have stood between th e prince and the people and ,

perhaps the plagu e might have been stayed but he rather chose ,

to scatter the seeds o f the pesti lence P ubl ic obloquy i s cast

'

on the i ncendia ry of a private dwelling how m u ch rather o n ,

hi m who wantonly l ets l oose the al l co nsu ming fire on the con
-

s t i t u t i o n of a state Mirabeau by n o m eans d eserves a censu re

so u n d i s c r i m m a t i n g but even hi s d esi re for the publ ic good
,

which was doubtless for the m o st part the m ost influ ential
senti ment i n hi s bosom w il l n ot ex em pt hi m fro m a l arge
,

portion of the censure due to those who helped to bri ng on

the appal l i ng calam i ties that ensued .

I have delayed perhaps too long on this incident b u t i t i s ,

an i mportant and at the sam e tim e an attractive o ne I t wil l .

be u nnecessary to dwel l at any length o n any subsequ ent o c

casi o n though there are few i n w hich the character o f
,

Mi rabeau is not presented m ore favou rably for his own fam e .

T h e princi pal poi nts of his su bsequ ent l i fe are the fol lowi ng
T h e add ress for the remova l of the troops whom the courtiers
had persu aded the K ing to assembl e rou nd P ari s u nder pre ,

tence of quel l ing the disorders o f the popu lace bu t the real ,

object of which i n the pl an o f the Qu een and her associ ates w a s

to secu re a retu rn to the old r eg i m e by a cou nter revo lution or -

i f necessary by a civi l war H ere h i s conduct was truly

.
,

patriotic and gave F rance a chance for li berty which s h e

, ,

squandered i n her haste for an over early enj oyment o f i t s-

fru i ts H i s next great measure w a s the R iot A c t which w a s

.
,
24 8 ON TH E C HA RA C TE R OF M I RA B E A U AN D

founded o n that of E ngl and though i t was m o re favourabl e to ,

the magi strate as i t did not compel hi m to risk hi s li fe i n

,

reading i t to the assembled mob but requ ired them to disperse ,

on the display of a red flag pl ace d i n so m e conspi cuou s

posi tion .

T his act was only executed once by the author ities during
the Revolu ti on and then i t com pletely quel led the distu rbance
,

and so daunted i ts chief au thor Robespi erre that he impl ored , ,

hi s com mune fo r protection B ut he ex acted a deep and a .

bloody revenge B ai l ly th e presidi ng magi strate o n that

.
, ,

occas i on was for his obedi ence to the law ex ecuted during the
reign of terror I f it had been rightly and regularly enforced
.
,

and comb i ned wi th the suppress ion of the dem ocrati c clubs ,

F rance m ight have been preserved and the cause of freedom ,

,

w o u l d n o t have been stained with cri mes and cru el ties which
‘

m u st now be her reproach as l ong as history endu res to tel l o f

her sh ame M i rabeau concurred i n the reform s o f the 4 th of
.

A ugust which redressed m o s t of the real evi l s of F rance

,
The .

national debt i s the chi ef exception and to rem edy this Mi ra ,

beau had also a schem e which though obvious wou l d have been , ,

very benefici al H e prevailed o n the A ssembly to pass a decree

.

i n virtue of whi ch one fourth of the whol e property of F rance

-

would have been sub scri bed a nd converted i nto a fu nd for i ts

liqu idati on T h is propositi on was at first very coldly received
.
,

but the eloqu ence of i ts au thor was exci ted to the utmost a nd ,

the bi l l was p assed with great enthu si asm Th e di sord ers of .

F rance however ensued

,
i t was never acted on T h e r e v o l u
,
.

t i o n a ry l eaders l earn ed to despise publ ic faith and the debt was ,

subsequ ently cancell ed wi th n o regard to the i nterests of the

credi to r .

T his i s but a n instance of the general course of the Revo

l ution. Th e vi ews of the earl ier l eaders were wise and com
a r a t i v e l y m oderate but the fu ry of the popu lace prevented
p ,

al l moderate and salu tary reform which they had been taught ,

to despise M irabeau ass isted i n u nl oosi ng the peop l e s

.
’

ancient chains and he in s till ed i nto thei r m i nds the flatteri ng

,

notion that they were the righ tful sovereigns o f the earth .

A wise and cal m natio n lo ng i n ured to a free government and

 H I S I NFL UE NCE ON H I S A G E 24 9

who had been trained u p i n equal l aws and i nstructed i n j u st

an d religious senti ments wou ld have fou nd i t d iffi cult to resist
ideas s o artful ly i nsinuated and s o seductive i n themselves .

T h e F rench nation has none of these characteristi cs and m uch ,

l ess the popu lace of P ari s who were the pri m e ru lers of al l
,

events ; the fitness o f the latter for freedom m ay be j udged

from thei r i ndignant compl aints agai nst the P ari sian magi stracy
for havi ng with unwonted energy delivered out o f their hands
some m iserabl e wretch whom they had doomed for no cri me
to a barbarous death : I s th i s sai d they ou r freedom
, , ,

when we can no l onger h ang whom we please ? I cannot r e

frain from addi ng one other i l l u stration ; i t was the com mon
tone of the d rawi ng roo m circle s of P ari s what a charm ing
-
,
“

”
thing i s a revol ution N o trai t o f F rench character i s so u n
.

favou rabl e as thi s manner o f treating the m os t awfu l q uestion

imposed on hum an responsibi l ity as thi s readiness to sound
,

the depths of a gu l f fro m wh ose sho re the greatest and most

wary statesm en retire with fear an d dread an d with a fi rm
consciousn ess that their u tm o s t sk i l l cannot stem i ts break ers .

Mi rabeau also su pported the decree for the abol ition o f

tithes. I t is unn ecessary here to enter on the general qu esti on
of the sacredness attach ing to property vested by past ages i n
the n ational church I t i s amply su ffici ent to claim the right
.

’
wh ich has always been exercised in E ngland for the S tate s
interference to preven t its extravagant increase by whatever ,

enactments it m ay th ink m ost fi tting B ut i n al l sudden

.

changes of system regard m ust be had to the interests o f

those who have been i nduced by the lo ng standing and -

apparent firm ness of the old system to devote their l ives

to the performan c e o f whatever servi ces it m ay requ i re .

T hi s the Consti tuent A ssembly neglected to do T hey .

confiscated at o nce eccl esiastical property to the amou n t o f

sixteen mi ll io ns sterl ing and m ade i n requi tal bu t a very
,

inadequate provi si on for rel igious i nstruction i n future T h e .

Church o f F rance had become exceed ingly corrupt ; the very

hu mbl e salaries of the cu r es and the extravagant i ncom es an d
’

u nbou nded l uxu ry of the bishops attracted u n iversal attent ion ,

and a s the higher s i tuation s were only open to the n obles the ,
250 ON TH E C HA R A C TE R OF M I RA B EA U AN D

ti er s had no motive to preserve wealth to whose ac

’
e ta t

cumu l ation they contributed bu t in th e enj oyment o f which ,

they had no share O n the free passi ng of thi s decree M ira

.

b eau made his celeb rated ob s ervation T here are but three ,
“

ways of subsi sti n g— to beg to rob and to be sal aried ,

He ,

d isposed o f the di fficulty o f pri vate property i n a very su m m ary

m anner P roperty he said
. i s the price which society pays
, ,
“

a m an for the distribution he mak es to others i n the shape of

”
hi s consu mption and ex penses Th e i nsecu rity o n which al l .

the fru its of i ndustry rest i s not a little appal l ing F o r i f we .

have to beg them they m ay be refused ; i f to rob for them

, ,

their ac quisiti on may be rightful ly resisted ; and i f they are a

sala ry as M i rabeau probably meant to assert it i s qu ite s uffi
, ,

c ient to say to any m an that the S tate has n o further need of

his consu mpti on and expenses and whatever be hi s form er
“
,

fortu ne he may be rightfu lly l eft to starve on the publ i c road .

V ery smal l safety i s here provided for that on which as a great ,

wri ter has expressed i t the consent of mank i nd h as stamped

,
“

the titles of S acred and i nvi ol ab l e and on the stab i l ity of ,

which every hu man acti on depend s I f thi s was the view .

taken of private property very l ittl e safety cou l d be antici ,

pated for that of the c lergy whom there was n o dispos i tion i n ,

the pu bl ic m i nd to regard with favour .

Th e cruelty evinced toward s the clergy i s fu l ly worthy the

n ame of persecution and wou l d su lly a fame otherwise far
,

brighter than that of the C onsti tuent A ssembly I t was indeed .

reserved for i ts successo r to applaud u ndi sgu i sed profession s

of athei sm but those who s o w the wi n d m u st reap the whirl
,

wi nd they d eprived the people of thei r pastors an d of every

means o f i nstructi o n and t hey erected n o adequ ate su bstitute
, ,

a nd they had no ri ght to be su rprised at their appal l ing i g n o r

ance and their rej ection of God Th e heroi c and almost .

saint l ike conduct of the cl ergy was un appreci ated by the

-

P arisi an mob and they were the ru lers of F rance

,
I n the .

provi nces i ndeed thei r su fferi ngs excited more sym pathy bu t
, , ,

every nobl e every natural chief o f the peasantry was in exi le

, ,

’
and their efforts i n thei r pastors behal f were few weak and , ,

i neffectu al .
 H I S I NF L UE NCE ON H I S A GE 251

I t i s i mpossibl e to keep from d igression on themes so

i nteresti ng and s o attractive M i r ab e a u s career in public li fe
.
’

was a brief one though i t was at a time when days did the
,

work of years N o long ti m e elapsed between these events

.

and his j unction wi th the court the consequences of which ,

have al ready been described as fully a s the design o f thi s

essay wi l l permit Th e remai nder of it w i l l be devoted to an
.

examination m ore i n detai l of the m ost marked featu res o f h i s

character .

I t i s not too m uch to say that a very strik i ng resemblance

of M irabeau would be formed by the u nion of th e best parts
of the m i nd of C hatham wi th the worst parts o f the mind o f
S heridan . T h e fiery soul the d aun tless cou rage the u n p r e
, ,

m editated but heart stirring eloqu ence of C hatham fi nd thei r

-

counterparts i n M irabeau and the Ph i ll i p i cs a gainst Walpol e

, ,

and the S ystem of S ubsidies were not perhaps far i nferior

i n ex ecution to those which shook the court o f V ersai l les and
dau nted the j acobi n C l ub and their subjects were i m m e a s u r
ably i nferior : but there w as whol ly wanting the stainless
purity and th e u ncorrupt i ntegri ty which i n an age of sham eless
p r o fl i g y
ac rai sed the first Wi l liam P itt s o far over every rival

and in thei r stead there was the l ax ity o f pri nci pl e and the
u ndi scipl ined desires and u nregu lated passions which were s o
i l l combi ned with the l o fty m oral sen timents of his brighter
-

moods and which b l ighted the usefulness of S heridan and

,

su l li ed his fame M irabeau had a m axi m that m oral ity on

.

a smal l scale was i ncompatibl e with i ts possession on on e

more extended or as he enu nciated i t
,
La petite moral e
,
“

é tait ennemie de l a grande a very l amentab le exhibi tion o f

the errors consequent on the rej ectio n of a religion which pre
scribe s the performance o f private duties and the cu l ture of
the m i lder and domestic vi rtues as wel l a s those mo re con
s p i c u o u s ones that are exhibited to the eye o f the world and ,

which though by n o m e a n s always more di fficu lt are always

, , ,

repaid wi th a far higher earthly guerdon I n common with .

Chatham Mirabe a u had a predom i nating influence on the

,

A ssembly whenever he put forth hi s whole m ental power ;

wi th neither did any contemporary dare to measu re him sel f i n
 252 ON TH E C HA RA C TE R OF M I RA B EA U AN D

the direct conflict of sarcasm nei ther cou l d any adversary r e

,

tort with effect to the lamentabl e i nconsi ste n c i es which thei r

conduct and opin ions too often d i spl ayed .

Both were destitute of the q u al i ti es m ost requ i s i te to form

a great party leader T h e m an n ers of both were u n concili ating
.

and occasionally harsh and the o ffi ce d em and s more attenti on

,

to individuals and more carefu l cons ideration for petty i nterests

than ei ther cou ld be pers u aded to b estow F o r want of thi s .
,

C hatham fell and Mi rab eau though hi s l i fe was to o short to

, ,

exhibit i ts ful l effects felt i t also Wi th S heri dan M i rabea u

,
.
,

had also i n common that l ove o f dra mati c e ffect the distin ,

g u i s h i n g ba n e of the F rench n atio n but shared not that ,

sparkli ng and epigrammatic wi t which in early you th produced

”
“
Th e Rival s and Th e S choo l for S candal and del ighted
“

the H ou se of C ommon s i n ri per m anhood M irabeau was .

d istingui shed by nothing so mu ch as by qu ickness and rapi dity

o f thought H i s finest el oqu ence w as withou t premeditati on
. .

M any of the best set speeches whi ch he read from the T rib une
were the com position o f others I n most o f h i s l iterary pro .

d u c t i o n s he had the aid o f those better acquai nted w ith the

,

subj ects treated of than hi msel f F rom them he gained th e .

facts and i n conversation wi th them obtai n ed the clearest and

,

best l ights i n which they coul d be regard ed bu t the n ervou s ,

el oquence with which h e cl othed them w as hi s own and so ,

was also the copiou s i l l ustrati on by mean s o f which h e m ad e

the i deas whi ch he wi shed to enfo r ce a s cl ear to o thers as to
him sel f and i n these h e has n ever been surpassed
,
I n su ch .

a character i t i s easy for a n invidious eye to scan de fects

withou t nu mber H e had no power o f patient attention— a
.

s h ort paroxysm of viol ent l abou r he cou ld endu re b u t be w as ,

whol ly i ncap abl e of the long co ntinued exerti o n of m ind

-
-

necessary for the p rod ucti on o f a great wo rk H i s appeti te .

fo r prai se was enormou s and hi s rej ection of rel igio n had shut
,

hi m out from those higher motives of action which s o m uch _

tend to check some part o f i ts i nflu ence and to elevate the

character o f what remai ns H is ardent love o f virtue did no t
.

preserve hi m from vic ious indulgence H e wished fo r the a d .

vancement of truth bu t avowed his c o nvi ction that her caus e

,
 H I S I NFL UE NCE ON H I S A G E

was not advanced by the martyrd om o f her advocates a ,

doctri ne which i f true wou ld go far to d rive from the earth al l

the most hazardous and the noblest form s o f virtue bu t which ,

i s fortunately contradicted by experience whose testimony h as

u ni formly shown that there i s i n human nature a disposition
to look with favou r on the doctri nes o f the oppressed and that ,

wh i le contrasting their patient endurance wi th the cruelty o f

thei r persecutors m en are apt to cal l to mind that th e truth i s
,

k n own by i t s fruits .

I n the chequered scenes of h i s youth Mirabeau had fou nd

,

a school of acquai ntance with m ankind bu t i t w a s not one ,

fi tted for high traini ng i n moral excel lence N othing i s s o .

wonderfu l as that thrown s o m uch with the worst porti on of

,

mank i nd he shou ld have retai ned s o much trust i n the more

,

elevated sentim ents of hu man natu re F a r less served to ex

.

t i ng u i s h al l sympathy with them i n the breast of N apol eon .

H is early i nstru ctors had i nspired hi m wi th a hatred of the

ex isting order of things which m ade hi m share i n the vast
,

dreams which announ ced as close at hand a new era i n pol itical
sci ence and i n the happi ness of mank ind an d h i s spirit— and
there were not a few who sympathised in h i s feel ings — brook ed
not that i l l us ions s o dazzl i ng and beau tifu l should be dispel led
by the light of the past whose more steady b ri l l iancy would
have shown the rottenness of the foundation a s well as the
grandeur o f the fabric A society w a s to arise bri ghter than
.

U topia i n the eyes of i ts gifted au thor a haven of rest m ore

,

beautiful and more glorious than ever was pictured by R al eigh

and h i s daring comrades i n their fabled E ldorado A n d a l l .

thi s w as to take pl ace when despotism had overshadowed

F rance and E uro pe for ages when wi th the excepti on of ou r
, ,

island and the d istant shores i n habi ted by her sons the state ,

of pol itical knowledge may be sum m ed u p i n the em phatic

declaration T hat darkness covered the earth and gross d ark
,

”
ness the nation . To have breathed such aspi rati o ns w a s
worthy of M i rabeau and to hold them u p to the adm iratio n
,

and i mi tation of m ank i nd w a s a work fitted to cal l forth the

utmost effort s of h i s genius and the i nmost resou rces o f h i s
eloquence ; but to suppose that such glor i es were im med iately
2
54 [II I R A E E A U A N D H I S I NF L UE NC E ON H I S A GE

to be realised i n the exi s ting circum stances of mank ind i s h i s

reproach and condem nation A feebler and more sord id sou l
.

would not have ri s en to thei r con templation ; a cal mer and

wiser m i nd woul d have foreseen the frequent fai lures the long ,

and arduous trials the prolonged and sol em n reli giou s tra in ing
,

by which alone the inhabitants o f earth ca n be fitted fo r such

an approxi mation to the pu rity and happiness of a higher
sphere .

E N D O F VOL . VI I I .

AB E R D EE N : T H E U N I V E R SI T Y PR E SS
 I
U N V E RS I Y
T I
O F C AL FO RN I A A T LO S A N G -
E L ES
'

I I
T H E U N V E R S TY L B R A R Y I
Th i s b ook i s D U E on t h e l as t d at e s t am p e d b e l ow

DISCHAR

JUN l 979

F 01 m L- 9
z om - 12, 3 9 (88 8 6 )
'
ks an d l i fe .
3 115 8 004 5 8 5 5 4 1

UCSOUTHERN REGIONALL I
B RARY FACILITY

000 5 07 6 9 2