26 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



furniture and wardrobe of a modest household of our middle 

 class of people, or of the better class among our working people, 

 would have seemed to have a profusion of luxurious objects ; a few 

 not costly easy-chairs, a carpet, window curtains, cheap wall paper, 

 a looking-glass, a clock, a few vases filled with flowers, a small 

 show of plate, shirts, handkerchiefs, neckties, stockings all 

 would be new to them, and not essential either for the normal 

 wants of existence or even for decency and pleasant living. The 

 idea of what constitutes luxury varies in the most striking man- 

 ner according to the country, the times, and the classes of society. 

 Each class considers a luxury whatever its circumstances do not 

 allow it to possess, and which a higher class is, nevertheless, able 

 to enjoy. It has been manifest over and over again that the 

 luxury of one period, or of one social class, tends inevitably to 

 become at least a requisite of respectability for the following 

 age and the next lower class. Civilization is characterized by the 

 gradual, progressive, general distribution of many elements of 

 luxury which thus gradually lose that character. Every ten 

 years, some luxuries cease to be such in consequence of their 

 becoming more common and cheaper. 



In speaking of the principle of luxury we should consider it 

 apart from the excesses and excrescences that have been associ- 

 ated with it. A great many men regard luxury as an abuse, a 

 sin, a scandal. Some imagine that if it were got rid of, society 

 would be happier and more moral. Many believe that the super- 

 fluities of some are gained at the expense of necessaries of others. 

 The enemies to the principle of luxury may be arranged in two 

 divisions: moralists and politists, and economists. 



The political arguments against luxury bear chiefly upon the 

 two points that it increases the separation between the classes 

 of the population, and makes it more marked ; and that it ener- 

 vates man and makes civilized populations more easily sub- 

 jects for spoliation by barbarians. We have shown in another 

 place that the gap between the conditions of different classes 

 of men is tending to diminish.* This inequality, furthermore, 

 has not unwholesome effects only ; it is both the result and the 

 stimulus of civilization. In regard to the dangers that luxury 

 may bring upon the state, it should be observed that luxury is 

 one thing and luxurious living is another. We may love and 

 seek luxury in furniture, decoration, and objects of art, and live 

 simply. The physical deterioration assumed to result from lux- 

 urious tastes has not been proved. In almost every country of 

 Europe the young people of the most aristocratic classes display, 



* Espai sur la repartition des richesses et la tendance d'une moindre in6galit6 dea 

 conditions. 



