EDITOR'S TABLE. 



555 



inferior animal. The civilized man of 

 to-day is the descendant of this ancient 

 and semi-brutal-savage ; and the prob- 

 lem of human progress involves an elu- 

 cidation of the laws by which human 

 nature has been developed and trans- 

 formed, so that the creature that could 

 not count his fingers may yet count a 

 Newton among his descendants. 



It is obvious that Mr. George's the- 

 ory of progress can not in the least 

 explain the earlier stages of social de- 

 velopment. The cave-men did not say 

 "Go to, let us progress," but they 

 blindly struggled with their circum- 

 stances, and out of these struggles came 

 improvement. Their experience was of 

 conflict with wild beasts, which they 

 had to kill in self-defense and to get the 

 means of subsistence. For this purpose, 

 the brutal and aggressive passions re- 

 quired to be strong. The life was pred- 

 atory, and the aboriginal savage was 

 cruel, revengeful, and delighted in the 

 infliction of pain. How could such a 

 creature, with his unsympathetic and 

 unsocial nature, be brought into even 

 the rudest forms of society? Only by 

 a coercion so stern that it could subju- 

 gate his refractory passions, and force 

 him into some kind of cooperation. 



Mr. George is unable to see how war 

 and slavery could ever have aided im- 

 provement, progress, and freedom. He 

 quotes as absurd the reasons given for 

 this view, namely, Comte's idea that 

 " the institution of slavery destroyed 

 cannibalism," and that " slavery began 

 civilization by giving slave-owners lei- 

 sure for improvement." But these are 

 by no means the reasons on which this 

 view rests. The question is, how brutal 

 men were first subjugated and learned 

 the lessons of subordination, which are 

 the first steps of social progress. A 

 coarse and inexorable discipline was 

 required, such as befitted the natures to 

 be subdued. War and slavery were just 

 those relentless agencies that could force 

 savages to work together, and habituate 

 them to that respect for power which 



was an indispensable condition of the 

 lowest forms of social order. The 

 strongest man became the chief and 

 the despot. Tyranny was indispensa- 

 ble. Where the moral condition of 

 men was evinced by the habitual prac- 

 tice of cruelty, the wanton destruction 

 of life, the torture of prisoners, canni- 

 balism, and human sacrifices, the re- 

 straining power had to be inexorable 

 and ferocious. It was by the arbitrary 

 discipline of war that men first learned 

 obedience; and, as the chief became 

 king and government a military despot- 

 ism, there gradually grew a stability in 

 social relations and a progress of social 

 institutions. War was an education in 

 obedience, but not the sole education. 

 Slavery was the result of war. Prison- 

 ers not killed were reduced to bondage. 

 Despotic coercion was tlms systema- 

 tized, and the benefits of war were thus 

 gained in time of peace. With his un- 

 subdued nature, the habit of submis- 

 sion and of continuous application could 

 only be acquired by the aboriginal man 

 through a long apprenticeship of painful 

 enslavement. 



Recoil as we may at these contem- 

 plations, there is no evading the fact 

 that this is Nature's method of human 

 progress, and accordingly as we value 

 the result must we appreciate the means 

 that brought it about. That war may 

 now hinder the beneficent work which 

 it formerly promoted, is undeniable ; 

 but we ai*e not to forget the part it has 

 played when we undertake to explain 

 the conditions and causes of human 

 progress. What is all history but a 

 bloody record of War's and Slavery's 

 violence and injustice ? Men are great- 

 ly changed and greatly improved, but 

 civilization is stiU barbarian. Hostility 

 looking to war is the international 

 norm. We have plenty of survivals 

 from our savage ancestors. Animals 

 that they hunted from necessity, we 

 hunt for sport ; the gratification of 

 killing continues. War is a regnant 

 profession, the pastime of Christendom ; 



