THE GREAT BRIDGE AND ITS LESSONS. 343 



They are, indeed, grievous, and to lighten them is, as it should be, 

 the chief concern of statesmanship. But this comparison proves that 

 through forty centuries these hardships have been steadily diminished ; 

 that all the achievements of science, all the discoveries of art, all the 

 inventions of genius, all the progress of civilization, tend, by a higher 

 and immutable law, to the steady and certain amelioration of the con- 

 dition of society. It shows that, notwithstanding the apparent growth 

 of great fortunes, due to an era of unparalleled development, the dis- 

 tribution of the fruits of labor is approaching, from age to age, to 

 more equitable conditions, and must, at last, reach the plane of abso- 

 lute justice between man and man. 



But this is not the only lesson to be drawn from such a compari- 

 son. The Pyramids were built by the sacrifices of the living for the 

 dead. They served no useful purpose, except to make odious to future 

 generations the tyranny which reduces human beings into beasts of 

 burden. In this age of the world such a waste of effort would not be 

 tolerated. To-day the expenditures of communities are directed to 

 useful purposes. Except only works designed for defense in time of 

 war, the wealth of society is now mainly expended in opening chan- 

 nels of communication for the free play of commerce and the com- 

 munion of the human race. An analysis of the distribution of the 

 surplus earnings of man after providing food, shelter, and raiment, 

 shows that they are chiefly absorbed by railways, canals, ships, bridges, 

 and telegraphs. In ancient times these objects of expenditure were 

 scarcely known. Our bridge is one of the most conspicuous examples 

 of this change in the social condition of the world and of the feeling 

 of men. In the middle ages, cities walled each other out, and the 

 fetters of prejudice and tyranny held the energies of man in hopeless 

 bondage. To-day men and nations seek for free intercourse with each 

 other, and the whole force of the intellect and energy of the world is 

 expended in breaking down the barriers, established by Nature or 

 created by man, to the solidarity of the human race. 



And yet in view of this tendency, the most striking and character- 

 istic feature of the nineteenth century, there still are those who believe 

 and teach that obstruction is the creator of wealth ; that the peoples 

 can be made great and free by the erection of artificial barriers to the 

 beneficent action of commerce, and the unrestricted intercourse of men 

 and nations with each other. If they are right, then this bridge is a 

 gigantic blunder, and the doctrine which bids us to love our neighbors 

 as ourselves is founded upon a misconception of the Divine purpose. 



But the bridge is more than an embodiment of the scientific knowl- 

 edge of physical laws, or a symbol of social tendencies. It is equally 

 a monument to the moral qualities of the human soul. It could never 

 have been built by mere knowledge and scientific skill alone. It re- 

 quired in addition the infinite patience and unwearied courage by which 

 great results are achieved. It demanded the endurance of heat and 



