LITERARY NOTICES. 



853 



ties, the parts that make up the social state 

 are rudimental, while in the ascending grade 

 of social progress they are developed to 

 all degrees of complexity. Some societies, 

 as the savages, are stationary, that is, 

 without historic change, and the descrip- 

 tions of their composition and character 

 are therefore simple, and occupy the least 

 space. But other communities have had a 

 long historical development, which has, of 

 course, consisted in the evolution of the 

 constituent parts, and these have therefore 

 to be separately traced through all the stages 

 of progress. 



To understand how difficult the mode of 

 presentation was, we have but to refer to the 

 extent of the subjects dealt with. Among 

 the social structures and activities, are the 

 forms of government, both general and local; 

 industrial, educational, and military institu- 

 tions ; domestic relations, and the constitu- 

 tion of families ; religious systems and ideas, 

 and ecclesiastical organizations ; ceremonial 

 customs, and social habits ; recreations and 

 amusements; useful arts, inventions, indus- 

 tries, and the progress and condition of 

 knowledge ; moral sentiments, ideals, and 

 practices, and the cultivation of taste and 

 aesthetic art ; the physical, intellectual, and 

 emotional characters of different peoples 

 and races ; and the widely varied conditions 

 of nature, and the environing circumstances 

 that influence the social state. These are 

 the fundamental facts of all communities 

 which are to be inquired into by the student 

 of social science, and Mr. Spencer's problem 

 was to bring these facts into such relation 

 by classification and tabular representation 

 as will facilitate comparison for scientific 

 purposes. It was indispensable that two 

 conditions be fulfilled : In the first place, 

 the facts required to be so presented as to 

 bring out coexisting conditions, or to show 

 how the various factors were combined and 

 correlated in the social structure at any one 

 period. In the next place, it was impera- 

 tive that the movement of progressive so- 

 cieties from epoch to epoch should be so 

 exhibited that each constituent should be 

 separately traced, while at the same time 

 the consensus of advancement is displayed. 

 Progressive societies grow unequally. Some 

 advance rapidly in certain lines, and slowly 

 or not at all in others, and to deduce the 



laws of social growth, the first condition is 

 that of comprehensive comparative study, 

 and Spencer's cyclopasdia is conformed 

 throughout to the attainment of this ob- 

 ject. 



It will be seen that in the nature of 

 the case the work must have been on a 

 very comprehensive scale. A treatise for 

 this purpose within moderate limits would 

 have been good for nothing ; and the treat- 

 ment of the subject in the ordinary form of 

 books would have been of but very little 

 service. But, by getting rid of all that is 

 superfluous, by eliminating irrelevant state- 

 ments, and rejecting comment and specula- 

 tion, in short, by confining the digest to the 

 essential things concerning human society 

 to which science must be confined in its 

 work of cstabishing general truths, it be- 

 came possible to coudense immense amounts 

 of historic and descriptive matter within 

 comparatively narrow spaces. It is the 

 merit of Spencer's work to have accom- 

 plished this object with remarkable success. 

 Of course, anything like a really universal 

 description of human societies, no matter 

 how condensed, would be practically im- 

 possible, nor would it be at all necessary. 

 What is wanted for general instruction, and 

 scientific induction, is an array of social 

 data that shall largely represent all the 

 types, forms, and grades of the social state. 

 The greatest number of human societies 

 upon the earth are still in the low and com- 

 paratively stationary condition, although in 

 this respect no two are alike. A large 

 number must therefore be studied, sufficient 

 for the derivation of general principles, but 

 it would be needless to extend the list to 

 unmanageable proportions. Then there are 

 societies which have advanced to certain 

 stages of civilization where they have been 

 arrested and fallen into decay. A sufficient 

 number of these require to be represented 

 to teach the lessons they are calculated to 

 enforce. Then there are societies which 

 illustrate a long and slow historic progress 

 through many centuries, and which stand 

 at the head of the present civilization of 

 the world. These are selected for the study 

 of social development in its highest degree 

 as hitherto attained. Mr. Spencer's work 

 covers this broad field, and is thus fully 

 adequate for the scientific demands of the 



