CHAPTER EIGHT 

 Evolution and Society 



IF it is a correct idea that the Renaissance of the fif- 

 teenth century really divided the Christian era into 

 two periods which are separated not only by great dif- 

 ferences in the conditions and customs of life but also 

 by a fundamental change in the concepts and motives 

 of life itself; then there is little wonder that we, in 

 these modern times, comprehend neither what men 

 and women did during the Middle Ages nor even 

 why they attempted to do the surprising things which 

 history records. This break in the continuity of his- 

 tory is comprehensible if it is true that religious 

 thoughts and ideals really dominated society before 

 the Renaissance, and that since then we have replaced 

 this domination by that of science; a society which 

 looks to God for immediate direction in its ordinary 

 affairs of life is essentially different from one which 

 relies on its own ability to mark out its path. We must 

 expect to find also in each of the two periods a time of 

 maximum sway of its dominating influence, preceded 

 by a hopeful period during which the idea of this new 

 power gains strength, and followed, unfortunately, 

 by the discouragement which seems inevitably to ac- 

 company our inability to realize our ideals. The max- 

 imum sway of the religious domination culminated 



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