THE DOGMA OF EVOLUTION 



the present state of society with apprehension or to 

 think the present lack of eminent men ominous for the 

 near future at least? We are passing through a se- 

 vere convulsion of society. Our philosophy and re- 

 ligion have been shocked to their foundations, and 

 the Evolutionists have given us no new positive be- 

 liefs or any spiritual check to control our wayward 

 fancies and desires. Our rapid extension of power 

 over our environment has brought with it an indus- 

 trialism whose social effects we have not been able to 

 understand or to guide into safe channels. Other 

 social revolutions, such as that which began towards 

 the end of the eighteenth century, were productive of 

 great men of thought and action, but we cannot point 

 to such an effect in our own times ; we stand distracted 

 and alarmed because of the lack of leaders. 



In our crisis, we do not turn to great individuals, 

 and in fact we should have difficulty in finding them, 

 to teach us new laws and a new religion. We are plac- 

 ing our hopes on groups of mediocrity, — on Covenants 

 of a League of Peace, on social agencies, on organized 

 charities, on cooperation and on committees, on plans 

 of relief and on plans of organization. We forget 

 Huxley's stinging aphorism that, if wisdom lies in a 

 multitude of counselors, it is to be found in only a 

 few of them. 



There are faint signs of restiveness which may be 

 the beginning of our realization that we need great 

 men rather than great organizations to show us the 



n376 3 



