520 EVOLUTION OF MODERN SOCIETY. 



attaiued iu all the fields of liiglier iutellectual iuvestigatiou in science, 

 art, and literature; in the current thought of the day; in all these 

 questions now vexing and wearing us — social, religious, and economic. 



I have purposely refrained from doing more than mentioning the 

 most outstanding points in our subject of investigation. In no place 

 have I gone into particulars. Our field is so vast that our view can 

 only be general. I might have treated the subject from a purely socio- 

 logical point of view. But that might have been too technical and 

 uninteresting; and besides, when we think of it, sociology is merely a 

 generalization of the evidences of history. We have sketched, or at 

 least indicated, the growth and influence of customs, manners, religion, 

 laws, industry, commerce, science, literature, and art, and their respective 

 points of beginning and ending. We have seen the human atom develop 

 into the human unit, the single-celled social protoi)lasm grow into the 

 complex and multiform organization of present society. In tracing the 

 evolution of society we have traced the evolution of the individual; 

 we have traced the evolution of mind. One fact must have been patent 

 to us all along, and that is the measure in which the individual acts 

 upon society and in which society reacts upon the individual. I know 

 that I am throwing myself open to opposition when I say that the whole 

 history of the human "race is a record of constant, though varying, 

 advance. The world is working toward an end of self-realization; to 

 this all is tending. Every revolution, every reformation, every change 

 is a necessary step to this end. It is our destiny that impels us. 



The Avorld to-day has reached a position never hitherto attained. 

 Our standards and conceptions of morality are higher and truer and 

 our methods surer. Sin and vice, still exist; some say as heinous as 

 ever. That is not so. Not only is there less sin and vice, but what 

 there is is only equally heinous with that of past ages in that our higher 

 standards and sensibilities are the more easily shocked. Our means of 

 restraining vice and crime, of alleviating misery, and of securing hap- 

 piness are more universal and efficient. 



All this is the outcome of our truer conception of man's place in 

 nature and position inter se. 



If anyone doubts the truth of our conceptions and the actuality of 

 things, he has only to look around upon the world of yesterday and of 

 to-day to see the waste moorland converted into rich fields or thriving 

 cities; to watch the busy throng of workers, all eager with what they 

 may imagine to be their own concerns, but nevertheless each in his 

 sphere, however humble, contributing his quota to the general fund. 

 Selfish, some will say! True, there is nnicli self-seeking, much selfish- 

 ness, but we must form our conclusions from the feelings and acts of 

 the combined community, not from those of the individual. The indi- 

 vidual contributes to them, but the combination is a modification. 



We have seen the human thing become a human being. We have 

 witnessed the triumphs of mind over matter and circumstances. We 



