MANKIND IN THE FUTURE, 369 
sophers of antiquity to their fellow-men who were striving 
to ennoble themselves. “Know thyself!” is the ery of the 
Theory of Development, not merely to the individual, but 
to all mankind. And whilst increased knowledge of self 
becomes, in the case of every individual man, a strong force 
urging to an increased attention to conduct, mankind as 
a whole will be led to a higher path of moral perfection 
by the knowledge of its true origin and its actual position 
in Nature. The simple religion of Nature, which grows 
from a true knowledge of Her, and of Her inexhaustible 
store of revelations, will in future ennoble and perfect the 
development of mankind far beyond that degree which can 
possibly be attained under the influence of the multifarious 
religions of the churches of the various nations,—religions 
resting on a blind belief in the vague secrets and mythical 
revelations of a sacerdotal caste. Future centuries will 
celebrate our age, which was occupied with laying the 
foundations of the Doctrine of Descent, as the new era in 
which began a period of human development, rich in bless- | 
ings——a period which was characterized by the victory of 
free inquiry over the despotism of authority, and by the 
powerful ennobling influence of the Monistic Philosophy. 
