Civilisation : Its Cause and Cure 



inner man which they represent ; when it has 

 passed through stage after stage of animal Hfe, 

 throwing out tentative types and Hkenesses of 

 what is to come, and going through innumerable 

 preliminary exercises in special forms and faculties, 

 till at last it begins to be able to wear the full 

 majesty of manhood itself — then it would seem 

 that that long process of development is drawing 

 to a close, and that the goal of creation must be 

 within measurable distance. 



But then, at that very moment, and when the 

 goal is, so to speak, in sight, occurs this failure 

 of ** wholeness " of which we have spoken, this 

 partial break-up of the unity of human nature — 

 and man, instead of going forward any longer in 

 the same line as before, to all appearance /^//j. 



What is the meaning of this loss of unity ? 

 What is the cause and purpose of this fall and 

 centuries-long exile from the earlier Paradise ? 



There can be but one answer. It is self-knowledge 

 — (which involves in a sense the abandonment of 

 self). Man has to become conscious of his destiny 

 — to lay hold of and realise his own freedom and 

 blessedness — to transfer his consciousness from 

 the outer and mortal part of him to the inner and 

 undying. 



The cat cannot do this. Though perfect in 

 its degree, its interior unfoldment is yet incomplete. 

 The human soul within it has not yet come forward 

 and declared itself ; some sheathing leaves have 

 yet to open before the divine flower-bud can be 

 clearly seen. And when at last (speaking as a 



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