more rapid now than formerly. xix 



begun ; chemical science had only come into exist- 

 ence ; the possible powers of steam were dreamed of 

 by only a few, and those of electricity not dreamed 

 of at all. Yet the French Revolution was in progress, 

 and men's thoughts, beliefs, and ideals were modern. 

 The transformation of the medieval world of 1492 

 into the modern world of 1892, had been in 1792 

 accomplished to at least three-fourths of its extent. 



But if the profoundest historical change is not 

 more rapid now than it was in former ages, this truth 

 is, or ought to be, obvious ; and why is it not generally 

 seen to be true 1 



Three reasons are to be given. One of them has 

 been already mentioned, namely, the extraordinary 

 visibility of the more remarkable changes which the 

 present century has seen. 



Another reason for the prevalent belief that pro- 

 gress is more rapid now than formerly, is that the 

 vastly increased facility of human intercourse, by 

 printing, by post, and by travel, enables information 

 to spread with a degree of rapidity which was for- 

 merly unknown. I maintain that change and pro- 

 gress are not new ; what is new is the consciousness 

 by society of its own changes. Men formerly, as it 

 were, stood on a plain and hid each other ; now they 

 are visible to each other, as in an amphitheatre. 



There is, however, yet another reason, of a different 

 kind, consisting not in any external fact but in natural 

 habits of thought. Although we know that fifty is 

 an eighth of four hundred, yet we do not naturally 



