34 2 Social Evolution 



vigor of the immature social forces at work ; on the 

 contrary, it was a proof that those social forces were 

 rotten and had lost their vigor. Where an anchorite 

 of the type Lecky describes, and Mr. Kidd impliedly 

 commends, was accepted as the true type of the 

 church, and set the tone for religious thought, the 

 church was corrupt, and was unable to make any 

 effective defence against the scarcely baser form of 

 superstition which received its development in Is- 

 lamism. As a matter of fact, asceticism of this kind 

 had very little in common with the really vigorous 

 and growing part of European Christianity, even 

 at that time. Such asceticism is far more close- 

 ly related to the practices of some loathsome 

 Mohammedan dervish than to any creed which has 

 properly developed from the pure and lofty teachings 

 of the Four Gospels. St. Simeon Stylites is more 

 nearly kin to a Hindoo fakir than to Phillips Brooks 

 or Archbishop Ireland. 



Mr. Kidd deserves praise for insisting as he does 

 upon the great importance of the development of 

 humanitarian feelings and of the ethical element in 

 humanity during the past few centuries, when com- 

 pared with the mere material development. He is, 

 of course, entirely right in laying the utmost stress 

 upon the enormous part taken by Christianity in 

 the growth of Western civilization. He would do 

 well to remember, however, that there are other ele- 

 ments than that of merely ceremonial Christianity 

 at work, and that such ceremonial Christianity in 

 other races produces quite different results, as he 



