The Destiny of Man. gi 



And here we hit upon the fundamental 

 contrast between the history of England 

 and that of France. The method by which 

 the modern French nation has been built 

 up has been the Roman method of con- 

 quest with incorporation, As the ruler of 

 Paris gradually overcame his vassals, one 

 after another, by warfare or diplomacy, he 

 annexed their counties to his royal do- 

 main, and governed them by lieutenants 

 sent from Paris. Self-government was thus 

 crushed out in France, while it was pre- 

 served in England. And just as Rome 

 achieved its unprecedented dominion by 

 adopting a political method more effective 

 than any that had been hitherto employed, 

 so England, employing for the first time 

 a still higher and more effective method, 

 has come to play a part in the world com- 

 pared with which even the part played by 

 Rome seems insignificant. The test of 

 the relative strength of the English and 

 Roman methods came when England and 

 France contended for the possession of 



