608 LOGIC OF THE MORAL SCIENCES. 



existence is only possible by a disciplining of those 

 more powerful propensities, which consists in subor- 

 dinating them to a common system of opinions. The 

 degree of this subordination is the measure of the 

 completeness of the social union, and the nature of 

 the common opinions determines its kind. But in 

 order that mankind should conform their actions to 

 any set of opinions, these opinions must exist, must 

 be believed by them. And thus, the state of the 

 speculative faculties, the character of the propositions 

 assented to by the intellect, essentially determines 

 the moral and political state of the community, as we 

 have already seen that it determines the physical. 



These conclusions, deduced from the laws of 

 human nature, are in entire accordance with the 

 general facts of history. Every considerable change 

 historically known to us in the condition of any por- 

 tion of mankind, has been preceded by a change, of 

 proportional extent, in the state of their knowledge, or 

 in their prevalent beliefs. As between any given 

 state of speculation, and the correlative state of every- 

 thing else, it was almost always the former which 

 first showed itself; though the effects, no doubt, 

 reacted potently upon the cause. Every considerable 

 advance in material civilization has been preceded by 

 an advance in knowledge; and when any great social 

 change has come to pass, a great change in the opi- 

 nions and modes of thinking of society had taken place 

 shortly before. Polytheism, Judaism, Christianity, 

 Protestantism, the negative philosophy of modern 

 Europe, and its positive science each of these has 

 been a primary agent in making society what it 

 was at each successive period, while society was but 

 secondarily instrumental in making them, each of them 

 (so far as causes can be assigned for its existence) 



