THE GENERAL DIRECTION OF PROGRESS 201 



enlightenment which slowly changed the condition 

 of things. The individual has not been made free 

 again, like his primitive savage ancestor, but he has 

 been given in return for his lost freedom that which 

 is much better — the accrued advantages of civiliza- 

 tion. Civilization has presented him, in the place of 

 freedom, a vastly larger life and greater powers. 

 Just as fast as these two contradictory principles 

 develop side by side, just so fast, and no faster, does 

 civilization progress. 



Here is one of the most distinctive contrasts be- 

 tween man and the lower animals. Through the his- 

 tory of man we can see an increasing centralization 

 and an increasing value placed upon the individual. 

 Among animals, while there are some traces of cen- 

 tralization, the individual never counts for anything. 

 Each has what he can personally seize and hold, but 

 there is nothing in animal organizations that pro- 

 tects the welfare of individuals. With mankind the 

 mighty bulwark of society has grown up around the 

 individual, both protecting him and giving him won- 

 derful advantages, which he never could have pos- 

 sessed without society, but which force him, in return, 

 to sacrifice some of his independence. It forbids his 

 acting wholly from caprice, but in return furnishes 

 him an opportunity to use the wonderful forces of 

 civilization. 



