THE CAUSES OF PERSECUTION 



of modern society. From being predominantly 

 warlike and predatory, human activity has come 

 to be predominantly pacific and industrial, and 

 out of this change have grown our milder be- 

 liefs as well as our milder manners. 



We have not yet, however, got to the bottom 

 of the matter. We have accounted for the de- 

 crease in the cruelty with which the persecuting 

 spirit has manifested itself, but we have now to 

 consider the underlying causes of the temper of 

 mind which has led men to persecute one an- 

 other ; we have to show, in particular, how it is 

 that, so far as all matters of religious belief are 

 concerned, the persecuting spirit has already 

 greatly diminished in intensity, and will no doubt 

 eventually become extinct among civilized men. 

 We shall find that the change is deeply inwrought 

 with the progress of mankind, both morally and 

 intellectually. 



The persecuting spirit has its origin morally 

 in the disposition of man to domineer over his 

 fellow-creatures, intellectually in the assumption 

 that one's own opinions are infallibly correct. 

 We know very well how children are apt to be- 

 have when arguing some question of no great 

 consequence. Their little passions warming 

 with the discussion, they pass from argument to 

 abuse, they call each other hard names, and, at 

 last, they begin to pound each other. Most peo- 

 ple, I imagine, must have had experiences of 



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