76 THE FALL OF NEW FRANCE 
has been delayed in great part by the same causes 
which have retarded the unification of the country. 
In Spain, it had proceeded so far in the sixteenth cen- 
tury as to produce a national torpor, from which the 
Spaniards have not yet succeeded in arousing them- 
selves. In France, a somewhat similar process went 
on until, in the eighteenth century, it was checked by 
the influx of English ideas, which prepared the way 
for the great Revolution. In England, the tendency 
toward absolutism was always much weaker than any- 
where else, but it was strong enough in the seven- 
teenth century to bring about the migration of 
Puritans to America, and afterward the great Re- 
bellion, and finally the Revolution of 1688. In these 
and other instances, however, where it has asserted 
itself in England, the tendency has been so weak as 
to be promptly checked. There has never been a 
time in English history when free thinking on politi- 
cal and religious subjects has been quite suppressed. 
Of all the great European nations, England alone has 
succeeded in reaching a high stage of civilization with- 
out seriously impairing the political freedom which 
was once the common possession of the Aryan people 
by whom Europe was last settled. 
The consequences of this have been very great. 
After the initial difficulties of civilization have once 
been clearly surmounted, there can be no question that 
diversity of opinion and variety of character are of the 
greatest importance for the development of a rich and 
powerful national life. Other things equal, the fore- 
most place in civilization must inevitably be seized 
and maintained by the nation which most sedulously 
cherishes and encourages variety. Such a nation will 
