Mr. Buckle s Fallacies. 149 



osition, Mr. Buckle can, of course, make no claims 

 to originality. It is simply a clear and precise 

 statement of the position taken by all the fore- 

 most thinkers of the age. For example, Mr. 

 Lewes says, " The evolutions of Humanity cor- 

 respond with the evolutions of Thought." l Mr. 

 Mill says, " We are justified in concluding that 

 the order of human progression in all respects 

 will mainly depend on the order of progression in 

 the intellectual convictions of mankind ; that is, 

 on the law of the successive transformations of 

 human opinions." 2 The same is implied in Mr. 

 Spencer's law of evolution, 3 and in the law of the 

 three stages of civilization announced by Comte. 4 

 With respect to the proposition as it stands, we 

 have no criticisms to offer. It is substantiated, 

 not only by the numerous facts brought up in the 

 course of Mr. Buckle's work, but by all those 

 furnished by the history of mankind in all ages 

 and countries. The annals of our race are but 

 an illustration of the law that " the evolutions 

 of Humanity correspond with the evolutions of 

 Thought." 



1 Philosophy of the Sciences, p. 23. 



2 System of Loyic, vol. ii. p. 517, 4th edition. 



3 Social Statics, pp. 409-456. Essays, pp. 1-54. First Principles, 

 pp. 146-218. 



4 Philosophic Positive, tome i. pp. 3-20. 



