in THE PAST AND THE FUTURE 283 



sources of failure are blocked up. We assume that it has 

 as a basis to work upon a complete understanding of the 

 conditions of its own development, and that its purpose is a 

 harmony of the elements of value discoverable in the 

 millions of lives that make up its unity. We assume, that 

 is, a scope equated with possible experience, and may we 

 not, along with such scope, assume the corresponding power 

 of control? May we not then infer that growth will 

 continue, because now we have, what we had not before, 

 a sufficient force to secure it ? 



For the purposes of this argument, however, two condi- 

 tions are necessary which have been tacitly postulated in 

 this statement, but which are by no means to be assumed 

 without criticism. First, it is assumed that the stage 

 described is complete, that there already exists that fullness 

 of knowledge and rational completeness of purpose which 

 we require to assure us of continuance. It need hardly be 

 said that the reality is far different. This stage is only at 

 its beginning. The organic union of humanity is still an 

 ideal embodied in mere filaments of actuality. The under- 

 standing of developmental conditions is equally in its 

 infancy. How can we be sure that either of them will 

 grow to maturity? If we assume that they will grow 

 further because they have grown so far, we are back in the 

 line of argument discarded above. If we say that they 

 themselves contain the promise and assurance of growth, 

 we apply to the germ what could only be true of the 

 developed state. And there is a further point, which will 

 bring us to the second tacit postulate. Our knowledge of 

 developmental conditions is admittedly incomplete. So 

 far we have seen no absolute barrier to further expansion. 

 But it may be that this is only the result of our ignorance. 

 Suppose that there are, for example, physical conditions 

 which set an absolute limit to the growth, perhaps even to 

 the existence, of mind. What could the advance of know- 

 ledge do with these conditions except enable us to recognise 

 them with a more fatal clearness ? Suppose, for example, 

 that the energy available for human needs is a limited and 

 diminishing quantity, suppose that the conditions of life 

 upon the earth are transitory, and there exist no means of 



