COSMIC PHILOSOPHY 



of ancient Rome ; wherein, then, lies the differ- 

 ence ? 



The explanation will be found, and the par- 

 ticular conclusion reinforced, when we consider 

 the enormous increase of heterogeneity and in- 

 terdependence in the modern as contrasted with 

 the ancient community. In ancient Italy there 

 was but little division of labour, — it required 

 but a few simple occupations to supply the 

 wants of the whole community. In the United 

 States considered as a whole, the division of 

 labour is perhaps not quite so extreme as in 

 western Europe, owing to the sparseness of 

 population and the purely agricultural activ- 

 ity of large sections of the country : still, the 

 industrial differentiation is very great, and to 

 supply the wants of each portion of the com- 

 munity a vast number of mutually dependent 

 and highly complicated occupations is indis- 

 pensably necessary. Obviously the heterogene- 

 ous community cannot so well bear the abstrac- 

 tion of units from its mutually dependent parts, 

 as the homogeneous community could bear the 

 abstraction of units from its relatively independ- 

 ent and self-sufficing parts. The difference is 

 much the same as the difference between cutting 

 off portions of a worm and cutting off portions 

 of a vertebrate animal. You may take one of 

 the lower worms and slice away at it for some 

 time without destroying it, but in the case of 



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