CONDITIONS OF PROGRESS 



such as we find in mediaeval and in ancient civ- 

 ilization. But surely he is quite mistaken in 

 this, — and his mistake arises partly from neglect 

 of the circumstance that in ancient and in feudal 

 times the full manifestation of one powerful 

 individuality was achieved only through the ut- 

 ter sinking of many weaker individualities, and 

 partly from the fallacy of taking the unparal- 

 leled community of Athens as a type of ancient 

 communities in general. Surely in no previous 

 age has there been anything like so wide a scope 

 for the manifestation of strongly marked indi- 

 viduality of thought or character as in the pre- 

 sent age. It would, indeed, be hardly too much 

 to say that this is the first age in human history 

 which has 'given us a realizing foretaste of the 

 time when freedom of thought and freedom of 

 action shall not only be acknowledged as a right 

 but insisted upon as a duty for all men. But 

 this is due to the fact that men's natures have, 

 through long ages of social discipline, become 

 in some degree adapted to the social state. This 

 relatively free recognition of idiosyncrasies in 

 thought or demeanour shows that modern soci- 

 ety can count upon an organic or instinctive 

 conformity to law on the part of individuals, 

 upon which ancient society could not count. 

 In early times, freedom from the yoke of cus- 

 tom meant simple lawlessness ; and against such 

 disintegrating lawlessness all the most formi- 



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