VII ON THE NATURAL INEQUALITY OF MKN -J!)7 



variety of statements, which I could only adum- 

 brate within the compass of the space that the 

 " Times " could afford me, liberal as the editor 

 showed himself to be in that respect. What I pur- 

 pose to do in the course of the present essay 

 is to make good these shortcomings ; to show what 

 Rousseau's doctrines were; and to inquire into 

 their scientific value with, I hope, that impar- 

 tiality which it beseems us to exhibit in inquiries 

 into ancient history. Having done this I propose 

 to leave the application of the conclusions at which 

 I arrive to the intelligence of my readers, as I shall 

 thus escape collision with several of my respected 

 contemporaries. 1 



I have indicated two sources from which our 

 knowledge of Rousseau's system may be derived, 

 and it is not worth while to go any further. But it 

 is needful to observe that the dicta of the author of 

 the " Contrat Social," published in 1762, are not un- 



1 From Mr. Herbert Spencer's letter in the Times of the 27th 

 of November, 1889, I gather that he altogether repudiates the 

 doctrines which I am about to criticise. I rejoice to hear it ; in 

 the iirst place, because they thus lose the shelter of his high 

 authority ; secondly, because, after this repudiation, anything I 

 may say in the course of the following pages against BoaflHMX- 

 ism cannot be disagreeable to him ; and, thirdly, because I 

 desire to express my great regret that, in however good com- 

 pany, I should have lacked the intelligence to perceive that M r. 

 Spencer had previously repudiated the views attributed to him 

 by the land socialists. May I take this opportunity of inform- 

 ing the many correspondents who usually favour me with com- 

 ments (mostly adverse, I am sorry to say) on what I venture to 

 write, that I have no other answer to give them but Pilate's : 

 "Wh;;t 1 have written I have written" ? I have no energy to 

 waste on replies to irresponsible criticism. 



