66 ARISTOCRA C Y AND E VOL UTION 



Book i Mr. Sidney Webb, the case against the great man 

 faapter 3 set ^ u ^ De f ore us . anc j we ma y accordingly proceed 



to analyse it. We shall find that it divides itself 

 into four separate arguments, which are constantly 

 recurring in some form or other in all the works of 

 our modern sociological writers, and especially in the 

 works of those who are democratic or socialistic in 



(1) That every their sympathies. Firstly, there is the argument 



first discovery . , ...... r i 



involves aii that in any advanced civilisation not one of the 

 beforeTt 6 ; 8 e improvements made during any given epoch would 

 have been possible if a variety of other improve- 

 ments and the accumulation of various knowledge 

 had not gone before it ; and that thus the man who 

 is called the inventor or author of the improvement 

 is merely the vehicle or delegate of forces outside 



( 2 ) that the himself. Secondly, there is the argument that the 



discoverer's . ..... 



ability itself is inventor or author ot the improvement, even if we 

 past P circum- attribute to him some special ability of his own, is 

 in respect of his own congenital energies merely 

 the product and expression of preceding generations 

 and circumstances. Of the four arguments in 

 question, these are the most important ; but they 



( 3 ) that often a re constantly reinforced by two others. One is 



the same dis- 1-11 



covery is made drawn trom the tact that several independent 



by several men , ,- ... , . 



at once; workers often arrive simultaneously at the same 

 U) that the discovery. The other is drawn from the fact 



o r wnat ' ls alleged to be the fact that the interval 

 n wm ' cn divides even the greatest man from his 

 is slight. fellows, alike in respect of what he is and of 



what he accomplishes, is really extremely slight, 



and not worth considering. 



