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ARISTOCRACY AND EVOLUTION 



Book IV 

 Chapter i 



Exceptional 

 rewards are 

 essential to 

 exceptional 

 action. 



evident that their existence cannot be assumed in 

 anybody unless he exerts himself to give some sign 

 of their presence. External authority, therefore, can 

 compel nobody to employ them who does not put him- 

 self at the mercy of the authorities by letting them know 

 he has them; and thus "the more recent socialists" 

 in attacking "the third and greatest monopoly" are 

 really themselves at the mercy of the very monopo- 

 lists whom they propose to attack. It is true that if a 

 socialistic revolution could be brought about suddenly, 

 existing great men known to have certain talents, 

 which had been already developed and exercised 

 under conditions which the revolution destroyed, 

 might be seized on by the State, in its capacity of 

 universal employer, and forced to continue some- 

 thing of their former voluntary activity by threats of 

 torture or some similar method of coercion. But 

 even granting this to be possible, it would only solve 

 the problem for a moment ; for as these men died 

 and some of them would be dying daily new talent 

 would be wanted to take the place of the old ; and 

 though the State might coerce such talent as was 

 already developed, it could not by coercion secure 

 the services of the new, because threats of coercion 

 would never tempt new talent to discover itself, but 

 would, on the contrary, drive it yet deeper beneath 

 the surface. 



Exceptional potentialities can be called out and 

 realised only by a kind of action which is the very 

 antithesis of coercion, and which is analogous to 

 that of sunshine on buds, or flowers or fruits 



