258 THE GOSPEL, AND THE SOCIAL CREED OF SCIENCE. 



of interest; and some kind of regulative agency will 

 appear as alleged. But the various kinds of laws mani- 

 fested moral, economic, sociological all spring from a 

 sense of general interest, and are to be tried by that test 

 when they seem to depart from it. This, in brief, is 

 the essence of the matter and of the science of society, 

 so much talked about in later times ; and whatever laws 

 the science of sociology may discover, this remains a 

 permanent and overriding generalization, that the sup- 

 posed invariable behaviour of associated men will only 

 continue invariable so long as men are generally con- 

 tented so to behave. Any predictions made on the 

 assumption of invariable human nature, in the sense of 

 invariable physical nature, can only be depended upon 

 so long as men are so contented. But they may become 

 discontented with economic and sociological as well as 

 with civil laws, that they think are not for their good ; 

 and whenever they are oppressed or hurt they will be 

 certain to become so, and also apt to apply the best 

 remedy they can find. This is as general a law of 

 human nature, as much a biological or sociological law, 

 if you will, as any that could well be laid down. 



The mistake of the writers on the science of society 

 is to regard existing social and sociological laws, the 

 existing constitution of society, as either unchangeable 

 or not to be changed except extremely slowly. True, 

 there could not well be a science on any other assump- 

 tion, though there might be a history, a description of 

 the phases and stages through which societies have 

 passed ; and therefore the still greater mistake of these 

 writers is, perhaps, the notion that there is any science 

 of sociology at all, when the past career of nations and 

 course of civilization is so capricious, and the future 

 course of social as of general evolution admittedly so 



