I INTRODUCTORY 3 



the fascinating term " evolution," and in forming an 

 estimate of the value which it, or which they, may 

 possess as affording guidance to human conduct. 



Let us further clear our thoughts before beginning 

 our investigation by endeavouring to "place" soci- 

 ology, provisionally, in relation to other kindred 

 sciences. 



In contrast with Politics, sociology deals with the 

 informal or unintended * results of human associ- 

 ation. In ancient days the line of division scarcely 

 existed. The conception of a natural growth had 

 never been applied to society. Speculation in early 

 times was exceedingly sanguine, and counted upon 

 refashioning society at its pleasure. We have 

 learned from age-long experience that human nature 

 is not so easily tamed or managed, even by those 

 who try to manage it for its own good. We turn 

 away incredulously from stories of a lawgiver who 

 stamped his own personality and ideas upon many 

 generations. Perhaps we go too far in our recoil 

 from the ancient belief in the powers of the wise 

 man. He may not always have been a myth ; his 

 results might even be repeated. And yet, essen- 

 tially, we are in the right. " All the world," as we 

 say, is wiser than anybody in the world. To take a 

 more definite example, the House of Commons is 

 alleged to possess better taste than any one of its 

 members. Our modern attitude is partly fatalism, 

 but it is partly religious faith. 



A second science may be thought of, which deals 



1 Compare Mr. Mallock's definition of evolution as " the reasonable 

 sequence of the unintended " (Aristocracy and Evolution, p. 97), 

 quoted in our closing chapter. 



