PT. m. Progress and Civilisation. 159 



advance can be clearly traced to the commencement 

 of the European nations : to the Greeks, to the 

 Romans, and to the European States. No one can 

 suppose that since the imperfect rudiments of 

 civilised society which existed at a remote period 

 among the Asiatic people any substantial progress 

 whatever has been made by any other race, except 

 the European. Of all the great discoveries, of all 

 the inventions which have illustrated this long 

 period of three thousand years, not one can be 

 traced to an Asiatic or still less to any other origin. 

 The Progress of Mankind means the progress of the 

 European branch of the human family. 



The most considerable advance in this whole 

 period may certainly be dated from the revival of 

 learning in the fourteenth century ; and this is so 

 great that the European nations of the present 

 epoch may almost be ranked as beings of a higher 

 order to those of the preceding periods. This rate 

 of progress seems to be going on in an accelerating 

 ratio, and there is no ground whatever to suppose 

 that it will be arrested. The very increase of power 

 which each new discovery or invention gives to Man 

 is a fresh lever by which he can force his way to 

 another stage of development. There is no ground 



