THE FRUITS OF EDUCATION 331 



- the formal expressions of the union of the higher 

 racial instincts with those of self-preservation the 

 aristocratic structure was significantly broadened by 

 the entrance of men who live rather for the sake of 

 ideas than for things, and whose creations are not 

 motived by the desire to gain the ordinary kinds of 

 power over humanity. But even with the accession 

 of this class, the number of those constituting the 

 ruling classes, in the broadest sense, is small as 

 compared with the entire population of any country. 

 This aristocracy of power and intellect, whether we 

 construe it liberally or narrowly, rests on and springs 

 from a large mass of human beings who toil with so 

 little return of intellectual or moral elevation, and 

 with so few material or spiritual opportunities for 

 themselves or their children that the inequality 

 excites the pity and often the indignation of those 

 who interest themselves in their social welfare. In- 

 numerable plans and panaceas have been proposed 

 to relieve these inequalities in the sense of improving 

 the opportunities of the poorest classes, and the 

 discontented elements are appealed to from every 

 side to support policies and plans for their improve- 

 ment. The great variety of the measures proposed 

 is in itself an indication of the uncertainty of the 

 remedies. It is in the highest degree doubtful 

 whether any remedies can have a significant effect 

 in the amelioration of the masses of any community 

 which is not founded on an educational basis of which 

 an enlightened self-control is the chief pillar. The 



