442 MIND IN EVOLUTION CHAP. 



man as we have seen too often in recent years, has a painful 

 tendency to adapt his manners and his standard to those 

 of the lower races whom he conquers. The master takes 

 his character from the slave. 



Nevertheless, the facts briefly adverted to, which might 

 be drawn out effectively in great detail, illustrate 

 sufficiently the self-accelerating tendency of mental 

 growth. Of the total growth of mind in scope and power 

 during the existence of the human race, at least one half 

 must be assigned to the comparatively short period from 

 the beginnings of Greek history to the present day. But 

 it must be remembered that the greater part of this period 

 still lies outside the scope of " self-conscious evolution." It 

 is only in modern times, as I hope to show in detail on 

 another occasion, that the threads begin to be drawn 

 together to weave the larger purpose. Up to this point 

 civilisation still moves in large measure through conflict, 

 though the social systems, the principles, the purposes that 

 conflict are wider, and give more scope for internal 

 development. As civilised societies become more highly 

 organised and their ideas more comprehensive, the onward 

 movement in each becomes more sure and its orbit more 

 vast. And yet, to this day, how great a proportion of 

 the energies of the best and ablest men is spent in 

 combating one another. If we can imagine all this 

 energy harmonised by the conception of a great pervading 

 purpose, we can form some conception of the increased 

 efficiency with which <c self-conscious evolution " would 

 bring its forces to bear. 



4. The conclusion to which we have been led is that 

 among the^manifold conflicting movements of evolution, 

 there is one tendency of which the significance is not 

 obscure. In orthogenic evolution we find a constant 

 development of Mind in scope, and accordingly in power. 

 Slow at first, the development gathers speed with growth, 

 and finally settles into the steady movement of a germ 

 unfolding under the direction of an intelligent knowledge 

 of its powers and of its life conditions. The goal of the 

 movement, as far as we can foresee at present, is the mastery 

 by the human mind of the conditions, internal as well as 



