C— GEOLOGY 79 



of scientific evidence. We have more established knowledge of the 

 Belemnites than of the Incas, but perhaps we know almost as much about 

 the Romans as about the Trilobites. 



It would be wearisome to reiterate the various features wherein the 

 history of human affairs corresponds with the course of evolution in other 

 groups. Whether we consider individual lives, dynasties or empires, the 

 same depressing story applies. Some races, once dominant in their 

 particular sphere, have disappeared entirely ; others, fallen from high 

 estate, linger in inglorious decay. But all of those brave civilisations and 

 empires of which we have records seem to have shown a succession of 

 similar histories. They have risen from obscurity through possession of 

 successful attributes, and have reached the peak of their power only to 

 pass it. Some have rotted away quietly, others have fallen before the onset 

 of less rotten stocks or perhaps of extra-human disaster. Many of the 

 early empires were on so small a scale that their rise and fall had merely 

 local effect ; others have been more comprehensive, and their dissolution 

 has spread havoc over wide areas of the world. 



Until comparatively recently, there has been a persistent proportion of 

 ' backward ' types, unaffected by the civilising influence of the progressive 

 powers. These have remained as a quiet background to the transient 

 pyrotechnics of the others. They remained to provide a new upstart 

 when the current one had crashed. To-day there are few races of this 

 kind left; almost all of mankind has encountered civilisation and either 

 perished or been transmuted. The fatal complexity of civilisation grips 

 the whole species, crushing it into unity. 



The specific causes of the collapse of once dominant races are doubtless 

 varied ; but there is general agreement that one universal factor in dis- 

 integration is complexity, an aspect of over-specialisation. The units of 

 an empire, be they individuals or factions, tend to work together in 

 harmony during the period of upward struggle ; but when a position of 

 dominance is won, they continue to struggle. When there are no new 

 worlds to conquer they begin to fight among themselves. Selfish aims 

 replace patriotic ones, and the community becomes discordant. 



The correspondence between this state of affairs and the morphogenetic 

 trends in other races of animals is so close that it needs no elaboration. 

 Those who deny that human institutions are subject to the laws of 

 organic evolution know either no history or no Palaeontology. Many 

 proverbs give epigrammatic statements of the principles of evolution in 

 imaginative terms. 



' 111 fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, 

 Where wealth accumulates and men decay.' 



The history of extinct empires, which should be studied as a cautionary 

 tale, is commonly regarded as providing an example to be followed. 

 Human nature has the curious trait of gambling against the laws of cause 

 and effect. We always hope that the fate that befel our predecessors will 

 pass us by. Babylon, Egypt, Rome, Spain all traversed the same track ; 

 and to-day we follow in their footsteps hoping to reach some different goal. 



