324 ADAPTATION AND PROGRESS 



more inclusive social unity. The church-ideal, for example, in- 

 cludes the " denomination " or Christianity as a whole; that of 

 the local union includes the trade union or the "laboring class." 



This leads to a point where we can suggest a social goal so far as 

 I know not previously formulated in social philosophy, 1 and with 

 no word to express it, I suggest exempli/action 2 to complete the 

 triad begun by innovation and imitation. 



This ideal of living a life that shall enter into other lives by the 

 power of example is by no means new as applied to individuals. 

 It seems to have been prominent in the consciousness of Jesus 

 when he said " Follow me "; when he taught that he was the 

 Way, and when he said to his disciples, " Let your light so shine 

 before men that they may see your good works." We find it 

 in the words of Paul (I Cor. xi. 1) : " Be ye followers of me even 

 as I also am of Christ." 3 This ideal as applied to groups is new, 

 however, so far as I know, with the possible exception of the 

 Hebrew prophet who taught that Israel should be a " light to the 

 Gentiles " (Isa. xlix.6), but even here the thought seems to be 

 that of social service by supremacy and social control, rather than 

 by the persuasion of example. 4 



The doctrine is just this: Every social unity, — family, church, 

 club, village, city, state, nation, — should have as its goal self- 

 preservation and self-enlargement, and should be led to see that 

 these can be secured best (1) by striving to develop such an 



1 Novicow's analysis of adaptation and his phrase "provoquer l'imitation" were 

 unknown to the writer until the manuscript was in the hands of the printer. Chap- 

 ter XIV was afterwards written and a few changes made in this chapter. With 

 Novicow, however, individual pleasure is the goal of life and individual and social 

 processes including "provoquer l'imitation" are considered but means to that end 

 dictated by self-interest. Our position, on the contrary, is that active adaptation 

 is the end and pleasure and pain sign-boards to indicate the right way. 



2 The words exemplification and exemplariness have somewhat different meaning. 

 * " Mi/i>7raE /iov ylv&rBt, k&$ws K&yw xpiorov. Cf. II Thessalonians, iii. 7-10. 

 4 Cf . Ward's " immortality of achievement." The highest form of struggle and 



rivalry, as Novicow has shown, and the form most potent in social progress, is 

 rivalry in excellence, i. e., struggle for that attainment that shall become immortal 

 through reflective imitation. " Imitation " as here used, so too, " example " have 

 the broad meaning of Tarde and Baldwin with no thought of slavish copying. 

 In this sense a person is imitated as his life is a source of inspiration and suggestion. 

 Only in this sense is Jesus the example for man. 



