158 Spiritual Evolution of Society 



for the reason that it has been proved as clearly as any- 

 thing can be that all things are ruled by the Eternal, 

 who maketh for righteousness, and that He has or- 

 dained for man not only a physical and an intellectual, 

 but a spiritual evolution. The latter has been an 

 operating force since the advent of Christianity, which 

 has influenced men so that history has taken new shape 

 and departed from the evanescent military state to 

 one founded on the " sweet reasonableness " of Jesus, 

 establishing equality of opportunity for all, with 

 gradually increasing social betterment and the security 

 of permanence. 



One word more must be said in regard to " Labour." 

 The subject has been treated in no party spirit. I 

 think it may be said without fear of contradiction that 

 every subject considered in this volume has been dealt 

 with from the strictly scientific standpoint, the only 

 object sought after being to ascertain from observed 

 phenomena what is the path which man must follow 

 and to forecast as nearly as is humanly possible his final 

 goal. It may be supposed that because we observed 

 that the present labour movement dealt hardly with 

 those confined within its own sphere who were least 

 able to take care of themselves, that the attitude taken 

 up was hostile to this new power. By no means is this 

 so, because no one can or has any right to deny the vast 

 amount of good it has accomplished in the past. At 

 present it is undoubtedly imperfect, and that for two 

 reasons ; firstly, it is not thoroughly organised so as to 

 serve the interests of all the workers of all grades down 

 to the victims of sweated industries ; secondly, its 

 organisers have not fully realised the fact of the 

 spiritual evolution in process in society and the neces- 

 sity in all its methods of that spirit of altruism which 

 has come to us through the teaching of Jesus, towards 

 all men, if its power is to progressively increase and be 



