The Ideal State 211 



presented to us systematic development, underlying 

 apparent confusion. In all the phases and incidents of 

 our social annals we are apparently regarding only 

 the intimately related phenomena of a single vast 

 orderly process of evolution." 



We have observed the rise and fall of the ancient 

 civilisations previous to the dawn of the Christian era. 

 The feature to be noted is that all these were founded 

 on a purely military basis ; the whole organisation of 

 the State was devoted to the maintenance of the 

 present ; there was no progressive social amelioration, 

 which alone can give permanence, because it is " broad- 

 based upon the people's will"; there was no looking into 

 the future with the intention of making things better 

 for the race to come. With the advent of Christianity 

 and the permeation of the minds of men with its 

 ethical altruism, the whole trend of things became 

 profoundly altered, the State was influenced by new 

 considerations, " the thoughts of men were widened 

 with the process of the suns," and most fortunately so, 

 otherwise civilisation could only succeed civilisation, 

 each in its turn to suffer inevitable ruin and decay. 

 But under our Western forms of government what do 

 we behold ? We see the State devoting its energies and 

 legislation to the one end and aim of improving the 

 condition of the people within its boundaries, and 

 framing its measures so as more and more to grant not 

 only political equality, but equality of opportunity to 

 every individual. If this were not so there could be no 

 stability : herein, alone, is permanence. The French 

 Revolution proves this to a demonstration. That 

 violent and terrible outburst was produced by the 

 conditions which preceded it, and its arrival was as 

 certain as the operation of natural law. No doubt it 

 was " too rash, too unadvised, too sudden," but it was 

 necessary, and it was a warning, and to all time it will 



