104 MY LIFE 



short address at this " Hall of Science," and that I was struck 

 by his tall spare figure, very lofty head, and highly benevolent 

 countenance and mode of speaking. Although later in life 

 my very scanty knowledge of his work was not sufficient to 

 prevent my adopting the individualist views of Herbert 

 Spencer and of the political economists, I have always looked 

 upon Owen as my first teacher in the philosophy of human 

 nature and my first guide through the labyrinth of social 

 science. He influenced my character more than I then knew, 

 and now that I have read his life and most of his works, I am 

 fully convinced that he was the greatest of social reformers 

 and the real founder of modern Socialism. For these reasons 

 I trust that my readers will not consider the space I have here 

 devoted to an outline of his great work at New Lanark is 

 more than the subject deserves. 



The preceding sketch of his life and work is founded upon 

 his " Life " written by himself, and accompanied by such a 

 mass of confirmatory reports and correspondence as to show 

 that it can be thoroughly relied on. It has, however, long 

 been out of print, and very few people have read it or even 

 heard of it, and it is for this reason that I have given this 

 brief outline of its contents. The fine obituary notice of 

 Owen by his contemporary and friend, Mr. G. J. Holyoake, 

 together with the book on his life and times by his fellow- 

 worker, Lloyd Jones, show that I have in no way exaggerated 

 either his character or his achievements. 



