1893. ] The Quantity of Human Life. 201 
lead a more varied life than primitive men, probably more 
varied than our contemporary the Fuegian, whose life is a 
monotonous ordeal of physical suffering, or the Esquimau 
whose days are passed in the unbroken solitudes of Arctic 
America. In view of these unprecedented changes, and the 
steady increase of population, it is but a step to the conclusion 
that the quantity of human life on the globe to-day is greater 
than ever before. In all probability the aggregate quantity 
of conscious life which has been experienced during the nine- 
teenth century is |far greater than the life experienced in any 
antecedent period of equal duration. Never was there a 
recorded time when the drain upon natural resources was so 
great as it is to-day. These resources are all turned either 
directly or indirectly toward the furtherance of human experi- 
ence. Notonly do these agencies of civilization add to the 
multiplicity of human experiences, but they also add to their 
pleasurableness. Thus undaunted by the clamors of pessimism 
we may firmly believe that the sum of human happiness is 
greater to-day than ever before. 
The marked feature with which we are impressed in review- 
ing the evolution of human life, is its growing complexity. 
But by the very terms of a previous proposition, this signifies 
a growth in the quantity of conscious experience. All primi- 
tive life was simple and plain. Monotony was stamped upon 
its music, language, gesture, and the rounds of domestic, social 
and political life. The frequent repetitions of barbarian 
speech, and the sing-song tones of their music are in pitiable 
contrast to the sweeping climax and anti-climax of the civil- 
ized orator or opera singer. 
The principle is of general application. All orders of expe- 
rience are more varied in the civilized than in the savage 
state. Hence the quantity of life for each individual is greater, 
and the totality of human experiences immensely greater with 
the diffusion of civilization. We have now considered some of 
the factors which determine the quantity of human life. The 
final inquiry remains, how are we to live most? and how is the 
race to live most? Judging from the foregoing conclusions 
we would say in the case of the individual, that this end is 
