I admire the prophetic pragmatism of Milligan and West, although my prophetic pragmatism takes a more Deweyan direction. Allow me to offer my pragmatic testimony while affirming Milligan's attitude of enthusiastic religiosity before the larger existential questions. Further, I do not want to believe that there is an end of history, for if there is that place is hell to me. Those that contemplate heaven's perfection envision a realm where they may rest from the weary work of the natural world. Strangely, they never contemplate the repugnance of a world where there is no more meaning to be made.
Progress is desirable, but it is a teleological term that depends on where one wants to go.
One does not need to think things are getting better to do their best, or that there is some cosmic guarantee of success. Such is the attitude of the meliorist in contrast to the optimist. It arouses confidence and a reasonable hopefulness as optimism does not. Too readily optimism makes the men who hold it callous and blind to the sufferings of the less fortunate, or ready to find the cause of troubles of others in their personal viciousness. If in 1894 he was losing his Hegelian faith in the ultimate identity of the ideal and the real, he was not losing his faith that life is in the final analysis worthwhile and full of ideal meaning.