The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1898-01-06

IL TO our purpose so to do. We have
tried to show in previous papers those
primary foundation stones upon which
all society, at any period and under
any conditions, must rest. Yet even
here, we too may be at fault, because
in judging the influences which move
society we can only unite in combina-
tiOn those ideas which we have seen at
work in some form in existing social
life. Did we overstep this boundary.
even in the mildest sense. we leave be-
hind the domain of fact for the ocean
of fancy. We must see society as it
was and is, and as it will, in all proba-
billy, continue to be; and so seeing we
can the more readily apply those in
f1uences for good we now possess and
in the end it may be, the world will see
that visionary Utopia, that Arcadia of
peace and happiness, that socialistic
Eden over which shall wave "the flag
OF peace unfurled-in the brotherhood
OF man, the federation of the world
The evolution of social life has not
yet reached that period when it may
dispense with or disregard the ideas of
government. of law, religion, commerce
and the many basic ideas Of social ex-
istence. The fact of their existence in
the earliest known period of social life
and their retention in some form by
intervening ages, preludes their ex-
istence in future social life for ages
yet to come
Leaving, then, to the historian the
task of detailing the progress through
ages of the ideas which influence
society, let us, ere passing from the
consideration of those ideas in ancient
life to the influence eXerted by them in
the present, briefly recapitulate the
tenor and direction Of them as already
set forth
We have seen that social life as
shown by mans tendency to form the
social group, was natural to man.
That the group thus formed naturally,
was more firmly cemented by art, or
intelligence This intelligence demon
strated the benefit of union of individ-
uals and the result of this union of
individuals was union of ideas, union
of purposes, and that progress was the
logical result of the element of union
entering savage life. We have seen
that ages must have existed before
this idea of union had developed suffi-
ciently to be the basis of action in de-
veloping social ideas; yet other ages
before this union of ideas made possi-
BILE the controlling influences of an
cient life. We have traced in outline
this union of ideas producing and de
veloping in ancient life, the primary
ideas of our present social life as
seen in government, law, literature, re-
ligion, art. war and commerce, and
while these are by no means all of the
fundamental ideas upon which society
has been or now is based, they have
been, as presented, sufficient to indi-
cate the line of thought that we might
develop consideration of any idea or
combination of ideas we severally may
assume as primarily important in the
maintaining of society or contributing
in any way to social progress.
1t is not absolutely necessary for
you to assume the factors presented
by me as THE factors; they are not put
forth for that purpose, but merely to
serve as an Indicator for the method of
consideration, and to point more clearly
the necessity for consideration of the
past in order the more readily to com.
prehend the present. Most of us are
so much taken up with the present
that we pay scant heed to the past and
care less for the future. Did we, as
individuals, look clearly upon the past
IN our personal lives, we might trace,
step by step these influences leading
to and producing the present and
which must, unless counteracted by
other influences, continue to produce
their certain future. just so in our
broader social life, our national life:
for the nation is but the aggregation
Of individuals and the characteristics