The sun., 1902-06-21
NV H00kN
Atd, rrHe pI~. a wss'etn 'Hns =
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min hldd jMacuillansl Attention tho
nrk La- s'irastcd l-rvGu-r N. ,hsms j.
.r1fluudiy Interesting u - obvtous that.
. tI, urin,ip.s of civilization could h"
.l.fu.t.ly formulated Il would forthwith
n...irln pu~-ihb. Tor legislators to shap"
OBJ, 'uturr II thr views Put forward Nv
Nr Md have failcd 20 SECURE universal
ar even widespread, approval, i II ls'-
iu.r What he calls principles do not
.pmni"nd themselves az such To thinking
r.rn. nu, rather appear To H. mere lab"ls
,ri.n,isd With di-putable correct ness to
i'fr-ru' periods IA the evolution ~ man
s.rI What Mr. Kidd profes--s To have
Discovered il this. that civilization should
i., regarded ~ broken into halves
~ tho uiitsnc. of Christ ianity; that the
rrrripis presiding over the stage Of civili-
,t'iou which pr>ceded the Christian era
va. one In which tho ruling end was oh
aimed hv the Suhordlhation 81 81" indi-
t.iual So existing society, while IN prin-
.r'c that prcs,dss over the SECOND moie,y
which La followed the Christian era is
.." Wherein existing society i subordi-
into! 10 IN. soci.,y Of IL. future. Now.
,t"u II this division of utilization into
N...,os te separated 10y the Christian
ca. and distinguished by the sui
,.iua'tbn Of the individual 10 existing.
-..,'y or Of the existing society 10 the
.-.,'v " the future. what would the dis
,muation amount lo' II would amount
.rrIv to p~urd of stages: II would not
,,,.ain how the one stage came to hr
,..I,,d out 81 the other. IL would simply
ID. present the performance ~ service Ia
,.,. way ~ classification. such a humble
fIfrfTnTN nnrtOfm01
.r tU- pr,,uror~ Of I1marCk and Darwin,
.o erouud living 'hing- in sp"Vics and
.-..-.ra hu, failed 20 explain how one spe-
.... .uuh be evolved out of another
We rrrpa1, that, even n Mr. kidd- division
.',v..ika-on were corroCt, II would not cle-
,,rr ham to the rank OF these great ex-
r,timertar- IN synth.-is. who, like Hegel,
,nmrs. Buckle and Herbert spencer, have
,rdc,vor,d Ia PROFOUND a philosophy OF
history Ionsidcr"l however. merely a.
an essay In classification. Mr.. kidd's Great
tnuuDmy- il open To serious objections.
" hts been pointed out by Mr John Beat
- ,rugier, tho w.ll-known author of a
History ot Intellectual Development. IL
- impcs ,ble to separate mankind into
tho~r vho lived before and those who have
lived since the advent of Christianity,
aud to lay that. whereas the former lived
20 the present hour without ideals OF any
Kind stretching brvoud the present, either
ru this world OF IA" ncNt, IN" latter have
Ind an IDEAL IN the future whiDh has made
them dissatisfied with the present. To
draw such a distinction would bc to divide
mankind not INTO men and men. but into
mon and hrI'o- foi. according TO the
hypothe-is the men who lived before the
advent uf Christianity, lacking the sense
- the IDEAL, would hAv. laCkei the one
thing winch distinguishes men from hru''s
4, matter Of fat. no such distinction
c.n 10 drawn For thousands ~ years
before th. birth of Christ the inhabitants
of the Nile Valley hal IN their prayers to
O~lrz r',ounied their ohariil"s, their
deed. ot merry the uprightness of their
dealingS with their rrghborS, ami their
riffs to the priesthood. the temples and the
roI- and had given orders for their bodies
20 he emhnlm"d all IN the hope Of future
MORE glorious than the lie they had known
on this world
For morn than ten centuries before the
a.V"nt 81 Christianity, the jews had be-
h.N'd thCm~'lVr- to be a people chosen
hv jehovah not only ~ his ps..uliar people
4 no" present. hut A. hoIrS Of HIS future
krgiun, and they had clung 20 hat dream
curing oil their wandcungS, prosecutions
and .Xiles until at last not only the nation
a. whole but each individual in II. longed
and prayed for the coming Messiah. For
,onturicr before the lsraclitcs had appeared
upon tho scene. the lliudoos had looked for
ward To tho time when, 10y asCetcism, self
rrortlfca'.u .un- and prayers, they should
4Comc worthy to he united with the uni
,er~al spirit or BrahmI which 20 them was
alone real Again, upwards ~ seven CEN
'uric- before the dawn Of III" Christian
era not only was the life Of every Roman
,iiizcn bound up with the prosperity Of his
niiv m the present, but. ever as his city's
way cNtcuded he Identified himself more
and more with its fortunes. until, in the end
- continued existence into future ages
t~Camc 20 him synonymous with civiliza-
on r~"lf Then. again. Buddha, still
.furc tie time nf Christ, though after IN"
.,.ud'ns of the city Of Romulus had taught
li~ follower how 10 realize their dream 81
,-capng from the mi-aries Of this life. a.
we'll n from tho weary rounds of reincar-
,ston. into a Nirvanh Of everlasting eS-
'rction or rest No doubt Christianity
gave promise Of different future from that
.ou'cmplatcl by tho Egyptian, tho Hindoo,
'h. jew. the Roman or the Buddhist but
that j. a very different thing from saying
that Christianity alone held out the promise
q any future az all, and that. before the
advent II christianity, the lives of men
were bound up VA m" present.
Tho an'inomy which NJ Kidd wrongly
Uc-'r.l-s a. existing letween the whole
= ihc civilizr' "n whICh pre-, cd"d the Chris
IAN era ara whole Of IA" Civiiizat ION
which has fp..pWci 1t really exists brtwe-n
the two theories 81 po.tica! philosophy
which may IT, roughly defined a. individ-
.lalsm and -poral. sn. According To the
tng.iSh JtILtar!ans and the economists
- Tho Manchester school, who have h~ru
rouSpicuou- cNpnundcrs of individualisn,
he duty 81 legislation il to keep steadily
IN view the welfare of the living ludiv idual
10" welfare of coming generations Icing
q quit" secondary Importance. According
20 the Socialists. the vclfar" 81 given IN
iiyidual II 81 slight moment compared
with that 81 the community at large, and
he welfare nf any given generation Is Of
secondary moment To that of the innumer-
able generations that are 10 come. There
- nothing new either IN individualism or in