FromMill’sconstantinsistenceuponthepowerofassociationandtheempiricalcharacterofallknowledge，itmightbeinferredthatevenscientificprogressisprecariousandunstable。ToBucklethedevelopmentofscientificknowledgeseemstobeinevitable，ifonlythemindisallowedtoworkfreely。Themostconspicuousfactsofthedaygaveforcetohisconviction。Theenormouschangesinthewholeconstitutionofsocietywereduetotheadvanceofmechanicaldiscoveriesandtothetriumphoffree-traders。WattandAdamSmith，notthereligiouspreachers，representtherealtransformingforce。Thesteam-enginehasalteredthewholepositionofthehumanrace。ThesermonsofMethodistsandCatholicshavelefttheaveragemanjustwherehewas。Napoleonwasagreatcriminal，andWilberforce，perhaps，agreatphilanthropist。Theirinfluencehasbeentransitory，whilethescientificinventorshavesetupchangeswhichwillcontinuetogatherforceastheagesroll。
Thetruthcontainedinthis，again，seemstobeUndeniable。
Modifythe’environment’andyourorganismismodifiedthroughout。Altertheclimate，thesoil，theamountoffertileland，andthewholestateofmankindwillbealtered。That，again，hasbeenvirtuallyachievedbymoderndiscoveries。Thoughthenaturalforcesmaybethesame，ourrelationtothemhasbeenaltered；and，ifmorefertilesoilhasnotbeenwroughtintoexistence，thefertilesoilhasbeenbrought，wemaysay，nearertoourdoors。Moreover，thechangehasbeenprimarilyduetoscientificdiscoveryandnottoanymoralchange；orthemoralchanges，whatevertheymaybe，havebeentheconsequence，notthecause。SofarasBuckleemphasisedthisaspect，hewasclearlyinsistinguponatruthwhichrequiresrecognition。Thequestioniswhatbearingthishasuponthephilosophyofhistory，andwhetheritjustifiesusindiscardingtheinfluenceofthe’moral’elementinbuildingupthesocialstructure。
Thegeneraldoctrineleadstotheconclusionthattheessentialdifferencebetweentwostagesofhistoryisthedifferencebetweenthequantityofknowledgepossessedanditsdiffusionthroughoutallclasses。ThatisreallyBuckle’scontention，fromwhichallhisconclusionsarededucible。The’totalityofhumanactions，’ashesays，is’governedbythetotalityofhumanknowledge；44*or，asheelsewhereputsit，45*thehistoryofevery’civilisedcountryisthehistoryofitsintellectualdevelopment。’Ifearlysocietiesaregovernedbythe’physicallaws，’latersocietiesaregovernedbytheactionofthoselawsuponourminds，andtheactionisthusprofoundlymodifiedasourknowledgeofthelawsextends。The’environment’hasadifferentrelationtous，butremainstheultimateandindependentdeterminant。Ifthisbethewholetruth，itwouldfollowthatwemightwritethehistoryofmankindbywritingthehistoryofscience。Allotherphenomenawouldbesimplydeducibleascorollariesfromthestateofknowledge。
Comtehadsuggestedthathistorymightbewrittenwithoutmentioningthenamesofindividuals。OnBuckle’sassumption，historymaydealsimplywiththegrowthofscientificideas；and，therefore，weneednottakeintoaccountthemoralideasorallthecomplexsystemofactionswhichcomeundertheheadofthewillandtheemotionsinpsychologicaltreatises。
Isitpossibletowriteahistoryuponsuchterms？Grantingthatknowledgedefinesthebaseuponwhichthewholestructuremustrepose，Canweabstractfromallthisconsiderationsofthewayinwhichmen’sbeliefsarebroughttobearupontheconstitutionofsociety？ThedifficultybecomesobviousassoonasBuckleturnsfromhisgeneralprincipletothehistoricalapplication。MarkPattison，46*inhisreviewoftheHistoryonitsfirstappearance，putsthepoint。Buckle，hesays，afterinsistingupontheutterinadequacyoftheoldhistoricalandmetaphysicalmethods，proceedsto’exemplifytheverymethodofwritinghistorywhichhehadcondemned。’HisaccountofFrenchsocietyis，asPattisonsays，a’masterlysketch，’unequalledinbreadthandcomprehensivenessofviewbyanyEnglishwriter。But，then，itbringsinpreciselytheelementsofindividualinfluence，andsoforth，whichBuckleexpresslyprofessedtoexclude。Iwilladdnothingtothecommendationpossessingahigherauthoritythanmyown。Buckle’ssurveys，notonlyofFrench，butofEnglish，Spanish，andScottish，Ibelieve，mayfullyjustifytheopinionthathisabilities，rightlydirected，mighthaveproducedahistorysurpassingtheachievementofanyofhisrivals。ButtheonlyquestionwithwhichIamconcernedistherelationofthehistorytothephilosophy。Buckle，ifhehadsimplywrittenahistoryofEngland，mighthaveeclipsedHallamorMacaulayintheirownline。Didhereallyinaugurateabettermethodofwritinghistoryingeneral？or，ifnot，whatcausedthefailureofamanpossessedofsuchsingularqualifications？
Adifficultyissuggestedeveninregardtothepurelyscientificdevelopment。Bucklespeakswiththewarmestenthusiasmofgreatmen，suchasDescartes，whosescientificdiscoveriesrevolutionisedthought，orAdamSmith，47*who，bypublishingasinglework，contributedmoretohumanhappinessthanallthestatesmenandlegislatorsofwhomwehaveanauthenticrecord。
Howcanthisbereconciledwiththeinsignificanceoftheindividual？Agreatdiscoveryisnecessarilytheworkofanindividual。Nocombinationofsecond-ratemencouldhavesuppliedtheplaceofasingleNewton。ItthereforeoccurstoBucklethat，afterall，theindividualhastobetakenintoaccount。IfDescartesandSmithhaddiedofthemeaslesininfancy，progresswouldhavebeenarrested。Toescapethisconclusion，hereferstothe’spiritoftheage，’whichwouldhavemadethediscoveryfruitlessatadifferentperiod。Whatiscoveredbythatphrase？
Thesocialinfluencedoesnotsupersedethenecessityforindividualgenius。Everythingthatisdonemustofcoursebedonebyindividuals。The’spiritoftheage’mustmeansuchasocialorderasfostersdiscovery；anorder，forexample，inwhichsomanymenaredevotedtoscientificinquirythatdiscoverybecomescertain。Themanofgeniusisstillfirstintherace；butheisfirstofmanycompetitors，who，evenifheweretodie，wouldachievethesameresultalittlelater。Theindividualisstillrequired，buttheimportanceofanyparticularindividualissofardiminished。Thegrowthofsciencecannotbeexplained，inthehistoricalsense，withoutreferencetothesocialorderwhichleadstothecultivationofscience。Itisnotsomethingwhichgrowsofitsownaccordoutsideofsociety，butsupposesthewholesocialstructureandthemoralfactorwhichweareendeavouringtodiscard。
ThedifficultyaffectsBuckle’smodeofdealingwiththegreathistoricalproblems。Sinceprogressdependsabsolutelyuponthegrowthofscience，theoneessentialisthespiritofinquiry，or，ashecallsit，’scepticism。’Itsnaturalantagonististhe’protective’spirit，whichimpliesservilesubmissiontoauthorityinmattersofopinionorpractice。ThedisastrouseffectsofsuchaspiritaretracedinSpainandScotland。The’inquisition’andthetyrannyofPuritanministersareitsnaturalfruits。Noone，ofcourse，willdenytheevilsduetoasuppressionofintellectualactivity。ToexhibitandtodenouncethoseevilsisataskwhichBuckleperformswithadmirablevigour。But，sofar，heismerelywritinganeffectivepamphletonalargescale。HeisdenouncingtheprotectivespiritastheWhighistoriandenouncesToryism，orrivalreligioushistoriansfindtheevilprincipleinProtestantismorPopery。Theprotectivespiritisanabstractionwhichmeansaqualityofthewholesocietyconsideredfromonepointofview；itsrelation，namely，toscientificprogress。Itcannotbeanultimatecauseofpowerinitself——butisaproductofmanycomplexconditions。
Toconsideritimpartially，toformanaccuratediagnosisofthediseaseistheproblemforthescientifichistorian。Heshoulddiscovertheuniformlawswhoseworkingismanifestinthemorbidcondition，and，inthecaseofSpain，rendertheintellectualparalysispermanentandincurable。HereBuckle’smethodbecomesthatoftheordinaryhistorian。HereferstotheearthquakesandvariousphysicalconditionswhichapplytothecaseofSpanishsuperstition。Wenowlearn，however，thatthesephysicalinfluencesare’interwovenwithalongchainofotherandstillmoreinfluentialevents，’whichenableustotracethestepsofdeclinewith’unerringcertainty。’48*Wegoback，therefore，bothinSpainandScotlandtothepoliticalhistory；totheplayofpartyandclass-interests，whichhaveforcedapriesthoodatonetimetoallyitselfwithdespots，andatanothertothrowitselfuponthepeople。Thehistorymaybeaccurateandthefactsallegedarenodoubtrelevant；buttheyleavethedifficultproblemsunsolved。Why，forexample，wastheSpanishpeopleattheheadofEuropeanracesinthesixteenthcentury，andwhydiditthensuddenlysinkintodecay？WhydidScotland，sunkinsuperstitionintheseventeenthcentury，become，thoughstillthemostsuperstitiouscountryinEurope，themostenergeticandprogressivepartoftheBritishempire？Toattacksuchproblemsitwould，Itakeit，benecessarytostudyimpartiallyavastvarietyofsocialandofwhatBucklecallsmoralquestions；togiveweighttoanumberof’interwoven’causes，determiningthehistoryofthetworaces。Thefacts——theintellectualstagnationofSpainandtheintoleranceofScottishPuritanism——
imply，asBuckleurges，somegeneralcauses。Thehistoryshowsthematwork，andBuckle’ssurveybringsoutmanysignificantfacts。Still，whentheprotectivespiritishypostatisedandmadeakindofindependentcause，determiningandnotdeterminedbythegeneralsocialstate，wemissthemostinterestingproblem，ortakethesolutionforgranted。What，afterall，isthetruesecretofthismysteriouspower？Whencecameitsvitality？Theevilprincipleappearslikethesupernaturalsovereignin’PhilipBeauchamp’ortheDemogorgonofShelley’sPrometheus，acrueltyrantenforcingfalsebelief——evenso，herequirestobeexplainedaswellasdenounced，andweareatleasttemptedtoaskwhetherthechurchandthekingmustnothavedischargedsomeusefulsocialfunction；andthecreedhaveembodiedsomeelementofthoughtandemotioncongenialtohumannature。ThatistheaspectneglectedbyBuckle。
Oneortwoconspicuousexamplesoftheresultmaybeindicated。BucklehastodealwiththeFrenchrevolution。49*
Nobodyhasbeenmoreemphaticininsistingthathistoryshoulddealwiththefactswhichillustratethestateofthepeopleinsteadofconfiningitselftocourtintrigues。NorcouldanyonespeakmorestronglyofthemiseryoftheFrenchpopulationbeforetherevolution。Yetthewholeexplanationhastobesoughtinthepurelyintellectualcauses。Thesocialcausesaresimplydroppedoutofaccount。TherevolutionwasduetotheFrenchphilosophers。IntellectualactivityhadbeenentirelysuppressedbythedespotismofLouisXIV。Thephilosophers，heholds，learnedthenewdoctrinefromEngland。Thepersecutionofthefreethinkersbythelaterrulersandaservilepriesthoodforcedthephilosopherstoattackboththedespots，andunfortunately，asBuckleholdstoattackChristianityaswell。Henceboththeachievementsandtheincidentalevilscausedbythefinaloutbreak。Thetheory，thoughstrangelyinadequate，isanaturalcorollaryfromthedoctrinethatthehistoryofanationisthehistoryofitsintellectualdevelopment。Voltaire’sstudyofLockebecomestheefficientcauseofagiganticsocialchange：A
singlecharacteristic，itselftheproductofmanyfactors，ismadetoaccountforthewholecomplexprocess。Stillmoresignificantishisaccountofthedecreasinginfluenceofthewarlikespirit。That，too，mustbeaproductofpurelyintellectualcauses。Divineshavedonenothingbypreaching，butintellectualmovementhasoperatedin’threeleadingways。’50*
Thediscoveriesofgunpowder，offreetradeprinciples，andoftheapplicationofsteamtotravellinghaveproducedthepeaceabletendencies，which，inBuckle’sday，wereapparentlysonearafinaltriumph。LetusfullygrantwhatIhopeistrue，thatthiscorrespondstoatruth；thatthevariousforceswhichhavebroughtmentogethermayultimatelyconducetopeace；and，moreover，thatthediscoveriesofscienceareamongtheultimateconditionsofthemostdesirableofallchanges。Doesthisenableustoabstractfromthesocialmovement？Gunpowder，accordingtoBuckle，facilitatedthedifferentiationofthemilitaryfromtheotherclasses。Thatalreadyassumesaprocessonlyintelligiblethroughthesocialhistory。Buckletellsusthat’divines’havedonenothing。Ifhemeansthattheyhavenotpersuadednations，ornoteventriedtopersuadethem，toturnthesecondcheek，heisunanswerable。Religion，ashesayselsewhere，51*isan’effect，’notacauseofhumanimprovement。Itcan，infact，beanoriginalcauseonlyonthehypothesisofasupernaturalintervention。Itmustbean’effect’inthesensethatitisaproductofhumannatureunderalltheconditions。Ifbyreligionismeantsimplythebeliefinfictitiousbeings，itmaybeconsideredassimplyanobstructiontoscientificadvance；andthepriesthood，asBucklegenerallyseemstohold，isthegangofimpostorswhoturnittoaccount。Inanycase，the’moral’