teachingofpriestscannotbetheultimatecauseofmoralimprovement。Yetnoone，itmightbesupposed，couldexplainthehistoryofthewarlikesentimentinEuropewithouttakingintoaccounttheinfluenceembodiedinthechurch。ThattheCatholicchurchrepresentedagreatprincipleofcohesion；thatitwasanorganisationwhichenabledthemenofintellecttoexerciseaninfluenceoversemi-barbarouswarriors，areadmittedfactswhichthehistorianisatleastboundtoconsider。Atwhateverperiodthebodymayhavebecomecorrupt，itisanessentialfactinthesocialprocesseswhichprecededtheinventionofgunpowder，andcertainlythediscoveriesofWattandAdamSmith。Buckle，asarule，treatsthechurchsimplyasanupholderofsuperstition。Heridiculesthehistorianswhobelievedinabsurdmiraclesin’whatarerightlytermedthedarkages，’52*anddeclaressummarilythat’untildoubtbegan，progresswasimpossible。’YetBucklewouldcertainlyhaveadmittedthattherewassomeprogressbetweentheheptarchyandthereformation。
Thetruthwhichhismethodcompelshimtoneglectseemstobeobvious。Themovementofreligiousthoughtrepresentsforcesnottobemeasuredbythequantityofeffetesuperstitionswhichitcontains。Thereligioncorrespondstothedevelopmentoftheinstinctswhichdeterminethewholesocialstructure。Thegeneralmoralaxioms——loveyourneighbour，andsoforth——may，asBuckleurges，remainunaltered；butthechangeintheidealsoflifeandthewholeattitudeofmentoeachothertakesplaceinthereligioussphere。IfChristianitydoesnotcorrespondtoaforceimposedfromwithout，itmaystillcorrespondtotheprocessesofthoughtbywhichsympathyhasextendedandmenbeendrawnintocomparativeunityandharmony。Totreatthepowerofreligionassimplyaproductofignorantsuperstitionistobeunabletounderstandthehistoryoftheworld。SomuchBucklemighthavelearnedfromComteinspiteofthelatervagariesofpositivism。
AnothercollateralconclusionmarksBuckle’sposition。Asahistorianofpoliticalprogressheisconstantlydwellingupontheimportanceofindividualaction。ThetolerantpolicyofRichelieu，thedespoticsystemofLouisXIV，andsoforth，arethegreataidsorimpedimentstohumanprogress。Howisthisreconcilablewiththedoctrinesthatindividualactionisnothingandthespontaneousgrowthofknowledgeeverything？Inanswerwearereferredtothegreatgeneralcauses，ortotheprotectivespiritorthespiritoftheage，whichreallygovernthewholeprocessinspiteofsuperficialandtransitorycauses。Whatpreciselyismeantbytheseabstractions？Towhatdoestheprotectivespiritinpoliticsoweitsmalignpersistence？What，inshort，isthesourceandtruenatureofthepowerofgovernment？Theansweris，thattoSuckle，astotheUtilitarians，governmentrepresentsakindofexternalforce；
somethingimposeduponthepeoplefromwithout；a’sovereign，’inAustin’ssense，whocanneveroriginateorimpel，thoughhecancoerceandsuppress。HechoosesthehistoryofEnglandforhissubject，ashetellsus，becauseEnglandhasbeen’lessaffectedthananyothercountrybythetwomainsourcesofinterference，namely，theauthorityofgovernmentandtheinfluenceofforeigners。’53*Botharetreatedas’interferences’fromwithout，whichdistortthenaturaldevelopment。Englishhistoryisinterestingnotbecauseitspoliticalconstitutionisamostcharacteristicoutgrowthofitssocialstate，butbecauseallgovernmentissimplyaninterference，andinEnglandhashadaminimuminfluence。Consistentlywiththis，heattackstheopinionthatprogresshaseverbeenduetogovernment。Governmentis，ofcourse，necessarytopunishcrimeandpreventanarchy；54*butevenitssuccessfuleffortsare’altogethernegative’；and，evenwhereitsintentionshavebeengood，ithasbeengenerallyinjurious。Briefly，governmentispowerfulforevil，andtheoneprincipleisthatrulersshouldhavea’verylittle’powerandexerciseit’verysparingly。’55*Attimesheisinclinedtodenyallinfluencetogovernment。SpeakingofScotland，heremarksthatthoughbadgovernmentcanbeextremelyinjuriousforatime，itcan’producenopermanentmischief。’56*’Solongasthepeoplearesound，’hesays，’thereislifeandwillbereaction……Butifthepeopleareunsoundallhopeisgoneandthenationperishes。’What，then，makesthepeople’sound’？Isnotthisatacitadmissionoftheimportanceofthemoralfactor？
Hasnotthereligionofanationsomeinfluence，andsometimesperhapsaninfluenceforgood，uponitsmorality？PuritanisminScotlandwasassociatedwithgrosssuperstition；wasitnotalsoanexpressionofthemoralconvictionswhichpreservedthe’soundness’oftherace？CatholicisminSpainisstill，accordingtoBuckle，associatedwithahighmoralstandard；butthishas’availedtheSpaniards’nothing，57*becauseithassuppressedintellectualprogress。Ithassurelybeenofsomeuseifithaspreservedtheirvirtue。But，inanycase，whatistheexplanationofthepowerofgovernmentwhichcanthusdestroythe’soundness’
ormoralityandruinthefortunesofapeople？Buckle’stheorymightapplytothecaseofanationconqueredbyaforeigntyrant。Hedenouncesconquerorsintheoldtoneaspestsanddestroyersofmen，whopasstheirwholelivesinincreasinghumanmisery。58*Yetconquesthasbeenafactorinthedevelopmentofallnations，andBucklehimselfarguesthattheNormanconquestwasanessentialstepinestablishingthelibertiesofEnglishmen。59*Itisstillmoredifficulttosupposethatagovernmentwhichisthegrowthofapeople’sownrequirementscanbesimplymischievous。Withouttryingtosolvesuchpuzzles，wemaysaythatthewholedoctrineseemstoimplyamisconceptionoftherelationsbetweenthepoliticalandthesocialandmoralconstitutionofanation。Nosatisfactorytheorycanbeformed，whenitisassumedthatthefunctionofgovernmentissimplytokeepthepeaceinsteadofinquiringhistoricallywhatfunctionsithasactuallydischarged。WhenBuckleregardsgovernmentlikethe’physicallaws’asthecauseofpuremischief，heceasestobescientificandbecomesafterafashionamoralist，denouncinginsteadofexplaining。
Theconnectionofthiswiththedo-nothingdoctrinewhichBuckleacceptsinitsfullestformisobvious。ThelessgovernmentthebetteristhenaturalformulaforadiscipleofAdamSmith。WhatishereimportantistheconnectionofthedoctrinewithBuckle’sfirstprinciples。Thepoliticalordercannotbethustreatedasifitwereanindependentpowerimpingingfromwithoutuponanaturalorder；itisaproductofthewholeorganism，andtodenounceitassimplybadisreallymeaningless。Itispartoftheessentialstructure，andthereforewecannotproperlyabstractfromtheotherpartsofthesystem。
Thisorthatregulation，orthisorthatwheelofthepoliticalmachinerymaybesuperfluousormischievous；butthequestioncanonlybedecidedbyregardingthesystemasawhole，andnotbytreatingtherulingpowerassomethingseparable。Itsinterferencehastobetreatedasabnormalorassimplymischievous，andyetasofvitalimportanceinhistory。Itbecomesamysterysimplybecausewedonotinvestigateitsnaturewithduereferencetoitsfunctionsinthebodypolitic。Inotherwords，Bucklebecomesincoherentbecausehismethodinduceshimfromthestarttoneglectwhatisimpliedwhensocietyisdescribedasorganic。Hewasspeakinganindisputabletruthwhenhesaidthatsocietydependsthroughoutuponthe’environment’inthephysicallaws。Itisnotlesstruetosaythatastheintellectualprogressdevelope，therecognitionofthoselawssuppliesanultimateandunchangeableconditionofthewholeprocessofsocialgrowth。Allcivilisationdependsabsolutely，asheasserts，uponthecorrespondingstateofknowledge。Theerrorisintheassumptionthatwecanthereforeomittheconsiderationofthecomplexlawswhichgovernthegrowthoftheorganismitself。TheindividualismwhichheshareswiththeUtilitariansmakeshimblindtotheimportanceofthelineofinquirywhichwastoshowitspowerinthefollowingperiod。Iftheprimitivedespotismsaresetdownsimplyasanecessaryresultof’physicallaws，’itissuperfluoustoinquireintotherealnatureoftheinstitutionswhichtheyimply，ortogainanylightupontheworkingofsimilarprincipleselsewhere。Whenthewholeecclesiasticalandpoliticalconstitutionoflateragesissetdownsimplyasarelicofbarbarism，andthereligiousandsocialinstinctswhichareelaboratedthroughthemassimplyproductsofignorance，theprocessbecomesunintelligible。If，therefore，Bucklewasrecognisingarealconditionofsoundinvestigation，hecondemnedinadvancetheverykindofinquirywhichhasprovedmostfruitful。Ifhedidmoreinhispurelyhistoricalinquiriesitwasbecausehethenforgothisphilosophyandhadtotakeintoaccounttheconsiderationswhichhehadpronouncedtobeirrelevant。That，Ibelieve，isthereasonwhyBuckle，inspiteofhissurpassingabilities，didnotmakeanycorrespondingmarkuponlaterinvestigations。Hewastryingtoframeaphilosophyofhistoryuponprincipleswhichreallymaketheformationofacoherentphilosophyimpossible。Briefly，then，BucklesharedtheambitionoftheUtilitarianstomakeallthemoralsciencesscientific。Sofarashiswritingstrengthenedtheleaningtoascientifictendencyhewasworkingintherightdirection。
Unfortunatelyhealsosharedtheircrudeassumptions：the’individualism’whichignoresthesocialfactor，anddeducesallinstitutionsfromanabstract’man’；thetendencytoexplaintheearlierfromthelaterstages；andtheimpressionthat’lawsofnature’aretobeunravelledbyasummarymethodofdiscoveringco-existencesofconcretephenomena；andwasthereforeledtosubstitutehastygeneralisationsforthatelaboratestudyofthegrowthofinstitutionsandbeliefswhichhasbeenthemostmarkedtendencyofsociologicalinquiryduringthelastgeneration。SofarhesharesandillustratestherealweaknessoftheUtilitarians，theprematureattempttoconstituteasciencewhenwecanonlybelabouringeffectuallybytryingtodeterminethedata。
HereImaytrytoindicate，thoughIcannotdevelop，ageneralconclusion。WhatwasthetruesignificanceoftheUtilitarianparadoxtheindifferencetohistorycombinedwiththeappealtoexperience？Historyinthenarrowersenseisaparticularcaseofevolution；andifitcouldbemadescientific，wouldformulatethelawsbywhichtheexistinginstitutions，political，ecclesiastical，andindustrial，havegrownoutofearlierstates。Theimportanceoftakingintoaccountthe’genetic’pointofview，ofinquiringintothegrowthaswellastheactualconstitutionofthings，isobviousinallthescienceswhichareconcernedwithorganiclife。Thoughwecannotanalysetheorganismintoitsultimateconstituentfactors，wecanlearnsomethingbytracingitsdevelopmentfromsimplerforms。Themethodisapplicabletobiologyaswellastosociology；andassciencesextended，itsimportancebecamemanifest。Sometheoryofevolutionwasrequiredineverydirection，andmustobviouslybenecessaryifwearetocarryoutsystematicallytheprinciplesoftheuniformityandcontinuityofnature。ThedifficultyoftheUtilitarianswasallalongthattheoriesofevolutionappearedtothemtoinvolvesomethingmysticalandtranscendental。Theyproposedtoanalyseeverythingtilltheycouldgettosingleaggregationsoffacts，orintheirsenseideal，thatis，toathoroughgoingatomism。ThisleadstotheparadoxindicatedbyHume’sphrase。Theatoms，thingsandthoughts，mustbecompletelyseparateandyetinvariablyconjoined。Causationbecomesmeresequenceorconjunction，and’experience’ceasestoofferanygroundforanticipation。IhavetriedtoshowhowthisaffectedtheUtilitariansineverysubject；intheirphilosophical，legal，ethical，andeconomicalspeculations；andhowtheyalwaysseemtobeinneedof，andyetalwaystorejectbyanticipation，sometheoryofevolution。Toappealto’experience’theyhavetomakethewholeuniverseincoherent，whiletogetgenerallawstheyhavetotreatvariableunitsasabsolutelyconstant。’Externalcircumstances’mustaccountforallvariation，thoughitisdifficulttoseehoweverythingcanbe’external。’Thedifficultyhasnowappearedinhistoryproper，andtheattempttobaseasociologyuponapurelyindividualistassumption。ThismayhelptoexplainthegreatinfluenceoftheDarwiniantheories。Theymarkedthepointatwhichadoctrineofevolutioncouldbealliedwithanappealtoexperience。Darwinappealedtonomysticalbond，butsimplytoverifiableexperience。Hepostulatedthecontinuanceofprocessesknownbyobservation，andaimedatshowingthattheywouldsufficientlyexplainthepresentascontinuouswiththepast。Therewasnothingmysticaltoalarmempiricists，andtheirconsequentadoptionofDarwinismimpliedaradicalchangeintheirmethodsandassumptions。Thecrudeempiricismwastransformedintoevolutionism。Thechangemarkedanapproximationtotheconceptionsoftheoppositeschoolwhendulymodified，andthereforeinsomedegreeareconciliation。
’Intuitions’nolongerlookedformidablewhentheycouldberegardedasdevelopedbytheraceinsteadofmysteriouslyimplantedintheindividualmind。Theorganiccorrelationswereadmissiblewhentheyweretakentoimplygrowthinsteadofsupernaturalinterference，anditwasnolongerpossibletoregard’naturalkinds’asmereaggregatesofarbitrarilyconnectedproperties。Ineednotaskwhichsidereallygainedbythechange，whetherDarwinisminevitablyleadstosomemoresubtleformofatomism，orwhethertheacceptanceofanyevolutiondoesnotleadtoidealism——toabeliefinahigherteleologythanPaley’s——andtheadmissionthatmindor’spirit’
mustbetheultimatereality。Suchproblemsmaybetreatedbythephilosopherofthefuture。Withoutanticipatinghisverdict，I
musttrytoindicatethefinaloutcomeofwhatpassedforphilosophywiththeUtilitarians。
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