We find running through all the writings of Saint-Simon, from his first work, “Lettres d’un Habitant de Genève,” to his last one, the “Nouveau Christianisme,” an aim and purpose which may be considered the leading feature of his system. It is the attempt to discover an authority which shall rule the inner life of man as well as his external acts. There have been powers which were able to do this. The Catholic Church, up to the fifteenth century and the beginnings of the Reformation, was one. Since then, however, it has failed to embody in itself all the advances of science; it has consequently lost its hold on the minds of men, has declined in influence, and ceased to be an organic bond uniting different nations and molding men’s lives. The present age is, therefore, critical: that is to say, the preponderating factors entering into it are disintegrating. This was seen in the French Revolution, the culmination of this period, which was destructive. This critical period was necessary to clear away hinderances and prepare for an organic and constructive period, which ought now to follow, since the time is ripe for a new social system based on universal association. We are now in a transitional stage which is called a crisis.[43] The problem is to terminate the crisis. This can be accomplished only by an advance in knowledge, accompanied by a passage from the feudal and theological to the industrial and scientific system. War and industry occupied the Middle Ages and must now be replaced by industry alone. Belief, faith, having lost its power, must be replaced by knowledge. Knowledge and industry are to be united and govern the world. They are to furnish to men the guidance and leadership they need and desire. Carlyle said that the poor laborer “would fain find for himself a superior that should lovingly and wisely govern,” and that the wish and prayer of all human hearts was “give me a leader; a true leader, not a false sham-leader; a true leader, that he may guide me on the true way, that I may be loyal to him, that I may swear fealty to him and follow him, and feel that it is well with me.”[44] So thought Saint-Simon, when he appealed to thinkers and workers to unite and lead. He would gladly have seen England and France join in this movement, believing that they could draw the other powers into it. What were the specific objects of this leadership? What were the functions of this restored authority? First, universal peace was to be guaranteed. Formerly, the Catholic Church, in its character of arbiter of nations, imposed a wholesome restraint on kings, and lessened the number of wars. Since the decay of belief it was no longer possible for it to accomplish this. A European parliament composed of true leaders must now arbitrate between nations. This was ever a favorite theme of Saint-Simonism, and modern sentiment and agitation in favor of peace owe more than is generally known to Saint-Simon and his followers.