The Continental Monthly, Vol. 5, No. 3, March, 1864: Devoted to Literature and National PolicyVarious
History
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 5, No. 3, March, 1864: Devoted to Literature and National Policy
Various
Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; United States -- Politics and government -- 19th century -- Periodicals
Society, ignoring any such thing as soul, has declared that only the
measurable and necessary remains in man. Thence has arisen the science
of averages, pretending to foretell with mathematical certainty what a
man must do under given circumstances. Thence also has arisen this
maxim, so often quoted as final in all such questions, 'Every man has
his price.' Perhaps there is some ground too for this opinion. We have
before shown how, by division of labor, affection and volition have been
abstracted from life, while only a formal performance of duties by
others remains, and it would be strange if, under such _regime_, these
parts of the human nature should not become shrunken. But the soul is
not wholly gone yet; the world is mistaken--a little is left which
cannot be measured by dollars and cents, enough of benevolence yet to
make tolerable, enough of faith and love in the hearts of a few holy men
to keep the world from corruption.
Society was called by the Great Master a brotherhood. Even in heathen
times men were held by ties of kindred and country; now they acknowledge
practically no bond but that of interest. The word that is continually
in our mouths is 'framework of society,' 'social mechanism,' as though
it were impelled by a force from without, instead of being a living and
vital thing, moved and governed by its own vital forces. 'Law of
averages,' 'honesty is the best policy,' 'law of supply and demand,' are
supposed to be the forces that drive the affair, while any such power as
love or faith is ignored. But as with individuals, so with society. The
world is not so bad as it declares itself to be. Enough of patriotism is
still left to affect the gold market at times, enough of faith to keep
alive the effete aristocracy of Europe, enough of courage and honor to
rally around and bravely uphold a tattered flag in a battle for
constitutional freedom.
Although we have shown the existence of a mechanical tendency, yet our
labor is incomplete and practically useless unless we have shown how it
may be retarded or wholly counterbalanced. Some countervailing element
there must be, as is evident from the fact that, while the causes that
produce this tendency exist in modern society in tenfold greater power
than they ever had in ancient life, yet their operation has been, by
far, less rapid. Greece and Rome existed barely a thousand years, while
Anglo-Saxon civilization has already flourished much longer than that,
and as yet shows no signs of immediate decay.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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