Thus, unless the teachings of New-Malthusianism be generally acted upon, poverty will remain a permanent feature of society; and, as we have already said, the element of poverty is a constant menace to the community at large. The strength of a chain is that of its weakest link. The wealth, luxury, and refinement of society exist upon a frail tenure if the desperation of the poorest class is suffered to pass a certain limit. History has shown us the civilisation of centuries extinguished by hordes of barbarians, driven by hunger from their sterile lands. In Paris, during times of revolutionary excitement, the Faubourg St. Antoine pours forth its thousands of gaunt and tattered spectres to make war upon society. Prudence in the matter of population, then, is seen to be the only way of conserving the most valuable and progressive elements in human society. In this, as in other countries, the apostles of the new teaching have been confronted by the prejudices handed down from previous generations; and in the succeeding chapter we shall trace the history of the Malthusian movement in England and abroad. CHAPTER III. THE MALTHUSIAN MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND. For many years after the publication of Mr. Malthus's great essay, the principle which he had formulated did not pass beyond the region of more or less academic controversy. The "theory of population" was denounced from countless pulpits and assailed by the pens of ready writers; but, being based upon a patient and accurate observation of the facts of nature, it remained unshaken when the preachers and critics were forgotten. It would be absurd to doubt that so important a contribution to social science influenced the minds and helped to shape the conduct of thoughtful men; but it is beyond question that no organised attempt to popularise and propagate the teachings of Malthus, and to make known the nature of preventive checks amongst the people of this country, was undertaken until the year 1877. In the first quarter of the century, Richard Carlile published a small pamphlet on the subject; but there is no reason to suppose that its effect was appreciable. Mr. Francis Place and Mr. Robert Dale Owen in later years wrote essays embodying practically the modern Malthusian view. In 1833, Dr. Charles Knowlton, of Boston (U.S.A.), issued a small work on the subject of population, entitled The Fruits of Philosophy. For over forty years the book was sold in England, but its sale was so small that very few people were even acquainted with its title, and it remained in its native obscurity until it was dragged into the light of day by the fortunate folly of persons who imagined that it was possible to check the spread of moral enlightenment by means of legal "repression."