The Salvaging of CivilizationWells, H. G. (Herbert George)
Philosophy
The Salvaging of Civilization
Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)
Civilization, Modern -- 20th century; Education
A consideration of the spread of Christianity in the first four
centuries A.D. or of the spread of Islam in the seventh century will, we
believe, support a reasonable hope that such a change in the minds of
men, whatever else it may be, is a practicable change, that it can be
done and that it may even probably be done. Consider our two instances.
The propagandas of those two great religions changed and changed for
ever the political and social outlook over vast areas of the world's
surface. Yet while the stir for world unity begins now simultaneously in
many countries and many groups of people, those two propagandas each
radiated from a single centre and were in the first instance the
teachings of single individuals; and while to-day we can deal with great
reading populations and can reach them by press and printed matter, by a
universal distribution of books, by great lecturing organizations and
the like, those earlier great changes in human thought were achieved
mainly by word of mouth and by crabbed manuscripts, painfully copied and
passed slowly from hand to hand. So far it is only the trader who has
made any effectual use of the vast facilities the modern world has
produced for conveying a statement simultaneously to great numbers of
people at a distance. The world of thought still hesitates to use the
means of power that now exist for it. History and political philosophy
in the modern world are like bashful dons at a dinner party; they
crumble their bread and talk in undertones and clever allusions to their
nearest neighbour, abashed at the thought of addressing the whole table.
But in a world where Mars can reach out in a single night and smite a
city a thousand miles away, we cannot suffer wisdom to hesitate in an
inaudible gentility. The knowledge and vision that is good enough for
the best of us is good enough for all. This gospel of human brotherhood
and a common law and rule for all mankind, the attempt to meet this
urgent necessity of a common control of human affairs, which indeed is
no new religion but only an attempt to realize practically the common
teaching of all the established religions of the world, has to speak
with dominating voice everywhere between the poles and round about the
world.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account