195. Cited by Bury, _op. cit_., p. 326.]
And so a notion more or less applicable to a journey between Liverpool
and Manchester was generalized into a pattern of the universe "for
ever." This pattern, taken up by others, reinforced by dazzling
inventions, imposed an optimistic turn upon the theory of evolution.
That theory, of course, is, as Professor Bury says, neutral between
pessimism and optimism. But it promised continual change, and the
changes visible in the world marked such extraordinary conquests of
nature, that the popular mind made a blend of the two. Evolution first
in Darwin himself, and then more elaborately in Herbert Spencer, was a
"progress towards perfection."
2
The stereotype represented by such words as "progress" and
"perfection" was composed fundamentally of mechanical inventions. And
mechanical it has remained, on the whole, to this day. In America more
than anywhere else, the spectacle of mechanical progress has made so
deep an impression, that it has suffused the whole moral code. An
American will endure almost any insult except the charge that he is
not progressive. Be he of long native ancestry, or a recent immigrant,
the aspect that has always struck his eye is the immense physical
growth of American civilization. That constitutes a fundamental
stereotype through which he views the world: the country village will
become the great metropolis, the modest building a skyscraper, what is
small shall be big; what is slow shall be fast; what is poor shall be
rich; what is few shall be many; whatever is shall be more so.
Pages:
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121