Thorndale, or the Conflict of Opinions

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1879. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... PART II. THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIETY. I Am almost alarmed at my undertaking, though entered on half sportively. Out of so vast a subject as the Progress of Humanity to take up a compact, succinct and manageable portion, is a nicer task, I fear, than I can accomplish. It seems an easy thing to fill a goblet from the ocean; there is water enough, and wave after wave comes bounding to your feet with an overwhelming prodigality. But take your glass down to the beach and try. The chance is, you have the water all over and about you, and very little in your goblet . Yet some such experiment I must now make. A few preliminaries must be first settled. Am I to predict one destiny for all mankind? or am I to limit my anticipations to the more advanced nations of the civilised world 1 Or on what high pinnacle of observation am I, in imagination, to perch myself, in order to survey impartially the great stream of time? Section I.---Preliminaries. That which at first sight seems a somewhat narrow and limited method of proceeding, is nevertheless, I believe, the safest and the most philosophical. I, an Englishman, take my stand in England, and in the middle of the nineteenth century, A.D. 1850, and from this position I look backwards and forwards from the past to the future, and around upon the rest of the nations. I do not decide that England is the foremost country in the world; I may safely assert that she is in the foremost rank. It would he difficult to prove that any other country exhibits the elements of progress more distinctly. I, at all events, know England better than any other nation, and can speak more confidently of the new phases of thought appearing there amongst mankind. Nor am I precluded from casting my eyes from time to time on our great European contempora...