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Article HISTORICAL VIEWS OF PROGRESS. ← Page 2 of 6 →
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Historical Views Of Progress.
imagination , when imagination ventures out of her own domain , and intrudes into the region of facts . Let us , instead of battling with the ghosts of speculation , grapple with the tangible existences of substantiality , ancl wrest from them the truths of the future . That is the only way the cause of truth can be aided , or the battle of progress won . In thinking of the past , we will seek to avoid the error , to steer clear of the rock upon which much of philosophy has been wrecked ; to leave far on
one side the quicksand upon which history has so often stranded . We will endeavour to take the plain straightforward path of fact—content with causes as they have been—with effects as they are . A greater wisdom than ours presides . We can note a few of its movements , but can scarcely generalize upon its designs . A few links of the universe are within our grasp , but the infinite chain , stretching through and out of space , into the great void beyond—out of time into
eternity is too vast for our finite minds . The attempt to grasp it , would be as though the phantoms of our sleeping visions sought to analyze the being of us , the dreamers . Our merely human minds , our sympathies , our passions , our feelings , our hopes , our fears , our doubts , our suspicions , our loves and hatreds , place us below the point of view whence we could correctly note the actions of that great powerwhich in and by and beyond all things
, , rules all things , never for a moment diverging from the broad track of fixed law , never hoping , dreading , doubting , or suspecting , because , having perfect knowledge , it moves steadily on , with the certainty and impassability of a vast self-impelled and self-governed machine to a destined end .
And even granting that we coulcl attain the precise point of sight—if we could gain the mastery over ourselves—if we . could attain perfect calmness—if we could banish all hope and dread ancl sympathy—if we could prevent the wish from being father to the thought , —still beings bounded by space could not hope to measure spacelessness ; existences meted by time could not hope to compass eternity : as well essay to move the world without an independent atom , on which to stand or fix the fulcrum of our lever .
Astronomers may scan the stars and trace the footsteps of omnipotence from globe to globe , from starry zone to shining belt , and mist-encompassed nebula ? . They see only effects . Causes are beyond their mental sight , ancl far beyond their material vision lie countless orbs teeming with motion and with life , producing disturbing forces wbich they know not of . Truly there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophy . Traces of the great spirit of nature are visible everywhereand nowhere
, more palpably than in the facts of history . Nowhere , indeed , so palpably ; elsewhere we often fail to trace effects to causes ; there , cause and effect form part of the same visible chain , often of the self-same link . Still we must not be presumptuous—even there we cannot walk erect —the light is too uncertain for our eye—the ground too rugged and broken for our footstep . We must grope our way from fact to fact , often losing the clue to guide us through the labyrinthoften at a loss
, to know or guess the cause of what we see . A circumstance once launched into the world , never ceases to act ; a drop of water flowing from the fountain head , exercises a determinate action upon the broad stream rushing into the ocean . An existence is never lost . All influences , whether good or evil , are eternal in their
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Historical Views Of Progress.
imagination , when imagination ventures out of her own domain , and intrudes into the region of facts . Let us , instead of battling with the ghosts of speculation , grapple with the tangible existences of substantiality , ancl wrest from them the truths of the future . That is the only way the cause of truth can be aided , or the battle of progress won . In thinking of the past , we will seek to avoid the error , to steer clear of the rock upon which much of philosophy has been wrecked ; to leave far on
one side the quicksand upon which history has so often stranded . We will endeavour to take the plain straightforward path of fact—content with causes as they have been—with effects as they are . A greater wisdom than ours presides . We can note a few of its movements , but can scarcely generalize upon its designs . A few links of the universe are within our grasp , but the infinite chain , stretching through and out of space , into the great void beyond—out of time into
eternity is too vast for our finite minds . The attempt to grasp it , would be as though the phantoms of our sleeping visions sought to analyze the being of us , the dreamers . Our merely human minds , our sympathies , our passions , our feelings , our hopes , our fears , our doubts , our suspicions , our loves and hatreds , place us below the point of view whence we could correctly note the actions of that great powerwhich in and by and beyond all things
, , rules all things , never for a moment diverging from the broad track of fixed law , never hoping , dreading , doubting , or suspecting , because , having perfect knowledge , it moves steadily on , with the certainty and impassability of a vast self-impelled and self-governed machine to a destined end .
And even granting that we coulcl attain the precise point of sight—if we could gain the mastery over ourselves—if we . could attain perfect calmness—if we could banish all hope and dread ancl sympathy—if we could prevent the wish from being father to the thought , —still beings bounded by space could not hope to measure spacelessness ; existences meted by time could not hope to compass eternity : as well essay to move the world without an independent atom , on which to stand or fix the fulcrum of our lever .
Astronomers may scan the stars and trace the footsteps of omnipotence from globe to globe , from starry zone to shining belt , and mist-encompassed nebula ? . They see only effects . Causes are beyond their mental sight , ancl far beyond their material vision lie countless orbs teeming with motion and with life , producing disturbing forces wbich they know not of . Truly there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophy . Traces of the great spirit of nature are visible everywhereand nowhere
, more palpably than in the facts of history . Nowhere , indeed , so palpably ; elsewhere we often fail to trace effects to causes ; there , cause and effect form part of the same visible chain , often of the self-same link . Still we must not be presumptuous—even there we cannot walk erect —the light is too uncertain for our eye—the ground too rugged and broken for our footstep . We must grope our way from fact to fact , often losing the clue to guide us through the labyrinthoften at a loss
, to know or guess the cause of what we see . A circumstance once launched into the world , never ceases to act ; a drop of water flowing from the fountain head , exercises a determinate action upon the broad stream rushing into the ocean . An existence is never lost . All influences , whether good or evil , are eternal in their