darwin and modern science-第134章

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it　did　not　emerge　immediately。　The　historians　of　the　Renaissance　period　simply　reverted　to　the　ancient　pragmatical　view。　　For　Machiavelli；　exactly　as　for　Thucydides　and　Polybius；　the　use　of　studying　history　was　instruction　in　the　art　of　politics。　　The　Renaissance　itself　was　the　appearance　of　a　new　culture；　different　from　anything　that　had　gone　before；　but　at　the　time　men　were　not　conscious　of　this；　they　saw　clearly　that　the　traditions　of　classical　antiquity　had　been　lost　for　a　long　period；　and　they　were　seeking　to　revive　them；　but　otherwise　they　did　not　perceive　that　the　world　had　moved；　and　that　their　own　spirit；　culture；　and　conditions　were　entirely　unlike　those　of　the　thirteenth　century。　　It　was　hardly　till　the　seventeenth　century　that　the　presence　of　a　new　age；　as　different　from　the　middle　ages　as　from　the　ages　of　Greece　and　Rome；　was　fully　realised。　　It　was　then　that　the　triple　division　of　ancient；　medieval；　and　modern　was　first　applied　to　the　history　of　western　civilisation。　　Whatever　objections　may　be　urged　against　this　division；　which　has　now　become　almost　a　category　of　thought；　it　marks　a　most　significant　advance　in　man's　view　of　his　own　past。　　He　has　become　conscious　of　the　immense　changes　in　civilisation　which　have　come　about　slowly　in　the　course　of　time；　and　history　confronts　him　with　a　new　aspect。　　He　has　to　explain　how　those　changes　have　been　produced；　how　the　transformations　were　effected。　　The　appearance　of　this　problem　was　almost　simultaneous　with　the　rise　of　rationalism；　and　the　great　historians　and　thinkers　of　the　eighteenth　century；　such　as　Montesquieu；　Voltaire；　Gibbon；　attempted　to　explain　the　movement　of　civilisation　by　purely　natural　causes。　　These　brilliant　writers　prepared　the　way　for　the　genetic　history　of　the　following　century。　　But　in　the　spirit　of　the　Aufklarung；　that　eighteenth…century　Enlightenment　to　which　they　belonged；　they　were　concerned　to　judge　all　phenomena　before　the　tribunal　of　reason；　and　the　apotheosis　of　〃reason〃　tended　to　foster　a　certain　superior　a　priori　attitude；　which　was　not　favourable　to　objective　treatment　and　was　incompatible　with　a　〃historical　sense。〃　　Moreover　the　traditions　of　pragmatical　historiography　had　by　no　means　disappeared。

3。　　In　the　first　quarter　of　the　nineteenth　century　the　meaning　of　genetic　history　was　fully　realised。　　〃Genetic〃　perhaps　is　as　good　a　word　as　can　be　found　for　the　conception　which　in　this　century　was　applied　to　so　many　branches　of　knowledge　in　the　spheres　both　of　nature　and　of　mind。　　It　does　not　commit　us　to　the　doctrine　proper　of　evolution；　nor　yet　to　any　teleological　hypothesis　such　as　is　implied　in　〃progress。〃　　For　history　it　meant　that　the　present　condition　of　the　human　race　is　simply　and　strictly　the　result　of　a　causal　series　（or　set　of　causal　series）a　continuous　succession　of　changes；　where　each　state　arises　causally　out　of　the　preceding；　and　that　the　business　of　historians　is　to　trace　this　genetic　process；　to　explain　each　change；　and　ultimately　to　grasp　the　complete　development　of　the　life　of　humanity。　　Three　influential　writers；　who　appeared　at　this　stage　and　helped　to　initiate　a　new　period　of　research；　may　specially　be　mentioned。　　Ranke　in　1824　definitely　repudiated　the　pragmatical　view　which　ascribes　to　history　the　duties　of　an　instructress；　and　with　no　less　decision　renounced　the　function；　assumed　by　the　historians　of　the　Aufklarung；　to　judge　the　past；　it　was　his　business；　he　said；　merely　to　show　how　things　really　happened。　　Niebuhr　was　already　working　in　the　same　spirit　and　did　more　than　any　other　writer　to　establish　the　principle　that　historical　transactions　must　be　related　to　the　ideas　and　conditions　of　their　age。　　Savigny　about　the　same　time　founded　the　〃historical　school〃　of　law。　　He　sought　to　show　that　law　was　not　the　creation　of　an　enlightened　will；　but　grew　out　of　custom　and　was　developed　by　a　series　of　adaptations　and　rejections；　thus　applying　the　conception　of　evolution。　　He　helped　to　diffuse　the　notion　that　all　the　institutions　of　a　society　or　a　notion　are　as　closely　interconnected　as　the　parts　of　a　living　organism。

4。　　The　conception　of　the　history　of　man　as　a　causal　development　meant　the　elevation　of　historical　inquiry　to　the　dignity　of　a　science。　　Just　as　the　study　of　bees　cannot　become　scientific　so　long　as　the　student's　interest　in　them　is　only　to　procure　honey　or　to　derive　moral　lessons　from　the　labours　of　〃the　little　busy　bee；〃　so　the　history　of　human　societies　cannot　become　the　object　of　pure　scientific　investigation　so　long　as　man　estimates　its　value　in　pragmatical　scales。　　Nor　can　it　become　a　science　until　it　is　conceived　as　lying　entirely　within　a　sphere　in　which　the　law　of　cause　and　effect　has　unreserved　and　unrestricted　dominion。　　On　the　other　hand；　once　history　is　envisaged　as　a　causal　process；　which　contains　within　itself　the　explanation　of　the　development　of　man　from　his　primitive　state　to　the　point　which　he　has　reached；　such　a　process　necessarily　becomes　the　object　of　scientific　investigation　and　the　interest　in　it　is　scientific　curiosity。

At　the　same　time；　the　instruments　were　sharpened　and　refined。　　Here　Wolf；　a　philologist　with　historical　instinct；　was　a　pioneer。　　His　〃Prolegomena〃　to　Homer　（1795）　announced　new　modes　of　attack。　　Historical　investigation　was　soon　transformed　by　the　elaboration　of　new　methods。

5。　　〃Progress〃　involves　a　judgment　of　value；　which　is　not　involved　in　the　conception　of　history　as　a　genetic　process。　　It　is　also　an　idea　distinct　from　that　of　evolution。　　Nevertheless　it　is　closely　related　to　the　ideas　which　revolutionised　history　at　the　beginning　of　the　last　century；　it　swam　into　men's　ken　simultaneously；　and　it　helped　effectively　to　establish　the　notion　of　history　as　a　continuous　process　and　to　emphasise　the　significance　of　time。　　Passing　over　earlier　anticipations；　I　may　point　to　a　〃Discours〃　of　Turgot　（1750）；　where　history　is　presented　as　a　process　in　which　〃the　total　mass　of　the　human　race〃　〃marches　continually　though　sometimes　slowly　to　an　ever　increasing　perfection。〃　　That　is　a　clear　statement　of　the　conception　which　Turgot's　friend　Condorcet　elaborated　in　the　famous　work；　published　in　1795；　〃Esquisse　d'un　tableau　historique　des　progres　de　l'esprit　humain〃。　　This　work　first　treated　with　explicit　fulness　the　idea　to　which　a　leading　role　was　to　fall　in　the　ideology　of　the　nineteenth　century。　　Condorcet's　book　reflects　the　triumphs　of　the　Tiers　etat；　whose　growing　importance　had　also　inspired　Turgot；　it　was　the　political　changes　in　the　eighteenth　century　which　led　to　the　doctrine；　emphatically　formulated　by　Condorcet；　that　the　masses　are　the　most　important　element　in　the　historical　process。　　I　dwell　on　this　because；　though　Condorcet　had　no　idea　of　evolution；　the　pre…dominant　importance　of　the　masses　was　the　assumption　which　made　it　possible　to　apply　evolutional　principles　to　history。　　And　it　enabled　Condorcet　himself　to　maintain　that　the　history　of　civilisation；　a　progress　still　far　from　being　complete；　was　a　development　conditioned　by　general　laws。

6。　　The　assimilation　of　society　to　an　organism；　which　was　a　governing　notion　in　the　school　of　Savigny；　and　the　conception　of　progress；　combined　to　produce　the　idea　of　an　organic　development；　in　which　the　historian　has　to　determine　the　central　principle　or　leading　character。　　This　is　illustrated　by　the　apotheosis　of　democracy　in　Tocqueville's　〃Democratie　en　Amerique〃；　where　the　theory　is　maintained　that　〃the　gradual　and　progressive　development　of　equality　is　at　once　the　past　and　the　future　of　the　history　of　men。〃　　The　same　two　principles　are　combined　in　the　doctrine　of　Spencer　（who　held　that　society　is　an　organism；　though　he　also　contemplated　its　being　what　he　calls　a　〃super…organic　aggregate〃）　（A　society　presents　suggestive　analogies　with　an　organism；　but　it　certainly　is　not　an　organism；　and　sociologists　who　draw　inferences　from　the　assumption　of　its　organic　nature　must　fall　into　error。　　A　vital　organism　and　a　society　are　radically　distinguished　by　the　fact　that　the　individual　components　of　the　former；　namely　the　cells；　are　morphologically　as　well　as　functionally　differentiated；　whereas　the　individuals　which　compose　a　society　are　morphologically　homogeneous　and　only　functionally　differentiated。　　The　resemblances　and　the　differences　are　worked　out　in　E。　de　Majewski's　striking　book　〃La　Science　de　la　Civilisation〃；　Paris；　1908。）；　that　social　evolution　is　a　progressive　change　from　militarism　to　industrialism。

7。　the　idea　of　development　assumed　another　form　in　the　speculations　of　German　idealism。　　Hegel　conceived　the　successive　periods　of　history　as　corresponding　to　the　ascending　phases　or　ideas　in　the　self…evolution　of　his　Absolute　Being。　　His　〃Lectures　on　the　Philosophy　of　History〃　were　published　in　1837　after　his　death。　　His　philosophy　had　a　considerable　effect；　direct　and　indirect；　on　the　treatment　of　history　by　historians；　and　although　he　was　superficial　and　unscientific　himself　in　dealing　with　historical　phenomena；　he　contributed　much　towards　making　the　idea　of　historical　development　familiar。　　Ranke　was　influenced；　if　not　by　Hegel　himself；　at　least　by　the　Idealistic　philosophies　of　which　Hegel's　was　the　greatest。　　He　was　inclined　to　conceive　the　stages　in　the　process　of　history　as　marked　by　incarnations；　as　it　were；　of　ideas；　and　sometimes　speaks　as　if　the　ideas　were　independent　forces；　with　hands　and　feet。　　But　while　Hegel　determined　his　ideas　by　a　priori　logic；　Ranke　obtained　his　by　inductionby　a　strict　investigation　of　the　phenomena；　so　that　he　was　scientific　in　his　method　and　work；　and　was　influenced　by　Hegelian　prepossessions　only　in　the　kind　of　significance　which　he　was　disposed　to　ascribe　to　his　results。　　It　is　to　be　noted　that　the　theory　of　Hegel　implied　a　judgment　of　value；　the　movement　was　a　progress　towards　perfection。

8。　　In　France；　Comte　approached　the　subject　from　a　different　side；　and　exercised；　outside　Germany；　a　far　wider　influence　than　Hegel。　　The　4th　volume　of　his　〃Cours　de　philosophie　positive〃；　which　appeared　in　1839；　created　sociology　and　treated　history　as　a　part　of　this　new　science；　namely　as　〃social　dynamics。〃　　Comte　sought　the　key　for　unfolding　historical　development；　in　what　he　called　the　social…psychological　point　of　view；　and　he　worked　out　the　two　ideas　which　had　been　enunciated　by　Condorcet：　　that　the　historian's　attention　should　be　directed　not；　as　hitherto；　principally　to　eminent　individuals；　but　to　the　collective　behaviour　of　the　masses；　as　being　the　most　important　element　in　the　process；　and　that；　as　in　nature；　so　in　history；　there　are　general　laws；　necessary　and　constant；　which　condition　the　development。　　The　two　points　are　intimately　connected；　for　it　is　only　when　the　masses　are　moved　into　the　foreground　that　regularity；　uniformity；　and　law　can　be　conceived　as　applicable。　　To　determine　the　social…　psychological　laws　which　have　controlled　the　development　is；　according　to　Comte；　the　task　of　sociologists　and　historians。

9。　　The　hypothesis　of　general　laws　operative　in　history　was　carried　further　in　a　book　which　appeared　in　England　twenty　years　later　and　exercised　an　influence　in　Europe　far　beyond　its　intrinsic　merit；　Buckle's　〃History　of　Civilisation　in　England〃　（1857…61）。　　Buckle　owed　much　to　Comte；　and　followed　him；　or　rather　outdid　him；　in　regarding　intellect　as　the　most　important　factor　cond