Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 11.djvu/767

 SCIENCE AND CITIZENSHIP 751

effective reply to this sort of criticism is for the scientific ob- server to ignore it, and to continue without interruption his observations and generalizations of them. If those who tell us there are no laws in social science would say instead that they themselves do not know any such laws, we might be happy to agree with them, And if those who say there never can be any such laws would say instead that they themselves are determined never to know any such laws, we might extend to them our com- passion and recommend a course of medical treatment.

In point of fact, what generalizations, in the nature of scien- tific law, are there at the disposal of the sociologist who wishes to predict the future of an incipient spiritual power? A full stock-taking of resources would here disclose a considerable number of working formulae, which resume a vast mass of ex- perience as to the origin, growth, and decay of various forms of spiritual power.

But for the present purpose the following generalizations es- pecially serve, viz :

1. That spiritual powers, in the course of their historical de- velopment, gradually conceive and formulate a social ideal, and this social ideal tends to be in conflict with the existing temporal power.

2. That each spiritual power tends to develop two types of organized community a type predominantly passive and con- templative, and a type predominantly active and militant.

3. That the active type of spiritual community endeavors to generate a congruent form of temporal power as the material embodiment and mundane expression of its particular social ideal.

4. That in this endeavor various institutions are developed, which help to determine each era of city government both in respect of buildings and of civic policy.

XXIII. The conflict and interaction between temporal and spiritual ideals in the history of western Europe during the Christian period is, of course, one of the commonplaces of social discussion. But the detailed influences and reactions, especially on city development, of the respective ideals of the law and the