Page:The Religious Aspect of Philosophy (1885).djvu/54

Rh what such cases of evolution are for the purposes of ordinary life?

“But,” the realist may say, “in fact the world does grow better. The course of evolution is on the whole a progress.” “Be it so,” the idealist answers, “but how can we know it? Only by first setting up our moral ideal, and then comparing the facts with this ideal. If we know what we mean by better, we can judge whether the world is growing better. But we may not pretend to determine what is better by simply observing how the world grows. Growth and improvement are not identical ideas. One may grow while growing ever worse.”

And thus a moral code, according to our idealist, does not, as a code, depend on physical facts; tells us nothing of what does exist, but tells us solely what ought to exist. If the ideal either does exist, or some day will exist, so much the better; but through all the changes of fate the terrible ought remains, and judges fearlessly the world, whether it be good or whether it be evil. But here the realist, to whom the moral code that is not built on natural fact is just a dream, interposes what shall just here be his final objection. “Be it so,” he says, “judge after your heart's desire; but remember this, that some other idealist beside you will be judging the world in his own way, after what will seem to you the folly of his heart, and his judgment and yours will differ, as the dreams of any two dreamers must differ. Did Plato’s ideal agree with Paul’s? or did Byron judge the world after the same fashion as Wordsworth? Even so in the present day the