Page:The Science of History and the Hope of Mankind.djvu/34



, are mere means to, or unlooked-for consequences of, the situation of the human race at the time. The growth or decay of a literature and the acquisition or loss of liberty are, no doubt, of momentous consequence to the life and fortunes of a nation; but in respect of the grand consummation of human civilisation these are temporary and accidental phenomena, intimately connected with the multitudinous ups and downs of a thousand other communities.

The prosperity and adversity, growth and decay, as well as freedom and subjection of each individual community at any one time, in one word, the destiny of each nation acts and is acted upon by the conjuncture of all the forces of the Universe. And this is created by the international