Page:The Slippery Slope.djvu/37

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SOCIAL PROGRESS BY EVOLUTION
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actually obnoxious. Theorists of this sort always gain a certain following from amongst those who despair of good by evolution. But they are only a phase in the world's history. The bulk of humanity believes, and will continue to believe, that they must make the best use that they can of their reason, even if it be fallible. They may be swayed to and fro by gusts of feeling that blow this way and that, but they are not in the least likely to surrender their ultimate right of judgment. They will probably continue to believe that no progress can be real and lasting which does not, like freedom, "broaden down from precedent to precedent." If this is the case the study of the "large map" becomes obligatory upon all those who sincerely and with singleness of purpose set their faces towards social progress.