The solution consists in regarding our political and social action as

the service of Humanity. Its object should be to assist by conscious

effort all functions, whether relating to Order or to Progress, which

Humanity has hitherto performed spontaneously. This is the ultimate

object of Positive religion. Without it all other aspects of that

religion would be inadequate, and would soon cease to have any value.

True affection does not stop short at desire for good; it strains every

effort to attain it. The elevation of soul arising from the act of

contemplating and adoring Humanity is not the sole object of religious

worship. Above and beyond this there is the motive of becoming better

able to serve Humanity; unceasing action on our part being necessary

for her preservation and development. This indeed is the most

distinctive feature of Positive religion. The Supreme Being of former

times had really little need of human services. The consequence was,

that with all theological believers, and with monotheists especially,

devotion always tended to degenerate into quietism. The danger could

only be obviated when the priesthood had sufficient wisdom to take

advantage of the vagueness of these theories, and to draw from them

motives for practical exertion. Nothing could be done in this direction

unless the priesthood retained their social independence. As soon as

this was taken from them by the usurpation of the temporal power, the

more sincere amongst Catholics lapsed into the quietistic spirit which

for a long time had been kept in check. In Positivism, on the contrary,

the doctrine itself, irrespective of the character of its teachers, is

a direct and continuous incentive to exertion of every kind. The reason

for this is to be found in the relative and dependent nature of our

Supreme Being, of whom her own worshippers form a part.

[Consensus of the social

organism]

In this, which is the essential service of Humanity, and which infuses

a religious spirit into every act of life, the feature most prominent

is co-operation of effort; co-operation on so vast a scale that less

complicated organisms have nothing to compare with it. The consensus

of the social organism extends to Time as well as Space. Hence the

two distinct aspects of social sympathy: the feeling of Solidarity,

or union with the Present; and of Continuity, or union with the Past.

Careful investigation of any social phenomenon, whether relating to

Order or to Progress, always proves convergence, direct or indirect,

of all contemporaries and of all former generations, within certain

geographical and chronological limits; and those limits recede as the

development of Humanity advances. In our thoughts and feelings such

convergence is unquestionable; and it should be still more evident

in our actions, the efficacy of which depends on co-operations to

a still greater degree. Here we feel how false as well as immoral

is the notion of _Right_, a word which, as commonly used, implies

absolute individuality. The only principle on which Politics can be

subordinated to Morals is, that individuals should be regarded, not as

so many distinct beings, but as organs of one Supreme Being. Indeed,

in all settled states of society, the individual has always been

considered as a public functionary, filling more or less efficiently a

definite post, whether formally appointed to it or not. So fundamental

a principle has ever been recognized instinctively up to the period

of revolutionary transition, which is now at length coming to an end;

a period in which the obstructive and corrupt character of organized

society roused a spirit of anarchy which, though at first favourable to

progress, has now become an obstacle to it. Positivism, however, will

place this principle beyond reach of attack, by giving a systematic

demonstration of it, based on the sum of our scientific knowledge.

[Continuity of the past with

the present]

And this demonstration will be the intellectual basis on which the

moral authority of the new priesthood will rest. What they have to do

is to show the dependence of each important question, as it arises,

upon social co-operation, and by this means to indicate the right

path of duty. For this purpose all their scientific knowledge and

esthetic power will be needed, otherwise social feeling could never be

developed sufficiently to produce any strong effect upon conduct. It

would never, that is, go further than the feelings of mere solidarity

with the Present, which is only its incipient and rudimentary form.

We see this unfortunate narrowness of view too often in the best

socialists, who, leaving the present without roots in the past, would

carry us headlong towards a future of which they have no definite

conception. In all social phenomena, and especially in those of modern

times, the participation of our predecessors is greater than that of

our contemporaries. This truth is especially apparent in industrial

undertakings, for which the combination of efforts required is so

vast. It is our filiation with the Past, even more than our connexion

with the Present, which teaches us that the only real life is the

collective life of the race; that individual life has no existence

except as an abstraction. Continuity is the feature which distinguishes

our race from all others. Many of the lower races are able to form

a union among their living members; but it was reserved for Man to

conceive and realize co-operation of successive generations, the source

to which the gradual growth of civilization is to be traced. Social

sympathy is a barren and imperfect feeling, and indeed it is a cause

of disturbance, so long as it extends no further than the present

time. It is a disregard for historical Continuity which induces that

mistaken antipathy to all forms of inheritance which is now so common.

Scientific study of history would soon convince those of our socialist

writers who are sincere of their radical error in this respect. If

they were more familiar with the collective inheritance of society,

the value of which no one can seriously dispute, they would feel less

objection to inheritance in its application to individuals or families.

Practical experience, moreover, bringing them into contact with the

facts of the case, will gradually show them that without the sense of

continuity with the Past they cannot really understand their solidarity

with the Present. For, in the first place, each individual in the

course of his growth passes spontaneously through phases corresponding

in a great measure to those of our historical development; and

therefore, without some knowledge of the history of society, he cannot

understand the history of his own life. Again, each of these successive

phases may be found amongst the less advanced nations who do not as

yet share in the general progress of Humanity; so that we cannot

properly sympathize with these nations, if we ignore the successive

stages of development in Western Europe. The nobler socialists and

communists, those especially who belong to the working classes, will

soon be alive to the error and danger of these inconsistencies, and

will supply this deficiency in their education, which at present

vitiates their efforts. With women, the purest and most spontaneous

element of the moderating power, the priests of Humanity will find it

less difficult to introduce the broad principles of historical science.

They are more inclined than any other class to recognize our continuity

with the Past, being themselves its original source.

[Necessity of a spiritual

power to study and teach

these truths, and thus to

govern men by persuasion,

instead of by compulsion]

Without a scientific basis, therefore, a basis which must itself

rest on the whole sum of Positive speculation, it is impossible for

our social sympathies to develop themselves fully, so as to extend

not to the Present only, but also and still more strongly to the

Past. And this is the first motive, a motive founded alike on moral

and on intellectual considerations, for the separation of temporal

from spiritual power in the final organization of society. The more

vigorously we concentrate our efforts upon social progress, the more

clearly shall we feel the impossibility of modifying social phenomena

without knowledge of the laws that regulate them. This involves the

existence of an intellectual class specially devoted to the study of

social phenomena. Such a class will be invested with the consultative

authority for which their knowledge qualifies them, and also with the

function of teaching necessary for the diffusion of their principles.

In the minor arts of life it is generally recognized that principles

should be investigated and taught by thinkers who are not concerned

in applying them. In the art of Social Life, so far more difficult

and important than any other, the separation of theory from practice

is of far greater moment. The wisdom of such a course is obvious, and

all opposition to it will be overcome, as soon as it becomes generally

recognized that social phenomena are subject to invariable laws; laws

of so complicated a character and so dependent upon other sciences as

to make it doubly necessary that minds of the highest order should be

specially devoted to their interpretation.

But there is another aspect of the question of not less importance

in sound polity. Separation of temporal from spiritual power is as

necessary for free individual activity as for social co-operation.

Humanity is characterized by the independence as well as by the

convergence of the individuals or families of which she is composed.

The latter condition, convergence, is that which secures Order; but the

former is no less essential to Progress. Both are alike urgent: yet in

ancient times they were incompatible, for the reason that spiritual

and temporal power were always in the same hands; in the hands of

the priests in some cases, at other times in those of the military

chief. As long as the State held together, the independence of the

individual was habitually sacrificed to the convergence of the body

politic. This explains why the conception of Progress never arose, even

in the minds of the most visionary schemers. The two conditions were

irreconcilable until the Middle Ages, when a remarkable attempt was

made to separate the modifying power from the governing power, and so

to make Politics subordinate to Morals. Co-operation of efforts was

now placed on a different footing. It was the result of free assent

rendered by the heart and understanding to a religious system which

laid down general rules of conduct, in which nothing was arbitrary, and

which were applied to governors as strictly as to their subjects. The

consequence was that Catholicism, notwithstanding its extreme defects

intellectually and socially, produced moral and political results of

very great value. Chivalry arose, a type of life, in which the most

vigorous independence was combined with the most intense devotion to a

common cause. Every class in Western Society was elevated by this union

of personal dignity with universal brotherhood. So well is human nature

adapted for this combination, that it arose under the first religious

system of which the principles were not incompatible with it. With the

necessary decay of that religion, it became seriously impaired, but

yet was preserved instinctively, especially in countries untouched by

Protestantism. By it the mediaeval system prepared the way for the

conception of Humanity; since it put an end to the fatal opposition

in which the two characteristic attributes of Humanity, independence

and co-operation, had hitherto existed. Catholicism brought unity into

theological religion, and by doing so, led to its decline; but it paved

the way long beforehand for the more complete and more real principle

of unity on which human society will be finally organized.

But meritorious and useful as this premature attempt was, it was no

real solution of the problem. The spirit and temper of the period

were not ripe for any definite solution. Theological belief and

military life were alike inconsistent with any permanent separation

of theoretical and practical powers. It was maintained only for a

few centuries precariously and inadequately, by a sort of natural

balance or rather oscillation between imperialism and theocracy.

But the positive spirit and the industrial character of modern times

tend naturally to this division of power; and when it is consciously

recognized as a principle, the difficulty of reconciling co-operation

with independence will exist no longer. For in the first place, the

rules to which human conduct will be subjected, will rest, as in

Catholic times, but to a still higher degree, upon persuasion and

conviction, instead of compulsion. Again, the fact of the new faith

being always susceptible of demonstration, renders the spiritual

system based on it more elevating as well as more durable. The rules

of Catholic morality were only saved from being arbitrary by the

introduction of a supernatural Will as a substitute for mere human

authority. The plan had undoubtedly many advantages; but liberty in the

true sense was not secured by it, since the rules remained as before

without explanation; it was only their source that was changed. Still

less successful was the subsequent attempt of metaphysicians to prove

that submission to government was the foundation of virtue. It was

only a return to the old system of arbitrary wills, stripped of the

theocratic sanction to which all its claims to respect and its freedom

from caprice had been due. The only way to reconcile independence with

social union, and thereby to reach true liberty, lies in obedience to

the objective laws of the world and of human nature; clearing these

as far as possible of all that is subjective, and thus rendering them

amenable to scientific demonstration. Of such immense consequence to

society will it be to extend the scientific method to the complex and

important phenomena of human nature. Man will no longer be the slave of

man; he yields only to external Law; and to this those who demonstrate

it to him are as submissive as himself. In such obedience there can be

no degradation even where the laws are inflexible. But, as Positivism

shows us, in most cases they are modifiable, and this especially in the

case of our mental and moral constitution. Consequently our obedience

is here no longer passive obedience: it implies the devotion of every

faculty of our nature to the improvement of a world of which we are

in a true sense masters. The natural laws to which we owe submission

furnish the basis for our intervention; they direct our efforts and

give stability to our purpose. The more perfectly they are known, the

more free will our conduct become from arbitrary command or servile

obedience. True, our knowledge of these laws will very seldom attain

such precision as to enable us to do altogether without compulsory

authority. When the intellect is inadequate, the heart must take its

place. There are certain rules of life for which it is difficult to

assign the exact ground, and where affection must assist reason in

supplying motives for obedience. Wholly to dispense with arbitrary

authority is impossible; nor will it degrade us to submit to it,

provided that it be always regarded as secondary to the uniform

supremacy of external Laws, and that every step in the development

of our mental and moral powers shall restrict its employment. Both

conditions are evidently satisfied in the Positive system of life. The

tendency of modern industry and science is to make us less dependent

on individual caprice, as well as more assimilable to the universal

Organism. Positivism therefore secures the liberty and dignity of

man by its demonstration that social phenomena, like all others, are

subject to natural laws, which, within certain limits, are modifiable

by wise action on the part of society. Totally contrary, on the other

hand, is the spirit of metaphysical schemes of polity, in which

society is supposed to have no spontaneous impulses, and is handed

over to the will of the legislator. In these degrading and oppressive

schemes, union is purchased, as in ancient times, at the cost of

independence.

In these two ways, then, Positive religion influences the practical

life of Humanity, in accordance with the natural laws that regulate her

existence. First, the sense of Solidarity with the Present is perfected

by adding to it the sense of Continuity with the Past; secondly, the

co-operation of her individual agents is rendered compatible with

their independence. Not till this is done can Politics become really

subordinate to Morals, and the feeling of Duty be substituted for that

of Right. Our active powers will be modified by the combined influence

of feeling and reason, as expressed in indisputable rules which it will

be for the spiritual power to make known to us. Temporal government,

whoever its administrators may be, will always be modified by morality.

Whereas in all metaphysical systems of polity nothing is provided for

but the modes of access to government and the limits of its various

departments; no principles are given to direct its application or to

enable us to form a right judgment of it.

[Nutritive functions of

Humanity, performed by

Capitalists, as the temporal

power]

From this general view of the practical service of Humanity, we pass

now to the two leading divisions of the subject; with the view of

completing our conception of the fundamental principle of Positive

Polity, the separation of temporal from spiritual power.

The action of Humanity relates either to her external circumstances,

or to the facts of her own nature. Each of these two great functions

involves both Order and Progress; but the first relates more specially

to the preservation of her existence, the second to her progressive

development. Humanity, like every other organism, has to act

unceasingly on the surrounding world in order to maintain and extend

her material existence. Thus the chief object of her practical life is

to satisfy the wants of our physical nature, wants which necessitate

continual reproduction of materials in sufficient quantities. This

production soon comes to depend more on the co-operation of successive

generations than on that of contemporaries. Even in these lower but

indispensable functions, we work principally for our successors, and

the results that we enjoy are in great part due to those that have

gone before us. Each generation produces more material wealth than is

required for its own wants; and the use of the surplus is to facilitate

the labour and prepare the maintenance of the generation following. The

agents in this transmission of wealth naturally take the lead in the

industrial movement; since the possession of provisions and instruments

of production gives an advantage which can only be lost by unusual

incapacity. And this will seldom happen, because capital naturally

tends to accumulate with those who make a cautious and skilful use of

it.

Capitalists then will be the temporal chiefs of modern society. Their

office is consecrated in Positive religion as that of the nutritive

organs of Humanity; organs which collect and prepare the materials

necessary for life, and which also distribute them, subject always to

the influence of a modifying central organ. The direct and palpable

importance of their functions is a stimulus to pride; and in every

respect they are strongly influenced by personal instincts, which are

necessary to sustain the vigour of their energies. Consequently, if

left to themselves, they are apt to abuse their power, and to govern

by the ignoble method of compulsion, disregarding all appeals to reason

and to morality. Hence the need of a combination of moral forces to

exercise a constant check upon the hardness with which they are so apt

to use their authority. And this leads us to the second of the two

great functions of Humanity.

[These are modified by

the cerebral functions,

performed by the spiritual

power]

This function is analogous to that of Innervation in individuals.

Its object is the advancement of Humanity, whether in physical or

still more in intellectual and moral aspects. It might seem at first

sight restricted, as in lower organisms, to the secondary office of

assisting the nutritive function. Soon, however, it develops qualities

peculiar to itself, qualities on which our highest happiness depends.

And thus we might imagine that life was to be entirely given up to the

free play of reason, imagination, and feeling, were we not constantly

forced back by the necessities of our physical nature to less

delightful occupations. Therefore this intellectual and moral function,

notwithstanding its eminence, can never be supreme in our nature; yet

independently of its intrinsic charm, it forms our principal means,

whether used consciously or otherwise, in controlling the somewhat

blind action of the nutritive organs. It is in women, whose function is

analogous to that of the affective organs in the individual brain, that

we find this modifying influence in its purest and most spontaneous

form. But the full value of their influence is not realized until they

act in combination with the philosophic class; which, though its direct

energy is small, is as indispensable to the collective Organism as the

speculative functions of the brain are to the individual. Besides these

two essential elements of moral power, we find, when Humanity reaches

her maturity, a third element which completes the constitution of

this power and furnishes a basis for its political action. This third

element is the working class, whose influence may be regarded as the

active function in the innervation of the social Organism.

It is indeed to the working class that we look for the only possible

solution of the great human problem, the victory of Social feeling over

Self-love. Their want of leisure, and their poverty, excludes them from

political power; and yet wealth, which is the basis of that power,

cannot be produced without them. They are allied to the spiritual

power by the similarity of their tastes and of their circumstances.

Moreover, they look to it for systematic education, of the importance

of which not merely to their happiness, but to their dignity and moral

culture, they are deeply conscious. The nature of their occupations,

though absorbing so large a portion of their time, yet leaves the mind

for the most part free. Finding little in the specialities of their

work to interest them, they are the more inclined to rise to general

principles, provided always that such principles combine utility with

reality. Being less occupied than other classes with considerations

of rank and wealth, they are the more disposed to give free play to

generous feelings, the value and the charm of which is more strongly

impressed on them by their experience of life. As their strength lies

in numbers, they have a greater tendency to union than capitalists,

who, having in their own hands a power which they are apt to suppose

resistless, have no such motive for association. They will give their

energetic support to the priesthood in its efforts to control the

abuse of the power of wealth, and in every respect they are prepared

to accept and enforce its moral influence. Being at once special

and general, practical and speculative, and at the same time always

animated by strong sympathies, they form an intermediate link between

the practical and theoretical powers; connected with the one by the

need of education and counsel, and with the other by the necessities

of labour and subsistence. The people represent the activity of the

Supreme Being, as women represent its sympathy, and philosophers its

intellect.

But in the organized action of these three organs of innervation upon

the organs of social nutrition, it must be borne in mind that the

latter are not to be impeded in their functions. The control exercised

is to be of a kind that will ennoble them by setting their importance

in its true light. True, we are not to encourage the foolish and

immoral pride of modern capitalists, who look upon themselves as the

creators and sole arbiters of their material power, the foundations of

which are in reality due to the combined action of their predecessors

and contemporaries. They ought to be regarded simply as public

functionaries, responsible for the administration of capital and the

direction of industrial enterprise. But at the same time we must be

careful not to underrate the immense value of their function, or

in any way obstruct its performance. All this follows at once from

the policy of Separation of Powers. The responsibility under which

it is here proposed to place capitalists is purely moral, whereas

metaphysicians of the revolutionary school have always been in favour

of political coercion. In cases where the rich neglect their duty, the

Positive priesthood will resort in the first instance to every method

of conviction and persuasion that can be suggested by the education

which the rich have received in common with other classes. Should

this course fail, there remains the resource of pronouncing formal

condemnation of their conduct; and supposing this to be ratified by the

working men of every city, and the women of every family, its effect

would be difficult to withstand. In very heinous cases it might be

necessary to proceed to the extreme length of social excommunication,

the efficacy of which, in cases where it deserved and received general

assent, would be even greater than in the Middle Ages; the organization

of the spiritual power in those times being very imperfect. But even

in this case the means used for repression are of a purely moral kind.

The increasingly rare cases that call for political measures belong

exclusively to the province of the temporal power.

Hereditary transmission of wealth has been strongly condemned

by metaphysical writers. But it is after all a natural mode of

transmission, and the moral discipline above described will be a

sufficient check upon its worst abuses. When the sense of Duty is

substituted for the sense of Right, it matters little who may be the

possessor of any given power, provided it be well used. Inheritance, as

Positivism shows, has great social advantages, especially when applied

to functions which require no extraordinary capacity, and which are

best learnt in the training of domestic life. Taking the moral point of

view, we find that men who have been always accustomed to wealth are

more disposed to be generous than those who have amassed it gradually,

however honourable the means used. Inheritance was originally the

mode in which all functions were transmitted; and in the case of

wealth there is no reason why it should not always continue, since

the mere preservation of wealth, without reference to its employment,

requires but little special ability. There is no guarantee that, if

other guardians of capital were appointed, the public would be better

served. Modern industry has long ago proved the administrative

superiority of private enterprise in commercial transactions; and all

social functions that admit of it will gradually pass into private

management, always excepting the great theoretic functions in which

combined action will ever be necessary. Declaim as the envious will

against hereditary wealth, its possessors, when they have a good

disposition moulded by a wise education and a healthy state of public

opinion, will in many cases rank amongst the most useful organs of

Humanity. It is not the class who constitute the moral force of

society, that will give vent to these idle complaints, or at least they

will be confined to those individuals among them who fail to understand

the dignity and value of their common mission of elevating man’s

affections, intellect, and energies.

[Women and priests to have

their material subsistence

guaranteed]

The only cases in which the spiritual power has to interfere specially

for the protection of material interests fall under two principles,

which are very plainly indicated by the natural order of society. The

first principle is, that Man should support Woman; the second, that

the Active class should support the Speculative class. The necessity

of both these conditions is evident; without them the effective and

speculative function of Humanity cannot be adequately performed.

Private and public welfare are so deeply involved in the influence

exercised by Feeling over the intellectual and active powers, that we

shall do well to secure that influence, even at the cost of removing

one half of the race from industrial occupations. Even in the lowest

tribes of savages we find the stronger sex recognizing some obligations

towards the weaker; and it is this which distinguishes human love,

even in its coarser forms, from animal appetite. With every step in

the progress of Humanity we find the obligation more distinctly

acknowledged, and more fully satisfied. In Positive religion it becomes

a fundamental duty, for which each individual, or even society, when it

may be necessary, will be held responsible. As to the second principle,

it is one which has been already admitted by former systems; and,

in spite of the anarchy in which we live, it has never been wholly

discarded, at least in countries which have been unaffected by the

individualist tendencies of Protestantism. Positivism, however, while

adopting the principle as indispensable to the theoretic functions of

Humanity, will employ it far more sparingly than Catholicism, the decay

of which was very much hastened by its excessive wealth. If temporal

and spiritual power are really to be separated, philosophers should

have as little to do with wealth as with government. Resembling women

in their exclusion from political power, their position as to wealth

should be like that of the working classes, proper regard being had to

the requirements of their office. By following this course, they may be

confident that the purity of their opinions and advice will never be

called in question.

These two conditions then, Capitalists, as the normal administrators of

the common fund of wealth, will be expected to satisfy. They must, that

is, so regulate the distribution of wages, that women shall be released

from work; and they must see that proper remuneration is given for

intellectual labour. To exact the performance of these conditions seems

no easy task; yet until they are satisfied, the equilibrium of our

social economy will remain unstable. The institution of property can be

maintained no longer upon the untenable ground of personal right. Its

present possessors may probably decline to accept these principles.

In that case their functions will pass in one way or another to

new organs, until Humanity finds servants who will not shirk their

fundamental duties, but who will recognize them as the first condition

of their tenure of power. That power, subject to these limitations,

will then be regarded with the highest respect, for all will feel

that the existence of Humanity depends on it. Alike on intellectual

and on moral grounds, society will repudiate the envious passions

and subversive views which are aroused at present by the unfounded

claims of property, and by its repudiation, since the Middle Ages, of

every real moral obligation. Rich men will feel that principles like

these, leaving as they do so large a margin of voluntary action to

the individual, are the only method of escaping from the political

oppression with which they are now threatened. The free concentration

of capital will then be readily accepted as necessary to its social

usefulness; for great duties imply great powers.

[Normal relation of priests,

people, and capitalists]

This, then, is the way in which the priests of Humanity may hope to

regenerate the material power of wealth, and bring the nutritive

functions of society into harmony with the other parts of the body

politic. The contests for which as yet there are but too many motives

will then cease; the People without loss of dignity will give free

play to their natural instincts of respect, and will be as willing to

accept the authority of their political rulers as to place confidence

in their spiritual guides. They will feel that true happiness has no

necessary connexion with wealth; that it depends far more on free

play being given to their intellectual, moral, and social qualities;

and that in this respect they are more favourably situated than those

above them. They will cease to aspire to the enjoyments of wealth and

power, leaving them to those whose political activity requires that

strong stimulus. Each man’s ambition will be to do his work well; and

after it is over, to perform his more general function of assisting the

spiritual power, and of taking part in the formation of Public Opinion,

by giving his best judgment upon passing events. Of the limits to be

observed by the spiritual power the People will be well aware; and

they will accept none which does not subordinate the intellect to the

heart, and guarantee the purity of its doctrine by strict abstinence

from political power. By an appeal to the principles of Positive

Polity, they will at once check any foolish yielding on the part of

philosophers to political ambition, and will restore the temporal

power to its proper place. They will be aware that though the general

principles of practical life rest upon Science, it is not for Science

to direct their application. The incapacity of theorists to apply their

theories practically has long been recognized in minor matters, and it

will now be recognized as equally applicable to political questions.

The province of the philosopher is education; and as the result of

education, counsel: the province of the capitalist is action and

authoritative direction. This is the only right distribution of power;

and the people will insist on maintaining it in its integrity, seeing,

as they will, that without it the harmonious existence of Humanity is

impossible.

[We are not yet ripe for

the normal state. But the

revolution of 1848 is a step

towards it]

From this view of the practical side of the religion of Humanity

taken in connexion with its intellectual and moral side, we may

form a general conception of the final reorganization of political

institutions, by which alone the great Revolution can be brought to

a close. But the time for effecting this reconstruction has not yet

come. There must be a previous reconstruction of opinions and habits

of life upon the basis laid down by Positivism; and for this at least

one generation is required. In the interval all political measures must

retain their provisional character, although in framing them the final

state is always to be taken into account. As yet nothing can be said to

have been established, except the moral principle on which Positivism

rests, the subordination of Politics to Morals. For this is in fact

implicitly involved in the proclamation of a Republic in France; a step

which cannot now be recalled, and which implies that each citizen is to

devote all his faculties to the service of Humanity. But with regard to

the social organization, by which alone this principle can be carried

into effect, although its basis has been laid down by Positivism, it

has not yet received the sanction of the Public. It may be hoped,

however, that the motto which I have put forward as descriptive of the

new political philosophy, _Order and Progress_, will soon be adopted

spontaneously.

[First revolutionary motto,

Liberty and Equality]

In the first or negative phase of the Revolution, all that was done

was utterly to repudiate the old political system. No indication

whatever was given of the state of things which was to succeed

it. The motto of the time, _Liberty and Equality_, is an exact

representation of this state of things, the conditions expressed in

it being utterly contradictory, and incompatible with organization of

any kind. For obviously, Liberty gives free scope to superiority of

all kinds, and especially to moral and mental superiority; so that

if a uniform level of Equality is insisted on, freedom of growth is

checked. Yet inconsistent as the motto was, it was admirably adapted

to the destructive temper of the time; a time when hatred of the

Past compensated the lack of insight into the Future. It had, too, a

progressive tendency, which partly neutralized its subversive spirit.

It inspired the first attempt to derive true principles of polity from

general views of history; the memorable though unsuccessful essay of

my great predecessor Condorcet[13]. Thus the first intimation of the

future influence of the historical spirit was given at the very time

when the anti-historical spirit had reached its climax.

The long period of reaction which succeeded the first crisis gave

rise to no political motto of any importance. It was a period for

which men of any vigour of thought and character could not but feel

secret repugnance. It produced, however, a universal conviction that

the metaphysical policy of the revolutionists was of no avail for

constructive purposes. And it gave rise to the historical works of the

Neo-Catholic school, which prepared the way for Positivism by giving

the first fair appreciation of the Middle Ages.

[Second motto, Liberty and

Order]

But the Counter-revolution, begun by Robespierre, carried to its full

length by Bonaparte, and continued by the Bourbons, came to an end in

the memorable outbreak of 1830. A neutral period of eighteen years

followed, and a new motto, _Liberty and Public Order_, was temporarily

adopted. This motto was very expressive of the political condition

of the time; and the more so that it arose spontaneously, without

ever receiving any formal sanction. It expressed the general feeling

of the public, who, feeling that the secret of the political future

was possessed by none of the existing parties, contented itself with

pointing out the two conditions essential as a preparation for it.

It was an improvement on the first motto, because it indicated more

clearly that the ultimate purpose of the revolution was construction.

It got rid of the anti-social notion of Equality. All the moral

advantages of Equality without its political danger existed already in

the feeling of Fraternity, which, since the Middle Ages, has become

sufficiently diffused in Western Europe to need no special formula.

Again, this motto introduced empirically the great conception of Order;

understanding it of course in the limited sense of material order at

home and abroad. No deeper meaning was likely to be attached to the

word in a time of such mental and moral anarchy.

[Third motto, Order and

Progress]

But with the adoption of the Republican principle in 1848[14], the

utility of this provisional motto ceased. For the Revolution now

entered upon its Positive phase; which indeed, for all philosophical

minds, had been already inaugurated by my discovery of the laws of

Social Science. But the fact of its having fallen into disuse is no

reason for going back to the old motto, Liberty and Equality, which,

since the crisis of 1789, has ceased to be appropriate. In the utter

absence of social convictions, it has obtained a sort of official

resuscitation; but this will not prevent men of good sense and right

feeling from adopting spontaneously the motto _Order and Progress_, as

the principle of all political action for the future. In the second

chapter I dwelt at some length upon this motto, and pointed out its

political and philosophical meaning. I have now only to show its

connexion with the other mottoes of which we have been speaking, and

the probability of its adoption. Each of them, like all combinations,

whether in the moral or physical world, is composed of two elements;

and the last has one of its elements in common with the second, as the

second has in common with the first. Moreover, Liberty, the element

common to the two first, is in reality contained in the third; since

all Progress implies Liberty. But Order is put foremost, because the

word is here intended to cover the whole field that properly belongs

to it. It includes things private as well as public, theoretical as

well as practical, moral as well as political. Progress is put next, as

the end for which Order exists, and as the mode in which it should be

manifested. This conception, for which the crisis of 1789 prepared the

way, will be our guiding principle throughout the constructive phase

of the Western Revolution. The reconciliation of Order and Progress,

which had hitherto been impossible, is now an accepted fact for all

advanced minds. For the public this is not yet the case; but since the

close of the Counter-revolution in 1830, all minds have been tending

unconsciously in this direction. The tendency becomes still more

striking by contrast with an opposite movement, the increasing identity

of principles between the reactionary and the anarchist schools.

[Provisional policy for the

period of transition]

But even if we suppose accomplished what is yet only in prospect,

even if the fundamental principle of our future polity were accepted

and publicly ratified by the adoption of this motto, yet permanent

reconstruction of political institutions would still be premature.

Before this can be attempted, the spiritual interregnum must be

terminated. For this object, in which all hearts and minds, especially

among the working classes and among women, must unite their efforts

with those of the philosophic priesthood, at least one generation

is required. During this period governmental policy should be

avowedly provisional; its one object should be to maintain what is so

essential to our state of transition, Order, at home and abroad. Here,

too, Positivism suffices for the task; by explaining on historical

principles the stage that we have left, and that at which we shall

ultimately arrive, it enables us to understand the character of the

intermediate stage.

[Popular dictatorship with

freedom of speech]

The solution of the problem consists in a new revolutionary government,

adapted to the Positive phase of the Revolution, as the admirable

institutions of the Convention were to its negative phase. The

principal features of such a government would be perfect freedom of

speech and discussion, and at the same time political preponderance

of the central authority with proper guarantees for its purity. To

secure perfect freedom of discussion, various measures would be taken.

All penalties and fines which at present hamper its action would be

abolished, the only check left being the obligation of signature.

Again, all difficulties in the way of criticizing the private character

of public men, due to the disgraceful legislation of the psychologists,

would be removed. Lastly, all official grants to theological and

metaphysical institutions would be discontinued; for while these

remain, freedom of instruction in the true sense cannot be said to

exist. With such substantial guarantees there will be little fear of

reactionary tendencies on the part of the executive; and consequently

no danger in allowing it to take that ascendency over the electoral

body which, in the present state of mental and moral anarchy, is

absolutely necessary for the maintenance of material order. On this

plan the French assembly would be reduced to about two hundred members;

and its duty only would be to vote the budget proposed by the finance

committee of government, and to audit the accounts of the past year.

All executive or legislative measures would come within the province

of the central power; the only condition being that they should first

be submitted to free discussion, whether by journals, public meetings,

or individual thinkers, though such discussion should not bind the

government legally. The progressive character of the government thus

guaranteed, we have next to see that the men who compose it shall be

such as are likely to carry out the provisional and purely practical

purpose with which it is instituted. On Positive principles, it is to

the working classes that we should look for the only statesmen worthy

of succeeding to the statesmen of the Convention. Three of such men

would be required for the central government. They would combine the

functions of a ministry with those of monarchy, one of them taking the

direction of Foreign affairs, another of Home affairs, the third of

Finance. They would convoke and dissolve the electoral power on their

own responsibility. Of this body the majority would in a short time,

without any law to that effect, consist of the larger capitalists; for

the office would be gratuitous, and the duties would be of a kind for

which their ordinary avocations fitted them. Changes would occasionally

be necessary in the central government; but since it would consist of

three persons, its continuity might be maintained, and the traditions

of the previous generation, as well as the tendencies of the future,

and the position actually existing, might all be represented.

Such a government, though of course retaining some revolutionary

features, would come as near to the normal state as is at present

practicable. For its province would be entirely limited to material

questions, and the only anomaly of importance would be the fact of

choosing rulers from the working classes. Normally, this class is

excluded from political administration, which falls ultimately into the

hands of capitalists. But the anomaly is so obviously dependent simply

on the present condition of affairs, and will be so restricted in its

application, that the working classes are not likely to be seriously

demoralized by it. The primary object being to infuse morality into

practical life, it is clear that working men, whose minds and hearts

are peculiarly accessible to moral influence, are for the present best

qualified for political power. No check meantime is placed on the

action of the capitalists; and this provisional policy prepares the

way for their ultimate accession to power, by convincing them of the

urgent need of private and public regeneration, without which they

can never be worthy of it. By this course, too, it becomes easier to

bring the consultative influence of a spiritual power to bear upon

modern government. At first such influence can only be exercised

spontaneously; but it will become more and more systematic with every

new step in the great philosophical renovation on which the final

reorganization of society is based.

The propriety of the provisional policy here recommended is further

illustrated by the wide scope of its application. Although suggested

by the difficulties peculiar to the position of France, it is equally

adapted to other nations who are sufficiently advanced to take part

in the great revolutionary crisis. Thus the second phase of the

Revolution is at once distinguished from the first, by having an

Occidental, as opposed to a purely National, character. And the fact

of the executive government being composed of working men, points

in the same direction; since of all classes working men are the most

free from local prejudices, and have the strongest tendencies, both

intellectually and morally, to universal union. Even should this form

of government be limited for some years to France, it would be enough

to remodel the old system of diplomacy throughout the West.

Such are the advantages which the second revolutionary government

will derive from the possession of systematic principles; whereas the

government of the Convention was left to its empirical instincts, and

had nothing but its progressive instincts to guide it.

A special report was published in 1848 by the Positivist Society[15],

in which the subject of provisional government will be found discussed

in greater detail.

[Positive Committee for

Western Europe]

Quiet at home and peace abroad being secured, we shall be able,

notwithstanding the continuance of mental and moral anarchy, to

proceed actively with the vast work of social regeneration, with the

certainty of full liberty of thought and expression. For this purpose

it will be desirable to institute the philosophical and political

association to which I alluded in the last volume of my _Positive

Philosophy_ (published in 1842), under the title of _Positive

Occidental Committee_[16]. Its sittings would usually be held in

Paris, and it would consist, in the first place, of eight Frenchmen,

seven Englishmen, six Germans, five Italians, and four Spaniards. This

would be enough to represent fairly the principal divisions of each

population. Germany, for instance, might send a Dutchman, a Prussian,

a Swede, a Dane, a Bavarian, and an Austrian. So, too, the Italian

members might come respectively from Piedmont, Lombardy, Tuscany,

the Roman States, and the two Sicilies. Again, Catalonia, Castille,

Andalusia, and Portugal would adequately represent the Spanish

Peninsula.

Thus we should have a sort of permanent Council of the new Church.

Each of the three elements of the moderating power should be admitted

into it; and it might also contain such members of the governing

class as were sufficiently regenerated to be of use in forwarding

the general movement. There should be practical men in this council

as well as philosophers. Here, as elsewhere, it will be principally

from the working classes that such practical co-operation will come;

but no support, if given sincerely, will be rejected, even should it

emanate from the classes who are destined to extinction. It is also

most important for the purposes of this Council that the third element

of the moderating power, women, should be included in it, so as to

represent the fundamental principle of the preponderance of the heart

over the understanding. Six ladies should be chosen in addition to

the thirty members above mentioned: of these, two would be French,

and one from each of the other nations. Besides their ordinary sphere

of influence, it will be their special duty to disseminate Positivism

among our Southern brethren. It is an office that I had reserved for

my saintly colleague, who, but for her premature death, would have

rendered eminent service in such a Council.

While material order is maintained by national governments, the

members of the Council, as pioneers of the final order of society,

will be carrying on the European movement, and gradually terminating

the spiritual interregnum which is now the sole obstacle to social

regeneration. They will forward the development and diffusion of

Positivism, and make practical application of its principles, in all

ways that are honourably open to them. Instruction of all kinds, oral

or written, popular or philosophic, will fall within their province;

but their chief aim will be to inaugurate the worship of Humanity so

far as that is possible. And already a beginning is possible, so far

at least as the system of commemoration is concerned. Politically they

may give a direct proof of the international character of the Positive

system, by bringing forward several measures, the utility of which has

long been recognized, but which have been neglected for want of some

central authority placed beyond the reach of national rivalry.

[Occidental navy]

One of the most important of such measures would be the establishment

of a Western naval force, with the twofold object of protecting the

seas, and of assisting geographical and scientific discovery. It should

be recruited and supported by all five branches of the Occidental

family, and would thus be a good substitute for the admirable

institution of maritime Chivalry which fell with Catholicism. On its

flag the Positivist motto would naturally be inscribed, and thus would

be for the first time publicly recognized.

[International coinage]

Another measure, conceived in the same spirit, would soon follow,

one which has long been desired, but which, owing to the anarchy

prevalent throughout the West since the decline of Catholicism,

has never yet been carried out. A common monetary standard will be

established, with the consent of the various governments, by which

industrial transactions will be greatly facilitated. Three spheres made

respectively of gold, silver, and platinum, and each weighing fifty

grammes, would differ sufficiently in value for the purpose. The sphere

should have a small flattened base, and on the great circle parallel to

it the Positivist motto would be inscribed. At the pole would be the

image of the immortal Charlemagne, the founder of the Western Republic,

and round the image his name would be engraved, in its Latin form,

Carolus; that name, respected as it is by all nations of Europe alike,

would be the common appellation of the universal monetary standard.

[Occidental school]

The adoption of such measures would soon bring the Positivist Committee

into favour. Many others might be suggested, relating directly to

its fundamental purpose, which need not be specially mentioned

here. I will only suggest the foundation, by voluntary effort, of

an Occidental School, to serve as the nucleus of a true philosophic

class. The students would ultimately enter the Positivist priesthood;

they would in most instances come from the working class, without,

however, excluding real talent from whatever quarter. By their agency

the septennial course of Positive teaching might be introduced in all

places disposed to receive it. They would besides supply voluntary

missionaries, who would preach the doctrine everywhere, even outside

the limits of Western Europe, according to the plan hereafter to be

explained. The travels of Positivist workmen in the ordinary duties of

their calling, would greatly facilitate this work.

A more detailed view of this provisional system of instruction will be

found in the second edition of the _Report on the Subject of a Positive

School_, published by the Positivist Society in 1849[17].

[Flag for the Western

Republic]

There is another step which might be taken, relating not merely to the

period of transition, but also to the normal state. A flag suitable to

the Western Republic might be adopted, which, with slight alterations,

would also be the flag for each nation. The want of such a symbol is

already instinctively felt. What is wanted is a substitute for the old

retrograde symbols, which yet shall avoid all subversive tendencies. It

would be a suitable inauguration of the period of transition which we

are now entering, if the colours and mottoes appropriate to the final

state were adopted at its outset.

To speak first of the banner to be used in religious services. It

should be painted on canvas. On one side the ground would be white; on

it would be the symbol of Humanity, personified by a woman of thirty

years of age, bearing her son in her arms. The other side would bear

the religious formula of Positivists: _Love is our Principle, Order is

our Basis, Progress our End_, upon a ground of green, the colour of

hope, and therefore most suitable for emblems of the future.

Green, too, would be the colour of the political flag, common to the

whole West. As it is intended to float freely, it does not admit of

painting; but the carved image of Humanity might be placed at the

banner-pole. The principal motto of Positivism will, in this case, be

divided into two, both alike significant. One side of the flag will

have the political and scientific motto, _Order and Progress_: the

other, the moral and esthetic motto, _Live for Others_. The first will

be preferred by men; the other is more especially adapted to women,

who are thus invited to participate in these public manifestations of

social feeling.

This point settled, the question of the various national flags becomes

easy. In these the centre might be green, and the national colours

might be displayed on the border. Thus, in France, where the innovation

will be first introduced, the border would be tricolour, with the

present arrangement of colours, except that more space should be given

to the white, in honour of our old royal flag. In this way uniformity

would be combined with variety; and, moreover, it would be shown that

the new feeling of Occidentality is perfectly compatible with respect

for the smallest nationalities. Each would retain the old signs in

combination with the common symbol. The same principle would apply to

all emblems of minor importance.

The question of these symbols, of which I have spoken during the

last two years in my weekly courses of lectures, illustrates the

most immediate of the functions to which the Positive Committee will

be called. I mention it here, as a type of its general action upon

European society.

Without setting any limits to the gradual increase of the Association,

it is desirable that the central nucleus should always remain limited

to the original number of thirty-six, with two additions, which will

shortly be mentioned. Each member might institute a more numerous

association in his own country, and this again might be the parent of

others. Associations thus affiliated may be developed to an unlimited

extent; and thus we shall be able to maintain the unity and homogeneity

of the Positive Church, without impairing its coherence and vigour. As

soon as Positivism has gained in every country a sufficient number of

voluntary adherents to constitute the preponderating section of the

community, the regeneration of society is secured.

The numbers assigned above for the different nations, only represent

the order in which the advanced minds in each will co-operate in the

movement. The order in which the great body of each nation will join

it, will be, as far as we can judge from their antecedents, somewhat

different. The difference is, that Italy here takes the second place,

and Spain the third, while England descends to the last. The grounds

for this important modification are indicated in the third edition of

my _Positive Calendar_. They will be discussed in detail in the fourth

volume of this Treatise[18].

[Colonial and foreign

Associates of the Committee,

the action of which will

ultimately extend to the

whole human race]

From Europe the movement will spread ultimately to the whole race. But

the first step in its progress will naturally be to the inhabitants of

our colonies, who, though politically independent of Western Europe,

still retain their filiation with it. Twelve colonial members may be

added to the Council; four for each American Continent, two for India,

two for the Dutch and Spanish possessions in the Indian Ocean.

This gives us forty-eight members. To these twelve foreign associates

will gradually be added, to represent the populations whose growth

has been retarded; and then the Council will have received its full

complement. For every nation of the world is destined for the same

ultimate conditions of social regeneration as ourselves, the only

difference being that Western Europe, under the leadership of France,

takes the initiative. It is of great importance not to attempt this

final extension too soon, an error which would impair the precision

and vigour of the renovating movement. At the same time it must never

be forgotten that the existence of the Great Being remains incomplete

until all its members are brought into harmonious co-operation.

In ancient times social sympathy was restricted to the idea of

Nationality; between this and the final conception of Humanity, the

Middle Ages introduced the intermediate conception of Christendom,

or Occidentality; the real bearing of which is at present but little

appreciated. It will be our first political duty to revive that

conception, and place it on a firmer basis, by terminating the anarchy

consequent on the extinction of Catholic Feudalism. While occupied in

this task, we shall become impressed with the conviction that the union

of Western Europe is but a preliminary step to the union of Humanity;

an instinctive presentiment of which has existed from the infancy

of our race, but which as long as theological belief and military

life were predominant, could never be carried out even in thought.

The primary laws of human development which form the philosophical

basis of the Positive system, apply necessarily to all climates and

races whatsoever, the only difference being in the rapidity with

which evolution takes place. The inferiority of other nations in this

respect is not inexplicable; and it will now be compensated by a growth

of greater regularity than ours, and less interrupted by shocks and

oscillations. Obviously in our case systematic guidance was impossible,

since it is only now that our growth is complete that we can learn

the general laws common to it and to other cases. Wise and generous

intervention of the West on behalf of our sister nations who are less

advanced, will form a noble field for Social Art, when based on sound

scientific principles. Relative without being arbitrary, zealous and

yet always temperate; such should be the spirit of this intervention;

and thus conducted, it will form a system of moral and political

action far nobler than the proselytism of theology or the extension

of military empire. The time will come when it will engross the whole

attention of the Positive Council; but for the present it must remain

secondary to other subjects of greater urgency.

The first to join the Western movement will necessarily be the

remaining portion of the White race: which in all its branches is

superior to the other two races. There are two Monotheist nations,

and one Polytheist, which will be successively incorporated. Taken

together, the three represent the propagation of Positivism in the East.

The vast population of the Russian empire was left outside the pale

of Catholic Feudalism. By virtue of its Christianity, however,

notwithstanding its entire confusion of temporal and spiritual power,

it holds the first place among the Monotheistic nations of the East.

Its initiation into the Western movement will be conducted by two

nations of intermediate position; Greece, connected with Russia by

the tie of religion; and Poland, united with her politically. Though

neither of these nations is homogeneous in structure with Russia, it

would cause serious delay in the propagation of Positivism should the

connexion be altogether terminated.

The next step will be to Mohammedan Monotheism; first in Turkey,

afterwards in Persia. Here Positivism will find points of sympathy

of which Catholicism could not admit. Indeed these are already

perceptible. Arab civilization transmitted Greek science to us: and

this will always secure for it an honourable place among the essential

elements of the mediaeval system, regarded as a preparation for

Positivism.

Lastly, we come to the Polytheists of India; and with them the

incorporation of the White race will be complete. Already we see some

spontaneous tendencies in this direction. Although from exceptional

causes Theocracy has been preserved in India, there exist real points

of contact with Positivism; and in this respect the assistance of

Persia will be of service. It is the peculiar privilege of the Positive

doctrine that, taking so complete a view of human development, it is

always able to appreciate the most ancient forms of social life at

their true worth.

In these three stages of Positivist propagation, the Council will

have elected the first half of its foreign associates; admitting

successively a Greek, a Russian, an Egyptian, a Turk, a Persian and

finally, a Hindoo.

The Yellow race has adhered firmly to Polytheism. But it has been

considerably modified in all its branches by Monotheism, either in the

Christian or Mohammedan form. To some extent, therefore, it is prepared

for further change; and a sufficient number of adherents may soon be

obtained for Tartary, China, Japan, and Malacca to be represented in

the Council.

With one last edition the organization of the Council is complete. The

black race has yet to be included. It should send two representatives;

one from Hayti, which had the energy to shake off the iniquitous

yoke of slavery, and the other from central Africa, which has never

yet been subjected to European influence. European pride has looked

with contempt on these African tribes, and imagines them destined to

hopeless stagnation. But the very fact of their having been left to

themselves renders them better disposed to receive Positivism, the

first system in which their Fetichistic faith has been appreciated, as

the origin from which the historic evolution of society has proceeded.

It is probable that the Council will have reached its limit of sixty

members, before the spiritual interregnum in the central region of

Humanity has been terminated. But even if political reconstruction were

to proceed so rapidly in Europe as to render all possible assistance

to this vast movement, it is hardly conceivable that the five stages

of which it consists can be thoroughly effected within a period of two

centuries. But however this may be, the action of the Council will

become increasingly valuable, not only for its direct influence on the

less advanced nations, but also and more especially, because the proofs

it will furnish of the universality of the new religion will strengthen

its adherents in the Western family.

[Conclusion. Perfection of

the Positivist ideal]

But the time when Positivism can be brought into direct contact with

these preliminary phases is far distant, and we need not wait for it.

The features of the system stand out already with sufficient clearness

to enable us to begin at once the work of mental and social renovation

for which our revolutionary predecessors so energetically prepared

the way. They however were blinded to the Future by their hatred of

the Past. With us, on the contrary, social sympathy rests upon the

historical spirit, and at the same time strengthens it. Solidarity with

our contemporaries is not enough for us, unless we combine it with the

sense of Continuity with former times; and while we press on toward

the Future, we lean upon the Past, every phase of which our religion

holds in honour. So far from the energy of our progressive movement

being hampered by such feelings, it is only by doing full justice to

the Past, as no system but ours can do consistently, that we can obtain

perfect emancipation of thought; because we are thus saved from the

necessity of making the slightest actual concession to systems which

we regard as obsolete. Understanding their nature and their purpose

better than the sectaries who still empirically adhere to them, we can

see that each was in its time necessary as a preparatory step towards

the final system, in which all their partial and imperfect services

will be combined.

Comparing it especially with the last synthesis by which the Western

family of nations has been directed, it is clear even from the

indications given in this prefatory work, that the new synthesis is

more real, more comprehensive, and more stable. All that we find to

admire in the mediaeval system is developed and matured in Positivism.

It is the only system which can induce the intellect to accept its due

position of subordination to the heart. We recognize the piety and

chivalry of our ancestors, who made a noble application of the best

doctrine that was possible in their time. We believe that were they

living now, they would be found in our ranks. They would acknowledge

the decay of their provisional phase of thought, and would see that in

its present degenerate state it is only a symbol of reaction, and a

source of discord.

And now that the doctrine has been shown to rest on a central

principle, a principle which appeals alike to instinct and to

reason, we may carry our comparison a step further, and convince all

clear-seeing and honest minds that it is as superior to former systems

in its influence over the emotions and the imagination, as it is from

the practical and intellectual aspect. Under it, Life, whether private

or public, becomes in a still higher sense than under Polytheism, a

continuous act of worship performed under the inspiration of universal

Love. All our thoughts, feelings, and actions flow spontaneously to a

common centre in Humanity, our Supreme Being; a Being who is real,

accessible, and sympathetic, because she is of the same nature as

her worshippers, though far superior to any one of them. The very

conception of Humanity is a condensation of the whole mental and social

history of man. For it implies the irrevocable extinction of theology

and of war; both of which are incompatible with uniformity of belief

and with co-operation of all the energies of the race. The spontaneous

morality of the emotions is restored to its due place; and Philosophy,

Poetry, and Polity are thereby regenerated. Each is placed in its due

relation to the others, and is consecrated to the study, the praise,

and the service of Humanity, the most relative and the most perfectible

of all beings. Science passes from the analytic to the synthetic

state, being entrusted with the high mission of founding an objective

basis for man’s action on the laws of the external world and of man’s

nature; a basis which is indispensable to control the oscillation of

our opinions, the versatility of our feelings, and the instability of

our purposes. Poetry assumes at last its true social function, and will

henceforth be preferred to all other studies. By idealizing Humanity

under every aspect, it enables us to give fit expression to the

gratitude we owe to her, both publicly and as individuals; and thus it

becomes a source of the highest spiritual benefit.

But amidst the pleasures that spring from the study and the praise of

Humanity, it must be remembered that Positivism is characterized always

by reality and utility, and admits of no degeneration into asceticism

or quietism. The Love by which it is inspired is no passive principle;

while stimulating Reason and Imagination, it does so only to give a

higher direction to our practical activity. It was in practical life

that the Positive spirit first arose, extending thence to the sphere

of thought, and ultimately to the moral sphere. The grand object of

human existence is the constant improvement of the natural Order

that surrounds us: of our material condition first; subsequently of

our physical, intellectual, and moral nature. And the highest of

these objects is moral progress, whether in the individual, in the

family, or in society. It is on this that human happiness, whether

in private or public life, principally depends. Political art, then,

when subordinated to morality, becomes the most essential of all arts.

It consists in concentration of all human effort upon the service

of Humanity in accordance with the natural laws which regulate her

existence.

The great merit of ancient systems of polity, of the Roman system

especially, was that precedence was always given to public interests.

Every citizen co-operated in the manner and degree suited to those

early times. But there were no means of providing proper regulation

for domestic life. In the Middle Ages, when Catholicism attempted to

form a complete system of morality, private life was made the principal

object. All our affections were subjected to a most beneficial course

of discipline, in which the inmost springs of vice and virtue were

reached. But owing to the inadequacy of the doctrines on which the

system rested, the solution of the problem was incoherent. The method

by which Catholicism controlled the selfish propensities was one which

turned men away from public life, and concentrated them on interests

which were at once chimerical and personal. The immediate value of this

great effort was, that it brought about for the first time a separation

between moral and political power, which in the systems of antiquity

had always been confounded. But the separation was due rather to the

force of circumstances than to any conscious efforts; and it could not

be fully carried out, because it was incompatible with the spirit of

the Catholic doctrine and with the military character of society. Woman

sympathized with Catholicism, but the people never supported it with

enthusiasm, and it soon sank under the encroachments of the temporal

power, and the degeneracy of the priesthood.

Positivism is the only system which can renew this premature effort and

bring it to a satisfactory issue. Combining the spirit of antiquity

with that of Catholic Feudalism, it proposes to carry out the political

programme put forward by the Convention.

Positive religion brings before us in a definite shape the noblest of

human problems, the permanent preponderance of Social feeling over

Self-love. As far as the exceeding imperfection of our nature enables

us to solve it, it would be solved by calling our home affections into

continuous action; affections which stand half-way between self-love

and universal sympathy. In order to consolidate and develop this

solution, Positivism lays down the philosophical and social principle

of separation of theoretical from practical power. Theoretical power is

consultative; it directs education, and supplies general principles.

Practical power directs action by special and imperative rules. All

the elements of society that are excluded from political government

become guarantees for the preservation of this arrangement. The

priests of Humanity, who are the systematic organs of the moderating

power, will always find themselves supported, in their attempts to

modify the governing power, by women and by the people. But to be so

supported, they must be men who, in addition to the intellectual power

necessary for their mission, have the moral qualities which are yet

more necessary; who combine, that is, the tenderness of women with the

energy of the people. The first guarantee for the possession of such

qualities is the sacrifice of political authority and even of wealth.

Then we may at least hope to see the new religion taking the place

of the old, because it will fulfil in a more perfect way the mental

and social purposes for which the old religion existed. Monotheism

will lapse like Polytheism and Fetichism, into the domain of history;

and will, like them, be incorporated into the system of universal

commemoration, in which Humanity will render due homage to all her

predecessors.

[Corruption of Monotheism]

It is not, then, merely on the ground of speculative truth that

Positivists would urge all those who are still halting between two

opinions, to choose between the absolute and the relative, between

the fruitless search for Causes and the solid study of Laws, between

submission to arbitrary Wills and submission to demonstrable

Necessities. It is for Feeling still more than for Reason to make the

decision; for upon it depends the establishment of a higher form of

social life.

Monotheism in Western Europe is now as obsolete and as injurious as

Polytheism was fifteen centuries ago. The discipline in which its moral

value principally consisted has long since decayed; and consequently

the sole effect of its doctrine, which has been so extravagantly

praised, is to degrade the affections by unlimited desires, and to

weaken the character by servile terrors. It supplied no field for the

Imagination, and forced it back upon Polytheism and Fetichism, which,

under Theology, form the only possible foundation for poetry. The

pursuits of practical life were never sincerely promoted by it, and

they advanced only by evading or resisting its influence. The noblest

of all practical pursuits, that of social regeneration, is at the

present time in direct opposition to it. For by its vague notion of

Providence, it prevents men from forming a true conception of Law, a

conception necessary for true prevision, on which all wise intervention

must be based.

Sincere believers in Christianity will soon cease to interfere with the

management of a world, where they profess themselves to be pilgrims and

strangers. The new Supreme Being is no less jealous than the old, and

will not accept the servants of two masters. But the truth is, that the

more zealous theological partisans, whether royalists, or aristocrats,

or democrats, have now for a long time been insincere. God to them

is but the nominal chief of a hypocritical conspiracy, a conspiracy

which is even more contemptible than it is odious. Their object is to

keep the people from all great social improvements by assuring them

that they will find compensation for their miseries in an imaginary

future life. The doctrine is already falling into discredit among the

working classes everywhere throughout the West, especially in Paris.

All theological tendencies, whether Catholic, Protestant, or Deist,

really serve to prolong and aggravate our moral anarchy, because they

hinder the diffusion of that social sympathy and breadth of view,

without which we can never attain fixity of principle and regularity

of life. Every subversive scheme now afloat has either originated in

Monotheism or has received its sanction. Even Catholicism has lost its

power of controlling revolutionary extravagance in some of its own most

distinguished members.

It is for the sake of Order therefore, even more than of Progress,

that we call on all those who desire to rise above their present

disastrous state of oscillation in feeling and opinion, to make a

distinct choice between Positivism and Theology. For there are now but

two camps: the camp of reaction and anarchy, which acknowledges more

or less distinctly the direction of God: the camp of construction and

progress, which is wholly devoted to Humanity.

The Being upon whom all our thoughts are concentrated is one whose

existence is undoubted. We recognize that existence not in the Present

only, but in the Past, and even in the Future: and we find it always

subject to one fundamental Law, by which we are enabled to conceive

of it as a whole. Placing our highest happiness in universal Love, we

live, as far as it is possible, for others; and this in public life

as well as in private; for the two are closely linked together in our

religion; a religion clothed in all the beauty of Art, and yet never

inconsistent with Science. After having thus exercised our powers to

the full, and having given a charm and sacredness to our temporary

life, we shall at last be for ever incorporated into the Supreme Being,

of whose life all noble natures are necessarily partakers. It is only

through the workers of Humanity that we can feel the inward reality and

inexpressible sweetness of this incorporation. It is unknown to those

who being still involved in theological belief, have not been able to

form a clear conception of the Future, and have never experienced the

feeling of pure self-sacrifice.

THE END

Butler & Tanner, The Selwood Printing Works, Frome, and London.

FOOTNOTES

[1] The establishment of this great principle is the most important

result of my _System of Positive Philosophy_. This work was published

1830-1842, with the title of _Course of Positive Philosophy_, because

it was based upon a course of lectures delivered 1826-1829. But since

that time I have always given it the more appropriate name of System.

Should the work reach a second edition, the correction will be made

formally: meanwhile, this will, I hope, remove all misconception on the

subject.

[2] [Comte afterwards added a seventh science, Ethics, (see vol. ii of

_System of Positive Polity_).]

[3] [See Cabanis, _Rapports du physique et du moral de l’homme_, V^e

memoire, where he speaks of ‘_les restes de l’esprit de chevalerie,

fruit ridicule de l’odieuse féodalité_.’]

[4] Philosophy--the _love_ of wisdom.

[5] [Written in 1848.]

[6] On reconsideration, Comte saw fit to withdraw this proposal. See

_Positive Polity_, vol. iv, ch. 5, p. 351.

[7] [Clotilde de Vaux, see _Testament d’Auguste Comte_, p. 550].

[8] This law was introduced by Royer-Collard. It forbids discussion of

the private affairs of public men.

[9] [_Testament d’Auguste Comte_, p. 556].

[10] [This story _Lucie_ is republished in Vol. i of _System of

Positive Polity_.]

[11] Toute la suite des hommes, pendant le cours de tant de siècles,

doit être considérée comme un même homme qui subsiste toujours et qui

apprend continuellement.--Pascal, _Pensées_, Part I, Art. I. [The whole

succession of men during the course of so many centuries should be

considered as one Man ever living and constantly learning.]

[12] [See _The Positivist Calendar_, edited by H. G. Jones (W. Reeves,

1905).]

[13] [_Tableau Historique des progrès de l’Esprit Humain_, Paris, 1900.]

[14] [The Republic of 1848.]

[15] [This report was republished in _Revue Occidentale_, July 1889;

see also an article and a document published by M. Pierre Laffitte in

the same review in January, 1890.]

[16] [This committee was formed in 1903.]

[17] This report was republished in _Revue Occidentale_, September,

1885.

[18] The relative position here assigned to England and Germany is

reversed in the fourth volume of the _Politique Positive_.

Transcriber’s Notes

Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a

predominant preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not

changed.

Simple typographical errors were corrected; occasional unbalanced

quotation marks retained.

Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained.

Page 320: “the creative process” was misprinted as “the creature

process”; changed here.

Page 399: “one of its principal features” was misprinted as

“principle”; changed here.

End of Project Gutenberg's A General View of Positivism, by Auguste Comte