" It would be a most interesting study to trace the
growth in the world of the doctrine of "equality."
Every one talked of "the state of nature" as if he knew all about it.
"The conditions of primitive man," says Mr. Morley, "were discussed by
very incompetent ladies and gentlemen at convivial supper-parties, and
settled with complete assurance." That was the age when solitary
Frenchmen plunged into the wilderness of North America, confidently
expecting to recover the golden age under the shelter of a wigwam and in
the society of a squaw.
It is to be noticed that rights are mentioned, but not duties, and that
if political rights only are meant, political duties are not inculcated
as of equal moment. It is not announced that political power is a
function to be discharged for the good of the whole body, and not a mere
right to be enjoyed for the advantage of the possessor; and it is to be
noted also that this idea did not enter into the conception of Rousseau.
We are attempting the regeneration of society with a misleading phrase;
we are wasting our time with a theory that does not fit the facts.
WHAT IS YOUR CULTURE TO ME
It is not an unreasonable demand of the majority that the few who have
the advantages of the training of college and university should exhibit
the breadth and sweetness of a generous culture, and should shed
everywhere that light which ennobles common things, and without which
life is like one of the old landscapes in which the artist forgot to put
sunlight.
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