第141章

2.The moral nature of man, -- the motives by which he acts determining the degree in which he will be excited to apply himself to the discovery of the order in which events succeed each other, and to changing the positions of materials, and so constructing instruments producing events ministering to future necessities or pleasures.

Concerning these two causes, the general conclusions at which we arrived were; that the more the intellectual faculties are expanded, the greater the power to extend the knowledge of the successions of events, and to form materials into instruments; and that the greater the strength of the moral powers,-- the social and benevolent affections, the greater the desire to discover the order of the succession of events, and to apply such discoveries to the formation of materials into instruments.And conversely; that the feebler the intellectual faculties and moral powers, the less both the ability to discover, and the inclination to apply discoveries to the formation of instruments, and the greater the tendency to dissipate the capacity of the instruments formed in luxury, and to waste it through deceit and violence.

III.Causes derived partly from the nature of the material world, and partly from the nature of man.

1.Change arising from revolutions of all sorts, by which men and arts are moved from region to region.This places man and matter in new positions, and discloses to him new connexions and relations, in the natures of the bodies within reach of his operations.

2.Servile imitation; the antagonist of the former, by which men are led to operate by rule, and not of knowledge, and the progress of invention and improvement retarded.

Strength of intellect and moral feeling gives continuity of existence to the society, and leading the men composing it to take an interest in distant events, extends the operations of their powers to the intelligence, and application to useful purposes, of a wide circle of events.Their weakness, and the prevalence of the opposing causes, folly and pure selfishness, isolates each member of society, contracts the operations of the powers of the whole to the consideration and application of a narrow circle of events, and dissipates and wastes them, in efforts made by each to raise himself superior to others, and by force or fraud to take from them what they possess.

There are thus two great principles, the inventive, and accumulative, generating stock and adding to it, and they are both excited and moved, and enfeebled and restrained, by similar powers.

I.The inventive principle.

Its strength extending the power of man, augments stock, by carrying the instruments composing it to orders of quicker return.It is accompanied by economy, by fidelity to engagements, by a diminished inclination to luxury and waste.

Its weakness, by contracting the power of man, prevents the augmentation of stock.It is accompanied by extravagance, by infidelity to engagements, by a propensity to luxury and waste.

II.The accumulative principle.

Its strength leading men to embrace in their operations a wide circle of events, accumulates stock, by giving additional capacity to instruments already formed, or by working up new materials.It carries instruments to orders of slower return, and is accompanied also by economy, by fidelity to engagements, by a diminished inclination for luxury and waste.

Its weakness, contracting the compass of events on which there is an inclination to operate, diminishes stock, by allowing materials to escape from it, and lie idle, which, formed into instruments, would yield abundant, though distant returns.Under it instruments can only exist at the more quickly returning orders.It is accompanied, also, by extravagance, by infidelity to engagements, by a propensity to luxury and waste.

The consideration of the mode of operation of these two principles suggests the following remark.

If, in any society, instruments be at orders of speedy return, and we have not the means of ascertaining whether or not this proceeds from the actual recent progress of invention, we may fairly conclude it does so, if, in that society, there be much economy, little luxury, good faith in exchanges, fidelity in the discharge of promises, credit consequently extensively prevailing, and few breaches in the peace, or transgressions of the laws of the community.If, on the contrary, there be little economy, much luxury, a want of good faith and fidelity, credit narrowed, frequent public and private crimes, we may certainly conclude that this position of instruments arises from a deficiency in the accumulative, not from recent progress of the inventive principle.

Upon these two principles, the third set of causes referred to operate somewhat differently.Change excites the principle of invention, but often directly restrains that of accumulation.Imitation restrains invention, but does not directly retard accumulation.

The several causes referred to, rank among the chief agents in the production of the phenomena which the progress of society exhibits.We have considered them separately, but they never appear so, always acting in combination.

This circumstance would not of itself affect any conclusions concerning them, for it applies to phenomena of all sorts, the causes influencing every one being compound.But the peculiar nature of the human mind, rather excited to action by motives, than passively operated on by them, and moulding, therefore, its energies to suit the course it adopts, occasions a difference between phenomena influenced by it and all others.Hence, according to the preponderating motive, and the course of action followed, the same powers and principles take opposite directions, and the will is able to draw to its purposes and make allies of those which would seem naturally opposed to it.