4 INTRODUCTION
pological sciences, it is not meant to imply that physical processes explain all the qualities of man. They do not explain life, or mind, or ideals. At present we can only confess that we do not understand what these are, or how we came to possess them. We can only ascribe their origin to the same great Intelligence which framed the material universe and gave it immutable laws. We know, however, that they are the greatest forces in the world, the motive power which moves mankind. In the past, men have supposed that the human race either progressed blindly, or was led onward by the direct interposition of some unseen divine power. Now, we begin to see that man's course has been guided by his physical surroundings, just as a railroad winds here and there at the command of river, hill, or lake. To carry the analogy farther, the living mind of man, with its ideals, its love, and its pain, is the motive force to which is due the progress of human institutions; and history is the track along which man has advanced. Sometimes his course has been straight, sometimes devious, and at times it has doubled back on itself; but on the whole, it has led toward a dimly seen goal of uprightness, freedom, justice, and love.
We have studied the energizing mind, and know something of how it acts, though not of what it is. We have examined the human institutions of the home, the church, the state, and the social organization of industry; and our knowledge of them is large. The track, too, has been scrutinized minutely by historians; and we know its curves and grades, both up and down. One thing alone has been neglected : we have not looked at the country through
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