lavery, that is progress, isn't it? To my mind it is
the most important progress, and perhaps the only one possible and
necessary for man."

"The limits of universal world progress are in infinity, and to
talk of some 'possible' progress limited by our needs and temporary
theories is, excuse my saying so, positively strange."

"If the limits of progress are in infinity as you say, it follows
that its aims are not definite," I said. "To live without knowing
definitely what you are living for!"

"So be it! But that 'not knowing' is not so dull as your 'knowing.'
I am going up a ladder which is called progress, civilization,
culture; I go on and up without knowing definitely where I am going,
but really it is worth living for the sake of that delightful ladder;
while you know what you are living for, you live for the sake of
some people's not enslaving others, that the artist and the man who
rubs his paints may dine equally well. But you know that's the
petty, bourgeois, kitchen, grey side of life, and surely it is
revolting to live for that alone? If some insects do enslave others,
bother them, let them devour each other! We need not think about
them. You know they will die and decay just the same, however
zealously you rescue them from slavery. We must think of that great
millennium which awaits humanity in the remote future."

Blagovo argued warmly with me, but at the same time one could see
he was troubled by some irrelevant idea.

"I suppose your sister is not coming?" he said, looking at his
watch. "She was at our house yesterday, and said she would be seeing
you to-day. You keep saying slavery, slavery . . ." he went on.
"But you know that is a special question, and all such questions
are solved by humanity gradually."

We began talking of doing things gradually. I said that "the question
of doing good or evil every one settles for himself, without waiting
till humanity settles it by the way of gradual development. Moreover,
this gradual process has more than one aspect. Side by side with
the gradual development of human ideas the gradual growth of ideas
of another order is observed. Serfdom is no more, but the capitalist
system is growing. And in the very heyday of emancipating ideas,
just as in the days of Baty, the majority feeds, clothes, and defends
the minority while remaining hungry, inadequately clad, and
defenceless. Such an order of things can be made to fit in finely
with any tendencies and curren