barbarism. In all these respects we see that civilization means a type
about such as we enjoy at present. It is such as has existed in Europe
since the Renaissance; because during the middle ages we could only
say that Europe was in a semi-civilized condition. They knew something
about writing; but at a time when Dean, the writer of the early
history of England, said that throughout the whole of England there
were not half a dozen men who could read what he had written, you can
see that writing was a very unimportant part of the culture of that
nation; so it can only be when writing becomes a common possession of
the majority that we can call it an element of civilization.

It is not to be supposed that we ourselves have reached the type of
the highest culture. We leave something for our descendants to do. We
do not wish to relieve them of the privilege of being better than
ourselves; and we shall leave them, probably, plenty of room; because
it is supposed that the stage of enlightenment which is the highest
stage of culture--which we foresee, but do not see--that that rather
applies to the future than to ourselves. That period will come when
mankind has freed itself very much more than now from the bonds of
nature and the environment of society. It will come when the ideas of
our equality are much more perfect than they are now; when that
equality extends to the equality of women with men before the law and
in all rights; when it comes to the equality of all men of all castes
before the law and the equal opportunity of all men to obtain that
which is best in the life of all. We are very far from that yet. It
will come also when the idea of international legislation is such that
it will not be necessary, in order to cure great evils, that we should
have recourse to weapons of any material whatsoever; that time is not
yet come; and so we have much that is left for our descendants to work
out in this direction.

It would, however, appear that all these various criteria which I have
named are somewhat unsatisfactory. They do not, it appears to me,
quite touch the question at issue. They are in a measure external
measures altogether--even that somewhat psychological one which I
quoted from the German authorities. Were I to propose a criterion, or
a series of criteria, of culture which could be applied to all
nations, it would be that which might as well and easily be applied to
each individual; and when we come to apply