gs considered, we had better leave well enough alone.
Some extreme exponents of this doctrine maintain, as did
some of the Hebrew prophets, that whatever evils are ours are
our own fault, that fault consisting in a lapse from the
accustomed ancient ways. To continue without abatement the
established ways is the surest road to happiness. Education,
social customs, political organization, these are sound and
wholesome as they are; and modification means interference
with the works and processes of reason.

"All Nature is but art, unknown to thee;
All chance, direction, which thou canst not see;
All discord, harmony not understood;
All partial evil, universal good;
And spite of pride, in erring reason's spite,
One truth is clear, Whatever is, is right."[1]

[Footnote 1: Pope: _Essay on Man_, epistle I, lines 289 ff.]

Later Hegel developed an elaborate philosophy of history
in which he tried to demonstrate that the history of the past
was one long exemplification of reason; that each event that
happened was part of the great cosmic scheme, an indispensable
syllable of the Divine Idea as it moved through history;
each action part of the increasing purpose that runs through
the ages. That these contentions are, to say the least, extreme,
will appear presently in the statement of the opposite
position which sees nothing in the past but a long succession
of blunders, evils, and stupidities.

"ORDER" _VERSUS_ CHANGE. Finally, genuine opposition to
change arises from those who fear the instability which it implies.
Continuation in established ways makes for integration,
discipline, and stability. It makes possible the converging
of means toward an end, it cumulates efforts resulting
in definite achievement. In so far as we do accomplish anything
of significance, we must move along stable and determinate
lines; we must be able to count on the future.[1] It has
already been pointed out that it is man's docility to learning,
his long period of infancy[2] which makes his eventual achievements
possible. But it is man's persistence in the habits
he has acquired that is in part responsible for his progress.
In individual life, the utility of persistence, and concentration
of effort upon a definite piece of work, have been sufficiently
stressed by moralists, both popular and professional.
"A rolling stone gathers no moss," is as true psychologically
as it is physically. Any outstanding accomplishment,
whether