of a higher
existence.

The other class is conscious of the power of progress, is making
continual advances, and has an ideal of a future such as, in its
judgment, the present ought to be. Both of these classes have
institutions; for institutions are not the product of civilization, as
they exist wherever our social nature is developed. Man is also a
dependent being, and he therefore seeks the company, counsel and support
of his fellows. From the right of numbers to act comes the necessity of
agreement, or at least so much concurrence in what is to be done as to
secure the object sought. The will of numbers can only be expressed
through agencies; and these, however simple, are indeed
institutions--the evidence of civilization, rather than its product.
They are always the sign, symbol, or language, by which the living man
expresses the purpose of his life. Therefore, institutions differ, as
the purposes of men vary.

The savage and the man of culture do not seek the same end; hence they
will not employ the same means.

The institutions of the savage are those of the family, clan, or tribe,
to which he belongs. There the child is instructed in the art of dress,
in manners and language, in the rude customs of agriculture, the chase,
and war. This with him is life, and the history of one generation is
often the history of many generations. Their ideal corresponds with
their actual life; and, as a necessary result, there is little or no
progress.

But the other class establishes institutions which indicate the
existence of new relations, and exact the performance of new duties. As
man is a social being, he necessarily creates institutions of government
and education corresponding to the sphere in which he is to act. If a
nation desires to educate only a part of its people, its institutions
are naturally exclusive; but wherever the idea of universal education
has been received, the institutions of the country look to that end.

When Massachusetts was settled there were no truly popular institutions
in the world, for there was really no belief in popular rights. And why
should those be encouraged to think who have no right to act? The
principle that every man is to take a part in the affairs of the
community or state to which he belongs seems to be the foundation of the
doctrine that every man should be educated to think for himself. Free
schools and general education are the natural results of the principles
of human e