,transcriber's ,note3 ,every effort has 
been made to replicate this text as     
faithfully as possible1 including       
obsolete and variant spellings and other
 inconsistencies4 ,text that has been   
changed to correct an obvious error is  
noted at the end of this ebook4         
,,critical   ,,miscellanies     ,,by    
,,john ,,morley     ,,vol4 ,,iii4       
,essay #aj3 ,auguste ,comte     ,london 
,,macmillan ,,and ,,co41 ,,limited      
,,new ,,york3 ,,the ,,macmillan         
,,company   #aijd     ,,contents        
,,auguste ,,comte4                      
,,page    ,introduction                 
#ccg    ,influence of ,saint ,simon     
#cdj    ,marriage                       
#cdc    ,serious illness                
#cde    ,official work                  
#cdg    ,completion of ,positive        
,philosophy                             
#cdi    ,j4 ,s4 ,mill                   
#cej    ,question of ,subsidy           
#ceb    ,money                          
#cec    ,literary method                

#ced    ,hygine crbrale                 
#cef    ,madame de ,vaux                
#cef    ,positive ,polity               
#ceh    ,death                          
#cei    ,comte's philosophic consistency
                                  #cfj  
,early writings                         
#cfa    ,law of the ,three ,states      
#cfc    ,classification of sciences     
#cff    ,the double key of ,positive    
,philosophy                             
#cfh    ,criticism on ,comte's          
classification                          
#cfi    ,sociological conceptions       
#cga    ,method                         
#cga    ,decisive importance of         
intellectual development                
#cgc    ,historical elucidations        
#cgd    ,their value and popularity     
#cgd    ,social dynamics in the         
,positive ,polity                       
#cge    ,the ,positivist system         
#cgf    ,the key to social regeneration 
#cgg    ,the ,religion of ,humanity     
#cgg    ,the ,great ,being              

#cgh    ,remarks on the ,religion       
#cgh    ,the worship and discipline     
#chj    ,the priesthood                 
#cha    ,women                          
#chb    ,conclusion                     
#chc     ,,auguste ,,comte4#a   ,comte  
is now generally admitted to have been  
the most eminent and important of that  
interesting group of thinkers whom the  
overthrow of old institutions in ,france
 turned towards social speculation4     
,vastly superior as he was to men like  
,de ,maistre on the one hand1 and to men
 like ,saint ,simon or ,fourier on the  
other1 as well in scientific            
acquisitions as in mental capacity1     
still the aim and interest of all his   
thinking was also theirs1 namely1 the   
renovation of the conditions of the     
social union4 ,if1 however1 we classify 
him1 not thus according to aim1 but     
according to method1 then he takes rank 
among men of a very different type from 
these4 ,what distinguishes him in method
 from his contemporaries is his         

discernment that the social order cannot
 be transformed until all the theoretic 
conceptions that belong to it have been 
rehandled in a scientific spirit1 and   
maturely gathered up into a systematic  
whole along with the rest of our        
knowledge4 ,this presiding doctrine     
connects ,comte with the social thinkers
 of the eighteenth century1--indirectly 
with ,montesquieu1 directly with        
,turgot1 and more closely than either   
with ,condorcet1 of whom he was         
accustomed to speak as his philosophic  
father4      #a ,reprinted by the kind  
permission of ,messrs4 ,a4 and ,c4      
,black         from the new edition of  
the ,encyclopdia ,britannica4           
,isidore-,auguste-,marie-,franois-,xavie
r ,comte was born in ,january #agih1 at 
,montpellier1 where his father was a    
receiver-general of taxes for the       
district4 ,he was sent for his earliest 
instruction to the school of the town1  
and in #ahad was admitted to the cole   
,polytechnique4 ,his youth was marked by

 a constant willingness to rebel against
 merely official authority2 to genuine  
excellence1 whether moral or            
intellectual1 he was always ready to pay
 unbounded deference4 ,that strenuous   
application which was one of his most   
remarkable gifts in manhood showed      
itself in his youth1 and his application
 was backed or inspired by superior     
intelligence and aptness4 ,after he had 
been two years at the cole              
,polytechnique he took a foremost part  
in a mutinous demonstration against one 
of the masters2 the school was broken   
up1 and ,comte like the other scholars  
was sent home4 ,to the great            
dissatisfaction of his parents1 he      
resolved to return to ,paris 7#ahaf71   
and to earn his living there by giving  
lessons in mathematics4 ,benjamin       
,franklin was the youth's idol at this  
moment4 ',i seek to imitate the modern  
,socrates1' he wrote to a school friend1
 'not in talents1 but in way of living4 
,you know that at five and twenty he    

formed the design of becoming perfectly 
wise1 and that he fulfilled his design4 
,i have dared to undertake the same     
thing1 though ,i am not yet twenty4'    
,though ,comte's character and aims were
 as far removed as possible from        
,franklin's type1 neither ,franklin nor 
any man that ever lived could surpass   
him in the heroic tenacity with which1  
in the face of a thousand obstacles1 he 
pursued his own ideal of a vocation4    
,for a moment circumstances led him to  
think of seeking a career in ,america1  
but a friend who preceded him thither   
warned him of the purely practical      
spirit that prevailed in the new        
country4 ',if ,lagrange were to come to 
the ,united ,states1 he could only earn 
his livelihood by turning land          
surveyor4' ,so ,comte remained in       
,paris1 living as he best could on      
something less than #hj a year1 and     
hoping1 when he took the trouble to     
break his meditations upon greater      
things by hopes about himself1 that he  

might by and by obtain an appointment as
 mathematical master in a school4 ,a    
friend procured him a situation as tutor
 in the house of ,casimir ,prier4 ,the  
salary was good1 but the duties were too
 miscellaneous1 and what was still      
worse1 there was an end of the delicious
 liberty of the garret4 ,after a short  
experience of three weeks ,comte        
returned to neediness and contentment4  
,he was not altogether without the young
 man's appetite for pleasure2 yet when  
he was only nineteen we find him        
wondering1 amid the gaieties of the     
carnival of #ahag1 how a gavotte or a   
minuet could make people forget that    
thirty thousand human beings around them
 had barely a morsel to eat4 ,hardship  
in youth has many drawbacks1 but it has 
the immense advantage over academic ease
 of making the student's interest in men
 real1 and not merely literary4         
,towards #ahah ,comte became associated 
as friend and disciple with a man who   
was destined to exercise a very decisive

 influence upon the turn of his         
speculation4 ,henry1 count of ,saint    
,simon1 was second cousin of the famous 
duke of ,saint ,simon1 the friend of the
 ,regent1 and author of the most        
important set of memoirs in a language  
that is so incomparably rich in memoirs4
 ,he was now nearly sixty1 and if he had
 not gained a serious reputation1 he had
 at least excited the curiosity and     
interest of his contemporaries by the   
social eccentricities of his life1 by   
the multitude of his schemes and        
devices1 and by the fantastic ingenuity 
of his political ideas4 ,saint ,simon's 
most characteristic faculty was an      
exuberant imagination1 working in the   
sphere of real things4 ,scientific      
discipline did nothing for him2 he had  
never undergone it1 and he never felt   
its value4 ,he was an artist in social  
construction2 and if right ideas1 or the
 suggestion of right ideas1 sometimes   
came into his head1 about history1 about
 human progress1 about a stable polity1 

such ideas were not the products of     
trains of ordered reasoning2 they were  
the intuitional glimpses of the poet1   
and consequently as they professed to be
 in real matter1 even the right ideas   
were as often as not accompanied by     
wrong ones4  ,the young ,comte1 now     
twenty1 was enchanted by the philosophic
 veteran4 ,in after years he so far     
forgot himself as to write of ,saint    
,simon as a depraved quack1 and to      
deplore his connection with him as      
purely mischievous4 ,while the          
connection lasted he thought very       
differently4 ,saint ,simon is described 
as the most estimable and lovable of    
men1 and the most delightful in his     
relations2 he is the worthiest of       
philosophers4 ,even after the           
association had come to an end1 and at  
the very moment when ,comte was         
congratulating himself on having thrown 
off the yoke1 he honestly admits that   
,saint ,simon's influence has been of   
powerful service in his philosophic     

education4 ',i certainly1' he writes to 
his most intimate friend1 'am under     
great personal obligations to ,saint    
,simon2 that is to say1 he helped in a  
powerful degree to launch me in the     
philosophical direction that ,i have now
 definitely marked out for myself1 and  
that ,i shall follow without looking    
back for the rest of my life4' ,even if 
there were no such unmistakable         
expressions as these1 the most cursory  
glance into ,saint ,simon's writings is 
enough to reveal the thread of          
connection between the ingenious        
visionary and systematic thinker4 ,we   
see the debt1 and we also see that when 
it is stated at the highest possible1   
nothing has really been taken either    
from ,comte's claims as a powerful      
original thinker1 or from his           
immeasurable pre-eminence over ,saint   
,simon in intellectual grasp and vigour 
and coherence4 ,as high a degree of     
originality may be shown in             
transformation as in invention1 as      

,molire and ,shakespeare have proved in 
the region of dramatic art4 ,in         
philosophy the conditions are not       
different4 ,il faut prendre son bien o  
on le trouve4  ,it is no detriment to   
,comte's fame that some of the ideas    
which he recombined and incorporated in 
a great philosophic structure had their 
origin in ideas that were produced      
almost at random in the incessant       
fermentation of ,saint ,simon's brain4  
,comte is in no true sense a follower of
 ,saint ,simon1 but it was undoubtedly  
,saint ,simon who launched him1 to take 
,comte's own word1 by suggesting to his 
strong and penetrating mind the two     
starting-points of what grew into the   
,comtist system--first1 that political  
phenomena are as capable of being       
grouped under laws as other phenomena2  
and second1 that the true destination of
 philosophy must be social1 and the true
 object of the thinker must be the      
reorganisation of the moral1 religious1 
and political systems4 ,we can readily  

see what an impulse these far-reaching  
conceptions would give to ,comte's      
meditations4 ,there were conceptions of 
less importance than these1 in which it 
is impossible not to feel that it was   
,saint ,simon's wrong or imperfect idea 
that put his young admirer on the track 
to a right and perfected idea4 ,the     
subject is not worthy of further        
discussion4 ,that ,comte would have     
performed some great intellectual       
achievement1 if ,saint ,simon had never 
been born1 is certain4 ,it is hardly    
less certain that the great achievement 
which he did actually perform was       
originally set in motion by ,saint      
,simon's conversation1 though it was    
afterwards directly filiated with the   
fertile speculations of ,turgot and     
,condorcet4 ,comte thought almost as    
meanly of ,plato as he did of ,saint    
,simon1 and he considered ,aristotle the
 prince of all true thinkers2 yet their 
vital difference about ,ideas did not   
prevent ,aristotle from calling ,plato  

master4  ,after six years the           
differences between the old and the     
young philosopher grew too marked for   
friendship4 ,comte began to fret under  
,saint ,simon's pretensions to be his   
director4 ,saint ,simon1 on the other   
hand1 perhaps began to feel             
uncomfortably conscious of the          
superiority of his disciple4 ,the       
occasion of the breach between them     
7#ahbd7 was an attempt on ,saint        
,simon's part to print a production of  
,comte's as if it were in some sort     
connected with ,saint ,simon's schemes  
of social reorganisation4 ,comte was    
never a man to quarrel by halves1 and   
not only was the breach not repaired1   
but long afterwards ,comte1 as we have  
said1 with painful ungraciousness took  
to calling the encourager of his youth  
by very hard names4  ,in #ahbe ,comte   
married4 ,his marriage was one of those 
of which 'magnanimity owes no account to
 prudence1' and it did not turn out     
prosperously4 ,his family were strongly 

,catholic and royalist1 and they were   
outraged by his refusal to have the     
marriage performed other than civilly4  
,they consented1 however1 to receive his
 wife1 and the pair went on a visit to  
,montpellier4 ,madame ,comte conceived a
 dislike to the circle she found there1 
and this was the too early beginning of 
disputes which lasted for the remainder 
of their union4 ,in the year of his     
marriage we find ,comte writing to the  
most intimate of his                    
correspondents3--',i have nothing left  
but to concentrate my whole moral       
existence in my intellectual work1 a    
precious but inadequate compensation2   
and so ,i must give up1 if not the most 
dazzling1 still the sweetest part of my 
happiness4' ,we cannot help admiring the
 heroism which cherishes great ideas in 
the midst of petty miseries1 and        
intrepidly throws all squalid           
interruptions into the background which 
is their true place4 ,still1 we may well
 suppose that the sordid cares that come

 with want of money made a harmonious   
life none the more easy4 ,comte tried to
 find pupils to board with him1 but only
 one pupil came1 and he was soon sent   
away for lack of companions4 ',i would  
rather spend an evening1' wrote the     
needy enthusiast1 'in solving a         
difficult question1 than in running     
after some empty-headed and             
consequential millionaire in search of a
 pupil4' ,a little money was earned by  
an occasional article in ,le            
,producteur1 in which he began to       
expound the philosophic ideas that were 
now maturing in his mind4 ,he announced 
a course of lectures 7#ahbf71 which it  
was hoped would bring money as well as  
fame1 and which were to be the first    
dogmatic exposition of the ,positive    
,philosophy4 ,a friend had said to him1 
',you talk too freely1 your ideas are   
getting abroad1 and other people use    
them without giving you the credit2 put 
your ownership on record4' ,the lectures
 were intended to do this among other   

things1 and they attracted hearers so   
eminent as ,humboldt the cosmologist1 as
 ,poinsot the geometer1 as ,blainville  
the physiologist4  ,unhappily1 after the
 third lecture of the course1 ,comte had
 a severe attack of cerebral            
derangement1 brought on by intense and  
prolonged meditation1 acting on a system
 that was already irritated by the      
chagrin of domestic failure4 ,he did not
 recover his health for more than a     
year1 and as soon as convalescence set  
in he was seized by so profound a       
melancholy at the disaster which had    
thus overtaken him1 that he threw       
himself into the ,seine4 ,fortunately he
 was rescued1 and the shock did not stay
 his return to mental soundness4 ,one   
incident of this painful episode is     
worth mentioning4 ,lamennais1 then in   
the height of his ,catholic exaltation1 
persuaded ,comte's mother to insist on  
her son being married with the religious
 ceremony1 and as the younger ,madame   
,comte apparently did not resist1 the   

rite was duly performed1 in spite of the
 fact that the unfortunate man was at   
the time neither more nor less than     
raving mad4 ,to such shocking           
conspiracies against common sense and   
decency does ecclesiastical zealotry    
bring even good men like ,lamennais4 ,on
 the other hand1 philosophic assailants 
of ,comtism have not always resisted the
 temptation to recall the circumstance  
that its founder was once out of his    
mind1--an unworthy and irrelevant       
device1 that cannot be excused even by  
the provocation of ,comte's own         
occasional acerbity4 ,as has been justly
 said1 if ,newton once suffered a       
cerebral attack without on that account 
forfeiting our veneration for the       
,principia1 ,comte may have suffered in 
the same way1 and still not have        
forfeited our respect for what is good  
in the systems of ,positive ,philosophy 
and ,positive ,polity4  ,in #ahbh the   
lectures were renewed1 and in #ahcj was 
published the first volume of the       

,course of ,positive ,philosophy4 ,the  
sketch and ground plan of this great    
undertaking had appeared in #ahbf4 ,the 
sixth and last volume was published in  
#ahdb4 ,the twelve years covering the   
publication of the first of ,comte's two
 elaborate works were years of          
indefatigable toil1 and they were the   
only portion of his life in which he    
enjoyed a certain measure1 and that a   
very modest measure1 of material        
prosperity4 ,in #ahcc he was appointed  
examiner of the boys in the various     
provincial schools who aspired to enter 
the cole ,polytechnique at ,paris4 ,this
 and two other engagements as a teacher 
of mathematics secured him an income of 
some #djj a year4 ,he made ,m4 ,guizot1 
then ,louis ,philippe's minister1 the   
important proposal to establish a chair 
of general history of the sciences4 ,if 
there are four chairs1 he argued1       
devoted to the history of philosophy1   
that is to say1 the minute study of all 
sorts of dreams and aberrations through 

the ages1 surely there ought to be at   
least one to explain the formation and  
progress of our real knowledge8 ,this   
wise suggestion1 which still remains to 
be acted upon1 was at first welcomed1   
according to ,comte's own account1 by   
,guizot's philosophic instinct1 and then
 repulsed by his 'metaphysical rancour4'
  ,meanwhile ,comte did his official    
work conscientiously1 sorely as he      
grudged the time which it took from the 
execution of the great object of his    
thoughts4 ,we cannot forbear to         
transcribe one delightful and touching  
trait in connection with this part of   
,comte's life4 ',i hardly know if even  
to you1' he writes in the expansion of  
domestic confidence to his wife1 ',i    
dare disclose the sweet and softened    
feeling that comes over me when ,i find 
a young man whose examination is        
thoroughly satisfactory4 ,yes1 though   
you may smile1 the emotion would easily 
stir me to tears if ,i were not         
carefully on my guard4' ,such sympathy  

with youthful hope2 in union with the   
industry and intelligence that are the  
only means of bringing the hope to      
fulfilment1 shows that ,comte's dry and 
austere manner veiled the fires of a    
generous social emotion4 ,it was this   
which made the overworked student take  
upon himself the burden of delivering   
every year from #ahca to #ahdh a course 
of gratuitous lectures on astronomy for 
a popular audience4 ,the social feeling 
that inspired this disinterested act    
showed itself in other ways4 ,he        
suffered the penalty of imprisonment    
rather than serve in the national guard2
 his position was that though he would  
not take arms against the new monarchy  
of ,july1 yet being a republican he     
would take no oath to defend it4 ,the   
only amusement that ,comte permitted    
himself was a visit to the opera4 ,in   
his youth he had been a playgoer1 but he
 shortly came to the conclusion that    
tragedy is a stilted and bombastic art1 
and after a time comedy interested him  

no more than tragedy4 ,for the opera he 
had a genuine passion1 which he         
gratified as often as he could1 until   
his means became too narrow to afford   
even that single relaxation4  ,of his   
manner and personal appearance we have  
the following account from one who was  
his pupil3--',daily as the clock struck 
eight on the horologe of the            
,luxembourg1 while the ringing hammer on
 the bell was yet audible1 the door of  
my room opened1 and there entered a man1
 short1 rather stout1 almost what one   
might call sleek1 freshly shaven1       
without vestige of whisker or moustache4
 ,he was invariably dressed in a suit of
 the most spotless black1 as if going to
 a dinner party2 his white neckcloth was
 fresh from the laundress's hands1 and  
his hat shining like a racer's coat4 ,he
 advanced to the arm-chair prepared for 
him in the centre of the writing-table1 
laid his hat on the left-hand corner2   
his snuff-box was deposited on the same 
side beside the quire of paper placed in

 readiness for his use1 and dipping the 
pen twice into the ink-bottle1 then     
bringing it to within an inch of his    
nose1 to make sure it was properly      
filled1 he broke silence3 ,we have said 
that the chord ,,ab1 etc4 ,for three    
quarters of an hour he continued his    
demonstration1 making short notes as he 
went on1 to guide the listener in       
repeating the problem alone2 then1      
taking up another cahier which lay      
beside him1 he went over the written    
repetition of the former lesson4 ,he    
explained1 corrected1 or commented till 
the clock struck nine2 then1 with the   
little finger of the right hand brushing
 from his coat and waistcoat the shower 
of superfluous snuff which had fallen on
 them1 he pocketed his snuff-box1 and   
resuming his hat1 he as silently as when
 he came in made his exit by the door   
which ,i rushed to open for him4'  ,in  
#ahdb1 as we have said1 the last volume 
of the ,positive ,philosophy was given  
to the public4 ,instead of that         

contentment which we like to picture as 
the reward of twelve years of           
meritorious toil devoted to the erection
 of a high philosophic edifice1 the     
author of this great contribution found 
himself in the midst of a very sea of   
small troubles4 ,and they were troubles 
of that uncompensated kind that harass  
without elevating1 and waste a man's    
spirit without softening or enlarging   
it4 ,first1 the jar of temperament      
between ,comte and his wife had become  
so unbearable that they separated       
7#ahdb74 ,it is not expedient for       
strangers to attempt to allot blame in  
such cases1 for it is impossible for    
strangers to know all the deciding      
circumstances4 ,we need only say that in
 spite of one or two disadvantageous    
facts in her career which do not concern
 the public1 ,madame ,comte seems to    
have uniformly comported herself towards
 her husband with an honourable         
solicitude for his wellbeing4 ,comte    
made her an annual allowance1 and for   

some years after the separation they    
corresponded on friendly terms4 ,next in
 the list of the vexations that greeted 
,comte on emerging from the long tunnel 
of philosophising was a lawsuit with his
 publisher4 ,the publisher had          
impertinently inserted in the sixth     
volume a protest against a certain      
foot-note1 in which ,comte had used some
 hard words about ,m4 ,arago4 ,comte    
threw himself into the suit with an     
energy worthy of ,voltaire1 and he won  
it4 ,third1 and worst of all1 he had    
prefixed a preface to the sixth volume1 
in which he deliberately went out of his
 way to rouse the active enmity of the  
very men on whom depended his annual    
re-election to the post of examiner for 
the ,polytechnic ,school4 ,the result of
 this perversity was that by and by he  
lost the appointment1 and with it one   
half of his very modest income4 ,this   
was the occasion of an episode1 which is
 of more than merely personal interest4 
,before #ahdb ,comte had been in        

correspondence with our distinguished   
countryman1 ,j4 ,s4 ,mill4 ,mr4 ,mill   
had been greatly impressed by ,comte's  
philosophic ideas2 he admits that his   
own ,system of ,logic owes many valuable
 thoughts to ,comte1 and that1 in the   
portion of that work which treats of the
 logic of the moral sciences1 a radical 
improvement in the conceptions of       
logical method was derived from the     
,positive ,philosophy4 ,their           
correspondence1 which was extremely full
 and copious1 and which we may hope will
 one day be made accessible to the      
public1 turned principally upon the two 
great questions of the equality between 
men and women1 and of the expediency and
 constitution of a sacerdotal or        
spiritual order4 ,when ,comte found     
himself straitened1 he confided the     
entire circumstances to his ,english    
friend4 ,as might be supposed by those  
who know the affectionate anxiety with  
which ,mr4 ,mill regarded the welfare of
 any one whom he believed to be doing   

good work in the world1 he at once took 
pains to have ,comte's loss of income   
made up to him1 until ,comte should have
 had time to repair that loss by his own
 endeavour4 ,mr4 ,mill persuaded ,grote1
 ,molesworth1 and ,raikes ,currie to    
advance the sum of #bdj4 ,at the end of 
the year 7that is in #ahde7 ,comte had  
taken no steps to enable himself to     
dispense with the aid of the three      
,englishmen4 ,mr4 ,mill applied to them 
again1 but with the exception of ,grote1
 who sent a small sum1 they gave ,comte 
to understand that they expected him to 
earn his own living4 ,mr4 ,mill had     
suggested to ,comte that he should write
 articles for the ,english periodicals1 
and expressed his own willingness to    
translate any such articles from the    
,french4 ,comte at first fell in with   
the plan1 but he speedily surprised and 
disconcerted ,mr4 ,mill by boldly taking
 up the position of 'high moral         
magistrate1' and accusing the three     
defaulting contributors of a scandalous 

falling away from righteousness and a   
high mind4 ,mr4 ,mill was chilled by    
these pretensions2 they struck him as   
savouring of a totally unexpected       
charlatanry2 and the correspondence came
 to an end4 ,for ,comte's position in   
the argument one feels that there is    
much to be said4 ,if you have good      
reason for believing that a given       
thinker is doing work that will destroy 
the official system of science or       
philosophy1 and if you desire its       
destruction1 then you may fairly be     
asked to help to provide for him the    
same kind of material freedom that is   
secured to the professors and           
propagators of the official system by   
the state or by the universities4 ,and  
if it is a fine thing for a man to leave
 money behind him in the shape of an    
endowment for the support of a          
scientific teacher of whom he has never 
heard1 why should it not be just as     
natural and as laudable to give money1  
while he is yet alive1 to a teacher whom

 he both knows and approves of8 ,on the 
other hand1 ,grote and ,molesworth might
 say that1 for anything they could tell1
 they would find themselves to be       
helping the construction of a system of 
which they utterly disapproved4 ,and1 as
 things turned out1 they would have been
 perfectly justified in this serious    
apprehension4 ,to have done anything to 
make the production of the ,positive    
,polity easier would have been no ground
 for anything but remorse to any of the 
three4 ,it is just to ,comte to remark  
that he always assumed that the         
contributors to the support of a thinker
 should be in all essentials of method  
and doctrine that thinker's disciples2  
aid from indifferent persons he counted 
irrational and humiliating4 ,but is an  
endowment ever a blessing to the man who
 receives it8 ,the question is difficult
 to answer generally2 in ,comte's case  
there is reason in the doubts felt by   
,madame ,comte as to the expediency of  
relieving the philosopher from the      

necessity of being in plain and         
business-like relations with indifferent
 persons for a certain number of hours  
in the week4 ,such relations do as much 
as a doctrine to keep egoism within     
decent bounds1 and they must be not only
 a relief1 but a wholesome corrective to
 the tendencies of concentrated thinking
 on abstract subjects4  ,what finally   
happened was this4 ,from #ahde to #ahdh 
,comte lived as best he could1 as well  
as made his wife her allowance1 on an   
income of #bjj a year4 ,we need scarcely
 say that he was rigorously thrifty4    
,his little account books of income and 
outlay1 with every item entered down to 
a few hours before his death1 are       
accurate and neat enough to have        
satisfied an ancient ,roman householder4
 ,in #ahdh1 through no fault of his own1
 his salary was reduced to #hj4 ,m4     
,littr and others1 with ,comte's        
approval1 published an appeal for       
subscriptions1 and on the money thus    
contributed ,comte subsisted for the    

remaining nine years of his life4 ,by   
#aheb the subsidy produced as much as   
#bjj a year4 ,it is worth noticing1     
after the story we have told1 that ,mr4 
,mill was one of the subscribers1 and   
that ,m4 ,littr continued his assistance
 after he had been driven from ,comte's 
society by his high pontifical airs4 ,we
 are sorry not to be able to record any 
similar trait of magnanimity on ,comte's
 part4 ,his character1 admirable as it  
is for firmness1 for intensity1 for     
inexorable will1 for iron devotion to   
what he thought the service of mankind1 
yet offers few of those softening       
qualities that make us love good men and
 pity bad ones4 ,he is of the type of   
,brutus or of ,cato--a model of austere 
fixity of purpose1 but ungracious1      
domineering1 and not quite free from    
petty bitterness4  ,if you seek to place
 yourself in sympathy with ,comte it is 
best to think of him only as the        
intellectual worker1 pursuing in        
uncomforted obscurity the laborious and 

absorbing task to which he had given up 
his whole life4 ,his singularly         
conscientious fashion of elaborating his
 ideas made the mental strain more      
intense than even so exhausting a work  
as the abstract exposition of the       
principles of positive science need have
 been1 if he had followed a more        
self-indulgent plan4 ,he did not write  
down a word until he had first composed 
the whole matter in his mind4 ,when he  
had thoroughly meditated every sentence1
 he sat down to write1 and then1 such   
was the grip of his memory1 the exact   
order of his thoughts came back to him  
as if without an effort1 and he wrote   
down precisely what he had intended to  
write1 without the aid of a note or a   
memorandum1 and without check or pause4 
,for example1 he began and completed in 
about six weeks a chapter in the        
,positive ,philosophy 7vol4 v4 ch4 lv471
 which would fill forty of the large    
pages of the ,encyclopdia ,britannica4  
,even if his subject had been merely    

narrative or descriptive1 this would be 
a very satisfactory piece of continuous 
production4 ,when we reflect that the   
chapter in question is not narrative1   
but an abstract exposition of the       
guiding principles of the movements of  
several centuries1 with many threads of 
complex thought running along side by   
side all through the speculation1 then  
the circumstances under which it was    
reduced to literary form are really     
astonishing4 ,it is hardly possible for 
a critic to share the admiration        
expressed by some of ,comte's disciples 
for his style4 ,we are not so           
unreasonable as to blame him for failing
 to make his pages picturesque or       
thrilling2 we do not want sunsets and   
stars and roses and ecstasy2 but there  
is a certain standard for the most      
serious and abstract subjects4 ,when    
compared with such philosophic writing  
as ,hume's1 ,diderot's1 ,berkeley's1    
then ,comte's manner is heavy1 laboured1
 monotonous1 without relief and without 

light4 ,there is now and then an        
energetic phrase1 but as a whole the    
vocabulary is jejune2 the sentences are 
overloaded2 the pitch is flat4 ,a       
scrupulous insistence on making his     
meaning clear led to an iteration of    
certain adjectives and adverbs1 which at
 length deaden the effect beyond the    
endurance of all but the most resolute  
students4 ,only the profound and        
stimulating interest of much of the     
matter prevents one from thinking of    
,rivarol's ill-natured remark upon      
,condorcet1 that he wrote with opium on 
a page of lead4 ,the general effect is  
impressive1 not by any virtues of style1
 for we do not discern one1 but by      
reason of the magnitude and importance  
of the undertaking1 and the visible     
conscientiousness and the grasp with    
which it is executed4 ,it is by sheer   
strength of thought1 by the vigorous    
perspicacity with which he strikes the  
lines of cleavage of his subject1 that  
he makes his way into the mind of the   

reader2 in the presence of gifts of this
 power we need not quarrel with an      
ungainly style4  ,comte pursued one     
practice which ought to be mentioned in 
connection with his personal history1   
the practice of what he styled hygine   
crbrale4 ,after he had acquired what he 
considered to be a sufficient stock of  
material1 and this happened before he   
had completed the ,positive ,philosophy1
 he abstained deliberately and          
scrupulously from reading newspapers1   
reviews1 scientific transactions1 and   
everything else whatever1 except two or 
three poets 7notably ,dante7 and the    
,imitatio ,christi4 ,it is true that his
 friends kept him informed of what was  
going on in the scientific world4 ,still
 this partial divorce of himself from   
the record of the social and scientific 
activity of his time1 though it may save
 a thinker from the deplorable evils of 
dispersion1 moral and intellectual1     
accounts in no small measure for the    
exaggerated egoism1 and the absence of  

all feeling for reality1 which marked   
,comte's later days4  ,only one         
important incident in ,comte's life now 
remains to be spoken of4 ,in #ahde he   
made the acquaintance of ,madame        
,clotilde de ,vaux1 a lady whose husband
 had been sent to the galleys for life1 
and who was therefore1 in all but the   
legal incidents of her position1 a      
widow4 ,very little is known about her  
qualities4 ,she wrote a little piece    
which ,comte rated so preposterously as 
to talk about ,george ,sand in the same 
sentence2 it is in truth a flimsy       
performance1 though it contains one or  
two gracious thoughts4 ,there is true   
beauty in the saying--',it is unworthy  
of a noble nature to diffuse its pain4' 
,madame de ,vaux's letters speak well   
for her good sense and good feeling1 and
 it would have been better for ,comte's 
later work if she had survived to exert 
a wholesome restraint on his exaltation4
 ,their friendship had only lasted a    
year when she died 7#ahdf71 but the     

period was long enough to give her      
memory a supreme ascendency in ,comte's 
mind4 ,condillac1 ,joubert1 ,mill1 and  
other eminent men have shown what the   
intellectual ascendency of a woman can  
be4 ,comte was as inconsolable after    
,madame de ,vaux's death as ,d',alembert
 after the death of ,mademoiselle       
,l',espinasse4 ,every ,wednesday        
afternoon he made a reverential         
pilgrimage to her tomb1 and three times 
every day he invoked her memory in words
 of passionate expansion4 ,his disciples
 believe that in time the world will    
reverence ,comte's sentiment about      
,clotilde de ,vaux1 as it reveres       
,dante's adoration of ,beatrice--a      
parallel that ,comte himself was the    
first to hit upon4 ,it is no doubt the  
worst kind of cynicism to make a mock in
 a realistic vein of any personality    
that has set in motion the idealising   
thaumaturgy of the affections4 ,yet we  
cannot help feeling that it is a        
grotesque and unseemly anachronism to   

apply in grave prose1 addressed to the  
whole world1 those terms of saint and   
angel which are touching and in their   
place amid the trouble and passion of   
the great mystic poet4 ,only an         
energetic and beautiful imagination1    
together with a mastery of the rhythm   
and swell of impassioned speech1 can    
prevent an invitation to the public to  
hearken to the raptures of intense      
personal attachment from seeming        
ludicrous and almost indecent4 ,whatever
 other gifts ,comte may have had--and he
 had many of the rarest kind1--poetic   
imagination was not among them1 any more
 than poetic or emotional expression was
 among them4 ,his was one of those      
natures whose faculty of deep feeling is
 unhappily doomed to be inarticulate1   
and to pass away without the magic power
 of transmitting itself4  ,comte lost no
 time1 after the completion of his      
,course of ,positive ,philosophy1 in    
proceeding with the ,system of ,positive
 ,polity1 to which the earlier work was 

designed to be a foundation4 ,the first 
volume was published in #ahea1 and the  
fourth and last in #ahed4 ,in #ahdh1    
when the political air was charged with 
stimulating elements1 he founded the    
,positive ,society1 with the expectation
 that it might grow into a reunion as   
powerful over the new revolution as the 
,jacobin ,club had been in the          
revolution of #aghi4 ,the hope was not  
fulfilled1 but a certain number of      
philosophic disciples gathered round    
,comte1 and eventually formed           
themselves1 under the guidance of the   
new ideas of the latter half of his     
life1 into a kind of church4 ,in the    
years #ahdi1 #ahej1 and #ahea1 ,comte   
gave three courses of lectures at the   
,palais ,royal4 ,they were gratuitous   
and popular1 and in them he boldly      
advanced the whole of his doctrine1 as  
well as the direct and immediate        
pretensions of himself and his system4  
,the third course ended in the following
 uncompromising terms--',in the name of 

the ,past and of the ,future1 the       
servants of ,humanity--both its         
philosophical and its practical         
servants--come forward to claim as their
 due the general direction of this      
world4 ,their object is to constitute at
 length a real ,providence in all       
departments1--moral1 intellectual1 and  
material4 ,consequently they exclude    
once for all from political supremacy   
all the different servants of           
,god--,catholic1 ,protestant1 or        
,deist--as being at once behindhand and 
a cause of disturbance4' ,a few weeks   
after this invitation a very different  
person stepped forward to constitute    
himself a real ,providence4  ,in #aheb  
,comte published the ,catechism of      
,positivism4 ,in the preface to it he   
took occasion to express his approval of
 ,louis ,napoleon's coup d'tat of the   
#b;d of ,december1--'a fortunate crisis 
which has set aside the parliamentary   
system1 and instituted a dictatorial    
republic4' ,whatever we may think of the

 political sagacity of such a judgment1 
it is due to ,comte to say that he did  
not expect to see his dictatorial       
republic transformed into a dynastic    
empire1 and1 next1 that he did expect   
from the ,man of ,december freedom of   
the press and of public meeting4 ,his   
later hero was the ,emperor ,nicholas1  
'the only statesman in                  
,christendom1'--as unlucky a judgment as
 that which placed ,dr4 ,francia in the 
,comtist ,calendar4  ,in #aheg he was   
attacked by cancer1 and died peaceably  
on the #eth of ,september of that year4 
,the anniversary is always celebrated by
 ceremonial gatherings of his ,french   
and ,english followers1 who then        
commemorate the name and the services of
 the founder of their religion4 ,comte  
was under sixty when he died4 ,we cannot
 help reflecting that one of the worst  
of all the evils connected with the     
shortness of human life is the          
impatience that it breeds in some of the
 most ardent and enlightened minds to   

hurry on the execution of projects1 for 
which neither the time nor the spirit of
 their author is fully ripe4  ,in       
proceeding to give an outline of        
,comte's system1 we shall consider the  
,positive ,polity as the more or less   
legitimate sequel of the ,positive      
,philosophy1 notwithstanding the deep   
gulf which so eminent a critic as ,mr4  
,mill insisted upon fixing between the  
earlier and the later work4#b ,there may
 be1 as we think there is1 the greatest 
difference in their value1 and the      
temper is not the same1 nor the method4 
,but the two are quite capable of being 
regarded1 and for the purposes of an    
account of ,comte's career ought to be  
regarded1 as an integral whole4 ,his    
letters when he was a young man of one  
and twenty1 and before he had published 
a word1 show how strongly present the   
social motive was in his mind1 and in   
what little account he should hold his  
scientific works1 if he did not         
perpetually think of their utility for  

the species4 ',i feel1' he wrote1 'that 
such scientific reputation as ,i might  
acquire would give more value1 more     
weight1 more useful influence to my     
political sermons4' ,in #ahbb he        
published a ,plan of the ,scientific    
,works necessary to ,reorganise         
,society4 ,in this opuscule he points   
out that modern society is passing      
through a great crisis1 due to the      
conflict of two opposing movements1--the
 first1 a disorganising movement owing  
to the break-up of old institutions and 
beliefs2 the second1 a movement towards 
a definite social state1 in which all   
means of human prosperity will receive  
their most complete development and most
 direct application4 ,how is this crisis
 to be dealt with8 ,what are the        
undertakings necessary in order to pass 
successfully through it towards an      
organic state8 ,the answer to this is   
that there are two series of works4 ,the
 first is theoretic or spiritual1 aiming
 at the development of a new principle  

of co-ordinating social relations and   
the formation of the system of general  
ideas which are destined to guide       
society4 ,the second work is practical  
or temporal2 it settles the distribution
 of power and the institutions that are 
most conformable to the spirit of the   
system which has previously been thought
 out in the course of the theoretic     
work4 ,as the practical work depends on 
the conclusions of the theoretical1 the 
latter must obviously come first in     
order of execution4      #b ,the        
,english reader is specially well placed
 for         satisfying such curiosity  
as he may have about ,comte's           
philosophy4 ,miss ,martineau condensed  
the six volumes of the                  
,philosophie ,positive into two volumes 
of excellent ,english         7#ahec72  
,comte himself gave them a place in the 
,positivist         ,library4 ,the      
,catechism was translated by ,dr4       
,congreve in         #aheh4 ,the        
,politique ,positive has been reproduced

 in ,english         7,longmans1        
#ahge-ahgg7 by the conscientious labour 
of ,comte's         ,london followers4  
,this translation is accompanied by a   
careful running analysis and explanatory
 summary of contents1         which make
 the work more readily intelligible than
 the         original4 ,for criticisms1 
the reader may be referred to ,mr4      
,mill's ,auguste ,comte and ,positivism2
 ,dr4 ,bridges's reply to         ,mr4  
,mill1 ,the ,unity of ,comte's ,life and
 ,doctrines 7#ahff72         ,mr4       
,herbert ,spencer's essay on the        
,genesis of ,science1 and               
pamphlet on ,the ,classification of the 
,sciences2 ,professor         ,huxley's 
',scientific ,aspects of ,positivism1'  
in his ,lay         ,sermons2 ,dr4      
,congreve's ,essays ,political1 ,social1
 and         ,religious 7#ahgd72 ,mr4   
,fiske's ,outlines of ,cosmic           
,philosophy 7#ahgd72 ,mr4 ,lewes's      
,history of ,philosophy1 vol4           
ii4  ,in #ahbf this was pushed further  

in a most remarkable piece called       
,considerations on the ,spiritual       
,power--the main object of which is to  
demonstrate the necessity of instituting
 a spiritual power1 distinct from the   
temporal power and independent of it4   
,in examining the conditions of a       
spiritual power proper for modern times1
 he indicates in so many terms the      
presence in his mind of a direct analogy
 between his proposed spiritual power   
and the functions of the ,catholic      
clergy at the time of its greatest      
vigour and most complete                
independence1--that is to say1 from     
about the middle of the eleventh century
 until towards the end of the           
thirteenth4 ,he refers to ,de ,maistre's
 memorable book1 ,du ,pape1 as the most 
profound1 accurate1 and methodical      
account of the old spiritual            
organisation1 and starts from that as   
the model to be adapted to the changed  
intellectual and social conditions of   
the modern time4 ,in the ,positive      

,philosophy1 again 7vol4 v4 p4 #cdd71 he
 distinctly says that ,catholicism1     
reconstituted as a system on new        
intellectual foundations1 would finally 
preside over the spiritual              
reorganisation of modern society4 ,much 
else could easily be quoted to the same 
effect4 ,if unity of career1 then1 means
 that ,comte from the beginning designed
 the institution of a spiritual power   
and the systematic reorganisation of    
life1 it is difficult to deny him       
whatever credit that unity may be worth1
 and the credit is perhaps not          
particularly great4 ,even the           
re-adaptation of the ,catholic system to
 a scientific doctrine was plainly in   
his mind thirty years before the final  
execution of the ,positive ,polity1     
though it is difficult to believe that  
he foresaw the religious mysticism in   
which the task was to land him4 ,a great
 analysis was to precede a great        
synthesis1 but it was the synthesis on  
which ,comte's vision was centred from  

the first4 ,let us first sketch the     
nature of the analysis4 ,society is to  
be reorganised on the base of knowledge4
 ,what is the sum and significance of   
knowledge8 ,that is the question which  
,comte's first master-work professes to 
answer4  ,the ,positive ,philosophy     
opens with the statement of a certain   
law of which ,comte was the discoverer1 
and which has always been treated both  
by disciples and dissidents as the key  
to his system4 ,this is the ,law of the 
,three ,states4 ,it is as follows4 ,each
 of our leading conceptions1 each branch
 of our knowledge1 passes successively  
through three different phases2 there   
are three different ways in which the   
human mind explains phenomena1 each way 
following the other in order4 ,these    
three stages are the ,theological1 the  
,metaphysical1 and the ,positive4       
,knowledge1 or a branch of knowledge1 is
 in the ,theological state1 when it     
supposes the phenomena under            
consideration to be due to immediate    

volition1 either in the object or in    
some supernatural being4 ,in the        
,metaphysical state1 for volition is    
substituted abstract force residing in  
the object1 yet existing independently  
of the object2 the phenomena are viewed 
as if apart from the bodies manifesting 
them2 and the properties of each        
substance have attributed to them an    
existence distinct from that substance4 
,in the ,positive state inherent        
volition or external volition and       
inherent force or abstraction           
personified have both disappeared from  
men's minds1 and the explanation of a   
phenomenon means a reference of it1 by  
way of succession or resemblance1 to    
some other phenomenon1--means the       
establishment of a relation between the 
given fact and some more general fact4  
,in the ,theological and ,metaphysical  
state men seek a cause or an essence2 in
 the ,positive they are content with a  
law4 ,to borrow an illustration from an 
able ,english disciple of               

,comte3--',take the phenomenon of the   
sleep produced by opium4 ,the ,arabs are
 content to attribute it to the will of 
,god4 ,molire's medical student accounts
 for it by a soporific principle        
contained in the opium4 ,the modern     
physiologist knows that he cannot       
account for it at all4 ,he can simply   
observe1 analyse1 and experiment upon   
the phenomena attending the action of   
the drug1 and classify it with other    
agents analogous in character' 7,dr4    
,bridges74  ,the first and greatest aim 
of the ,positive ,philosophy is to      
advance the study of society into the   
third of the three stages1--to remove   
social phenomena from the sphere of     
theological and metaphysical            
conceptions1 and to introduce among them
 the same scientific observation of     
their laws which has given us physics1  
chemistry1 physiology4 ,social physics  
will consist of the conditions and      
relations of the facts of society1 and  
will have two departments1--one         

statical1 containing the laws of order2 
the other dynamical1 containing the laws
 of progress4 ,while men's minds were in
 the theological state1 political       
events1 for example1 were explained by  
the will of the gods1 and political     
authority based on divine right4 ,in the
 metaphysical state of mind1 then1 to   
retain our instance1 political authority
 was based on the sovereignty of the    
people1 and social facts were explained 
by the figment of a falling away from a 
state of nature4 ,when the positive     
method has been finally extended to     
society1 as it has been to chemistry and
 physiology1 these social facts will be 
resolved1 as their ultimate analysis1   
into relations with one another1 and    
instead of seeking causes in the old    
sense of the word1 men will only examine
 the conditions of social existence4    
,when that stage has been reached not   
merely the greater part1 but the whole1 
of our knowledge will be impressed with 
one character--the character1 namely1 of

 positivity or scientificalness2 and all
 our conceptions in every part of       
knowledge will be thoroughly            
homogeneous4 ,the gains of such a change
 are enormous4 ,the new philosophical   
unity will now in its turn regenerate   
all the elements that went to its own   
formation4 ,the mind will pursue        
knowledge without the wasteful jar and  
friction of conflicting methods and     
mutually hostile conceptions2 education 
will be regenerated2 and society will   
reorganise itself on the only possible  
solid base--a homogeneous philosophy4   
,the ,positive ,philosophy has another  
object besides the demonstration of the 
necessity and propriety of a science of 
society4 ,this object is to show the    
sciences as branches from a single      
trunk1--is to give to science the       
ensemble or spirit of generality        
hitherto confined to philosophy1 and to 
give to philosophy the rigour and       
solidity of science4 ,comte's special   
object is a study of social physics1 a  

science that before his advent was still
 to be formed2 his second object is a   
review of the methods and leading       
generalities of all the positive        
sciences already formed1 so that we may 
know both what system of inquiry to     
follow in our new science1 and also     
where the new science will stand in     
relation to other knowledge4  ,the first
 step in this direction is to arrange   
scientific method and positive knowledge
 in order1 and this brings us to another
 cardinal element in the ,comtist       
system1 the classification of the       
sciences4 ,in the front of the inquiry  
lies one main division1 that1 namely1   
between speculative and practical       
knowledge4 ,with the latter we have no  
concern4 ,speculative or theoretic      
knowledge is divided into abstract and  
concrete4 ,the former is concerned with 
the laws that regulate phenomena in all 
conceivable cases2 the latter is        
concerned with the application of these 
laws4 ,concrete science relates to      

objects or beings2 abstract science to  
events4 ,the former is particular or    
descriptive2 the latter is general4     
,thus1 physiology is an abstract        
science2 but zoology is concrete4       
,chemistry is abstract2 mineralogy is   
concrete4 ,it is the method and         
knowledge of the abstract sciences that 
the ,positive ,philosophy has to        
reorganise in a great whole4  ,comte's  
principle of classification is that the 
dependence and order of scientific study
 follows the dependence of the          
phenomena4 ,thus1 as has been said1 it  
represents both the objective dependence
 of the phenomena and the subjective    
dependence of our means of knowing them4
 ,the more particular and complex       
phenomena depend upon the simpler and   
more general4 ,the latter are the more  
easy to study4 ,therefore science will  
begin with those attributes of objects  
which are most general1 and pass on     
gradually to other attributes that are  
combined in greater complexity4 ,thus1  

too1 each science rests on the truths of
 the sciences that precede it1 while it 
adds to them the truths by which it is  
itself constituted4 ,comte's series or  
hierarchy is arranged as follows3--7#a7 
,mathematics 7that is1 number1 geometry1
 and mechanics71 7#b7 ,astronomy1 7#c7  
,physics1 7#d7 ,chemistry1 7#e7         
,biology1 7#f7 ,sociology4 ,each of the 
members of this series is one degree    
more special than the member before it1 
and depends upon the facts of all the   
members preceding it1 and cannot be     
fully understood without them4 ,it      
follows that the crowning science of the
 hierarchy1 dealing with the phenomena  
of human society1 will remain longest   
under the influence of theological      
dogmas and abstract figments1 and will  
be the last to pass into the positive   
stage4 ,you cannot discover the         
relations of the facts of human society 
without reference to the conditions of  
animal life2 you cannot understand the  
conditions of animal life without the   

laws of chemistry2 and so with the rest4
  ,this arrangement of the sciences and 
the ,law of the ,three ,states are      
together explanatory of the course of   
human thought and knowledge4 ,they are  
thus the double key of ,comte's         
systematisation of the philosophy of all
 the sciences from mathematics to       
physiology1 and his analysis of social  
evolution1 which is the basis of        
sociology4 ,each science contributes its
 philosophy4 ,the co-ordination of all  
these partial philosophies produces the 
general ,positive ,philosophy4          
',thousands had cultivated science1 and 
with splendid success2 not one had      
conceived the philosophy which the      
sciences when organised would naturally 
evolve4 ,a few had seen the necessity of
 extending the scientific method to all 
inquiries1 but no one had seen how this 
was to be effected4444 ,the ,positive   
,philosophy is novel as a philosophy1   
not as a collection of truths never     
before suspected4 ,its novelty is the   

organisation of existing elements4 ,its 
very principle implies the absorption of
 all that great thinkers had achieved2  
while incorporating their results it    
extended their methods4444 ,what        
tradition brought was the results2 what 
,comte brought was the organisation of  
these results4 ,he always claimed to be 
the founder of the ,positive            
,philosophy4 ,that he had every right to
 such a title is demonstrable to all who
 distinguish between the positive       
sciences and the philosophy which       
co-ordinated the truths and methods of  
these sciences into a doctrine' 7,g4 ,h4
 ,lewes74  ,we may interrupt our short  
exposition here to remark that ,comte's 
classification of the sciences has been 
subjected to a vigorous criticism by    
,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer4 ,mr4 ,spencer's 
two chief points are these3--7#a7 ,he   
denies that the principle of the        
development of the sciences is the      
principle of decreasing generality2 he  
asserts that there are as many examples 

of the advent of a science being        
determined by increasing generality as  
by increasing speciality4 7#b7 ,he holds
 that any grouping of the sciences in a 
succession gives a radically wrong idea 
of their genesis and their              
interdependence2 no true filiation      
exists2 no science develops itself in   
isolation2 no one is independent1 either
 logically or historically4 ,m4 ,littr1 
by far the most eminent of the          
scientific followers of ,comte1 concedes
 a certain force to ,mr4 ,spencer's     
objections1 and makes certain secondary 
modifications in the hierarchy in       
consequence1 while still cherishing his 
faith in the ,comtist theory of the     
sciences4 ,mr4 ,mill1 while admitting   
the objections as good1 if ,comte's     
arrangement pretended to be the only one
 possible1 still holds that arrangement 
as tenable for the purpose with which it
 was devised4 ,mr4 ,lewes asserts       
against ,mr4 ,spencer that the          
arrangement in a series is necessary1 on

 grounds similar to those which require 
that the various truths constituting a  
science should be systematically        
co-ordinated1 although in nature the    
phenomena are intermingled4  ,the first 
three volumes of the ,positive          
,philosophy contain an exposition of the
 partial philosophies of the five       
sciences that precede sociology in the  
hierarchy4 ,their value has usually been
 placed very low by the special         
followers of the sciences concerned2    
they say that the knowledge is          
second-hand1 is not coherent1 and is too
 confidently taken for final4 ,the      
,comtist replies that the task is       
philosophic1 and is not to be judged by 
the minute accuracies of science4 ,in   
these three volumes ,comte took the     
sciences roughly as he found them4 ,his 
eminence as a man of science must be    
measured by his only original work in   
that department1--the construction1     
namely1 of the new science of society4  
,this work is accomplished in the last  

three volumes of the ,positive          
,philosophy and the second and third    
volumes of the ,positive ,polity4 ,the  
,comtist maintains that even if these   
five volumes together fail in laying    
down correctly and finally the lines of 
the new science1 still they are the     
first solution of a great problem       
hitherto unattempted4 ',modern biology  
has got beyond ,aristotle's conception2 
but in the construction of the          
biological science1 not even the most   
unphilosophical biologist would fail to 
recognise the value of ,aristotle's     
attempt4 ,so for sociology4 ,subsequent 
sociologists may have conceivably to    
remodel the whole science1 yet not the  
less will they recognise the merit of   
the first work which has facilitated    
their labours' 7,congreve74  ,we shall  
now briefly describe ,comte's principal 
conceptions in sociology1 his position  
in respect to which is held by himself1 
and by others1 to raise him to the level
 of ,descartes or ,leibnitz4 ,of course 

the first step was to approach the      
phenomena of human character and social 
existence with the expectation of       
finding them as reducible to general    
laws as the other phenomena of the      
universe1 and with the hope of exploring
 these laws by the same instruments of  
observation and verification as had done
 such triumphant work in the case of the
 latter4 ,comte separates the collective
 facts of society and history from the  
individual phenomena of biology2 then he
 withdraws these collective facts from  
the region of external volition1 and    
places them in the region of law4 ,the  
facts of history must be explained1 not 
by providential interventions1 but by   
referring them to conditions inherent in
 the successive stages of social        
existence4 ,this conception makes a     
science of society possible4 ,what is   
the method8 ,it comprises1 besides      
observation and experiment 7which is1 in
 fact1 only the observation of abnormal 
social states71 a certain peculiarity of

 verification4 ,we begin by deducing    
every well-known historical situation   
from the series of its antecedents4     
,thus we acquire a body of empirical    
generalisations as to social phenomena1 
and then we connect the generalisations 
with the positive theory of human       
nature4 ,a sociological demonstration   
lies in the establishment of an         
accordance between the conclusions of   
historical analysis and the preparatory 
conceptions of biological theory4 ,as   
,mr4 ,mill puts it3--',if a sociological
 theory1 collected from historical      
evidence1 contradicts the established   
general laws of human nature2 if 7to use
 ,m4 ,comte's instances7 it implies1 in 
the mass of mankind1 any very decided   
natural bent1 either in a good or in a  
bad direction2 if it supposes that the  
reason1 in average human beings1        
predominates over the desires or the    
disinterested desires over the          
personal1--we may know that history has 
been misinterpreted1 and that the theory

 is false4 ,on the other hand1 if laws  
of social phenomena1 empirically        
generalised from history1 can1 when once
 suggested1 be affiliated to the known  
laws of human nature2 if the direction  
actually taken by the developments and  
changes of human society can be seen to 
be such as the properties of man and of 
his dwelling-place made antecedently    
probable1 the empirical generalisations 
are raised into positive laws1 and      
sociology becomes a science4' ,the      
result of this method is an exhibition  
of the events of human experience in    
co-ordinated series that manifest their 
own graduated connection4  ,next1 as all
 investigation proceeds from that which 
is known best to that which is unknown  
or less well known1 and as1 in social   
states1 it is the collective phenomenon 
that is more easy of access to the      
observer than its parts1 therefore we   
must consider and pursue all the        
elements of a given social state        
together and in common4 ,the social     

organisation must be viewed and explored
 as a whole4 ,there is a nexus between  
each leading group of social phenomena  
and other leading groups2 if there is a 
change in one of them1 that change is   
accompanied by a corresponding          
modification of all the rest4 ',not only
 must political institutions and social 
manners on the one hand1 and manners and
 ideas on the other1 be always mutually 
connected2 but further1 this            
consolidated whole must be always       
connected by its nature with the        
corresponding state of the integral     
development of humanity1 considered in  
all its aspects of intellectual1 moral  
and physical activity' 7,comte74  ,is   
there any one element which communicates
 the decisive impulse to all the        
rest1--any predominating agency in the  
course of social evolution8 ,the answer 
is that all the other parts of social   
existence are associated with1 and drawn
 along by1 the contemporary condition of
 intellectual development4 ,the ,reason 

is the superior and preponderant element
 which settles the direction in which   
all the other faculties shall expand4   
',it is only through the more and more  
marked influence of the reason over the 
general conduct of man and of society   
that the gradual march of our race has  
attained that regularity and persevering
 continuity which distinguish it so     
radically from the desultory and barren 
expansion of even the highest animal    
orders1 which share1 and with enhanced  
strength1 the appetites1 the passions1  
and even the primary sentiments of man4'
 ,the history of intellectual           
development1 therefore1 is the key to   
social evolution1 and the key to the    
history of intellectual development is  
the ,law of the ,three ,states4  ,among 
other central thoughts in ,comte's      
explanation of history are these3--,the 
displacement of theological by positive 
conceptions has been accompanied by a   
gradual rise of an industrial rgime out 
of the military rgime2--the great       

permanent contribution of ,catholicism  
was the separation which it set up      
between the temporal and the spiritual  
powers2--the progress of the race       
consists in the increasing preponderance
 of the distinctively human elements    
over the animal elements2--the absolute 
tendency of ordinary social theories    
will be replaced by an unfailing        
adherence to the relative point of view1
 and from this it follows that the      
social state1 regarded as a whole1 has  
been as perfect in each period as the   
co-existing condition of humanity and   
its environment would allow4  ,the      
elaboration of these ideas in relation  
to the history of the civilisation of   
the most advanced portion of the human  
race occupies two of the volumes of the 
,positive ,philosophy1 and has been     
accepted by competent persons of very   
different schools as a masterpiece of   
rich1 luminous1 and far-reaching        
suggestion4 ,whatever additions it may  
receive1 and whatever corrections it may

 require1 this analysis of social       
evolution will continue to be regarded  
as one of the great achievements of     
human intellect4 ,the demand for the    
first of ,comte's two works has gone on 
increasing in a significant degree4 ,it 
was completed1 as we have said1 in      
#ahdb4 ,a second edition was published  
in #ahfd2 a third some years afterwards2
 and while we write 7#ahgf7 a fourth is 
in the press4 ,three editions within    
twelve years of a work of abstract      
philosophy in six considerable volumes  
are the measure of a very striking      
influence4 ,on the whole1 we may suspect
 that no part of ,comte's works has had 
so much to do with this marked success  
as his survey and review of the course  
of history4  ,the third volume of the   
later work1 the ,positive ,polity1      
treats of social dynamics1 and takes us 
again over the ground of historic       
evolution4 ,it abounds with remarks of  
extraordinary fertility and             
comprehensiveness2 but it is often      

arbitrary2 its views of the past are    
strained into coherence with the        
statical views of the preceding volume2 
and so far as concerns the period to    
which the present writer happens to have
 given special attention1 it is usually 
slight and sometimes random4 ,as it was 
composed in rather less than six months1
 and as the author honestly warns us    
that he has given all his attention to a
 more profound co-ordination1 instead of
 working out the special explanations   
more fully1 as he had promised1 we need 
not be surprised if the result is       
disappointing to those who had mastered 
the corresponding portion of the        
,positive ,philosophy4 ,comte explains  
the difference between his two works4   
,in the first his 'chief object was to  
discover and demonstrate the laws of    
progress1 and to exhibit in one unbroken
 sequence the collective destinies of   
mankind1 till then invariably regarded  
as a series of events wholly beyond the 
reach of explanation1 and almost        

depending on arbitrary will4 ,the       
present work1 on the contrary1 is       
addressed to those who are already      
sufficiently convinced of the certain   
existence of social laws1 and desire    
only to have them reduced to a true and 
conclusive system4'  ,what that system  
is it would take far more space than we 
can afford to sketch even in outline4   
,all we can do is to enumerate some of  
its main positions4 ,they are to be     
drawn not only from the ,positive       
,polity1 but from two other works1--the 
,positivist ,catechism3 a ,summary      
,exposition of the ,universal ,religion1
 in ,twelve ,dialogues between a ,woman 
and a ,priest of ,humanity2 and second1 
,the ,subjective ,synthesis 7#ahef71    
which is the first and only volume of a 
work upon mathematics announced at the  
end of the ,positive ,philosophy4 ,the  
system for which the ,positive          
,philosophy is alleged to have been the 
scientific preparation contains a       
,polity and a ,religion2 a complete     

arrangement of life in all its aspects1 
giving a wider sphere to ,intellect1    
,energy1 and ,feeling than could be     
found in any of the previous organic    
types1--,greek1 ,roman1 or              
,catholic-feudal4 ,comte's immense      
superiority over such pr-,revolutionary 
,utopians as the ,abb ,saint ,pierre1 no
 less than over the group of            
post-revolutionary ,utopians1 is        
especially visible in his firm grasp of 
the cardinal truth that the improvement 
of the social organism can only be      
effected by a moral development1 and    
never by any changes in mere political  
mechanism1 or any violences in the way  
of an artificial redistribution of      
wealth4 ,a moral transformation must    
precede any real advance4 ,the aim1 both
 in public and private life1 is to      
secure to the utmost possible extent the
 victory of the social feeling over     
self-love1 or ,altruism over ,egoism4   
,this is the key to the regeneration of 
social existence1 as it is the key to   

that unity of individual life which     
makes all our energies converge freely  
and without wasteful friction towards a 
common end4 ,what are the instruments   
for securing the preponderance of       
,altruism8 ,clearly they must work from 
the strongest element in human nature1  
and this element is ,feeling or the     
,heart4 ,under the ,catholic system the 
supremacy of ,feeling was abused1 and   
the intellect was made its slave4 ,then 
followed a revolt of ,intellect against 
,sentiment4 ,the business of the new    
system will be to bring back the        
,intellect into a condition1 not of     
slavery1 but of willing ministry to the 
,feelings4 ,the subordination never was1
 and never will be1 effected except by  
means of a religion1 and a religion1 to 
be final1 must include a harmonious     
synthesis of all our conceptions of the 
external order of the universe4 ,the    
characteristic basis of a religion is   
the existence of a ,power without us1 so
 superior to ourselves as to command the

 complete submission of our whole life4 
,this basis is to be found in the       
,positive stage1 in ,humanity1 past1    
present1 and to come1 conceived as the  
,great ,being4       ,a deeper study of 
the great universal order reveals to us 
at      length the ruling power within  
it of the true ,great ,being1 whose     
destiny it is to bring that order       
continually to perfection by            
constantly conforming to its laws1 and  
which thus best represents      to us   
that system as a whole4 ,this undeniable
 ,providence1 the      supreme dispenser
 of our destinies1 becomes in the       
natural course      the common centre of
 our affections1 our thoughts1 and our  
actions4 ,although this ,great ,being   
evidently exceeds the utmost            
strength of any1 even of any collective1
 human force1 its      necessary        
constitution and its peculiar function  
endow it with      the truest sympathy  
towards all its servants4 ,the least    
amongst      us can and ought constantly

 to aspire to maintain and even to      
improve this ,being4 ,this natural      
object of all our activity1 both        
public and private1 determines the true 
general character of the      rest of   
our existence1 whether in feeling or in 
thought2 which      must be devoted to  
love1 and to know1 in order rightly to  
serve1      our ,providence1 by a wise  
use of all the means which it furnishes 
to us4 ,reciprocally this continued     
service1 while strengthening      our   
true unity1 renders us at once both     
happier and better4  ,the exaltation of 
,humanity into the throne occupied by   
the ,supreme ,being under monotheistic  
systems made all the rest of ,comte's   
construction easy enough4 ,utility      
remains the test of every institution1  
impulse1 act2 his fabric becomes        
substantially an arch of utilitarian    
propositions1 with an artificial ,great 
,being inserted at the top to keep them 
in their place4 ,the ,comtist system is 
utilitarianism crowned by a fantastic   

decoration4 ,translated into the        
plainest ,english1 the position is as   
follows3 ',society can only be          
regenerated by the greater subordination
 of politics to morals1 by the          
moralisation of capital1 by the         
renovation of the family1 by a higher   
conception of marriage1 and so on4      
,these ends can only be reached by a    
heartier development of the sympathetic 
instincts4 ,the sympathetic instincts   
can only be developed by the ,religion  
of ,humanity4' ,looking at the problem  
in this way1 even a moralist who does   
not expect theology to be the instrument
 of social revival1 might still ask     
whether the sympathetic instincts will  
not necessarily be already developed to 
their highest point1 before people will 
be persuaded to accept the religion1    
which is at bottom hardly more than     
sympathy under a more imposing name4    
,however that may be1 the whole         
battle--into which we shall not         
enter--as to the legitimateness of      

,comtism as a religion turns upon this  
erection of ,humanity into a ,being4    
,the various hypotheses1 dogmas1        
proposals1 as to the family1 to capital1
 etc4 are merely propositions measurable
 by considerations of utility and a     
balance of expediencies4 ,many of these 
proposals are of the highest interest1  
and many of them are actually available2
 but there does not seem to be one of   
them of an available kind which could   
not equally well be approached from     
other sides1 and even incorporated in   
some radically antagonistic system4     
,adoption1 for example1 as a practice   
for improving the happiness of families 
and the welfare of society1 is capable  
of being weighed1 and can in truth only 
be weighed by utilitarian               
considerations1 and has been commended  
by men to whom the ,comtist religion is 
naught4 ,the singularity of ,comte's    
construction1 and the test by which it  
must be tried1 is the transfer of the   
worship and discipline of ,catholicism  

to a system in which 'the conception of 
,god is superseded' by the abstract idea
 of ,humanity1 conceived as a kind of   
,personality4  ,and when all is said1   
the invention does not help us4 ,we have
 still to settle what is for the good of
 ,humanity1 and we can only do that in  
the old-fashioned way4 ,there is no     
guidance in the conception4 ,no         
effective unity can follow from it1     
because you can only find out the right 
and wrong of a given course by summing  
up the advantages and disadvantages1 and
 striking a balance1 and there is       
nothing in the ,religion of ,humanity to
 force two men to find the balance on   
the same side4 ,the ,comtists are no    
better off than other utilitarians in   
judging policy1 events1 conduct4  ,the  
particularities of the worship1 its     
minute and truly ingenious re-adaptation
 of sacraments1 prayers1 reverent signs1
 down even to the invocation of a new   
,trinity1 need not detain us4 ,they are 
said1 though it is not easy to believe1 

to have been elaborated by way of       
,utopia4 ,if so1 no ,utopia has ever yet
 been presented in a style so little    
calculated to stir the imagination1 to  
warm the feelings1 to soothe the        
insurgency of the reason4 ,it is a      
mistake to present a great body of      
hypotheses--if ,comte meant them for    
hypotheses--in the most dogmatic and    
peremptory form to which language can   
lend itself4 ,and there is no more      
extraordinary thing in the history of   
opinion than the perversity with which  
,comte has succeeded in clothing a      
philosophic doctrine1 so intrinsically  
conciliatory as his1 in a shape that    
excites so little sympathy and gives so 
much provocation4 ,an enemy defined     
,comtism as ,catholicism minus          
,christianity1 to which an able champion
 retorted by calling it ,catholicism    
plus ,science4 ,hitherto ,comte's       
,utopia has pleased the followers of the
 ,catholic1 just as little as those of  
the scientific spirit4  ,the elaborate  

and minute systematisation of life1     
proper to the religion of ,humanity1 is 
to be directed by a priesthood4 ,the    
priests are to possess neither wealth   
nor material power2 they are not to     
command1 but to counsel2 their authority
 is to rest on persuasion1 not on force4
 ,when religion has become positive and 
society industrial1 then the influence  
of the church upon the state becomes    
really free and independent1 which was  
not the case in the ,middle ,age4 ,the  
power of the priesthood rests upon      
special knowledge of man and nature2 but
 to this intellectual eminence must also
 be added moral power and a certain     
greatness of character1 without which   
force of intellect and completeness of  
attainment will not receive the         
confidence they ought to inspire4 ,the  
functions of the priesthood are of this 
kind3--,to exercise a systematic        
direction over education2 to hold a     
consultative influence over all the     
important acts of actual life1 public   

and private2 to arbitrate in cases of   
practical conflict2 to preach sermons   
recalling those principles of generality
 and universal harmony which our special
 activities dispose us to ignore2 to    
order the due classification of society4
 ,to perform the various ceremonies     
appointed by the founder of the         
religion4 ,the authority of the         
priesthood is to rest wholly on         
voluntary adhesion1 and there is to be  
perfect freedom of speech and           
discussion2 though1 by the way1 we      
cannot forget ,comte's detestable       
congratulations to the ,czar ,nicholas  
on the 'wise vigilance' with which he   
kept watch over the importation of      
,western books4  ,from his earliest     
manhood ,comte had been powerfully      
impressed by the necessity of elevating 
the condition of women 7see remarkable  
passage in his letters to ,m4 ,valat1   
pp4 #hd-hg74 ,his friendship with       
,madame de ,vaux had deepened the       
impression1 and in the reconstructed    

society women are to play a highly      
important part4 ,they are to be         
carefully excluded from public action1  
but they are to do many more important  
things than things political4 ,to fit   
them for their functions1 they are to be
 raised above material cares1 and they  
are to be thoroughly educated4 ,the     
family1 which is so important an element
 of the ,comtist scheme of things1      
exists to carry the influence of woman  
over man to the highest point of        
cultivation4 ,through affection she     
purifies the activity of man4 ',superior
 in power of affection1 more able to    
keep both the intellectual and the      
active powers in continual subordination
 to feeling1 women are formed as the    
natural intermediaries between ,humanity
 and man4 ,the ,great ,being confides   
specially to them its moral ,providence1
 maintaining through them the direct and
 constant cultivation of universal      
affection1 in the midst of all the      
distractions of thought or action1 which

 are for ever withdrawing men from its  
influence4444 ,beside the uniform       
influence of every woman on every man1  
to attach him to ,humanity1 such is the 
importance and the difficulty of this   
ministry that each of us should be      
placed under the special guidance of one
 of these angels1 to answer for him1 as 
it were1 to the ,great ,being4 ,this    
moral guardianship may assume three     
types1--the mother1 the wife1 and the   
daughter2 each having several           
modifications1 as shown in the          
concluding volume4 ,together they form  
the three simple modes of solidarity1 or
 unity with contemporaries1--obedience1 
union1 and protection1--as well as the  
three degrees of continuity between     
ages1 by uniting us with the past1 the  
present1 and the future4 ,in accordance 
with my theory of the brain1 each       
corresponds with one of our three       
altruistic instincts1--veneration1      
attachment1 and benevolence4  ,how the  
positive method of observation and      

verification of real facts has landed us
 in this1 and much else of the same     
kind1 is extremely hard to guess4       
,seriously to examine an encyclopdic    
system1 that touches life1 society1 and 
knowledge at every point1 is evidently  
beyond the compass of such an article as
 this4 ,there is in every chapter a     
whole group of speculative suggestions1 
each of which would need a long chapter 
to itself to elaborate or to discuss4   
,there is at least one biological       
speculation of astounding audacity that 
could be examined in nothing less than a
 treatise4 ,perhaps we have said enough 
to show that after performing a great   
and real service to thought1 ,comte     
almost sacrificed his claims to         
gratitude by the invention of a system  
that1 as such1 and independently of     
detached suggestions1 is markedly       
retrograde4 ,but the world has strong   
self-protecting qualities4 ,it will take
 what is available in ,comte1 while     
forgetting that in his work which is as 

irrational in one way as ,hegel is in   
another4   ,,the ,,end4   ,printed by   
,r4  ,r4 ,,clark1 ,,limited1 ,edinburgh4
          99       99       99       99 
99  ,transcriber's ,notes3  ,the        
transcriber made the following changes  
to the text to correct obvious errors3  
#a4 p4 #cdg1 delighful changed to       
delightful   #b4 p4 #chb1 ',superior in 
power of 444 no ending single quote