one, the mineral. Civilized man, enthroned in his citadel and defended
by all the forces of nature that he has brought under his control, is
after all in the same situation as a savage, shivering in the darkness
beside his fire, listening to the pad of predatory feet, the rustle of
serpents and the cry of birds of prey, knowing that only the fire keeps
his enemies off, but knowing too that every stick he lays on the fire
lessens his fuel supply and hastens the inevitable time when the beasts
of the jungle will make their fatal rush.

Chaos is the "natural" state of the universe. Cosmos is the rare and
temporary exception. Of all the million spheres this is apparently the
only one habitable and of this only a small part--the reader may draw
the boundaries to suit himself--can be called civilized. Anarchy is the
natural state of the human race. It prevailed exclusively all over the
world up to some five thousand years ago, since which a few peoples have
for a time succeeded in establishing a certain degree of peace and
order. This, however, can be maintained only by strenuous and persistent
efforts, for society tends naturally to sink into the chaos out of which
it has arisen.

It is only by overcoming nature that man can rise. The sole salvation
for the human race lies in the removal of the primal curse, the sentence
of hard labor for life that was imposed on man as he left Paradise. Some
folks are trying to elevate the laboring classes; some are trying to
keep them down. The scientist has a more radical remedy; he wants to
annihilate the laboring classes by abolishing labor. There is no longer
any need for human labor in the sense of personal toil, for the physical
energy necessary to accomplish all kinds of work may be obtained from
external sources and it can be directed and controlled without extreme
exertion. Man's first effort in this direction was to throw part of his