comparatively comfortable; but that is nothing to the wealth we might
have if labour were not misdirected.

Observe, in the early days of the history of man he was the slave of
his most immediate necessities; Nature was mighty and he was feeble,
and he had to wage constant war with her for his daily food and such
shelter as he could get. His life was bound down and limited by this
constant struggle; all his morals, laws, religion, are in fact the
outcome and the reflection of this ceaseless toil of earning his
livelihood. Time passed, and little by little, step by step, he grew
stronger, till now after all these ages he has almost completely
conquered Nature, and one would think should now have leisure to turn
his thoughts towards higher things than procuring to-morrow's dinner.
But, alas! his progress has been broken and halting; and though he
has indeed conquered Nature and has her forces under his control to
do what he will with, he still has himself to conquer, he still has
to think how he will best use those forces which he has mastered. At
present he uses them blindly, foolishly, as one driven by mere fate.
It would almost seem as if some phantom of the ceaseless pursuit of
food which was once the master of the savage was still hunting the
civilized man; who toils in a dream, as it were, haunted by mere dim
unreal hopes, borne of vague recollections of the days gone by. Out
of that dream he must wake, and face things as they really are. The
conquest of Nature is complete, may we not say? and now our business
is, and has for long been, the organization of man, who wields the
forces of Nature. Nor till this is attempted at least shall we ever
be free of that terrible phantom of fear of starvation which, with
its brother devil, desire of domination, drives us into injustice,
cruelty, and dastardliness of all kinds: to cease to fear our
fellows and learn to depend on them, to do away with competition and