aforesaid. It is true that the slave-class could not conceive the
happiness of a free life. Yet they grew to understand (and very
speedily too) that they were oppressed by their masters, and they
assumed, you see how justly, that they could do without them, though
perhaps they scarce knew how; so that it came to this, that though
they could not look forward to the happiness or peace of the freeman,
they did at least look forward to the war which a vague hope told
them would bring that peace about."

"Could you tell me rather more closely what actually took place?"
said I; for I thought HIM rather vague here.

"Yes," he said, "I can. That machinery of life for the use of people
who didn't know what they wanted of it, and which was known at the
time as State Socialism, was partly put in motion, though in a very
piecemeal way. But it did not work smoothly; it was, of course,
resisted at every turn by the capitalists; and no wonder, for it
tended more and more to upset the commercial system I have told you
of; without providing anything really effective in its place. The
result was growing confusion, great suffering amongst the working
classes, and, as a consequence, great discontent. For a long time
matters went on like this. The power of the upper classes had
lessened, as their command over wealth lessened, and they could not
carry things wholly by the high hand as they had been used to in
earlier days. So far the State Socialists were justified by the
result. On the other hand, the working classes were ill-organised,
and growing poorer in reality, in spite of the gains (also real in
the long run) which they had forced from the masters. Thus matters
hung in the balance; the masters could not reduce their slaves to
complete subjection, though they put down some feeble and partial