earliest condition of men resembled that of the beasts, and from
this primitive and miserable condition they laboriously reached the
existing state of civilisation, not by external guidance or as a
consequence of some initial design, but simply by the exercise of
human intelligence throughout a long period. [Footnote: Lucretius v.
1448 sqq. (where the word PROGRESS is pronounced):

Usus et impigrae simul experientia mentis
Paulatim docuit pedetemtim progredientis.
Sic unum quicquid paulatim protrahit aetas
In medium ratioque in luminis erigit oras.
Namque alid ex alio clarescere et ordine debet
Artibus, ad summum donee uenere cacumen.]

The gradual amelioration of their existence was marked by the
discovery of fire and the use of metals, the invention of language,
the invention of weaving, the growth of arts and industries,
navigation, the development of family life, the establishment of
social order by means of kings, magistrates, laws, the foundation of
cities. The last great step in the amelioration of life, according
to Lucretius, was the illuminating philosophy of Epicurus, who
dispelled the fear of invisible powers and guided man from
intellectual darkness to light.

But Lucretius and the school to which he belonged did not look
forward to a steady and continuous process of further amelioration
in the future. They believed that a time would come when the
universe would fall into ruins, [Footnote: Ib. 95.] but the
intervening period did not interest them. Like many other
philosophers, they thought that their own philosophy was the final