the individual must have at least those arts of reading and writing without which he can hardly be a vital member of the new organism.And that further development of education， rapidly becoming a conscious aim of modern society， which strives to give to every person a special training in preparation for whatever function he may have aptitude for， is also a phase of the freer and more flexible organization of mental energy.The same enlargement runs through all life， including fashion and other trivial or fugitive kinds of intercourse.And the widest phase of all， upon whose momentousness I need not dwell， is that rise of an international consciousness， in literature， in science and， finally， in politics， which holds out a trustworthy promise of the indefinite enlargement of justice and amity.
This unification of life by a freer course of thought is not only contemporaneous， overcoming space， but also historical， bringing the past into the present， and making every notable achievement of the race a possible factor in its current life梐s when， by skilful reproduction the work of a mediaeval painter is brought home to people dwelling five hundred years later on the other side of the globe.Our time is one of "large discourse， looking before and after."There are remarkable possibilities in this diffusive vigor.
Never， certainly， were great masses of men so rapidly rising to higher levels as now.There are the same facilities for disseminating improvement in mind and manners as in material devices； and the new communication has spread like morning light over the world， awakening， enlightening， enlarging， and filling with expectation.Human nature desires the good， when it once perceives it， and in all that is easily understood and imitated great headway is making.
Nor is there， as I shall try to show later， any good reason to think that the conditions are permanently unfavorable to the rise of special and select types of excellence.The same facility of communication which animates millions with the emulation of common models， also makes it easy for more discriminating minds to unite in small groups The general fact is that human nature is set free； in time it will no doubt justify its freedom.
The enlargement affects not only thought but feeling， favoring the growth of a sense of common humanity， of moral unity， between nations， races and classes.Among members of a communicating whole feeling may not always be friendly， but it must be， in a sense， sympathetic， involving some consciousness of the other's point of view.Even the animosities of modern nations are of a human and imaginative sort， not the blind animal hostility of a more primitive age.They are resentments， and resent meet， as Charles Lamb says， is of the family of love.
The relations between persons or communities that are without mutual understanding are necessarily on a low plane.There may be indifference， or a blind anger due to interference， or there may be a good-natured tolerance； but there is no consciousness of a common nature to warm up the kindly sentiments.A really human fellow-feeling was anciently confined within the tribe， men outside not being felt as members of a common whole.The alien was commonly treated as a more or less useful or dangerous animal -- destroyed， despoiled or enslaved.Even in these days we care little about people whose life is not brought home to us by some kind of sympathetic contact.We may read statistics of the miserable life of the Italians and Jews in New York and Chicago； of bad housing， sweatshops and tuberculosis； but we care little more about them than we do about the sufferers from the Black Death， unless their life is realized to us in some human way， either by personal contact， or by pictures and imaginative description.
And we are getting this at the present time.The resources of modern communication are used in stimulating and gratifying our interest in every phase of human life.Russians， Japanese， Filipinos， fishermen， miners， millionaires， criminals， tramps and opium-eaters are brought home to us.The press well understands that nothing human is alien to us if it is only made comprehensible.
With a mind enlarged and suppled by such training， the man of to-day inclines to look for a common nature everywhere and to demand that the whole world shall be brought under the sway of common principles of kindness and justice.He wants to see international strife allayed？
in such a way， however， as not to prevent the expansion of capable races and the survival of better types； he wishes the friction of classes reduced and each interest fairly treated梑ut without checking individuality and enterprise.There was never so general an eagerness that righteousness should prevail； the chief matter of dispute is upon the principles under which it may be established.
The work of communication in enlarging human nature is partly immediate， through facilitating contact， but even more it is indirect， through favoring the increase of intelligence， the decline of mechanical and arbitrary forms of organization， and the rise of a more humane type of society.History may be regarded as a record of the struggle of man to realize his aspirations through organization； and the new communication is an efficient tool for this purpose.Assuming that the human heart and conscience， restricted only by the difficulties-of organization， is the arbiter of what institutions are to become， we may expect the facility of intercourse to be the starting-point of an era of moral progress.
Endnotes W.L.Anderson， The Country Town， 209， 210.The Manners of American Women， Harper's Bazaar， May， 1907.The American Commonwealth， chap.26.The Spirit of Laws， book viii， chap.19.
