continual advances, and has an ideal of a future such as, in its
judgment, the present ought to be
The other class is conscious of the power of progress, is making
continual advances, and has an ideal of a future such as, in its
judgment, the present ought to be. Both of these classes have
institutions; for institutions are not the product of civilization, as
they exist wherever our social nature is developed. Man is also a
dependent being, and he therefore seeks the company, counsel and support
of his fellows. From the right of numbers to act comes the necessity of
agreement, or at least so much concurrence in what is to be done as to
secure the object sought. The will of numbers can only be expressed
through agencies; and these, however simple, are indeed
institutions--the evidence of civilization, rather than its product.
They are always the sign, symbol, or language, by which the living man
expresses the purpose of his life. Therefore, institutions differ, as
the purposes of men vary.
