the minds of modern thinkers, and Nature is not conceived of as
material, but as force and continual motion; and they are trying to
identify human will with this arcane energy, and let the forces of
Nature have freer play in humanity. We begin to catch glimpses of
civilizations as far exceeding ours as ours surpasses society in the
Stone Age. In all our democratic movements, in these efforts towards
the harmonious fusion of human forces, humanity is obscurely intent
on mightier collective exploits than anything conceived of before. The
nature of these energies manifesting in humanity I shall try to indicate
later on. But to let the general will have free play ought to be the
aim of those who wish to build up national organizations for whatever
purpose; and to let the general will have free play we require something
better than the English invention of representative government, which,
as it exists at present, is simply a device to enable all kinds of
compromises to be made on matters where there should be no compromise,
as if right and wrong could come to an agreement honestly to let things
be partly right and partly wrong. We are importing into Ireland some
political machinery of this antiquated pattern. I have written the
foregoing because I dread Irish people becoming slaves of this machine.
I fear the importers of this machinery will desire to make it do things
it can only do badly, and will set it to work with the ferocity of the
new broom and will make it an obstruction, so that the real genius of
the Irish people will be unable freely to manifest itself. The less we
rely on this machinery at present, and the more we desire a machinery of
progress, at once flexible and efficient, the better will it be for us
later on. What must be embodied in State action is the national will
and the national soul, and until that giant being is manifested it is
dangerous to let the pygmies set powers in motion which may enchain us
for centuries to come.

XIV.

It may seem I have spoken lightly of that infant whose birth I referred
to with more solemnity in the opening pages of this book, and indeed I
am a little dubious about that infant. The signature of the Irish mind
is nowhere present in it, and I look upon it with something of the
hesitating loyalty the inhabitant of a new Balkan State night feel for
his imported prince, doubtful whether that sovereign will reflect
the will of his new subjects or whether his pol