340 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY
today. Indeed, they represent forces that are recognizable in almost any phase of human life. But now it is very significant that, whatever definite results they may have led to in the way of positive law or social custom or formulated doctrine or personal heroism and achievement, they have always been an inspiration to each other. They have been at once complements and counter- parts of each other. Search the pages of history, of economic history or political history, of the history of science or art or morals or religion, and you will always find the two in evidence, if you find either, each giving meaning to the other, each the support and animus of the other. Exactly why this is I do not now undertake to say, nor for the present can we consider the light it may cast on the nature of society and social life'; but it does suggest, in a peculiarly forceful way, the dependence for reality of either society or individuality on the other. The child learns to use its legs only if having something to kick and push against, and it would certainly seem as if individuality and society only supplied each other with a resistance of the sort that develops.
My meaning here is not what some are almost sure to imagine. Socialism and individualism are not the alternating swings of a pendulum ; their common dependence is not that of mere negative reaction whereby each is again and again given its turn in the course of history ; they are contemporaneous forces always. The swinging pendulum view of history, I know, has been and perhaps still is much in favor ; it is Spencerian and it is undulatory ; but it taxes one's patience greatly. Now individ- ualism ; now socialism ; now individualism again ; and once more socialism ; and so on forever and with what futility! Before the coming of Christ irreligion everywhere, then a period of religion ; before Luther more irreligion, then religious revival ; and yes- terday irreligion for a third time, but today or tomorrow all the verities of faith justified once more. What easy history! A child could write it. A child whose vision had never reached farther than the horizon of its birth-place would see in the rela- tions of sun and earth only the swinging of a pendulum ; day and night, day and night, day and night ; but let it travel ever so
