" And again: "Parmi eux, dans les etats les
plus tristes, jamais les faibles conseils n'ont ete seulement ecoutes."
The reading of such a fine tribute to the glory of ancient liberties is
not likely to diminish our desire for freedom; rather, to add to the
natural stimulus found in our own splendid traditions, the further
stimulus of this thought that must whisper to us: "Persevere and
conquer, and to-morrow our finest opponent will be our finest panegyrist
when the battle has been fought and won."
V
In conclusion, in the concrete this simple fact will suffice: we have
established immutable principles; the concrete circumstances are
contingent and vary. It is admirably put in the following passage: "The
historical and sociological sciences, so carefully cultivated in modern
times, have proved to evidence that social conditions _vary_ with the
epoch and the country, that they are the resultant of quite a number of
fluctuating influences, and that, accordingly, the science of Natural
Right should not merely establish _immutable_ principles bearing on the
moral end of man, but should likewise deal with the _contingent_
circumstances accompanying the application of those principles." (De
Wulf, _Scholasticism, Old and New_, Part 2, Chap. 2, Sec. 33.) Yes, and
if we apply principles to-morrow, it is not with the conditions of
to-day we must deal, but "with the contingent circumstances accompanying
the application of those principles.
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