Why does the idea of progress loom so large in
the modern world? Surely because progress of particu-
lar kind is actually taking place around us and is more
and more manifesting. Although mankind has underg- __1__
one no general improvement in intelligence or morali-
ty, it has made extraordinary progress in the accumu-
lation of knowledge. Knowledge begins to increase as __2__
soon as the thoughts of one individual could be com-
municated to another by mean of speech. With the in- __3__
vention of writing, knowledge could be communicated
and stored. Libraries made education possible, and
education in turn added libraries: the growth of knowl- __4__
edge followed a kind of compound-interest law,
which was greatly enhanced by the invention of print-
ing. All this was comparatively slow until, with the
coming of science, the tempo was suddenly risen. __5__
then knowledge began to be accumulated according to
a systematic plan. However, as soon as new knowl- __6__
edge is acquired, it is now turned to practical ac-
count. What is called “modern civilization” is not the
result of a balanced development of all man’s nature,
but not of accumulated knowledge applied to practical __7__
life. The problem now facing humanity is: what is go-
ing to be done with all this knowledge? Like is often __8__
pointed out, knowledge is a two edged weapon which
could be used equally for good or evil. It is now being __9__
used indifferently for both. Could any spectacle, for
instance, be more grimly whimsical than that gunners __10__
using science to shatter men’s bodies while, close at
hand, surgeons use it to restore them.
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