12 
ECONOMIC DETERMINISM 
together. Whereas he was a negative and passive 
creature before, whose life was simply an endurance 
test, of use to nobody, he now becomes alert and 
positive. He wants to learn about the facts of 
life and what they mean and what opportunities 
for improvement they offer; then he wants to put 
his shoulder to the wheel and push. It makes a 
man of him and he begins to take some satisfaction 
in life,—this life; and he becomes of use to society. 
But when a man has grown up in the old theological 
habit of thought and feeling, it is sometimes well- 
nigh impossible for him to get the new understand 
ing of life; to get the wine into his veins, the iron 
into his blood. 
The cheat of the old history-writing and history 
teaching is so coarse and has become so plain and it 
is intellectually so contemptible that outside of the 
“divinity” schools you will not find many professors 
who are engaged in it any more. In fact, teachers 
of history in the higher institutions of education 
have become possessed, in the last few years, of a 
perfect passion for the “economic interpretation.” 
And the zeal of them promises well for social re 
generation. No young man or woman who passes 
under their hands can grow up having the paralysis 
of the will which results from the old theological 
teachings. The elementary teaching of history in 
the public schools has not felt this change to the 
same extent, because here teaching is more governed 
by precedent and custom, and the teachers have not