But there is always the other side. If the economic man has defiled
temples and despoiled nature, he has also preserved. He has policed
the world and parked it, reduced the dangers of life and limb, made
the tenure of existence less precarious, and rendered a general
relapse of society impossible. There can never again be an
intellectual holocaust, such as the burning of the Alexandrian
library. Civilizations may wax and wane, but the totality of
knowledge cannot decrease. With the possible exception of a few
trade secrets, arts and sciences may be discarded, but they can never
be lost. And these things must remain true until the end of man's
time upon the earth.
Up to yesterday communication for any distance beyond the sound of
the human voice or the sight of the human eye was bound up with
locomotion. A letter presupposed a carrier. The messenger started
with the message, and he could not but avail himself of the
prevailing modes of travel. If the voyage to Australia required four
months, four months were required for communication; by no known
means could this time be lessened.
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