"Man is a Social Animal."

Now man is a social animal. He has been so from the beginning of his existence, which some people put as far back as a million and a half years. He is not the only social animal in the world, but there is something about man that is not to be found in any other individual in animal society. He has a capacity for progress. A bee-hive is a society, and its life prevails according to what we may term laws or rules. The bees act in the same way to-day as they did hundreds of years ago. There has been, so far as we know, no change in their life. So with ants. Had we not an ancient Hebrew writer saying: "Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider his ways, and be wise."

Man's social life has changed. His mode of government has changed, and there has been a change in his outlook, and in his beliefs, even in fifty years. The marvellous development of inventions, and the growth of knowledge amongst men, are almost beyond belief. From the Cave Man to the man of the Twentieth Century the progress has been continued and continuous. A man must, if he is to live, live in society. He cannot stand alone. If man is separated from his fellow-men he degenerates, and would, after a long term of years, cease to have the qualities of a human being. There are many animals, also, that would perish if they did not live in communities—bees, wasps, ants and others. Even the ordinary cattle in the fields and the sheep on our hills would deteriorate if they did not live in society. If you separate some of the lower animals from the herd, you will find that they page 6 will degenerate. Of course, in the case of domesticated animals, such as the cow and the sheep, they may be kept in contact with human beings only, but I am speaking of one animal being entirely dissassociated from other animals, and living alone.