The optimism of Leibnitz therefore concerns the universe as a whole,
not the earth, and would obviously be quite consistent with a
pessimistic view of the destinies of humanity. He does indeed
believe that it would be impossible to improve the universal order,
"not only for the whole, but for ourselves in particular," and
incidentally he notes the possibility that "in the course of time
the human race may reach a greater perfection than we can imagine at
present." But the significance of his speculation and that of
Malebranche lies in the fact that the old theories of degeneration
are definitely abandoned.

CHAPTER IV

THE DOCTRINE OF DEGENERATION: THE ANCIENTS AND MODERNS

1.

Outside the circle of systematic thinkers the prevalent theory of
degeneration was being challenged early in the seventeenth century.
The challenge led to a literary war, which was waged for about a
hundred years in France and England; over the comparative merits of
the ancients and the moderns. It was in the matter of literature,
and especially poetry, that the quarrel was most acrimonious, and
that the interest of the public was most keenly aroused, but the
ablest disputants extended the debate to the general field of
knowledge. The quarrel of the Ancients and Moderns used commonly to
be dismissed as a curious and rather ridiculous episode in the
history of literature. [Footnote: The best and fullest work on the
subject is Rigault's "Histoire de la querelle des Anciens et des