No one needs to be reminded of the ferment which is moving in the world of social affairs, of the obscure but powerful tendencies which are forcing society out of its grooves and leaving it, aspiring but dubious, in new and uncharted regions.  This may affect different minds in different ways.  Some regret it, others rejoice in it; but all are aware of it.  Time-honoured political and economic formulae are become “old clothes” for an awakened and ardent generation, and before the new garments are quite ready; the blessed word “reconstruction” is often mentioned.  Men are not satisfied that society has really developed so successfully as it might have done; many believe that it finds itself in a cul-de-sac.  But what is to be done?  The experienced can see that many of the offered reforms are but the repetition of old mistakes which will involve us in the unhappy cycle of disillusion and failure.  It is not to be wondered at, therefore, if men everywhere are seeking for a sign, a glimpse of a scheme of life, a view of reality, a hint of human destiny and the true outcome of human effort, to be an inspiration and a guide to them in their pathetic struggle out of the morass in which they, too obviously, are plunged.  If Philosophy has anything to say which is to the point, then let Philosophy by all means say it.  They are ready to attend.  They may indeed expect too much from it, as those who best grasp the measure of Philosophy’s task would be the first to urge.

This is the opportunity of the charlatan.  Puzzled and half-desperate, we strongly feel the influence of the need to believe, are prone to listen to any gospel.  The greater its air of finality and assurance the stronger is its appeal.  But it is the opportunity also of the serious and competent thinker, and it is fortunate for the world that one of M. Bergson’s quality is forthcoming.  He is too wise a man, he knows the history of human thought too well, he realizes too clearly the extent of the problem to pretend that his is the last word or that he has in his pocket the final solution of the puzzle of the universe and the one and only panacea for human distresses.  But he has one of the most subtle and penetrating intellects acting in and upon the world at this moment, and is more worthy of attention than all the charlatans.  That he has obtained for himself so great an audience is one of the most striking and hopeful signs of the present time.

It is the more impressive inasmuch as Bergson cannot be said to be an easy author.  The originality and sweep of his conceptions, the fine and delicate psychological analysis in which he is so adept and which is necessary for the development of his ideas—­e.g., in his exposition of duree—­make exacting demands upon those readers who wish to closely follow his thought.  An interesting fact is that this is realized most of all by those who come to Bergson with a long process of philosophical discipline behind them.  It is not surprising when we remember what