Abstract
NO matter what may be the subject of investigation, the process of evolution always appears as a progressive movement from the simple to the complex, from homogeneity to heterogeneity. It is so in zoology when the simple self-contained cell by segmentation sets out on the upward path of organisation; it is so in sociology when the primitive homogeneous community through division of labour takes the first step in civilisation; it is so in art; it is so in letters; it is so in all the multifarious domains of human experience, and the evolution of empire forms no exception to the rule. In every case the method is the same. The course pursued is a zig-zag or spiral, which tends now towards difference and again towards agreement; there is a constant ringing of the changes between variation and integration, and the goal is ultimately reached under the simultaneous or alternate influence of the forces of separation and union.
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COCKBURN, J. The Evolution of Empire . Nature 69, 568–569 (1904). https://doi.org/10.1038/069568b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/069568b0