One is the kinetic theory of gases, which Henry finds instructive.
There are many forces, and one understands them through scientific theories or formulae. But as science progresses, the force is understood in more complex ways. Adams suggests that Thomas Aquinas, for example, may say, "To me, Christ and the Mother are one Force - Love - simple, single, and sufficient for all human wants." The force for Aquinas is God's will manifested through love. The significance of force versus will is that the former allows for a dynamic, mechanical, scientific motive to the direction of history instead of relying on maxims like "God's will be done" or "it's God's will," which were adequate for the medieval churchman. Adams has mentioned Faraday's work in Chapter XXVI ("Twilight") and has employed the dynamo as a symbol of modern multiplicity in Chapter XXV ("The Virgin and the Dynamo"), but here, the narrator dubiously claims that Henry has never heard of Faraday and comes to his observations independently. Faraday proved that electrical charges are subject to polarity, leading to the invention of the dynamo. Perhaps disingenuously, the narrator claims that Henry begins to see "lines of force all about him, where he had always seen lines of will," independently but in the manner of Michael Faraday, the English physicist who discovered electromagnetic induction in 1831.
He feels certain that there is a relationship between the lines of force studied in new science and the lines of force in history. Placing a great deal of importance on unity and multiplicity, he begins to write his Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres (privately printed 1904) he will ultimately think of The Education of Henry Adams (first private edition published in 1907) as its companion piece.Īfter he has realized that the height of the old knowledge is really the abyss of ignorance, Henry has found a starting point for the development of his dynamic theory of history. He studies this possibility within the concept of the kinetic theory of gases with startling results. Henry reconsiders the concepts of unity and multiplicity and wonders if these apparent opposites may not be the same thing. He now sees lines of force in the actions of mankind where he once saw lines of will. Henry continues to struggle toward a scientific understanding of history.
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