The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-10-25 00:00:00

THE NORTHERN

DR. .ATEIV.ArAY S LECTURI

The third of Dr. NEWMA.N'S lectures was delive,
Catholic Institute, at half-past seven o'clock, last mt.,
The room was even more densely crowded than upon either
of the former occasions. Dr. Newman proceeded to detail
the series of events by which the Turks became established
in Europe. When the Turks first really appeared in his-
tory, although their name was mentioned before, was about
the time when Atilla descended upon the Roman empire,
about the year 450, and they then appeared in Asia, about
Mount Altai, as a nation of slaves, the workmen of the ce
quering Tartars. Yet in fifty years after, with true
impetuosity, this nation of slaves had spread ow'
empire, to the southern and western, and to the north sue.
had got to the north as high as Kamschatka, to the west as
far as the Caspian Sea, and even to the river Volga, and had
gone nearly down to the mouth of the Indian ocean. That
empire lasted about 200 years, from about 545 to 745.
was a Turkish-Tartar empire, because the race at that
bore all the characteristics of the pure Tartar.
pened that the Romans had intercourse with them-
mans, was meant at that time the southern empire,
Greco-Roman empire, whose capital was at Constantino'
The Romans sent an embassy to the Turks, all acres.
and the records of that embassy established th- "
had all the Tartar customs and peculiarities,
their ceremonies, their food, their banquets, acrd their
nificence. That Turkish-Tartar empire came to an end in
about 200 years ; but, by a strange paradox, that event
caused the elevation of the Turkish race, for it commenced
the destruction of the old Tartar empire, uncle:
had lived, and was the beginning of their civilization.
Turks now began to approach Europe, and here began
separation of the race into two branches' which entered i
different ways. Those who came across Mount Altai, any
by the sea of Aral, were the Turks who were in Constanti•
nople at this day, and who might be called civilized. Those
who came down by the Caucasus, between the Caspian and
the Black sea, were those who were now called Tureomans,
and who still remained uncivilized. This lecture had
nothing to do properly with the Tnecomans but he men-
tioned them in order to show what the Turkish race
originally was, and he should briefly dispose of the history
of the uncivilized branch. At the time that the Enlperor
Heracleins was on the throne of Constantinople, which was
about the era of the Hegira, in the early part of the 7th
century, the Persians were great enemies of the Romans,
and the Persians got all the barbarians of Europe, who were
just where Russia is now, and were pressing down upon
Constantinople, to besiege that city. Heracleins made a
counter attack, and as the Persian monarch had called in
the Russian barbarians, so he brought the Turcomans
across the Volga to attack Persia. Here were the Russians
then, as now, overhanging Constantinople; and here were
the Turcomans overhanging Persia. Heracleins brought
the Turcomans across the Caucasus, and planted them in
Georgia, Armenia, Syria, and Asia Minor, where they re-
mained from that day up to this. The race were kept in the
pay, and supported by the Turks of Constantinople, up to
the present day, and in them would be found up to this day,
specimens of almost the perfect Tartar, showing what the
Turks were in their original state. They certainly had given
up the horse-flesh, and the peculiar beverage of their an-
cestors, and they had professedly embraced the Mahommedan
creed, but they were loose Mahommedans, and were held
by very slight ties of religion of any kind. The Rev, lec-
turer here cited several passages from history, and from the
statements of recent travellers, to show that the charac-
teristics of the Turcoman tribe continued the same up to
the present day. Now the other branch of the race, the
civilized Turks, had been subject to a certain educational
process. Nations attained civilization by different means.
Some were civilized by commerce, others by conquering,
and others again by being conquered. The ancient Greeks
were in a great measure civilized, and brought to their won-
derful state of intellectual culture, not by themselves
simply—for it was a great question whether any nation ever
civilized itself—but they became what they were by com-
merce, and by their colonies. Much and rightly as the
world might admire the ancient Greeks for their wonderful
intellectual proficiency, their colonies outstripped them, that
is to say, they began before them. Much more was heard of
the arts, science, and philosophy of their colonies in Italy,
Magna Grecia, as they were called, and of lonia,
that is Asia Minor, with regard to their intellectual greatness,
than of Greece proper. These colonies had acted upon
and raised her to what she once was. Rome was
zed in quite a different way—by conquering. The
cans had in them the germs of civilization, but they were
and barbarous until they came into contact with the
;eks. England ias civilized in that way, by the Holy
and by the Normans—by the joint influences of religion
aof chivalry: In fact England was civilized by being
nquered. The Normans conquered England, overthrew
Le ancient dynasties, took possession of all property, effected
great revolution, ruled England with cruelty and with the
lost atrocious tyranny, and still it was the decree of Al-
nighty God that through them England should be civilized.
gradually the Normans got mingled with the population,
and became 'quite lost in it, but they had mainly helped to
playa England in the position aho 210 VT hold. Tiia lloly
See- began the work, and did a great 'deal towards it, and
by these joint infinences,the materials had been planted of
the present civilization of England. Now Turkish civiliza-
tion, and as it was it was not indeed very great, but it was
great enough to hold the race together —had arisen in quite
a different way. It had not arisen from conquering, from
being conquered, or from colonies and commerce, but by a
very curious process, which he could only liken to such an
effect as might be produced if they supposed a liquor
to undergo a certain manufacturing process by means
of which it would pass through some material and come
up again, changed with the qualities of the material through
which it passed. The Turkish race had, as it were, trickled
through, or soaked through, the mass of the Saracenic
_popu-
lation. They disappeared from history for a time, and came
out again in a different character, having assumed the quali-
ties and the properties of the race through which they had
passed. The Tartar race passed through Asia at a gallop,
travelling upon their horses a hundred miles a day. What
civilization could they receive in such a progress ? None.
What civilization could the Turkomans receive, who en-
tered Europe by the north and came to the regions of the
Volga ? None whatever. But the Turks did not at once
arrive at their destination, nor did it resemble that of the
Turcomans. They had to pass through regions where they
were lost for centuries, and of which few traces could be
found, but still they kept together as a nation, and acquired
in their progress a kind of social education. The causes of
their civilization might be divided into three. First he
might mention the country to which they first arrived. Of
course no climate was sufficient in itself to change the charac-
ter, there must. be other influences, but ascertain influence
climate did exercise, as was exercised in this instance by the
country where the Turkish race first arrived. A philosopher
had remarked that Asia, possessed a peculiarity which ac-
counted for the existence of her perpetual dynasties, and his
theory was a very plausible one. He observed that there
were the extremes of cold and the extremes of heat in Asia,
and very little of a mean temperature. It contained the
the highest mountains in the world, the broadest plains,
high table land, great burning deserts, and but
very few rivers in comparison to the size of the
continent, and very few inland seas. The inhabitant
of cold countries were generally more vigorous and energetic
than those of hot climates, and as in Asia the two classes of
men were brought into juxta-position, the warlike and the
weak, the consequence was that perpetual despotisms
existed there. But he might put the question regarding the
influence of the climate on the Turkish race, upon broader
grounds. The temperate climate was the best for the de-
velopment of body and mind. The prayer of the inspired
writer was—" Give me neither riches nor beggary."
What was true of the moral state was also true of the
intellectual. The extreme of cold prevented germination,
and the extreme of heat withered it up. The countries
neither too hot nor too cold were those which had
boo. bho si uoust In the world for intellect an power. The
country to which the Turks first arrived, was precisely that.
It was the country which lies between Mount Actia and the
sea of Aral, almost to the Indian Oscan, pii.apany
district known as Segdiana or Bokhara. This was one of
the most beautiful an temperate regions throught the whole
of Asia, and in climate somewhat resembled England. The
lecturer here cited the opinions of several travellers, of
remote as well as modern times, to show that this district
possessed the finest climate in Asia. He might mention
that the making of paper from rags was due to the
city of Samaracand,:the capital of that region, which was
said to have received the invention from the merchants of
China. The influence of this climate was one cause which
led to the civilization of the Turkish race. There was
another cause, still more remarkable, not physical but moral.
At tho time when the Turks shewed themselves upon the
great river entering this region of Sagdiana, and their
kindred, who were since called Turcomans, shewed them-
selves upon the Volga. At that time the false prophet,
Mahomet, was just beginning his career. Mahomet
began his career with the Saracens in Arabia, and
the Saracens after his death came with great vigour
against the kingdom of Persia, and in twenty years
conquered the whole of it. Persia reached up to the country
of Sagdiana. The Saracens came fiercely up in that
direction, and the Persian king, the last of his race, fled to
the Turks, although they had been up to that time enemies.
The Turks welcomed him, and pretended an alliance, but
they betrayed and killed him. Here then were two great
antagonists, the Turks from the north, and the Saracens
from the south, and they, met near this beautiful country.
Strange to say, for it seldom happened, the south beat the
north—the Saracens beat the Turks back to Sagdiana, and
beat them there again. The Turks were not driven out,
except perhaps some few of the wild tribes—they remained
there, and whether, through the versatility of the Turks,
or the skill of the Saracen, they became the willing
servants and workmen of the Saracer race. That was
a strange fact, as strange as if the Romans conquering
Turkey, the wild Turcomans, were •to become their
working men and men of business. In this manner
they acquired social education, and it was the second instru-
ment to which their civilization was due. The third in-
strument was, that in consequence of their being conquered
by the Saracens, they embraced the Mabometan faith. Now,
the creed of Mahomet was, of course, a false religion, an
imposture, a poor imitation of Christianity, but it had taken
some great truths from Christianity, and the vital powers
of •truth, however distorted, and however corrupted, did,
through God's grace, produce a great effect upon the cha-

It so hap-

let that they
as regarded

which t

DAILY TIMES.

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like manner, various nations