Polynesian., 1861-07-20
Glhe polplresialt.
National Suicides i'm Ancient and Modern
""f -l Times.


of tie comparison between the life of man and
that of nations yet generation is inferior in
natural energy and vital power to that which pre-
ceded it, 1T would appear that a young Assyria,
young Egypt, young Babylon. or young Greece
might have perpetuated the spring time or maturity
of those people, if they had possessed the wisdom
to do so. Where one empire that has monopoized
power in the history of the world has died a natu-
raj death pershed by casualty, ten have dropped
down from apoplexy produced by the imprudence
of great prosperity, have deliberately destroy
ed themselves at the very period of existence when
mankind has believed that they must be immortal
From the day when Adam and Eve ate themselves
out of Paradise, down to Napoleon [. or Francis
H. it has been the fate of uninterrupted greatness
never 90 to let we'll enough alone;' butt influenced
by such bad advisers as the " old SERPENT" or
TrOya and Bianchini to experiment with vegetables
and constitutions, in manner which has invaria-
bly, proved destructive to themselves. The people
of the United States ought to take warning from
the teachings of the past, and pause in their sui
cidal warfare with things as they are before it is
too late. Change should not involve hOstilIties,
and if two cOnederacies must be formed out of the
Union, it ought to be accomplished in a sensible
manner.
Troy was destroyed, with apparently no better
purpose than to give Homer the chance to write
poem. The history of Athens and Sparta contains
moral that humanity ought never to forget. En-
law-givers, the giants of Thermopyle defed the
millions of invading Persia, conquered every enc
my, and raised their respective republics to pima
eles of greatness which lasted long as they were
true to themselves and the theory upon which their
nationality was founded. Their statesmen and ora
tors are still models for the world their constitu-
tions TEEN with sagacity and poetry and the arts
founded home temples among people who offered
them willing and graceful worship. Yet, at the
very moment when the glorious conclusion of their
Persian wars had made them the wonder and ad-
miration of mankind, the demon of jealousy and
discord melted them to deeds of violence which re-
suited in the decay and fall of Greece. Athens
would make no compromise which should lessen Its
supremacy, nor modify its tyrannic exercise of
rights which the majority of the day had succeed
ed in fastening upon other States with which she
was eOnfederated. Wise Minerva proved foolish
goddess else she had lost the fascination of her
pristine beauty, as she was growing old. The
tribes were divided geographically. The Dorian
had aseendaney in the Pelopennesus, the Ionian,
Euboa, and many of the islands. Their dialects
were different, and their manners more so. So
they began to snarl and then to fight The Dorian
| cities helped the Syracusan, and the lonians the
Leontini. Then ensued hatred, originally causeless,
but inhamed by local ambition and the demagogues
of the day. At last came the Pelopennesian war
civil strife with some parallels in history, the
thirty years war in Germany, and the Reformation
|
and France. Morals decayed, soft sunset pre-
ceded it is true, final dissolution but, deserted
by itself and therefore by destiny, poor Greece sold
| its own corpse to the Romans who had so long
coveted possession of her, dead or alive.
| Still more pregnant with instruction is the Curl
Gus history of the 50 chosen people Of God - the
children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, from whom
so manyo old clothes-men of the Minories the Ghet-
tor and Chatham street, are regally descended.
They were supernaturally protected by series of
miracles which lasted for ages. Their constitution
and laws were delivered to them under circumstan-
ces OF the utmost sublimity: yet they have taught
the fearful lesson to mankind that the Almighty
| himself cannot far swerve from his laws as to
save those who are bent on selfdestruction. He
delivered them from the hard yoke of the Phara-
obs, where they made bricks, and opened the Red
Sea for them to pass unmolested into the most fer
| tile garden in the East. They almost instantly
| began to grumble, because they had to fight with
the Anak tribe of kdians, whom our Pilgrim Fa-
| theirs would have deyoured in mouthful. Then
| Korah rebelled against the President, Moses and
had to be destroyed. Afterwards they quarrel y
with their food, and put their own history bad
nearly half a century. At last they got into til
promised land ; but one of their first steps tn
establish pro-slavery in geographically unsuitable
section, and to yoke under the GibeOnites. This
| led to innumerable disasters. Finally, after they
| had destroyed their enemies, with thunder-storms
of artillery, and the sun in the armament was one
of their field marshals, far from being grateful,
they fell at once into worse than Mexican period
of anarchy out of which they did not evolve fairly
| for couple of centuries Their rows with the
MessopOtamians, Hittites, Amorites, MOabites,
Amalakites and Jebusites would have resulted in
their own annihilation but for few able generals
like Samson, Jepthah and Saul.
Saul was the Santa Anna of Judea. Helaid the
| foundations of the fabric upon which David and
Solomon, the two great politicians of four hundred
| and fifty years after the flight from Egypt, built
their kingdom. They introduced compromise
measures, made concessions, restored the Mosaic
code, and In less than sixty years. made Jerusalem
the centre of the freest and most glorious empire
on EARTH But, under Rehelooma, Rhetts, Keitts,
Dayises, Slidells, Summers and Stewards arose, and
divided the eonfederacy, ten States seeding from
the other two which latter, however. retained the
national capital. Disunion began with mob out
breaks. like those we have recently witnessed IN
Charleston, and disorder and civil war were the
consequence. 1t was case OF the most guilty sui
eide, and entailed such destruction as must over
take our own thirty-three tribes, if we adopt the
foolish notions of Greeley and other coercionists,
in our interstate relations. The Jews, once di-
yided, did not even help each other. Egypt, As
ryria and the Philistines, who were the France,
England and Indians of that age, took advantage
Of their weakness, and treated them as though they
were no better than Coolies or Hottentots, Senna-
cheribs, Nebuchadnezzars, Shishaks and Berodach-
baladans, carried them into captivity, as bad as
thai Wendell Phillips and Garrison desire for the
South Carolinians, at the hands OF some Black
Hawk of the Rocky Mountains. Elijah, Jeremiah,
Ezekiel, Micah and Habakkuk-saw their influence
counteracted by incendiary stump speaking dis
organizers of the Fred. Douglas school, and If q
Nebemia and Maccabee occasionally restored the
ancient glory of the nation the smallest return to
prosperity made it sswax fat and kick over again
the bucket of Judean greatness, Thus, not help
ing themselves they were incessanty IN hot water,
although God himself kept them from perishing as
they deserved, until His purposes were fulfilled,
and then they, like the Greeks suecumbed by thelr
own fault, under the power of the Romans.