The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1865-02-18

ized and powerful of nations, the gra-
nary of the world, the land of intelligent
and persevering industry, bearing evi~
dence even now, in its pyramids, obelisks
and catacombs, of a combination of labor
and art which even modern civilization
has not becn able to equal? Or, if cold
is necessary to enliven and stir into ac>
ton human energy and genius, what do
they make of the valor, the enterprise,
the philosophy, the arts, the eloqucnce,
the refinement, the civilization of sunny
Greece? What of Rome, the mightiest
power that ever dominated the earth,
whose soldiers were capable of doing
more, Of daring more, Of suffering more,
than the soldiers of any land, before or
since who chained Northern barbarians
at their chariot wheels, and whose con-
quests conpactcd and integratcd that
magnificent empire till it was round and
resplendant as the sun that warmed into
life it's victorious eagles ? Was julius
Caesar Northern man? Was Hanni-
bal, that Carthagenian hero, who, in the
opinion of some of the best modern SOL
diers, was the greatest military genius
the world has ever produced, begotten
of an iceberg? Where was the Gothic
genius when these titanic Children of
the Sun made the earth tremble beneath
their ponderous footsteps?
If we come down to a still later
period, we find another memorable
refutation Of the stereotyped North
ern absurdity, that warm climates beget
efeminacy and weakness. What be-
comes, under this theory, of the Arabian
Empire, which, under the banners of
Mahomet, went forth, conquering, pose
lyting and cnslaving mankind? Their
creed was false and their swords were
merciless; but the question is not of
truth or mercy. 1t is whether warm
climates encrvate the human race, take
the sap out of their manhood, and render
them only fit for slaves. The Arabians
shook Asia to its foundation, and added
nation after nation to their conquering flag
In thirty years after Mahomet's death,
thirty six thousand cities had been sub
jugated, and the Persian monarchy was
overthrown; they penetrated Europe,
invaded Tartary, and threatened India.
Spain became tributary kingdom. The
eighth century saw the Arabian Empire
stretching from the Ganges to the Allan
tic; from the Pyrenees to the deserts of
Africa. Nor was it alone in the character
of heroes and fanatics that they figure in
history. They built the Alhambra they
exhibited an intellectual development
equal to their courage and Europe is
deeply indebted to them for literature,
science and taste. The brilliancy of their
knowledge was not surpassed by the
glare of their conquests and the lustre of
their victories; and in the track of desc.
lation that lay behind their march sprung
up flowers of refinement, courtesy and
civilization.
1t is not certainly in the northern
parts of the world-it is not among
Esquimaux or Laplanders-that we must
look for the grandest developments of
man. Whilst the highest exhibitions of
intelligence and energy were given by
the Mediterranean nations, the northern
multitudes were miserable savages.-
Whilst Greece and Rome displayed won
ders of architectural skill, the dwellers in
the cold regions, now known as Russia,
Germany, Sweden and Denmark, could
not build comfortable dwellings to protect
them against the rigor of their own eli
mate. The civilization of Russia, such as
It is, is not older than the days of Peter
The Great, and he had to visit lands
where the sun shone to procure the
exotic and transplant it to his bleak do
mains. Germany, like Russia, is in
debted to her conquest by the Sarma-
,ians-a comparatively southern people
or civilization which is not indigenous.
rhe sunny land of France, inhabited by |
! people of Roman descent, and Eng
and, whose controlling element of So
;iety is of Norman origin, are the mas
,ers Of the world. Who was Raphael.