New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-05-28
HERO WORSHIP.
BY EDWARD ROWLAND.
From the Golden Age. ]

1t has been regretted by many well
wishers to France that in the recent strug-
gle she has passed through she has pro-
duced ne great man who could lead her, as
great men are supposed to lead nations
But the fact that she has produced no such
person is the most hopeful sign for the fu-
ture, and the best evidence that her twenty
years OF imperialism, with its belttling and
cOrrupting system of Capitalization, has
had less effect than we might have supposed
in staying the advancing culture the grow
ing strength of NATURALIZATION, the pro-
cess of differentiation, which is the true
growth OF a nation in its social evolution
Certainly, as compared with Germany
| blindly following the lead of Bismarck and
| King William, France stands to-day as she
has since in the last century she inaugur-
ated the movement toward freedom as ne
cessary condition for advancing social or
ganizatiOn, the example and the hope on the
continent to all those who believe that
liberty is law and humanity is wisdom. A
system of military despotism makes ap-
parently great men, as system of slavery
makes apparently great wealth. The slave
lords, with their cry of cotton is king"
believed they had the power to dominate
the industry of the world; and Bismarck
with his junxerism. thinks he has reached
the same power in Europe. The wealth of
the cotton lords was gained at the expense
of the whole rest of the population, and, as
in the South, there were no more violent
supporters of their peculiar institution than
the poor whites; so in Germany to-day, the
greatness of King William and Bismarck is
obtained at the expense of the rights of
those who are lOudest in their adulations of
this forcible introduction of barbarism into
the civilization of Europe.
To find the professors, the preachers, the
writers, the philosophers, the editors of
Germany deceived into believing that any
real or lasting greatness for that country
can be built up by accepting Bismarck as
their leader; or that the extension of Jun
kerism over Germany is the realization of
stability or progress of social organization
is analogous to finding the same classes in
the South, all the gentlemen of the South
who claimed for themselves higher educa-
ton than could be found anywhere else
firmly believing the same thing concerning
slavery; and in both cases shows how in
competent mere intellectual training is for
arriving at political truth AS are our
premises so must our conclusions be; and
iunkersm, like slavery, is false in its prem
ises. They both deny that liberty is the law
of social, as individual growth; they are
both inherently barbarous; both necessarily
aggressive; and, in turn have both of them
attached with the sword, the weapon of
barbarian, the principles of peace and in
dustry, unity and sympathy, which are the
characteristics of the present phase Of the
worlds civilization.
The success of Prussia is as dangerous
not only to Germany, but to all Europe, as
the success of the contederaey would have
been to the civilization of this country; and
the only hope for Europe, as for this cOun-
try, lies not in its pseudoleaders, not in its
classes to whom the welfare of the state
means the maintenance of their own com
fort and privileges, but in its industry; not
in making great men by belittling the rest
of the nation, but by raising the whole ma
ton to the equality of freemen. During our
contest against slavery, as in that which
France has just gone through, it was as con-
stantly said of the North that what we
wanted was some great man; some great
leader who should organize the various so
cial forces of the country into one CO
herent whole. Those of us who do not
forget readily, will remember how fire.
quently the discovery of such a great
man was enthusiastically shrieked at us by
some fortunate searcher after such. But
thank heaven, we passed through the war
without really finding him. Perhaps the
greatest error we made in that crisis was
believing that we had found him, and at
tempting to make more than a special use
of him. The world is beginning to find out
that society is complex, and war is not its
normal condition that the results of con-
quest can never be permanent; but that in
the moral, as i'll the physical world, the
subtler and finer forces are the stronger as
they are the last to be made use of by man
himself, as he rises in cultivation. From
brute force to steam, from ignorance to in
from hate to mutual sympathy
and love, are the steps by which alone
nations advance is to be tested. To rely
on military organization, or on men trained
in military methods, to direct and apply
the social forces now at work, in any grow
ing civilization, is as absurd as to surrender
the steam engine for the donkey, or to give |
up the telegraph for the swift messenger on
foot.
Meanwhile, however, we must expect, |
upon occasions, to hear the laments for the |
of great men, Many of those |
who assume the ability to criticise and ad
wise. concerning social matters seem to
nave studied in a school where rules pre-
vail like that given by Goldsmith for per
Getting ones self in art criticism. He ad-
rises the person who would speak know
ngly OF picture to say that it would have
,een better had the artist taken more pains,
md then fall to praising the works of Pietro
oerugino. In this spirit we could say of
France that she would have done better
lad she done more, but that Napoleon l.
vas great man, and Cesar overran all
Iaul