The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1885-07-02
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What next is the great problem which has
been discussed by every generation, and will
continue to be discussed for ages to come
Every year some change takes place, some
scientific discovery, some advance in civiliza-
tion,-in moral and religious ideas-some
change in the manners and customs OF the
people; and every day we see more and more
of the great goodness of Him who is ever de-
lighting us with something new and beautiful.
What can we expect in future? What have
as we look through a glass to examine the
form of objects, so we must study antiquity
in order to understand the present and to fore
tell the future.
Therefore, let us look back for a moment to
the time of the Greeks and Romans. Between
these and the oriental nations there was a
marked contrast. The oriental government
was despotic, and completely crushed the spir-
it of individual freedom. That spirit first finds
play in Europe where we shall see the rights
of man asserting themselves in free, self-goy-
erning States. This is the great contribution
which Greece has given to the worlds civili-
zation.
Though some of their laws were cruel and
unjust, yet as a nation we must respect and
honor them, for they established the first de-
m~ocracy-"the government of, for, and by the
people," An example of the cruelty of their
laws is seen in the treatment of their child
rem. Those who were weak were exposed to
perish, while the strong were allowed to live,
and at the age of seven were separated from
their homes to be educated by the State. Who
could have any respect for laws that would
expose to perish such children as were too
weak to endure the hardships and fatigue of
a military career? Could they aid their coun-
try in no way except by the profession of
arms? Is wisdom, prudence, generosity, cour-
age, and in fact all the qualities which char
actnrlyp a noble man tn he utrarIy QlSre gard
ed? Did Lycurgus render less service or do
less honor to Sparta by establishing his laws,
than did the greatest generals by their victo-
ries? Agesilans was so small of statue, and
so mean in power, that at first sight the Per-
SLAMS were provoked to laughter; vet small as
he was, his genius and learning made the
great King of Persia tremble on his throne of
half the world. Does not the commandment
"Thou shalt not kill" condemn all those an
cient monarchs who held in their hands the
life or death of their subjects? Another great
defect of these institutions was that they
tended to make a nation of soldiers, caring
little for the cultivation of the mind. There
fore, they neglected the study of the arts and
sciences, and all other advantages which tend
to soften our manners, improve our heart, and
render our behavior civil, courteous and OBJ
liging. Though this was the case in Sparta,
vet in other parts of Greece the fine arts
reached a degree of perfection such as was
never before seen or never since surpassed.
The Greeks had a strange, yet interesting re-
ligion: fN them the trees, the clouds, and the
waters were living beings. The dawn and
the cleaning were living persons, connected
with the brilliant god whose daily approach
awoke all things from slumber and whose de-
parture left the world in darkness as repulsive
as the shades of death. To them the sun was
Helics, the inhabitant of a house so dazzling
in its splendor that no mortal could look on
its glory and live. All these with a thousand
others were to the Greeks objects of love or
fear; and the worship of some of these may
be regarded as the foundation of that brilliant
social life on which we still look with undi-
minished admiration. From these gods thu
planets were named. Mercury was the mes
senger and feetest of gods, hence the planet,
on account of the rapidity of its revolutions,
was named for him. The second and most
brilliant of the planets was named for Venus,
the GODDESS of love and beauty. In like man
ner other planets are named for these gods to
which they bear scr,e resemblance, real or fam
ciful. Ssme of the days of the week and of the
month are also thus named. The Romans
were the last and greatest nation of antiquity.
This race first coming into notice as a small
a strong and vigorQSs republic, conquering
all the other races on the peninsula and finally
pushing its conguests beyond the bounds of
Italy. About the birth of Christ it became a
great imperial and world-ruling power. The
Romans claimed to be descendants of Aereas,
gun VI nhSbloVo1 viz hSCiiS tiOh a
city and a kingdom overthrow, is borne by
the fates to Italy and the Lavinian,
where he founded a city. The Romans were
constantly waging war with the other nations,
and by these conquests a great amount of
wealth poured into Rome, which enabled them
to improve and beautify their city; and so
beautiful was it made during the reign of Au-
gustus. that it is said he found Rome brick
and left it marble. They built magnificent
temples and theatres, besides the Capital, the
Forum and the Colosseum. There were many
different religions in the Roman empire, but
the principal one up to the time, when Chris
tianity was introduced, was paganism.
At the time of the introduction of Christi
anity the outward appearance of Rome was
that of peace, unity and prosperity; but the
real condition was that of decline. 0ne-half
the population consisted of slaves, and there
was so great an inequality in the distribution
of wealth that while one class was reyeling in
the lap of luxury the other was enduring the
pangs of hunger. There was no middle class,
no institutions for relieving the distress ofthe
poor and infirm, no public hospitals, no socie.
ties for the improvement of mankin from mo-
tives of charity. There was nothing lone tc
promote the education of the lower classes
nothing to relieve the miseries of domestic
slavery. The Romans were conquered by the
Barbarians 476 A. D., which brings us to the
middle ages, embraced in a period from the
9TH to the 10Th century. This time has beer
| ~ DdEh Ages. DuI IL dJuSleT NleV
be taken of it, it would be called the germina
ting season, when the seeds of modern civil
cation having been cast into the soil is quick
ening into new institutions and new nations
so that when we see modern society in the I5tl
and 10th centuries assuming the form whicl
it still wears, We must remember that it grey
into that shape in these dark ages. The fit
teenth century was ushered in with a grea
revival in learning, with great marinitine an,
scientific discoveries, and the world seeme'
to have just awakened from a long sleep. |
was in this century that Columbus, hoping t
find a western passage to the Indies, discov
cred America.
By the fall of Constantinople many learne
Greeks were compelled to take refuge in Ital
and other parts of Europe, and these carrie
with them their treasures of classic LORE
Among scholars this produced an arden
search for buried and neglected manuscripts
and their diligence was rewarded by man
precious of Greek and Roman lii
~erature; and it was this that turned men
minds to the invention of printing, which
, fifty termed the cart preservative of all tn
arts" During the latter part of this centur
the fuedal system, which had prevailed durin
the middle ages, Utmost entirely passed away
And knighthood, that brightest flower of til
age, which did so much for the elevation {
man and the honor of women, died with S
Philip Sidney, ''the last of the old knights. tn
poet, the critic, and the Christian In til
sixteenth century the people began to take a
interest in astronomy, and Copernicus, Gal
leo, Kepler and Newton so diligently Studio
the heavens that they completely overtime
. the old Ptolemic theory which had been b,
5 lieved for so many centuries. The nation;
; intellect then took shape in a literature wbic
is an eternal possession to mankind. For TIL
D was the famous Elizabethan period made oil,
riOus by the names of ShaksDeara and II;