The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1886-11-06
SATURDAY. NOV. 6. 1886.
PROGRESS.

steam and electricity Will consider
the statement of an old-time writer,
that there is nothing new under
the sum- as absolutely correct,
people of reading and research are
beginning to realize that much OF
what modern advancement has
boasted of as new was known to
the ancients, was lost by their des-
cendants, and has been merely re-
discovered in recent times. In a
certain sense and in certain parti-
culars advancing civilization is
going back-not backwards. That
is, going back and picking up know
ledge and learning possessed by the
ancients and forgotten by succeed
ing generations; for many OF the
acuuirements of modern times,
which are generally considered new,
were old to ages away in the remote
past. Going back in this way is
not retrograding, or going from
better to worse, but is advancing,
in the sense of rising from lower
to higher grade. Notwithstanding
the fact that a very high degree of
civilization was attained thousands
of years ago by nations of the earth
that afterwards sank into obscurity,
they were apparently, on the whole,
long way behind the most adj
vanced nations of the present day.
Progress has been steadily on the
march for centuries, and the nearer
the present the greater has been its
speed, until in decade of this age
as much advancement is made rs
during period of ten times as long
in the not very distant past. We
have not to search far back to find
matter of surprise and amusement
in the ignorance and superstition of
peoples who are now in the very
front ranks of enlightenment. No
doubt, the world is still more back
ward than it may be willing to admit,
and unborn generations will prob
ably refer to our time as time of
ignorance and standardization.
One thing may be predicted with
measure of certainty, that civili-
zation with all its concomitants will
continue to progress, in spite of any
and all obstacles that may be thrown
in the way of its advance. The set
backs of the past can scarcely occur
in the future. A period of brilliant
intellectual achievements can hardly
be again followed by ages of dark
ness, ignorance and superstition ;
for the reason that we now have one
useful invention which the ancients
knew nothing of-the printing
press-and through its agency what
is known worth knowing in one
place soon becomes known through.
out civilization. 1t is now almost i'm,
possible by any human means tc
obliterate the knowledge acquired
If one valuable library, like that ot
Alexandria, be destroyed by fire
the information it contains can bt
found in thousand others.
Hawaii, too, in common with the
rest of the would, is bound to retair
what she has acquired and to con
tinue rising higher. Her civiliza
tion is young, its commencement
scarcely dating back two genera
tions. She has made rapid stride
in the short space of time. A
could not be otherwise reasonabl,
expected, her people have still mucl
to acquire to place them abreast o
the leaders of civilization. But the,
have made a good start, and canno
again return to the heather super
stitions and practices of half
century or so ago. True, at TIL
present time, there appears to be
desire and an effort in certain quar-
ters from which better things wer
expected, to revive the beliefs ant
doings of the dark past, but tn
better educated portion of the nativ'
people is too enlightened to speal
of them other than with cOntemp
and ridicule. This effort will prob
ably result in degradation ant
shame to the actors, while there il
good ground of hope that the peopi'
will ultimately rise above the super
stitious absurdities sought TO be i'm
posed upon them.