New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-11-13

was an abiect, hopeless incapable Inns lacc
! lies az the bottom Of the failure OF The olciIlan
! population 10 form Nation or TO achieve cohuoi
even over themselves. II may be taken lot
/ Granted that the original tribes Of Sicily were
weak both mentally and physically as compared
with their neighbors No race was ever driven
from a continent to an island as long as ~ coulu
! hold It's own. So their weakness was no s'fehsth
TO the Greeks The latter had from the hrst the
best Of teaching They learned the value OF
union before their brethren in Old Greece Her
mocrates srove TO impress upon them the "isuo"'
Of holding Sicily for the Scilians. But they
! could not learn. Few Greeks OF those times at
| least could see further than the walls OF Their own
city. While the cooniss were free the history
of their portion OF the island f. history Of mutual
destruction They were prosperous only when
their spirit was broken and their irrational rage
/ restrained by a dictator like Donysius. What
they learned under their tyrants was not the les
| son Of self-control but the lesson OF patience
under the rule of others. even when that rule was
unjust and oppressive The change from native
| tyrants 70 Roman praetors was not one 10 SUIT
their resentment Only when Roman extortlen
became uncomfortable did they complain Cicero
seems IN his attack Verres TO take for granted
that there must always be some oppression In n
provincial administration. Only the Siclians, he
says were such good, quiet people that they dld not
complain unless oppression got much worse than
usual" From Cicero's point of view they were
doubtless good and quiet Their quarres among
| themselves were so much the more convenient for
Rome. And so far as these quarrels were con-
cerned their spirit was valiant as II had ever
| been.
OF organization in any wide or potent sense they
had always been incapable, and now the Roman
If b, slyillful diyision rendered all
organization outside of Single cities impossible
! Under native rulers the Sicilians had TO pay a
tenth to the government But the revenue was
spent at home. Now they had to pay the tenth
10 Rome 1t was an annual drain, with no return
As the privilege OF collecting the tax was farmed
out TO private persons it was increased by every
! method of eXtOrtion. Under such conditions the
CAPACITY of sustained free labor was atrOphicd as
rapidly as that of self-government Then came
landordsm, absenteelsm, vast troops OF slaves
slave wars, and, the Empire gradually fell INTO
decay piracy and devastation on scale thar
threatened to turn the most fertile spot OF Europe
into desert Yet at intervals there incidents
that show that the traits of the population have
remained the same As individuals they were
still capable of the same Gallantry which their
forcfathers had exhibited. But from first 70
last Sicily was a congeries OF political atoms in
capable OF cohesion, the play'hlng OF States tlat
were inferior to il in everything except the
genius OF combination"
The circumstances under which the book is
published render necessary a statement as 10 the
condition in which II was left by the author
This - made in the preface written by other
hands 1t is there explained that with the en-
cepton of the headings from pages 20' onward,
and the index, which has been drawn up as far as
possible on the lines Of those made by the author
himself for his greater work the whole OF the sheets
had been passed for press by Mr.. Freeman before
he left England his last journ6v-a journey 10
SPAIN undertaken with a special view TO the
better understanding of tie later parts Of his great
work The present volume goes down TO the cnl
OF the Roman dominion and tho last part Of the
book which deals with Sicily as Roman prov
inco, covers period which, in contradistinctIon
TO his usual practice. he had not yet written in
the larger form The volume is copiously illus
trated with reproductions of coins. maps and