Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-09-24
BETTER BE HEATHEN
THIS IS THE. CLAIM OF An EMINENT
2'""r' ANTHRoPoLoGIST.

Professor Petrie Condemns All Attempts
to Spread Civilization Among Inferior
Races-The Evils of Culture-Things to
Teach the Heather.
Worldwide discussion will certainly be
aroused by the remarkable paper read on
Thursday mt the meeting of the British as
ISOLATION by Professor Flinders Petrie, the
eminent anthrOpologist and Psychologist
He condemned, almost without reserya-
sion, all attempts to spread civilization
among the inferior races of the world. His
criticism was applied even to such so
called elementary forms of education as
reading and writing. He commended that
the greatest problems awaiting solution
are the conditions and rate of assimilation
of the races, or what period and kind of
life is needed for climatic and other causes
to have effect on the constitution and
structure. What are the causes of perna-
hence of type and what relative powers Of
absorption has one race over anotherY
The professor asks for an anthrOpological
museum or Storehouse ON large SCALE
He insists that the civilization of any race
is not system that can be changed at will
and continues
"We may despotically force bald and
senseless imitation of our ways on another
people, but we shall only destroy their life
without implanting any vitality in its
place. No change Is legitimate or bcne-
fetal to the real character of a people ex-
oept what flows from conviction and nat
ural growth of mind, and, if the imposi-
ton of foreign system is Injurious how
miserable is the forcing of a system such
as ours, which is the most complex, I'M
natural and artificial that has been known,
system developed in a cold country, amid
one of the hardest, least sympathetic, most
self denying and calculating of all the
peoples of the world2 Such a system, the
product of such extreme conditions, we
attempt to force on the least developed
races and expect from them implicit sub
servance to our illogical law and our in
consistent morality.
"The result is death. We make a death
house and call it civilization. Scarcely a
single race can bear the burden, and then
we talk complacently about the mysterious
decay of savages before white men,"
AS an illustration of his theories the
professor referred to the Europeanized
Egyptian. whom he describes as in most
cases the mere blotting paper of civiliza-
ton, absorbing what is most superficial
and undesirable. He asserted that the
Egyptian who has had reading and writ,
ing thrust on him is, in every case he met
with, half witted silly or incapable Of
taking care Of himself. His intellect and
health were undermined and crippled by
the forcing of education. He continued:
The general impression in England is
that reading, writing and arithmetic
are clements of education. They might
be so to us, but they assuredly are not
so to other races The exquisite art
and noble architecture of Mycene, the
undying song Of Homer, the extensive
trade of the bronze age-all belonged to
the people who never read or wrote Some
of my best friends in Egypt are happily
Ignorant of such accomplishments, and
assuredly never encourage them to any
such useless waste of their brains. The
great essentials of valuable character
moderation justice, sympathy, politeness
and consideration, quick observation,
shrewdness, keen sense of the uses and
properties of things-all these are qualities
on which l value my Egyptian friends,
and such qualities are what should be
evolved by any education worth the name.
No brain, however humble, will be worse
for such education, which is hourly in
use, while in the practical life of simple
community the accomplishments of read
ing and writing are not needed perhaps for
week or a month at a time.
The keenest interest is taken by some
races, probably by all, in geography, modes
of government, social systems, and in most
countries the elements of hygiene and i'm
provements in dwellings and in the arts
of life may be taught with the best results.
There Is therefore wide field for the edu-
cation Of even the lowest races without
throwing great strain ON their mental
powers.
Professor Petrie made no direct attack
upon modern missionary effort but the
bearing of his remarks is so obvious in
this direction that storm of controversy
will be excited.-Special Cable to New
York Sun.