Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1895-12-14
CIVILIZATION A FAILURE:
Dr. Retrie's Sensation Before the British,
Scientists.

Dr. Retrie's Sensation Before the British.
Scientists
The most important address made at
the recent session of the British Asso--
citation of Scientists was that of Prof.
w. NJ. Flinders Petrie, d. c. L., LII d..
Edwards professor of Egyptology at
University college, London. DR.. Petrie
is one of the most celebrated of British
anthropologists. His address was, on.
Race and Civilization and in the
course of it he said:
''The foremost principle which should
be- always in view is that the civiliza-
ton of any race is not system which
can. be changed at will. Every civiliza--
ton, is, the growing product of a, very
complex, set of conditions, depending on
race and character, on climate, ontrade
andeyery minutia of the circumstances.
To attempt to alter such a system apart
from it's conditions is impossible Mo-
charge is legitimate or beneficial to the
real character of people except what
flows from conviction and the natural,
growth of the mind. And if the imposi-
tiOn of aforeign system is injurioushow.
miserable is the forcing of a system,
such as ours, which is the most complex,
unnatural and artificial that has been.
known, a system developed in. a cold
country amid one of the hardest, least
sympathetic and most self-denying and
calculating of all people of the world.
The result is death; we make a, dead
house and call it civilization. Scarcely
single race can bear the contact and.
the burden. And then we talk, COM
placently about the mysterious decay uf,
savages before white men.
Let us now turn to our attempts on a.
higher race, the degenerated andiArabi--
anized descendants of, a great, peoples,
the Egyptians. Here there is much,
ability to work on and also a. good
standard of comfort and morality, con-
formable to our notions. Yet the plant+
ing of another civilization is scarcely to-
be borne by them. The Europeanized.
Egyptian is in most cases the mere blot
ting paper of civilization, absorbing
what is most superficial and undesir-
able Yet some Will say: Why notr
plant all we CAM What can. be the.
harm of raising the intellect in some.
cases, if we cannot do it in ALP The.
harm is that you manufacture idiots.
Some of the peasantry are taught to,
E6Stu anu WTICo, anu the
burden which their fathers,hore not, is,
that they become fools. l cannot say
this too plainly; an Egyptian whoghas.
had reading and writing thrust on. him.
IS in every case that ] have met, half
witted, silly orincapable oftakingrcaro,
of himself His intellect and his health
have been undermined and crippled bx
/ the forcing of education.
Our bigotad belief in. reading. ana
writing is notsin the least justified when
/ we look at the mass of mankind Tkss
Exquisite art and nobla architecture OF
Mykenae, the undying. song Of Homer.
/ the extensive trade OF the bronze age,
all belonged to people who never- read
or wrote The great essentials of
| valuable eharacter-moden2tiO f0SJ-
ice, sympathy, polateness, and eonsid-
eration, gaick observation, shrex6dness,
ability TO plan and preaTGangee a keen
sense of the uses. and properties of
thingS-an these are tie qualities Gu
which value my Egyptian friends, and
suca qualities are what should be-
evsixeEi by any educ&tion worth tin
nazne. The gseatest educational inf 4r.
eaee. however, is, example. This IL
ehvions whea we sac hG1w rapidly allR
seurses of our civilization spread an4R5tg
jthose unhappily subjected TO it.
1.-The contact Of Europeans with aeRser
races is almost always detrimeIsa> and
it is the Sevcrest rejection on ourselves
that such shonld be the case. IN. Y.
WoTlG
The desire to be beloved is ever
.%stless and unsatisfeds but the love
that flows out uDon offers IS q 1,erIA1fu.