New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-12-01
CITILIZATTO
WHAT IT DOES FOR THE BARBARIAN.

From The London Spectator
1t is difcult to exasserate the Importance Of ne
subject which Flinders Petrie brought before
the British Association last week in his paper
"Ciylliz,ton" and continued in speech on Tues
day Western Europe Is expanding great part OF its
surplus strength. intellectual and physical. In the
effort to recivize the dark world. Asiaiic and
African: and Mr. Petre, who has watched the K
perIment for years from the inside. believes that
jts object and its methods alike mistaken There
would be little gained. he thinks. II II succeeded. for
the inferior civilizations are developments ~
natural and as fitted for those among whom they
arise as the higher. and IL cannot succeed by tho
means 1t has adopted. 1t Is impossible TO superseds
rapidly a low civilization by a hign one, because
the indispensable pressure so affects the brain that
II either destroys the subjected to It, or pos
lively lowers instead OF raising It's intellectual
capacity S1vages perish under tie burden OF
European education: while the semicivilzed races
when taught to read and wrlte-i. e.. we presume.
taught the European currculum-become positive
fools The Arabs OF Egypt, for example. become
comparatively idiots. The strength which was In
them il overtasked, and they lose most OF the
eificencies they originally possessed That Is very
serious Indictment of Europe, and its method OF
improving the races II has conquered or Intends to
conquer and as the question concerns the whole
future Of the world. and as Flinders Petre 10
a man whose opinion on such subject heserveay
carries weight. 1t is worth while to consider for
q moment how far his decision appears to be )usti-
fled by the facts
There can be no question of a great mass Of
evidence in Flinders Petrie's favor. European
civilization undoubtedly killed out or is killing
out the Polynesian races, one Of which, at least.
was possessed originally Of remarkable intellectual
as well physical powers 1t has failed to I'M
press though 1t has not killed out, the wild Indian
OF America. who. in seveta places where he was
partially civilized. has in his horror OF the process
recoed to barbarIsm, while 1T must be considered.
on the whole, to have lowered rather than raised
the civilization of the partially civilized races Of
America such as the Mexican, and more especially
the Indian Of Peru. I, has lowered. Mr.. Petrie at
firms the settled Arab of the Egyptian Delta While
close observers doubt whether 1t has made the
Hndoo. the Turk, or the Chinese either an ADLER
or a better man. The Frenchfeld Pacha is great
deal than the old Turk, the educated China-
man is not better than the Chnaman proper. while
the cultured Bengalee has lost many beneficial re.
straints and gained nothing except power Of ex.
pressing European Ideas upon which he does no.
disposed to act. To attribute the failure the
arts OF reading and writing is. Of course. mere
fashion Of speech, Asiatics not being made feeble
by knowledge of their own lite atures but it is
that Asiatics learned in the knowledge Of Europe
persons who derive from Europe nothing but certain
nkstans, which leave them rather more rotten than
before Moreover 1t is that originality appears
to die away among the races brought into violent
arts decline TIL they cannot even repeat their own
artistic triumphs, and that they appear incapable
has been acknowledged by many among themselves
with deep sadness, and has SO Impressed experi-
of them have doubted If the whole experiment Is
plans for carrying on the native phosopSes to a
higher point. instead of superseding them II
siders the machinery Of civilization railway and
the telegraph and sanitation-appears to have no
adopt it. they all remaining barbarans. in South
Africa or sem-ciyilzed. as in Spanish America and
Those are facts. and they must be scrrowfuIly
acknowledged II we are ever TO arrive at sound
cluSiOnS the subject, but then there facts
upon the other side some OF them Of almost Over
savages who overwhelmed the RomIn Empire were
certainly not killed out by the pressure OF the
fools; on the contrary, they founded the natisns
mich Sr 30 are NANCY now The world and RTOa
Petrie Il cannot be said that, like Mr.. Per, ;
by the culture Of ages. and therefore took cvili-
zaton readily. for their forefathers were as savage
SRarb,arlans, as much 50 as any SIOnsOi tribe
saSi higher and not nfs
but ultimately improving a lower 50 improving
work aps she eaR viii pn consdr her as moa
there admirably, well performed Again, though
in Polynesia it does not xii out 'V the u lowest ~
bsrbarians the nesr9ss but on the contrary m9der
Islands and OF the Southern States of the Union are
though those who live among them in any sym ppaP
eredit them with many tne qualities but they have
peans while to compare them morally or Intellect
ualy with their knsfolk on the Niger the Congo
would certainly not say that the seml-cvlllzed race
wh f ha ugh b Itself % decidedly IN so1a,t
superiority. has been enfeebled by the association
we Do not sf think quite ts 20
much either Of poiteness or OF art; but certainly
n arts W' IN IN 6e @
decided decide way Their Europeanized leaders are GER
have they less power than before OF imposing them.
ssyes ,hs the ss world There are h6s ghG OSs
we should not admit that for one moment. en-.
training Of their sovernns eass they ' have becom
numbers for numbers. the most effective OF the
balance s in our minds against Mr.; PetrIe derived
cannot but suspect that with all his great .ex-
perience. he makes rather commonplace mistakes
centuries not years for the higher civilization to
a%p assp Of the and IN the
w5eres se ad Know O6 The nsGF a apt to
the white savases who Invaded the Roman Empire.
t hduS wye fancy Roman patrican would hav:
silly as Mr. Petrie holds his Euroreanized Arabs
CHANGE wheh the may oe oD from r.
superior race which nstinctivey dislkes limitations
who initiates him badly in dress and bearing and
which exaggerates the feebenesses and vulgarltes
Of the most different intellectual standing and use
funess under the generic title "Baboo And lastly
ton for example. Of dress unsuited alike to the
substitution. for instance. OF confidence in law for
confidence In individual Wills. That change. known
to be proceeding IN Indie; and said to be dscernble
even IN Egypt-where the higher civilization only
and may in process Of time remodel those bases OF
thought upon which civilizations are ultimately
built And, finally Mr.. Petrle. though he acknow'-
edges. and indeed to minds eXaggerates. the
force OF example and the influence OF strict justice
does not allow for the effect OF the grand change
which the reign Of the higher civilization in our
days always produces. thu suspension OF perma
ter terror to play too great part in daily NE eve,
terrorism known as taboo" The Asiatlc ana stu
more the African left TO himself is under terror all
MS life-terror OF the deites. terror OF withcraf
terror OF the powerful. terror OF the midnight mu-
derer IT Is terror protracted for ages which has
made him so callous TO all suffering but his own,
and which has left him the being. at once submis-
sive ana terocious: which he usually IS The reign
q ,,l L. lhLa.Is