Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1896-03-07


why he offered willingly his life
and property for the safety and
honor of Rome. To be thoroughly
practical was the result aimed at by
the Romans. They regarded the
aesthetic culture of the Greeks for
a long period as mere idle amuse-
ment. But they regarded the state
more sacredly than did the Greeks.
1t is due to the re.appearance OF
the tendency to strenuous organi-
zation that the Holy Roman
Empire became so successfully
established after the fall of the
Imperial Roman Empire, and IL
was due to the revival of Roman
Imperialism that the church of the
middle ages, with the pope at its
head, with it's army of priests and
innumerable religious orders,
became so thoroughly organized.
Briefly, the tendency of the Romans
was TO centralize their power.
The third national characteristic
mentioned was the abstract indi-
vidualism of the Teutonic races.
This, in turn, is almost "a direct con-
trast to the practical ihdividualiem
of the Romans, yet il differs
greatly from the Grecian national
characteristic. The abstract indi-
vidualism had for its object only
itself, and must necessarily have
been destroyed had it not been
saved by the influence of Roman
civilization. 1t included respect
for personality, respect for women
and respect for leaders chosen by
themselves tan idea of comrade-
ship.
Their individuality did not con-
slider other motives than recogni-
ton of the peculiar self of the
individual, counting as naught all
possessions, wisdom, justice, sacred
ordinances, and demanding recog-
milton alone.
This trait was always evidenced
when it's individuals engaged in
partisan warfare or settled on
border lands. Yet with all these
traits, after they learned jurispru-
dence and military tactics from the
Romans they assumed mastership
of the world. The tendency of the
Teutons was the opposite of that of
the Romans. 1t was not toward
Capitalization, but toward individ-
ualism. This is manifested in the
actions of the knights of Charl-
mague, in the crusades, during the
middle ages, when feudalism with
it's innumerable chiefs arose, and
later in the German Empire. This
empire has from earliest times
been divided into number OF
petty states opposed to the idea of
Capitalization.
have thus brifly described these
elements in order that they aud
their relation to our present civili-
zation may be better understood.
But there is another factor as
potent as any of these that must
not be omitted if we would thor
oughly understand the origin of all
the threads that unite to form our
civilization. That is the Jewish
monatheistic religion. This 10 the
belief through which we get our
great system of christianity with
it's bearing on our ideas of life.
The Grecian, Roman aud Teutonic
civilization with their polyiheistic
religions did not thoroughly satisfy
the inward longings of man,
although Greece evolved system
of philosophy that is superior 10
some of the present systems of
religion-for example, the Moham-
medan.
These four elcments-the aesthetic
culture of the Greeks, the centrali-
zation of the Romans, the individu-
alism of the Teutons, the mona
theistic religion obtained from the
Jews, are the four ultimate sources
of our modern civilization. These
four elements have been so united
and so blended as to form one
perfect whole. From our present
point of view, aided by the count
less resources now at the hand of
man, we can look back over the
distant ages, learn the cause and
effect of different events, their
relation TO the history of the
nation; detect errors i'm methods of
government, and profit by their
vast experiences. That these four
elements have entered into our
civilization, that they have made il
what II is, to the thinking mind is
irrefutable and needs no further
demonstration.
We have now a civilization that
surpasses all the civilizations the
world has ever seen; by examining
il we see the tendency to bring
intellectual culture to the highest
possible standard; we see the
tendency to centralize all great
forces into one supreme head, but
this is almost perfectly balanced by
the tendency toward individuaIism
which maintains an almost perfect
equilibrium, aud the whole 10
gently tempered by the softening
influence of the ethics taught by
the christian religion.
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