Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-03-14

Weary and disheartened, so runs the
report, he processes himself willing,
and more than willing, to yield to the
restless discomfort of his people, lay
down his thanl1less office, and give way
to the republic for which so many are
clamoring.
1t is not likely that anything of the
sort will be permitted; but that the
luckless though well-intentioned sover-
eign is thoroughly tired of his job is
little to be wondered at. From the days
of Aganemnon until, now. the rulers
of Hellas have found their task a try
ing. one. Yet abdication Is never easy
and rarely expedient or safe.
But quite apart from the attitude OF
the powers-who certainly would not
sanction any such radical change in the
form of government at PRESENT. is
sufficiently obvious to any unprejudiced
observer that stable and successful
self-goyernment in Greece is still long
way off 1t is something that the world
has never yet seen-popular impress
sions to the contrary Notwithstanding
and the world is not likely to see it
for MANY wears to come. The laws of
nature are mightier even than the
powers and their manifesto IS DIS
tinctly against a republic in Greece
1t is not that the modern Greek Is de-
generate-though corruption OF plood
and ages of stultifying oppression nave
assuredly not increased his capacity IN
this direction. The Greek OF today,
nevertheless, is quite as truly Greek as
the Englishman of today is Anglo
Saxon-if anything, rather more SO
and in temperament he is as like his
ancestor of the time of Pericles as one
magpie is like another. Right there is
tbe rub. He is too much like his re-
nowned progenitors; for the inability
of the ancient Greeks to MAINTAIN
repubIic-or democracy, which here
amounts to the same thing-was as
marked as was their zeal for the ex-
pertinent. q
That Greece was never united under
any form of government except viz
tuaI despotism, usually foreign, may be
passed by-though the fact is signlh-
cant. On a more limited scale, how
ever, the pet experiment was tried
again and again, with unapated en-
thusiasm but with invariable collapse.
Even Athens the case usually cited,
only succeeded in convincing nearly all
political philosophers for period of
about two thousand years that demoe-
racv was not a feasible form of gov
ernment; that it was false in theory
and self-destructive in practice. 1t
was left to America, indeed, to prove
the contrary.
IT has been customary to attribute
the failure of free institutions in
Greece-for failure it was, despite
seemingly favorable conditions and
brilliant beginnings-to rampant dema-
goeues and unscrupulous usurpers;
but this is fallacious. Where the soil
is fit weeds are sure to spring up; the
seed is everywhere. 1t is also pointed
out by eager apologists that Greece
finally succumbed to foreign power
and superior force; but united Greek
republic, organized as the Engllsh, for
instance, might have organized 1t,
would easily have anticipated the con-
quests of Alexander and dominated the
known world. Pericles really planned
no less, but even he was unable to
carry out this great project. The fault
was in the people themselves; and the
same fault lies, in the way of their sue
cess today.
What then, is this persistent and ap-
parently incurable national defect?
What was itathat prevented the most
intelligent and spirited people of an
tiquity, with line of battle at sight
of which most of their enemies simply
turned and ran, from reaping the nat
uraI fruits of their unquestioned PROV
ess-and that has made their descend
ants slaves of the Turk and a plaything
of the powers? Without doubt it was
the result of temperament peculiarly
unstable. factious, and emotional; but
this only leads to another question.
How did it come about that they were
cursed with such a temperament? For
remembers X they were of the same es-
sential stock. as the Romans of old and
the English of today,-both remarkable
for logged perseverance and organic
ing power, The problem is an interest
ing one, Sand the writer has a theory.
It will be observed that nearly all
the inhabitants of the peninsulas and
islands of Southern Europe exhibit
much the same temperament,-viva
cious, Volatile, with a marked inapti-
'tude for stable government The Ro-
mans may at first seem to be an ex-
ception, but they-like the Macedo-
mans in their relation to Greece-be-
longed to the upper rather than the
lowerpart of the peninsula. The traits
in question.-are very apparent in the
modern italians and Sicilians. in the
n avian in ia ENraraI
Irish, too-though, like the Greeks,
they rank among the bravest, bright
est and most patriotic peoples the
world has known-have experienced a
similar difficulty in maintaining their
independence. AS in the case of old
Hellas, a, we'll organized and united Ire
land would have been impregnable, but
these were conditions that could not
be secured.
Behind all this lie some curious
facts. A little preliminary explanation,
however, is necessary.
Like most other European peoples,
the Greeks were fundamentally of the
iso-called Aryan stock; but the Greek
traits above described are very un-
sAryan. These Aryans-who are sup
posed to have originated In Central
Asia-were race of blue-eyed blondes
of unusual strength and stature, rather
stolid in temperament, but endowed
with a fierce energy and grim tenaeity
of purpose that made them irresistible
They conceived that their special mis-
sion was to conquer the world; and
thew set about it promptly, with extra
ordinary success. When, in pursuance
of this idea they began to overrun Eu-