The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-01-01
Nineteen Centuries
Of Human Progress

! Blcn. the iaLter DeinB at tnaJ time the
] guiding spirit in the regeneration Of So
! ciety. For as the religious were the only
! men of learning and culture during that
/ period. it was mainly through their care
J that the works of pagan literature have
/ been preserved, as it was on their teach
| ing that depended the growth of Christian
| faith. involving its sublime morality and
! civilizing influences. The whole great
/ tide of barbarian enthusiasm was thus. at
/ length, turned in the direction of reli-
/ gious zeal. which manifested itself in all
/ its yigOr in the subsequent history OF
| Chivalry and the Crusades.
] Letters had continued TO decline for
nearly five hundred years, until II ey
reached their lowest ebb in the tenth cen
| fury. Soon after this period in Italy at
| least. occurred the first dawnings of the
Renaissance, or general revival Of fE-
Client literature and art. The lamp of
! learning, however. continued to burn dur
! ing the darkest night of the Middle Ages.
| In that period, too. woman was elevated
/ socially from the virtual condition Of serf-
| dom she occupied during pagan antiquity.
! Universities were established, and these
centres of learning were attended by stu
dents who came as pilgrims from all over
| the world. The Justinian code OF laws,
/ upon which is founded all modern juris-
| prudence was formulated. Modern Ian
guages were constructed, paper was first
made. the art of printing was discovered,
| musical notation was reduced to its pres
ent system, modern principles of com
mercial intercourse were instituted, the
first banks and postofllces were establish
cd, gunpowder. glass. spectacles, the mar
iners compass, were invented, algebra
was introduced from the East, clocks
were first made; painting revived, and
Gothic architecture marked the triumph
of a distinct and noble art. Last, not
least, America was discovered by Column
bus.
Thus during an apparently perilous pc
riod the modern nations arose from the
chaos of barbarism, and when, at the
period of the Renaissance. they turned
again toward Rome, it was not to destroy,
but to piece together what was left that
they might render homage at length to
the genius of the grand old nation.
The Age of Princes.
The sixteenth. seventeenth, and eight
eenth centuries. may be described as con-
shutting the age of princes. as the past
100 years has inaugurEted that of the peo-
pie. During the former period the glory
that was Italy and the grandeur that was
Spain flourished and decayed, yielding to
the later development and perhaps great
er vitality of the Northern peoples.
But here let US pause a moment to rem
der due tribute &c, greatness passed away.
never forgetting that every age and ma
ton has left to posterity the fruits of its
labors in the cause Of human progress.
1t was an Italian who discovered the
shores of America, and this he was enabled
to do through the munifcence of a Spanish
sovereign. The splendor of Italy is attest
ed in those wonderful creations of art and
literature which, springing from the ru
ms of antiquity, blossomed with a beauty
all their own. From the earliest dawn of
Ia ha q
lively, and penetrating, was not only en-
bodied in the works of the artist but was
exercised in the field of natural science.
that hitherto unexplored realm, at which
the ancients had gazed but distantly.
The influence of southern Europe faded
only when It's light had spread among the
Northern peoples. France, because near
est to Italy. first profited by the universal
ly refining tendencies Of the latter nation.
But German and other European monarchs
had contended with France in inviting the
Italian artists and philosophers to their
Kingdoms, and thus was disseminated the
inspiration Of the Renaissance. The hardy
nations of the north drank eagerly the
rich draughts of knowledge thus carried
to them. Sturdy England brilliant
France, patient Germany. rapidly became
the dominant influences in the civilized
world. The original genius of each of
and abundant fruit.
The Elizabethan age in England saw
most notable assemblage OF great men. |
Shakespeare, "the myriad minded" Bacon, |
1.-THE most exquisitely constructed intellect |
that has ever been bestowed on any of the |
children of men," Raleigh, the embodi- |
ment of English pluck and daring; Drake, |
the bold navigator who enriched litera- |
ture and science, and extended British |
territory.
Spain, Portugal, and Holland yielded |
gradually, one by one, the supremacy of |
the seas TO Britain. and "the wave-girt |
isle" first building about itself its mighty !
oaken armor. and then sending to every |
quarter OF the world Its colonist adventu-
rers, gradually became the Colossus of |
Europe. France, however, ranking close
beside England as a political power, be-
came the leading social influence.
Decay of FeudaI,sm.
The society OF the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries was formed upon the
ruins of the older feudalism which, ex-
emplified in its decline in France, was
first undermined by that marvel of craft
and cunning. Louis XII and overthrow
completely by his successor, Louis XIV.
But those great monarchs who had clip
ped the power OF the feudal lord and ex-
ence back OF the latter-the people
Circumscribing their view within the
limits of their courts. they did not per-
ceive the unification of interest they had
given to the many outside that golden
circle. With the fall of feudalism the
people united and became a menace to the
crown. The divine right of kings became
questioned by certain daring spirits Men
talked with each other through the me-
dunn of the printing press. Philosophers
arose who held up to ridicule the contra
dictions in fact involved in certain old and
revered tenets. The wrongs inflicted by
many old institutions were glarngly re- |
yealed. A Voltaire and a Swift scoffed
while Rousseau wept. Madame DuBarry
said to Louis XIV: After us. the deluge"
She was right. AS long as the King could
maintain his ancient prerogatives with
dignity and control the actions OF his
ministers with wisdom and judgment he
was safe. But it took giants to do this
With the advent of a George III and a
Louis XVI. the storm that had been gath
ering over the inane heads OF their i'm
mediate predecessors burst in all its fury.
The Birth of Liberty.
The American colonies, groaning under
the tyranny OF the British Government.
were first to proclaim the universal rights
of man, and to enforce them at the point
of the sword. Europe looked on amazed
at that wonderful struggle: the princi-
pies enunciated in the Declaration of In
dependence shone with dazzling radiance
before the peoples of the Old World. They
knew not, at first. whether these new
doctrines were inviolable truths. or only
the carnations from the brains OF mad
men. The first shot at Lexington was
heard around the world The tidinps !