The Saint Paul globe., 1904-06-05

Where is there another such conquest
IN history? The gold and silver OF
America built the palaces. the bridges
ana roads, the fortifications, the uni
versitieS, and the printing establish
ments of Europe. 1t developed the
trade and the Manufacture of modern
times.
Let us turn to the world OF letters.
When the revival of learning began,
even before the time of printing; who
wrote Tor the young men the poem OF
/ human life and duty called the Cen
tlloquy?S Was, 1t not SantilIana?
Even when it could not be copied in
sufficient numbers, the youths OF Spain
learned by heart. from oral teach
ing. its hundreds of lines of proverbial
wisdom.
1 When Shakespeare passed away,
upon whom did his mantle fall? There
was but one other Shakespeare. 1t was
Calderon. Neither French nor Ger
man literature possesses such a name.
drama of deeper philosophy than
Hamlet contains is his Life Is a
Dream. A greater Faust" than
Goethe's is his Wonderful Magician"
One hundred and eight in number are
his dramas. Before him was Lope de
Vega, with his incredible output OF
2.2O0 plays, which educated the Span
ism people In all history and legend,
sacred and profane, and developed the
Spanish language in beauty and III
power. Who preceded Irving as
writer of elegant letters of the modern
sort? Was 1t not LARA, the beloved
Figaro" who gave direction to mod
ern periodical literature?
In Santiilana are all incentives to
purity, honesty, truthfuinesS, charity
every Christian virtues In Calderon
are expressions declarative OF personal
and political rights, appeals for free
dom, which breathe the very spirit OF
Jefferson and Of Patrick Henry Who
laughed away with gentle humor, and
without the acid or caustic of satire,
the abSurditfes OF the outgroWn sys--
tenn of chivalry Who but Cervantes?
In the religious world who ever sur
passed in the fervoP of his zeal and the
sublimity Of his conceptions as an or
ganizer Ignatius Loyola? In art, what
nation would not be proud Of Murillo
and Velasquez?
In its record of many centuries. what
university can vie with that of Sala-s
manca? In didactics, what work was
greater than the introduction into Eu-
rope of Arabic figures and the formu-
latfon of modern arithmetic by the
spanish? What student can place an
adequate estimate Of the debt of the
world to the Spaniard? Let him pre-
pare himself well for the task, who
undertakes it.
But Spain is long dead, we are told.
Even SO, IL 1t be true, for we are
speaking Of the Spaniard In history,
and not in modern life. But is it true?
In the latter half Of the last century
a Spanish empress led the whole world
OF fashion and taste from her brilliant
throne In the most powerful state of
| Europe, and Spanish thought and life
In their higher forms were reflected In
the person of Eugenia, to brighten the
life Of the nations. What of the fu-
ture?
Is there not now greater Spain to
| be reckoned with? The Spaniard of
the Argentine, with his capital city OF
million people, his marvellous energy
and his liberal government, is forging
ahead. The Spaniard of Chile is
hand In hand with him. Other South
american states are catching the step.
The Spanish world is growing, and will
continue to grow, while other national
tiles are relatively dropping behind.
The English Speakfng world is lead
| ing all others now., Saxon and Norman
French were blended 500 years ago to
form an napproachable combination.
Each supplied what the other lacked.
May not the twentieth century ef-
feet another combination in which the
English speaking race and the Span
| ish-speaking race will join for the ad-
vancement of civilization in its highest
form? Even In old Spain the forces
Of progress are working. Barcelona
leads the world in its practical expert
ments in sociological reform. The soul
of Castelar, goes marching on in the po-
litical world OF Spain.
Let us be not too sure that the Span
lard exists only in the history of the
past His language. will be spoken
more, and not less. His literature,
both classic and contemporaneous, will
be more and more widely read One
need not be an enthusiast to predict
for him an important part in the un-
folding life OF the new century upon
which we have entered, and in the long
centuries to come.