The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1905-01-27
THE ANCIENT GREEKS
THEY WERE MASTERS IN THE
SCIENCE OF GOVERNMENT.

the impression that the ancient Greek
was east in the heroic mold. The he
role Greek was turbulent. master
ful. egotistic dcmigod. lie had no
counterpart in any historical figure eX'
ccpt Alexander the Great, who deem.
ed himself descendant Of Achilles
the sea nymph's son, and acted very
much like him.
The Greek Of history was nm uncom
monty consistent republican. In the
tolerance he gave 10 individualism ana
the capacity he showcd-lnside his city
statc-for collective action he carried
the science OF government and OF po-
ltical self control In some respects to
n height from which all subsequent
history Is a descending slope. While
maintaining democratic standards, he
did not enforce nor bow 10 that tyran-
nous and narrowing public opinion
which In our own time threatens 10
cast all men IN much the same mold.
He found n place I'm his scheme OF
things for diversitics Of natural bent
for the effeminate dress Of Alcibiades,
the tub Of Dogenes, the rnilings OF
Cleon, the austerities Of Aristides, the
satire Of ArlstOphancs, the arrogance
of Phocion. The democracy Of Athens
was never the democracy Of the dead
level 1t meant opportunity, not
steam roller.
AZ crcditable n story Is told on the
side OF collective action. Greek politics
implied. az Mahalfy has observed, "the
reasonable discussion OF the public, the
final decision of the majority, the sub
mission Of magistrates and rulers To
the will Of the people" The Greek
multitude" was tolerant, patient, 10y
al TO its leaders and capable, as II
showed I'm the PelopOnncSlan war, OF
making exemplary sacrifices and Of in
itiating aud maintaining course OF
action for protracted period. The
whole population Of Athens. for In
stance. abandoned the country and
took to their ships, leaving the enemy
TO destroy their city and their posses
sions while they sought him and finally
conquered him on the sea. For that
fortitude II would be impossible TO find
Il modern parallel,
The civic qualities are uppernost In
the great period Of Greek historya
keen appreciation Of humor that acted
as safety valve TO the turbulence of
assemblies, an aptitude at public
speaking which was useful I'm battle ns
I'm council. Every free Greek was at
once legislator, an orator, n potential
admiral or general
There was one capital defect in the
Hellenic character. The individual
Greek could not stand prosperity. Ar
Grote nut IL, "Thc effects Of n copious
draft of glory Oh the temperament or
an cnterprising and ambitious Greek
were perfectly maddcning." He was
good loser, but nearly always bad
winner. Almost every conspicuous
Greek Of history became at the end
corruptionist or n traitor. Miltiades,
victor of Marathon, became pirate
and died I'm imprisonment. Themisto
cles was negotiating TO bctray the Gre
elan armament 10 the great king the
day before he destroyed the Persian
fleet at Salamis Alcibiadcs betrayed
i'm turn the Athcnians, tho Spartans
and the pcrsians. Dcmosthenes WINS
banlshcd for cmbCzzlcment. The Syra
cusan leaders became tyrnnts when
they could. OF all Greeks only limo
leon, the Corinthian who freed SYRIA
cusc. was at once honorable, fortunate
and acclaimed.
Although the Hellenic world fringed
the Mediterranean and the Black seas
from end To end, the significant poliu-
cal history of Greece il almost alto
gcthcr the history Of Athens and Spar
In. The great places of heroic legend,
Ithaca and Pylos and Phthia and Ar
cadia and Argos and Corcyra, "the
Phacakcs' land" figure hut family I'm
the historical period. Ithaca was only
a barren rock, Arcadia a recruiting
ground for rustic mcrCcnarics and Ar
Cos and Corcyrn and such states as Ae-
tola, McSScna, Thessaly and tho Achne-
an League ancient prototypes Of the
rude and turbulent Balkan states Of To
day The transltory -eminence of
Thcbcs was the cminence Of its
one great soldier, Epamnopdas.
Between them Spartans and Athcni-
ans wrote the great story Of political
Greece. The Spartans were more a
military brotherhood than state the
men dining in barracks and visiting
tlnif, TDfOilieG hy ltpn1th aud all frp,,.
men dcSpiSing wealth and any toll eN
ccpt that of the gymnasium. the drill
ground and the battlefield. They were
a proud, shy. self contained. home
keeping people, 50 ill at ease and un
pructiccd in public speech that the
word "laconiC' has become a provcrb
Their cautious political sense. their
military discipline their long lived dy
nasty and their uubroken maintenance
Of one form of government secured
them thc instructive Difference Of other
Greeks
what the Spartans were not the
Athenians In their best period were -
eager wanderers over the earth, traf-
hckcrs. imperlalists. orators. scholars
and artists. They were: always get
ting forward" As the slower Pclopon-
nesians complained. every acquisition
was made by them the basis ~ n
new venture. ana when they meas.
ured arms with the complainants they
showed that they could be as constant
I'm misfortune and as elastic in rising
From, crushing disaster as thpX were