The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1910-11-05
rs THERE A LATIN RACE?

Adverting to the turmoil of events in Portugal
and to the present condition of affairs in Spain
and France a writer in the Los Angeles "rimes
foolishly says: Latin peoples are used up. The
moral force necessary to preserve the position they
attained some centuries ago in the world Is now
wanting to them. The Latin races are effete"
What does the writer mean by Latin races ~
Who are these Latin peoples of whom we hear so
much; do they exist!
The inhabitants of Southern Italy never could
lay claim to Latin ancestry, since they derived
their origin from Greek colonies, and on this orig
nal trunk were engrafted in the lapse of ages,
Latin Spanish and even Norman branches.
In the north of Italy, the Lombards when they
took possession of that beautiful country, found
few Latins, but many aborigenes of the Celtic race
(Gallia Cisalpina) remnants probably of the scat
tered clans of the army of Brennus.
In Spain, the ancient Iberians were assuredy
not Latins Today the Spaniards are like the
Portuguese, mixture of Goths, Burgundians,
Jews, Moors Gauls Basques and Romans.
And France! But the very name indicates what
a feeble Latin contingent forms what is now called
the French nation, composed of Germans Gaus
and Romans. Teutonic blood gave its name to
France At the battle of Fontenai, the Teutonic
it is true disappeared almost entirely leaving the
bulk of the population Gaus. We have proof of
this in the language-for when people is one
their language is one, and if it be mixed in any
way but particularly by conquest, each constituent
race produces its portion of the national tongue
the syntax, and what is called the genius of the
language belonging always to the predominating
people. The French today are Gauls, with a blend
of the Roman, their language clearly indicates.
Where, then, again, is there Latin race? The
fact is, it nowhere exists Its feeble remnants from
the time of the conquering Romans are now 50
mingled with other elements as to exercise no in
fuence on the character of modern nations When
mention is made of Latin peoples we must con-
slider not the race, but the tongue. The principal
Celtic idioms are the Italians the Spanish, |
the Portuguese and the French It is by |
their language that they are distinguished
from Germany (Sclavo-Germanic) with It's German
tongue, from Great Britain Called Anglo-Saxon |
Celt, Scandinavian and Norman) with its English |
tongue and from all classes of Ssclavonic or Scan
dinavian speech.
Would the theorists then maintain that a people |
country where such or such an idiom
predominates, forms by that alone in political
and social point of view a separate race, and that
the similarity of languages establishes between
peoples certain similarity of Ideas also, that at
the same epoch the distinct vitality of the races
should become extinct.
No one would uphold such a thesis 1t is true
that nations, like families and individuals have in
their existence certain determined periods, from
The cradle to mature age, from maturity to death.
It is also true that every people has more or less
It's period of rise and decline. From an ethnolog-
zeal standpoint it is as natural for a nation to
run down as for the individual whose organism
md mechanism are subject to decay. All history
informs us that nations have only single course
10 run, single goal to reach and turn, and, fleet
ng, like courier, they are seen no more. If
Spain or Portugal decaying they are but shar-
ng the fate Of victorious Rome of Greece, of
Babylon, of Persia. Portends are not wanting to
warn that that Anglo-Saxon giant, Great Brit
lin, is yielding to the tooth of time. Holland,
Portugal and Spain had their day, like Venice and
Genoa, a long day marked by conquest, triumph
md victory.
This much We know. There is now no Latin