New-York tribune., 1910-06-08

or sUperncldi uiHeIences, are a. =
essence the same; they are thoss - N
front all civilized peoples. not ,s1"'c y
confront peoples struggling from - q
into civilization
Absorption and Extincsio,
So. when we speak Of the ~ss,e-
tribe. a nation. or a civilization =. ~
may be used for either one or t,v1 ~
different processes. the analogy no 'zs
OCCURS In biological history being - s'E
Certain tribes of savages, the Ts,--ss
for instance. and various little .s
American Indians. have With,
century OF two completely died o-.. a
the individuals have perished. Is,-sas ~
descendants, and the blood has lies
Certain other tribes OF Indians ts4a
tribas disappeared or are now dissnn..
but their blood remains. being .s.e'rk
into the veins Of the white intruss-.
the black men introduced by thes.
intruders. so that in reality thev az, "a
Iy being transformed into sous.St.-
ferent from what they were. In 49,
States, IN the new State OF Oklab,-..
Creeks. Cherokees, Chickasaws. u.r>
and other tribes are In process ~ -
ton into the mass Of the white pos,,.'f 4
when the state was admitted. ccw-s
years ago. one Of the two Senas,-
three OF the five Representative f5 =
eress were partly Of Indian blood
a few years these Indian tribes wsf s
disappeared as completely as tho..
have actually died out. but the de-
ance win be by absorption and tran,s.N
ton into the mass of the American ~.
ton
Ror1e's Effect on the Worls
A like wide diversity in fact NAV
cred In the statement that a cfvilizsf,.-
died out The nationality and crl.,,.
the wonderful city builders OF III.
Mesopotanian Plain have complet.h~
appeared. and though doubtless cert,s
fiuences dating therefrOm are stfI Al ~.
they are In such changed and hidds, a
as TO be u1recognizable. But the a..
pearance OF the Roman Empire was y
such character. There was complete es,,.
farreaching transformation, and A. =
period a violent dlsIocation. but il r
not be correct TO speak either OF IN. n.
or the culture of old Rome as extinc, =
are not yet in position 70 dogma,s,
70 the permanence or evanescencs 40 =
various strains OF blood that 60 % mai.
every civilized nationality. hut II Is rs.,..
ably certain that the blood Of the Ola !.
man still flows through the veins =, ~
modern italian. and though there has ~
much intermixture. from many di,s,.-
foreign sources-from foreign conuu,-.-l
-~f~r q
that the Italian type Of to-day fns. !.
dominant ancestral type in the su-.-
Latin. AS for the culture. the civllul.
OF Rome, this is even more true n -
suffered a complete transfOrmatior. pars
by natural growth. partly by absorutiu- 4
totally alien clements. such az a ss-~
religion, and certain Teutonic govsru-~.k
and social customs. but the process wa
one of extinction. but one Of growts =
transformation. both from within ans
the accretion of outside elements
France and Spain the inheritance. of "a.
blood is small, but the Roman culture nj
was forced on these countries has =.
tenaciousIy retained by them throuEt-
all their subsequent clinical and polzz
changes as the basis on which Their m
cations have been built.
Extent Of Italian influences.
Moreover. the permanent sprsadiuE
Roman influence was not limited TO Egru1
1t has extended to and over half of n
new world which was not even dreanss
during the thousand years Of brilliant
between the birth and the death Of psE
Rome. This New World was discovers =
one italian, and its mainland first rsaca
and named by another. and in il, over sz &
ritory many times the size Of Trajan's =
pire, the Spanish, French and PortuEz
adventureFs founded. beside the S. LsF &
renee and the Amazon. along the fana
the Andes and in the shadow Of the Eri
capped volcanoes Of Mexico. from The Z
Grande to the Strait OF Magellan. q,
munities. now fourishing and grsr,.
apace. which IN speech and culture r
even as regards one strain in their h,z
are the HneaI heirs OF the ancient LE E
civilization. When we speak Of the tz
pearance. the passing away. OF an1s
Babylon or Nineveh. and of ancient Rs-
we are using the same terms to dssrs
totally different phenomena
looseness Of Terninology.
The anthropologist and the histOFiss
to-day realize much more clearly than q
predecessors of a couple OF generals
back how artificial most great matters
ties are, and how loose is the terTnl.o
usually employed to describe them y
is an element of unconscious and Ta
pathetic humor in the simplicity Of bar
century ago which spoke OF the Aryan
the TeutOn with revcrential admirauM
if the words denoted not merely sOns-
definite, but something ethnolOsicaLF
cred, the writer's having much the
pride and faith in their own and tier
low countrymen's purity Of descent
these imaginary Aryan or Teutonlc -
tors that were felt few generations sa
by the various noble families who ia
their lineage direct to Odin, IEnsas
Noah. Nowadays, of course, al a1
recognize that there may not be, ana g
is not. the slightest connection N'
kinShip in blood and kinship in to1sF
America we find three races. white Fea
black. and three tongues. EnSlisn' -
and Spanish, mingled in such way
run at right angles 10 the lines OF eis-.
of speech; there being communities
caNy of pure blood Of each race
speaking each language
Doubtful clinical Mesnl1ss
Aryan and TeutOuic are terms
very definite linguistic nleaninSs
whether they have any such ethniee.
ings as were formerly attributed 70 ~
so doubtful that We cannot even
whether the ancestors OF most OF 'Al~
call TeutOns originally spoke an
tongue at all The term Celtic as
perfectly clear when used linguis'ca's
when used TO describe race II ll7'.f :.
most nothing until We find our Ni''
Books AND PUsLIcAIloss