Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1910-06-09

nrnund warsaw. Kief. Sovro-od. ara
Moscow. ~ the Wild savag-s uf the
strppe. aud the nnarshy forrest. struxsl~t
haiunsiy and stumbungiy upward 10
becone builders Of cities and to form
stable governments fha klnxfsrr~ Of
Chsriemagns and Alfred were new"
compared with the empire on the Ros-
ti,kls. they were also IN every way az
2 Ut. their lines % ancestral descent had
sss ~ r-ain ~hs<h psid trsSSts 70 tks
- Ar. Of rsyrsntfnn: their rsciai pros-
irrz and sftertirns history were totally
direrent This u not true Of those new.
nations which spring direct from old na-
uons Brazil the Argentine. N. United
states. are all new. nations. compared
with the nations - Europe. but ~ifh
whatever changes in detail. their efwfilza-
ton II nevertheless Of the general E:nre-
pean type as shov- IN Portugal Spain.
and England The differences between
these rev American and these ~old-'
European nations are not as great a. tho.-
which serarat- the new nations ons
ron another and the '-oid'. nation. one
tron another. There are n each case
very real di-er-nc~~ between the new ard
fh~ Old usfirn-sfrerenc~- both Tor good
ard trr evil. but tn zach case there Is
tns sam. ancestral history % reckon with.
the sara- TYPE % civilization. With is a.
sfter re pioneer stages ar- passed. the
prenier-- 20 - solved In spite % superb
ciAi diI~reures. arr In their essence the
sam hey are thos- that confront all
ciSilirrf peoples. nns those that confront
reopsss sfrassiing from hArharssm into
civilization.
So when Ne sr~ak % the -deafh- %
t. nation or a civilization. the term
MAJ - used FOR either one or two totally
It1fFfF -
Shst occurs IN biological history being
cpz1refe Certain tribes % savaEr-. the
TAs.i- ariiars. for instance and various ut-
lie ciitus % American Indians. have within
the is~t crntury or two completely died
out. al % the individuals hav. psrish~d.
'eaving NJ descendants. ard the blood has
disappeared Certain other tribes %
indians have as tribes Disappeared or
arr row disappearing. but their blood
r-rrains. being absorbed Into the veins %
he White irtruder-. or % the hiack men
intrstlc-d BY these Whit. intrufers. so
that IN reality they are merely being
'ransfurued into sorneshin< absolutely
different nom What they were.
nke vide diversity In fact nav y.
covered in the statement that . clviliz.-
tor has died out
Phenomena That Puxzie
n teaiinx. rot with groups Of human
beings IN simple ard primitive relations.
but with hiEhiy complex. hirhiy special
izsst civilized. ~ serui-civinred societies.
there r. need % great caution IN drawing
auairgies with What has occurred IN th@
development q the animal world Yet
even m th~s~ cases Il IL curious to So
hoN sane % the phenomena IN the
srowfh ard diSappeAranne of these com
pieH. ARTIFICIAL groups % human beings
Teseruhle what has happened IN ravriais
q insi4ae~s in ,hs history ef NE on this
WY 10 r-~.t sr.fnes.i s-nysr~-, wns--
eit;zei- are knit By bond of speech and
culture much uaors than By a bond Of
hlood. show p@rtots of extraordinary
gruSfh. and again of sudden or lingering
cecavf In some cases We can answer
readily enough. in other cases we can
not ts ret even guess what the proper
answer should be. II in any such case
ths centrifugal forces overcome the cen
tftpetaA. the nation will OF course fly 20
pieces and The reason for its failure to
hscnrze a dominant force Is patent to
every one. The minute that the spirit
which finds its healthy development IN
iocsi seif-goverument. and IN the antidote
q the dangers Of an extreme centraiiza-
ton. develops into mere partfcuIarfSrr,
into Inability TO combine effectively for
achievement or a common end. then II +
hopeless 10 expect great results. Poland
ard certain republics OF the western
hemisphere are the standard examples OF
failure or this kind: and the United States
would have ranked with them, and its
name would have become a bywori OF
dsrtston. n the forces OF union had not
triumphed IN the civil war So the
growth Of soft luxury after IL has reached
4 certain point becomes a national danger
patent 70 all Again. Il needs but little OF
TIRE vision OF q seer 70 foretefl what must
happen In any community II the average
woman ceases 70 beconse the mother Of a
family os healthy children. II IN. average
nan loses the will and the power TO work
% 70 old age and 70 fight whenever the
need arises ~ the houely. eormonuiar.
virtues de OUT. II strength Of character
vazishes in graceful s-if-intiuigenee. II the
vir.is qualities 4truphy. then the nation
has lost what no material prosperity can
eTsef
But there arr plenty Of other phenorr-
sna wholly or partially inexplcabie. II 10
Easy TO see why Rom. trended downward
when great slave-tiiled farms spread over
what had once been countryside Of
peasant proprsetors. when greed and luz
u-y and sensuality ate like acids into IN.
fber Of the upper classes. while the mass
Of the citizens grew TO depend, not upon
their own exertions. bat upon the state.
FOR their pleasures and their very Iiven-
hood But this does not explain Why the
forward movement stopped at different
times. 50 FAR as different matters were
concerned: at one time regards iitera-
ture. at another time as regards architec-
ture. At another time as regards city
building. We cannot even guess why the
springs OF one kind Of energy dried up
while there Was yet no cessation of an
other kind
Holland a. an Example.
Take another and smaller instance that
81 Holland For q period covering a
Httfs more than the seventeenth century.
Holland. Ike some OF the Italian city
states at an earlier period. stood on the
dangerous heights Of greatness beside ma
tons so vastly her superior IN territory
and population a. TO make II Inevitable
that sooner or later she must fall from the
glorious and perilous eminence to which
she had been raised by her own indomIta-
ele soul Her fall came: II could not
have been indefinitely postponed: but IL
uufrpS mo nainffuv No ranarfno fnSfaa