Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-05-13

ing great wealth. Caesar spent an
enormous fortune and recouped himself
by the money he made out of his politi-
cal-military career. Augustus acquired
huge fortune by plumber What con-
trast is offered by the careers of Wash
ington and Lincoln! The immense ma
jority Of the Greeks and the Romans
accepted money making on d large scale
as one of the incidents OF a successful
public career. In this respect the stan
dard has been constantly elevated, and
things which statesmen had no hesita-
ton in doing three or two centuries ago,
and which did not seriously hurt a pun
lie career even a. century ago, are now
utterly impossible.
wealthy men stiu exercise a large
and sometimes an improper influence IN
politics, but it is apt 10 be an indir/,t
influence; and in the advanced states
the mere suspicion that the wealth Of
public men is obtained or added to as
an incident of their pupIic careers Will
bar them from public life. Speaking
generally wealth may very greatly influ-
ence modern political life, but il is not
acquired in political life.
Il have dwelt on these points merely
because it is we'll to emphasize in the
most emphatic fashion the fact that in
of analogy between the civilization of
today and the only other civilization in
any way comparable to it. There are,
Of course. many points in which the
analogy is close, and in some of these
points the resemblances are as ominous
as they are striking. But most striking
of all is the fact that in point of physi-
cal extent, of wide diversity of interest
end of extreme velocity of movement,
the present csilization can be compared
to hothing that has gone before.
Hitherto every civilization that has
arisen has been able to develop only a
comparatively few activities Its field
of endeavor has been limited in kind as
well as locality. Such peoples as the
Mongols and Phoenicians have repre-
scented movements in which one element,
military or commercial, so overshadow-
ed all other elements that the move
ment died out chiefly because 1t was one
sided The Greek civilization fell because
its many-sided development became too
exclusively one of intellect, at the ex-
pense af character. When the Greek
lost the sterner virtues, when his soldiers
lost the fighting edge, and his states
nJen grew corrupt while the people be-
came a faction-torn and pleasure-loving
rabble, then the doom of Greece was at
hand.
What is the lesson for us today? Are
we to go the way OF the older civiliza-
tions complete and terrible when 1T
comes? We cannot be certain that the
answer will be in the negative; but OF
this we can be certain, that we shall
not go down in ruin unless we deserve
and earn our end. There is no necessity
fol us to fall
ON THE WHOLE WE ARE CROWNS
Personally 1 do not believe that our
civilization will fail l think that on the
whole we have grown better and not
worse. l think that on the whole the
future holds more for US than the great
past has ever held. We cannot afford
to develop any one set of qualities. any
one set of activities, at the cost of see
ing others, equally necessary, atrophied.
I'VE. the men of today and of the flu
ture, need many qualities if we are 10 do
our work we'll We need, first of all and
most important of all, the qualities which
stand at the base of individual. of family
life the fundamental and essential quai-
ities-the homely, every day, all-impor-
tant virtues If the average man will
not work. If he has not in him the will
power to be a good husband and father:
If the average woman is. not a good
housewife. a good mother of healthy
children. then the state will topple, will
go down. no matter what may be its
brilIiance or artistic development or ma
terial achievement. ...-.
But these homely qualities are not
enough There must in addition. be that
bower Of organization, that power Of
working in common for a common end,
which the German people have shown
i'm such signal fashion during the last
half century Moreover the things of the
spirit are even more important than the
things of the body. We can do well