New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-05-13
Free Field for Activity.


spects there is a complete lack OF analogy
between the civilization Of to-day and the
only other civilization IN any way COMPARE
bic to it. that OF the ancient Greco Roman
lands. 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 tact that I'm point Of
physical extent. of wide diversity Of inter
est and of extreme velocity OF movement
the present civilization can be compared 70
nothing that has ever gone before. 1t Is
now literally world movement. and the
movement Is growing ever more rapid and
is ever reaching into new fields. Any con-
siderable influence exeTted at one point Is
certain to be felt with greater or less effect
at almost every other point. Every path
of activity open to the human intellect IS
followed with an eagerness and success
never hitherto dreamed of. We have es-
tablished complete liberty of conscience.
and, in consequence. a complete liberty for
mental activity All free and daring souls
have before them wellnigb hmitless
opening for endeayor of any kind
Narrowness Of Early Movements.
Hitherto every civilization that has arisen
has been able 10 develop only a compare
lively few activities; that is. its field OF
endeavor has been limited In kind as well
as in locality There have, Of course, been
great movements, but they were of prac-
tically only one form of activity; and al
though usually this set in motion other
kinds of activities, such was not always
the case. The great religious movements
have been the pre-eminent examples Of this
SfTnh
peoples as the Mongols and the Phoenlcians,
at almost opposite poles OF cultivation
have represented movements in which one
element, military or commercial. so over
Swallowed all other elements that the move
ment died out chiefly because it was one
sided. The extraordinary outburst OF &C
tivity among the Mongols Of the thirteenth
century was almost purely q military move
Tnent without even any great admInistra-
tive side; and II was therefore Wellnigh
purely movement Of destruction The in
dividuaI prowess and hardihood OF the
Mongols and the perfection OF their mill
tarv organization rendered their armies in
comparabIy superior to those Of any Euro
mean Or any other Asiatic power of that
day. They conquered from the Yellow Sea
to the Persian Gulf and the Adriatic; they
seized the imperial throne OF China; they
slew the Caliph in Bagdad; they founded
dynasties in India. The fanaticisn OF
Christianity and the fanaticism Of Ma
hornetanism were alike powerleSS against
them. The vaIOr of the bravest fighting
men in Europe was impotent TO check
them They trampled Russia into bloody
rl1ire beneath the hoofs of their horses
they drew red burrows of destruction across
Poland and Hungary; they overthrow with
ease any force from Western Europe that
dared encouter them. Yet they had no root
of permanence; their work was mere evil
while it lasted and 1t did not last long; and
when they vanished they left hardly trace
behind them.
Cause Of G-eece's Deterioration.
So the extraordinary PhRn.cian civiliza-
ton was almost purely a mercantile, a
business civilization, and though it left an
impress on the life that came after this
impress was faint indeed compared to that
left. for instance, by the Greeks with their
many sided development Yet the Greek
civilization itself fell, because this many
sided development became TOO exclusively
one of intellect at the expense OF charac-
ter at the expense Of the fundamental
qualities which fit men to govern both
lost the sterner virtues. when his soldiers
lost the fighting edge. and his statesmen
grew corrupt, while the people became a
faction torn and pleasure loving rabble,
then the doom of Greece was at hand. and
not all their cultivation. their Intellectual
brilliancy. their artistic development. their
adroitness in speculative science. could save
the Hellenic peoples as they bowed before
~ bn
The Lessons for To-day.
What IS the lesson to US to-day? Are
we to go the way OF the older civilizations
The immense increase IN the area Of civil
lied activity to-day. so that it is nearly
coterrrinous with the worlds surface: the
immense increase in the nultitudinous
variety of its activities; the immense IN
crease in the velocity OF the world move
ment-are all these TO mean merely that
the crash Will be all the more complete and
terrible when II comes? We cannot De GER
tain that the answer will he in the rega-
tive. 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
for US to fall: we can new out our destiny
for ourselves Il only we have the VII ana
the courage and the honesty.
Personally I do not believe that our
civilization will fall I think that on the
whole we have grown better and not worse
think that on the whole the future holds
more for US than even the great past has
held. But. assurediy, the dreams of golden
glory in the future will not come true
unless high of heart and strong OF hand,
nv our own mighty deeds We make them
come true We cannot afford TO develop
snv one set OF qualities, any one set OF
activities. at the cost OF seeing others.
equally necessary, atrophied- Neither the
military efficiency of the Monsol, the ex-
,raordinary business ability Of the Phoeni-
cian nor the subtle and polished intellect
az the Greek availed TO avert destruction
The Need of Hon1eIy Qualities.
We. the men OF to-day and of the future
need many qualities Il we are 10 do our
u,ork well. 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 quail
ties-the honeiy. everyday, aIl-irnportant
virtues. II the average man will not
work. II he has not IN him the will and
the power 10 be a good husband and
father: IL the average woman is not
good housewife. a good mother q many
healthy children, then the state Will topic,
will GO down no matter what may he its
h-iriance OF artistic development or mate
rial achievement. But these honeiy quail
ties are not enough. There must. in add
siou. be that power of organization. that
-a,xsr 81 working In common for a common