The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-06-07
Colonel Roosevelt Talks Be-
fore Large Audience at
Oxford University
SCIENCE Is GIVEN
POPULAR TREATMENT
Discusses Biological Analogies of
History at Great Length
With Striking Illus
trations.

OXFORD, ENGL.sND. June Tn
ancient Magdalen College, part OF
oxford University. Colonel Theodore
Roosevelt to-day gave the last of his
European lectures. lilo spoke upon
biological Analogies In History" The
lecture was the least popular that
he has given, but at that the colonel
aroused considerable enthusiasm.
Any fear that Roosevelt's recent
Guild Hall address would result in
his lecture Of to-day being frost"
was dispelled by the great audience
that gathered and the hearty recep-
ton accorded him both by the town
and university authorities.
Accompanied by Ambassador
whitslaw Reid, Roosevelt arrived at
oxford at 1918 and was Immediately
escorted to the ancient city hall, whore
the town council received him. In q
brief talk TO the council. Colonel
Roosevelt said:
1 II am convinced By reception to-
day that real liberty must have been
original In the ancient English cities.
My trip TO England was primarily due
/ TO the invitation Of the v.ce-chancellor
| of oxford. In the vernacular OF my
own country. / have had a sufficiently
/ lively time in the last three months"
| The colonel was next conducted to
| Christ College and thence to Magdalen
| College.
I While much of Mr. Roosevelts lee
turo was an academic discussion Of
hts theme, he found numerous op-
portunities for discoursing on his
hobby of the necessity OF retaining the
virile fighting man as the foundation
of a nation that would stand. He
declared, that If England or America
fell, II would be because they had not
/ safeguarded themselves against the
enemies within our own households
and these enemies are our own pas
sions and foliies."
In conclusion ne expressed his be-
lief I'm the continuing greatness Of
the civilized nations Of to-day
Ex-Prestdent's Address.
Following the general Introduction
I'm which Mr.. Roosevelt declared that
while greatly appFeeiatifs ta-. honor
accorded him. he felt more at home
than many of his European ancestors
would have felt. because he believed
himself as an American to be closely
allied to the best and highest feelings
cf humanity and patriotism In Eng
land. h said In part as follows;
More than ever before In the world 6
| history, we Of to-day seek to penetrate
the causes Of the mysteries that sur
round not only mankind but all life.
both in the present and the past. We
search, we peer. we see things dim
ly: here and there we get ray OF
clear vision as we look before and
after. We study the tremendous pro-
cession of the ages. from the imme-
mortal past when in ''cranp elf and
saurian forms" the creative forces
'swathed their much power" down
TO the yesterday. few score thou-
sand years distant only. whei. the his
tory OF man became the Overwhelming
fact in the history of life on this anal
ogies In the phenomena of life and
death. OF birth. growth. and change, be-
tween those physical groups OF animal
life which we designate as species
forms. races. and the highly complex
and composite entities which rise be
fore our minds when we speak of ma
tions ana civilizations
Phenomena OF Growth.
or course there Is no exact parable
lism between the birth, growth. and
death of species In the animal world
and the birth, growth. and death OF
societies in tire world or man. YET
there is certain parallelism. There
are strange analogies: II may be tina,
there are homologies.
How far the resemblances between
the two sets of pheaomena are more
than accidental. how far biology car
be used as an aid In the Interpretation
OF human history. we cannot at pres
ent say, The historian should never
forget what the highest type OF scien-
tifc man Is always teaching us to re.
member. that willingness to admit liz.
norance is prime factor In devel.
oping wisdom out OF knowledge. wis.
, dom is advanced by research which
, enables us to add to knowledge, and
moreover. the way for wisdom is mad,
ready when men who record facts O.
vast but unknown import, when ask.
ed to explain their fun significance ar.
willing frankly to answer that they d,
not know. The research which ena
bles US to add 10 the sum OF com.
plete knowledge stands first: but see.
ond only stands the research which
while enabling US clearly to pose tn,
problem. also requires us to say tina,
with our present knowledge we car
offer no complete solution.
In South America.
I'm many cases we cannot an nueh
as hazard 8uess a. to why a given
change occurred. One OF the mos,
striking instances OF these inexplica.
BILE changes In that afforded by the
history OF South America toward the
cicse OF the tertiary Period. For ages
South America had been an island b,
itself. cut OF from North America
I at the very time that the latter wal
at least occasionally in land communi.
cation with Asia During this tins
/ very peculiar fauna grew UP r.
South America. some OF the types re.
sembling nothing now existing, Will.
others are recognizable Al ancestra
forms of the ant-caters, sloths ant
! armadiiits of to-day. II was a ne
euliar and diversified msmmaiiar
: fauna Of. on the whole. rather small
species. and without any representa-
tives Of the animals with which mar
has been most familiar during hi
career on this earth.
Great Invasion.
Towards the end OF the tertiar,
there was an upheaval OF land be
tween this old South American Isiant
and North America, near what IL nov
! the Isthmus. OF Panama. thereb,
making bridge across which tn,
teeming animal life u ~ ncrther,
eanssssns esa sees 9 ~ ase.'