The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1914-07-10

sary of the nations birth. Measured
by time alone this period would be
only brief span in the life of any
nation that has been of sufficient i'm
portance and character to impress iti
influence upon history and become a
potential force in the advancement
of civilization.
Egypt, the land of the Nile, has
left amidst it's ruins evidences of O
civilization that began to flourish 70
centuries before the Christian era.
When the man of Galilea rrod this
that was destined to change all pre-
vious standards Of thought and action
among men, and which has since
exercised more profound and far
reaching influence upon the world
than any other event in history, the
civilization of Egypt was bending
under the weight of 1000 years of
experiment at government. 1t had
reached such an advanced position
in some of the sciences, such as ma
thematics and astronomy, that many
of it's discoveries and teachings are
accepted by the scientific world to-
day. It's people had so far advanced
in mechanics and civil engineering
and its accomplishment in the con-
struction Of the pyramids and other
works of colossal magnitude, that
the greatest constructive engineers
of the present day are unable to ac-
count for the manner in which this
work was done, and would be unable
to duplicate it with any appliances
of the present day.
Notwithstanding all that these
encient people accomplished, they
have long since, as distinctive ma
tional power, sunk into decay, and
for many centuries have been scarce
ly more than an unimportant provice
of some greater power.
The Hebrew nation, called "The
Chosen People of God," began it's
history with Abraham, who came
from Chaldea more than 1000 years
before the beginning of the Christian
era, settled in the Land of Canaan
and founded a nation whose people
have ever since been a potential
force in the worlds affairs. The
traditions, history and religious pre-
cepts as expressed by her prophets
and sacred writer's, have given to us
the noble and sublime literature of
the Old Testament Scriptures, which
for beauty of diction and sublime
thought has never been surpassed,
and has rarely, if ever, been equaled
in the literature of any .other age or
tongue. But even at the beginning
of the new dispensation the Hebrews
as distinctive national entity, had
long ceased to exist, and had be-
come Roman province under the
Caesars.
Upon that territory known in his
tory as Greece, which occupies one
of the three peninsulas of Europe,
and in territorial extent does not ex-
coed in area the state of Maine, there
began about the 18th century B. c.
civilization and form of govern
ment which flourished for more than
a thousand years. These people are
usually considered in history as
distiNct, single world power, al
though, in fact, among themselves,
they were often divided into small
and in dependent states. These peo-
pie have contributed to the store Of
human knowledge and the advance
ment of civilization a sum of meal
culable value.
Epicharmus, the Greek poet and
comedian, said, "All blessings are
bought from the gods by labor"
The truth of this aphorism has been
exemplified in every page of Grecian
history. They covered the coast of
the Mediterranean with fourishing
cities; they raised a poor and petty
nation to mastery of the world by
arms, by commerce, and above all,
by their great learning and advanced
civilization. They created methema-
tics, geometry, mechanics and astron-
omy. There had only been rudely
outlined by the Egyptians and Chal-
deans. In the sciences they estab-
lished the processes; they laid the
foundations in botony and medicine.
The world first received at their
hands epic poem in it's perfection.
History began with Herodotus and
Thucydides, and forensic and legal
eloquence with Demosthenes.
In the arts the world, still follows