The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1921-06-17

ciety, Washington. d. CO
Greece, in carrying on in Asia Mi
nor, against the Turkish Nationalist
what may be called the only major
war now in progress, attracts atten
ton anew to the prolonged presence
Of the Greeks on the world stage.
There are few parallels to the strik.
ing racial phenomenon of Hellenic
continuity throughout the vicissitudes
of 1900 years. Modern research has
penetrated the dark bywayS of me-
dieval Greek history, and we now
know that the Greeks, whatever their
temporary fate, have preserved I'M
broken the thread of their national
existence.
The firmest bond which unites the
Greek Of today with his illustriouS
f~orebears of the golden age is the
Greek language, the essential ele-
ments Of which remain as they were
In the days when the tongue served
as thu medium of the noblest poetry
and the sublimest philosophy which
the race has yet produced. This
tongue traces it's unbroken lineage
back through medieval and New Tes-
lament Greek to the classic speech Of
Plato and Of his contemporaries.
And yet, with all this continuity
OF language, there exists now in
Greece a linguistic condition of af-
fairs around which centers a cOntro-
versy at ono comic or tragic; for
there are in Greece W languages.
or, rather, the n language In two
fOrms-O.e written by tie newspa-
pers, spoken by the edrcated classes,
and used in parliaA aentary aahataS
and in PUBLIC DOCUMENTS, including
the Scriptures, the ejaculation of
which is regulated by law and the
other a v%ernacular used by the mass
es Of the people, containing many
words of foreign origin, especially
Turkish end Italian, arising from
those periods Of foreign occupation.
with a mu.h simplified grammar rare
ly reduced 10 writing, except for pri-
vate COMMUNICATIONS. The former is
IN tOlSuc, Tit IdIteT tIlc
popular idicm; and between the two
there RACES a merciless warfare, in
which fanatIcal students Of the uni
have lost their lives. ministers
Of Athens his inter.
Greece Of Today Almost New.
Greece of today looks back only
three generations, if one places its
origin In the war for independence.
vas concluded by the protocol
Of Lon ion in 1880; and, witnessing
prrgress which In that brief span
has bfen made in a land of such
sparse resources, One cannot see how
praise a be withheld from a peo-
Pile Who have accomplished so much.
W. n the city of Athens passed
from Turkish control and was des-
as the capital of the new free
kingdom Of Greece, 1t was a mere
hardful of wre,ched huts clustered
ahhut the Acropolis. Today it is-a
modern city, with splen-
lie streets, magnificent public build
nfs. handsome residences. attractive !.
)a us, and most of the modern i'm
of which western cities
)orst. The building Of this city alone
n a land of such scanty u is
comparable to the development
If our w rich West, and as meri-
when all the circumstances
ire considered. Indeed, had the Greek
# today nothing to his credit save
he building of the attractive capital
If his nation, that alone would be
sufficient to rank him among the con
st,pctive agencies of the modern
world.
In this city of old memories and
lew hopes, Greek life centers now as
n its classic days, and here ancient
in a curious medley of mo-
and antiquity, which colors the
most ordinary of everyday affairs.
IN every hand arise the shattered !,
monuments Of its splendid past, and
wen the tiniest fragments which
'erve to link the life Of the present
With the days that are gone are most
erefully preserved.
Guards Its Antiquities.
The Greek government is keenly
live to its responsibility for the safe
Guarding Of its antiquities, and the
of archaeology, under the
barge Of the ministry Of education
nd religion, is painstakingly organ
zed and prudently admins cred. The
nuseums at Athens are handsomely
conveniently arranged. ac-
urately ~catalogued. and open to in
pection and study without fee. this
after heing n noint of great pride !