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Cities, Ancient and Modern.

343

Old Athens possessed a social life in which the ablest men delighted. Men of high culture found there, and nowhere else, a companionship of genius and knowledge. They were a race unrivalled in intellect, and in bodily form matchless.

Other ancient civilisations, Babylon, Nineveh, Palmyra, must have been very splendid of architecture almost superhuman; rats and mice were not the builders. That ancient statue of Chephren, the Phra, or Pharaoh of the fourth dynasty, who built the second of the great pyramids at Ghizeh, is cut out of the beautiful but intractable stone-" Diorite." The features are refined and intellectual as those of a modern European. Its age may be thirty-seven centuries earlier than the artistPhidias, the king lived B.C. 4200. There are no signs of brutal origin in this image of early historical civilisation; but the civilisation was not prolonged, it wrought no permanent deliverance. It neither made, nor wholly marred men; for sometimes, even now, near the ruins of a sumptuous Eastern palace, is found a man, princely in body and mind, amongst a horde of degenerate race: a reappearance of kingly type in a place, and amongst a people, whence and from whom the crown is gone.

It is distressing to witness the draggled, drudged, mean look of the masses, specially the women, not only in the poor streets of London, but in all the great cities of Europe and America. Civilisation seems too hard for their constitutions; the present conditions of life and social arrangements of property, are fast crushing them into degeneracy. Are we in "a series of cycles; every one, perhaps, beginning and ending in a little change not in advance of its predecessor; every one closing in catastrophic relapse, and a period of barbaric darkness?" We call for more brains and mental stamina in our divines, statesmen, philosophers; who, indeed, find it hard to keep pace with their work. Are they already ceasing to run well in the race, and giving way to another people? Are the needs and vices of civilisation, the excitement of quick communication, the friction of high culture, unmanning our men and rendering women unwomanly? Is religion ceasing to influence the most progressive intellects? will a deluge of

unbelief carry away the foundations of civil community? sweep away the faith and work of a thousand generations into superstition-as of Spain, into subjugation—as of India, into insignificance-as of Arabia? who knows? All experience points to termination, not to indefinite prolonging of civilisation.

If our own civilisation is to last, we must not ground it on material wealth, not on intellectual power, not on moral purity, not on any one of these, but on all: it must be founded on Christian scientific principles. If skilled industry elevates the masses, gives them healthful homes and wholesome food; if intelligence guides them to the use of wealth, and forbids the abuse; if morality chastens selfishness into esteem and love; that relief of man's estate will be permanent, will be for goodness and beauty, for the glory of God.

Things are as they are, and we must not shut our eyes against facts. Of the three elect or world-moving peoplesthe Jews, governing religious thought; the Greek, supreme in intellect; the Roman, ruling in law-the modern Jew is far inferior to the ancient in high spiritual power and in true knowledge of God; the Greek of to-day is not better, but worse than his fathers; and we count the Italian-if a Roman, a Roman decayed. Abraham in his tent was intelligent as any ancient or modern Pharaoh of the palace; Job could give reasons exceeding nowaday arguments; and prophets hold their own against philosophers. The absence of mechanical art does not prove that the primitive race was barbarous. The old negro-think of Tertullian-was certainly far higher in intellect than the present African: unless the ancient civilised Africans were not of negro race. The red man of America, the Australian, the Esquimaux, are generally counted degenerate sons of a race whose glory has departed.

A remarkable instance of failure in the operation of artificial selection is furnished on a large scale by the ancient Spartans. All newly born children were carefully examined, the sickly, and those affected with any infirmity, were killed; only the strong and perfect in form were allowed to live, to propagate the race. By this means it was thought that strength and skill would increase with every generation, until the race

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became perfect in body and mind. What was the result? They had rough hard valour, strength, endurance, but their own hardness slew them. Some tribes among the Red Indians of North America vainly cultivated bodily strength and bravery by a similar selection. Modern nations have a military selection, militarism is dangerously prominent, degrading and destroying humanity.

Probably we shall not possess greater force, nor swiftness, nor agility, in the future. The grand air, elastic energy of step, resolute assurance of bearing, which Nature gives to her aristocracy-wholly distinct and apart from polish of manner and the urbane grace of high breeding-belong rather to primitive than to artificial nature. It may have been more common among the tents of patriarchs than in modern drawing-rooms, more frequently possessed by knights and barons of the Middle Ages than by the polished gentlemen of our cities. In mechanical skill, doubtless, advance will be considerable; industrial and æsthetic arts will grow with high intellectual and emotional development. If right conduct comes and continues with these, the duration of life will be increased; but the tendencies of politics, society, opinion, toward the supremacy of numbers-demoralised by recognised infidelity, or by a corrupt religion—are fatal to any present confidence in an earthly paradise. Communism, of which wholesale robbery is the commencement, sensuality the continuance, despotism the end, will not establish the reign of the saints. Actual want and misery-keen incentives to outrage and lawlessness, sometimes their justification-are not relieved by elimination of God from the world. Those who count that they possess nothing, if they have not sensual gratifications, are envious of the gold that shines, the diamond that sparkles, the plumed pomp of rank: victims long enough of sleights and tricks cunningly worked by priests and politicians, they would now grow plump and sleek with delicacies.

Despite these dangers, Christianity fills our hearts with hope and spans the horizon with a bow of promise. Christianity teaches the principle of love to God and man-while giving the motive. Christianity confirms our destiny as masters of the earth, our privilege as sons of God, our hope

as inheritors of heaven. These are the sublime characteristics with which men, men alone, are gifted! "I say gifted, for the surpassing organisation was no work of ours. 'It is He that hath made us; not we ourselves.' This frame is a temporary trust, for the uses of which we are responsible to the Maker. Oh! you who possess it in all the supple vigour of lusty youth, think well what it is that He has committed to your keeping. Waste not its energies; dull them not by sloth; spoil them not by pleasures! The supreme work of creation has been accomplished that you might possess a body-the sole erect-of all animal bodies most free-and for what? For the service of the soul. Strive to realise the conditions of the possession of this wondrous structure. Think what it may become. The Temple of the Holy Spirit! Defile it not. Seek, rather, to adorn it with all meek and becoming gifts; with fair furniture, moral and intellectual."1

"On the Classification and Geographical Distribution of the Mammalia:" Richard Owen, F.R.S.

STUDY XVIII.

HUMAN LIFE.

Personality, Individuality, Speciality.

"Between two worlds life hovers, like a star,
'Twixt night and morn, upon the horizon's verge:
How little do we know that which we are!
How less what we may be!"

BYRON.

SHALL we soil our hands with the earths, be concerned about heat, light, electricity, the precious metals, the diamond, and there stop? Shall we condescend to that derogatory part of our nature, that offensive condition in which we acknowledge brotherhood with the sea-jelly, and animalcula of a stream or pool, and not ascend the heights of life which are specially our praise? We are bound, if only to save endless wanderings in a wrong direction, to ascertain whether the lofty soul and god-like intellect are signs of a potential fellowship with spirits noble and glorious; whether they are the title-deeds of a brighter world, or false lights and mocking delusions? They can hardly be delusions. If all our priests were drowned to-day, and the Bible burned to-morrow, an irrepressible consciousness of things unseen would again call forth the prophet and consecrate the priest. Religion is not for the great events of life only, it is for the small. Bright with gladness to the pure in heart, a familiar friend in the family circle, it is very welcome. In hours of thoughtful solitude men rest in faith and give God thanks. The monitions of eternal truth, whispered in their infant ears, and pondered in after-days, are not presages of woe, but comfortable assurances concerning that life in which the weary rest and the good are happy

evermore.

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