No. .
Tin-: Time ok Civilization.
:wi
and lmltlomonts necessary for his forinur
protection uro gone. Down in yonder
vailoy, they have been transformed into
an arch, over which tho thundering loco
motive dashes at a furious rate. A mod
ern dwelling, simple in its neatness, oc
cupies the place of his frowning castle.
He wanders on into the city modeled after
the civilization of the present day. Dumb
with amazement he watches tho glowing
industry of the age.
If the Roman and the Athenian were to
awake from their long silence, and gaze
upon the achievements of tho present
century, tlioy would bo compelled to
join with the feudal knight in litis one
exclamation, " Here is your civilization,
but where is ours? Can tho nature of
man so change?" Tho question is for us
to answer.
If tho nature of man is changeable, we
will find this change to correspond with
a similar change in his knowledge and
industries.
Since a constant change has been the
tendency of every age, variety has become
the true picture of human nature. That
there is a higher type of civilization be.
yond, man in every century has confident
ly believed. This belief lias led him on,
losing on tho way some of tho grandest of
human industries; but at the same time
acquiring others as full of utility, to till
their places.
The progress of civilization has not
been continual. At one time it has been
retarded; again it has burst forth with re
doubled vigor. It has left its mark upon
the history of every nation, here spark,
ling in its brilliancy, there smothering in
its dimness. Nor has civilization fol
lowed tho same course in every age. At
one time wc sec that man compiles tho
massive pyramids of Egypt; at another
he becomes tho wandering Jew; again
the valiant knight of the Crusades, and
at last tho peaceful citizen of the nine
teenth century. Wonderful indeed has
been tho change. Tho mighty nchicve
m cuts ot antiquity have glided away leav
ing but little traco of their former exist
ence. The Orlhian strain no longer echoes
from tho Corinthian shore. Tim Cretan
bow has long bcon unstrung, and its glit
tering arrow broken. Hut in their places
a shout for victory sweeps through tho
winding valleys, and the roar of artillery
reverberates from peak to peak.
Tho customs of to-day are not the cus
toms of a departed people. In every gen
oration they have undergone a constant
change. Tho Spartan would not light
because Zeus was asleep, yet it was an
honor to steal if ho was not detected in
tho theft. Certain of victory the Greek
rushed to the buttle if it thundered on
the right, but the Roman lied with the
terrors of defeat. Tho Roman senate was
noted for its dignity; but tho court of
Charlemagne for its lierco temper. Tho
courtof Louis VI, made law by the sword,
tho Parlamont ol William III, by reason
and sound judgment. Tho Greek wept
over his defeat; the Roman took deep
vengeance; tho Englishman rallies for
another charge.
Tho Greek lady was timid, and seldom
seen abroad; but transformed into a. loan
of Arc wielded tho fate of the French na-
lion.
Thus one extreme follows another.
Such arc tho miglily changes in the man
ners and customs of mauuind. Nor has
the change in his industries been less.
The industries of tho past have vanished,
but the industries of to-day stand forth in
all their splendor. On the one hand tho
decayed fruits of by -gone years are loft to
sweeten our humiliation, on the other
the development of recent inventions tills
our minds with awe and arouses an am"
bition for furturo research. Even the do
mand for the industries of to-day is not
the domain! of antiquity. The eloquence
of tho Agora has lied before tho printing
press. The - Telegraph has taken the
place of the mounted messenger. Diplo
macy has become the peacemaker among
ni'tions. Arbitration scorns with con.
tempt tho ancient glories of war. On ev-