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BOOK 572.891.M831 c.
MORRIS # ARYAN RACE

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A\

THE

AEYAN RACE
ITS ORIGIN

AND

ITS

ACHIEVEMENTS

BY

CHARLES MORRIS
AUTHOR OF

S.

C.

"

A MANUAL OF CLASSICAL LITERATURE

CHICxiGO
GRIGGS AND COMPANY
1888

"

7-r--^

Copyright, 1888,

By

S. C.

Griggs axd Company.

nfbersitji ^rcss:
JOHX WlLSOX AXD Sox, CAMBRIDGK.

PEEEACE.

T T is our purpose
^
Aryan Race,

briefly to outline the history of the

that

mankind which has played


stage of the world

it

has gained

its

mankind.

The

in its primitive

its beliefs

and

present high position

complete sense.
it f

institutions,

among

the races of

it,

remains unwritten in any

There are many books, indeed, which

its

some

devoted to

yet

known

lan-

its

many

no general treatment of the subject

has been essayed, and the inquirer


is

its

mythology, folk-lore, village com-

munities, or to some other single aspect of


sided story

it

story of this people, despite the great

ragmen tarily,

guages, others to

what

home,

and trace the steps by which

which surrounds

deal with

it

in its migrations, consider the features of its

intellectual supremacy,

interest

upon the

so striking a part

to seek

observe the unfoldment of


follow

great and noble family of

who wishes

of this interesting people

to learn

must painfully

delve through a score of volumes to gain the desired

information.

Until within a recent period the actual existence of

such a race was not clearly recognized.

century

PREFACE.

iv

ago there was nothing to show that nearly

all

the

nations of Europe and the most prominent of those


of southern Asia

were

first-cousins,

descended from a

single ancestor, which, not very remotely in the past,

inhabited a contracted locality in some region as yet

unknown.

Of

late years

mode

conditions and

home, and

original

much has been

of

of

life

learned of the

people in their

this

of their migrations

where they enter the

to the point

Aryans

this point forward the part played by the

one, and there

is

no more interesting study than to

follow this giant from the


its

is

days of

its

childhood to

present imposing stature.

Our knowledge
Aryans

in

mankind has been a highly important

the history of

those of

From

field of written history.

of

the

condition of the

primitive

The

not due only to studies in philology.

subject has widened with the progress of research, and

now embraces

questions

of

ethnology,

archaeology,

mythology, literature, social and political antiquities,

and

all

the

other branches

of

science which relate

Enough

particularly to the development of mankind.

has been learned, through studies in these several


directions, to

make

desirable a general treatment of

the subject, and an effort to present as a whole the


story

of

that

mighty race whose history

is

as

yet

disconnected fragments.

known to the world only in


The present work, however,

pretends to be no more

than a preliminary handling

of this extensive

theme,

PREFACE.

may

a brief popular exposition which

gap in the realm

of literature

and

serve to

fill

to satisfy the curi-

world until some abler hand shall

osity of the reading

grasp the subject and deal with

it

in a

more exhaustive

manner.

Any

attempt, indeed, to

tell

the story of the

race, even in outline, during the recent age of

would be equivalent
of civilization,

Aryan

mankind

an attempt to write the history

to

which

is far

from our purpose.

But

the comparison of the intellectual conditions and

in

products of the several races of mankind, and in the


consideration of the

and

lines of

evolution of

tliought

research which

is

and

action,

institutions

we have

a field of

by no means exhausted, and with

which the general world


versant.

human

Our work

of readers is very little con-

will

therefore

be found to be

largely comparative in treatment, the characteristics

and conditions

of the other leading races of

mankind

being considered, and contrasted with those of

Aryan, with the purpose not only

of clearly

tlie

showing

the general superiority of the latter, but also of point-

ing out the natural steps of evolution through which


it

emerged from original savagery and attained

to its

present intellectual supremacy and advanced stage of

enlightenment.

As

regards

the

sources

of

the

information con-

veyed in the following pages, we shall but say that


all

the statements concerning questions of fact have

PREFACE.

vi

been drawn from trustworthy authors, many of


are

quoted in the text,

deemed necessary

to

though

it

whom

has not been

crowd the pages with

citations

of authorities.

In respect to the theoretical views advanced, they


are as a rule the author's own, and

on their merits.

may

Finally,

it

is

must stand or

hoped that the work

prove of interest and value to those

desire a general

knowledge of the subject,

some measure serve


students

who

as a guide to those

prefer to

fall

who simply
and may in

more ardent

continue the study by the

consultation of original authorities.

CONTENTS.

Page
I.

Types of Mankind

The Home of the Aryans

30

III.

The Aryan Outflow

54

IV.

The Aryans at Home

89

II.

V.
VI.
VII.

VIII.

The Household and the Village


The Double System

of

....
....

The Development of Language


The Age of Philosophy

X.

The Aryan Literature

XL Other Aryan

XIII.

Aryan Worship

The Course of Political Developmknt

IX.

XII.

106
132
153

189
;

....

215

243

273

Characteristics

Historical Migrations

290

The Puture Status of Human Races

308

INDEX

335

THE AEYAN RACE.

I.

TYPES OF MANKIND.

SOMEWHERE,
time,

it

man

no

can say just where

equally impossible to say when,

is

at

some

there

dwelt in Europe or Asia a most remarkable tribe or family


of mankind.
clearly

Where

know.

a hint of

No

or

history

existence

their

was we shall never


mentions their name or gives

when

this

no legend or tradition has

down to us from that vanished realm of life. Not


a monument remains wdiieh we can distinguish as reared
floated

by the hands of
its

this

members can be

people
traced.

not even the grave of one of


Flourishing civilizations were

Egypt and China were already


Yet no prophet
the seats of busy life and active thought.
'^
of the size of
of these nations saw the cloud on the sky
a cloud destined to grow until its mighty
a man's hand,"
even then in existence

shadow should cover the whole face of the earth. As yet


the fathers of the Aryan race dw^elt in unconsidered barbarism, living their simple lives and thinking their simple
thoughts, of no more apparent importance than hundreds

of other primeval tribes, and doubtless undreaming of the

grand part they were yet to play in the drama of human


history.
1

THE ARYAN RACE.

Yet strangely enough this utterly prehistoric and antelegendary race, this dead scion of a dead past, has been
raised from its grave and displayed in

ancient shape

its

we know its history as satisfactorily as we know that of many peoples yet living upon
the face of the earth. We may not know its time or place
before the eyes of man, until

of existence, the battles


the songs

gods

it

it

sang.

it

fought, the heroes

But we know the words

worshipped, the laws

acter of its industries

and

it

its

possessions,

political relations, its religious ideas


its

We

made.

honored,

it

spoke, the

it

know
its

the char-

family and

and the conditions of

and

intellectual development, its race-characteristics,

much

of

the

details of

its

grand migrations after

its

growing numbers swelled beyond the boundaries of their


ancestral home,

and went forth to conquer and possess

the earth.

How we
interesting

have learned

all

this

forms one of the most

our knowledge cannot be questioned.


so trustworthy.

creep

Into

all

No

reality of

history

half

is

written history innumerable errors

but that unconscious history which survives in the

languages and institutions of mankind


of indisputable authenticity.
its

The

chapters in modern science.

ordinary sense.

is,

so far as

it

goes,

It is not, indeed, history in

It yields us

none of the

individual details in the story of a people's

superficial
life,

and

the deeds

of w^arriors and the tyrannies of rulers, the conquests,


rebellions,

priests

and class-struggles, the names and systems of

and law-givers, with which historians usually

deal,

and which they weave into a web of inextricably-mingled


truth

and falsehood.

It is the

rock-bed of history with

which we are here concerned, the solid foundation on


which

its superficial edifice is built.

We know

nothing of

TYPES OF MANKIND.
the deeds of this antique race.

numbers of

its

Yie are ignorant of the

people, the location and extent of

tory, the period of its early development.

its terri-

But we know

that history which has wrought

much

of

itself

deeply into the language, customs, beliefs, and

its

basal history,

insti-

modern descendants, and which crops out


everywhere through the soil of modern European civiliza-

tutions of its

tion, as the granite foundations of the earth's strata

break

through the superficial layers, and reveal the conditions of


the remote past.

Such a germinal history of a people may very possibly


lack interest.

It

has in

it

nothing of the dramatic, nothing

on which the imagination can seize

none of those per-

sonal details or stirring incidents which so strongly arrest


the attention of readers

nothing to arouse the feelings or

awaken the passions and emotions of mankind.

It has

none of the ever-alluring interest of individual human

the

hopes and fears, the

303^8

life,

and sorrows, the sayings

and doings of men, great and small, which give to the


gossipy details of history an attractiveness only a degree

below that of the imaginative novel.

Over our work we

can cast none of this glamour of individualism.


to

do with man

in the

mass, and to treat history as a

philosophy instead of as a romance.


the description of

and

We have

We

are limited to

what he has done, not how he did

to the detail of results instead of processes.

yet history in
sophic stage.

its

modern era

is

life.

the philosophy of existence, the

development.
the people.

And

rapidly entering this philo-

For many centuries

the romance of individual

it,

it

has been confined to

now verging toward


scientific study of human

It is

Kings and courtiers have too long dwarfed

But the stature of the people

is

increasing,

THE ARYAN RACE.

4
and that of
interest in

and heroes diminishing, while a growing


the story of humanity as a whole is succeeding
rulers

that in the lives of individuals.

This gives us some war-

rant for venturing to describe the history of a race whose


ancient

life

cannot give

one of
it

we know only as
the name of one

its exploits,

Yet

occupied.

later history

of what

is

we

a whole, and of which

of its heroes, the scene of

or even the region of the earth which

this race is so

important a one, and

its

has been so grand and exciting, that the story

known

of

its

primitive life can scarcely fail to

find

an interested audience, particularly when we remember

that

we

are here dealing with our

ing the pedigree of our

In this inquiry
the claim of the
tion

it is

own

ancestors,

own customs and

and

trac-

institutions.

necessary to begin by considering

Aryans to the

title

of " race."

What

posi-

do they hold in the category of human races, and what

were the steps of


primitive

man?

their derivation

We must

the broad family of

locate

and development from

them

first

as

mankind before we can

members

of

fairly enter

We

into the study of their record as a separate group.

have spoken of them somewhat indefinitely as a race,


family, or tribe.

with the

title

Indeed, they cannot justly be honored

of race until

we know more

race-characteristic consists,

possession.

and what

is their

what the

claim to

In this respect ethnologists have so

varying ideas that the number and

human

fully in

races are

still

limitations

far from being settled.

therefore but briefly detail

some of the

its

many

of

the

We

can

latest views

upon

the subject.
Race-divisions, indeed,

have been made through two

widely different lines of research.

most fundamental

is

Of

and

these, the first

that of physical characteristics

the

TYPES OF MANKIND.
second

is

cates a

human languages,

more recent separation of mankind.

able extent

based on

latter,

doubtless indi-

To

a consider-

follows the lines of physical variation.

it

It

any important extent, though


separates some of the broad physical divisions into minor

seldom crosses these


it

The

that of linguistic conditions.

the radical diversities in

races.

The Aryan

is

lines to

one of these linguistic races.

It is not

a true race in the wider sense, since, as at present constituted,

it

includes portions of two physical groups which

have so intimately intermingled that pure specimens of

somewhat exceptional, and are found in any


'considerable number only on the opposite border-lands of
either are

these groups.

The primary separation

of

mankind

into races very long

preceded the development of the modern families of language, and was due to strictly physical influences.

The

mental lines of division, as indicated by language, are

much more

recent.

The

physical races have

by ethnologists, one of the

riously classified

who

being that of Professor Huxley,


principal types of

variety, the Melanochroic.^

we

latest

distinguishes

It is

to

recently

a system of

as

most

in

only with the last two

human

Flower has
classification

three extreme types,


1

given

Aryan

it

those

He

is

race.

an outline

which he regards

accordance with the present state of

knowledge on the subject.^

fifth

are here directly concerned, since

Professor

of

four

which he adds a

these which enter into the composition of the

More

schemes

man, the Mongoloid, the Negroid, the

Australioid, and the Xanthochroic

of these that

been va-

our

considers that there are

called

by Blumenbach the

Journal of the Ethnological Society,

ii. 404 (1870).


Address before the Anthropological Institute, Jan.

27, ISS.').

THE ARYAN RACE.

6
the

Ethiopian,

which

all

Mongolian, and the

around

Caucasian,

human

existing individuals of the

species can

be ranged, but between which every possible intermediate

Of

form can be found.

these the Ethiopian

divided into the African

Negroes, the

secondarily

is

Hottentots and

Bushmen, the Oceanic Negroes or Melanasians, and the


Negritos as represented by the inhabitants of the Anda-

man and

other Pacific islands.

The

Australians,

Huxley takes as the type of a separate


to be a

whom

race, he considers

mixed people, as they combine the Negro type of


His sec-

face and skeleton, with hair of a different type.

ond race

is

the Mongolian, represented in an exaggerated

form by the Eskimo,

by most of

in its typical condition

the natives of northern and eastern Asia, and in a modified

Excluding the Eskimo, the Ameri-

type by the Malays.

cans form one group, whose closest

affinity

is

with the

Mongolian, yet which has so many special features that

His third

might be viewed as a fourth primary division.


or Caucasian race includes two
chroic

race
its

is

sub-races, the

The

and Melanochroic of Huxle3^

it

seat

Xauthoof this

Europe, northern Africa, and southwestern Asia,

linguistic

division

being into Aryans,

Semites, and

Hamites.
Several recent writers are inclined to accept a conclusion
closely similar to that of Professor Flower,

man

into three typical races,

and to divide

the Negro, the

and the Caucasian or Mediterranean

viewing

ing races as secondary derivatives of these

Mongolian,
all

remain-

as, for in-

American and the Malay from the Mongolian


or as mixtures, as the Australians from the combination of
Topinard ^ goes so
the Oceanic Mongolians and Negroes.

stance, the

Anthropology,

p. 510.

TYPES OF MANKIND.

man

far as to divide

of these

is

into three distinct species.

The

first

the Mongolian, distinguished by a brachyceph-

aUc, or short skull, by low stature, yellowish skin, broad,

countenance, oblique eyes, contracted eyelids, beard-

flat

less face, hair scanty, coarse,

second

is

and round

in section.

The

the Caucasian, with moderately dolichocephalic,

or long skull, tall stature, fair, narrow face, projecting on

the median line, hair and

and somewhat

soft,
is

beard abundant, light-colored,

elliptical in section.

His third species

the Negro, with skull strongly dolichocephalic, complex-

ion black, hair

flat

and rolled into

spirals, face

very prog-

nathous, and with several peculiarities of bodily structure

not necessary to
It is not our

name

here.

purpose to express any opinion upon this

theory of specific differences in mankind, except to say


that

the

if

such differences exist they are probably limited to

Negro and the Mongolian

stocks.

There are good

reasons for removing the Caucasian from this category.

That the Negroes and the Mongolians do

differ in sufficient

particulars of structure to constitute a specific difference


in the lower animals,

must be admitted.^

Their mental

Agassiz notes the following marked differences in physical structure

between the Negroes and the Indians of Brazil,


the latter in all probability originally of Mongolian race.
His conclusions are based on the
comparison of a large number of photographs of the two races. The
Negroes are generally slender, with long. legs and arms, and a compara-

body while the Indians have short arms and legs, and long
which are rather heavy, and square in build. He compares the
former to the slender, active Gibbons the latter to the slow, inactive,
stout Orangs.
Another striking distinction is the short neck and great
width of shoulder in the Indian, as compared with the narrow chest and
tively short

bodies,

shoulder of the Negro.


males.

Negro

The

This difference exists in females as well as

legs of the Indian are

remarkably straight those of the


and knee. In the Indian the

are habitually flexed, both at hip

THE ARYAN RACE.

But these variations may


possibly have had another origin.
The Negro is essendifferences are equally marked.

tially the

man

of the vSouth, the developed scion of the

The Mongolian

African or the Australasian tropics.

man

the

is

of the North, his native region being the chill

tablelands of northern Asia, so far as the balance of indi-

Whether these two

cations goes.

races, with their specific

differences, arose as distinct species in these widely sepa-

rated localities, and spread outward from these centres of


dispersion until they

met and intimately mingled

some very early division

borders, or whether they indicate


of a single

human

species into

two

sections,

under differing climatic influences,


science

is

are

and variation

questions which

not as yet prepared to answer.

tionable that their well

at their

It is

marked and strongly

unques-

persistent

physical characteristics are the outcome of a very long

was a single
two main divisions must have

period of separate development.


primitive type of

man,

its

If there

been long exposed to very diverse conditions of climate

and

life-habits

and

its

at a very early era in

gested

separation must have taken place

human

existence,

by Professor Wallace,^

when men were

at

as yet too low in

the influences of nature,

perhaps, as sug-

that primitive

mind

to

combat against

and were far more

agency of natural selection than

the}^

epoch

plastic to the

have been during

the later epoch of weapons, clothing, and habitation.


If

we now come

to the consideration of the Caucasian


in the

Negro

There are other

differ-

shoulder-blades are short, and separated by a wide interval

they are long, with

little

space between them.

but the above will suffice to show


Vide " A Journey in Brazil," pp.

ences of structure, equally marked

the strong racial distinction.

529-32.
^

Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection,

p.

319.

TYPES OF MANKIND.
race,

we have

to deal with a series of facts

markedly

dis-

from those relating to the other two races named.


In the Caucasian we certainly have not a primitive and
tinct

homogeneous type of mankind, but a race of varied mixture and of much more recent origin, and therefore neces-

man, but a derivative from

sarily not a distinct species of

primitive

man.

In support of this view an argument of some cogency

The opening of

can be offered.

the historical era presents

the three races above indicated in very different relations


to tliose which

we can

now

obtain.

and hybrid

races, divided the

of the earth between them.

major part

Hardly a foothold was

left

Great part of Africa and many of the

for the Caucasian.


Pacific islands

the earliest date to which

Mongolian and the Negro, with

trace them, the

their sub-types

At

were occupied by the Negro race.

of these islands,

all

of America, and nearly

all

Others
of Asia,

As

were occupied by peoples of the Mongoloid type.

for

Europe, late research has given us some very interesting


information concerning

reason to believe that

it

its

early inhabitants.

There

is

has been successively occupied by

sections of the three principal

human

races,

and that

its

general occupancy by Caucasians reaches not very remotely

beyond the

The

historical era.

human races, and the


found by modern man in Europe tell us

skull is the truest index of

ancient skulls

much concerning

its

early ethnological conditions.

most ancient of these

skulls

The

belong to a long-headed,

strongly prognathous race, with characteristics of a lower

type than are to be found in existing man.

This, called by

Quatrefages the Canstadt race, includes the famous Neanderthal skull, with

its

brute-like characters.

Other skulls,

THE ARYAN RACE.

10

apparently later date,

of

Magnon

constitute

Cro-

so-called

These are also dolichocephalic and progna-

race.

thous, and approach nearer to the

Negro than

any other

to

It is not impossible that a

of the existing types.


fied

the

branch of the Negro race had spread

itself

modi-

over west-

ern Europe at this early period.


Still

appear the skulls of

later

men

of quite different

These range from medium to short

race-characteristics.

heads, while the accompanying skeletons are of short stature,

and present certain traces of

affinity to the

modern

probable that the long-headed and possibly

Lapps.

It is

Negroid

earlier race

had been driven back by a Mongoloid

migration, which in the Neolithic age became widely dis-

There are apparently two types, of which the

tributed.

may be

medium-skulled one

to

some extent a cross be-

tween the long-headed aborigines and the intruding shortThis "Neolithic" type has probably

headed race.

remnant of

its

left a

language in the Basque dialect, as spoken

by half a million of persons crowded

into the Biscayan re-

who once
Europe. Though

gion of France and Spain, the relics of a people

may have

occupied the greater part of

the language of Neolithic

race-characters
of the

persist

still

ancient tombs seem

characters of
regions.

man

many

has nearly vanished, his

for the

skulls

and bodies

reproduced in the physical

of the present inhabitants of the

The ancient

race has held

its

own

same

persistently

against the later infusion of Ar^^an blood.

Thus

in the

outgrowth of what we incline to view as

the two original races, the Mongoloid and the Negroid,


the former seems to have been far the more energetic.
It not only

occupied the continents of Asia, Europe, and

America, but pushed

its

way

into northern Africa

and the


TYPES OF MANKIND.

11

islands of the Pacific, yielding in the line of demarcation


primitive

of the

characteristics.

man of
Though Mongolian man is
a type

races

of

than the Negro, his greater restlessness and

seem

prise

to have placed

him

intermediate
less prolific

spirit of enter-

remote

in possession, at a

period, of most of the earth outside of Africa

and the

Asiatic islands.

In this glance at prehistoric

man no

clearly defined trace

appears of the Caucasian race, whose area at that era was

compared with that of the

certainly very contracted as

And

Mongolian and the Negro.


to which

we can

qualities they

it is

race,

them the Caucasians exhibited the

possess,

still

ality, enterprise,

upon the

trace

yet at the earliest date

those

of superior intellectu-

When we

and migratory vigor.

or rather upon

its

West with

gaze

Xanthochroic section,

everywhere spreading and swelling, forcing

the East and the

first

its

way

Before

resistless energy.

to
its

energetic outflow the aborigines vanish or are absorbed.

In the continent of Europe no trace of them

the exception of the Basques, pushed back into a


tain corner of Spain,

them

in southern Asia.

similar fate has be-

During the whole

historical

The

era this migratory spirit has continued active.


rate branches of,

moun-

and the Finns and Lapps, driven into

the arctic regions of the North.


fallen

with

left,

is

sepa-

and the Aryans as a whole, have been

They are
energy, driving the wedge

persistently seeking to extend their borders.


still

doing so with

all

the old

of invasion deep into the

groid

life,

third of
^

all

until

the Caucasians

mankind,^ and bid

About 420,000,000.

than one

domain of Mongoloid and Ne-

Two

of

to-day number one

fair, ere

many

centuries, to

centuries ago their iiiiniber was not

tentli of the eartli's population.

more

THE ARYAN RACE.

12

reduce the other races to mere fragments, like the Basques

American Indians of the present day.


From these facts we certainly have some warrant

or the North

clude that the Caucasian

is

not a primitive

to con-

human

race,

but a peculiar and highly endowed derivative of the pre-

Otherwise

ceding races.

we

should not have found

it

at

the beginning of authentic history almost lost in the sea of

ruder

life,

but

superior qualities would have told at a far

its

more remote epoch, the Negro and the Mongolian expansion have been checked long ages ago,

and history opened

with the Caucasian as the dominant race of mankind.


is

It

generally acknowledged that from the primitive types

many

sub-races have branched

physical characters

off, differing in

as, for instance, the

mental and

American from

The Caucasian may possibly be a very


divergent example of these sub-types, or rather, if we
the Mongolian.

may

judge from certain highly significant indications, a

compound

of two sub-types derived

from the two pre-

ceding races.

Of

the two

sub-races which

stock of mankind, the

now found most

make up

the

Caucasian

Xanthochroi, or fair whites, are


displayed

t3q3ically

the

in

north

of

Europe, mainly in Denmark, Scandinavia, and Iceland.

The Melanochroi,
in

northern

or dark whites, have their typical region

Africa

and southwestern

Asia.

Between

these regions an intimate mixture of the two types exists,

endless intermediate

grades being found

rule the Xanthochroic

north,

following terms

race

is

w^e

go south.

described by Fesch eP in the

The shape

though as a

becomes more declared as we go

and the Melanochroic as

The combined

The Races

of

of the
Man,

Caucasian skull

p. 481.

is

TYPES OF MANKIND.

between the short skull of the Mongolian

intermediate

and the long

13

skull of the

Negro

Prominence of the

race.

cheek-bones and prognathism, or projection of the lower

common

jaw,

characters in the other races, are very rare

names

in the Caucasian, or the Mediterranean race, as he


it.

The

Fair hair and blue eyes with

skin varies in hue.

a florid complexion are very frequent

among

Such was also the case with the Gallic

Europeans.

as described in ancient history, though

the

The

the Northern

is

it

not so with

modern French, with whom the darker hue


skin

is

Celts,

prevails.

generally darker with the Southern Europeans,

and becomes yellow, reddish, or brown

in

Africa and

Arabia, while the hair and eyes become dark or black.

The

hair of

the Mediterraneans

cylindrical in section as in the

is

not so long nor so

Mongolians

short nor so elliptical as in the Negroes.


curly, being intermediate

The

this respect.

races,

hair is

feature, its high bridge


it

from the broad and

and Mongolians.

The

not so

It is generally

more abundant than


so, the

Americans being nearly beardless.


guishing

is

it

between the other two races in

and the beard much more

marked

lips

Mongolians and

The nose

flat

distin-

nose of the Negroes

and never

are usually thin,

more

a well-

is

and narrow form

present the swollen aspect of the Negro


the features of this race are

in the other

lips.

As

a whole,

refined than those of the

other races, and the form

is more symmetrically developed.


The Caucasian, indeed, seems as a rule intermediate
between the other two races.
The Negro face, seen in

profile,

recedes from the chin to the forehead

the Caucasian

is vertical.

The Mongolian

or projecting in profile, but in front view


outline, being

is

face

that of

is vertical

of a triangular

broad at base and contracted at the fore-

THE ARYAN RACE.

14
head

the Caucasian outline

is

The

oval.

of the Negro and the Mongolian

is

flat

median

line

replaced by a pro-

jecting outline in the Caucasian, mainly due to the eleva-

and narrowness of the nose and the lack of expansion

tion

in the cheek-bones.

In these particulars the two sub-races of the Caucasian


somewhat closely agree, their main distinction being in
color,

though there

The Xanthochroic,

is

also a

marked

or blond type,

is

difference in form.

distinguished by blue

or gray eyes, hair from straw-color to chestnut, and a

rosy or florid complexion, which burns to a brick-red or


In form this race is
becomes freckled under exposure.

and

tall

stout, of square build

though sometimes slim, with

rather ponderous limbs, and a squarer skull

and coarser^

features than in the Melanochroic.

marked by a skin of brownish or olive


hue, which quickly blackens upon exposure, sometimes

The

latter race is

enormously so
to the typical

and eyes

is

Xanthochroi.

it

perhaps inherits a tendency to revert

Negro complexion. The color of the hair


black, and the stature lower than in the

The form

is

very symmetrical in

portions, the skull round-domed,

we have

said,

pro-

and the features are more

delicate than those of the blond type.

as

its

These two

tj^pes,

have become intimately mingled, so that

every shade of gradation exists between them.

Yet nu-

merous instances of the typical structure appear, and the


race-characteristics seem very persistent.

The blond

race has

its

purest expression in Iceland,

Scandinavia, and Denmark, and next in Holland, northern Germany, Saxony, Belgunu, and the British Islands.

But

it

crops out throughout the whole range of the Cauca-

sian domain.

In the far East, though the brown type

is

TYPES OF MANKIND.

15

generally prevalent, the blond type frequently appears.

common among

It is

the Persians

and Afghans, while the

Siah Posh of Kaffiristan are particularly marked by their


fair

complexions, blue eyes, and chestnut hair.

also in northern Africa,

It exists

and on an Egyptian monument of

the twelfth dynasty there appears the representation of a

man

with white skin, blond hair, and blue eyes.

this southern region the

while

dark type

in its turn has forced its

it

though in

is

in

the prevalent one,

way

diminishing frequency as

Yet

far to the north,

approaches the

it

colder regions.

The natural inference from these


type has

its

facts is that the blond

native locality in the North

tiguity with the

and East,

in con-

Mongolian, and the dark type in the South,

Negro

in contiguity with the

dency which these types of

The expanding

race.

man have

ten-

displayed during the

whole historical epoch must have existed since their


origin,

if

we may judge from

their very intimate

first

com-

mingling, which has been so great that comparatively few

pure representatives of either type remain.


plete mixture is

shown

in tlie

No

such com-

Mongolian and Negro races,

except in a narrow border region.

This indicates a

much

less energetic constitutional

migratory

than in the Caucasian, and

a further argument in proof

is

of the recent origin of this race


it

since

spirit in the latter

if

of remote origin,

could not possibly have been confined to the narrow

region in which

we

find

it

at the

opening of the historic

period.

What, then, wfts the origin of the two Caucasian sub-races ?


In response to this question we may propound the views
offered
1

by Mr.

J.

W.

Jackson,^

who advances

Aryan and Semite, Anthropological Eeview,

vii.

the theory
333.

THE ARYAN RACE.

16
that the

Semite (or, as we prefer to consider,

Melauochroi)

really a derivative

is

from the Negro race

and the Aryan (or rather the Xanthochroi)


from the Mongolian.
characteristics

physical

He

the

all

is

a derivative

bases this theory on mental

but he should have considered also the

characters

of the

races.

Melanochroi, or dark whites,

is

it

we observe

If

to

the

their purest

find

specimens in the far South, on the immediate northern


limits of the

Negro

And

race.

here they present signifi-

cant points of affinity to the Negro type.

Many

of the

Berbers of the Sahara region approximate to the Negro


in feature,
ion, with

though some tribes are


straight

noses and thin

light olive in

Of

lips.

mouths

as one

among modern

travellers

have crisp

hair,

of the

and the whole

observed

has

and extreme representation."

Some

as-

of the most graphic delineators

African character, of which the Negro

affinities.

lips, full

but cheerful and smiling

large,

complexions dark, ruddy, and coppery


pect displaying

ancient

the

Egyptian type we are told that they had " thick

and prominent

complex-

Arab

is

the

genuine

the exaggerated

The Arabs present

tribes of the

similar

Middle Desert

approaching that of the Negroes in texture.

In bodily and mental character the Southern Arabs of pure


blood approximate to the Negro type,^ and in color they

may become

of a jet black, as

Arabs of Africa.

On

is

the case with the Shegya

the other hand, in northern

more elevated regions the complexion of the Arabs


fair as that of

Europeans.^

Denon, Voyage en gypte.


"Arabia,"
Palgrave, article

as

Quatrefages looks upon this

Enc5'^clop8edia

edition).
3

and
is

Priehard, Natural History of Man,

p.

150.

Britannica

(ninth

TYPES OF MANKIND.

17

race as one which has evolved a single step beyond the


" arrested " Negro phase.

Tribes of mankind closely affiliated with the Melanochroi,

though with a stronger infusion of the Negro element, extend

much

farther south

in Africa.

Melanochroic Abyssinians and Gallas,


the

more Negroid Nubas, with black

In addition to the

may

be mentioned

skins, but features

of a type intermediate between the white and the black

But the most

races.

are the Foulahs,

an energetic and warlike

tribe, distinc-

from the Negroes, into whose domains

different

tively

significant of the mid- African peoples

This people has become

they are steadily intruding.

much

modified by intercrossing with Negroes and Arabs,

but

seems to have been originally of the Melanochroic type.


Dr. Lenz, in his recent work on Timbuktu, says of them

non-Negro type.

that they are of a distinctly

mens

Pure speci-

of the Foulahs differ from the Negroes in almost

every racial characteristic,

in cranial conformation,

com-

plexion, texture of hair, figure, proportion of limbs, and in

mental

qualities.

blance

to

He was amazed

P^uropeans,

and

at their striking resem-

describes

the

pure-blooded

Foulahs as of light complexion, slightly arched

nose,

straight forehead, fiery glance, long black hair, shapely

limbs,

tall,

slim figures, and of great intelligence.

In fact, the Melanochroi present indications, to judge

from

wide extension, of being a much more

their early

primitive

race

than the Xanthochroi.

They

are

found

throughout northern Africa, extending to a line drawn considerably south of the Sahara

widely distributed through-

out southern Asia, from the Semitic regions to India, where

they give the main physical character to the Hindu Aryans


1

The Human

Species, p. 351.

THE ARYAN RACE.

18

everyT\^here iu southern

Europe, where their type greatly

predominates over that of the blonds

ponderance

in central

and

in less pre-

Europe, where they have

modified the original type of

the

essentiall}'

and Teutonic

Celtic

Aryans.
If

we accept

the indications here presented, in connection

with the apparently very limited extension of the blond


type of

man

in the recent pre-historic period,

the theory that the Eastern Hemisphere

we

are led to

was divided

more remote period between three races of mankind,


Mongolian

in the

at a

the

temperate and frigid zones, the Negro in

the tropics, and the Melanochroi occupying a broad inter-

mediate belt stretching across the whole continent from


the Atlantic to the borders of Farther India.
It is interesting to perceive that this

Melanochroic

man

is

zone occupied by

that of demarcation of the primitive

Mongoloid and Negroid

races.

Here they must have met

and mingled, and here a hybrid derivative of the two races


very probably arose,

an

intermediate type of mankind,

with a preponderance of the Negro element,

from existing indications.

It

is

if

we may judge

particularly in

Europe

that we find evidence of this mingling of the long-headed

and short-headed aboriginal

races, their resultant being a

type with skulls of medium length,

western Europe.
similar evidence

may

yield

along the zone of demarcation.

We

More extended
all

the Neolithic man of


investigation

can picture to ourselves an original Negroid population

in

southward migratory movement of the more


enterprising Mongolians, and a long-continued mingling of
the two races, with a somewhat profound modification of
this zone, a

new type of man,


Melanochroic, with considerably more of Negro than of

their physical characteristics, yielding a

the

TYPES OF MANKIND.
Mongolian blood, yet essentially diverse

19
in character

from

both the parental types.

now we come to consider the origin of the blond type


man, we find ourselves brought down to nearly historic

If

of

The widespread extension

times.

of this type at the open-

ing of the historic era can be traced back, almost step

b^^

step, to an original central region, probably of small dimen-

sions,

We have evidence from

though of unknown location.

the Egyptian

monuments

man

appearance of blond

found

among

of v/hat

the Berbers

of

in

Islands, Topinard remarks:

"It

is

first

Tunis and Morocco,

and

Sahara,

the

the

Of the type as

in that region.

north of Africa,

in the

may have been

the

in

derived from a

Canary

Tama-

hou people who about the year 1500 before our era made
their appearance upon the frontier of Egypt, coming from
the North.

Basque

territory

The blonds which we meet with


and near the

Straits of Gibraltar in Spain

probably descendants of theirs."^

are

in the

In Europe and

Asia the movements of the blond race took place immediately before the opening of the historic epoch

the centre of dispersion

is

and though

not clearly knov/n, yet nearly

every step of migration has been traced.

In every region

to which they migrated, with the exception of Scandinavia,

they seem to have mingled freely with the preceding Melanochroic inhabitants, yielding that intimately mixed race

which constitutes the Aryan of to-day.

owe

the modern

man

To

this fusion

we

of southern Asia and Europe, from

Brahman of the East to the round-headed and


dark-featured class among the Celts of the West. Only in
the bronzed

the extreme North did the Xanthochroic type sustain itself


in

any purity, and only


'

in

Arabia and Africa did the

Anthropology,

p. 4.52.

THE ARYAN RACE.

20

In

Melanochroic type remain preponderant.

all

the region

between, every possible intermediate gradation of the two


types exists, though the dark type gradually decreases
as

we move northward, and

the blond type as

we move

southward.
If

of

we endeavor

man

to seek the derivation of the blond type

the indications are very obscure.

markedly from the Mongolian

This type differs

and yet we are not without

intermediate links of connection, or traces of a tendency in


the Mongolian to assume the Xanthochroic characters.
are told

by Chinese historians of certain mysterious

in central

and red

Asia who were

tall of stature

AVe
tribes

and had green eyes

Matuanlin, the historian, described one such

hair.

people as inhabiting western Mongolia at the opening of the


Christian era.

Mountains.
century, as

similar tribe existed

beyond the

Altai"

Other tribes are mentioned, down to the twelfth


tall,

with red hair and green eyes, and of fair

complexion.

Some

writers are inclined to consider these as

members

who are known to have inhabited the region mentioned. The physical appearance of the
modern Turks, indeed, strongly resembles the Aryan type
The Turks of the Ottoman and Persian empires
of man.
of the Turkish Mongolians,

are

This

completely Europeanized in feature


is

and structure.

by some ascribed to persistent intermarriage with

Circassian slaves

yet such a theory applies only to the rich

and powerful, while the peasantry are equally EuropeanThe great mass of the lower population have
ized.
always strictly intermarried, difference of religion and

manners keeping them separate from the Greeks and Persians.

sect of

The Tadjiks of Persia, the true Aryans, are of a


Mohammedanism hostile to that professed by the

:
;

TYPES OF MANKIND.

21

Turks, and these two classes have kept rigidly separate.

The Aryan

characteristics of the civilized

Turks

is

there-

fore not so readily explainable.

Of the Turcomans Vambery says that they alone of

all

Mongolians do not possess high cheek-bones, while the


blond color

predominant among them.

is

Yet the Turkish

hordes of the northern steppes are strongly Mongolian in


physical character, though occasionally blue and gray eyes
are observed

among

the Kirghiz.

We

farther eastward

Topinard quotes as follows

similar indications appear.


'*

Still

saw Mantschu Tartars," says Barrow, " who accom-

panied Macartney's embassy to Pekin,

men

as well as

women, who were extremely fair and of florid complexion


some of the men had light blue eyes, a straight, aquiline
nose, brown hair, and a large and bushy beard." ^ All
this,

race,

however, might be due to mixture with the blond

even though we have no evidence of

favorable to such a mixture.

conditions

Yet such could not well be

the case in America, where similar variations are

King

tells

man

nose "

ns that
is

'

by no means rare among the Eskimos,

while the complexion

Among

common.

the oval face associated with the Ro-

'

is

sometimes

fair,

the American tribes the nose

Mongolian type, but

is

sometimes dark.

occasionally of the

is

often large, prominent, bridged, and

even aquiline, while the stature

is tall,

tendency to the elongated shape.

and the skull has a

Several tribes, both of

North and South America, present a close approximation


to the

the

European type.

Mandans, the

This

so-called

described by Catlin.

is

strikingly the case with

White Indians of the West, as

The above

facts

seem

to indicate a

ready variability in the Mongolian race, under the influence


i

Anthropology,

p. 452.

THE AEYAN RACE.

22

of diversity of climate and condition, since these widespread


modifications towards the European type can scarcely be

ascribed to mixture with a race as limited in numbers as


the opening of

the Xanthochroi appear to have been at


the historic era.

There

is

yet,

however, one branch of

Mongolians to be considered,

we

the

the

linguistic

And

Finnish.

here

marked approximation towards

the

Xanthochroic race, far too general to be ascribed to

in-

find

strongly

termarriage.

The Finns

are to

some degree intermediate

between the blond and the Mongolian types, though much


nearer the former.

They

are

marked by long

hair, usually

reddish or yellowish, or of a flaxen hue, and more rarely

The European Finlanders have red hair, with a


moderately full beard, generally red. The eyebrows are
chestnut.

thick, tlie eyes sunken,

chestnut hue.

The nose

and of a blue, greenish gray, or

The complexion

is straight,

is fair,

and usually freckled.

with small nostrils

the cheek-bones

are prominent, owing to the thinness of the face

the lips

small.

These characteristics clearly separate the Finns

from

the surrounding types, and bring

all

to the

European than

to the

Mongolian

them much

closer

The

north-

race.

ern Russians in particular are of very similar physical char-

Very probably the green-eyed and red-haired race


spoken of by the Chinese were Finnish tribes, though blue
is more common than green in the eyes of modern Finns.
acter.

AYe

may

also say here that the Finns approach the

in the possession of a

poetry,

an evidence of

in pure

Mongolians of a similar state of

Thus though no
chroic typs

of

mental power which

is

not found

civilization.

direct clew to the origin of the

man

Aryans

mythology and of a highly developed

exists, there

Xantho-

are strong indications

TYPES OF MANKIND.

was a derivative from the Mongolian, and that


arose at a comparatively recent date.
We have shown

that
it

23

it

that a tendency exists

among

the Mongolians of northern

Asia and America to deviate towards the Xanthochroic


character.

In the case of the Finns this deviation has

marked

yielded a strongly

race,

nearly approaching the

Xanthochroi both physically and mentally.


connection, to

in

race

native to a locality bordering

is

upon that which the

latest archaeologists consider the original

ans,

and that

it

differs

in-

remark that the Finnish

terest,

this

It is of

home

of the Ary-

from the neighboring Russians

mainly in language, and very

little in

physical character.

It

may

be offered as a conjectural hypothesis that the prim-

itive

Xanthochroi were a derivative from the Finns at an

much

era before the languages of either had attained

de-

velopment, the further physical variation which took place


being probably due to climatic influences, and possibly to
residence of the Xanthochroi in a mountainous region.^

The mental

characteristics of the several

lead us to similar conclusions.

remarked that
the

all

Negro or the Mongolian

On

first

place

it

races

may be

the savage tribes of the earth belong to

has ever appeared.


developed.

In the

human

No

race.

No Negro

civilization

Mongolian one has ever greatly

the other hand, the Caucasian

is

pre-emi-

?eems probable that the Lnpps, the remaining European Monrace-affinities with the Finns.
Professor A. H. Keene
has recently examined a company of seven Lapps, in London, and de1

It

golians,

have close

cides that in several respects they have deviated from their fundamental

Mongolian type, and have assimilated, especially in the color of tlie hair
and eyes, in the complexion, and in the shape of the nose, to the surrounding Norse population. He attributes this assimilation to like climatic influences rather than to intermixture, of which there is no direct
evidence. The family belonged to the mountain nomadic tribes, of purest
descent and of least intercourse with Europeans.

THE ARYAN RACE.

24

man

nently the

records a savage

everywhere

No

of civilization.
of

tribe

enters

traveller or historian

Caucasian stock.

history in

This race

a state of advanced bar-

barism or of rapidly advancing

civilization.

But the Caucasian development

is

not the work of either

Men-

of the sub-races, but of their combined resultant.


tally,

each of the pure types too closely approaches

assumed ancestral race

to

display

vigorous intellectual

The pure Melanochroi tend towards

powers.

type of intellectuality

its

the

Negro

the pure Xanthochroi approximate

The Negro race, as described by De


marked by a low grade of intellectuality,

to the Mongolian.

Gobineau,^

is

combined with a strongly emotional tendency.


in acquisition at
tellectually.

first,

but soon stops, and grows dull in-

Emotionally the Negro

passions and strong attachments.


of

stability

It is quick

capable of violent

is

He

has a childish

humor, intense but not enduring

He

poignant but transitory grief.

is

in-

feelings,

seldom vindictive,

his anger being violent but quickly appeased, his sensibilities

ardent but speedily subsiding.

His amatory

feel-

ings are strong, and his sensuality highly developed.

these particulars he

and the

T\"est, in

is

In

akin to the Melanochroi of Arabia

whom we find a sensual temperament, fierce

passions, intense emotions, and a mentality that requires

excitement more than reason for

its

exercise,

and tends

to

the fanciful far more strongly than to the logical.


If
find

now we compare

the yellow race with the black,

them strongly opposite

in

mental characteristics.

we
In

muscular vigor and intensity of feelings the typical Mongolians are greatly inferior to the blacks.

and

agile,
1

but not strong.

They

Their sensuality

Moral and Intellectual Dirersity of Races,

are supple

is less
p. 445.

violent

TYPES OF MANKIND.

25

They

than that of the blacks, but less quickly appeased.

much

are

less impulsive,

Their anger

in will-power.

They

and rather obstinate than violent


is

vindictive, but not clamorous.

are seldom prone to extremes,

standing what

is

and while

easily under-

not very profound and sublime, their lack

of emotional and imaginative energy prevents their attain-

ing an ardent faith or an exalted religious

They
and

philosophy.

love quiet and order, and keenly appreciate the useful

They

practical.

are, indeed, a practical people in the

Their lack of imagination

narrowest sense of the word.

renders them uninventive, but they easily understand and

adopt whatever

is

of practical utility. ^

This description

applies mainly to the Asiatic Mongolians, and


in the

whole conditions of the Chinese

is

shown
It

civilization.

cannot be extended to include the Americans, who have


a very marked development of the faculty of imagination.

some measure, however,

It applies in

northern Europe, in
tithesis

to the

whom we

to the blond race of

a strong mental an-

find

ardent nations of the South.

The pure

blonds replace the nervous temperament of the Melanochroi with a lymphatic temperament.

but are more reflective.


rather than

by

desire.

They

They

lack vivacity,

are controlled

by reason

Conclusions are not reached im-

pulsively,

but are thought out,

when once

arrived at.

They

and are strongly held

are not of quick passion, are

slowly roused, but earnest and persevering, and are brave

They

are

to gluttony

and

without requiring the stimulus of enthusiasm.


sincere

and simple-minded, but addicted

di'unkenness,
less addicted.

the
1

same

faults to which the

Melanochroi are much

In these respects the blond white presents

affinity to the

Mongolians as the dark white does

Moral and Intellectual Diversity of Races, A. de Gobineau,

p.

445.

THE ARYAN RACE.

26
to the Negroes,

and they seem respectively the highest

expression of these two races.

But

two primary races we have

in the mentality of the

the germinal conditions of the highest phases of intellectual

The emotional

development.
are the

Negro

characteristics of the

germinal stage of the imaginative faculty

practical mentality of the

Mongolian

dition of the reasoning powers.

is

the

the germinal con-

In Scandinavia we find

a practical people, yet one not given to abstract thought.

In Arabia and northern Africa

we

find a highly emotional

people, yet one not noted for valuable imaginative productions.

For the higher unfoldment of these mental

a further step was

needed, that

faculties

close fusion of the

two

The mixed race


The
of Europe presents us with the highest type of man.
cool
wild flights of Southern fancy have been tamed by the
decisions of practical sense, until we find, as the lineal
sub-races which has so widely taken place.

successor of the Oriental

extravagance, the artistically

The

imaginative productions of the people of Greece.


practical tendency of the Northern

by imagination

until

it

mind has been inspired

has yielded the exalted products of

Teutonic reason.
Despite the long and close intermingling of these subraces, the mental character of each crops out frequently in

strong isolation,

now

markedly predominant

reason,
in

now

imagination, becoming

highest display of the reasoning faculty in


is

in the region of the Teutonic race, in

Xanthochroic blood
has reached

its

is in

The

an individual or a people.

excess.

modern Europe

which the infusion of

The imaginative

faculty

highest development in the South, where

Melanochroic l^lood

is

in excess.

This

is

markedly

played in the literature of Greece, and yet more

dis-

so in

TYPES OF MANKIND.

27

India, where the flights of imagination have left reason

In raid-Europe of to-day these two facul-

far in the rear.


ties exist in

some degree of balance

though

the South the preponderance of imagination


artistic

many
and

in

is

France and

shown

and picturesque tendency of thought, while

in the

in Ger-

a like preponderance of the logical faculty appears

in

England, the central meeting- place of the two races,

these two faculties seem more evenl}^ combined than else-

where upon the earth.

It is to this

mingling of South and

North, of fair and dark, of judgment and emotion, of im-

we owe

agination and reason, that

the

Aryan

race, the

apex of human development, and the culminating point


in the long-continued evolution of

man.

The comparative mental characteristics of the three typical human races are briefly enumerated by De Gobineau in
the following terms
The white race has great physical
:

vigor, capacity,

and endurance.

and desire which

is

It

controlled by

has an intensity of will


intellectuality.

things are undertaken readily, but not blindly.

It

Great
mani-

fests a strong utilitarianism, united with a powerful imagi-

nation, which elevates, ennobles,

and

idealizes its practical

The Negro can only imitate, the Chinese only utilize, the work of the white
but the latter is abundantly
capable of producing new works.
He has as keen a sense
ideas.

of order as the yellow man, not from a love of repose,

however, but from the desire to protect and preserve his


acquisitions.

He

has a love of liberty far more intense

than exists in the black and yellow races, and clings


to life

more

faculty

unknown

earnestly.
to

His

the other

high

sense of honor

races,

is

and springs from

an exalted sentiment of which they show no indications.

His sensations

are

less

intense

than

in

either

black

THE ARYAN RACE.

28

or yellow, but his mentality

more developed and

far

is

energetic.

Our hypothetical

may

of

line

human

be combined with one of mental development in a

human

brief synopsis of the progress of

far

physical development

back in time

it

is

Very

mentality.

possible that a single race of

man

occupied the earth, brute-like both in body and mind,

if

we may judge from the most ancient traces of mankind


At a later epoch two strongly marked
yet discovered.
races made their appearance, perhaps as derivatives from
Or, in the opinion of some,

the single primeval race.

these two races were primitive, and constituted two origi-

They differed essentially both physiand mentally. The Negro race was marked by a

nal species of man.


cally

strong emotional tendency, in consonance with


climate

tropical

the Mongolian by an equally strong phlegmatic

and practical mentality,

At

mate.

its

much

in

consonance with

later date these races

its

gave

frigid

rise to

cli-

two

the Melanochroi,
more highly developed types of man,
in which the Negro emotion had unfolded into imagination,
and the Xanthochroi, in which the Mongolian practicality

had developed

Finally, an intunate mixture of

into logic.

these two sub-races yielded the

man, the Aryan,

come combined

in

whom

modern dominant type of

logic

into reason

and

and imagination have beart,

and the

sided mental development of earlier

man

special, one-

has become a

generalized, intermediate condition of mentality which can

be most fairly characterized by the

Thus

the

central

Aryan stands

title

of intellectuality.

as the type of intellectual

outcome of the races,

in

man, the

which the special condi-

North and South, emotional and


practical, have mingled and combined into the highest and
noblest states of mind and body.

tions of dark

and

light.

TYPES OF MANKIND.
If

now we come

by language, they

29

to consider the lines of race as indicated


will

be found to follow to some extent

those above given, though they separate mankind into


several minor racial divisions.
in physical character

The considerable

between the Americans and the Asi-

atics, for instance, indicating, as it does,

tion, is in

continent has

the

Between the

is

first

very decided.

much

to have

its

strongly

marked

linguistic

Linguistically the Caucasians are divided into three

sub-types,

is

an early separa-

conformity with the indications of language,

since each

type.

diversity

Aryans, the Semites, and the Hamites.

two of these the distinction

latter types of

language

Between the Semites and the Hamites

less declared,

grown up

in

and

their.

it

types of language seem

in close contiguity.

Significantly, these

language are spoken by peoples of Melano-

But no Xanthochroic people has ever been


found speaking any but an Aryan tongue.
chroic blood.

II.

THE HOME OF THE ARYANS.


seeking to trace the original

IN

home

of the

Aryans we

are concerned mainly with the Xanthochroic, or blond,

type of the race.

The Melanochroic, or dark, type was

widely spread, in the later prehistoric era, throughout the

Mediterranean and the southern Asiatic region.


blonds were in
ity,

and

all

probability far

their place of residence

more limited

in

local-

remains one of the unsolved

problems of science, despite the persistent

have been made to discover

But the

efforts

which

Yet these blonds or

it.

"fair whites" were the true Aryans, the people with

whom

the type of language

known

The languages of the " dark whites


tinct family of speech,

which

Aryan

as

spoken by most of the

is still

typical representatives of the race, though

are

generally spoken

by the

tribes

home

fair-haired
shall here

The

of the Xanthochroi

ancestors

of

the

It is therefore

the

the

blue-eyed and

modern Ar^^ans

that

we

endeavor to trace.

effort to solve this

upon considerations of

problem has mainly been based


It has
comparative philology.

been a fascinating pursuit to


of the original Aryans

ments of

Aryan tongues

and peoples arising

from a mingling of the two races.


original

originated.

" belong to a very dis-

it

its

devotees.

The speech

was wholly unknown yet fragmodern language,

lay buried in the depths of

THE HOME OF THE ARYANS.

31

and these have been assiduously wrought out and pieced


together, until, like an edifice built of disjointed materials,

they yield a complete and coherent image to our minds.

Word by word

the language of the ancient

been exhumed.

Ikit a

word represents a

embody

who used

it

thing, a relation,

some possession or

or an action, and points to


the people

Aryans has
activity of

and the words of a language

the whole industrial, social, and political

life

of

down to its minutest detail. Unfortunately we


do not know the language of the ancient Aryans in any
such complete sense as this, nor are we quite sure what
a nation,

meanings they attached

Yet

to their words.

their study

has given us some very interesting glimpses into the lives


of a vanished people, and enabled us, to some extent, to

bring them back again to the surface of the earth.

The discovery

that a close affinity exists

guages of Europe

is

among

the lan-

a result of very recent research.

The

resemblance between Greek and Latin, indeed, has long

been known, and the


guages,

common

descent of the Romanic lan-

the French, Spanish, and Italian, was too

dent to be lost sight of.

evi-

But that the remaining languages

of Europe were first-cousins of these, was not perceptible


until philology

had become a

science.

The divergences,

though of the same character, were much wider than those

between the Romanic languages, and needed a

critical

study before the resemblance could be made apparent.

work had made any important progress another


and very distant language was brought into the same famEre

ily.

this

The English

Sanscrit,

in India

had become acquainted with the

the noble and venerable language

of the Vedic

To

delight, they

literature of the

discovered

Hindus.

that this

their surprise

and

interesting language possessed close

THE ARYAN RACE,

32

links of affinity, both in

words and

European family of speech.

in structure,

This was

with the

pointed out by

first

William Jones about 1790, who declared that the three

Sir

languages, the Latin, Greek, and Sanscrit, had sprung

from " some common source, which perhaps no longer


exists."

He was

also inclined to attribute the Persian to

a similar source, and hinted at the possibility of the Celtic

and the Gothic being members of the same group.


This earliest conception of an Indo-European family of

languages was taken up and extended some twenty years

by Frederick Schlegel, who

afterwards

tained the theory that the

Greece, Italy, and

1808 main-

in

languages of India, Persia,

Germany were connected by common

descent from an extinct language, just as the modern

Romanic tongues were descended from the Latin.

For

this

vanished dialect he proposed the name Indo-Germanic.

The

truth of this theory

was

first

demonstrated by Bopp,

''Comparative Grammar," published from 1833 to

in his

He

1852.

not only proved clearly the close

affinity in

grammatical structure between the languages above named,


but also added the Zend, Armenian, Slavonic, and Lithuanian to the group.

about the same time

The

Celtic dialects

were included

and the relationship of

all

the

memmade

Aryan speech was thus


evident.
For this group the name "Indo-European" was
a name which is still used by many philoloproposed,
The term "Aryan" has more recently come into
gists.

bers of the great family of

favor, mainly through the influence of


title

Max

really applies only to the Persians

being that by which they


ration

yet

its

knew themselves

Miiller.

and the Hindus,


before then- sepa-

shortness and ease of handling

ascendency over the complex compound

This

titles as

is

giving

name

it

for

THE HOME OF THE ARYANS.


the whole widely extended family.

S3

Systematic philologists

have entered into long arguments to prove that the word


*'

Aryan" has no

peoples.

No

right to be applied to all

Indo-European

one disputes the validity of these arguments,

and yet the proscribed word has come generally into use.
It is short

and convenient

and

portance to ordinary speakers than

its

To make

etymology.

a close research into the origin of words


of philology

more im-

this is of tenfold

is

one of the tasks

but this does not carry w ith

it

the necessity

of replacing accepted and convenient terms by more correct

but cumbrous synonyms.

In

sands of words w^hose origin


tion

is

languages there are thou-

quite lost in their applica-

aware of their original

philologists are

and nothing further

all

signification,

required.

is

The community of origin of the peoples above named


had been suspected from other lines of study long before
Ethnologists
this linguistic demonstration was completed.
and mythologists had

lent aid to the demonstration.

connection between their religious ideas had become evident, and the similarity of their race-characteristics

been observed.

from

Pritchard suggested their

Dr.

a study of their skulls, j^ears before

from a study of

their languages.

earlier investigations

work of the
of proof.

But the

it

had

affinity,

was proved

results of these

were only partially accepted, and the

philologists

was needed

to

round out the

circle

This evidence from philology was no light task.

The separation

of the

Aryans

into distinct branches

had

taken place so long ago, and the language of each branch

had so diverged from those of the

others, that

easy clearly to prove their relationship.


patient and persistent

One by one

it

it

was not

But science

is

has long sight and clear vision.

the difficulties vanished, and the truth


3

was made

THE ARYAN RACE.

34

One of the most striking forms of linguistic


divergence was that pointed out by Jacob Grimm and met
apparent.

He showed

by the celebrated " Grimm's law."


that each branch of the
cies of

Aryan family had

clearly

peculiar tenden-

speech, resulting in certain variations of vowels

and consonants, which were constant for the same people.


Whether from some change in the vocal organs that rendered one letter more easily pronounced tlian another, or

from some unknown cause, each nation developed


peculiar variations from the original

Aryan sounds,

its

own

so that

a single primitive word often assumed forms quite unlike

and seemingly incompatible

in sound,

in form.

Thus the

consonant sound that became v in one branch of the

Aryans became b in another. S with this people became


Here the vowel was aspirated, and there the
tJi with that.
Several such methods of change
initial 7i was suppressed.
might be named, each dialect branching
special direction, the

German

own

following one line, the Latin

It is the discovery of the

another, etc.

off in its

system of vocal

change prevailing with each people that constitutes Grimm's


law, and that enables us to prove the identity of words
which at

first

sight

seem to have nothing

one illustration of this we


cation of the English

Vedas.

The

s in

may

quote

Max

word J^eUy with

in

common.

As

Miiller's identifi-

the Saramci of the

Sanscrit often becomes h in Greek, and

Thus Sanscrit Saramd


became Greek Halama.
This, by an ordinary Greek
But the Sanmodification, became contracted to Halan.

the liquid r as often becomes

scrit

is

often changed to

l.

in

Greek, and by such a

The further steps of change


English has become Ellen by the loss

change Halan became Helen.


were easy.

Helen in

of the aspirate,

and Ellen has become transformed into

THE HOME OF THE ARYANS.

Yet between these two words

Nelly as a familiar name.

same

of the

origin there

is

Philologists do not often

tasks as this

and

fling,

tlie

not a single letter in common.

have to handle such

yet their labors have been by no

above

will serve as

the changes with which they have


will

It

35

here to

suffice

intricate

means

tri-

an extreme instance of

had

to deal.^

say that this line of inquiry

has been carried to the point of absolute demonstration.

There

is

no more doubt entertained to-day by

of the original

named than

scientists

community of the languages of the peoples

there

is

The

of the existence of the earth.

proof does not rest upon a possibly chance resemblance of

words, but deals with the very nerves and sinews of speech,

that

rigidly persistent

vives the most

grammatical structure which sur-

radical changes in

the forms of

These separate peoples, as Whitney remarks,

words.

count

all

with the same numerals, call individuals by the same pronouns, address parents and relatives by the same
decline
alike,

nouns by the same system, compare adjectives

conjugate verbs alike, and form derivatives

same method.
them

in

son,

all.

in

the

The words in most ordinary use are similar


The terms for God, house, father, mother,

and daughter, for dog, cow,

of the

titles,

heart, tears,

kind that would naturally persist.

and

tree, are

No

chance

could produce abundant conformities of this close charac1

We may give,

as an illustration of the verbal

community

of the

Aryan

languages, the forms taken by one or two words in the several tongues.

Thus the word " house " is in Sanscrit, dama ovdam ; in Zend, demana ;
in Greek, domos ; in Latin, domus ; in Irish, dahm ; in Slavonic, domu :
English derivative, domestic.
In like manner, "boat" in Sanscrit is
nau or naiika ; in Persian, nav:> or naicah ; in Greek, nnus ; in i^atin,
navis ; in old Irish, noi or nai; in old German, nnwa or nawi; in
Polish, naiva: English derivative, naulical.

THE ARYAN RACE.

36
ter

between a whole

series of languages

and the general

existence of such conformities absolutely demonstrates the

common

origin of the

Aryan tongues.

But a demonstration of the common


leads to that of the

speak them.
there

If there

was one

who

origin of the peoples

was one

original

Aryan language,

Aryan people. It does not follow,


modern speakers of Aryan tongues are

original

however, that the


all

common

origin of languages

descendants of this people.

Oppert, Hovelacque, and

other able philologists claim that the correspondence of

Aryan languages does not prove a common


is

the result of

the

descent, but

propagation of a language from a

single centre through heterogeneous populations,

Romans and Arabs spread


inhabited

by other

advanced

by

M.

Latin and Arabic over regions

This

races.

Oppert,

Professor Whitne3\

He

as the

is

theory,

vigorously

as

originally

by

contested

cannot imagine that any

cir-

cumstances existed in the early barbaric period similar


to

those of the

Roman and Arabian

In his

empires.

view, no aboriginal language has ever been entirely dispelled without a complete incorporation of

the people

and this has never taken place except in the


Nothing of the kind appears

empire.
of

the

Persians,

in the conquests

Germans, Mongols, or even of

Greeks, and certainly could not arise in a


veloped people.

Roman

The complete

political

much

and

the

less de-

social fusion

of the conquered with the conquering people of the

Roman

empire has never been paralleled in history, and existed


only in those regions that were bound to
centuries.

The Arabic

parallel

is

Rome

for

many

a very imperfect one

it

represents an infusion of the Arabic rather than an abolition of the native languages.

Barbarians do not conquer

THE HOME OF THE ARYANS.


way

complete

in this

37

they destroy or enslave, or their

conquests end, after a Ihnited period, in a revolt of the

conquered

Race-mingling

tribe.

may

take

place,

but

hardly an acceptance of the language of a conquering


tribe

This argument of Pro-

by unamalgamated peoples.

Whitney

fessor

is

not, however, in very strict

with what race-indications

tell

agreement

peoples.

There can scarcely be a doubt that,

instances,

the vigor of the

their

Aryan
in some

us concerning the

Aryans

to

sufficed

impose

language on more numerous aboriginal peoples, with

whom

they became thorouglily mingled.

stance,

Such, for in-

the case with the Celts, the Slavonians, and

is

much reason to believe that in all


Aryan conquerors mingled their blood

There

the Hindus.

these the original

is

with that of a considerably more numerous conquered

Yet the Aryan language has held

people.

very

little

modification, while the

its

own with

aboriginal speech has

Certainly the vigor, enterprise, and persistent

vanished.

Aryan migrants must have exerted a strong


upon the more yielding aborigines, and we cannot

spirit of the

influence

be surprised

if

the latter often lost their language with

their nationality.

We

have

sufficiently considered in the

preceding section

the question of the mingling of the "fair whites" and

"dark whites"

of Europe, and endeavored to show the

probability that the development of this type of mankind,

with

its

region
people.

distinctive famil}^ of language, took place in a


distinct

from that of

Where was

earth's surface

was

it

into social, political,

oped that budding

the

this region?

typical

Melanochroic

On what

area of the

that the Aryan-speaking people

and

linguistic coherence,

civilization

grew

and devel-

and migratory energy which

THE ARYAN RACE.

38

were, at a later period, to send them forth to conquer the

This

world?
burnings

is

among

ment, and which

a question which has caused deep heartphilologists,

may

which

is 3^et far

from

settle-

Yet

perhaps never be fully solved.

the early and hasty conclusions have been succeeded by


better based
ble that

and more consistent theories

"home

the

of

and

it is

Aryans" may yet be

the

possi-

deter-

mined with some satisfactory degree of approximation.


The present state of this much-vexed question we shall
endeavor to set forth.

briefly

In the study of Aryan antiquity the languages of Europe

No

present us only with words.


tions exist to

But

locality.

there

is

historical details or tradi-

early migration from

show an

in the eastern

some remote

branch of the Aryan family

abundant evidence of a migration to India and


Literatures,

reaching back beyond the date of

this migration, exist,

comprising the Vedic hymns of the

Persia.

Hindus, and the religious works of the Zoroastrian

which some
served.

historical

and geographical

details

sect, in

are pre-

These indicate the region of ancient Arya, the

common home

of the Hindus and Persians while they yet

formed a single people, or of

the Aryans, as

all

was long

maintained.

The theory
advanced by

home

this

be, in the

of an eastern
J.

of the

G. Rhodes

home
in

Aryans was

of the

1820.

first

Thirty years ago

common Aryan tongue was supposed

words of

Pictet,^ the

to

" vast plateau of Iran, that

immense quadrilateral stretching from the Indus to the


Tigris and Euphrates, from the Oxus and Jaxartes to the
Persian Gulf." But this area was soon found to be too
extensive,
1

and attempts were made to reduce

Lps Origines Indo-Eiiropeennes, ou

les

Aiyas

it

within

Priinitifs, p. 35.

THE HOME OF THE ARYANS.


more probable
seemed

The

limits.

of

traditions

39
the

Avesta

to point to the region of Bactria as the place of

common

residence of Hindus and Persians while they

At

formed one people.

that period, too,

much was

still

said

about the plateau of Pamir, the "roof of the world," as


the

of the civilized races, though

birthplace

clearly perceived that this inaccessible

highland

is

utterly unsuited for

the Avestan traditions were

human

it

now

is

and inhospitable

residence.

In fact,

stretched too

plainly

They indeed contained reminiscences

far.

of an older Iranian

was
Aryan race. Philology was next
appealed to, and the claim made that the language which
had niost faithfully preserved the ancient Aryan type must
land, but gave no warrant for the view that this land

the cradle of the whole

have been the one that had migrated the

least.

This prim-

was found in the Sanscrit and the Zend,


while the Celtic, which had made its way farthest Aest,
had apparently suffered the greatest transformation.
itive condition

To the above conclusions, however,


may be made. In the first place, the

several objections
fact that the early

Persian and Hindu literatures indicate a migration, while

no

distinct tradition of the kind exists in the literatures of

early Europe, proves,

if it

proves anything, that the east-

ern Aryans were the only migrating

And

their comparatively small

their early
is

far

days

is

members of the

race.

numbers and limited area

an evidence in the same direction.

more probable that the migration of a

tribe

in

It

from the

West to the far East took place, than that the bulk of the
race moved from the East to the far West, leaving a single
tribe behind.

grants

who

And

that these eastern

forced themselves

abundantly indicated

among

Aryans were immi-

hostile strangers, is

in their literature.

It is a literature

THE ARYAN RACE.

40

The

of battle, of deadly fray, of unyielding hostility.

Vedas are the

stirring

hymns

of a people surrounded by

whom

there can

a duty to

God and

strangers alien in race and religion, with

be no peace, and whose destruction

They breathe

man.

is

the tone of an invading race full of

The Hindus seem

vigor and bent on conquest.

to have

been then, as they are to-day, plunged into the heart of

an alien population.

much

The Eastern Aryans have expanded

since those early days, but they are

surrounded by Mongolian

tribes.

India

still

is still

everywhere
largely in-

habited by members of the Mongolian race and by tribes


of other race-affinity, while
tively few.

its

pure Aryans are compara-

This relation obtains also to some degree in

Persia and the other Asiatic

Aryan stock has held

its

Aryan

own, but

it

districts.

The

vital

has had to contend

with an alien multitude, and a great degree of mixture of


races has necessarily taken place.

The argument from

philology seems no more cogent.

In the Vedas and the Avestas we have preserved to us


relics of

an early stage of Aryan speech which no longer

exists as a living language in Asia,


in the languages of Europe.

and has no counterpart

Had we

remains of the latter

from a period of equal antiquity, they might prove equally


And that the Celtic has undergone the extreme
primitive.
transformation assumed,
gists.

is

questioned by recent philolo-

In fact, the great probability

is

that the

Aryans

before their dispersion occupied a somewhat wide locality,


into

which they had gradually spread from

their original

As a consequence, their common speech


must have undergone many changes and corruptions among
contracted domain.

the various tribes during the ante-migration period.

Bopp

found signs of many such derangements and disturbances

THE HOME OF THE ARYANS.


in the

41

organism of the original Aryan speech, seeming to

show that they had dwelt

in their early

home

for a long

period after the primary development of their linguistic

As

method.
increased,

they spread, dialectical changes necessarily

and quite

bran(;h of the race

likely the

peculiar dialect of

each

had become partly formed before the

Thus the argument from special primitiveness of any of the surviving modes of speech can
era of dispersion.

We

scarcely be maintained.
diversities of

speech in

know far too


ancient Arya and

little

of

of the

the early

form of the languages of modern Europe to be able to

come

to

any

definite decision

on

this controverted point.

In fact the theory that the original Aryan home was in


Bactria

is

no longer held except by the older philologists.

The arguments upon which


insufficient to sustain

it,

it

was based have proved

and no new ones have been ad-

vanced. Another line of argument, to which

was formerly

little

attention

paid, has led several recent writers to place

was suggested,
early in the century, that the Slavonic was a primitive
European population. More recently it has been claimed

in

Europe the ancient Aryan home.

that

Europe

theory

is

Vv^as

the original seat of

all

It

the Aryans.

This

maintained by H. Schulz, D'Halloy, Latham,

Benfey, and others of the more recent writers, and


rapidly becoming the prevailing view.

is

It trusts for its

proof mainly to linguistic arguments.

Every word which


is

is

now used by

all

the

Aryan peoples

considered to be a direct descendant from the antique

speech of the race, and to indicate some ancient knowledge


or possession of the Aryans.

gives us

much

interesting

ditions of the original

study of these words

information as to the con-

Aryan home.

For instance, there

THE ARYAN RACE.

42
is

no common word for camel.

The word

borrowed from the Semitic languages.


against Bactria, where the camel

is

in use has been

This seems decisive

an ordinary animal, and

must have received a name of Aryan origin had the Aryan


In like manner no

languages been formed in that region.

name

for the lion or the tiger is

common

and the inference

that the

guages,

is

To

were ignorant of these animals.


very

many words must have been

this

Aryan lanancient Aryans

to the

it is

objected that

and that these may

lost,

have dropped out and been replaced by other terms.


such a conclusion

is

Many words

not based on probability.

far less likely to persist have been retained,

Yet

and

it

cannot

be reasonably maintained that the names of these terrible

and destructive wild beasts would have been


gotten,

if

Yet

once known.

if

there were no lions or tigers

Aryan home we must seek

in the primitive

utterly for-

this

home

in

Europe, since these animals are found throughout southern


Asia.

In this connection we
the original

home

have strong arguments


" It
addition to those wiiich he gives.
it is

lay eastward of Nestus,

true, yet

now Karasu,

in the time of

Xerxes was the

pean

was

lion.

It

quote Peschel's views as to

of the Aryans, which are based on some-

what narrow grounds,


in their favor in

may

still

in

limit of

Macedonia, which
range of the Euro-

farther north than Chuzistan, Irak

Arabi, and even than Assyria, where lions are

met with.

It

still

to be

cannot have included the highlands of west

Iran and the southern shores of the Caspian Sea, for tigers

wander

in

search of prey as far as these districts.

Hence, from

all

the facts here cited, every geographer will

still

agree that the Indo-Europeans occupied both slopes of the

Caucasus, as well as the remarkable gorge of Dariel, and

THE HOME OF THE ARYANS.


were in the habit of

A^isitiug either the

pian Sea, or perhaps both.

argument that
families

43

Euxine or the Cas-

It is usually objected to this

Aryan

in the course of their migrations the

abandoned the

territory of the lion

and with the animals forgot

their

names

and the

tiger,

But

also.

this

requires stronger evidence, for the Maori have preserved


the

names

for the domestic pig

neither existed in

New

and the cocoanut, although

Had

Zealand.

Aryans

the ancient

seen or fought against such magnificent animals in their

own

country, their

names would

certainly have been re-

tained, even though with an altered significance."

'

Other writers are inclined to place the Aryan home in


the

plains of

southern Russia, and

others on the

still

shores of the Baltic or in Scandinavia.

In evidence of

these hypotheses they present the following

Aryans occupied a cold

names only

Of

region.

not recognized as a separate season.

common names

The

the seasons they have

Autumn was

and summer.

for winter, spring,

facts

But the best

series

phenomena are those belonging to winter.


Cold and snow were well known. It was
a freezing and shivering home in which our ancestors
of

dwelt.

for climatic

Their dress consisted of tunic, coat, collar, and

These were formed of wool or

sandals.

leather.

dant provision was needed against the wintry


their wild animals

common

Among

were the bear and the wolf, among their

trees the birch,

temperate zone.

chill.

Abun-

all

They seem

with the ass and the cat,

to

natives of the

European

have been unacquainted

ancient

domesticated animals

This indicates that they were too far removed

of Africa.

from Egypt to have any intercourse with

this

very ancient

civilization.
1

The Races

of

Man, by Oscar

Peschel, p. 507.

THE ARYAN RACE.

44

That they were acquainted with some large inland body of

They had boats, which they moved by


oars. They had names for salt, and for crabs and mussels
but the oyster was unknown to their language, and they
knew nothing of the ocean. The salt lake on which they

water,

is

admitted.

made

their maritime excursions is

supposed by the Asiatic

advocates to have been the Caspian.

Those who advocate

the Caucasian region, or the plains of southern Russia,

suppose

it

to

have been the Caspian or the Black Sea, or

Those who place them

both.

Europe point

in northern

to the Baltic as their sea.^

Other evidences that Europe was the original Aryan

home may be drawn from their historical distribution. At


the earliest dawn of history they were found in possession
of

Europe, except the frozen regions of Finland and

all

Lapland
their

in the

extreme north.

All Europe

names, except where the geographical

Basques

persist.

There

is

named with

is

of the

titles

nothing to indicate that they

are intruders, as in the case of the eastern Aryans.


tradition

When

makes them natives

first

All

of the regions where found.

seen in history they are moving to the east

and the south, not to the west.

As
it

to the extreme migratory theory of

can hardly be sustained.

favor in the history of

human

There

is

Aryan

dispersion,

no evidence

in its

The only

tribes

migrations.

their hold of

mankind which have completely released


their early homes, and poured out en masse

in search of a

new home, have been pastoral peoples, with

in the history of

Late advocates of this theory are Professor Penka,

who

finds the

ancient Aryan home in Scandinavia, and Professor Schrader, who locates


them in northeastern Europe. Professor Sayce, noticing the works of
these writers, considers the neighborhood of the Baltic the most probable
recrion.

THE HOME OF THE ARYANS.

45

the possible exception of the legendary American migratory

movements of hunting

In Europe and Asia such

tribes.

complete migrations can be traced only to the pastoral


tribes of

Arabia and Mongolia

there

no record of any

is

such movement of an agricultural people, such as the

Aryans had become

in considerable

That such a people could

of their supposed dispersion.

have flowed out

in several great successive

remote distances,

plete migration to

and

utterly without warrant in

is

measure at the period

waves of com-

hardly credible,

is

the history of

human

movements.

The Arabian outbreak

of the

Mohammedans was

migration in the complete sense.


the national borders, incited

It

was a swelling beyond

by hope of plunder and desire


Arabia continued the centre

for religious propagandism.

of the movement, and the only settlement

remote and disjoined from this central

formed in Spain.
allel to

that of the eastern

from

its

made in a region
home was that

This instance presents a suggestive par-

horror of the impious tenets


ration

Aryan branch, with its pious


of its foes, and its wide sepa-

kindred race.

Yet the primitive Aryans, while advanced


beyond that nomadic pastoral stage of
has been the condition of
history,

idation

all

in great part

industrial life which

migrating peoples

had not yet reached that degree of


and

not a

known

to

political consol-

religious culture requisite for definite invading

movements en masse

for the purpose of propagandism.

It

seems far more probable, therefore, that the movements of


the

Aryans were expansions rather than migrations,

the

incessant bite of restless and enterprising tribes into the

domains of surrounding peoples.


creased, and their primitive

As

their

home became

numbers

in-

too small to hold

THE ARYAN RACE.

46
them, they

may have pushed

out in this manner in

all di-

rections with the restless energy which has always characterized them, diiving back the original populations before

This idea would seem to indi-

their resistless expansion.

home

cate an original

in

some such

central region as that

suggested by Peschel, midway between the eastern and

western extremities of the Aryan outflow, and offering easy


roads for expansion alike to the East and the West.

The majority of the

recent authors, however, seem inclined

to accept the Baltic or the Scandinavian region as the pri-

Of

meval Aryan home.

the several arguments offered in

support of the latter hy|Dothesis the most potent one


fact that Scandinavia

is

occupied by pure Xanthochroi,


acters

who

the

is

the only region of the earth

now

lose their typical char-

more and more as we advance southward,

imtil they

are quite lost in the strong preponderance of Melanochroic


blood.

But this is by no means a convincing argument. The

degree of mingling with the aboriginal inhabitants depended

very

much on

the numbers of these inhabitants and on the

character of their treatment by their conquerors.

Either

strong resistance or strong race prejudice might have resulted in their


sion.

annihilation

The only Scandinavian

or their complete dispossesaborigines of

any knowledge are the Lapps,

whom

whom we

have

a Mongolian people with

the Aryans have shown no inclination to mingle, and

who may

originally

have been driven back to the frozen

plains which they at present inhabit.

The Xanthochroic

purity of the Scandinavians can be accounted for quite as


well on this as on the other theory.

The Germans and

the Celts of Gaul were of equally pure Xanthochroic blood

as recently as the times of Caesar and Tacitus.


of purity of type

is

Their loss

due to a mixture since that period with

THE HOME OF THE ARYANS.

No

the Melanocbroic aboriginal element.

47
such mixture

appears to have taken place between the Scandinavians

and the Lapps.

potent argument against the Scandinavian theory

is

Aryans were a pastoral people in the early era of


the formation of their language, and partly pastoral at the
that the

period of

migrations, their domesticated animals,

their

with the exception of the camel, being the same as those

No

possessed by the nomads of the Asiatic steppes.


toral people has ever originated except
levels,

with abundant pasturage,

on broad, open

condition which the

Scandinavian peninsula does not present.


fishing habits

were the only ones

pas-

Hunting and

likely to originate in that

wooded and seagirt land, except in the far North, where


the snowy levels gave an opportunity for the use cf the
But this native Scanreindeer as a domesticated animal.
dinavian beast of burden does not seem to have been
to the primitive Aryans,

been the case had


neighbors.

As

it

known

which w^ould certainly not have

been used by them or their immediate

the lack of a

common word

for the camel

has been used as an argument against Asia, so the similar


lack of a

common word

navia as the primitive

Nor does

for the reindeer tells against Scandi-

home

of the Aryans.

the region of the Baltic or the levels of north-

ern Russia answer any better to the requirements of the


case.

It is not simply a land

which the Aryans might have

inhabited in accordance with the indications of philology,

but one that

is in

harmony with

process of development, that

we

tainly not be found in a densely

their

seek

wooded

mode
and

of

life

and

can cer-

this

region, such as the

Baltic provinces were in primeval times."

At

the period in which the

Aryan method

of

speech

THE ARYAN RACE.

48

began to deviate from the Mongolian


closest affinities of type),

(to

which

and Aryan man

has the

it

to deviate per-

haps from the Finnish division of the Mongolian race


(which most closely approaches him in structure) the hab,

its

Aryans appear

of the

probably long continued

have been purely pastoral, and

to

This

so.

is

clearly indicated

the chai-acter of the root- words of their languages.

by

The

balance of probabilities, therefore, favors their residence in

a locality of Europe contiguous to that occupied by the


pastoral Mongolians and the Finns, and one naturally well

adapted to pastoral pursuits.

brief study of the

development of mankind shows us

that the pastoral habit has originated nowhere except on

the broad open plains and deserts of Asia and of northeastern Africa.
in

mountain

No

such pursuit has ever been followed

districts or forest regions.

And

the auimals

possessed by the nomadic Aryans were those indigenous


to Asia, with the exception of the camel, which

only to sandy deserts.

Aryans was
adapted to

in

this

Europe,

mode

of

If
it

the

home

of

must have been

life

the

is

suited

pastoral

a locality

in

and contiguous to the Asiatic

The only European region which properly fulfils


The rethese requirements is that of southern Russia.
mainder of Russia and of northern Europe was then, and
steppes.

is

yet

in

considerable measure,

a dense

southern Europe westward of this region

is,

from

tainous character, absolutely unfitted for the

nomad shepherd and herdsman.

while

its

moun-

forest

life

of the

But the region of south-

ern Russia, particularly in the vicinity of the Caspian,

an open

is

level plain, partly desert, partly of high fertility,

and presenting the

requisites of contiguity to the Asiatic

steppes, the primeval

home

of the wandering herdsman,

THE HOME OF THE ARYANS.

49

It is
and of excellent adaptation to pastoral pursuits.
simply impossible that such pursuits could have originated

or been maintained in a forest country, nor


able that the barbarians of that age

is it

conceiv-

had the means or the

inclination to clear the land of forests for the purpose of

providing pasturage.

The next subject of consideration is the fact that the


Aryans gradually lost their nomadic habits, assumed a settled
state of existence,

and began

to practise agriculture,

an extent that rendered their

in time they developed to

pastoral pursuits of secondary importance.

must have been one suited

An

habits.

is

therefore here in place.


forest

reason to believe, agriculture in the I^astern

Hemisphere originated only


It

in localities specially favored

arose on the highly fertile banks of the

Nile, of the Tigris

and the Euphrates, of the Ganges and


rich lowlands of the great rivers

the Indus,

and on the

of China.

There were agricultural

Asia,

true

derived

is

and seek open and

So far as we know or have

naturally fertile regions.

it

change of industrial

to this

Again we must leave the

by nature.

Their locality

inquiry into the requisites for the development

of agriculture

satisfactory

which

their

but

it

knowledge

is

districts elsewhere in

probable that these localities

of

the

art

from the

regions

named, and not from a spontaneous development.

In

America similar indications present themselves. The agriculture of the United States region not improbably arose
on the

rich border-lands of the lower Mississippi,

and was

Like
by the Mound-Builders.
conditions probably attended its origin in Mexico and

disseminated northward

Peru.

There

is,

in fact, not a particle of evidence in existence


4

THE ARYAN RACE.

50

that agricultural habits ever originated spontaneously in a

cold forest region such as that of the Baltic, while this

region was too far removed from the agricultural districts


of Africa and Asia for the art to be gained through com-

Such a region, while utterly un-

merce or instruction.

adapted to pastoral pursuits,

is

equally unsuited to the

gradual exchange of these for agricultural conditions.


short, the only pursuits

In

which appear to have ever naturally

arisen in forest-covered countries are those of the hunter

with those of the fisher where large bodies of water are


contiguous.

And

as

respects the

districts

Germany, what we know of the habits of the


days of the

Roman

of

northern

tribes in the

empire indicates that they were not

only disinclined to agricultural progress, but that they

showed a tendency to neglect the agricultural knowledge


they already possessed, and to revert to the hunting stage,
so well suited to their forest surroundings.

On

the contrary, the region of southern Russia and the

Caucasus, from

its

bility of climate,

openness,

and

its

its fertility

of soil and suita-

contiguity to the Syrian district

of Asia, from which the art of the agriculturist might have

been readily gained, seems particularly well adapted to


the gradual change from pastoral to agricultural pursuits,
particularly within the limits of the mountain range, which

nomads would

the expanding

naturally have penetrated,

and which were unsuited to the


There

is still

life

of the herdsman.

one matter of importance to consider.

We

have given what seem to us satisfactory reasons for the


belief that the

Xanthochroi are not an original race of man-

kind, but a derivative from a preceding race, in


bility

from the Mongolian, and that

a somewhat recent period.

all

proba-

their origin dates

from

Yet the development of a new

THE HOME OF THE ARYANS.

51

type of feature and new structural conditions of body could


hardly have taken place in regions similar in physical char-

We have seen that

acter to those native to the parent race.


this race frequently

assumes a type of face and complexion

closely approaching the

Aryan

but such a tendency could

not well have a general development except as due to a

marked change
life,

as in the case of the

American Indians and the Mon-

golians of northern Europe.

In the instance of the Aryans

may have been due

the change

and conditions of

in physical surroundings

to residence in a mountain-

In such a

ous district such as that of the Caucasus.


its

great difference in climate, physical sur-

roundings, and

necessary life-habits and industries from

region, with

life

on a plain, a marked change

in structure

might well

have taken place, while the conditions of existence might


have necessitated a gradual development of that art of
agriculture which
district of

was already practised

in the

neighboring

southwestern Asia.

For the various reasons here given, and others which


will be

advanced

in the

next chapter, we incline to look

upon southeastern Russia as the home of the Aryans during their nomadic era, and the Caucasian mountain region
as the locality in which they gained their fair complexion

and the other characteristics of the Xanthochroic type, perfected the

Aryan method

of language, learned the art of

and developed

agriculture,

their

political

and religious

ideas and organization.

From
well

this

have

mountain stronghold,

sustained

themselves

in

which they could

against

all

aggression

during the long period of their development as a distinct


people, they probably spread into the

fertile

plains of

southeast Russia, occupying the district between the Cas-

THE ARYAN RACE.

52

plan and the Sea of Azov, and extending an indefinite


distance northward and westward.

may have been

Their northern border-

the

home

of the primitive Russians,

since these deviate less

from

tlie

lands

other section

Mongolians than any

and bear to-day a close

of the Ar3^ans,

Had

resemblance in physical aspect to the Finns.

Aryan type
and the

of language been imposed

upon the Finns,

been classed as an outlying member

latter thus

of the race,

we should have an almost unbroken

deviation, leading

the

line of

from the typical Xanthochroi to the

Mongolian type of man.

The region we have


the

indicated as the primitive

Aryans has a further point

home

This

in its favor.

is

of
its

propinquity to the Semitic populations of the South, and


the ease with wliich the fair and dark types might have

mingled in that early stage of culture which preceded


strong political

and

antipathies.

religious

It

seems a

natural point of meeting of the highest outcome of the


races of the North and the South, and

may have much

to

do with the existing strongly Melanochroic character of


the southern Aryans.
invigoration of the

And

Aryan

to

it

may be due

intellect,

that strong

by the infusion of the

imaginative element of the Southern mind into the practi-

groundwork of Mongolian mentality, which was necessary to the unfoldment of its high powers of thought and
cal

to the development of the energy

which has carried the

race with unflagging persistence outward from

primeval home to the conquest of

At
rights,

tlie

its

narrow

world.

came the development of property


of the exclusive Ar^^an system of clanship, and

a later period

of religious bigotry and fanaticism


feeling of hostility to strangers,

and with

and a

it

a strong

rigid effort at isola-

THE HOME OF THE ARYANS.


tion,

such as

ditions

we

find in similar liistorical cases.

would have checked the

and given an opportunity

Aryan type

53

of speech

for the full development of the

and of

institutions undisturbed

Such con-

infiltration of alien blood,

social, political,

by foreign

and

religious

influence.

Scarcely a trace of such influences appears in the lan-

guage and institutions of the Aryans

and whatever

its

steps of origin, the Aryan, in all the details of structure

and

in mental character, is

declared of
all

human

races,

among

and

is

the

most

distinct

and

markedly separated from

other tribes and divisions of mankind.

iir.

THE ARYAN OUTFLOW.


IF
is

we look back through time

to the

most remote point

to which the scope of history or tradition extends,

to behold

it

Europe and Asia the scene of active movement

and endless turmoil.

Everywhere

tribes,

communities, na-

tions, are in motion, extending their borders,

overrunning

one another's domains, battling for the choice spots of the


earth, thirsting for the wealth

more

which the industry of the

civilized holds out to the avarice of the

barous.

It is

everywhere the same.

more bar-

Alike in Italy and

Greece, in Syria and Babylonia, in Persia and India, in

China and Scythia, the tribes and nations are moving with
the bewildering confusion of a phantasmagoria.

It is to

Numerous
titles of tribes have descended to our times, but we know
very little of the communities which these names represent
us a shifting of names rather than of peoples.

and the surface of the earth

at this early

epoch appears to

us like that of a chess-board on which meaningless figures


are incessantly

can be sure.

moving

We

to

Europe and

fro.

Of only one thing we

are aware of the general race-relations

of these migrating peoples.


in

and

We

know

in southern-central

that the

movements

Asia are mainly Aryan,

while the Syrian movements are Semitic, and those of

Of the migratory excurquestion much the most extensive

northern Asia are Mongolian.


sions of the period in

THE ARYAN OUTFLOW.


are the Aryan, the

upon new

55

movements being wider, and the hold

regions more decided, than in the case of

tlie

other races of mankind.

Cut that

this condition of affairs is representative of the

whole scope of human history, from the

earliest date of

man's appearance upon the earth until the present time,


can hardly be affirmed.

Such a migratory

spirit

has ex-

isted throughout the period of recorded history, but its

have been steadily growing more extensive during

results

The movements which our

the progress of civilization.


earliest

We

present to us

records

are

minor

in

character.

perceive migrations of small tribes to short distances,

in place of the

subsequent marches of great armies over

Such

thousands of miles.

is

the character of the early

migratory movements and hostile excursions as recorded

and of the similar movements of the Italian

in the Bible,

and Grecian

tribes.

Such was also the case with the

mili-

The records

tary enterprise of the primitive civilizations.

Egypt and Babylonia yield no


evidence of extensive operations.
The story of ancient
China is that of the battling of tribes. Nor was this
growing empire as yet exposed to any serious danger from
of the early dynasties of

the pastoral hordes of the North,

the art of

The

moving

in

who had

not yet learned

mass.

limited enterprise which

we thus behold

ing of history, as compared with the extensive


of a later period,

is

significant of a

still

at the open-

movements

more diminished

migratory activity in the prehistoric ages.

The

spirit of

outflow had perhaps just become active, and the mingling


of the races but fairly
begin.

commenced, when

historical records

In fact a considerable degree of intellectual ad-

vancement

is

necessary to any active enterprise of this

THE ARYAN RACE.

56

We

character.

find nothing of the kind

among

the sav-

The savages of to-day make


no effort to extend their domains. Each tribe naturally
spreads until it reaches the borders of another tribe, and
age peoples of the earth.

there

it

This border-line

contentment.

rests in dull

usually a line of hostility, but not of energetic


of invasion.

In Africa, for instance,

tions of the full-blooded

Negro

ment took place

in the early

movements

of no migra-

Activity

tribes.

and other mixed

to the Foulahs

we hear

is

is

confined

That much move-

races.

epoch we have good reason

to believe, from the evidences of a very ancient occupation

of the whole earth.

human

But

fecundity, not to

this

was perhaps

human

enterprise.

ginal centre or centres of population

numbers increased,

out, as his

only the

difficulties

From

the ori-

slowly spread

occupy the earth, with

of nature and the hostility of wild

beasts to check his outflow.

taken

many thousands

when

the earth

took place.

to

man

largely due to

This expansion

of years for

was once

its

may have
But

completion.

check

fully occupied, a strong

Everywhere man met man.

Doubtless an

incessant hostility ruled, but nothing existed which

can properly term aggressive war.

remained confined to

its

Each

tribe or

we
race

ancient domain, with but slow

Only
and unimportant widening or shifting of borders.
those peoples who by a greater advance in intellect had

become superior

in

arms and

in enterprise, slowly

spread

outward, gradually pushing back their weaker and duller


neighbors.

The views here

offered are in accordance with the facts

indicated by the existing condition of


are aware

how

human

races.

We

great a mixture of races has taken place

since the opening of the historic period.

Pure races are

THE ARYAN OUTFLOW.


in the

minimum, mixed races

And

out the earth.

this

are in the

is

and

southern Asia,

It is strongly displayed

more strongly

For any near approach

Europe.
people

still

we must seek

maximum, through-

particularly the case in the

regions of greatest civilization.


in

57

in

southern

to purity of race in a

the regions of barbarism and sav-

agery, mainly the locality bordering on the Arctic Circle,

and the tropics of Africa and America.

Had

migratory and

during the

invasive

centuries of the

human

spirit

existed

an energetic
long

past bearing any close relation to

that of the early historic period, a

complete mixture of

mankind must have taken place, and the existence of wellmarked races to-day would have been impossible. Racedistinctions

would have been

obliterated, as they

now

The

to a great extent in the centres of active civilization.

epoch of the
is

an active migratory

of

rise

spirit,

are

then,

one of great importance in the history of mankind.

This epoch was probably the one immediately preceding


the birth of recorded history,

We

cations.

And

we may judge from

indi-

see evidences of such a spirit in the early

history of China,

siderably

if

Babylonia, and Egypt, probably con-

preceding

yet the latter,

its

appearance among the Aryans.

when once they entered

the circle of

migi^tory activity, speedily became the most enterprising


of

human

races.

in the history

The

There are reasons for these conclusions

and conditions of these several

industrial

and

political

condition

greatly differed from that of the Semites


lians.

The

latter

of

races.

the

Aryans

and the Mongo-

The

were nomadic pastoral peoples.

Aryans, though strongly pastoral at


extent agricultural at a remote date.

some

became to
The indications

first,

are

that they were not nomadic in the period immediately pre-

THE ARYAN RACE.

58

ceding history, and that they were divided into a great

This we judge from their

number of small groups.


cal system,

politi-

Community, which must

that of the Village

have been long in developing, and which indicates a protracted period of fixed residence and agricultural habits.

As

a result of this system they were greatly inferior in

nomad

political consolidation to the

Each of these formed a


divided into

The

many

The Aryans were

single group.

small groups, diverse in their interests.

desert tribes were accustomed to rapid and extensive

movements,

in

which they carried their property with them.

The Aryans were

tied to their property,

in part, at least, of fixed soil,

nomad

of the

tribe

and

And,

herds, as with the nomads.

its

tribes of the desert.

was that

finally, th^

of an army.

single sheik, or patriarchal leader,

movements, and who might

which consisted,

not entirely of

at

who

any time

moving

organization
It

was under

directed

all its

set in train

an

The Aryan organization was that


of a community of equals.
It was thoroughly democratic,
and only by a slow process of development did it come
under the control of warlike chiefs or leaders. It was
not invasive, though it probably held its own vigorously
invading enterprise.

against invasion.

From

this difference in

condition

we can understand

the difference in the history of the agricultural and the

nomad

The nomads

peoples.

of the northern and south-

ern deserts, while perhaps inferior, even then, to the Ary-

ans in intellectual vigor and in industrial development,

were far better adapted for migratory movements and for


the

invasion

explains

the

of

neighboring

regions.

This doubtless

invading movements in China, Babylonia,

and probably Egj^pt, and the establishment of powerful

THE ARYAN OUTFLOW.


kingdoms

agricultural

government closely

in these localities

analogous to that

59
under a form of
the

of

pastoral

hordes of the desert, while yet the Aryans remained in a


barbaric state, slowly advancing industrially, but almost

stagnant politically.

The subsequent
of these races

organization

difference in the historical

due to the fact that the Aryan

is

political

one that admits of steady unfoldment,

is

the pastoral races

while that of

development

and unprogressive.

essentially primitive

is

The only change

the latter are capa-

ble of is the extension of the rule of an able chief

single tribe to a wide ch'cle of tribes,

the terrible

to

from a

which we owe

Mongolian migrations of the Middle Ages.

Yet these could produce no important permanent effect,


since they lacked any strong prhiciple of political consoliThe Aryan principle, on the contrary, was one
dation.
which but slowly developed, with the increase of authority

was one that depended much less


on able leaders than on vitality of organization. Thus

in the tribal chief, but

it

Aryan movements have been

the

occasional,

and

their effects

instead of

persistent

permanent instead of

transi-

Aryan sets his foot, there he stays.


There have been some temporary yieldings before the wild
tory.

Where

the

onslaught of feebly combined pastoral hordes

but these

have in nearly every instance been recovered from, and


the Ar3"an

movement has been and

driving back before

its

is

steadily onward,

firm front all the other races of

mankind.

now we come to consider particularly the outflow of


Aryan race from its primitive home, we must begin by

If

the

seeking to trace
at that epoch.

its

As

condition and relation to other tribes


to the locality of tins

home, we have

THE ARYAN RACE.

60

given what seems to us the most probable of the several


theories

namely, that

it

was

in the region of southeastern

Europe, stretching from the Black to the Caspian Sea,

and probably northward

to a considerable distance over

and

the level steppes of Russia, with their chill climate


their excellent natural adaptation to both pastoral

cultural habits.

Southward

it

may have

and

agri-

occupied the range

of the Caucasus, and perhaps have crossed this range and

extended some distance into the mountainous

district to

the south.

In addition to the reasons already given for this hypothesis, it

may

be remarked that

it

would be

difficult to select

a region better adapted to be the cradle-spot of the future

conquerors of the earth.

No

Europe or Asia is
With broad seas to the

district in

better protected against invasion.


right

and the

left,

and a lofty mountain-chain

passable only at two easily-defended points,

proachable from the north.

when

it

may have been

to the south,
it is

only ap-

In the early days of the race,

stationed in close contiguity to and

within these mountain-fastnesses,

it

could have defied

all

modern Caucasian mountaineers so long


the power of Russia.
Here developing in stature,

invaders, as the
defied

physical

in

settled life,

organization

conformation, in intellect, and in habits of


of agricultural
;

industry'-,

and of democratic

and here perhaps receiving a new

spirit of

enthusiasm through partial amalgamation with the Melanochroic peoples of the South,

nated, as

we

conceive, and began

movement northward over


stretch away from the very
1

It

may

the typical Aryan race


the

flat

its

and

origi-

outflow in a slow
fertile plains

which

foot of the Caucasian chain.

be said here that a movement of this precise character has

prevailed throughout the historic period

among

the Russian agricultn-

THE ARYAN OUTFLOW.


At

61

a date preceding that of the more active migratory

movement,

this

have spread the Aryans over a

district of considerable

and already divided them into several

extent,

may

slow preliminary growth northward

distinct

and

mutually hostile branches, with dialectical variations of

language and marked peculiarities of custom.


of language doubtless originated while the
tracted in locality and numbers.
tions arose after its expansion.

speech w^as the same in

The system
race was con-

The dialectical variaThe skeleton of Aryan

the subsequent branches, yet

all

Possibly the

considerable superficial differences existed.

Celtic, the Teutonic, the Greco-Italic, the Iranic,

other main stems of

and the

Aryan speech had already strongly

declared themselves while yet the race remained a compact

body,

its

outermost branch

in

still

the vicinity of the

primeval home.

At

which the Aryans were

this period the region

ward

to

occupy was

hands of

in the

alien races.

after-

Southern

Asia, from Armenia to India, was held by tribes partly

Mongolian, and partly perhaps of Melanochroic race.

we know

far as India is concerned,

So

have been the

this to

from the very abundant remains of the aborigines yet

case,

existing.

traces

In Persia, Afghanistan,

of the

aborigines

there

etc.,

are fewer

they have mainly perished or

been incorporated with the conquerors.

In Europe the

only existing distinct communities of the aborigines are


the

Lapps and Finns of the North, and the Basques of

the Southwest.

rists,

and

still

All the remaining aborigines have sunk

persists.

There

is

broad land, and the farmers seek


dictates.

This migratory

spirit

plentiful

new

room

for

localities as

has been

made use

expansion in that
necessity or fancy
of

GovernTnent to colonize their newly conquered lands.

by the Russian

62

THE ARYAN RACE.

beneath the Aryan

tide,

though

seems certain that much

it

amalgamation has taken place.

In fact, at the very be-

ginning of European annals the domain of the Aryans

seemed nearly as extensive as now.


trace of the aboriginal

ulations

titles

The Pelasgians were


though

tribe of migrants,

The Iberians

dence.

are

sentatives of the ancient

of Italy

Amazons,

Iberians,

and

of ancient Mediterranean pop-

but just what these names indicate, no one can

positively declare.

Aryan

Several names sur-

inhabitants.

vive, such as Pelasgians, Leleges,

Aborigines, as the

AVe have no clear

may

this lacks satisfactory evi-

now taken
European

also have been

possibly an early

as the clearest reprerace.

members

The Etruscans

of this race

but the

remnants of their language are too scanty to admit of a


decision, and it is held by many that they were Aryans.

Of

the

Iberians

nearly mythical

was applied by the old geographers

Aryan inhabitants

of

the

southwest of France, whose


exist in the Basques.

Iberians

peoples named,

is

peninsula of
final

remnant

But everything

exceedingly uncertain.

the

title

of

to the pre-

Spain and the


is

supposed to

in relation to the

We now

know, how-

ever, that an aboriginal people, the Neolithic, or users of

polished stone implements, of small stature, with round or

oval skulls, occupied this region at a remote period, and

extended into Britain, Belgium, Germany, and Denmark.

They resembled

the

Basques physically more than any

other living people of that region, and possibly extended


into Africa

and formed part of the Berber population.

This was probably the antique European element, semi-

savage or barbarous

came

into contact,

partly

absorbed.

in condition,

with which the Aryans

and which they partly annihilated and


Indications

of

such an amalgamation

THE ARYAN OUTFLOW.


exist

ill

63

the historic Celtiberiaus of Spain,

man found

tions exist in the small, dark type of

supposed

Other indica-

miiigliug of the Celts with the Iberians.

to-da}^ in

Aquitania and Brittany, and also in Wales, in the Scottish


Highlands, and in parts of Ireland.

As

by

the localities occupied

to

branches of the

tlie

Aryan people in the period just preceding the era of invasion, some tentative suggestions may be made.
As above
probably occupied a considerable

said, the race

and comprised several

Of

ions.

distinct

and perhaps

district,

hostile divis-

which we now know as the Celtic

these, that

was the most westerly

in situation, the

most divergent

in

language, and possibly the most hostile in feeling towards


its

The Teutonic branch probably occupied

kindred.

most northwesterly
and

southeasterly,

westerly, while

situation, the

the

ludo-Iranian the most

Greco-Italic

This conjecture

northern regions.

the

Slavonic occupied the

the

the

is

most

south-

central

and

mainly based on

what we know of the directions and dates of march of


the different branches, and partly upon anotlier circumThis

stance.

is

that the northerly portion of the popu-

would naturally be

lation

least

exposed to the influx of

Melanochroic blood, and the southerly portion the most


so.

Thus the

typical

Xanthochroi would

be specially

found in the border regions to the north and west,

those

here ascribed to the Celtic and Teutonic branches.


in the Teutonic branch that the t3q)ical
still

mainly found, and particularly in

that

which made

adjoining

its

Slavonians,

Lithuanian,

is

its

It is

Xanthochroi are
frontier portion,

way

to Scandinavia.

their

most northerly

As

for the

section,

the

to-day distinguished by the fair hair and

blue eyes of the Xanthochroi from the darker Russians of

THE ARYAN RACE.

64

On

the South.
is

strongly

the other hand, the Indo-Persian branch

This

Melanochroic.

As

the Greco-Italians.

is

case with

the

also

for the Celts, they are

known

to

have presented originally a strong displa^^ of Xanthochroic


characters, though these have been lost through their sub-

sequent amalgamations.

There

is,

ern Aryans

therefore, reason to believe that all the north-

the

Celts, Teutons,

originally of the pure blond type,


in their native

This

may

and Slavonians

were

and very

affected

home by admixture with an

be deduced from the fact that

little

alien element.

all

the early his-

torians describe them, after the date of their migration, as

The strong

a large-framed, blue-eyed, fair-haired people.


probability

from

is

that their present diversity of type resulted

intermarriage

and Mongolian

Melanochroic

with

aborigines at a comparatively recent period.

graphical scheme

we have adopted,

Aryans occupied the

primitive

this

fertile

In the geo-

section

plains

the

of

extending

northward and westward from the Caucasian range.

The

southern section, the Greco-Italic and the Indo-Iranian,

which may have occupied the southern portion of the


range and the mountainous

district farther

south,

would

be in a position to mingle freely with the Melanochroi of

Armenia, Asia Minor,

etc.,

before their migration.

present strongly declared Melanochroic character

due mainly to such an antique intermixture, and

Their

may

be

in a lesser

degree to subsequent admixture with the aborigines of


their later
It is not

the great

homes.
improbable that the Celts led the vanguard in

Aryan march.

In fact they had begun to meet

the fate of their dispossessed foes at the opening of the


historic period,

and were being more and more crowded

THE ARYAN OUTFLOW.

most westerly portions of the European continent

into the

by

65

own

later invaders of their

The incitement

race.

movement we shall never know. Probably


Aryan giant was growing beyond the dimensions of
their first

and needed more space for

natal hom-C,

More than one

limbs.

its

to

the
its

developing

of the historic migrations has been

due to a pressure from behind, as in the case of the Huns.

Such a

hostile pressure

may have

and, indeed,
easier to

may have

set the Celts in motion,

kept them in motion,

Aryan pressure from

ment of the Celts seems


onward push,

if

to

proving

in front

overcome the uncultured aborigines

to endure the

it

than

The move-

the rear.

have been always one of

we may judge from what

is

known

of their

history.

The

Celtic

grations.

It

was probably the


met with

Aryan miwe may con-

easiest of the

less capable foes, as

jecture, than the eastern migration, while all subsequent

European invasions had Aryans


fore found a far

more

difficult

this first outflow toolv place

may, and may


era

and

it

occupied in
ing the art

not,

it

is

to deal with,

path to victory.

When

have been far back

It

in the prehistoric

how many centuries were


The Aryans were yet learnthe movement.
They had not the arms or the
of invasion.
is

impossible to say

possibly a very

As

slow one.

of this Celtic migration,


first

there-

impossible to guess.

Their progress was

military skill of the later migrants.

When

and

it

may

for

the

be outlined in a few words.

we become acquainted with

occupied a very extensive

extant history

district,

the

Celts,

they

comprising most of

Europe west of the Rhine, and the domain of Cisalpine

Gaul

in northern Italy.

crossed

the

Channel

They had probably long before


and

settled

the

British

Islands.

THE ARYAN RACE.

66

But

Spain

appears

to

still

have

been

held

by

the

aborigines.

The

earliest of the Celtic military

was

history tells us

movements of which

that famous one, under the lead of

Brennus, w^hich captured the young city of Rome, and but


for a chance in the chapter of accidents might have stifled

that scorpion in

its birth.

century later another Brennus

led a Gaulish force far to the east, which ravaged Thrace,


pillaged the Grecian temple of Delphi, and received from

Nicomedus, king of Bithynia, a settlement


in the district called after

in

them Galatia.

Asia Minor,

After having

met the ocean in its westward course, the Celtic migration


was apparently reacting eastward. As to the boundary
between the Germans and the Celts at this early period, it
cannot be clearly defined. Most probably it was formed
by the Rhine, from its sources in Switzerland to its mouth
in the

North Sea.

The

later history of the Celts is well

known, and we need not here concern ourselves with the


numerous invasions, Roman, German, Saxon, and Norman,
which they were subjected, and by which they were

to

crowded into

their present contracted

domain.

But there are phenomena of race-variation


of the Celts to which

they

first

some

allusion

in the history

must be made.

When

appeared in history they were of the pure blond

and fierceness of
"
the barbaric Xanthochroi.
The Gauls," says Ammianus
"
Marcellinus,
are almost all tall of stature, very fair and
type,

and had the

stature, physical strength,

red-haired, and horrible from the fierceness of their eyes

fond of

strife

and haughtily insolent."

This, in fact,

seems to have been the character, physical and mental, of


all

the

Aryans who peopled the north and west of Europe,


1

Latham, Natural History

of

Man,

p. 194,

THE ARYAN OUTFLOW.

67

by no means the case with the great mass of


the peoples who are supposed to be descended from them.
though

is

it

There seems to have been a very considerable infusion of


probably that of the
a darker and smaller human element,

aborigines,

number.

who

doubtless

In this

way

much exceeded

their invaders in

a vigorous influx of Melanochroic

blood seems to have entered the veins of the blue-eyed and


fair-haired primitive Celts.

From

this

combination comes the French population of

Here we

to-day.

find a

blond type yet existing in the

North, while the central districts are occupied by the modern Celtic type, with upturned nose,
at the bridge

and but

little

projecting, hair

chestnut, eyes gray or light in shade.


of

Auvergne and the Low Bretons,

round-headed race.

somewhat depressed

brown or dark

Such are the people

a small and swarthy,

In southern France several types are

found, and there seems a strong infusion of Basque and

Berber blood.

Something similar might be said of the

Celtic

of

districts

the

British

In fact, as the

Islands.

Celts conquered the ancient inhabitants

by force of arms

and of energy, the aborigines seem to have conquered the


Celts by force of numbers.

As M. Roget

says, the blue-

eyed, fair-haired, long-headed Celt has been giving place


in

France

more

in a direction

from the south to the north to a

ancient, dark-eyed, black-haired, round-headed type.

There has been a corresponding change

in character,

and

the impulsive, emotional mentality of the aborigines has

triumphed over the more staid and thoughtful character of


the Xanthochroic man.

So far as indications go, the path of the Celts from

Arya was due westward through middle Europe.


They seem to have been followed by two other Aryan
ancient

THE ARYAN RACE.

68
branches,

that of

the Teutons, which trod in the Celtic

path, and that of the Greco-Italic section, which

may have

pushed through the mountains and along the southern


shores of the Black Sea, making Asia Minor

easy a task as that of the Celts,

The

cations.

latter

if

we may judge by

who were

sion in these later lines of

and warlike

fierce

quite their equal in vigor

Perhaps in consequence of

of war.

this

and

we

in the arts

find a diver-

march, the southern branch con-

fining itself to the peninsulas of

Greece and

the northern branch pushed into upper

Italy, w^hile

Germany and

leading tribes far into the Scandinavian peninsula.

Celts

may have

indi-

had only the aborigines to deal with

but the former came into contact with the

its

line of

Neither of these subsequent invasions found as

march.

Celts,

its

sent

The

stood as a firm wedge in the median line

of Europe, spUtting the subsequent lines of march, and


forcing

Of

them

to diverge to the south

and the north.

these migrants the Teutonic were

strongly of the

xanthous, or blond type, and their Scandinavian section


has continued so to this day, preserving for us in considerable

purity that type of physical and mental character

which has been so greatly modified elsewhere by the infu-

The intellect of this Xanthochroic


described by Dr. Knox,^ is not inventive, has

sion of alien blood.


division, as

no genius for the abstract, no love for metaphj'Sical speculation, cares nothing for the transcendental,

and is naturally

sceptical, bringing everything, even its religious faith, to

In this description we seem to have

the test of reason.

the highest outcome of the practical Mongolian mind,

an

intellectual condition capable of the greatest things

when

once kindled by the

fire

of imagination, but unprogressive

in itself.
^

The Kaces of

]Man, p. 344.

THE ARYAN OUTFLOW.


The

Aryan inhabitants of Germany

ancient

by Tacitus as a
and

hair

fierce

tall

blue eyes.

latter.

are described

and vigorous people, with long,

reckless impulsiveness of the

brave as the

69

To

They lacked somewhat the


Gauls, yet were as fierce and

speak, however, of a Celtic fol-

lowed by a Teutonic Aryan migration,

to deal with the

is

There seem to

subject from a general point of view.

have been many successive waves of the Aryan


pushing forward the preceding, and giving
ous separate

tribes.

fair

flood,

rise to

It is only linguistically that

be called distinctively Celtic and Teutonic.

each

numer-

they can

They formed

successive migrating sections of the two most northwest-

Thus Caesar describes

erly branches of the Ar^^an stock.

Gaul as inhabited by three


the Gauls, and the

distinct nations,

Of

Belgae.

these

the Aquitani,

the Aquitani are

supposed to have been aborigines, with some Celtic admixture.

The Gauls

cious,

frank,

open,

staid, less active,

or depressed.

and had
mans,

are described as bright, intelligent, viva-

and brave.

The

more thoughtful, and

They approached

least varied

in their turn,

the

Belgse were more


less easily exalted

Germans

in character,

from the primitive type.

The Ger-

were divided into several branches

which spoke distinct languages, and into numerous

tribes.

Probably they entered the country in several successive

waves from the

east.

The Xanthochroic Germans of the

time of Tacitus, however, have since then suffered


the

same

fate as the Celts.

There has been a great amount

of mixture with a dark-haired people, and the

mans have
less

much

lost all distinctiveness of race,

modern Ger-

though they are

Melanochroic than the peoples of southern Europe.

Probably they,

like the Celts,

amalgamated with

their con-

quered subjects and with the Melanochroic peoples border-

THE ARYAN RACE.

70

However

ing their domain on the south.

to-day no distinctive Teutonic type

man, from

fair to dark,

Tacitus gives us
ins:

the

is

much

is

of

soil.

interesting information concern-

of importance from

its

Germans

of his time,

probable close

affinity to

Their dress seems to

of the primitive Aryans.

life

every variety

can be found on German

the habits and conditions of the

which

that be, there

have been very scanty, consisting mainly of a mantle of


coarse woollen stuff, flung over the shoulders and fastened

with a pin or a thorn.

Farther north mantles of fur were

Their dwellings were low circular huts made of rough

worn.

timber, thatched with straw, and with a hole at the top for
the escape of the smoke.
colored,

family.

and

cattle

The inner walls were roughly

sometimes shared the interior with the

Their dwellings did not stand close together, but

apart and scattered, each freeman choosing his

own home.

Their favorite occupations were war and the chase, and


there

is

very

little

indication of agriculture.

"When not

thus engaged, they often lay idly on the hearth, leaving

necessary labor to the


of bearing arms.

women and

to

men

all

not capable

In their social gatherings drunkenness

and gambling were prevalent

evils.

Their arms were a

long spear and a shield, with occasionally clubs and battle-

Each freeman was expected to bear arms and


march to battle under his own clan head, the tribe being
led by its hereditary chief or its chosen lierzog^ or general.
Thus constituted, they rushed to battle, roused to fury by
axes.

the excitement of war, and striving to intimidate their foes

by loud shouts and the clashing of


shield in battle

was the

shields.

loss of honor,

The

loss of a

and the despair of

the loser frequently ended in suicide.

Latest of the northern Aryan migrations came that of

THE ARYAN OUTFLOW.

71

on the heels of the Ger-

the Slavonic tribes, pushing hard

mans, and driving them forward into the heart of Europe.


This movement was probably contemporaneous with the
historic period of southern

much

race

maintain

Europe.

It carried the Slavic

Europe than

farther into

since the reaction of

itself,

it

has been able to

German

driven back the Slavs to their present borders,

ern limits of Poland, Bohemia, and Russia.

has

the west-

In this connec-

somewhat singular that both Berlin and Vienna,

tion

it is

the

German

More

valor

capitals, stand

to the south they

on ancient Slavonic ground.

have held their own,

in eastern

Austria and in the northern and western districts of Euro-

pean Turkey.

Probably one of the

movements was

earliest of the Slavonic

that of the Lithuanians,

a people

with a

language of distinct individuality, who have preserved the

Xanthochroic physical character far better than their Rus-

Back of

sian kindred.

Russians proper,
their ancestral

of this

home

is

all

these outlying branches

seemingly the

home.

In fact,

last of the

if

came the

Aryans

to leave

our idea of the location

correct, the Russians

still

occupied

it

at the

opening of the historic period, or had moved but a short


distance to the west.
first

In the

fifth

and sixth centuries we

gain a clear vision of this people, then occupying a

limited region in the territory of Little Russia, in the neigh-

borhood of the present Russian

district of

Kiev.

Here

was the germ of the great empire which has since so widely
The region indispread, under rulers of Teutonic blood.
cated is in the immediate vicinity of that which we have
considered to be the probable locality of the northern sec-

The Slavonic branch was


leave the old Aryan home, if it can

tion of the primitive Aryans.

doubtless the last to

be said to have

left it at all.

There certainly remains a

THE ARYAN RACE.

72

people of Slavonic affinity in the region which


conjectured to be the mountain birthplace of
race

namely,

Ossetians

the

"This people," says

of

the

we have
the Aryan

Caucasian range.

Pallas, "exactly resemble the peas-

ants in the north of Russia; they have in general, like


them, either brown or light hair, occasionally also red

these

They appear to be very ancient inhabitants of


mountains." The Slavonian migration, after its first

fierce

outward push into western Europe, apparently be-

beards.

came a very
that

it

deliberate one.

has not yet ceased.

Slavic race into history

it

important to notice

It is

From

the

first

entrance of the

has been yielding to the pressure

of the Teutonic race in the west, but pushing

and

sistently to the north

At

east.

the

its

way

same time

it

per-

has

been mingling intimately with the Mongolian race, and has


acquired strong peculiarities of feature and character in con-

The Mongolian blood and type of mind have


partly reconquered the Russian from the Aryan race.
The Slavonic movement has been one of slow agricultural expansion rather than of warlike enterprise.
The
sequence.

Slavs are the least restless, the least warlike, and the least

Aryan branches. They have the


most faithfully preserved to modern times the ancient
institutions and the antique grammatical methods
and
progressive of

all

the

the

indications

are

that they

could have indulged but

game of war and migration in the


prehistoric period.
They seem to be the home-staying
Aryans, the keepers of the old homestead, who remained
little in

the disturbing

on the ancestral domain while


abroad.

all

their

brethren went

Their movement has been mainly that steady

outgrowth of the farm before which the nomad horde can


never sustain

itself.

THE ARYAN OUTFLOW.

73

Gibbon remarks of them that "the same race of Sclavonians appears to have maintained, in every age, the pos-

same

session of the

countries.

rather than the labor of the

plenty of the Sclavonians.

The

natives, supplied the rustic

Their sheep and horned cattle

were large and numerous, and the


with millet or panic

fields

coarse and less nutritious food."

which they sowed

place

afforded, in the

which probably existed

fertility of the soil,

bread, a

of

Such are the conditions

in the primitive

Their

ancient Slavs were not distinguished for bravery.


military achievements were, as

The

Aryan home.

Gibbon remarks, those of

and stragglers rather than those of warriors, and

spies

they were incessantly exposed to the rapine of fiercer and

This hardly applies, however, to

more warlike neighbors.

who invaded the eastern Roman


and success, and who treated their pris-

the southern Slavonians,

empire with vigor

oners with the most savage cruelty.

The

characteristics of the Russian Slavonic population,

as above given, are not those of the


ally

Aryan character yet more

distinctive

tutions

fully than the Celts

In both cases the language and insti-

West.

in the

as gener-

In fact, the Slavs of Russia have lost their

known.

have

Aryan race

have been retained, but the race-distinction has

The Russians frequently present a

largely vanished.

close

resemblance to the Mongolian type, and either have be-

come

largely mingled with, or originally closely resembled,

the Finns, as

indicated by the dark

common among

beard so

lowed out, as
chin.

is

The

it

race

the peasants.

skin

and yellow

The

face

is

hol-

were, between the projecting brow and


is

tall,

but not robust, strong, but not

and displays a general character of apathy.

energetic,
1

Decline and Fall of the Rom.an Empire,

iv.

197.

THE ARYAN RACE.

74

They

lack invention, but are admirable imitators, like the

Mongolians.

In

characteristics.

dark hair
vians,

and

fact

they present decided Mongolian

In the southeast the Slavs are dark, with

These comprise the Croats, the Ser-

eyes.

and the Slavonians proper.

But the Slovaks of

Austria possess the fair skin and red or flaxen hair of the
northern Russians.

mixture, the

It

is,

a race of manifold

in truth,

common

only character

brachycephaly, a Mongolian

to

Slavs being

all

It is a race

characteristic.

which lacks much of the intellectual vigor and the

restless

energy of the purer Aryans.

These remarks, however,

apply mainly to the peasantry.

In the blood of the ruling

German and
Scandinavian element, and it is to this class that we owe
The characterthe migratory activity of modern Russia.
class there is a considerable infusion of the

istic

of the peasantry

is

apathetically to stay where they

are placed, though always ready to migrate where a decided


agricultural advantage appears.

tique custom

IS

This survival of an an-

a valuable aid to the colonizing enterprise

of the Government.

The movements

of the northern Aryans were matched by

an equally active expansion of the darker-skinned southern


sections, the fathers of the

and Indian,

civilizations.

the dates of these

Greek and Latin, the Persian


AVe know as

movements

little

concerning

In

as of those of the North.

speaking of the Celtic as the earliest migration, this

may

That of the South

apply onh' to the northern mo^'ement.

ma}^ have been contemporaneous with or antecedent to

AVhen history opens, the Celts are

They have not completed


visibly

in active

still

their work.

it.

movement.

The Germans

are

moving, and the Slavonic tribes have probabl}^ not

yet left the region of ancient Arya.

But no

historic trace

THE ARYAN OUTFLOW.


of such a

movement can be found

Greeks and

Italians.

AYhen

first

75
story of the

in the

seen they are in

full

possession of their historic realm, and retain not even a

movement.

tradition of a migratory

They proudly term

themselves autochthones, the original possessors of the

AVe can deem their movement as contemporaneous

soil.

with, or later than, that of the Celts only from

ward diversion and the


central

fact of the Celtic

and western Europe.

Yet

this

may

its

south-

possession of

be due to the

one migration being to the north, and the other to the


south, of the Black Sea.

In our scheme of the primeval Aryan home the ancestors of the

gion,

Greeks and Italians occupy the southwestern

perhaps

the Celts,

guage.

if

continuous in their northern borders with

we may judge from

Their location

is

certain affinities of lan-

the Caucasian mountain district

Such seems

and the northeastern region of Asia Minor.


probable from what

we

are able to discover of their

ments, and also from their


thochroic

re-

race-element

much

than

in

move-

greater loss of the


the

northern

Xan-

Aryans.

Though not destitute of the blond type of complexion,


They had probathe brown type was the prevalent one.
bly considerably mixed with the brown Southerners before
their migration

yet they never forgot that the blue-eyed

and fair-hau-ed type was that of

their ancestral race,

to the last they preserved an admiration for

The

line of

linguistic

it.

Grecian march, so far as we can trace

evidence, appears

to

and

it

by

have been through Asia

The Greek testimony would make Greece their


native home, and the settlements in Asia Minor the outcome of colonizing movements. But modern research has
Minor.

led to a different opinion,

and indicates that

at least the

THE ARYAN RACE.

76

lonians originally came from Asia Minor.

The

typical

Hellenes can be traced, with considerable assurance, to the


highlands of Phrygia,

Asia Minor, such as a

tribe of

make

ally

fertile

a stopping-place in

region of northwestern

mountaineers would naturits

westward march.

Here

perhaps they long halted, increased greatly in numbers,

and gave

off successive divisions,

vanguard of the march made

into Greece, while the

way

which pushed westward


its

into Italy.

we know

All

of the history of early Greece

is

that

it

was inhabited by a people called Pelasgians by the later


inhabitants, but of whose derivation we are in absolute
ignorance.

Much

told of a great

We

has been written about them.

wave

are

of migration which carried over the

Hellespont into Europe a population which diffused

itself

through Greece and the Peloponnesus, as well as over the


coasts and islands of the Archipelago.

To

this antique

Aryan tribe are ascribed the most ancient architectural


monuments of Greece. We are further told that the coming of later tribes pushed forward this Pelasgian outpost
until

it

vanished from Greece

by destruction or amalgamation.

either
all

overflowed into Italy, while

it

pure conjecture

it

This, however,

has no historic basis.

We

is

know

nothing of the origin, race-character, or degree of culture


of the early inhabitants of Greece, though there can be
little

doubt that the Aryans made their way by successive

waves

into Greece

Before the

final

and

Italy.

Hellenic migration began, the Hellenes

had apparently divided into two distinct sections, well


the Doric and the
marked in language and character,

Ionic.

period.

third section, the JEoMc, separated at a later

It is conjectured that the

Dorians continued to

THE ARYAN OUTFLOW.


occupy the highland

while

region,

the

77
lonians

moved

south to the sea-coast of Asia Minor, where they found a


softer climate

and gained new habits of

jecture seems borne out

Our

history.

by

first historic

their

trace of the Dorians

was probably

the hardy mountaineer, which

From

subsequent character and


is

in the

Here they displayed the type of

highlands of Macedonia.

them.

This con-

life.

original with

this position, at a later date, they

pushed

southward and occupied the Peloponnesus, their historic

home, forcing back the lonians who had preceded them.

We can

recover no historic trace of the primitive lonians.

They probably made

their

way into Greece over

of the Archipelago, having long before

come

the islands

into contact

with the Phoenician navigators and gained the germ of the

maritime

skill

and enterprise which were afterwards to


Spreading themselves over these nu-

distinguish

them.

merous and

fertile islands,

famous centre of

they finally entered Attica, the

their future civilization.

probable that they

still

But

it is

highly

held possession of the coast of

Asia Minor, and that what were afterwards described as


colonies were really the original Ionian settlements.
at least, their civilization first
arts first

budded.

grew into prominence.

Here the Grecian

Here was the land of the

Homeric song and the scene of the great poet's

came the

Here,

earliest song-writers, philosophers,

life.

Hence

and historians

to the rising commercial city of Athens, to gain in its rich

precincts the reward of their genius and to implant that

seed of thought which was afterwards richly to grow and

bloom on Attic

soil.

That

later colonies, Doric, Ionic,

^olic, settled on the shores of Asia Minor, there


evidence

but they evidently settled

found there

in

and

is historic

among Greeks, and

a developing condition that literary and

THE ARYAN RACE.

78

was afterwards

culture which

artistic

to gain its highest

expression on the peninsula of Greece.

As

to

when and how

We

absolutely nothing.
history,

and that

the

is all.

south of Italy met

Aryans came

into Italy

find

them there

The

earliest

there

Greek colonies

whom

sure

They were
;

in the

they looked upon as

Pelasgians or as remnants of the most ancient

we cannot be

opening of

at the

two peoples, called by them the

lapygians and the ^notrians,

ulation of Greece.

we know

known pop-

possibly Aryans, but of this

the extant relics of their language are

much

too slight to be of

utility.

Central Italy was occu-

pied by numerous tribes, which have been divided into five

groups,

the

There

Oscans.
of

all

Umbrians, Sabines, Latins, Yolscians, and

Aryan

is

good reason

to believe that these

The Umbrians have

stock.

left

were

an important

linguistic record in the celebrated inscriptions

known

as

the " Eugubiue Tablets," which indicate a very primitive

Aryan

dialect

and stamp the Umbrians as one of the most

Aryan nations of Italy. As for the remainder of


Italy, the North was occupied by several distinct peoples,
prominent among them being the strong Celtic settlement
ancient

known

as Cisalpine

Gaul.

Southward lay the land of

Etruria, occupied by the remarkable people

who

rose into

the earliest Italian civilization, but whose ethnic affinities


are
is

still

a puzzle.

Whether they were or were not Aryans

a question that remains to be settled.

know

is

that ancient authors represent

wholly distinct from

all

others in Italy.

All

them

As

we

positively

as a people

for the Latins,

was subsequently to make such a remarkable


the world, and so greatly to advance the Aryan

the race that


figure in

civilization, their origin is in great obscurity.

est traceable

home seems

to be the central

Their

earli-

Apennines, and

THE ARYAN OUTFLOW.


their

79

language has a considerable infusion of the old Greek

element, which indicates a very ancient branching off from


the original stock of Greco-Italic speech.

We

the

have one remaining Aryan migration to trace,

Indo-Iranic, that which carried the fathers of the

and Persian empires to

their

Hindu

temporary Bactrian home.

This branch of the Aryan stock, in our scheme of the


ancient

home

of the race,

would have

location in the

its

southeastern Caucasian region, impinging on the southern


shores of the Caspian.

Here, like their neighbors to the

west, they seem to have largely lost the distinctive

Xan-

thochroic type, and to have been greatly modified by an


infusion of the Melanochroic element.

may have been

Their migration

considerably later than that of the Greeks.

Quite possibly, indeed, an Iranian pressure

gated the Grecian movement,


that

Armenia

is

we have no more

of the other branches.


line of

As

Aryan

insti-

we may judge from the fact

to-day occupied by an Aryan people

speak an Iranic dialect.


the race,

if

may have

for the

march of

this

who

branch of

historic evidence than in the case

All

we can

discover

is

an extended

peoples, leading from the Ossetes, wdio occupy

the pass of the Caucasus, successively to the Armenians,


the Kurds, the people of ancient

Media and Persia, the


and the Hindus of the

Afghan and Belooch Aryan tribes,


Indus and Ganges. At every point on the long line of
march divisions of the migrating army were seemingly
dropped, or perhaps the expansion of a growing people

pushed

its

vanguard farther and farther over the eastward

path, on a route probably

much

easier than that leading

to the civilized regions of the South.

Of all this, however, we have no historic evidence.


Though we are now dealing with a people who possess

THE ARYAN RACE.

80

a considerable literature, dating from a period

when

their

migratory movement was yet far from completion, yet this


literature is the reverse of historical.

It is simply calcu-

lated to bewilder and lead astray the earnest students of


history.

The Vedas

not historical,

which forms the


the primitive
is

sole basis for the selection of Bactria as

Aryan home.

Yet

this

Avestan geography

of the most mythical and unsatisfactory character.

the " Vendidad

" are

and draw

attempts have been

historical conclusions

illustration of the line

in

efforts

lands

made

to iden-

from their order

of Iranian migration.

have proved signally unsuccessful.

named

In

enumerated sixteen lands created by

Many

Ahura Mazda.
tify these,

pre-

The Zend-Avesta of the Persians,


lays down a geographical scheme,

tence to be historical.
while

make no

of the Hindus, indeed,

These

Several of the

are clearly mythical, and of only nine can

the location be traced.

Yet

in

naming these the Persian

author seems to have wandered at random over the map,

without regard to the cardinal points.

No

conclusion can

be drawn from their order of succession, since they have

no order.
This geographical record, however, appears to indicate
the region of ancient Bactria as the point of

common

resi-

dence of the Hindus and Iranians ere yet they had divided

two sub-branches and begun their final migration. It


was a land adapted to their needs, with its mountain-slopes,
its tracts of rich soil and fine pasture-land, its abundance
of oxen and horses, its warm summer airs on the northwest terraces of the Hindu-Kush. But that it formed the
original Aryan home there is not a shred of evidence, while
into

such an idea
all

is

probability

surrounded by insuperable
it

difficulties.

In

was the halting-ground of the vanguard

THE ARYAN OUTFLOW.


of the

Aryan march

81

may have

have long rested, and where their numbers


greatly increased.^

may

to the East, a land in which they

All

we

really

know

is that,

after prob-

ably a long residence in this locality, during which the

Aryan ideas became much modified, a division


took place. Some claim that this was a religious schism.
Of this we have no evidence other than the strong religious
primitive

fervor manifested in their literature, and the diversity of

opinion concerning the gods that appears in the most


ancient documents of the Hindus and Persians.

sumed

It is as-

that a group of sectaries, under the leadership of

Xarathustra or Zoroaster, broke

and made
cing, as

way towards

their

we assume,

from the main stock

off

the highlands of Iran, retra-

their original path, probably long for-

Here they established themselves, developed the

gotten.

distinctive Zoroastrian faith,

and became the root-bed of

the future great empire of Persia.

There

is

The whole

nothing surprising in such a reverse movement.


of the

Aryan population

be in motion, and expanding in

The
of

Indie
the

of Bactria seemed to

all

available directions.

branch was pushing toward the rich plains

and there was but one path

South,

for the Iranic,

that

left

open

leading to the Persian highlands.

The march of the fathers of the Hindu race can be traced


with some clearness. They eem to have oushed out from
1

way

study of the

map

of i.sia

shows a comparatively short route, by

of the southern shores of the Caspian, from the region of the Cau-

casus to that of the Hin<lu,-Kush.


original

It

Aryan migrants were forced

may

ha conjectured that the

to pursue this route

by the hostile
and that

resistance to invasion of the primitive mountaineers of Persia,

only after they liad greatly increased in numbers and warlike strength in
Bactria were they able to return and to cope with the foes

had avoided in their

orisrinal

march.

/^^^11

whom

they

THE AEYAN RACE.

82

the western borders of Iran

and made

way by

their

stages and in successive tribes into the rich,

moist valley of the Indus, seeking a

slow

warm, and

new home

in these

AYe can almost see them, in the pages of

fertile plains.

the Vedas, marching resolutely south, singing their stirring

hymns

of praise and invocation to their deities, led by

their priestly chiefs,

and

down

calling

the vengeance of

the gods on their enemies, the Dasyus, the " raw-eaters,"

the " godless," the " gross feeders on flesh/' the " disturbers
of sacrifices," the " monsters "
resist the

and " demons

"

who dared

arms of the god-sent, the Arya, the noble and

ruling race.

This movement was in no proper sense a migration.


was, as we conceive was the case with

all

the

It

Aryan move-

ments, an expansion caused by increasing numbers and


aided by hostile pressure from the rear.
signs of a

march

There are no

movement

in forcfi, but rather of the

of

successive tribes, each pushing the preceding one forward,

and the whole slowly gaining possession of the broad region of the " five rivers," and extending to the great plain
of the Ganges.

Vedic hymns.
to the north of

We

can trace the

The earliest ones


the Khyber Pass,

march

line of

disclose the
in Cabul.

Hindu

The

in the

tribes

later

ones

were written and sung on the banks of the Ganges. Along


the base of the'^^Himalayas th-ey pushed, and far

down

into

that fertile and enervating land, driving the dark-skinned

aborigines

everywhere before them into the mountains

and the jungles, ard probably, despite


taste,

their religious dis-

mingling their noble blood to some extent with that

of these despised aborigines.

How

long ago this was, can be conjectured with some

degree of probability.

The

first

occupation of the valley

THE ARYAN OUTFLOW.


of the Indus, with

its five tributaries,

83

has been estimated,

from what we know of the subsequent history of the


Hindus, to have taken place about 2000
hardly have been more recent, yet

According to the

remote.

list

could

may have been more

it

of

It

b. c.

Babylonian dynasties

given by Berosus, the western part of Persia was occupied

by Aryans as early as 2500 b. c. All such estimates,


however, must be taken with many grains of allowance.^

As

to the physical

and mental character of these

may

ern Aryans, something

decidedly Melanochroic.

marked by a
horizontal

The Hindu type


The Brahmin of the Ganges
be said.

high, well-developed

eyes,

eastis
is

forehead, oval face,

a projecting nose, slightly thick at

its

extremity, but with delicately shaped nostrils, a fair but


readily bronzed skin,

and abundant black

hair.

Farther

south the mixture with the aborigines has been so great


that

is

it

not easy to trace the typical Aryan.

there has never been a


half of India.

the southern

There the Dravidian population

number of

to the

Hindu conquest of

fifty millions,

though

all

In fact

still

exists

race-purity has

vanished through the abundant mingling of types that has

seemingly taken place.

The mentality

of

the

ancient

Hindus was such as we might deduce from

this

mixture

of blood, one with highly acute powers of reasoning, but

This possibility of limiting the era of the Hindu-Iranian movement

within historic times, in connection with the remotely prehistoric character of the early

European movements,

Bactrian locality for ancient Avya.

Aryan

No

enterprise began with difficult

is

a strong

and distant migrations, and

the rich valleys of India, within easy reach, for

Such

a.

ability

argument against the

one can be asked to believe that

reversal of the order of nature is inconceivable,

is

left

its latest field of action.

and the prob-

that the invasion of India was the final stage in a long-con-

tinued eastward migratory movement.

THE AEYAN RACE.

84

with perhaps the most developed and exuberant imagination that has ever appeared upon the face of the earth.

The Iranian populations

the Kurds, the


Persia are marked by

of to-day

Armenians, and the Tadjicks of

The Tadjicks,

black eyes and brows.

the purest descend-

ants of the old Persians, are described as of oval face,

broad, high forehead, large eyes, black eyebrows, straight,

prominent nose, large mouth, thin

and rosy,

hair straight

lips,

complexion

fair

and black, beard and mustache

black and plentiful, and abundant hair over the whole

body.

In Afghanistan the pure Aryan type

The Patans,

found.

Afghan

or

is

frequently

soldiers, are

commonly

brown like the Iranians, but many of them have red hair
and blue eyes, with a florid complexion. This is particularly the case with the Siah

Posh of

Kaffiristan, a tribe

Thus
the Iranian branch of the eastern Aryans the Xantho-

which speaks a dialect derived from the Sanscrit.


in

chroic character has been

with the Hindus.

much more

fully preserved than

It is possible that the separation of the

combined race may have been due to ethnic rather than to

The Iranians are highlanders to-day, and


may always have been so. They may represent the mounreligious causes.

taineer section of the original migrating horde,


fore the one that

element.
region,

had originally

least of the

and

there-

Melanochroic

Possibly they occupied in Bactria the highland

and the Hindus the lower

districts.

If such

were

we should have an additional reason for the Iranmovement towards the Persian highlands, and that of

the case,
ian

the Hindus towards the Indian plains.


to that of

ancient

the

Arya

It is a case parallel

Doric and Ionic peoples of Greece.

the Dorian

and Iranian

tribes

In

may have been

mountaineers, the Ionian and Hindu tribes lowlanders, and

THE ARYAN OUTFLOW.


may have been governed by

each

this original habit in all

The Persians

subsequent movements.

85

are distinguished

from the Hindus by characteristics not unlike those sepaThey have the
rating the Dorians from the lonians.
mental character of mountaineers, are brave, enterprising,
earnest,

much

and

truthful, with a strong love of liberty,

They lack

warlike energy.

and

the highly active imagi-

nation of the Hindus, but have a sound common-sense and

make them essentially practical in


systems.
The Persian myths have had a

vigor of thought which


their religious

profound influence over the practical religious history of

mankind, while the Hindu

belief

forms the basis of

all

the

involved figments of metaphysical philosophy.

But one thing more need here be

many

differences, there

among

mogeneity

the

early

branches of the Aryans,

and

in political

social

mental character.
formity, a state

ance,

is

Despite their

said.

remarkable
conditions

alike

degree
of

of

the

ho-

several

in language, in religion,

and

institutions,

physical and

in

This indicates an original great uniof

during which

stagnant barbarity of long continu-

Aryans

the

borders of their primitive

extended the

greatly

home without changing

important degree their primitive

in

any

For the

institutions.

second stage of progress a breaking-up and widespread


migration
war,

life in

were requisite,

new

with alien peoples,

lands, ethnic minglings, and

influences which play


to

contact

all

the varied

upon an actively moving people, but

which a settled population

is

not exposed.

To

this di-

versity of influences, together with the inspiration of the

old civilizations with which the


into contact,

we owe

outspreading race came

the highly developed

enment of the present age.

Aryan

enlight-

THE ARYAN RACE.

86

summarize some of the conclusions of

Briefly to

chapter,
tion

it

may

be affirmed that the original Aryan migra-

had the character of an agricultural outpush similar

to that

which exists

in

Russia to-day.

expansion of an increasing race, at

It

first

was the natural


of small, but of

gradually growing enterprise, spreading from


region in

a central

directions to which fertility of soil invited.

all

was the onward

It

this

aggression where

step from farm to farm, with hostile


this

became

necessary,

the

forward

movement occasionally accelerated by a hostile push of


other Aryan tribes from behind.
These movements took
place to
the

all

parts of the compass except that leading to

desert regions

of

Asia,

and the whole intermedi-

Aryan hands. In their advance


Aryans have loosed their hold on no

ate region continued in

through Europe the

land which they once occupied, except where forced to do

Huns and

so by the invasions of the

East they have

and other

left

districts

tribe of the

on

the Turks.

In the

Armenia, Kurdistan,

communities

in

their line of

march, while the Aryan

Caucasus known as the Iron or Ossetes

nificantly occupies

the

sig-

path by which these southward

movements must have taken

place,

the Gorge of

Dariel,

the only natural road through the great mountain-chain.

This tribe seems to have been


of the Ar^^an

army on

its

left

behind as the rear-guard

march

to

empire, while the

Caucasus generally has been occupied by alien peoples.


It

was only

at a later period,

when migration and war

had consolidated and given new energy and enterprise


that they

to

ventured on bolder movements.

the

Ar3'ans,

We

can perceive the gradual growth of this enterprise and

power of warlike massing


the

in the

immense wealth of Rome

German

tribes, to

whom

offered the strongest incite-

THE AEYAN OUTFLOW.


ment

to hostile aggression.

movements en masse
invaders.

at

no time did

like those of the

tliey

make

nomadic Huunish

While crossing the borders into the Roman

Empire, they
at

Yet

87

lield

on persistently

and forests

to their fields

home.

The Aryan migration was evidently followed by an extensive intermarriage with the original inhabitants of the

conquered

There

territories.

trary, except in the case of

who may have

felt

is

no evidence to the con-

the settlers in Scandinavia,

a strong antipathy to the v.idely differ-

Elsewhere, hov>ever, they found their new

ent Lapps.

possessions occupied by tribes of Melanochroi? blood, to

whom

the Xanthochroi have never

shown any antipathy.

Instead of annihilating or dispossessing these, they apparently simply subjugated them, and later on freely intermarried with them.

change

mans

in

Only thus can we understand the great

physical characteristics of the Celts and Ger-

In the former

within the last eighteen centuries.

case the conquered must have

much exceeded

the conquer-

ors in number, to judge from the strongly declared Melan-

ochroic character of the

Greeks and Latins, the


piobable, as

modern

Celts.

As

regards the

Hindus and Persians,

we have already conjectured,

it

is

quite

that they

had

gained a strong infusion of Melanochroic blood before


their migration.

This was undoubtedly largely added to

new homes, and particularly so in


Hindus, who must have been greatly out-

after reaching their

the case of the

numbered by the aborigines of


Yet
its

in all these cases the

own

their

conquered

territory.

Aryan type of language held

persistently, doubtless adopting

many words from

the dialects of the conquered races, but vigorously main-

taining

its

structure,

and forcing out

all

the

aboriginal

THE ARYAN RACE.

88
tongues.
instance
their

This indicates that


subordinated

to

tlie

the

aborigines were in every

conquerors,

retained

ascendency firmly during the subsequent period of

amalgamation.

Of

variations

of linguistic structure

most marked were those which took place


lects,

who

the

in the Celtic dia-

which seem to have had impressed upon them some

of the characteristics of the aboriginal tongues, yet


sufficiently so greatly to affect their

Aryan

type.

not

IV.

THE ARYANS AT HOME.

WHAT

can we know about the mode of

of a

life

group of barbarians who have become extinct as


a primitive community without leaving a trace of their existence

upon the face of the

earth,

who have

written no

books, carved no monuments, built no great works of

The

architecture?

early

Chinese and Egyptians, prob-

ably their contemporaries, have

left

abundant monuments,

written, carved, erected, and excavated


ate,

but the Aryans

drank, fought, lived, and died without a thought that

come might be curious about their doings,


and without an effort to stamp in stone, brick, or earth the
story of their existence.
They had not yet reached that

the world to

stage of development in which

men

begin to think they are

doing great things and living great

lives,

and become

anxious to astonish the future world with a knowledge of


their prowess.

This wish to astound posterity

of one stage of every advancing civilization.

barbarism troubles
the future.

High

itself

but

little

civilization is

about the curiosity of

monuments of

work-

its

strength

tombs, pyramids, temples, and the


its

like,

greatness, toiling with the strength

and blindness of the Cyclops

wonder

in

But the intermediate

stage of budding civilization has always wasted

as

Primitive

more concerned

ing for the needs of the present.

in building great

a feature

is

for the world to come.

to leave a

message of empty

THE ARYAN KACE.

90

The antique Aryans had not reached

And

opment.

tention, left a record of their lives


little less

this stage of devel-

yet they have, without

knowledge or

and

in-

institutions hut

complete than that of their fame-seeking civilized

The

contemporaries.

political

relations

modern

of the

world are the growth of the seed which they planted.


religious of the mythological age

were the unfoldraent of

The languages

and worship.

their gei-m of faith

The

of

mod-

ern times are full of words which this antique group spoke

All these lines of development

primeval homes.

in their

have become great trees


their roots,

and

but they can be traced back to

we possess

in these roots

the life-conditions

of our ancestral clan.

As we have

already said,

modern

the languages of

all

Europe, the P^nglish, the Romanic, the German, the Celtic,


the Slavonic, and the Lithuanian
the Greek,

Asia,

the

dialects,

the

Latin, the

Sanscrit, the Persian,

are

not

affinilles.

the east

we

find

many

and

it

were, but also are

of

words essentially the same used to desig-

Very many such words

exist,

to suppose that these languages could have

words are not the terms employed by


its

full

P'rom Ireland on the west to India on

gained them by borrowing from one another.

nate

minor

their several

alone closely similar in grammatical

nate the same things.


far too

those of ancient Europe,

Teutonic; those of southern

structure, in skeletal type, as

verbal

And

these

civilization to desig-

newly acquired treasures, but they are the names

of things and ideas of simpler and

more antique character,

and conditions of barbaric


for which every nation, if it had no primitive names,

the titles of the possessions


life,

would have been forced in the early stage of its existence


to invent names for itself. The conception, therefore, that

THE ARYANS AT HOME.


common

these

terms were acquired during the process of

development by borrowing

national

91

or,

like

articles

of

commerce, by interchange, cannot be entertained for a

But

moment.

if

this explanation be

thrown aside as

adequate, there remains only that of a

AVe are forced, in

common

in-

origin.

that all these widely

fact, to believe

separated nations are descendants of a single primitive

who once occupied a

people

single,

limited

from

area,

which they have outspread over the earth, and who spoke
a single and simple language, from which have come the

complex and varied systems of Aryan speech.

We

have already sought to trace the origin, the primitive

and the early migrations of

locality,

more interesting inquiry


of

What

life.

did they

is

before us,

know

how

the character of their possessions

that of their

did they live

this people.

yet

mode

what was

such are the queries

which we must now seek to answer.

We

look back far

into the darkness of the past as into a mist-shrouded valley,

and perceive

finally a

at first only impenetrable

But

gloom.

ray of light of growing strength makes

way

its

through the thinning vapor, and by degrees a broad scene


of busy

life is

ness,

is

it

revealed to our eyes,

true

not with much

clear-

not without v/isps of shadow clinging to

and half enveloping

its

objects;

yield a very considerable

yet sufficiently clear to

knowledge of the conditions of

that long-clouded scene of ancient

life.

This revealing ray

has sprung from several sources, one of the most important


of which

is

that of comparative philology.

In isolating

tlie

words common to the Aryan languages,

it

has been necessary to place them in two divisions.

is

of words

other of

One

common to a part only of these languages the


words common to the whole. The former series
;

THE ARYAN RACE.

92

indicates that certain branches of the

Aryan

race, after

from the main stem, again divided after their


Such was
special dialect had made considerable progress.
the case with the eastern branch, and thus we may account
breaking

for

off

common words

in the

Indian and Iranian tongues

which do not extend to the other branches of the race.


This special community between the languages of the two
great divisions of the eastern branch
ilar special

and Latin.
divide the

is

paralleled

by sim-

resemblances in the west, as between the Greek


Efforts have been

Aryan

race

up

made,

in consequence, to

into secondary, or sub-races, the

product of a primary division, each of which sub-races

made
place.

considerable

But from these

has been achieved.

new

progress before a
efforts

division took

no very satisfactory result


schemes have been

Several unlike

proposed, each of which has been contested and denied.

We

need, therefore, concern ourselves here only with the

original Aryans, without heed to their

assumed but as yet

unproved sub-branches.

The persevering and critical labor of the students of


language has, as we have said, isolated numerous words
which must have been in use by the Aryan family before
its

separation, since they are

all, its

descendants.

still

in use

by

all,

or nearly

This work has gone so far that

we

have now a dictionary of the ancient Aryan


And August Sleicher has taken the
octavo volumes.^

in three stout

trouble to write a short story in this prehistoric language.


It is quite likely, indeed, that the ancestral

have had some

difficulty in

reading

it,

Aryans would

since

it

cannot be

supposed that the exact form of any of their words has


been preserved; yet it is curious, as showing the great
1

Tick's Comparative Dictionary of Indo-Germanic Speech, 1874-76.

THE ARYANS AT HOME.


progress which has been

93

made during a few decades

of

persistent study.

Words

indicate things

and conditions.

No

people has

ever invented a vocal sound without the purpose of nam-

ing something which they had or knew.

It

cannot be

supposed, however, that the Aryan words conveyed to the

minds of

their early

they do to ours.

come

speakers the exact meaning which

The words of our languages have

as full of mental as of physical significance.

sophical conceptions spread

Philo-

a network through the

like

But we have now

substance of our speech.

to deal with

a people who had not devised a philosophy and had


conception of

little

They knew what they saw.

mentality.

They named what

be-

their eyes beheld or their

hands encoun-

The vast world


of the mind was as yet scarcely born.
Numerous evidences of this might be quoted. The names of the family
tered.

Their world existed outside them.

relations, for instance, originated in physical conceptions.

Sanscrit p^Yar, " father," comes from pa^

The

''

to pro-

meaning of hhratai\ " brother," was


" he who carries or assists." Svasar, " sister," signified
" she who pleases."
Daliitar^ " daughter," is derived

tect."

from

The

duli^

original

a root which

The daughter

in

Sanscrit

of the primeval household

most primitive of words were


ding physical terms.
ceptions existed.

times without

As

in

really derived

Indeed we

may come

much improvement

we should seek

to us the

from prece-

yet no general or abstract con-

Anglo-Saxon, for instance,


if

to milk."

was valued mainly

Thus what seem

for her use as a milkmaid.

Yet

means "

is

to far

in this

more recent

respect.

far richer than old

to converse

Old

Aryan.

on philosophy or science

Anglo-Saxon speech we should soon

find ourselves in

THE ARYAN RACE.

94

Only by

difficulty.

a free use of metaphor,

and mental

applications of words which have only a material signifi-

made

cance, could any progress be

such a task.

in

It is

very probable, however, that the antique Aryans had long


forgotten the derivation of their words
technical symbols to

them as

been developed probably

Their language had

to us.

many

they were mere

long centuries before the

era of their dispersal, and linguistic decay

We

in.

know

far

had already

more than they did of the origin of

set

their

words, from our method of isolating the roots of language, and reaching

down

to the deepest-buried seeds of

meaning.
Let us seek to rehabilitate

Aryan

this ancient

communit}'',

so far as our knowledge of their words enables us to do so.

For

this

purpose we shall mainly follow Professor Sayce

his graphic rebuilding of old

Arya from

Pick's " Comparative Grammar."

If

through the revealing glass of science

in

the words given in

we look
we seem

far

back

to behold

these active aborigines on their native plains engaged in


all

the

vocations of a simple

ployed in a twofold
agricultural

grassy

life.

Abundant

Asia.

But

goat,

and the

was

ridden.

still is

of language,

If

There

tlieir

is

most valued pos-

nothing to show that the horse

from the indications

alone

believe that

it

was, in

the ox, used only for drawing.

Nor

show that the dog was known

in other

Of

had the horse, the sheep, the

we judge

we must

and that of

with the pastoral tribes of northern

in addition they
pig.

pastoral,

them em-

the diligent herdsman.

domesticated animals the cow was


it

see

flocks are scattered over their

commons attended by

session, as

We

life.

duty, that of

is

with

there anything to

than

Introduction to the Science of Language.

common
its

wild state.

A. H. Sayce.

THE ARYANS AT HOME.

And
the

yet the exigencies of pastoral

modern use of

tiiese

95

may have required


To their sheep and

life

animals.

stables,

Aryan herdsmen added the shelter of


sheepcots, and pigsties.
Of other domesticated

animals

may

cattle pastures the

be mentioned the goose and fowl as proba-

ble, while the

bee was undoubtedly one of their valued

made into mead,


then
and long afterwards a favorite Aryan beverage. Their
chief ordinary drink, however, was the milk of the cow,
possessions,

honey

its

sheep, and goat

being

and the morning milking scene by the

daughters of the tribe doubtless closely resembled that


still

seen on the Asiatic steppes

among

pastoral no-

the

mads of that region.


The community with which we have at present to deal
was not a nomadic one. It had doubtless passed through
that stage of existence
it

but at the time in which

the development of agriculture

locality,

and the

into prominence.

interests of agriculture

tied

it

to a fixed

were steadily rising

There are indications to show that in the

early days of the development of


interests

had

we behold

were largely

Aryan speech

in the ascendent.

But

the pastoral

at the period

hnmediately preceding the Aryan dispersal, agriculture had

become considerably developed, the


definitely

tribes

arranged communities on a

were settled in

fertile

region, well

watered and wooded, and farming and herding had become

common

industries

of the

people, without the wide di-

vision between these interests which

we now

find in the

desert regions of Arabia and Turkestan, with their fertile

oases alternated with scanty pasture regions.

The antique language has abundant

indications of such

a primitive supremacy of pastoral interests.


for

many

of the family

and

The names

tribal relations, for property.

THE ARYAN RACE.

96

trade, etc., for inn, guest, master,

and king, were taken

from words that applied to the herd.


musteriug-thne of the cows.
bringing

home

"speed;"

"

Evening was

In the word " cow "

the herds.

" the slow walker

Daw^n

signified the
tlie

time of

itself

we have

ox, " the vigorous one

in

in wolf, "destroyer," etc.

was an era

pastoral interests were very prominent in men's minds.

But evidently

at the period of the

interests of agriculture

Aryan

dispersion the

were becoming dominant, and those

of a pastoral life secondary.


the plentiful survival of
the

All this indicates

that the era of development of the language

when

" in dog,

AYe have warrant for

common

word by which the eastern Aryan migrants


first

Aryas

Yedas, Airyas in the Zend

from which

their

modern

title

comes from a root which


eventually to

yans,

signifies

warrant,

in

called them-

and

literature,

This word

has been derived.

mean "honorable,"

without

not

and

appearance on the stage of history,

selves at their
in the

this in

agricultural terms,

"ploughing."
or "noble."

grew

It

The Ar-

considered themselves

the

human races.
If we now turn our mental gaze from the pastures to the
farming lands we see indications of a different mode of
noblest of

Here the earth

activity.

is

being turned up with a rude

plough drawn by the slow moving ox, or possibly the horse.

There the hay


fields of ripe

is

bemg

cut with the sickle.

and waving grain of

at least

two kinds.

what grains these were, we cannot be quite


them seems to have been barley,

sure.

far

from

all

we can

certain.

are

Just

One

the cereal of cold

The other may have been wheat, though

mates.

glass.

Yonder

of

cli-

this is

These, with a few garden vegetables, are

perceive through our highly imperfect observing-

We

can, however, see wheeled vehicles of

some

THE ARYANS AT HOME.


sort,

the

97

drawn by yoked oxen, and bringing the harvests from

field.

We

can likewise perceive these antique farmers

threshing and winnowing their grain and grinding

We have their words


for

hammer,

in mills.

wagon, wheel, and axle, and also

for

and forge,

anvil,

it

the

latter

showing that

was an active member of the community.


In the woods around them grew the pine and the birch,
and probably the beech and the
trees of cold regions

the smith

oak, though this


possessed,

we

is

are in doubt

knowledge of the grape.


metals,

gold,

iron, copper,

As

not positive.

is

They appear

at

consider that metals

fruit-trees they

to

have had three

Their possession of

more doubtful, and there

son to believe that stone tools were

we

what

nor are we certain as to their

and bronze.

silver,

and lead

to

still

may have been

used.

rea-

is

In fact, when

articles of

commerce

an early date, and their names have travelled with them,

the existence of

common Aryan names

as sure evidence of

many

for any metal

is

not

early possession as in the case of

its

other articles, and

possible that their actual ac-

it is

quaintance with metals was very slight.

There

to believe, however, that the class of smiths

is

reason

was held

in

high honor, and that they sometimes had supernatural

powers attributed to

them,

as

among

other barbarian

communities.

The people whose

life in

the

dim depths of time we are

thus observing had left behind them the tent-stage of existence.

They dwelt

in

houses of wood, with regular doors,

instead of the hole through which the tenants of

AYe cannot identify any win-

northern habitations crawl.

dow.

many

Straw seems to have been used to thatch the roofs.

It is possible that these houses

were but rude huts.

were combined into villages, whose name


7

still

They

survives in

THE ARYAN RACE.

98
the

icicli

names

or ii'kk

of towns.

now

often used as a termination of the

There seems also to have been a

fortress,

with protecting wall- or rampart.

As

for domestic life

and comforts, we know that baked

was in common use, formed into vases, jars, pots,


and cups, some with the ends pointed so as to be driven

pottery

This pottery

into the ground.

by painting

may have been ornamented

Vessels of

in colors.

The hours

also probably in use.

wood and

leather were

of relaxation

seem

to

have been softened by music, derived from some stringed

The food used appears

instrument.

or roasted meat, and the eaters of

upon

as utter barbarians.

to have included

raw

flesh

baked

were looked

Quails and ducks were eaten,

and a black broth was apparently a principal article of food.


Their meal was baked into bread, and apples may have
been one of their edible
ment.
than

Quite

fruits.

lilvely their diet

this, since

many names

Salt

was used as a condi-

was considerably more varied


of articles of food

may have

died out of use, or been replaced by others in the long


course of time.

mentioned

??i

Of the other household treasures may be

a A's/i/,

"the buzzer," our common

him was associated the

With

fly.

less desirable flea, while the prowl-

made up a trio of domestic pests. The art of


medicine was as 3^et in embrj^o, but our ancestral clan was
by no means free from the ravages of disease. Two names
ing mouse

of diseases have survived,


for cure, the

consumption and

tetter.

As

power of charms seems to have been mainly

relied on.

In these households strict

monogamy

was but one husband and one


tions were clearl}' defined.

prevailed.

There

wife, and the famil}^ rela-

In addition to words for father,

mother, son, daughter, brother,

sister, etc.,

they had sepa-

THE ARYANS AT HOME.


rate

words for a wife's

The

wife, ydtaras.

father

the wife

its

mistress

members

of

the

greater than

sister,

s?//f,

99

aud for a brother's

was lord of the household, aud

the subordination of the younger

family to parental authority being far

The names of

our era.

in

antique

these

Aryans were composed of two words, as now. AVe may


instance Deva 'sritta, " heard by God," as the title of one

As

of our extinct ancestors.

for their domestic industries,

they seem to have possessed the arts of sewing and spin-

Wool was shorn and woven, and linen was known,


though probably little used. The art of tanning was practised, and leather v\'as much used for clothing and other
ning.

purposes.

Their dress apparently consisted of a tunic,

coat, collar, and

sandals,

and sewn wool.

But

of the

early

if

made

woven
we may judge from what we know
of

Germans, Slavs, and

leather or

of

Celts, they

were not

greatly protected by clothing from the cold.


If

now we

leave the domestic and industrial conditions

of the Aryans, and seek to follow


ring details of their active lives,

what

to

them

in the

more

stir-

we behold them engaged

them were doubtless nobler

pursuits.

in

Here we

perceive our ancestor actively engaged in the cliase and

daringly entering into combat with the savage bear and wolf.

Of smaller game he seems

to

have pursued the hare, beaver,

and badger, and probably the fox.


one of

his game-birds,

The wild duck was

and he knew several other

such as the vulture, raven, starling, and goose.


custom, preserved

till

much

birds,

He had

the

later period, of divining the

future from the flight of birds, particularly of the falcon.

The serpent was known, and probably both hated and


revered for its deadly and mysterious power.
Of his
water-dwelling game we may name the otter and the eel,

THE ARYAN RACE.

100
the

crab and

tlie

But

mussel.

must have been very limited

if

knowledge of

his

we take language

fish

for our

guide.

Changing our

field

of observation,

we behold him

boldly

embarking on the waves of the great salt lake which adThe name he gave this watery exjoined his native land.

word which has been


since applied alike to sea and lake, moor and morass.
Here he launched his boat, guided it by a rudder, and proHis barbaric intellect was not
pelled it by means of oars.
panse

is still

preserved in meer^

yet equal to the device of the

no word

to signify that he

sail,

or

at least he has left

had learned to spread the broad

sheet to the winds, and by their aid to avoid the laborious


straining of the muscles.

A glance
gaged

in

in

still

another direction shows him to us en-

what he probably considered the noble pastime

That he was of belligerent disposition we have


every reason to believe, judging from the irascible temper
he has transmitted to his descendants and doubtless his

of war.

peaceful labors were frequently broken by warlike raids

upon neighboring

and

fields

tribes or

by

fierce

against hostile invaders.

defence of his home

In this stirring duty

was apparently his chief weapon but he fought


also with the club and the sword, while he wore the helmet
and the buckler for defensive armor. The bow was also
probably one of his implements of offence. With these

the axe

weapons the blue-eyed and stout-hearted champion doubtless fought sturdily for home and freedom, or for fame
and

spoil,

doing doughty deeds of valor which

may have

roused to noble inspiration the minstrels of his tribe, yet

which have vanished


a ray of their lustre

in the night of time

down

and thrown not

to our remote age.

As

yet

THE ARYANS AT HOME.

101

no Homer had arisen to make imperishable the deeds of


warlike glory.

As

for the acquirements of this strong-limbed

and active

barbarian, beyond the reqnisites of industry and

know very

He was

little.

acquainted with the decimal

system of numeration, counting by


fingers

and toes as guides,

at least

He

The

stitions.

and affrighted

was

of sin,

when

tens, with his

The

up to a hundred.

moon being

to

him

doubtless had abundant super-

evil spirits of night

and darkness pursued

his shrinking soul.

Their symbol to him

Night was the demon, aj<lahaku, the

the serpent.

Then was strongly

biting snake.

and

fives

year was divided into lunar months, the


the measurer of time.

war we

felt

the consciousness

the gloom of midnight had densely gathered,

and ghosts and witches held high

But

festival in the air.

with the upspringing of the cheerful sun, and the forthflowing of

gleaming rays over the earth's surface, these

its

forms of terror shrank cowering to their dens and caves,

and the Aryan stepped forth again

in the

proud conscious-

ness of strength and valor, fearing nothing living or dead,

and ready to cope with

From such

terrors

all

the forces of the universe.

and such deliverance, from the

nation of day and night, of


his simple

system of religious views.

objects and the

dawn and
blue sky

He worshipped

phenomena of Nature, and

his

supreme deity, to

sons and daughters.

dressed his hymns,

To

whom

many gods

to but

the

particularly the

The broad

the stars and the

these he prayed and ad-

the seeds of the complex mythologies

into which his simple beliefs were destined to unfold.

the

alter-

winter, arose

the other bright powers of the day.

was

moon were

summer and

Of

devised, he probably thought of and prayed

one at a time

and supreme over them

all

was the

THE ARYAN RACE.

102

mighty dyausJi-pikir, the father of heaven, the guide and


ruler of the universe.

We

shall

say as

little

religious system, since

in

future

sections.

here of

we must
It

will

his political as of

his

deal with these more fully

suffice

to observe that

the

family was the germ of the village community, which was


constituted on the model of the household, aud governed

by the

visjxtti,

or head of the clan, or by the clan council.

Over the larger


tribe,

who was

political

group ruled an elected chief of the

assisted in his duties b}^ a court or council,

composed of pataras, or fathers of

The landed

families.

property was held in common, the only individual property


being the house,

its

court, its goods,

and

its

The

cattle.

houses were grouped into villages, but the chief seems to

have had his special residence and domain marked


the

common

property.

of a larger group,

punishment of crime.

aioa, the path of right.


to.

sureties,

As

those

yet there

its

to have

Right was yaus, what one

who knew him,

members of his
were only freemen in the community
worked

had not

made

its

or

arisen.

for hire.

road toward slavery.

has always

was

Justice

is

person accused of crime had to procure

dire curse of slavery

seem

These commu-

mainly the growth of ancient custom,

their laws,

for the prevention or

bound

by roads, on

connected

wiiich pedlers travelled with their wares.

had

from

Each such community formed part


a township, to use a modern name.

The separate townships were


nities

off

Yet
of

the

free laborers

The community

The system

clan.

vras

on

human bondage

appearance as an accompaniment of

the growth of industry, the increase of fixed property, and


the recognition of the value

wealth.

of labor as an element of

Slaves would be useless to hunting tribes, and

THE AKYANS AT HOME.

103

warlike hunters are apt to slaughter or burn their prison-

To

ers.

pastoral tribes they are

of

little

more value.

With

Their great use has always been to agriculturists.


the progress of agriculture prisoners speedily

became too

valuable to be slaughtered, and slavery steadily grew in


proportions, until in the great nations of Greece and

its

Rome

was performed by men


of this class^ and the noble art of war degenerated into
a great slave-hunting raid. With the growth of commerce
slavery has become again unprofitable, and a sentiment
the labor of the fields

all

has been roused against


it

we

are

now concerned

of this great cycle

which

Only freemen existed

We

which promises soon to banish

But the ancient community with whose

from the earth.

history

it

is

was. as yet at the beginning

now approaching

its

end.

We

have

in its midst.

need not pursue

this

inquiry farther.

sought to present a graphic picture of a vanished


nity

whom we know

the words

it

of language,
rian rudeness
civilization,

used.

mainly by our partial knowledge of

We

have looked, through the lens

upon a primitive
and

commu-

society, dwelling in barba-

advancing toward

brutality, yet slowly

a vigorous, energetic, strong-bodied, and

ac-

tive-minded race, stirring in body and soul, and destined


to play a

most important part upon the stage of the world.

That we have given the whole story of


1)e

affirmed.

It

was doubtless much

their lives, cannot

richer than

learn from our scanty stock of words.

we have

said

is

open to doubt.

Very

we can

And much

that

likely mau}^ of the

Aryan words have died out of the languages of


the modern nations and been replaced by other terms.
Of those that have survived it is not always easy or possiancient

ble to regain the original

meaning, and

it is

quite probable

THE AEYAN RACE.

104
that

some of the

The

ancient tribe

adopted are incorrect.

interpretations

a simple

lived

life,

thought

simple

thoughts, and doubtless gave but a narrow and limited

Yet that the picture we have

significance to its words.

presented

is

on the whole a

son to doubt.

tainly nothing

And

one there

faithful

in the annals of

is little

mankind there

more remarkable than

rea-

is cer-

rehabilitation

this

of an antique community which had vanished ages before

a thought of writing

its

history existed.

After the separation of the eastern and the western

Aryans both branches advanced in knowledge and in the


We may conarts of life, and new words came into use.

new

clude with a brief glance at these

ideas and accom-

plishments as gained by the western branch.

There arose

among them extended ideas of family relationship. Words


now came into use to designate the grandfather, the sisterTerms of affection for old
in-law, and the sister's son.
There was a similar advance in civil relapeople arose.
and the

tions,

closely.

The

special act

lines of

community were drawn more

the

appeared as opposed to the stranger.

citizen

became necessary

for

members

of one com-

munity to enter into friendly relations with those of another.


In their industrial relations larger and better boats were
produced.

The sea acquired

a name,

such as the lobster, the oyster, and the

New

seal,

plants and animals received names,

hazel,

fir,

vine, willow,

hog, and tortoise.


before, but they

and

Some

had

left

nettle

Millet,

oats,

became known.

the elm,

no names.
;

common

known

The duck seems

to

agriculture greatly im-

and rye were cultivated.

beans, and onions became

alder,

the stag, lynx, hedge-

of these were probably

have now become domesticated


proved.

and sea-animals,

garden-plants.

Peas,

Terms

THE ARYANS AT HOME.


for

sowing,

harrowing,

Yeast was used

in

105

and harvesting came into use.

bread-making.

Glue and pitch be-

came known leather-work improved the stock of tools


hammers, knives, shields, and spears were
increased
;

employed.

Yet with

all

these steps of progress the

barbarians of no high grade.


life

Aryans continued

Manners were

still

rude,

coarse and hard, domestic relations harsh and oppres-

sive,

war bloody and

and of painting

brutal.

their partly

dye of the woad-plant

The custom

of tattooing

naked bodies with the blue

may have been common.

They

were yet rude barbarians, who had made scarce a step

toward

civilization.

the western

Such was probably the condition of

Aryans when

tlieir later

divisions took place

and the existing peoples of Europe entered upon the


torical

path of their national development.

his-

V.

THE HOUSEHOLD AND THE VILLAGE.


task
IT the our
general
is

social,

now

organization

and

political,

existence

to review, so far as

religious.

of this people

But

aid of language.

the

of

it

can be traced,

primitive Aryans,

Our knovvdedge

of the

has been gained mainly by the


research has opened several

later

new lines of investigation, and taught us far more of the


Aryan organization than that relating to its industries,
Not only common words exist
habits, and possessions.
in all the branches of the Aryan race, but also common
institutions, ideas,

and

beliefs

and by a co-ordination of

these latter we are enabled to gaze deeply, through the

shadows of time, into the very heart of that long-vanished


community.

Not

to

go too far back into the origin of human

institu-

modern research has made it plainly apparent that


the germ of all existing social and political organization
is the family.
The domestic group appears everywhere as
tions,

the seed of civilization, as


of

its

ment

organization.
in political

of later date,

There

it

yet constitutes the unit mass

is, it is

development

but

true, another vital eleits

influence has been

and the family appears as the

defined stage of condensation in the long


of

man from

gradual

first

clearly

upward progress

his very rude archaic condition.

development of the family through

As

to the

its

varied

THE HOUSEHOLD AND THE VILLAGE.

107

phases, embracing those of polygamy and polyandry, and

monogamy

with descent in the female

stage, with paternal headship

the reader

mnst be referred

ject such as those of L.

family, at

and descent
to

its

male

in the

line,

works on that special sub-

H. Morgan and McLennan.

our present purpose to

sufficient for

line, to its final

know

that the

It is

Aryan

had attained the

earliest discoverable date,

last-named stage of development,

and as such formed

the definitely constituted unit of the

Aryan

industrial

and

political organization.

Passing beyond the savage to the barbaric state of

human development, we
on the family group.

find the latter

everywhere based

Alike in the agricultural tribes of

ancient Asia and Europe, and in the hunting and agri-

The monogamous family, composed of husband, wife, and their


descendants, formed the unit of organization and the type
of the clan and the tribal groups. In the pastoral tribes of
cultural tribes of America, this w^as the case.

Asia and the nations derived from them some degree of

polygamy has always prevailed.

Yet the

first

wife retains

a position of special respect and authority, and


is

monogamy

the rule with the great mass of the population.

Aryan branches

the family

was organized under conditions of considerable

similarity,

In the early state of

all

the

conditions doubtless inherited from ancient Arya.

Each

family, indeed, constituted a despotism on a small scale.

The house-father was

the head of the domestic group,

represented

community.

it

in the

and

Within the house pre-

cincts he possessed the governing power,

and the right

we may judge from the Roman example


to banish any
member of his household, to sell his sons or daughters into
slavery, to command them to marry whom he would, to

if

THE ARYAN RACE.

108
seize

on

all their

his will.

It

personal possessions, and to

may

them

kill

at

be said, however, that some recent writ-

ers question the general absolutism of the


father.

It is certain, at all events, that his

castle.

No

one had the right to enter

without his per-

it

mission, not even an officer of the law.

Aryan househouse was his

was

It

his private

kingdom, and for the acts of the members of the household

The idea
arisen.
The

he alone stood responsible to the community.


of personal individuality had not yet clearly

household was the primitive Arj^an individual.


in ancient

Rome,

The Roman

father

Such was the constitution of the family


as declared in the extant

had the power of


banish them,

man had
son,

all

life

sell

Roman

laws.

or death over his children, and could

them, or slay them at his

the right to interfere.

legacies left him,

will,

and no

All the acquisitions of the

and the

benefit

from

he made, were at the father's discretion

all

contracts

while he was

command. In the household the gradation of rank passed downward from father
bound

to

marry

at his father's

successively to mother, to sons, to daughters, to dependants,

over

and to slaves
all.

but the father was an absolute tyrant

In Greece the same conditions prevailed.

Miiller tells us that in Sparta the family


visible whole,

formed an

indi-

under the control of one head, who was

privileged from his birth.

the house of each

man was

Cox, the historian, says that


to

him what the den

wild beast, into w^hich no living thing


at the risk of

K. O.

life,

allowed to share. ^

may

is

to the

enter except

but which his mate and offspring are

In the Hindu family of to-day this

in-

violate character of the household is strictly maintained.

A mystery

overlies all its operations,


1

Greece, p. 13.

remarkable

se-

THE HOUSEHOLD AND THE VILLAGE.


crecy, which
is

is

109

maintained in the humblest households, and

probably a survival of a very ancient system of family

With

isolation.

the

and the early Greeks there

Celts

existed the right to expose or sell then* children.

This

had become obsolete among the Teutons, though the

right

was recognized

in case of necessity.

With

the Russians

the power of the house-father, says Mr. Dixon,

out any check.

makes the
in his

He

house.

with-

arranges the marriage of his son,

son's wife a servant,

own

is

His cabin

church, and every act of

his

and stands above


is

all

law

not only a castle but a

done within that cabin

is

supposed to be not only private but divine.^

Over one point alone the authority of the house-father

was not absolute. He could do what he would with the


movable property of the household and the labor of its
inmates, but he could not sell or encumber the landed
This was not individual, but corporate wealth.

property.
It

belonged to the family as a whole, and was held invioThis was the law in

lable.

all

Aryan

regions, from India

to Ireland, with the possible exception of

Rome, whose

ancient laws relating to such matters are lost.

The
son,

was usually the eldest


though by no means always so. In Wales and in
heir to the family headship

some other
1

districts this office

seems to have descended

is rather the old theory than the modern


"the relations between the head of the
members depended on custom and personal

According to Wallace, this

practice.

He

remarks that

household and the

.other

character, and consequently varied greatly in different famiUes.


If the
Big One was intehigent, of decided, energetic character, there was proba-

bly perfect discipline in the house.

If not well fitted for his post, there

might be endless quarrellings and bickerings."


to believe that in
**

Russia,"

p. 88.

earlier

But there

is

every reason

times the patriarchal power was absolute.

no

THE ARYAN RACE.

to the youngest sou

of the

southern

and

this is yet the rule

among some

In default of a male heir one

Slavs.

The adopted son left his


own household and became a full member of the new one,
changing his tutelar spirits for those of his new family.
The principle of adoption, indeed, was sometimes so extended in the clan as to make the claim of common descent
extremely mytliical. The whole Aryan system rested upon
marriage and the birth of a male heir, who became eventumight be received by adoption.^

ally

the head

of

household,

the

government Ixnng the


Tlie ties of blood

riage

among

than to-day.

ty[)e

of

system of family

tlie

tlie

public organization.

were scrupulously respected, and mar-

blood-relations forbidden to a greater extent

The wife became

in every respect a

member

of the family group into which she entered, changed her

household gods, and lost

obligations of duty to her

all

former family, replacing them

?jy

hew

ties.

Such was the Aryan family, the antique


from which outgrew the

How

it

tion of

arose, witli
tlie

its

political

group

later clan organization of

Arya.

peculiar feature of absolute domina-

head of the honseliold,

is

not very clear.

No

such absolutism exists in the family group of the Ameri-

can Indians, which otherwise bears a very interesting

re-

semblance to that of the Aryans, and Cox and Ilearn trace


to a religious origin,

as representative

worship to their

it

a duty resting upon the house-father,

of the departed ancestors, to pay due

spirits

and to manage the inheritance

him under responsibility only

left

to these ancestral spirits.

Under certain conditions tlie wife succeeded to the family government and care of the property, sometimes during the minority of the
'

male children, sometimes during life if there were no direct male descendants.
Maine's " Village Communities," p. 54.

THE HOUSEHOLD AND THE VILLAGE.

Ill

This subject will be dealt with in the next section

and

ently not limited to

group was apparthe living members, fmt included the

dead ones as

wliom

it will sullice to siiy. liere that the family

well, to

was

sacrifice

perhaps

offered,

as their share of the family food and wealth.^

In this religious duly we lind a powerful check to the

He

absolutism of the house-father.

represented the de-

parted ancestors, and was answerable to them for a proper

For any wrongful act he was

discharge of his duty.


to the vengeance of

powerful

tliese

ex[)osed to dreadful calamities or


to the gods.
pul^lic

It

may

spirits,

become an accursed felon

be said also that

liere

tlie

power of

opinion was by no means absent from these ancient

communities, and that

doul>tless

it

exercised a salutary

influence over the acts of the domestic despot,

father

liable

and might be

was not expected

to act

council of the family and of

upon important matters

house-

to call a

near relatives to decide

its

governed by their decision.

was the

by caprice, but

and very

'i'lie

likely he

was

ordinarily

In this respect the family

prototyi)e of the clan.

Ancient as

is

the period to which

we

here allude, and vital

as are the changes which have since taken place, the antique

Aryan

family, as a distinct political and industrial group,

has not yet died out.

It still exists in India

and among

the southern Slavonians,

the least progressed,

politically,

of the

Aryan

peoples.

In India, in addition to the village

communities, which form the ordinary industrial group, there


exists a group
1

The most

known

digiiififid

in

Hindu law as

ih a Joint

of the Indian courts lias recently laid

after an elaborate cxanriination of all the authoi-itie.s, tliat


inheiitani'e,

acconHng

to

Undivided

Hindoo

law,

is

"the

it

down,

rif^lit

to the spiritual bcntdits to be conferred on the deceased proprietor."


Villci'je

Communilias,

p. 53.

of

wholly regulated with reference

THE ARYAN RACE.

112
Family.

In

this the

fullest extent.

system of eo-ownership

It is

is

carried to

composed of the members of a

things are held in

common,

food, worship, and

under the control of an elected head.


primitive socialistic institution.
is

cultivated in

common

common,

hearth and

several generations.

west of

is

common meals

estate,

all

This represents the

The domain

the produce

single

whom

family, usually including several generations, by

its

held in

of the family

common, and

are preserved through

Significantly, in a region far to the

Among

this a closely similar institution survives.

the southern Slavonians, in Croatia, Servia, and Dalmatia,


the

House Community

is

an ordinary institution.

single roof covers the family,

Here a

which often comprises sev-

and many individuals.

eral generations

the meal are enjoyed in

common,

the

The hearth and


lands cultivated by

common labor of the household, and all the produce


held as the common wealth the whole being controlled by
the

an elected manager.

These associations are not of recent

formation and dissolval)le at

will,

like

their

Hindu ana-

logues, but have descended from far past time, each family

continuing

its

organization, but sending out

members, when they grow too numerous,


families.

We

to

its

surplus

found other

can scarcely doubt that some of these Sla-

vonian family groups have descended without a break from


primitive

Aryan

times, and that they preserve to us, per-

haps on original Aryan

territory, the

most antique form of

Aryan industrial group, which became replaced in


later Arya by the institution of the village, next to be

the

considered.
It

may

be here said that the limited duration of the

Indian House Community


generations

is

which rarely

due to the

lasts

beyond two

facility of dissolution

under the

THE HOUSEHOLD AND THE VILLAGE.

113

modern Indian law. Originally it may have been as permanent as that of the Slavonic group. An interesting
instance of a similar character, in a non- Aryan Indian tribe,
is

Kandh

that of the

his

" Orissa."

hamlet, described by Dr. Hunter in

This people

is

institutions are strikingly like

must have been


hamlet

still

a nomadic one, and

what those of the Aryans

in their specially pastoral age.

The Kandh

a household unit in which individual rights are

is

The house-father

unknown.

exercises supreme control,


"
held that
a man's father is his god."

and the maxim

is

Disobedience

is

the greatest of crimes.

No

sess property

till

the death of his father.

Then a

is

made

its

of the land

son can posdivision

and stock, and each son becomes the

head of a separate family.

The

condition of society here reviewed

is

a highly ar-

chaic one, a survival from a very ancient period of

existence

In

was

Aryan

yet in the nomadic pastoral state.

subsequent agricultural phase a different organization

its

arose

when

it

but vestiges of the more ancient condition, in which

the family

was the

and have,

period,

unto our

own

times.

state, persisted

in the instances

throughout this later


described, continued

It is the patriarchal stage of political

persists generally

among

nomads, and which has played a remarkable part

in the

development, the stage which

history of civilization, as

The nomadic

we

tribes of northern

Arabia are yet

shall

hereafter point out.

Asia and of the desert of

in this stage of organization.

ple of a single,

panded

still

The

princi-

supreme house-father has been there ex-

into the head of the clan, the chief of the tribe, the

ruler of the nation, through a direct process of develop-

ment which has been modified by no secondary principle.


The only Aryan people in which this archaic system has to
s

THE ARYAN RACE.

114
any extent held

its

own

in

clan-government are the High-

landers of Scotland under their recent system of chieftain-

The Highland

ship.

clan

was a

distinctively patriarchal

organization, sustained by a people largely pastoral, and


to

some extent nomadic

in habit.

It

was an expanded

family group, in w^hich the chief was the direct representative of the original ancestor,

and was looked upon

partly superstitious reverence

by

followers.

It

his ignorant

and

Avith a

faithful

seems to indicate a reversion to archaic

political conditions.

In ancient Arya
to tie the former

probably when

nomads

to fixed locations,

new^ interests into the foreground of

new

had begun

agriculture

and to bring

men's thoughts

principle of organization gradually declared itself, a

highly interesting outgrowth from


triarchal

more ancient pa-

the

This was the system of the Village

system.

Community, one of the most important stages


velopment of human

mind that with


trial relations

institutions.

It

in the de-

must be borne

in

the acquirement of property in land indus-

assumed a very

different

phase from that

governing property in flocks and herds.

In

all

these

ancient cases the idea of community in property was firmly


established.

into the

The common property

common

of the family

expanded

property of the clan, which was yet re-

garded as a single family, of common descent and

name.

However

greatly foreign elements

came

in,

common
through

adoption or otherwise, this fiction w^as maintained, and in


several localities has not yet died out.
culty in sustaining this idea of

There was no

community

The herds were under


whole group, and there was nothing to call

pastoral property.

ism in labor.

And though

diffi-

in the case of

the care of the


for individual-

they were held for the good

THE HOUSEHOLD AND THE VILLAGE.


of

all,

115

the patriarchal head of the group claimed certain

supreme rights of ownership and management, and certain


controlling powers over the clansmen, which were but a
development of the original supremacy of the house-father.

An

interesting instance of

of the patriarch

such an organization

Abraham and

his followers

and

that

is

flocks as

given in the Scriptures.

This generalism of duties could not so well be exercised

Such labor could not properly be


common, and it became necessary to break

in agricultural labor.

performed

up the

by a

in

tilled

land into separate

single family.

lots,

each to be cultivated

This was attended or followed by the

ownership of the product of

its

own

lot

by each family,

although the laud as a whole continued to be the property


of the community.

tem may be found

Instances of the gi-owth of this sysin

American

institutions.

In the Inca

empire of Peru the system of agriculture and government


continued patriarchial in great part.

The population

whole cultivated the lands of the Inca and the Church

as a
;

the

products, though held in part for the good of the people,

being under the supreme control of the ruler.

But the

remainder of the lands, those specially appertaining to the


people, were divided into separate lots, each cultivated for

own use by a single family. In the Aztec empire of


Mexico the supremacy of the Montezumas was much less
absolute.
The lands were partly claimed by the Throne
and the Church but the work on these lands was done by
dependants, not by the people as a whole. The remaining
its

lands belonged to the separate


divided

among

cities or districts,

and were

But a part of all produce


went into the public storehouses, and was under the control of the

the

people.

government.

Among

the partly civilized tribes

THE ARYAN RACE.

116

the

of the southern United States

Creek confederacy

all the land was the property of


and the adjoinhig tribes
the people, and was divided into separate lots, apportioned

to the separate families,

though some degree of individual

But a portion of

ow^nership was also exercised.

all

pro-

was obliged

duce, alike of agriculture and of hunting,

to

be placed in certain public storehouses for the use of the

These public stores were

people in case of necessity.

under the supreme control of the mico^ or village head-

man,

in

whom we

Aryan communities, though

officer in

an important

to the

use,

Aryan

we

organization,

discover the

Here

stage in this gradual separation of interests.

also the land as a

but

the mico had besides

spiritual authority.

Coming now
final

have a close representative of the similar

it

divided

is

and

all

whole

among

trace of

The wise system

is

the property of the

the

community

families for their separate

community

in

its

produce

lost.

of public storehouses of the Indian village

does not exist, and the product of each separate


the sole property of the family cultivating

posed of without supervisal.


ples every stage of growth,

community

is

Thus

it,

field is

to be dis-

in these several peo-

from the pastoral complete

in cattle to the Ar^^an

community

partial

in

land, can be traced.

common

It is to this separation of interests in the

erty that

we must look

clan-organization which

for the origin of


is,

special characteristic of the

prop-

that peculiar

in nearly a complete sense, a

Aryan

In this organi-

people.

zation the individuality of the family persisted.

There was

no merging of the smaller into a larger patriarchal family


group.

Each household became an equal

lage group, with equal rights in the

unit of the vil-

common

property, and

THE HOUSEHOLD AND THE VILLAGE.


with an equal voice iu the decision of

all

117

questions relating

The head of each family was a


full member
was in
of
these
freemen,
organized
hands
into
the
a council.
So
far as we can discern, this was the archaic condition of
the village community. The tendency to continue the patrito the general interests.

of the community, and the government

archal organization had been checked by the division of interests,

in the

and the separate yet equal

common

property.

The

principal questions necessary

to decide related to industrial affairs,

and

in the disposal

had acquired an equal

of these every house-father

freeman

rights of every

right.

Yet the patriarchal tendency was checked, not killed.


Old ideas have a persistent vitality in barbarian commuThe members of each village viewed themselves
nities.
as kindred, descendants of

common

ancestor,

and

in

each village there were certain families which were regarded


as

more

directly in the line of descent

ancestor.

A certain gradation of

on honor, not on privilege

rank existed, dependent

and when

to choose a leader in war, or to elect

lage

disputes, the

deemed

to

from the ancient

it

became necessary

some umpire

most naturally

choice

fell

in vil-

on those

The offices
head-man thus arose. The vil-

have a hereditary claim to authority.

of chieftain and of village

was constituted on the type of the family. In the


latter a council was called to decide important affairs, and
It was the same
in certain cases to elect a family head.
with the village. The council of freemen held the rights

lage

of decision and of election

but in both family and village

the choice usually fell on those having the best claim of

hereditary right, and the election often became a mere ac-

clamation in favor of the person recognized as the natural


chieftain.

THE ARYAN RACE.

118
All this

is

There

not mere conjecture.

abundant

is

historical evidence of the organization of the ancient

yans.

was evidently

It

democratic

markedly

In

society.

different

at once a communistic

in tendency,

despotism

while in

society,

vv-as

it

which was

and which naturally tended

Aryan communities

all

and a highly

characteristic

from the patriarchal

aristocratic
;

latter

its

Ar-

to

the ancient

claim of equality of rights and privileges has had persist-

All modern

ent vitality, even under grinding despotisms.

democratic governments are direct outgrowths of the an-

Aryan

cient organization of the

village, while the despot-

isms of Asia are as direct resultants of the patriarchal


system.

One statement more

is

of property in ancient

testimony.

Each

Arya

village

domain over a landed


the

necessary in regard to the division

management of

we adduce

ere

claimed the right of eminent

district of definite extent.

this

and the domestic.

The

disposition of these.

old generalism.

But

in

landed property there were three

separate interests to be considered,


cultural,

the historical

the pastoral, the

It is interesting to

agri-

observe the

pastoral interests retained their

The pasture-lands were held

common,
The arable
were equally divided among the
in

for the feeding of the flocks of the villagers.

lands, on the contrary,

several families for cultivation.

But, as

if

to prevent

any

claim to individual ownership, these lands were periodically redistributed.

This system of redistribution

maintained in Russia.

Finally, the village plot

is

still

was

di-

vided into house-lots, which were the absolute domains of


their proprietors.
its

Each family held separate ownership

in

house and the plot of ground surrounding, and perhaps

partly for that reason jealously guarded

it.

Each man's

THE HOUSEHOLD AND THE VILLAGE.

was the only spot of earth


which he could claim individual ownership and every

house was his stronghold


in

119

it

man who

attempted to intrude on

was an enemy whom he might


Possibly this

liest foe.

it

without his permission

repel as he

would

his dead-

may have had something to do

the growth of that isolation of the household which

so strongly developed in
If

now we come

assumed
it

is

vv^ith

became

Aryan communities.

all

to look for the historical evidences of this

and

industrial

social status of the ancient

Aryans,

remarkable, considering the numerous and radical

changes in human institutions since the opening of the


historic period,

what

clear traces of

it

remain.

We

Aryan

already described the extant relics of a yet older

that of the patriarchal family.

condition,

tem has been equally persistent, and


in Russia

and India to-day, while

The

exists with

clan sys-

little

historic traces of

have

change

it

can be

found in every other Aryan community, with the exception


of that of Persia

and even

in Persia the ancient

cratic organization of the people

There

is

demo-

can be clearly traced.

considerable evidence that the ancient Hellenes

and Romans were organized


landed property.

in village clans,

Morgan says

with

common

that the Athenian gois,

or clan, in some cases, at least, held property in

common.

Thucydides speaks of such communities as independent


systems of local government, and there was seemingly a
period in which there was no city of Athens, but
village

communities

in Attica.

many

The Roman gens was sim-

common lands, of a common clancommon religious rites, burial-place, etc.

ilarly in possession of

name, and of

Mommsen

describes " village communities by the Tiber,"

out of which

Rome

arose.

ence of such clan villages.

There

is

The

no doubt of the

hills

of

exist-

Rome and

the

THE ARYAN RACE.

120

Acropolis of Athens formed originally centres of refuge


for the villagers in periods of invasion,

that in such

The modern

ancient cities.
in

we have

hill forts

and

it is

supposed

germ of many of the


of Calcutta had its origin

the

city

an aggregation of several separate village communities.

The

Aryans present

Celtic

sense of kinship

is

similar

The

indications.

deeply stamped on the Brehon laws of

ancient Ireland, and the Irish sept probably repeated the


joint family or the village clan of the

ownership in land was

common

Hindus.

Private

at the earliest historic

period, yet the rights of private owners were limited

communal

rights of a brotherhood of kinsmen.

the original right to cultivate a fixed plot

by the

Apparently

was then growing

into a claim of private ownership in that plot, as

became

The power of the lord of the manor


over the communal lands was also beginning to show itself,
Tlie fine or sept bore the name of its supposed ancestor,

the case elsewhere.

and

its

territory also bore his

As

has not yet died out.


strangei-s

by adoption

name,

condition which

elsewhere, the sept received

but this did not destroy the fiction

of kinship.

In Scotland the village community was a much more


persistent institution.

of Sir Walter Scott,

It left its

who

Orkney and Shetland.

Lowlands of Scotland,

Lauder, a condition of

late as the time

discovered traces of such an

institution in the islands of

recently, in the

marks as

affairs

in the

borough of

has been discovered closely

analogous to the antique village community system.^

Henry Maine has

Very

also traced in

Su*

France an indication of a

like condition of affairs, despite the violent revolutions to

which that country has been subjected.


1

Maine's Village Communities,

p. 95.

THE HOUSEHOLD AND THE VILLAGE.


The

121

facts relating to the Teutonic village communities,

as traced by

Von Maurer

in his valuable series of

the subject, and of vestiges of the


land, as

same

works on

institution in

Eng-

shown by Nasse, may be here epitomized.

ancient Teutonic agricultural group consisted of a

The
number

of families holding a certain well-defined tract of land.

known as the
common mark, or

This tract was divided into three portions,

mark

of the township or village, the

waste land, and the arable mark, or cultivated area.

These

three sections were held under very different conditions.

The waste was

the

common

property of the community,

held for purposes of pasturage, for gathering fire-wood, and


the like.

The

village

plots,

No

It

was the analogue of the old pastoral domain.^


section was divided into house and garden

each the sole property of the family occupying

it.

one, not even the officers of the law, had the right to

upon the family domain. There the house-father


The arable mark seems in almost
was absolute lord.
intrude

every case to have been divided into three great

fields,

only two of which were cultivated in any one year, the third
lying fallow.
1

But

tillage

was not

The waste formed tlie line


the wooded region

munities,

in

common. Each house-

of demarcation between different

com-

of the hunter, the hostile border-land

which the foot of the invader mtist traverse. We have survivals of the
word which designated it in Denmark, or the Danes' Mark
in the
March or battle-border between England and Wales and in the marquis
or markgraf, the guardian of the mark.
The waste mark was also the
seat of exchange of products between villages, the region of the market.
The forest of the waste was the temple of the Teutons, the home of the
unknown and uncanny, of ghost and goblin. It was the least-known and
most-dreaded of their dominions.
Here dwelt Odin, the god of the
mark, the spirit of the tree and the forest breath, the god of the wind
and the tempest. Within the village domain dwelt order and peace
But in the waste land beyond, terror was lord,
there man was master.
;

and the supernatural held high carnival.

THE ARYAN RACE.

122

holder had his family lot in each of the three

he

by

tilled

own

his

labor aud that of the

fields,

which

members

of his

family, while he had absolute rights in the disposal of

But he could not cultivate as he pleased.

produce.

must sow

same crop

the

as the rest of the

its

He

community, and

observe fixed rules as to modes and times of cultivation.

Nor could he

interfere with the rights of other families to

sheep and cattle pasturage in the fallow lands, or in the

The

cultivated lands after the harvest.

common

governing the

extended to minute

rules of

custom

interests w^ere very intricate,

details.

Many

of

and

them had come

down from very ancient times, while others were formed as


new questions arose. There was little difficulty in enforcing them they had almost the force of sacred laws. The
main evidence of gradual change we can discover is that
;

from the antique periodical redistribution of family

lots to

the continued cultivation of a single lot, and finally to the


restrictive

As

ownership of

this lot.

to ancient evidences of this condition,

we may quote

from Csesar, in his description of the Suevi (Swabians)


" They have no private and separate fields," and "none
:

have fixed

fields

and princes

in

and private boundaries, but the magistrates


assembly annually divide the ground in

proportion and in place

among

arable land every year."

same
in

change their
.

Tacitus gives testimony to the

saying that the lands were held by the farmers

effect,

common, and

low.

the people, changing the

the fields occupied in rotation.

tillage

land annually, and

They do not hedge

their gardens,

and they

their

let

De

Germania, 25-26.

Bello Gallico, iv.

1,

lie

fal-

meadows, nor water

cultivate only corn."

much

"They

and

vi. 22.

THE HOUSEHOLD AND THE VILLAGE.

123

It is a striking evidence of the conservative persistency

of institutions

among

agriculturists

conditions exist to-day in

that

find

similar

middle and south Germany,

The main change

with but slight modifications.

communism

to

in the arable lands has ceased,

that

is

and the

fields

The valuwork on Germany by Baring-Gould gives some in-

of the peasants are held in private ownership.

able

teresting information

makes

it

changed

many,

He

this point.

customs of the Aryans

clearly evident that the

in

their soil.

and suggestions on

accordance with the variation in the character of


AYhere the land was poor, as in northern Ger-

was incapable of supporting a dense population,


and such regions became active centres of migration. The
it

seeming general migrations were

in reality only partial,

and

whom

the

mainly consisted of the swarms of elder sons


paternal estates could not support.

In such cases but one

son remained under the paternal roof, perhaps in some


cases the eldest, but oftener the youngest,

have arisen the custom

in

some

from which may

localities of inheritance

by

Such was probably


movements of the Sax-

the youngest, as already mentioned.


the origin of the frequent invading
ons, Angles, Franks, etc.

Room

for the surplus population

was needed, and they obtained

it

by conquering a new

home, or died by the swords of the invaded people.

was a system of the


to

the

settle

human

It

survival of the strongest which served

Malthusian

difficulty

during long ages of

history.

In southern and middle Germany, where the land


richer, the

communal conditions more

fully prevailed.

is

In

the North the farm developed, descending to one son as


the heir,

a condition which

still

prevails in that locality.

In the South the village persisted, with

its

common

lands.

THE ARYAN RACE.

124

This system was nearly universal among the Franks, Ale-

manni, and Swabians, and survives unchanged in some

Thus

places.

Gersbach, in the Baden Schwarzwalcl,

at

the tillage land

all

redistributed.

is

held in

common and

In the Altmark

and the agricultural work

all

to be

periodically

is

the land

is

common,

done the next day

cided every evening by the heads of households.

The

conditions exist in other places.

three-field

is

de-

Similar

system

is

yet universal in this region, and in numerous cases the

pasture and forest land

is still

tvannen, the village arable fields,

row

common. The Geconsist of somewhat nar-

held in

from each other by footpaths.

strips, divided

are subdivided into

still

narrower family

They

by trenches or stones.

These

marked

strips,

off

are usually rectangular, often

not more than seven yards wide, and in extreme cases

reduced to three or even one yard in width.

In such cases

they are longer in proportion to their narrowness.


fields are

divided into the

Feld.,

the Flur,

and the

Zelg, the

winter, summer, and fallow field, in accordance with

morial custom.

The

lots of

These

imme-

peasant proprietors are thus

divided into narrow strips scattered

all

over the parish,

Of recent
Governments

such a thing as a compact farm being very rare.


years, however, efforts have been
to end this state of affairs

made by

the

and redistribute the land so as

to bring each peasant's holdings together.

The

indications

are that ere long the old and inconvenient system will

vanish under the force of modern ideas and governmental


initiative.

That the
similar

soil

manner by

evidence in the

which

of

still

exist.

England was

its

originally divided in a

Saxon conquerors we have abundant

many

traces of communistic agriculture

Fields

known

as

" common

fields"

may

THE HOUSEHOLD AND THE VILLAGE.


yet be found in
fields are

the

many

125

These

of the English counties.

nearly always divided into three long strips like

German Gewannen,

The separate farms

separated by green baulks of turf.

consist of subdivisions of these strips,

often very minute.

There

is

same owner once held a share

evidence to show that the


in each strip,

and that these

now many of them


may be accumulated in single hands. The methods of
One strip is
agriculture closely reproduce those of old.
shares were equal, or nearly so, though

left fallow,

two

while unlike crops are cultivated in the other

The

strips.

right of

common

of the farmers often exists

pasturage for the cattle

and the shares

in the arable

lands in rare cases shift owners annually, as in old Arya.

This

is

frequently the rule with the meadows, rights in

which are often redistributed annually by casting


In addition to these arable
of England open or

many

fields there are in

common

fields,

lots.^

parts

sometimes comprising

more than half the area of certain counties. Mr. William


Marshall, in his " Treatise on Landed Property," estimates
that a few centuries ago nearly the whole of the lands of

England lay

in this

open

property of cultivators.
into

state,

and formed the common

They seem

arable and waste or pasture

to

have been divided

lands on a principle

closely related to that of the Teutonic village.

conditions yet exist in

Lowland Scotland,

Similar

as in the borough

of Lauder, already cited.

This persistence of the communistic village organization


in England, after all the wars

shows a peculiar
property holding.

vitality in the ancient

in that land,

Aryan system

of

Significantly similar institutions were

established in America, the


1

and revolutions

yeoman

settlers of

Maine, Village Communities, pp. 78 to 89.

New

Eng-

THE ARYAN RACE.

126
land dividing

new

tlieir

soil

they had been accustomed at

on the principle to which


home. These American vil-

lage communities, however, never took a deep hold on the

The

soil.

flood of

new emigrants soon drowned them out

of existence.

In two Aryan lands, India and Eussia, the village com-

munity has been rigidly persistent, and exists at the present day in a form not widely different from that which

must have prevailed

in

ancient Arya.

Only among the

Hindus and the Slavonians does the archaic house community persist, while they everywhere maintain the village

The Indian

system.

as above described.

among

village closely repeats the Teutonic,

There

is

the arable domain, divided

the families, yet cultivated under minute laws of

grass-crops can be raised, the

meadows

on the verge of the cultivated ground.

Outside

Where

custom.
persist,

appears the waste, the undivided pasture-ground of the


villagers.

Centrally

family plots and


is

the village, with

lies

its strictly

individual

its

isolated households.

And

all

under the control of an elected headman or a village

council which decides

all

have died out, however.

Two

questions.

The

ancient ideas

periodical redistribution has

disappeared, except as a tradition, and the villagers do not

Perhaps the abundant infu-

consider themselves kinsmen.

sion of foreign blood has killed out this old conception.

The

old sj^stem of government by an assembly of adult

males, as found in the ancient Teutonic community, has


partly vanished in India.

In

many

cases the affairs of the

community are managed by a council of


but more generally this council

man,

a feature

of later origin.

hereditary, sometimes elective

is

village elders,

replaced by a head-

This

office is

though in the

sometimes
latter case

THE HOUSEHOLD AND THE VILLAGE.

127

usually confined to a particular family, and generally to


the eldest male of that family.

The Indian

villages are not solely cultivating

communi-

Manufacturing interests are also included.

ties.

There

are families of hereditary artisans, as the blacksmith, the

shoemaker,

etc.

There

a village accountant, a village

and other necessary

police,

included in the

are

is

But these persons

officers.

communistic system, and are paid

by an allowance of grain or a piece of cultivated land.


a price, fixed by usage,

All their wares have

bargain with a Hindu tradesman for his goods

is

and

to

to insult

him.

In central and southern India are certain villages to

which

is

attached a class of persons

Their touch

actual

These persons are looked upon as

part of the community.

impure.

who form no

is

They

contaminating.

are not per-

mitted to enter the village, or only a reserved part of

Yet they have

definite duties,

ment of boundaries.

one of which

They probably

the aboriginal population.

Still,

is

it.

the settle-

are descendants of

despite the rigid exclu-

sion of these "outsiders," there can be no question that

the alien population largely

made

its

way

into the village

shown by the evident great mixture


of race-characters in India, and by the loss of the idea

in past times, as is

of khidred in the village groups.


nity this

But

is

avoided by the ease of swarming to

in densely

communew lands.

In the Russian

peopled India the contest between the group

of kindred and the alien class for a share in the land must

have been severe and persistent, and to

it

is

probably due

we now find.
modern Aryan nations, however, Russia

the conditions

Of

all

is

the

one that has deviated least from the ancient customs, and

THE ARYAN RACE.

128

mir we have the

in the Russian

antique

Aryan

village.

This

accordance with the view

is in

of Russia as the

we have taken

closest analogue of the

Aryan branch

that has re-

home

to or yet occupies the primitive

mained nearest

of

the race, and that has been least exposed to disturbing

Yet the unwarlike character of the Russian,


as of the Hindu peasantry, and their close confinement to
agricultural duties, have doubtless had much to do with

influences.

In

their strict conservatism.

of

lands and in

all

times the

been the conservative, the citizen the

agriculturist has
cal

all

radi-

while but for the disturbing and destroying influences

war we might have to-day the most archaic of

institu-

tions persisting in their full vigor.

In Wallace's admirable work on Russia

is

an interest-

ing description of the Russian mii\ or village community,

which

may

Ivanofka, a village in

be here epitomized.

northern Russia,
vating group.

is

It

offered as a typical instance of a culti-

embraces

two thousand acres of a

in its

light

communal bounds about

sandy

soil.

women and

tion of this nearly all the

In the cultiva-

about half the males

of the village are habitually engaged.

The land

arable, waste, and village

rated into three portions,

arable being divided into three large fields, after the

morial

crop of rye

first

the second for oats

third lies fallow,

and

distribution changes

make

The

Aryan usage.

sepa-

is

is

from

field is

imme-

reserved for the

and buckwheat

while the

used as pasture-ground.
field to field

the

This

annually, so as to

a rude rotation of crops and to give each field rest

one year in three.


strips, of

The

fields are cut into long,

which each family possesses, according to

needs, one or more in each lot.


artisans,

narrow

and

live in the

towns.

Many

its

of the villagers are

Y^et they

cannot leave the

THE HOUSEHOLD AND THE VILLAGE.


village without consent of the council,

when

129

must return

ordered, and must send part of their earnings

to

it

home

Otherwise they forfeit their heredi-

to the village treasury.

tary claims, and break a link of connection with the ancestral

home and kindred which

is

dear to the heart of every

true Russian.

The

mir

chief person in the

lage elder, whose office

is

the selski starosta, or vil-

and presents no trace of

is elective,

The electing body is the selski skliod^ or village


assembly, composed of the adult members of the commuAs the
nity.
This body settles all important affairs.
power of the elder here is limited, so is that of the househeredity.

father.

He

much

has in recent times lost

of his ancient

absolutism, and no longer rules with unquestioned authority

The

over the adult members of the family.

the village are closely regulated

affairs of

No

by custom.

one can

plough or

mow

resolution,

and no peasant dreams of disputing a decree of

the assembly.

until the

These decrees are generally carried by accla-

mation, though there

when any

assembly has met and passed a

is

a counting of heads by the elder

And

diversity of opinion appears.

said that no one desires the office of elder.


it

trouble and responsibility, with very

Efforts are

made

to avoid the

little

it

may

It brings

be

with

compensation.

empty honor, though no one

dare dispute the decision of the electors.

In regard to the division of the


holders, the principle of

extant, and

is

fields

periodical

among

the house-

redistribution

practised whenever changes in the

is

yet

number

make it desirable. And the idea of


kinship still persists.
The Russian villager believes himself allied by blood-ties with the members of his village
and

size of families

group.

In the more

fertile

southern districts each peasant

THE ARYAN RACE.

130

strives to obtain all the land he

which

can get,

not the

is

case in the North, where the land-tax renders too large a

farm undesirable.

by casting

All disputes thence arising are settled

In these districts the meadow-lands are

lots.

also divided into household shares

made annually

but this division

instead of irregularly, as in the case of

Occasionally the grass

arable lands.

is

and then divided.

It

may

is

cut in

common,

be said, in conclusion, that the

meetings of the assembly of the village are very informal, and discussion

though with considerable shrewdness.


very amusing instances of
counterparts,

and easy way,

carried on in a free

is

probably,

these

Wallace gives some

debates,

the

direct

of the methods of government

that prevailed in ancient

Arya

centuries

before history

was born.
The village community, however, while found universally among the Ar3^ans, cannot be claimed as a peculiar
Aryan institution. It is one of the two forms under which
all ancient agricultural societies seem to have been organized the other being the more archaic patriarchal system.
Village communities have been discovered in Java and
;

among North African

Semitic tribes, while they form the

ordinary type of the Indian clan groups of North America.


It has

been the custom to speak of the Indian tribes as in

But the fact

the hunting-stage of development.

they were very largely agricultural.


this the reader

may

that

For one evidence of

be referred to a paper in the

ican Naturalist " of March, 1885.

is

And

'
'

Amer-

their land-holding

customs, together with their system of organization, bore


a striking resemblance to those of the Aryans, though with

some features of variance,

when we come
systems.
This much

as will be seen

to treat of their comparatiA^e political

THE HOUSEHOLD AND THE VILLAGE.


may

be here said,

the idea of kinship

in the clan

strongly held by the Indian tribes, but the isolation


rigid exclusiveness of the household

The

belief that

''

every man's house

defended to the death


counterpart

is

if

need be,

found nowhere

is

131

was
and

was not maintained.


is his

castle," to be

peculiarly Aryan.

else in the world.

Its

VI.

THE DOUBLE SYSTEM OF ARYAN WORSHIP.


the religion of the ancient Aiyans
displayed, to a
IX more
marked extent than in that of any other people,
is

two

from unlike

distinct systems of worship, arising

fluences,

and struggling for precedence.

importance, as

it

has had a

This fact

vital influence

of their descendants, and has done

much

We
to call

of

on the history

for the preserva-

the one tended to aristocracy, the other to democracy

religious

is

For of these two systems

tion of their democratic spirit.

in nearly all the ancient Ar^'an

in-

and

communities the democratic

system kept the ascendenc}^

are apt, indeed, in considering the Ar3^an religions,

up before our mental vision simply the

of mythology, with

its intricate

rich picture

and extraordinary

details,

its

surprising variety of conceptions, the ph3^sical splendor

of

its deities

and

their habitation,

and the crowding multiair,

ocean, and the

But these marvellous

m3'thical deities

tude in which they inhabited earth,


over-arching skies.

were not the oldest or the most venerated gods of the


Aryans.

They grew

literary period of
tribes,

into great prominence in the early

Greece and India and of the Teutonic

and became surrounded with a confusedly complex

series of biographical details, in

which the vestiges of their

origin were lost to their worshippers.

But

the nature gods lacked this complexity of

in ancient

myth and

Arya

variety

THE DOUBLE SYSTEM OF ARYAN WORSHIP. 133


and

of forms and attributes,

their

meanings were

true

They were as yet the sky, the sun, and


the planets, the winds and the clouds, the summer and the
winter, the dawn and the darkness, and those varied elemental phenomena which are of supernatural significance
to the simple fancies of all uncultured peoples.
They
had not yet unfolded into the Supreme Deity of heaven
and earth, with his brilliant and marvellous court of secplainly apparent.

ondary immortals.
Less striking, yet more ancient and more persistent, than
this

system of worship was another, of which we see and

hear but

little,

yet which formed the most generally ob-

served religion of our far-off progenitors, so far as indications

This was the worship of ancestors, the

prove.

home-worship of the Aryan family, the exclusive worship


of the

Aryan

clan, the religion of the hearth

ancestral tomb,

the

and of the

only worship that really reached the

hearts of the early Ar^^ans.

Something very similar


exists to-day in

to the

Aryan

died out elsewhere in civilized lands.


a double system,

the

sj^stem

religious

China as a phenomenon

tliat

has utterly

There, too,

we

find

worship of ancestors underlying

the more public systems of belief.

But the Confucian

phi-

losophy has never taken deep root as a popular religion,


while ancestral worship has a stronger hold on the public
heart than
nent,

Taoism or Buddhism.

among

the Indian tribes

On

the

Western

conti-

of the

southern United

States, appears a similar double system.

Here, however,

it

was not an

ancestral, but a

demonic system, a developed

Shamanism, that was mingled with the worship of the


elemental gods.
But while the worship of ancestors held
the supremacy in China, that of the solar deity and of

THE ARYAN RACE.

134

gods did so

mythical

later

Aryans

it

is

in

Among

America.

the

probable that there was a closer balance of

influence between the

Very prob-

two systems of worship.

ably in ancient Arj^a ancestral worship was strongly in

Later

the ascendant.

it

became

to

some extent balanced

by the growing prominence of mythological worship. But


the latter attained supremacy only in India and perhaps

among

Elsewhere the indications seem to show

the Celts.

that the former continued the dominant system.

In considering this question

which the history

is

we

are dealing with one of

The Aryan house

somewhat obscure.

and clan worship did not attract the attention of the poets,

whose verses are

filled

with the marvels of mythical legend.

The family worship was in no sense public, like that of the


It was conducted in secrecy and myselemental deities.
Strangers Avere not admitted to the sacred

tery.

house and clan.

And

every family had

its

which was a secret never to be divulged.


very

little

made

its

it

ritual,

In consequence

testimony concerning this system of worship has

way

into literature.

It is

dentally, in vagrant paragraphs

of

own

rites of

only alluded to inci-

and what

little is

known

has been recovered only by patient research and

piecing together flitting fragments of evidence.


sarily, to

some extent, doubt creeps

in.

the ancestral worship only in outline.

the past been

made

It

We

by-

Neces-

can rebuild

has nowhere in

the subject of brilliant essays and the

groundwork of great poems,

like those

devoted to the mul-

titudinous deities of mythology.

The worship of ancestors seems to have been almost


universal among mankind in a certain stage of developcan yet be found

ment.

Traces of

earth.

But, so far as appears,

it

it

in all parts of the

became a well-defined and

THE DOUBLE SYSTEM OF ARYAN WORSHIP. 135


among

largely exclusive system only

And

ancient Aryans.
ship of

its

hold that

it

is

ancestors by the

we owe

the Chinese

and the

in all probability to this

members

of the

wor-

Aryan house-

the peculiar secrecy of family

the

life,

supremacy of the house-father, and the strong resistance


According to the
to intrusion upon the domestic domain.
theory of Cox, the original ancestor of the family became

whom

a deity

the survivors

had

to worship

and

propitiate.

His burial obsequies needed to be duly performed, and


This could be done

of sacrifice to be paid to him.

rites

only by the eldest son, his legal representative.

Thus the

house-father became the house-priest, and the continuance


of the family a religious necessity.

To

let it die

out from

lack of offspring would have been impious, and to this

due the practice of adoption,

in default of

male

was

heirs,

which afterwards became so extended a custom in the

Aryan

clans.

But the tendency was

of association to that of kinship

up long
it

to reduce every kind

and

this idea

after the free adoption of strangers

To

an utter myth.

was kept

had rendered

the position of the father as the

family priest and the offerer of rites to the ancestral deity,

whom

he represented,

we owe

his

supremacy as the family

The family was a composite one, made up of sevgenerations of the living and the dead, of all of whom

ruler.

eral

the house-father stood as the central point.

cred group, wliich

suppress
rit3\

rose

all

it

was

his

It

was a

sa-

duty to keep together, and to

insubordination that might threaten

its

integ-

Doubtless from the position he thus held gradually


ills

absolute power and the unquestioning submission

to his decrees.

He

spoke with the voice of the whole body

of ancestral deities, and was responsible to the house-gods


for the rightful performance of his sacred function.

THE ARYAN RACE.

136

Aryan Household," has given a highly


description of this ancient system, which we

Hearn, in his
interesting

may

'^

here epitomize, at least in

its

more trustworthy de-

Kinship and community of worship and property

tails.

were the

ties

which

first

bound men

into definite groups,

bond expanding into the first national bond,


It began
that of industrial and religious communism.
with the family, extended to the clan, and thence to the
tribe, attaining a very considerable extension before it was
the family

by the

replaced

territorial

system of civilized nations.

Each family had its common burial-place. This


times became the common burial-place of the
gens, in which
stranger.

it

in later

clan or

would have been sacrilege to

In very early times

it

inter a

probable that the

is

bodies of deceased ancestors were interred in the dwelling.

At

a later date they were kept for some time in the dwell-

ing,

and then interred outside.

vogue in China.

They gave

relation to the house,

and

These customs are

still

in

the deceased a very close

to a very late period the hearth-

stone seemed to be considered in the light of an altar to


the ancestors, the sacred stone of oblation to the departed.

The common meal was apparently

common

symbol of the

the

worship, though probably this

symbolic

signifi-

cance was only recognized in meals specially prepared in

honor of the dead.

Spirits could not be expected to

unless specially invited and their

share set apart.

come
Yet

they did not consume the gross part of the food, but only
all objects being supposed to have
its spiritual essence,

souls.

In this we seem to have the origin of

while the after-consumption of the food

])y

sacrifice,

the priests

but a sharing in the holy banquet, of which the deities


regaled themselves on the spiritual portion.

Many

was
had

illus-

THE DOUBLE SYSTEM OF ARYAN WORSHIP. 137


be drawn from ancient history of such

trations might

sacred feasts to
feasts to the

deities of families

the

dead are celebrated

and

and

clans,

Russia to the present

in

day.

The ev^idences of this ancestral worship are abundant.


The Hindu Vedas distinctly recognize the worship of the
PUris, or fathers, and to this worship the Sama-Veda is
" The Pitris are invoked almost like
specially devoted.
gods

oblations are offered to them, and they are believed

to enjoy in
felicity."

company with

the gods a life of never-ending

who worshipped
conducted with

own

ancestors.

privacy.

strict

The latter worship was


With the Hellenes the

family w^orship of the house-spirits

Romans

the

Gods

''

it

of the Fathers "

the "Gods of
was common.

we have many names,

Manes, and Vesta.


flame.

know

For these house-

Vesta was the hearth, with

The Lares and Penates were


little

On

the Genius, Lares, Penates,

the ancestral gods so dear to the

its,

the

had a specially deep hold, and reduced the

public worship almost to a nonentity.


spirits

the Iranians,

the Fravashis, or spirits of the dead, and

especially of their

Hearth," or

among

similar belief existed

its

holy

the true house-spir-

Roman

heart.

We

about this family worship with the Slavs,

Teutons, and Celts.

We

have no ancient literature from

the pre-Christian days of these peoples.

Strong

efforts

were made by the Christian Church to abolish every phase


of heathen worship, yet
1

]\Iax Miiller,

Ralston

Penates,

who

it

has not succeeded in suppress-

Chips from a German Workshop,

"the worship

ii.

46.

of the Slavonic Lares

and

were, as in other lands, intimately connected with the

fire-

tells

us that

burning on the domestic hearth, retained a strong hold on the affections


of the people even after Christianity had driven out the great gods of
old."

Songs of the Russian People,

p. 84.

THE ARYAN RACE.

138
ing

traces of the ancestral deity,

all

left its

mark

which

indeed has

in the guardian or patron saint of the Catholic

among the Slavs


With the Russians the ancient family god
the house-spirit, or angel m
yet lingers as the Domovoy^
the house; reproducing the "hero in the house" of the
devotee, and in the feasts to the dead

and elsewhere.

Roman " man in the house," and the Teutonic


Among the Teutonic nations, indeed, there are

Greeks, the

Hasing.

man}^ traces of the house-spirit in


half -demonic goblin.

AVe have

in

it

later

its

the Hausgeist, the

Kobold, the Brownie, the Robin Goodfellow,


ish elves, ready to

form of a

etc.,

prank-

do the house and hearth work of neat

housekeepers during the night, but apt to leave annoyance


for the idle

propitiated

and

by offerings

the ancient sacrifice.

who

These house-goblins could be

careless.
left

But

the}^

libations.

probably

a relic of

became the foes of those

who

failed to offer

them due

In short, as to the general existence of ances-

worship, either as a persistent fact or as a transformed

survival,
still

neglected them, as the ancient house-spirits became

the deadly enemies of those

tral

them

we may quote from

T^^lor

" In our time the dead

receive worship from far the larger half of mankind."

The Aryan house-worship seems to have been conducted


Each family had its own ritual,
with inviolable secrecy.
was
secret,
never to be divulged, and
which
a precious
which appears indeed to have had the force of an amulet.
Thus in the Rig- Veda the antique poet sings; " I am
strong against

from

me."

my

my

foes by reason of the

family and that

In Greek legend

the authority of Zeus


1

we

my

hymns

that I hold

father has transmitted to

find that

Polyphemus scorns

he will recognize no god but his

Primitive Culture,

ii.

112..

THE DOUBLE SYSTEM OF ARYAN WORSHIP. 139


own

father, Poseidon.

draws a

So the Russian peasant of

line of distinction

between

his

to-day-

own Domovoy and

The former will aid, but the latter


The ancient house-spirit was the
will seek to injure, him.
house-guardian, who repelled thieves and warned trespassers.
Little the ancient Aryan cared if the universe
had one or many authors. The gods of his own hearth
that of his neighbor.

were nearer and dearer to him than these remote deities of


all

mankind.

As

the

Aryan family expanded

Aryan clan, so
clan, whose rites

into the

did the house-worship into that of the

were paid to the remote ancestor of the group of kindred.

some

It is a question of

interest to

what

limit of ancestry

the family worship extended.

Mr. Hearn thinks

ited to the great-grandfather,

and that the household might

be

made up

it

was

lim-

of six generations, three of the living, and

At

three of the dead.

this point, in his view, the

house

unfolded into the clan, colonists being sent out to found

new households, and

the immediate kinship of the family

being exchanged for the more remote kinship of the clan,


while the

was the

common

deity worshipped

spirit of the ancestral

doubtful, however,

if

any such

by the several families

founder of the clan.


definite rule prevailed

It is
;

and

no doubt inclination or internal disorganization had much


to

do with the disintegration of families and the growth

of the wider and less intimate association of the village


or clan.

The

connection.

existing Chinese custom

As

is

of interest in this

a rule the Chinese family worships the

spirit of the father

and the grandfather.

But

this

home-

worship never seems to extend beyond the third generation


of the dead.
its

The Chinese

clan,

on the contrary, worships

remote ancestor whenever known, and the grave of such

THE ARYAN RACE.

140
an ancestor,

if

preserved, forms a sacred centre for the

religious services of the clan.

The descendants

of Confu-

worship theh' great ancestor to-day as

cius, for instance,

the chief of the gods to them.

So the Aryan clan-worship was as devoted and as excluSpecial gods of tribes and
sive as that of the family.

among

clans existed

the Teutonic and Celtic tribes, while

the worship of the ancestor of the gens

custom with the Greeks and Romans.


that

it is

the

lage god.^

custom

Among

tells

the Semitic tribes evidences of the

The

us

vil-

same

Hebrew patriWith the Aryan clans

Bible, in its story of the

archs, yields testimony to this effect.


this

Mr. Hunter

duty of a good Hindu to worship his

first

exist.

was a common

worship was secret and exclusive.

strong feeling

existed against intrusion on the sacred rites of a Greek or

Roman

We

gens.

are told, indeed, that the presence of a

stranger at the religious ceremonies of a Greek clan

And

intolerable.

at the

common

was

these ceremonies seem to have been held

burial-place of the clan,

tion that the worship

was paid

a strong indica-

to the original ancestor.

All these ceremonies, however, were conducted with such


secrecy that

we know very

little

There

concerning them.

seems to have been a dread that a god might be stolen or


seduced away

if

not guarded with strict care.

reason, perhaps, the

name

of the tutelary deity of

was always kept a profound State

On the other hand,


their god,

if

For

this

Rome

secret.

the worshippers might reject or desert

found weak to redress their wrongs or to pro-

tect

them from

may

be given.

evil.

Several amusing illustrations of this

The Finns

of to-day in time of need do

not hesitate to neglect their gods and pray to the more


1

Orissa,

i.

95.

THE DOUBLE SYSTEM OF ARYAN WORSHIP. 141


So we are told, as an incident
"
that
the statue of the Cumaean Apollo

powerful Russian deities.


in

Roman

history,

came near

to being

of weeping.

fit

thrown into the sea, from an ill-timed

Fortunately

it

was considered that the

tears were for his old friends the Greeks, not for his

friends the

Romans."

may

"

quote

new
As a more modern instance we

prince of Nepaul, in his rage at the death

of a favorite wife, turned his artillery

and

his gods,

ally destroj^ed

was

It

the

after six hours'

upon the temples of

heavy cannonading

effectu-

them."^

this secret,

domestic, and clannish worship of

Aryans that hindered the public worship from gaining

a controlling influence, and checked the growth of a power-

most branches of the

ful priesthood in

race.

There was

not the almost complete hindrance to the growth of

thology that

we

find in the early

Chinese

my-

yet the worship

of ancestors was sufficiently strong to prevent mythology

from becoming dominant as a religion. Beneath it, almost


unseen by us, yet vital and vigorous, lay the more ancient
system, that of the worship of family and gentile ancestral
gods.

Yet ancient Arya was not without

its

other deities.

possessed an active imagination, and could not

Its people

avoid being vividly impressed with the mighty powers and


strange phenomena of Nature, which they naturally en-

deavored to explain or comprehend.

And, as

in every

ancient effort at such explanation, they arrived at the conception that these

phenomena were the work of

intelligent

and powerful beings, the overruling gods of earth and


heaven.

In the primitive era they had nothing that can

fairly be called a
1

mythology.

They worshipped Nature

Saint Augustine, City of God,

W.

E.

i.

101.

Hearn, The Aryan Household,

p. 25.

as

THE ARYAN RACE.

142
they saw

it,

with no idea of symbolism and no miscon-

ception of the meaning of their objects of reverence.

It

was yet summer and winter, daylight and darkness, the


bright dawn and the terrible storm, thunder and sunshine,
which they looked upon as the powerful deities of the universe, and upon whom they called for protection, or whose
dark wrath they deprecated in cases of

power of

their

humbler domestic

beyond the

peril

deities.

Only by slow

degrees did these elemental gods lose their original

signifi-

Probably at an early period the Aryan imagination

cance.

had begun to invest them with metaphorical

The Clouds became

significance.

the cows of the gods, whose milk re-

freshes the earth, but which at times are hidden in caves

by robbers.

The Dawn,

the beautiful spirit,

glad eye-beams over the earth, and


the glowing Sun.

Summer, which

Or

the

speedily pursued by

In winter the Earth mourns for the dead


lies

Summer

is

sends her

buried in the dark prison of Hades.

sleeps in the land of the Niflungs, the

cold mists, guarded by the serpent Fafnir, while her buried


treasures are watched

by the dwarf Andvari.

of such metaphors gradually

Hundreds

grew around the movements

of the sun, the winds, and the clouds, the

demon Night,

and the bright god Day, the all-destroying Winter and the
all-restoring

Summer.

In time the origin of these meta-

phors became obscured, and even the derivation of the

names of many of the gods was forgotten.

Mythology

gradually rose out of the primitive worship of the powers


of Nature,

and the endless biographical

details

which

suiTOunded the mythologic deities testify to the original


activity of the

An
is

Aryan imagination.

interesting feature in the primitive Arj^an

mythology

the selection of the bright, broad arch of the heavens

THE DOUBLE SYSTEM OF ARYAN WORSHIP. 143


gods and

as the primal deity, the great father-spirit of

This deification of the sky was not peculiar to the

men.

Aryans.

"We find traces of

American worship.

But

it

in Babylonian, Chinese,

at a very

and

remote period in the

Egypt and Babylonia, Mexico and Peru,


the sun gained supremacy as the first and greatest of the
gods, the prime spirit of the universe. With the Aryans
civilizations of

the sun

was much

later in attaining

acknowledgment, and

the shining arch of the sky continued the deity supreme.

This

is

the deity that descended to historic times as the

great father-god, the object of liighest reverence to most


of the

Aryan peoples when

first

they emerged into history.

Varuna, the elder god of the Vedas, was the veiling

He

heavens.
is

stands opposed to his brother Mitra,

the deity of the noontide sky, while

We

represent the starlit firmament.


in the

Uranos of Greek mythology.

who

Varuna appears to

find this

He

sits,

god again

in the

words

of the Vedic poet, throned in splendor, clad in armor of


gold, and in a palace supported on a thousand columns,

while around him stand ready the swift messengers of his

At

will.

a later date another heaven-deit}'' arose, Dyaus,

the god of the bright

canopy of the day, before whose

worship that of Varuna died away.

god

in the

We

have the same

Zeus of the Greeks, the conqueror of

decessor, Uranos.

He

the god of light.

The Odin of

his pre-

again appears in the Teutonic

Tii^,

the Scandinavians, with

the sun for his single eye, seems to be another heavendeity.

Again we have the heaven-god

in his

paternal

aspect as the Dyaus-pitar of the Hindus, the Zeus Pater


of the Greeks, the Jupiter of the

Romans,

the kindly and

beneficent progenitor of gods and men, the supreme parental deity of all that has

life.

THE ARYAN RACE.

144

With

the Hindus the sun

was symbolized by a later


deity, the golden-haired ludra, the god of light, whose
arrows were each hundred-pointed and thousand-feathered.
With the lightning for his beard, and brandishing a golden
whip, he drove his flaming chariot across the heavens.

The
the

rains

and the harvest were

his gifts to

mankind, while

demons which threatened the human race found

in

him

In Balder the Beautiful, the lord of light

a terrible foe.

we

of the Teutons,

discover the

Sun-god again, dying

yearly at the winter solstice by the hand of the blind god

Hodr, the demon of darkness, and rising again in his


beauty as the shining summer returns.

But we cannot here attempt


list

of deities of the later

particularly in

to

name

Aryan worship, many

often very awkwardly, into the

fitted,

Oh^mpian court of the Hellenic gods.


that this ancient system of worship
integrity in

In

it

shining ones
tle,

we
;

is

It will suffice to

say

preserved to us in

its

the Vedas, the work which holds

the oldest recorded thoughts of


ena.

of them,

Greek m^^thology, borrowed from neighbor-

ing nations, and

most archaic

the interminable

man on

natural

phenom-

have the deific host as the Devas, the

the

dawn

as Ushas, the bright, loving, gen-

white, and beautiful

the deities

all

simple in their

attributes,

and without the wide garment of myth that

afterward

enfolded

them,

plainly

transformed into the unmortals.^


1

Here

The Yedas

who was no
is

tell

find ourselves here

us that two sticks were the parents of this

method of obtaining fire by the friction of two sticks


Yet Agni soon became one of the mightiest
He grew rapidly from his humble origin, flaming upward,

the original

of the gods.
it

half

sooner born than he turned upon and devoured them.

transparently displayed.

as

elements

striking instance exists in the story of Agni, the Fire-god of the

Hindus.
deity,

We

the

were, from earth to heaven.

THE DOUBLE SYSTEM OF ARYAN WORSHIP. 145


but a step beyond the archaic Aryan stage, in which these

were yet clearly the powers of earth,

deities

and

in wliich each was, for the time, the

and sky,

supreme being

Their deities had not yet been special-

to his worsliipper.

we

air,

among the Greeks.


As the branches of the Aryan race left their primeval
home and sought new lands of residence afar, certain
ized as

them

find

later

highly interesting modifications came over their systems


of worship, to which

some attention

is

requisite.

We

do

not refer to the expansion of their simple ideas of the

phenomena

attributes of natural

deific

into the splendid

phantasmagoria of mythology, but to the characteristics of


In this there was a marked

their religious organization.

difference between the eastern

With

and the western Aryans.

the eastern branch the national or mythologic wor-

ship rose into supremacy, the priesthood


ful

body, and the people

priestcraft

human
Hindu

which

under that dominion of

has ever been such

an opponent of

This was particularly the case with the

liberty.
tribes,

fell

became a power-

over

whom

the priests gained an extraordi-

nary predominance, unequalled in the history of any other


people.

The Hindu nation

great heroes.

is

Its only great

one without great kings or

men

are the lawgivers, the

founders of systems, the priests of the race.


tribes first
it

marched

was with the

the

to victory over the aborigines of India

priests at their head.

record of the stirring

hymns

The Vedas

are the

of praise or invocation with

which these priestly warriors led their

And when

When

soul- stirred hosts.

the Hindus sank to rest upon their conquered

was under the dominion of the priests. No


great warrior led them to new victories, no powerful
kingdom-maker welded the scattered bands into a nation,
territory

it

10

THE AEYAX RACE.

146
no

earliest

thinker wrote the history of the people.

It

was the history of the gods, not that of man, with which
their thinkers were concerned and we have grand systems
;

of rehgious philosophy instead of a record of the mighty

doings of man.

The

Hindu

story of

civilization

is

phenomenon without parallel upon the earth.


The story of the Persians begins under conditions
Here, too, we
strikingly similar to that of the Hindus.
behold a people marching to conquest with a priestly

The great

leader at their head.


all
is

the heroes of the sword.


religion, not history.

filled

And

up by

only the outlines of

and philosophy which

faith

priestly successors.

location of the Persians forced

them

But the

into a very different

channel of history from that pursued


Instead of the hot, moist,

dwarfs

their antique literature

It yields us

that Zoroastriau system of

was gradually

figure of Zoroaster

by the Hindus.

enervating lowlands of the

Indus and the Ganges, so favorable to the growth of


superstitious belief in the divine

power of the elements,

they inhabited the bleak and inspiriting highlands of Iran.

And

the

trumpet-blast of war rang everywhere around

them, forcing them into battle for self-defence, and finally


rousing them to victorious

and kings arose.

The

aggression.

Great warriors

man

began, and that

history of

of the gods ceased to be written.

Yet

to the late

days

of the empire the priesthood continued a powerful body,

and, in alliance with the Throne, aided strongly in the subjection of the people.
If

now we examine

Aryans a

different

the religious historv of the western

phenomenon appears.

In none of the

western branches did a powerful and controlling priest-

hood

arise,

with the possible exception of the Celtic, in

THE DOUBLE SYSTEM OF ARYAN WORSHIP.

147

which the shadowy group of the Druids stands out with a


prominence not attained by the priesthood of the Teutons,

As

Greeks, or Italians

we

are

for the early history of the Slavs,

the dark

utterly in

priestly establishment,

and but

ence of a mythology.

but there

no trace of a

is

faint indication of the exist-

In the religious, as in every other

respect, the home-staying Slavs

seem most

fully to

have

preserved the antique Aryan system, their creed remaining


that of worship of the ancestral gods of the house and the
clan, while
its

mythology with them

failed to

advance beyond

elementary stage.

With

the Greeks

a rich and varied mythology arose,

and an active public worship of the gods of the whole people


emerged.

Yet

it

never attained dominance over the hum-

The priesthood always remained an


obscure body, without power in Grecian history, or control
over the Hellenic people. The prevailing rites were those
of the clan, not those of the nation.
The literature was
largely devoted to the gods, but it was almost void of
bler house-worship.

deific

philosophy.

It dealt with the elemental deities in

a somewhat playful
ualized them,

spirit,

humanized instead of

and wrought the mythical

stories of

spirit-

their

lives into the neat embellishments of poetr}', not into the

ground-work of vast theological philosophies.

mythology were brought down to

The gods

earth, looked squarely in

the face by thinking men, laughed at, and dismissed.

whole fabric of myth and fable

of

fell

The

prostrate in splendid

disarray, its rich fragments only to be used thereafter as

poetic simile and metaphor.

The worship

spirits alone survived, while the

set themselves to

the universe.

work

And

thinking

of the ancestral

men

of Greece

to devise a secular philosophy of

Greece moved with unyielding steadi-

THE ARYAN RACE.

148

ness toward democracy,

largely

priestly control of the public


seize

through the lack of a

mind which usurpers could

and wield.

In

Rome

priestcraft

stood at no higher level than in

The Roman people were from

Greece.

the

first

deficient

and mythology there attained but a stunted


The house and clan worship, on the contrary,

in imagination,

growth.

shows

more prominently than

itself

traces of

it

everywhere

lanus, deserting

Rome,

in

Roman

history, as

seats himself

We

in Greece.

when

find

Corio-

by the hearth of

his

Volscian foe, and claims the protection, not of the Latin


Jupiter, but of the hearth-spirit of the household he has

Even when the literature of Greece invaded


Rome, and was imitated with all the fervor of the Roman
entered.

mind,
nence

its
;

mythologic feature obtained no special promi-

while the gods of the

Roman mythology

mained vague and unspecialized, and


their antique

Aryan form.

little

always

re-

developed from

in

consequence,

never gained any footing of power in Rome.

The system

Priestcraft,

of public worship was, indeed, mainly reduced to a phase of

Shamanism, augury and divination replacing the creation


of great religions ideas, which elsewhere ruled the minds
of men.

Thus

in the

ligion never enters as

development of the
an important

Roman

State, re-

We

political element.

perceive only a steady struggle between the democracy

and the

aristocracy,

fought with secular weapons alone,

with the growing supremacy of the democracy

until the

inordinately powerful element of the arm}- overthrew the

whole ancient fabric of the State, and replaced

it

with a

military despotism.

Teutonic
tells

the

histor}-,

same

story.

so far as

we

are acquainted with

There was plenty of imaginative

it,

fer-

THE DOUBLE SYSTEM OF ARYAN WORSHIP. 149


vor,

and mythology gained very considerable develop-

ment

yet but faint traces of a priesthood have survived.

Possibly the worship of the household and the clan dwarfed


that of the elemental deities.
victory

it

is

When

march

the Teutons

to

not with a priest at their head, nor even by

No

the side of their military chief.

such figure makes

appearance, and the only Teutonic hero

its

the wielder of

is

was doubtless principally due to this reason that Christianity made such rapid progress with the
Teutonic tribes. There was no one with a strong interest
the sword.

It

no one to control the

in preserving the mythologic faith,

no earnest clinging to the

dei-

The tribemen vaguely dreaded

the

tribes in matters of belief,


ties of

mythology.

vast gods of the elements, but their main worship was

paid to the deities of the household, on

whom

alone their

af-

This private worship was too deeply

fections were centred.

ingrained to be eradicated except by slow degrees

weakly held mj^thologic

faith

was

but the

suffered to be replaced

by the Christian creed with an ease that would appear


frivolous did

it

not prove

how shallow an impression my-

thology had made upon the Teutonic mind.

we examine the
Aryan branches, an
If

early legend

and fable of the several

interesting illustration of their differ-

The ancient Hindu

ence in religious condition appears.


tradition

has nothing to do with man.

appear

it,

in

and

its

supernaturalism

is

wildly extravagant

in character.

Man

in a universe

which contains the gods.

is

a creature not worthy to be

tradition tells a widely different story.

central figure.
is

Only the gods

The gods

are present,

no lack of supernaturalism

equal rather than their slave.

In
it is

Ancient Greek
this,

true,

but heroic

He

is

named

man

is

the

and there

man

is

their

displayed in steady

THE ARYAN RACE.

150
struggle against

powers of Nature, and in


combat even with the Olympian deities.
He is usually
the terrible

overcome and punished, yet he always retains something


of the heroic
and the most striking figure in Greek
mythology is that of Prometheus, the defender of man
;

against

gods,

the

terribly

punished,

yet

un-

eternally

submissive, and hurling threats from his rock of torture

Nor are the gods always


Homer we find heroes dar-

against Zeus, his deific foe.

In the pages of

the victors.

ing to

wound

the gods,

and escaping punishment for the

impious deed.
If

now we come

find the

gods utterly forgotten, and

of thought.

ancient

to the antique legend of

is

a tissue of fable

as history from the fact that

deeds.

It is

it is

to

alone the subject

admitted that the so-called history of

It is

Rome

man

Rome

yet

it

dealt solely

it

own
with human

long held

almost devoid of the supernatural.

hardly enter as agents.

The

old

Roman saw

its

The gods
only his

hearth-spirits, or but vaguely beheld the elemental deities

of ancient Arya.

His hnagination dealt solely with

man

and his deeds, in a series of stories that are sober history


as compared with the exploits of the

Greek heroes, and

that breathe the most rigid spirit of the practical, as com-

pared with the exuberantly fanciful Hindu conceptions.


This lack of a powerful priestly organization in the
history of the western

Aryans

is

without a counterpart in

the civilized nations of the earth, with the one exception of

China.

That

it

has had

dency to democracy

much

to

do with the strong ten-

in these nations, as

compared with the

tendency to aristocratic government elsewhere, can scarcely


be questioned when we remember how powerful a controlling agent

is

religion

upon

the

mind of man, and how

THE DOUBLE SYSTEM OF ARYAN WORSHIP. 151


vigorous

is

the grasp of the ruler

who can

seize at once the

and the temporal reins of dominion.


The facts here given of the slight hold upon the western
Aryans of their system of national religion, and the lack

spiritual

of an organized and influential priesthood to develop the


public worship and to create a strong sentiment in

its

favor,

No

are of interest for a reason above briefly adverted to.

bulwark existed against the inflow of a foreign system of


belief,

at the rapid progress of

and 'we cannot be surprised

Christianity.

Rome was

religious thought.'

a fallow field to the seed of foreign

was but feebly

Its native faith

held,

and we behold successively the Persian, Egyptian, and


Christian creeds

making

their

way

with scarcely a word of protest


political

into the Imperial City,

or.

opposition, until the

danger from Christianity roused the dread of the

Emperors and gave

word of appeal
Rome.

spasmodic persecutions.

rise to

for the old

Not a

gods comes from the priests of

In Greece something similar appears. The systems of the


philosophers there replaced the figments of mythology, and

came from the conservaThe


tive class of the people rather than from the priests.
after opposition to Christianity came from the adherents of

the opposition to this philosophy

the philosophers, with their proud admiration of the great-

ness of Greek thought.

Mythology

in

Greece was dead

before Christianity arose.

Among

opposition to

was nothing stronger than a

Christianity

vague distrust of strange gods.

the Teutonic clans the

The

voice of a chief in

new faith carried with it his whole body of


who threw off their mythologic belief as easily

favor of the
followers,

as they might have discarded an ill-fitting cloak.


raised his voice in

favor of the old gods.

No

priest

The hearth-

THE ARYAN RACE.

152
spirits

were as yet

and these were the

left to the people,

only deities which had a hold upon their hearts.

phenomenon

is

singularly contrasted

to the

This

persistence

with which the same tribes afterward clung to the slightest

shades of sectarian Christianity.


a priesthood, they had

Instead of being without

now come under

most completely organized priesthood

in

the control of the

human

history.

VII.

THE COURSE OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT.

THE

political organization of the ancient

of the

of

human

most interesting features

institutions.

having maintained

conditions

is

one

whole history

has had an extraordinary

upon the development of modern

fluence

basic

It

in the

Aryans

in-

civilization, its

themselves with

remarkable persistence through long eras of tyranny and


oppression.
States

Finally,

we have what

in
is

in

the

government of the United

many

respects a survival of the

government of ancient Arya, so far as the simple conditions


of the antique tribe can be brought into analogy with the

complexity of relations in the modern nation.

For

in

we possess a system of
self-government ranging upward through the family,

the Republic of the United States


local

the township or ward, the city or county, and the State, to


the

nation, with its

below

it.

village,

This

is

general supervisory power over

all

a close counterpart of the family, the

clan, or gens, the tribe,

and the confederacy of

the ancient Aryans, each with its self-government in all

that immediately concerned itself.


centralization, as

It is the

system of non-

opposed to the centralization which forms

the basic feature of despotic government.

In religion the

same phenomenon appears. There was no State religion in


ancient Arya, and there is none in modern America.
The
religion of the household or of the clan ruled in the one, as

THE ARYAN RACE.

154

that of the person or of the sect does in the other.

despotic government, on the


State religion

is

an essential feature, and few tyrannies

have been established without

The development
little

In

contrary, a centralized or

of

its

human

aid.

institutions has

considered from this point of view

been very

and before ex-

amining the Aryan system particularly, a brief comparison


of this with the other systems of civilized

mankind

is

of

Such a comparison will reveal features in the


Aryan organization differing from those of any other family
of mankind, and show clearly that ancient Arya was the

importance.

human liberty. Yet it will show at the same


Arya was by no means the cradle of human

true cradle of

time that

Despite the very evident intellectual superi-

civilization.

ority of the

Aryan

race, its institutions acted as a strong

preventive to political progress

and but for the

activity of

external agencies, and of influences at variance with

its

democratic organization, the Aryan peoples of to-day might

be in the same state of stagnation that we find in the

vil-

lage communities of Russia and India.

In reviewing the early organization of

wherever advanced beyond the savage


uniformity makes

itself

human

state, a

society,

remarkable

apparent, indicating that the social

.and political conditions of mankind unfolded under the

unconscious action of general laws, on the same principle

Yet as

that appears in the development of languages.

human language,

after pursuing the

same course up

to a

certain level of unfoldment, diverged from this point into

several different channels, so in the development of institutions a like


is

phenomenon

is

manifest.

Our purpose here

very briefly to glance at these lines of divergence.

The primal

condition of

man was undoubtedly

a social

THE COURSE OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT.

155

The lowest savages were combined in groups for


One of these was that aggregated for
various purposes.
A second was the family group, probably
defence.
one.

definitely

third
in

and firmly organized only

was the group

its

for religious observance,

Eventually

organization.

concrete

at a late date.

yet

later

these

three

groups appear to have become concentrated

into

one,

The family, with its secondary excommunity of kinsmen, became at once

that of the family.

pansion into the

the social, the political, the

Such

group of mankind.

man everywhere

is

we can

that

and the military

religious,

the condition of developing

perceive

him

after he has

advanced from the savage into the barbaric stage of


ture.

The family idea becomes

the

cul-

ruling principle in

every interest of the tribe.

Early history, however, reveals to us two distinct stages


in this unfoldment,

that of the patriarchal group, and that

of the clan group

the latter an important step of advance

The

beyond the former.


and northern Africa

patriarchal system

is

that of Asia

Aryan Europe
native home of

the clan system that of

and North America.


the patriarchal group.

The

was the
In the broad and barren steppes
desert

of northern Asia, and the great sandy plains of Arabia and

northern Africa, the pastoral nomadic habit naturally persisted, agriculture in its faint first efforts

remaining sec-

ondary to the interests of the wandering shepherd tribes.

Communism
erty of

the

The

reigned supreme.
tribe

property existed.

flocks

were the prop-

a whole.

Scarcely any individual

The narrow

confines of the tent, and

as

the necessity of frequent movement, prevented the accu-

mulation of any large amount of household treasures.


Politically a like

communism

prevailed.

There was no

THE ARYAN RACE.

156

Each community was

clear line of family demarcation.

a group of kindred, and was under the leadership of the


patriarchal representative of the remote ancestor of the
tribe.

But

this leadership

The separate

control.

ciently to form

was by no means an absolute

families declared themselves suffi-

an assembly of freemen, not nearly so

distinctly formulated as that of the

Aryans, yet with a

proud sense of personal independence, and a voice in the

management of tribal concerns. The organization, however, was that of an army, with hereditary right in its
leader, and subordination to his authority in all warlike
affairs.

Religion

was

We

similarly communistic.

find

no trace

of any well-defined family worship, though there


that a tribal ancestral worship prevailed.

with this

evidence

But combined

was Shamanism, a system of demon worship,

which incantation was the prevailing


as the

is

main form of

religion alike with the

tribes, the antique Semites,

also with the

Aryans

Mongolian

and the more barbarous

Very probably

of North America.

rite.

in their

it

tribes

had a strong footing

nomadic

into decadence at a later date.

in

vSorcery ruled

era,

though

sunk

it

The only declared

priest-

hood we can trace in this archaic stage of development is


that of the Mongolian Shaman, the Babylonian sorcerer,
Knavery
and the American medicine-man or conjurer.
undoubtedly had as much to do with their service as
ligion,

must have been an easy task for the leader of


to gain control of this venal priesthood, and thus

and

the tribe

re-

add to the

it

spiritual dignity

which he possessed as the rep-

resentative of the tribal ancestor.


in every instance

tached to his

some degree of

office.

So far as we can

trace,

religious authority at-

THE COURSE OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT. 157


may have

All this

Aryans, but

it

is

nothing specially to do with the

of importance from

To

decided contrast

and from the essen-

to the character of their organization


tial significance it

its

human

bears in the history of

institutions.

we owe
But it was

the simplicity of the patriarchal system, indeed,

human
known as

the original unfoldment of

civilization.

a civilization in what

the Asiatic form,

is

Such

unprogressive absolutism.

the condition which

is

existed in the three non-Aryan civilizations of

old

the

They were

world, those of China, Egypt, and Babylonia.


patriarchal despotisms.

all

As

already said, the nomadic tribe

ized army.
It

an

has

jor

and

its

It

has

its

ready-formed regiments and divisions in the ma-

And

long marches, in which

it

it

is

among

the

takes with

common

its clan-ler.ders,

all its

members

are

accustomed to swift and


it all its

link of attachment binds

grations are

has

whom

patriarchal tribal head, to

No

It

tribe.

willingly subordinate.

food.

a regularly organ-

arms, and great ability in their use.

and minor groups of the


its

is

it

property and

Mi-

to a locality.

duties of

There

life.

is

nothing to hinder invasion of a country at a moment's


notice, settlement

and disappearance

retreat

The

upon the land

in case of victory, or swift

in the desert in case of defeat.

indications are strong that to this facility of warlike

migration and this military typ6 of political organization

we owe
most

distinctively a patriarchal empire.

settlement,
ture,

its

its

developed agriculture,

complex

industrial

and

its

Despite

and most archaic of


is

all

social

is

long

litera-

conditions,

the

governmental systems.

the father of the empire.

its

abundant

remains to-day politically a patriarchism,

peror

China

the establishment of the early empires.

it

simplest

The em-

The long continuance

of

THE ARYAN RACE.

158

his absolutism arises

from the fact that he stands at the head

of the ancestral religious system of the nation.

Ancestral

worship has continued the ruling faith of China, and the

emperor

the high- priest of this worship,

is

the hereditary
He

representative of the primal ancestor of the people.

has inherited both temporal and spiritual power, and the


bodies and souls of his subjects are alike bound captive.

Like the house-father of old, the officiating priest of the


house-worship and the family despot, the Chinese
is

emperor

the only intermedium between his national family and

the heavenly powers.


for his deeds,

and

it is

He

is

answerable only to the gods

sacrilege to question his

command.

It is interesting also, in considering the character of Chi-

nese civilization, to find that the ancient Shamanism

No

prevails.

vised,

all

developed elemental worship has been de-

efforts

to

establish

failed with the people at large,


is

still

undisguised sorcery.

Yet

it is

a philosophic

faith

have

and the Taoism of to-day


probable that the Chinese

empire arose ere the primitive ancestor-worship had been to

any great extent superseded by the Mongolian Shamanism


of to-day.

and

In every feature of

organization, language,

belief, the archaic condition of

This

in China.

imagination in
it

its

displays

is

is

its

mankind has persisted

largely due to the almost utter lack of

people

and the only

civilized progress

in devices for the practical needs of

man,

The
and in moral apothegms of the same tendency.
Chinese empire is the utmost unfoldment of the purely
practical mentality of the

Mongolian

race.

In the early stages of the Egyptian monarchy we can

somewhat vaguely perceive indications of a closely similar


The Pharaoh was the high-priest of his
organization.
people,

to

whom

he likewise bore a paternal relation.

TilE

COURSE OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT. 159

There seems

little

reason to doubt that this empire was the

outgrowth of a pastoral condition of society, that the


emperor was the development of the original patriarch,

and that

his godlike dignity

his being at the

and absolute power arose from

head of the ancestor-worship of the people,

the hereditary representative of the primal ancestor.

In

Egypt as in early China the absolutism of the emperor was not complete. There are indications of a tribal
early

division of the people,

with political powers.

and of the existence of a nobility


But patriarchism in its very nature

tends to absolutism, and in both cases a complete subordination, alike of nobles

and people, to the sacred father

and emperoi; eventually succeeded.

Egypt developed

far

Religiously, however,

beyond China.

were of

Its people

the highly imaginative Melanochroic race, and they devised

a complex system of mytholog}^ with a powerful priesthood, at whose head the emperor stood supreme.
chief priest

as well as sole ruler of the nation.

He was
As in

China, he governed his people in body and soul.

Babylonia yields similar indications, though


zation

is

system

is

this,

more obscure.

Its earliest

its

traceable

organi-

religious

a Shamanism, a highly developed sorcery.

Upon

however, arose a nature-worship, a somewhat com-

plicated series of elemental gods.

In regard to

mental idea we are greatly in the dark.

But

in the heart of a pastoral region inhabited


tribes, its absolutism,

its

its

govern-

emergence

by patriarchal

and the sacred or godlike character

which plainly attaches to the

later

monarchs of Babylonia

and Assyria, strongly indicate that

it

was a development

of the patriarchal system.


It is singular
civilizations of

and interesting

mankind

all

to find that the archaic

apparently rose from the pas-

THE ARYAN RACE.

160
toral

phase of society,

the simplest

and most primitive

method under which great bodies of men could be organMaterially they

ized into national groups.

and highly important progress.


almost stagnant.

The

all

made

Politically they

great

remained

simplicity of their system clung to

them throughout, and absolutism continued a necessary


phase of their national organization. The people submitted without a struggle, because their souls were bound
in the

same

We may

fetters that confined theii' bodies.


briefly advert to yet

another national develop-

ment of the pastoral tribes, from the interesting evidence


to be gleaned from its literary remains and its present
belief.
The Hebrew people had distinctively a patriarchal
organization, and their religious

ancestor-worship.

Abraham was and

the father of the race,

its

present traces of

ideas
is

looked upon as

remote ancestor.

It is

not

Abraham, however, but the god of Abraham, or rather a


compound of this deity with the god of Moses, that is
worshipped to-day by the Jews. The indication is strong
that this special

god of the Hebrew

god of Abraham, with

whom

sonal relations, represented


particular

patriarch, the family

he conversed and held per-

The

an ancestral divinity.

Jehovah of the Hebrews was the JaJiveh of

Moses, the family god of the Mosaic clan, as


indicated in the Biblical narrative.

growth of the Hebrew

He
late

clearly

expanded with the

intellect into the

heaven and earth, yet to a very

is

supreme ruler of

day the Hebrews

regarded him as the special deity of their race,

then-

patriarchal divinity.

Coming now
it

is

to the consideration of the

American

tribes,

of high interest to perceive that they possessed the

same type of family organization as that of Asia and

THE COURSE OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT.


Europe, and that

in this respect they

161

were considerably

advanced be^^ond the patriarchal system, and closely approached, though they did not quite reach, the clan type of
the Aryans.

Great differences in

this respect,

however,

prevailed in different parts of America, some tribes being

much more advanced than

The barbarian

others.

tribes

of North America, usually classed as in the savage hunting


stage, yet really to a considerable extent settled
cultural in condition, were organized

system, a compound of

Aryan

on a

and

agri-

definite clan-

kindred families like that of the

This Indian organization, while closely

village.

resembling, differed in some important respects from the

Aryan system.

It w^as, indeed, intermediate

patriarchal and the clan system,


teresting

phase

in

the

natural

between the

and represented an
development

of

in-

human

institutions.

Communism
munism

prevailed to a greater extent than with the

Not only land communism, but household com-

Aryans.

existed with

many

of the tribes, and the isolation

of the household and the tyranny of the house-father, so

marked

in the

Aryan

Among

Indian.

inhabited the

New

the Iroquois of the North several families

same dwelling, with

household rights
of

organization, does not appear in the

and

Mexico, whole

of individuals, are

still

With these

tations.

landed property, and

little

in the case of the

tribes,

Pueblo Indians

numbering several thousands

found dwelling
tribes

separation of

there

is

in single great habi-

no division of the

in this respect their

organization

is

distinctly patriarchal.

With

the Indians of the southern United States,

ever, the

Creek confederacy and the neighboring

whose habits were much more agricultural than


11

how-

tribes,

in the

case

THE ARYAX RACE.

162

of the northern tribes, an interesting advance in social and


industrial conditions

is

indicated, their organization very

closely approaching tliat of the

households were separate

Aryan

Here the

village.

and while the

soil

was common

property, each family cultivated a separate portion of

it,

and products of

and was sustained

in its claim to the use

this family field.

In one respect only did the industrial

Each

organization differ from that of the Aryans.

while controlling the produce of


labor,

was obliged

own

field

and

its

own

to place a defined portion of the product

in a village storehouse,

whose stores were

to place there a portion of

laid

up for the

Hunters were also obliged

good of the whole community.

game.

their

institution, resembling that of

we have evidence

its

family,

This provident

whose existence

in

Egypt

in the scriptural story of Joseph, consti-

tuted a form of taxation for the public good, and seems


to indicate an

advance in

Aryan community,
reality,

however,

it

in

political conditions

beyond the

which no such custom existed.

signifies a

In

lower stage of development.

was a remnant of the general communism of the patriarchal stage of association, and one which seems to have

It

worked adversely

to the interests of

American

liberty.

This industrial condition extended farther north than

would be imagined from what


dian history.

generally

is

known

of In-

Historians of Virginia and Maryland state

that the Indians of those localities

had the custom of

viding their lands into family lots, and possessed

di-

common

storehouses, in which a portion of the food had to be

placed, under control of the sachem, whose


to

power was

some degree absolute.


This brings us to a consideration of the political organi-

zation of the Indian tribes.

It

must be borne

in

mind,

THE COURSE OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT.

163

however, that in the Indian, as in the Aryan community,

was no such

there

produced by

definite organization as is

Custom was the only law of


these communities, and there was doubtless considerable
Yet the general prinvariation between different tribes.
a body of written laws.

tem was an

The

was everywhere the same.

ciple of organization

sys-

one, which might stretch considerably,

elastic

but could not easily break.

One marked

existence of two sets of

officers,

with definitely separated

These were the sachems and the

functions.

was the

feature of the Indian organization

chiefs,

the

former distinctively peace-officers, the latter the leaders in

These

war.
it

officers

were elected

of interest to find that the

is

a vote as well as the men.

and

in

women

of the clan had

Woman-suffrage

a very old institution on American

the elections

The

soil.

apparently

is

principle of

choice of these two sets of officers, however,


different.

The war-chiefs were

elected for personal valor,

and there might be several of them


sachemship alone was a hereditary
be permanently

filled

the

was very

the clan.

in

office,

The

and needed to

new incumbent being

usually,

though not necessarily, chosen from the family of the deceased

sachem,

and perhaps vaguely representing the

clan ancestor.

The government

hands of

adult members, male and female

all

its

made up

number

of the clan

was

in the
;

while

was governed
by a council composed of the sachems and chiefs, and
the confederacy, where such existed, by a council of the
the tribe,

sachems of

No
The

its

of a

of clans,

constituent tribes.

such definite arrangement existed in the Aryan clan.

principal chief there also probably

claim to his office

had a hereditary

but he was not distinctively a peace-

THE ARYAN RACE.

164
officer, like

the sachem, but a leader in war, and the council

of freemen formed the executive

body

His power was not distinctly marked

in matters of peace.

off

from that of chiefs

chosen for personal valor or warlike ability only, and in


time the distinction

may have become

ancestral claim of the chief, which

wholly lost

the

was never very strong,

vanishing completely.

The Indian organization


dition

indicates an intermediate con-

between the patriarchal and the Aryan village comIn the sachem

munity.

some of
of the

we have

his powers, yet not

Aryan

power existed

the patriarch, shorn of

reduced to the mere war-leader

One important remnant

clan.

of his old

in his control of the public storehouse.

As

the latter appears to represent a partial survival of the


original general

control of

it

communism

of the patriarchal tribe, so the

by the sachem represents the original control

by the patriarch of all the wealth of the tribe. In neither


case was this an ownership it was simply a control for
The mico
of
or sachem
the good of the community.
;

the Creek communities had no claim to the treasures in the

storehouse, but had complete control over them.

These

had assumed the shape of a general taxation for the public


good, and he was the general executive

officer of the

com-

munity, with a considerable degree of arbitrary power in


his administration.
trolled

by the

His government, however, was con-

village council,

which met to discuss every

question of equity and to try every case of crime.

There was one further feature of interest in the Indian


organization to which

we must now

religious conceptions.

Among

advert,

that of their

the savage tribes of the

North, Shamanism appears to have been the prevalent

and sorcery the prevalent practice.

faith,

The medicine-man

THE COURSE OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT. 165


was the

religious dignitary, his influence over the tribe

being that of fear rather than of awe and spiritual dignity.

The worship

of ancestors

is

not indicated, while no ele-

vated religious conceptions are displayed.

vague poly-

theism seems to have existed, with belief in a "Great


Spirit "

and a

series of lesser

gods

yet this was undefined,

and nothing that can be called a mythology had

Among
state

arisen.

the southern tribes, however, a very different

of religious

belief

They possessed a

prevailed.

mythological religious faith, with the sun for supreme


deity,

while their worship was conducted with

ostentation of

temples,

high-priest,

the

all

and a considerable

The democratic religious system


priestly establishment.
Their religion
of the Aryans did not exist among them.
was aristocratic in tendency, had a vigorous influence over
the minds of the people, and afforded a ready instrument

While, indeed, there was a high-

for their subjection.


priest, the

mico was the real head of the religious

rarchy,

and added to

arising

from

power

his temporal influence the

The

spiritual dignity.

hie-

patriarchal position

of spiritual head of the tribe adhered to him, though the


ancestral worship, to which he
religious authority,

The

may have owed

his original

had vanished.

outcome of

this condition of affairs

appears in

a tribe to the west of the Creeks, the Natchez.

The gov-

final

ernment of

this tribe

was an absolute tyranny, the power

of the ruler being based on his religious dignity.

He had

become "The Sun," a god on earth, and the people were


There was an intermediate class of
slaves to his will.
nobles,

deit}'^,

was absolute over the

perhaps the remnant of the former council but


" The Sun," the earthly representative of the supreme
;

entire

community.

The

THE AKYAN RACE.

166

organization of this tribe presented some other interesting


features,

which we have not space to describe, but which

were in conformity with the principles above indicated.


It constituted a patriarchal

despotism in close conformity

with those of Asia.^

As

to the origin of this peculiar state of

among

government

the southern Indians, so different in

and
some respects from those of the wild
religion

we have much warrant

to consider

organization of that vanished race

tribes of the North,


it

a survival of the

known

as the "

Mound-

Builders," which at one time occupied the whole valley of


the Mississippi and its tributaries, but which seems to have

been dispossessed by the bordering savage


annihilated,

tribes, partly

and perhaps partly crowded back into the

southern range of States, where


in the Natchez, the Creeks,

left

it

its

descendants

and others of the southern

tribes.

A brief glance at the


Peru

Indian civilizations of Mexico and

will lead us to conclusions like those

above reached.

In Mexico absolutism was not fully declared.

The Mon-

tezuma, the spiritual and temporal superior, was controlled

by a council,

the survival of the old

tribal assembly.

Yet

be was rapidly advancing toward complete absolutism at


the period of the Spanish invasion.

The storehouse

of the

northern tribes was here represented by an extended sys-

tem of taxation

in kind, over

which he had

full control,

while his position as supreme pontiff gave him an influence


^

For

fuller information concerning these interesting institutions of

the American Indians, the reader

may

be referred to Jones's " Antiqui-

of the Southern Indians," in which the organization of the Creeks


is fully described, and Morgan's " Ancient Society," which
gives valuable information in regard to the Iroquois confederacy and th*?
ties

and Natchez

general governmental relations of the Indian tribes.

THE COURSE OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT. 167


which threatened to overthrow the feudal power of the
nobility.

In Peru existed an absolutism as entire as that we have

among

The luca vfas autocratic both


He was the descendant of
in religion and in government.
the gods and a god himself, whose mandate none dared
question.
A nobility existed, but it was a nobility withseen

the Natchez.

out authority, except such as emanated from the Inca.

The land and

all its

products were at his command.

Vil-

lage establishments existed, with division of family lots

but a large section of the land belonged to the Inca and


the church, and was worked by the people for their benefit.

The product of

and Church lands was stored in

the royal

great magazines, the direct counterpart of the storehouse

of the North, since their contents were held for the good
of the whole community, though subject to the Inca's
absolute control.

It

was unquestionably the

nity of the emperor, in all the

civilizations

spiritual dig-

named, that

caused the entire submission of the people to his


that subordinated

the

fully in the

nobility as

will,

and

peaceful

empire of China as in the warlike empire of Peru.

It is

surprising to find so close a conformity existing in the

of

principles

Indian

throughout the wide

organization

range of North and South America.

more

clearly the

Nothing could show

supreme influence of natural law over the

development of human institutions.

Yet there was another agency necessary

to the produc-

tion of the final effect, of the utmost importance in this

connection,

bloodshed
that to

ment.

that of

may

war.

Much

as

human

be deprecated, the fact

is

hostility

and

unquestionable

we owe all accelerated steps of human developEven in this advanced age, war was necessary for

it

THE ARYAN RACE.

168

and has

the rapid aunihilation of slavery in America,

yielded within a few years a degree of political and indus-

progress which otherwise might have taken centuries.

trial

In savasie and barbarian communities


element of progress.

it is

The conservative

conditions and institutions, which

is

the all-essential
clinging

yet vigorous in

to

old

modern

was a hundredfold more so in the early stages of


human progress, and war was the only agent sufficiently
radical and energetic to overthrow old ideas and customs,
and reorganize society on a new basis.
nations,

We
One

can here but

of the

first

briefly

glance at

general effects.

its

and most important of these

to increase

is

new

the authority of a successful chief and to bring

under his control, either as

The

allies

tribes

or as conquered subjects.

equality of the freemen of antique communities

The

rudely broken into in states of war.


at once

patriarchal tribe

became an army, and was subjected

which included autocratic power

pline,

was

in

army

to

its chief.

disci-

On

regaining a state of peace this absolutism of the chief over


it

remained

The general

effects of

followers did not entirely vanish, while

his

strong over the conquered tribes.

human
human equality was

war

at that stage of

The

principle of

culture were the following


dissipated,

and society

divided into classes, composed of the principal chief, or

king

the secondary chiefs, or nobles

conquering tribes

quered

tribes.

and the subjects, or

Some such

the freemen, of the


slaves, of the con-

division seems to have been an

inevitable consequence of continued war,

and appears as

Aryan as of patriarchal instituevery instance some condition approximat-

well in the development of


tions

and

in

ing to that of feudalism seems to have emerged.


in

Mexico

at the era of the Spanish conquest.

It existed
It

had very

THE COURSE OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT. 169


probably existed in Peru at an
of

Egypt and China appear.

existence in

its

empire of Japan

But

cently.

in

earlier period.

it

Indications

And

in the

continued in existence until very re-

every instance

it

has disappeared under

In Egypt and China we

the growing pov^er of the king.

perceive the monarch of a province gradually extending


his authority over the

whole country by successful war.

phenomenon appears

similar

in

Mexico and Peru.

In

every such case the chiefs of the conquered tribes became


the nobles of the

But

thority.

new empire, with some remnant

of au-

mentioned, the power of the

in all the cases

nobles gradually vanished, and that of the monarch became


absolute.

This phenomenon was undoubtedly due to the religious


position

Where

of

the

the

monarch of these patriarchal empires.

body would have vigorously

sank in powerless slavery.


pires

resisted, the soul

In every one of the four em-

named, the emperor was supreme

pontiff, the

head

of the religious establishment, the son and representative


of the gods, and the connecting link between earth and

heaven.

was the recognition by the people of

It

spiritual dignity in the

emperor, their superstitious awe,

and the moral support which they gave him

ments upon

this

in his

encroach-

their liberties, that rendered the resistance of

the nobility unavailing.

Step by step they sank until they

became ciphers in the state, with nothing but a title to


distinguish them from the people.
This is the condition
which exists to-day

in China,

where the nobility and the

people stand on an equal footing in respect to the authority


of the emperor.

highly interesting recent case in point

Japan.

Our

early historical

is

that of

knowledge of that empire

THE ARYAN RACE.

170

reveals a strong feudal nobility, with a spiritual emperor

of reduced authority.

powerful chief, the Tycoon, or

ShoguD, through the influence of his position as head of


the army, succeeded in robbing the

Mikado

of nearly

all

his

temporal authority, and taking the reins of power into

his

owu hands,

than his

leaving to the titular emperor

But the people remained

title.

Mikado,

of the

little

more

spiritual subjects

submission to him, while

their souls in

This

only their bodies were governed by the Tycoon.

powerful basal support has enabled the spiritual emperor,


during the disturbances caused by the forced opening of

Japan
to an

to foreign intercourse, to overthrow his rival, bring

end the feudal

tioned

autocrat of

institution,

Japan.

patriarchism has there reached

and make himself unquesinterregnum

After a long
its

inevitable result,

that

of the spiritual and temporal absolutism of the emperor.

The

patriarchal empire, while naturally the simplest in

organization

and the easiest established, was one that

For the

tended inevital^ly to autocracy and subjection.

establishment of liberty in civilization the growth of a

widely different system was necessary.


in the

Aryan

It is of

And

this

we

find

organization.

high interest to perceive the great degree of con-

formity that existed in the unconscious development of

human

institutions.

evolved as the

first

Patriarchism seems to have always


stage be3^ond savagery.

We

find

it

widely disseminated in Asia and northeastern Africa, with


its final

culmination in despotic governments.

America

societ}'^,

Throughout

under the influence of agricultural indus-

had advanced a stage beyond patriarchism. Yet the


civilizations there arising tended inevitably toward abso-

tries,

lutism.

For the establishment of democratic

institutions a

THE COURSE OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT.

was nec-

further step of advance in barbarian organization

essary

The

this step

forward we have next to consider.

description above given of the political characteris-

tics of the other


is

barbarian and civilizing tribes of mankind

of importance from their

condition,

we owe

marked contrast

and as indicating the

to the

Aryan

special features to

which

Aryan type of civilization. This type, we may


was overturned in two of the Aryan empires, the

the

say here,

Persian and the Macedonian,

which deliberately adopted

the Oriental system, and maintained

sword and by the fact that

it

by the power of the

their subjects

were largely

Semitic and long accustomed to despotic rule.


partly overturned in the
tinual

171

Roman

though the senate of

ple of the

Aryan assembly

was

empire, as a result of con-

war and the subjection of the State

its chief,

It

Rome

to the

army and

kept intact the princi-

to the last,

and the emperors

never succeeded in their efforts to attain spiritual authority

and

to

command

the worship of their people.

In no other

Aryan nation has the effort to kill out the spirit of ancient
Arya attained any marked success. Democracy and decentralization

have unyieldingly opposed the

efforts of aris-

tocracy and centralization.


It is singular within

has been confined.


the savage state

we

what

definite limits

human

progress

In every case of development beyond


find the family organization gradually

unfolding into patriarchism.

In two families of mankind,

the Asiatic Mongolian and the Semitic, progress stopped


at this point, in conformity with the pastoral character of
their industries,

and patriarchal

civilizations arose, their

early development being due to the simplicity of their sys-

tem, and the ease and completeness with which


the control,

it

permitted

movement, and subordination of large bodies

THE ARYAN RACE.

172
of men.

In two other families, the American and the

Aryan, development proceeded further as a

result of the

change from the nomadic pastoral to the agricultural condition,

and produced the clan or

village system

and

it is

remarkable, considering the impossibility of intercourse

between these two races, how closely


resembled each other.

In both

we

their organizations

find the village system,

the democratic assembly and election of officers, the com-

bination of families into clans, of clans into tribes, of tribes


into confederacies.
ple

was personal, not

In both, the organization of the peoterritorial.

landed property prevailed.

In both,

communism

in

In both, patriarchism existed

to the extent that a certain family in each clan

was con-

sidered of purest descent, and usually furnished the clan

we have shown, the American system


retained the principle of communism in a much greater
degree than the Aryan, and this communism extended to
religion.
The democratic system of Aryan worship had
rulers.

Yet,

as

not appeared, the sachem was at the head of the spiritual


establishment of the more civilized tribes, and he became
the representative of the Sun, as the Egyptian Pharaoh did

of Osiris, and the Chinese emperor of the vaguely defined

heaven deity, while absolutism appeared as a direct consequence of this spiritual autocracy.

The

distinctiveness of the

Aryan organization

complete development of the clan-system,

its

lay in

its

suppression

of community in property beyond partial land-communism,

and

its

nism.

almost complete suppression of religious commu-

In ancient Arya each house was a temple, each

hearthstone an altar, each house-father a priest, each family

a congregation, with

ritual

of worship.

its

private deity and

Some minor degree

of

its

private

communism

THE COURSE OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT. 173


existed in the general ancestor-worship of the clan and
in the less influential worship of the elemental deities

but

god of

the hearth-spirit seems to have been the favorite

the Aryan, and a remarkable decentralization in religion

No

prevailed.

people has ever existed more free in soul

from the reins of


father

was

was

in the

spiritual authority.

The Aryan house-

a freeman before the court of Heaven, as he

assembly of

It

his tribe.

was impossible

any ruler to hold him fettered body and soul

And

rebellion against tyranny.

the political liberty of


the

decentralized

like the sub-

Mentally he was in eternal

an Oriental monarchy.

ject of

it is

to this that

we owe

modern Europe and America.

and democi*atic

Aryans was strongly opposed

for

organization

to that concrete

and

Yet
the

of

definite

association in large, settled masses which seems everywhere


to have been a necessary preliminary to civilization.

considerable degree of political consolidation has every-

where preceded material progress, and to


spirit

was vigorously opposed.

in this inquiry to trace

and how the

We

village

have already

extent the

how

It is

this the

Aryan

one of our purposes

this opposition

community developed

was overcome,

into the State.

in previous sections described to

Aryan tribal

organization,

the

political

some

system

which prevailed in ancient Arya, and of which indications


appear in the early history of
It is a

all

the branches of the race.

problem of interest to trace the evolution of the

family into the clan, of patriarchism into democracy.

In

the largely patriarchal Highland tribes of Scotland there

existed minor groups of

fifty

or sixty clansmen, with a

particular chief, to wdiom their first duty


is

analogous to the

members

range from

was due.

Slavonic house community,


ten to

sixty in

number.

This

whose

When

THE ARYAN RACE.

174

grown too
place.

large, a

But

swarming

in

this

itself

to

does not break up the close

Two

patriarchal family relation.

sary to clanship,

found new families takes


further steps are neces-

the apportionment of a separate

lot of

land to each new famil}^, and the development of a system


of

home worship.
This

is

what occurred

in the Ar^^an clans, each of

which

was formed of a group of several families descended from


a common ancestor and with a separate organization of its
own. It was ruled by an assembly of the house-fathers
though this mode of government was gradually subordinated to that of the chief, elected by the assembly, but
It had its system of
usually from a privileged family.
clan-worship, its common burial-place, and its common
landed property. There was no occasion for any householder to

make

a will.

member descended

to

The
his

The

legislation existed.

property-rights of a deceased

No

definite

was governed by a

series of

fellow-clansmen.

clan

The

ancient customs, the growth of centuries of usage.

assembly was an executive, not a


it

seems to have legislated

legislative

sufficiently to

exigencies not previously provided for.


conditions
ance,

body, though

meet business

To

these

clan

must be added another of considerable import-

that of the duty of common


common

defence,

common

re-

Each clansman was


bound to defend his fellows, to exact retribution, in money
or blood, for injury to a fellow, and was himself responsible for any criminal act committed by a member of his
The whole clan of a murderer was held accountable
clan.
venge, and

for the

responsibility.

murder, and blood-revenge might be taken upon

any member of the offending


viduality existed.

Each

clan.

clan

No

was an

true sense of indi-

individual,

and the

THE COURSE OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT. 175


whole clan, or any part of

any of

of

it,

On

members.

its

was responsible

for the acts

other hand, damages

the

awarded to any person for injury received, belonged not

was the duty of each clan to


members from crime, and this duty was ac-

to him, but to his clan.

restrain its

It

centuated by a general responsibility.

Arya itself, we can


perceive these conditions as they left their mark on subsequent Aryan law. In old Anglo-Saxon law, for instance,

Though we cannot look

into ancient

the duty of each clan to act as a police upon


its

money

member, are

its

members,

any crime committed by a

responsibility for

member, and

its

equal share in damages awarded to a

But the traces of

clearly shown.

tom have descended

still

lower, and

may

this cus-

be found rather

widely spread to-day in the system of the vendetta or


blood-revenge, which exists
peoples.

We

know

to

among

all half-civilized

what an extent

vailed in Corsica, from which point


east

as Afghanistan.

member

every

it

it

formerly pre-

still

extends as far

In this custom

of a family, one of

Aryan

it

is

the duty of

whose near kindred has

been murdered, to exact blood-revenge from any member


of the murderer's family.

The Southern United States

were the seat of a well-developed vendetta system of

this

character in the ante-helium days, and cases yet occasionally crop out to
is

show that the

spirit of

antique Aryanisra

yet alive in the benighted regions of this country.

As

for the tribal combination of the

doubtful

Arya

Aryan

clans,

it is

permanent group in ancient


and the confederacy of tribes arose only under the
if

it

existed as a

influence of migration

and warfare.

It

appeared among

the Teutonic people only after they were forced into strong

combinations bv

lono; conflict

with

Rome

It

m-^y

l^c f"!"-

THE ARYAN RACE.

176
ther said of

was vigorously
without permission from

the clan-organization that

it

None could leave it


the council, and no new member could be admitted without
The clan-council seems in some
a ceremony of initiation.
cases, or among certain tribes, to have been limited in
maintained.

Evidences exist of an ancient council of

number.

Greece, Rome, and Ireland.

pear elsewhere.

five in

This limitation does not ap-

It should also be said that, in addition to

the agriculturists, the clan contained hereditary artisans.

Commercial pursuits, however, such as the business of the


grain-dealer, do not

From what

seem

to

has been said,

antique clan-organization

have been hereditary.


it

will

was one

appear evident that the


of very great simplicity.

There was nothing that could be called criminal law,

many

though there were

rules

of

business procedure.

There was no legislator and no executive.


took on

itself the

Each clan

duty of punishing crime against

itself.

was not the duty either of chief or council to see that


The council mainly
justice was done between persons.
concerned itself with the care of the common property and
The chief was
with the good of the clan as a whole.

It

personally active only as a war-leader.

duty or authority in peace.


or officers of justice,

Of

He had no

special

courts, laws against crime,

we have no

indications.

The family

was under the autocratic control of the house-father. Revenge for wrong was the duty of the kindred of the injured
person, who might exact damages in property or in kind.
Injury from outside the clan it was the duty of every
clfinsman to avenge.

The military system was as simple as the civil. The


clan was the basal unit of the army, and marched to war
under

its

chosen chief.

group of such clans, under a

THE COURSE OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT. 177


Every freeman was a solThe military system existed ready formed in the
This is clearly indicated in the Celtic and the Teuformed an army.

tribal chief,
dier.
civil.

tonic warlike organizations

and an interesting evidence

of the existence of a similar system in Greece

the Iliad, in which old Nestor tells

Agamemnon

is

given in

to muster

men by phyla'^ and by pliratra^^ so that each clansman might support his fellows in the ranks. Of the early
Eoman system we are in ignorance.
Yet another survival of the ancient clan-system may be
his

that of

spoken of here,-

which existed

was

in

the co-operative guild, or trade,

Greece and Rome, in old Ireland, and

largely developed in Middle- Age Europe.

system exists
the village

addition
cities,

in

Russia to-day, where

community organization
the communistic

to

many

villages

its

development from

is

very evident.

of

workmen

We

all

smiths,

In

in the

are told that there are Rus-

sian villages where only boots are made, others

habitants are

similar

arranged on the principle of

are

communistic artisanship.

guilds

whose

in-

and some, indeed, which contain

only communistic beggars.

This review of the system of clanship as a political condition

may

be followed by a consideration of the later

stages of growth in
in its purity
ciety.

Aryan

institutions.

was adapted only

The clan-system

to a barbaric stage of so-

Further development could take place only through

the entrance of

new elements

into the situation.

It

may

be said here, however, that in Attic Greece a vigorous


republic

was

established, that differed in organization

from

the ancient tribal system in only one essential particular,

that of the replacement of family by territorial relations


1

Sub-divisions of the tribe.

12

THE AKYAN RACE.

178

and that the great republic of the United States

Communism has

expansion of this idea.


council

but an

is

died out, the

composed of elected representatives instead of

is

men

the whole body of freemen, and


torial divisions instead of

are grouped in terri-

kindred groups

but with these

exceptions the political system of the United States con-

a direct development of the method of organiza-

stitutes

tion of our remotely prehistoric ancestors.

The clan-element which gave rise to the historic development of Aryan institutions was that of chieftainship.
It was an element of individualism placed side by side with
It was an inevitable outcome of the
that of communism.
and one destined, with the aid of warlike aggres-

situation,

Aryans far forward on the road of


To its evolution our attention must .now be
progress.
In j^rocess of time the idea of kinship became
turned.
carry the

to

sion,

more and more of a


had

its

The family

clan.

dependents, and in the warlike period

and freedmen.
ents,

Aryan

fiction in the

who

The

clan in like

after three

hereditary right in the

manner had

its

its

slaves

depend-

generations of service acquired a

The

soil.

increase of this alien

element exerted a very important' influence upon the history of Greece and

Rome,

as

we

will suffice here to say that the

tion of the chief enabled

larger

him

shall see further on.

wealth and superior posi-

to surround himself with a

body of dependents than was possible

freemen.

to ordinary

His estate was apparently an independent houseits

own

of slaves

and

hold, organized on the old patriarchal system, with

lands, its

own

laborers.

It

This state

It

cattle,

and

its

own group

was a house community on a large scale.


of affairs, if not originated, was certainly en-

hanced by war.

THE COURSE OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT.


Nor was it
who acquired

179

alone the hereditary and the elected chiefs


this special importance.

Any

one with war-

enough to attract followers could gather

like reputation

around him a body of retainers, mainly composed of warlike

youths w^ho w^ere ripe for battle.

And

there

was no

hindrance whatever to such a person separating from the

Over

and starting an independent establishment.

village

such retainers the chief acquired an authority like that of


the house-father over the family.
lord, to the

power of

life

and death.

The

honor, and

its

strength

tie

may

their absolute

They could leave

were the subjects of

his service if they wished, but

while they remained.

He was

his will

of connection w^as a tie of

be seen in the ardent devotion

of the Teutonic and Celtic clansmen to the cause of their


chief.

The

incessant wars that prevailed during the period of

migration added greatly to the power and influence of the


chiefs.

To

those with hereditary

title

to their chieftain-

ship were added those elected for their valor, and perhaps

those

who gained

influence through their wealth

sonal powers of attraction.


influences the

and per-

Through the above-named

community gradually became divided

the three classes of nobles,

into

Not

freemen, and slaves.

that the nobles had any political authority over the free-

men, or could
dignity

was

set aside the voice of the

solely personal.

their inevitable effect in

and power.

The

And

their

Yet war and conquest had

adding to the inequality in wealth

it

to increase the

subject-villages

number

of his fol-

became subordinate

personally rather than to the clan.

some degree of

chief naturally seized the lion's share of

the spoil, and used


lowers.

assembly

political authority

to

him

Over these he gained


and

rights of taxation.

THE AKYAN RACE.

180

Step by step the ancient s^-stem became subverted, and

a new system of individual authority established, as war

gave the warrior precedence over the

citizen.

Indications

of this growth of aristocracy can be seen in every branch

Aryan

of the

from the Eajput nobility of India,

race,

the chiefs of Greece,

Rome, and German}-, and

to

the so-

called kings of Ireland.

Maine
to
to

sa^^s of the Irish chiefs that

some extent a
septs

the

There

is

though they formed

class apart, they stood in closer relation

they presided over than to one another.

some reason

to believe that the tribal chief

had

gained a portion of the authorit}^ of the Druids, and acted

The popular

as priest and judge as well as war-chief.

assembly, so powerful in Greece and Rome, had lost


judicial

authority

rapidly

losing

Property was

over the Irish Celts.

communistic

its

all

The

character.

chief

claimed ownership of large individual tracts, as well as


certain rights in the

own

communal lands

system of petty usurpation had set


greater or less degree in

ened

villagers claimed to

the communal lots they had long cultivated

in

all

Aryan

in,

and a

apparent to a

regions, that threat-

time to completely overturn the old system of

land-holding.

To

it,

aided greatly by war and the seizure

of large conquered estates,

feudalism,

the

we owe

natural outcome

the establishment of

of

Aryan communism

and chieftainship.

The

political

development of Greece and

Rome

is

interest in this connection, as indicating one of the

natural methods of unfoldment of the


is

two

Aryan system.

the development due to the influences of city

of

life

It

as

contrasted with that arising from the agricultural condition.

Its purest display is that seen in Attica.

Here we

THE COURSE OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT. 181


have to do with a sea-going commercial people, industrial
in habit, except to the extent that necessity drove

war.

them

to

Into the active city that naturally arose under these

conditions, aliens crowded

form of government was


or clans, the old

from

strictly

all

sides.

Yet the

early

an organization of gentes,

Aryan personal system which had held

own in the formation of the civic government. To the


new conditions it quickly proved inadequate. The great
its

influx of strangers,

members

of no gens,

and jealously

excluded from gentile privileges, in time brought the gov-

ernment into the hands of a few ancient families, who


conducted

on the old clan-system, except to the extent

it

that the chiefs of the gentes acquired political authority

and replaced the ancient democratic by an autocratic

The growth
story

of chieftainship can be clearly seen in the

of the

"kings"

rule.

Iliad,

it

being

highly probable

that

the

of old Greece had but the standing of tribal

chiefs, with

an authority augmented by the warlike sub-

jection of neighboring clans

and the adherence of

alien

dependents, while the voice of the assembly had become


a mere agreement in the proposals of the chief.

Undoubtedly there was a strong pressure from the

alien

population of the city of Athens to gain a share of political rights,

and as strong a determination of the gentes

to hold the reins of power.

became more and more


evident, as the difficulty grew more urgent, that some
reform must be adopted, and several measures were proposed by
is

It

influential chiefs or lawgivers.

a traditional one, ascribed to Theseus.

The

first

He

of this

sought to

consolidate the tribes into a nation, with one instead of

many

councils.

He

also attempted to divide the people

into the three classes of nobles,

husbandmen, and

artisans.

THE ARYAN RACE.

182

This legendary division was found in existence in Attica

But the

in the seventh century B.C.

gentile system of

organization was in full vogue at that period.

we

date

At

find the people gradually overthrowing the

The basileus, or
and was thenceforth

a later

usurped

authority of their chiefs.

king, lost his

weak

called arcJion.,

priestly authority,

Later again this hereditary

or civil ruler.

made
made

elective,

and limited

Finally

to ten years.

among

was

life-office

was

it

Thus the
partly overthrown authority of the popular assembly was
gradually resumed, and the will of the people became the

law

annual, and divided

nine archons.

in Attica.

The second definite


of Solon, who divided

the people into classes on the basis

away with

This, however, did not do

of property.
division

reform was that

effort at political

into

The

gentes.

under

assembly

gained increased, or at least better defined, rights,

became an

and

and to some extent a

elective, a legislative,

governing body.

the

laws

his

But the bottom of the

difficulty

was not

touched by these reforms, and could not be while the gentile

families held

made by
on a

all

of kindred.

reform was that

divided the people

without regard to their

ties

Abolishing the four ancient Ionic tribes, he

formed ten new

The

final

He

Cleisthenes (509 B.C.).

strictly territorial basis,

Attica.

The

power.

tribes,

territory

which included

was divided

the freemen of

all

into a

hundred demes

or townships, care being taken that the demes of each


tribe

should not be adjacent.

It

was a

thoroughly to break up the old clan-system.

was required

to register

own deme, without


deme had

and

distinct effort

Each

citizen

to enroll his property in his

regard to his ties of kindred.

Each

rights of self-government in local matters, while

THE COURSE OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT. 183


controlled in national matters by the decision of the State

Under this institution arose the primal republic, the measure and model of all subsequent republican governments. This reform was undoubtedly made in
response to the demand and sustained by the power of the
alien people of Attica, who must now have been suffi-

government.

numerous

ciently

to defy the gentes.

It is of interest to find that the

witliout

government of Rome,

any knowledge of what was taking place

in

Ath-

ens, passed through essentially similar steps of develop-

In fact, the formation of territorial government in

ment.

Rome

is

Athens.
growth.

The

claimed to have preceded


It

was a natural and

The same

Rome

as in Athens.

inflow of aliens brought a strong pressure to bear

The
government, which was

The earliest effort


Numa, who is said

at

to

reform

have

aliens

definite effect,

demanded a share

resisted
is

on
in

by the clansmen.

traditionally ascribed to

classified the people according

and professions.

to their trades

any

establishment in

inevitable line of civic

difficulty arose in

the system of gentes.


the

its

This failed to produce

and the Romans were

still

divided into

the patricians, the old gentile clans, with full control of

government
or

their clients, or

commons, the new

dependents

and the plebs,

class of aliens, without a voice in

political concerns.

To overcome

the discord that arose from this state of

affairs Servius Tullius

closely similar
territory of

to

Rome

(576-533 b.c.) instituted a reform

He

divided the

into townships or parishes,

and the peo-

that of Cleisthenes.

ple into territorial tribes, which crossed the lines of the

gentes.

Each

erty in the city

citizen

had to

enroll himself

and

ward or the external township

in

his prop-

which he

THE ARYAN RACE.

184
resided.

This monarch

is

also credited with the establish-

ment of a new popular assembly, which abrogated that of


the gentes, and admitted each freeman to a voice in the
government.

Unfortunately, in addition to this wise ar-

rangement he made a second division on a property

establishing

five classes

according to the amount of their

This mischief-making scheme separ-

respective property.

ated the people at once into an aristocracy and a


alty

on the

basis,

line of wealth,

common-

and gave the impulse to a struggle


In Rome, as in Greece, we

that continued for centuries.

find the people gradually rising in power,

and the govern-

ment becoming a more and more declared democracy,


though the struggle was here a very bitter and protracted
one.
It was finally brought to an end by the inordinate
growth of the army and of the power of its leaders, by

whom

a vigorous despotism was established.

In Greece, however, the power of the people grew rapidly,

all aristocratic

authority quickly disappeared, and a

disposition manifested itself to combine the several minor


states into a confederacy, with a general democratic gov-

ernment.

The antique Aryan system was here expanding,

under the

strict influence of

natural law, into an ancient

counterpart of the modern United States.


for the liberties of mankind,

it

Unfortunately

was overthrown by the

sword of

Rome

strength.

Durhig these many changes the ancient gentes

ere

it

had grown

into

self-sustaining

continued to exist as separate religious organizations


their antique political

but

and communal constitution utterly

vanished.

In the political development of the Teutonic tribes widely


different conditions appeared.

agricultural,

and

their

Their industries continued

unfoldment was more

strictly in the

THE COURSE OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT. 185


line

of the village system.

Territorial

government

re-

mained subordinate to personal government. The powerful invasions by which the empire of Rome was overthrown,
and new

states

mense power

founded on

to the chiefs,

its

ruins, naturally

gave im-

which was increased by the

incessant wars that succeeded and continued for centuries.

The

original independent establishment of the chief ex-

panded
lord.

into the feudal

manor, and the chief into the feudal

The house-father was remanor. Below him were the

His power was absolute.

produced

in the lord of the

descending grades of wife and children, dependents and


slaves, as in the
tainers,
will.

Aryan

bound by

family.

ties of

Around him were

his re-

mutual honor and subject to his

His relation to them was that of military superior

and of chosen companion

in arms.

of the feudal state, with

its

As

for the constitution

successive ranks, each lower

one being held as military subordinate to the higher, but


each, from the lowest noble to the king, being free from

any obligations beyond that of military duty, and being


absolute lord of his
retainers,

we have

in

own
it

establishment and his

territorial

a direct expansion of the original

Aryan system, with marvellously little change in principle.


The Aryan village and tribe, with the chieftain and his
dependents and retainers, and his rights of suzerainty over

conquered villages, formed the direct though simplified


prototype of the feudal state, with

its

more complex system

of obligations and wider extension of authority.

In considering the development of the Aryan village-

system into the modern European state we find an

inter-

esting illustration of the persistent force of archaic ideas.

Ancient Arya, as we have seen, contained, side by


double system of government.

The

village

was

side, a

essentially

186

THE ARYAN RACE.

But beside, and perhaps

a democracy.

over

was the

it,

to

some extent

patriarchal establishment of the chief.

In

the development of the feudal state both these conditions

and the subsequent national history of Europe


has been mainly a struggle between them for precedence.

persisted,

The

establishment

patriarchal

of

the

being the

chief,

simpler and more centralized, and being one to which

added strength, rose

to power,

first

and

in

some

veloped into a degree of absolutism, though

states de-

lack of

its

control of the religious establishment prevented

becoming completely autocratic.


though slower

in its

war

it

But the democratic

from
idea,

development, never died out, nor did

of the people ever extend beyond their

the subjection

The eventual supremacy

Dodies to their minds and souls.

of democracy was inevitable.

In every era of peace

it

gained vigor, and to the extent that peace became the pre-

demands grew more

vailing rule its


ries

more decided.

At

present

it

energetic and

its victo-

has risen into complete

ascendency in America, while in Europe absolutism


shrinking before
give

way

to

its force,

the

is

and must inevitably everywhere

" government

of

the

people

by the

people."

With a rapid review

man

civilization,

of the political development of hu-

this chapter

may

close.

As we have

seen, in

two regions of the world patriarchism gained

absolute

supremacy, democracy failed to

dcA^elop,

and

three states were formed on this simple system of paternal

and

spiritual absolutism,

One only
China
ever

of these has

and

made

in
its

it

Egypt, Babylonia, and China.


persisted unto to-day, that of

not a vestige of a democratic idea has

appearance.

democratic institutions

made

In America the growth of


greater progress, though in

THE COURSE OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT. 187


two

the

civilizations

tliat

of the emperor enabled


in the one case,

him

the

arose,

authority

spiritual

them

to completely overthrow

and seriously

threaten them

in the other.

Arya the political development of barbarism


went farther. Democracy gained a marked development
In ancient

both in political and spiritual


priestly autocracy

worship

much

affairs

growth of a

the

was checked by the system of individual

and the patriarchal authority of the chief

of

its

The

force.

that of heredity.

principle of election

lost

grew upon

In the development of every Aryan

civilization differing conditions operated,

though

it is

re-

markable what persistency the ancient ideas everywhere


displayed.

It

is

not necessary

here

to

review

all

the

Aryan states separately. In only two of them the ancient


Aryan ideas developed with little external interference.
One of these we have already considered,
that of Greece,

in

which the development proceeded under

mercial influences.

The other

is

civic

and com-

that of England, in which

the Teutonic agricultural influences mainly prevailed.

Of

the European States, that of

Saxon England was


least disturbed in its development by external forces.
The
Norman invasion for a time gave supremacy to patriarchism

all

but this gradually yielded again to the steady persis-

tence of the democratic idea.

held

its

own

step, taken control of the


left to

for

The Aryan popular assembly

as the English parliament,

kingcraft only

European

its

liberty,

government,

name and
the

its

priestly

and has, step by

until, finally,

palace.

it

has

Fortunately

establishment

which

eventually arose remained definitely separate from that of


the kings, and usually hostile to

The bodies of Europeans have been ruled by the Throne, but never their souls.
Thus

it

was impossible

it.

that they could be reduced to the

THE ARYAN RACE.

188

Every

slavery of the Oriental system.

effort of the

to seize spiritual authority has failed, the spirit of

racy has steadily grown, and the promise

is

democ-

that ere

centuries not a trace of absolutism will be left

kings

many

on European

soil.

Aryan political evolution has everywhere followed the


same general direction but its rapidity has been greatly
Under the civic
affected by the conditions of society.
institutions of Greece and Rome, democracy, territorial
;

division

of the people, and private ownership of land

early appeared

while with the agricultural but warlike

Teutons and Celts progress

much

slower

in

and among the

direction has been

this

agricultural, but peaceful

and sluggish, Hindus and Slavs, the ancient conditions


still

in great part prevail.

Yet

in every case the general

course of evolution has been the same, and but one final

outcome can be expected to appear,


democracy.
contrary,

of complete

In the patriarchal empires of Asia, on the

political

site course,

that

evolution

followed an

and long ago reached

in complete absolutism.

pires has long

since

its

exactly

oppo-

inevitable ultimate

Political progress in these

ceased,

em-

and can only be resumed

under the influence of Aryan ideas and a reversal of the


governmental principle which has so long held supreme
control.

VIII.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE.

LANGUAGE

whose aid

formed the clew through

modern research traversed the Aryan

labyrinth,

that mysterious time-veiled region in which so


It cannot, indeed,

ders lay concealed.

even without the aid of language

this

that the

speech.

Aryans have much

in

many won-

be doubted that

hidden problem of

We

have already

common

besides their

the past would have been in part solved.

shown

Their industrial relations, their political systems,

their religious organization, their mythologies, their family

conditions, form so

many

separate guides leading to the

discovery of that remarkable ancient community.


this all.

As we

have

other links of affinity, less direct,

still

shall

Nor

is

show farther on, the modern Aryans


it is

true,

than

those so far traced, yet adding to the strength of the de-

monstration, and enabling us

still

better to

comprehend the

conditions of that ancient and re-discovered community.

Yet, with

all this,

the fact remains that language offered

the simplest and safest path into the hidden region, and

we have found out much conin old Arya that otherwise must

that by comparison of words

cerning the modes of

life

have remained forever unknown.

This being the case,

it

becomes a part of our task to consider the character of


the

method of speech which has proved of such remark-

able utility in the recovery of a valuable chapter of ancient

THE ARYAN RACE.

190
history.

from
its

all

It

known

is

to differ in important particulars

human language, not so much in


many accidental coincidences with

other types of

words,

for

there

but

other languages exist,

organism of thought which


with a garment.

Yet

in its structure, in that basic

is

clothed upon with speech as

in order properly to understand these

structural characteristics,

it

be necessary briefly to

will

re-

view the several types of speech in use by the higher ranks

of mankind.
all

comparison of these types

philologists admit, that the

Aryan

is

w^ill

reveal, as

the most highly

developed method of speech, and the most flexible and


capable of

all

the instruments of thought yet devised by

mankind.

In

this respect, as in all the others noted, the

Aryan in its original organization was superior to the other


human races.
The types of speech in use by the barbarian and civilized peoples and nations are divided by philologists into
four general classes,

the

Isolating, the Agglutinative, the

Incorporating, and the Inflectional

the last being sepa-

rated into two sub-classes, the Semitic

and the Ar3'an,

which properly should be considered as distinct classes.


these methods the isolating

is

progressed beyond what must have been the original


of speech.

It is the

Of

usually viewed as the least

mode

one in use by the most persistent of

human civilizations,
the Chinese.
In the language of
China we seem to hear the voice of archaic man still speaking to us down the long vista of time.
It is primitive, as
everything in China

is

a series of expedients

primitive.
it

Yet through the

aid of

has been adapted to the needs of

a people of active literary tendencies.


Philologists are generally satisfied that
in monosyllables, each of

man

first

spoke

which conveyed some generalized

THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE.


Tlie sentence

information.

even the phrase

had not yet been devised, nor

and language consisted of isolated excla-

mations, or root-words, each of which told


while no endeavor was

conveyed into

Yet
tive

its

made

its

own

story,

to analyze the information

component elements.

this idea directly affiliates the

man

191

language of primi-

with that of the lower animals.

For the lower

animals possess a language of root-sounds, each of which


yields a

of

vague and generalized information, or

some emotion.

few sounds, though

and
This
it

is

is

is

indicative

Ordinarily this language consists of very


in certain cases it is

more extended,

capable of conveying some diversity of information.


particularly the case with

is

some of the

And

birds.

usually a language of vowels, though an approach to

consonantal sounds

is

frequently manifested.

Early man, according to the conclusions of philological


science, possessed a language of the kind here described,

consisting of a few calls

and

cries,

each conveying some

As man's

general information or indicating some emotion.

needs increased, the number of these vocal utterances

in-

creased correspondingly, with a growing variety of consonantal sounds.

In time,

it is

probable that a considerable

vocabulary thus came into existence, though language


continued but

little

still

developed beyond the root-stage of

speech.

No human

tribe is

now

in this archaic stage of

language

even the lowest savages have progressed beyond


that

it

once everywhere existed,

proved by

is

it.

Yet

believed to be fully

the analysis of existing languages, in each of

which a vocabulary of roots emerges as the foundation


of

all

subsequent development.

And

that this method of

speech continued until a somewhat late period in

human

THE ARYAN RACE.

192

history seems indicated


that the

by one

two most ancient of

the Egyptian

significant fact

civilizations

this is,

the Chinese and

possess languages which are but a

still

The

step beyond the root- stage.

indications are that these

peoples rapidly developed from barbarism into civilization


at

an era when human speech was yet mainly

stage,

and were forced

at

once to adapt this imperfect

instrument to the demands of civilized


able to wait for

its

in its archaic

life,

without being

natural evolution.

The language of China

is strictly

words have the generalized force of

monosyllabic, and

Yet these vague

roots.

words have been adapted to the expression of


ideas in a very interesting manner, which
consider.

The natural development

its

we may

definite
briefly

of language consists

in expedients for the limitation of the

meaning of words,

vague conceptions being succeeded by precise and localized


ones.

This

is

ordinarily accomplished

compound words,

in

which each element limits the mean-

Such an expedient has been adopted

ing of the others.

in every language except the Chinese


lects.

Why

it

by the formation of

and

was not adopted by them,

question, of which a possible solution

its

is

related dia-

an interesting

may be

offered.

The study of Chinese indicates that its original vocabuwas a very limited one. The language seems to pos-

lary

sess but about five

hundred original words.

But each of

The ancestors of the


have made each of their

these has several distinct meanings.

Chinese people would appear to


root- words

vising

perform a wide range of duties, instead of de-

new words

for

new

this primitive stage either

thoughts.

To advance beyond

an extension of the vocabulary

or some less simple expedient

was necessary.

adopted a peculiar method for

The Chinese

this purpose, the character

THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE.


shown by an

of which can be best

193

We may

illustration.

word fao, which has the several meanings, "to


reach," "to cover," "to ravish," "to lead," "banner,"
"corn," "way," etc. These are modernized meanings.
Originally the significance of words was much more vague.
instance the

At

word

present, however, the

meanings above given

show what

used alone, has the

and some method

particular one of

culty tlience arising

fo, if

them

is

The tone

whether the
inflection

way

in

the five hundred

by the device of

which a word

its

meaning

particular

original

A more

important device

is

in this

Thus

cated.

one of

its

tlie

word

meanings.

too,

one of their

in

means

tao-lu

"way"

to hear " for

one of

or

or

"road"

only.

"path;"

method.

So

several meanings,

meaning by the addition of keen^ "

ceive."

"way"

for

eight or ten meanings,

its

"way"

its

thus indi-

is

above given, has

Lu^ out of

has also one signifying

Two

that of combination.

meanings are joined, and a special meaning

yields

and

words are increased to over

words having some similarity or analogy

this

hundred.

fifteen

"

spoken

is

even, or some other

rising, the falling, the

indicates

diffi-

and four are com-

tones, of which eight are occasionally,

monly used.

The

intended.

partly overcome

is

requisite to

is

therefore

ting^
is

having

confined to

to see" or

" per-

General meanings are also gained by the same


Thus/, " father," combined with mu^ " mother,"

fa-mu^

" parents."

Kliing,

"

light,"

with sung,

"weight."

Gender and
some other grammatical expedients may be indicated by
"heavy,"

yields

same

device.

the

kliing-simg^

By a consideration of the above


why grammatical inflection was
13

facts

we can understand

never adopted

in

the

THE AKYAN RACE.

194
Chinese.

has

Inflection

word-compounding.

origin in

its

But the fathers of the Chinese people seem to have exhausted the powers of word-compounding as a method of
Instead of coining new words

increasing their vocabulary.

new things, they seem


words over new things, and then
to express

compounding.
It

to

have spread their old

limited their

meaning by

This gave rise to two important results.

was necessary

to retain the integrity of

form and mean-

ing of the old monosyllables, since each of them formed a

many compound words

definite part of so

impossible to express
tions

by word-compounding,

inextricable confusion.

and

it

became

the intricacy of grammatical rela-

all

since this

would have led to

In consequence, the expedient of

the syntactical arrangement of words to

express gram-

was adopted, and the peculiar Chinese


method of speech came into existence.
A Chinese word standing alone has no grammatical
matical variations

limitation.

pleasure.

word "

It

love," which

its

English

may

be used at will as verb, noun, or

This generalism of sense, found in some Eng-

words,

meaning

upon

be noun, verb, adjective, or adverb at

Its sense is as indefinite as that of the

adjective.
lish

may

is

common

vrhich each

position in

relation to the other

in

word
the

Chinese words.

sentence.

arrangement

Every change

words of the sentence gives


There

it

no rhetorical freedom

is

in its

new

Chinese grammar, there-

words into sentences.

of

special

intended to convey depends

is

sense or grammatical meaning.


fore, is all syntax.

The

in the

They must be

placed according to fixed rules, since any variation in their


position gives a

new meaning

to the sentence.

And

not

only the parts of speech, but the number, gender, and case
of nouns, and the

mood and

tense of verbs, are indicated

THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE.

195

by the positioD of the words in the sentence, aided by the


use of certain rules of composition and of some defining
particles.

The Chinese expedient has been adopted by no other


Egyptian vocabulary

family of language, though the

almost as monosyllabic and primitive in character.

where

else the vocabulary

Every-

seems to have been extended by


the principle of word-com-

new words, and

coinage of

is

The most archaic form


of the other types of language is that known as the Incorporating, or Polysynthetic, in use by the American tribes

pounding applied to other uses.

This

and the Basques of Spain.

is

a highly primitive

method, and was probably at one time widely spread over


until replaced

Europe and Northern Africa,

by more de-

veloped methods of speech.

In the typical incorporating method there are no words,


sentences

there are

subject and object, with

speaker cannot say "

indicated.

the

mind

"

He must

I give."

and

fill

Basque

say " I give

it,"

no lacunae are

up.

left for

Where we say " John

Basque must say " John, the snake,

all this is

This method

complex word.

a poverty of the imagination

is

of the listener to

it

modifications.

hhit never suffices

killed the snake," the

he killed

all their

There

in the one word.

The verb swallows up both

only.

welded together into a single


is

carried to a great extreme

some of the American dialects. The verb absorbs not


only the subject, as in Aryan speech, but all the objects,
direct and indirect, the signs of time, place, manner, and

in

degree, and

all

the modifying elements of speech, the whole

being massed into a single utterance.

There
speech.

is

little

sense of abstract thought in American

Everything must be expressed to

its

utmost

THE ARYAN KACE.

196

As an

details.

Indian

Eliot's

in

kneeling

we may quote

Bible

the longest

word

icut-ap-xje-sit-tiik-qus-sun-noo-

In English we should express this by

weht-unk-quoli.
*'

instance

down

But

to him."

in its literal

meaning we

have, " he came to a state of rest upon the bended knees,

AVhitney quotes, as a remark-

doing reverence unto him."

word

able instance of extension, the Cherokee

ivi-ni-taw-

" they

ti-ge-gi-na-U-skaw-lung-ta-naiv-ne-li-ti-se-sti,

will

by

from a

that time have nearly finished granting (favors)

distance to thee and me."

The
grow

length to which words thus tend to

inordinate
is

somewhat reduced by an expedient of contrac-

In forming the compound word the whole of the

tion.

Thus
"
bring us the
the Algonkin word-sentence nadholineen,
canoe," is made up of naten^ "to bring;" amochol,
particle is not used, but only its significant portion.

"canoe;"
Savage

a euphonic letter; and neen,

?,

this

with

tail," etc.,

its

word

tail,"

He

'immediate relations.

for

languages in

the American.

but he cannot say " tail."

the idea from

their

can say "dog's

for instance,

Islander,

separate

form abstract words,

agreeing

respect

us."

generally display an inability to think

tribes

abstractly or to

"to

Society

"sheep's

cannot abstract

Malay has no

"striking," yet he has no less than

twenty words to express striking with various objects,


as with thin or thick wood, with the palm, the fist, a
club, a sharp edge, etc.

stract

relations

is

This incapacity to express ab-

strongly indicated in the

American

languages, and indicates that they diverged into their


special type

at a very

low level of human speech.

The

Cherokee, for instance, can use thirteen different verbs for


various kinds of washing, but he has no

word

for the

THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE.

He

simple idea of washing.

myself

wash

" takungkala,

dishes

"

can say kuhcwo,

wash

my clothes

" but is quite unable to say

''

197
''

wash
"I

" taJcuteja,
I

wash."

All this indicates a very primitive stage of language, in

which every expression had


cation,

immediate and local appli-

its

and each utterance told

was no division of thought

whole story.

its

of

"dog's

tail,"

In the

into separate parts.

advance of thought men got from the idea

and from that

''

"dog's

to

There

dog"

to that

tail

wags."

They could not think of an action by itself, but could think


of some object in action.
No doubt all language pursued
this course of development up to a certain level.
Beyond
that point some families of speech began a process of
abstraction, gradually dividing thought into its constituent

The American type

elements.

failed to

tinued to add modifying elements to

its

do

so,

but con-

verbal ideas as

the powers of thought widened, until language became a


series of

complex polysyllables.

vanced by Sayce.
thetic plan.

This

is

the theory ad-

All has continued in the original syn-

The secondary method

of analysis has not

yet acted upon American thought.

Yet

it is

rather the

method of language than of thought

that has remained persistent with the Americans.


are undoubtedly able to think

more

They

analytically than they

The force of their linguistic system has held them


a method of speech which their minds have grown be-

speak.
to

yond.
its

Every tendency of

their

language to break up into

elements has been checked by an incorporative com-

pounding, of which traces are yet


ican languages, the

visible.

In two Amer-

Eskimo and the Aztec,

and one of the highest

in civilized

of word-elements has taken place.

the

lowest

development, isolation
In these languages a

THE ARYAN RACE.

193

may

sentence

consist of several words, instead of being

compressed into a single word.


exists in the Aztec.

process of abstraction

Thus the word ome, "two," com-

bined with yoIU^ "heart," yields the abstract verb ome-

"

Through methods such as this the


powers of the American type have become Increased yet

yolloa^

to doubt."

in character

dition of

is

it

directly preserves a highly primitive con-

human

speech.

The

third type of language which

that

known

as the Agglutinative.

we need
It is the

to consider

method used

by the Mongolian peoples of Europe and Asia, with the


exception of the Chinese and Indo-Chinese, by the Dravidians of India, and, in a modified form,

by the Malayans

of the Pacific islands.

means

Agglutination

word-compounding

simply

for

grammatical purposes, without inflectional change of form.


In this linguistic method, as in the isolating, the sep-

many

arate words retain their forms intact, but

have

lost

independence of meaning

their

simply modifying particles.

To

are added as sufiixes, with a

The syntax

of

them

and become

the root-words the others

grammatical significance.

of the Chinese system

is

here replaced by gram-

mar, the principle of word-compounding having gained a

new purpose

or significance.

may

each verbal root

In some of these languages

be made to express an extraor-

dinary variety of shades of meaning by the aid of sufiixes.

In the Turkish each root yields about

Thus

if

we take

derived forms.

fifty

the root sev^ which has the general mean-

ing of " loving,"

we may obtain such compounds

as sev-

mek, " to love " sev-me-mek., " not to love " sev-dir-melc^
" to cause to love " sev-in-mek, " to love one's self " and
;

so on.

By

a continued addition of suffixes

we

arrive at

THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE.


compound as
to be capable of being made
Tenses and moods are indicated
such

cumbrous

" not

And

there

is

199

sev-isJi'dir-il-e-me-mek,

to love

the

in

one another."

same manner.

a second, indirect conjugation, based on the

union of the several particles with the auxiliary "to be."


In this manner

Yet

expressed.

many minute shades


all

of meaning can be

agglutinative languages are not equally

Thus the Manchu

capable in this respect.

is

nearly as

bare as the Chinese, while the Finnish and the Dravidian


are exceedingly rich.
flectional

variation

integrity of form.
to the root,

Aryan

and

speech.

in the mind.

no

in-

preserves

its

In these languages there


every

Nor do

word

rigidly

is

become welded

the particles

lose their separate individuality, as

in

Each seems to exist as a distinct integer


The only change of form admissible is a

euphonic one, in which the vowels of the suffixes vary to

conform to those of the root. Thus " to love," is sev-mek;


" to write," is yaz-mak^
mek becoming mak in harmony

with the variation in the root- vowel.

vowel

We

is

destitute of inflectional significance.

have yet to deal with the

those

organized on what

is

final series of

known

method, in which language has attained

opment and
races.

This change of

is

languages,

as the inflectional
its

highest devel-

employed by the most advanced of human

Here, however, we have two types of language to

consider,

those known

the

the

first,

as the Aryan, and the Semitic:

method employed by the Xanthochroic

sion of the Caucasians

divi-

the second, that in use by the

Arabs and other Semites of southwestern Asia.


It is of interest in this connection to perceive

how

greatly

the Aryan languages have prevailed over those spoken

by Melanochroic man, despite the probable great excess

THE ARYAN RACE.

200
in

numbers of the

Of

latter.

tongues, the only ones

now

distinctive Melanochroic

Basque

in existence are the

Spain, and the languages of the Semites and

dialect of

Egyptians, the only Melanochroic peoples

who escaped

conquest by and assimilation with the Xanthochroi.


It is

assumed by many

and not denied by

philologists,

Aryan and Semitic types of language are


the same general sense, and that they may

others, that the


Inflectional in

have been derived from one original method of speech,

from which they have since developed

Yet the

differences

in unlike directions.

between these two types of speech are

so radical, and the character of their inflectionalism so


essentially different, that

seems far more probable that

it

they have been separate since their origin, and represent

two

totally distinct lines of

development from the root-

speech of primitive man.

is

The common characteristic of Semitic and Aryan speech


There is no tendency
their power of verbal variation.

to preserve the integrity of

other linguistic types.


variation
ing.

is

The

form of

root readily varies

as in

and

this

not euphonic, but indicates a change of mean-

Similar variations take place in the suffixes, particu-

larly in

Aryan speech

and the word-compound

into a single persistent word,

remain distinct

in

thought.

is

welded

whose elements cease to

But aside from

principle of inflection, the Semitic


differ

their words,

this

common

and Aryan languages

widely in character, and display no other signs of

relationship.

what naturally might have been expected if the


Melanochroic and Xanthochroic types of mankind were
This

is

the offspring of different original races,


after their

and only mingled

methods of speech had become well developed.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE.

201

steps of progress of Semitic speech have not been

The

method

traced, and this linguistic

as yet yields

little

or

no evidence concerning the origin of the Melanochroi.

The
In

line of

its

development of Aryan speech

most archaic form

is

it

is

more evident.

but a step removed from the

agglutinative Mongolian type of language, and the latter

could readily be changed into an inflectional type closely

resembling the Aryan by a single step forward in devel-

opment.

This fact

ence drawn in our

in close

accordance with the infer-

chapter,

that the Xanthochroi are

is

first

In some of the

an outgrowth from the Mongolian race.

agglutinative tongues the principle of word-synthesis


carried to an extreme only surpassed in the
lects,

American

is

dia-

and compounds of ponderous length are produced.

The most

archaic forms of

Aryan speech

these in the extent to which synthesis


differ in that their

that thus a

is

greatly resemble

and only

carried,

root-forms have become flexible, and

new method

of variation of

meaning has been

introduced, and one which adds the important principle of

Thus in
Xanthochroic Aryans

verbal analysis to the original one of synthesis.

language, as in other particulars, the

seem a
If

direct derivative

now we come

of language

from the Mongolian race.

to Semitic speech,

Vvdiich

Aryan speech, and


development. The

we meet with a type

displays no afihiity to Mongolian or


indicates a distinct origin
suffixes

and

affixes

and

line of

which form such

essential elements of the Arj^an languages are almost un-

known

to the Semitic.

to a slight extent

They

are used, indeed, but only

method of word- compounding, which


all

the languages

The

and as a secondary expedient.

we have

is

so widely used in

so far considered,

is

almost

absent from the Semitic type, which in this respect

fails

THE ARYAN RACE.

202
to

come up

principle

Semitic speech

in

It is characterized

simple.

The

to the level even of the Chinese.


is

pure and

inflectionalism

by an

ruling

internal or vowel inflec-

which has proved so valuable an expedient

tion of the root,

as greatly to reduce the necessity of word-compounding,

and render the use of

The

distinction

comes thus

unimportant.

between Aryan and Semitic

inflection be-

clearly outlined.

inflection of the root to a

modern

principally of

and

affixes

suffixes

The former possesses vowelYet this seems

slio'ht deo-ree.

origin, while the use of the suffix is

On

the ruling grammatical expedient.

the contrary, in

Semitic speech vowel-inflection rules supreme, and word-

compounding
of

part

is

the

so

little

original

used that

linguistic

perhaps formed no

it

idea,

but

of

is

later

introduction.

To

so great an extent do the vowels of the Semitic root

change, and so persistent are the consonants, that the

no basic

ter are considered as the actual root, there being

root-forms with persistent vowel or vowels.

lat-

Semitic

root thus usually consists of three consonants, and changes


significance with every variation in the vocalization of

its

There

these consonants.

is

some reason

originally the roots contained

two consonants only

present the three consonants

at

to believe that

but

almost invariably

are

present.

As an

illustration

Arabic root q
ing."

The

- 1

kill

killed

" qatil,

" murder "


;

offer the

frequently quoted

which has the general sense of

'
'

kill-

signification of this root is variously limited

the vowels used.

" he was

-I,

we may

"

Thus qataJa signifies


" they were

" qutiliij

kills

killed

"

by

" qutila,

" iiqtal,

iqtal, " to cause killing


enemy " qutl,, " murderous

killing

qitl, '*

" he

"

"

to

" quatl,

and so

THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE.

203

may

readily be

on through numerous other variations.


seen

how

essentially this linguistic

Mongolian and the Aryan, with

It

method

differs

from the

their intricate use of suf-

In the Semitic not only special modifications of

fixes.

sense, but the grammatical distinctions of tense, number,

person, gender, etc., are indicated in the same manner.

The system

is

language.

Each Arabic verb has

extended to cover almost every demand of


theoretically fifteen con-

jugations, of which ten or twelve, each w^ith

form, are in somewhat

and even

intricate

use.

passive

Suffixes, prefixes,

moderately employed, but Semitic

infixes are

words never add ending

and

common

its

to ending to the formation of long

compounds, as

in

Aryan and Mongolian

speech.

The Semitic languages, comprising


Arabic, the ancient Assyrian,

markable for their

rigidity.

with scarcely a change.

the

Phoenician,

Hebrew and
etc.,

are

For centuries they

re-

persist

This seems, indeed, a necessary

consequence of their character.

The

root

changing of verbal forms, and the root


eton of every Semitic word.

is

is

the most un-

the visible skel-

Hardly a single compound

Semitic word exists, while variation of form takes place

with exceeding slowness.

The Semitic type


of primitive

man

of language thus points to the speech

as directly as does the Chinese.

It is

root-language to a very marked extent, and does not oc-

cupy the high position


often ascribed to

it.

in linguistic

development which

Its superiority to the

in the adoption of a superior expedient,


tion,

which served

all linguistic

is

Chinese consists

that of

root-inflec-

purposes, and checked fur-

ther development by rendering unnecessary the emplo^mient


of other expedients, as in the remaining types of speech.

THE ARYAN RACE.

204

has consequently retained

It

archaic

its

method with

rigid

persistency.

The Melanochroic people

of Africa possess what

is

usu-

known as the
Egyptians, the modern

ally considered a distinct type of language,

Hamitic, and spoken by the ancient

Copts, and by the Berbers of the Sahara region from Egypt


to the Atlantic.

These languages are related to the Semitic

Many of their roots are similar to

family.

marked traces of Semitic

in grammatical structure there are

Yet there are

affinity.

Semitic.

It

may

Semitic roots, and

characteristics differing

be that the two types of speech were de-

somewhat

rived from a single source and have developed


differently.

from the

The Egyptian language

is

monos^dlabic, and

forms are almost as rigid and archaic in structure as

its

those of the

This monosyllabilism has been

Chinese.

The monoNegro lan-

traced by some writers to a Nigritian source.


syllabic character pertains to several of the

guages

and the fact that

their vocabularies differ

from

the Egyptian proves nothing, since savage vocabularies

often change with great rapidity.

This suggestion

is in

accordance with the idea advanced

in regard to the origin of the Melanochroic race.

In fact,

our consideration of the languages of mankind leads to

some

interesting

The two

conclusions.

primitive races,

the Mongolian and the Negro, probably both used originally a

root-method of speech.

Each

of them, according to

our view of the case, developed into a very ancient


tion,

came
its

the Chinese and the Egyptian.


into existence ere language

archaic root-condition

and

These

civiliza-

civilizations

had advanced

beyond

far

in the adaptation of this

imperfect method of speech to the needs of


earliest civilized stage, roots continued the

man

main

in his

constit-

THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE.

205

uent of language, and were variously dealt with to express

new ideas that arose. The root-language


from which came that of Egypt may have, in another rethe multitude of

gion, developed the highly effective system of root-inflec-

Semitic

tion of

Hamitic

speech.

Alike in the Semitic and the

linguistic types, the

prevails to a limited extent

use of suflixes and affixes

and

in this respect

harmony with the Nigritian languages,

in

ancestral stock,

attained

some

in

they are

their possible

which the agglutinative principle has

But the separation of

slight development.

these several types must have taken place at a very remote


date, while language

was yet but

little

developed beyond

archaic stage.

its

In the Mongolian languages root-inflection failed to appear, and the principle of

word-compounding took

as the ordinary expedient.

We

have traced

development of language through


Chinese, and
speech, to

its

seems to be
tinative

its

lian

in

place

this line of

arrested stage

in

American and Mongolian

culmination in Aryan,

linguistic type

in direct continuity with the

which

Mongolian agglu-

This consideration leads to the same

method.

conclusion which
kind.

unfoldment

its

its

we reached

in studying the races of

man-

AVe seem to perceive two original races, the Mongo-

and the Negroid, each with

its

archaic type of speech,

closely resembling each other originally, but pursuing

ent lines of development, the former reaching


in the speech of

Xanthochroic man,

the Mongolian race

its final

differ-

stage

the highest outcome of

the latter in the speech of the Semites,

the highest outcome of the Negroid

race.

It remains, in

conclusion of this chapter, to consider the development of


the

Aryan type of speech,

the most

effective instrument

of intellectual expression yet attained by man.

THE ARYAN RACE.

206

In the Aryan languages alone has verbal analysis be-

come a prominent
there

may

is

In the Semitic tongues

characteristic.

no analysis, and almost no synthesis.

be said of the Chinese and

its

The same

cognate dialects.

the other languages of Asia, and those of Europe and

Amer-

reaching

ica, synthesis is a prevailing characteristic, it

culmination in the interminable American compounds.


is

Mongolian tongues, but

less declared in the

them does word-analysis appaar.


active principle in the

Aryan

In the Aryan languages


acteristic,

though

is

it

it

form

in

all

is

its

It

none of

only found as an

the families of speech.

has always been a ruling char-

not strongly declared in the most

archaic of these dialects.


integrity of

of

This

in

In

words

No

tendency to preserve the

exists,

and abrasion has gone

steadily on, reducing the length of verbal elements,

and

wearing down or breaking up compound words into monosyllables, until

some Aryan tongues have gained a mono-

syllabilism approaching that of

the Chinese.

analytic tendency which has produced

Aryan method

of inflection,

and

in

It is

this

and constitutes the

which

it is

strongly con-

trasted with the vowel-inflection of Semitic speech.

From its origin, the Aryan type of speech has manifested


the douWe power to build up and to break down, and these
powers have been continually

in exercise.

It is

an

inter-

esting fact, however, that the building-up or word-com-

bining tendency long continued the more active, and yielded

such highly complex inflectional languages as the Sanscrit

and the Greek.

The

variation from the

was not yet decided, and


in the ascendency.

down

Mongolian method

the synthetic principle continued

But throughout the succeeding period,

to the present time, the abrading or analytic tendency

has been the more active, and languages of very simple

THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE.

207

most strikingly the case

structure have arisen.

This

English speech, but

also strongly declared in the Latin

it is

is

in

modern Persian and Hindu, and to


modern Greek and German. It appears

derivative languages, in

some extent

in

met with most resistance

to have

in Slavonic speech, in

which the synthetic tendency has vigorously retained

its

ascendency.

In

all

the ancient

bination

for

Aryan tongues

the use of word-com-

grammatical expression was vitally active.

Highly complex languages arose, which are often spoken


of with an admiration as

if

they had attained the perfection

of linguistic structure, and as

And

barbarous in comparison.
agglutinative

if

modern languages were


yet they are superior to

speech only in the fact that they permit

verbal variation.

They

are

cumbersome and unwieldy

modern tongues, which have become


simpler and swifter speech.

No
tive,

fitted to the

to

use of a

sooner did the vigor of word-combination grow inac-

checked probably by the complexity

it

had evolved,

than the analytic tendency became prominent, and began


to break

elements.

down the cumbrous compound words


The pronoun was separated from

Particles were torn off

came

into

and used separately.

more frequent

use.

competition with synthesis.

the

verb.

Auxiliaries

Analysis rose into active

Yet

this

rapidly in the ancient historic period.


literary cultivation, in

into their

did

not proceed

That was an age of

which language became controlled

by standards of authority, and its variation was greatly


The most active analytic change was that dischecked.
played by the Latin, the speech of a highly practical people,

who were more

attracted to ease

and convenience of

utter-

ance than to philosophic perfection of grammatical method.

THE ARYAN RACE.

208

As

the synthetic principle had

primal period of

originated

during the

Aryan barbarism, and reached

development during the ancient era of

its

highest

literary cultivation,

so a second period of barbarism seemed essential to any

rapid action of the analytic principle.

The ancient
of mental

civilizations vanished,

This period came.

and a long-continued era

gloom overspread the Aryan world.

Through-

out this Middle- Age period the restraining influence of

Nearly

literature ceased to act.

that remained

Greek

in the

was

all

restricted to

West, and Sanscrit

the literary cultivation

the classical Latin and

Every check

in the East.

was removed, and language varied

to dialectical change

with the utmost activity.

This variation, in Europe, was greatly aided by the forcible

mingling of peoples speaking unlike dialects.

In

France, Italy, and Spain the Latin became exposed to the


influence of barbarian invaders accustomed to a different

The complex words, with

speech.

their intricate signifi-

they
new speakers
became broken up into their elements.^ When, at a later
period, the minds of men became again cultivated, and
thought regained some of its vanished powers, the analytic
cance,

proved a burden

tendency held
force.

its
1

its

own

to

these

the old synthetic process had lost

Auxiliaries and words of relation

came more and

Philologists believe that a barbarous Latin, analogous to the jargons

known

as Pigeon English and Lingua Franca, became the medium ot


communication between the conquerors and their subjects, the grammatical perfection of the classic Latin disappearing, and being replaced
by a linguistic method of great simplicity. Similar conditions may have
attended the mingling of dissimilar languages in England, Persia, and
elsewhere; yet such an influence could but have accelerated what seems
the natural tendency of the Aryan type of language toward analytic

methods of speech, since this has shown


which no such specially favoring influence

itself in places

and periods in

existed.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE.


more

Complex

into use.

209
condensed

ideas, instead of being

by groups of

into single words, as of old, were expressed

words, each of which constituted a separate element of the


idea.

and highly valuable step forward

distinct

evolution of language

ing the characters at


syllables,

and

divided into

As

had been gained.

first

in the

in ancient writ-

expressed ideas, then words and

finally alphabetic

sounds, so thought became

prime elements, and instead of spoken

its

words expressing complete ideas, as

in

American speech,

or sectional parts of ideas, as in agglutinative and early inflectional speech, they

elements of ideas.

had taken

place.

been reduced to

its

became reduced

A sort of

into the

component

chemical analysis of thought

Thought had,

if

we may

so express

it,

alphabetic form.

This, the highest, and probably the

final,

evolution of language, has nowhere gained

stage in the

complete

its

In some languages, as in the modern Ger-

development.

man, which remained unaffected by transplantation and


mixture with a foreign tongue, the synthetic principle
still

vigorously active.

The

analytic has gained

is

its fullest

development

in

modern English.

was strongly

at

work upon the Anglo-Saxon long before

its

intermixture with

dialects

it

analysis.

foreign

This tendency, indeed,

Of

elements.

showed the most active native

The reduction

loss of inflectional

all

inclination

expedients, and the use of separate

made

considera-

ble progress in the long dark period before the

method.

to

of words to monosyllables, the

auxiliaries, pronouns, prepositions, etc.,

Conquest.

Aryan

Norman

This latter event intensified the change of

The forced mingling

of two

modes of speech,

each already tending to analysis, and each with but


literary cultivation, could not but

have an important

little

effect.

THE ARYAN RACE.

210

The

and there

synthetic forms rapidly decreased,

finally

issued a language of elementary structure, largely mono-

devoid of inflection, and to some extent

syllabic, almost

displaying a reversion to the root-stage of

Such

the English of to-day,

is

come of

ward.

speech.

the most complete out-

linguistic analysis yet reached, the highest stage

At

first

seems to have moved backward instead of

for-

attained in the long

glance

human

it

It has

pathway of verbal

approached the Chinese

and

tion, its monosyllabilism,

the grammatical by the

Yet

sentence.

evolution.

the richness of

this is

partial

its

real reversion.

Aryan speech

as

replacement of

arrangement of the

syntactical

no

in its loss of inflec-

Our pride

in

compared with the poverty

and imperfection of the Chinese

is

apt to blind us to the

fact that the Chinese system has features of decided value.

Similar features have

been gained by English speech,

while none of the actual advantages of inflection have been

In the English

lost.

we

toward that simplicity of

perceive

a decided

conditions

advance

which marks

all

Nearly every inflectional expedient which

highest results.

could be spared, or be replaced by an analytic expedient,

has been cast

off.

The

inflection of

vanished.

That of

Only

pronouns does

The

in the

adjectives

has quite disappeared.

inflection partly hold its

inflectional conjugation of verbs is

shadow of

its

former

distinctions which yet

tinental

The

own.

reduced to a mere

utterly useless gender-

encumber the languages of Con-

Europe have absolutely vanished.

Nearly

all

these incubi of language have been got rid of

in English, wdiich

more

self.

nouns has almost

fully than

has moved out of the shadow of the past

any other living tongue.

It

has in great

measure discarded what was valueless, and kept what was

THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE.

211

valuable in inflectional speech, adopting an analytic expedient wherever available, though freely using the principle

of synthetic combination of words where the latter yielded

any advantage.

It stands in the

forefront of linguistic

development, possessed of the best of the old and the

new, having certain links of

affinity

type of language that exists, rid of

bersome forms, yet possessed of a

with every cultivated

cum-

useless and

all

flexibility,

a mingled

softness and vigor of tone, a richness of vocabulary,

and a

power of expressing

which

it is

delicate shades of thought, in

surpassed by none, and equalled by few of existing

languages.

With a
guages

comparison of the different Aryan lan-

brief

this chapter

of the Vedas

may

close.

Of

all

these the Sanscrit

regarded as the most primitive form, the

is

one nearest the original Aryan, as the Vedas themselves

most ancient record of Aryan thought.

are the

preserved

many

and without
of

Aryan

its

life

archaic forms which are

aid our

paratively simple, the dominant ancient

very

full

place.

its

and complete

lost elsewhere,

Its

Its

syntax

marked by an

is

com-

method of word-

grammatical forms are

yet in the modern

Hindu

the usual reversal of this condition appears.


lects are

has

knowledge of the ancient conditions

would be much reduced.

composition taking

It

dialects

These

dia-

active analytical tendency.

The language of the Zend A vesta of the Persians has


strong marks of affinity to the Vedic dialect. In some
respects it is more archaic j^^et as a whole it is younger
in form, the Avestas being of more recent production than
In modern Persian, however, the analytic
the Rig Veda.
;

tendency
than

in

is

very strongly declared,

more

any language except the English,

so, perhaps,

wiiicli it

resembles

THE ARYAN RACE.

212

in the simplicity of its

as to lose

all

grammar.

It

has even gone so far

pronoun

distinction of gender in the personal

Yet

of the third person.

it is

said to be a melodious

Its great degree of analytic

forcible language.

and

change

is

probably due to the extensive mixture of races that has


taken place on Persian

soil.

In regard to the European languages,

many

efforts

have

Thus one

been made to class them into sub-groups.

author ranks the Greek, another the German, another the


Slavonic, as

Celtic nearer than the

common

Greek

opinion makes

it

to the Latin, while the

more

Of these

said, since nothing satisfac-

The Celtic dialects have


not shared by other members of the

come of them.

certain peculiarities

Aryan

brings the

wholly independent.

schemes nothing more need be


tory has yet

One

nearest the Indo-Persian.

family, and are ordinarily looked upon as the most

The grammar, indeed, displays features


The incorindicate a non- Aryan influence.

aberrant group.

which seem to

poration of the pronoun between the A^erb and


in Irish speech has

Basque

influence.

its

prefixes

been imputed by Professor Khys to a

Some

other peculiarities

exist

which

tend to indicate that the aborigines with w'hom the Celts

mingled exercised a degree of influence upon their method


of speech.

Of the Teutonic

division, the

most striking peculiarity

is

the possession of the strong, or vowel conjugation, such as

we

have, for instance, in the grammatical variations of

fomi in ''sing," "sang," and "sung."


the Teutonic

makes an approach

tliis

respect

to the Semitic

method

of inflection, though the principle w^ith


recent origin.
is

In

it

Of the Letto-Slavic group,

marked by a highly archaic

structure.

is

probably of

the Lithuanian

In

some few

21 o

THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE.


points

grammar

its

The Slavonic

is

of older type than even the Sanscrit.

dialects are characterized

by phonetic and

grammatical complexity and a great power of forming


agglutinative compounds.

The

indication of language

is

that the Slavonians have been the least exposed to foreign

and are the nearest

influence,

to their probable

As an

the race.

to the primitive

Aryans and

Mongolian ancestors, of any section of


instance, Sayce

quotes from the Russian

the two w^ords Bez hoga^ " without God."

These can be

fused into one word, from which, by the aid of suffixes,

we

obtain

the

noun bezbozhniK% " an

hezhozlmui,,

"godless;" from

this

is

gained

atheist," then the verb bezboz-

"to be an atheist;" with a host of derivatives,


which may be named bezbozJinichestvo " the condition

hnichut,

of

of being an atheist," and bezbozJinicJiestvovat,


the condition of being an atheist."

has lost none of the

"

to be in

Certainly the Russian

ancient richness of the synthetic

method, or descended into what classicists regard as the


base abyss of analytic speech.

The Finns, with whom

the Russians are so mingled in blood, could hardly present

an instance of synthesis more complex than the

last

named.

we should expect to find in


the home-staying section of the Aryan race.
It is to the ancient Greek that we must look for the
This

is

most

logical

precisely the condition

Though eminently capable

method.
it is

free

and attractive unfoldment of the

of forming compounds,

from the extravagance displayed by the Sanscrit

in this direction, while its

of development.

syntax has reached a high level

Finally, in

the

Latin, as

marked, the analytical grammatical tendency


in

inflectional

already reis

indicated

a stronger degree than in any other ancient Aryan


1

Introduction to the Science of Lnnguage,

ii.

95.

THE ARYAN RACE.

214
tongue.
of

its

This has been carried forward through the line

descendants, the

Europe, and

is

Romance languages

of southwestern

particularly displayed in the French,

in

which the spoken has run far beyond the written language
in its
cal

tendency to verbal abrasion.

As

regards grammati-

analysis, however, the English, as already remarked,

has gone farther than any modern language, and


less bare of inflectional

the Chinese.

And

it

forms than

may

English, while the most

its

is

only

very remote cousin,

be said, in conclusion, that the

advanced

in

development, has

become the most widespread of Aryan languages it is


spoken by large populations in every quarter of the earth
;

and

if

any modern language

is

to be the basis of the future

speech of mankind, the English seems the most probable,


both from

high honor.

its

character and

its

extension, to attain that

IX.

THE AGE OF PHILOSOPHY.

THE
as

assertion that the

Aryans are

intellectually su-

perior to the other races of

mankind may be held

we have

yet related concern-

not proved by what

ing them.

In the growth of the primitive conditions of

religion, statecraft, industry, language, etc., there

individual action.

These were

all results

was no

of involuntary

The

evolution, not of purposive activity of the intellect.

democratic character of the Aryan political system, for

in-

stance, naturally arose from a primitive stage very closely

The

resembling that attained by the American Indians.

subsequent

spirit of

Aryans seems largely


developed among them

liberty of the

due to the fact that there had also

a democratic or individual religious system, and that, in

consequence, there existed no strongly organized and

influ-

ential priesthood, as elsewhere, to hold their souls in captivity.

Their village community system was a natural

result of

the fact that they

became

agricultural ere

progress in political organization had been made.

same

result arose

from the same conditions

in

any

The

America.

In the primitive agricultural civilizations of Egypt and


China, on the contrary, the political organization probably preceded the development of agriculture, and patri-

archism became established.


the

Aryan language.

Its

The same thought


superiority

may

applies to

be due to the

THE ARYAN RACE.

216

fact that out of the several possible

methods of speech-

evolution the Aryans chanced to adopt the one most capa-

and which has,

ble of high development,

continued to unfold

its

in consequence,

capabilities while the other types

have long since reached a stage of rigid specialization.

And
chance.

yet
It

all this

must be more than the

would be very surprising

if

mere

effect of

a single race should

have blundered into the best methods of human develop-

ment

Thougli

in all directions.

so far considered there

is

in

regard to the matters

no probability that individuals

exercised any important voluntary control over the devel-

opment of

institutions, yet the collective intellect of the

Arj^ans could not have been without


It

its directive

force.

undoubtedly served as a rudder to guide the onward

progress of the race and prevent this from becoming the

mere blind

This much we clearly perceive,

drift of chance.

that the Aryans


ized state.

In

all

nowhere entered

into a rigidly special-

the unfoldment of their institutions they

pursued that mid

line of

continued development.

progress which alone permits


If

we compare

the only one of

the non- Aryan civilizations that has survived to our time,


the Chinese, with those of

come

evident.

In

all

Aryan

origin, this fact will be-

respects, in language, politics, relig-

ion, etc., the Chinese early attained a condition of strict

specialization,

and

their progress

came

to

an end.

For

several thousand years they have remained stagnant, ex-

cept in the single direction of industrial development, in

which some slow progress has been made.


respects the

But in

all

Aryans have continued unspecialized, and

development has been steadily progressive.


yet actively continues

while there

except in a complete disruption of

these
their

This progress

is

no hope for China,

its

antique system and

THE AGE OF PHILOSOPHY.

217

Aryan ideas into the Chinese intellect.


Tliis general Aryan superiority is indicative of a highly
active and capable intellect, even though no one mind exercised a controlling influence.
The general mentality of
the race, the gross sum of Aryan thought and judgment,
must have guided the course of Aryan evolution and kept
a deep infusion of

our forefathers from those side-pits of stagnation into

which
the

competitors

all their

Aryan race moved

fell.

During

its

primitive era

steadily forward unto a well-devised

system of organization which formed the basis of the great

development of modern times.


It is

our purpose now, however, to consider the unfold-

ment of the
viduality
the

intellect at a higher stage,

came strongly

that

into play, single

in

which

indi-

men emerged from

mass of men, and great minds brought

their strength to

movement of human events. It is here that


the superiority of the Aryan intellect makes itself first
specially apparent.
The mentality of the race developed
bear upon the

with remarkable rapidity, and yielded a series of lofty conceptions far beyond the products of any other race of
kind.

Aryan

intellect

tions

brief

cannot

man-

comparison of the attainments of the ancient


with the mental work of contemporary na-

fail

to

show

this

clearly.

We

shall

here

concern ourselves with the philosophical productions of


the

race, before considering

their

more general

literary

labors.

As

already said, the

up of two great
which underlie

human

intellect is primarily

divisions, the reason

its

more

made

and the imagination,

special characteristics.

Reason

is

based on the practical, imagination on the emotional, side


of thought.

These are the conditions which we

specially developed state in the

find in a

two most distinguishable

THE ARYAN RACE.

218

primary races of man, the Mongolian and the Negro.

Mongolian

is practical

The

man, the Negro emotional man.

each of these two races the quality named

is

In

present in a

marked degree, while the other quality has attained only


a minor development. The same rule applies to the two
race-divisions of the Caucasians, considered as derivatives

respectively of the

two original

chroi strongly display the

The pure Xantho-

races.

Mongolian practicality

Melanochroi the Negro emotional excitability.

the pure

Yet the

one has unfolded into reason, the other into imagination.

But

development of these high faculties

for the complete

a mingling of the two sub-races seemed requisite.

The

practical mental turn of the Xanthochroi needed to be

roused and invigorated by an infusion of the excitable

fancy of the South

the fanciful mentality of the Melano-

and sobered by an infusion of the

chroi to be subdued
practical

judgment of the North.

As

a result arose the

mingled reason and imagination of the Aryan

intellect,

each controlling, yet each invigorating the other, until

through their union mentalitv has reached the acme of


powers, and
its field

Of

human thought has made

its

the whole universe

of activity.

the non-Ar3"an civilizations which have attempted to

enter the field of philosophy, three only need be named,

the Chinese, the Egyptian, and the Babylonian.

American

civilizations,

As

they were when destroyed

the stage of mythology.

for the
still

in

Everywhere, indeed, mythology

appears as the result of the earliest

effort of the

human

mind to explain the mysteries of the universe. The forces


and forms of Nature are looked upon as supernatural beings, with personal

and thought.

This

histories
is

but

and man-like consciousness

little

displayed by the practical

THE AGE OF PHILOSOPHY.


Chinese,

who had

We

mythology.

the Egyptians,
chi'oic

It

219

not imagination enough to devise a

much more strongly manifested by


who had much of the fervor of the Melanofind

it

fancy.

was with

and often discordant mytholo-

the detached

gic figments, produced through a long era of god-making,

that philosophy

first

concerned

itself.

When men had

passed through the ancient era of blind worship of the

and begun to think about the theory of the


universe which had grown up involuntarily during the long
elements,

preceding centuries,
congruity.

and

duties

the}^

were not slow to perceive

Everywhere gods crowded upon gods.


and mingled.

attributes clashed

Their

Their names

Their histories overlapped each other.

flowed together.

All was utter confusion and discord of ideas.

was very
somewhere. Heaven

apparent that there must be error

and earth could not be governed

Some

its in-

It

in this chaotic fashion.

order must exist beneath this interminable shov/ of

disorder.

understand how this confused

It is not difficult to

cacy had arisen.

There

is

intri-

reason to believe that in ancient

Arya, though many gods were recognized, each worshipper

whom

he

he invested with

all

addressed himself to but one deity at a time,

looked upon as supreme, and


the deific attributes.

Max

by

This system, named " henotheism "

Miiller, is the

Rig Yeda.

one we find in the hymns of the

In succession the different gods of the Aryan

pantheon are supreme


1

whom

"It would be easy to

deities

find, in

to these antique singers.^

the numerous

passages in which almost every single god


absolute.

Agni

is

It is said of

Soma

hymns

of the Vedas.

represented as supreme and

called 'Ruler of the Universe.'

as the strongest god.

Max Mullcr.

is

Indra

is

celebrated
"

that 'he conquers every one.'

THE ARYAN RACE.

220

Men's minds seemed not

sufficiently

expanded actually

to

grasp the thought of more than one god at a time, though


they acknowledged the existence of many.

This ascription

of the various duties, powers, and attributes of the deity to


so

many

different beings, necessarily

produced considerable

confusion, which increased with the growth of mythologic


fancies.

It

grew with particular rapidity

in Greece, since

the actively commercial Hellenes imported


Phoenicia, Assyria,

and Egypt, and mingled them with the

Aryan pantheon,
became somewhat ludicrous.

tenants of the ancient


of ideas

new gods from

until the confusion

It is interesting to find that in the earliest efforts of

men

to obtain a philosophical idea of the universe the thinkers

were

still

ardent believers in mythology, and their efforts

were limited to an attempt to divide the duties of

government among the several


into the deific court.

deities,

celestial

and introduce order

This stage of thought we find vaguely

indicated in Egypt and Babylonia, and more definitely in

Greece

regions.

but

it

The

yielded no important results in any of these


disorder

was too

great,

and the mingling of

the deific stories too intricate, to admit of


their rearrangement.

In

any success

in

Egypt and Greece, indeed, thought

soon passed beyond this stage

the gods were left to the

unquestioning worship of the people, and thinkers began


to devise systems of philosophy outside the lines of the old

mythology.

The same was

the case in India

but nothing

that can be called a philosophy of the universe arose

Certain highly fanciful cosmological ideas

the Semites.

were devised

but the religious system remained largely in

Of

the henotheistic stage.

the superior gods of the old

mythology, each Semitic nation selected one as


deity, or

among

perhaps raised to

this

honor

its

own

its

supreme

divine ancestor

THE AGE OF PHILOSOPHY.

had become greatly dimmed.

aft3r his ancestral significance

became each the Lord, the King, the


The cloak of myth fell from their mighty limbs,

These supreme
Ruler.

and

deities

them standing

left

majesty,

severe

in

the sublime rulers of

would have been sacrilege


there

221

w as

left

sympathy.

nothing of

and unapproachable

whom it
and to whom

the universe, for

to invent a history,

human

frailty,

and

little

of

human

Such was the course of Semitic thought.

devised no philosoph}^ yet

evolved, as

it

It

pro-

its loftiest

duct, a strict monotheism,

a conception of the deity that

grew the more sublime as

it

divested itself of imaginative

details.

In two branches of the Aryan people the


ize

mythology and work over

this old

effort to

organ-

system of belief into

a consistent theory of the universe attained some measure


of success.

These were the Persians and the Teutons.

The Persian system,

followers of Zoroaster, dealt but

ogy, but devised a

was

among

indeed, which grew up

new one

largely mythological,

of

little

its

and

it

with the old mythol-

Yet

own.

its

philosophy

bears a resemblance to the

Teutonic so marked as to make

it

common

Aryan

ideas were of ancient

the

seem as

if

some of

origin.

their

These two

philosophies of mj^thology, the only complete ones that

have ever been devised, are of

sufficient interest to

warrant

a brief description.

The Persian system


Zoroaster.

Its

is

only partly to be

complete unfoldment

is

the

ascribed

work of the

a later

period.

Several of the steps of

development are yet

visible.

thinkers

of

to

its

comparison of the Avesta

w^th the Vedas shows interesting indications of a religious

schism between the Hindu and the Iranian sects.

The

Devas, the "shining ones," of the Hindus became the

THE ARYAN RACE.

222

Daevas, the " demons," of Iran.

On

the

contrary, the

Hindu demons, the Asui^as., became the AJiuras, the gods


of the Iranians.
One of the Ahuras, a Mazda, or worldmaker, was chosen as the special deity of the Zoroastrian
faith, which originally had a monotheistic character,
or
rather it was in principle dualistic, since Ahura-Mazda com-

prised two natures, and combined within one


the double deific attributes of

At

evil.

a later period these attributes unfolded into two

and a new supreme god was imagined,

beings,

distinct

Zarvan Akarana

(Boundless Time), the primal, creative

The mythologic philosophy,

power.

was

good and

personality

briefly

as finally completed,

In the beginning the Absolute

as follows.

Being, Zarvan Akarana, produced two great divine beings,

Ahura

Mazda, and Angra Mainyas,

named, Ormuzd and Ahriman.


lords of light

and darkness,

bountiful spirit

From

as ordinarily

These were respectively the

Ormuzd

Ahriman an

or,

evil

a bright, wise,

and dark

all-

intelligence.

the beginning an antagonism existed between them,

which was destined to continue

van Akarana next created the


last twelve

until the

end of time.

Zar-

visible world, destined to

thousand years, and to be the seat of a

terrible

contest between the great deities of light and darkness.

Ormuzd manifested

his

power by creating the earth and

the heavens, the stars and the planets, and the Fravashi,

the host of bright spirits


atiA^e ability,

world of
spirits.

while Ahriman, his equal in cre-

produced a dark world,

light,

and peopled

it

in opposition to the

with an equal host of evil

This contest between the two great deities was to

last until the

inferior in

actions

end of time.

wisdom

finally

Yet the

Spirit of

Gloom was

and

all his evil

to the Spirit of Light,

worked

to

aid

the

victory

of

Ormuzd.

THE AGE OE PHILOSOPHY.

223

was destroyed by
Ahriman but from its carcass man came into being under
This new race inthe creative command of Ormuzd.
creased, while the earth became peopled with animals and
Yet for every good creation of Ormuzd, Ahriman
plants.
The wolf was opposed to the
created something evil.
Thus the

bull,

the

animal,

original

dog, noxious to useful plants,

by Ahriman

Man became

etc.

form of a serpent, and ate the

in the

his original

and by

fell

high estate, and became mortal and

Yet the human race retained the power of

miserable.
free-will

fruit

In consequence, he

which the tempter brought him.

from

tempted

they

evil

they could aid one or the other of

their choice

Each man became a

the great combatants.

war of the

between good and

choose

could

soldier in the

deities.

Between heaven and earth stretched a great bridge,


Chinvat, over which the souls of the

On

this

narrow path the

by Serosh,
But the

the

who

archangel

from

evil souls fell

to be tormented

spirits of the

it

dead must pass.

good were conducted

led the

heavenly host.

into the Gulf of

Those whose

by the Daevas.

Duzahk,
deeds

evil

had not been extreme might be redeemed thence by prayer


but the deepest sinners must

At

of the resurrection.
terrible catastrophe

Man

will

is

to

lie

the end of the great contest a

come upon

follow a general conflagration.

and pour down

realm of Ahriman.
will

all

created things.

be converted from his evil ways.

fervent heat,

in the gulf until the era

The
its

Then

will

earth will melt with

molten floods into the

general resurrection of the dead

attend this conflagration.

In the older portions of

the Avestas this seems to be restricted to the soul


the newer portions the resurrection of the

body

but in
is

indi-

THE ARYAN RACE.

224

The

cated.

bones

souls are

from the unjust


of

fire

which

the good

it

is

all

flesh

bath of

in it three

purged of their iniquity, they

Afterward Ahriman and


evil

and

the just are divided

beings must pass through the stream

will feel like a

all

pouring down from the molten earth.

wicked must burn

the flames,

by new

clothed upon

friends recognize each other

will

warm milk

To

but the

days and nights.

Then,

will be received into heaven.

all his

angels will be purified in

be consumed,

all

darkness ban-

and a pure, beautiful, and eternal earth will arise


from the fire, the abode of virtue and happiness for ever-

ished,

more.
It is hardly necessary here to call attention to

how

great

an extent the Semitic cosmogony and religious myths


are counterparts of this

Aryan scheme.

It will suffice to

say that the Semites seem to have borrowed everything in


their creed that

approached an

explain the universe.

Mohammed,

is

The

effort

philosophically to

later Semitic creed,

a medley of pre-existing thought.

the Persian bridge of the dead appears in

it

the razor-edged road from heaven to earth.


is full

that of

as

Al

Even
Sirat,

The Koran

of extravagant fancies, but devoid of original ideas.

outcome of the Arabic type of mind, in which


exceedingly active, but in which the higher powers

It is the

fancy

is

of the reason seem undeveloped.

In the Teutonic myths are displayed a system of the


universe which bears certain striking points of resemblance
to that of Persia, though utterly unlike

it

in its details.

The general ideas of these myths, indeed, are common to


all the Aryan mythologies, and must have been current
Thus the Persian Chinvat, or Knivad,
in ancient Arya.
the bridge of the dead,

is

paralleled

by the Teutonic Bi-

THE AGE OF PHILOSOPHY.


frost

225

and the Yedic "path of Yama," the "cows' path,"

which passes over the abyss of Tartarus to the land of the


wise Pitris, the fathers of the nation.
bridge both the Milky

Way

In this mythical

and the rainbow are symbol-

Such was the explanation given to these striking


natural phenomena by our imaginative and unscientific
ized.

forefathers.

But with the Teutonic

tribes,

and particularly with

their

Scandinavian section, we have to do with a people very

and culture from the Persians.

different in situation
latter

were a partly

The

barbarous.

civilized people, the

fiercely

dwelt in a temperate region, the

latter

former in an arctic land, where

demonic agents of man's torment.


intellect stirred

former

The

in their

ice

and cold were the

Yet the strong Aryan

minds, and from their ancestral

myths they wrought out a coherent system of the universe,

the wildest and weirdest


of

man

losophy

to conceive.
;

but

it

It

that

it

ever entered the brain

was mythology converted

into phi-

was the mythology of the barbaric and

warlike North, with the breath of the arctic blasts blow-

ing through
vikings in

and the untamed

it,

every strain.

its

fierceness of the

Norman

This system, as fortunately

preserved to us in the Eddas of Iceland, and perhaps

mainly of Scandinavian development,


given, omitting
full

of warfare.

its

many

The

side-details.

soul of

man

is

may

be here briefly

Everywhere
free to

it

is

combat with

The gods are always at war. Sunand growth combat with storm and winter. Frost

the powers of Nature.

shine

opposes

fire.

Light and heat are in endless conflict with

The Jotuns, the ice-giants, are the


Scandinavia.
The forces of the winter every-

darkness and cold.

demons of

wheiv bear dovvn upon those of the summer, and

finally

THE ARYAN RACE.

226

But

overwhelm and destroy them.


elements

is

battle

this

wrought into a weird story of the

gods and demons, in which the traces of

of

the

conflict of

origin are

its

nearly lost.

In the beginning there lay to the south the realm of


Muspell, the bright and gleaming land, ruled by
of the flaming sword, the swart god.

To

air.

From

a yawning chasm,

the north lay

Between them

Niflheim, the land of frost and darkness.

was Ginunga-gap,

Surtr

still

as the windless

the ice-vapor that rose from Hvergelmir, the

venom-flowing spring of Niflheim, and mingled with the


spark-filled

air

of

Muspell, was born, in Ginunga-gap,

the giant Ymir, the parent of the Jotuns, or frost-giants.

the cow,
But with Ymir came the primal animal to life,
whose milk nourished the giant. She licked the salt rime

clumps, and forth came Buri, a great and beautiful being,


the ancestor of the gods.

After much gigantic medley the

gods slew Ymir, whose blood drowned

all

his evil

race

who escaped, to give rise to a new


Jotun crew. And now the gods began their creative
work. The slain Ymir was flung into the chasm of Giexcept a single pair,

nunga-gap.

Here

the ocean, his bones

body formed the

his

his blood

The

mountains, his hair the trees.

tlie

sky was made from his arched

skull,

and adorned wdth

His brain was scattered in the

sparks from Muspell.

and became the storm-clouds.


flow around the earth,

earth,

the

air,

deep sea was caused to

grand, mysterious ocean, the

endless marvel to the Northern mind.

The escaped

giants

took up their abode in Jotunheim, the frost-realm of the


arctic seas, the ocean's
this

utmost strand.

Between Atgard,

outer realm, and Midgard, the habitable earth, the

brows of Ymir were stretched as a breastwork against the

THE AGE OF PHILOSOPHY.


From

powers.

destructive

earth

227

heaven

to

extended

the rainbow bridge Asbru, the -^sirs' bridge, or Bifrost,

Every day the gods

the "trembling mile."

ride

They

bridge to Asgard, the Scandinavian heaven.

up

this

ride to

the Urdar fount, which flows from beneath the roots of tho

great ash-tree of

life,

Yggdrasil, there to take counsel con-

cerning the future from the three maidens


Present, and the Future

who daily

sit

the Past, the

beside the celestial

fount.

The
trees

human

first

pair were

on the sea-shore

To them Odin gave

their

spirit,

made by the gods from two


names were Ask and Embla.

Hoenir understanding, Lodurr

They

blood and fair complexion.


their abode.
in

From them sprang

Midgard

received

the

human

family.

man was overcome and

fettered

at war.

But

The gods

heaven and earth perpetual warfare raged.

and the frost-giants were endlessly

for

But as Ahri-

by Ormuzd, so Loki, the

was bound in chains, and


a serpent placed above him to drop venom on his face.
This venom as it dropped was caught by his wife in a
Only when she went away to empty the vessel
vessel.
did the poison-drops reach his face. Then he writhed in

wolf, the deceiver of the gods,

his chains,

and earthquakes shook the

It is fated that all this shall

which gods and demons

and earth disappear.


Gods,"

and

conflict, in

and heaven

Ragnarok, the "Twilight of the

by a winter three years long.

three mighty cocks shall proclaim the fate-

Tliereat shall the giants rejoice, the great ash take

ful day.
fire,

end in a mighty

alike shall be slain,

shall be ushered in

The crowing of

solid globe.

all

sters, hell

the powers of destruction

hounds, and the like

wolves, sea-mon-

rush to the dreadful fray.

Heimdal, the guardian of the rainbow, shall sound

his

THE ARYAN RACE.

228

mighty horn to warn the gods, who shall rush to counsel


beneath the tree Yggdrasil, that meanwhile trembles to its
deepest roots.
in a

From

mighty ship, while another

nails

come the

the East shall


ship,

made

frost-giants

of dead men's

and steered by Loki, brings the troop of ghosts.

Surtr of the flaming sword, the ruler of Muspell, shall

thunder with his swart troop over the bridge of the gods,
his fiery tread kindling

consuming flame as he

into a

it

rides in grim fury to the stronghold of the deities.

Now

meet the combatants,

Valhalla on the one side

the gods and the heroes of

on the other the giant crew, led

by Fenrir the great wolf, the mighty Midgard serpent, the


Dreadful
terrible Loki, and Hela, the goddess of death.
Odin fights with the wolf, Thor with the
is the combat.
serpent, Freyr with

everywhere treads

Surtr,

Odin, the king of the ^sir,

lowed into the yawning gape of

One by one

his

the mighty combatants

terribly over the field, spreading

All

is

Death

Heimdal with Loki.


is

swal-

monstrous antagonist.
fall,

while Surtr stalks

everywhere

fire

and flame.

consumed, the stars are hurled from the sky, the

sun and the moon devoured, and the universe sinks in


utter ruin.

Possibly here ended the original myth.


in

It is

an ending

consonance with the grim temper of the vikings of the

North.

But as we have

it

in the

Edda,

it

future state like that of the Persian myth.

goes on to a

After the ruin

Ragnarok a new heaven and earth shall rise from the


Two gods, Yidar and Vali, and a man and woman
sea.

of

shall survive the conflagration

verse.

The sons

of

Thor

shall

and people the new

come with

uni-

their father's

hammer and end the war. Balder the beautiful god and
the blind sod Hodr shall come up from hell, and a new

THE AGE OF PHILOSOPHY.


sun,

more beautiful than the

This

is,

verse,

fierce one, yet instinct

imagination shown nowhere by


It is the only

gleam

old, shall

in the sky.

Scandinavian scheme of the uni-

briefly told, the

a rude and

229

men

with a vigor of

of non- Aryan blood.

pure organization of mythology into a cohe-

rent system that

exists

philosophical ideas which

for

the Persian

myth includes

enter into the ruder Scan-

fail to

dinavian story of the deeds of the gods, and Greek mythol-

ogy never
If

more

emerged from

fairly

now we come
civilized

for the

to consider

man, we

find

abyss of confusion.

its

mental evolution of

the

everywhere mythology

amusement of the vulgar horde, while the

left

enlight-

ened few devise purely philosophical explanations of the

mystery of

universe.

tlie

But

comparing the philoso-

in

phies of the various civilized nations, the Aryans will be

found to soar supremely above the


ples.

level of all alien peo-

Only two such peoples, Egypt and China, have

devised anything that deserves

of philosophy

tlie title

for

nothing of the kind exists in any of the Semitic creeds.

The utmost we find in Babylonia is an effort to form a cosa highly conmology of strictly mythologic character,
fused affair as imperfectly given by Berosus. The later
attempt made by Mohammed is, so far as it is original,

an absurd tissue of extravagant fancies.

There

is

nothing

to indicate the least native tendency of the vSemitic

toward philosophy.

All their philosophy

has deteriorated in their hands.


idea of deity of

and leaving

it

all

It

is

mind

borrowed, and

was by stripping the

mythologic and philosophic figments,

in its

bare and unapproachable majesty,

that the Semitic intellect reached

its

highest

flight,

that

symbolized in the Jehovah of the later Hebrews.

The Egj^ptian

priesthood, on the contrary,

appears to

THE ARYAN RACE.

230

have devised a somewhat advanced system of philosophy,

which bears a singular resemblance to that of Brahmanism, though very far below

it

in the

power and clearness

The transmigration

of thought displayed.

hypothesis, and

the theory of emanation and absorption of souls, are both

Egyptian system, though vaguely, and

indicated in the

overlaid with mythological

There

absurdities.

here

is

none of the clear-cut reasoning of the Hindus, but an uncertain wandering of thought from which

it

erable ingenuity to extract the idea

conceals.

well-known Ritual of

Dead

the

knowledge of these confused

more or
while

less complete,

its

is

the

ideas.

was placed

it

needs consid-

source

copy of

in every

The

of

our

this

work,

Egyptian

coffin,

more important passages were written on the

wraps of the corpse and engraved on the

It

coffin.

was

necessarily so placed, according to their belief, since

it

contained the instructions requisite to convey the soul of


the deceased safely past the dangers of the lower world.

Throughout the whole story physical ideas struggle with


metaphysical.

The Egyptian mind

failed definitely to rise

above the level of the world of sense.


After death the soul descends with the setting sun into
the nether world.

There

it

is

weighed before Osiris and the


If

it

two

can declare that


sins,

it

is

it

examined and
terrible

its

actions

forty-two judges.

has committed none of the forty-

permitted to pass on.

Ritual prayers to open the

It has

with

it

in the

gates of the various lower

realms, and to overpower opposing spirits and monsters.


It

must be able

to

name everything which

to recognize the gods

dications that the soul

it

is

encounters.
returning to

recallins: its ante-terrestrial

memories.

it

meets, and

Here we have
its

in-

natal home, and

All this the Ritual

THE AGE OF PHILOSOPHY.


teaches the spu*it, aad also provides

unlock the gates that lead to the


Finally,

the

members of

turned to the
it

it

with a charm to

fields of

Ra, the sun-god.

and the soul pure,

the heart prove not too light,

if

the body, renewed

spirit,

and

and the waters of

by the goddesses of

purified, are re-

are poured

life

and the sky.

life

231

upon

It finally enters

the realm of the sun, and vanishes in a highly vague identification

with Osiris, or with the deific powers generally.

The

idea of metempsychosis also confusedly mingles with

this,

and animal- worship seems

The thought

mythology.
the body.

There

is

of

at the basis of the Eg3^ptiaa

Egypt never

fairly rises

above

no entrance into that pure atmosphere

of soul-existence in which the

Hindu philosophers

are at

home.

The

philosophical System of

which, however,

we can but very

a continuous development,

its

mystical symbols of Fu-hi,

dubious date as 2800

China

a curious one,

is

briefly describe.

It

had

antique basis being in the

monarch of some such

These symbols consisted simply

b. c.

of a whole and a divided line, constituting the diagram


(

as to

make

These

lines

in all sixty-four

arrangement of

lines,

were variously combined, so

combinations.

On

this strange

which very probably was connected

with some ancient system of divination, an abundance of

thought has been exercised,

and the whole s^'stcm of

The

Chinese philosophy gradually erected.

name

in this

1150

B. c.

development

is

that of

Wan Wang,

Being imprisoned for some

this antique philosopher

was the

great

of about

political offence,

occupied himself in studying out

the meaning of these combinations.


reflections

first

Y-King^ among

The

result of his

the

most ancient

and certainly the most obscure and incomprehensible of

all

THE ARYAN RACE.

232

are the

The Y-King comprises four parts. First


sixty-four diagrams, each with some name attached

to

as heaven, earth,

known books.
it

Second, are a series of

fire, etc.

Wang

obscure santences attached by AVan


Third,

grams.
king,

we have

son

the

of

other ambiguous texts by Tcheou-

Wan

"Wang,

is

Chinese

the

many

Fourth, are a host of commentaries,

The

based on the idea of the duality of

centuries later.

all

lines represent the strong, the divided lines the

two great primal

the passive,
first

which owe

These

Yang, the

moon, female,

development of the idea


immaterial producer of

is

etc.,

all

activity reaches its

activity
if

he

deeds

is

Yang and Yin

existence.

His nature

not influenced by
evil.

it,

the
are

Yang the agency of


When

from the utmost development of

be

is

the expansive

limit, contraction and passivity set

and passivity.

will

This

mainly the work of the later

expansion, Yin that of contraction.

results

Yang and
from the Yang;

from the Yin.

etc.,

the dual expression of this principle,

Man

active, Yin,

Tai-keih, or the grand extreme,

commentators.

indi-

their origin to the Tai-keiJi, the

heaven, light, sun, male,

earth, darkness,

weak,

All existence comes from the

great cause.

the Yin:

principles,

The

things.

or the active as contrasted with the passive.


cate

Solomon.

forms an intricate system of philosophy, which

w^hole

whole

to these dia-

is

in.

this pulsating

perfectly good

but

but by the outer world, his

The holy man

is

he with

full insight

of this twofold operation of the ultimate principle, and of

these holy

men

Confucius was the

developed philosophy of
Choo-tsze (1200 a. d.),

the

one

last.

Y-King

as

Such

is

expressed

the

by

of the latest of the man}^

commentators who have sought to unfold the Fu-hi symbols


into a philosophy of the universe.

THE AGE OF PHILOSOPHY.

233

the best-known Chinese philosophers, Confucius and

Of

Lao-tsze, the system of the former

was simply a creed of

was but an unfoldment of the


To Lao-tsze the primal principle was a great
dual idea.
something named the Tao^ concerning which his ideas seem
exceedingly obscure. Tao was the unnamable, the empty,

morals

that of the latter

but inexhaustible, the invisible, comprising at once being

and not-being, the origin of


Being

born of being.
originate

here

strength of

the faith

is

Tao

to

the

have

emanation philosophy.

all

The passive con-

power.

by the philosopher

believer.

A
and

theory,

this

certain
it

flavor

of

may have had

knowledge of the Buddhistic creed

origin in a previous

but

distinctness of statement
is

We

things return.

based on the virtue of passivity.

the source of

Buddhism pervades

it

all

Passivity identifies one with Tao, and yields the

quers.

its

is

a vague conception of the

The creed of
Not to act, is

All things

born of not-being.

To Tao

from Tao.

All things are

things.

all

it

is

very far below Buddhism in

and clearness of thought.

Yet

remarkable as the highest philosophical product of

the Chinese mind.


If

now we come

ophies,

it is

to consider the ancient

to find ourselves in a

Aryan

new world

philos-

of thought,

a realm of the intellect that seems removed by a wide gulf

from that occupied by the contemporary peoples of alien


These philosophies are the work of two branches of
race.
the Aryans, the

Hindu and

the Greek,

of whose systems of thought

Of

may

some

brief account

be here given.

the peoples of the past only four can be said to have

risen, in their highest thought, clearly

mythology.

above the level of

These were the Chinese and the Hebrews, the

Hindus and the Greeks

to

whom may

be added the pupils

THE ARYAN RACE.

234
the

of

last,

the

named cannot be

And

of

Romans.

But of these the

fairly said to

two

first

have ever had a mythology.

them the Hebrews originated no philosophy, while

out of the countless millions of the Chinese race, with


their constant literary cultivation, only

losophers arose

and

their

one or two phi-

systems of thought, perhaps

devised under Buddhistic inspiration, have been allorred


to decline into blank idolatry or unphilosophical scepticism.

Far

different

was the case

in India.

There we find a con-

nected and definite system of philosophy growing up, the

outcome of the thought of a long


priests,

grounded

series of

Brahmanic

in the childlike figments of

mythology,

but developing into a manly vigor of reasoning that has


never been surpassed in the
It

circle of

metaphysical thought.

was a remarkable people with whom we

cerned,

a people

and held the

was

to

tliat

affairs of

dwelt only
real life

in the

as

are

now

con-

world of thought,

naught.

This world

them but a temporary resting-place between two

eternities, a region of

probation for the purification of the

With the concerns of the eternities their minds were


steadily occupied, and time was thrust aside from their

soul.

thoughts as a base prison into which their souls had been

plunged to purge them of their

sins.

Their effort to solve the mystery of existence called forth

an intricate and clearly thought-out conception of the

or-

ganization of the universe, in which reason and imagination were intimately combined,

the

latter,

however, often

so unchecked and extravagant as to reach heights of untold

absurdity.

The

final

outcome of

this

activity

thought was a philosophical system strikingly like


reached by the Egyptians,

a dogma of emanation and

sorption, with intermediate stages of transmigration.

of

that
ab-

But

235

THE AGE OF PHILOSOPHY.

Egyptian thought,
instead of the vapor-shrouded eternity of
of the universe
here look into the past and the future

we

through a lens of clear transparency.


We have now to deal with a thoroughly pantheistic doctrine of the universe,

the

sequent pantheism.

In the beginning

isted, an all-pervading,
all

abundant fountain of

Brahma

all

alone ex-

self-existent essence, in

things yet to be lay in the seed.

sub-

which

This divine progeni-

essence of deity, willed the universe into


the waters by medbeino- from his own substance, created
fertile seed, which developed
itation, and placed in them a
From this egg Brahma, the impersonal
into a golden egg.
being as Brahma, the creessence, was born into personal
need not here concern ourselves
ator of all things.
the ardent Hindu imwith the many extravagances of
and the subsequent
agination, that overlaid this conception

tor, thelllimitable

We

fantastic adorncreation with an endless array of


of the Brahmanic
but may keep to the central core

WOTk of
ments,

say that from the imperpersonal Brahma, all things


sonal, thus embodied as the
nether realm, with
arose, the heavens, the earth, and the
All were emanations from
countless inhabitants.

philosophy.

It will

suffice

to

all their

destined to be eventually
the primal Deity, and all were
should end, as
re-absorbed into this deity, so that existence
this descent from
had begun, in Brahma alone. But with
Though a porimperfection.
the infinite had come evil, or

it

entered into all things, animate


tion of the divine essence

become debased and imand inanimate, yet all things had


limitless
The one perfect being had unfolded into a
pure.
Such was the
beings.
multitude of minor and imperfect

The second
phase of the mighty cycle of existence.
through which the
phase was to be one of re-absorption,

first

THE ARYAN RACE.

236

multitude of separate beings would become lost in the one

and

eternal being,

Bnilima;

who

constitute the sole real existence

mal homogeneous

But

would regain

had become debased

divinity

and rendered

his pri-

state.

fit

in the

How

and animals, angels and demons.


fied,

had never ceased to

forms of

was

it

men

to be puri-

for absorption into the divine essence?

In this purification lay the terrestrial part of the Hindu


pantheism.

To prepare

the one duty of

man.

detracted from

tliis.

Brahma was

for re-absorption into

Attention to the minor duties of


Evil deeds

still

life

further debased the

The great mass of mankind died unpurified. But


And in most
divine essence in them could not perish.

soul.

the

cases

it

had become

human body.

unfit to inhabit so high a

Therefore

it

form as the

entered, after the death of men,

into the bodies of various animals, into inanimate things,

and even into the demonic creatures of the Hindu hell, in


accordance with its degree of debasement. It must pass,
for a longer or shorter period, through these lower forms
ere

it

And

could be fitted to reside again in the

after having

stage,

it

still

by

had a

purification passed

finality of absorption.

highest to

its

frame.

beyond the human

series of transmigrations to fulfil, in

the bodies of angels and deities, before

its

human

To

lowest,

it

conld attain the

this ultimate, all

Nature, from

was endlessly climbing.

Every-

thing was kindled by a spark of the divine essence, and

all

existence consisted of souls, in different stages of embodi-

ment, striving upward from the lowest hell to the

loftiest

stage of divinity.

For these many manifestations of the one eternal soul


there

was but one road

to purification.

subjection of the senses, purity of

life,

This lay through

and knowledge of

THE AGE OF THILOSOPHY.


the

Asceticism,

deity.

naturally arose as

stincts,

The

mortification of

237
the

and

were the highest of human attainments.


and to wean the mind from

of this

was the

life

all

self-restraint

To

and exalt the soul was the constant

ascetic,

in-

a resultant of this doctrine.

virtues of temperance, self-control,

flesh

animal

reduce the

effort of the

care for the things

true path toward purification.

Finally,

knowledge of the deity could come only through a deep


study of the Institutes of religion, rigid observance of

its

requirements, and endless meditation on the nature and the


perfections of the ultimate

By

essence,

the

eternal

deity.

thus giving the soul a steadily increasing supremacy

over

the

and shadowed

clogged

matter that

pure

its

would become utterly freed from


material embodiment, and fitted to enter its final state
impulses, in the end

of vanishment
state signified,

it

the

into

supreme.

Just what this

final

whether the soul was or was not to lose

sense of individuality,

very clearly defined

is

a question whose answer

and

it

is

is

all

not

probable that the Hindu

thinkers, bold as they were, shrank before this utterly in-

soluble problem,

and

left the final

abyss uninvaded by their

daring speculations.
It is a

grand system of thought which we have here very

imperfectly detailed, an extraordinary one to have been

devised at so early a period, and by a people just emerging

from barbarism into


the superiority of the

civilization.

Aryan

No

higher testimony to

intellect could

be offered than

to bring this clearly outlined cosmical philosophy into

com-

parison with the confused, imperfect, and vapory conceptions of the


said,

Egyptian and the Chinese mind.

however, that

it

offers a conception of

It

must be

man's obliga-

tions as a citizen of the universe that has proved fatal to

THE ARYAN RACE.

238

Brahman
socially

Hindu people.

From

the

to the outcast, they have remained politically

and

the national progress of the

dormant, their duties to the world to come dwarf-

ing their duties to the world that

is,

and the realm of

thought overlaying in their lives the realm of action.

No

heroes have risen to lead the Hindu people on the path to


nationality or empire, for thinkers

been lost

in the

alike

have

The very thought of


history-making has not arisen among

shadow of a dream.

history-writing or

them

and workers

and they have yielded with scarce a struggle to a

who

long array of foreign conquerors, heedless of

ruled

their bodies while their thoughts continued free.

The philosophy here described was, as we have said, the


work of a long line of priestly thinkers, not of any great
lawgiver of the race. In it we have the highest expression of the endlessly active Hindu intellect.
At a later
date, however, the names of several special thinkers
emerge, each devising some variation in the details, yet
none deviating from the basic principle of the system.

The mystery

of the origin of matter

for in the ancient

Vedanta system

was afterward denied,


arising

it

was

and

left

its

actual existence

being declared a mere illusion,

from the imperfect knowledge of the

the founder of the


this difficulty

unaccounted

Sankhya

soul.

Kapila,

school, attempted to overcome

by proclaiming the

eternal existence of an

unconscious material principle possessed of self-volition


in regard to its

own development.

emanated, and into

it

all

From

it all

matter had

matter would be absorbed.

By

the side of this material principle existed a primal spiritual


essence, manifold in

its

nature, and which from the begin-

ning has entered into and animated matter.


ual unintelligence

is

endued with a

subtile

This

spirit-

body consisting

THE AGE OF PHILOSOPHY.


The Sankhya

of intelligence (buddJii).

pound of these three elements,

239

deity

is

a com-

substance, and

spirit,

intelligence.

This scheme was followed by that of Patanjali,

who

considered the spiritual principle to be possessed of selfvolition,

and to exist separate from the co-eternal principle

But the most striking of these speculative

of matter.

sys-

tems was that of Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, and


the final great

This system was in the

Hindu philosopher.

Hindu vein of

line of that of

Kapila

thought to

utmost conceivable extension.

It denied

No

spiritual es-

its

but

it

carried the

the existence of the soul as a substance.

It held only certain intellectual

sence pervaded the body.

which would perish with

attributes,

each individual's good and

evil

survive, to migrate through

But the sum of

it.

actions

(Karma) would

other bodies, until the

became eliminated, and only the good remained.

As

evil

to the

culminating stage of this process, the Nirvana^ whether


signified the final extinction of evil

it

and the vanishment of

good, an utter and eternal nonentity, or embraced the conception of a conscious existence of the absolutely purified
principle of good,

is

a question that has been endlessly

debated, and yet remains unsolved.

The system made

provision for the natural disappearance of evil


principle of

command

abyss

of

conception had plunged.

have

been

at the

Probably the founder of the Bud-

was as deeply

ophers in the

plorers

but thg

good remained, and would not down

of thought.

dhistic sect

lost as the

Brahmanic philos-

infinity into

which his daring

It is a

baffled,

depth by which

all

ex-

and which the plummet of

thought has ever failed to sound.


In regard to the manifold philosophies of Greece

much

THE ARYAN RACE.

240
need here be

less

They

said.

known

are far better

to

readers in general, and are to a large extent philosophies

The

of the earth rather than schemes of the universe.

was as bold and active as that


was far more under the control of
and is always subdued and artistic

imao'ination of the Greeks

of the Hindus

but

it

the reasoning faculties,

where that of the Hindus

riots in the vvildest

extravagance.

The Hindu philosophy directly emerged from the mythology of the Vedas and the sacrificial observances of the
priests,

and the steps of

its

The Greek philosophy had no

evolution can yet be traced.

The

relation to mythology.

gods of Greece had become so laden with earthly clay that


they had ceased to be

fit

subjects for any but the vulgar

showed its front on the Ionic


when philosophy
Thus the philosophy of Greece was a completely
shores.
new growth. Cutting loose from all preceding thought,
belief

first

the Grecian intellect endeavored to


of

its

own, on the platform of what

construct a universe
it

saw and what

it

felt.

The various systems devised need be but


over, as they are
is

the

and
all

rapidly run

more matters of ordinary knowledge than

Hindu philosophy.

his successors,

The

Ionic philosophers, Tliales

endeavored to arrive at a conception of

existence from a study of the properties of physical

substances, and the Pythagoreans from a like

Next came
Through
abstraction.

study of

the properties of number.

the Eleatics, with

their system

the denial of the

of

actuality of visible existence they arrived at a conception

of pure

beiiuj^

the

basis of all appearance.

followed, witli his system of the


flow between finity

these

succeeded

and

the

infinity,

Atomistic

6eco;?iz'r/,

Heraclitus

the incessant

To
whom

being and not-being.


philosophers,

to

THE AGE OF PHILOSOPHY.


matter was the basis of being,

241

and force the cause of

The philosophers here named were gradually


advancing toward a theory of the universe but it was a
theory built up from the ground, rather than brought down
movement.

from the

infinite, as

with the Hindus,

As

than an imaginative evolvement.


deific principle

had not appeared.

scientific rather

yet the idea of a

This was devised by

Anaxagoras, who placed a world-forming Intelligence by


the side of matter.

Yet the idea was only feebly grasped.

This Intelligence existed but as a primary impulse, a moving force to set the universe in motion.

mind

The philosophic

of Greece had not yet advanced to the grand out-

reach of Hindu thought.

This material phase of philosophizing was followed by


the mental one of the Sophists and of ISocrates.
loose from the conception of matter
things, they

came

to that of mind.

as

Cutting

the basis of

all

The Sophists stood

forth as the destroyers of the whole preceding edifice of

thought, and Socrates as the originator of a

new system

of philosophy, in which the subjective replaced the objective,

and mind subordinated matter.

AYith

him

virtue

and

duty became the great principles of existence, thought was


higher than matter, and morality superior to philosophy.

He

gave birth to no cosmology, but he turned the atten-

tion of

man

to a distinctively

new

field of speculation.

This was deeply worked by Plato, his great disciple,

whose system of Ideas replaced the old systems of things,


and with whom the supreme and all-embracing idea, the
absolute Good, became the God, the divine
sustainer.

Finally

scientific turn of

creator and

followed Aristotle, with his strongly

mind and

his highly indefinite

cal conception of the fluctuations


10

metaphysi-

between Potentiality and

THE ARYAN RACE.

242

Actuality, the variation from matter to form, from formless

To

matter to pure or immaterial form.

tions

were

added cosmological notions largely derived

But the value of the thought of

from the old mythology.

Greece was not so much for


labors.

tive

research

these concep-

into

It

tended

the

its

deductive as for

constantly toward

basis of matter

began by cutting loose from the

its

induc-

a scientific

and mind, and never


as

actual,

Hindu

in

thought.

The mental acumen

of

these

two highly

intellectual

branches of the ancient Aryans approached equality


the real value of their

work

but

mainly as

differed widely,

a consequence of their different standpoints of thought.

The

Greeks were based on observed

speculations of the

facts, those of the

Hindus on m^'thological

fancies.

As

consequence, the Greeks have worked far more truly for


the intellectual advancement of mankind.

If

we come

to

glance at modern philosophy, a strikingly similar parallel


appears.

The Germans,

the metaphysicians of the

age, have inclined toward the

and

tion,

built vast

Hindu

line of

pure deduc-

schemes of philosophy with

solid basis than the doctrine of emanation.

modern

little

more

The English

and French, on the contrary, have developed the Greek


line of science,

facts.

and based

their philosophies

Their schemes do not tower so

Germany, but they

are built

loftily as those of

on the ground, and not on

the clouds, and are likely to stand erect


fices

on observed

when

the vast edi-

of pure metaphysics have toppled over in splendid but

irremediable ruin.

X.

THE ARYAN LITERATURE.


our intention to enter upon the task of a

not
IT general
is

review of the vast

thouglit, but merely to offer a

field of

Aryan recorded

comparative statement of

the literary position of the several races of mankind, in

evidence of the superiority of the


rary labor has been by no

Aryan

means

intellect.

confined to this

Literace.

Every people that has reached the stage of even an imperfect civilization has considered its thoughts worthy of
preservation,

its

heroes worthy of honor,

But so far as the

of record.
rary work

its

deeds worthy

intellectual value

of

lite-

concerned, the Aryans have gone almost

is

beyond the remainder of mankind.


All early thought seems naturally to have flowed

infinitely

into

the channel of poetry, with the exception of certain dry

annals which cannot properly be classed as

This poetry, in

always

lyrical.

worship.
this, in its

its

It

literature.

primary phase, appears to have been

was apparently

at first the

lyric of

This was followed by the lyric of action, and


highest outcome, by the epic,

and organized phase of the heroic poem.


to find that the

reached the

the

It is of interest

Aryans alone can be said

final

combined

to have fairly

stage of the archaic field of thought,

weak and inconsethe Aryan race rose

the epic efforts of other races being

quent, while almost every branch of


to the epic literary level.

THE ARYAN RACE.

244

Of

tha antique era of the religious lyric

We

be said.
the

find

it

Zend-Avesta, in the

and

Greece,

in

the

hymns

in the

little

Yedas and of

of the

early traditional

ancient

here need

literature

hymns

Babylonian

of

to the

gods, some of which in form and manner strikingly re-

As

semble the Hebrew psalms.


that of the

period,

great deeds of the

heroic

song,

to

gods and demigods,

exist as separate works,

record of

or the

and have

little

trace re-

have ceased to

either

become compo-

As

nent parts of subsequent epics, or have vanished.


valuable epic literature, however,

Aryan limits.
Modern research into

the

rule,

Heroic compositions, as a

mains.

second poetic

the

is

it

nearly

all

to

confined

within

the fragmentary remains of the

ancient Babylonian literature

has brought to light evi-

dence of a greater activity of thought than we formerly

had reason

to imao-iue.

And

amons: the works thus re-

covered from the buried brick tablets of the Babylonian


libraries

are portions of a series of mythological

of a later date than the hymns.

considered to form part of an

poems

These productions are


antique and remarkable

poem, with a great solar deity as hero,

an epic centre of

legend into which older lays have entered as episodes.


It appears to

we

have consisted of twelve books, of which

possess two intact,

the

of the descent of Istar into


exists, in
spirits

which

is

also

had

Hades

wdiile part of a third

described the war of the seven evil

against the moon.

to have

Deluge legend, and that

their

The Assyrians
epic,

are

supposed

in imitation of this older

work, and the Semiramis and Xinus of the Greeks are

M. Lenormant to have been heroes of this


legendary circle of song. However that be, it cannot be

considered by

THE ARYAN LITERATURE.

245
ability the

claimed that either in poetic or artistic

Se-

mind displayed any exalted epic powers. So far as


we are able to judge of this work from its scanty remains,
mitic

devoid of

is

it

and

literary merit,

that

all

vv'e

full of

is

are accustomed to consider

hyperbolical extravagance.

Hebrews alone produced poetry of a high grade of merit. Of this Hebrew


literature w^e shall speak more fully farther on, and it

Of

the Semitic races, indeed, the

must

suffice

level.

It

however,

them

find

in

is

not without

Hebrew

heroic characters.

its

Samson, David, Daniel, and

Noah,

were^

these

of

heroes of song, but were dealt with in sober prose,

as
of

reached the epic

tendency.

in

lyrical

it

who might be named; but none

others

made

a rule,

as

is,

literature,

We

here to say that none of

we sliall find later on was


Koman legend. The Hebrew

largely practical

in

subdued, and though

the fate of the heroes

tendencies,

its
its

its

poetry

its

literature contains

ing legendary incidents, these are


prose, while

was
imagination was

intellect,

fails

all

to rise

indeed,

many

couched

above the

excit-

in

quiet

lyric

of

The nearest approach


grand book of Job, of unknown

worship or of pastoral description.

poem is the
The literature
authorship.
relics are now coming to

to an epic

of Assyria, of which abundant


light,

is

yet more practical in

character than that of the Hebrews, and resembles that


of

the

Chinese in literalness.

There

is

no poetry ap-

proaching in merit the elevated lyrical productions found


in the

Hebrew

scriptures, and, like the Chinese,

it is

largely

devoted to annals, topography, and other practical matters.

The Semitic

race as a whole appears to have been deficient

in the higher imagination,

of fancy.

To

though possessed of active powers

the latter are due abundant stores of legend,

THE ARYAN RACE.

246

often of a highly extravagant character

we nowhere

but

an instance of those lofty philosophical conceptions,

find

or of that high grade of epic song or dramatic composi-

which are such frequent products of Aryan thought,


and which indicate an extraordinary fertility of the imagi-

tion,

Aryan

nation in the

race.

Egypt produced

The

point of view.

hymns

tain

work of merit from a

little

religious

literature consists of

cer-

of minor value, and the well-known "Ritual

of the Dead."

Similar to this

Hemisphere."

These

lyrics,

Lower

works can scarcely be

and are marked by an inexintellectual

almost an utter void.

In

Egj^Dt has one work which

has

ability is concerned, they are


its

the " Ritual of the

So far as the display of

confusion.

addition to

is

ritualistic

called literary productions,


tricable

literary

been dignified with the

title

of epic, though

it

should

rather be viewed as an extended instance of those heroic

legends whose confluence


epic production.

It

This

named Pentaur, and

is

poem

from

made

his

his

II. in a

troops

way back

the mighty hero

first

is

stage in the pro-

credited to a

war which that monarch con-

He seems

to have been cut

by the enemy, and

to them.

fell

into

to have

But the poem

tells

safely

us that

an ambuscade of the Cheta,

and found himself surrounded by two thousand


dred hostile chariots.

scribe

devoted to a glorification of the

ducted against the Cheta.


off

needed to constitute a true

forms but the

duction of the epic.

deeds of Rameses

is

five

hun-

Invoking the gods of Egypt, the

potent warrior pressed with his single arm upon the foe,

plunged in heroic fury six times into their midst, covered

the

region with

dead,

army to
a bombastic and

and regained

boast of his glorious exploits.

It is

his

THE ARYAN LITERATURE.


iaartlstic

production

but such as

is

it

it

247
seems to have

work of wouder, and has

struck the Egyptian taste as a

been engraved on the walls of several of the great tem-

The most complete copy of it


ten on a papyrus now in the British Museum.
The remaining antique non- Aryan civilization,
ples of the land.

China,

is

work of

this

kind was wanting to the Chinese.

decided practical tendency

is

annalistic

jects

as geography, topography, etc.

gend

exists,

and but

little

and to such sub-

history

attention

to

But no heroic

of Odes," which contains

antique poetry of China,


cerns of ordinary

much

but

of

life.

the

is

It

spirit

The Confucian

religious

feeling.,

we possess

all

has

of the warlike vein,

little

of peaceful

repose.

We

Aryan

and family
literature.

are

with domestic con-

life,

affection

replacing

the wild "outings" of the imagination which are


in all the ancient

of the

mainly devoted to the con-

brought into the midst of real


cerns,

le-

trace of the devotional poetry

with which literature begins elsewhere.

Book

Their

abundantly shown in their

close

'*

that of

any epic productions, either in


the germ.
The imagination necessary

utterly void of

the ultimate or in
to

writ-

is

shown

After the Confucian

song gained a somewhat stronger flight,


and the domestic ballad was replaced by warlike strains
and mythologic songs. But no near approach to epic

period Chinese

composition was ever attained.


If
at

now we

once upon

enter

upon Aryan ground we

loftier

peaks of thought, and

find ourselves

in a higher

and

purer atmosphere.
its

Almost everywhere epic poetry makes


appearance at an early stage of literary cultivation as

the true

usher to the later and more practical branches


of literature.
These antique epic creations of the Arvans

THE ARYAN RACE.

248

may

in philosophy, so in po-

India and Greece take the lead

etry,

much lower

vying, though at a

Of

of Greece.

Ramayana and
while

it is

level of art, with the Iliad

the two ancient epics of the Hindus, the


the Maliahliarata^ the former

more the work of a

single hand,

And

characterizes the latter.

more mythological,

the

Ramayana

the

the older,

is

and shows few

that epic confluence of legend which

signs of

is

As

be briefly summarized.

of the two, the

strongly

Ramayana

Mahabharata the more

the

historical in character.

Legend

credits northern India in these early days with

two great dynasties of kings, known respectively as the


Solar and the Lunar dynasties.
the adventures of a hero of the
hero,
is

is

The Ramayana describes


solar race.
Rama, the

a lineal descendant of the god of the sun, and

himself adored as an incarnation of Vishnu.

where

in

poem we

the

find

ourselves on

ground, and the only historical indication


of the extension of the

The

Ceylon.

from

mythological

contains

is

that

Aryan conquest southward toward

story describes the

his hereditary

it

Every-

banishment of

Rama

realm and his long wanderings through

the southern plains.

His wife,

Sita, is seized

by Ravana,

Rama, assisted by Sugriva, the


king of the monkeys, makes a miraculous conquest of
this island, slays its demon ruler, and recovers his wife,

the giant ruler of Ceylon.

the

poem ending with

his

restoration

to

his

ancestral

throne.

The
it

poem is
rank among

style of this

takes a lofty

agination.

In

extravagant

fiction,

descriptions

is

the

of a high grade of merit, and


the works of the

two sections there

human imlittle

of

though in the third the beauty of

its

first

marred

by wild

is

exaggerations.

It

is

THE ARYAN LITERATURE.


work

evideDtly iu the main the

of oue hand, not a welding

There are few episodes,

of several disjointed fragments.

while the whole latter portion

and there
poetical

power and

However
striking

if

and

skill

It is credited to a single poet,

facility.

This name

very doubtful

is

one nnbroken narrative,

is

shown throughout an unvarying

is

Valmiki.

249

" white

signifies

and

ant-hill,"

it

represents a historical personage.

it

Ramayana

that be, the

is

homogeneous and

outcome of ancient thought.

The Mahabharata

work of very

is

different character.

It is rather a storehouse of poetic legends than a single

poem, and

is

evidently the

work of many authors, treating

subjects of the greatest diversity.


the

Ramayana, and more human

below

in epic completeness

it

without

its

It is of later date

in its interest,

and unity.

but

Yet

than

is

it is

far

not

central story, though this has almost been lost

under the flood of episodes.


the lunar dynasty, the

descendants of the gods of the

Ramayana

moon,

as the

race.

Bharata, the

first

It is the epic of the heroes of

is

the heroic song of the solar

universal monarch,

who brought

kingdoms ''under one umbrella," has a lineal descendant, Kuru, who has two sons, of whom one leaves a hun-

all

The fathers dying, the


equitably divided among these sons, the five

dred children, the other but

kingdom

is

five.

Pandavas and the hundred Kauravas.

The

latter

grow

envious, wish to gain possession of the whole, and pro-

pose to play a game of

Pandavas

if

is

The

kingdom.

kingdom

but the

to restore their cousins to their share iu

they will pass twelve years in a forest and

the thirteenth

penance

for the

lose in this strange fling for a

Kauravas agree
the throne

dice

year in

performed

undiscoverable

disguises.

but the Kauravas

evade

This
their

THE AKYAN RACE.

250

promise, and a great war ensues, in which the Pandavas

AYhether this war indicates some

ultimately triumph.
actual event or not,

work

is

questionable

is

but this part of the

well performed, the characters of the five

are finely drawn,

Pandavas

and many of the battle-scenes strikingly

animated.

But

main theme forms but a minor portion of the


is full of episodes of the most varied character,

this

work.

It

and contains old poetical versions of nearly

Hindu legends, with

ligion,

outside

in fact,

the

treatises

nearly

the ancient

on customs, laws, and

that w^as

The main

Vedas.

interrupted that

all

all

known

story

to the

Hindus

constantly

so

is

re-

winds through the episodes "like a

it

pathway through an Indian

8ome

forest."

these

of

episodes are said to be of "rare and touching beauty,"

while the work as a whole has every variety of style, dry

philosophy beside ardent love-scenes, and details of laws

and customs followed by scenes of

Many

battle

and bloodshed.

of the stories are repeated in other words, and the

whole mass, containing more than one hundred thousand


verses,

seems

Hindu

literary

like a compilation of

work.

Yet withal

many

generations of

a production of high

it is

merit and lofty intellectual conception.

In regard to the Persian branch of the Indo-Aryans,


yields us no ancient literary

work

in

it

exalted vein.

this

That considerable legendary poetry existed we have good


reason to believe

but

it

does not seem to have centred

around a single hero, as elsewhere, but to


of a long series of legendary kings,

undoubtedly historical personages.


history of the Persians

when

detail the

many
It

of

was

these legends

deeds

whom
late

in

were
the

became con-

densed into a single work, the celebrated Shah Namali of

THE ARYAN LITERATURE.

251

Firdusi, which forms, as Malcohii observes,

the pride and delight of the East."

" deservedly

It professes to be

but

a versified history of the ancient Persian kings, from the

fabulous Kaiomurs to the

b}^

the poet, while his

legendary that

has

it

work

is

to so great an extent

the elements of the epic except

all

The work

a central hero.

that of

of the second empire under

But no trace remains of the documents em-

Yezdijird.

ployed

fall

displays the

itself

highest literary skill and poetical genius, and, as Sir

Malcolm remarks, "in

it

the most fastidious reader will

meet with numerous passages of exquisite beauty."


narrative

is

usually very perspicuous, and some

finest scenes are described

most

delight,

besetting

sin

by no means

are

of

The

of the

with simplicity and elegance of

though the battle-scenes,

diction,

John

which the Persians

in

free

from

tlie

Oriental

hyperbole.

Of the epic poetry of Greece, and particularly the


works attributed to Homer, little here need be said.
Iliad and Odyssey are too well known to readers to
any description. Modern research has rendered it

great

The
need
very

probable that these works, and the Iliad in particular, are


primitive epics in the true sense, being condensations of

a cycle of ancient heroic poetry.


singers were

The antique Greek

not without an abundant store of stirring

legends as subject-matter for their songs.

have become partly embodied


history

and

in

stituents
all

in poetry, partly in so-called

them mythology,

are so mingled that

it is

These legends

history,

and tradition

impossible to separate these con-

and distinguish between fact and fancy.

But of

the legendary lore of the Greeks, that relating to the

real or fabulous siege of

Troy seems most

the imagination of the early bards,

to

have roused

and brought

into being

THE ARYAN RACE.

252

These as a

a series of the most stirring martial songs.

rule centred around the deeds of one great hero, Achilles,

the scion of the gods, the invulnerable champion of the


antique world.
Little

doubt

entertained by critics that the Iliad con-

is

number of ancient

tains the substance of a

But

to this one attractive subject.

be a doubt that these lays were

if

can scarcely

so, there

fitted

devoted

la^^s

by a single

skilful

framework of the Homeric song.

AYe

hand

into the epic

may

as well seek to divide Shakspeare into a series of

successive dramatists as to break up

Men

of antique poets.

of

his

Homer

can be

little

question that older material

the Iliad, there can be as

little

do not

calibre

masses, even in the land of the Hellenes

into a cycle
arise in

and though there

made

question that

it

its

way

into

was wrought

by one great genius, and fitted by one


Another
the place which it occupies.

into its present form

hand

skilful

into

theory offered
of

its

is

that the nucleus of the

incidents are the

work

poem and

of a single great poet, while

episodes of other authorship were worked into


period.

a portion

it

at a later

But a more probable supposition would seem to

be that Homer, like Shakspeare, dealt with heroic legends


of earlier origin,

ballads whose

ancient

worked

into the nucleus of

genius

whose

vital

the

intellect

poem

inspirits

substance was

by that one

great

whole

song.

the

This would explain at once the discrepancies that exist

between the subject and handhng of the several cantos,


and the considerable degree of unity and homogeneity
which the poem as a whole possesses.

It

need scarcely

here be said that the Iliad stands at the head of


song, alike in the

genius which

it

manner

displays,

all

epic

of its evolution, the lofty poetic

and the exquisite beauty of

its

THE ARYAN LITERATURE.


As compared

versification.

displays

tlie

artistic

trast witli tlie

nation.

witli

tlie

the gods which crowd

in their lineaments as a

where introduced
real passions,

Hindu

epics,

moderation of Greek tliought

unpruned exuberance of

Even

253

Greek

tlie

in con-

Oriental imagi-

pages are as human

its

statue,

to the society of

and we are every-

actual

man, with

and sentiments, instead of

feelings,

it

his

to a

congeries of phantasms whose like never drew breath in

heaven, earth, or sea.

The Odyssey has been subjected

to criticism of the

character, and with like indefinite results.

same

There can be

no doubt that here also we have to do with one of the


favorite heroes of

headed old politician Ulysses,


Achilles, uncontrollable

They
to

the

Greek legend,

in

wise, shrewd, hard-

contrast with the fiery

alike in his

fury and his grief.

are strongly differentiated types of character, both

be found in the mental organization of the Greek,

and perhaps chosen from an involuntary sense of


fitness.

We

their

need not here follow Ulysses in his wan-

derings and his strange adventures by land and sea.

They

simply indicate the conception of the ancient Greek mind,


yet firmly held in mythologic fetters, of the conditions of
the world beyond

Yet a considerable change had


the ruling ideas between the dates of the

taken place in

two poems.

its

ken.

The turbulent Olympian

has almost disappeared

in

the

court of the Iliad

Odyssey, and Zeus has

developed from the hot-tempered monarch of the Iliad


into the position of

verse.
is

now

If both

a supreme moral ruler of

poems

are the

the uni-

work of one hand, which

strongly questioned, the

poet must have passed

from the ardent and active youth of the Iliad to the


flective

era of old age and

into

period

re-

of developed

THE ARYAN RACE.

254

religious ideas ere he finished his noble life-work with the

Odyssey.

Of the remaining

The

said.

epic

work of Greece nothing need be

Homer

true epic spirit seems to have died with

and though many heroic poems were afterward produced,


they lack the lofty poetic power of the ancient Muse.

But one work need be named


siod, as at

once partly an epic poem, and partly a mytho-

To

record.

logical

Tlieogony of He-

here, the

extent

certain

may

it

be classed

with the Icelandic Eddas and the Persian cosmogony

though the scheme which


complete, and

it

presents

cannot lay the same claim to the

it

On

a philosophy of mythology.

many

connected and

less

is

stirring scenes,

and

the other hand,

of the

description

its

it

title

of

details

battles

between Zeus and the Titans has an epic power which


approaches that of Milton's story of the war on Heaven's
plains.

The

Rome may be dismissed with


Romans possessed the vigor of

epic poetry of

That the

words.
nation

a few

imagi-

and the boldness and sustained energy of concep-

tion necessary to

attested

work of

by tha JEneid of

epic growth that

we

this description, is sufficiently

But

Virgil.

it

is

with a native

are here concerned, not with a second-

ary outcome of Greek inspiration.

Roman

abundance of epic

history reveals the fact that

This history

material existed.
legends,

many

heroic lays.

in great part a series of

of which are doubtless prose versions of old

Cicero remarks that " Cato, in his Ongines^

was an old custom

tells

us that

it

who

sat

table to sing to

at

is

study of ancient

deeds of famous men."^


'

He

the

at

banquets for those

flute

the

praiseworthy

further regrets that

Quaestioncs Tiiscul.

i^^

?..

these

THE ARYAN LITERATURE.


lays had perished in his time.

testimouy

and

it is

255

Other writers give similar

highly probable that the stories of the

warlike deeds of Horatius, Mucius, Camillas, etc., were


largely poetic fictions, designed to be sung in the halls of

We find

the great nobles of these clans.

here no clustering

of legend round the names of single heroes, as in ancient

Greece.

The scope

of the demigods.

of

It

Roman
was

thought lay below the level

and per-

practical throughout,

mitted but minor deviations from the actual events of


history.

Thus Roman legend

more

is

in the vein of that

of Persia, which was spread over a long line of fabulous


kings, instead of concentrating itself
glorious

dusi to

champions.

embalm

its

around a few

Rome, however, produced no


legends in the

life-like

all-

Fir-

form of song.

Yet the history of Livy may almost be called an epic


prose.

It is the nearest

approach which

national epic, and prose as

deserves to be classed

it

is,

among

Rome made

the great

the

heroic

in

to a

work of Livy
epics of

the

world.
It is in strong confirmation of the intellectual

the Aryans to find that the remaining

energy of

and more barbaric

branches of the race, equally with the Greeks and Hindus,

produced their epics of native growth.


est to find that the Teutonic

the

and

And

it is

of inter-

Celtic epic cycles display

true epic condition of the concentration of a

of heroic lays around one great national hero.

Teutonic people a native

Homer

to the floating lays of the past.

series

With the

arose to give epic shape

This cannot be aflSrmed

of the Celts, whose ancient heroes

owed

their final glory

to foreign hands.

The Germans possess more than one collection of antique lays, such as the poem of Gadrun^ and the Helden-

THE ARYAN RACE.

256
huch^ or

Book

But

of Heroes.

that they proudly point

to the Nlhelungen-lied

it is

as a great national epic, the out-

growth of

their heroic age.

The song

of the

Nor

Nibelung

is this

pride misplaced.

undoubtedly a great and

is

noble work, unsurpassed in the circle of primitive warlike


epics except
spirit of the

Germans
warriors.

by the unrivalled

of his time

lays, such as Tacitus tells us the

composed

in

honor of their great

It is full also of mythological elements, to such

an extent that
deific

German

old

It is full of the

Iliad.

it

is

discriminate between the

difficult to

and the human origin of

its

heroes.

In

its

central

hero, Siegfried, the Achilles of the song, and in the heroic

maiden Brunhild, we undoubtedly have mythological charBut in others, such as Etzel and Dietrich, can be
acters.
traced such well-known historical personages

as

Attila,

the leader of the Huns, and Theodoric, the Gothic king.


Siegfried and Brunhild appear in

those of the Nibelung, and

we

other legends

find the

former

besides

in the

Vol-

sung lay of the Eddas as Sigurd, who fought with the


dragon Fafnir for the golden hoard.

This golden hoard

a moving impulse in the Teutonic legendary cycle.

is

Siegfried has

ure

become the possessor of the enchanted

treas-

Achilles, has been

made

of the Nibelungs, and, like

invulnerable, except in a spot between his shoulders, which

replaces the heel of Achilles.

But the hoard of gold


Nibelungen-lied.
ished,

Its

is

a secondary motive

mythologic

fiction

in

the

has almost van-

and has been replaced by human motives, human

human deeds. Man has dwarfed the gods in


outcome of German thought. It is the truly human

passions, and
this

passion of jealousy, the hot rivalry of the two queens,

Brunhild and Kriemhild, and the bitter thirst of the latter

THE ARYAN LITERATURE.

257

for revenge, that carry us through its stirrhig epic cycle

of treachery, war, aud murder.

whole

song more

circle of

vigorous poem,

There

terrible

than the Jinale of this

the pitiless battle for vengeance in the

blood-stained banquet-hall of the Huns.

poet

nothing in the

is

Of

the

name

of the

shaped the old ballads into the enduring form of

^\\\o

we have no more than a conjectural


This work was apparently done about the

the ]^sibelungen-lied

knowledge.
year 1200

but the lays themselves perhaps reach back to

The epic work was done by a


master-hand, who has moulded the separate songs, sagas,
the fifth or sixth centuries.

and legends into a well-harmonized


judgment and

poem with a

single

shows the possession of a vigor-

ability that

ous genius.

The Nibelungen-lied

is

not a courtly poem.

It is full

of the rudeness and passion of a barbaric age, though the


conditions of Middle- Age society, with
elty

its

combined cru-

and chivalry, and the sentiment of the age of the

Minnesingers, have not been without their effect in softening the spirit of the older lays, and in giving a degree of
poetic splendor to the crude boldness of archaic song.
falls

far

below the Iliad

w^ork of art, yet

it

in all that constitutes a great

instinct with a fervent imagination,

is

a fiery energy, and a truly epic breadth of incident.


descriptive power, the fine characterization of
ages, and the

skilful

It

its

Its

person-

handling of the plot, indicate both

an age of considerable literary culture and a high degree


of poetic genius in the narrator, while the Teutonic spirit
is

shown

ous in

in its

human

deep feeling for the profound and mysteridestiny.

Opening with a calm and quiet

detail of peaceful incidents,

we soon

find the

poem plang-

ing into the abyss of jealousy, rivalry, murder, and


17

all

the

THE ARYAN RACE.

258
fiercer passions.

hand of

Tlie

tlie

assassin finds the vul-

nerable spot in Siegfried's body, the fatal spot left un-

bathed by the magic dragon's blood, and he

From

to Brunhild's relentless hate.

poem

gathers force as

it

fury of a mountain-torrent toward

edy

it

sweeps with the

its

disastrous finale

by the hero's vengeance-

The death-dealing

brooding wife.

spirit of ancient trag-

finds its culmination in the story of awful

which the murderous Hagen and

his

bloodshed

terrible

energy with

nothing to surpass

finds

in

companions meet their

The

deserts at the court of the iluns.

which the poem closes

onward the

this point

flows, until

in the terrible retribution exacted

falls a victim

it

in the

most vigorous scenes of Homer's world-famous works.

One more poem


Teutonic Muse,

of epic character, the product of the

may

and barbarous of

all

songs.

epic

This

English epic, the poem of Beowulf^

Anglo-Saxons

the most archaic

be here mentioned,

in their

is

the

the primeval

work of the

days of utter barbarism and heathen-

ism, probably before they left their

home on

the Continent

to fall in piratical fury on England's defenceless shores.

We

have here no chivalry, no sentiment, no softness.

All

The
web of

shot

is fierce,

rude,

and savage.

mental gloom form the

superstitions of an age of

the poem, which

is

through and through with the threads of mythologic


It

is,

as Longfellow remarks, "like

armor, rusty and


is

battered,

of the simplest.

Anglo-Saxon poetry

a piece of

and yet strong."

is

wanting

the

ancient

The

The bold metaphorical vein

lore.

style

of later

poet seems intent

only on telling his story, and has no time for episodes and

metaphors.

Yet Beowulf

knight-errant of chivalry

is

the far-off progenitor of the

and the song

is

such as the un-

cultured, yet vigorous-minded, bards of the heathen

Saxons

THE ARYAN LITERATURE.

259

might have simg in the rude halls of half-savage thanes,

ale-quaffing, stool-seated Berserkers, listening in the light

smoking torches to the

of flaring and

stirring lay of

human

prowess and magic charms.

We

are told

how Beowulf,

the sea Goth, fought

unarmed

with Grendel the giant, and destroyed the monster, after


the latter

had

slain scores of

in the great hall of

beer-drunken doughty Danes

King Hrothgar the Scylding.

There

succeeded a terrible fight in the dens whither Beowulf

had followed the Grendel's mother, a witch-like monster.


Here he slew dragons and monsters that blocked
and

after a hard struggle with the

way

his

grim old-wife, seized a

magic sword which lay among the treasures of her dwelling,

and "with one

bone house."

its

are

To

her heathen soul out of

let

heathen lore

this strongly told bit of

added eleven more cantos, relating the deeds of the

sea-king in his old age,


fire-drake which

creature,
its

blow

fell

cave

when he fought with

was devastating the

land.

a monstrous

He

killed this

and enriched the land with the treasure found


yet himself died of his wounds.

Here again we have the magic treasure of Teutonic


destined to

be fatal to

its

It is

undoubtedly an out-

growth of Northern mythology, and perhaps had


in the treasures of the

dawn

As an

epic,

Aryan myth.
story of

lore,

Nibelung

possessor, as the

hoard was to the hero Siegfried.

merit.

in

its

origin

summer of ancient
poem possesses much

or of the
the

It is highly graphic in its descriptions, while the


its

battles, its

treasure-houses, the

revels

and

songs in the kings' halls, and the magical incidents with

which the poem

is

filled,

are told with a minuteness that

brings clearly before our eyes the


^

life

of a far ruder age

Longfellow, Poets and Poetry of Europe,

p.

4.

THE ARYAN RACE.

260
than

is

revealed by any other extended poem.

fellow says, "

sea-noses

smell the bruie, and hear the

blow, and see the mainland stretch out

sea-breezes
'

we can almost

As Long-

into the blue waters of the

'

its

solemn main."

This rude old song, so fortunately preserved, yields us


striking evidence of the intellectual vigor of the fathers of

the English race.

The

Celtic

Aryans have been

other branch of the race

no completed

quite as prolific as

any

and though they present us with

epic, they

have preserved an abundance

of those heroic tales which form the basis of epic song.


AVhile the

Germans

of the Continent and the Saxons of

England were plunged


Irish Celts
activity,

in the depths of

manifested a considerable degree of literary

and produced works on a great variety of subjects,

whose origin can be traced back


the

barbarism, the

Christian

Among

era.

to the early centuries of

these were numerous heroic

legends which centred around two great traditional champions of the past.

One

of these cycles of epic lays,

whose

heroes have almost vanished from the popular mind, relates


the deeds of a doughty hero, Ciichulaind, of whose mighty

prowess many stirring

stories are told.

The

central tale

is

the Tain Bo Cuaihige, or the " Cattle Spoil of Cualnge,"


which tells how Ciichulaind defended Ulster and the mystic

brown bull of Cualnge single-handed against all the forces


of Queen Medb of Connaught, the original of the fairyqueen Mab. Around this vigorously told story cluster
some

thirty others, descriptive of the deeds of the hero

Ciichulaind, of

Medb

pions of the past.


cycle,

the heroine, and of

As

a whole,

it

many

great cham-

forms a complete epic

and needed only the shaping and pruning hand of

some able poet

to

add another to the national epics of

THE ARYAN LITERATURE.

261

These legends, as they exist now, are in

the world.

twelfth-ceutury manuscripts, of mixed prose and verse

we must go back

but for their origin


of

many

to the vanished bards

centuries preceding.

In addition to this epic cycle of heroic song, the Irish

have the fortune to possess another, equally extensive, and


the story of Finn, the son
of much more modern date,

of Cumall,

who

is

may have had

Fennians

Finn and the

has long been forgotten.

his predecessor

be very

a popular hero in Ireland, though

still

a historical basis, though there can

of the historical in the stories relating to

little

them, with their abundance of magical incidents and extra-

The Fennian

ordinary adventures.

tales

probably only be-

gan to be popular about the twelfth century, and new ones


continued to appear till a much later period, one of them
These legends

being as late as the eighteenth century.


are very numerous, and they

may claim

epic poet in a bard of alien blood

to

for

have found
it

their

seems certain

that the heroes of both these cycles of songs were popular in the
Ossian.,

Highlands of Scotland, and that Macpherson's

though doubtless due, as a poem, to his own

mind, contains elements derived by him from the popular

Highland heroic

Ossian

lore.

while the hero himself

is

is

Oisin, the son of Finn,

represented in Fingal

and char-

acters of both the Irish legendary cycles are introduced.

Much

as

origin of

the

statement of Macpherson concerning the

this

poem has been

equal claim to the

title

we aware

to

his materials, or

cient lays

For

what an extent the

how

it

in

none of these cases

final

poet manipulated

greatly he transformed the

and legends.

may have

of a naturally evolved epic as the

Nibelungen-lied or the Iliad.


are

questioned,

more an-

THE ARYAN RACE.

262

The Welsh

division of the Celts seems to have been

nearly as active as the Irish in literary work, and pro-

duced

its distinct

Arthur,

epic cycle in the

the popular hero of

modern English

Round Table
enchanter

Europe

epic song.

King

the age of chivalry and of

This hero of fable, with his

and the deeds of the

of noble knights,

introduced to

Middle- Age

the fabulous British history of

Geoffrey of

Merlin,

in

heroic lays of

Monmouth, written

was

first

early in

The

the twelfth century.

Arthurian legends yielded nothing that we can

call

an epic,

but they gave inspiration to a marvellous series of rhymed

romances, the work of the French Trouveres.


however, were

not without a native

The French,

hero of

romance

of older date in their literature than the Arthur myths.

This was their great King Charlemagne, who, with his


twelve peers, formed the theme of an interminable series
of Chansons de Gestes,
the epic spirit

became

diffused

Charlemagne as a popular hero

through a wide

range

at

a period of more

cul-

and softer manners, and the jwems of which he and

his knights
series of

their

which

King Arthur succeeded

of rude and magical romance.

ture

in

or legendary ballads,

form the heroes are the

finest in that tedious

magical romances with which the Trouveres and

successors deluged the literature of the

chivalric

age, until they finally sank into utter inanity, and were

laughed out of existence by Cervantes in his inimitable


satire of

Don

Quixote.

In this review of the early poetry of the Aryans there


is

one branch of the race yet to be considered, and one

remaining epic to be described.

The Slavonians have

not been without their literary productions, though none


of their poetry has reached the epic stage.

But the con-

THE ARYAN LITERATURE.

whom we

tiguous Finns,
in race

poem

the

to

of

have viewed as nearly related

Slavonic Aryans, have evolved an epic

some considerable

latest w^ork

of

263

the primitive method.

and of

merit,

come

character to

thiii

interest as the

into existence in

among

Its elements long existed

the Finnish people as a series of heroic legendary ballads, the

work of arranging which

into a connected epic

form was due to Dr. Lonnrot, of Helsingfors, who


lected from the lips of the peasantry,

now known

1835, the epic production


the
to

"Home

period of

whose deeds, with those of

They
hero Wainamoinen,

a series of

gether into a

poem almost

as

insthict with

mythology.

myth

of

the creation of

form

his tw^o brother heroes,

the theme of

work

as the Kalevcda,

Finnish culture.

round the

centre, in true epic style,

It is a

in

These legends belong mainly

of Heroes."

pre-Christian

the

col-

and published

connected lays, which

fall to-

homogeneous as the
It

Iliad.

opens with a

the universe from an egg,

and

The heroes of Kaleva,


the land of happiness, bring down gifts from Heaven to
mortals, and work many magic wonders.
Yet they min-

is

full

of

folk-lore throughout.

gle in the daily life of the people, share their toils,

and

their rest.
They are, as Mr. Lang says,
" exaggerated shadows of the people, pursuing on a

enter into

common business of peaceYet the poem is not without

heroic scale, not war, but the


ful
its

and primitive men."


warlike element,

in

the struggle of

Kaleva with the champions of


the frozen North,

Pohjola,

the heroes
the

of

region of

and of Luonela, the land of death.

It ends, after

many

namoinen and

his

vicissitudes, in the

followers

merits of this poem.

Max

over

^liiller

triumph of Wai-

their

foes.

remarks:

Of

"From

the
the

THE AKYAN KACE.

264

mouths of the aged an epic poem has been

collected,

equalling the Iliad in length and completeness,

we can

forget for the

moment

nay,

that loe in our youth

all

learned to call beautiful, not less beautiful."

and

style

imitates

resembles Longfellow's

it

it

Though

'*

In metre

Hiawatha," which

with some exactness.


the Slavonic people have produced no heroic

epos of this completeness,


heroic

if

poetry.

The success

they

are

not without their

attained by Dr. Lonnrot in

studying the popular poetry of Finland has led to like

collections
exist,

Two

Russia, with very marked results.

efforts in

of the

that

published by P. N. Ruibnikof in 18G7

that of P. R.

Kiryeevsky, which

is

These lays were collected from the


peasantry, the whole

great

lays of the Russian people

epic

country

being

now
and

not yet completed.


of the Russian

lips

traversed

ardent explorers in their indefatigable

search

by the
the

for

The Builinas, or historic


poems, thus rescued from oblivion seem naturally to fall

old songs of the Slavonic race.

into several cycles, each with its distinct characteristics.

Of these
roes,"

the

most archaic lays deal with the " Elder He-

and are evidently of mythologic

connected with these in character

Vladimir the Great.

Heroes,"

This

is

is

origin.

the cycle

the ancient paladins of

as the

Novgorod

era of historic Russia.

cow
its

cycle,

named

after

the epos of the ''Younger


the country, like those

of the Charlemagne and Arthur legends.

known

Closely

cycle,

The

third

is

and deals with the remote

The fourth

is

the Royal or

Mos-

and has the personages of actual history

for

heroes.

These Russian songs show no tendency to centre round

any single hero, and thus

offer

no opportunity for

then*

THE ARYAN LITERATURE.

265

concentration into a single connected poem.

In

his-

tlie

we seem to distinguish
two distinct lines of development. One of these is that
pursued by Persia, Rome, and Russia, in which no single
tory of national epic poetry, in fact,

hero has concentrated the attention of singers, and the

and

flow of song takes in a long succession of fabulous

champions.

historical

The other

is

that pursued

remaining Aryans, in which song centred

itself

by the

around one

or a few great warriors, mostly of mythological origin,

combined into a connected

the series of songs naturally


narrative.

This

is

the

and

more archaic stage of the two, or

perhaps the one that indicates the most active imagination,

and

it

is

the one to which

all

the naturally evolved epic

poems of the world are due.


The production of heroic poetry by the Aryan peoples
by no means ceased with their stage of half-barbaric deNumerous valuable epic poems have been
velopment.
produced

in the

we need
the human

age of civilization; but of these

say nothing, as they are secondary products of

mind, and not the necessary outcome of mental evolution.

They

are only of

value to us here as evidences of the

continued vigor of the Aryan imagination.


these

presents

evolved work.

One only

of

any of the characteristics of a naturally


This

is

the

great

poem

of

Dante, the

Divina Commedia^ in which the Middle-Age mythology


of the Christian Church has become embodied in song, the

record of a stage of thought which can never be repro-

duced upon the

civilized earth.

Tlie Inferno of

Dante

is

the mediaeval expression of a succession of extraordinary

conceptions of the future destiny of the soul.


of strict

Aryan

These are

origin, since all non- Aryan nations

have

had very vague conceptions of the punishment of the

THE ARYAN RACE.

266
wicked.
the

to

to that

The extreme unfoldment of the hell-idea we owe


Hindu imagination, and a less exaggerated one
It would be difficult to conceive of
of Persia.

a more grotesquely extravagant series of future tortures


than those of the Buddhistic
carried

cue to

Their

by the Buddhists

Mohammed and
final

product

they have
ferno.

is

attained

We may

These ideas have been

hell.

to China, while they

instigated the hell of the Koran.

the hell of mediaeval Europe, and

poetical

expression in

tlferefore fairly class this

primitive epics of mankind, as

it

human

of mythical

conceptions which have

culture

civilization,

Dante's In-

poem with

the

gives poetic expression

to a stage of

advance of

gave the

and a natively evolved

series

died out with the

but which were as essential

ele-

ments of thought-development as the worship of mythical


deities

We
of

and the admiration of heroic demigods.


have given considerable attention to the development

Aryan

epic poetry

from the evidence which

it

presents

Aryan imaginamankind. None of these

of the distinctly superior character of the


tion to that of the other races of

can be fairly said to have reached the epic level of thought.

The Aryans have continuously progressed beyond this


level.
But the steps of this progression can here but conThe epic spirit in ancient Greece
cisely be indicated.
unfolded in two directions, one producing the imaginative
historical narrative, the other giving

The former

of

these in that

quickly developed into history in


the

rigidly critical

Thucydides.

The

rise

actively
its

the drama.

intellectual

land

highest sense, yielding

and philosophical
latter as quickly

to

historical

gave

work of

rise to a succes-

sion of the noblest dramatic productions of mankind, those

of the three great tragedians of Greece.

Elsewhere

in the

THE ARYAN LITERATURE.


ancient world the course of development

same.

Rome produced no

but

historic

in

it

was much

drama of

native

production

267

rivalled the

the

literary value,

best

work of

Greece, passing from the half-fabulous historical legends


of Livy to the critical production of Tacitus.
spect practical

Rome was

In this

re-

in strong contrast to imaginative

India, in which land history remained undeveloped, while

a drama of considerable merit came into existence.


If

now we

literature,

modern European
pursue a somewhat different

consider the unfoldment of


to

is

it

find

it

channel, and reach results not attained in ancient times.

The rhymed romance

of chivalry

was the

direct outgrowth

of the epic spirit in mediaeval Europe, and

was accom-

panied by metrical histories as fabulous as the romance.


In their continued development these two forms of
ture deviated.

The

the history of fact.

litera-

history of fable gradually unfolded into

Prose succeeded verse, and criticism

The rhymed romance, on its part, deprose romance, and lost more and more of

replaced credulity.

veloped into the


its

magical element, until

possible.

had got

it

fully entered the region of the

continued tedious and extravagant, but

It still

rid of its old cloak of

Ancient

fiction

mythology.

reached a stage somewhat similar to

though not by the same steps of progress.


eras

of

Greece

romantic fictions

pastoral, religious,

and adventurous

appeared,

this,

In the later
comprising

tales similar to those

which were the ruling fashion of a few centuries ago in


Europe. But there was little trace of the allegory, which

became such a
fathers.

stage,

favorite form of literature with our fore-

In India this development stopped at a lower


that

the active

and fairy lore. But in this field


Hindu imagination produced abundantly, and
of

fable

THE ARYAN RACE.

268

and Arabian magical

directly instigated the Persian

Througli the latter

atui'e.

influence entered

its

liter-

modern

Hindu tales were extant in the


Middle Ages, and from them seems to have directly outgrown the short novel or tale, which attained such popuEurope.

larity

Collections of the

and reached

Decameron

highest level of art in the

its

of Boccaccio.

more modern times the imaginary narrative has


passed onward to a far higher stage than it attained in the
But

in

ancient period, and has yielded the character-novel of our

own

day,

tion

and reason of the Aryan mind have gained

literary

in

which the combined imagina-

The novel

est development.

and

form

reflective era.

It

their lofti-

the epic of the scientific

is

has cast

off

the barbaric splendor

of the mantle of verse and of magical and supernatural

embellishments, and has descended to quiet prose and


actual

conditions.

life

mestic stage.

It

It

has

left the heroic for the do-

has replaced the outlined characters of

the epic by critical dissections that reveal the inmost fibres


of
in

human
it

character.

been replaced

evolution.

The

stirring action of the epic has

in great part

by

reflection

and mental

It forms, in short, the storehouse into

flows all the varied thought of

modern

times, there to be

wrought into an exact reproduction of the physical,

and mental

life

of

which

social,

man.

The modern drama unfolded at an earlier date than the


novel.
But its evolution was a native one only in Spain
and England. Elsewhere it was but an imitation of the
drama of the ancient world. It attained its highest level
in the

works of Shakspeare, which indeed prefigured the

modern novel

in the critical exactness

and mental depth

of their character-pictures and in the reflective vein which

THE ARYAN LITERATURE.


underlies

its

complete reproductions of

man, and dissections of the human understand-

intellectual

ing in

As

all their action.

269

every anatomical detail, they probably stand at

the highest level yet reached by the powers of

The remaining outgrowth

thought.

human

of epic narrative, that

of prose history, has likewise attained a remarkable devel-

and has become as philosophical


and critical as the narrative of ancient times, with few
exceptions, was crude, credulous, and unphilosophical.
If an attempt be made to compare the literary work

modern

opment

in

of the

non- Aryan nations in these particulars with the

times,

Aryan productions,

it

will reveal a very

marked contrast
Noth-

between the value of the two schools of thought.


inof

need be said of the

fictitious or historical literature of

the ancient non-Aryan civilizations.

power very

far

It lay in intellectual

below the level attained by Greece.

The

only important literary nation of modern times outside


the

Aryan world

China.

is

In the making of books the

Chinese have been exceedingly active, and their literature


is enormous in quantity; the Europeans scarcely surpass

them

in this respect.

But

in regard to quality they stand

immeasurably below the Aryan

level.

Though China has produced no


very

prolific in historical

what

is

torical

stage.

called the

epic

poem,

and descriptive

drama and the

novel.

it

has been

literature

Yet

and

in

in its his-

work it has not gone a step beyond the annalistic


The idea of historical philosophy is yet to be born

in this ancient land.

As

for tracing events to their causes,

and taking that broad view of history which converts the


consecutive detail of human deeds into a science, and displays to us the seemingly inconsequential movements of
nations as really controlled by necessity and directed by

THE ARYAN RACE.

270

the unseen hand of evolution, such a conception has not

yet entered the uuimaginativ^e Chinese mind.

As

regards

Chinese drama and novel,

the

unworthy of the name.

utterly

they are

Character-delineation

is

the distinctive feature of the modern novel, and of this


the novel of China

minable dialogues,

void.

is

in

which moral

many

lawsuits,

feasts,

sports,

made

is

plot, but

abundance of
paragons of

all

no character.

imaginable virtues,

of the Chinese drama.

trifling
b}^

abound

stories

in

promenades, and school examis

Their heroes are

The same may be

It is all action.

character-analysis fail to enter.

There

polished, fascinating,

everything but human.

inter-

tedious

and usually wind up with marriage.

inations,

learned

The

inconsequential details.

and

reflections

discussions mingle, while the narrative


its

mainly of

It consists

Reflection

said

and

There are abundance of

descriptions of fights and grand spectacles, myths, puns,

and grotesque

allusions, intermingled with songs

The plot
with some skill but often the play
sometimes very

is

lets.

plot,

though

is

Fireworks, disguised men, and

ecutions.

bal-

almost destitute of

horrible details of murders

full of

and

and managed

intricate,

men

and ex-

personating

animals, are admired features of those strange spectacles

but as for any display of a high order of intellectuality,

no trace of

it

can be discovered in the dramatic or

fictitious

literature of this very ancient literary people.

There

many

is

no occasion,

in this review, to consider all the

divisions into which

unfolded.

There

is,

modern Aryan

We

has

however, yet another of the ancient

and naturally evolved branches of


into account.

literature

literature to be taken

have said that the general course of

poetic development seems to have been from the religious

THE ARYAN LITERATURE.


through the heroic
tinued

lyric

poetry con-

development, accompanying and succeeding the

its

epic.

But

lyric to the epic.

271

has indeed come

It

down

to our

broad flood of undiminished song.


truly so called, that

we

own

It is

times in a

with the

are here concerned,

the

lyric,

poetry

human emotion and


poetry of action. To this

of reflection, the metrical analysis of

thought, in contrast with the

may

be added the poetry of description, of the love-song,

and of the

details of

common

life,

with

all their

numerous

varieties.

In this

more

field

of literature alone

the other races

directly into comparison with the

every branch of the Aryan race has


the remaining peoples of civilized

and

less so,

in this direction

out-reach of poetic thought.

In the

celled in the lyric.

come

Aryan.

Prolific as

been in

lyric song,

mankind have been

little

have attained their highest

The Hebrews specially expoem of moral reflection and

devotion, in the delineation of the scenes and incidents


of rural

life,

and

in the

use of apposite metaphor, they

stand unexcelled, while in scope of sublime imagery the

poem

Job has never been equalled.

of

This poetry, how-

ever, belongs to a primitive stage of mental development,

that

in

The

mankind.
its

which worship was the ruling mental interest of


intellect of

man had

modern breadth, and was confined

not expanded into


to a

narrow range

of subjects of contemplation.

At

a later period the Semitic race broke into a second

outburst of lyric fervor,


perial era.

But

this failed to reach

intellectual conception.

to love

and eulogy

harmony

that of the Arabians

in their im-

any high standard of

Their poems were largely devoted

and while they had the same metrical

as their direct successors, the

works of the Trou-

THE ARYAN EACE.

272
badours and

the

largely void of

give

Minnesiugers,

the}^,

like

were

these,

thought, and lacked sufficient vitality to

them coutiuued

life.

In China, again, we find a very

considerable development of non- Aryan lyric song, coming

down from
lyrics
it

a very early period of the nation.

And

have often much merit as quiet pictures of

life

these
;

but

cannot be claimed that they show any lofty intellectual

For the highest development of the

power.

every form of literary work,

we must come

h'ric,

to the

as of

Aryan

world, where alone thought has climbed and broadened,

reaching
ing to

its

its

universe.

the

human

highest level and

its

widest outlook, and sink-

profoundest depth of analysis of the mental

So far as

literature

embodies the powers of

intellect, it points to the

Aryan development

as supremely in advance of that of the other races of

mankind.

XI.

OTHER ARYAN CHARACTERISTICS.

IT

is

necessary, in continuation of our subject, to con-

sider the comparative record of

mankind

other races of
of

art,

science,

distinctions
sible

to

mechanical

principal races.

point of view,

and mental.

skill,

If
it is

lines

we

the

and the other main

In doing so, certain marked

make themselves

draw broad

Aryan and

respect to the development

in

essentials of civilization.

the

of

apparent, and

it

seems pos-

demarcation between the

consider the Negro race from this

to find a lack of energy both physical

Nowhere

in the region inhabited

by

this race

do we perceive indications of high powers either of work


or thought.

No monuments

of architecture appear

philosophies or literatures have

And

arisen.

in

no

their

present condition they stand mentally at a very low level,


while physically they confine themselves to the labor absolutely necessary to existence.

They

neither

think above the lowest level of life-needs

America, under

all

the instigation of

Aryan

work nor

and even in
activity, the

Negro race displays scarcely any voluntary energy


of thought or work.

It

either

goes only as far as the sharp

whip of necessity drives, and looks upon indolence and


sunshine as the terrestrial Paradise.

The record of the Mongolian race is strikingly different.


Here, too, we find no great scope or breadth of thought,
but there is shown a decided tendency to muscular exertion.
18

THE ARYAN EACE.

274
For pure

work the Mougolians have been un-

activity of

surpassed, and no difficulty seems to have deterred them

most stupendous

in the perforaiauce of the

labors.

The

Aryans have never displayed an equal disposition to handnot, however, from lack of energy, but simply that
labor,

Aryan energy
brain, while

muscles.

is

largely drafted off to the region of the

Mongolian energy

The Aryan makes every

Labor-saving machinery

is

his

mainly centred in the

is

effort to save his

hands.

great desideratum.

The

Mongolian, with equal native energy, centres this energy


within his muscles, while his brain lies fallow.

The

Chi-

nese, for instance, are the hardest hand-workers in the

world.

perform

of purely physical exertion which they

The amount
is

nowhere surpassed.

The productiveness of

their country, through the activity of hand-labor alone, is

considerably superior to that of any other country not

possessed of effective machinery.

But

they exist in an unprogressive state.

by the brain

to relieve the

Chinese thought

is

in

regard to thought

Little has

hand from

its

been done

arduous labor.

mainly a turning over of old straw.

The land is almost empt}" of original mental productions.


If we consider the record of the Mongolians of the past
They have left us monuments
the same result appears.
of strenuous work, but none of highly developed thought.

China, the most enlightened of Mongolian nations, has an

immense ancient literature, but none that can be compared


with Aryan literature in respect to display of mental ability.
Its highest expression is its philosophy, and that, in
enormously below the contemporary

intellectual grasp, is

philosophy of

India.

muscular exertion

it

China far surpasses

But

in

respect to

has no superior.
in the

work

evidences of

The Great Wall

of

there embodied any other

OTHER ARYAN CHARACTERISTICS.


human

single product of

labor.

outcome of advanced thought.

Yet

is in

it

It is

275

no sense an

the product of

purely practical mind, and one of a low order of

intelli-

gence, as evidenced by the utter uselessness of this vast

monument

of exertion for

Canal of China

intended purpose.

The Great

another product of a purely practical

is

Every labor performed by China has a very

intellect.

evident purpose.
are no

its

There

It is all industrial or protective.

monuments

to the imagination.

Yet the lack of

mental out-reach has prevented any great extension of

At long

labor-saving expedients.

extended

life

appeared,

such as that of

much more than


nearly

its

the

of

nation,

some useful invention has

original stage, while in Europe, during a con-

Among

labor in China are

the
its

it

has made an almost miraculous

few

illustrations of

the architectural
If

monuments

now we review
whose

non-practical

pagodas, which seem like the play-

things of a rudimentary imagination

rigines,

Yet for

the art of printing.

a thousand years this art has remained in

siderably shorter period,

advance.

intervals, during the

when compared with

of Europe.

the products of the American abo-

closest

affinities

are

certainly

with

Mongolians, we arrive at a similar conclusion.

the

There

is

evidence of an immense ability for labor, but of no superior

powers of thought.

The quantity

of

sheer muscular

exertion expended on the huge architectural structures and


the great roads of Peru, the

immense pyramids of Mexico,

and the great buildings of Yucatan,


huge mounds
Mississippi

erected

valley

are

is

by the ancient dwellers


equally

extraordinary,

here no lack of muscular energy.

No

in

the

when we

consider the barbarian condition of their builders.


is

The

extraordinary.

There

people of native

THE ARYAN RACE.

276

indolence could have erected these monuments, or have

There

even conceived the idea of them.


ability to

The

work displayed, but no great

is

abundant

ability to think.

great roads of Peru are products of a practical mind.

In regard to the remaining works, they were largely incited

by

religious thought.

They

yield us in massive walls

and

crude ornamentation the record of the highest imaginative

When

out-reach and artistic power of the American mind.


w^e

come

pression

to
is

examine them we

that their

Their art

hugeness.

that of

find

is

except in some few striking instances in the


tecture

and statuary of Yucatan.

of intellectual ability, but


stage.

Energy

is

it

rudimentary,

Maya

archi-

There are indications

remains in

not lacking, but

main ex-

it is

its

undeveloped

mainly confined to

the muscles, and but slightly vitalizes the mind.

We

have evidences of similar conditions

in the

works of

architecture remaining from the pre- Aryan age of Europe.

The huge monoliths

of Stonehenge, Avebury, and Carnac,

and the Cyclopean walls of Greece and Italy (the

latter

Aryan formation) indicate a race or an era


when muscle was in the ascendant and thought in embryo.
The idea was the same as that indicated in the structures
possibly of

of Asia and America,


that

to astound future man with

seem the work of giant

builders.

No

indication of

the loftiest conception of architectural art appears,


of the

edifices

that

simple combination of the ornamental with the

practical,

and the

restriction of size to the

demands of

necessity and the requirements of graceful proportion.

astonish by mere hugeness

veloped mind.
only

higlil}'

is

To

a conception of the unde-

Blind force can raise a mountain mass

developed intellect can erect a Greek temple.

The Melanochroic

division of the white race repeats in

OTHER ARYAN CHARACTERISTICS.


its
it

work the Mongolian

much

characteristic of hugeness.

higher level of art.

and

tectural

artistic

In the extraordinary archi-

monuments

sheer muscular vigor displayed

Egypt the power of


astounding.
The world

of

is

has never shown a greater degree of energy

but

The

rather energy of the hands than of the mind.

dimentary idea of vast

works

it

is

ru-

main expression of these

size is the

and though they have

Yet

and has attained

thought-powers,

superior

indicates

277

sufficient artistic value to

show a considerable mental unfoldment, yet hugeness of


dimensions and the power of overcoming difficulties are
were eager

to

could perform

they were

tliought they could

And

yet

The

Egypt
show the world of the future what labors they

their overruling characteristics.

among

much

old rulers of

less eager to

show what

embody.
the

monuments

of

Egypt and those of

the sister nations of Assyria and Babylonia

we

find our-

selves in a circle of thought of far higher grade than that

displayed by the Mongolian monuments.

There

is indi-

cated a vigorous power of imagination and an artistic ability


of no

mean

grade, while

strong evidence

appears that

but for the restraint of conventionality and the distracting


idea of hugeness, art would have attained a

much higher

The rudiment of the Greek temple appears in the


architecture of Egypt and Assyria, and the former is a

level.

direct outgrowth

from the

latter in the

hands of a people

of superior intellectuality.
If the

Negro

is

indolent both physically and mentally,

the Mongolian energetic physically but undeveloped mentally,

and the Melanochroi active physically and to some

extent mentally, in the

Aryan we

find a highly vigorous

and developed mental

activity.

Though by no means

THE AKYAN RACE.

278

lackiDg in physical energy, the mind

muscular work

this race,

is

the ruling agent in

reduced to the lowest level

is

demands of the body and the intellect, and every effort is made to limit the quantity of
work represented in a fixed quantity of product. Waste
Use is the guiding
labor is a crime to the Aryan mind.
consistent with the

It is to this ruling

principle in all effort.


intellect

over

the

energies

of

agency of the

muscular

and active

organism that we owe the superior quality, the restricted

Aryan labor products.


more strongly represented

dimensions, and the vast quantity of

In this work pure thought

is

far

than pure labor.

In the two great intellectual Aryan peoples of the past,


the

Greek and the Hindu, the

artistic

products are strik-

ingly in accordance with the character of their respective


mentality.

The work of

tive exuberance, with a

we have

the
lacls:

Hindu displays an imaginaIn

of reasoning control.

it

rather the idea of vastness than of hugeness, a

vague yet strong mental upreach, while a

most a wildness, of ornament


activity of

the imagination.

testifies to

There

is

superfluity, al-

the unrestrained

indicated no con-

The Hindus were almost devoid


Their architecture seems an embodiment

trolling idea of utility.

of practicality.

of their philosophy,

throughout.

daring, unrestrained, and unpractical

In their older cave-temples, such as that at

Elephanta, sheer labor


it is

is

the strongest characteristic

labor underlaid with a vigorous sense of art.

but

In the

extraordinary excavations at Ellora an exuberant imagibefore

and we seem to gaze upon

nation carries

all

an epic poem

in stone, rendered inartistic

it,

by

its

endless

superfluity of ornament.

In Greek arcliitecture and

in all

Greek

nrt.

on the con-

OTHER ARYAN CHARACTERISTICS.

279

a subdued imagination.

trary, are visible the evidences of

In breadth and height of imaginative conception the Greek

mind

is

no sense inferior to the Hindu, but

in

it is

every-

where restrained by the habit of observation and by a

The Hindu looked

sense of the logical fitness of things.

inward for

his models,

and

built his temples to

his

models

in the lines

and forms of the

sought to bring his work into


grace, harmony,
this

and

visible,

conformity with the

strict

and moderation of external Nature.

was born with him.

In

True

he attained a remarkable success.

effort

the con-

The Greek looked outward,

ceptions of his imagination.

found

fit

art

All excess and exuberance disap-

pears, the wings of the imagination are clipped, and

down

kept

flights

to the level of the visible earth.

idea of the practical


the ornamental.

and with a

tions,

from
as a

its

Nature

clipped.

all its lines

It sins in

It is

tions of the

lies

in

an excess of

To

achievement

the

human frame.

imagination are too severely

But the Greek

body that he
This

is

in a

and

this the

and propor-

fixed his eyes

measure

lost sight

not the highest conception

imitate physical Nature exactly,


;

this re-

undoubtedly a high conception of art accu-

animating soul.

of art.

it

one direction, as Hindu art does in the


of

so closely upon the


its

Greek

and propor-

art.

rately to reproduce in marble the exact details

of

to the

rendering that detracts

strictly faithful

The wings

other.

mind

the

rigidly maintained.

reproduced in

defect of Greek art

straint.

is

of

value as a work of the intellect, while adding to

work of

The

The

everywhere combined with that of

The subordination

teachings of visible
art is the actual,

is

its

Greek

gree that can never be surpassed.

was a great

artist attained to a de-

But

to reproduce the

THE ARYAN RACE.

2 so

mind

in the body, is a greater achievement

Greek

direction

made but

art

and

in this

the preliminary steps.

The great statues of Greece represent types, not


They display the mental characteristics of
viduals.
modesty, terror, dignity, and the
detail.

like, in the gross,

indi-

fear,

not in

Their works are like the combined photographs

by which the general typical features of groups of men are


now reproduced. The special and individual varieties of
these characters

are never represented.

with Greek architecture.

vaded.

It is

painting,

had

is

a magnificent body, but

The same would doubtless prove


it

with Greek literature.

and

everywhere per-

it

lacks the soul.

to be the case with

been preserved.

same

the

empty of the deep

it is

with which Nature

spiritual significance

is

the harmonies

It contains

proportions of physical Nature, but

It

Greek

It is largely the

case

are types of

man

Its characters

Too strict
more largely than they are individual men.
devotion to the seen is the weak point in Greek thought.
Its flight lies

below the level of the unseen.

Modern Aryan

art

has taken a higher

body,

While

flight.

has paid more to the

paying

less attention to the

soul.

In Gothic architecture the imagination displays a

it

certain extravagance of manifestation

but in

it

there

is

embodied something of that profound and awe-inspiring


spiritual significance of

manifest.

Modern

Nature which Greek

sculpture, while

it

art fails to

does not attain to

the Greek level of physical perfection, indicates a higher


It represents the individual instead of

ideal of mentality.

the group, and seeks to reproduce


special, instead of

its

But the true modern

human emotion

in its

general varieties of manifestation.

arts, those best suited for

bodiment, are painting and music.

Of

mental em-

these the former

OTHER ARYAN CHARACTERISTICS.


attained some ancient development

modern

as an art.

in music,

the

281

the latter

is

strictly

mainly in these, and particularly

It is

latest production of

Aryan

soul shows through the thought, and that

that

art,

man

the

has broken

the crust of clay which envelops his inmost being, and

everywhere underlies Nature.

that

significance

the deep spiritual

art with

animated the products of his

work of the modern

artist, in fact,

we seem

In the

to have

found

the true middle line between the opposite one-sidedness of

Greek and Hindu

art.

ible too strongly controls

In the former of these the

vis-

in the latter the invisible.

In

the one the logical, in the other the imaginative, faculty of


the

mind

seeks to

make

The modern

undue predominance.

attains

these extremes meet.

He

artist

fails to rival the

work mainly because his thought looks deeper than mere physical perfection
he fails to display the Hindu exuberance of fancy
Greek

in the physical perfection of his

from the fact that he never loses sight of the physical.

As

a consequence, his work pursues the mid-channel be-

tween the

logical

Nature as

it

mated by a

modern
societ3\

and the imaginative, and reproduces

actually exists,
soul.

art, as it

It
is

is

everywhere

body

ani-

the individual that appears in

the individual that rules in

modern

In ancient nations the individual was of secon-

dary importance.

The group was

the national unit alike

in the family, the village, the gens, the tribe,

and the va-

The individual was imand became as imperfectly

rious subdivisions of the State.

perfectly recognized in society,

recognized in

art.

In respect to the art of the non-Aryan nations

need be

said.

It lay far, often

level of

Aryan

art.

What

little

immeasurably, below the

the art of

Egypt might have

THE ARYAN RACE.

282
attained

freed from the restraint of conventionalism,

if

it

to say.

It

would i)robably even then have

ended where Greek

art

began, as we find to be the case

is

difficult

The

with the less conventionalized art of Assyria.


the Americans

examples
a rule

mark

more rudimentary.

far

In one or two

approaches the character of Greek

it

is

it

was

art,

but as

The same

rather grotesque than artistic.

modern China.

applies to the art of

art of

re-

It belongs to

the childhood of thought.

The world

science

is

In this important

world.
races

of

of

mankind stop

almost completely an Aryan

field

of thought the non- Aryan

threshold

the

at

Their most important work

discovery.

the formation of the

in

is

of

calendar, to which strict necessity seems to have driven

them.

In this direction considerable progress was early

attainedo

Each of

the primitive civilizations measured the

length of the year with close exactness, the Mexicans particularly so, their calendar being almost equally accurate

This was a work of pure

with that of modern nations.

observation, and astronomical conditions seem strongly to

have attracted the attention of early man.

In fact the

only extended series of scientific observations in the far


past of which
in their close

we

are aware,

value of this work,

we

As

really

observations were

nearly

all

that of the Babylonians,

watch upon the movements of the stars and

their study of eclipses.

ilar

is

to the

accuracy and actual

know very

recorded

little.

by the

Some

Chinese.

sim-

But

the actual results of science which the Ar^^an

has received from the exterior world consist in these few


astronomical observations,
length of the year,

its

the partial

division into

and the similar division of the day into

settlement of the

months and weeks,


its

minor portions.

OTHER ARYAN CHARACTERISTICS.


On

this small

foundation the Aryans have built an im-

Aryan

mense superstructure.

science

began with the

Greeks, w^iose tendency to exact observation


critically

many

acquainted with

Yet during

of Nature.

283

all

of the facts

the early eras of

made them

and conditions

Greek

enlight-

activity of the imagination prevented this habit

enment the

of observation from producing valuable scientific results.

was devoted principally to the purposes of philosophy


and art. It was necessary that able men, in whom logic

It

was superior

to imagination, should arise ere science could

The

fairly begin.

dk\es,

the true

men we find
thinker, who made

of these

practical

cool,

in

Thucy-

history a

was Aristofounder of observational science, which had

The second

science.
tle,

first

of

marked

superiority

but a feeble existence before his day.

His teacher, Plato,

was a true Greek, with all the fervor of the Hellenic imAn
Aristotle was essentially a logical genius.
agination.
effort to

bring himself into conformity with the prevailing

conditions of Greek thought forced him into various lines


of speculation

but the ruling tendency of his mind was

toward incessant observation of facts for the accumulaThere had been preceding
tion of exact knowledge.

Greek

Several noted physicians, particularly

naturalists.

Hippocrates, had

made medical

investigations.

Aristotle

made use of the work of these men but it is doubtful if it


was of much extent or accuracy. To it he added a great
accumulation of facts, while laying down the laws of logi;

cal thought,

which

Any

little

which he was the

first

to formulate,

and to

of value has been since added.

review of the subsequent history of science in the

Aryan world

is

beyond our purpose.

subject to be even

named

It is far too vast a

at the conclusion of a chapter.

THE ARYAN RACE.

284
It will suffice to

say that the Greek mind seized with avid-

upon the new field of labor thus opened to it.


native soil to Greek thought, although it yet lay

ity

It

was

fallow.

The tendency of the Hellenic race to critical observation


had for centuries been fitting them for the work of research into the facts of Nature and had the Greek intel;

lect

remained

in the

ascendant there

is

no doubt that the

schools of Alexandria would have been the focus of a

great scientific development durhig the ancient era.


it

was they performed a

built

amount of good

large

vv'ork,

a broad foundation for the future growth of

product of the

this

As
and

new

human understanding.

The Arabian empire served

as the counecting-Unk be-

tween the thought of the ancient and modern world. We


cannot exactly say the Arabians, for this broad empire
clasped the thinkers of nearly
within

its

mighty grasp.

phy and science

to

additions but no

It

all

of civilized

mankind

handed down Greek philoso-

modern Europe,

the former with many

improvements, the

latter

considerably

The Arabian fancy played with Greek


phy, but was incapable of developing it, or even
advanced.

philoso-

of fully

But observation and experiment needed


no vigorous powers of the intellect, and in this direction
many important discoveries were added by the Arabians to
comprehending

it.

As

to the vast results of scien-

observation of the modern

Aryan world, nothing need

the science of the Greeks.


tific

here be said.

The

coffers of science are filled to bursting

with their wealth of facts.

But science has by no means been confined to observation.


The Aryan imagination has worked upon its store

worked upon its store of


and has yielded as abundant and far more valuable

of facts as actively as of old


fancies,

it

OTHER ARYAN CHARACTERISTICS.


Nature

results.

by one her

is

285

being rebuilt in the mind of man.

One

and principles are being deduced from


her observed conditions, and man is gaining an ever-widenlavv^s

ing and deepening knowledge of the realities of the universe in wiiich he lives.
And he is beginning to " know

himself " in a far wider sense than was in the mind of the
Grecian sage when he uttered this celebrated aphorism.

The imagination

of the past dealt largely with legend, with


misconceptions of the universe, with half observations,

and devised a long

of interesting but

series

The imagination of

fictions.

and more with

critically

from the seen.

This great

the present

is

valueless

dealing more

observed facts, and deducing


from them the trne philosophy of the universe, that of
natural law, and of the unseen as logically demonstrable
longs to the Aryans alone.

The other

have not yet penetrated beyond

Modern Aryan

One

mankind

boundaries.

made up of many more


whose development we have hastily

most marked of these is that of laborThis is somewhat strictly confined to

modern times and


it

races of

of the

saving machinery.

limit

its

civilization is

elements than those


reviewed.

of intellectual labor be-

field

to

the

Aryan

nations.

has never existed in other than

its

Beyond
embryo

this

state.

Tools to aid hand-work have been devised, but the employment of other powers than the muscles of man to do the
labor of the world
it

is

almost a new idea, scarcely a trace of

being discoverable beyond the borders of what

denominate modern Arya.

we may
The immense progress made

development of this idea is comparable with the


unfoldment of science, and together they form the backbone of modern civilization. Knowledge of Nature, and
in the

industrial application of this knowledge,

have given

man

THE ARYAN RACE.

286

most vigorous hold upon the universe he inhabits

and

in

place of the slow, halting, and uncertain steps of progress

now moving forward with a sure and


and dowm broad paths of development as firm

in the past, he is
solid tread,

and

dh-ect as were the great high-roads that led straight

outward from Rome to every quarter of the

The progress

civilized

of commerce, of finance, and

into the underlying laws of social aggregation

economy, has been no

less

great.

vv

orld.

of inquiry

and

Here, too,

political

we must

Aryan race, so far as


modern activity is concerned. Commerce, however, had
its origin at a very remote period of human history, and
confine ourselves to the limits of the

attained a

marked development

in

the Aryans had yet entered the

There

is

Semitic lands before


circle

of

civilization.

every reason to believe that the ancient Baby-

somewhat extensive sea and river commerce


a very remote epoch. They were succeeded by the

lonians had a
at

who displayed a boldness in daring the dangers of unknown seas that was never emulated by their
The overland commerce of the
successors, the Greeks.
Since the origin of
Phoenicians was also very extensive.

Phoenicians,

Greek commerce, however, little activity has been shown


in this direction by non- Aryan peoples, with the one exception of the Arabians,

commerce

who

carried on an extensive ocean

in their imperial era,

and who to-day penetrate

nearly every region of Africa in commercial enterprises.

In this respect, also, modern China manifests some minor


activity.

Yet the Aryans

are,

and have been, the great

commercial people of the earth, and have developed mercantile enterprise to

an extraordinary degree.

activity has

been handed down

from branch

to

in

Commercial

an interesting sequence

branch of the Aryan race, the Greeks, the

OTHER ARYAN CHARACTERISTICS.

287

Venetians, the Italians, the Portuguese, the Spanish, and


the Dutch each flourishing for a period, and then giving

way
is

to a successor.

To-day, however, commercial activity

becoming a common Aryan

characteristic,

and though

England now holds the ascendency, her position

longer one of assured supremacy.

no

is

century or two more

will

probably find every Aryan community aroused to ac-

tive

commercial enterprise, and no single nation will be

able to claim dominion over the empire of trade.

any non Aryan nation

That

an early period enter actively

will at

into competition in this struggle for the control of

merce,

is

The Japanese

questionable.

now shows a strong disposition to


tages of Aryan progress, China
closely in the cloak

ceive that a

is

com-

the only one that

avail itself of the advan-

yet hugging herself too

of her satisfied self-conceit to per-

new world has been created during her long

slumber.

There

is

one further particular

may be made between


races of mankind,
direction,

have

also, it

progressed

in

which comparison

Aryan and

the

that of

the

non-Aryan

moral development.

In this

can readily be shown that the Aryans

beyond

all

competitors.

their

This,

however, cannot be said in regard to the promulgation


of

the

laws

of

morality,

the

great

body of

rules

of

conduct which liave been developed for the private gov-

ernment of mankind.

It is singular to find that

no im-

portant code of morals can be traced to Aryan authorship,

with the single exception of the Indian branch of the


race.

There we find the Buddhistic code, which

tainly

one of

remarkable

very great measure lost

its

character,
influence

is

cer-

but which has in

upon the Aryan

race.

Alike the morality and the philosophy of Buddhism have

THE ARYAN RACE.

288

almost vanished from the land of their birth,

system

religious

now

is

race, while its lofty code

lost

its

of moral observance has

a ruling force

as

this

Mongo-

nearly confined to the

lian

value

and

modern Bud-

the

in

dhistic world.

second great code of morals

and constitutes

the

essentially

is

whole of Confucianism.

This religion of educated China consists

moral

series of

Confucius,

that of

simply of

rules, of a character capable

making

of

a highly elevated race of the Chinese, had they any de-

They

cided influence.

abundantly, but only

are studied

The moral condition

as a literary exercise.

modern

of

China indicates very clearly that the Confucian code


one of lip-service only.

The
trine

and highest of the three great codes of

third

morals

human conduct promulgated by

of

as the mere

already

rules

differs in

it

named.

conduct

of

Buddhism warns man


if

good, that 3"0U

its

may

is

virtue

in

to be virtuous

attain Nirvana.
to

are

its

lack of

broad human symif

Do good

do good to you.

dogmas of the two great non-Christian


it

it

he would

he would attain earthly happiness.

you wish others

because

in

So

Confucianism advises him

escape from earthly misery.


to be virtuous

embraced

superior merit lies

Its

Christ.

no essential features from those

appeal to the selfish instincts, and


pathy.

being the lofty doc-

authorship,

Semitic

of

is

concerned,

if

impres-

little

upon the hearts of the people.

sion

far

has made but

It

is

your duty,
the

is

These are the

codes.

the Christ dogma.

soul.

All

Do

to others

men

Do good
Sin

de-

are

brothers,

and should regard one another with brotherly

affection.

files,

"Love one

purifies,

another."

This

is

the basic

command

of the

OTHER ARYAN CHARACTERISTICS.

And

code of Christ.

command we have

in this

human conduct,

est principle of

289

the high-

law of duty that

is

hampered by no conditions, and weakened by no promises.


It is singular that the creed of Christ has become the

The Semites, even the


Hebrews, of whose nation Christ was a scion, ignore
But throughout nearly
his mission and his teachings.
the whole of the Aryan world it is the prevailing creed,
creed of the

and

race alone.

code of morals

its

degree

Aryan

than we

find

in

remainder of mankind.

to-day observed in a higher

is

the

moral observance

Elsewhere, indeed, there

dance of private and local virtue, and rigidly

of
is

the

abun-

strict ob-

servance of some laws of conduct, though others of equal

But nowhere

value are greatly neglected.


charity and the sense of

breadth they display in


else

but there
sense of

There
is

is

abundance of

also

abundance

human duty which

replaced here with

human

a broad

mankind be

evil in the

good

of
is

all

elsewdiere

and

mankind.

19

Aryan

said

nations,

and the minor


manifested

lofty view that

stamps the Aryan as the great moral, as


intellectual, race of

has

human brotherhood attained the


the Aryan world, and nowhere

can the feeling of sympathy with

to exist.

else

it

is

is

fairly

the great

XII
HISTORICAL MIGRATIONS.

WHEN

history opens,

it

in possession of a vast region of the

isphere, including

How

tions.

long

expansion from
tles it

some of

its fairest

and most

had been engaged

it

its

had won and what defeats experienced,


But we may

silent.

rest

in

this

in attaining this

prehistoric abyss.

what

on

what

bat-

victories

it

human
assured that many

centuries of outrage, slaughter, misery,

hidden

fruitful por-

primitive contracted locality

had fought and what blood shed

annals are

Aryan race
eastern hem-

reveals to us the

all this

and brutality

Millions of

lie

men were

swept from the face of the earth, millions more deprived


of their possessions,

and even of

their religions

and

lan-

Aryan tribes, during


The relations of human

guages, millions incorporated into the

expansion of primitive Arya.

this

races,

for

which had perhaps remained practically undisturbed

many thousands

of years, were largely changed

by

this

vigorous irruption of the most energetic family of mankind.

man

It

was as

society,

mankind
lines of

into

if

an earthquake had rent the

broken up

all its

soil

of hu-

ancient strata, and thrown

new and confused

relations, burying the old

demarcation too deeply to be ever discovered.

The Aryan migration displays the marks of a high vigor


for so barbaric an age, and was probably the most enerIt met
getic of all the prehistoric movements of mankind.
with no check in Europe except in the frozen regions of

HISTORICAL MIGRATIONS.
the extreme North, and there

brought

it

there

Such also

to rest.

The

northern Asia.

became

it

was Nature, not man, that


was probably the case in
and the mountain-ranges

deserts

boundaries.

its

291

China lay safe behind her

almost impassable desert and mountain borders.

In the

They

south of Asia only the Semites held their own.

offered as outposts the warlike tribes and nations of SjTia

and Assyria.
existed

but

Possibly an era of hostility


if

so

has

it

left

may have

no record, and there

show that the Aryans ever broke through

to

is

nothing

this wall of

But the remainder of southern Asia

defence.

here

fell

into

their hands, with the exception of southern India with its

dense millions of aborigines, and the distant region of


Indo-China, on whose borders the Aryan migration spent
its force.

Such

Aryan world with which

the extension of the

is

history opens.

It

embraced

all

Europe, with the exception

some minor outlying portions and probably a con-

of

In Asia

siderable region in northern Russia.

it

included

Asia Minor and the Caucasus, Armenia, Media, Persia,

and India, with the intermediate Bactrian region.


formed the

Aryan outpush, and

limits of the primitive

remarkable that

it

These

failed to pass

it is

beyond these borders,

with the exception of a temporary southward expansion,


for

two or three thousand years.

conquests

but they were

all lost

of the sixteenth centur}' the


of no lands that

it

It

made some

again,

Aryan

had not occupied

race

and

at the

was

in

external

opening

possession

at the beginning of the

historical period.

This

is

a striking circumstance, and calls for some in-

quiry as to
this

its

cause.

What was

the influence that placed

long check upon the Aryan outflow?

The

acting in-

THE ARYAN RACE.

292
fluences, in fact,

were

A chief

tlie

one was

Many

expansion.

sever^il,

which

may be

briefly

named.

almost insuperable obstacle to further

new Aryan
navigation was as yet

of the boundaries of the

world were oceanic, and the art of

almost unknown to the Aryan race.

Other boundaries

were desert plains that offered no attraction to an agricul-

The purely

tural people.

pastoral and nomadic days of

In the East the boundary

the race were long since past.

was formed by the vast multitudes of Indian aborigines,


who fiercely fought for their homes and made the Hindu
advance a very gradual process.

In the South warlike

formed the boundary, and the Semitic world

Assyria

sternly held its own.

As Aryan
ambition
the

civilization progressed, the great

were

mainly included

Aryan world.

There

original migratory energy

is
;

within

the

prizes

of

borders

of

no evidence of a loss of the


yet

it

was no longer an energy

of general expansion, but of the expansion of the separate

The Aryan peoples made each other


their prey, and the outside world was safe from their inThe only alluring region of this non- Aryan
cursions.
world was that of the Semitic nations and of Egypt. This
fell at length before Aryan vigor, and became succesAnd the
sively the prey of Persia, Greece, and Rome.
branches of the race.

thriving settlements which the Phoenicians


in northern Africa fell before the

was the only extension

of the

arms of Rome.

of the borders of the

which history reveals, and


rary one.

had established

this extension

Such

Aryan world

was but a tempo-

After a thousand years of occupancy the hold

Aryans upon the Semitic and Hamitic regions was

broken, and the invading race was once more confined


within

its

old domain.

HISTORICAL MIGRATIONS.

293

necessary to repeat in detail the historic move-

It is not

ments of the Aryans of ancient tones.

These are too well

known

They began with

to

need extended description.

the rebellion of the IMedes against Assyrian rule,

and with

the subsequent rapid growth of the Persian empire, which

overran Assyria, Syria, and Egypt.

Greeks made
the

a later date the

their great historical expansion,

Alexander gained lordship over the


Still later

At

Romans

civilized

and under

Aryan world.

established a yet wider empire, and

was divided between Rome and


of these movements was the irruption

the world of civilization


Persia.

The

finale

of the Teutons

upon the Roman empire, which buried

all

the higher civilization under a flood of barbarism.

Thus

for about a thousand years the great battle-field of

the world had been confined mainly within

and the other races of

Aryan limits,
mankind had remained cowed spec-

some extent helpless victims, of this bull-dog


for empire.
The contest ended with a marked de-

tators, or to
strife

cline in civilization

and

and a temporary

loss of that industrial

development which had resulted from many


centuries of physical and mental labor.
The Aryan race
political

had completed

its first cycle,

and swung down again into

comparative barbarism, under the onslaught of


barbarous section, and as a natural result of

its

its

most

devastat-

ing and unceasing wars.

And now

a remarkable phase in the history of

events appeared.

seemed

to

The

have spent

enei-gy of the ancient


its

force.

human
Aryan world

That of the non-Aryan

world suddenly rose into an extraordinary display of vigor.


The Aryan expansion not only ceased, but a reverse movement took place. Everywhere we find its borders contracting under a fierce

and vigorous onslaught from the

THE ARYAN RACE.

294

Mongolian and Semitic


tory C3"cle

This phase of the migra-

tribes.

we may rim over

as rapidly as

we

did that of the

expanding phase.

The

first

marked

was that of the

series

movement in this migratory


linns, who overran Slavonic and

historical

pushed far into Teutonic Europe, and under the


Attila threatened to place a

of imperial

Rome.

fierce

Hunnish dynasty on the throne

The next

movement was tlie


wave of Aryan conquest

striking

Arabian, which drove back the

from the Semitic region, from Egypt, and from northern


Africa, and brought Persia and Spain under Arabian domination.

The

third

the Arabian rulers


finally

was that of the Turks, who replaced


of Persia, conquered Asia Minor, and

captured Constantinople and the Eastern Empire,

extending their dominion far into Europe and over the

Mediterranean islands.
gols,

The fourth was

that of the

under Genghiz Khan and Timur, which placed a

gol dynasty on the throne of India and

part of Russia a

Mongol realm.

minor invasions, of temporary


fierce billows

We

made

MonMon-

the greater

need not mention the

effect,

which broke

like

on the shores of the Aryan world and flowed

back, leaving ruin and disorder beliind them.

It will suffice

to describe the contraction of the borders of the Arj^an

region which succeeded this fierce outbreak of the desert

hordes upon the civilized world.


All the historical acquisitions of the Aryans were torn

The Semitic region became divided between the Turks and the Arabians. Egypt and northern
In the East, PerAfrica were rent from the Aryan world.
from

their hands.

sia, India,

and the intermediate provinces, though with no

decrease in their Aryan populations, lay under


rule.

Mongol

In the West, Spain had become an Arabian kingdom.

HISTORICAL MIGRATIONS.

A Hungarian

295

nation in central Europe was left to

onslaught of the Hunnish tribes.

mark

the

In eastern Europe, the

Tartars occupied Russia in force, and held dominion over

Farther south, the Turks

the greater part of that empire.

were in

full

possession of Asia Minor and Armenia, held

the region of ancient Greece


their barbaric rule far

The

toward the centre of Europe.

contraction of the ancient

As

and Macedonia, and extended

Aryan region had been extreme.

a dominant race they held scarce half their old domin-

ions, while in

many

regions they had been driven out or

destroyed, and replaced by peoples of alien blood.

Such was the condition of Europe


Middle Ages.

The

first

cycle of

at the close of the

human

history

had be-

come completed, the expansion of the Aryans had been


succeeded by a severe contraction, the growth of ancient
civilization had been followed by a partial relapse into barbarism, human progress had moved through a grand curve,
and returned far back toward its starting-point.
Such
was the stage from which the more recent history of mankind took
It

may

its rise.

be said that of the energy of the Ar3^ans and the

non-Aryans the former has proved persistent, the


spasmodic.

No

sooner was

tlie

latter

condition of affairs above

mentioned established than the unceasing pressure of Aryan


energy again began to
expansion to set

in.

with unceasing vigor

tell,

And
till

and a new process of Aryan

this process

has been continued

the present day.

The Aryans

of

Spain began, from a mountain corner, to exert a warlike


pressure upon the Arabian conquerors of their land.

by step the Arabs were driven back,


expelled to the African shores.
effort

was made

to wrest Syria

until they

were

Step
finally

Simultaneously a vigorous

from

its

Arab

lords.

All

THE ARYAN RACE.

296
Europe broke

into a migratory fever,

and the Crusades

threw their millions upon that revered land.

The grasp

vain.

loosened by

At

Moslem was

of the

But

all

in

as yet too firm to be

the crusading strength of Europe.

all

Russia, and the

Mongol hold was slowly broken in


Slavonic Aryans regained control of their

ancient

while

a later date the

realm,

the

invasion of

Turks was

the

movement begun which has continued to the present day.


As for the Magyars of Hungary, their realm has been partly reconquered by Aryan
checked, and a reverse

colonists,

civilization

its

and

government

are

strictly

Aryan, and the Mongolian characteristics of the predominant race have been to a considerable extent
has been reoccupied by the Aryans,
a few Turks

who

are left

upon

its

exception of

vrith the

borders by sufferance,

and the Mongoloids of the frozen North.

Aryan

spirit

has declared

itself less

Europe

lost.

In Asia the

vigorously

Afghanistan, and India have declined

yet Persia,

little

if

at all in

Aryan populations, while Aryan


dominance has replaced the Mongol rule in India. As for
the Aryan physical t^^pe, it seems to be killing out the type
the percentage of their

of the Mongolian in

all

regions exposed to

Thus the Osmanli Turks have gained


European

its

influence.

in great

measure the

phj^sical organization, this applying

even to the

peasantry, whose religious and race prejudices must have

prevented much intermarriage with the Aryans.


in this instance, like

an

effect

It looks,

of climate, physical sur-

roundings, and life-habits similar to that which, as

we

have conjectured, caused the original evolution of the

Aryan
to

race.

The same

do with the

loss of

Magyars of Hungary.

influences

may have had much

Mongolian characteristics

in

the

HISTORICAL MIGRATIONS.

297

But the Aryans have been by no means contented with


this slo^v and as yet but partially completed recovery of
Only the mutual jealousy of the natheir ancient realm.
tions of

Europe permits

of this soil, and


restoration of

minions

is

is

it

plainly apparent that the complete

Aryan government over

race has again

become

pansive movement of great


is

that ere

it

ancient do-

After

long rest the

its

actively migratory, an ex-

has set

energ}?^

in,

and the

ends nearly the whole of the habi-

table earth will be under

Aryan

rule, infused

civilization, and largely peopled with

It is

its

movement have been accompanied by an

external one of vast magnitude.

promise

all

But the slow steps

a mere question of time.

of this internal

Aryan

occupy any portion

aliens yet to

Aryan

with Aryan

inhabitants.

the control of the empire of the ocean that has

been the moving force

in this

new

migration.

The former

one was checked, as we have said, upon the ocean border.


Navigation had not yet become an Aryan
rise of

art.

But the

ocean commerce gave opportunity for a new out-

push of no

less vigor than that of old.

European navigators dared

When

to break loose

once the

from sight of

unknown seas, a new chapmankind began. The ships of Europe

land and brave the dangers of


ter in the history of

touched the American shores, and with phenomenal rapidity the invaders

continent.

took possession of this new-discovered

Not four

America, from

its

centuries

northern to

its

have

passed,

and yet

southern extremities,

is

crowded with men of Aryan blood, and the aborigines


have

in great

measure vanished before the ruthless foot-

step of conquest.

In the East the activity of Aryan migration has had

more

difficulties to

contend with, yet

its

energy has been

298

THE AKYAN RACE.

no

The

less declared.

island continent of Australia has

become an outlying section


in

many

of the

Aryan dominions, and

of the fertile islands of the Pacific the aborigines

are rapidly vanishing before the fatal vision of the Euro-

The non-Aryan

pean face.

India have been

of

rulers

driven out, and England has succeeded to the dominion

And

of this ancient realm.


of Africa

is

"dark continent"

being penetrated at a hundred points by the

foot of the invader, and

Aryan

finally the

already the seat of several

is

states.

Side by side with this oceanic migration has been a no


less active

and important expansion by land.

The

Sla-

vonic Aryans of Russia had no sooner fairly driven out


their Tartar conquerors

and acquired a stable government

than they resumed their ancient migratory expansion and

began to press

their

way

into that vast region of northern

and central Asia upon whose borders the ancient Aryan


advance had paused. Siberia fell before their arms, and
this

great but frozen region

More

was added

to their empire.

recently they have taken possession of the western

steppes, seized a considerable region of Chinese Mongolia,

and forced

their

way deeply

into Turkestan.

All western

Asia to the borders of China, Afghanistan, and Persia

is

march of conquest
goes on. Of the regions of the ancient non- Aryan migratory activity none, with the exception of Arabia and
to-day a Russian province, and

Chinese Mongolia,

is

free

still

the

from the Aryan grasp or the

preventive influence of Aryan control.

The barbarian

out-

breaks of the past can never be repeated.

In regard to this modern migratory activity some further

remarks

may be made.

It is in a great

measure a com-

mercial one, and has been very closely governed in

its

HISTORICAL MIGRATIONS.

299

movements by those of commerce.

It

the Phognician trading-stations, and

subsequently in the

Greek

colonies.

Aryan peoples

It

origin in

passed from branch to branch of the

the period of the discovery of

was a very general commercial

there

its

in strict accordance with the shifthigs of

At

commerce.

had

lantic nations of

Europe, and

all

America

activity in the

of these simultaneously

took part in the struggle for territory that followed.


tugal, Spain, France, Holland,

a share in the rich prize.

At

AtPor-

and England each claimed

Eng-

a later date, however,

land rose to unquestioned supremacy in the commercial

was accompanied by a similar rise to suThe England of to-day is


it has its outlying members in almost every
habitable earth.
The other Aryan peoples,

world, and this

premacy

in colonizing efforts.

extended until
region of the

on the contrary, with the exception of Russia, have


measure their national migratory

in great

have

lost

Germans

their
still

commercial enterprise.

activity, as

The

Celts

lost

they

and

migrate largely as individuals, but this mi-

gration

mainly goes to feed colonies of English origin

and

add to the English-speaking populations of the

to

earth.

The very recent

are acts of the

colonizing

Government, and

movements
it

of

Germany

remains to be seen

if

The same may be


said of the colonial enterprises of France.
They are Governmental enterprises onh% v^diile the people are among
the least migratory in spirit of any European nation.
they will be supported by the people.

Only

in

England, of

are the people

Thus

the

interesting

all

the commercial nations of Europe,

and the Government moving hand

in hand.

Aryan migration has to-day reached a highly


stage.
The boundary lines which restrained it

several thousand years ago

and which remained

its

limits

THE ARYAN RACE.

300

until within recent times,

migration, with

all

largely confined to

two of the

and the Russian.

ocean barrier

two

the energy of the old one,

This migratory movement

of completion.

lish

have been overleaped, and a new

Aryan

is

the Russian

earth.

Eng-

Tlie English

Russian entirely

the
move-

terrestrial.

modern commercial migration

a survival of the primitive agricultural mi-

These two peoples form the vanguard of the

gration.

Aryan

represents the
is

present

the

the latter through the desert barrier,

entirely oceanic, the

The English

at

is

peoples,

process

The former has broken through the

limits to the ancient migration.

ment

is in

race in

By

its

double march to gain the empire of the

a strange coincidence their

movements converge

that of India, one of the great prizes


upon one region,
of commerce and war in all the historic ages of mankind.
On the borders of this land the two waves of migration

have nearly met, and the lords of the land and the sea
threaten to join in battle for

its

mastery.

Aryan as in the era


migratory march may end

Aryan

is

again

face to face with

of the past, and, as

then, the

in a fierce strife of

these ancient cousins for a lion's share of the spoils.

The Aryan outposts

of to-day are being pushed forward

that they

cannot be very definitely named.

so rapidly

The whole of the great continent of America has become


an Aryan region, with the exception of the inaccessible forIn
ests of central Brazil and some few minor localities.
become
the eastern seas the great island of Australia has
Aryan ground
most of the

to the inner limit of its fertile land.

rich islands of the Pacific the

In

Aryan grasp has

upon the coast-regions, though the aboThe vegerigines as a rule hold their own internally.
table wealth of these fertile islands has become the prize

been firmly

laid

HISTOKICAL MIGRATIONS.

301

Aryan commerce. lu Asia one of the ancient Aryan


lands, the kingdom of Persia, is under Mongolian rule,
though its population continues largely of Aryan Llood.
of

But

in return the greater portion of the old

Mongolian

under Aryan dominion, and the out-

territory has fallen

posts of P^uropean rule have been pushed across Asia to


the Pacific in the north, and to the western borders of

China

in the central region.

Again,

that remote region which stayed the

in the southeast, in

march of the ancient

Aryans, the modern Aryans are slowly pushing their way.

England years ago

laid her

hand on the western coast-

lands and occupied the maritime region of Burmah, while


she has recently seized on the whole of that kingdom.

France has taken as firm a hold on the eastern coast, over

which she exerts a controlling inflnence.

Siam, the re-

maining independent region of Indo-China,

will

yet

under the rule of these enterprising invaders.

fall

Africa

tells

somewhat

regained from the


the old

Roman

become the

rule a large section of

Egypt, and

in

northward

lord.

from

English and Dutch territory.

England has

may

eventually

Southern Africa, for a


the

Cape,

has

all

inward movement
ciation

Africa,

lays

in the
is

on

claim to

region of the

foot,

the

by European

Congo a strong

and the International Asso-

an immense territory in Central

a region with a population of

who do

Of

the western border and a con-

siderable portion of the eastern are claimed


nationalities, while

become

Portugal holds large dis-

on both the eastern and the western coasts.

remaining coast-lands,

lions,

France has

story.

region in northern Africa.

virtual lord

long distance

similar

Mohammedan

become the acknowledged

tricts

probably

perhaps forty mil-

not dream that they have gained

new

lords

THE ARYAN RACE.

302

Such

on paper.

the border-land, actual and clahned,

is

the result of four centuries of commermodern Arya,


cial and colonial enterprise. The Aryan region of old has
been much more than doubled by this new movement. The

of

hold

is

yet to some extent simply the grasp of an

or of a document.

But the colonist

rear of the army,

and the merchant

document

is

advancing in the

in the rear of

and the story of Aryan enterprise

army
the

but half

is

told.

If

now we

seek to review what the other races of man-

kind have done, in rivalry with this energetic movement,


a few words will suffice to
is

The alien outflow


The first of these is

the tale.

tell

confined to three peoples alone.

the Chinese,

forced to

some portion of whose crowding millions are

seek other homes

afar,

and whose strongly

practical disposition has produced a degree of commercial

Yet the

enterprise.

of secondary importance.

as

3'et

in

some regions of the

America.
the

Yet

it

movement have been


It has made itself felt

results of this

Pacific,

and to a minor extent in

can never attain a vigor comparable to

Aryan while Chinese

remain in their present

and Chinese ideas

civilization

state.

cosmopolitan like the Arj^an

The Chinaman
the world

is

and wherever he goes he dreams of laying


rest in Chinese soil.

not yet

not his
his

They

Aryans

this ancient realm.

for the neighboring Japanese, they have so far

no disposition to wander.

home

bones to

AVhile such ideas persist, the

need fear no powerful competition from

As

is

shown

are in no sense a migra-

tory people.

The second non- Aryan migratory people is the Arabian.


The migratory spirit which has in all historic times affected
the Semites has by no means died out and while Europe
;

HISTORICAL MIGRATIONS.
is

303

grasping the African shores, the Arabs are penetrating


portion of the interior of that continent.

ever^'^

movements

are commercial only, not colonial.

grasp of Arabia on African

political

Elsewhere their

of Zanzibar.

that of the wandering tribe.

But

their

The

sole

soil is in the

political

region

dominion

The Arabs of to-day

but

is

are not

in the state of civilization requisite to active colonization,

while there

no pressure of numbers

is

in the

home region

Thus there can be said to


be no combined Arabian competition with the Aryans for
the political possession of Africa.
The empire-forming
to enforce a border outgrowth.

enterprise of the vVrabians of old has apparently died out

and while they

retain all their ancient commercial activity,

they manifest no inclination to gain political control of

African

The
It

soil.

comes from Africa

third migration referred to

no longer

exists, but has

had the unfortunate

itself.

effect of

very considerably extending the area of the Negro race,

the

least-developed section of the

human

family.

This

migration has been solely an involuntary and unnatural


one.

It

is

not the outcome of

enterprise

among

the

migrants, but of the enslaving activity of the Aryans, and

has resulted in widely extending the limits and increasing


the numbers of the most unenterprising and unintellectual

of

human

of

America has proved a highly undesirable

Aryan

races.

enterprise,

The migration

of Africans to the shores


result

of

and has produced a rapidly increasing

population of American Negroes,

who cannot but remain

an awkward problem for the civilization of the future.


This

people

has

the

unlucky characteristic of

prolific

increase, and the unsealing of the continent of Africa

the

slave-dealers

by

has proved like the unsealing of the

THE ARYAN RACE.

304

magic jar brought up in

his net

living cloud has issued,

by the Arabian fisherman.

which cannot be replaced

in its

former space, and the sealed-up dwarf has been permitted

expand

to

This en-

to the stature of the released giant.

forced outpour of the African race

is

one of the several

unfortunate results of the over-greed of Aryan colonists.


It

has proved far the most unfortunate feature of modern

migratory activity by
intellectuality

We may

extension of the domain of low

its

upon the

earth.

close with one further consideration,

that

modern

the comparative good and evil resulting from this

That

Aryan outgrowth.

it

of

has been conducted brutally,

no one would think of denying.

The laws

of morality

and

of natural right have been abrogated in dealing with alien

and had these been wild beasts instead of men, they


many cases could not have been more cruelly treated

races
in

or rapidly annihilated.

Yet

if

we could

strictly

compare

the good and evil produced, there can be no question that

the former would, so far as

man

as a whole is concerned,

far outweigh its opposite.

What

are the actual facts concerning the suffering which

aborigines

the

the earth

of

have endured from Aryan

hands, and the change for the worse in their condition

produced by Aryan occupation?

American Indian

is

The treatment

of

the

usually considered as a flagrant ex-

ample of injury to the aborigines.

Yet

it

cannot be

justly said that the Indians of the United States have been
at

any

thiie

visited with

more

suffering,

subjects of greater outrage, during the

and made the

Aryan occupation,

than they were ordinarily exposed to before that occupation.

The preceding period was one

outrage,

slaughter,

of

incessant war,

and torture of prisoners.

Security

305

HISTORICAL MIGRATIONS.
nowhere existed, and

it

was impossible

The wars which

progress to take place.

for

any

civilizing

the Indians

waged

they
with the p:uropeans were but a continuation of those
Indians
always previously waged. The slaughter of

had

no sense increased, while there was produced a


mitigation of the more revolting features of Indian conflict.

was

in

Aryan wars with the Indians were waged in the


They have steadily decreased in
interests of peace.
and
violence and frequency, and an increasing justice

And

the

the
security in the conditions of Indian life have replaced
for the
rule of injustice and insecurity, which but

old

European colonization would


safely

be

declared,

benefited far

still

that

then,

have continued.
Indians

the

It

have

may
been

more than they have been injured by the

Aryan conquest, and

that to-day they exist in a far higher

and happiness than they would


that conquest had not been made.

state of security, comfort,

have attained

if

Aryan conquests
with the one exception of Spanish Amer-

Similar remarks can be applied to the


in every region,
ica.

Here two

colonists

whose

civilized

empires were overturned by

civilization

was, in certain respects, of

from
a lower grade, and millions of people were reduced
happiness,
a state of plenty, and comparative freedom and
to one of want, slavery,

and misery.

the actual progress of civilization


interests of

mankind have not

civilization of a higher

fect conditions of the

is

And

yet, so far as

concerned, the general

suffered

by

this

outrage.

grade has succeeded the imper-

Aztec and Peruvian States, and the

mass of the human inhabitants of these regions are in a supebut for the
rior condition to-day than they would have been

The low conditions of Indian have been


high conditions of European civilization.

Aryan conquest.
replaced by the

20

THE ARYAN RACE.

306

This Spanish region, however,

is

modern migration.

the history of

No

far surpassed the evil.

the one black spot in

Elsewhere the good has

one can for a moment hold

that the Africans or the Australians are the worse off for

the

Aryan settlements upon

Nor can

their soil.

it

be

maintained that an extension of these settlements will

work any

actual

harm

At

to the aborigines.

present they

are in a debased condition, and are subject to constant

outrage and injustice from their rulers or from hostile

bands.

The

influence

of

interest of peace, security,

Europeans

steadily

is

and prosperity

and

in

the

fiercely as

they have been often opposed by natives of the countries


colonized, yet as a rule these natives have been fighting

own advantage.

against their

Wherever the Aryan race

has become definitely established, and peaceful conditions


succeeded, the condition of the natives has been improved,
the wealth of their country developed,

a comfortable

life

all

the needs of

increased, peace has succeeded to war,

security to outrage,

and the happiness of mankind has

steadily augmented.

The

Aryan migration has been the exrealm of modern civilization, of Christian

true effect of

tension of the
ethics, of

stable

and just

political conditions

of active

industry, peaceful relations, and security in the possession

of property

of

human

liberty

and

intellectual unfold-

commerce and developed agriculture of railroads, telegraphs, books, tools, abundance of food, lofty
thoughts, and high impulses and of the noblest standard
and most unfolded practice of morality and human sym-

ment

of

pathy the world has yet attained.

AVe can scarcely name

comparison with this great benefit the small increase of


evil, the degree of human suffering which can be attributed

in

HISTORICAL MIGRATIONS.
to the

Aryans

alone, in excess of that which

existed without them.

As

a whole

it

307
would have

must be admitted

Aryan migration has acted and is acting for


and it cannot consisthe best interests of all mankind
tently be deprecated for the minor amount of evil it has
that the

originated.

XIII.

THE FUTURE STATUS OF HUMAN RACES.

ONE important
which we have

effect of the

lution

long process of

bnman

evo-

considered in the preceding

pages has been such a mingling of the races of mankind as

in considerable

lines of race-

This mingling, which began in prehistoric

distinction.

times,

measure to blur the

has proceeded with enhanced rapidity during the

historic period,

that of

active migration

The movements

ing devastation.

and of decreas-

of savage races and of

races in the lower stages of barbarism are apt to be annihilating ones.

Of

this

we have

historic instances in the

wars of the American Indians, of the Mongolian nomads,

and even of the Anglo-Saxon conquerors of England.

The captive must have some value


he will be permitted to

produced the

first

live,

to the conqueror ere

and the practice of slavery

great amelioration of

human

brutality.

The captors ceased to burn or otherwise slaughter their


captives when they discovered that a slave was of more
value than a corpse

who had been

and the

class of conquered subjects

previously massacred were

now

set to

work.

In modern times a second step forward has been taken.

The

captive

is

no longer made the personal slave, but

merely the political subject of the captor, and the ancient


feeling of hostility to the non-combatant
out.

is

rapidly dying

Migratory peoples no longer make a desert for the

FUTURE STATUS OF HUMAN RACES.


growth of

their laws
their colonies, but simply establish

and introduce
and mingle

The

309

their

customs in

freely with their

all

new

newly occupied regions,

subjects.

obliteraresult of this is necessarily a considerable

tion of race-distinctions.

Such an obliteration has been

visibly going

on since the early days of history, while

many

of

traces

its

prehistoric

activity

yet exist.

We

mingling of
have already dwelt upon the probable partial
in ancient Arya.
the Xanthochroic and Melanochroic races
the migratThis was succeeded by a considerable fusion of
conquered provinces.
ing Aryans with the aborigines of

The almost pure Xanthochroi

of the original Celtic migra-

mingled with a supertion appear to have so thoroughly


as nearly to
abundant population of European aborigines
lose their race-characters,

and

to suffer

marked changes

in

In Hindustan a similar minone, took place.


gling, though probably a less complete
of growing
Religious antipathy here acted as a check
race-amalgamation. An active race-mingling

their

mental constitution.

intensity to

and Kussia.
appears to have taken place in Germany
people of pure
Scandinavia remained the only home of
we have alXanthochroic blood. The probability is, as
Xanthochroi had minready suggested, that the southern
period, but that
gled with the ]\Ielanochroi at a very early
less decided in the
the infusion of alien blood was much
northern Aryan
northern section of the race, and that the
Such seems to
migrants were nearly pure Xanthochroi.
northerly portion
be'the case from the fact that their most
this was the condition of the
is yet of pure blood, and that
Celts and Teutons of early history.

The main mingling

that of the
with the Semitic Melanochroi was probably
from a very
southern branches, who may have been,

THE ARYAN RACE.

310

remote period, in direct contact with the Semites.

The

mingling of the other Aryan branches with alien races

seems to have mainly taken place after the era of their


migration.

As we have

seen in the last section, however, the com-

Aryan migration was succeeded by a


long period in which the main Aryan movements were conThere was a very considerable minfined to Aryan lands.
pletion of the original

gling of blood between the different branches of the Aryans,

but the amalgamation with alien races was greatly reduced.

Almost no mixture with the Mongolians took place. To


the south, however, there was more mingling, and the Semites and Hamites must have received a strong infusion

This period was followed by that of the

of Ai-yan blood.

Arabian and the Mongolian migrations and conquests,

and a very considerable new blood-mixture occurred upon

Aryan
this

soil.

In Russia and in the Aryan districts of Asia

must have added very considerably to the

Yet with

of race-lines in those regions.

all

obliteration

the long-con-

we have here considered, it is remarkable with what vigor the Aryan holds his own. His
tinued amalgamations

vital

energy everywhere bears him up against alien

The main change produced

ences.
istics

is

that of

color.

He

varies

influ-

in his race-character-

greatly from fair to

dark, but his special physiognomy has been nowhere obliterated.

The Mongolian type

of face has nowhere driven

out the Aryan, but, on the contrar}", shows a disposition to


vanish whenever the two races come into contact.

In like

manner the Aryan language and the Arj^an mentality have


held their

own

against

all

opposing influences.

This

is

the case in Persia and India, which have been the seat of
the fiercest Mongolian inroads, while the Mongolian in-

FUTURE STATUS OF HUMAN RACES.

311

vaders of Turkey have lost in great measure the physical


characters

of

their

partly

race,

by intermarriage, but

equally where no apparent intermarriage has taken place.

The more

Aryan migration has not been an


Yet it has had a
very marked annihilating effect in a modern sense. The
recent era of

annihilating one in the ancient sense.

migrants to America, for instance, have not greatly re-

duced the numbers of the aborigines by the sword


they have largely destroyed them by the contact of

They have brought with them

zation.

and vices

to

which

civilization has

which have flowed

Rum

rian lands.

but

civili-

diseases, habits,

become acclimated, but

like destroying angels

and the small-pox have

over the barbakilled far

more

than the sword, while the plough has ruined the harvest of
the arrow.

In Spanish America hard work and brutality

have had a similar

Aryan

colonists

existence,

from

and the Indians has been comparatively

There has been simply an industrial struggle for

slight.

new

those

The race-mingling between the

effect.

and the Indian, from


life-conditions, has in

that

lions perhaps fully replace

America.
are as

If so, the

numerous as

non-adaptation to

great measure vanished

His place has been

his ancient localities.

less desirable element,

his

all

of the African,

filled

by a

whose

mil-

the vanished aborigines of

non-Aryan inhabitants of America

ever, while they have been lowered in

type both physically and mentally by this unfortunate

change.

As

to the future of

human

races in America, no satisfac-

tory decision can be reached.

complex one.

America

is

The problem

is

a grand storehouse of nations,

the reservoir of the overflow from the Old AYorld.


the

Aryan

a highly

Between

sections of this migration a very free mingling

THE ARYAN RACE.

312

takes place, and there

is

well-marlied character.

arisiog an

American race-type of

There has also been considerable

mingling of Aryan with Indian, particularly in Spanish

America.

As

the Indians

become

in habits, it is probable that this

at

an increased

dians

may

rate,

finally

and

it

is

civilized

and agricultural

amalgamation

will

go on

quite possible that the In-

disappear as a distinct race, swallowed

up by the teeming millions of Aryan colonists. If they


hold their own, it will be in the tropical regions of South
America, where the conditions of Nature are opposed to
the progress of civilization.

Yet we can scarceh^ doubt

that civilization will yet conquer even the Brazilian forests,

and that the debased aborigines of that region


before

will vanish

it.

The one perplexing problem of America is the Negro.


Between him and the white the race-antipathy seems too
strong for any great degree of amalgamation ever to take
place, while the mulatto has the

of a hybrid.

weakness and

In tropical America, indeed, there

free mingling of whites, Indians,

amalgamation

result of this

staying qualities.

is

and Negroes

infertility
is
;

a quite

but the

a class that greatly lacks

The American Negro has marked

per-

sistence, while there is little promise that he can be raised

to the level of

Aryan energy and

only strong development

is

intellect.

Mentally his

the most primitive phase of mental unfoldment.

Y^et

he

increasing in numbers with a discouraging rapidity.


this,

in the emotional direction,

is

In

however, there seems no threat to Aryan domination.

The negro

is

normally peaceful and submissive.

of enterprise and of mental activity must keep

Education with him soon reaches

its limit.

His lack

him

so.

It is capable

of increasing the perceptive, but not of strongly awakening

FUTURE STATUS OF HUMAN RACES.

313

The Negro will remain the worker.


There is nothing to show that he will, at least for a long
period to come, advance to the rank of the thinker. Of the
two great modern divisions of civilized mankind, the workers and the thinkers, the Negro belongs by nature to the
the reflective, faculties.

former

class.

separate

He

probably long continue distinctly

will

from the Aryans as a

among

laboring caste

race,

well-marked

non-differentiated whites

the

of

America.

As

to the future of the continent of Africa,

may

it

pass

through conditions somewhat similar to those that have


taken place in America

but these changes will be attended

with less barbarity, since the moral status of the white


race has very considerably advanced during the past four
centuries.

begun
has

it

to

The wave of Aryan migration has as yet but


break upon African soil. Only in the far South
But an inward pres-

pressed to any extent inward.

sure has

now

fairly set in,

and

may

it

perhaps not cease

come completely under Aryan rule, and is


very largely peopled by Aryan inhabitants. The Aryan
settlements in the South promise to become paralleled by

until Africa has

Aryan settlements
province, Tunis

Morocco

Egypt

is

is

is

in the

North.

Algiers

is

now

a French

on the road to the same condition, and

threatened both by France and Spain, while

The march

under English control.

cannot go backward.

There

is

very

little

of

events

reason to doubt

that the whole region of northern Africa will eventually

come under Aryan

influence

growing Aryan population.

and become the seat of a

And

here

decided race-

mingling will very probably take place in the future, as

between the two sub-types of the Caucasian people


far past.

in the

THE ARYAN RACE.

314
Central Africa

Of

is

being invaded by both these sub-types.

these invasions the Melanochroic

to a considerable

is

extent an amalgamating one.

Between Arab and Berber


and Negro, probably of close original race-affinity, there
seems very little blood-antipathy; and Africa is full of
sub-types of man, produced quite probably by a free min-

How

gling of the black with the Melanochroic race.


this

and

mingling has been going on,


it

is

it is

long

impossible to decide,

equally impossible to conjecture to what varied

race-combinations in the far past the present inhabitants

But

of Africa are due.

it is

very evident that the future

dealings of the Aryans with the Africans will not be con-

ducted to any important extent with the race-counterparts


of the

American Xegro.

The American

slaves were princi-

pally brought from nearly the only region of Africa inhabited

by the

typical Negro,

and they thus represent the

least-developed people of that continent.


the African people are

The majority of

by no means lacking

in

energy and

warlike vigor, nor in the elements of intelligence.


of

them seem

to stand

midway

Many

in these characteristics be-

tween the pure Negro of the western tropics and the Arabs
and Berbers of the North. And the vanguard of Aryan
migration

may meet

as hostile

that experienced from the

The whole western


the

eastern,

None

is

at

and resolute a resistance as

American Indians.

coast of Africa, and to some extent

present dotted with

Aryan

colonies.

of these penetrate far inward, the unhealthfulness of

the climate

more than the opposition of the Negro checking

their advance.

But the key to the centre of the continent

has been found in a great navigable river, the Congo,

whose

affluents spread far their liquid fingers

fertile

unknown

land.

through that

In this line Aryan migration has

FUTURE STATUS OF HUMAN RACES.


fairly

begun

its

Wars

tribes.

inward march.

315

meet with

It will

hostile

Forcible seizure and ex-

will take place.

Aryan

tinguishment of African governments will follow.

Many

control will be established over African populations.

Aryan weapons

of the Africans will vanish before the

and whiskey-bottle.

rifle

may

All this

of

be looked for as

an almost inevitable consequence of the discovery that the

Congo offers a new and valuable channel of commerce.


The railroad past the rapids, and the steamboat on the
river,

cannot

fail

than

perhaps,

quickly,

the

ward movement from

may meet

come of English wars

America.

with a north-

what may be the

Soudan and

in the

and of French settlements


and

it

may

Nor

final out-

in Abyssinia,

For years past the

in Algeria.

influence in these regions has been steadily

increase,

more

the South- Afi'ican settlements.

possible at present to decide

Aryan

subdued

plough

Eventually this inward movement

is it

far

to subdue Central Africa,

eventually

make

its

on the

way deeply

into

Africa from these directions toward the Aryan vanguard

pressing inward from the West.

pushing

southward

cross the Sahara

Algeria,

in

which

may

and reach the long-hidden

buctoo, toward which a railroad

As

railroad

is

is

already

eventually

city of

also advancing

Tim-

from

tlie

more has been done than was accomplished by the Aryans in America during the sixteenth
South.

yet

little

every reason to believe, from what

century.

But there

we know

of the Ar^^an and the African character, that

is

the final result will be the same.

new empire

of the Aryans.

Africa will become a

But the position of the mi-

grants will be rather that of a ruling than of an inhabiting


race.

The condition

of the Africans

from that of the Indians.

They

are

is

markedly

much

different

less warlike,

and

THE ARYAN RACE.

316

much more
upon the
will

They

agricultural.

will

undoubtedly remain

while the role of the Aryans

soil as its cultivators,

be that of merchants, rulers, and artisans, in ac-

cordance with their position as the thinking and dominant


In fact there

minority.

is

some reason

to believe that the

march of events in the future will bring the African and


the American continents into conditions of some degree
Through all the warmer regions of America
of similarity.
They
the Negroes are increasing with great rapidity.
exist, and long may exist, as a working caste under Aryan
dominance.
is

vSome similar relation of Aryans and Africans

not unlikely to arise on African

relation of races in the

may
rican

warmer

be that here indicated,


agricultural

soil,

final

tropics of both hemispheres

large population of Af-

by

adapted

laborers,

and the

their

physical

nature to a tropical climate, and a smaller population of

Aryan merchants,

artisans,

and

rulers,

mainly escaping the

by

deleterious influence of tropical climates

city residence.

In the higher and more healthful tropics and the semitropics the

Aryan population must approach

that of the tropically adapted race

and

it

in

numbers

must

retain

a great numerical excess, as now, in the temperate regions, to

whose climate the Aryan

That a race-mingling
widely distinct types of
able.

physically adapted.

is

will take place

between these two

man seems now

extremely improb-

For a very long period

to

come

it is

certain that the

now exists will be


no important degree overcome, and for many centuries
physical and mental antipathy which

the future the demarcation


clared as now.

What

impossible to predict.

may remain
is

in

as strongly de-

the final race-relation will be

There

in

it is

no strong antipathy be-

tween the native races of the temperate zones of the earth,

FUTURE STATUS OF HUMAN RACKS.


the Aryan, Indian, Mongolian,

may

and Melanochroic

317

and these

mingle in an increasing ratio until their race-distinc-

tions in great

measure disappear.

In such a case the only

marked race-demarcation remaining

be that of white

will

and black, respectively the man of the temperate and the

man

of the tropical climates of the earth.

But the Indians


America and the Melanochroi of Africa have but little
race-antipathy to the Negro, and their offspring is of a
of

higher type than that of the

Aryan and

the Negro.

may

possible, therefore, that the pure black

vanish in an intermediate race, as

is

It is

eventually

already so largely the

case in Africa.

In the island region of the Pacific

highly probable

it is

Aryan dominion, which is now firmly established


in every island of any marked agricultural value, will
grow more and more decided, and that the aborigines,
or their Malayan successors, will eventually fall generally
under Aryan rule. The lower aborigines will very probably vanish.
They lie too far below the level of civilized
that the

conditions

to

survive

the contact with civilization

and

only those of declared agricultural habits, and the active

Malays, are likely to remain as subjects of the growing

Aryan

rule.

There remains the probable future of the Aryans in Asia


to pass in review. Here we find almost everywhere the same
determined Aryan advance.

Aryan empire
dimensions.

During the

last century the

Asia has been very greatly increased in


Nearly every trace of non- Aryan rule has
in

been swept from India.


English province.

Burmah promises

The eastern coast

rapidly becoming a French one.

If

of

to

become an

Indo-China

is

we may judge from

past history, Siam, the only province of that region which

THE ARYAN RACE.

318
yet fully retains

Aryan

its

independence, will eventually

fall

under

Persia, after being successively overrun

control.

to-day mainly Aryan in

by Arab, Turk, and Mongol,

is

the race-characteristics of

its

civilized inhabitants.

Afghans and Belooches are

principally Aryan.

The

The whole

of Asia to the north of the regions here mentioned, with

the exception of the Chinese empire,


sian rule,

to-day under Rus-

and becoming rapidly overrun by Russian mer-

That a very general race-mingling

chants and colonists.

will eventually take place

probable.

is

The

conditions will

distinctive

throughout this wide region

is

Mongolian features and mental

become modified, and there can be

little

doubt that the Slavonic type of language will gradually


crush out the less-cultured tongues of the region named.
In southwestern Asia there remain the Semites of the
desert region

and the Turks of Syria and Asia Minor.

would to-day be under Russian rule but for the


As a race they are becoming more
jealousy of Europe.
and more assimilated to the Aryans, and their race-dis-

The

latter

tinction promises completely to die out in the near future.

In regard to government and civilization, they must accept


the
is

Aryan

Aryan

control.

There

no other alternative possible.


If

is

conditions, or fall under

we

look, then, over the whole world of the future,

to behold the almost certain

it

dominance of the Aryan

type of mankind over every region except two, which alone

own.

These are the

regions of Arabia, and China and Japan.

In these por-

have held and promise to hold

tions

alone

of the

their

whole earth do we find a national

energy and the existence of conditions that seem likely to


repel the

Aryan advance.

possible future of

man

We may

in these

briefly glance at the

two regions.

FUTURE STATUS OF HUMAN RACES.

319

Since history began, Arabia has remained in an almost

unchanged condition.

Militant civilization has raged for

thousands of years in the surrounding regions, but Arabia

Kingdoms and em-

has lain secure behind her deserts.


pires have risen

peninsula

fallen

everywhere around

this silent

yet the waves of war have broken in baffled

fury upon

and

its

shores.

has poured out

It

hordes to

its

conquer the civilized world, but these have brought back

no

It is to-day

civilization to its oases.

thousand years ago,


the

of the

habits

a land defying

civilized

what

alike the

The

w^orld.

was

it

sword and

Eg3^ptian,

Mongol, the Turk, and the Aryan have alike retired

from

borders and left

its

to. its

it

self-satisfied

the

baffled

sleep of

Is this to be the story of the far future as

barbarism.

it

Shall civilization never pen-

has been of the far past?


etrate

three

Arabian desert, and Ar^^an rule and Aryan

the

commerce stand forever checked

at the

edge of

its

deadly

wall of sand?

Hardly

so.

Modern

has resources which

civilization

even the desert cannot withstand.

plan to conquer the

desert has already been tried in the Soudan, and a similar

The

one in Algeria.

railroad

complish that task in which

The camel,

signally failed.

and the water-pipe may acall

of the future that

interior of Arabia,

activity

to

make

it

commerce

way

it is

among

will thus penetrate to the

into the

to a vital

Civilization can scarcely fail

Arabian oases with

prising populations, Ar^^an influence to

minded Arabs

the probabili-

and rouse that sleeping land

has never known.

its

armies of the past

the ship of the desert, cannot

compete with the iron horse, and


ties*

tlie

their enter-

awaken the

to a realization of the wealth

active-

which

lies

undeveloped around them, and the oldest of known lands

THE ARYAN RACE.

320
to join the

grand movement of mankind toward the en-

lightenment of

the

Civilization

future.

prevail over every land wliich barbarism

must and

now holds

will

in its

drowsy grasp, and the deserts of the world, which have so


long defied
railroad

march,

its

may

yet become the slaves of the

and the water-pipe.

In regard to China and Japan we have before us but


a question of time.

The strong

practical sense of their

people has been abundantly demonstrated, and they need

made

but be

Aryan
Japan has

clearly to perceive the advantages of

methods and habits to adopt them eagerly.


already realized this fact, and

introducing the conditions

is

of Western enlightenment with a rapidity that

most remarkable phenomena


Such

is

in

Their long con-

their high opinion of their intellectual

industrial superiority have hindered

Yet such a

them from

and

fully con-

by the "outside barba-

sidering the advantages possessed


rians."

one of the

the history of mankind.

not the case with the Chinese.

servatism and

is

The

state of affairs cannot persist.

Chinese have the same practical sense as the Japanese

and though

their acceptance of the conditions of pAiropean

civilization

may

be a slower,

it

will

Thought has never been asleep

be as sure a process.

in that old land.

It

has

simply been moving in the unchanging round of the treadmill.

If

it

once escapes into the broader

air,

the stagnant

way before it,


and new ideas make their

conditions of Chinese civilization must give

and new laws, new

way

into that realm of primitive thought.

We
who

industries,

are here concerned with the

are least likely to fall under

two peoples of mankind

Aryan domination. Were

they to continue dormant, they could scarcely avoid this


fate.

But they are not continuing dormant, and the prob-

FUTURE STATUS OF HUMAN RACES.


ability is that, ere

Japan

many

years have passed, both China and

will be in a condition to

they become open to

321

Aryan

come more and more open

defy Aryan conquest.

As

ideas, however, they will be-

to

Aryan

settlement, and an

enlivening influence of fresh thought and fresh blood

may

thus penetrate to the very central citadel of Mongolian

Work and

civilization.

thought together cannot

fail to

bring the antique realm of China into line with the modern

and energetic nations of the Aryan West.

When
of the
are

commercial activity

this condition is realized, the

Aryans

will

undoubtedly have a

already actively commercial,

themselves as merchants upon

the future

we may look forward

is

The Chinese

and have established

many

Their migratory activity

region.

rival.

quarters of the Pacific


also considerable.

In

more vigorous contest

to a

between Chinese and Aryans in both these particulars.

But

it

is

not likely to grow very active until after the

Aryans have become firmly established


the globe.

in every quarter of

The awakening of China must be too

late to

give her any large share of the prize of commercial wealth

and of dominion over new lands.

Where

Aryan has
firmly set his foot the Chinaman can never drive him out.
Nor need we look upon such a probable future activity of
the

the Chinese race as the misfortune which Chinese emigration appears to us to-day.
will

man

The Chinaman

of the future

undoubtedly be a higher order of being than the China-

He

of the present.

hopes, new desires, and


ticality

some

higher

cannot but have new ideas, new

new

habits.

degree

of

Into his dull prac-

the

imaginative

and

emotional must flow from connection and perhaps race-

mingling with the

Aryan type of man.


It will unlift the Chinaman from

doubtedly be a slow process to


21

THE ARYAN RACE.

322

the slongh of dead thought in which he has so long lain.

Yet we are dealing here with the


industrious, practical,

far future

and to an

and thinking people everything

is

possible.

Such are some rapid conclusions as to the possible future


relations of

mankind.

human

races and the general conditions of

Doubtless they

may

erroneous, and influences which


arise to

we cannot

many

respects

yet foresee

may

vary and control the movements and minglings of

Yet

mankind.
special

prove in

in the past, in despite of all

seemingly

and voluntary influences which have affected the

human development, the general and involuntary


have held their own. The thinking and persistently enterprising race of Aryans has moved steadily forward toward
course of

dominion

in both the physical

and the mental empire of the

Starting in a narrow corner of the earth, probably

world.

on the border-line of Europe and Asia,


ceasingly in

and

At

has spread un-

The contest has been a long

all directions.

one.

bitter

it

times the impulsive force of alien

races has checked and turned back the Arj^an march.

Yet ever the Aryan force has triumphed over these obstacles,

and the march has been resumed.

on with undiminished energy, and


halt until

it

it

It is

will hardly

still

going

come

to a

has reached the termination above indicated.

The march inward has been as persistent and energetic


The kingdom of the mind has
as the march outward.
been invaded as vigorously as the kingdom of the earth.

And

the conquests in this direction have been as important

as those achieved over alien

conditions of Nature.

progress
after the

promises
earthly

to

man and

over the opposing

In this direction, indeed,

human

go on with undiminished energy

domain

is

fully occupied,

and physical

FUTURE STATUS OF HUMAN RACES.


expansion

is

definitely checked.

Man may

boundless one.

323

The mental empire

is

lay a girdle around the earth,

but the universe stretches beyond the utmost

human

grasp.

The kingdom of knowledge has already yielded many


valuable prizes to the intellectual enterprise of Aryan man,
yet it is rich with countless stores of wealth, and in this
domain there is room for endless endeavor. Thought need
not fear any exhaustion of the w^orld which

it

has set out

to conquer.
If the general conditions displayed at the earliest discov-

Aryan

erable era of the


persistently
in a

till

race have manifested themselves

the present time, the

same may be declared

measure of the more special conditions.

The

devel-

opment of man has taken place under the force of the

in-

herent conditions of his physical and mental nature, and

no matter how the circumstances of history might have


varied, the final result could scarcely have been different

from what we

find

it.

We

have endeavored to point out

man

led

named

the

these the latter

was

preceding sections that the primitive evolution of


inevitably to certain political relations, there
patriarchal and the democratic.

Of

in

the highest in grade, and directly developed, in ancient

Arya, from a preceding patriarchal condition.


this stage clearly

mankind, though

We

find

reached nowhere else among primitive


it

was

closely approached in the

Ameri-

can Indian organization, whose early condition strikingly


resembled that of the Aryans.

These two conditions of barbarian organization have

worked themselves out


ing manner.
al influences

China

is

to their ultimate in a very interest-

All the early empires arose under patriarch-

and became absolute despotisms.

Of these

the only one that yet persists from archaic times,

THE ARYAN RACE.

324

though recent kingdoms of the same type have grown up


under Mongolian influence in Persia, Turkey, and Russia.
All the modern Aryan kingdoms outside of Russia and
Persia are more or less democratic, and possess that primi-

Pop-

tive feature of ancient Ai-ya, the popular assembly.

ular representation

government
this the

Aryans

democracy

stronghold of

the

is

mouthpiece of the people in the


;

and to

mankind, have

alone, of all the races of

ever firmly held.

remarkable how the primitive Aryan principle of

It is

organization has retained

its

force through

of war and attempted despotism, and

how

established itself in the most advanced


Efforts numberless have been

ment.
it.

all

the centuries
clearly

it

has

modern govern-

made

to overthrow

Popular representation has been prevented, despotism

established, and the aid of religious autocracy brought in

to hold captive the minds of men.

In Russia the ancient

democratic institutions have been completely overthrown,

Mongol conquest, and replaced by a

as a result of the

patriarchal despotism.

Yet these

efforts

have everywhere

Even in Russia the democratic Aryan spirit is


In
rising in a wave that no despotism can long withstand.
Germany the recent effort to establish paternal rule is
failed.

an evident

failure,

rebellion of the

and must soon succumb to the peaceful

In England

ished.

In France monarchy has van-

people.
it

exists only

resentatives of the people.

ancient
itself,

Aryan

principle

But

on sufferance of the repin

America alone can the

be said to have fully declared

and the government of the people by the people to

have become permanently established.

America may be particularly referred


teresting lesson of

human development

to

from the

it

displays.

inIt

FUTURE STATUS OF HUMAN RACES.


offers a

in

325

remarkable testimony to the action of natural law

human

progress, and the inevitable outworking of con-

ditions in spite of every opposing effort or influence.

the government of the United States

we

In

possess the direct

outcome of the government of ancient Arya, an unfold-

ment of the governing

among our remote


method as

if it

had

principle that

ancestors, with as

grew up naturally
little

variation in

arisen without a single opposing effort.

of decentralization in government as

It is the principle

opposed to that of centralization.

There are but two

final

types of government which could possibly arise, no matter

how many

intermediate experiments were made.

are the centralized

and the decentralized, the patriarchal

and the democratic.


is

These

To

the persistence of the former

it

necessary that the ruler shall be at once political and

religious despot.

He must sway

the minds of his people,

or he will gradually lose his absolute control over their

In China alone does this condition fully exist,

bodies.

and

to

it

is

due the long persistence of the Chinese form

of government.

In

all

the

Aryan despotisms of to-day

the autocratic rule can only persist during the continued

ignorance of the people.

In none of them

is

the emperor

With the awaking of general intelligence free government must come.


The Aryan principle of government is that of decentrala spiritual potentate.

ization.

And

as no Ar3^an political ruler has ever suc-

ceeded in becoming the acknowledged religious head of his


people, every effort at despotic centralization has failed or

must

fail.

in ancient

Local self-government was the principle of rule

Arya, and

if is the principle in

modern America.

There the family was the unit of the government. With


its domestic relations no official dared interfere.
The vil-

THE ARYAN RACE.

326
lage had

governmental organization for the control of

its

the external relations of

people.

The

its families,

under the rule of the

later institution of the tribe

had

with the external relations of the villages

meddle with

the

said, this principle has

village

two

family and the territorial.

these

first

declared

became divided
the State.

proved,

to

In

society

political

This gave

and

the ruling principle of

however, in the development

be uusuited to the needs of an ad-

vanced government, and

it

was replaced by

rise to the rigidly

the territorial

democratic government

was composed of successive self-govranging downward through State, tribe, town-

of later Attica.

erning units,

and Greek

itself,

into the family, the gens, the tribe,

It

civilization,

ship,

been remarkably per-

In Greece the former of

The family idea was

organization.

idea.

could not

relations of organization existed,

the

of

it

unfolded with hardly a check in Greece.

It

Aryan

do merely

their internal affairs.

As we have
sistent.

to

It

and family, while the people held absolute control

alike of their private

and

At a

their public interests.

later

date the growth of political wisdom carried this principle

one step farther forward, and a league or confederacy of


Grecian States was formed.

Unfortunately this early out-

growth of the Aryan principle was possible


alone.
slowl}',

Country

life

in

city life

and country thought moved more

and the world had

to await, during

two thousand

years of anarchy and misgovernment, the establishment of

popular government over

cit}^

and country

alike.

In the United States of America the Grecian com-

monwealth has come again to

life,

principle has risen to supremacy.

and the

We

vital

Aryan

have here,

great nation, almost an exact counterpart

of

the

in

small

FUTURE STATUS OF HUMAN RACES.


The family

Grecian confederacy.

exists as the unit

still

element, though no longer as a despotism.

ward or the borough, the

the

successively

and

all,

element.
interests

And

in

each,

or

is

in

is,

admitted principle.
ried

to

units of the

which

affect

the

all

steady process of

each

In each

the governing

is

of

self-control

It is the

ultimate,

its

city or

the confederacy or United States.

of these the voice of the people

all

Then come

Over these extends the State,

township, and the county.

and over

327

its

internal

becoming, the

law of decentralization carof

successively

the

larger

government having control of the interests


it

as a whole, but having no right to meddle

with interests that affect solely the population of any of


the minor units.

Such

is

the highest condition of political organization yet

reached bv mankind.

the direct line of natural

It is in

ft/

And

political evolution.

reached

its

ultimate.

It

this evolution

must

has certainly not

in the future

go on to the

formation of yet larger units, confederacies of confederacies, until finally the

great republic,

all

whole of mankind shall become one

general affairs being controlled by a par-

liament of the nations, and popular self-government being

everywhere the
This

rule.

may seem somewhat

visionary,

Yet Nature

visionary.

and Nature has declared,

is

not

in a continuous course

of events, reaching over thousands of years, that there

but one true

line of political evolution.

be temporarily set aside, but


rogated.

It

may

it

it

may

is

may

cannot be permanently ab-

be hundreds, but can hardly be thou-

sands of years before the finale


long

Natural law

is

reached

take, but one end can come,

confederacy of mankind.

The type

yet however

that

of the

of government that

THE ARYAN RACE.

328
naturally arose

in

the

Arya must be

ancient

village of

the final type of government of the world.

One highly important


condition,

namely,

result

must attend

this ultimate

the abolition of war; for the basic

principle of republican

government

that of the yielding

is

of private in favor of general interests, and the submission

of

all

hostile questions to the arbitrament of courts

parliaments.

Abundant questions

might result in war, were not

rise in

and

America which

more rational method

this

for the settlement of disputes in satisfactory operation.

In several minor and in one great instance in American


history an appeal has been

made from

people to that of the sword.

the decision of the

But with every such

the principle of rule by law and by the ballot has

more
is

firmly established,

and admission of

becoming more and more

effort

become

this principle

general as time goes on.

Unfortunately, in the world at large no such method


exists for arranging the relations of states,

and many wars

have arisen over disputes which could satisfactorily have


been settled by a congress.

This

clearly recognized in Europe,

and a

is

being more and more

partial

and unacknowl-

edged confederacy of the European States may be said to


exist already.

But the only

distinct

and declared avoid-

ance of war by parliamentary action was that of the Ala-

bama Commission, which

satisfactorily settled

which otherwise might have resulted

between America and England.

in

a dispute

a ruinous

war

This principle of con-

federacy and parliamentary action for the decision of in-

young as yet, but it is growa general


ing.
One final result alone can come from it,
confederacy of the nations, becoming continually closer,
must arise, and war must die out.
For the time will

ternational questions

is

FUTURE STATUS OF HUMAN RACES.


inevitably
tions will

329

come when the great body of confederated natake the dragon of war by the throat and crush

the last remains of

life

out of

We

detestable body.

its

when war will not


compound of civilized na-

can dimly see in the far future a period


be permitted, when the great

tions will sternly forbid this irrational, ruinous,

method of

settling national disputes,

quietly on at the destruction of


sults of

human

human

and

terrible

and

will

life

and of the

not look
re-

industry, or the wasteful diversion of in-

dustry to the manufacture of instruments of devastation.

When

that age comes,

all hostile

disputants will be forced

to submit their questions to parliamentary arbitration,

and

by the result as individuals submit to-day to the


All civilized men and nadecision of courts of law.
tions of the far future will doubtless deem it utter madness
to abide

to seek to settle a dispute or reach the solution of an ar-

gument by

killing

one another, and

will

be more likely to

shut up the warrior in an insane asylum than to put a

hand and suffer him to run amuck like a


frantic Malay swordsman through the swarming hosts of
industry. Such w^e may with some assurance look forward
sword

in his

to as the finale of

Aryan

itself.

Aryan

principle

has similarly

Religious decentralization

was the con-

Religiously the antique

declared

development.

political

dition of worship in ancient Arya,

and

this condition

The right
opinion has become fully

has

reappeared in modern America.

of private

thought and private

established

after a hard battle with the principle of religious autoc-

racy, and to-day every

be his

own

priest,

irrespective of

man

in

America

is

privileged to

and to think and worship as he

will,

any voice of authority.

In moral development the Aryan nations are steadily

THE ARYAN RACE.

330

The code of Christ is the accepted code in


Aryan lands. It is not only the highest code

progressing.

nearly

all

ever promulgated, but


superior rule
principle of
in

and

is

it

impossible to conceive of a

At

conduct.

of moral

its

basis lies the

universal human sympathy, that of

activity for the

self- advantage.

interest

good of others, without thought of

Nowhere

else

does so elevated a code

of morals exist, for in every other code the hope of re-

ward
good

is

held out as an inducement to the performance of

acts.

results.

The idea is
The idea of

a practical

a low one, and

the

has yielded low

dogma

a high one, and

is

steadily higher

Aryan benevolence

its

grade and far less contracted in

yielding

loftier in

out-reach than

and Aryan moral


any other race of mankind
and action reach far above those displayed by the

that of
belief

its

it is

is

of

universal

the

of

brotherhood of mankind,
results.

and

benevolence,

unselfish

acceptance of

it

Confucian, Buddhistic, and

Mohammedan

sectaries.

Aryans have made a progress almost


The development of
infinitely bej^ond that of other races.
the f ruitf ulness of the soil the employment of the energies
Industrially the

man

of Nature to perform the labors of

vention of labor-saving machinery

the extensive in-

the unfoldment of the

scientific principles that underlie industrial operations,

of the laws of political

economy and

finance,

and

are doing

and must continue to do much for the amelioration of


man. It is not with the sword that the Aryans will yet
conquer the earth, but with the plough and the tool of the

The Aryan may go out

artisan.

but

it

will

to conquer

and possess

be with peace, plenty, and prosperity in his

hand, and under his awakening touch the whole earth


shall yet

" bud and blossom as the rose."

FUTUEE STATUS OF HUMAN RACES.


There

is

but one more matter at which

we need

glance

In original Arya the industrial organiza-

in conclusion.

tion

331

was communistic.

Yet we must look upon

this as

but

a transitional state, a necessary stage in the evolution of


human institutions. In the savage period private property

had no existence beyond that of mere personal weapons,


In the pastoral period it had
clothing, and ornaments.
little more, since the herds, which formed the wealth of
the people, were held for the good of all there was no
;

personal property in lands, and household possessions were


of small value.

the land

was

dwelling, and

In the village period, though the bulk of

still

its

common

property, yet the house-lot, the

contents were family possessions.

The

idea of and the claim to private property has ever since

been growing, and has formed one of the most important


instigating elements in the development of mankind. This
idea has to-day become supreme

munism remaining

is

in

and industry.

the only general com-

government property, and the

principle of individualism is
ligion,

dominant

alike in politics, re-

Such a progressive development of

individualism seems the natural process of


tion.

earth

evolu-

The most stagnant institution yet existing on the


The progress of
is the communistic Aryan village.

mankind has yielded and been

largely due to the estab-

lishment of the right to private property.


believe

that this

stream of
its

human

source.

Nor can we

right will ever be abrogated,

and the

human events turn and flow backward toward


The final solution of the problem of property-

holding cannot yet be predicted, but


that of complete

communism

the world will cease to turn

becomes useless to mankind.

it

or socialism.
if

can scarcely be

The wheels

of

ever individual enterprise

THE ARYAN RACE.

332

Yet that individualism has attained too great a dominance through the subversion of
fraud, and the power of position,

law by force,

naturiil

may

safely be declared.

Individualism has become autocratic over the kingdom of


industry, and

Aryan blood

always revolt against au-

will

In the world of the future some more equitable

tocracy.

distribution of the products of industry

The methods

made.
declare

be

will

of this distribution no one can yet

but the revolt against the present inequitable con-

dition of affairs
is

must and

is

general and threatening.

This condition

not the result of a natural evolution, but of that preva-

war which long permitted force to triumph over


and which has transmitted to the present time, as

lence of
right,

many

governing ideas of the world,

The beginning

during the reign of the sword.


pire of peace

of the lessons learned

of the em-

seems now at hand, and the masses of mankind

are everywhere rising in rebellion against these force-in-

augurated ideas.

When

the people rise in earnest, false

conditions must give way.


that

is in

But

it is

a peaceful revolution

slower, though not less sure, than those of war.


result will in all probability be

between the

two extremes.

some condition intermediate

On

the one hand, inordinate

power and inordinate wealth must cease


oppress the masses of mankind.
lute

much
The final

progress, and the revolutions of peace are

equality in station and

On

possessions

existence,

human development,

exist

and

the other hand, absois

with a high state of civilization and progress.


in the story of

to

incompatible
It belongs,

to the savage stage of

and has been steadily grown away from as man

has advanced in civilization.

The

inequalities of

man

in

physical and mental powers are of natural origin, and

must inevitably

find

some expression

in the natural organi-

FUTURE STATUS OF HUMAN RACES.


zation of society.

They cannot

fail to

333

yield a certain in-

We

equality in wealth, position, and social relations.

no more suppress

can

outcome of natural conditions than


we can force the seeds of the oak, pine, and other forest
this

trees alike to produce blades of grass.


ity is unnatural, in that

it

Enforced equal-

opposed to the natural

is

in-

body and mind of man, and it could not


be maintained, though a hundred times enacted. And
equalities of the

the inevitable tendency of even

its temporary prevalence


would be to check progress and endeavor, and to force
human society back toward that primitive stage in which

alone absolute

communism

find complete equality in

those low forms of animal

natural and possible.

is

To

animal relations we must go to


life in

which there

erable difference in powers and properties.

is

no discov-

The moment

differences in natural powers appear, differences in condi-

and the whole tendency of animal evolution


has been toward a steadily increasing diversity of powers

tion arise

and

faculties, until to-day there exist greater differences

in this

respect in the

period in history.

cannot
sities,

human

race than at any previous

These mental and physical differences

fail to yield social, political,

and

industrial diver-

though laws by the score or by the thousand should

be enacted to suppress their natural influence upon

human

institutions.

But the existing and growing inequality


position

is

in wealth

and

equally out of consonance with the lessons of

Nature, since

it is

human minds and

much

in excess of that

bodies, and

is

result of ability, but of fraud,

in

which exists in

numerous cases not the

of special advantages in

the accumulation of vrealth, or of an excessive develop-

ment of the

principle of inheritance.

This

evil

must be

THE ARYAN RACE.

334

How, or by what medicine, it is not easy to deNo man has a natural right to a position in society
clare.
which his own powers have not enabled him to win, nor to
cured.

the possession of wealth, authority, or influence which

is

excessively beyond that due to his native superiority of


intellect.

That a greater equality

wealth than

now

exists will

in the distribution of

prevail

in

the future

can

scarcely be questioned, in view of the growing determi-

nation of the masses of mankind to bring to an end the

present state of

communism

affairs.

That the existing degree of

will develop until the great products of

human

thought, industry, and art shall cease to be private property,

and

and become free to the public

lecture-halls, is equally

among

in libraries,

museums,

the things to be desired

But that superior intellect shall cease to


win superior prizes in the " natural selection" of society,
is a theory too averse to the teachings of Nature and the

and expected.

evident principles and methods of social evolution ever to

come

into practical realization in the history of

mankind.

INDEX.

Aborigines

of Europe

and Asia,

61,

02.

Abraham,

patriarchal position

of,

115

^notrians, 78.
Afghans, race-type of, 8-1.
Africa, English settlements in, 298;
Aryan advance in, 301, 315; Arab
advance, 303; probable future condition, 313; race-mingling in Cenwest-coast colonies, 314;

Congo
on

region, 314; probable effect


natives, 315; future race-rela-

Africans, increase of, in America, 311.


Agassiz on Indians and Negroes of
Brazil, 7, note.

Agglutinative languages, methods

of,

198; where used, 198.


of, 144, 7iote.

Agriculture, original localities of, 49.


Ahriman, original myth of, 222; contest

with Ormuzd, 222;

evil

crea-

Ahura Mazda,

222.

scientific schools of, 284.

Algiers, French province, 313; railroad

southward, 315.
Altniark,

land-commnnism

in the, 124.

America, Aryan settlements

297;
treatment of Indians, 305; decrease
of aborigines, 311; future state of
in,

312; democracy, 324, 325;


rule of law, 328; democracy in reli-

races,

gion, 329; industrial


330.

village

faculty

system, 125,

development,

126;

with

compared

clan-organization

Aryan, 172.
Americans, muscular energy of the
earlv, 275, 276; rudimentary art,
282.'

Analysis in language, 208-208 modern


;

results of, 209.

Anaxagoras, idea of deity


of, 137,

of,

133-35;

241.

evidences

138.

Anglo-Saxons, deficiency of abstraction in language of, 93, 94; system


of law, 175; epic of Beowulf, 258.
Apollo, Cuma^an, statue of, 141.
Aquitani, character of the, 69.
Arabia, permanence of conditions

in,

319; security against invasion, 319;


how commerce may penetrate, 319.

Arabian empire, science


commerce, 286, 287.

tions, 223.

Alexandria,

American

Ancestor-worship,

tions, 316.

Agni, myth

races, imaginative

in, 25.

Ab3-s?inianp, 17.

314;

ing, 196.

American

ancestral relation to Jews, 160.

tral,

American languages, lack of abstraction in, 195, 197; word-compound-

in the, 284;

Arabians, poetry of the, 271; their


conquests, 294; driven from Spain,
295; migrations in Africa, 303.

Arabs,

affinities of, to the

type, 16, 314.


prehistoric
Architecture,

Negro

race-

European,

276; Melanochroic, 276,277;

Egyp-

277; Hindu, 278,

Greek,

tian,

'279;

279; Gothic, 280.

philosophy of, 241, 242;


founds science of observation, 283.

Aristotle,

INDEX.

336

Art of the ancients, 278, 280; of the


nincleriis,

280, 281; of iioii-Aryaiis,

2S2.
Artliiir, Kinpr,

"Welsh

lefjjeuds of,

2G2;

use of by Tiouveres, 252.


Aryii, aiieient, no State religion in,
153; cradle of libert}-, 154; devel-

opment

method
communism, 331.

of democracy. 187;

of worship, 219;

Aryan, derivation of term, 90.


Aryan clan, comparison of, with
American, 172; religious freedom,

America occupied, 297, 300; Pacific


islands and India, 298, 300; set cmeuts in Africa, 29!>; character of
modern, 297-99; extension, 300;
regions occupied, 300, 301; moral
304; beneficial influences,
300; effect on aborigines, 311; in
Africa, 313-15 moral development,
effects,

329, 330.

Aryan mythology,

origin of the, 141;

development, 142;
143;

myths

heaven-deities,

of the Vedas, 144.

172, 173; democracy, 173; political


common duties,
conditions, 174;

Aryan philosophy, high character

174; blood-revenge, 175; tribal combinations, 175; clan-council, 176;

Aryan

simplicity

of

17G;

organization,

military system,

177;

Aryan

family, property

ganization,

110;

how composed,

109; or111;

tic

of,

135, 139;

religious

system, 130; symbolism of common


meal, 130.
Aryan languages, persistence of, 37;
loss of names for animals, 42; early
dialects, 61; verbal affinities, 90;
dictionary, 92; physical significance
or original words, 93; comparison
with Semitic, 200; outgrowth from
Mongolian, 201; analytic methods,
208 modern results of analysis, 207
ancient synthetic complexity, 207;
rapid analysis in ]Middle Ages, 208;
;

of modern conditions, 209;


attempts to form sub-groups, 212.

growth

Arj'an literature, superiorit}' of the,


243 development of epic poem, 243
compared with non-Aryan, 209;
high intellyric poetry, 270, 271
;

lect uality, 272.

Aryan migrations,

effect of primitive,

290; energy, 290; early extension,


291: checks to, 291, 292; internal
movenipnts, 292; conquest of Semitic and Hamitic regions, 292; early
historical
sion,'

293;

movements,
loss

of

218; intellectual comparison,


with yellow and black races, 27;
review of development, 27; linguis-

26,

persistence,

2^)3;

rever-

territory-,

294;

expansion resumed, 295; results,


296; commercial migration, 297;

migratory energy,

race, 1-5;

expanding tendency, 15; derivation, 16; mental fusion of sub-races,


11;

guilds, 177;

chieftainship, 178, 179.

of

the, 233.

28; original

home,

GO; languages, 32;

Asiatic

divisions,

30, 37,

theory of Aryan home, 38, 39; its


insufficiency, 39, 40, 42; European
41;

theorv,

argument from

lan-

guage, 42; Peschel's views, 42, 43;


other European theories, 43; climate
and habits, 43, 44 pastoral pursuits,
;

change of habits, 49 development, 51; the Caucasus as the


47, 48

primitive seat, 51, 52; early condition, 57, 58; energy, 59; original
divisions, 64; sub-races, 92; influences controlling develo|)ment, 215
non-specialization, 216; superiority

of intellect, 217.

Arj-an religion, double system of, 132;


mythology, 132; ancestor-worshi(),
133, 134;"^ family rites, 135, 136;
burial-customs, 136; secrecy of houseworship, 134, 138: clan-worship,
139-41

effect of

migration on wor-

ship, 145.

Aryan

village system,

unfoldment of

the, 185.

Aryans, southern migration of the, 74;


developmental influences, 85; agricultural

migration, 80;

race-min-

gling, 87; linguistic persistence, 87;


their
build no monuments, 89
;

INDEX.
record,

90; domesticated animals,


94; pastoral terms, 90; agricultural

customs,

95-97; trees and metals


known, 97; houses, 97; domestic

life,

family relations, 98, 99;


customs, 99; navigati.on,

98;

hunting

100; Avar, ]U0; knowledge and be101; religion, 101; political


system, 102; later conditions, 104;

S37

mocracy,

182;

territorial

system

established, 182.
Attila,

Home

threatened by, 2D4.

Aryan occupation

Australia,

of,

2j8.

Avesta, traditions of the, 39; geography, 80; doctrine of resurrection,


223, 224.

lic't's,

barbarism,

105
land-communism,
110; village group, 117; patriarchism, 117; democracy, 118; landdivision, 118; family property, 118,
119; kinship, 139; religious history
of western division, 146, 147; lack
;

of priestly authority in West, 150;


political evolution, 188; links of

189; comparison of philosophy with other races, 229; fertility of imagination, 24G, 2GG; epic
poetry, 247; comparative powers,
273; superior mental energy, 274
affinity,

277, 278; their art, 289, 281

Babylonia,

religious system of, 159;

political conditions, 159

ligious lyrics,
epic, 244.'

mythology,

244;

mvthological

Aryan -home theorv of, 9;


Indo-Iranian population, 80; migration from, 81, 83, note.
Balder, myth of, 144.
Bactria,

Baltic,

Aryan-home theory

44, nute

unsuitability, 47

of the, 43,
not adapt-

ed to evolution of agriculture, 50.


Baring-Gould, S., ou German land-

communism,

science!

220; mythical cosmology, 229; re-

123.

282-85: machinery, 285; commerce,


moral standard, 287-8J
286, 287
treatment of Indians, 304; results,

Barrow, Sir J., on Manchu Tartars, 21.


Basques, the, 10, 11, G2; linguibtic

305; historical movements, 310; racefusions, 310; race-influence on Mon-

BelgfB, character of the, 69.

golians, 310; in Pacific islands, 317;


in Asia, 317, 318; comparison with
the Chinese, 321; steady progress,
322; mental conquests, 322, 323;
j-eview of political evolution, 323-

27.

of, 195.

Beowulf, Anglo-Saxon epic


story of poem, 259.

of,

258;

Berbers, Negro affinities of the, 10,


314.

Berosus on religion of Babylonia, 229.

Blond tvpe, characters and

locality of

the, 14, 15, 19, 20, 30.

Aryan population in,


236; Russian conquests, 2D8 Aryan

Asia, state of

advance,

301;

Aryan

character

of

of,

244;

175.

2G8.

Comparative Grammar

of,

lonians, 77;

236.

pressure,
political
reform
181;
measures, 181.
Atomistic philosoph3' of Greece, 240.

by

of,

Brahmanic philosophy, high character


of the, 234; dogma of emanation
and absorption, 234; pantheistic
ideas, 235; conception of Brahma,

literature,

245.

settled

F.,

of,

on variation of dialects, 40.


Brahma, Hindu conception of, 235,

Athenian village communities, 119.


Athens, power of gentes in, 181; alien

cinn

system, 180, 181; growth of chieftainsliip,

Boccaccio, the Decameron

32

Asia Minor, lonians in, 77.


AssA'ria, mythological epic
practical

Blood-revenge, extension

Bopp,

population,

317, 318.

Attica,

method

181; development of de-

22

235; theory of transmigration, 236;


method of purification. 236, 237; asceticism, 237; destiny of soul, 237;
effect on Hindu character and history, 238.

Bridge of the Dead, 223, 224.

INDEX.

338
Brown

characters and

type, Aryan,

localities of the, 14, 15.

Brunhild, heroine of Nibelungen-lied,


258.

Buddhism, influence

of,

on Chinese

philosophy, 233, 234; philosophical


system, 239 code of moral law, 287
modern condition, 288.
;

Burial-customs, Aryan, 136.

Chieftainship,

development

of,

in

Europe, 180.
China, religions of, 133, 158; burialcustoms, 130; house and clan worship, 139; patriarchal imperial s^'stem, 157; despotism of emperor, 158;
lack of progress, 158; comparison

with Egypt, 159; influences favoring despotism, 109; specialism of


development, 210 lack of imagina;

Cesar,

Julius,

on the Ganls, 09; on

history, 209;

the Suevi, 122.

Calendar, ancient development of the,


282.

Camel, no common Aryan word for, 42.


Canstadt race, the, 9.
Captives, treatment of, 308.
Cato, quoted by Cicero, 254.
Caucasian race, ])hysical characters of
origin, 9, 12;

spirit of

enterprise, 11; the race of civilization, 23, 24.

Caucasus,

home,

as

the,

opment

Arvan
Aryan devel-

primitive

42, 44, 50, GO

in, 51.

Celtiberians, 03.
Celtic epic cycle, 255; Irish examples,

230-01; Welsh examples, 202.


original seat of the, 03; racecharacters, 04; migration, 04, 05;

Celts,

movements, GO; race-type,


08; modern type, 07; influence on
historical

later migrations, 08; in Italy, 78;


race-mingling, 87, 309; linguistic
changes, 88; in Ireland, 120; religious system, 147; organization in

alien influence on
Ireland, 180;
language, 212; individual migra-

Chansons de Gestes, 202.


Charlemagne, hero of French epics of
Cherokee language, length of words
190; lack of abstraction, 196.

Chief Aryan, power of the, 104; position, 178; patriarchal


household,
179.

179;

of migrations, 3U2; thought conditions, 320; influx of

growth

of

authority,

Aryan

idens,

321; commerce and migration, 321;


political centralization, 325.

Chinese language, primitive character


of the, 190; methods, 192; expesyntactical system, 194;
dients, 193
;

features of value, 310.

Chinese philosophy, sj'stem of the,


231; symbols of Fu-hi, 231; dualism
of all things, 232; origin and nature
of

man, 232; paucity

of philosophers,

234.
Christ, moral code of, 288; adopted

by

ArN-ans only, 28D; elevated character of, 330.'


Cicero, quotation from Cato, 254.
Civilization, origin of early, 159, 160.

Clan-system, localities of the, 155.


Clan-worship, Arvan. 139-41.
Cleisthenes, political system of, 182.

Commerce, development
effects,

297;

of,

280; mi-

variation of

centres, 299.

Communism

in

cient Arya,

chivalry, 2G2.

178,

novel, 270;

power of muscular
exertion. 274; Great Wall, 274; low
grade of intellect, 275; art rudimentary, 282; conservatism, 287; Confucian moral code, 288; character

gration

tions, 299.

in,

drama and

lyric poetry, 272;

Calcutta, origin of, 120,

the, 7, 13;

219;

character of literature,
247, 209, 274; lack of philosophical
tion,

America, IGl;
331;

in an-

decline of.

probable future, 334.


Confucius, the last perfect man,
moral code of. 232. 288.
Congo, region of the, 315, 310.
Coriolanus,
b}',

148.

331,
2-32,

worship of hearth-spirit

INDEX.
Cox,

Sir

G.W., on Greek house-father,

308; on (aniily worfihip, 135.


Creek Indians, conmuinisni of the, IIG;
or<;-anization, 162;

1G4;

power of sachem,

reli>;ion, 1G5.

Croats, 74.

Cro-Magnon

race, 10.

Crusaders, invasion of Syria bv the,


2G0.

of,

Dante, Divina Commedia of,

265, 266.

Democracy, persistence of principle

of,

Divina Commedia, ruling idea of

the,

epic classification, 266.

Dixon, W. H., on Russian family, 109.


Don Quixote, 2G2.
Dorians, the, 70, 77; a highland people, 84.

Drama, development

modern,

of the

Eddas, Scandinavian myths

Africa, 301.

tension, 214.
ter of the, 242.

Asbook of Job, 245;


Egyptian, 246; Hindu, 248-50; Per-

syrian,

251; Greek, 251-54;


Teutonic, 256-58;
254;
Anglo-Saxon, 258-60; Irish, 260,
sian,

250,

Roman,

261; Welsh, 262; Erench tales of


chivalry, 262; Einnish, 263; Sla-

in the,

250.
patriarchial

government

of,

158, 159; religiousauthority of ruler,

primitive character of lan159


origin of linguistic
guage, 195
method, 204; confusion of mytholo-

Etruria, 78.

Etruscans, 62.

Europe, early,

gy, 220; rise of religious philosoph}',


220; its character, 230; absorption,
and transmigration, 231; compari-

son of i)hiIosophy Avith Hindu, 234,


235; literature, 246; architectural
277;

level

of art

282; Aryan conquest, 292

attained,
;

English

Egyptians, facial affinity of, to Negro


degree of imagination,
tvpe, 16
;

219.
Eleatic philosophy, ideas of the, 240.

John, Indian Bible

of, 196,

in,

0; as Ar3'an

erature,
ture, 276

267; prehistoric architecre-conquest by Aryans,


;

296.

Family, Aryan, organization of


107-10; persistence, 111;

the,

how com-

posed,

135, 139; religious system,


136; sN'mbolism of common meal,

136

in ancient

Family group,

control, 313.

man

home, 43, 44; conflict of democratic


and aristocratic ideas, 186 mediaeval
epic spirit, 2G7; development of lit-

Eliot,

Babylonian, 244;

244;

264; two lines of development, 265 epics of civilization, 265;


uufoldment of epic in Greece, 266;
in modern Europe, 267.
Eskimo, 21.

225; conception of new universe,


228; legends of, in Nibelungen-lied,

labor,

at,

vonic,

2G8, 2G9.

Dravidians, the, 83.


Druids, prominence of the, 147.

Egypt,

excavations

England, land-communism in, 124;


development of democracy in, 187;
commercial superiority, 299; migratorv activity, 299; oceanic migration, 300; in Indo-China, 301; in

Epic poetry:

the Ar\'ans, 324.

2G5, 2G6

ai'chitectural

278.

English philosophy, inductive charac-

Dariel, gorge of, 42, 8G.

among

Ellora,

English language, analytic tendency


of tlie, 209; loss of inflections, 210;
growth of monosyllabilism, 210; advantages, 211; probable future ex-

290.

Ciichulaind, epic cycle

339

undivided.

Arya, 325.

the,

Ill,

106,

112;

107:

joint

influence

on

development, 155.
Feudalism, in Mexico, 168; in Egypt,
China, and Japan, 169; development
tribal

of, 185.

mDEX.

340
Fiction of the ancients, 267

of the

moderns, 268.
Finn, epic cycle of, 201.
Finns, atfinity to Europeans, 22, 23;
change of deities, 1-iO; richness of
agglutinative language,
poetry, 263.
Firdusi,

the

epic

199;

Shah Namah

251,

of,

255.

Flower,
by,

W.

H., classification of races

tory and drama, 266; fiction, 207;


natural models of architecture, 279;
types represented, 280; develop-

ment

of science, 283, 284; political

development, 326.
Greek language, inflectional richness
of the, 213.

Greek philosophy, 239, 240; compared


Avith Hindu, 240; not based on mythology, 240;

G.

Foulalis, resemblance of, to Em'opeans,


17.

schools

of,

240-4*2;

founded on observation, 242.


Greeks, migration of the, 75-77 decline of mythology, 147; tradition,
149; prominence of man, 150; systems of philosophy, 151; develop;

France, Celtic types

67; traces of

in,

comniunism, 120; inductive character

of poetry, 253; development of his-

of

philosophy, 242

lado-

in

China and Africa', 301.


Fu-hi, symbols of, 231.

ment

clan

of

republic,

into

development of democratic

177;

institu-

tions, 184; epic poetry, 251.

Grimm's law,
Gatxas,

34.

17.

Ganges, Hindus

in plain of the, 82.

Gauls, aspect of the, 06;

character,

Hamites,

a linguistic sub-type, 28.

Hamitic languages, by

G9.

Gautama, Buddhistic philosophy

whom

spoken,

of,

204; character, 204; possible Nigritian source, 204; use of suffixes, 205.

Genghiz Khan, Mongol migration un-

Hcarn's "Aryan Household." 136; on


family Avorship, 139.

239.
deV, 294.

German language, permanence

of syn-

Germans, the

Heaven-deitie, 143.

Hebrews, organization and religion of

thesis in the, 209.

tus, 70; deductive philosophy, 242;

160; lack of philosophy, 234;


character of poetry, 245; development of lyric poetry, 271 Christ's

individual migrations, 239.

teachings ignored, 28D.

early, 69; race-mixture,

by Taci-

69, 70, 87, 309;\lescribed

Germany, modern communism

in,

123

migrations, 123; land division, 124;


ancient lays, 255; epic spirit, 256;

democratic ideas, 324.


Gersbach, land communism in, 124.
Gibbon, on Slavonians, 73.
Gobineau, Count de, on Negro intellect, 24; comparative mentality of
race-types, 27.

Gothic architecture,

significance

of,

Hell,

development of the idea

of, 265,

206.

Hellenes,

movements and

division of

family worship, 137, 138.

the, 76;

Heraclitus, philosophical ideas

Hesiod, the

Highland

Hindu
Hindu

Theogony

of,

of,

240.

254.

clan, 114.

deities, 143, 144.

dialects, analytic

tendency of

the, 211.

Hindu philosophy, 234-39; extrava-

280.

Grecn-Tralians, original seat of the, 63,

75; iMelanochroi, 64; line of migra-

of,

gance of iningination displayed. 240;


based on Vedic myths, 240, 242.

Hindu

tion, 68.

Greece, religious lyrics

poetry

the,

of,

244;

epic

251; artistic moderation

tales, influence of, 268.

Hindus, races surrounding


Bactria, 80;

march

the, 40; in

to India, 81, 82;

INDEX.
date of march, 83; race-characters,
83; lowlunders, 84; fusion with Melanochroi, 87; ancestor-worship, 137;

dominance of priesthood,

1-15;

lack

of history, 1-iG; religious traditions,

149; activity of intellect, 238; epic


poetry, 248-50; character of architecture, 278, 279; limitations of art,

281; check to migration, 292; fusion


with aborigines, 309.

Hippocrates, medical studies of, 283.


History, unwritten, 2; philosophy of,
.3,

4:

Homer,

341

under English rule, 298; convergence of migration upon, 300.


Indians, type of the Brazilian, 7, note ;
character,

facial

religious sys-

304; results. 305; effect of

Avhites,

civilization on, 311; possible fusion

with whites, 312; probable racemingling, 317.


Individualism, growth of, 331: confuture
trolling influences, 332, 333
;

critical opinions on, 251, 252.

House-communities, 112.
House-father, Aryan, authority of, in
Rome, 107, 108; with other Aryans,
109; checks to power, 111 in Kandh
the family priest,
hamlet, 113
;

status, 334.

Indo-China, English and French

Household, Aryan, 107, 108

and India,

in Greece

in,

301; Aryan control of, 317.


Indo-Iranians, original seat of the, 03;
Melanochroic type, 64; migrations,

79-81; religious schism, 221.


Indra,

135.

myth

144.

of,

Hindus

Indus,

valley of the, 82,

in

83.

108.

House-worship, Aryan, 134-39.


Hovelacque, A., on Aryan languages,

Aryan development of, 330;


communistic stage, 331 future re-

Industry,

lations, 332.

36.

Huns, migratory conquests of

the, 294;

establish a nation in Europe, 295.

Huxley,

Professor,

classification

Inflectional languages,

of

ods, 200.

tral

Iberians, 62.

source of the, 251; theories of


authorship, 252; high epic merit,
252; deals with man, 253.

power of

196

primitive

communism

chiefs,

in,

120

181; Basque influ-

ence on language, 212; early literary


activity, 260; epic lays, 260.
Iroquois,

commimism

of the, 161.

Isolating languages, the, 190; character of, 192-94.

the, 167.

Incorporating languages, methods of


the, 195; Basque, 195; American,
195,

land

power of

Iliad,

highlanders, 84; ances-

worship, 137.

Ireland,
78.

two types of

used, 199; meth-

lonians, 70, 77; a lowland people, 84.


Iranians, the, in Bactria, 80, 81; racetypes, 84;

races by, 5.

Iapygians,

by whom

the, 199;

Hunter, Dr. W., on Kandh hamlet,


113; on Hindu clan-worship, 140.

Inca,

21

tem, 133; organization, 100; communism, 161; government, 163;


treatment by
religion, 164, 165;

character,

Italians, 88.

Ivanovska. a Russian village

commu-

nity, 128.

197.

India, races

of,

40; village

commu-

undivided family,
112; village system, 126; artisans,

Jackson,

127; alien class, 127; clan agriculture, 130; rise of philosophy, 220;
system of philosophv, 234-39; epic
poetry, 248-50; fiction, 267; falls

Japan, political evolution

nities, 111; joint

J,

W., on the origin cf

races, 15, 16.


in, 170; recent progress, 287, 320, 321.
Japanese, non-migratory character of

the, 302.

INDEX.

342
Job, book

of. 245.
Jones, Sir William, on language affin-

32.

ities,

Jotiins, ice giants of Scandinavia. 22o,

223.

Literature, Babj-lonian, 244;

Hebrew,

245; Egyptian, 240; Chinese, 247,


209, 270- Aryan, 247; Hindu, 248-

50; Persian,' 250, 251; Greek, 25154; Roman, 254, 255; German,
250-58 Anglo-Saxon, 258-60
Irish, 200, 201; Welsh, 202; French,
262; Finnish, 203; Slavonic, 204;
j\Iiddle-Age epic, 265; unfoldment
;

Kaleval \,

epic lays of the, 203

and story

acter

Kandh
Kapila,

of

poem,

hamlet, 113.
Sankhya philosophy

Kinship, decline of the idea

Knox,

char-

2(i3.

of epic into

238.

of,

of, 178.

modern

drama and

literature,

history, 266;

267; growth of

2G7, 208; modern drama,


208; lyric poetry, 271, 272.
Lithuanians, 63, 71; archaic structure
of language, 212.
fiction,

Dr., on Xanthochroic intellect,

08.

Koian, extravagant fancies

of

the,

221.

Livy, epic tendency of the History

of,

255, 207.

Lakguage, importance
189;

research,

of,

divisions

in An'an
and high

development of Aryan, 190; primitive stage, 191; analytic tendency


of Latin, 207.

Languages, the European, 31;


tions

Aryan,

32

rela-

affinities

of

type,

195-97

agglutinative

198,

Xanthochroic, 205; Aryan, 200-209; Latin, 207,208.213;


anah'sis in language, 206-209 GerEnglish, 209-11, 214;
man^ 209
Hindu and Persian, 211 Lithuanian,
212; Slavonic, 213; Greek, 213; Romanic, 214.
Lao-tszc, the philosophy of, 233.
204, 205;

Lapps, relation of, to Finns, 23.


Latin language, analytic tendency of
the, 207; barbarian influence on,
208; effects of analysis,'208 causes
of change, 208, nute ; grammatical
;

Lauder, borough of, 120, 125.


Lenz, Dr. 0., on the Foulahs, 17.
42.

for, in

Oriental system adopted

by, 171.

Macpherson, treatment of

ancient Aryan,

the

Irish

epic cycle by, 201

Magyars, Aryanization of the, 2.06.


Mahabharata, 248 story of the, 249
composite character, 250
Maine, Sir H., on the power of the
wife, 110, note ; on the Hindu in;

heritance law. 111, note.


Mala}-^ languages, lack of abstraction

in,'l96.

Malays, future of the, 317.

Manchu

Tartars,

Aryan

the, 21; character of

t^-pe

among

language, 199.

Mandans, the white Indians, 21.


Marcellinus, Ammianus, on the Gauls,
66.

munism,

Latins, 78.

word

Macedonia,

Marshall, W., on English

tendencies, 213.

Lion, no

Dr. Elias, arrangement of


Kalevala by, 263.
Lyric poetry, religious, 244; Hebrew,
245; development of, 270, 271.

92,

199; inflectional type,


199, 200; Melanochroic, 200, *204;
Aryan, 200, 201; Semitic, 200-205;
Hamitic, 201; Mongolian and Negro,
type,

204.

Lonnrot,

93; isolating type,


Egyptian, 195; incorpora-

90,

190-91;
ting

Sanscrit,

to

Longfellow, on Beowulf, 258, 260; resemblance of Hiawatha to Kalevala,

land-com-

125.

Matuanlin on Mongolian race-divergence, 20.

Maurer, Von, on Teutonic village communities, 121.

'

INDEX.
Medb, Queen,

in Irish epic laj-s, 2G0.

Melanocliroic race, 5
12,

where found,

14, 17; pliysical characters, 14;


to Negro type, IG; early

affinity

origin, 17; zone occupied, 18; probable derivation, 18; intellectual relations, 24, 25 examples of languages,

343

gin

development, 142;
143;
sun-worship,
143; Greek myths, 147; southern
Indian, 165; wide extension, 218;
confusion of myths, 219, 220.
141;

of,

heaven-deities,

200; origin of linguistic method,


204; mental tendency, 218; char-

Natchez

acter of architecture. 270, 277; fusion

Negro languages, early method of

with Xanthochroi,

204; relation to Melanochroi, 205.


Negro race, physical charaetors ot'the,

-309.

Mexico, industrial system


litical

system,

16G

of, 115; pogreat works,

275.

ment

7,

Indians,

despotic govern-

of the, 165.

13; specific distinction

of,

the,

7,

8;

Europe, 10; affinities with


Melanochroi, 10; native zone, 38;
no civilization, 23; mental characters, 24, 26, 312, 313; emotional tendency, 218; lack of energy, 273
involuntary migration, 303, 304;
problem of, in America, 312; affinities, 314; increase in America, 316;
in earlv

Migrations,

comparison

and Ar^-an, 45;

of

Arabian

primitive

condi-

54-56;
development,
57;
character of Arvan, 290; future of,

tions,

317.

Milkv Wav, mvths founded on

the,

224, 22.5,'227.

Mind, development of

the, 322, 323.

future status, 316, 317.

IMohammed, source

Negroes of Brazil,

Mongolia, occupation

Neolithic man, 10, 62.


Nibelungen-lied, character of the, 256;

of creed of, 224;


extravagant fancies, 229.
of,

bv Russians,

298.

Mongolian

race, physical characters of

Nomad

Europe, 10; native zone, 18; ten-

59.

dency toward Aryan type, 20, 21;


no advanced civilizations, 23; mental character, 232G; early linguistic method, 204;
;

linguistic development, 205


tical

tendency,

218;

muscular exertion,
mental scope, 274;

praccapacity for

273-75

note.

author and date, 257; ability and


energy displayed, 257; leading motive, 257; vigor of close, 258.

the, 7, 13; specific distinction, 7, 8;


earlv distribution, 9-11; in early

variability, 21

7,

tribes,

conditions of the, 58,

Novel, development of the, 268.

Nubas,

17.

Numa,

political

system

of,

183.

low

organization,

310.

Odyssey, source
253;

religious

of the, 251;

its

hero,

progress displayed,

253.

hold of Russia, 296; probable effect

judge of the dead, 230; the


soul identified with, 231.
Ossetians, Aryan tribe of, 72, 79, 86.

of Russian invasion, 318.

Ossian, the

Osiris, the

Mongols, conquests of

the, 294;

lose

poem of, 261.


Aryan languages,

Moral law, codes of, 287, 288.


Mound-builders, 16G.
Mliller, K. 0., on Greek family, 108.
Miiller, Max, suggests the term Aryan,
32; on verbal change, 34: oirhenotheism, 219; on Kalevala, 263, 264.

Oppert, J., on

Music, significance

Pacific

of, 281.

Mythology, the Aryan,

132, 133; ori-

36.

Ormuzd,

original conception of, 222


his creative activity, 222; contest
with Ahriman, 223.

islnnds.

of the, 317.

fate

of

aborigines

INDEX.

344

Pallas, P. S., on the Ossetians, 72.

Pictet on

Parliamentary settlement of quarrels,

Plato,

38.

241;

im-

aginative character, 283.

328,

Pastoral

life,

requirements of the, 48;

organization,
sults, 157-60.

58,

political

59;

re-

ment, 171, 323.


Patriarchal family, system of the, 113;

property relations, 115.


Patriarchism, in the village system,
117; locality of, 155; conditions.

mi-

155, 156; religion, 156; -warlike


;

despotisms,

157

in

Chinese government, 157, 158; in


Egyptian, 159; in Babylonian, 159;
among Hebrews, 160; its extension,
170; political evolution, 188.
Pelasgians, 62, 76.

Pentaur, epic poem of, 246.


Persia, adoption of the Oriental system
in, 171; analytic tendency of lan-

guage, 211

epic poetry,

250, 251,

modern government, 301; Ar-

yan population,

history,

146

origin

of

philosophy, 221; religious dualism,


222; philosophy of mvthology, 22224; compared with Teutons, 225.

Peru, industrial system

115; despotic government, 167; great works,


of,

275, 276.

Peschel, O. F., description of

Aryan

race-characters by, 12, 13; Caucasian


locality of

Aryan home,
of,

with

my-

its origin, 220 ; Perthology, 219


sian niythologic philosophy, 221-24;
;

Teutonic, 225-29 Babylonian, 229;


Egyptian, 2-30, 231; Chinese sys231-33;
Hindu, 234-40
tems,
Greek, 240-42; modern, 242.
;

Phoenicians,

commerce

of

the,

286;

Aryan conquest of colonies, 292.


Phrygia, halting-place of Hellenic migration, 76.

Aryan, 153.

on Arvau

affinities,

33.

Priesthood, .Aryan, house-priest in the,


1-35; Hindu, 145; Persian, 146; Celtic, 147; Greek, 147; Konuxn, 148;

Teutonic, 149; lack of authority in

Greece and Home, 151.


Pueblo Indians, communism of the, 161.
Pythagorean philosophv, basis of the,
'240.

QuATREFAGES,

J. L. A., on the early


Europeans, 9; on the Arabs, 16.

Races

of mankind, divisions of the,


Huxley's classification, 5; Flower's, 6; Topinards, 7; early conditions and develoi)ment, 27
purity
5;

their mingling, 308;

loss of purity, 309

probable future

relations, 316.

Ragnarok, the Scandinavian mvth

of,

227.

W.

Ralston,

R.

S.,

on Slavonic house-

spirits, 137, note, 138.

Ramayana,

story of the, 248; poetic


beauty, 248, 249.
Rameses II., hero of epic poem, 246.
Religious decentralization in Arya and

America, 329.
Rhodes, J. G., on the Aryan home, 38.

42, 46.

Philology, evidence from, 33-35, 40.

Philosophy, relations

C,

of races, 57;

318.

Persians, mental character of the, 85;


religious

323-29.

Prichard, J.

Patriarchal empires, religious aid to


despotism in, 169; ease of establish-

grations, 157

Political evolution, review of, 186-88,


Political organization,

Patanjali, pliilosophy of, 239.

255;

Aryan home,

ideal philosophy of,

of the dead, character of the


Egyptian, 230.
Romance, the medijeval development

Ritual

of,

267.

Rome, power

of the house-father in,


108; village connnunities, 119; famih' worship, 137 rudimentary mythology, 148; other religious systems,
;

148; legends, 150; predominance of


in the legends, 150; influx of

man

alien

creeds,

151; despotism estab-

INDEX.
171; alien pressure on clansystem, 183; political reform, 183;
progress of democracy, 184; epic
poetry, 254
character of thouglit,
2:>5
no valuable drama, 207.
Russia, adaptation to agM-iculture of
lisliecl,

southern, 50; as early Aryan home,


51; village system,' 127, 128;

48,

land-management, 128 govennneiit,


;

kinship,

129;

co-operative

129;

guilds, 177; Tartar occupation, 295;

Mongol power broken, 290; conquest


of

Siberia,

298;

other regions

of

Asia, 298; migratory activity, 299;


agricultural migration, 300; racefusions, 309, 310;

advance

in Asia,

318; political changes, 324.


Russian farm-migration, 60,

note

their

guage with Aryan, 200;

linguistic

methods, 201; vowel-inflection, 202;


persistence of roots, 203; use of suftixes, 205; lack of philosophy, 220,

origin of monotheism, 221;


philosophy borrowed from Persia,
224; lofty conception of deity, 229;
grade of poetry, 245; check to Aryan migration, 291; conquest by
Aryans, 292.
Shah Naniah, poetical beauty of the,

229;

251.

Shakspeare, character of the drama

of,

208, 209.

Shamanism,

156, 158, 159.

Siah Posh, an

Arvan

tribe, 84.

Siam, the probable future of, 318.


Siberia, occupation of, bv Russians,
298.

house-spirit, 138, 139.

knowledge of the, 71;


Mongolian race-ciiaracters, 73,

Russians,

345

first

74, collections of epic lays, 204.

Siegfried, hero of the Nibclungeu-lied,

250; death of, 258.


Slavery, development

of, 102.

Slavonians, a primitive European population, 41


original seat, 63; race;

Sachem,

the Indian, 103; control of


store-house by, 164.

Sankhya

character,

64; migrations, 71, 72;


character, 72; described by Gibbon,

73; A'illage communities, 111

philosophical school, 238.

Sanscrit, affinities of the, 31; illustra-

the most primitive


tongue, 211.

house
communities, 112, 173; family wor-

tions from, 93;

ship, 137, note

Aryan

poetry, 204.

Arvan customs, 94;


on Russian word-making, 213.
Scandinavia, as the Aryan home, 43,
44, note ; only region of pure Xanthochroi, 46, 309; adverse argument,
47; probable antipathy of early settlers to Lapps, 87; mythologv, 225Sayce, A. H., on

29.

religion, 147; heroic

Slavonic languages, primitive inflectional structure of the, 213.

Slovaks, race-type of the, 74.


Society,

development

of,

154,

Indo-European lan-

guages, 32.
ancient,

Society Islanders, lack of abstraction,


196.

conditions

of,

282; Greek development, 283; modern, 284.

Scotland, recent village communities


in, 120, 125; Highland clan group,
173.

Sculpture, the character of Greek, 280;


of modern, 280.

Semites, derivation of the, 16; linguistic subtype. 28: r-omparison of lan-

mind

orig-

inated by, 241.


Solon, political sj'stem

the

155;

principles of development, 332-34.

Socrates, philosophy of the

Schlegel, F., on
Science,

of.

182.

Sophists, assault of, on old philosophy,


241.

Spain. Arabs driven from, 295.


Suevi, land-division of the, 122.

Sun-gods, 144; Egyptian, 231.


Syria, the Crusaders' invasion of, 296.

Tacitus, on the Germans,

69, 70:

on

German agriculture, 122: on German song, 256; history, 267.

INDEX.

346
Tadjiks, the Persian Aryans, 20.

Tamahou

people, 19.

Teutonic

mythological

philosophy,

225; origin
Ymir slain, 226
of giants, 226
customs of the gods, 227; creation

character of the,

224,

man, 227; warfare of


227; punishment
227; Ragnarok, 227, 228;
and universe destroyed,
of

of Loki,
the gods
the

228;

creation, 228, 229.

Teutonic village communities, the, 121;


121; the waste, 121,
custom, 122 : epic

land-division,

note

laws of

cycle, 255

magic

Teutons, original seat of the, 63 racecharacters, 64; line of migration,


;

68; blond type, 68; house-spirits,


138; worship, 149; growth of chief's

power, 185; development of feudalism, 185; vowel-conjugation in language, 212; source of myths, 224;
compared with Persians, 225 irruption on Eoman empire, 293.
;

word

for, in

181.

of,

266; as

comparison with Greece, 327.

a., on the Turcomans, 21.


Varuna, myth of, 143.
Vedanta system of philosophy, 238.
Vedas, character and language of the,
40; non- historical, 80; hymns, 82;
ancestor-worship, 137, 138; mythomarching
logical
deities,
144
;

oldest

record,

henotheism, 219
source of
Hindu philosophy, 240; religious

211

lyrics, 244.

Vendetta, the Corsican, 175; in Southern United States, 175.


Village communities, origin of the,
114; organization, 116, 117; landdivision, 118; in Greece and Rome,
119; in Ireland and Scotland, 120;

Germany, 121;

in

England, 124,

lands, 130; in ancient Arya, 326.


Vladimir, a hero of Russian song, 264.

Waixamoinen,

Timur, Mongolian migration

under,

294.

Tamahou

Aryan

ancient Arvan,

42.

Topinard, P., on

of Indians

decentralization,

125; in America, 125, 126; in India,


126, 127 ; in Russia, 127-30; in other

practical thinker, 283.

Tiger, no

political

Vambery,

in

Thales, philosophical ideas of, 240.


Theogony of Hesiod, the, 254.
of,

325

304;

hymns, 145;

treasure, 259.

Theseus, political system


Thucydides, the history

in,

to ancient

gods and

giants,

new

Umbrians, 78.
United States, analogy of,
Arya, 153, 178; treatment

human

species, 7

on

people, 19.

system

Tullius, Servius, territorial

of,

183, 184.

the hero of the Kale-

vala, 263.

Wallace, A. R., on race-development, 8.


Wallace, D.
on the Russian family,
109; on the Russian village, 128.
Wan-wang, philosophical system of,

231, 232.

Turkestan, the Russians in, 298.


Turke}'', race-changes in, 311.
Turkomans, physical character of the,
21.

Turks, Caucasian features of the, 20;


hordes of tle steppes, 21 agglutinative richness of language, 198; con;

War,

influence

of,

167-69;

how

avoid, 328; probable future


tion, 329.

to

aboli-

Whitney, W. D., on Arvan language,


35; on persistence of languages, 36.
Words, significance of ancient Arj-an,
93, 96; growth of new, 104.

quests, 294.

Tylor,

E.

B.,

on ancestor-worship,

Xanthocheoi,

1.38.

the true Aryans, 30;

intellectual character, 68;

Ulysses, contrast
253.

of,

with Achilles,

practical

218; race-fusion with the


ilelanochroi, 309.

intellect,

INDEX.
Xanthochroic race, the,

5,

11

where

found, 12, 14; physical characters,


1-i;
early distribution, 19; fusion
witli the Melanochroic, 19; derivation, 20,

22,

23;

intellectual

rela-

tions, 24; original locality, G-J; ori-

gin of linguistic type, 205.

347

Zarvan Akarana,

the supreme deity

of Persia, 222.

Zend-Avesta, the, geography of the,


80; affinity of dialect to Vedic, 211;
doctrines, 223, 224; religious Ivrics,

244.

Zeus, conception

of, in Iliad

and Odys-

sey, 253.

Y-KiXG, obscurity of the, 231.


Yniir slain by the gods, 226.
Yucatan, the great works of, 275,

Zoroaster,
sians,

276.

81
146;

dominance over Peron Persian

influence

mythology, 221.

University Press: John Wilson

&

Son, Cambridge.

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tf^o

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