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Article HISTORICAL VIEWS OF PROGRESS. ← Page 5 of 6 →
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Historical Views Of Progress.
been—was it right?—we have only to consider the intellectual eminence from which Europe started , when the light of civilization , after the night of thedark ages , first dawned upon her , and to see that Grecian labourhad contributed to place her there—to look upon the edifice of science and art , which the modern world has raised , ancl reflect that it is built upon a Greek foundation . The answer must of necessity be an affirmative one .
Was it right , that Greece , having progressed so far , should fall ? We must consider this point too , and adopt a different line of argument with regard to it . The philosophy of Greece was speculative and abstract , not real and practical ; and the prosperity of the world depends upon real and practical philosophy . Yet the abstract was a necessary prelude to the practical , for we must arrive at principles before , we can put them into action . Ancl it may be remarked too , that the speculative ancl the
practical , though one conduces to the other , scarcely admit of a contemporaneous origin . Experience teaches us that that nation which is great in abstract thought , not only does not enter upon , but is unfitted for practical movement . As also , in men , your deep abstract thinkers , are seldom remarkable for action ; your poets make bad men of business , your theorists bad mechanics . Philosophers are not always good statesmen . One class originates , another develops and puts in practice . England is pre-eminent as the country of practical utility , and
where is theory less valued ? The adage is in all our mouths , which says , that " an ounce of practice is worth a ton of theory . " Because the philosophy of the Greeks was not practical , it was not sufficient for progress ; and therefore the Greeks , having performed their work , fell . But could they not have converted their abstract knowledge into practice ? We must refer to reflection as well as to experience to find an answer . . Who that analyses the minds and the mental action of his fellow men
does not know that the thoughts of every man run , so to speak , in a certain channel—have a tendency to take a particular direction ? There are some men , whom from constant intercourse we know so well , that giving a starting point for their thoughts , we can tell where their ideas will tend to . This may arise from a peculiar idiosyncracy , or from a long exercise of what we know as the power of association ; and long use has so worn their mind , that thought runs in certain channels , from
point to point , almost as surely as water in the channels cut for its passage . It is not a new observation , that the aggregate mind of a nation is governed by the same laws as the particular mind of an individual ; but it is used to show the probability of the argument , that the Greek mind had acquired a tendency to abstract philosophy ; that that was the channel which years had worn in it ; and those who know the power of a habit of thought in a man , can estimate the impossibility of overcoming it in a nation .
Abstract thought was necessary to sow the seeds of practical philosophy ; but the habit of abstraction was opposed to practical application , and before speculation could give place to practice , it was necessary that Greek philosophy , that is abstract philosophy , should cease to rule the world , and to that end , it was necessary that Greek power should fallthat its form of society should decay , and that its results should be deposited as seeds to germinate for a future harvest . It was necessary that a people so intellectually gifted as the Greeks should have existed to give birth to abstract philosophy ; it was neces-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Historical Views Of Progress.
been—was it right?—we have only to consider the intellectual eminence from which Europe started , when the light of civilization , after the night of thedark ages , first dawned upon her , and to see that Grecian labourhad contributed to place her there—to look upon the edifice of science and art , which the modern world has raised , ancl reflect that it is built upon a Greek foundation . The answer must of necessity be an affirmative one .
Was it right , that Greece , having progressed so far , should fall ? We must consider this point too , and adopt a different line of argument with regard to it . The philosophy of Greece was speculative and abstract , not real and practical ; and the prosperity of the world depends upon real and practical philosophy . Yet the abstract was a necessary prelude to the practical , for we must arrive at principles before , we can put them into action . Ancl it may be remarked too , that the speculative ancl the
practical , though one conduces to the other , scarcely admit of a contemporaneous origin . Experience teaches us that that nation which is great in abstract thought , not only does not enter upon , but is unfitted for practical movement . As also , in men , your deep abstract thinkers , are seldom remarkable for action ; your poets make bad men of business , your theorists bad mechanics . Philosophers are not always good statesmen . One class originates , another develops and puts in practice . England is pre-eminent as the country of practical utility , and
where is theory less valued ? The adage is in all our mouths , which says , that " an ounce of practice is worth a ton of theory . " Because the philosophy of the Greeks was not practical , it was not sufficient for progress ; and therefore the Greeks , having performed their work , fell . But could they not have converted their abstract knowledge into practice ? We must refer to reflection as well as to experience to find an answer . . Who that analyses the minds and the mental action of his fellow men
does not know that the thoughts of every man run , so to speak , in a certain channel—have a tendency to take a particular direction ? There are some men , whom from constant intercourse we know so well , that giving a starting point for their thoughts , we can tell where their ideas will tend to . This may arise from a peculiar idiosyncracy , or from a long exercise of what we know as the power of association ; and long use has so worn their mind , that thought runs in certain channels , from
point to point , almost as surely as water in the channels cut for its passage . It is not a new observation , that the aggregate mind of a nation is governed by the same laws as the particular mind of an individual ; but it is used to show the probability of the argument , that the Greek mind had acquired a tendency to abstract philosophy ; that that was the channel which years had worn in it ; and those who know the power of a habit of thought in a man , can estimate the impossibility of overcoming it in a nation .
Abstract thought was necessary to sow the seeds of practical philosophy ; but the habit of abstraction was opposed to practical application , and before speculation could give place to practice , it was necessary that Greek philosophy , that is abstract philosophy , should cease to rule the world , and to that end , it was necessary that Greek power should fallthat its form of society should decay , and that its results should be deposited as seeds to germinate for a future harvest . It was necessary that a people so intellectually gifted as the Greeks should have existed to give birth to abstract philosophy ; it was neces-