After the Romans had conquered Greece, Athens became the school and centre of thought for the civilized world. Men had but one set of ideas, but one set of models to imitate, in the whole range of the fine arts. Inventiveness and originality ceased, and genius was subdued. The rule of Horace, "_Nullius addictus in verba magistri jurare_," was versed, and men ceased to think for themselves, but looked to the common fountain of thought at Athens; where the teachers of mankind borrowed all their ideas from the past. Improvement and progress ceased, and imitation, chaining the present to the car of the past, soon induced rapid retrogression. Thus, we think centralization of thought occasioned the decline of civilization. Northern invaders introduced new ideas, broke up centralization, arrested imitation, and begot originality and inventiveness. Thus a start was given to a new and Christian civilization. Now, a centralization occasioned by commerce and fashion, threatens the overthrow of our civilization, as arms and conquest overthrew the ancient. The ill effect of centralization of thought, whether its centre be the past, or some locality of the present, is apparent in the arts and literature of the Latin nations of Europe. France, Spain and Italy, though possessed of more genius, have displayed less originality than England and Germany. French art is a mere re-hash of Roman art, and very inferior to its original. The natural growth, changes and adaptation of language, are admirably described by Horace in his _De Arte Poetica_. He makes a great blunder in advising the forming and compounding words from the Greek, however; for the very want that occasions new words, shows that they cannot be supplied from the past. In the passage we are about to quote, he seems to have seen and deplored the advent of that age of rule and criticism that was to stereotype language, thought, art itself, prevent progress, and inaugurate decline. From Horace's day, criticism ruled, language and art were stereotyped, and the world declined: "Dixeris egregiè, notum si callida verbum, Reddiderit junctura novum: si fortè necesse est Indiciis monstrare recentibus abdita rerum, Fingere cinctutis non exaudita Cethegis Continget; dabiturque licentia sumpta pudenter; Et nova fictaque nuper habebunt verba fidem, si Græco fonte cadant, parcè detorta. Quid autem Cæcilio, Plantoque dabit Romanus, ademptum Virgilio, Varioque? ego cur acquirere pauca Si possum, invideor; cùm lingua Catonis et Ennî Sermonem patrium ditaverit, et nova rerum Nomina protulerit? Licuit, semperque licebit Signatum præsente notâ procudere nomen. Ut silvæ foliis pronos mutantur in annos, Prima cadunt; ita verborum vetus interit ætas, Et juvenum ritu florent modò nata, vigentque."