It is an interesting commentary on this common human tendency that one of the last utterances of George Washington was an expression of regret that the spirit of the old times seemed to be passing, and that the tendencies of the new age seemed less hopeful and promising. More than a century has gone by since this lament was uttered. The world is still having its struggles, just as it did then. The prices, the weather, and the conditions produced by the war are still making the grounds for daily complaint, just as was the case in other days. The race is still achieving some progress, however, and most of us still believe that the most promising days of civilization are yet to be. The lament of the passing of the good old days may be found in times more remote, however, than even those of George Washington. Some years ago an archeological investigator discovered an ancient Egyptian record which, when its message had been deciphered, was found to be a complaint that the good old days seemed to have passed, and that great uncertainty attached to the dawning period which was entirely too different from the past. So it appears that this regretful attitude is not a new story. Ever since human nature has existed these lugubrious things have been said. Only the use of the power of reason is necessary, however, to see that the world has, after all, made wonderful progress in most things since the writing of the old Egyptian records, and even since the days of George Washington. The past and its real achievements should never be discounted. The present owes all that it is to the fact that it is built on ages gone by, and that its foundations were so well laid by hands which now rest from their labors. All things considered, however, each age has been a little better than the age preceding it. It is not proper to say that the old days were better than the new, unless it is proper to say that the foundation is better than the superstructure. The things that were served simply as the basis and preparation for the things that are. We can appreciate the past without discounting the present. We can also glorify the present without discounting the past. Each epoch has had its own particular place to fill and each generation has had its own particular part to play in the general scheme of things. No age could properly be exchanged for any other, nor could any generation properly fill another’s place. We must take the facts of history as they are. Each age is best for its own time and in its own place. Certain things are changeless. There are great, abiding quantities which necessarily remain the same throughout the years. Human affection, love of home, fidelity to a country, ambition for success, and the religious instinct are among those things.