The passing of the great race; or, The racial basis of European historyGrant, Madison
History
The passing of the great race; or, The racial basis of European history
Grant, Madison
Ethnology -- Europe
Regarded in the light of the facts the fall of Rome ceases to be a
mystery. The wonder is that the State lived on after the Romans were
extinct and that the Eastern Empire survived so long with an ever fading
Greek population. In Rome and in Greece only the language of the
dominant race survived.
So entirely had the blood of the Romans vanished in the last days of the
Empire that sorry bands of barbarians wandered at will through the
desolated provinces. Cæsar and his legions would have made short work of
these unorganized banditti but Cæsar’s legions were a memory, though one
great enough to inspire in the intruders somewhat of awe and desire to
imitate. Against invaders, however, brains and brawn are more effective
than tradition and culture, however noble these last may be.
Early ascetic Christianity played a large part in this decline of the
Roman Empire as it was at the outset the religion of the slave, the meek
and the lowly while Stoicism was the religion of the strong men of the
time. This bias in favor of the weaker elements greatly interfered with
their elimination by natural processes and the fighting force of the
Empire was gradually undermined. Christianity was in sharp contrast to
the worship of tribal deities which preceded it and it tended then as
now to break down class and race distinctions.
The maintenance of such distinctions is absolutely essential to race
purity in any community when two or more races live side by side.
Race feeling may be called prejudice by those whose careers are cramped
by it but it is a natural antipathy which serves to maintain the purity
of type. The unfortunate fact that nearly all species of men interbreed
freely leaves us no choice in the matter. Races must be kept apart by
artificial devices of this sort or they ultimately amalgamate and in the
offspring the more generalized or lower type prevails.
X
THE NORDIC RACE OUTSIDE OF EUROPE
We find few traces of Nordic characters outside of Europe. When Egypt
was invaded by the Libyans from the west in 1230 B. C. they were
accompanied by “sea peoples,” probably the Achæan Greeks. There is some
evidence of blondness among the people of the south shore of the
Mediterranean down to Greek times and the Tamahu or fair Libyans are
constantly mentioned in Egyptian records. The reddish blond or partly
blond Berbers found to-day on the northern slopes of the Atlas Mountains
may well be their descendants. That this blondness of the Berbers,
though small in amount, is of Nordic origin we may with safety assume,
but through what channels it came we have no means of knowing. There is
no historic invasion of north Africa by Nordics except the Vandal
conquests but there seems to be little probability that this small
Teutonic tribe left behind any physical trace in the native population.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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