64 JORDAN— THE HUMAN HARVEST. [April iS. 



dilation, and the biological significance of such mathematics must be 

 evident at once. Dr. Seeck speaks with scorn of the idea that Rome 

 fell from the decay of old age, from the corruption of luxury, from 

 neglect of military tactics or from the over-diffusion of culture. 



" It is inconceivable that the mass of Romans suffered from over- 

 culture." *' In condemning the sinful luxury of wealthy Romans, 

 we forget that the trade-lords of the fifteenth and sixteenth cen- 

 turies were scarcely inferior in this regard to Lucullus and Apicius, 

 their waste and luxury not constituting the slightest check to the 

 advance of the nations to which these men belonged. The people 

 who lived in luxury in Rome were scattered more thinly than in 

 any modern state of Europe. The masses lived at all times more 

 poorly and frugally because they could do nothing else. Can we 

 conceive that a war force of untold millions of people is rendered 

 ^ft'eminate by the luxury of a few hundreds ?" 



" Too long have historians looked on the rich and noble as mark- 

 ing the fate of the world. Half the Roman Empire was made up 

 of rough barbarians imtouched by Greek or Roman culture." 



" Whatever the remote and ultimate cause may have been, the 

 immediate cause to which the fall of the empire can be traced is 

 a physical not a moral decay. In valor, discipline and science the 

 Roman armies remained what they had always been and the peasant 

 emperors of Illyricum were worthy successors of Cincinnatus and 

 Caius Marius. But the problem was, how to replenish those armies. 

 Men were wanting. The Empire perished for want of men " 

 (Seeley). 



Does history ever repeat itself? It always does if it is true his- 

 tory. If it does not we are dealing not with history but with 

 mere succession of incidents. Like causes produce like effects, just 

 as often as may may choose to test them. Whenever men use a 

 nation for the test, poor seed yields a poor fruition. Where the 

 weakling .and the coward survives in human history, there " the 

 human harvest is bad," and it can never be otherwise. 



The finest Roman province, a leader in the Roman world, was 

 lier colony of Hispania. What of Spain in history ? What of Spain 

 to-day ? " This is Castile," said a Spanish writer, '' she makes men 



