706 TECnNOLOGY AND CIVILIZATION. 



must more or less underlie device and invention : a ([uestion wliicli 

 (especially for ])atent lej^Mslation) lias lonj? employed and must lonj,' 

 continue to employ the scientist as well as the administrativ^e practi- 

 tioner. 



If we will comi>are our civilization with that of other nations we must 

 understandingly glance at the people and their pursuits, which we find 

 upon the lowest stratum ; for example, those who, lacking a knowl- 

 edge of writing, that wondrous thought transmitter, have, of course, 

 no care for science. In this comparison one will soon encounter peojiles 

 wjiom a high culture has for centuries, yes, thousands of centuries, 

 been a part. These are the peoples of eastern and southern Asia, the 

 Chinese, Japanese, people of India, the Persians, and Arabians. Noting 

 without prejudice their culture, we must concede them to be in a state 

 of high development, indeed to have been highly developed, when mid- 

 dle Europe still remained deep in barbarism. Even then science and 

 art tlourished among them, and is still advancing. 



For 3,000 years the Indian Vedas have devoutly proclaimed the 

 Deity; 2,000 years ago the Indian poets i)roduced their odyssey the 

 " Mahabharata" — the great Bharata, the forerunner of many dramas, 

 among them the tender " Sakuntala," the charm of whicli is still potent 

 since its sentiments found their origin in the heart of man. Philosophy 

 tlourished likewise, and the science of language in so great degree that 

 the Indian grammarians of to-day can look back upon an unbroken line 

 of i)redecessors, the vista termiiuiting in Panini, whom they reverence 

 like a god. IMathematics, too, were fostered, and today we write our 

 numbers in Indian characters. In parts of India and in eastern Asia 

 the commercial arts progressed then as now. Persia, too, was laurel- 

 crowned among the world's poets. Following the great Firdousi came 

 the "Horaz" of Schiras, and in his footsteps Ilafis sung his immortal 

 songs, all of which have become a part of our literary treasuie through 

 the sesame of translation. And the Arabian literature, to which we 

 have not yet had access in its entirety, how has it laid under tribute 

 the Grecian inheritance, and so perfected astronomy that at the pres- 

 ent time we name half the heavens after them. IIow, uiuler the patient 

 and studious princes of the time of Charles, did they foster the growth 

 of arithmetical and still deeper science! How too have they surpassed 

 our knowledge of chemistr}' in various substances and essences! 



What is then the spiritual difference which sunders their path from 

 ours? Are we in certain arts still behind them ? They are brave sol- 

 diers, gentle and industrious citizens, wise statesmen and scholars; 

 honor and justice hold high rank among them. Where then, considered 

 as men, lie the i)oints of difference? 



Or, on the other hand, do we question whether the spiritual bounda- 

 ries lead to the good, and would we fain know whence springs our 

 superiority over them ? 



How is it possible, for example, that l^ngland with a few thousand of 



