706 TECHNOLOGY AND CIVILIZATION. 



must more or less underlie device aud invention ; a question which 

 (especially for patent legislation) has long employed aud must long 

 contiuue to emploj^ the scientist as well as the administrative practi- 

 tioner. 



If we will compare our civilization with that of other nations we must 

 uuderstandiugly glance at the people and their i^ursuits, which we fiud 

 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 peoples 

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

 been a part. These are the i^eoples 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 flourished 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 produced their odyssey the 

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

 among them the tender " Sakuutala," the charm of which is still x^otent 

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

 flourished 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 predecessors, the vista terminating in Panini, whom they reverence 

 like a god. Mathematics, 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 Hafis sung his immortal 

 songs, all of which have become a part of our literary treasure 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. How, under 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 chemistry in various substances and essences! 



What is then the spiritual diflerence which sunders their path from 

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

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

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

 as men, lie the points 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 England with a few thousand of 



