STUDY OF HIGH ANTIQUITY. 315 



the most intimate reciprocal relations. Consequently, a knowledge of the 

 present throws light upon the past, and reciprocally the past renders the present 

 more clear. We know the observations upon the changes Avhich are now 

 taking place on the surface of the globe are necessary to enable us to compre- 

 hend the geological results of past times to explain the present condition of 

 the continents. The naturalist who would have a satisfactory idea of an or- 

 ganized being, even after dissecting it, must study its developr&ent from the 

 first germ, and this germ itself cannot be fully comprehended without a knowl- 

 edge of the entire being. And as regards man, could he account for his present 

 condition without reviving the recollections of his youth, or could he under- 

 stand his infancy had he not ripened into manhood ? 



Thus, if the knowledge of the present state of our race is necessary for 

 reconstructing its past ages, the study of antiquity is also indispensable for the 

 proper comprehension of the present, and for arriving at a real understanding 

 of the social relations which constitute the life of nations. It will therefore 

 be an immense gain when the jn-ogress of scientific research into the develop- 

 ment of our race shall substitute positive notions, rich in practical application, 

 for those vain and empty political discussions which, orginating in ignorance, 

 end in error. 



Finally, if the astronomer has succeeded in foretelling the movements of the 

 celestial bodies, because he has detected the laws which govern them, may we 

 not hope, Avith Condorcet,* that when the present shall be well understood 

 as a necessary result of the past, we may be enabled in some degree to pene- 

 trate the mysterious future 1 This would be one of the most glorious, and cer- 

 tainly also one of the most fertile, triumphs of human intelligence. 



Let us, then, study the past, in order that Ave may understand the present, 

 and perhaps catch a glimpse of the future. 



* Condorcet. Esquisse d'un Tableau Historiquc du Progr6s de L'esprit Hmnain: 

 Paris, 1796: page '362. 



