118 SHEMITIC CIVILIZATION. 



Pantheism. The religious development of 

 the Shemitic nations obeyed laws totally 

 different. Judaism, Christianity, Islamism, 

 possess a character of dogmatism, absolutism, 

 and severe monotheism which distinguishes 

 them radically from the Indo-European, — 

 or, as Ave term them, the Pagan religions. 



Thus we see two individualities, perfectly 

 recognizable, which occupy between them, in 

 some manner, nearly the whole field of 

 history, and which are, as it were, the two 

 poles of the axis of civilization. I say 

 nearly the whole field of history ; for be- 

 sides these two great individualities, there 

 are still two or three, which are yet suffi- 

 ciently palpable for the purposes of science, 

 and of which the action has been consider- 

 able. Putting China aside, as a world by 

 itself, and the Tartar races, which have 

 only acted as inherent scourges to destroy 

 the works of others, Egypt has had a con- 

 siderable part in the history of the world ; 

 yet Egypt is neither Shemitic nor Indo- 

 le ni ; nor is Babylon a purely Shemitic 



