THE EVOLUTION OF SOCIETY 



course of the Gulf Stream. Or if we inquire 

 why the Spaniards are still so superstitious and 

 bigoted, I believe we shall find little enlighten- 

 ment in the fact that Spain is peculiarly sub- 

 ject to earthquakes, but much enlightenment 

 in the fact that for eight centuries Spain was 

 the arena of a life and death struggle between 

 orthodox Christians and Moorish unbelievers. 

 The mention of Spain and earthquakes brings 

 me to Mr. Buckle, a writer of marked ability, 

 who, though he did not explicitly countenance 

 the error I am here criticising, was nevertheless 

 sometimes betrayed into committing it, as may 

 be seen from the following passage : " The 

 Arabs in their own country have, owing to the 

 extreme aridity of their soil, always been a rude 

 and uncultivated people, — for in their case, 

 as in all others, great ignorance is the fruit 

 of great poverty. But in the seventh century 

 they conquered Persia ; in the eighth century 

 they conquered the best part of Spain ; in the 

 ninth century they conquered the Punjab, and 

 eventually nearly the whole of India. Scarcely 

 were they established in their fresh settlements, 

 when their character seemed to undergo a great 

 change. They who in their original land were 

 little else than roving savages were now for the 

 first time able to accumulate wealth, and there- 

 fore for the first time did they make some pro- 

 gress in the arts of civilization. In Arabia they 



'^93 



