From Savagery to Civilization 61 



amount of work that the members of the tribe 

 perform before the average child is born. When 

 we review historical cases of tribes suddenly ad- 

 vancing in civilization we find that such advance- 

 ment followed immediately upon the introduction 

 of some custom which delayed marriage and 

 caused extra work. 



In looking over the centers of civilization we 

 find them beginning in semi-tropical countries 

 and then gradually moving northward. After 

 Egypt and Babylonia came Greece, a little fur- 

 ther to the north. Next the center of civilization 

 moved to Rome, slightly further north. From the 

 time of the fall of the Roman Empire to the 

 present there have been many shifts, but gradu- 

 ally the center of civilization and power has 

 moved northward until now we may say that 

 it runs along northern Germany and France, 

 England and the northern part of the United 

 States. There is, of course, no definite center 

 of civilization at the present time, but we all 

 recognize the fact that the principal part of hu- 

 man progress occurs in sections which are well 

 to the northward of Greece and Rome. 



