158 PRIMEVAL MAN. 



one of the standing wonders of the world. 

 No doubt, the ancient civilizations which have 

 been so utterly destroyed were in many cases 

 brought to a violent, and as it may be 

 argued, to an accidental end. They were 

 overrun and swept away by the rush of 

 barbarous hordes. But these are accidents 

 which did not happen to civilized nations so 

 long as their civilization was yet undecayed. 

 I am far, however, from denying the powerful 

 influence of external conditions in favouring 

 the development of the peaceful arts, or, on 

 the contrary, in arresting that development, 

 or even in destroying it when it had been 

 long established. Nor am I disposed to keep 

 in the background the effects produced on 

 ancient civilizations by the wars and the great 



